Brown Sugar Smokies

Ingredients:
1 pound bacon
1 16 oz  pkg little smokies
1 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Cut bacon into thirds and wrap each strip around a little sausage.  Place the wrapped sausages on toothpicks.  Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar.  Bake until bacon is crisp and the brown sugar melted.

Vegetable Potstickers

Ingredients:
1 red onion sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup white cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped garlic chives or chives
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 package round dumpling skins, also called gyoza (preferably twin dragon brand) Salt to taste
Canola oil

Directions
In a wok or large saute pan, add a little oil and saute onions and ginger. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add the cabbage, carrots and chives. Season. When mixture is soft, place in colander to drain. Add the sesame oil and cilantro when mixture is cooled. Check for seasoning. Using the gyoza skins, make half moon dumplings keeping the bottom flat. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with oil and place dumplings. When bottom gets brown, add 1/4 cup of water and immediately cover. This will steam the dumplings. Carefully watch the dumplings and completely evaporate the water so that the bottom gets crispy again and sticks to the pot. Serve with dipping sauce. SPICY SOY DIPPING SAUCE:
1/3 cup thin soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Combine all.

Chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn

I found this recipe on My hombased mom last year. I instantly loved it because there was no messing with candy thermometers and no goopy caramel topping (although that kind of caramel popcorn is good too). Plus it turns out just right every time. It also reminds me of my first trip to New York City when I first tried chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn. I think this popcorn is just as good, if not better because I use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Ingredients:
16 cups popped corn (I use my air popper)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1/2 cup butter

Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute. Stir and repeat for a total of five minutes. Should be hot and bubbly.

Add:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Mix until foamy. Put popped corn into a brown grocery bag. Pour syrup into bag. Stir to coat. Fold bag over. Place in microwave and microwave for one minute and shake. Repeat. Microwave 30 seconds and shake. Repeat. (sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired and shake again--I never do this cause I like chocolate drizzle)

Pour popcorn out to cool on wax paper


Melt 1 cup ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips in the microwave--first for 1 minute and stir then for another 30 seconds and stir until there are no lumps. Then I take the chocolate and drizzle over the cooling caramel popcorn. I then place the pan into the refrigerator to let the chocolate set.

Chicken Feed aka Chex Mix

Ingredients:
1 box Cheerios
1 box wheat Chex
1 box Rice Chex
1 box Corn Chex
1 bag pretzels (straight)
2 lbs mixed nuts (we left this out : )

Melt together and pour over the above
1 lb butter
1 cup oil
2 T Worcestershire
2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in sauce. Bake in oven for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes.

Chili Cheese Dip

I recently saw this on someone's blog--but I can't remember which one to give them credit. It was so simple I had to try it out. It was really good and the pure simplicity of it will ensure that I make this again and again.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 can chili

Directions:
Place both ingredients into a small crock pot and heat on low. Stir occasionally until completely heated through. Serve with Tortilla chips

Jalapeno Snacks

Ingredients:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (1oz) pkg dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
20 large jalapenos, halved and seeded
1 lb sliced bacon, cut in half

Directions:
Preheat to 400. Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl until evenly blended. Spoon some of the cheese mixture into each jalapeno half, wrap with half a bacon strip, and secure with a toothpick (I didn't need to do this) Arrange the wrapped jalapeno halves onto a broiler pan (I put them on a cooling wrack on a sheet cake pan). Bake in oven until bacon is no longer pink and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce on a Falafel Sandwich

I'm mainly posting for the yogurt sauce--it's the white stuff between the flat bread and the lettuce. This is a really yummy sandwich but there really isn't a recipe to it. I just had store bought falafels and flat bread. One day I may try to make them myself but I'm not up for it yet. In fact I barely tried a falafel this summer when I was visiting my sister in law and she made us these sandwiches. She found the recipe for the cucumber yogurt sauce on cooks.com. Which wow, I love this sauce so much. I've dipped veggies in it, put it on my quesadillas, and put it on these sandwiches. It's just kind of a great all around dip or sauce. I think what really wins it over for me is the cumin, I've realized I love the flavor of cumin. I've had this with the cucumbers added and without and it's great both ways.

Ingredients:
1/2 med. cucumber peeled, seeded & chopped fine
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. ground pepper

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together and enjoy!

Apple Dip

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Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup + of caramel ice cream topping
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup toffee bits

Directions:
Place cream cheese, caramel sauce, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix together until smooth. Stir in toffee bits and then sprinkle a few on top. Serve with sliced apples and enjoy!

Garlic Fridge Pickles

 

Ingredients:
2 whole cucumbers
2 cloves garlic
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp dill, dried
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pinch corriander
6 whole peppercorns

Directions:
Use cucumbers with no wax residue on the peels. Slice cucumbers in 1/4-1/8 inch slices. Cut garlic cloves in quarters, then smash them a bit. Put cucumbers and garlic in a bowl. Heat vinegar, water, sugar, salt, dill, red pepper flakes, corriander, and peppercorns in a small sauce pan until sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour over cucumbers and garlic. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator. Serve cold.

Egg Rolls

 It's very important that you choose the right egg roll wrappers. Apparently the type of wrappers in regular grocery stores are thicker than the ones you can get at Asian grocery stores. So the thinner the better.

Ingredients:
5 potatoes diced
1+ cups finely chopped cabbage
4-5 carrots diced
4 stalks celery finely chopped
5 green onions sliced
2 1/2 cups bean sprouts
dash of pepper
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp canola oil + more for frying the egg rolls
Thin egg roll wrappers
Optional: cooked ground beef


Directions:
Heat 2-3 Tbsp of oil in large frying pan. Add the potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, green onion, and bean sprouts. Add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce and a few dashes of pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes. It doesn't need to be cooked completely because it will cook more when you fry and bake the rolled egg rolls. Take the filling and prepare to wrap the egg rolls. Have a small amount of water handy. Place an egg roll wrapper in front of you so it looks like a diamond in front of you--with a point toward you. Put about 1/4 cup of the filling on the egg roll wrapper on the end closest to you. Then dip your finger in the water and put a drop of water on the tip of the wrapper closest to you. Take that end and wrap it over the filling and the water will make the wrapper stick to itself.
Take the right point of the wrapper and fold it to the left so that no filling is coming through and do the same with the other side. Now roll it as tightly as you can. When you come to the end get another drop of water to seal the wrapper shut. Once they are all rolled up it is time to fry them.

Heat about a half in layer of oil in a frying pan. It needs to be hot enough that it will fry the egg rolls quickly. This step is just to get them crispy not to cook them completely. Just put the egg rolls in for a couple minutes on each side. Place them on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Once that is done you can put some aside to freeze and eat later. When you want to eat them you take them and do the next step which is to bake them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Flip them over halfway through baking. These were so good. My sister in law also adds ground beef to hers which is very good too.

Blueberry Salsa

Ingredients:
2 med tomatoes
1 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In medium bowl combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and store overnight for flavors to blend. If salsa is very juicy you may need to drain before serving.

Balsamic Black Bean Salsa

I saw this salsa and immediately knew I would love it! Black beans, corn, and balsamic vinegar--all ingredients I love. It is really good. I found this over at Your Homebased Mom.

Ingredients:
1 – 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 -15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained well (I used frozen corn)
1/2 medium red onion finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 C finely chopped fresh cilantro
1- 7 oz. can salsa verde (I used Herdez brand)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the salsa marinade for a few hours or overnight before serving. Drain most of the liquid from the salsa before serving. Serve with tortilla chips

Avocado Salsa

I found this recipe from Favorite Family Recipes It made the perfect topping for the bean quesadillas. It's really so delicious.

Ingredients:
1 6 oz can sliced black olives, drained
3 firm ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
black pepper

Directions:
Chop all the vegetables, stir together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:
4-5 tomatillos
2 jalapenos, seeded for a milder taste
1 large or 2 small avocados
Cilantro leaves separated from sprigs (I used probably 1 cup of loosely packed leaves)
1/2 c milk
salt to taste (I also added a couple dashes of garlic salt and onion salt)

Directions:
Cook tomatillos and jalapenos by boiling until soft.
Add avocado, cilantro, and milk.
Salt to desired taste.
Blend until smooth, adding more milk if you want to thin out consistency.

Speedy Salsa

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a food processor, combine all ingredients; cover and process until chunky. Transfer to a small bowl

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

These eggrolls were soo delicious! Absolutely loved them and I loved that they were baked. You can even feel Good about eating them because they are good for you too. I got this recipe from Annie's Eats blog.

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups shredded mexican cheese blend
1 (4oz) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (abt 24 total)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place 1/4 cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa.

Deviled Eggs

Today is a big day in Texas. All the kids take the statewide TAKS test. The kids are suppose to have a good breakfast on this day to make sure they do well on their tests. When I asked Beth what she wanted for breakfast--she wanted deviled eggs. So we went to our trusty website Allrecipes.com and got this excellent recipe. Beth made them herself and they turned out really good.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt to taste
2 dash hot pepper sauce
paprika, for garnish

Directions:
Place eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 18 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool and peel.
Cut eggs in half. Remove yolks and place in a medium bowl. Mash together with celery, onion, mayonnaise, salt and hot pepper sauce. Stuff the egg white halve with the egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle eggs with paprika. Chill covered in the refrigerator until serving.

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

 
Ingredients:
1 pkg(10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 pkg Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Spoon into a 2 quart casserole, then top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. bake for 35 min or until dip is hot.

Mango Salsa

I LOVE this salsa. I can't get enough of it.

Ingredients:
1 red onion finely chopped
2 large ripe mangos peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Black Bean Hummus

I am currently addicted to hummus. It is so good. I love dipping pita bread in it, but fresh veggies are good too. I think I like this made with the black beans even more than the original hummus. They are both delish!

Ingredients:
2 cans (15oz) black beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
12 Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
paprika to sprinkle on top

Directions:
Combine beans, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper in a food processor or blender. Process until mixed or it reaches the desired consistency, scraping the side of the bowl as needed. Spoon the hummus into a bowl and sprinkle with the olives and paprika. Serve with pita chips, bagel chips, fresh cut carrots. Refrigerate leftover.