Feta Spread

Do you love feta? I do. I'm not much for making appetizer-type dishes usually, but this recipe jumped right off the pages of Southern Living at me a few months ago. I made it for Easter lunch -- a snacky prelude to Easter dinner -- and then made it again last week (to rave reviews) for a luncheon at work. It's delicious and sure to be a hit at your house too!

What you do:
Pulse 8 oz. crumbled feta cheese, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. finely chopped pepperoncini salad peppers, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper in a food processor 6-8 times or until combined, stopping to scrape sides.* Cover and chill two hours before serving. Store in refrigerator up to three days. Garnish with additional crushed red pepper. Serve with crostini or pita chips. (I opted for carrots and flat bread.)

*I had to add a little more olive oil while pulsing the mixture in the food processor to get the spread to the consistency I desired. The extra oil did not seem to hinder the taste in any way!

Recipes from Southern Living, April 2010.

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Veggie Pizza

Wahoo -- it's my first post on The Foodie Spot! I'm excited to be joining with a few other foodies to provide easy, delicious recipes. As a new(ish) mom, I'm definitely always on the lookout for recipes that are quick, easy, and healthy.

Just a week or two ago, I made a cold Veggie Pizza to take to potluck luncheon at a good friend's house. It was the first time I had tried a recipe like this, although I've sampled many yummy veggie pizzas at church luncheons.

I get some strange satisfaction from chopping vegetables, so I enjoyed the prep work that went into this recipe. The end result got rave reviews!



Veggie Pizza
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 small onion, finely chopped (I omitted the onion since we all had to go back to work after partaking of this!)
A variety of veggies (I used broccoli, red pepper, cucumber, and carrot)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Pat crescent dough into jelly roll pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce with fork. Bake for 10 minutes; let cool.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt, and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooked crust. Arrange the veggies on top of the creamed mixture. Cover and let chill. Once chilled, cut into squares and serve.

Recipes from allrecipes.com.

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