Ranch Cheese Ball

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Mayo
1/4 C. Milk
6 oz. Cream Cheese
1 Ranch dressing packet
8-12 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I use shredded cheddar jack cheese from Costco)
5 oz. Sliced Almonds (I leave these off, my family isn't a fan of the almonds)

~Let the cream cheese set out at room temperature for 1 hour before making your cheese ball~

 Mix mayo, milk, softened cream cheese, and ranch dressing packet together and beat well with mixer. Add cheddar cheese and blend together. Cover and freeze for 30 minutes, roll ball in almonds. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Carrabba's Bread Dipping Spices

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Dried parsley
1 Tbsp. Minced garlic
1 tsp. Dried thyme
1 tsp. Dried oregano
1/4 tsp. Dried basil
1/8 tsp. Dried rosemary
1 tsp. Ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. Ground red pepper (or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes)
1/2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp. Fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Combine all spices, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice. Makes 1/4 cup.

For Serving:
In a small dish, place 1 1/2 tsp. of spice mixture. Pour 3-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil over the top of the spice mixture. I also add balsamic vinegar, you can add as little or as much as you like. Serve with french, sourdough, or other favorite bread for dipping.

Sugar Cookies or Bars

Ingredients:
4 C Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 C Butter, softened
1 1/2 C Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 C Sour cream
1 tsp Vanilla

Cookie Cutouts:
Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter, sugar, and egg. At a low speed add sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add dry ingredients until combined. Wrap in foil and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight. Take out of fridge, roll out dough to 1/4-1/2" thickness and cut into cookies. Bake at 350º until light brown on bottoms each oven is different so just time the first batch. Let cookies cool and apply frosting.

Alternative Cookie Bars:
Follow the same instructions as above, but instead of rolling out the dough, press it down evenly into a lightly greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350º until toothpick comes out clean in the center (7-10 minutes), let cool, apply frosting, and cut into cookie bars.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8oz Cream cheese, softened
1 Cube butter, softened
3 C Powdered sugar
1 tsp Almond extract

Med Salad

Med Salad

• 3 cups dried fusilii or cavatappi pasta, cooked, drained, and cooled
• chopped green leaf lettuce
• 1/2 bag of pre-washed spinach
• 1 halved and sliced cucumber
• 1 orange bell pepper sliced and cut into small pieces
• 1/4-1/2 of a red onion thinly sliced
• 
1 1/2 cups of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 jar of kalamata olives, drained
• sprinkle of feta cheese, crumbled
• Toss all the salad ingredients & add desired amount of spicy yogurt salad dressing to your portion.

Spicy Yogurt Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 garlic clove, minced
• 
2 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• 
2-5 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce (depends on how spicy you want the dressing)
• salt and pepper to taste

I combine these ingredients in my blend-tec blender on the sauces/dressings setting and it works perfect.