Party Recipes

So TWO whole weeks ago, I mentioned I'd share some of the party recipes that seemed to be a hit at Baby M's Birthday Bash. I suppose better late than never. Without further ado, here they are by order of popularity:

BAKED BRIE Baked Brie is such a simple dish and I just did a fusion of a Pillsbury recipe {CLICK HERE} and added ingredients from another Baked Brie I've had before. For the party I went to Sam's for a 16oz Brie round and used 2 of the Pillsbury crescent roll packages, but you could cut it in half and only use 8oz Brie and 1 pkg of the rolls.

* 2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
* 16oz round of Brie cheese
* Brown sugar {I don't really measure, but a liberal heap to cover the cheese circle}
* 1/2 cup Dried Cranraisins or Dried Cherries {I used Cranraisins at the party}
* 1/2 cup Almonds- either sliced or slivered
* 1 Egg beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Unroll 1 pkg of the Crescent Rolls and arrange the dough to form a square; place dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
3. Remove rind from Brie and cut the Brie wheel in half horizontally {so you have 2 identical circles}; place 1 circle on the paper
4. Sprinkle circle with a liberal heap of Brown Sugar, the 1/2 C of Cranraisins, and the 1/2 C of Almonds
5. Place the 2nd circle of Brie loosely on top and lightly sprinkle with more Brown Sugar
6. Unroll the last pkg of the Crescent Rolls and form another square to place on top; fold the top and bottom dough to seal the cheese
7. Brush the top of the dough with Egg
8. Bake 20 minutes
9. Serve warm
10. Enjoy!

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SPINACH DIP Spinach Dip- I definitely "cheated" and just followed the Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix recipe on the back of the package {CLICK HERE} and here's my cut & paste from the Knorr Website:

MAKES 4 cups dip
PREP TIME: 10 Minute(s)
CHILL TIME: 2 Hour(s)

Ingredients
1 package (10 oz.) baby spinach, chopped or 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)
3 green onions, chopped (optional)

Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours.

2. Serve
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CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES

The trick with these was presentation. Just take your finger sandwiches and spread the bottom half with mayo {or Miracle Whip} on the outside and then roll or dip in crushed nuts {I used crumbled pecans}. Obviously this photo was shamelessly stolen as a Googled image...but imagine cute little finger sandwhiches with their bottom halves neatly coated in crumbled pecans. Very fun presentation!

For the salad itself, I just used:

• chicken
• mayo
• salt & pepper
• celery
• red seedless grapes
• green onions
• garlic powder