Sausage Stuffing Bites

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, we all are face to face with the Leftover Problem. Well have no fear, I have the perfect solution for all the leftover stuffing. These Sausage Stuffing Bites are perfect to use leftover stuffing to make! They can be used for an appetizer at your Friendsgiving celebration. You can also make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake and serve them. They are perfect for parties and family gatherings during the holidays.

Ingredients

Sausage Stuffing Bites

• 2 boxes Savory Herbs Stuffing or 2 cups leftover stuffing
• ½ pound of hot Italian sausage
• ½ pound of mild Italian sausage
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ cup of mozzarella cheese or shredded cheese cheddar
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, minced
• 2 beaten eggs

Gravy Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 
• ¾ stick of butter
• 3 to 4 cups chicken broth 
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt 
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, more to taste 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the garlic and cranberries, mix and cook for 5 minutes. 

While the sausage is cooking, cook the stuffing.  

Once sausage and stuffing is cooked, combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with your hands. Do not ocean out the sausage pan, we will use the drippings for the gravy. 

Using a cookie scoop, (or hands) scoop the sausage balls onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes, till they are browned on top.

While sausage stuffing bites are cooking, make the gravy dipping sauce. 

Over medium heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the butter soaks it all up, then add more little by little. Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the broth, stirring constantly.

Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. (This may take a good 10 to 12 minutes.) Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in another 1/2 cup of broth or more if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Place dipping sauce in a serving bowl and serve with Sausage Stuffing Bites

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Stuffed Mini Peppers

These Stuffed Mini Peppers are the perfect crowd pleasing appetizer! They’re stuffed with two kinds of cheese, bacon, and more, then baked till melty and delicious!

This recipe will make a dozen stuffed peppers, so if you’re feeding a crowd and want more than that, just double the recipe. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound mini sweet peppers, halved and seeded
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 12 ounce log goat cheese softened 
• 2 tablespoon Mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup bacon crumbles, Bacon Bits work
• 1 tablespoon Everything But the Bagel seasoning
• 2 teaspoon Lemon zest
• ½ Lemon, juiced 
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan 
• 1 tablespoon Butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425F*.

Cut each in half, remove seeds. 

Place on a pan and spray/drizzle with the olive oil and salt and pepper. 

Baked for 8 minutes. Then let cool. 

In a large bowl, stir to combine the goat cheese, parmesan, mascarpone, garlic, bacon bits, seasoning, lemon zest and juice and black pepper.

Fill the cut peppers – you should have just enough filling to fill the peppers with a generous amount, coming slightly over the tops of the peppers.

Melt butter and stir in parmesan cheese. 

Sprinkle parmesan mixture over the top of each pepper. 

Roast the peppers for about 20-25 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the cheese is golden on the edges. 

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pull apart Roll ups

I love a good tailgate!

These Buffalo Chicken Pull Apart  Roll-ups are just the recipe you need for game day! 

It’s a great appetizer that is made in minutes and always a hit. If you love buffalo chicken dip, these will be your new favorite. 

If you love Buffalo chicken recipes, make sure to try my Buffalo Chicken Rolls with Blue Cheese Frosting. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 lb ground italian chicken sausage
• ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
• 1 packet Ranch seasoning packet
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounce cream cheese
• 8 ounce blue cheese crumbles
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tubes Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust

INSTRUCTIONS 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add the ground meat and sauté for 5 minutes and break it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Add all the ranch seasoning and stir to combine. Continue to cook the ground meat and break it down with the back of a wooden spoon until it’s fully cooked and no pink remains.

Once cooked, add ½ cup buffalo sauce and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

In the same skillet, saute the red onion and garlic. Sprinkle the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. 

Pour onion mixture and cooked meat in a large bowl, stir to combine. 

Add the cream cheese to the bowl and mix until well combined. 

Place parchment paper on the counter for your workspace. 

Unroll one pizza crust dough out onto the prepared parchment paper, I like to work with one at a time. 

Spread chicken mixture evenly on dough to within 1/4 inch from sides. 

Sprinkle ½ of the blue cheese and ½ of the mozzarella cheese over the chicken mixture.  

Starting with one long side, roll up dough; spread a thin layer of ranch dressing along one side to help it seal. 

Repeat with the other dough and place both in the refrigerator for one hour or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a 9 inch springform pan.

Place seam side down on cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 8 equal slices; place cut side down in the prepared pan. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. 

Top with green onions and a drizzle of ranch dressing and if desired, additional Buffalo sauce.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

These bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers are baked instead of fried! Who can resist fresh jalapenos stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and baked to crispy perfection? Not me, that’s for sure. This is the ultimate party snack!

The jalapenos are sliced in half and the seeds and ribs get removed. Removing the seeds and ribs removes most of the heat from the peppers; if you like it spicier, leave some of the seeds and ribs in. The peppers are stuffed with a combination of cream cheese, cheddar cheese and spices. Then wrapped in bacon before baking in the oven. 

I like to serve my bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers with a side of ranch for dipping, but honestly they’re great as-is too.

Ingredients 

• ½ cup cream cheese
• ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon paprika 
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 12 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed
• 12 slices bacon

Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Mix cream cheese, seasonings and cheese together in a bowl until evenly blended. 

Fill each jalapeno half with the cheese mixture. Put halves back together and wrap each stuffed pepper with a slice of bacon. 

Arrange bacon-wrapped peppers on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes.

Festive Italian Dip

Creamy, spicy, addictive sausage dip that takes just minutes to throw together.

This dip is so good, it will be the hit of the party! Honestly you can even serve this dip mixed with pasta and have a hearty pasta dinner! There is so much packed into this dip, from the spicy Italian sausage to the gooey cream cheese!

The base for this dip is Hot Italian sausage. Don’t worry if spicy food isn’t your thing, this sausage honestly isn’t very spicy, it adds a nice flavor punch. Plus, paired with the cream cheese, it all balances out perfectly. I started by cooking the sausage in a large skillet. Once the sausage was cooked, I transferred it to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Cutting out some extra fat. 

Next, I wiped the same skillet clean, getting rid of some of the sausage grease but not all of it. Sauté up some onions, red peppers, tomatoes and garlic. Oh and add in a little Italian seasoning for good measure. And don’t forget the… WINE! I used Scout and Cellar Field House Chardonnay. It adds a zesty flavor!

Roughly chop up some baby spinach, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Honestly I just grab a handful from the bag, throw it on the cutting board and run my knife over it a few times, making sure there are no huge pieces. I used the whole 6 ounce bag of baby spinach. 

Then grab the cream cheese. I cut mine into four squares so it melts quickly. Make sure to grab the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese too. Add all that cheese right into the skillet and stir. 

At this point I strongly encourage you to grab a spoon and taste! Mmmmmm!

Now, pour the mixture in a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more cheese on top, cover the whole top!

Bake it to perfection until the cheese is golden brown and the sides are bubbly. Your kitchen will smell like heaven! Serve with a baguette or crackers.

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So let’s get cooking! 

Ingredients 

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 pound hot Italian ground sausage
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1 6-oz package fresh spinach, rough chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees. 

In a bowl, mix together the two cheeses and set aside. 

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage. Once cooked, remove from the skillet and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. 

Using a paper towel, wipe the skillet clean and saute the onions and red pepper in the same skillet, for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. 

Stir in tomatoes, and Italian seasoning; cook for 1 minute. 

Add the cooked sausage back to the skillet and stir to combine, cook together for 2 minutes. 

Stir in wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid has almost completely evaporated.

Stir in spinach and salt, and cook for 2 minutes or until spinach is slightly wilted. 

Reduce heat to medium; add cream cheese and 1 cup of the shredded cheese mixture. 

Cook and stir mixture until cheese is melted.

Pour mixture into a 2-qt. baking dish; sprinkle with the rest of the cheeses.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or cheese is bubbly and golden brown. 

Serve with crostini or crackers.

http://www.scoutandcellar.com/whiskawaykitchen.