Antipasto Pasta Salad

I made this for a Christmas luncheon we had at work and it turned out really good. I've been looking for a go-to pasta salad recipe and this is it. I made the salad and dressing the night before and mixed in the dressing about an hour before serving after reading some reviews. It kept the salad moist.

Antipasta Pasta Salad

Source: Allrecipes.com

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Ingredients:
1 pound seashell pasta
1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and cool under cold water.

2. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, salami, pepperoni, Asiago cheese, black olives, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the envelope of dressing mix. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

3. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad, and mix well.

Cheesey Bacon Dip

If I could choose a sixth food group, it would be dip. I could eat dip everyday, through sickness and health, til death do us part. diiiippppp.

This is one of my favorite dip recipes maninly because it combines two of the wonders of the food world. Cheese and bacon. It makes me tear up, its so beautiful.

Cheesey Bacon Dip
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Ingredients:

1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
1 bag of shredded cheese, mild or sharp
1 16 oz. jar of sour cream
3 oz jar of bacon pieces (recommended: Hormel)
1 cup of chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and place in oven safe dish.

2. Cover in foil and cook for 35-45 minutes.

SERVES: 1.

Pumpkin Puppers

This is my three year old lab named Roxy. She enjoys long walks, humping t-shirts, destroying remotes, and playing frisbee. Her favorite snacks are dog treats, dog treats, dog treats, and occasionally her own feces. I bet you're hungry now!

I decided to make my pretty girl some homemade dog treats after my mom recommended this recipe. She had purchased some of these at a bake sale and her picky dogs gobbled them right up so she asked for the recipe. (In case you are wondering, we asked a vet whether pumpkin was okay for dogs and he confirmed that its good for them!)

Pumpkin Puppers

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Ingredients:

4 Cups (500g) whole wheat flour
2 Cups (200g) wheat germ
1 15 Ounce can of pumpkin
1 Cup water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoons Honey

Directions:
1. place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine.

2. Roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes.

3. Place cookies on an ungreased foil-lined baking sheet. and bake in a pre heated oven 325 degrees, for 30 to 35 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

She loved them so much after I gave her one she followed me around for an hour.

Let there be Cake Balls

This is part two of my Thanksgiving-I'm-not-just-bringing-chips throwdown. These are super easy but a bit on the sweet side. Anything that requires a box cake is a friend of mine. To make them less sweet, cut back on the amount of icing you put in.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Source: Bakerella.com

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Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.) (I used 3/4 can)

16 oz semi-sweet chocolate
white chocolate (optional)
food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting.

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet.

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in a saucepan on med-low, constantly stirring so chocolate doesn't burn.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Optional: Melt white choclate in a saucepan until completely melted. Add food coloring and drizzle across balls while they are still wet.

I seriously thought my husband was going to cry when he saw me destroy the freshly made red velvet cake (his favorite).