January Foodie Penpals

We took a month off from Foodie Penpals but we're back for a new year of fun and sharing!!

I get so excited about the package that I get to put together each month, and the package that I'm anticipating receiving.

This month I received, like, THE BEST package ever!!!! From Melissa. She really hit the nail on the head with her package she sent. It was soooo me. And it had a nice personal touch.

She sent some local items from Florida (so wish I was there), and she knew I liked caramel so she really delivered with this fancy caramel brittle. Yes that is caramel brittle with cashews and POTATO CHIPS sprinkled with sea salt. I am about some salted caramel. I ate 3/4 of the bag as soon as I got it.

Another local product, this caramel corn. Can't go wrong with caramel corn. Most of that is gone as well.

 








 


She also sent some local honey. Adorbs. This will be put to good use.

 
























Besides the local items, she sent some of her homemade strawberry jam. She's got me wanting to try my hand at canning! That's also a lemon from her tree. Aww, so personal!

In my emails with her, I had mentioned that I could use some K-Cups since I recently got a Keurig machine. Then one day at the store I realized that they come in packs of like 12 so I felt bad that I had told her that! But she managed to "borrow" a couple from her neighbor. Thanks, Melissa's neighbor :)

 


















And last but not least, another personal touch.... her product, a bag of Juice Plus chewables. So cool! They were like little fruit snacks. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my package this month. You done good, Melissa, you done good :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

Chipotle Salsa

Earlier this week I promised you Superbowl recipes, and I'm back to deliver. I don't break a promise.

After making some amazing Crab and Chipotle Aioli Deviled Eggs last week, I had some leftover chipotles to use. Can't let those go to waste.

 
























And I knew I wanted to make some apps for snacking during the Superbowl, so Chipotle Salsa only seemed right.

I'm not a huge fan of the jarred salsas. But homemade salsa has opened my eyes to the beauty of a good salsa.

Now I just gotta learn how to make it look all pretty and salsa-y. Next time we make this I'll be sure to take another picture as my salsa-photographing skills need some work. I think I need a new food processor, one that doesn't only hold like a cup of ingredients and therefore doesn't really chop like it's supposed to. It's on the list.


























Chipotle Salsa
from Eclectic Recipes on the Betty Crocker site 

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Hunt's fire roasted tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from a 7-oz can)  
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves 
• tortilla chips or Sour Cream and Onion Doritos for dipping   

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in oil, stirring frequently, until onion is soft. Add Roma tomatoes and cook 4 to 5 minutes. 

Stir in the canned tomatoes and chipotle chiles. Heat to boiling; then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Place the salsa and cilantro in a food processor or blender. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until cilantro is finely chopped. Transfer to serving bowl. Serve salsa with tortilla chips.


Printable Recipe

How do you guys like your salsa? Spicy? Chunky? Liquidy? 

All of the above?

I thought so.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Tex-Mex Pinto Bean Spread

This weekend is the Super Bowl, friends! 

I'm super excited! My Bengals, Broncos (love you, Peyton), and Patriots (love you, Brady) aren't in it, but I'll still be watching.

 























And eating of course. 


























Cuz let's face it. For foodies like myself, The Super Bowl is an appetizer fest!


 























So this week I'll be bringing you some appetizer recipes for you to get your Super Bowl on.

Because I love you like that  :)

But for now, for now it's all about this pinto bean dip.

Tex-Mex Pinto Bean Spread
from My Recipes

• 1 (15-oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato 
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds, toasted (optional)

Place first 6 ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Place bean mixture in a bowl. Stir in chopped tomato, and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds if desired.

Printable Recipe

 















You can use this as a dip, or as a spread! After dipping tortilla chips and crackers in it, we had some leftover to spread onto flour tortillas for chicken tacos. 

Mayyyyyyyybe don't use as many pumpkin seeds as I did. I went a bit overload.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Crab and Chipotle Aioli Deviled Eggs

We took a month off of The Secret Recipe Club, but we're back!

This month I was assigned to the amazing blog, Authentic Suburban Gourmet. I've been a long time follower of Lisa's blog for forever now, and already had plenty of her recipes bookmarked to try. But it was so going through her archive and finding tons more. I seriously have about 50 recipes of hers to try! Not kidding. That means you need to go check out her blog right now!


















Since I couldn't choose between tempting recipes like Pumpkin Seed Brittle, Brown Butter Nuts with Rosemary and Thyme, and Guinness Braised Short Ribs, I let PJ choose. 

Bam! He chose her Crab and Chipotle Aioli Deviled Eggs.  

 I'd say he chose well.

Crab and Chipotle Aioli Deviled Eggs
from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

Eggs

• 8 eggs
• 4 tablespoons mayo
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  

Hard boil the eight eggs and let cool to room temperature. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the yolk. Place into a bowl and break up with a fork until lumps are gone. Add the mayo, mustard and salt. Whisk with a fork until creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Chill for one hour if desired.

Chipotle Aioli

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 large adobo chili
• Salt and pepper

Add all of the above ingredients into a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Place into a container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Toppings

• 1/3 cup lump crab meat, or 16 slices of imitation
• 1 tablespoon chives, minced
  

To assemble:

Place the egg halves onto a platter. Put the egg yolk mixture into a piping bag and pipe into the egg halves. Then top each one with a pinch or slice of crab. Add a tiny dollop of the chipotle aioli and garnish with a pinch of chives. Refrigerate until ready to serve.


Printable Recipe

We used imitation crab because we're cheapos. I sauteed the crab in some butter to give it some flavor and so it wasn't just cold crab. Next time I think I'll splurge and try it with real crab. PJ was nervous about using it this time because sometimes it can be too fishy for him, he says. That boy! This time though I felt it could use more of a crab taste. So if you can, go with the real crab and not the imitation stuff.

The chipotle aioli was amazing! I'm trying to find other things that I can smother with this sauce.

Basically. Make these. Super Bowl is coming up and I'd say these would be a great item to add to your menu. 

Linking up here.


Peace, and bacon grease!

Creamy Fruit Dip

It's like a must that I have some kind of fruit dip with my strawberries. 


















But Kroger charges so much for a tiny cup of theirs!

So one day I took a glance at the ingredient list on one of those cups and saw some strange words starting with x and z or something like that, but the main ingredients that stood out to me where marshmallow creme, sugar, and cream cheese. So to the internet I went!

 





 











 I came across this super easy fruit dip recipe. 3 ingredients. Marshmallow creme, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. 

Cha-ching!

Creamy Fruit Dip
from Simply Real Moms

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 7 oz jar marshmallow cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together marshmallow cream, softened cream cheese, and sifted powdered sugar in a bowl. Serve with fruit.

Printable Recipe


















Next time I need to sift the powdered sugar to prevent lumps because mine isn't as smooth as it should be. But it tasted delicious, lumps and all!

Of course I find a way to make fruit less healthy :)

Eat up!

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

This girl got an ice cream maker for Christmas!

From my love. He knows me so well. Well actually I just gave him a list of everything I wanted and where to get it so I did make it pretty easy for him. But still, he knows me so well :) 

I HAD to get started with some ice cream recipes as soon as I got it. I ordered some ice cream cookbooks, The Perfect Scoop and Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.  Then I had PJ pick out the first recipe I'd make in my brand new PINK Cuisinart ice cream maker.

He chose.... drum roll please....

Peanut Butter Ice Cream!

 Ok then, I got this.

The recipe was easy enough. No eggs, very basic. Anyone can do it, really. Who knew ice cream could be this easy??


















I was in total awe when I checked after about 10 minutes in the ice cream maker and it was already the consistency of ice cream. Those things are magic, I tell you.

I need to learn the art of ice cream scooping though. With time, friends, with time.
 

 





















Peanut Butter Ice Cream
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 and 2/3 cups half-and-half
• Pinch of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Puree the peanut butter, sugar, half-and-half, salt, and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions

Printable Recipe

More ice cream recipes coming your way soon!!

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Buttery Rosemary Rolls

In reviewing last year's recipes on the blog, I noticed that I didn't have very many bread or savory recipes. 

So here's my attempt to remedy that.

I made these rolls for Thanksgiving but figured they aren't only for Thanksgiving and would be ok to blog about now. I am not a huge bread person but I really liked these rolls. Rosemary, butter, and salt make these rolls special.

I used Sister Schubert rolls, the original recipe used Rhodes rolls. Use whatever frozen rolls you can find.

Buttery Rosemary Rolls
slightly adapted from Everyday Tastes

• 12 dinner rolls, frozen and unbaked
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped
• sea salt

Remove frozen rolls from freezer and allow to thaw.
 
Once thawed, transfer to a baking sheet with cooking spray. Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake according to the package directions on the rolls (usually 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top.

Printable Recipe

 
















We are def making these rolls a part of our regular rotation.

You should too!

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

Countdown to 2013: Best Dessert Recipes of 2012

I know I just did a Christmas treat roundup that featured many of these same recipes, but this one will be a little different because I will actually be picking the BEST. And I'll be linking to Finding Joy in My Kitchen's 2013 challenge!

These here are the best desserts from my blog in 2012!


Graham Cracker S'mores Candy. Obsessed. I love melted marshmallows.

Graham Cracker Candy. Sounds the same as the one above but totally different.

Butterfinger Ice Cream Pie. PJ was requesting this every week for months straight. I think he forgot about it though so I'll have to whip him up one soon and surprise him!

Deep Fried Twinkies with Strawberry Topping. Because only having this at the state fair is just not enough. Hopefully you can find some Twinkies at your stores!! Are they all gone yet?

Chocolate Almond Pretzel Toffee. Slightly addictive. Ok majorly.

Salted Caramel Milkshake. Salted caramel. And a milkshake. Nuff said.

S'mores Cookies. Give me anything s'mores and I'll love you long time.

Peanut Butter and Jelly S'mores. So glad I found you. Told you I love s'mores.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Now brownies without frosting just don't compare.

Yay, I managed to slip a few more in there that I didn't share on my holiday roundup.

Now throw all of your new years resolutions out the door and get to bakin!


Peace, and bacon grease!