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.