Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

I had planned to fix these for our monthly birthday lunch at work but figured I better try them out first. I fixed them yesterday and, boy, were they good!! I think my husband used the word "extraodinary"! However, I highly recommend using gloves when fixing them. I didn't use gloves but washed my hands afterwards. However, even after washing my hands, I touched my face and "OH MY WORD"--my face was on fire!!!!! My hands burned all night long!!!!! WOW! I actually had a paper towel with ice inside lying on my face!! To sum it up: USE GLOVES!

Ok, on to the recipe!

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPENO THINGIES

Fresh jalapenos, 2-3 inches in size

Cream cheese, softened

Thin (regular) bacon, sliced into thirds

Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white stuff (leave a little white stuff if you want it HOT). Smear cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon. Secure with toothpick. (You can freeze them at this point, if you like).

Bake (I put them on a cookie sheet) at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. You don't want the bacon to shrink so much that it starts to squeeze the jalapeno. If the bacon isn't brown enough after 25 minutes, broil them for a couple of minutes.

Recipe and picture from http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/

Sharing Recipes

I mentioned that I made a recipe book for a colleague at work who is getting married. I thought I would share some of the recipes that my co-workers and I contributed.

Hot Chicken Salad

2 cups toasted croutons

2 cups chicken (canned or boiled)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream of chicken

1/2 tsp. salt

Combine 1/2 croutons and other ingredients. Put in baking dish and cover with remaining croutons. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Baked Beans (This is actually my recipe)

2 large cans Bush's Original Baked Beans

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tsp. mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 can pineapple chunks with some juice

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 onion, chopped

2 pkgs. smoked sausage

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brown smoked sausage. Combine all ingredients and cook for 35-40 minutes until heated through.

I will share more in the days to come. Hope you enjoy!!

A Recipe for You!

My all time favorite dessert is Caramel Pie! It is one of the easiest to make as well!

Caramel Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 graham cracker crust
1 container cool whip

Remove label from can of sweetened condensed milk. Place can in a pot of water. Make sure the water is completely covering the can of sweetened condensed milk. Bring water to a boil. Boil can of milk for 3 hours. (Yes, you boil the actual can) :) Make sure it remains completely covered with water the entire time. After 3 hours, remove can and let set on counter to cool. After the can has cooled, pour contents into bowl and stir to remove lumps. Pour into graham cracker crust and place in refrigerator until set. Spread cool whip on top and serve.

A Recipe for You

My sister-in-law let me borrow her Kraft Food & Family magazine that she received in the mail. I liked it so much that I subscribed to it as well at www.kraftfoods.com. One recipe that I thought would be very good is the Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up. It sounds like something our kiddies would like as well! Thought I would share it.

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 6 servings, one slice each

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust


PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Cook ground beef, bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain; return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA; cook until completely melted, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.
UNROLL pizza dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15x8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with meat mixture. Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so roll is seam-side down on baking sheet.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cut diagonally into six slices to serve.

A Recipe for You

I have loved reading everyone's Menu Planning Monday! However, I'm not sure that I'm organized enough to participate yet. If you notice on my previous blog, I ate Bran Flakes for supper. :) You see, I work an hour away from home right now (on T, W, Th) so by the time I get home, we don't really get to eat dinner together on those nights. So, I thought if nothing else, I could share a recipe with you that I plan on getting around to cook sometime during the following week. Tonight, I cooked the following for our lunch tomorrow. It is one of my husband's favorites! I hope you enjoy it, too!

Chicken Breasts Smothered in Tomatoes and Mozarella

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 can (14 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes (I actually use more)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook about 3 1/2 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the center. Transfer to plate; cover and keep warm. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Return chicken to skillet, spooning onion and tomato mixture over chicken. Sprinkle cheese over top. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted.

* I actually didn't put cheese on ours tonight and it was still really good.

God Bless!!