Mini Pumpkin Cheeseballs

I'm so excited to share these little cheeseballs.  They are quite simple to make, but they are so tasty and so cute.  They would be ideal to take to a Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving meal, or an adorable addition to a charcuterie board.  The best part is the cheeseball mixture itself is a great base for whatever garnish you decide to roll your pumpkins in.  I used Everything Bagel Seasoning, Cajun Seasoning, Italian Seasoning and crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos.  You could also roll them into freshly chopped herbs, toasted sesame seed, black sesame seeds. smoked paprika, finely chopped nuts and more.  The flavors and ideas are endless.  Mr. Devilish Dish really liked the Italian Seasoning and the Cajun Seasoning the best.  The variety of color and flavor combinations are what makes these so cute.  Each batch of cheeseball mixture makes approximately 7 little pumpkin cheeseballs, so plan your toppings accordingly.  Simply serve them with a variety of crackers and sliced apples or pears and you've got the cutest little holiday snack platter around.  Bonus, you can make the cheeseball mixture in advance and create the pumpkins slightly in advance of serving.  A make ahead recipe we can all use this time of year, with a presentation that will WOW everyone that sees it!

The CUTEST little pumpkins in the patch.

The cheeseball ingredients are fairly simple.
That way you have a good base flavor 
before rolling the mini cheeseballs 
into a multitude of flavor toppings such as:

Crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos.
Use a mini food processor to finely crush toppings
like chips or nuts.

Scoop the mixture with a large 
cookie scoop so you have 7-8 uniform
sized cheeseballs.

Scoop them all out...

Roll them into assorted toppings
for varying colors.

Use a piece of butcher's twine to press
the look of the pumpkin segments into the cheeseballs.

Rotate the cheeseball until you have 8 segments.

Add a pretzel stick stem.

Place the pumpkin cheeseballs on a platter
and chill 1-2 hours before serving.

Opt for assorted toppings so you have 
a variety of pumpkin colors on your platter.

Aren't these just the cutest.

Serve with crackers or sliced apples and pears.

Choose toppings like Italian Seasoning,
Cajun Seasoning, Everything Bagel Seasoning,
crushed chips, chopped nuts, black sesame 
seeds, finely chopped fresh herbs.

Using the butcher's twine really helps 
make them look like real pumpkins.

What a fun holiday appetizer or
addition to a charcuterie board!

MINI PUMPKIN CHEESEBALLS

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1 packet (1 ounce) Ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
pretzel sticks for stems
Assorted seasonings, chopped nuts and herbs for garnish

Assorted crackers and sliced apples or pears for serving

In a mixing bowl or stand mixer combine the cream cheese, shredded cheddar, dry ranch seasoning and Worcestershire sauce until smooth.  Use a large cookie scoop to make small balls (about the size of a regular scoop of ice cream - slightly larger than a golf ball.)  

Roll the balls into assorted herbs and seasonings such as Italian seasoning, Everything Bagel Crunch, crushed Doritos chips, finely chopped nuts, etc...

Using a piece of butcher's twine, press into the cheese mixture in opposite directions to create the look of the pumpkin segments.  

Add a pretzel stick for the stem. Place onto serving platter.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to firm up before serving.

Harvest Chex Mix

So I have two things I need to admit.  First, when I made holiday themed things for the blog, I typically do it in advance.  So when you think we might be eating Eerie Eyeball Pasta Salad the week of Halloween, we are really eating it in August or September.  So during the month of October, I was busy planning Fall and Thanksgiving themed things to make.  When I came up with this Harvest Chex Mix as an idea for Thanksgiving snacking, or little hostess gifts for Thanksgiving Day, I really made it in October.  The second thing I will admit it although the intention is for the Bugles chips to look like little cornucopias for Thanksgiving, I bagged this Chex Mix up and gave it away for Halloween.  All of my family and friends got a cute little Halloween sack full of this and I flat out admitted, "This is really a Thanksgiving-themed snack mix but it's for the blog so pretend this is a Halloween gift."  No one complained, because it's pretty tasty and so cute.  I think a big bowl of this for guests to munch on while the Thanksgiving meal is being prepared would be ideal.  Or to enjoy while watching those holiday football games.  OR bagged up into Thanksgiving-themed treat bags as a cute little hostess gift if you happen to be visiting someone else's home for the holiday meal.  The colors are perfect for the holiday and the addition of the candy pumpkins and candy corn look just like Thanksgiving.

Perfect for Thanksgiving season - with the 
cute little Bugle "Cornucopias"

The Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the 
Chex cereal, the Bugles and the 
pretzel sticks.

Melt the butter and brown sugar
together over low heat.  You could add
pumpkin spice or apple pie spice at
this point, but I like keeping the mixture
fairly plain so you can taste all of the 
other ingredients.

Divide the mixture between two
baking sheets and bake.

Once the mixture has cooled,
add in the candy ingredients.

Serve and enjoy or bag up to give
as little gifts.

Perfect for holiday snacking,

Makes a cute little hostess gift too.

HARVEST CHEX MIX

1 (12 ounce) box Rice Chex Cereal
1 small bag (7 ounces) Bugles corn snacks
4 cups pretzel sticks
2 (movie sized) boxes Reese's Pieces
1 bag candy corn
1 bag harvest mix (the candy corn mix with the pumpkins)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl combine the Rice Chex, Bugles and pretzels.  In a small pan, melt together the butter and brown sugar until well combined.  Pour the butter mixture of the chex mixture and toss to coat.  Divide mixture evenly between the two baking sheets and place in the oven.  Bake for 15 minutes, stir and then bake for an additional 15 minutes.  (If you can't fit both baking sheets on the same rack in the oven, when you remove them at the 15 minutes point to stir, switch the pans between the racks.) Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Stir in the remaining candy ingredients before serving.

 

Barbecue Beef & Cheddar Sliders

We're getting into that hectic time of year.  Holiday cooking, decorating and shopping, football games and tailgates.  The sun sets earlier and makes the day feel shorter, but there's even more to do in what feels like less time.  Totally the time of year for easy meals that feed a crowd without a lot of effort.  This recipe checks all of those boxes!  It's hearty enough for lunch or dinner, and the slider size makes it great for an appetizer party or hearty snack.  Whether you have guests coming to visit for the holidays, or your favorite football team still has a few games left, these Barbecue Beef and Cheddar Sliders will satisfy an entire crowd.  Simply toss deli-sliced roast beef in your favorite barbecue sauce, add some sliced cheddar cheese and bake for a warm and cozy sandwich treat.

The best little sandwiches for tailgate, tv watching
or the upcoming busy season!

Cut your rolls into half horizontally.

Place the bottoms of the rolls into a 
baking pan.

Combine the roast beef with your 
favorite barbecue sauce.

Place the roast beef mixture on top of 
the roll bottoms.  Top the roast beef with
slices of cheddar cheese and place the tops
of the rolls on top of the cheese.

Combine the melted butter with the
brown sugar, Dijon mustard, 
Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds.

Pour this mixture over the
tops of the sandwiches.

I made this away from home with the wrong-sized
pan.  It's okay, it still turned out great.

Ready to bake!

Cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes.
Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes
until the top browns and starts to crisp.

Cool slightly and cut into
12 slider style sandwiches.

Enjoy!

BARBECUE BEEF & CHEDDAR SLIDERS

1 package (12) Hawaiian dinner rolls
1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
8 sliced cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, toss together the roast beef and barbecue sauce.
Cut the dinner rolls in half horizontally, and place the bottoms of the rolls into a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan.  Top the bottoms of the rolls with the roast beef/barbecue sauce mixture.  Place the sliced cheese on top of the roast beef.  Place the roll tops on on top of the cheese.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and poppy seeds, and then pour over the tops of the sandwiches.  Cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes until the tops of the sandwiches begin to get brown and crispy.  Cool slightly and then cut into 12 slider-sized sandwiches.

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs - It's National Deviled Egg Day!

Don't worry, there is NO PUMPKIN in this recipe.  The only pumpkin involved here are these cute little pumpkin-themed deviled eggs!  A while back, my BFF Barb sent me a picture of some deviled eggs piped to look like little pumpkins.  She said, "You have to make these." So of course I did.  They turned out super cute and would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving meal or Fall charcuterie board.  I simply made my deviled eggs the usual way I prepare them, but instead of "sprinkling" paprika over the top, I used it to make the egg yolk mixture look orange.  I liked how it looked because it gave it a truly natural looking pumpkin color.  You could certainly add food coloring, but I didn't want to hassle with the mess.  I just made a very small batch of deviled eggs for Mr. DD and I.  Mainly because I wanted Barb to know how cute I thought her idea was, and that I tackled them myself.  One word of warning, I would not make these too far in advance.  You could certainly boil and peel your eggs, and prepare the filling ahead of time.  I just would not pipe them until serving time, because you want the filling to look fresh and perfect and not dried out.  I know yours will look even more adorable as my piping skills are no bueno, especially since my hand surgery.  I just cannot tackle things that require fine motor skills yet.  That being said, if I can make these, so can you - and you should because they are just too cute.

A holiday twist on a classic.

Boil your eggs. 
See below - I use 
Anthony Bourdain's method.

I keep my filling very simple.
That way it is easy to pipe.

Anthony Bourdain's method for hard boiling
eggs always results in a perfectly yellow yolk.

Finely mash the yolks with a fork 
or potato masher.

Add the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.
Then add enough paprika to get a natural
pumpkin color.

Add green onion pieces as a stem.
Garnish with more paprika if desired.

Happy Fall and Happy 
National Deviled Egg Day!

Aren't these just the cutest for Thanksgiving?
Thanks Barb for the idea!

PUMPKIN DEVILED EGGS

Hard boiled eggs
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
Mustard or Dijon Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika
Green onions for stems

Hard boil your eggs.  I use Anthony Bourdain's method which is: Place the eggs in a pan of cold water. (I also add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to make the shells easier to peel.)  Bring to a boil.  Once they are boiling, turn off the heat and cover with a lid.  Let the pan sit on the stove 10 minutes.  Then drain and place the eggs into an ice bath to stop the cooking and cool them.  This will result in a beautiful bright yellow yolk without that grey looking ring around it.

Cut your boiled eggs in half.  Place the whites onto a platter or deviled egg plate.  Place the cooked yolks into a bowl and mash finely with a fork or potato masher.  Spoon in enough mayo and mustard to get a smooth texture.  Season with salt and pepper.  Then season with enough paprika to get a natural looking orange hue.  You want this mixture to be about the consistency of a thick buttercream frosting.  Place into a piping bag with a decorative tip.  Pipe the filling into the deviled egg halves. I tried to pipe mine into little lines like the sections of a pumpkin, but you could certainly use a big star-shaped tip and pipe the mixture in more like a traditional deviled egg.  Use a small piece of green onion as a stem and sprinkle with more paprika for garnish if desired.