Chocolate Rum Balls

1 Cup pecans
12 ounces German’s sweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 C Sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/2 C coconut
1 C graham cracker crumbs
3 ounces Rum
Cocoa powder


Process pecans and chocolate in food processor until fine. Combine pecans and chocolate with sugar, coconut and graham cracker crumbs. Moisten with rum to form a stiff dough. Chill if necessary. Form into small balls and roll in cocoa powder or powdered sugar to coat. Chill until firm and store in refrigerator.

Jalapeño Poppers

Here's one of the appetizers I am making for Christmas Eve.  I looked at a lot of recipes and combined a few.  I didn't want to deep fry them since I am taking them to someone else's house to heat. Heather says you can get milder jalapeños by looking for peppers that started to ripen and turn red.  I couldn't find any of those so they might be spicy.

12 large jalapeño peppers
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1 slice bacon, fried and crumbled
3/4 Cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 Cup butter

Chop the tops off peppers and slice peppers in half. Scrape the seeds out of each pepper to make little jalapeño canoes. Chop the tops finely and add to a mixing bowl with the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and bacon. Use a small spoon to fill the canoes or transfer the mixture to a re-sealable plastic bag, snip off the end and squeeze the mixture into the hulls of your jalapeño canoes.

Melt butter and mix with bread crumbs. Top each pepper with a bread crumb crust.  Arrange the peppers on cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes in 425 oven.

Note:  Remove all of the seeds and white membrane from the peppers to remove the most spice.

Chicken Fried Rice

I had next to nothing in the house tonight.  I had just enough to make this quick dish.

1 C uncooked rice
1/2 chicken breast, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2 T olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 T low salt soy sauce
pepper to taste

Cook rice.  Meanwhile saute chicken breast and onion in 1 T oil until chicken is cooked and onion is tender.  Push to side of pan.  On other side of pan, scramble egg.  Add rice, remaining 1 T oil, soy sauce and pepper. Saute, mixing everything together.  Serve immediately.

"House of Blues" Cornbread

I tried to copy the cornbread at the House of Blues.  It is a sweet moist cornbread.

1 C milk or half and half
1 package corn muffin mix (Jiffy)
1 T onion, minced
1 T fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1/4 C red pepper, minced
2 eggs
1/3 C frozen corn
1 T cilantro leaves, chopped

Mix all ingredients (except cilantro) together and place in a greased 8x8 pan.  Sprinkle cilantro on top.  Bake in a 300 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita

Cucumber combined with a jalepeno is a great combination.

(makes 4 moderate glasses)

Chili salt
1/2 large Cucumber, sliced
1/2 Jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced
5 Limes
2 Oranges
1/2 C simple syrup
6-8 oz Gold Tequila


Rim glasses with lime juice and then chili salt.  

Place cucumber, jalepeño, syrup and fruit juice in blender.  Blend until cucumber and jalepeño are liquefied.  Test and add more jalepeño, if necessary.  Add tequila and blend until mixed.


Fill a shaker half full with ice and add mixture.  Shake. Garnish glasses with a lime and cucumber wedge.  Serve over ice or straight up.


Chili salt is available from Mexican grocers or make your own by combining cayenne pepper and salt.


Simple Syrup:
Bring 2 parts sugar and 1 part water to a boil and boil until sugar dissolves. Cool completely before using.

Chicken with Cucumber Salsa

Salsa:
1/4 C onion, diced
1/3 C cucumber, diced
1 C tomatoes, juiced and diced
1/4 C ripe olives, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ jalapeño pepper, minced
½ t sugar
1 T olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt, pepper, oregano and basil
2 T breadcrumbs
1 T olive oil

Preparation:
Combine the salsa ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and basil on both sides. Roll in breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done. To serve, top chicken with salsa.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup salsa)

Pumpkin Squares

I am making these for the tailgate this Sunday in Green Bay. They taste just like pumpkin pie.

Crust:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup for topping)
1 egg
1/2 Cup melted butter

Filling:
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ginger
2 eggs 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2/3 Cup milk
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Topping:
Reserved 1 Cup cake mix
1/4 Cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 Cup butter, softened

Mix together crust ingredients; press into greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Mix together filling ingredients until smooth; pour over crust. Cut together topping ingredients with a fork until crumbly; sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Best when chilled before
serving. Store in refrigerator.

Summer Tortilla Soup

I don't usually think to make soup in the summer, but it was so cold the other day, I did it.

2 Chicken Breast Halves, pounded thin
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C Red Onion, chopped
3 Stalks Celery, chopped
1 Red or Yellow pepper, chopped
1 Jalepeno pepper, chopped (seeded unless you like it hot)
1 Zuchinni, chopped
1/2 C frozen corn
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
5 Cups chicken stock
1/2 t Ancho Chile powder
2 t Cholula (or other hot sauce like Tobasco)
Corn chips

Grill Chicken in a little olive oil. Remove from pan. Add more oil, if necessary and cook garlic, onion, celery and peppers until tender. Add chicken, corn, tomatoes, chicken stock, chile powder, Cholula and salt and pepper. Simmer for 30-40 minutes. To serve, spoon into bowls and crumble corn chips on top.

Rotini with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta

This is not quite a hot pasta nor is it chilled. It is nice for a hot summer evening.

6 oz uncooked Rotini pasta
2 C large cherry tomatoes, halved
1 C fresh spinach, coarsely torn
1/3 C fresh basil, coarsely chopped
3 T red balsamic vinegar
3 green onions, finely chopped
3 T pine nuts
1 t Dijon mustard
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 T virgin olive oil
feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package with a little salt and olive oil. Drain, but do not rinse. Add pasta to tomatoes, spinach and basil in large bowl.

Combine vinegar, onions, pine nuts, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper and stir well with a fork. Add olive oil and stir to combine.

Pour vinegar mixture over pasta and toss well. Crumble feta cheese over top.

4 servings

Aunt Joan's Berry Spinach Salad

1/2 pound fresh spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries,
washed, hulled and halved
1/2 C sugar
2 T sesame seed
1 T poppy seed
1 and 1/2 t minced onion
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t paprika
1/2 C cooking oil
1/4 C white vinegar

Remove spinach stems and wash and dry spinach. Arrange spinach and strawberry halves on salad plates.

Place sugar, sesame seed, poppy seed, onion,Worcestershire and paprika in blender container. Blend at low speed and then add oil and vinegar in a slow drizzle, blending until thick.

Pour dressing over salads. Makes 6-8 servings

Limeade

This is refreshing on a hot summer afternoon.

Grated zest of one lime (about 1 Tbsp)
3/4 C 1 Cup granulated sugar
3 C water
1 C lime juice with pulp(4-6 limes)
1 lime, halved and sliced thin for garnish

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the sugar, lime zest and one cup of water. Boil for one minute or until sugar is dissolved. Strain zest and pour over 12-15 ice cubes in a 1 quart pitcher. Add the lime juice, sliced lime and 2 cups of water. If too sweet, you can add a little more lime juice.

Makes about 1 quart.

Muhammara

Muhammara is a Turkish walnut/garlic spread. The garlic gives it a nice kick. This recipe is a combination of many recipes I have tried.

1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers - or 2 fresh roasted red peppers
2/3 C walnuts - toast in a dry frying pan for a couple minutes.
12 cloves garlic
2/3 C breadcrumbs
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 C pomegranate syrup (see below)
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

Lightly toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan for several minutes. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until very smooth. It should not be gritty. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate several hours before serving, but serve at room temperature.

Serve with tosted pita triangles, toasted French bread or sesame crackers.

Pomegranate Syrup
Boil pomegranate juice until reduced by half. I make an entire jar and freeze it in ice cube trays. Works great in pomegranate martinis, too.

Ultimate Cosmo

Another recipe from Heather...

2 shots vodka- preferably Grey Goose
1 shot orange liquor - cointreau or Grand Marnier
Juice of one lime
1 shot of cranberry
lemon rind for garnish

You can tell the difference without the lemon. We used orange and it was not the same. Place in shaker with ice. Makes about a drink and a half.

Heather's Marinade

This simple marinade is great on beef or pork. I have used this with steaks, pot roast and a pork roast.

Juice of half a lime
1-2 T brown mustard (Grey Poupon)
1 T soy sauce
2 T canola oil
salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a ziploc bag and shake to mix well. Add meat and marinade for an hour to overnight. Grill or roast as normal. For pork, add few sprigs of chopped fresh rosemary.

Strawberry Guacamole

1 avocado
1 large clove garlic, diced
juice of 1/4 lime
1/4 - 1/2 t salt
1 T chopped cilantro
1 serrano pepper, diced
1 large strawberry, diced

Pit and mash avocado. Add remaining ingredients, except strawberry, and mix well. Fold in strawberry. Garnish with a couple slivers of strawberry, if desired.

Crock Pot Chili

2 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 C onion, coarsely chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can beer
3 T Ancho chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
2 t dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
6 tomatillos, quartered
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (7-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 t liquid smoke

Brown pork shoulder in skillet coated with cooking spray. Add to crock pot. Add onion and peppers. Sauté until almost tender. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add beer and heat til boiling. Transfer to crock pot and add remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (or high for 5 hours) in crock pot. Remove bay leaves. Garnish (see below).

~Optional Garnishes~
cilantro, finely chopped
green onions, finely chopped
shredded jack or cheddar cheese
fat free sour cream