Recipes Shared by Club Members

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen cheese balls

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) blue cheese crumbles

3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups pecans

Pretzel sticks

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, blue cheese, and dried cranberries until smooth. Dampen hands to prevent sticking and form cream cheese mixture into approximately 24 tablespoon-sized balls. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or until firm.

2. In the meantime, toast the pecans by spreading out on a sheet pan and baking in a preheated 350°F oven until lightly toasted and fragrant, for 7 to 10 minutes. Allow pecans to cool and finely chop them.

3. Roll chilled cheese balls in chopped pecans, pressing nuts so that they adhere. Keep cheese balls refrigerated until ready to serve. Just before serving, skewer each cheese ball with a pretzel stick.

Tips, Tricks, & Variations

You can make the cheese balls ahead of time, but don't insert the pretzels until just before serving or they will become soggy.

Chocolate Nut Goodie Squares (2015 Card Party)

(From 2015 Benefit Card Party)

Melt together:

12 oz. chocolate chips

12 oz. butterscotch chips

1 square unsweetened chocolate

2 cups peanut butter

Pour half of the mixture on a buttered jelly roll pan. Place pan in freezer to set. Keep the other half in the bowl used to melt things together. 

Filling:

2 sticks of butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup dry vanilla pudding (not instant)

Mix together in pan and bring to a boil for 1 min stirring constantly.  Add 1 tsp maple flavoring.  Stir in 2 lbs powdered sugar. 

Spread over chocolate layer in pan that was set in freezer.  Add 1 lb Spanish peanuts to remaining half of chocolate and spread over filling. 

Put in freezer to set so you can cut it into small squares.  It's easier than it sounds and is very rich tasting and makes a lot!  Enjoy!!

Brownies, Neiman Marcus (Pat Davis, February 2011 Club Meeting)

1 box, Butter Pecan Cake mix 

2 sticks, butter, melted, divided use 

3 eggs, divided use 

1 (16-oz) box confectioners’ sugar 

8 oz. Cream cheese 

½ to 1 c. chopped pecans 

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 stick of the melted butter and 1 egg. Mix well. Press into bottom of a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. 

In a separate large bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, remaining stick of melted butter, and 2 eggs. Mix well. Pour over cake mixture layer. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top. Bake at 300 degrees for 55 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

1 Graham cracker pie shell 

2 cups of sugar or Splenda 

2 cups of water

Bring water to boil. Add 3 tablespoons of corn starch mixed in 6 tablespoons of cold water . Cook until thickened.  Remove from stove and add 1 box of Strawberry Jello. You may also add 1/2 teaspoon of red food coloring for color. Let cool to room temperature. 

Slice two bananas into pie shell.  Add 1 pint or more sliced strawberries.  Pour sugar mixture over berries and bananas.  Refrigerate until filling sets up. 

Serve topped with Cool Whip.

Suet Recipe 

The following recipe for suet to feed the birds is from our Bella Vista Gardening TV Program aired in November 2012: 

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 cup shortening

1 cup flour

3 cups cornmeal

1 cup rolled oats

You can also add dried raisins and fruit, nus, cereal crumbs or bread crumbs you have left over.