Bean n Bacon Soup

We had a late lunch in town today, so I wasn't even sure if I wanted to make dinner tonight. 

I had some chicken thighs defrosted already, but I just didn't feel like preparing a whole meal now. I really wanted something simple, lighter and comforting...soup!

At first I thought of making corn chowder using the few ears of corn leftover from our 4th of July barbecue. Then, upon inspecting the contents of the frig, I spied the baked beans. I knew I had two or three strips of bacon left so I thought "bean and bacon soup!" I would add corn to that. Brilliant. 

So I chopped up a bit of onion, about a quarter cup, and sauteed it with the diced bacon in a stockpot. I added a quarter cube of butter, Paula Deen-style. Then I made a roux by adding a small scoop of flour to the pot, along with about a cup of water and a teaspoon of organic chicken broth powder in lieu of broth. When that thickened, I added a little more water, then stirred in the leftover beans, which amounted to about two cups worth, and about a cup of corn that I had cut off the cob.

I tasted the soup and decided it needed some punch, so I added a splash each of Worchestershire sauce and white vinegar vinegar and a generous dollop of ketchup. Still not completely satisfied, I opened a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes and poured it in. Garlic salt, pepper and oregano flakes finished off the seasoning and the soup was ready. It turned out to be pretty tasty!

Practical Apricot Cheesecake Shooters

So you know I watch my cooking shows on Saturday mornings after the hub leaves for work. (While we are eating breakfast, we are watching Two Guys Garage...). 

This morning on Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond was having a "Girls Night In" with some friends and she was making some fabulous food. The grand finale was these little cherry cheesecake "shooters" she served up in wine goblets. They looked absolutely mouth-watering and I knew I had to try it. I already had cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk on hand as well as some toasted almonds and graham crackers, so I just needed cherry pie filling. While watching the show using my DVR, I mixed up the cheesecake filling in my Kitchen Aide mixer, adding a splash of lemon juice which I don't think Ree did with her batch. I didn't actually have graham crackers, but I had Teddy grahams...same difference. They got crushed to bits. I thought about using wine goblets, but the closest ones on hand were crystal, and Taylor would be eating it, and I decided to look for something else...ahh! Jelly jars. Sturdier. Perfect.  My friend Steph had watched the same show and already had photos of her beautiful cheesecake shooters on Facebook, all perfect and pretty. Sigh! She also made Ree's calzones...heck, we just ordered pizza! 

I divied up the graham crumbs between five jars and then spooned in the cheesecake filling. Ree filled hers by piping in the filling using a plastic bag. Good idea, because mine didn't look so pretty, but it was just for us and the boys don't appreciate pretty all that much anyway, so I took a shortcut and spooned it in. Now I just had to get the cherry pie filling when I went into town later on, after watching Pioneer Woman, Trisha's Southern Kitchen, and Giada at Home. 

My mission in town was to stop by the Hospice Thrift Store and purchase those beer mugs I had seen the day before. I have become a thrift store junkie, checking every week to see what new treasures are being offer for sale at a fraction of the retail price. Lee has tried counseling me about my addition, but this time he was enabling me. Last night I told him I had seen these mugs, Sam Adams brand, for $2 apiece, but that I was a good girl and didn't buy them. I mean, good grief, we all know Lee had plenty of beer mugs...and pilsners...and pint glasses...and mason jars, for that matter! Humph! Danged if he didn't want them, after all! "Rwwewh! How many are there?" he asked attentively. He said I could go get them if they were still there. Of course, I would just get the mugs, nothing else. Yah, right!

I went to town and got the mugs. I stopped at the Dollar store and got some more Teddy grahams, because my daughter needs them for a dessert she is making next weekend for our family reunion. Then I got all the way home and realized I had forgotten cherry pie filling. Oh well! I would substitute the apricot jam I had put up a few weeks ago. That's better, because I made it with apricots I got from SLO Veg, and this blog is all about that. Apricot cheesecake shooters. Nice!

Oh, and then I rearranged my utensil draw...utilizing the new bamboo divided silverware tray I picked up at the thrift store. $3.00 : )

Here is the link for Pioneer Woman's cheesecake desserts:

Note: I added a tablespoon of lemon juice to the filling

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/cherry-cheesecake-shooters/

Fruity Peach Sangria

I had all these peaches that were ripe ripe ripe! I told the boys they needed to eat some. Ghessh! Make some smoothies or something! I had already made a peach crisp with some, so I had done my part.

Then inspiration hit me! Sangria! It's because Denier posted a photo of sangria on her Facebook page, actually. It looked good! and what is sangria, after all? Just wine with fruit! Kinda like beer with fruit, only different. (Beers that goes with fruit are Corona with lime, Blue Moon with orange, Hefeweisen with lemon...you get the picture!) Only Sangria is soaks up the fruit a little longer.

So I went to the websites to look for recipes. Food Network's site had at least 114 recipes for sangria. You can literally make any kind of sangria with any kind of wine and fruit: winter, summer, spring and fall. Here is one that sounded good, but I don't have any vodka on hand...
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/carolina-peach-sangria-10000001990034/ 
You can add liquors, juices, flavorings...the list is endless. 

But I wanted simple. I found one with ginger ale, and that hit the spot for me. Mamma Mia Sangria!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mamma-mia-sangria-recipe/index.html
I have it mulling the frig right now. I added a lime, orange, some pineapple and the juice, and fresh peaches! When we get back from playing with the Goldens in the Park, I am having a cocktail. : )


SLO Veg posted that they have a bunch of plums to clear out quickly. Here is a recipe for plum sangria:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/plum-sangria-recipe/index.html

Hamburger Spinach Scramble: It's what's for Breakfast!

I asked Lee for some help this morning. He came into the kitchen and declared that I had everything under control. Wrong.

"Just stand there and look pretty," I told him as I chopped some onions to add to the ground beef in the skillet. "and make me some coffee. Please."

There. That was the type of help I needed. He just came downstairs and turned on his racing. Like he could just sit and relax while I made him some breakfast. 

He made me coffee, just the way I like it with a dash of cinnamon and brown sugar and coffee cream. Ahhhhhhh! Okay, now I am happy to cook him breakfast. It was pretty simple: brown some ground meat, stir in some diced onion and season with salt, pepper, and...marjoram! Yep, today I tried something different. Marjoram, the forgotten herb. When the meat was all browned and the onions softened, I stirred in some sliced SLO Veg spinach and gave it all a stir. I pushed all the meat mixture into the middle of the skillet and poured in 5 scrambled up eggs that I mixed with a dollop of milk. Once those started to set up, I incorporated the eggs into the beef for a skillet scramble. I served it in cereal bowls with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top. 

Then I sat down and ate with Lee...and my coffee.

All-American Red, White and Bleu Potato Salad

Taste-tester approved potato salad

In honor of the Fourth of July holiday, I made the requisite potato salad, with a twist. It's called All-American Red, White and Bleu Salad. Red new potatoes, bacon, and bleu cheese are the main components. I know, I know, I used Gorgonzola and that's Italian, but Italian Americans are very patriotic...and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse! Translation: I had gorgonzola in the frig.

I researched a few recipes, one from SLO Veg and some on Pinterest. Then I made up my own version. It started with boiling the potatoes, then rinsing them under cold water and quartering and cubing them up. I started yesterday with the potatoes, but I didn't want to cook them into mush, so I guess I pulled them off the stove too early. I was trying to get them cooked and then go back to sleep because I am on nightshift and had to work later. I thought they were done, but after they cooled and I bit into one, they were a little too "al dente" for a good potato salad. So Thursday morning I put the potatoes back on the stove in a pot of water and cooked them for another 10 minutes or so. When the skins just start to peel off, that's when they are done.

Meanwhile, I made my dressing. I started out with mayonnaise, about 1-1/2 cups. I added a half cup of sour cream and about 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. I say "about", because I didn't measure anything. Using a trick from my mother-in-law, I sliced open my three hard-boiled eggs and incorporated the cooked yolks in the dressing part. Then I added some granulated sugar, about 2 tablespoons, three sliced radishes, a half cup of diced dill pickles and a can of coarsely chopped black olives. A little salt, a little pepper, and about a teaspoon of dried dill weed completed my seasoning. The white parts of the egg were chopped up and added to this mix along with some crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.

Meanwhile, I cooked three slices of bacon and added a half cup of chopped red onions to the bacon grease to saute for a few minutes.  When my potatoes were cooked and rinsed again and cooled off, I stirred the potatoes, onions and bacon pieces into the dressing. I mix it all up in a large Tupperware bowl, then I put it into my serving bowl and top it with a few slices of hard-boiled egg and sprinkled on some paprika. That's the way my Mom used to finish off any potato salad, so that's the way I do it. It looks pretty!

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All-American Red, White and Bleu Potato Salad

8-10 large red potatoes
3 slices bacon
1/2 cup bleu cheese
1-1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
1/2 cup chopped black olives
3 radishes, sliced thin
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. white vinegar
1 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook the potatoes until just tender, but not overcooked. Test with a fork. You want to be able to chop them up without them turning into mashed potatoes.  Drain and rinse in cold water, drain again. Chop into 1 inch pieces. At the same time, cook 3-4 eggs until hard-boiled. Cool and peel.

Cook the bacon until crisp. Using the bacon grease, saute the red onion until soft. Drain on paper towels.

Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, salt, pepper, dill weed and egg yolks. Mix in the dill pickles, black olives, radishes. Add in the bacon and onion and mix well. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with sliced hard-boiled eggs. Sprinkled with paprika.

My big red Tupperware mixing bowl is perfect for blending all the ingredients
 of potato salad.

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This recipe from SLO Veg for a grilled potato salad looks really good. I had most of the same flavors, but my salad was a little different. Check this one out, too.

http://www.sloveg.com/printRecipe.cfm?recipe_id=582

Tomato and Cucumber Marinated Salad

What do you do with vine-ripened tomatoes and crisp cucmbers? Make a great chilled salad!
I found a simple recipe that was just a half cup of vinegar, one quarter cup sugar, some salt and pepper, all mix together and stirred into a chopped tomato, sliced cucumber and some sliced onion. As an afterthought, I decided to slice up a couple of radishes to add to it. 

Barbeculicious!

Just brought in this weeks SLO Veg delivery....strawberries, peaches, plums, zucchini, squash, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, avocado, leeks, cantaloupe, red cabbage, radishes, cilantro, green beans, lettuce mix.
Lee is planning to barbecue tomorrow, so many possibilities here. Green onion dip with chopped radishes, roasted zuchini and squash, a tomato and cucumber salad, .... I'm thinking!