Scrumptious Baked Beans

One of my husband’s favorite meals is a plate loaded with my sweet cornbread and these scrumptious baked beans.  He can practically down the entire thing himself, and be perfectly happy.  Now, as for myself and my other 3 boys, we need a little something more.  So, I’ll usually throw on some grilled flank steak and a nice fruit salad to round it out.

SCRUMPTIOUS BAKED BEANS

 

• 3 (16.5 ounce) cans baked beans or pork n’ beans
• 1 pound thick cut bacon
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ¾ cup barbecue sauce
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

 

Cut 8 slices of the bacon into 2 inch pieces.  In a large cast iron skillet, over medium low heat, fry the bacon just until fat is rendered, but not turning brown.  Do not crisp the bacon, as we will need it to do that in the oven. Remove the bacon onto a paper towel to drain.  Reserve a coating of  the fat in the skillet to brown the onion.  Add onion and cook over medium heat, until tender.  Stir in the 3 cans of baked beans and warm through.

 

In a small bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard.  Add this mixture to the skillet, and bring to a simmer.

 

Pour beans into a 9×13 casserole pan or a large dutch oven.  Top with bacon slices.  (Since you’ve already rendered the fat, they will crisp up nice and brown without leaving a layer of grease)

 

Bake for 2 hours, until the beans are cooked and soft, the bacon is brown and crispy, and there is no soupiness to the dish.

Skinny Spaghetti Bake

My husband and I were at a dinner party the other night, and one of the topic that came up around the table was; “If you had to choose only 3 types of cuisine to live on for the rest of your life, to the exclusion of all others, what 3 would you choose?”   It was so interesting to hear that choices everyone would make, and why they loved that particular cuisine.  Indian, because of the curry and bountiful spices.  Chinese for the stir frys, dumplings and mixes of protein and veggies.  Island food for the lovely marinades, fruit and fresh seafood.  Italian for the pasta, sauces and crusty breads.  French for the sauces… no one makes a sauce like the french…, pomme frites and profitteroles.  I could go on and on.  It was such a lovely conversation about food.  But, in the end, what it boiled down to, was that everyone there inevitably chose their home countries cuisine first.  Venezuelan, Italian, Indian, American.  Each country represented thought their countries cuisine was best.  Fascinating how our palates are formed and grow with us as we grow, but it always comes back to our own comfort food, right?  My choices were, of course, #1, American.  To me, American is all-encompassing.  You’ve got the farm fresh California cuisine, the BBQ of the midwest and south, the fresh seafood of the coasts, and in most big american cities you kind find authentic Chinese cuisine in Chinatown, authentic Italian in little italy (North beach in San Francisco), the south’s Southern comfort foods… need I go on?  American cuisine takes care of it all!!!  Then my next two choices were Italian and Mexican.  I think between those three cuisines I could live happy as a clam for ever and ever!

So, what led me to share all of that with you, is that I love Italian food.  But as we all know, Italian food involves a lot of pasta and a lot of carbs.  This recipe is a low carb way to enjoy an Italian meal, with all the flavor, texture and goodness.  Give it a try and let me know if you don’t just love it.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH BAKE

 

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1 medium zucchini, julienned
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ cup cream cheese
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the spaghetti squash length wise into 2 halves.  Using a large spoon, scoop out the seeds and guts from the squash.  Brush the sides of the squash with olive oil and place it face side down in a microwavable dish that has a fitted lid.  Microwave on high 10-12 minutes, until the squash has softened.  Remove from microwave and using a fork, shred squash insides into a large casserole dish or 9×13 pan.  Add zuchini.

In a large saucepan, heat the marinara sauce, oregano, basil, cream cheese and parmesan cheese over medium heat until the cheese has melted and can be incorporated into the sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add sauce mixture to casserole pan and toss to coat.  Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Garnish with extra shredded parmesan and fresh basil.

Carmelitas

Ooey gooey goodness. Yum.

Carmelitas have to be one of my favorite desserts! I crave them a lot. I want to make them all the time. I am surprised it has taken me this long to share the recipe. Something about chocolate and carmel together just makes me happy! Try these! I bet you already have all the ingredients in your pantry!

CARMELITAS

• 60 caramel squares, unwrapped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cup flour
• 2 cup rolled oats
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

A few weeks ago my husband turned the big 4-0! We had a family party for him and I wanted the dessert to be something that he would remember. Now my husband likes soda as much as the next guy, but he LOVES Dr. Pepper! What a great way to incorporate one of his favorite things into the dessert. The Dr. Pepper makes the cupcakes moist and yummy!

DR. PEPPER CUPCAKES

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper
• 2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Dr. Pepper, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and mix on low speed. Add half of the liquid and continue to mix. Repeat until all of the dry and liquid ingredients are combined (the last addition should be the dry ingredients), scraping down the bowl as needed.

Put batter in liners in a muffin tin. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

• 5 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don’t form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it’s best to go by texture.

Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. (about 4 minutes) Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

Lasagna Roll-Up

This just happens to be a different take on the classic lasagna. The portions are perfect  and there is no mess cutting and getting these babies out of the pan. I like to serve these at parties because they are so fun! We hope you like them, too!

LASAGNA ROLL-UPS

• 12 lasagna noodles
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 clove garlic
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 3 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  When it reaches a boil, salt liberally and drop noodles.  Stir occasionally and cook to just al dente.  You want to leave them slightly more firm since you’ll be baking the pasta.  Drain noodles and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add ground beef and brown.  When almost cooked through, add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add 1/2 the basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes, salt to taste and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs.  Add ricotta, Parmesan and remaining basil and oregano and stir together.  Spray a 9×13 baking dish lightly with cooking spray.  Add enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  To assemble, on a drained noodle, add a spoonful of ricotta mixture.  Top with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up.  Place seam side down in pan.  Continue until you’ve used all the noodles.  Top each with a little more meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining crushed red pepper flakes.  Bake approximately 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Oven Roasted Bacon

I know this seems simple enough, but surprisingly, many people don’t know about this method for cooking bacon.  Oven roasting the bacon is quick, easy, and produces a nice crunchy evenly cooked bacon slice everytime.  I promise you that once you do this, you’ll never scorch your poor little hands frying bacon in a pan ever again!   And best of all, there’s no greasy messy stove top to clean when you’re done.

Oven Roasted Bacon

• 1 pound thick cut bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper or aluminmum foil.  Lay out strips of bacon on pan side by side.  Bake in oven for about 15 – 20 minutes until the bacon is nice and crispy.  Remove from oven, and drain bacon on paper towels to remove excess grease.  Serve.

So, you can probably guess from the picture above where I’m going with this… crispy bacon = BLT!  I don’t eat this sandwich a lot, but something about smelling that bacon cooking and knowing that I had some wonderful ripe pearl tomatoes in my fridge made me start thinking about how good a BLT would taste.

I like mine that plain, old fashioned way.  Just 2 slices of lightly toasted white bread, laid out open faced, each with a dollop of Best Foods mayonaise spread on it.  Then I line each slice with 3 slices of bacon.  Put some tomatoes on one side, some lettuce on the other and press the 2 together.  Delish!

Just try to tell me you don’t want one of these right now!  Go ahead, make yourself one… it’s easy!

Cranberry Wild Rice Salad

We have this wonderful deli downtown.  It serves the best sandwiches I’ve ever had, hands down.  But what makes them truly unique is the beautiful salads displayed in their cold case.  I always have to get one on the side.  They are all so yummy!  This is one of my favorites, recreated by me… try it, it’s a  winner!

Cranberry Wild Rice Salad

• 3 cups cooked wild rice
• 1 box  (1 lb) orzo pasta, cooked as directed
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup whole pecans
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½  cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup blush wine vinaigrette, more or less to taste

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients.  Serve cold.  Serves 14.

Linking up at Stuff and Nonsense, It’s a Keeper Thursday, Somewhat Simple, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, The Shabby Creek Cottage

Lemon Crinkles

Lemon Crinkles. I had never had one of these before. But it just so happened that a friend gave me a whole lot of lemons that needed to be used up. I love cookies. I love lemons. This seemed like a no brainer. This Lemon Crinkle recipe happens to be the winner of the LDSLiving.com 2011 cookie contest. The original recipe is posted here. I just tweaked slightly. And for the record, these are great! Chewy, sweet, tangy! I doubled the recipe and made them the size of a typical chocolate chip cookie. Delish!

Lemon Crinkles

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. (about 4 minutes) Add in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a shallow dish. Roll a heaping Tablespoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.