Sweet heat meatballs

Ingredients:

2 lbs. frozen, pre­-cooked meatballs

½ cup molasses

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne

½ cup water

1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Over medium high heat, bring the water to a boil.  Add molasses, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, chili powder, cayenne, crushed pineapple and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine.  Add in meatballs and stir to coat evenly.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce reduces, about 10 minutes.  Skewer with bamboo sticks and serve hot with or without sauce reduction.

I made these in the crockpot for a NYE party.  After coating the meatballs with the sauce evenly, I just dumped them in the crock and set it on low for a few hours, until the party started.  The taste was smooth and all of the meatballs were gone by midnight. 

Bacon wrapped little wieners

Review by Lyndee:

This appetizer is sure to be a hit at your next party!

Ingredients:

1 package little wieners (Lil’ Smokies)

1 pound bacon

1 cup brown sugar

Cayenne pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut the bacon into three chunks so that each piece is now three pieces.  Roll a wiener in a 1/3 a piece of bacon.  Secure with a toothpick.  Dip into a zip lock bag of brown sugar.  Place on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.  Repeat.  Once the cookie sheet is full, sprinkle with cayenne.  Bake for 30 minutes until sugar is caramelized and bacon is beginning to crisp. 

Roasted chex

Review by Lyndee:

It was nothing but a chex mix party up in my house Thursday night.  I had opened a box to try the lemon bar muddybuddies and I knew this was not a cereal that would get eaten in our house.  So I made the snickerdoodle and these roasted chex as well.  The inspiration came from a snack a babysitter used to make us with cheerios.  It’s quite simple and if you are looking for a salty, crunchy, delicious snack, you’re in luck. 

Ingredients:

Butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

A few dashes cayenne

2.5 cups rice chex

Melt 2-3 tbsp butter in a pan.  Add the seasonings.  Stir.  Once melted, add the rice chex.  Continue to stir until the chex is coated in the butter and gets golden brown and crisp.  Store in a ziplock bag for easy snacking.  This will last 5-7 days without getting soggy but I don’t think it would last that long in any one’s house because it’s so good! 

You could probably do this with chex mix as well, throw in some nuts, pretzels, cheerios, etc.  Make it your own and enjoy! 

Sriracha mayo dip

Review by Lyndee

I’ve seen this recipe online a few times so I decided to give it a whirl last night with my Biggest Loser sweet potato fries!   

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used fat free)

1/4 tsp cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

1 dash of garlic powder

This took about 30 seconds to make.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  I used fat free mayo, sriracha and cayenne.  I decided to add a dash of garlic powder even though it wasn’t on the original recipe and I think it really added a great flavor. I ate this as a dip for my sweet potatoes but I think it would be great on many things like burgers, chicken or potato skins as well.