Pizza Buns

• 1 pound ground meat
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1  package small dinner rolls (split horizontally to make 24 tops and bottoms)
• 1 jar cheese whiz or 8 cheese slices (quartered)
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Place about 1 tablespoon oil in fry pan and heat. Dump chopped onion in pan and let sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add ground meat and brown as usual. In the meant time separate tops from bottoms of dinner rolls. Place on cookie sheet cut side up. Spread each bun half with Cheese Whiz or top with 1/4 slice piece of cheese. Top each half bun with a 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of sauce (more or less) in the center of each half, until all sauce is used. top with heaping teaspoon spoon full of meat mixture in the center of each half bun on top of the sauce. Sprinkle each half bun with grated Parmesan cheese. Preheat oven to 350°F bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until buns are golden and crunchy.

Be creative, these can be topped with any type pizza toppings.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

• 1 pound sliced bacon cut into thirds
• 2 -8 ounce cans whole water chestnuts drained
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 – 2  teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Slice bacon into thirds. With round tooth picks secure 1 piece of bacon around each water chestnut.  Place in a sprayed 9″x 13″  pan.  In small sauce pan mix last three ingredients stirring just until it reaches the boiling point.  Pour on top of water chestnuts.  Cover pan with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about one hour.  Remove from oven. ** See note

Remove water chestnuts to plate using slotted spoon allowing the grease and sauce to drain well from them.  Pour sauce into 2 cup measure and place in refrigerator so that layer of grease forms on top.  Once cooled remove the layer of grease. Add water chestnuts to crock pot pour sauce over water chestnuts and reheat on high 1/2 to 1 hour prior to serving. 

 **(If you don’t mind the grease you can serve immediately without draining.  I hate the grease so I make this ahead of time and do it in two steps.)

Mexican Tortilla Roll-Ups

• 1 – 8 pack of large tortillas
• 1/3 cup minced onion (1 small fresh or dry or about 3 green onions chopped small)
• 1 – 4.25 oz can chopped olives
• 1 -4 oz can chopped green chilli’s
• 1 – 8 oz package room temperature cream cheese
• 1 – 8 0z container sour cream
• 1 package or ¼ cup taco seasoning

Cream cheese until fluffy, blend with sour cream. Add taco seasoning blend until creamy. fold in onions, olives, and chilli’s until well incorporated.
 Put a thin spread of ingredients on a tortilla shell leaving a bit of space at the bottom for the oozing spread.
 Roll tightly making sure seam is sealed with spread.  Repeat for all shells until spread is gone.  Place in Tupperware seam side down and chill for several hours.  Just prior to serving remove roll from container and cut into bite sized pieces, placing each on a plate.  Insert toothpicks if you desire.

**I’ve also made these roll-ups in a variety of other ways placing a single piece of sliced lunch meat, such as ham, pastrami or turkey on top of an appropriate flavored herb cream cheese.  Use your imagination, mix it up and enjoy.

Easy Sweet BBQ Cocktail Meatballs

2 - 3 lbs Italian style meatballs (home made or frozen)
1 (12 oz) jar chilli sauce
1 (12 oz) jar grape jelly

Mix chilli sauce and jelly in bottom of a 1 - 2 quart crock pot. Toss with meatballs. Warm on low for about 4 hours (or high for 2 hours before lowering the temperature to low before serving).

Easy Cold Veggie Pizza

2 cans (8oz) crescent dough sheets

8 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups (approximate) vegetables of your choice chopped small **

1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Heat oven to 375°F.
Press both cans of dough into bottom and up the sides (to form a crust) of an ungreasted 15x10x1 inch jellyroll.
Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

**(options might include, cucumber, scallion, sweet peppers, shredded carrot, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, etc)

Mock Liver Paté

8oz braunschweiger (softened)
8oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup onion (minced)
1 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Mix ingredients together until well blended.
Serve with rye crackers or rye toast.