Susan Ritts is the creator of Puttingontheritts.com which has tons of tasty recipes.  She’s also the author of Cooking and Entertaining With Ease. She stopped by to make jalapeno cheese & bacon app along with some other yummy snacks.

Mushroom/Brie Crostini’s

Crusty French bread crackers
One container each button mushrooms, baby bellas & shitakes, sliced
Olive oil
3 TBS chopped garlic
One large white onion, chopped
Chopped parsley, 2-3 TBS
Large wedge of brie cheese, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices.

Preheat oven to 400. Place crusty French crackers on a cookie sheet.

In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat 3 TBS olive oil and add chopped onion. Sauté for for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped garlic & sauté another 2 minutes. Add all sliced mushrooms & mix well. Saute until mushrooms are cooked through, about 5-7 minutes, adding additional oil if needed. Add parsley & stir.

Remove from heat. Top crackers with about 1 TBS mushroom mixture. Top mushrooms with a piece of Brie (trimmed to fit on each cracker). Cooke in preheated oven until Brie is melted, about 10 minutes. Remove & serve!!

Broiled Jalapeno, Cheese & Bacon App – Makes 24

12 fresh jalapenos, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed
1 brick spicy Monterey Jack cheese (or just Monterey Jack cheese)
24 slices bacon
Garlic salt & pepper

Preheat oven to low broil. Place cut jalapenos on broiler pan. Cut chunks of cheese to fit inside each cut jalapeno. Sprinkle with garlic salt & pepper to taste.

Wrap each jalapeno half with a slice of bacon, covering the entire jalapeno & cheese.

Place broiler pan in oven close to broiler heat. Broil approximately 7-8 minutes, checking often. Bacon should not be crispy, but cooked. If bacon isn’t cooked and cheese bubbling after 8 minutes, turn broiler to high for 1 minute or less – again watching closely. Remove, cool a bit and serve. NOTE: This is really good at room temp as well.

Apple Cider Martini

1 oz Vodka
1 oz Apple Cider
1/2 oz Lime juice
Dash cinnamon
Apple Slices &/or cinnamon stick ( I always use honey crisp apples…the BEST)
Ice

Combine Vodka, cider & lime juice in a martini shaker. Fill 1/2 container with ice. Shake until mixed & cold. Strain into martini glasses & garnish with a few apple slices &/or a cinnamon stick.