Freezer Cooking

Here is the link for this Ham and Potato soup!

I have not done much freezer cooking, but when I have, it is so productive. There was one day in particular that I planned about a dozen things to make and freeze, and it was so nice over the next couple of weeks to have things already prepared in the freezer that I could just pull out, thaw, and cook. Here is a list of the things (that I can remember!) from that day, and some other suggestions of things to make and freeze:

Italian Pasta Bake
Gluten Free cupcakes
Meat mixture for Meat-Stuffed Potatoes
Spaghetti Sauce
Easy Breakfast Casserole
Chili
Apple Bread (Or any kind of bread or batter, really!)
Yogurt Pops - There are more fancy ways to do it, but we just froze vanilla yogurt, or a mix of strawberry and vanilla yogurt for an easy, healthy snack in the summer for the kids (and the parents, too!)
Soups
Stews
Meatloaf
Casseroles
Sloppy Joes
Apple Butter
Cookie Batter
Muffin Batter
Applesauce
Mexican Pizza

Here is the link for this breakfast casserole, which is different from the one mentioned above.

Another idea, is the idea of cook once, eat twice. Which basically means you cook a double portion of a meal, and freeze the other half, since you are already going to the trouble of making it, and prepping everything, you may as well make more and have another meal already made. And to avoid getting sick of stuff, just stick it in the freezer and eat it a few weeks later. No one will remember :)

On Tuesdays when I teach for Classical Conversations, and then we have swim lessons that night, and I am super exhausted and always have to grab a nap...those are days when I never have the energy to cook. So I always try to have something planned for those days, whether it be in the crockpot, or something that is already in the fridge, ready to be cooked. Because if I don't have something planned, then there is the tendency to go out for dinner, or I end up waiting until the last minute to figure out what to make, and then it is too stressful.

Here are some links to websites that have blog posts about freezer cooking, or whole sections of their blog dedicated to freezer cooking!

Heavenly Homemakers: I love this website right now! She provides tons of recipes and lots of her blog has posts about how to make things and freeze them, how to work ahead in the kitchen, how to plan ahead for breakfasts, meal planning, and healthy recipes. She also has a blog post about freezing muffin batter so that breakfasts can be easy and premade, but the cooked muffins don't dry out in the freezer. She also has cookbooks available for purchase! I frequent her blog often!
Pioneer Woman: Of course, my beloved Pioneer Woman. She had a whole episode on her show about freezer cooking, and how she uses all the stuff she packs into her freezers. Check out the link for her blog post!
Food Network: Check out this link for some options from the Food Network on different kinds of food to cook ahead, and freeze, including Christmas cookies!!
Allrecipes: They don't have much on this website, but a few recipes and videos for some freezer options.
Organized Home: Has a whole section dedicated to Freezer Cooking and how to cook once, and eat for a month!
Money Saving Mom: Has a lot on how to do freezer cooking as well as crockpot freezer recipes!! Now that I will have to check out!!
Once a Month Meals: Their whole website is dedicated to freezer cooking, they have gluten-free options, and you can pick which ingredients you want to use!! Including no-cooking prep days!!

Well, I hope these links and recipes give you some ideas and get you thinking of how you can make things easier and more practical in the kitchen! I love to cook, but I know not everyone does, and even though I do, I don't always feel like it. Or life is just busy for that season, and I don't have the time or energy to get in there every night to prepare a meal from scratch. So this method of freezer cooking lets me decide when I have free time, and then use it to make my life easier during the hectic times. And as always, leave other (kind!) suggestions or other links in the comments section! Happy cooking!!

Thanksgiving food (and Gluten-Free Options)!

If you have read my blog before, or know me, you know that I love to cook, and I absolutely love this time of year where baking and cooking abound, and Thanksgiving week is especially fun and delicious. I thought I would share what I'm making this year, and perhaps some links to things I have made in the past if you wanted to check those out. I did make the turkey about 3 times in the past, and have fond memories of it, but now that we live near my in-laws, my MIL cooks the turkey in her huge roaster so I don't have to do that part. I do kind of miss it, but I also love making lots of sides, so it's fun!! This year I am making:

Stuffing
I usually make the stuffing, and I usually try different recipes. This year I am excited to try a new recipe that is in the slow cooker, and thought that would be one I wouldn't have to fuss with closer to eating time. So here is the link for that from Allrecipes.com, my go-to for recipes!!
Corn Souffle
I have blogged about this recipe before. It is a super old recipe that is out of our old church cookbook from when I was little, and my grandma has made it for years and years, and is a fond childhood memory. It is so good, that I make 2 so that we have enough for everyone, plus leftovers for dinner! It is that good!!

Cranberry Sauce
I have also blogged about this cranberry sauce. I don't think there are too many who love cranberry sauce, besides my husband and I, at our Thanksgiving, but we love it, and this recipe is oh, so good. I usually only choose recipes from Allrecipes.com that have lots of reviews and really high ratings, and when I found this recipe the other day, it didn't have the most reviews or the highest ratings, but we love it, and I make it every year. So that's good enough for me. The spices in it are amazing.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
This is a recipe I got from my dearest friend in Chicago, Emily, and I have made it several times. I actually don't like cinnamon rolls, but these pumpkin cinnamon rolls, with yeast and pudding mixtures, among other ingredients, are to-die-for!! I am excited to make them, and eat them!! I am making them for the morning, while we are cooking thanksgiving food!! Here is the link. And here also is the link to the recipe on my blog.

Applesauce
I have made this applesauce recipe for years because I just love the combination of cinnamon and cloves in it! My family loves it, and it is nice because it is one thing that can be made well before Thanksgiving. You could even make it a month before, and freeze it!! Also, it's on my blog.
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
While I have never made this casserole before, and this usually wouldn't appear on our Thanksgiving buffet table, I thought it sounded good and I know Maddy loves this kind of thing. I'm using GF creamy mushroom soup (see below) for this so she can have it.

Pecan Pie
Oh, the blessed pecan pie. I never even remember having one until I was an adult. And then realized I didn't know what I was missing. I have really only ever made Pioneer Woman's pecan pie, because it is easy and always turns out great!! I make her Perfect Pie Crusts ahead of time, freeze them, and then use them for my pies. They always turn out great, too!! Here is the link for the pie and the crusts.
Crustless Cranberry Pie
I am hoping that this pie will become a new, easy favorite. It looks delicious on Allrecipes.com and I'm not making it because it is crustless (it isn't GF), I'm making it because I love cranberries, it is easy, it had very high ratings on AR, and it looks like cake!!
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
I am not even sure which recipe to be exact I will be using for my standard pumpkin pie. Probably something from AR that has high ratings, lol. The key is just to make a regular 'ole pumpkin pie that Maddy can enjoy, since she loves them!! And with the GF pie crust mix that I am getting from Braum's!!

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving
Since this will be Maddy's first Thanksgiving with her gluten intolerance, I have to be creative and still make it special for her and have her favorite Thanksgiving food! She doesn't like stuffing so I don't have to worry about that. She can already have the turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and applesauce. I am also making a broccoli-cheese casserole with gluten-free creamy mushroom soup that I found at a local grocery store! I will be bringing one of her GF rolls that I get from Walmart. For dessert, I am making her favorite, Pumpkin Pie, with some GF pie crusts that I found the mix for at Braum's, which is carrying a whole line of GF products now. I will also probably pick up some GF cinnamon rolls or donuts for her for that morning, since I am making Pumpkin cinnamon rolls for everyone else. And for the gravy, I am going to bring some corn flour to add to the gravy so she can have some thick, GF gravy. So she should be good with all of that food!

Well, I hope you all have a very Merry Thanksgiving, and are looking forward to all of the family-togetherness, food, and gratitude that goes along with it!!

 

 "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

 

 

Mornings

image credit

 I love mornings...to an extent. I never used to be a morning person. Waking up for school/college was a drag and I hated being up that early. In my "older" years, I have come to realize the beauty and stillness of the morning. I love that morning light streaming through the windows. Listening to the sound of brewing coffee. Eating breakfast by the window and watching runners and walkers on the trail behind our house. Eating breakfast as a family. These are some of the things I love, but it doesn't always look like that in the mornings.
A lot of mornings are just running around trying to get everyone fed, things picked up, making the bed, getting dressed (if I'm lucky), cleaning up breakfast, and starting school. But I treasure those little moments even in the craziness. I still get to make the coffee. We always see people out on the trail no matter what the weather. I still get to sit somewhere and eat my breakfast. And I also love to light a candle in the morning. Kind of a little slice of peace in my hectic morning!
And I do cherish those precious Saturday mornings. The only morning in the week that doesn't involve school or church and we can just lounge around in our pajamas and do as we please. We don't make our beds that day, or get dressed right away in the morning. We sometime have a special breakfast, and the new Pioneer Woman cooking show is on. I love those mornings. Especially when Tad is off from work.
Ahhh, mornings. Someday I will get up earlier than my kids like I used to and really savor the quietness, the time with God before they wake, and my coffee before the craziness starts! But for now, I'll just take them when I can get them!

Family Holidays!

Briana and her family in Branson

I'm so excited that my sister and her family are coming to visit for Thanksgiving! We haven't gotten too many visitors since we moved to Oklahoma, and I was so happy when she said they wanted to spend Thanksgiving with family! So we will all venture over to Tad's family's house for a big feast! I can't wait! And it just so happens that Tad is off work on Thanksgiving and the day after, so it works out perfect! We saw my sister and her family this past summer in Branson for our family vacation, but it will be nice to get the cousins together (our kids only actual cousins!) again and show them all where we live! I warned them there isn't much to do in our town, but they are looking forward to just spending time with family! I always have to throw that disclaimer in there, especially after everyone was used to visiting us in Chicago where there were so many fun things to do! All you have here is us in Oklahoma!

The cousins!

 I'm still in the middle of planning my part of the menu for Thanksgiving! I pretty much had everything picked out, and then I realized that I was making a lot of fun extras and not really helping with the traditional sides. Then my mother-in-law told me that she wasn't going to assign me ANYTHING since I will have family in town. Well, if you know anything about me, you know I just LOVE to cook and I look forward to Thanksgiving especially because it is so fun to make so much stuff. So anyways, I know I am going to make Pioneer Woman's pecan pie, as usual. And I think I will make my homemade applesauce. I still need to figure out which traditional sides I should help make. I just love cooking outside the box, and making different, exotic, yummy tasting things but Tad's family isn't used to anything like that, so I have to stick to traditional things. But that's okay!

Homemade applesauce!

We are just getting over being sick, and got a little "fall break" from school, if you will, so it's nice to have a little bit of extra time to get things done. The stomach flu is making its way through our family right now, and I'm wondering who it's gonna hit next! But it's a really fast bug! Hopefully everyone will be better by Thanksgiving!

What are you making for Thanksgiving? Any fun new websites, recipes, or ideas you could share! Please share in the comments section!

The Most Amazing Thing Happened

Pioneer Woman, at Barnes and Noble outside of Chicago in 2009

Last week, we were out of town because I had a Practicum, which is a 3-day training to be a tutor (which is like a teacher) for Classical Conversations. They call it a tutor because the parent is suppose to be the child's primary teacher at home. It was really good training about a classical, Christian education, training in learning Latin, learning how to teach the Foundations class, which is what I will be teaching, and we got a chance to get all our books and materials!! Maddy got a chance to go to a Geography/Drawing Camp for those 3 days, and Judah was in the nursery when he wasn't napping. Tad got off for all three days, and so he was my "manny!" Major props to him because he took care of the kids so I could take notes, listen to the seminar, and get some really good training in!!
So yes, that was all fine and wonderful, but I have to tell you about the most amazing thing that happened. I went into the sanctuary on the first morning for training and noticed that there weren't too many people there. I wish I had packed some fancier clothes, because a lot of the women were in dresses, all dressed nice and ready for the sessions. I didn't pack any dresses. I saw one lady who was helping people get checked in and seemed to be in some kind of leadership, and she looked familiar but I don't know anyone from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, so I just kind of brushed it off. I noticed one lady in the back of the sanctuary who looked interesting. I noticed her because she was especially tall, had long red hair pulled back, and was wearing an interesting top. I didn't think anything of it until I saw the lady I had previously recognized walk up to the red-haired woman and say something to her. And then, it hit me.
Who do I totally admire and blog about? Whose recipes do I cook, who lives in Oklahoma, and homeschools? Who did I wait for 5 hours while 35 weeks pregnant to meet, and have her sign my cookbook?
If you guessed PIONEER WOMAN you are correct!! I almost peed my pants!!! And the first lady I recognized was Pioneer Woman's best friend, Hyacinth, who is in her cookbook, on her cooking show at times, and was on the Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Yeah, I'm not obsessed or anything!! Her nametag said Cindi which must be short for Hyacinth!! So I wasn't gonna talk to her, since I already met her in Chicago, and didn't want to bother her or seem like an obsessed fan, but the third day, after prodding from several people, I was gonna talk to her. But guess who didn't show up the third day? Yep. I almost stole her and her kids nametags though, when I saw them on the table when she didn't come!! One of her sons was in Maddy's class, one of her daughters might have helped in the nursery with Judah, and I saw the other ones around. So surreal. Because her family has been an integral part of her blog and tv show.
The first day when I went to go pick up Maddy from class, Pioneer Woman and I (I love the sound of that!) were 2 of the only moms standing, waiting to pick up our kids from the camp. Why didn't I say anything to her!!  So I got Maddy and she started to tell me all about her camp, and then she saw PW in front of us, and her eyes got real big and she said, "Is that the lady from that cooking show?" It was awesome. She was as star struck as me!! And she does claim that that is her favorite cooking show!
So in the subsequent days, she asked PW's boy in her class, Todd, if he liked being videotaped (ha ha), and what his favorite meal was his mother made. He said pork chops! Swoon.
So, in my opinion, going to the Practicum in Bartlesville was totally worth it just because I got to see Pioneer woman for 2 days in the sessions. She checks her phone a lot. Probably checking her blog! I loved it!

Yeah, that's Pioneer Woman and I, just chatting!!!!

 So, maybe I will actually blog about the Practicum or Classical Conversations, or starting school up soon, but first things first! Just had to tell you guys about it!! See, I guess it was worth it to move to Oklahoma!

Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce

This is such a fun dessert!! Of course, anything that Pioneer Woman makes is fun, and I haven't posted one of her recipes in awhile!! I don't know what's wrong with me!! I have come to realize that ice cream is one of my all time favorite desserts, and I crave it on a regular basis. So, in my opinion, you can't go wrong with an ice cream dessert!! This recipe combines two different kinds of ice cream, your choice, with a yummy meringue crust that is whipped together with pecans. The caramel sauce is simple to make, and you can use the leftover sauce for an ice cream topping for later!! So make sure you buy extra ice cream!! This is also a great recipe for when you are entertaining because you can make it ahead of time, and stick it in your freezer for whenever you need it!! 

Ice Cream Pie with Easy Caramel Sauce

Pioneer Woman

For the Caramel Sauce:

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup half and half

Pinch of Salt

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

For the Crust:

1/4 cup egg whites

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup Pecans, finely chopped

For the Filling:

2 Pints of Ice Cream (1 Pint each of different flavors)

Making the Caramel Sauce:

Mix butter, brown sugar, and half and half and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minute, until thicker. Add vanilla and cook another minute to thicken it a little bit more. Turn off the heat and pour into a jar; I used a little mason jar. Refrigerate until cold. 

Making the Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites until frothy (this took my little hand mixer quite awhile, but if you have a nice stand mixer, it shouldn't take as long or as much effort!!). Add sugar and salt and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in nuts. Spread this mixture all over the bottom and sides of a non-glass pie pan; make sure you adequately coat all of the pan or else you won't have a sufficient crust!! Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, making sure you watch to make sure it doesn't get too dark. It is done when it is a golden brown. Let it cool completely. 

When the crust is cool, take the ice cream out of the freezer. Let it soften a little bit. When it is soft, spread the first pint over the bottom of the crust (Pioneer Woman used Butter Brickle, I used Butter Pecan which I think is the same thing! But you could use any ice cream flavor you want! Just remember you have a pecan meringue crust so you will want it to go with that flavor well!). Spread the second pint over the first pint (Pioneer Woman and I used Vanilla Bean, but again, you can choose your flavors!). Cover and freeze until very hard.

To serve, cut slices out and put onto plates. Serve with cold caramel sauce drizzled over the top! It's a great summer dessert! Pioneer Woman kept talking about how she wanted to use Coffee Ice cream sometime, and the possibilities are endless with what kind of ice creams you could use!! Enjoy!! 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

My favorite thing to order at Panera bread is their Broccoli Cheese soup in a bread bowl. But for some reason I have never ventured to make it myself at home! I know, it seems like such an easy thing to make, but sometimes when you enjoy something in a restaurant, you just don't think to make it at home!! Kind of makes it special when you order it when you go out!! Well, when I saw that Pioneer Woman made this soup, it looked so good and I just had to try to make it!! And it seriously is so easy to make!!
You don't need that many ingredients, and it doesn't take that long on the stove top!!

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Pioneer Woman

1 whole onion, diced
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/3 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
2 cups half and half
4 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
1 pinch nutmeg
3 cups cheese (mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, jack, etc.)
small dash of salt, more if needed
freshly ground black pepper
splash of chicken broth if needed for thinning


1. Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat, and then add the onions. Cook the onions for about 3 to 4 minutes, and then add the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so; then pour in the milk and the half and half. Add nutmeg, then add broccoli, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.

2. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Stir in cheese and allow to melt.

3. Taste seasonings and adjust if needed. Then either serve as is, or mash it with a potato masher or transfer to a blender and puree in 2 batches until smooth. If putting it into a blender, you may need to thin it with a little chicken broth.

It's thicker than it looks! Obviously, I added mine to the blender to puree it!! Delicious!

On Pioneer Woman's website, she also shows how you can make cute little bread bowls out of dinner rolls, and of course she has way better pictures than me that will make you want to drool for this soup!! It's perfect for these cold, winter days, and I also love making things like this ahead of time and sticking them in the crockpot so dinner is ready and I'm not rushing to get it made right when everyone is starving!!

Enjoy!!

Scorching Heat, a Summer Sub, and Siblings

Does this not look amazing? It is!! I found this simple recipe from heritageschoolhouse.blogspot.com. She has some yummy stuff on her website!! This is one of them! I thought, what a great summer dinner meal when it's hot and you don't feel like cooking and making something hot to eat? Boy was I right! It takes like 5 minutes to make, and is even delicious as leftovers!! Check out this site for the recipe!!

Hint: Layers of cream cheese, dijon mustard, Provolone cheese, ham, lettuce, tomatoes, and banana peppers - my fave!! Great for a picnic!

We have been having a lot of fun this summer! Because it's so hot, we spend a lot more time indoors than we ever have during the summer. Kind of a bummer! We do try to get out everyday though, doing something in the water!! Maddy likes to play dress up and puts this slip on her head as a veil. Well, Judah has seen Maddy do it, so one day when he was in her room, he put it on and came out like this! Hilarious!

Eating their afternoon snack!

Only 5 days left on the countdown calendar to go to Ohio to see Nana and Papa!!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

We went to the park last night after dinner, and at 7pm it was still 103 degrees! It didn't take long for the kids to be overheated. We didn't stay too long! Pass the water!

But they're okay! Well, Judah is ready to get out of the heat!

Maddy helped me make Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownies for Father's Day!

At Uncle Joel's 14th birthday party, there was a pond, zip line, paddle boats, go-carts, animals, toys, etc. all at someone's house!! Maddy got to ride a horse by herself!!

Judah got to pet the horse, and that's their goat behind Aunt Lydia that just runs around like a dog!

I found them on Maddy's bed in her room looking at books together. Precious!

So, even though we have been hot, we have been enjoying the splash pad, the indoor pool at the YMCA with a kiddie area, and sometimes putting up the sprinkler, baby pool, and slip 'n slide in the backyard, if it isn't scorching. If you ask Maddy about the heat here, she says it is "nasty hot." She must have heard me say that!! Hope you all are enjoying your summer! We sure do miss that Chicago beach!!

Delicious Recipes

Are you ready for some yummy recipes to try? This time, instead of posting an individual recipe, I want to share some good recipes that I've tried lately via the link where I found them! That way you can see the actual recipe, and maybe find a new website you really like! The first one is for mini sweet potato muffins. They were so yummy! The kids loved them, and we were naughty and added just plain cream cheese to the top! Judah was fussing for more!!

Also, this website Weelicious is all about yummy, nutritious food for babies and kids, so you might want to look around at her website! She has tons of videos, websites, and ways to incorporate your kids in the cooking process!
The next amazing recipe I found was for blue cheeseburgers. Now, I can't even begin to explain how good these burgers are!! I made them for the first time a couple years ago, I think for Tad's birthday, and they have been a staple ever since!! They never disappoint! Seriously, if you love blue cheese as much as we do, you have to try these! And they are so easy to make!!

I only had horrible pics of these burgers. I will just tell you that the cream cheese/blue cheese mixture is inside the burger, making for a wonderful surprise when you bite into it. Yum!!

Also, this website is called Pinch My Salt, and she has amazing recipes to try as well. Look around at her recipes!! Just her picture of the blue cheeseburger will make your mouth water!!
The next recipe is for a wonderful, light banana-cinnamon smoothie for those hot summer days!! I found this cute blog written by a high school girl who loves to run, workout, and make healthy food! She's amazing! She posts some good recipes, and when I saw this recipe, and knew I had all the ingredients, and being the smoothie-lover that I am, I had to try it!! It also makes a great breakfast!!

If you have read much of my blog, then you know how much of a Pioneer Woman fan I am! You might even know that I have met her, chatted with her briefly, and had her sign my cookbook! You might even know that she recently taped a cooking show at her ranch, won the Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and has at least 3 books out! She is amazing! I have made so many of her recipes and these Springy Shells are one of my favorites!! I actually haven't made it this summer yet, but I will soon! I usually make it for my girlfriends, since it doesn't have meat in it, and Tad likes meat in his main dishes! Or else he thinks something is "missing."

Lovely fresh, summer dish!!

Well, I hope you try at least one of these recipes!! I love summer cooking!! Kid food, grilling, smoothies, and fresh veggies!! Gotta love it!

What are some of your favorite cooking blogs/sites??

Delicious Cheddar Puffs

If you have some old french bread lying around, here's a yummy snack or appetizer you could make!! It only takes a few ingredients, and it whips up real quick!! It is especially yummy if you grind up the cheese yourself, as the Pioneer Woman often suggests you do! Again, and as always, here is the link to the Pioneer Woman version, but for all my faithful followers (ahem!) here is the lowly homemaker version!!

Delicious Cheddar Puffs
pioneerwoman.com

1 loaf crusty french bread, cut up into 1 inch cubes
1/2 stick butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole shallot, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
8 ounces cream cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 whole egg whites, beaten
salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, and saute for one minute. Add dijon, stir to combine, and turn heat to low.
Add cream cheese, and stir until it's all melted. Add grated cheddar and stir until melted. Turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in egg whites.

Dunk the bread chunks into the cheese mixture until well coated. Place on a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or a sheet of waxed paper and freeze for 20 minutes, uncovered. At this point, you can put them into a Ziploc bag and freeze OR


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the frozen cheese puffs on a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature!!




So here's a pretty easy, quick appetizer to make, for the Superbowl or any party!! Anything with cheese has gotta be good! And cream cheese, bread, shallots...you get the picture!! Enjoy!!

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

Oh yeah. They taste as good as they look.
And they are so easy to make.

I made these for a little party of about 13 teenagers. Let's just say that they didn't last more than a few minutes. But I was afraid I might have killed one of them; they were a little spicy. Especially the ones where there might have been a few seeds still hiding in them!Oops!!

Here is the easy version of the recipe. But again, if you want the beautiful pics and Pioneer Woman humor instead of mine, then click here. But if you're still with me, here is my version!



Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

20 jalapenos
2 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) package of bacon

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut the jalapenos in half, lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds, CAREFULLY!! Use a spoon, but even then, using gloves wouldn't hurt. I can't figure out how to have my hands NOT burning after this process.
3. Cut the bacon slices into thirds, you can do this without even separating the hunk of bacon. Hunk. That's a cooking term.
4. Fill each jalapeno half with cream cheese, wrap with a third piece of bacon, and stick a toothpick through it.
5. Put them on a pan, preferably a pan with a rack underneath it so that the bacon grease can drip down below. I used a broiler pan and it worked just fine!
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If the bacon doesn't appear done, then put the oven on broil and bake a few more minutes. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: These are hot!! If you want even more heat, then leave the seeds in them. But don't say I didn't warn ya!!

Blessed little jalapenos.

The process. Very easy!! Especially when you are cooking alone in a clean kitchen, someone is watching your kids, and you are accompanied by country music. Just sayin'.

Right before we popped them in the oven.
Such easy prep!! I even have another order to make these, and to triple the recipe!! You won't be able to resist them!!

They will be gone fast!!