Posts tagged ‘recipe’

January 26th, 2013

Ballpark Fries

by Dena

Our small town has a Barbecue place called Randy’s that we consider our favorite BBQ place in town. It’s the only one in town but still, it’s our favorite. They have this thing called Ballpark Fries that Boo loves and gets anytime she can wrangle a trip to Randy’s. Ballpark Fries are two orders of fries topped with chopped  barbecue, cheese, onions, and peppers. I love them as well but have wanted to be able to make a healthier (and cheaper) version. This weekend, we succeeded.

First, I put three chicken breasts in the crock pot to cook all day. I added garlic salt, pepper, seasoning salt, and Worcestershire sauce and let them cook all day so they would be easy to shred. We usually get beef at Randy’s but you can order any kind you like.

I'm lazy and use the frozen ones.

I'm lazy and use the frozen ones.

Next, we cooked some fries. You can make this as healthy as you like. I sometimes take fresh potatoes and soak them in ice water after I’ve peeled them. Then I shake them in a bag of olive oil and seasoning salt, and later bake them til crisp. Today we used already prepared fries and cooked them. (I lost that battle because my crew was hungry)

Once my chicken we ready I shredded it and added the sauce. Then it simmered some more.

Finally, we made our own ballpark fries. I added my chicken, more sauce, cheese, onions, and jalapeno  peppers that we canned from our garden last year. I loved it and liked the chicken instead of beef for a change.

Alexis 019

Maybe not so healthy

Other remarks about my recipe remake?

  • “It’s OK. I think I want beef on mine next time.”
  • “Me too, I want beef on mine.”

Not the smoking reviews I was hoping for, but at least they can cook them next time and I can give the reviews. Or, we can go to Randy’s.

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October 13th, 2011

Jalapeno Pinwheels

by LanaJoy

For some bizarre reason, I started thinking about a cheese ball I made a while back and wondered what it would be like with jalapenos.  The my mind wandered to other places and I thought about what it might be like if I put it into a pinwheel form.  The result was something that I have to say was pretty delicious, and for sure something that I will be making for holiday parties this season.  You will need:

  • 1 package of crescent rolls
  • 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
  • 6 slices of thick cut smoky bacon, crumbled
  • 2 medium jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
  • salt to taste if desired

Mix together your cream cheese, bacon,and jalapenos.  Taste this mixture and add a little salt if needed.  Then take the crescent rolls out of the fridge and spread them into two large rectangles.  Most recipes will tell you one large ractangle, but I find that two smaller ones is always easier.

not a perfect rectangle but close enough

not a perfect rectangle but close enough

The spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto the crescent, keeping it about 1/4 inch away from the edges.

blogstuff 004

Start from the bottom and slowly roll the crescent up.  Repeat with the other section of crescent and cream cheese mixture.  Place both rolls in the fridge for at least two hours.  These can be refrigerated over night.  If you were having a get together with these as an appetizer it would be easy to prep them the day before and slice and bake when you’re ready.  When you do decide to back them, slice them about 1/4 of an inch thick with a serrated knife.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven.

I seriously could have eaten this entire plate full.

I seriously could have eaten this entire plate full.

This recipe should make roughly 36 pinwheels.  Try not to eat them all at once.

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October 10th, 2011

Homemade Dog Biscuits

by LanaJoy

Well now that we have a little one, I figured it was time for me to be a good owner and create some treats for little Ewok. Sure there’s tons of treats at the store, but they are usually full of crap I can’t pronounce.  There’s even gourmet dog treats at some stores and an entire store in Little Rock dedicated to gourmet dog treats, but I don’t buy anything for myself labeled gourmet, so I’m sure as heck not going to spend hard earned cash on fancy treats when I can make them at home.  For any basic dog biscuit, you’re pretty much always going to use wheat flour, and probably oats.  The recipe I am going to give you makes chicken flavored biscuits, but you could easily make them beef flavored, or even add a little peanut butter and molasses to make a sweet dog cookie.  In other words, it’s not hard, and there’s no reason it should be expensive to give your dog a good homemade treat.  Just remember—NO CHOCOLATE EVER EVER EVER EVER.

the basics

the basics

Ingredients (beware these measurements make a big batch.  I’m freezing my dough to use for later and to give to friends.  It should keep in the freezer for a couple of months, so feel free to freeze some or cut these ingredients down to suit what you need)

  • 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/4 cups of quick oats
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth (you could do water but it’s not as flavorful)
  • 1/4 cup of corn or vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 small jar of chicken flavored baby food

Hand mix all of these ingredients, then refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.  I do this with all cookies, whether they are for humans of dogs.  The take sections of the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.  Use your hands or rolling pin to flatten it out to about 1/4 and inch in thickenss, then cut into whatever shapes you need.  You can use a cute cookie cutter if you like.   I had to cut mine into tiny squares because I have a dog that’s able to fit into one hand.  But if you have a bigger dog, simply make a bigger treat.

tiny treatsfor a tiny dog

tiny treats for a tiny dog

Bake them at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  They will feel done on the outside but not hard all the way through.  I seal his up in a plastic bag and will keep them for about a week.  They actually stay soft even after a day or two, which is something I have yet to accomplish with cookies for human consumption.  Maybe it’s the baby food……….  Either way, this little guy enjoys them, and they’ve been a good addition to our potty training treat selection.

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall!

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October 8th, 2011

French Onion Soup

by LanaJoy

Ok I have to tell you that I am mildly obsessed with the French onion soup at Panera Bread.  If you have one near you, go there and get the soup, you will not regret it!  So this weekend I decided that I was going to make French onion soup, and even though I figured it wouldn’t match the splendor of the soup at Panera, it would come close and satisfy my craving.  As per my usual custom, I looked at about a thousand different ways to make it.  Like most common food items, everybody has their way of doing it, ways they think are best etc.  I decided to once again start fiddling with ingredients and see what happened.  And I decided to add beef, because I  had a feeling if I handed my husband a bowl of onions he would just stare at me and wonder where the meat is.

Ingredients:

  • 3 large white or yellow onions, thinly sliced into strings, not big chunks
  • 1/4 to 1/2 lb of stew meat, depending on your preference, or hell go meatless
  • 2-32 oz boxes of beef broth
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of worchestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • salt and pepper to taste

I used a 6 quart slow cooker for this meal, and it worked out perfectly because it gives the onions time to carmelize.  Sear the beef on all sides and set into slow cooker.  Take sliced onions and place them in a skillet with a little butter for just a few minutes until they start to brown at the edges to loosen them up a little.  Then add them to the crockpot.  I had to cook my onions in two batches because I used gigantic onions.  Take the worchestershire, flour, and sugar and whisk together and add to onions and beef.  Add broth, stir ingredients together.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours, low 8-10.  It’s important NOT to skip the step of stirring together the worchestershire, sugar, and flour.  If you try to just dump it all in and stir it as a whole, it will  be a big globby mess.  I learned this the hard way with some chicken and dumplings a few months back.

I served this with some crusty french bread cut into little squares and some mozarella cheese one top.  It was really tasty and will make a huge pot so you can have leftovers for a day or two.

blogstuff 022

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April 23rd, 2011

Cookie Magic

by Dena

Six months ago it seemed like a great idea to have a cookie buffet at Joy’s wedding. Then, I started baking cookies. I wanted PERFECT cookies, one that would be better than any other. I also realized that I would have to bake and freeze ahead so that I wouldn’t be stuck in a hot kitchen at the 11th hour.

So, I studied cookies. I have made a few discoveries about cookies that I thought I would share.

  • The recipe on a bag of chocolate chips is the same no matter the brand.
  • Adding more vanilla to any cookie adds to the taste. Use real vanilla.
  • Use real butter, especially in chocolate chip. It makes the edges crispy and the center soft.
  • Mix the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for 36 hours before baking. (this is for chocolate chip)

I had the most trouble finding an oatmeal raising recipe that I liked.

  • RVWI found that most recipes for oatmeal cookies differed.
  • The best textured ones used old fashioned oats.
  • Soak your raisins. You can use water, juice, or whiskey. (I used water)
  • We probably won’t be having any oatmeal raisin cookies at the wedding. Alexis 004

I don’t know why I can’t make those taste and look perfect. But I can’t so we will be having sugar cookies instead. Now, to find the perfect glaze.

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August 14th, 2010

PB&J: Let me count the ways

by Dena

How many ways can you make a peanut butter sandwich?  Well, I discovered there are a lot of different ways when I first got married and my expert cooking skills were in the infancy stage.  My husband and I can’t even agree on how to make the Elvis classic of peanut butter and banana.  His way is wrong of course, but he’s from Texas so I had to learn to overlook a lot of idiosyncrasies early on.

This week we thought it would be fun to show the various ways to make a peanut butter sandwich since school lunches are on the horizon.  Some may not travel well in school lunches but are a great after school snack or breakfast.

  • The first one is one our dad makes. We all had it has a baby and are thankful none of us were allergic to nuts. Dad always mixed peanut butter and Johnny Fair syrup until it was smooth.  This makes a great sandwich or spread for toast or biscuits.    
  • An alternative to this is mixing with honey.  I’m not sure which one I like better but I do like this on biscuits.
  • Joy’s favorite is to mix crunchy peanut butter with grape jelly and spread it on wheat bread.
  • My husband’s favorite is peanut butter and raisin.  He likes the peanut butter spread on the bread and raisin arranged across it so that there are equal amounts of each.
  • This is my variation on a peanut butter and banana. You mash the banana and add peanut butter, like with the syrup.  Then spread it on the bread.  Although more work, it evenly distributes the peanut butter/banana combination.
  • Mom takes this one step further and dips this sandwich in an egg and milk mixture. She then fries it on a hot buttered griddle as if she was making french toast.   (totally a tribute to Elvis on mother’s part)
  • My husband’s version is to cut the bananas and lay across the peanut butter on bread.  Simple enough.
  • I like to do this with an apple.  Slice it very thin and lay it on top of the peanut butter.
  • Last but not least is our very favorite way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You make the sandwich as you would and then butter it like would a grilled cheese on the outside.  Then we brown it on a griddle and enjoy. 

So, how many ways are there to make a peanut butter sandwich?

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