Bacon Cheddar Ranch Potatoes!

Every once in a while you come across a recipe that's DELICIOUS!  This just happens to be one of those recipes!

It's easy, delicious and even the kids love it!

Ingredients:
3lbs. chopped red potatoes
3/4 cup of Ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup of Sour Cream
1 pkg. of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of bacon bits + 1/4 cup more for garnish
2 tsp of chili powder
salt & pepper to taste

1)   Start by chopping your red potatoes into small pieces.

2)  Mix the Ranch dressing, sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits and chili powder.  If you notice the mixture tends to be "too thick" or "too dry" add more Ranch dressing.... or, if you're counting calories add some 2%milk.... Just make sure you use enough Ranch dressing to flavor the potatoes.  

3)  Add the chopped potatoes to the mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan that has been generously greased.

4)  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1hour.  After baking, remove from oven and top with remaining shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and Oregano.

Roll Tide Burlap Centerpiece!

I recently decided I would use some burlap to make a centerpiece for my favorite football team!  To start with yo will need :

1) Wire coat hanger

2) Burlap - approximately 6-7 yards 

3) Decorative ribbon of your choice (since I'm a bama fan I chose colors of "crimson" and then something that resembled the "houndstooth" look), I was unable to find the actual houndstooth ribbon/fabric so I opted for the ribbon in the picture.

How To Make The Centerpiece:

1)  Use a pair of pliers (wire cutters) to cut the top off of a wire coat hanger.  Using your wire coat hanger "thread" the burlap onto the wire coat hanger.  Don't worry about getting it perfect!

2)  Continue weaving the burlap onto the wire coat hanger until it is as "full" looking as you prefer.  I tend to prefer a really "full" looking centerpiece so I used quite a bit of the burlap.

3)  Once you have finished weaving the burlap onto the wire coat hanger, use some pliers and "twist" the two wire ends together in a circular motion in order to fasten the ends together.

4)  Select any type of decorative ribbon to "tie into" the burlap centerpiece along with a candle that matches.  Because of the burlap centerpiece MAKE SURE you are aware that if you choose a candle not in a glass candle holder.... there is a huge possibility you will need to make/create a centerpiece that works for you!

Bread Crumbs

Make your own bread crumbs!  It's one of the easiest things to do in the kitchen and you can use bread crumbs as a panko bread crust, to thicken soups and sauces or even add to meatloafs or meatballs to absorb some of the grease.

You will need to start with your bread (mine was hamburger buns) and place them on a baking sheet.  

 Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes OR until they are golden brown colored like the ones in the picture.  Allow them to cool completely and if you notice some of the buns aren't quite "dry enough" ... (in my case the top half of a hamburger bun because it is so much thicker) place them back in the oven to continue baking until they are completely dry and can be blended in a blender.

I then used my blender to break the hamburger buns up and blend them into breadcrumbs.

.... And that's it!  From here I placed them in a Ziploc freezer safe bag and froze them for future use.  Since I am always using breadcrumbs I plan to make them myself (from this point forward) just using whatever bread pieces I have!

Twine Candle Votive

It seems with Fall quickly approaching I am interested in ANYthing that even remotely resembles Fall or the Thanksgiving season.  Sooo... I have begun crafting with Fall items such as twine, burlap and cranberry/apple scented candles.  My dollar store twine candle votive is the most recent "Fall craft."

I think it has a "rustic" feel that looks great with the other Fall decorations.

You will need to start with gathering your supplies.  Mine included a candle votive, candle holder and some twine along with a hot glue gun.  I started hot glueing the first strand onto the candle holder and wrapped the twine down and around towards the bottom.  There are a couple of things you might find useful to know:

1) I did NOT hot glue the twine the ENTIRE way around the votive.  I used a little hot glue "here and there" and continued wrapping around until I noticed the twine was beginning to slip and could use a little something to hold it in place.

2)  It is important to know that with this particular votive, once you reach the widest point of the votive it begins to narrow and this is where the twine is more likely to slide downward.  You will need to use a little more adhesive (I used a hot glue gun).. in order to make sure the twine doesn't slip and the wrapping is even and continuous.

Then you add your candle and enjoy your craft!  I also happen to think an orange colored candle would be gorgeous for November and maybe even a black one for Halloween!  At any rate,   Happy Crafting!!

Beverly's "Summertime" Pasta Salad

I'm a big fan of pasta salad during the summer time!  It's quick, easy and you can refrigerate it for a cool summer time side dish or snack.  This pasta salad recipe is rich in flavor in texture.

The Ingredients:
Bow Tie Pasta
Broccoli
Grapes
Cherry Tomatoes - sliced
Red Onion - chopped
Pine Nuts
Bacon Bits
Mayonaise - enough to give the salad a creamy texture

 I'm not sure what the exact measurements of the ingredients are but I plan to add as much or little as I prefer to suit my tastes making sure to use twice as much pasta in relation to the other ingredients.

Flower Garden

Beverly's Flower Garden:

My neighbors thoroughly enjoy gardening.  They have some of the most interesting plants.  I like this potted plant below and the ground cover.

Ivy growing up a tree.  This is really cute, and the higher the ivy gets up the tree the bigger the leaves get.

Marsala Chicken with Seared Potatoes & Broccoli

After going to a Metropolitan Cooking show in Houston Texas I decided to purchase one of those "smokeless indoor grills" that you place on your stove to grill fruits and vegetables.  The Houston cooking expo demonstrated the product and from that point forward I was hooked!!

For my first recipe I opted for a grilled chicken flavored with some Marsala cooking wine and seasoned with my Tastefully Simple season salt and "garlic garlic" seasonings.  I basically have only one comment to make regarding the meal...DELICIOUS!!  I've had several really bad ideas when it comes to cooking in the kitchen... but thankfully, this wasn't one of them!

I started with my chicken breasts and placed them in a ziploc bag and used a meat mallet to pound them out to approximately 1/4 inch thick.

This is a picture I took of the chicken AFTER I used a meat mallet to pound it out to about 1/4 inch thick.

Once I finished pounding the chicken I seasoned it with some Tastefully Simple seasoned salt and "garlic, garlic" seasonings.  The picture on the right shows my newest kitchen purchase of an "indoor smokeless grill."  This gadget allows me to grill meats and vegetables indoors and without the smoke.  The bottom pan has a hollow "ring" around the bottom which I put approximately 1/2 cup of Marsala Cooking Wine into in order to add some flavor to the chicken.

I placed the chicken on my smokeless grill (which I set to medium/high heat) and allowed it to cook for approximately 7-8 minutes on each side.

As the chicken cooked, you can see how it begins to turn more "white" colored as opposed to its natural "flesh" colored tone.

The picture to the left shows the chicken during the middle of the cooking process.  It's obvious I added one of the chicken breasts (the one on the bottom) LATER on after the first one was almost done.

This is the fully cooked piece of chicken... which turned out to be tender enough to cut with a fork and deliciously flavorful!

I added some frozen broccoli to my skillet and flavored it with some Marsala cooking wine along with some season salt and pepper.  I covered with a lid and cooked until the broccoli was cooked through completely.

I chopped some red potatoes and seasoned them with season salt and "garlic, garlic" seasonings.  I used olive oil to prevent the potatoes from sticking and add some moisture, flavor and fast to the potatoes.

And here is the complete meal.  Altogether, it took maybe 20-30 minutes to cook everything.  It's definitely one of my better ideas when it comes to cooking!

Mending The Cracks

I recently bought a really cute pumpkin which looked gorgeous on my mahogany sofa table.... that is until the little 4 year old from next door paid us a visit!  He enjoys playing with my daughter.... and on this particular day my gorgeous Fall pumpkin!

I decided to "mend the crack" and find a way to use the pumpkin as a decoration somewhere in the house.

My broken pumpkin with a crack
and no stem.

I used some adhesive and applied
with a sponge.

In the picture to the left, I used a piece of Fall Burlap Ribbon to hide the obvious crack down the side of the pumpkin.

Instead of trying to glue the stem back on I opted to use the pumpkin as a vase and place some fall flowers inside.  

It's not exactly the pumpkin I purchased, but I suppose it's one way to use a cracked pumpkin as opposed to throwing it away.

Grilled Orange Butt Chicken

This chicken recipe is without a doubt one of my husband’s favorites!  It’s moist, tender and juicy, all of which makes for a delicious piece of grilled chicken!

1)  You start with a chicken and a can of orange soda.  The easiest way to prepare it is to push the unopened can of orange soda into the chicken cavity through the “butt end” of the chicken.  (Make sure the top of the can is upright!!  Do not place it upside down in the chicken!) 

2)  Once the can has been inserted make sure to sit the chicken upright to determine whether or not you need to make any final adjustments so that it “sits” comfortably on the can without leaning, falling over, etc… before putting it on the grill.

3) Season however you like, I used Tastefully Simple's "Everyday Grilling Seasoning", and then carefully reach inside the chicken cavity and open the can of orange soda.

4)  Place your chicken on the grill.  For this recipe, I used indirect heat and cooked at a temperature of about 350 degrees.   It usually takes about 45 minutes to cook but depending on the size of the chicken it could take longer so make sure to prepare the dish when you have plenty of time to use your grill.

The burner directly under the chicken is off.
I am cooking with the burner on the
right side of the picture.

And here we have the finished product!!  I cooked this chicken for a little over an hour since it was a bit bigger than the smaller ones I've cooked in the past.

Tip:  If you notice your chicken looks like it's drying out during the cooking process, baste it with some orange juice.  It gives the chicken a beautiful color, adds to the taste of the "orange butt chicken" and really moistens it up.

Beverly's Burlap Wreath

By far one of the prettiest burlap wreaths I've seen so far this year!  My neighbor is a whiz when it comes to this stuff and the pictures below are of one of the wreaths she made for her front door.

For this project she used:

1.  A medium sized wire wreath frame
2. 2 rolls of burlap
3. pipe cleaners
4. several fall accent pieces

You will need to gather and "bunch" the burlap around the wire frame and use the pipe cleaners to secure it down.  To make a "full" looking wreath you may need to do this twice.  Once you are finished with the burlap use a hot glue gun (or more pipe cleaners) to arrange and secure your accent pieces.