Sweet and Savory Bacon Crackers

This recipe requires only four ingredients and a little patience.  What can be better than a buttery club cracker, topped with sweet brown sugar or savory parmesan cheese, and wrapped in BACON?!  Is this a trick question?  Get in my belly!  They are in my oven as I type this, and they smell amazing.  Can't wait to try one (or more).  The recipe in The Pioneer Woman's Holiday cookbook, and her recipe for the same online contradict eachother a bit.  Online it calls for 1 TSP of brown sugar and/or parmesan cheese, and in the book it calls for 1 TBSP.  That's a big difference.  I personally opted for the 1 TSP.  Here's the easy recipe!

Sweet and Savory Bacon Crackers
As adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

36 Club Style Crackers (1 sleeve)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Brown Sugar
1 lb bacon (regular thickness)

Preheat oven to 250.  Line crackers on a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet.  Top each cracker with either 1 TSP of parmesan or brown sugar.  I did a mix of both!  Cut the pound of bacon in half, and wrap one half of a piece of bacon around each cracker, making sure to cover the cracker as much as possible.  Bake at 250 for 2 hours.  Serve warm.  (On the Pioneer Woman cooking blog, she states that you can take the baked crackers and freeze them for a later date.  Just thaw them and pop them in an oven to warm for about 10 minutes.)  Enjoy!!

Little Meat Loaves

These are always a hit at our house. Super moist and yummy, these meat loaves are the perfect size and are even better the next day. They are also great for company!

Little Meat Loaves
Adapted from Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce, divided
1 c soft breadcrumbs (I use store bought in the can)
2 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 large eggs; lightly beaten
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine beef, 1/2 c tomato sauce, and next 5 ingredients; stir well. Shape mixture into 6 loaves. Place loaves on a broiler pan or baking sheet lined with foil. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 25 minutes or to desired doneness.
Combine remaining tomato sauce, parsley flakes, and Worcestershire sauce. Remove pan from oven; pour tomato mixture over meat loaves. Bake 5 more minutes. Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Caesar Salad

Don't let the title fool you. This is not your normal run-of-the-mill Caesar salad. There is no creamy dressing filled with tons of calories, but the flavor is bright, tangy, and delicious!  This is a huge favorite at our house. Even my meat and potato loving husband enjoys this salad. You will too!


Chicken Caesar Salad
Adapted from Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites

1/4 c white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast strips
1 1/2 TBSP lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c olive oil
8 c (or one medium head) romaine lettuce, torn or shredded
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese
Croutons (optional)

Combine first three ingredients, stirring well; set aside. Dredge chicken in lemon pepper and garlic powder. Pour oil into a large skillet, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Cook chicken in hot oil 5 minutes or until done, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet; drain chicken on paper towels. Remove skillet from heat; stir vinegar mixture into reserved drippings, scraping particles that cling to bottom of skillet. Pour warm dressing over lettuce; add chicken, and toss. Sprinkle with croutons and cheese. Serves 4.

Cure-All Chicken Rice Soup

This soup has delicious flavor, and warms you from the inside out. I served with grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping :). Perfect for cold weather, and the colds that come along with it! Enjoy!

Cure-All Chicken Rice Soup
Adapted from Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 lbs) cut into 8 piece
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, halved crosswise
1 large yellow onion, halved through the root end
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp dried tarragon
1 c long grain white rice
1/3 c chopped fresh parsley

In a large stockpot, combine chicken, 12 cups of water, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and tarragon. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.
Remove the chicken and carrots from the pot and set aside. Strain the remaining liquid and discard the solids. Return the strained broth to the pot, stir in the rice, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook until the rice is tender, 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, once the chicken is cook enough to handle, pick the meat off the bones, discarding bones and skin.
Cut the meat into bite size pieces and thinly slice the carrots. Return chicken and carrots to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning and stir in parsley just before serving.

Texas Stew

I modified this just a bit, but it wasn't too far from the original!  

Texas Stew

Adapted from Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites

2 lbs beef tips, cut into 1 in pieces (I used 1 1/2 lbs stew meat)

1 (14 1/2 oz) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I used one can of regular Rotel)

1 (10 1/2 oz) can of condensed beef broth, undiluted (I used one reg box of beef broth)

1 (8 oz) jar medium or mild picante sauce

1 (10 oz) package of frozen corn

3 carrots, scraped and cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c water

1/4 c all-purpose flour

*2 med potatoes, cubed

Combine first 10 ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours, or low for 10 hours until meat is tender. *I added the two cubed potatoes the last hour of cooking. 

Combine water and flour, stirring until smooth; stir into meat mixture in slow cooker. Cook stew, uncovered, on high for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring often. Yield: 10 cups. 

Bistro-Style Chicken with Red Wine

Bistro-Style Chicken with Red Wine
Adapted from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know, 2011
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp unsealed butter (I used salted)
1 c sliced onion
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c red wine (or beef broth)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 oz diced bacon (I would use 1 slice per breast)
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (I am omitting bc I don't have any)

Place chicken between plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch in thickness. Salt and pepper liberally.
Evenly coat each piece of chicken in 1 tbsp of flour. Heat butter Ina 12 in skillet over medium heat, then cook the chicken until lightly golden, 2 min per side. Transfer to a plate.
In the same skillet, add onion, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook until the onion and mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute more.
Stir in wine (or broth) and tomato paste. Add bacon, then the chicken. Cover and simmer until just cooked through, 10 minutes.
Serve each piece sprinkled with parsley.
Enjoy!www.facebook.com/kristencookswithbooks

Yummy Stuffed Peppers

Last night I decided to try something new. Josh doesn't enjoy peppers, so I wouldn't make these if he was home. Since he was working it was the perfect night to try them! I got the recipe from www.skinnytaste.com. I LOVE her site. This is probably the tenth recipe of hers that I have tried and they have all been so tasty. They are also really healthy which is an added bonus. I don't like to sacrifice flavor, and I love that even though her food is good for you, it really tastes good too. I made a few changes to the original recipe because of ingredients that I already had on hand. She uses red bell peppers in the original, and after trying them with green, I think I would like the red better. The green bell pepper tends to be a little more bitter. Her recipe is also different from most stuffed pepper recipes because you don't have to pre-cook the peppers and they are not heavy on the tomato sauce. The peppers steam while cooking, due to a little chicken stock in the dish and some foil to cover. Brilliant! Who wants to go through all the trouble of cooking them beforehand? I sure don't! I hope you like this recipe as much as I did. It was SO easy and made a ton. I will post my adjustments next to the ingredients that I substituted. Happy eating!

Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes (Skinnytaste.com)
Servings: 6 servings (1/2 pepper) • Time: 55 minutes • Old Points: 4 • Points+: 5
Calories: 184.7 • Fat: 2.3 g • Protein: 20.8 g • Carb: 20.2 g • Fiber: 1.6 g

• 1 lb lean chopped turkey meat ( I used lean beef)
• 1 garlic, minced ( I used 2)
• 1/4 onion, minced ( I used 1/2)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley ( I omitted this because I didn't have any)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• salt to taste
• 3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed ( I used 4 green)
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice ( I used Brown Minute Rice)
• Olive oil spray ( I added a tsp. butter to help the saute' process, olive oil would be great, too.)
• 1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheese
  

Heat oven to 400°. Spray a little olive oil spray in a medium size saute pan and heat on a medium flame. Add onion, garlic and cilantro to the pan. Saute about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt and garlic powder, and cumin and brownmeat for several minutes until meat is completely cooked through. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Combine cooked rice and meat together.

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all seeds. Place in a baking dish.Spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it with as much as you can.Place all stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy.