BBQ Cocktail Wieners

This is from the Taste of Home website... And it was tasty!!

1 package minature smoked sausages --- look in the prepackaged deli meat area
3/4 lb bratwurst links - cut into 1/2 inch slices
3/4 lb smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 bottle (18 oz) barbecue sauce
2/3 cup orange marmalade
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks, drained.

In a 3 qtr slow cooker, combine all the sausages.  In a small bowl, whisk the barbecue sauce, marmalade, mustard and allspice.  Pour over sausage mixture, stir to coat.

Cover and coat on high for 2 1/2 hours - 3 hours until heated through.  Stir in pineapple. 

Couple of notes here:
-- You have to buy good bratwurst & good polish sausage or else you wil have rubbery grossness
-- I used Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce- sweet w/some bite
-- I heated it up in the crockpot -then turned OFF the crockpot but served it out of there so it stayed warmer longer.

Enjoy!

Fajitas

Lauren made these fajitas up north this summer and they are delicious.

Fajitas - from Tyler Florence

Ingredients:
Marinade:
1 orange - juiced
2 limes - juiced
3 tablespoonds - canola oil
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 jalapeno - seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 lbs skirt or flank steak (she did steak & chicken)
1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
1 yellow bell peper thinly sliced
1 red onion thinly sliced

Guacamole
Salsa
Flour tortillas

In a small bowl, whisky marinade ingredients together and place steak in a shallow container and pour marinade over it.  Refridgerate, covered, for 8 hrs or overnight to tenderize the meat.  If you are doing Chicken it doesnt need to be marinated as long.

Drain the marinade from the meat.  grill the steak over medium high heat for 4 minutes each side.  Transfer steak to cutting board and let stand.  Saute the peppers in grill basket until limp (about 3 minutes).  Thinly slice the steak against the grain.

Spread guac on a tortilla, load it up w/steak & veggies & top with salsa.

Add cheese for extra delicious.

Apple Cider Pound Cake Recipe

This is from Bobby's House on the house crawl, he found the recipe online, not sure where but it was really good!

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 3 cups apple cider
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Bring the apple cider to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue boiling the apple cider for 25 to 35 minutes, until it has reduced to slightly less than 1 cup in volume, about 7/8 cup. Remove the cider from the heat and add the maple syrup; set the mixture aside.
Preheat and oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 10-inch bundt cake pan and set it aside.
Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Stir together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder, and salt) and then add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed butter-egg mixture and beat until most of the flour is incorporated.
Add the cooled apple cider-maple syrup reduction to the batter, beat it for 30 seconds, and then beat in the remainder of the dry ingredients. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake it in a 325F oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Shake it from side to side to loosen the cake from the pan (you should hear and feel a light thumping), and use a small rubber spatula to loosen any stubborn sides. Place a serving platter over the top of the cake and invert it, removing the pan form the top of the cake to allow it to cool completely.
This apple cider pound cake recipe makes 12 to 14 servings.

Cake Pops

Cake Pops!


1 Yellow Cake Mix- and everything needed to make the cake (eggs, oil, water)
1 jar of frosting (no cream cheese - too rich)
2 bags of Candy Melts (http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts)
wax paper
50 lollipop sticks http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E310639-475A-BAC0-577408851CD5C5D9&fid=59E18783-475A-BAC0-5CE37048D279FBF5


Follow the directions on the Yellow Cake Mix and bake the cake.
When the cake has cooled, cut the cake into small pieces and put in a mixing bowl.
Heat the Frosting up in the microwave (make sure to remove all the foil and stir after 25 seconds - don't overdo  it or it gets a weird consistency)

Pour the frosting into the mixing bowl, turn on and mix for a few minutes until all of the cake is moistened.  Create 1 inch balls of the cake dough and place on a waxpaper lined baking sheet (it is easier if you put it in the fridge for 45 minutes).

Microwave the candy melts in the microwave or melt using a double boiler or melt using a ceramic pot or fondue pot or crockpot.  The key is you can't have a major heat source during the dipping so melt and then put on a 'warm' setting or eles your pops will fall apart.

Once the chocolate is melted, put a stick in each cake ball and then dip in the chocolate.  Than place on a waxed lined surface.  if you are going to use sprinkles, do it every 3-4 balls b/c the chocolate will harden quickly.

My suggestion is to put the dough in the fridge in between mixing, making the balls, and dipping.  The colder the dough, the more likely it will stay on the stick and not fall off during the cake pop making process.

Good Luck!

Onion Cream Dip

Onion Cream Dip                                                  Bernadette Lowe

1/3 cup dairy sour cream

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped onion

1 small clove garlic

1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon paprika

1 8-oz package cream cheese softened

1 hard cooked egg, chopped fine

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

 

In a jar of an electric blender, combine sour cream, milk, onion, garlic Worcestershire sauce, salt and paprika and blend well.  Add cheese and blend till smooth.  Stir in egg and parsley.  Turn into serving dish.  Serve with celery stalks and assorted vegetable sticks.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Healthy Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

Author: Pinch of Yum from pinchofyum.com

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2-4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced or pureed
• 1 ounce light cream cheese
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack… anything will work)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (as much as you want). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
3. Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.
5. Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.
6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Court's Notes

As a side - this will serve at least 8.  Each time I've made it, I've had more filling then potato skins.  I've put the filling in a pyrex and sprinkled w/cheese & just cooked it off.  It's still really tasty.

I have only ever used 3 chipotle peppers and i think it's been a little spicy!  

The spices I used on the Corn -- Chili Powder, Ancho Chili Powder, Paprika, Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder.  Just a sprinkle of each around the perimeter of the pan.  Heavier on the Paprika & Ancho.  

I haven't used the cilantro on mine b/c I have 3 cilantro haters...and I used a Mexican blended cheese.  This saves well in the fridge - but note the longer it sits and then gets reheated - the spices kick it up a notch so if you are making ahead of time - maybe only 2 chipotle peppers.  Enjoy!

CHEESY STUFFED SOURDOUGH LOAF

 (adapted from Chicho’s Kitchen and found on nancycreative.com)

• 1 (1 lb. 8 oz.) round sourdough bread loaf (or substitute another type of bread if you don’t like sourdough)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 to 1/2 lb. (or about 5 to 8 ounces) thinly sliced roasted chicken, turkey, ham, or  salami
• 10 to 12 ounces sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese, or 5 to 6 ounces of each (about 14  slices total)
• 3/4 to 1 cup roasted red peppers from a jar, well-drained (I drained mine on a paper towel; if you don’t drain them, they’ll make the bread soggy)
• Optional: 1/3 to 1/2 cup sliced olives or any of the following–chopped marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, sliced mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your loaf on the sheet.  Slice your round loaf of bread vertically into 3/4″ to 1″ thick slices–but do not slice all the way through to the bottom! (You should end up with about 10 or 11 “slices,” giving you 9 or 10 “slits” to stuff with cheese, meat, and roasted peppers).
In medium bowl, combine olive oil, oregano, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and minced garlic, stirring to mix well. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides of all the bread “slices” generously with this olive oil mixture.
In assembly-line fashion, make 14 “piles” with each slice of cheese, topped with a thin slice of deli meat, then topped with a roasted red pepper slice or two (you could also add or substitute some chopped olives, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, etc. with or in place of the red pepper).
Bend each cheese slice “pile” as if you were going to fold it in half, and fit down in between your bread slices. Because several of the end slices are narrower, one “pile” is enough to fill them up. The wider middle slices will require two “piles” stuffed in between them. For the other slices, I stuffed one-and-a-half of the cheese “piles” in between them. If this sounds confusing, all you really need to remember is to stuff the bread slices with your piles of cheese and other goodies till your loaf is well-stuffed!
Bake your stuffed loaf on the baking sheet at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, and serve while warm! You can just pull the slices apart as you’re eating it, or cut them with a knife.

***I used 1/4 cup olive oil & a 1/4 cup red pepper olive oil which added a little heat to the appetizer.  We stuffed the bread once w/salami, mozz, provolone, and red peppers.  Another time we did provolone, mozz, sundried tomotoes.  It was tasty every time!!

Braised Short Ribs

So I my kitchen and I weren't on speaking terms for about a month - I was busy and the stove had developed a rattle so I left it alone in hopes it would heal (it didn't and I still need to call the repair man).  However I needed to cook so the challenge today was Short Ribs.  I used Anne Burrell's recipe from Food Network, if you don't watch her show they even have a clip of how to do this online which helped!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/braised-short-ribs-recipe/index.html

Here's the recipe:

• 6 bone-in short ribs (about 5 3/4 pounds)
• Kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces  ( I used 5 pieces)
• 2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces  (I used 5 medium ones)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 1/2 cups tomato paste
• 2 to 3 cups hearty red wine  (I used 3 cups)
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
• 2 bay leaves

Directions

Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  (Lesson learned: Do not preheat oven until veggies are in the pan)

While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste (I apparently didn't read the directions because I used a 5 celery stalks & 5 carrots! but I liked the results!). When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce the mixture by half.

(I missed the salt step...which is probably why my veggies never went to full crud stage - (also I had double that was needed)  but they did brown- eventually but again...I actually liked my results)

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves (Well because my veggies never went full crud I only needed 1 cup to start).

Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed (Def needed another cup halfway through).

Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes (check after 2 hours & 10 minutes...mine was done at 2 hrs at 45 and I forgot to remove the lid & I had browning occurring)  of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart (Whoops!  Keep an eye on it at the end- this part happened really quick!). Serve with the braising liquid.

So this was a harder recipe and I didn't really follow the directions very well but it still turned out really tasty so don't be afraid to try it!

Peperonata

First things first - this dish is soo tasty, don't be put off by the time it takes to make...it is mostly just letting these peppers do their thing on the stove and you can be off doing other things...

Secondly - if you want to be able to view & search this blog while on the go - download the Blogger App and you'll be ready to go!

Peperonata - its from Food Network Magazine in December it says it'll take 1 hr and 20 minutes in total...I think it was 1 hr 45 for me.


1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 fresh bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste  (I was out and had to use ketchup in a pinch...it worked!)
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
6 bell peppers (red, yellow, and orange), cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 bunch fresh basil, torn
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (preferably aged)  I used white balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic & bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft, about 6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring until the tomato paste turns brick red, about 5 minutes.  (if you have to use ketchup - it turns bright red)

Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add the wine & 1 cup water, increase the heat to high & bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low & cover.  Simmer until the peppers are very soft - about 30 minutes.

Uncover, increase the heat to medium and continue cooking stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated, 20 -25 minutes more.  Remove the bay leaves.  Stir in the basil & balsamic vinegar.

Serve Warm!

(I used a medium dutch oven...it worked but I had a liquid problem at the end...so if you have to use medium reduce the wine & water to half and just add a little bit of both if it evaporates too fast)

Cheesy corn puffs

This is from foodnetwork magazine November 2011. Very easy to make and quite tasty!
These can be made ahead and just baked off intime for dinner


1 cup canned cream- corn style
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1. Bring the corn, butter, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon ( I used a reg spatula just fine) until the mixture is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.

2. Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well between each addition. Stir in the cheese and chives ( I didn't have, could also use jalapeños). Chill dough 15 minutes ( or up to 24 hrs)

3. Scoop tablespoon-size mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with more cheese ( optional). Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and puffy, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Enjoy!!

Chess Cake

...don't eat this if you are headed to the dentist anytime soon

From Terri Jones to Pat Morales

1 yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (melted)
1 egg
Combine above ingredients and press into 9x13 pan. 

8oz cream cheese
2 eggs
4 cups powdered sugar

Soften 8oz package of cream cheese; add cream cheese to 2 beaten eggs.  Sift 4 cups powdered sugar and mix with eggs & cream cheese.  Pour over cake mix.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until brown on top.

best sloppy joes

it's been awhile...again...

but i found the best sloppy joe recipe ever, elie krieger knows what she's doing!  Here's the original Sloppy Joes recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/sloppy-joes-recipe/index.html

Here is my version:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pickled jalapeno, minced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 can Red Kidney beans, preferably low sodium drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (use the tubby type or be prepared to freeze half the can)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8 sandwich thins (arnold are my favorite)

Directions

Chop the onion, red pepper, peel and chop the garlic (unless you have a press), chop the jalapenos (if using pickled - I used the El Paso Jarred & Sliced, so just rough chop).

Brown the meat and the onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. 

While the meat is cooking - drain & rinse your red beans and open your other cans.  Mix everything together in a small bowl except the fresh vegetables.

Add the garlic, jalapeno, and red pepper and cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Place a half-cup scoop of the mixture onto each bun and serve. 

Enjoy!