Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Poppers

Believe me when I say that these guys will be the first things gone at your holiday party.

Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Poppers


1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz) room temperture
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
10 jalapeno peppers
10 slices bacon


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise and remove all of the seeds and membranes.. Whip cream cheese, garlic salt and pepper with a hand blender. Fill each jalapeno half with cream cheese mixture.




Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap each jalapeno with a slice of bacon. Secure bacon by sticking a toothpick through the middle of each jalapeno.


Bake on a pan with a rack in a 325 degree oven for atleast 40 minutes making sure bacon is fully cooked.


The taste best when served hot, but also taste good served at room temperature.



Cheesy Potatoes My Way

Cheesy potatoes, funeral potatoes, call them what you want, are usually too dry and bland for my liking. I just amped it up a bit  and it turns out so much better. I served these at my sister's bridal shower and everyone loved them.

Cheesy Potatoes

1 package frozen shredded potatoes (got mine from fresh and easy, Ora Ida just seem to be too thick and mealy for this recipe)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1/3 cup green onions

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

 Pepper, to taste

2 sleeves Ritz crackers, coarsely smashed

5 Tbsp butter, melted

In a large bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, green onions, cheese and pepper together. Mix in the potatoes and pour in a 9x13 casserole dish. Add smashed crackers on top and pour melted butter over the crackers.




Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Super Easy Zucchini-Squash Dish

This is a perfect way to use up some of that zucchini and squash you have collecting in your garden or on your countertop. It can be used as a side dish or can be placed on top of cooked spaghetti noodles.

1 Tbsp (glug) of olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup thinly sliced yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups spaghetti sauce (or tomato sauce dressed up with garlic and italian seasoning)
Fresh Parmesan cheese
Sprinkling of cheddar cheese

On low heat drizzle olive oil to coat bottom. Add your zucchini, squash, onions and let saute for a minute or two. Pour spaghetti sauce over veggies and cover with a lid. Let simmer for 15 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through. Add some fresh grated parmesan and a sprinkle of cheddar over the mix and let simmer covered for 5 more minutes.

Potatoes au Gratin

Potatoes au Gratin

adapted from Pioneer Woman

4 large Russet potatoes, peeled or scrubbed

2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup fat free milk

3 1/2 Tbsp. flour

3 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. salt and more for sprinkling potatoes

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear butter all over bottom and sides of a 8x8 baking dish. Slice potatoes and then cut into fourths, giving them a small sprinking of salt. In a seperate bowl wisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt and lots of ground pepper (don't skimp, you'll regret it :) )

Place 1/3 potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of cream over potatoes. Repeat two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 40 min. Remove foil and bake for an extra 15-20 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and bubbly. Add the grated cheese on top of potatoes and bake for 3 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

My Favorite Steak Topper

So easy, so delicious, period! I know most of the recipes for this sauce uses some kind of wine in a reduction but it tastes perfectly fine without it. Goes perfectly with the marinade recipe on the previous post.

Mushroom and Onion Steak Sauce
1 cup sliced onions
1 cup mushrooms
3 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. sour cream (or heavy cream)
salt and pepper to taste

Place butter onions and mushrooms in a shallow saucepan, cover and cook on low for about 7-8 minutes, or until almost softened. Uncover, turn the heat up to med./high and saute until carmelized, maybe another 7-8 min or so, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from sticking. Lower heat to low again and add the salt and pepper and sour cream (or heavy cream) to saucepan, mix until combined and cook for an additional couple minutes. Perfect time to whip up your steaks while this is cooking!

Knock yer socks off Zucchini Cakes

Since I don't have a garden myself (still traumatized by the tomato worms of '07!) I am glad that I have great friends with even greater gardens! A great way to use up all those zucchini's you got lying around!
Also try this great chocolate zucchini bread recipe, which is indeed more like a cake and is ta-die-for :)

I made these last night for dinner with some steaks. They were really super tasty. I'll definitely be making these again. These taste great by themselves, with spaghetti sauce or ranch dressing.
Keep bringing on the good stuff PW!

Zucchini Cakes
Makes 1 dozen cakes

1 large zucchini
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3/4 cup Progresso bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Wash and cut ends off zucchini. Shred zucchini with the large holed side of a cheese grater. Squeeze the zucchini shreds in a paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible.
Combine zucchini, garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well mixed.

Heat olive oil in a shallow skillet (with oil being about 1/4 inch deep). When the oil is nice and hot, place a glob of zucchini into the oil and flatten slightly. Cook each side about 2 minutes each or until nice and browned.

Summer Potato Salad

I've had to rack my brain to get this recipe written down... it's hard you know. I can't exactly write "put 2 giant blobs of dijon and however many potatoes your biggest stockpot will hold..." well you get the point. So please excuse me for the short hand recipe. I love potato salad yet my husband loves it so much more. So it's quite the staple over summer while we are 90% BBQ'ing around here (probably why there has been a shortage of posts going on around here! Just staying cool and falling back on my usual recipes I guess!) I really prefer the taste of red potatoes in this salad then regular baking potatoes. They give it a more unique mild flavor.

3 lbs. new red potatoes (about 10?)
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise (got to be the full fat stuff!)
3 Tbsp. Grey Poupon dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. white vinegar (or whatever kind ya got)
2 Tbsp. prepared sweet relish
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt
4 hard cooked eggs, chopped
5 slices cooked bacon
1/2 c. green onion
3 Tbsp. very finely chopped vidalia (sweet) onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
Salt and pepper

Boil potatoes in a large pot with salt water until tender firm (about 20 min?) Cool and drain. Chop into 1 inch cubes. Place in a large bowl, set aside.

In a medium bowl combine mayo, mustard, dijon, vinegar, relish, sugar, garlic salt. Stir until incorporated. Add chopped onion, green onion, and celery, bacon and eggs. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add mayo mixture to the potato cubes and combine. Dust with paprika if desired and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Smashed Potatoes

I make these babies up at least twice a week or more (it's what I get for buying a gazillion pound bag of potatoes at Costco) So good! (Pictures courtesy of Mrs. Fabulous herself, The Pioneer Woman)

What you need: Red potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese (optional)

Take however many red potatoes you want to make (I usually do 6 for the 3 of us), put them in a deep pot of water. Boil them just until they can be pierced easily with a fork (20+ min??)

Place hot potatoes on a cooking sheet and smash them with a potato masher.



Generously brush the tops of smashed potatoes with olive oil. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. That's it! Easy Peasy - now just put them in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they look crispy and golden. Then I put a sprinkling of cheddar cheese over each one, but they taste great without cheese too.

Garlic Rice

So I made cream cheese chicken two nights ago...dang that stuff was GOOD. I served over garlic rice and I just wanted to include that recipe here.

Garlic Rice

1 cup long grain rice (not instant)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil (although any cooking oil will do)
1 tsp minced garlic packed in olive oil (approx. 2 cloves minced)

Love this stuff! Ultimate time and smelly hand saver!

Put rice, oil, and garlic in a large shallow saucepan and saute on med/high heat for about 5-7 minutes stirring frequently, until rice starts browning. Add-

1 14 oz can chicken stock/broth
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. butter

Put a lid on it and turn heat on low. Cook for about 20 min or until liquid is fully absorbed. Try not to stir it until it is completely done to avoid sticky rice. Optional: Serve with chopped green onion

Chicken, Lemon and pea Risotto

I was first introduced to cooking with Risotto from my good friend from Italy. I buy it at Costco, but for smaller packages I'm sure you can get at Trader Joes or maybe even local supermarkets. Risotto is known to be a tad more temperamental than regular rice, so your first time I would recommend you not to Facebook or watch Dexter or Good Eats...as I often do while cooking:) Enjoy!
I haven't tried this one out yet...but seriously how could it not be good??? I'll return and report soon!

Chicken, Lemon and Pea Risotto
Inspired by Donna Hay

Serves 4
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and thinly diced
1 stick of celery, thinly diced (optional)
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly chopped
zest of half a whole lemon
1 cup Aborio rice or really any type of risotto you can find
Good splash of dry white wine
Approximately 3 c. Chicken stock
Good couple handfuls of frozen peas
1 cup shredded cooked chicken, white, brown meat or a mixture
Juice of half a whole lemon
Salt and pepper
handful of parmesan cheese

1. Heat the stock in a small saucepan.
2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot add the onion and celery and sweat (with the lid on), stirring occasionally until soft but not brown (5-10 mins).
3. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for a few minutes, again stirring frequently.
4. Add the rice and turn up the heat. Stir to coat the rice (from here on you need to stir much more frequently to stop the rice sticking or burning and also to release the starch to make it deliciously creamy).
5. You should notice the rice become translucent and at this point you need to add the wine and continue to stir.
6. Once the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add the first ladel of stock and turn the heat back down to medium. Keep stiring.
7. Once this ladel of stock has been fully absorbed by the rice, add another ladel, stir and repeat until the rice is cooked (try it - is it soft with a little bit of bite left? Yes - then move on to the next step, No - add more stock).
8. Add the frozen pea before the last couple of ladels so they have time to cook.
9. Once the rice and peas are cooked, remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and chicken. Stir to mix well, season to taste.
10. Scatter the parmeson (and a few small knobs of butter if you like) over the top, replace the lid and leave to become oozy/creamy ( few minutes).
11. Once the cheese and butter(if using) have melted, stir well and serve.

Enjoy!

Feta and Vegetable Rotini Salad

This is my favorite summer pasta salad...I made this for a changing shift party for my hubbers and it was gone before we even got up to the table. I sometimes also add chopped pepperoni to mine for an extra pop. Enjoy {Kim} lol :)


3 cups tri-color rotini pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
1 cup Athenos Traditional crumbled feta cheese
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped unpeeled cucumber
1/2 c. sliced black olives
1/2 cup Kraft Zesty italian dressing
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion


Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to blend the flavors. This makes about 8 1 cup servings.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Cafe Rio?? What in tar-nation is that? Don't worry...I had to google it to find out too. It's a Mexican grill based in Utah that is supposedly drool worthy. But I guess I will be the judge of that!! ;)
I found this recipe on a blog while I was blog stalking...Oops! I mean blog searching. I am going to put this together soon for my hubbers who is WILD about mexi food. It sounds so interesting and I cant wait to try what the pork tastes like - cooked in coke and all. I am guessing it is using a roast (shoulder/butt/etc.) cut in the recipe.
I read a tip from the comments on their post that said the cilantro ranch sauce is better after sitting in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Thanks Cookin with Friends!


SWEET PORK
2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little. Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

CILANTRO-LIME RICE
1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")

CILANTRO RANCH
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalepeno (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

Directions for the Salad:
K so now to make it all PERFECT... Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce (we used the leafy green lettuce, NOT ICEBURG) and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). We made up some gaucamole and put some of that on the salad (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). We also added a little spoonful of sour cream. Add some crushed tortilla chips (we have yet to find the little tortilla strips), a shake of parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing and there you have it! It really is easier than it looks. It only took me about an hour to make (after the pork was in the crock pot). The rice and beans are SUPER easy, you definitely want the beans and rice to get the whole experience! Also, be generous with the cilantro! Try it and let me know what you think! I KNOW you won't be disappointed!!

Spanish Rice

So my camera is still in the shop...I know I am counting the days until I can cradle it back into my arms again...
But in the mean time I got this recipe from my next door neighbor. Not only is it fabulous but it's good too.
I always took the easy route of using my rice cooker for every type of rice, but I have learned that taking the extra time and effort by using the stove top - can give you much tastier results.

Spanish Rice

1 Tbsp cooking oil
2 finely chopped garlic cloves ( using the prepackaged minced garlic in olive oil is a time saver)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. rice

Put these ingredients together in a shallow saucepan and mix until coated. Cook using medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until the rice is browned.

Add

1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp powdered chicken bullion
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Stir together, cover with lid and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Stir once or twice near the end of cooking time to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.