Festive Red, Green, and Bacon Spirals and Homemade Ranch Dressing Powder

I was looking for an easy and festive appetizer to bring to a Christmas party and came across The Pioneer Woman’s Holiday Roll-ups (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/holiday-roll-ups.html). Basically you mix ranch dressing powder with cream cheese, spread it on tortillas, scatter some red and green bell pepper and green onion on it, roll it up, and cut into cute little slices. I thought it was a great recipe, but jazzed it up a bit with the addition of bacon and also making my own ranch dressing powder instead of buying the packet (thanks to Simply Scratch (http://www.simplyscratch.com/2014/05/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix.html ) for the inspiration!!). So ultimately, I made the recipe way more complicated…but oh well. It’s worth it!

Ingredients

2 8oz packages of Neufchatel, softened

1 packet ranch dressing mix or 1 recipe of Homemade Ranch Dressing Powder (see below)

A few grinds of black pepper

9-10 tortillas

1.5 green bell peppers, finely diced

1.5 red bell peppers, finely diced

4 green onions, finely sliced

12 pieces of bacon, fried and chopped

To make ranch powder, combine:

1 packet (3T) of dry buttermilk

1/2 T dried parsley

1/2 t dried dill

1/2 t granulated garlic

1/2 t granulated onion

1/2 t Kosher salt

1/4 t sugar

Dash ground black pepper

Dash paprika

1.       Mix the ranch powder and black pepper with the Neufchatel. You can microwave the cream cheese if needed, or just leave it out on the counter for a few hours to soften.

2.       Prepare the vegetables and bacon.

3.       Prepare the tortillas by cutting a small slice off two opposite sides of the tortilla. Those will be the ends of the roll, and save you the trouble of having a weird unsightly end piece.

4.       Spread the cheese mixture on the tortillas, taking care to cover the entire surface. You don’t need a half inch thickness of it—keep in mind that you are rolling it up, so you’re going to get more in one bite than just the thickness you’re spreading on it any given spot.

5.       Sprinkle the vegetables and bacon on top of the spread. Leave one curved side relatively free of toppings to facilitate good sealing when you roll it up.

6.       Roll up the tortilla toward the topping-free side, taking care to go slowly and pack the roll tightly so it doesn’t fall apart. About halfway through rolling, daub some cream cheese along the roll to help create a tighter seal.

7.       Using a very sharp knife, cut the roll into 2-inch thick slices. Arrange cut side up on a tray and enjoy!