Crockpot Cranberry Sauce with Apple, Orange & Crystallized Ginger

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know you all are probably with your families and friends eating delicious turkey and watching parades, but I've got a recipe I wanted to share with you.
 
Today I'm sharing a trusty, easy, leave-it-to-the-slow-cooker cranberry sauce recipe.

You're already busy enough on Thanksgiving day, right? Why add to the stress when you can let your crockpot do the work on this delicious Thanksgiving side item?!

And it's fancy because it has apples in it, along with a hint of orange and ginger. Sounds good, eh? Well, it is!






Crockpot Cranberry Sauce with Apple, Orange & Crystallized Ginger
from Cookin Canuck

• 4 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, quartered & sliced
• 1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
• 5 tablespoon brown sugar (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Place all of the apple pieces and cranberries in a large bowl and stir in brown sugar and orange zest.

Pour orange juice into the bottom of a large crockpot and add the apple mixture.

Cover, turn the crockpot setting to low, and cook for about 8 hours, stirring occasionally and breaking up the apple slices and cranberries with a wooden spoon as they soften.

Stir in crystallized ginger. Taste and add an additional tablespoon or two of brown sugar if too tart.

Serve warm or room temperature.


Printable Recipe

 

Perfect alongside some succulent turkey, gravy, and stuffing. Also perfect for leftover casseroles and sandwiches. Let's just say it's perfect.

Have a happy happy Thanksgiving! 

Are you guys braving the Black Friday shopping?? I'm contemplating it... 


Peace, and bacon grease!

 

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Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions

Thanksgiving is in the air!

 

































With only a couple of days until Thanksgiving, of course I had to post some last-minute Thanksgiving recipes! You know me. Queen of procrastination. 


Well, at least I'm bringing you potatoes. BACON and potatoes. CARMELIZED ONIONS and BACON and potatoes. Sorry I'm not screaming at you. I'm just really excited about bacon and caramelized onions.

The world is complete.

Potatoes, bacon, and caramelized onions are just a few of the things I'm thankful for in my life.

Along with my sweet fiance who I love spending everyday with, my amazing, strong mother, my doting father, my goofy brother, my beautiful niece, my cute chubby cat Romeo, all of my friends, my cozy home, my education, my job. And of course food in general.  

I mean, food is one of the few things I look forward to everyday. You too? I wake up thinking about what's for breakfast, after I eat breakfast I'm thinking about lunch, and after lunch I'm already daydreaming about dinner.

Food DEFINITELY goes on that list of things I'm thankful for. As do these Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions.

 

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
from Cookin Canuck

*Serves 4-6

• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Place the bacon in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook the bacon until it is golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Crumble and set aside. Discard all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat. Add the olive to the bacon fat and set the skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook and cook until the onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add the fresh sage and cook for 1 more minute.

Place cubed potatoes in a large saucepan and cover potatoes with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and set saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to saucepan and set over medium heat, stir the potatoes until dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep potatoes warm.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, butter, remaining salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Reduce heat to low. Using a heat-proof rubber spatula, stir the potatoes into the milk mixture, mashing until completely combined. Stir the caramelized onions and bacon into the mashed potatoes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.


Printable Recipe


































 

It's easy to forget that we really are blessed. AMERICA, we are blessed! With the people in our lives, the things, the food. So many blessings.

Let's cherish them and be thankful. Today. And everyday.


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins

It's Secret Recipe Club time again. One of my fave times of each month!

This month I was assigned to the blog, A Couple in the Kitchen. So many good recipes like their award-winning Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup, which I was so tempted to make, and their Cider Sage Gravy would be perfect for the quickly-approaching fall season. But ultimately though I chose these rich and tasty potatoes. Because if you hadn't guessed by my name, I'm a potato freak! Plus I love the idea of using muffin pans for these individual gratins.

This recipe calls for gruyere cheese, which can be a bit pricey. You can substitute comte or beaufort - A French cheese.... or a more easily-accessible Swiss cheese. I loved the gruyere cheese in this potato dish. I made the mistake of only using one jumbo sized russet potato. Go ahead and use two large russet potatoes if you can... I would have liked more potatoes in my stacks. If you have a mandolin slicer (I've seen it spelled mandolin and mandoline, not sure what's correct), then use that to thinly slice the potatoes. I just used a knife but of course there were some inconsistencies in thickness. But we still loved and devoured these cheesy, creamy, crispy stacks.

Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins
from A Couple in the Kitchen

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 6 ounces grated gruyere cheese
• 1 and 3/4 cups heavy cream
• 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the cups of a 12-muffin pan. 

Layer each cup with potato slice, topped with salt and white pepper, and gruyere cheese. Continue to layer like this until each muffin cup is full. Add two tablespoons of heavy cream to each muffin cup. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove the foil and top each stack with the parmesan cheese, dividing evenly. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Printable Recipe

I'll make these again and again. They're not a lot of work, but seem so fancy. Rich, filling, indulgent... exactly what food should be. These mini gratins will make a perfect side to any meal. But maybe keep the main course light  :)

Check out my past Secret Recipe Club posts. 




Peace, and bacon grease!

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Southern Greens

My mama is from Hazard, KY and grew up in Harlan, KY. Yep, Harlan from the show Justified. It gets kindof a bad rep on there though. So we're all about good ole southern food. You know, things like cornbread, chitlins - don't judge us!, and collard greens. I grew up loving my mama's greens.

So when it came time to pick a recipe that started with G or H for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge, I knew I'd go with greens. As in collard, kale, mustard, or even Swiss chard. I found a recipe online that used all of them so I was drawn to it. Plus the reviews were pretty good. 

Don't let the amount of greens fool you. They shrink down when cooked.

Southern Greens
adapted from Michael Symon

• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 lbs collard greens
• 1 lb kale
• 1 lb mustard greens
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large pinch of salt
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• sriracha hot sauce, optional 

In a large pot, add bacon and cook over medium heat until fat begins to render. When the bacon is almost crisp, add sliced onions and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Remove the tough stems of the greens and discard. Rinse greens. Roughly chop the greens and add them to the pot with the red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.

Remove the lid and add the vinegar and sugar. Put the lid back on and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add sriracha hot sauce if desired.

Printable Recipe

I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top. Just cuz.

Most recipes I've known for making greens involve a hamhock, but this one didn't so I was intrigued to see if it would have the same flavor.

And it did! PJ really liked them too. I think he said these were the best he's had. I dunno if that's an insult to my mama or a compliment to me (and Michael Symon). I'll pretend I didn't hear that.

Love me some greens. It's a southern thang.

P.S. It's so hard to make greens look good. But the taste.... the taste....  just make them and see for yourself.

Oh, and there's bacon :)

Check out my past Eating the Alphabet posts!

And check out the other posts in the blog hop below: 


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Endive, Avocado, and Bacon Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Time for another one of the many challenges I participate in... the Eating the Alphabet Recipe Challenge, hosted by the lovely Brenda at Meal Planning Magic!

This month the letters were E or F, and remember you have to choose a vegetable, fruit, bean or grain. I chose endive because I had never eaten it before.

 






















Did you know there are different kinds of endive? I didn't, until I got to the store and saw just plain endive, which looked like lettuce kinda, and Belgian endive, which looked like tiny little white corn on the cob husks, and are hollow when peeled off the head. I went with the endive lettuce. When I got home I saw that the original recipe called for California endive. Good God, could endive be anymore confusing?  :)

Oh well, it was still delicious. I mean, how can you go wrong with all those ingredients in a salad? Avocado, bacon, homemade dressing with chipotles! And I added some diced onions, just because. And let's be honest here, the endive was just there to soak up all that dressing. What, isn't that the purpose of lettuce in a salad? :) I kid, I kid. Kinda.

Endive, Avocado, and Bacon Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing
adapted from All Day I Dream About Food

*Yields: 2 small side salads

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon adobo sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salad:

• 1 head of endive lettuce, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 a roma tomato, diced
• 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1-2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a sealable glass jar and shake vigorously.

For the salad, divide chopped endive lettuce among two salad plates. Sprinkle with avocado, tomatoes, bacon, onion, and cheese. Drizzle with dressing. Remaining dressing can be stored in fridge.
  

Printable Recipe

























Be sure to check out my past Eating the Alphabet Recipe Challenge entries. You're bound to find some keepers.

   
Linking up here.  


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Grilled Corn with Chipotle Butter and Lime Salt

I just shared an amazing and simple recipe for Chipotle Butter with you, and now I'm here to tell you one of the many things to use that glorious butter on.

Grilled corn!

Oh how I love spring and summer and busting out the grill so I can indulge in some grilled corn on the cob. There's almost nothing better. And grilled corn tastes delicious with some regular melted butter of course, but why not amp that goodness up a bit? Ok, a lot!

 
Grilled corn on the cob + Chipotle Butter + Lime Salt.

Grilled Corn with Chipotle Butter and Lime Salt
ever-so-slightly adapted from Carlyklock

• 2 ears corn on the cob, shucked
• Chipotle Butter, melted (however much you want but the recipe yields 1 stick)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• zest of 1 lime

Add kosher salt and lime zest to a small bowl and stir to combine.  Set aside. 

Grill corn directly over medium-high heat, turning occasionally until browned and slightly charred on all sides. 

Melt chipotle butter and pour over grilled corn. Top with lime salt. (I had some lime salt leftover but let's be serious, that isn't a problem at all!)

Printable Recipe

I hope it's starting to feel like spring over in your neck of the woods.

Today it's 79 degrees and sunny here in Cincinnati and I'm loving every minute of it!

Linking up here. 

Peace, and bacon grease!

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Buttery Rosemary Rolls

In reviewing last year's recipes on the blog, I noticed that I didn't have very many bread or savory recipes. 

So here's my attempt to remedy that.

I made these rolls for Thanksgiving but figured they aren't only for Thanksgiving and would be ok to blog about now. I am not a huge bread person but I really liked these rolls. Rosemary, butter, and salt make these rolls special.

I used Sister Schubert rolls, the original recipe used Rhodes rolls. Use whatever frozen rolls you can find.

Buttery Rosemary Rolls
slightly adapted from Everyday Tastes

• 12 dinner rolls, frozen and unbaked
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped
• sea salt

Remove frozen rolls from freezer and allow to thaw.
 
Once thawed, transfer to a baking sheet with cooking spray. Brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake according to the package directions on the rolls (usually 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top.

Printable Recipe

 
















We are def making these rolls a part of our regular rotation.

You should too!

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

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October's Secret Recipe Club - Black Bean Corn Salsa

It's that time of the month again.

Time for The Secret Recipe Club.

This month I was assigned to Denise's blog, Creative Kitchen. There were some yummies for sure, but I decided on something simple yet sounded so good. Her black bean corn salsa.

I made a few modifications... only one can of black beans, and a little more red onion and lime. I seasoned generously too. 

Do you guys like the orange and black tortillas for Halloween? I couldn't pass them up at Meijer.

Black Bean Corn Salsa
adapted from Creative Kitchen

• 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can mexican rotel
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Dash or two or three of sea salt 

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Make the day before to allow flavors to mix together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Printable Recipe



















We really loved this quick and easy salsa! PJ was sure that it wouldn't be anything special because we were using canned ingredients, but he and I both were surprised at how much we enjoyed it! So much flavor, and a spicy kick from the rotel.

I will definitely be taking the rest of this for lunch this week.


Peace, and bacon grease!

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Bacon and Avocado Topped Deviled Eggs {Holiday Recipe Club: Easter!}

Whoa there, it's been some time since I've posted a recipe. I'm sorry! I hate myself for it. Ok that's taking it a bit far, but I do feel guilt over it. I just can't find as much time to post recipes and take natural light photos. Not to mention I still haven't learned how to use my new dslr. Which isn't really new anymore because I've had it since December and my lens since January or February. Anybody wanna come to my house and give me a personal dslr lesson? Anyone?

I did find the time to participate in this month's Holiday Recipe Club challenge for Easter, and we had to make something using one or more of these three ingredients: spinach, carrots, or eggs. I chose eggs, cuz it's Easter duh. And what goes perfect with Easter?

Yep. Deviled eggs.

Not just any deviled eggs. Deviled eggs topped with two of my favorite things: bacon and avocado. Say what?! Yes, you read that right. 

(I changed the name so that people wouldn't be mistaken that these were deviled eggs filled with an avocado mixture, because I've seen recipes like that. These are just normal deviled eggs topped with bacon and avocado). 

Bacon and Avocado Topped Deviled Eggs

slightly adapted from Lady Behind the Curtain

• 6 eggs
• 3 slices of thick-cut or center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 of an avocado, sliced or diced
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper to top

Place eggs in a single layer in a 4-quart pot. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs by at least an inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12-15 minutes. Drain. Run cold water over the eggs until cool enough to touch. Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a medium bowl. Set whites aside.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook bacon over low-medium heat until crisp. Drain grease; set aside. In a bowl, mash egg yolks with a fork. Add mayo, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to mix. 

Cut avocado into 12 equal pieces; toss with lemon juice. Pipe or spoon egg yolk mixture into egg whites halves. Top with an avocado piece and bacon piece(s). Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Cover and chill up to 4 hours. Makes 12.

Printable Recipe

Definitely top them with larger pieces of bacon and avocado though, like Sheryl did. What was I thinking depriving those deviled eggs of more bacon and avocado? I was trying to make mine all pretty for the camera, but afterwards I topped them with more bacon and avocado pieces. I love the crunch from the bacon and the added flavor from the avocados. I've already thought about making them again this week. Yep, that soon.

These deviled eggs would be perfect to take to an Easter gathering or if you're staying home, make some for the fam! I just may whip some up to take to my mama's house this weekend. I'm sure she'd appreciate some help with the menu.

Oh, and you can always make these when it's not Easter time. You know, pretty much any time of day and for any occasion. Or lack of an occasion. 

Basically, just make em. K? Thanks.

Linking up here.

Peace, and bacon grease!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits {Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off}

I'm back for week 2 of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off!
Can I say it's been so much fun checking out this cookbook! Sooooo many recipes that I want to try.

Next up were these tasty biscuits. I'll admit, I had never used whole wheat flour before and was leery about it. But they turned out pretty good. I didn't taste too much of the honey or goat cheese in the biscuits, so next time maybe I'd increase the amount. 

These are best served warm from the oven. I sliced them open, slathered them in some butter and honey, and I was set! 


That's how I love my biscuits. With butter and honey.

Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

from Joy the Baker Cookbook

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes, plus more for pan
• 4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 1 cup buttermilk, cold
• 2 tablespoons honey, plus more for topping if desired

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven as it preheats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With your fingers, quickly incorporate the cold butter and goat cheese until the flour resembles coarse meal. Some of the butter and cheese chunks will be the size of small pebbles; others will be the size of oat flakes. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

Whisk together buttermilk and honey. Honey may not completely blend into the buttermilk, that's okay. Pour the buttermilk into the well of the flour mixture. Use a fork to blend together the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated and no dry flour remains. Set aside.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and add 1 tablespoon butter. Swirl the butter around the bottom and sides of the pan until butter is melted and pan is coated. Spoon batter by the 1/4 cupful into the hot skillet. About 6 biscuits will fit into the 10-inch skillet. Biscuits should have about an inch of room separating them, but will bake up to touch one another. That's great!

Place in the oven to bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden and tops appear dry and slightly firm. Remove from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. For a glossy finish, brush the biscuits with slightly warm honey. These biscuits are best served immediately, but will last for up to 3 days, well wrapped, at room temperature.

Printable Recipe

  

These biscuits would also work nice on a breakfast sandwich... some bacon, egg, and cheese on these biscuits.... next time I'm doing that!

*This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef*

Peace, and bacon grease!

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