Bacon Swirls

1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated
crescent rolls
1 (3-ounce) package cream
cheese, softened
5 bacon slices, cooked and
crumbled
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon milk
Grated Parmesan cheese

Unroll crescent roll dough,
and separate into 4
rectangles; press perforations
to seal.
Stir together cream cheese
and next 3 ingredients until
blended; spread mixture
evenly on rectangles. Roll
up, jellyroll fashion, starting at
a long side, and press edges
to seal.
Cut each roll into 8 slices, and
place on ungreased baking
sheets. Sprinkle swirls evenly
with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375» for 12 to 15
minutes or until lightly
browned. Serve warm. Yield:
about 2 1/2 dozen.

Moroccan cigars

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 scallions thinly sliced
10 oz spinach, they called for frozen, but I
used fresh washed and cooked only with the
water remaining on the leaves, for about 5
minutes and squeezed dried, I can't abide
frozen boxed veggies.but it's all a matter of
taste
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
3 oz feta cheese
1 large egg white
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablepsoons fresh dill minced
12 sheets phyllo dough thawed
Prehaet the oven to 375, in a small skillet
melt the butter over medium heat, pour all
but 1 tablespoon in a small bowl. add
scallions to skillet and cook till soft 1
minute. let cool
In a medium bowl combine scallions, spinach,
ricotta cheese, feta, egg white, 1/4 cup parm
cheese and pepper. In a small bowl combine
remaining parm and dill.
lay one sheet of phyllo on work surface with
the short end facing you, cover remaining
with a damp towel and plastic wrap. using a
pastry brush lightly drizzle some melted
butter onto the phyllo, gently brush butter
to just cover phyllo, sprinkle with 2
teaspoons parm dill mixture. cover with
another sheet of phyllo, drizzle and brush
with more butter, cut in half crosswise then
lengthwise to form 4 rectangles. for each
cigar: shape 1 rounded tablespoon spinach
filling into a thin log along short side of
phyllo about 3/4 inch form edges. fold bottom
edge up over filling, tuck in ends, loosely
roll up into cigar shape,( they will split if
rolled to tightly) Place seam side down on
ungreased baking sheet 1 inch apart; cover
with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.
repeat with remaining phyllo sheets, butter,
parm mixture, and spinach filling to make 24
cigars. lightly brush with any remaining
butter.
bake 18 to 20 minutes or till phyllo is crisp
and browned. let cool till just warm and
serve immediately as an appetizer.
( these can be assembled and frozen before
hand just brush with melted butter and bake

SPINACH ROLL-UPS

2 boxes frozen spinach, defrost and squeeze out the liquid
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Baco Bits
1/2 pkg Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Flour tortillas

Mix together first 5 ingredients. Spread on flour tortillas and roll up.
Wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate overnight. Slice and serve.Wrap-and-Roll Basil Pinwheels

3 7 - or 8-inch flour tortillas
1 5.2-oz. carton Boursin Cheese or one 5-oz. container semi soft cheese with garlic and herbs
12 large fresh basil leaves
1/2 of a 7-oz. jar roasted red sweet peppers, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
4 oz. thinly sliced cooked roast beef, ham, or turkey
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise or salad dressing
Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Spead each flour tortilla with 1/3 of the Boursin cheese or semisoft cheese with garlic and herbs. Add a layer of the large fresh basil leaves to cover cheese. Divide roasted red sweet pepper strips between the tortillas; arrange roasted red pepper strips over the basil leaves 1 to 2 inches apart. Top with meat slices. Spread 1 teaspoon mayonnaise or salad dressing over the meat on each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas tightly, jell-roll style, enclosing the filling. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap. Chill the tortilla rolls in the refrigerator 2 to 4 hours to blend flavors.

To serve, remove the rolls from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap from the tortilla rolls; cut each of the rolls into 1-inch slices (make diagonal slices, if desired). Garnish with the fresh basil leaves, if you wish. Skewer each of the cut tortilla rolls on frilly picks or on short decorative skewers, if desired. Makes about 24 pinwheels.

Hot Pecan Pie AppetizerToast the following ingredients together and reserve for topping.

1/2 cup pecans
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoons salt1 (8 oz.) package diet cream cheese
2 teaspoons milk
1 (2 1/2 oz.) jar dried beef
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 small onion, grated
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix all together and place in an 8-inch buttered pie plate. Place the pecans on top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Serve on crackers using a small knife for spreading.
I use wheat crackers for this particular appetizer.REC: Pecan-crusted artichoke dip

5 T butter
1 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
and drained
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, chopped
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
3/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1 pkg Serengeti (sp?) 4 cheese blend
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup herb stuffing mix

Saute onion and garlic in 3T butter. Add
spinach and cook for 3 min on med heat.
Add artichoke hearts and next 4
ingredients, stirring until cheese melts.
Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into
a 2-qt dish and bake at 350f for 20 min.
Stir gently. Combine remaining 2T butter
with pecans and stuffing mix. Sprinkle
over top. Bake 15 min. longer. Serve with
crackers or pita chips.

BACON-WRAPPED BREAD STICKS
Courtesy of Elizabeth Guittar

Elizabeth advises using very good bacon and making several batches at a time as they go very quickly!

1 pound high-quality bacon strips
1 large package grissini-style bread sticks
1 box dark brown sugar

Cut bacon strips in half and lay them out on a cutting board. Break the bread sticks into 4-inch lengths.
Sprinkle the bacon with brown sugar so that the bacon is completely coated. Press the sugar onto the
bacon with your fingers. Continue to sprinkle sugar and press it on until no more sugar will adhere.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set a rack over a foil-lined baking sheet. Roll the bacon strips, sugar
side in, around the bread sticks in a spiral fashion. Be sure to begin as close to the bread stick edge as
possible and roll very tightly. Place seam side down on the rack. Bake about 20 minutes, but watch
carefully so that the sugar doesn't burn in the last minutes of cooking. Remove them from the oven and
let rest for an hour on the rack to become firm. (To prepare ahead and freeze, bake the sticks half way,
freeze on a baking sheet, and store in the freezer in a plastic bag. To serve, bake the sticks for the
remaining 10 minutes.) Tiny cheesecakes and mushroom rollups

These are 2 of my fav, quick recipes.
Makes 24 Cheesecake Tarts

If you like quick cheesecake, try this:

Beat well, and then add to pre-baked tart
shells: 1 pkg (8 oz) philadelphia cream
cheese
300 ml Eagle brand condensed canned milk
1/4 cup lemon juice.

Spoon on a teaspoon of cherry pie filling
just before serving as a topping, if desired.
Chill 3 hours.
Freezes well.

I make this every Xmas:
Keep them in the freezer until you need them.

MUSHROOM ROLL-UPS
1/2 c very finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb very finely chopped fresh mushrooms
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 oz cream cheese
1 loaf ( 16 slice) white bread
1/2 tsp worstershire sauce

Saute onions and mushrooms, in butter,
until very soft. Add cheese and remaining
ingredients. Stir until cheese is melted.
Cool.

Remove crust from bread slices.Roll each slice flat
with a rolling pin. Spread with cooled cheese
mixture. Roll up each slice. Brush lightly
with melted butter. Freeze solid. When ready
to serve, remove from freezer, cut each roll
into 3 pieces, and bake in a 400 oven
for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Serve hot. Makes 4 doz mini-rolls
or 16 egg-roll size rolls.

Prosciutto and Gruyere pinwheels made
these last night they are to die for.

3/4 cups finely grated gruyere
4 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 puff pastry sheet ( from one 17 1/4 oz.
frozen puff pastry sheets. Thawed
1 large egg beaten lightly
2 oz. thin sliced prosciutto

In a bowl combine gruyere, and sage.
On a lightly floured surface arrange pastry
sheet with short side facing you and cut in
half crosswise. Arrange one half of sheet
with long side facing you, and brush edge of
far side with some of the egg. Arrange half
of the proscuitto evenly on top of sheet,
avoiding the egg brushed edge and top with
half of the gruyere mixture. Starting with
side nearest you, roll pastry jelly roll
fashion into a log and wrap in wax paper,
make another with the other sheet of pastry.
Chill seam side down until firm at least 3
hours.
Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease 2
large baking sheets.
Cut logs crosswise into 1/2 inch thick
pinwheels and arrange cut side down on baking
sheet one inch apart. Bake in batches till
golden 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a rack
to cool slightly. serve warm. makes about 40

Mini Sausage quiches:

1/2 cup butter softened
3 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup flour
1/2 lb bulk sausage
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 Tbls snipped fresh chives
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/4 teaspooon salt
dash cayenne pepper

Beat butter and cream cheese in medium bowl
till creamy Blend in flour refrigerate 1
hour. Roll into 24 1 inch balls and press
into mini muffin cups.
Preheat oven to 375. To prepare fillimg
crumble sausage into small skillet. Cook over
medium heat till browned stirring
occasionally. Drain off any drippings.
Sprinkle evenly into pastry shells in muffin
cups and sprinkle with swiss cheese and
chives. Whisk eggs half and half salt and
cayenne until blended pour over sausage in
pastry shells. bake 20 to 30 minutes or till
set. Remove from pans serve hot. These can be
frozen and reheated for about 10 minutes . I
am sure that you can make them in a bigger
pan like one of those individual pie pans if
you are looking for something more
substantial, I guess it would just have to do
with the measuring of the dough.