Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Weekends are the only time I really have to cook as much as I would like. Most nights after work I prepare us a home cooked meal...but on weekends it's certainly not as rushed.

I had taken a cornish hen out to defrost and knew we were going to have stuffing with it, but I also wanted to include something green. I immediately thought about bacon wrapped asparagus, but not everyone in the family likes asparagus.

We've been on a fresh green bean kick lately, so I thought..."Hey, if you can wrap asparagus in bacon, you surely can wrap green beans in bacon...."

And so I did.

First I rinsed and boiled a large bag of fresh green beans for about 10-15 minutes. 

I added salt, pepper and garlic powder to the water. 

In a side pan I lightly cooked long strips of bacon. I literally just let each side lightly brown before removing it. I would say each piece was left no more than one minute on each side. 

In a small sauce pan I combined:

4 tsps of butter

1/2 tsp of soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

dash of salt

Stir until melted and combined. 

I love Reyonld's non+stick foil and use it all the time. I think it's the best invention ever. It makes cleaning a snap!!

So, I lined my pan with my non-stick foil. 

I spread out each slice of bacon and placed around 15 green beans in it. I brushed my above mixture on the green beans and wrapped up my bundle. 

I also sprinkled a little sea salt over each bundle. 

I popped these babies in the over for about 20 minutes on 350 degrees. 

Oh  my goodness....

There are no words...seriously no words.

It was the best part of our dinner. 

Everyone loved them! 

Lena told me I better hide what's left or she's going to finish them. Papa Bear loved the smokey taste. They were just plain delicious!!

Chebureki - Meat Pastry Recipe

Ever since I can remember, my Papa Bear has talked about this Russian meal that has ground meat inside a pastry. 

I've made sausage rolls, sausage bread, sausage balls...nothing was even  close.

Then my husband went out of town with his friend and ate at a Russian restaurant. 

And there it was....

Chebureki.

Naturally, when he got home all he could talk about what the Chebureki. And next, naturally, he set out on his mission to recreate this dish.

(I think there is nothing cuter than my husband, with my apron on, in my kitchen, covered in flour and spices! LOVE IT!!)

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For the dough he combined:

2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups of flour

      1/2 cup water (depending of feel of dough)

4 Tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp salt

1.) Whisk together all dry ingredients, then add olive oil.

2.) Add water and knead until the dough is no longer sticky.

(If it's sticky, add a bit more flour. If it's stiff, add a bit more water.)

You will see the dough no longer stick to your fingers. That's when you know it's good to go.

3.) In a separate bowl, combine:

1-2 lbs of ground meat

(We used 1 lb each of beef and lamb)

1/2 onion finely chopped

finely chopped parsley, cilantro, green onions

salt and pepper to taste

4.) Roll dough flat to a thickness of about 1/10 inch.

5.) Use small size bowl or lid to create circles, and cut.

(For remaining dough, roll, flatten and cut until all dough used.) 

6.) Fill one side of each circle with meat mixture. Leave a small edge. Pull the empty side of the circle over, covering meat. Press the edges together.

7.) Place each Chebureki meat pastry pouch into a prepared pan w/hot oil.

(We cooked ours alternating between medium and low-medium.)

Cook each about 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown. 

Drain each Chebureki on a plate with a few paper towels.

Serve alone or with feta cheese or sour cream. 

There are so many variations you can create with this.

You can use ground chicken, potatoes, add feta cheese inside, use only fresh veggies inside...you name it.

The most important thing is getting the dough down and with this recipe, the dough is super simple. 

These Chebureki were so very delicious. I can't believe they were so super simple and we waited this long (nearly 20 years) to make it!

I can certainly see this being served on a regular basis, because they are so very simple!!!

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We had storms all night and they are supposed to continue all day. There are flash floods warning though out the area. 

This is the perfect day to stay home and bake. My neck is still having cramps and spasms, so it will have to be my girls baking.

November 2013

November was quite a busy month. For me it was crunch time at school. Finals were beginning in full force and I had to make one last ditch effort to pass my two classes.

One assignment that needed completing was a trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art.

I love going to the museum. Thanks to my Archaeology class and my awesome instructor Veronica Pue I see everything in a different light.

The first portion we visited was the Egyptian exhibit.

Loved seeing the jewelry that has been recovered. 

Of course I enjoyed the Italian exhibition and sculptures. I hope one day to visit the museums in Rome and take all that in! For now, though, I'll make do with the bits of Rome and Italy exhibited in America. 

Part of my assignment was the Mayan and Aztec artifacts.

Here is the codex. 

This lady, in part of the Mexico arts section, was sculpted of wood.

The detail was amazing. She is unknown. 

Even her eyelashes were made of hair. 

The girls especially loved the contemporary pieces. 

This 3-D piece was one of my favorites! 

This knife was made of gold and encrusted with diamonds. 

The craftsmanship was just amazing! 

I loved the ancient Chinese vases. 

It's amazing that they are still paired and in such perfect condition! 

November had some very, very cold days.

I have to admit, I loved it! 

And I loved getting to wear my warm snuggly boots!

I picked my Charlie up.

He sits on my nightstand by my bed. 

I spent my Thanksgiving on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I love the all male tap group. 

They were pretty awesome. 

I made my turkey casserole with the leftover turkey and stuffing. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to visit my brothers and sisters.

My brother Jr made deer chili.

Oh my goodness...it was delicious! 

Luigi took advantage of the cold weather and spent alot of time on my bed! 

These two boys snuggled lots with me. 

Usually Micah plopped down first then Manziel followed. 

I decided to amp up my accessories and wear earrings again.

I'm not sure if chandelier earrings are in style or not, but I sure love my new purchases.

The girls and I went to see Thor, enjoyed Starbucks coffee, spent a little too much at Bath and Body Works and found a cute store, Charming Charlies. 

My word... I am obsessed! 

It's a really bad thing that we found it.

Work has been so busy. 

I may have even broken down and cried a time or two.

My neck/shoulder situation certainly helps none.

These past two months it has hurt more than ever. 

It seems nothing makes it stop.

Nothing.

I am getting really fed up with it!

I can't believe here it it...December 29...this year is almost over.

Time certainly did fly.

This has been one hard, stressful and sad year.

I really hope 2014 is much different!

Simple Turkey Casserole

I've been out of the kitchen quite a bit lately but have been trying to come up with some simple, quick and super easy recipes that I could hopefully stretch out to a couple of meals.

I came up with this super simple turkey casserole.

First, I browned one package of lean turkey meat.

I seasoned it with a little onion powder, garlic powder, season all an pepper. 

I boiled one box of elbow macaroni with a little salt. 

I mixed the macaroni, ground turkey, one bag of broccoli pieces and two fresh tomatoes.

Sprinkled a little for good measure...

Added in about 1/3 cup of plain bread crumbs, two handfuls of cheese and mixed.

Layer the top with about 1/8 cup of bread crumbs and another 1/2 cup of cheese. 

Threw it in the oven...baked for about 15-20 minutes on 350.

It was so delicious!

There were absolutely no throw aways on this one!

It will definitely stay in my recipe box for future use!

Easy Pizza Roll Recipe

My sister posted Pizza Rolls that she made on Facebook. They looked sooooo good, so I decided to try it as well.
All you need are a few ingredients...
*canned biscuits
*pepperoni
*block cheese
*italian seasoning
*garlic powder
*parmesan cheese
* 1 egg
1.) First flatten each biscuit into a circle. We used the large biscuits, but you can also use the small ones.
2.) Place 3-4 slices of pepperoni into each flattened biscuit.




3.) Cut a slice of the block cheese and place on top of pepperoni. We used Colby Jack cheese.




4.) Top with 3-4 more slices of pepperoni and fold biscuit sides over to seal.




5.) Once all biscuits are filled and rolled, brush the tops with a beaten egg.




6.) Once all pieces have been brushed with the egg, sprinkle Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and Italian seasoning on top.




7.) Bake according to package instructions.




These pizza rolls couldn't be easier to make.




And again, they are so versatile...you could add olives, onions or go with spinach, chicken and a white cheese instead. There are so many ways you could make these.




The pizza rolls were a hit with my family. I'm sure we'll be making many, many more!
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