Asparagus...the not so healthy way

I am a huge fan of the roasted asparagus recipe we have on the blog here. It's my go-to recipe when I have fresh asparagus on hand. I love it. I bought some asparagus a few days back and needed to use it up before it started to look, well, un-fresh. :) I started putting stuff together and then remembered that I was out of rosemary. Doh! So I looked everywhere for the parmesan asparagus recipe that I've seen floating around Pinterest, and couldn't find it. So I decided to improvise.

I had asparagus on hand. Mushrooms, check. Parmesan cheese, check. BACON, CHECK! Yes, I decided to add bacon. Everything is better with bacon, right? Yes. Yes, it is. Let's just say it did not disappoint.

So here you have it, the not-so-healthy-way to roast asparagus, but it sure is good!

What you'll need:
1-2 bunches fresh asparagus
6-7 sliced mushrooms
5-6 pieces of uncooked bacon, cut into pieces (1 slice = 5 pieces)
1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Cover a cookie sheet tin foil.

Wash the asparagus and break off the ends. Arrange them on your cookie sheet. Sprinkle the sliced mushrooms over the asparagus. Same with the cut up bacon pieces.

Lightly, and I mean VERY lightly, sprinkle some olive oil over everything and pop it in the oven (you don't need much oil, because the bacon is going to get greasy). Bake for 15 minutes or until it is almost done. Pull it out, sprinkle the 1/2 c. parmesan cheese on top and put it back in for another 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the asparagus us tender.

Enjoy- this is great! You don't even need any salt or pepper (the bacon is enough for your heart attack. :)

Bloomin' Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest (my new most favorite addiction ever...) It just looked really cool and pretty scrumptious too! And I will say that it didn't disappoint!

I had a week where I decided I wanted to try a new recipe every day- and I almost succeeded. I tried a new recipe every night I cooked, which didn't end up being every night, but pretty dang close!! I think I cooked four nights this particular week- which is a record for me!! Joe and his brothers were quite delighted! I made this loaf with baked potato soup. It was good! And the good thing was that the two recipes had a few ingredients in common, so I already had stuff on hand.

This loaf was perfect for dipping in the soup and was great for little fingers too!

Here's what you'll need:
1 unsliced loaf of sourdough bread
12-16 ounces Monterey Jack Cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. finely diced green onion
2 t. poppy seeds

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Cut the bread lengthwise all the way across and then widthwise all the way across. Be sure not to cut all the way down to the crust.

Insert the cheese slices in each of the cuts- being sure to get each cut so it's really good and cheesy after it's baked!

Melt the butter and mix with the green onion and poppy seeds. Pour over even overly the loaf.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. I baked mine closer to 20 minutes to get the cheese good and melty and broiled it for a minute or two.

Enjoy!

From: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

I've been meaning to post this recipe for over a year now. It's one of my very favorite things to eat and I usually have to fight my husband for any since he loves it just as much. The presentation is beautiful, it's delicious, refreshing, and something a little unique. I first saw it on allrecipes several years ago, but I've since seen several versions of it all over the internet so maybe it's not all that unique. It makes a great appetizer or dessert, plus my family loves to snack on the chips plain. I also think the fruit salsa would be great on ice cream. Next time you're looking for something special to bring to a function, give this a try. You won't regret it. It's yummy and delightful! (Scroll down for the recipe for the Cinnamon Chips, too)

As far as an actual "recipe" goes, there is lots of room to play. I'll post what I "usually" use in mine, but feel free to substitute whatever fruit is in season or what you have on hand. I usually try to incorporate as many colors as possible, but once you add any berries, it all turns red anyways, so I guess that's not as important. I always use apples and I always use strawberries. Everything else I use is based on what's available and what's on sale at the grocery store! Also, the added sugar can vary from batch to batch depending on how sweet your fruit is and what fruit you add.

Fruit Salsa
Serves 10-12

2 apples, diced (Sometimes I peel them, sometimes I don't... it's a personal preference)
1 lb. strawberries, diced
1-2 peaches, peeled, and diced
2-3 kiwis, diced
8 oz. blackberries (or raspberries or blueberries, etc.)
1-3 Tbsp. white sugar (add 1/2 Tbsp. at a time, so it doesn't get too sweet)
2-3 Tbsp. Jelly or runny Jam
Juice from 1/2 a lime

Other fruit that works well: Mangoes, Pineapple, Oranges, Plums, etc.  Simply substitute one of these for one of the amounts up above.

Not much by way of instructions here.  Simply chop your fruit as finely as you like... I prefer mine diced pretty finely to get more of a salsa consistency but I've seen it chopped in large pieces, too.  Once the fruit has been diced, toss it together gently.

Add lime juice, sugar and jelly at the end to achive desired sweetness and consistency.  Keep in mind that the sugar will draw out the juices from the fruit making it juicier and runnier, so the longer it sits, the runnier it will get.  Keep that in mind when deciding how much jelly to add.

Also, if color is a concern, then remember to add your berries last, right before serving.  They'll stain all the other fruit and make everything appear simply red.  The lime juice, however, will keep your fruit from browning.

Cinnamon Chips

Cinnamon Sugar (Mixture of 3/4 cup white sugar and 4 Tbsp. Cinnamon)
Butter or Cooking Spray
Flour Tortillas  (I usually use about 6-8 large tortillas or at least 10 of the mini sized tortillas)
Pastry Brush

1.  Preheat your oven to 350.  Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil.

2.  Brush one side of a tortilla with softened/melted butter or simply spray with cooking spray.

3.  Liberally sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

4.  Cut into triangles using a pizza cutter.

4.  Place on cookie sheet and bake until crisp, about 8-10 minutes.  You'll know they're done once the edges start to curl slightly and they're lightly browned.  They will continue to crisp up once they're removed from the oven.

Mini Potato Bites

OK, so this recipe was one of the first recipes I ever posted on here and they continue to be one of my all-time favorite appetizers.  But I'm reposting them because I'm afraid they're lost back there at the beginning of the blog and I finally have a picture of them!  I've never posted a picture before because they never last long enough to get one.  They're usually gone in an instant.  But I made them tonight for just me and my boys and insisted on a picture BEFORE they were allowed to touch them.  They're quick, easy, delicious and always popular. I  love these things.

1-1/2 lb. new (red) potatoes (about 10-15 potatoes--smaller ones work best)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Sour Cream and Chive Cream Cheese, softened (regular cream cheese will work in a pinch)
2 Tbsp. Sour Cream
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
4 slices Bacon, cooked, crumbled
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh chives
shredded cheese (optional)

1.  PLACE potatoes in large saucepan; add enough water to cover. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 15 min. or until potatoes are tender.

2.  MEANWHILE, mix cream cheese, sour cream and Parmesan cheese; cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3.  DRAIN potatoes. Cool slightly. Cut potatoes in half; cut small piece from bottom of each potato half so potato lies flat. Place on serving platter. Top each potato half with 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture. (I usually pipe the topping on, as I would frosting, for nicer presentation.)  Sprinkle with bacon and chives, and cheese if desired.

 I always like to pop mine back in the oven for a couple minutes to warm them up and melt the cheese on top.

Chilled Peach Yogurt Soup

I look forward to making this soup all year long. Anxiously, I wait for August, when peaches are finally ripe and in abundance and I can get a box of them while visiting family in Utah. Sure, they have peaches in Vegas... but they're teeerrible. In 9 year of living in Vegas, I have NEVER had a decent peach. It's really quite sad when you consider they're my favorite fruit.

This little soup is a snap to whip up... takes less than 10 minutes and makes a great appetizer, dessert, breakfast, or in my case today, a light lunch. I simply LOVE this stuff.

Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens "70 Favorite Soups and Stews"
Serves: Four 1/2 cup servings

2 cups peeled and sliced peaches (approximately 2 large peaches; you can use frozen, but defrost them first and drain the excess liquid)
3/4 cup peach or apricot nectar (I like to use the Kern's nectar, or I'll simply use leftover peach juice from a jar of canned peaches)
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 oz. vanilla yogurt

1. Combine the peaches, nectar, lemon juice and cinnamon in a food processor or blender.

2. In a large bowl, stir about 1/4 cup of the peach mixture into the yogurt. (Reserve just a bit of the yogurt for later, as a garnish.) Combine well and then add the remaining peach mixture, stirring well to combine.

3. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours and garnish with an additional Tbsp. of yogurt.

Corn Salsa

So, before Cafe Rio showed up in Las Vegas, I had to get my fresh Mexican salad fix elsewhere.  (Believe me, it was painful.  I had to wait years or drive to Utah to get my fix...)  Luckily, my husband stumbled on a fresh Mexican grill, called Zaba's here in town and they were a very good substitute.  What I liked about Zaba's was that they had the same idea behind their salads and food, i.e., fresh meat, homemade tortillas, and delicious dressings, but different sauces and accompaniments, giving their food an entirely different flavor.  One of my very very favorite things to order there is their pork carnitas tacos. They are the perfect blend of smoky pork (NOT sweet!... I do NOT like sweet pork), cilantro, delicious corn salsa, and an awesome chipotle ranch dressing.  I love the tacos so much, that I could easily eat them once a week.  So, I decided I needed to re-create them at home.  I went searching for bits and pieces of the meal and ended up with an almost perfect substitute for my Zaba's tacos.

The next three posts will have all you need to make your very own Zaba's inspired Pork Carnitas.
And here's part 1 of our perfect pork carnitas meal... the corn salsa.

So, in my quest to recreate my beloved Zaba's carnitas, I had to find a corn salsa. They use this delightful medium corn salsa, that had something weird in that I couldn't quite label.  Obviously, I don't eat a lot of jicama because that's what it is... and I didn't recognize it.  I loved it, though.  It tastes sort of like a cross between an apple and snap pea.  I looked high and low for a corn salsa recipe that was similar to the Zaba's variation and I couldn't really find one, so Dacia and I created one ourselves.  Granted, there isn't much to it... just throw some veggies together and call it done.  But, as simple as it is, it's mighty tasty.  It was spectacular with tortilla chips and of course delicious over the carnitas tacos.  It's super simple to whip up and a nice change from your typical tomato salsa.  I highly recommend this stuff.

2 Cups frozen corn, defrosted, and drained of excess liquid
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced jicama
juice from 1 lime
1/2 -1 cup cilantro (you can probably bet which way I lean...)
salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste

1.  Throw your corn, onion, and jicama all together in a bowl.

2.  Add lime juice and seasonings to taste.  And that's it.

Cajun Shrimp

We love shrimp in our house.  Really LOVE it and I'm always looking for yummy variations.  I found this on Tasty Kitchen and we loved it so much, I made it twice in one week!  And then I made it again for my birthday.  Even the kids loved it, despite a slight kick from the Cajun seasoning.  This is seriously delicious and super fast and easy to whip up.  We paired it with a loaf of Frech bread and used our bread to sop up all the delicious buttery liquid that was in the bottom of the pan.  It may not be pretty on my thighs (nothing really is), but it was SO worth it.  A perfectly quick, easy, and delicious weeknight meal, made even better in that you can use the shrimp either defrosted or still frozen.  Just adjust your baking time accordingly.

Recipe Source: Tasty Kitchen

Serves: 4

1/2 cup butter

2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

1 tsp. coarse salt (I used Kosher)

1 tsp. black pepper

2 lb. bag of shrimp (the original recipe only calls for 1 1/2 lbs., but I thought that made the dish too salty)

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan and saute the garlic.  Add Cajun spices and salt and pepper and stir well.

3.  Place shrimp in a baking dish and cover with Cajun butter mixture.  Toss to combine and evenly distribute the butter mixture.

4.  Bake uncovered for at least 10 minutes, or until shrimp is pink.  (Mine typically takes about 15 minutes or even longer if I put my shrimp in frozen--then it takes 20-25 minutes.)

5.  Serve with French bread to soak up all the remaining buttery goodness at the bottom of your pan.  Yum!

Oven Ham Sammies

Dang.  These were soooo good.  Totally simple, quick and absolutely delicious.  There probably aren't any redeeming qualities hidden in all the calories, but being fast and easy is redeeming, right?  These make a great family friendly dinner, lend themselves well to doubling, and would also work as a yummy appetizer.

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Feeds: 6

Mayonnaise/Miracle Whip
16 oz. sliced deli ham
12 slices Swiss cheese
1 package (12 count) Dinner Rolls (like King Hawaiian Rolls)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 Tbsp. Onion flakes or minced onion
1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 Tbsp. ground mustard

1. Slice rolls in half and spread each side with mayo.

2. Sandwich sliced ham and cheese in each roll. Place close together in a baking dish.

3. Whisk butter, onion, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard until well combined. Pour dressing over sandwiches. Sandwiches can be baked immediately, or allow them to sit for several hours or even overnight.

4. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.  Enjoy the ooey, gooey goodness.

Stuffed Shrooms!

 I love mushrooms.  Any kind, any method, anytime.  I mean I really love them.  One of my favorite methods, is stuffed mushrooms.  I love them so much, I requested them for Mother's Day.  I am always tempted by a stuffed mushroom appetizer and Olive Garden has one of my favorites.  It's simply cheese stuffed... no sausage, or other stuff and I love the creamy, cheesy filling with the juicy mushroom.  I think these stuffed mushrooms are very similar.  The filling is simple and easy to prepare, and I love the slight kick from the cayenne pepper.  Because it doesn't include anything like sausage, I prefer the filling with a smaller mushroom, so you get a good filling to mushroom ratio.  With a larger mushroom, you get a bit too much filling in each bite.  These are definitely one of my favorite ways to prepare mushrooms.

Serves: 15-24

Recipe Source: Slightly Adapted from Allrecipes

12 whole fresh mushrooms, medium sized (look for mushrooms with a little bit of stem to chop up for your filling)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1-2 Tbsp.

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

about 1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 - 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. (In the alternative, I put my mushrooms in mini muffin tins to keep them from tipping over.  Works perfectly.)  Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully twist out the stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems. Set stems aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add worcestershire sauce, garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. You do actually have to let them fry for awhile before all the moisture is absorbed.  Be patient.  Set aside to cool.

3. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. (Or fill a pastry bag with the filling and pipe the filling into each mushroom.  It's a little less messy that way.)  Dip the bottom and sides of each mushroom cap into the melted butter.  Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet, or in muffin tins.

4. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle a little bit over each stuffed mushroom.

5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps, and the topping is browned.

Rotel, Sausage and Cream Cheese Dip

There's no way to sugarcoat it... this stuff does not look appetizing. It doesn't matter how you photograph it, what light you use, or how much parsley you use to garnish it with. But don't let the pictures fool you. It's good. Real good. Super simple, super fast, and super tasty makes this a great appetizer or dip. It packs a little kick, and somehow the combination of tomato and cream cheese is oh, so tasty. It's also the perfect snack for those Sundays when I don't really feel like cooking. Not that that ever happens...

Recipe Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can tomatoes and green chilies (like Rotel tomatoes), drained

16 oz. cooked, and well crumbled breakfast sausage (I've made this twice and we definitely liked it better with the sausage broken up really well)

1. Brown the sausage on the stove and drain. If it's too chunky, put it in the food processor to break it up a bit more.

2. Place your cream cheese in the bottom of the crock pot.

3. Add the cooked sausage and top it all with the drained tomatoes.

4. Cook on high for 45 minutes or low for 90 minutes. Stir well and serve with tortilla chips.

(I imagine you could do this without the slow cooker. Just soften your cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then add the tomatoes and sausage and microwave again, until completely warmed.)

Restaraunt Style Salsa

So, Jared and I are total salsa snobs. Water snobs, too, but that's another story. We're really, really picky about our salsa and will only eat about 2 varieties. And they're both the fresh variety sold in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. We HATE canned salsa. I hate tasting vinegar in my salsa and I really detest large soggy chunks of tomato. So there you have it. Our salsa snobbery on display for the whole blogosphere to see. We should probably be ashamed of ourselves, but we simply can't help it. Salsa is important stuff.

Imagine my total delight, thrill, ecstasy, and joy when I found this post on Pioneer Woman. I already loved her, but now it seems we're destined to be BFF's! Or at least salsa buddies. All of her pre-requisites for salsa, like lots of cilantro, no vinegar, and no big chunks are identical to mine. So I was super excited to try out her insanely easy salsa recipe and even more excited to discover that I LOVED it. I mean really, really excited. I think I told Jared no less than 5 times yesterday that I was in love with this salsa. Luckily, he loves it, too.

It's easy, cheap and tastes a million times better than anything you'll buy in the store. Plus, it makes a lot. Keep it in the fridge for as long as it lasts... I'm not sure how long that is, seeing as how mine probably won't last through the weekend.

A couple notes: I actually only gave a rough chop to all these ingredients, since I knew I'd be using my food processor to make it. Once I pulsed it, my ingredients were finely chopped. So don't worry about chopping your stuff too finely if you'll be pulsing it a lot. Also, word to the wise... Pioneer Woman lied! She said it wasn't too spicy, but I found that 1 whole jalapeno made this plenty spicy. Jared thought it was perfect... it was almost too spicy for me. If you don't like too much heat in your salsa, consider just using 1/2 a jalapeno.

1 can (28 oz.) Whole tomatoes, with juice (I actually used regular diced tomatoes with juice here... worked fine)
2 cans (1o oz.) Rotel tomatoes (Diced tomatoes and green chilies)
1/4 cups chopped onion (I used about 1/2 a medium sized onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeno, chopped
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt (I used closer to 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup cilantro (or more to taste--we ended up using about 1 cup)
Juice from 1/2 lime

Combine everything in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to your desired consistency. Pioneer Woman recommends 10-15 pulses. I probably did more than that. Test your seasonings and adjust as needed. We added more cilantro, but we're cilantro freaks. Also, I have a small food processor and didn't feel like using my blender, so I did it in batches.

(One poster noted that the correct method for making salsa means pulsing the cilantro, onion, jalapeno, garlic and seasonings with the reserved tomato juice first. Then add the tomatoes and Rotel. In case you want to try it that way.)

If you can control yourself, refrigerate the salsa for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld. But be warned... the longer this stuff sits, the spicier it gets. Serve with chips.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken Stacks

This was our crock pot dinner a couple Sundays ago. The pictures are kind of scary again... the shorter days are killing any decent food pictures. There's just no decent light. But it was delicious! All my boys devoured it. It's more of a dip sort of thing, but we're big dip fans. Although you could easily use it to fill tortillas, too. It's super easy and you can easily customize it to suit your preferences. Add a bag of chips or tortillas and some toppings, and we were all appropriately stuffed. Perfect Sunday night fare for us.

I found it here and just added a couple of the things we liked in it. We don't like canned salsa at all so I always add a little taco seasoning to offset the acidic flavor that canned salsa gives. Be sure to look at the original recipe to see a more appetizing picture. Mine just don't do this justice. It was sooo good and could not be easier.

2 cups frozen corn

1-2 cans black beans, rinsed (We personally like more beans, so use as many beans as you like. And feel free to substitute pinto)

2 large frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)

1 1/2 cups salsa

1 can olives, sliced (optional)

1-2 tsp. taco seasoning (this is my addition... I definitely think it needed a little extra)

splash of lime juice

Additional toppings:

cilantro (not really optional, if you ask me)

tomato

avocado or guacamole

cheese

sour cream

lime wedges

lettuce

1. Lightly grease bottom and sides of your crock pot. Pour frozen corn into the bottom of the slow cooker and place frozen chicken breasts on top. Cover with beans and salsa, and olives and taco seasoning if you're using them. Cover an cook at low for 6 hours. Remove chicken and shred with forks. Return to slow cooker and stir until everything is combined, and add your splash of lime juice and any more taco seasoning if you desire.

2. Serve with tortilla chips or as a burrito filling, topped with additional garnishes.

Pesto Bruschetta on Toasted Garlic Crostini

Make these for your next party. Or for your midnight indulgence. Don't be afraid. You will thank me. Your guests will thank me....err...you. And when you invite me over, I'll give you a hug and a kiss. Really I will. Just make sure everyone eats one (or inevitably several of them!) so that you can all have garlic breath together. Stephanie, I will forever be grateful to you for introducing me to such divine yumminess! Mmmmmmmm.....

Pesto Bruschetta on Toasted Garlic Crostini

Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 large minced garlic cloves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 T freshly grated Pecorio Romano Cheese (Or I just used the Kraft Parmesan/Romano mix in the green container for both of these....so sue me. It was still delish!)

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Additional Ingredients

1-2 baguette sliced at a 45-degree angle about 1/2 inch thick (I'd say 2...there's enough pesto and once your guests figure out how fabulous they are, you'll be glad you did!)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise

1 basket grape tomatoes

Preparation:

Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan, Pecorio, and pine nuts in food processor or blender. Slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until fully incorporated. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Prepartion:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread on rimmed baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and rub with cut side of garlic. Bake until beginning to crisp, about 8 minutes.

While bread crisps, make pesto and half cherry tomatoes lengthwise.

Top crostini with pesto spread and cherry tomato slice.

Chip Chicken Nuggets

Tried these for dinner group tonight and they were easy, fun, and yummy. All the boys loved them and I love anything that presents lots of options... Plus, the kids can easily help make them. They stay nice and crunchy in the oven. I found the recipe on Allrecipes.

4 Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts (except I snuck in some thighs for kicks and giggles), cut into 1 inch cubes

1 Egg

2 Tbsp. Milk

Assorted Seasonings to taste, like salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic salt, etc.

2 Cups Crushed Chips (Any flavor! That's where the fun comes in... we tried Lay's Sour Cream and Cheddar and they were fab, but we'll try Doritos next time...)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a large baking sheet... or cover with foil if you're lazy like me and want to save on clean-up...

Crush Potato chips finely. (My 4 year old did a great job of this by using the chip bag as a punching bag...)

Whisk together milk, egg and seasonings.

Dip Chicken in Milk and Egg mixture and then coat well in crushed potato chip mixture. Spread onto baking sheet.

Bake 10 minutes and then flip over. Bake ten more minutes.

Serve with dipping sauces, like ranch, ketchup, or honey mustard.

A fun twist I saw on Allrecipes... Find some wooden skewers or popsicle sticks and put a couple nuggets on each one, like a chicken nugget lollipop. Makes a great appetizer and is extra fun for the kids.

Garlic Cheese Bread

I got this recipe from one of those copy-cat recipe books. This is supposedly the Black Angus Garlic Cheese Bread Recipe. I don't know how much this recipe tastes like the stuff from Black Angus, but it is so good! I'm made it twice now, the first time following the recipe exactly, and we thought it was too much topping. So, the second time, I halved the recipe and it was just perfect for my two halves of French Bread. I thought it was much better with less, so those are the instructions I'm posting. It's similar to Pioneer Woman's Olive Bread, also posted on the site, but without the olives for all you olive haters out there.

1 loaf french bread
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese (I just used a pizza blend here.. couldn't find Asiago that day at the grocery store)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Split french bread loaf into halves horizontally.

2. Mix butter, cheeses, mayonnaise, green onions and garlic in a bowl, blending well. Spread the
cut side of bread with spread.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes, then place under broiler about 3 minutes longer. (I found mine needed longer under the broiler to get that nice broiled look... more like 5 minutes. Just watch it carefully) Cut into slices and serve.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

I had Jalapenos in my garden this year for salsa and ended up with quite a crop. The Pioneer Woman posted this recipe not to long ago and I've been dying to try them. My DH has a real thing for not liking anything hot or spicy and so I finally made a few of these just for me. They were delish!!! I must admit I did use turkey bacon as I have a thing against real bacon, but they were still super yummy and probably saved on a few calories. Try 'em! Yum!

Fresh jalapenos 2-3 inches in size
Cream cheese (softened)
Thin, regular bacon, sliced into thirds.

Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane. Smear softened cream cheese into each half. Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpick (At this point you can freeze them, uncooked, in a ziploc bag for later use).

Bake on a pan with a rack in 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don't want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn't look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of a bite to it. Yum!

Egg Rolls

We LOVE these egg rolls. They're surprisingly easy to make, make a lot, and one of Jared's favorites. But, then I suppose you could argue that anything with bacon is good and one of Jared's favorites...

Egg Rolls (adapted from Allrecipes):

1/4 cup cooked crumbled bacon (In a pinch, I used bacon bits once!)

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken

1 (4 ounce) can small shrimp, drained, finely chopped (I usually use fresh shrimp here instead of the canned stuff... it's a texture thing)

3 cups shredded cabbage

1-2 shredded carrots

3 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 t ground ginger (optional)

1 (14 ounce) package egg roll wrappers

1 quart oil for deep frying

In a large bowl, stir together the bacon, chicken, shrimp, cabbage, and carrots. Season with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger and mix until well blended. Place a few generous Tablespoons onto the center of one egg roll wrapper at a time, and roll up according to the package directions. Heat enough oil to cover the rolls completely in a large heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Fry rolls a few at a time, turning once, until golden brown. I usually do about 2 minutes per side. Remove with tongs to drain on paper towels. They are delicious plain, or with plum sauce or spicy honey mustard sauce for dipping. I whip up a quick honey mustard with Dijon mustard and honey.

Olive Cheese Bread

More Pioneer Woman cooking! Another recipe we tried over Memorial Day weekend and loved. We served this with chicken spaghetti... not because they really fit together, but we really wanted to try it and it was the only night left. Sooo good! This is very olivey and we racked our brains trying to come up with substitutions for the olives if you're not much of an olive lover. After eating the bread, I think artichoke hearts and/or spinach and/or pimentos would make nice substitutions for the olives and the bread would still be might tasty.

Go here for Pioneer Woman's ultimate no-fail instructions.

1 regular can whole black (ripe) olives
1 6-oz jar pimiento-stuffed olives
2 green onions
¾ pound Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup real mayonnaise
1 stick butter, softened
1 loaf French bread

Roughly chop black and green olives. Slice green onions and give them a rough chop. Combine
green onions and olives with the softened butter, ½ cup mayonnaise, and grated Monterey jack
cheese. Mix thoroughly. Slice French bread in half lengthwise, then spread mixture evenly over
the halves.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, or until thoroughly melted and starting to turn light brown
and bubbly. Cut into diagonal slices and serve with salad, with soup, with spaghetti, or as a
yummy appetizer.
Make-ahead tips: You can make the cheese mixture up to two days ahead of time and store in the
fridge. Or, you can spread the mixture on the bread and freeze the bread, unbaked, for several
months.

Twice Baked Potatoes

More Pioneer Woman cooking! I've been making twice baked potatoes for years now and always thought they were pretty good, but... Jared liked hers better. (*sniff*) I'll probably have to start doing mine like this instead now, but luckily I thought they were fantastic, too. And however you make your filling, these are always popular. There are no precise measurements here, but you can always go to her site for those no-fail, picture, step by step instructions.

8 Baking Potatoes
1 cup Sour Cream
Milk
1 cup Bacon Bits
Green Onions or Chives
2 sticks Butter, softened and cut into pieces
1/4 t Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 cup cheddar/Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
Salt and Pepper

Wash your potatoes and bake them in the oven, without foil. You want the skin to get a bit crispy so you have nice sturdy shells to fill. My big ones usually bake from 60-90 minutes.

Throw your butter pats into a large mixing bowl and add the bacon and sour cream.
Once your potatoes are nice and soft, quickly cut them in half and scoop out the potato innards and add them to your mixing bowl. Be sure to do this soon after they've finished baking... although they're really hot to handle, the insides scoop out easier. Now mash all this stuff together. We kept ours a bit lumpy like Pioneer Woman did, and apparently Jared likes them lumpy. (I've always preferred mine creamy, but whatever... it probably explains why he likes me and I don't)
Next add your Lawry's and salt and pepper to taste, along with your shredded cheese. Also add some cut up green onions (or chives) and milk to reach your desired consistency.

Finally spoon a healthy amount of mashed potato mixture into each shell. Top with additional shredded cheese and bake on a baking sheet at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Soft Carmel Popcorn

Bring to a soft ball :
1 cup butter
1 cup caro syrup
1 cup brown sugar

Take from heat. Add slowly 1 cup sweetened condensed milk (works best to gradually add hot caramel to milk until warm and then add to the rest of the caramel). Coats 4-6 quarts popcorn.