Fried Onion Rings!

My son, Clay and I were having cravings for some fried onion rings while watching the Dallas Cowboys football game, so we got to work!!  We always have plenty of onions in the house!!  Being so simple and cheap to make, I'm surprised more people don't think to make their own, homemade onion rings ~ nothing tastes better, plus we always have fun while cooking them up!  I don't have any girls, so my boys and I cook up the more 'manly' stuff together!!  Onion rings being one of these manly recipes!  I love when they cook with me!! It's too fun!!  :)  They all really like this recipe for O rings!!! Enjoy~

Fried Onion Rings!

Take about a cup of buttermilk, put in 2 eggs and mix well~

In a bowl, put 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp season salt, 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper- depends on if you like that extra spice or not- your choice, 1 tsp black pepper, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.  Mix well~

Cut 2 large onions into slender rounds, and separate the rings~ 

In batches, dump a few rings in the buttermilk.  Get them all nice and wet~

Next, into the flour mixture- coat well~

Heat up about an inch of peanut oil, or  canola oil- we like the taste of them cooked in peanut oil best! :) Heat oil to 375 degrees, then plop a bunch of rings in, careful not to burn yourself, so don't PLOP them too much! :)

After about a minute or so, and they are golden brown on one side, flip them over~

Cook other side for another minute, or so.  When both sides are done, it is time to pull them out and put them on paper towels to drain off the extra oil!  Throw a bit of salt over them, as soon as you pull them out! 

Look at that perfect O ring!!!!!  YUM!!

Make up a bunch, as they get eaten faster than you can cook them up!!   My boys had some friends over, and they did not last long!! Surprise your kids and Hubby (or wife) and whip these up!!  They will thank you for it!! :)

Alamo, Texas Beef Stack!!

REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!!  Davie Crockett would have been happy to eat this one!!   I LOVE making up new recipes~ so empowering, so I named it, the Alamo Texas Beef Stack!!  Haha!!!  (Texans are a proud bunch!)  My boys all love crescent rolls, so I whipped up this easy, cheesy Beef Stack using them on top and bottom of this dish! My teen boys and hubby all RAVED!!  They said this is a MUST cook up, 'once a month' meal!  Since it was so, so easy to make, I will, indeed, whip this up again and again!!  We served these with sour cream and homemade guacamole!!  YUMMY!

 Alamo, Texas Beef Stack!

2 lbs ground beef

1 medium onion-chopped small

1 Tbsp minced garlic-rounded

1 8oz cube cream cheese

3  4oz cans whole green chile peppers- drained

1 tsp salt- or to taste

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tubes Big and Flaky Crescent Rolls

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1 Tbsp olive oil- to grease 15x11 dish with

Cook up the ground beef, onions, and minced garlic on medium high heat, til beef is all browned.  Drain any excessive fat!  Put the ground beef back on stovetop on low heat, and add in the cream cheese.  (If you cut it into chunks, it melts faster.)  Stir it up well!  When all melted up, add the seasonings! 

Grease a 15x11 pan with the olive oil, then take one tube of crescents and put them down flat on the bottom of pan~ Stretch them a bit to fit just right!

Put your ground beef mixture over the crescents you just laid down.  Spread it all out evenly, all over~

Next, place your whole green chiles over the entire top of the ground beef.  I just ripped one side of the chiles to spread them out, and lay them flat!

Now, place around 2 cups or more, of the cheddar cheese over the whole chiles.

Another tube of crescents goes over the cheddar cheese!

THEN, MORE CHEESE!!  Not a recipe for one on a diet! :) Perfect for growing kids, however!  This is about a cup, to top it off!!  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes! Sometimes the top crescent rolls take a bit longer to cook, but the bottom gets nice, crisp, and flaky!! LOVE IT!!

Just LOOK at all that gooey yumminess!!  Let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting into it, though!  I know, it's hard to do!!!  It was hard for my boys! :)

Yummy Texas Beef Stack~ all served up!!  You've got to taste this one!!  Tasted great with sour cream and Guacamole!!  Hope you enjoy, and Remember The Alamo (Texas Beef Stack!) ;)

Cheesy Toasted Almond Dip!

We LOVE this dip!  We make it every Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!  If you like toasted almonds, you are in for a treat!!  Great fall dip, and so easy to make!

CHEESY TOASTED ALMOND DIP!

8 oz. Cream Cheese

6 oz. Shredded Swiss Cheese

1/3 cup mayo

1/3- 1/2 Slivered Almonds~ Toasted in pan spayed with pam (only takes a couple minutes on stove top.  Watch and stir til they are mostly golden)

3 Tbsp chopped green onions

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp sugar

Put all ingredients into bowl, reserving some of your toasted almonds for later, and mix well~

Spray a quiche pan, or any other pan of like size, with Pam.  (remember, you'll be serving it in the pan you bake it in, so make it pretty!  :) Place all of the  cheese mixture into pan (flatten it all down)  and bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes!  If top is not golden enough, throw it under broiler for a quick minute.  That's what I always do to get that pretty color!

All cooked up, and ready to eat!  TOP OFF WITH THE RESERVED TOASTED ALMONDS YOU PUT ASIDE!  You can serve this with pita chips, wheat thins, crostini, or even vegetables!  Any way you want!  We've eaten it with french bread before, and it was great!  It's really yummy!!!!  :)

Crescent Chicken Puffs!

Was looking for a good appetizer, that's fast and easy to take to a party where there would be all ages of people.  Needed something most would enjoy.  It came to me~ who doesn't like Crescent rolls??!  Use the crescent rolls as the 'puff' and stuff it!  These turned out great, and people loved them! I made them before the party, brought them there, uncooked, then threw them into the hostess' oven to cook, so we'd have nice and hot puffs!

Crescent Chicken Puffs!

2 tubes of big and flaky crescent rolls-cut all crescents in half

1  13 oz. can chicken meat, drained

1/2 cup minced onion

4 Tbsp Mayo

2 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsps tarragon

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste- needs salt as crescents are sweet

What you'll need! Mix all together into a bowl, and stir well~

Cut each piece of crescent in half, so you'll have 16 pieces, instead of 8 from each tube.

 

Put chicken mixture, about the size of a large gum ball, or golf ball, into center of crescent half. Pull up sides, and squeeze seams together and shape into a ball shape....doesn't have to be perfectly round! :)

After you shape the puffs, egg wash the tops of them.  (egg wash is just the whites of an egg mixed with a tad bit of water)  The egg wash gives it a better look after cooked up!  Put onto cookie sheet either sprayed with Pam, or on wax paper.  Bake in 350 degree, preheated oven, for 13-15 minutes, until nicely golden brown.

Take them out of oven and place on nice serving platter!

See the yummy chicken inside these little treasures??  

They didn't last long!  All ages really liked these!  If you're looking for a fast, easy appetizer that is well liked,  this one's a good one!

Texas Jalapeño Cheesy Bread!

I wanted to make up some 'olive, cheese' bread, but my boys and hubby want no part of olives!   I had a great Texas idea~ Jalapenos to the rescue!!  These baked up bundles of YUMMY, gooeyness were DEVINE!!  I will make these often, and for sure with our homemade Chili, next time I make up a big ole batch of it!!!!

TEXAS Jalapeno Cheesy Bread!

Take 8 oz. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 stick of softened butter- room temp
1/2 cup Mayo
2 stems of green onion-chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper- seeded and chopped small
Mix well~

I had 2 small baguettes here, but you can get one big one.  Spread cheese mixture all over, evenly!   Seems like a lot, cuz it is!! :)  That's what makes this so extra YUMMY!

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, then put under broiler for a quick minute or so, to get the cheese even more golden brown! (watch closely!)

I cut these into nice size pieces, on the diagonal!  SOoo yummy! People almost liked the bread more than the main dinner this night!  You could even make these as appetizers for the big game~ just cut into littler pieces!  They'll be GONE, fast!!

Clay's Whole Grilled Beer Can Chicken!

One of my triplet sons, Clay,  has taken a liking to grilling and is getting really good at it!  He told me this afternoon he'd make dinner tonight!  Wooooo hoooo!!!!!  LOVIN' IT!  He told me he is going to grill up 'Beer Can Chicken'!  (he doesn't drink the beer, the chicken does, as it cooks! The beer steams and flavors it from the inside!)  Clay actually went shopping for the food, and seasonings...we had the beer!  It turned out AWESOME!!  We all loved it, and Clay said it was really easy!  Music to my ears!!  Easy, and great tasting=WINNER!!

Whole Grilled Beer Can Chicken!

You can use any seasonings that you like, or prefer~

Clay used 2 Tbsp of Char Crust seasoning (new to us, this was Hickory and Molasses flavor...we liked it), 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp Slap Ya Mama (white Pepper Blend)~ he put these all together in small bowl, mixed it up, then rubbed it all over chickens

These chicken were 5 1/2 pound birds~

All you'll need, except a pan to put them in, that can go onto grill~ Clay made up 2 chickens for this BIG family of ours! :)

Open the can of beer using a can opener~

Cans with tops removed, 1/3 of beer poured out or drank up...we gave our beer to my hubby in an ice cold mug!   He liked it! Ha! Cans are just waiting on the chickens to be put onto them!

All seasoned up, and standing on beer cans...put it like a tri-pod.   Clay made sure to push the chicken all the way down the beer can, so 'butt' was sitting on pan! 

Looks like the chicken on the left is already drunk!  LOL!  :)   Now, spray chicken, all over, with Pam!

Clay carrying out the 'drunk' birds!   Be careful, they can 'tipsy' over! :0

Put onto a grill (ours is gas, with 3 burners)  after you have first heated up grill to high, then turn off middle burner, leaving only the 2 on the sides on, and lower those two burners to med, med-high heat.  Put birds onto grill in the middle area, that has the  burner off.  Needs to cook on indirect heat~ Grill for 50 minutes to 1 hour with lid closed.  Clay did 1 hour for 5 1/2 pound birds.

Waving, HI!  Saying, "I'm perfectly 'Charred' and ready!!"  Pull chicken off grill, remove beer cans and discard- careful not to burn yourself on hot cans,  and put chicken onto a platter.  Tent with aluminum foil.  Let sit 5 to 10 minutes before you cut into it to serve.

Take pan drippings and put onto stove top on medium heat, if you'd like to make a gravy. We are gravy freaks, so Clay was not going to blow this part off!!  Remove some of the grease, and add milk and wondra powder, bits at a time, while whisking.  

 Whisk it all up til you have the right consistency~ play with it, til it is to your liking.  Add salt to taste!  The gravy from this ended up tasting wonderful!!

The Beer Can Chicken was moist and juicy, and the flavor of the skin was very good!   I'd have to say, I'd give Clay an A!  We'll be making him grill these guys up more often!!  We were all SPOILED!!  Thanks, Clay!!  I love and adore you!! He's going to become a Texas Grill Master!!  I can see the future, now! :)

Asian Chicken Skewers!!

Can't get more 'summery' feeling then grilling chicken skewers outside by the pool!  They are a bit spicy, yet nice and sweet! These are easy, and so very yummy! I serve them with Knorr's curried rice you can buy at the grocery store and with a cold, crisp salad!  Simple, weekday, throw together meal!

Almost done!

Asian Chicken Skewers!
About 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs~ cut into 1 1/2 -2 inch pieces
6 oz mild sweet chili sauce
1 Tbsp ponzu sauce, sold in Asian aisle in grocery store (or substitute 1 tsp soy sauce)
2 tsp fish sauce, sold in Asian aisle
1Tbsp Red Curry Paste
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Skewers, metal or wooded (if wooden, soak first for 30 minutes before you skewer the chicken)

Marinate the cut up chicken pieces in the stirred up sauce in a large bowl, or large zip lock bag for about 15 minutes, then skewer the chicken, sometimes folding up pieces. Put as many pieces as you'd like on the skewers, close, but not too pushed together. Take marinade and put into saucepan and bring it to a boil. Put skewers on an oiled grill at medium heat.  Grill them for about 7-10 minutes, turning them, and basting with the marinade you just boiled up.  I had a lot of chicken pieces on these skewers, so I cooked them about 10-11 minutes with grill lid open, then 2 more minutes with grill lid shut.  That worked out well!  Take them off grill, and put onto platter, and tent with aluminum foil for about 4 minutes, then serve!  Really easy!

Bacon Wrapped, Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Jalapeno Cream Cheese!

Trying to spice things up a bit, and put a fun twist on a pork tenderloin!  I usually grill them, but wanted to try and bake one up, after stuffing it, then wrapping it all up in bacon!!  It was fun to make with my boys~ they were very helpful, handing me the bacon pieces so I could wrap the tenderloins faster!  This was EASY, EASY, but everyone thought it was some fancy, hard to make dish I had slaved over!  NOPE! It was FANTASTIC tasting, however!! :)

2 or more 1 1/2-2 pound pork tenderloins (if you do more than 2, remember to get more ingredients)
8 oz. Tub of Chive and Onion Cream Cheese~ (use as much as you'd like, a tub is more than enough for 2 tenderloins)
1 jalapeno, seeded, cut in pieces (1/2 a jalapeno for each tenderloin)
About 8 pieces of bacon, per pork tenderloin
Slap Ya Mama, cajun seasoning~ white pepper blend
black pepper and a bit of salt
Sugar~ about 1/2 a tsp, so 1/4 tsp per tenderloin

Can make this with a pork loin, as well! Details about that at the bottom! :) 

Season tenderloin with a bit of salt and pepper, and cajun seasoning~ Cut pocket into pork tenderloin, lengthwise.  Make sure not to cut all the way through, but pretty deep, so you can get lots of cream cheese and jalapenos in there!!

Wrap up tenderloin in bacon, but be sure that the ends of the bacon come together near the bottom of the tenderloin, not the top, so when they bake, they don't pull away from tenderloin! Top the bacon wrapped tenderloin with a bunch of the Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning, and sugar!

Put into glass pan (cream cheese pocket side up), and bake for 45 minutes, to an hour at 375. (Internal temp. should be 160)

Ooooo~ looks so nice!  After you take tenderloins out of oven, tent them with tin foil, and let sit 5-10 minutes.  After that time, place them on a platter, and cut them into pieces~ the cream cheese inside, with the jalapeno is divine!!  This is a great recipe~ I'll be making it, often, because my boys loved them, and so did I!! :)

Tried this recipe with a 3-4 pound pork loin roast, and it came out GREAT, as well!!!  Just make a slit down the center, lengthwise, about 3/4 of a way down  roast but not cut all the way through.  Added a whole tub of the onion and chive cream cheese, 2 seeded, sliced jalapenos, then made the same way with the bacon wrapping around it, coming together at bottom of roast. Seasoned it up just the same.  Baked at 375 for 1 hour 20 minutes.  Was so juicy and yummy!!! 

LOOKS GOOD, doesn't it??!!  :)  Another great option to add to your repertoire!!