Simply Me Sandi

  Artichoke Dip We had an Ugly Sweater Christmas party the other night and we signed up to bring an appetizer. I had a can of artichokes, but no spinach, so I searched for recipes that didn’t have spinach and found this one for Artichoke Dip . I served it with sliced French baguette, but it’s good with crackers too. So, so good! Huge hit at the party.  Artichoke Dip Ingredients 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese 1 C mayonnaise 1 can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped (not marinated) 1 small can chopped green chilies 1 C grated Parmesan cheese Instructions Mix all ingredients together. Sprinkle a little bit more parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes (until lightly golden on top).  Props to  Country Girl . Artichoke Dip Delicious appetizer! Perfect for parties! Served with sliced baguette or crackers. Course:  Appetizer Cuisine:  American Keyword:  appetizer, artichoke, cream cheese, dip, party Ingredients 1   pkg   (8 oz) cream che...

  Fantasy Fudge Do you remember making the Fantasy Fudge recipe on the back of the Kraft marshmallow creme container? It called for margarine, semi sweet chocolate, and nuts. I don’t use margarine. I don’t like semi sweet chocolate. And I’m not a fan of nuts in food that’s supposed to be soft. I know I have lots of food and texture hangups. But I adapted the recipe and, in my opinion, it tastes so much better and is so much smoother! Try it and let me know what you think. This year I made a mint version. I substituted the milk chocolate chips with mint chips. The color is funky, but it tastes great. We called it Grinch Fudge!  Fantasy Fudge Ingredients 3 C sugar 3/4 C butter 2/3 C evaporated milk 2 C milk chocolate chips 1 jar marshmallow creme 1 t vanilla Instructions Line a 9 X 13″ pan with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, mix sugar, butter, and evaporated milk. Bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes exactly. Remove from hea...

  Roasted Sugar Cinnamon Nuts Looking for a super easy and delicious treat? Great neighbor, teacher, friend gift? These Roasted Sugar Cinnamon Nuts are the answer. I have always used almonds and pecans. Next year, I’m going to try cashews!  Roasted Sugar Cinnamon Nuts Ingredients 4 C whole nuts almonds or pecans 1 large egg white 1 T pure vanilla extract 1/2 C sugar 1/2 C brown sugar 2 t ground cinnamon 1/4 t salt Instructions Preheat oven to 250°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a jelly roll pan with butter. In a mixing bowl, beat egg white and vanilla together until the egg white is frothy and light beige in color. Add the nuts to egg white mix. Stir until the nuts are evenly coated. Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to the nuts. Mix until nuts are evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on the jelly roll pan. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on wax paper and cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature. Try not to eat them all! R...

  Instant Pot Ribs Our local Smith’s store (Kroger) occasionally has great stock up prices on pork. So I take full advantage and buy ribs, chops, and roasts and then freeze them. Stock up price for me is around $1/lb. I’m always looking for new recipes and I knew I wanted to try cooking them in the Instant Pot. I found quite a few recipes for sauces and decided to combine a couple of them and got this. I usually make ketchup or BBQ sauce based sauces, but we really liked this mustard based one. It was a nice switch and will definitely be made again. Instant Pot Ribs Ingredients 1/2 rack spare ribs Salt and pepper 1 C beef broth 3 T Dijon mustard 3 T brown sugar 2 T cornstarch 3 T water Instructions Season the ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Cut ribs into 2 or 3 pieces so they will fit in the Instant Pot. Put the steamer insert in Instant Pot and add beef broth. Place the ribs on the steamer insert on end and curve them around the side of the pot. Cook on high pressure for ...

  Chocolate Coconut Toffee Clusters Coconut, toffee, and chocolate! Seriously one of my favorite combinations! This recipe for Chocolate Coconut Toffee Clusters is adapted from my aunt’s recipe. I substitute the Symphony bars for additional chocolate chips. Sometimes I add Hershey Heath toffee bits for more buttery crunchy goodness. Chocolate Coconut Toffee Clusters Ingredients 2 giant Symphony with almonds and toffee bars 1 bag (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips 1 bag (14 oz) sweetened coconut flakes Instructions Spread a layer of coconut on jelly roll pan. Heat at 350, stirring frequently until most of coconut is light brown. It usually takes 12-15 minutes. Check and stir frequently to keep from burning. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals or in a double boiler. Pour toasted coconut into melted chocolate and stir until combined. Drop by spoonful onto wax paper and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Chocolate Coconut Toffee Clusters This recipe for Chocolate ...