Cream cheese bites

I needed a new appetizer that was quick and yummy -- this was super easy to make and tasty!!  HUGE hit at 3rd grade MNO!!!!

Ingredients:

Cream cheese

Cheezits, crushed

Cranberries, crushed

Grated cheddar cheese

Diced green onions

Preztels

I used a melon baller and then rolled the cream cheese in either crushed cheezits or cranberries - stuck the pretzel in and DONE!!!

Pesto Chicken Tortellini and Veggies

 This was YUMMY!!!  By cutting up the asparagus, we even got Evan to eat some :)  We also threw some mozzarella balls in there -- so tasty!!!

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless, sliced into strips
• salt
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil, chopped
• 1 lb asparagus ends trimmed, cut in half
• 1/4 cup basil pesto or use more
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes yellow and red, halved
• 1 cup tortellini uncooked

Instructions

• In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.  
• Add sliced chicken thighs (seasoned with salt), ¼ cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and cook everything on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, turning chicken slices over a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through.
• Remove the chicken and the sun-dried from the skillet, leaving the oil in.
• Add asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned generously with salt, and ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes to the same skillet.  
• Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is cooked through. Remove the asparagus to a serving plate.
• Cook tortellini according to the package instructions, drain.
• Add cooked chicken back to the skillet.   Add basil pesto.  Stir to coat and cook on low-medium heat until the chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 
• Add cooked tortellini and halved cherry tomatoes to the skillet with the chicken.  Stir to combine.  Add more pesto if desired.
• Season with more salt if needed.  
• Add chicken, cherry tomatoes and tortellini to the serving plate with asparagus.

Smash Burgers

We made these with Billy and Lainey last year so we knew we had to try ourselves!!  They were DELICIOUS!!!!

Our Best Bites: Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound 80/20 ground beef
steak seasoning (or just kosher salt and black pepper)
4 slices American cheese (like kraft singles)

4 hamburger buns

Fry Sauce/Burger Spread

Desired toppings:
iceberg lettuce
sliced tomato
sliced dill pickle
sliced onion

Divide beef into 4, 4-oz balls.  Do not roll super smooth, just roughly shape into round forms.

Cut or tear 4 sheets of parchment or foil into about 5″ squares.

Prepare all burger toppings and buns and set aside ready.

Heat a large flat-top grill pan, or large cast iron pan to medium heat.  Once hot, brush lightly with a neutral oil.  Place one portion of beef on pan at a time, place parchment square on top, place sturdy large spatula on top and immediately press down, using hand to push clean spatula, smashing beef to a thin patty, about 1/3″ thick.

Remove parchment/foil and sprinkle seasoning on top.  Repeat with remaining burgers.  Let cook until golden browned on bottom and edges, about 2-3 minutes.  Flip burgers, season remaining side, and immediate top with cheese.  Cook for additional 1 minute or so.

Spread sauce on buns, place cooked burgers on prepared buns and serve.

Variations:  feel free to use a 3-oz portion if you’d like them slightly smaller, or stack 2 burgers with cheese in the middle for a double-stack!

Stuffed Crescent Roll Carrots

How cutie are these little stuffed carrots :)  AND they are YUMMY!!!  It would be really yummy to fill with smoked egg salad and/or smoked chicken salad too!!!

Ingredients:

I can Pillsbury crescent rolls

8oz package cream cheese

1/4 cup chives, fresh

1 teaspoon lemon peel

1/4 cup parsley, fresh

16 small sprigs parsley, fresh

1/4 teaspoon salt

Foil

Cut crescent rolls into 8 strips with a cookie cutter

Wrap the strips around foil in the shape of carrot (see below)

Bake 7-9 minutes in oven and then pull foil out and let crescent rolls cool.

Mix cream cheese, chives, lemon zest, parsley, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Put into a frosting piping bag and pipe into the middle of the crescent rolls.

Then put a parsley sprig in and EAT!!

Smoked Chicken Salad

This was the best chicken salad I've ever had -- I love the smoky taste!!!  It was a huge hit at LEaster too!!  (ladies Easter)  So easy and even tastes better leftover!!!

6 servings

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped smoked chicken

1/2 cup mayo

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/4 cup sliced scallions

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

Toppings: slice avocado, lettuce, tomato

In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, sugar, celery, scallions and dill, stirring until well combined.

Take and season the turkey salad with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.

Smoked Egg Salad

Need something to do with all those hard boiled eggs -- this is perfect!!  It is SO delicious!!!!  I made this for my ladies Easter (LEaster hahaha) and it was a HUGE hit!!!  SO yummy!!  Might be the only way I'll eat egg salad from now on!!

Ingredients:
5 Smoked eggs (hardboiled and smoked - see recipe below for smoking eggs)
1/2 cup mayo or sour cream
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper

Smoked eggs:

First hard boil eggs.  Preheat smoker to 250 degrees.

Peel hard boiled eggs.  Place eggs in smoker for about 45 minutes, or until eggs are a light golden brown.

Remove and refrigerate until cooled.

Egg Salad

Cut smoked eggs in half.  Remove yolks and mix well with sour cream and mustard powder.

Dice up egg whites and add to the creamy yolk mixture.

Stir in chives and celery and mix well.

Serve on a croissant, bread, or lettuce wraps

Notes

Keep smoked egg salad in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Split Pea Soup with Ham

So we had leftover ham from Easter so this was the PERFECT recipe!!!  I wasn't sure if I was going to be a fan but it was yummy!!!  and EVAN -- EVAN LOVED it!!!

OBB - Makes 8 (1 1/2-cup) servings

Ingredients
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth or 8 cups water + 8 tsp. chicken or vegetable bouillon or soup base
1 pound bone-in ham, diced into small pieces and trimmed of excessive fat
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4–5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch of thyme

1lb dried split peas, rinsed and sorted

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon malt vinegar

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. You can also cook it on high until it starts to boil and then turn the setting on low until you’re ready to serve the soup. Soup is best when it’s had about an hour to sit after removing from heat. Top with croutons.

Any refrigerated leftovers will probably be very thick. It can be thinned with a little chicken broth, water, or hot ham water. (Just kidding about the hot ham water, but bonus points if you know what I’m talking about.)

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

Add ingredients to the Instant Pot, seal, and cook on high for 15 minutes. Quick release the pressure, then stir to combine.

Veggie Bunny

 Um how cute is this?!  :)

I made this with spinach and artichoke dip but I think you can use anything :)

Easter dessert

You all know I'm not a baker AT ALL....but I hosted Easter and wanted a cute dessert SOOOOO check out my "garden of carrots"  :)  I didn't try it but heard it was YUMMY!!!!

Ingredients:
15 large strawberries
1 box brownie mix
1 tub chocolate frosting
Orange food coloring
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
18 oreos, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 Robin egg candies
1 tablespoon coconut oil
cooking spray

Make brownie mix and pour into 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  I put parchment paper down and pour the mix on that (then I could lift it out of the pan to put on serving tray). 

After it was cool, frost brownies.  Smash oreos and sprinkle on top.

Melt white chocolate chips, stir in 1T coconut oil, and then stir in LOTS of orange food coloring!!

Put a skewer in each strawberry and dip in orange chocolate!!  Put on parchment paper and put in fridge for 15 minutes.  Then just plop those "carrots" on your cake and put robin eggs by them :)

Pea Salad

I needed a side to go with the Easter ham and wanted something new -- this was DELICIOUS and the best part; you can make it ahead of time!!!  AND it keeps for leftovers for a couple days too :)  Do it up!!!

Serves 6-8 

Ingredients:

• 1 – 750 g bag frozen peas (thawed (see notes))
• 1 lb bacon (cooked and chopped)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1 cup small cubed cheddar cheese

DRESSING

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 2 tsp milk

1. In a salad bowl toss together the thawed peas, onion, cheese and bacon.  (See notes)
2. In a separate bowl, blend together the ingredients for the dressing: the mayonnaise, sour cream and milk.  I like to use a hand blender for this step.
3. Add the dressing to the peas and mix well.
4. You can serve this salad right away, or it can rest in the fridge until you are ready to serve it, for up to 1 or 2 days.  This salad actually gets better after it has rested.

notes

You can thaw the peas in the fridge overnight if you wish to serve the salad right away.  OR you can toss the salad with frozen peas if you are planning to serve the salad a few hours later.

Simple Crab Cakes with Remoulade

So we needed a yummy Lenten meal for Good Friday and this was it -- SO delicious!!  Brody even ate it all up!!!   The Remoulade was yummy too -- would go a little less on the lemon juice for Rossy, but I thought it was great!!!  Served this with a little spinach salad.

Lightly adapted from Cooking Light, April 2012 (Our Best Bites)   Yields:  4 servings of 2 crab cakes each, and about 2 tablespoons remoulade.

Crab Cakes
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
2 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, finely chopped
zest from one lemon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs, divided (more if needed)
olive or canola oil for pan

Remoulade
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon capers, chopped
3/4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of ground red pepper

Mix all remoulade ingredients except lemon juice and red pepper.  Add lemon juice and red pepper to taste.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

To prepare crab cakes, drain crabmeat on several  layers of paper towels.  Place crab meat in mixing bowl.  Add bell pepper, mayonnaise, pepper, onion, lemon zest and egg.  Toss very gently until combined and all ingredients are well distributed.  Add 1/4 cup panko and toss again.  Place remaining panko in a shallow dish.

Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions.  Form each portion into a patty about 3/4 inches high.  Dredge each patty in panko, on both sides, pressing bread crumbs in gently.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat.  When hot, add a drizzle of oil to lightly coat bottom of pan.  Place a few patties in the pan (spaced so that none of them touch each other) and cook for about 3 minutes.  Let patty cook for a full 3 minutes before flipping.  Flip patties and cook for another 3 minutes, until both sides are golden brown.  Repeat with remaining crab cakes and serve with remoulade.

Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt!!

This was such an easy and fun idea!!

My boys are getting older and need new options of egg hunts to keep the tradition alive :)  I bought these mini glow sticks from Amazon: LINK and put 1 in each Easter Egg and then hid them throughout the yard.  They thought it was great and you still have plenty glow sticks left to do another time or use for some other fun event!!

Smoker Beer Can Chicken

We've made a beer can chicken before but not since I've started blogging or on a smoker.....SOOOOOO here we go!!!  This was DELICIOUS (and this is coming from a girl who doesn't really like chicken on the bone!!!)

For the brine:

• 12 oz. beer – I used Yuengling Lager
• 3 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 5 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. whole, black peppercorns
• 1 (4lb) whole chicken
• ice cold water

For the beer can chicken

• 4lb. beer brined chicken
• 3 Tbsp. softened butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne – optional
• 1 12oz. beer can – I used Yuengling Lager 

---

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the beer, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and black peppercorns in a large Dutch oven or deep tub* and whisk them together. 
2. Place the chicken in the brine and add a few cups of ice. Fill the vessel with cold water until the chicken is completely covered, cover, and let the chicken sit in the fridge in the brine overnight. 
3. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the Traeger to 375F.
4. While the wood pellet grill preheats, remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. 
5. Let it come to room temperature while you whisk together the salt, paprika, garlic powder, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the chicken all over with the softened butter and the spice rub, making sure to get under the skin. 
6. Open the beer you’re using and drink or set aside half of the beer. 
7. Take the beer and the chicken to the grill and push the beer into the cavity of the chicken.
8. Sit the chicken upright on the grill, making a tripod with the legs and the beer. If you have a secondary rack on the grill, it’s helpful to lean the chicken against that. This may take some gentle finagling.
9. Close the door to the grill and let this smoke for about 1.5 hours, or until the breast meat comes to 160F. 
10. Remove the chicken from the grill (it’s OK if the beer spills out a bit), and cover with foil.
11. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving. 

Mediterranean Tortellini Salad

Another Lent meal -- this was delicious and easy to hold some of the tortellini aside for picky Evan but the rest of us could eat a yummy salad :)

Ingredients

For The Salad

• 1 lb tortellini
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
• 1 cucumber seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
• 4 oz feta cheese crumbled

For the Dressing

• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Soak the onions in a bowl of clean, cold water. Drain after 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl add the onion slices, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, cheese, and tortellini. Gently toss them together.
• In a different bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Slowly add the olive oil and whisk everything together until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the tortellini salad and gently mix until everything's nicely coated with the dressing. Serve this salad warm or at room temperature.

Smoked BBQ Blue Cheese Chicken Pizza

So we have been wanting to make pizza on the Traeger smoker but always thought we needed a pizza tray or something!!  BUT NOPE!!  This was SO delicious and tastes like it took forever!!

Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon oregano
kosher salt and ground pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8oz)
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 cup store bought sweet and spicy BBQ sauce
3/4 cup sliced banana peppers, drained
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, about 3oz
3 green onions, chopped
red pepper flakes, optional

Bring your store bought or risen pizza dough to room temperature if it has been refrigerated.  Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on pan and then gently press and poke the dough onto a pan with your fingers.  Let it rise -- cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm area of the kitchen to rise for another 30 minutes or until it has doubled in height.

Preheat Traeger or grill to 450 degrees.

While the dough is rising, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Cook the onion until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring so it doesn't burn.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a medium size bowl to cool.  Stir in the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, oregano, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Lay the dough on the grill for 5 minutes to cook one side.  Remove to from the grill and flip the dough so that the grilled side is facing up.  This is the side you'll put sauce and toppings on.  The bottom side should be the raw side.

Within a 1 inch border of the edge, gently press the middle of the dough down a bit.  Spread the ricotta cheese mixture on the dough leaving a 1 inch border.  Top with Mozzarella cheese.

Toss the chicken breast with BBQ sauce in a small bowl.  Distribute the chicken, banana peppers, and half of the blue cheese evenly over the pizza.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bottom is crisp and cheese has melted.  Top with the rest of the blue cheese and green onions.  Cut and Serve!

Smoked Margarita Pizza

So we have been wanting to make pizza on the Traeger smoker but always thought we needed a pizza tray or something!!  BUT NOPE!!  This was SO delicious!!!

Ingredients:
16oz ball pizza dough (Trader Joes has great dough or you can get frozen dough from Cub and just let it thaw and rise)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cornmeal
14oz pizza sauce of choice
8oz mozzarella
1-2 roma tomatoes
1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes
fresh basil

Preheat the Traeger or your wood pellet grill to 450 degrees.  This works best on a clean grill.

Stretch the pizza dough out with your hands and a rolling pin with the olive oil.

Dust the dough lightly with the cornmeal to help with sticking to the grill.

Lay the dough on the grill for 5 minutes to cook one side.  Remove to from the grill and flip the dough so that the grilled side is facing up.  This is the side you'll put sauce and toppings on.  The bottom side should be the raw side.

Spread the sauce and lay on the cheese and tomatoes.

Place the pizza back on the grill for 8-1o minutes, or until the edges are crispy and the cheese is melted.

Remove the grill, top with basil, cut and serve.

April Fools Day - Poop Cookies

You know I love a good April Fools joke on my boys :)  This one was GREAT!!! hahahah  They actually tasted pretty good too :)

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 3 ounces of cream cheese
• 4 TBS butter
• 1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine egg, softened cream cheese and butter until well mixed.
3. Add cake mix and mix really well. Don’t be afraid to dig in with your hands to get it all combined, it’s pretty dry.
4. Roll and shape away! Let your imagination run wild (lol) You can even add peanuts or other gross features (Tip: make them on the small side, they expand when baking!)
5. Place poops in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
6. Bake for 7-10 minutes until cookies bounce back when touched gently.
7. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. 
8. Optional: Add sparkle gel or crushed sprinkles (see note) with a brush for that fresh poop sheen. I can’t believe I just wrote that!

Note: I didn’t have sparkle gel, so I put some silver sprinkles in a bag, rolled them until pulverized with a rolling pin and added a couple of drops of water. Brush on with a small brush and voila!

You can serve these on a plate, leave them scattered through the house, or toss them in a dish with graham crackers. Either way, they are super gross looking, but pretty delicious!