Beer Split Pea & Ham Soup

 Sometimes our kitchen longs for a little something different.

Something crazy out of the norm.

Let me tell you how this craving came about.

My mother's husband was rooting through their fridge like he always

does when we visit.

He searches for food to send home with us.

While his head is buried deep in the fridge he yells,

"Oh my gosh Ang, you should see what I found".

He backs out of the fridge with a deli meat package in his hand.

 "I got these ham pieces for 1.25 a pound".

Then he goes into explaining how they sell them so cheap.

I looked at the package label and said,

"But Bob, that says doggy treats".

"Yeah, yeah I know. But there is enough ham on those shavings

that you could chop them up and use them for beans or something".

"But Bob, it says doggy treats".

I just couldn't get the "doggy treats" out of my head.

What this meat market does is, they trim the hams and put the scraps

in bags FOR DOGGY TREATS.

But I kindly took the bag of doggy treats and headed home.

That is where this craving came from.

I will share the link for the recipe I followed.

I made a few changes of my own.

I found the recipe at Pig and Paint.

As far as the changes:

I chopped up my doggy treats and browned them in about 2 TBS of bacon grease.

I added onion and garlic powder. I didn't have any fresh garlic.

I also added some great northern beans that I had blanched and froze. 

About a cup and a half worth.

Just follow the recipe as printed, or make the changes I did.

Whichever way you choose to make this soup is up to you.

But you have to make it.

It is one amazing soup.

See Ya'all Soon!

Club Sandwich Dip

 One thing we have been doing over the holidays

(from before Thanksgiving until now)

is, we have been trying different dips and cheese balls.

We have tried some really good ones, 

and also ones that aren't very good.

But we have been having fun trying the different combinations.

This one struck my attention because of the name.

Who doesn't like a good club sandwich?

And to have it on a cracker.....even better.

This one didn't last long in our house.

Actually, we wiped it out in one day.

I skipped the crock pot method and did mine on the stove.

I didn't want to wait for this goodness. 

I found this recipe in a Family Circle Magazine.

Hometown Favorites, Volume 6

Club Sandwich Dip

1 lb. smoked turkey, chopped

8 oz. cooked ham, chopped

8 oz. process cheese spread (Velveeta)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, cut up

1 c. light mayonnaise

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled

1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 TBS sliced green onion

Whole wheat toast points (I served mine with Wheat Thins)

In a 3 1/2 or 4 qrt slow cooker combine turkey, ham, process cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard.

Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 1-2 hours or until cheeses are melted, stirring after 1 hour.

Serve immediately or keep warm, covered, on warm setting or low-heat setting for up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Before serving, stir in half of the bacon. Top with the remaining bacon, tomatoes, and green onion. Serve with whole wheat toast points.

See Ya'all Soon!

Bacon Bombs!

 Have you ever tried something that you just have to have more of?

These little babes are one of those "something".

We call these Bacon Bombs.

Oh, Bite It calls them Bang Bang Bacon Balls.

The original recipe can be found here.

While you are there, take a look around and 

see what else you can find.

After making these meatballs I will be visiting

Oh, Bite It! more often.

 And everyone loves bacon!

I bet Benjamin Buford Blue (My friends call me Bubba)   

could go on and on with bacon dishes,

just like he did with shrimp dishes.

But anyway,

These little things are the bomb!

I made a few changes of my own.

This is what I did:

Bacon Bombs!

Fully cooked frozen meatballs (I used Schwan's)

1 lb. thick sliced bacon

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 TBS honey

1/4 c. GFS (Gordon's Food Service) BBQ sauce

2 TBS hot sauce of your choice

1 dash cayenne pepper

1 dash red pepper flakes

Toothpicks

Wrap a slice of bacon around each meatball until bacon is all used up. Secure bacon with toothpick.

In a small saucepan add sauce ingredients. Just heat until everything is mixed together. It doesn't have to be super hot. Dip each bacon wrapped meatball in the sauce and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree F. oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Mine took 45 minutes, and I turned them every 15 minutes.

Since these little beauties were very rich tasting, I served them with mashed potatoes and a veggie.

Bacon Wrapped Sirloin Lamb Chops

Johnie and I are suckers for grocery store sales.

We ran across this manager's special on lamb sirloin chops.

I (Angie) have never been brave enough to try lamb.

We purchased the chops and stuck them in the freezer.

Every time I opened the freezer I was face to face with these chops.

I finally decided the do a Google search to see how different

blogs and food sites prepare them.

I found this recipe at Allrecipes. I mixed it up a bit by adding bacon.

 This is all it takes to prepare them.

Worcestershire Sauce

Eggs

Bacon

Toasted Bread Crumbs

Pretty simple?

Yeah?

 I only had three chops, so the eggs could probably be cut back to 2.

I wrapped each chop with one slice of thick cut bacon.

I mixed three eggs with 3 TBS Worcestershire sauce.

I dumped about a cup of toasted bread crumbs in a bowl.

I rolled the wrapped chops in the egg mixture.

(make sure you hold on tight to the bacon)

Then I rolled them in the bread crumbs.

I placed them in a glass baking dish,

and placed them in a preheated 375 degree F. oven.

They baked for 20 minutes.

I flipped them over and baked for another 20 minutes.

When they were done I placed them under the broiler (on high)

for 1 minute just to crisp up the bacon a bit.

 My first attempt at trying lamb was a very good one.

To describe the taste for you......

I don't want to scare you away from these.

They are very good.

But the taste of the lamb was close to the taste of a mild beef liver.

And we all know that liver is a delicate issue.

Liver can be very good if it is cooked right.

I think lamb falls in that category too.

I'm glad I chose this recipe for my first try at lamb.

Make sure you try this one.

It is great! 

See ya'all soon!

Broccoli Sprouts & Green Bean Bundles

 Where have we been?

You ask.

Well between working ourselves to death,

doctor appointments,

dodging the springtime cold,

and just simply trying to rest.....

We have been working on ways to use broccoli sprouts,

and making green been bundles.

 Have you tried broccoli sprouts?

They are fantastic.

I (Angie) prefer these over lettuce.

They tend to last longer in the fridge,

and they have an incredible crunch.

I have placed them in rice:

Just cook your rice to the fluff stage 

and fluff in some broccoli sprouts.

I topped the rice with lemon pepper chicken from Schwan's.

We also used them as a topping for spicy chicken ranch tacos.

FABULOUS!

And the green bean bundles.....

They were fantastic too.

They were pretty easy to make.

This is what I did:

I melted about 3 TBS butter with 1 TBS garlic powder (whisk).

Set aside.

Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 3 minutes.

Drain, set aside.

 I cut the package of bacon in half (placed the unused portion in the freezer).

Place the thick sliced bacon pieces in a skillet and 

only fry until the edges start to brown.

Drain on paper towel.

Separate the green beans into bundles (6 - 8 beans)

Wrap a piece of bacon around each bundle 

and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

 Once the bundles are assembled,

drizzle with garlic butter.

Sprinkle on tomato/basil Parmesan cheese,

and bake in a preheated 400 degree F. oven for 8-10 minutes.

Serve immediately. 

We served them as a side along with herb roast turkey breast,

and mashed potatoes and gravy.
Make sure you check out this party for great Easter ideas.
 Foodie Friends Friday

See Ya'all Soon!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

 Are you looking for some game-day goodies?

Bacon wrapped chicken makes the perfect snack.

And you can make these in bite size if you want to.

Serve them with a little honey mustard dip

and you will have a satisfied crowd.

 I made this as a meal for Johnie and I.

It is very easy to prepare.

All I did was:

Cut two boneless skinless chicken breasts into

three strips each.

I wrapped each strip with one slice of bacon.

I placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them

in a 375 degree preheated oven for about 45 minutes.

As you can see I served them with mashed potatoes and corn.

May the best team win!

See Ya'all Soon

Homemade Mac & Cheese

 Before we get started on this post we have a question to ask.

Have you ever had a total FAIL on the grill 

that ends up being one of the best things you've ever ate?

That is exactly what happened to us.

We wanted grilled burgers.

We seasoned the burger with dry Italian salad dressing seasoning.

Formed patties.

Placed them on the grill.

A great seasoned burger, right?

While Angie was in the kitchen preparing the mac & cheese

Johnie came yelling at the back door.

"Angie! Come quick! We have a serious problem!"

Johnie placed the burgers on the grill grate,

grilled one side like normal,

went to flip them and they fell apart.

Crumbled!

So Johnie's idea was cast iron skillet.

Angie ran inside to retrieve one.

Johnie finished the burger meat on the grill in a cast iron skillet.

He melted (glue) some garlic and herb goat cheese crumbles 

in with the meat.

We piled the meat and cheese mixture on toasted onion buns,

and it tasted just like the meat you would find in a gyro.

It was fantastic! 

So a total FAIL has the chance to be a total PLEASURE.

And the story behind the mac & cheese.....

A post from Walking on Sunshine came through the

Facebook feed for homemade mac & cheese.

We jotted down the ingredients that were needed 

and we made a mad dash to the grocery store.

While we were in line at the check-out this magazine jumped

off the shelf and into Angie's hands.

Isn't it crazy how that works?

Johnie and Angie looked over the recipe and decided

that Johnie should purchase this magazine for Angie.

Hey, Angie paid for the food items......

We will show you how we dressed this up a bit.

It is very easy to make,

and after it is all thrown together it just takes 

3 minutes under the broiler.

 We used whole wheat pasta spirals.

Added bacon pieces.

Threw in some dry spices (which does not add to the calories).

The bacon adds to the calories, but not much.....

We cooked up some bacon slices for our burgers.

When we had about 5 slices left we cut them in pieces and 

browned them for the mac & cheese.

This is what we did:

Homemade Mac & Cheese

10 oz. whole wheat spiral pasta

1 TBS olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 1/4 c. chicken broth, divided

1/2 c. 2% milk

8 tsp. flour

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 tsp. salt (we did not salt)

1/4 tsp. ground pepper corns

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less, up to you)

1 tsp. dry mustard

5 strips bacon, fried and crumbled

2 c. Mexican blend shredded cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat a med. sized pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic to pan. Heat for 3 minutes. Add the bacon during the last minute.

Stir in 1 c. chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute.

In a bowl combine remaining chicken broth, milk, flour, and dry spices, stirring with a whisk until flour dissolves.

Add to bacon mixture.

Bring to a boil and whisk for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and add cream cheese. Stirring until smooth.

Add pasta and toss to coat.

Let stand 5 minutes.

Pour pasta mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Place casserole under broiler for 3 minutes. 

Ours didn't take that long. You don't want the cheese to get too brown.

Oh and, Johnie threw together a foil pack of butter,

sliced mushrooms, and onion on the grill.

Those also went on our super failed burgers.

Foodie Friends Friday!

Best party ever!! Come check out all the great recipes.

See ya'all soon