Jalapeno Poppers

I might get smacked for this, but I always feel like Jalapeno Poppers are a little too greasy, and. . . I don't know.  Just somehow wrong.  I've never been a huge fan.
But this last Super Bowl Sunday (no, we didn't watch any of the Super Bowl), seemed like a fantastic time to try this recipe out.  I had seen it the weekend before and thought, "OMFGthoselookgood."  And you know what?  OMFGtheyAREgood.
I really like that Aarti writes her recipes with a similar voice to me - with lots of editorial.  :)

1 8 oz container of lowfat/light cream cheese, at room temp
1 large Granny Smith apple, diced (cored too, duh)
3 green peppers, roots and tips sliced off and sliced thinly
salt
10 jalapenos
10 slices of bacon, sliced in half
20 toothpicks
** this makes 20 jalapenos with a little bit of the cream cheese mixture left over - oddly enough it is delicious on banana chips (I know, but my boyfriend used to be a stoner and he gets these weird ideas about things I'm cooking and other items in the kitchen for snacking and from time to time I humor him and he frequently finds some new delicious combination that makes me scrunch up my face and say no way), but I imagine on a bagel or toast or crackers or whatever, it's also delightful.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

In a large bowl, stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add the apples and scallions, plus as much salt as you like.

Slice each jalapeno in half lengthwise, and then scoop out the membranes and seeds.


Using that same spoon, fill each jalapeno half with the cream cheese mixture; fill until just over the rim of the jalapeno. Wrap each pepper with a bacon half and secure with a toothpick.
Line then up on the baking sheet and pop into the oven until bacon has browned on the bottom, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes so you don't burn off the inside of your mouth.  Trust me.

Hash Brown Casserole

It was at a diner in. . . .Florida maybe?, where I had a life altering breakfast.  You know the type - you take a bite and think, "OMFG, why doesn't EVERYONE serve this EVERYWHERE?!"  It was basically all my brekkie favorites - eggs, cheese, meat and hashbrowns - cooked into a casserole dish.  Soft, ooey, gooey, flavorful HEAVEN.
I've only dreamed of it for oh, four years or so and have yet to try to make it on my own.  Between Paula Deen (my arteries slammed shut just thinking of what her version would be like), Cooks.com, and everywhere else  you can find a recipe, you're sure to find some variation (bacon!  sausage!  ham!  potato chips?!) you'll be dying to try.  I'm tempted to give it a whirl now because I just had my step grandmother's amazing scrambled egg Christmas morning casserole and thought I could try out the hashbrown version for a hungover January 1st.

Breakfast Casserole
3 cups of potatoes O'Brien, thawed  (you can use the cubed type hash browns if you can't find O'Briens)
1/2 cup milk - I used heavy whipping cream because I had it and also because wow, but I wouldn't normally!
5 eggs
1/3 cup chopped onion (use 1/2 cup if you're not using O'Briens)
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I have a swiss and Gruyere mixture ready to go, but use your fave)
sliced ham, cooked & crumbled bacon, or cooked & crumbled sausage
breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

Beat the eggs and milk and season with salt & pepper (feel free to try paprika, onion or garlic powder, or celery salt here as well).  Stir in onions, 1 cup of cheese and the ham or sausage (the bacon I'd keep to crumble on top so it stays crispy, but you could stir it in if you'd prefer).
Put the hash browns into a baking or pie dish and pour the egg mixture over the top.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and put into oven.  Turn heat on to 350 and allow to cook for 35 minutes or until set.  About five minutes before it's done, add the bread crumbs and bacon to make a nice crispy crust.

Money Saving Thanksgiving - oh the SHAME

As horrifying as this is, Sandra Lee made a simple, affordable Thanksgiving dinner that actually looked quite yummy.  Trust me, I can hardly even choke out the words.  And yet, I'm still going to post here because hey - foods is foods and these recipes look easy.
I admit; this is the recipe that won me over - cream cheese?  IN the mashed potatoes?!  Madness.

Baked Mashed Potatoes
You basically just make your standard mashers (with salt, butter, milk, salt and pepper; whatever you use) and then add the fun.  Throw in a hefty handful of shredded cheddar cheese, a half a block of cream cheese and smoosh it in to incorporate.
Scrape it into a baking dish coated in nonstick cooking spray, then cover in crumbled cooked bacon and breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes or so at 350.  You can serve with chives or green onions.  Nom!

Cider gravy sounds pretty tasty too.  Again, get ready to make your standard gravy, but combine 1 cup of cider with 1 cup of chicken broth and slowly mix that into a roux (butter & flour; 3 tbsp of each).  You can add pan drippings if you want, or skip them.  Her recipe calls for 1 tbsp of brown mustard, but ew and I'm thinking honey mustard might be great.  A teaspoon of fresh thyme to finish, and ta da!

For her Roasted Turkey Breast with Spicy Herb Oil, she did a yummy spice rub.  I typically jam a bunch of pats of butter, cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary under my turkey skin, but her version sounds good too.  She just takes canola oil with chopped rosemary, chopped sage, chopped thyme, garlic powder, chile powder, crushed red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and rubs the mixture under the skin and on top before baking.

The final recipe that caught my eye was one of her round two recipes for Fried Potato Cakes.  My Irish boyfriend loves him some potato cakes, and since these ones have bacon, cheese, and green onions if you're using the leftovers from the above recipe, they sound divine!  You just take some of your leftover mashers, stir in some more cheese, and  dredge in bread crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne and fry til the outside is crispy.  Easy peasy.  Drain them on paper towels to get rid of some of the excess oil.

And it just wouldn't be a Sandra Lee recipe post without cocktail time. . . how about Pumpkin Pie Martinis and Holiday Party Punch?
The martini is a bit labor intensive, requiring you to make a pumpkin pie spice simple syrup with brown sugar; 1/2 cup of each with 1 tsp of spice (hmmm, how else can I use that I wonder?), and then one of those awful sugar rims using regular sugar and more pumpkin pie spice - which I'll skip thanks.  They always either slide down the glass making it all sticky, or they dry onto the edge of the glass requiring you to nibble it off.
Then you whisk together 2 cups of half and half (Trader Joe's fat free!), 2 tbsp pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and half of the simple syrup.  Combine with 4 ounces of vanilla vodka and shake or stir well with ice.  Pour into glasses and top with a little bit of sparkling water if desired.

The punch is a bottle of cranberry juice, a bottle of sparkling cider, half of a 2 liter bottle of gingerale, the juice of 2 lemons, and 12 ounces of vodka mixed together in a punch bowl.  Garnish with a sliced orange and frozen cranberries to act as ice for, oh, 2 minutes or so.  In fact, I'd probably freeze a bit of extra juice to use as the ice cubes to keep things cool.

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Once upon a time, in one of our Iron Chef battles, the ingredient du jour was Pillsbury Crescent Dough.  Seriously.  I made a dessert - an apple turnover thing I think, and a savory - samosas.  They were yummy - not win worthy it seems, but yummy.  I got the idea from a snack I used to make for the boys I babysat in highschool.  If their mom had leftover mashed potatoes, one of their favorite snacks was a dollop of potato wrapped up in the middle, baked, and then served with ketchup.  Simple, boring, but comforting.  This led me to big plans for Thanksgiving leftovers - can you imagine little pockets of leftover deliciousness?  Stuffing, potatoes, turkey, gravy, maybe some cranberry sauce?  Hot pockets!!!

Also, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I am totally going to make these.  But just because I'm a "foodie" doesn't mean I can only like fancy, expensive or difficult to make dishes - right?

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls 

2 tablespoons ranch dressing

1/4 cup cooked real bacon pieces or 4 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled

1/2 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium)

 

Heat oven to 350°F.

If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut lengthwise into 2 long rectangles. Press each into 12x4-inch rectangle.

Spread dressing over each rectangle to edges. Sprinkle each with bacon, Cheddar cheese and onions.

Starting with one short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 8 slices; place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I saw this today in this month's issue of Cooking Light while I was at the grocery store and drooled a little.  Once I'm off of my "near starvation diet" I can't wait to give this a whirl!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

4  (6-ounce) red potatoes
2  teaspoons  olive oil
1/2  cup  prechopped onion
1 1/4  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
3  bacon slices, halved
1/3  cup  shredded cheddar cheese
 4  teaspoons  thinly sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.

While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.

Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

Calories:  325

Fat:  11.1g (sat 5.2g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:  13.2g

Carbohydrate:  43.8g

Fiber:  3g

Cholesterol:  27mg

Iron:  1.3mg

Sodium:  670mg

Calcium:  261mg

An ode to bacon

In honor of Bacon Camp (oh yes I did just say Bacon Camp), I thought I'd post a few nommy ideas for using bacon - and really, it's not like bacon needs any help at nomosity.  But, I noticed I reference prosciutto a lot in my recipes and wasn't giving bacon a fair shake - especially given how delicious it is. 

I had a pizza in our company cafeteria the other day that was pretty fab (oxymoron?), and it featured perfectly crispy bacon, thinly sliced red onion and fresh arugula lightly dressed in balsamic.  Divine.

MY dream pizza starts with a yummy creamy white sauce, gets topped by mozzarella and provolone, then sprinkled with balsamic onions and crispy bacon.  Maybe some fresh tomato.  Hell.  Yes.  BLT pizza!
I don't think you need a recipe for that though, so fend for yourselves.

Another thing I simply can't pass up (but do, all the time - man I hate calories) is baked potato soup - oh man, the potatoey creamy goodness with fresh green onions, stringy, melty cheese, and crispy bacon bits. . . Here is a Bob Evans sponsored recipe.  Please note that I have never heard of Bob Evans.

Of course I've shared my prosciutto wrapped asparagus, and this recipe can easily be made with bacon.  Probably even turkey bacon if you must.

And what about those angels on horseback?  No wait, seems that's oysters, and I don't dig oysters.  Maybe you do.  Is there a cute name for the bacon wrapped shrimp?  There should be.

Another delicious bacony treat - salads.  Yes really!  You can sub the pancetta in this recipe for bacon, or try one of my picnic faves.  And yes, I know there is mayo in it but I prefer not to talk about it.  You can even go South Beach on it if you'd like.  Well, South Beach-esque.

A new passion of mine that oddly enough - is entirely bacon free:





Purchase these.  You will thank me.  Also, THEY ARE VEGETARIAN.  So, go on, my Jewish and non meat eating friends that still remember the wonderful taste of bacon - indulge.

For the non-traditional bacon lover - a bacon cheeseburger cake perhaps?



When all else fails - just fry it up or pop it in the oven for 20 minutes and crunch away.  Just, please - don't wear it.

Potato Salad

The only way to enjoy potato salad is German style.
Hölle ja.
(Thanks Sammy, for making me crave it for two days now)

• 4 potatoes
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
3. Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.
4. Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Once I'm in Phase 3, I'm totally trying this with sweet potatoes. Think it'll work? If not, maybe I'll try this one.

1 sweet potato, peeled
1 large mango, skin removed

3 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp grated lime rind
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp extra-fine sugar (or Splenda, or you might not need it at all, though it is a super tiny amount)
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 head Bibb or Boston (round) lettuce
½ cup (10g) fresh mint (ew)

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium.

Chop both the sweet potato and mango flesh into long wedges, about ¾-in (2cm) wide, ½-in (1 cm) thick. Place in separate dishes.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour half over the mango and potato.

With tongs in hand, arrange sweet potato wedges directly over the grill and leave for 6-8 minutes, until grill marks appear and the bottom sides begin to soften. Turn and grill the other side for a further 6 minutes. While the other sides are cooking, arrange the mango wedges directly on the grill. Grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer all the wedges to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Place them in a bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.

Arrange lettuce leaves on salad plates. Scatter the sweet potato and mango over the lettuce and add a sprinkling of sea salt and finely sliced mint.

Serves 4-6.

Soup

Aida was calling them one dish wonders, I think they just sounded like some really yummy soups.

Baked Potato Soup

• 4 ounces bacon, small dice
• 1 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 5 medium garlic cloves
• 1 medium russet potato, large dice
• 2 medium red potatoes, large dice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 quart (8 cups) chicken stock
• 1 sourdough baguette, cut into1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese
• Sour cream, for garnish
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Heat bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plated with a slotted spoon and discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings.

Return pot to stove and add onions and garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add potato and stir to coat. Add vinegar and scrape up any browned bits. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potato is fork tender, about 20 minutes. Heat oven to 450degreesF and arrange a rack in the upper third.

When soup is ready, ladle into 8- to 12-ounce ovensafe bowls and top with two baguette slices. Pile cheese and bacon on top and repeat to make 4 to 6 servings. Place on a baking sheet and place in oven until cheese is melty and browned, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly, top each bowl with a dollop sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions and serve.

"Lazy" Pork Hot Pot

• 1 1/2 quart (6 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5 medium garlic cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 (2-inch piece) ginger, sliced
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps removed and reserved, tops thinly sliced and reserved
• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced on bias, for serving
• Toasted sesame oil, for serving (optional)

Combine broth, sherry, soy, garlic, ginger, and mushroom stems in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer until broth is infused with flavors, about 30 minutes.

Strain broth, return to pot over high heat, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add pork and mushrooms and cook until pork is just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Garnish with green onions and sesame oil, if using, and serve.

Hang on. . . .

I just need to add some more bacon. . . .



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