Monday, August 31, 2015

Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

How do you make something that's already good even better?  Add more of it, of course.  That's just what we've done with Secret Recipe Club,  the months where there are 5 Monday's, we will have a reveal day with a theme!  Our first one, Tailgate Recipes, starts now!  What a great theme for the start of football season!  Tailgating and football go hand in hand. 

My assigned blogger is Nicole of I am a Honey Bee.  On her About Me page Nicole shares 28 random things about her.  How fun is that?  I might just borrow this idea.  Okay?  Here's just the first five ....


1. Peridot is my favorite stone although garnet is my birth stone
2. I have 3 tattoos and plan on getting more
3.  I’m from Greenwich, CT
4. I hate the cold, REALLY hate the cold, but I like snow.
5. I really like NASCAR… Go Kasey Kahne!

To read the rest of the 28 and see all of Nicole's great recipes, visit her blog here.  I also love that she has done a Clean 30 several times. 

These Pimento Cheese Burgers would be perfect for tailgate or backyard bbq.  The leftover cheese made delicious grilled cheese sandwiches!!!





Pimento Cheese Mini Burgers

Recipe Courtesy of I am a Honey Bee 

Makes 6 sliders
Ingredients
Pimento Cheese
  • 8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 ounce jar of diced pimentos, drained
  • 1/3- 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
  • cayenne and black pepper to taste
Burgers
  • 1 pound of 85/15 ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
  • pinch of black pepper
  • 6 whole wheat dinner rolls
Process
  1. To make the Pimento Cheese, combine the cheese, pimentos, and mayo. Mix thoroughly. Add the cayenne and pepper to taste. Set aside to chill for at least 1 hour.
  2. In a large bowl combine the ground beef and the Seasoned Salt and black pepper. Evenly divide the burgers into 6 rounds. Shape and flatten each burger so they are slightly thicker than 1/4″.
  3. Cook the burgers until desired doneness.
  4. Slice the dinner rolls in half. Place each burger on the bottom portion of the buns, then scoop about 2 tablespoons of the pimento cheese on each burger, and top off with the rest of the bun.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love bacon? I've been wanting to try a chocolate chip bacon combo for a while. This recipe with the addition of maple to the bacon caught my eye. Candied bacon is easy to make in the oven. It does take some time but the end result is so good. The combination of these sweet chocolate chip cookies with the maple bacon flavor is delicious. You can't just eat one!!

These taste better than this picture would appear.  I made these for Tim to take on a guys golf trip and we were snapping a picture in the predawn hours before he left.  They were a hit with the golfers and will be added to my regular cookie rotation!





Milk Chocolate Chip Maple Syrup Glazed Bacon Cookies
Recipe Courtesy of Nadia G
  • 12 bacon slices, minced
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
BATTER:

Directions

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
For the bacon: In a medium frying pan, saute the bacon until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Drain the fat from the pan, add the maple syrup and stir to blend. Saute until the maple syrup becomes thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer immediately to a small bowl and let cool.
For the batter: With a standing or handheld mixer, blend the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well blended, 1 minute. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds more. Stir in the flour and baking soda with a wooden spoon. Add the bacon and chocolate and stir to combine. Scoop heaping teaspoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden around the edges, 9 to 10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for 1 minute, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Cheese and Salsa Dip

Can you believe it's August already?  Does anyone know where 2015 has gone?  Crazy how fast time seems to fly.  I'm up for any ideas to slow it down!!

The third Monday in August brings us Secret Recipe Club.  Not familiar with this fun group, you can find out everything here!  I was assigned Kirstin of Loving Life.  What a great blog name.  She says, "My hubby and I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, in Southwest Washington, with our two amazing daughters, Kaitlynn (19) and Kristianna (16). We have been married 23 years. We have always homeschooled our girls, though both our girls are now ending that journey. Our oldest started a Running Start program her junior year and our youngest will start the same program this fall. Our oldest will also be getting married this fall.  We spend A LOT of time with working, watching soccer...and working around our house and property when we find time."  No wonder she's "Loving Life."

Kirstin had so many great recipes to choose from, it was hard to decide on one.  We were having a neighborhood picnic and I needed something to take for a side.  The veggies a plentiful in my garden, so this delicious Cheese and Salsa Dip seemed like the perfect choice. 






Ingredients:

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
1 12oz. jar salsa (I like thick and chunky)
2 c. shredded cheese

Combine cream cheese and shredded cheese in bowl of mixer. Begin mixing to break up cream cheese. Slowly add salsa until you get a good dipping consistency. Not too runny though, think of guacamole consistency. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Key Lime Bars

  These bars use animal crackers for the crust, how delicious is that?  This would make a great cheesecake crust, too.  These bars remind me of cheesecake, only in bar form.  Key lime makes the perfect summer dessert.  I must admit to using bottled key lime juice, which I love, instead of juicing limes.  I did zest a regular lime for the zest.  Topped with toasted coconut these make a beautiful dessert for a summer picnic or barbeque.






Key Lime Bars
Recipe Courtesy of Mel's Kitchen
Yield: Makes 16 bars
Ingredients
    Crust:
  • 5 ounces animal crackers (about 2 1/2 cups animal crackers)
  • 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • Filling:
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh lime zest (from about 2 limes)
  • 1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3-4 regular limes or 20 Key limes)
  • Garnish
  • 3/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted (optional)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, adjusting an oven rack to the middle position. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting two opposing edges hang over at least an inch or so. Grease the foil with cooking spray.
  2. For the crust, process the animal crackers, sugar and salt together to fine crumbs in a blender or food processor. Drizzle the melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to incorporate (or stir together in a bowl with a fork). Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press the crumbs into an even layer. Bake the crust until fragrant and golden, about 15-18 minutes.
  3. For the filling, while crust bakes, in a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, lime zest and salt together until combined. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth (you can use a handheld electric mixer, if you want). Whisk in the egg yolk and lime juice until combined.
  4. Pour the filling evenly over the crust. Bake the bars until the filling is set and the edges just slightly begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, 15-17 minutes.
  5. Let the bars cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Then cover the pan with foil and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and cut into squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut if desired.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Spicy Buffalo Butter

August 2nd? Where has the summer gone? Besides the weather and fun, the thing I will miss the most about summer is the fresh veggies!! Sweet corn is one of my favorites. Herb butters are perfect to enhance the flavor of the corn.  Tim couldn't get enough of this the first time we had it for dinner. 






Spicy Buffalo Butter

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce or other vinegar based hot sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter. Spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of plastic wrap, then roll into a log. Refrigerate for one hour, or until firm.

  • Room temperature butter is key to making flavored butters. Use unsalted butter so you can control your salty flavor.
  • Softened butter makes it easy to fold your flavoring ingredients into the butter. To make the butter logs, simply spoon the butter mixture onto the bottom third of a piece of plastic wrap, then shaped into rolls, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap as you roll.
  • Chill each log for at least 1 hour or freeze for 20-30 minutes for the logs to take shape.
  • Flavored butters taste amazing on anything from vegetables to pasta, chicken, beef and fish.