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!!

Parmesan Tomatoes - Super Easy, Super Good

I wanted to make a good, not too bad for us snack and my Papa Bear bought a lot of tomatoes,

......so......

I decided to try to make some simple Parmesan Baked Tomatoes.

First I sliced three Roma tomatoes and layered them on the non-stick Reynold's foil. 

{{If you haven't tried Reynold's Non-Stick Foil....you are SERIOUSLY missing out!!}}

I gave each tomato slice a sprinkle of salt, tiny dash of garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and a more generous dash of Italian seasoning.

Next, I sprinkled a very tiny dash of plain bread crumbs and a heap of Low-Fat Italian Blend cheese. 

I then sprinkled my Francesca Parmesan Basil & Oregano cheese blend on top. 

This Parmesan cheese blend was a special new item at H-E-B, so I thought I would give it a try.

It is really good!!! 

I baked the tomato slices on 350 for about 15 minutes. 

And then, my goodness.....

they were so good!!! 

A perfect mid-day snack.

My girls loved them!!!

The only thing I would change next time is to add the bread crumbs into the cheese and make a mixtures out of it. And add a bit more of the bread crumbs. I think that would be really good.

This was my first attempt at something new. 

There's always room for improvement!

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!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spinach Pesto Tacos

Tacos don't always have to be made with the traditional ingredients. Sometimes it's fun to add new things...things you wouldn't necessarily think of adding..try it with a twist!

And thus, Spinach Pesto Tacos was born.

First, brown 1/2 of a small onion with in a tablespoon of olive oil.

Next, brown about a pound and a half of hamburger meat. Sprinkle in 1/2 packet of taco seasoning. This was made using the Taco Bell brand and it worked really well. 

While the meat is browning, prepare one bag of frozen spinach, then drain.

Mix this into the browned meat along with 1/2 cup of basil pesto.

You can also add in a can of Rotel or hot sauce.

Mix all ingredients well. 

You don't have to use the larger, stand up shells, but it does make it easier for baking.

Preheat the over at 350...stuffed the shells, layer on some shredded colby jack cheese and put the tacos in the over for about 10 mins. Just long enough for the cheese to melt

and the shells to get crispy.

.........THEN ........

a smart idea emerged.... add chopped tomatoes and avocado to the meat filling,
THEN layer with cheese and bake.

Sheer perfection!

Such a fun twist to your traditional taco.

There are so many varieties one could come up with....

shrimp with spinach and white cheese...

ground turkey with tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella cheese...

salmon with dirty rice and dill, a touch of lemon juice, then topped with a Greek yogurt...

there really is no end to the creations one could dream up.

Cooking doesn't necessarily have to be about following a set of rules.

It should be fun, imaginative and show a part of who you are.....

crazy little quirks and all!

Easy and Simple Chicken Pot Pies

I have always wanted to try my hand at making homemade pot pies. When I asked Papa Bear what he would like me to make for him last Saturday, he said pot pies.

I used Mom's recipe for home made pie crust. She was given this recipe by her former father in law.

 Step 1: Chop 1/2 onion and saute with about 1/3 cup of butter.

Add in 1/3 cup of flour with salt (1/2 tsp + 1 pinch) and pepper (1/4 tsp) until blended well.

 Step 2: Gradually add in 2 cups of chicken broth (canned, boxed or season cube)

and 1/2 cups of milk.

Continue stirring until thick and bubbly.

 Step 3: Str in 2 1/2 cups of chicken or turkey (I used canned chicken)

and 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables.

Spoon chicken mixture into a crust lined pie pan.

Top with the second crust. I just doubled Mom's recipe.

Seal the edges and cut slits in several places in the top crust.

 Step 4: Bake 30-40 minutes on 425 degrees.

There are so many variations you could do with this.

I want to try one with turkey, wild rice and mushrooms.

It was a perfect dinner for a stay at home, watching football Saturday!

WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES & CREME FUDGE - SUPER EASY

Lena and I found a super easy, super good recipe for White Chocolate Cookies and Creme Fudge in my new Southern Living Cookbook. Being as easy as it is to make, I'm not sure if it's good we found out about it!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk

2 (12 oz) packages white chocolate morsels

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream

3 cups coarsely crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies

(about 25 cookies), divided

Pinch of salt

Directions-
1.) Line a greased 9" square pan with aluminum foil; set aside.
2.) Combine first three ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil, then cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add white chocolate morsels, marshmallow cream, 2 cups crushed cookies and a pinch of salt. Stir until melted.

3.) Pour fudge into prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cookies over fudge, gently pressing cookies into fudge. Cover and chill until firm (about 2 hours).

4.) Lift uncut fudge in aluminum foil from pan. Remove foil and cut into squares.

It doesn't get more simple than that!! And it was so delicious!

I'm linking to Foodie Friday, stop by and visit to find more delicious recipes!

Fried Pickles & What a Week....

What a week this has been....let me just say, I am so, so glad it's over! It started off so hot and stayed hot and will keep being hot through this weekend. Oh come on, I am so, so over this heat! Yesterday when I came home from school I was wiped out, just exhausted. I laid down on my bed and passed out for at least an hour. When I woke up I told Emil for some reason I wanted fried pickles.... My sweet Papa Bear got up, went in the kitchen, CC found him a recipe online and he made me some fried pickles! This recipe is too good not to share!

Fried Dill Pickles

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup ice water

2 tbsp dill pickle juice

8 medium-large pickles, sliced 1/4 inch

or 4 cups drained dill pickles

oil for frying

Stir flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Make a well in the center and add water, egg yolk and dill pickle juice at the same time.

Stir until smooth, cover bowl and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil in the deep fryer (or pan).

Dip pickles in batter to coat evenly and fry.

After refrigerating the pickles he was good to go....

We did add about 1/4 cup more flour because the consistency was just off a bit. It worked much, much better with the extra flour.

They were so, so good!!! The crust was amazing, light and delicious!

We dipped them in ranch dressing... I can't wait for him to make more!

I guess my nap yesterday messed up my night. I went to bed late, woke up late and had a hard time getting started. I also left late to school this morning...very, very late. I was rushing down the road and saw a cop on a motorcycle but it was too late.......

He said he saw me coming up fast behind him and he was hoping I would slow down but I didn't and his radar clocked me at 57 in a 45 so he had to pull me over. He kept apologizing and told me, "Maim, I know we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of things, but you have to be careful. Just please, please be careful...." This was my first speeding ticket in over 6 years.... ugh!And I ended up being late to class!! Double Ugh!!

Mom came over for a little while and we went to Homestead Handcrafts. I found lots of cuties, even bought a lavender shirt that says, "Love, Love, Love" on it. I just couldn't shake this funk I've been in since that stupid ticket. It's no one's fault but my own. Guess I really need to take it slow and try to slow down a bit.... but on the up side, the speed limit on TX highways increased to 75 today!! I'm just going to have to keep it on cruise control I guess!

I'm just glad this week is FINALLY over....I've got nothing planned but I don't think I have ever been so ready for the weekend!

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