Spicy Bourbon Bacon Chex Mix

My picture doesn't do this justice! Check out the picture over here where I found the original recipe! (I made a couple of changes.)

SPICY BOURBON BACON CHEX MIX

7 1/2 ounces Corn Chex cereal

7 1/2 ounces Honey-nut Chex cereal

1 pound bacon, crisply cooked and chopped

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 cups small pretzels

2 cups lightly salted roasted peanuts

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

3 tablespoons bourbon

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Line two 15 x 10 x 1 - inch pans with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix cereals, pretzels, peanuts and bacon. Set aside.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat brown sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around edges. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Cool 2 minutes. Carefully stir in bourbon, chipotle chili powder and cinnamon. Pour over snack mixture; toss until evenly coated.

Spread snack mixture onto pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 - 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, to caramelize mixture. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Break into pieces.

NOTE: The original recipe said to store in the refrigerator. NOT necessary! It will be GONE before you have a chance to do that!

By the way, I made this snack to take to the VA Hospital as it was the last day of this most recent clinical rotation there. I have been on a rotation in the operating room for the last couple of weeks. Don't you just love the camouflage lead aprons??!!

Dessert Chimichangas

Okay, so this is not something new, just a variation on the Banana Burritos I've done in the past.

This time, since we were already grilling for dinner, these were cooked on the grill in a foil pan, pan uncovered, grill closed.

The one on the left contains bananas, white chocolate chips and chopped pecans. It's toppped with caramel sauce.

The one on the right contains bananas, strawberries and a little chocolate syrup inside and out.

I'm sure you could come up with many more combinations. See this post for more specific directions.

Balsamic Pork Scaloppini

A couple of week's ago, I went into Publix and smelled the most wonderful meal cooking at the Apron's meal demonstration. I already had dinner plans that night, but picked up the recipe card to use another time. I made it last week and it was delicious!

I'm getting sort of lazy about typing up recipes so follow the link--------->

I didn't follow their directions for the Tomato Buttered Noodles, but made my own version by just adding butter and sun-dried tomato pesto to cooked noodles.

Pierogi Bake

Pierogi [peer-OH-gee] - A Polish specialty, pierogi are half-moon-shaped noodle dumplings filled with a minced mixture, the most common being pork, onions, cottage cheese and seasonings. Mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes and rice are also used as filling ingredients. After the pierogi are cooked in boiling water, they're sometimes sautéed briefly in butter and topped with toasted bread crumbs. They can be served as a first course or side dish. - THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Pierogi - Like a ravioli, but with mashed potatoes and onion inside. - Beth

I have seen this recipe several places. The original here (this one has nutrition info), but also seen here and here!

(Follow the links to recipe)

Pyszne! (Google Translate says this is Polish for delicious)

Sheldon

I love this kitty!

He's so sweet to help with the laundry...

Chicken Tortilla Stack

This is my version of a Pampered Chef recipe from many years ago. You could easily adjust to use your favorite Mexican flavors.

I used extra large flour tortillas, refried black beans, shredded cooked chicken, sliced black olives, chunky salsa and shredded cheddar cheese. There are three layers, in that order, of all those ingredients. Then I topped it with one last flour tortilla, baked it at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Once it was out of the oven, I added more cheddar cheese, diced tomato, chopped avocado, a few olive slices and some sour cream. Slice it carefully and serve.

Some great options might be to use ground beef, shredded smoked pork.... maybe regular 'pinto' refried beans... enchilada sauce poured over? White cheese sauce with jalapenos?

Peachy Ham Quesadilla

We almost always have grilled cheese sandwiches with my homemade soups. I decided to throw this together with a few "leftover" ingredients I had on hand instead.


Ham, Swiss cheese, honey mustard and peach preserves in a flour tortilla grilled on the sandwich press/grill.

I used to get something like this at a Roly-Poly sandwich shop. If you're not familiar - they make about 50 different wrap sandwiches. The menu always seemed so overwhelming. I'm not sure mine is exactly the same, but the combination turned out great!