Peppered Bacon Snack Mix

 

Peppered Bacon Snack Mix

Ingredients

• 3 c. crisp hexagon or square cereal

• 1 c. small pretzel twists

• 1/2 c. honey roasted peanuts

• 1/2 c. small cheese crackers

• 3 T. butter

• 1 T. brown sugar

• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1/4 tsp. chili powder

• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 6 slices precooked packaged bacon

Instructions

1. In a 13" x 9" nonstick pan, combine cereal, pretzels, peanuts and crackers.

2. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, cayenne and chili powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Stir until evenly coated.

3. Bake mixture at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

4. Place bacon on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with pepper and press the pepper into the bacon. Cover with another paper towel and microwave until crisp. Cut the bacon with kitchen scissors into small pieces. Add into the cereal mixture. Stir and cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pretzel Chicken Bites

Pretzel Chicken Bites

1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 c. flour
Salt and pepper
1 egg
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
1 c. crushed pretzels (I used 1/2 c. plain and 1/2 c. jalapeno pretzels)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper.  Toss the chicken in the flour mixture.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mustard and honey.  Dip the chicken in egg then roll in pretzels.  Bake at 425 degrees until cooked, about 15 minutes, turning once.  Serve with additional honey-mustard mixture for dipping.

You can experiment with different flavors of pretzels if you like.

You can crush the pretzels in a plastic bag using a rolling pin or give them a spin in the food processor but be careful not to over-crush them.

Denver Omelet Pie

 Denver Omelet Pie

6 eggs

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

3 c. frozen shredded hash browns potatoes, thawed

1 c. shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 c. diced fully cooked ham

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

Thaw the hashbrowns.  

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, onion powder, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, cheese, ham and green pepper. Pour into a greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

 

Cannoli Dip

Cannoli Dip

3/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. mini chocolate chips
Sugar cones, graham crackers or vanilla wafers

Bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese and powdered sugar with a mixer at low speed.  Increase the speed and mix until creamy.  Add the vanilla and mix just until combined.  Stir in the mini chocolate chips.  Serve as a dip with broken up sugar cones, graham crackers and/or vanilla wafers.

Chocolate Caramel Cashew Bars

Chocolate Caramel Cashew Bars

1 roll (18 oz.) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 pkg. (11.5 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 container (16 oz.) caramel apple dip
3 c. crisp rice cereal
1 1/4 c. chopped cashews

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut the cookie dough in half crosswise then cut each section in half lengthwise.  Press the dough in the bottom of an ungreased 13" x 9" pan.  Bake 10 - 14 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool for 15 minutes.
In a 3 quart saucepan, place 1 c. chocolate chips and 1 c. caramel dip.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Add cereal and cashews.  Spread this mixture over the cooled crust.
In a small saucepan, place the remaining 1 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 c. caramel dip.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.  Spread over the cereal mixture.  Refrigerate until set.  Cut into bars.

I prefer keeping the bars refrigerated and eating them chilled.

Apricot Poppy Chicken

Apricot Poppy Chicken

2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
2 shallots
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. apricot preserves
3 T. honey
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1 T. butter

Cut the chicken into chunks. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cooked in the skillet until browned. Thinly slice the shallots. Add the shallots to the chicken and cook for three minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until slightly reduced. Add the chicken broth, apricot preserves, honey and poppyseeds and simmer over medium low heat, stirring. Stir in butter and serve.

Serve over rice or boiled new potatoes.

Jambalaya

 

Jambalaya

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb. andouille sausage

• 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

• 2 bell peppers

• 1 large onion

• 2 c. chicken broth

• 1 30 oz. can diced tomatoes

• 1 T. minced garlic

• 2 T. Cajun seasoning

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

• 1 1/2 c. uncooked brown or white rice

• 1/2 lb. uncooked shrimp peeled and deveined

Instructions

1. Slice sausage into 1/4 inch thick slices. Remove the tails from the shrimp. Chop chicken into 1” pieces. Dice the green peppers and onion.

2. Add the sausage, chicken, bell peppers, onion, chicken broth, tomatoes, minced garlic, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper to a slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on low. Stir in the rice and cook another 1 - 2 hours until the rice is tender.

3. About 20 minutes before serving, add the shrimp and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Stir and serve hot.

Notes

If you don’t care for one of the proteins in this dish, just leave it out and add more of another protein. If you want it spicier, add 1 or 2 diced jalapeños with the green peppers.