Lion House Twice Baked Potatoes

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I have had some very specific cravings with this pregnancy and right now it is baked potatoes.  I can't get enough of them.  We're going to a mexican restaurant tonight with my brother and his wife and I am planning on bringing my own baked potato.  Sweet nector. 

This recipe is a long-time fav of John's and now is an all-time fav of mine.  John's mom makes these every once in a while and we just drool over them.  They come from the ever-delicious Lion House Cookbook.

{What you need}

6 large baking potatoes

3 slices bacon

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

4 chopped tgreen onions

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash potatoes and rub skins with oil.  Bake for 1 hour or til potatoes are done.  While the potatoes are baking, cook bacon until crisp.  Drain and crumble/chop; set aside.  When potatoes are done, reduce oven to 350.  Cut a slice from the tope of each potato and scoop out the pulp, leaving a little along the lining of the skin so it isn't flimsy.  Mash pulp with sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and green oinions.  Fill potato shells with mixture and sprinkle with cheese and bacon.  Bake at 350 for ten minutes.

I'm thinking about making these for a baby shower I'm throwing in the next few weeks.  You can easily multiply this recipe to serve as many as you need, and they keep great in the fridge so you can make them the day before.

Joelle's Stuffed Mushrooms

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My wonderful co-worker and friend Joelle made these phenomenal mushrooms for our work Christmas party a few weeks ago.  You can imagine how much I loved them, with my obsession with all things mushroom.  Then I found out there were only three ingredients and I about passed out.  She shared the love, so here I am sharing the love:

{What you need}

1 lb. ground sausage

1 8 oz. package creem cheese

2 packages whole mushrooms

Wash and de-stem the mushrooms. Fry up the sausage and drain the grease.  Combine cream cheese and sausage.  Place the mushrooms bottom up on a cookie sheet and fill each mushroom with the sausage mixture.  Broil on high for about 4-6 minutes.  Keep your eye on them so they don't overcook.

Brie en Croute

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I first had this beautiful appetizer this past Thanksgiving at my hub's aunt and uncle's house.  It was absolutely incredible!  As a brie lover, this did not dissappoint.  You can imagine my delight when I stumbled across this recipe the other day on my favorite foodie blog, The Sister's Cafe.  You can imagine my delight even more when I realized how flippin easy it is!  I just had to share the love with you:

{What you need} 

1 wheel of Brie, I used a 13 oz from Harmons ($11.99) (you can use up to a 19 oz)

2 puff pastries, found in the frozen dessert section by the pies (2 come together in one package)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup crasins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 egg + 1 Tb water for an egg wash

Allow the puff pastries to defrost to room temp.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry.  In the center of the pastry put the brown sugar, crasins, and pecans.  Take the wheel of brie and scrape off as much rind as you would like.  It is edible, but makes it a little harder to cut into if there is too much on.  I shave off a lot of the rind but not enough to cut into the cheese.  Place the shaved wheel of brie on top of the pile of goods in the center of the pastry.  Fold the dough up and around the cheese, taking care to seal completely and securely.  Turn the wheel over onto a lightly greased cookie sheet so that the folds and seems are underneath.  Egg wash the entire surface.  With the other puff pastry you can roll it out and cut out shapes and press it onto the top of the wheel to add decorations.  I copied The Sisters Cafe and cut out some holly leaves and berries to make it festive for a Christmas party we went to.  Then egg wash the entire surface again. 

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then let the oven cool to 325 and bake for 20-25 minutes longer.  Serve with crackers and fruit.

Let me know if you try this super classy yet easy appetizer for your holliday presentation!