Good Friends, Good Food, Good Fun

My friend Tracy and I had a girlie party last Friday night. While I wish that some of our other friends could have joined us, we had an absolute blast! Good friends, good drinks, good fun, and good food….mmm…good food. Below are recipes for a couple of things that I made to take; I’ll add another post later with a couple of recipes that I was planning to make and take, but didn’t, simply in the interest of time.

Spinach Brownies

Ingredients:

10 ounce package frozen spinach
½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
½ cup milk
¼ cup melted butter
½ onion, diced
½ medium red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
2 pieces of bacon, chopped
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 317. Lightly grease 8x8 inch pan.
2. Place spinach in medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until spinach is just cooked, which should be about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain thoroughly, and set aside.
3. Sautee red peppers, onions, garlic, and bacon in frying pan over medium heat, until vegetables are slightly softened.
4. In large bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk, and butter. Mix in spinach, pepper mixture, and cheese.
5. Transfer the mixture to prepared baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:

This is similar to a quiche – only you can hold it in your hand. As the recipe author suggested, I initially served mine chilled, but think they’d be much better if slightly warmed.

I doubled this recipe and didn’t have the best results ever. If you decide to double it, bake it in two 8s8 pans, not one larger pan, and I think you’ll be happier. I also think I should have baked mine a little longer, but they still were pretty good. I’m excited to try it again with some spice additions.

Uncle Bill’s Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

2 boxes Stove Top Pork Dressing
1 ½ cup hot water
2 pounds sausage
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped celery
1 chopped onion

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line several cookie sheets/jelly roll pans with foil and spray with Pam.
2. Mix all ingredients together with hands and shape into small balls. Place balls on pans.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Notes:

These things are seriously like crack to me. Seriously. One recipe makes a TON, though, so unless you’re planning on serving a lot of people, you might cut it in half. These actually freeze quite nicely, too.