I don't really eat snacks. I love food, real food like meat, fresh vegetables, potatoes... the experience of sitting down for a full meal. But I'm not really into chips, or processed junk food like cookies, crackers, etc.
Having said that, I ate two entire bags of this popcorn in one sitting. Two! If you're wondering if I felt sick afterward, the answer is yes. But it was worth it.
Since I only post recipes to this blog that are successful, I feel like I am always saying "this was delicious" or "you have to try this", but.... this was really, really, really awesomely delicious!
Yield: 2 large bowls of popcorn
Ingredients:
9 strips of crisp bacon
2 1/2 cups popcorn kernels
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Vegetable oil
Coarse sea salt (for garnishing)
Directions:
Fry bacon, drain and reserve.
Add several tablespoons of oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add a few kernels to the pot to test the heat; once they begin to pop, add 3/4 cup of popcorn to the pan. This process will continue for three batches. Cover the pot and monitor it closely, shaking every once in a while so the popcorn doesn’t burn.
Once the popping slows, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the popcorn to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the popcorn. Once all of the popcorn has been cooked, spread it out in an even layer on 2-3 baking sheets.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees, then crumble cooked bacon over the popcorn.
Next, bring butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup to a boil in an oversized pot, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in the bourbon, vanilla, salt and baking soda and mix. Once you add the baking soda, the mixture will foam up, so be sure you have enough room at the top of the pot or it may overflow.
Pour caramel mixture over bacon and popcorn mixture and mix to coat evenly. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake for about 60-80 mins, until golden brown, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes or so.
Remove the popcorn from the oven and let cool for about an hour before breaking it up. The popcorn will still be somewhat soft when it comes out of the oven, but will harden as it cools. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Then try not to eat it all in one sitting! Enjoy!
This can be served as a salad or a sandwich. I made this for a catering event and served it in halved pitas, and then served the leftovers the following day as a salad. It was yummy either way!
Yield: 6-10 servings as a salad, or 4 full pita sandwiches
Ingredients:
3 green onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup baby carrots, sliced into rounds
1 cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 pounds small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste
If making sandwiches, you'll need pita bread (4 whole or 8 halved)
Directions:
Chop vegetables and set aside. Toss shrimp with olive oil, paprika, and salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet. Broil until the shrimp are opaque, about 4 minutes. Drain and cool.
Mix vegetables, shrimp and spices in a large bowl. Add sour cream, sugar and lemon juice. Season to taste.
If serving in pita bread, wait until just before eating to stuff the bread so it doesn't get soggy.
Tips:
This needs a lot of seasoning so be sure to salt liberally and taste to make sure it isn't bland. I used baby carrots and sliced them into rounds, which I thought looked cute, but you could also use shredded or matchstick carrots. Perfect for summer!
I decided to make this into individual cakes, so I used some pans I have that make mini fillable cakes.
Yield: 1 medium loaf or 8 mini cakes
Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Topping:
Caramel sauce
Coarse sea salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter into mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda, spices, and salt over the mixture, then mix in the flour.
Pour the batter into buttered pan(s). For the small cakes, I baked this for about 20 minutes, but for a larger portion it would take about an hour - I recommend checking it with a knife inserted in the center after about 20 minutes.
Once the cakes are set, remove from oven. Drizzle or fill with caramel sauce and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Serve while warm.
This was even more delicious the next day, when the caramel and salt had soaked into the cake. Enjoy!
Tips: If you don't have a pan like this, you could use a cookie cutter to cut a small hole in the center of
the cake to fill. Or use a fork to make pinholes in the top of the cake and then
pour the caramel sauce over it. Or just pour the caramel sauce right on top! Whatever works!
This is a relatively healthy and easy weeknight meal!
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 mixed bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces sliced provolone cheese
4 sandwich rolls
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Directions:
Bring chicken to room temperature and lightly season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with vegetable oil. Preheat a grill pan to medium high. Grill chicken for about 8 minutes per side, or until fully cooked, flipping once. Remove and set aside to cool.
Add vegetables to grill pan. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil. While vegetables are grilling, slice chicken breast and place in a bowl large enough to fit both the veggies and the chicken.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and preheat oven to broil. Sprinkle sandwich rolls with salt and pepper and set on baking sheet. Rub insides and outsides of rolls with the sliced garlic cloves. You can add the garlic cloves to the vegetables that are cooking, or discard, if you're not a garlic lover!
Once the vegetables are soft, remove and toss with the chicken. Add additional seasoning to taste, if necessary. Cover the sandwich rolls with the chicken and vegetables and layer with the provolone slices. Place the baking sheet in the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, or for about 1 minute. Serve while warm and melty. Yum!
This is an easy and yummy breakfast to whip up over the weekend. Make it a bit more special by making homemade tortillas or salsa verde; recipe links below ; )
Yield: 4-6 medium sized tacos
Ingredients:
6 medium eggs, scrambled and seasoned to taste
1 cup shredded hash browns, fried and seasoned to taste
6 slices bacon, fried, drained, and crumbled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas, cIlantro and salsa, for serving
Directions:
Make bacon first, drain, crumble and set aside. Fry hash browns until crisp and season to taste, reserve. Scramble eggs to desired doneness and season with salt and pepper.
Brown tortillas for a few minutes in a pan or griddle. Scoop hash browns and scrambled eggs into warm tortillas and top with crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese. Garnish with cilantro and salsa, if desired. Voila! Easy breakfast!
Check out my recipe for Roasted Tomatillo and Garlic Salsa and/or Homemade Flour Tortillas
if you are feeling like going the whole nine yards! Enjoy!
All right, I'll be honest - I didn't fly to Ixtapa to mix this drink, take a photo, and fly right back. The truth is we drank this punch so fast, I forgot to take a photo of it, and stole this one from the trusty old internet. Sue me! Wait... don't.
Yield: 1 large pitcher, approximately 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
2-3 cups ripe pineapple chunks (or about 1/2 a fresh pineapple)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 cups dark rum
1/2 cup lime juice
3 cups club soda or sparkling water
1 bottle Spumante or other sweet sparkling wine
Lime slices
Directions:
Add pineapple chunks, sugar and rum to the bottom of a large pitcher and muddle gently. Add club soda and mix. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight to allow flavors to come together.
Just before serving, mix in sparkling wine and pour into ice filled glasses. Garnish with lime slices. Cheers!
Tips: Make sure to taste the pineapple; if it's not ripe enough, you might want to add more sugar, depending on how sweet you want the finished product.
It's that time of year again! Time to make fruity, frothy, rum and vodka filled cocktails and enjoy them in the sun!
Yield: Approx 4 cocktails, multiply for a large pitcher
Ingredients:
1 8 ounce package fresh blackberries (reserve a few for garnish)
10-12 fresh mint leaves (reserve a few for garnish)
6 ounces dark rum
4 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
3 cups club soda, sparkling water, or lime flavored soda
1-2 fresh limes, quartered
Directions:
In the bottom of a glass or pitcher, muddle the blackberries, mint leaves, sugar, rum and lime juice.
Add ice cubes, then top off with club soda or other sparkling beverage. Garnish with a few whole blackberries, a sprig of mint, and a lime wedge. Cheers!
I don't think I have to tell you that this recipe turned out very nicely. The entire pan was gone when I woke up the next day, so that alone can vouch for the recipe's success, at least in my household.
Yield: Approx 12-15 cinnamon rolls
Cinnamon Roll Ingredients:
2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
9 slices bacon
2 tbsp brown sugar
Cinnamon Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 stick melted butter
Maple Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Fry bacon (or cook in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 mins, faster and less messy!) and set aside to drain. Once cooled, crumble bacon and place in a bowl. Add about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix to combine, then reserve.
Dissolve yeast in warm water according to package directions and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine milk, white sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Fold in 1½ cups of flour and mix to combine. Add yeast mixture. Stir in remaining flour and knead for 5-10 minutes. Spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray, place dough in it, and cover. Allow to rise for around 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Roll dough out into a large rectangle and coat with about 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Cover with the cinnamon filling mixture and add about half of the bacon bacon-sugar mixture. Roll up tightly, beginning with long side. Slice into 12-15 sections, or more if you want slightly smaller rolls.
Arrange rolls in a baking pan (I used two round ones) and allow to rise for an additional 20 minutes or so. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until slightly brown on top.
While the rolls are cooking, use a mixer or whisk to combine ingredients for the maple glaze. Mix until smooth and to desired consistency; for a thicker frosting, use more powdered sugar, for a thinner frosting, use additional maple syrup, or water or milk, to thin it out.
Frost rolls and garnish with remaining diced bacon. Serve while warm. Sweet...salty...delicious! Enjoy!
