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It’s summer. It’s hot. Too hot – I think the heat is to blame for my missing culinary mojo. There’s just something about 95 degree temperatures that makes turning on my oven a little less appealing than normal.
With all the heat, blue skies, and an 85 acre pond in our backyard, we’re kind of used to last minute entertaining. So we keep the fridge stocked with simple, fresh ingredients that can be transformed into delicious eats without too much cooking involved.
For our recent Fourth of July festivities, I decided to keep things pretty effortless and portable, so people wouldn’t have to be tied to the table while enjoying the food. One of the most well received items on the menu were these easy Greek Salad Skewers. With only 6 ingredients and minimal prep time, these Greek Salad Skewers couldn’t be easier – or cuter!
Now, here’s where things get a little fun! I want you to share YOUR favorite appetizer recipe that uses 6 ingredients or less (see below for specifics) for the chance to win a $600 gift card. I’ve teamed up with American Express and their Dinner @ 6 promotion to create simple appetizer recipes that use 6 ingredients or less.
Are you seeing a theme here with the number 6? Let me explain. American Express recently launched two cash back credit cards – Blue Cash Preferred and Blue Cash Everyday.
One of the most exciting benefits of the Blue Cash Preferred card is that Cardmembers receive 6% cash back for purchases at the supermarket – the highest cash back rate available for grocery purchases! With these new Blue Cash® Cards, there are no spend minimums, cash back caps, ongoing enrollments or rotating categories of cash back benefits. Which is a pretty sweet deal when used responsibly.
Greek Salad Skewers
Ingredients:
12 grape tomatoes
4 ounces feta cheese, cut into 12 (1/2-inch) cubes
1 mini cucumber sliced into 12 pieces
12 pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons Za’atar*.
12 (4-6 inch) bamboo or wood skewers
Directions:
1. Thread the skewers starting with a tomato, then a piece of feta cheese, a cucumber and an olive. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
2. Just before serving, arrange skewers on a platter, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Za’atar.
Notes:
- I highly recommend finding Za’atar. It’s such a great spice (a blend of sumac, sesame seeds and herbs) to have on hand. I love the brand Urban Accents because it’s flavorful and readily available at my local market.
Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
Requirements for Participation
One winner will receive a $600 Gift Card from American Express:
1. Submit your favorite APPETIZER recipe that features 6 ingredients or less. You MUST cut and paste the entire recipe into the comment form. If you have a blog, please also provide a link to the post.
2. You may submit 2 recipes – leave each recipe in a separate comment.
Seasonings, spices and herbs, garlic, vinegars and oils DO NOT count as one of the 6 ingredients.
3.. Contest ends July 23, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Entries that do not follow the directions above will be deleted without notification.
4. Winner will be posted in a follow up post by July 29, 2011.
5. Contest open to US residents only.
6. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be selected.
Additional Entries
If you also have a MAIN COURSE recipe that uses 6 ingredients or less, be sure to head over to goodLife {eats} and enter on Katie’s blog as well. Good luck!
Disclosure
This post and the giveaway are sponsored by American Express. The views and opinions expressed within this post are my own.
Eggplant Towers
Serves 4 – Cook Time: 30 minutes
1 Large Eggplant
2 Large Tomatoes
1 Large Ball Fresh Mozzarella
1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
6 Leaves Fresh Basil, sliced
Preheat oven to 350F.
Using your full size slicer slice your eggplant, place the sliced eggplant in a salt water bath. Meanwhile slice your tomatoes and mozzarella. Rinse the eggplant and dip into breadcrumbs. Place on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil that has been sprayed with non-stick. Spray the nonstick on the top of the eggplant as well. Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip. Bake for another 10 minutes. Add the tomato and mozzarella on top of the eggplant along with a sprinkle of the fresh basil. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stack the towers and enjoy! :-)
White Corn Guacamole
3 avacados, cubed (not mashed)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 serrano chile, seeded, diced
1 can sweet white corn
1/2 can black beans
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
lime juice
salt
pepper
Mix all ingredients together. Lime juice, salt, pepper to taste. I think I ended up with about 5 teaspoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a couple twists from the pepper grinder.
Serve with chips, or add to tacos, chicken, salad, whatever you can think of! :)
Here is my second recipe. Super easy and always a hit!
Ranch Cheeseball
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg. (1 oz) Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (dry)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Crackers, for serving
Combine cheeses, dressing mix, and green onions in medium bowl. Form into ball. Roll in chopped nuts (or parsley flakes if you don’t like nuts). Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Serve with crackers (I prefer Ritz, honey-wheat Wheatables, and Triscuits). Enjoy!
Barbecue Chicken and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas
1/2 large sweet (Walla Walla or similar) onion, thinly sliced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 Tb. canola oil
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
4 tortillas
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1. In medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Add onions. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes or until onions are brown and caramelized. Stir in barbecue sauce and chili powder. Stir until well combined. Add diced chicken.
2. Place one tortilla in large saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Top half of quesadilla with a quarter of the chicken/onion mixture, and a sprinkle of cilantro, if desired. Fold in half. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Repeat with remaining 3 tortillas. Cut each tortilla in quarters. Serve with fresh veggies or green salad.
Warm Broccoli and Cheese Spread
1 pkg cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen, chopped broccoli, thawed, drained, and patted dry
2 cups (8oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and salad dressing mix until blended. Fold in the broccoli and 1-1/2 cups cheese.
2. Spoon into a shallow, 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with crackers or sliced french bread.
Makes about 3-1/2 cups
BLT Dip:
Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 green onions, diced
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, bacon, tomatoes and onions. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Garnish with extra bacon or green onions. Serve with crackers. chips, or french bread.
Makes about three cups.
Oven Frites
Ingredients
4 medium (8-ounce) baking (russet) potatoes
1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
3/4 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Scrub potatoes well; pat dry with paper towels.
With knife, cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then cut slices lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide sticks.
Evenly spray two 15 1/2″ by 10 1/2″ jelly-roll pans with nonstick cooking spray. In one pan, carefully toss all potato sticks with olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Transfer half of potatoes to second jelly-roll pan.
Bake potatoes on two oven racks 30 to 35 minutes or until browned and crispy, rotating pans between upper and lower racks and stirring potatoes once halfway through cooking.
Fried Ravioli
Olive oil, for frying
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping
Directions
Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.
While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.
When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.
Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.
Spinach Artichoke Wontons
1 – container store bought spinach artichoke dip
1- package wonton wrappers
1- egg, beaten
canola oil for frying
Dipping Sauce
1 cup mayo
1-2 tsp. Siracha hot sauce
Put 1 -2 tsp of the spinach dip in the middle of each wonton. Apply a light egg wash around the outer edges of the wrapper and fold the wonton diagonally making sure that you get any air bubbles out. Fry the wontons in hot oil until browned. Drain on a paper towel.
Mix the Dipping Sauce ingredients together and enjoy!
Serves 6 as appetizers
2 pounds mussels
1 cup white wine (they suggest 1/2 cup but I need more to steam that volume)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 pinches smoked paprika (pimenton)
Clean your mussels. There are a zillion ways to do this, this is mine: I put them in a big bowl of very cold water for about 10 minutes. This encourages them to expel their sand. Scoop them out (not dump, if you dump the sandy water over them, it defeats the purpose) one by one and scrub them under running water. Most cultivated mussels have the bissus (beard) removed but if one lingers, yank it toward the hinge (if you do it away from the hinge, it can kill the mussel prematurely) or cut it with a knife. Discard any mussels with chipped shells or that are not completely shut; they are more than likely dead and it’s not worth finding out if it may or may not make you sick, right?
Boil your wine in a medium pot. Add the mussels, cover and steam them open over high heat until they open. You can start checking at 3 minutes, but it can take up to 6. I like to use the lid and potholders and shake them around a little from time to time, to make sure they’re getting equal access to the wine and heat.
Once open, let the mussels cool. Twist off and discard one of the shells from each mussels (discard any that didn’t open), making sure that the remaining shell contains the mussel. Reserve the mussel broth for another use. Mash butter, parsley, garlic, pimenton and salt to taste in a small bowl and slather each mussel with the compound butter. Arrange them in a broiler-safe tray and chill them in the fridge until the butter is hard. [This is a great do-ahead interval, if you’d like to prepare these for when you entertain.]
Preheat the broiler (or your oven to 500, if you don’t have a broiler). Broil the mussels until the butter is bubbling hot, about 2 minutes (or up to 4 in an oven).