Beer Butt Chicken (as we like to call it )

Any kid will enjoy watching Daddy stick a beer can up the butt of a chicken right? And EVERYONE will enjoy the tastes. This chicken is falling off the bone, juicy, and AMAZINGLY easy!

Here's what you need:
Grill
1 while chicken (about 4 lbs)
Seasonings of your choice- you can use pre-mixed seasoning packets for a rotisserie or roast chicken if you want. I like Garlic & Herb, Cajun, Kickin Chicken, Lemon Pepper, or any of those varieties.
Some oil (olive oil is best)
1 12 oz beer. I don't think it really matters what KIND of beer, but I would think it would work best with a full bodied, NOT light beer. However, at most BBQ's, you can just use what ya got! :)

Now, they make a little Beer Butt chicken stand that makes this really easy and I highly recommend getting one. You can get one at WalMart or most grocery stores this time of year for pretty cheap. They look like this:

You don't HAVE to have one, but its harder to make the chicken stand up (since it IS dead after all) with the beer can, but people do it all the time.

To prepare your bird:
Clean the "innerds" as my family calls them out of the chicken, and wash him well. Pat him dry and then rub with a VERY thin layer of oil. You can also spray him with canola oil if you need to and use less. Once he is sprayed down, rub the inside of the chicken with a blend of your seasonings, then rub the rest on the outside. He should be covered well like this picture:

Once he is covered, remove about 2 oz of the beer from the can ("hey honey, take a swig of this beer please") and then poke two holes in the top of the can. If you are using the stand, place the beer in the middle and then sit Mr. Chicken on top. If you are not using the stand, stick the beer inside and sit the chicken on the grill, using his legs to support as shown in the picture. You will need to cook it in a covered grill in the center of the grill on medium heat (around 350) for about 55 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the can or stand before serving. As you can see here, it goes great with grilled corn on the cob, potatoes, and peppers!

Try it at your next cookout and let me know how it turns out!

Summer Grilling continued, veggies!

Another great idea for summer grilling is to NOT fry potatoes for every meal! Try these simple, easy, and HEALTHY veggies on the grill next time you cook out!

First I will teach you how to create a foil packet since almost all of these need to be grilled in one.
1. Take a large rectangle of foil and lay it flat. Put your veggies in the center of the square. Pick up the two long sides of the foil and pinch together at the top. Then fold down in a series of crimped folds but leave a little room in the top like a roof on a house for circulation and venting. Then fold up the two ends and crimp in to the middle. You will use a similar packet like this for all of the veggies below, but with the potatoes you may want to double up on the foil, creating one packet then putting that packet upside down and wrapping it again.

1. Potatoes. Yes I said potatoes, but not fried! Take a few large baking potatoes and slice them into thick chunks. Then slice a large vidalia onion and layer all the potatoes and onions on a few stack sheets of aluminum foil. Put a few big dabs of butter on top of the pile or spray with the butter spray, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some cajun seasoning, and wrap tight in the foil. Cook on the grill for about 30 minutes or until you can stab the packet with a toothpick easily. You can also cook the potatoes individually the same way. Just slice them not all the way through, stick some butter in the slices, sprinkle with the seasonings and wrap them individually. Depending on the size of your potatoes, they can take a bit longer to cook this way, closer to 45 minutes or an hour.
                  NOTE this can also be done with sweet potatoes- you need to peel them first, slice into thick slices, top with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and wrap tightly in a foil packet. YUMM!

2. Peppers- a GREAT addition to any meat is grilled peppers. You can actually combine green, red, yellow, and orange peppers with vidalia onion and place directly on the grill with the skin side down. Grill on a covered grill about 10-12 minutes or until the skin becomes charred. These make a great addition to chicken or steak.

3. Corn on the Cob: Buy fresh corn at the local farmers market or at your grocery store. They typically have a fresh supply all summer and very cheap. Or if you're lucky enough to grow your own, you have a constant supply too! It is VERY good grilled. All you need to do is get the majority of the silks off. Leave a layer of husks on and them submerge the corn in water for about 15 minutes prior to grilling. This will help it steam the corn from the inside out on the grill. If you are using charcoal grill, you can cover them on hot coals and turn about every 15 minutes, but if you are using gas like me, you need to heat on med-high and turn every 5 minutes or it will char easily. You want the corn to cook until the husks start to blacken. As long as you keep rotating them, they can blacken and still be fine. Once they are blackened all the way around, remove them from the grill with tongs and let them cool awhile before peeling the husks back. Butter, salt, and pepper them and enjoy!

4. Mushrooms: Portabello mushrooms are an excellent side dish or topper to your meats. You can also thread the small kinds onto skewers. All you need to do for these guys is to create a foil packet like with the potatoes, clean the mushrooms, cut off the stems, and cook in the packet for about 20-25 minutes or until fork tender. These cook in their own juices to create a VERY yummy sauce!

5. Garlic: take some heads of garlic and chop off the heads to expose the cloves inside. Wrap in a foil packet like above and cook on medium coals or heat for 20-25 minutes. After you remove them from the grill, you can either serve them whole, or squeeze the cloves out of the papery wrapping and mix with butter for a wonderful topping to potatoes, mushrooms, steaks, and corn.

I hope you enjoy all these yummy grilled veggies!!

Summer is HERE! Which means recipes from the GRILL! Let's start with MEAT!

All weekend long this Memorial Day, we had every single meal on the grill! I LOVE summer recipes!
This week I am going to be posting some of my favorite summery picnic and BBQ recipes, including stuff on the grill.
Let's start with Chicken!
One of my favorite things to grill is chicken, (second to steak of course).
There are THREE great marinades for chicken that can turn a plain ole chicken breast (or drumsticks) into an amazing meal and very EASY!
1. Italian dressing. just toss your chicken into a bowl or ziploc bag of Italian dressing and let it marinade as long as possible. Grill it to a temp of 165 and continuously drizzle the marinade on it to soak up all the flavor.

2. Honey Mustard- you can use my homemade honey mustard recipe found in an earlier post from the blog, or this recipe for a more dijon taste: Cook it the same way as above, turning and keeping it coated in the marinade as you cook it.

•  1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon steak sauce (like A1 or Heinz57) 

3. Teriyaki- you can buy lots of Teriyaki marinades. Some of my favs are Lowery's, Jack Daniel's, or this super simple homemade recipe below: Cook the same way.

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

These three marinades should set you off to a great start to summer grilling. Grilled chicken is not only VERY healthy, but there are so many ways to cook it and you wont have hamburger hips by the end of the summer!

Oreo Truffles (an every ocassion treat)

These little suckers have become a MUST HAVE at every family gathering in our family, and requested at every holiday dinner, baby shower, bridal shower, or cookout. They are simple, easy, and decadently delicious!!!

What you need:
1 pack of Oreo's
1 8oz pack of cream cheese
1 pack of melting chocolate (you can choose white, milk, or dark chocolate)
1 pack of melting chocolate (in a different flavor that you chose earlier)
(this is the same type of chocolate you would use for a fondue fountain, strawberries, or pretzels)

NOTES:
1. You can use any brand of oreo cookies, generic or name brand. I have also heard these can be good with the vanilla cookies. You can also buy the pastel colored or red, orange, cream filling Oreos at Christmas, easter, Halloween, etc to make the truffles a little more festive.
2. There are several choices for melting chocolate. I have used the brick type and they work fine, but are VERY easy to scorch and burn, so just make SURE you only heat it in a small bowl in the micrwave for about 15 seconds at a time until its thin and runny. The other type I have used is called Bakers Melting Chocolate and it comes in a small bowl with a plastic lid. The chocolate looks like little discs and it is a microwave safe bowl. Its easy and clean. They have white and milk chocolate. If you use the Bakers Melting chocolate you will need TWO of whatever type of chocolate you want to dip in, and ONE of the type you want to drizzle with.
3. You do not HAVE to have two types of chocolate. You can just dip the balls and leave them plain without drizzle. I prefer them drizzled to make them look more fun or fancy.
4. If you drizzle, you just alternate your dipping chocolate with drizzle chocolate. Ex: dip in white chocolate and drizzle with milk, or Dip them in milk chocolate and then dye the white chocolate a certain color like hot pink, red, green, or a mix of pastels for the drizzle. You can get pretty creative with the drizzle to make them suit any ocassion.

To make:
Put the entire pack of Oreo cookies through a food processor and grind into a super fine powder. If you do not have a food processor, you can dump them in a Ziploc bag and smash them to smithereens. This is a great stress relieving technique AND the kids love to get involved in Oreo smashing.
Slightly soften the cream cheese either by letting it sit out on the counter for awhile or in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
Fold the cream cheese in a large bowl with the Oreo powder mix. It is best to use a KitchenAid or some sort of mixer if you have one. I used to try making these with a hand mixer, but the mix is just too thick for most hand mixers. If you dont have ANY type of mixer, use your hands. It should be a big thick black glob when you are done!
Now this step is optional, but it does make it a lot easier. Put the bowl of mix in the freezer for about a half hour until it starts to harden. This will make rolling the mix into balls much easier and a lot less sticky!
While its in the freezer, arrange several cookie sheets. You can line them with wax paper if you want.
When its ready, use a teaspoon to get a small amount of the mix out of the bowl and roll them into truffle sized balls. Compare to the size of a bubble gum ball, or if you place your thumb and first finger together. Place the rolled balls in rows on the cookie sheets.
When you have covered an entire cookie sheet, place the cookie sheet back in the freezer so that the balls can harden again.
When you are done rolling all the balls and the sheets are in the freezer, melt your chocolate.
Be sure to follow the directions on the melting chocolate EXACTLY so you dont burn it.
When the balls have been in the freezer for about a half hour and are hard, use a toothpick to dip them indivudually in the melted chocolate. This process takes some practice to get it in a quick, speedy, clean process, but I find that if you dip them with a toothpick and roll off the excess chocolate, it works well. Place them back on the cookie sheet in the same spot and use another toothpick to slide the ball onto the sheet. (We have perfected this to a science using FOUR toothpicks at a time, dipping them and placing on a sheet and then removing all 4 toothpicks at a time and repeating.
Once you have dipped all the balls and placed them back on the sheet, you will once AGAIN place them in the fridge to let the chocolate harden. (they only need to be in there a few minutes).
While they are in the fridge, melt your other chocolate. If you are going to color it, then color it now. (if you want to do several colors, melt the chocolate, separate it into indivudual bowls, and use a toothpick to mix in the coloring).
For this last step, if you are going to drizzle the balls for decoration, we have found there are several ways to do this.
1. You can dip a toothpick in the melted chocolate and drizzle them one at a time. This takes a little longer, but works.
2. I have begun using a cake piping icing bag. You can buy these at WalMart in the cake decorating section. You could also use a ziploc bag and poke a pin sized hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze the drizzle on the truffles. If you use a cake piping bag, you will need a tip that is TEENY TINY. Just pour the melted chocolate into your piping bag or ziploc and keep one finger over the tip until you are ready to drizzle. Squeezing it as you go, you can drizzle each truffle and evenc reate shapes like a heart, flower, letters, etc. You can see the ones I made for my baby shower below with a flower. I then added a candy pearl bead in the center for the finish.

Now youre done!
These should be kept in the fridge, we keep them in a tupperware bowl or zipoloc bag, and they are easily served on a tray or dessert tower. (although they NEVER last very long!)

Pizzas Mexicano!

Just made these tonight and they were BANGIN.
What you need:
2 flour tortillas for each person (so for 2 people you need 4) and use the SMALL fajita sized ones.
1 lb hamburger OR 1 can black beans
1 can refried beans.
Taco sauce- you can use canned enchilada sauce, Ortega taco sauce, or any kind.
Shredded Mexican Cheese (cheddar will work).
1 pack of taco seasoning
Oil for frying

Toppings like sour cream, lettuce, tomato, green onions, jalapenos, black olives and guacamole.

To make:
Preheat oven to 400.
In a skillet, brown hamburger and mix in taco seasoning when it is cooked through. Be sure to REALLY chop up the hamburger into finely ground bits.
Warm refired beans in a pan on the stovetop. (if not using hamburger, brown black beans too.)
In a small skillet, pour in just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and warm to medium high heat.
One at a time, lay the flour tortillas in the oil and brown. Flip them to brown both sides and them lay them in a plate with paper towels.
Once you have browned enough for as many as you want to make, lay them flat on a cookie sheet.
On half of the tortillas, spread refried beans in a thick layer on each one. Cover the refried beans with hamburger in a thin layer (or black beans).
Take the other tortilla shell and place on top of the beans and beef layer. Spread with taco sauce and the cover with shredded cheese.
Once all of the pizzas are assembled with their 4 layers, place the cookie sheet in the oven and melt the cheese. Remove from the cookie sheet and put onto a plate and top with desired toppings. Use a knife or pizza cutter to slice into slices and enjoy!! Serve with spanish rice and refried beans.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is an oldie but goodie from Campbell's. There are lots of variations of this recipe that I prefer more, but HERE is the original recipe. See below for MY recipe.
What you need for ORIGINAL recipe.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1  can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup water

1 package of white rice

2 cups fresh or frozen vegetables

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

What to do:

Combine the soup, water, rice, and veggies in a 13x9 baking dish.

Place the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle them with the seasonings.

Cook at 350 for about 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

When you remove the casserole from the oven, sprinkle it all with the shredded cheese and allow to sit for about 5 minutes while it cools and the cheese melts before serving.

This is a great meal to throw together in the morning and pop in the oven when you get home for dinner. You can also double or half the recipe if you are cooking for more or less people.

Now, as I mentioned, there a lot of ways to change this recipe:

1. To make it Italian, season your chicken with Italian seasoning.

2. Make it Mexican by leaving out the garlic and onion and sprinkling the chicken with Chili Powder, some Cumin, and using Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of cheddar.

3. Use a bag of frozen mixed veggies instead of different varieties.

4. Top with mushrooms before baking.

5. Use brown rice instead of white for a healthier version.

6. Substitute other  "Cream of" soups instead of Chicken such as Cream of Mushroom, or Cream of Cheddar.

When I make this, I do a simple, quick version:

I use Boil in a Bag rice (brown or white)

I cook the chicken breasts on the stove in a skillet with the seasonings.

Cook the mixed veggies in a pan on the stove or the SteamFresh kind in the microwave.

When the chicken is done, I chop it into large chunks, but you can leave them whole if you like.  

In a casserole dish, combine a can of Cream of Mushroom soup with about a 1/2 cup of Sour Cream.

Stir in the mixed veggies from the pan, and add in the chicken last.

Mix well and top with the cheese. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese and heat through.

Serve with crescent rolls or cornbread.

As you can see, I cheat and my version is MUCH quicker since everything is done before you put it in the oven.

Enjoy!

Bacon Ranch Chicken (cause everything's better with bacon!)

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, Ive been on vacaay.

Tonight's recipe is Bacon Ranch Chicken. I have found several recipes similar online but none quite as good as this one.

Here's what you need:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I use the frozen kind) (One per person)
Ranch Dressing (I prefer Hidden Valley but Kraft is also okay)
     I have not used a ranch DIP for this recipe, but you could try it. If you do let me know how it turns out
Bacon
Cheddar Cheese
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Here's what you do:
In a skillet or frying pan, fry the bacon. Get it extra crispy so that when it is done, you can crumble it. If you prefer, you can use BaconBits pre-crumbled or buy the crumbles in the deli section.

In a large skillet, place your chicken breasts in the pan and place enough water in the pan to coat the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cover to cook.
Cook the chicken about 5 minutes per side until it is almost done, white on the outside. When chicken is almost done, cover with ranch dressing. Leave enough extra dressing in the pan to create a thick sauce while it cooks. Finish cooking the chicken so that it is no longer pink on the inside (about 5-10 more minutes).
The ranch dressing should become a thick sauce, and you should make sure the chicken is fully coated with the sauce.
When the chicken is done, lower the heat to simmering and sprinkle the chicken with the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted.
Place the chicken on a plate and sprinkle the bacon bits on top of the melted cheese. Drizzle any remaining ranch sauce on top.
This is great served with garlic mashed potatoes, any of the Lipton Sides noodles, and any vegetable like green beans, peas, corn on the cob, or mixed veggies.

Enjoy!
PS. I dont have a picture of this one yet, but next time I cook it I will post a picture.

Jordan's Famous Beer Bread

I have been told this is even better than the Tastefully Simple Beer Bread which is PRETTY amazing!!

What you need:
1 12 oz full bodied beer. NOT LIGHT.
3 cups self rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and beer. Mix well. Should be thick.
Pour into a loaf pan and drizzle the melted butter on top, poking it in a few places to let the butter down into the mix.
Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If our top starts to burn and the inside isnt done, cover with aluminum foil to finish baking.

 Either serve sliced OR I cut mine into chunks and keep in a ziplock bag. This is an EXCELLENT accompaniment to beef stew, pot roast, chili, soup, or any meals like that.

NOTES:
This can also be made with ANY carbonated beverage. I have been told it is very good with root beer, or any lemon/lime soda like 7Up or Mountain Dew. You only need the carbonation to activate the yeast to make it rise, so try other beverages for different flavors in the bread.

If you do not have self rising flour, you can use all purpose and then add :
For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Enjoy!!

Beer Battered Onion Rings

These are the BESTSSSS onion rings EVARR. Thick, fat, and crunchy. Perfect accompaniment to any hamburger!!

Now, to make these, there are rules.
Rule #1. you MUST must must must use VIDAILIA onions ONLY.. If you don't have them, go buy them. If you even use one minuscule rain neuron to THINK about using a plain yellow or white onion, do not continue with this recipe.

Rule#2: Do not use LIGHT beer. a full bodied beer is required. If you don't drink beer, go out and buy a single 40 oz beer, and you can use the leftover beer from these to make my famous beer bread ;)

Rule #3: Slice the onions THICK. These are not Burger King or Rally's onion rings. These are meant to be FAT.

Okay, now that we have the rules out of the way, here's what you do.
Get a large pan or your Fry Daddy ready. (I HIGHLY recommend the fry daddy because of the basket which makes it MUCH easier). If you are using a frying pan, put in about a half inch of oil and set to medium high heat. If using a fry daddy, fill about half way and set to almost high.

While that is heating up, slice your onions. As mentioned in the rules, slice them thick! Cut the onions cross-wise with a sharp knife in about 1/2 inch slices. Break the slices into separate rings.

To make the batter- you will need 1 packet of instant pancake batter and 1 12 oz. beer. (remember, NOT a light beer. I think Budweiser works best.) WalMart's packets of instant batter are only like .79 cents and have the perfect amount. Combine the beer with the batter. It will be thick.
Prepare a plate or platter with paper towels or napkins for the rings coming out of the oil.

To test your oil, stick a toothpick or fork in the batter and dip it in the oil. If it sizzles, it's ready!
Dip your onions one at a time in the batter and using a fork, gently lay them in the oil.
Leave them in the oil until the batter has turned a golden brown. Flip them with a fork and let the other side brown evenly. Remove from the oil with either a fork or a draining spoon (flat ladle with holes in the bottom).
When they are done, place them on the paper towel plate and if you want, LIGHTLY sprinkle them with either sea salt or Seasoning Salt. Serve with ketchup or my recipe for Outback's Bloomin Onion Sauce.

Bloomin Onion Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish sauce

1/3 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

1 pinch ground black pepper

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup... (the cold rainy day meal)

In the winter, there are only a few classic recipes that can just warm your soul when you come home from te snow and ice. Well, this past winter we got tired of Chili and Vegetable Soup, so I threw this together from a combination of other potato soup recipes that I never really liked. This was a HUGE hit, and hubby rated it a 9 out of 10! It also freezes great to be reheated later, and since this makes a HUGE batch, you can freeze it in smaller batches to just pop in a pan and reheat single servings!

Here's what you need:

8 potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 cups milk

1 large onion, finely chopped.

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 lb bag of shredded Cheddar cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

About 6 strips of bacon, fried to crispy and then crumbled.

To Prepare:
To cook your potatoes you can either A) place them in a glass dish and microwave on high for about 10 minutes. OR you can boil them. Either way,  you want them to be cooked until you can poke them with a toothpick and they will slide off. You do NOT want them to be mush, then you will have MASHED potato soup! 

In a large stock pot, while the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter over medium high heat.
Stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth, then gradually stir in the milk SLOWLY. 
Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
The mixture should be slightly thicker than when you started.
Slowly add in the potatoes and onion, and cook for 10 more minutes.
Last, stir in the sour cream and Cheddar cheese until melted and well blended. Season with salt and pepper.
When ready to serve, top with a dallop of sour cream, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.

Crock Pot Lasagna (yes! Lasagna!!)

So how many of you buy Stouffer's frozen lasagna and get home from work at 6 and then have to wait 80 minutes for it to cook?! Yes it's easy and simple, but it never tastes quite the same as homemade right? Well here's a SUPER simple recipe that ANYONE can do. And the best part? It's a CROCK POT recipe!! Make it and set it for a dinner ready and waiting when you get home! 

Here's what you need:

1 lb  ground beef - try to get the best fat ratio (93/7)

1 large onion chopped fine in a food processor

2 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 teaspoons of store bought minced garlic)

1   jar tomato spaghetti sauce - choose your favorite flavor- I prefer the garlic and herb the best. 

8 oz  fresh lasagna sheets- these are the NO BOIL kind, they should be found near the deli in the cold section. 

1lb   bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

1lb  ricotta cheese

2 oz  parmesan cheese - grated/shredded

¼ cup milk

1 egg - lightly beaten

1 tsp oregano

  salt and pepper

 If you like, you can add in mushrooms - sliced and added at end of frying meat

  

Prepare:

Fry the beef, onion and garlic in a frying pan until browned. Drain any excess grease. Add in your tomato sauce and heat. 

  

While the meat is cooking, combine the ricotta, milk and egg. 

Add in the mozzarella and parmesan. Save about 1 tablespoon of parmesan for later.

I reccommend using a crock pot liner for easy cleanup, but you dont have to.

Time to layer!  

Spread about 1/4 of your meat in the bottom of the crock pot.

Next add a layer of lasagna sheets. You will need to trim them to fit your crock pot.

Top those layers with 1/3 of the cheese sauce.

Repeat the meat, pasta, and cheese sauce. You should now have cheese sauce on top.

Now add meat, pasta, and meat.

Top with remaining cheese sauce. 

    When you finish the layers should be -

    meat, pasta, cheese, meat, pasta, cheese, meat, pasta, meat, cheese.

Sprinkle the retained parmesan on top.

 Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

    This recipe serves 4-6 but you can double it if you need to. 

Serve with garlic bread and a tossed salad! If you use a crock pot liner, simply transfer your leftovers to a tupperware container and then throw the liner away! No burnt on crusty cleanup!

 

Finally a Dessert!! Caramel Apple Popovers

Today I had a request for a dessert on the blog. I thought DUH why haven't I posted a dessert yet?! I looked over my favorite simple ones and decided to post this one. It's SUPER simple and delish!!

What you need:
1 can of biscuits- keep them in the fridge til you are absolutely ready to use them. You can use the flaky kind if you want.
3- 4 apples. I prefer Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady, but any will do.
Cinnamon
Sugar
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
Butter
Lemon Juice
Flour

OR you can cheat and use an apple pie filling if you have one. (This would be good with ANY pie filling, cherry, blueberry, etc).

Preheat your oven to 400.
Peel and core the apples and then cut them into slices. If you have an apple corer/slicer, use that, but then slice the slices in half again to make them skinnier.
In a bowl, combine about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, a dash or two of nutmeg, about 1/8 cup sugar, a tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Toss the apples in this mixture to coat them. Set aside.

To prepare
On a cutting board, separate the biscuits. Take one biscuit and roll it out flat into about a 4-6" flat dough circle. Spoon the apple mixture onto one half of the circle. Do not use too much where you cant close it. Wet the outer edge of the circle, and then fold the other half of the circle onto itself. Use a fork to pinch it closed. It should look like a semi-circle. Repeat with al 10 biscuits and place them on a cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. USE A LOT. They should be completely covered. If you think you used too much, you did it right. If you want, take a fork and poke tiny holes in the top of each pocket to vent.
Bake in the oven at 400 for about 12-15 minutes or until the biscuits are done and the pockets are bubbling. Remove from pan to let cool, serve warm with vanilla ice cream. These are also a really good quick breakfast and are good reheated. (these arent burnt, that's cinnamon.)

Homemade Hunny Mustard

So I just realized I forgot to post this with the Crouton Chicken recipe. This is definitely a must have to go with that!!

So you can make this in any amount you want whether it be just a little to have with one meal, or in bulk like I do to fill up a squirty container to keep in the fridge or give in pint jars for Christmas presents like shown here:

P.S. WalMart sells the plastic squirty containers like diner style ketchup and mustard containers for less than a dollar. I use them for my homemade BBQ sauce, honey mustard, and salad dressing. :)

2 parts Mayo
1 part yellow Mustard
1 part honey
Use this same ration whether you to 2 tbs:1 tbs:1 tbs, or  2 cups:1 cup:1 cup.
If you like your honey mustard more mustardy, then add about another teaspoon of mustard, and if you like it sweeter on the honey side, add a teaspoon more of honey. I think it is perfect with the 2:1:1 ratio, so I leave it that way.

Now, you can leave it just like that, but to make it REALLY yummy add in:
Seasoning Salt
Cayenne Pepper (just a smidge)
Cajun seasoning
Pepper
Paprika (just a smidge)
Garlic Powder

Mix well and serve with anything you want to dip. It's also great on deli sammiches!

Crock Pot Chops (easy peasy!!)

Simple yet de-rish-ush!!
Take a pork tenderloin and slice it into as many 1/2 inch pork chops as possible, or buy pork chops already cut.
Place in your crock pot and put about 2 cups of water in the bottom.
Add:
Garlic Salt
Pepper
brown sugar
ketchup
dash of RedHot or Tobasco

stir up the spices in the water and coat chops in the mixture.
Cover crock pot and set on the temperature you want. (depending on how long you want it to cook)
With pork chops, I typically set my Crock Pot on Medium- 6 hours and start it around noon. If you want to start it in the morning, set it on Low- 8 or 10 hours and it will be ready when you get home.

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken (the guest meal)

This is a meal that I braved one night when I had a little time on my hands and wanted to try something different. This is definitely one to try, whether you think you don't like spinach or not!! My husband ate it all and cleaned his plate and he wrinkled up his nose the entire time I was preparing it!

Ingredients: (for 2)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts- I used the frozen bag kind like normal, but this is one instance where the fresh package kind that are thicker may be better.
1 package of frozen spinach
1 package of feta cheese
1/2 cup mayo
Minced garic (I didn't have any so I used garlic powder)

To prepare:
Preheat oven to 375.
Thaw spinach and drain completely. Do not leave any water on it at all!
In a large mixing bowl, mix the spinach with the mayo and package of feta cheese. Add in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and if you have it, a little some onion powder. I also added in a little mozzerela and quesadilla cheese because I had it and needed to thicken the mixture. (we like cheese).

Using a very sharp knife, create a cut  down the center of the chicken breasts creating a pocket. DO NOT cut all the way through. Using a tablespoon, stuff the mixture into the pocket you created. Do not overstuff, about two tablespoons should fit depending on the size of your chicken breast.
Use toothpicks to secure the chicken shut and place on a cookie sheet seam side down.

Bake at 375 for approx 45 minutes- 1 hour. Juices should run clear. When my chicken was done, it had a nice brown skin, so I flipped it over for about 5 minutes to brown the other side.

SOME recipes call for the chicken breasts to be bacon-wrapped. I do not like the bacon recipes because it makes the chicken greasy and it rarely ever gets the bacon done. However, some people say that you can use the broiler at the end to brown the bacon if you want to make them that way.

I served this with garlic mashed potatoes and whole steamed grean beans that I had sprinkled with some lemon pepper seasoning and crescent rolls. A very fancy looking dinner that was very easy and tasted AMAZING. Hubbs graded it an 8 on a 1-10 scale! :)

Big Bean Enchiladas (a secret veggie meal!!)

My sister is a vegitarian. I know right? GROSS. I'm a big fan of meat as you can tell from my rear end.  However, it makes it very difficult to get together for family meals when she doesn't eat meat and my hubby doesn't eat any vegetables!! Ok, he does eat veggies, just not anything too extreme.
One meal we can typically ALWAYS have is tacos. She can eat refried beans and we eat meat, but honestly how many times can you eat tacos?!
I finally created this meal one night when we didn't have any hamburger and it was AMAZING. I didn't even tell hubbs that there was no meat in it until halfway through him inhaling his enchilada and he said "really?!".

So for this recipe you will need the following:

• tortilla shells (I prefer the medium size ones, not the fajita sized but not the HUGE ones either)
• 2 cans of enchilada sauce (I prefer the HOT, but we like everything spicy, so you may want mild)
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of refried beans (if you want this to be vegetarian, get the veggie refried beans)
• 2 bags of shredded cheese. I typically use cheddar, but our Kroger has a wide variety of shredded cheese flavors and I like a mixture of Habanero, Montery Jack, and Quesadilla with the cheddar.
• 1 package of Lipton sides Spanish Rice. (the RED kind, not the yellow kind more known as MEXICAN rice.)
• Toppings- lettuce, tomato, green onion, jalapenos, sour cream, and salsa.

To prepare:
preheat the oven to 350.
Warm tortilla shells either in the microwave or the oven. (how many you make depends on how many you need for the meal. You can freeze the leftover mixture to use later.)
- Cook the spanish rice according to directions.
-Warm refried beans and black beans in a pan on the stove. Then mix them together in a large mixing bowl.
-Add 1 can of enchilada sauce (you may not need the entire can, dont get the mix too soupy.)
-Add one bag of cheese (or if you use different kinds, a mixture of all of them.)
Mix all together until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the center strip of the tortilla shells and then roll up. To roll, tuck both ends up and then roll to close.
Place them in a baking pan (I use a glass casserole dish) with the tortilla seam down.
Continue this process until you have filled the pan (or until you have made as many as you want.)
Cover the rolled tortillas with more enchilada sauce and top with more shredded cheese. You should completely cover them with cheese.
Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted, and if you like, put the broiler on for the last few minutes to brown the cheese on top.
Serve with the toppings of your choice, chips and salsa, and margaritas.

If you do not make an entire dish full, take the remaining mixture and put it in a freezer safe bowl and freeze until ready to make more. When ready, reheat the mixture and spoon into shells and heat the same way.
Enjoy a secretly healthier version of typical enchiladas.

Crouton Chicken... a family fav!

This one DOES require you to lay out your chicken! But since I always forget when I want to make it, I lay it out tonight to have it thawed out tomorrow. OR you can just buy some fresh that aren't frozen.

Cooking for two (and a minion:)
4 thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
milk
1 pack of croutons any flavor (I prefer the garlic & herb, ceasar, or ranch and any brand will do!)

Cut chicken breasts into tender sized chunks. If you can buy chicken tenders in your store, thats easier.
Soak the tenders in a mixture of milk and egg as long as possible. (which for me is typically about a half hour while I prepare everything else).
In a food processor, blender, or whatever works for you, chop the croutons up into a fine crumb powder. I have a food processor, but I also let my 2 year old wack the snot out of the croutons in a gallon ziplock bag with a wooden spoon. Good to relieve stress and he thouroughly enjoys "helping".
Depending on what croutons you use, you shouldnt need to add seasonings to the crumbs, but I almost always add a little pepper and garlic powder. Also add in about a tablespoon of flour to help thicken the crumbs. Mix well.
Preheat your oven to 400 and LIGHTLY spray a cookie sheet (and I do mean LIGHTLY!!)
Shake or roll the soaked tenders in the crumb mixture. You can either shake them in a ziplock bag or roll them in the mixture, but make sure they are well coated. Place them on a cookie sheet (and I usually sprinkle more of the crumbs on top of them.)
Bake about 10 minutes before flipping, then 10 minutes more or until chicken is done (about 20 minutes).
Serve with homemade honey mustard recipe also found on this blog.

Red Beans and... Chicken?

Made this on a whim last night when Kris walked in the door and looked at me with his WTH face because I had unknowingly worked past by 5:00 cutoff and didnt realize I had forgot to cook dinner. Took all of 10 minutes to cook and was DELISH!!! I know most of the time red beans and rice is paired with Jambalaya, but I didn't have any Kielbasa and don't like it anyway :)

1 pack of Lipton Sides Red Beans and Rice.
2-4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
about half a pack shredded cheddar cheese.

Place the chicken breasts in a skillet and put enough water in the pan to coat the bottom. Sprinkle in spices of your choice (I used Kickin Chicken, but you could use Cajun, Garlic powder, pepper, and a dash of cayenne too.) Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes and then turn for another 5 minutes (my breasts took about 11 minutes to cook through on medium-high heat, depending on the size may take longer).
While chicken is cooking, boil water for the rice. The packet of rice called for 2 cups of water and a dab of butter. Hard simmer for 7 minutes and then remove from heat and cover until chicken is done.
After you flip the chicken and it is cooked through, remove from pan and cut into small chunks (you COULD do this before cooking if your chicken is thawed, but seeing as how I made it at the last minute I didnt.) Place the chunks back in the pan and combine the rice with the chicken chunks. Cover with shredded cheese and cook a few minutes longer until the cheese melts.

We ate this mixture by itself and even the Zilla gobbled it up!!
I think it would be SCRUMPTIOUS on a tortilla shell with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and salsa!
Try it for your next last minute meal!!

Welcome!!

Welcome to my new blog!! Don't you love the title? My parents used to tell me all the time "girl you could burn water!". I never really had an interest in cooking. I grew up with a family full of cooks and a sister who was little miss Martha Stewart. I figured if I didn't try and didn't show any interest, no one would ask me to help and I would much rather spend my time outside playing or doing other more interesting things. Well, now that I'm married with two kids and a crazy life, I have to cook whether I like it or not! And strangely, I've come to find out.... I LOVE IT! Look at all those years wasted having the same few meals over and over! Not anymore!!
I am dedicating this blog to all the single people, busy moms on the go, or newlyweds who are just now learning to cook for themselves and don't want to rely on takeout or fast food! Everyone can cook! I will keep this recipe blog simple, with very few ingredients that most people can purchase at a NORMAL local grocery store (not some crazy world foods place) and that can typically be prepared from start to table in under an hour (with the exception of my dear friend the crock pot who sometimes takes 6-8).
I would love to have any recipe suggestions to include on the blog or ideas that you would like for me to find a recipe for. Have a freezer full of chicken and don't know what to do with it? Let me know and I'll try to find something to suit you. Have a kid with food allergies? I'll try to help with that too!
Welcome to I Burn Water! Hope you enjoy!!