Jamaican Beef Dumplings

Here's another appetizer I made for New Years Eve. We don't eat appetizers often, really only on New Years Eve. Then we have a whole meal of finger foods. I knew if I didn't make them this year that I would have to wait another year before I could try them.

I was most interested in trying them because I've never tried curry powder before. I was honestly hoping they would be more flavorful than they were. It wasn't bad but I didn't think it was good enough to make again.

The recipe is here at The Given's Chronicles.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I saw this dip at From Laptop to Stovetop and thought it looked great. I'm not usually one for spicy things like buffalo chicken but the picture on her blog looked so appealing and we had all the stuff already in the house so I figured it would make a good dip for New Year's.

I halved the recipe because I didn't want to waste all that stuff if no one liked it. The general consensus was that it was good, not hot but it tasted a bit to strongly of the hot sauce.


Franks's Redhot Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce OR Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese OR shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 oz each) Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in water, drained

Preheat oven to 350.
Stir cream cheese till smooth and mix in the remaining ingredients.
Bake 20 minutes, stir and bake till heated through.
Garnish and serve with veggies or crackers.

I used the ranch dressing and mozzarella instead of the blue cheese. Cheese with visible streaks of mold running through it has never appealed to me. I added extra mozzarella to the top before baking. I served it with wheatables and club crackers, the club crackers were a little light and airy and didn't really stand up to the dip well.

Lemon Bars

My mother requested lemon bars for New Year's Eve and I thought I would try the one I found at Dinner with Julie because it had way less butter than most recipes. The crust was crisp but it wasn't all that great. The filling was a bit stickier than other recipes I've tried. I used bottle lemon juice, I think it might have been better with fresh juice. I don't think I'll be making it again especially for my mom, she didn't like it at all. If you're looking for a less fatty version you might want to try it any way.