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!

Banana Pudding Cheesecake

 Leftover bananas?

Why run to the same old boring banana bread recipe when

you can have this gorgeous banana pudding cheesecake?

 This has got to be the easiest cheesecake I have ever made.

And it turned out perfect.

Perfect recipe is definitely a perk.

Instead of typing out the recipe for you I'm just going to

take you directly to the source.

The only thing I did differently is,

For the crust I did ingredients and a half.

I love a thick crust under my cheesecake.

A crust where you have to use your fork teeth to bust through it. 

So here is the source for you: Spicy Southern Kitchen

See Ya'all Soon!

Caramelized Onion Chicken

Is there anything better than caramelized onion?

I think not!

This recipe turned out so good.

And please don't freak-out over the amount of bacon grease that was used. 

It's all good!

Bacon, that is.....

This chicken had all the bacon, onion flavor that one can only die for.

It also had just a tad bit of heat.

The good heat, not the bad.

My soon to be 2 year old grandson loved it.

And I think this would be a restaurant worthy dish.

Let me see if I can put this together for you.

Caramelized Onion Chicken

5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/4 c. bacon grease (I keep my leftover grease in a glass jar in the fridge)

1 onion, sliced thin, then rings cut in half

1 TBS smoked paprika

1 TBS oregano

A sprinkle of red pepper flakes

A sprinkle of garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Caramelize onion in bacon grease until it is nice golden brown color. Add spices and stir.

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and place in a foil lined pan. Place the onion mixture evenly on top of the chicken breast, along with any liquid left in the skillet. Place in preheated oven for 45 minutes. 

I served mine with cooked pasta and corn.

See Ya'all Soon!