Buffalo Chicken Dip

I make this dip often.  It's one of those recipes that comes out great every time and people will ask for the recipe, so make sure you have it on hand!

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained *
3 T butter
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese *

*I've never used canned chicken.  I use either leftover chicken breast or just cook a few chicken tenders up to use.
*There's been a couple times when I didn't have cheese and I made this without.  It came out just as good!
 
Heat chicken, butter and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. This is great served with tortilla chips, fritos, crackers, soft pretzels and celery sticks.

New Pandora Style Charms

I've been busy listing new items in my Etsy shop, including these new Pandora-style charms:

The Dinner Table

I'm just so proud of myself that I had to show off my dining room table actually set for dinner!  As I prepared for my recent craft and home shows, my table was where I organized, tagged and priced items.  I love this table - we're lucky to be only a couple hours away from Holmes County, OH, which is home to the Amish community.  We had this table custom made when we moved into our house.  They did a beautiful job. 

Giving Thanks

I just came home from making stuffing at my parents home.  They hosted Thanksgiving dinner up until 3 years ago when my Dad suffered his first stroke.  Now I host dinner, but the stuffing is still made at their house, in the basement - my mom is lucky to have a 2nd kitchen in her basement.  This year was a bit different.  My husband came along and watched tv with my Dad while my Mom and I worked in the kitchen.  It's hard to watch my Dad struggle sometimes with his Parkinsons Disease, but he loved spending time with my husband watching Wheel of Fortune tonight!  It was nice to see him enjoy himself. 

Meanwhile, making the stuffing gave my mom a much deserved break - she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and will be going in for a lumpectomy next week.  The past few weeks have been filled with pre-op appointments and tests.  This evening we were able to just chit-chat while chopping, mixing and cooking. 

So this year I'm thankful for my parents.  It's been a rough year, but we've helped each get through some of the tough days.  We've also had many good days and we'll continue to do so in 2011:)

I wish you all a warm and peaceful Thanksgiving ♥
Kathy

Craft Show Display

I love looking at other crafter's displays!  So I thought I'd share mine from a show I did this past Saturday.  I only had a 6 foot table, so it seemed a bit cramped, but overall I received a lot of positive feedback.  It sure is a lot of work though.  I spent most of the day sitting, and the metal chair wasn't the most comfortable.  I was tired by the end of the day.  The show was in my hometown and several friends and relatives stopped by which was nice :)

*Easy* Apple Strudel

Seriously,  if I can make this strudel, you can make it too!  I recently came across 2 recipes for strudel using puff pastry.  This was my first time using puff pastry and it was pretty easy!  Below is the recipe I came up with after combining a bit from recipes I've read.  I'm thinking of adding this to our Thanksgiving menu.  The only problem I had was that I didn't great the cookie sheet - both recipes I read said there was enough butter in the pastry to keep it from sticking.  Well, mine slightly stuck.  So next time I think I'll put a light spray of PAM down.

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 can apple pie filling
1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30-45 minutes, until you're able to roll out. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the defrosted puff pastry to form a rectangle and lay on a lightly greased baking sheet.  I lightly floured the pastry before rolling.

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 16x12-inch rectangle  (I didn't measure mine). Place apple slices down center of pastry. Spoon pie filling on top, stopping about an inch from sides.  Neatly fold up both ends to meet in the middle and seal with egg wash. Flip the strudel over on the baking sheet, so the seam side is laying flat down. Tuck ends under to seal. Brush top with egg mixture. Cut several 2-inch slits about 2 inches apart on top using serated knife.  Sprinke top with turbinado (raw) sugar.

Bake 35 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Open House

I had my first jewelry open house Thursday evening.  My sister-n-law graciously hosted the event.  What a fun evening of friends, drinks, food and of course, jewelry!  I wasn't sure what to expect and certainly learned alot.  I received a lot of positive feedback on my displays, especially the holiday-themed table.

My sister-n-law and mom helped make a scrumptious array of finger food and snacks.  I will be posting recipes and ideas this week.  We had lots of food that is perfect for entertaining and holiday parties.  Below is a quick sneak peek at some of the goodies!

We recruited my dad to help prepare some of the food.  Even Lexi, my nephew's boxer hung around the kitchen - of course she was waiting for crumbs to fall!

Have a good week!   xo Kathy

First Snow

Well it was bound to happen - the first snow of the season.  It's actually quite pretty - a coating of fluffy white snow on the gold and red leaves that are still left on the trees.  It's just not fun driving in.  Glad it wasn't icy today.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be back up to 50 degrees.  Welcome to weather in Cleveland:)

Open House Preparation

My sister-n-law is hosting an open house Thursday night to showcase my jewelry.  Why is it that no matter how prepared you are, there's always a last minute rush!  Thank goodness we're not having company over for dinner any time soon.  I've taken over the dining room!  I'm just about done putting tags on everything. 

I plan on hanging holiday-themed earrings on a small Christmas tree.  So I had to go in the basement and dig through a couple boxes! 

Wish me luck!!