Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 cup ranch dressing
1 package wonton wrappers

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Sauté sausage, onion, and bell pepper in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is cooked through and vegetables are soft.  Drain if necessary. 

3. Mix sausage and vegetables with cheese and ranch in large bowl. 

4. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray and gently press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup.   Bake 5 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and fill each cup with spoonful of sausage mixture.  (If you just have one muffin tin, do this in two batches.)  Bake 5 minutes or until bubbly. 



Comments
This recipe is from With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart.  The sausage cups were great, we devoured almost an entire pan and the leftovers didn’t last for a very long time either!  We loved these and all felt inspired for delicious ways to tweak the basic recipe to yield more delicious results.  Highly recommended appetizer recipe!

Ingredients
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup olive oil
1 loaf baguette, cut on bias into slices
1-2 bunches fresh basil, chiffonade
2 tomatoes, cut in half and sliced into half moons
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut in half and sliced into half moons

Instructions
1. Heat oven broiler. 

2. Puree garlic cloves and olive oil in small container with immersion blender. 

3. Brush one side of bread with garlic oil, place on baking sheet, and broil until toasted.  Remove bread from oven and top with basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese.  Return to oven and broil until cheese begins to melt. 



Comments
Art has been making this bruschetta for quite some time although, surprisingly enough, he hadn’t yet made it while I was blogging!  It’s delicious, simple, filled with garlicky goodness.  This is a great way to use up fresh tomatoes and basil during the summertime. 

Shown here with Avgolemono Soup.

Ingredients
4-5 small beets
1 (14-15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup tahini
1 tablespoon cumin
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 450*F.  Remove stalk from beets if necessary and scrub well.  Place beets on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Fold foil closed around beets to make a packet and roast 30 to 90 minutes or until tender when poked with a knife.  Remove from oven, cool, then peel. 

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Sauté garlic and onions until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

3. Using food processor, process all ingredients until smooth, scraping down sides of processor bowl occasionally to ensure everything is incorporated. 



Comments
This recipe is from Erin’s Food Files and it was delicious!  What a nice way to use up roasted beets.  The hummus was a gorgeous colour and the beets added a nice sweetness to the usual flavors of hummus.  I did miss the punch of garlic that my usual hummus recipes provide so I think that, in the future, I would skip sautéing the garlic and just add it in raw.  Cooking garlic really takes away that delicious garlicy bite.  If you love hummus and are looking for a way to use up beets, this is your recipe!  Even Art, who was worried that the addition of beets would ruin his beloved hummus, thought this stuff was fantastic.

Ingredients
For the dressing
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
4 tablespoons ginger, peeled
2 teaspoons sesame oil

For assembly
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head cabbage, cut into wedges
3-4 carrots, peeled or scrubbed
1 zucchini
1 package wonton wrappers (My package had around 48.)

Instructions
1. Combine all dressing ingredients in immersion blender cup or food processor and process until smooth.  Likewise, you could mince ginger and garlic and whisk all ingredients together. 

2. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken about 10 minutes a side or until cooked through.  Cool, then chop or shred. 

3. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray two mini muffin tins with cooking spray. 

4. Using knife, box grater, or food processor with shredding disk, shred cabbage, carrots and zucchini.  Mix vegetables, chicken, and dressing together in large bowl. 

5. Place wonton wrappers in muffin tins, one wrapper per cup.  Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until crisp and starting to brown.  Let cool in muffin tins 5 minutes before removing cups and filling with slaw mixture. 



Comments
The recipe for this dressing is from epicurious.com, the rest Is of my own creation.  This is a fairly simple recipe and the baked wonton cups are so much easier to make than dealing with hot oil and frying.  These would make a great appetizer or light lunch.