BBQ Chicken Sliders

- 2 cups cooked chicken 

- BBQ sauce 

- sliced red onion

- pepper jack cheese 

- fresh cilantro 

- melted butter 

- 12 slider buns 

Preheat oven to 350

Arrange the bottoms of slider buns in 9x13 baking dish 

Spread cooked chicken evenly over slider bottoms

Drizzle BBQ sauce on chicken 

Top with sliced red onions

Place pepper jack cheese over chicken

Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top of cheese 

Place tops of buns back onto sliders 

Brush melted butter on the tops of sliders 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Cut and serve

I can't say enough about these sliders. Easy. Scrumptious. Use cheddar if the pepper cheese is to spicy for the kiddos. You can make things even easier and use an already roasted chicken from the store! Cheers!

Green Bean Almandine

                                                  

One of our favorite side dishes to make, regardless of holidays or not. This did make it's way onto my Thanksgiving menu. There was a little dismay of my not making the typical green bean casserole, but all was well. Fresh buttery green beans, and toasty nutty almonds make this side amazing. Under 5 ingredients. Under 15 minutes. Yes. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 pounds fresh green beans, ends snapped off
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• salt and pepper to taste

                                               Throw snapped green beans in a 

                                                 medium pot with 1/2 cup water. 

                                      Cover and steam on medium high heat for

                                                10-15 minutes until fork tender.

                                  Strain green beans and place in a casserole dish.

                                                   While the beans are steaming, 

                               add butter to a small sauté pan. Melt over medium heat.

                                                            Add in sliced almonds, 

                                   and sauté in butter until golden brown. 3-5 minutes.

                                   Pour the almonds and butter over the green beans. 

                                                           Toss lightly to coat. 

                                          Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If you've never made, or even tried green bean almandine before I suggest you do. We also love making this side with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. Now that is a great dinner. You should totally make that. I think I might make that next week now that I'm thinking of it. Cheers!

Bundt Pan Stuffing

                                              

Since I was only cooking for 6 this Thanksgiving, I was extremely excited to do quality over quantity with my menu. I came across this recipe on Pinterest- and I so pumped to try this. I was a bit intimidated at first, but everything came together nicely. This was one of the most flavorful and moist stuffings I've ever had. The flavors of the fresh herbs really made this stuffing shine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 loaf of day old french bread, cubed (I used a long french baguette) 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 4 eggs beaten
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking spray 

                                                     Preheat oven to 250.

               Spread your cubed bread on 2 baking trays and bake for about 30 minutes,

                          stirring half way through until firm. Don't over bake them. 

                                 Remove bread from oven, increase temp to 400.

                                In a large skillet heat butter over medium high heat. 

                      Stir in onions and celery sauté until softened about 3-5 minutes.

              Add in sage, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix to combine herbs and veggies. 

                                                         Remove from heat. 

                             In a medium bowl combine chicken broth and eggs.

                 In a large bowl combine bread cubes, sautéed veggies and egg mixture.

                           Gently mix until well combined (I used a rubber spatula).

                                      Add more chicken broth if it seems to dry.

                                                 Spray pan with cooking spray.

                           Add in the stuffing mixture, spreading evenly around pan.

Press stuffing down with fingers to pack it down into pan. 

Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges start to get firm. 

Let cool 25 minutes in pan.

Then with a long thin spatula loosen edges, 

and carefully flip stuffing over onto a serving platter.

Look at that! That really is just beautiful to look at. I was rather impressed with myself. I think I was mainly afraid of sticking in the pan, but the stuffing came right out. Don't forget the cooking spray! Delicious scratch made stuffing recipe. This will be a regular fixture in my holiday menus from now on. Cheers!

                                                                          Adapted from:
                                                                   Stuffing in a bundt pan

Roasted Butternut Squash

                                                    

This is my go to recipe for roasting squash. Wether I'm making it for a side dish, or part of my butternut squash alfredo stuffed shells- roasted butternut squash is yummo.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large or 2 medium butternut squashs 
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Place squash flesh side up in broiler pan.

Brush with olive oil.

Rub in brown sugar.

Season with salt and pepper.

Flip squash over so skin side is up.

Add 1/4-1/3 cup water to pan. 

Roast for 40-45 minutes, until skin can be pierced with fork.

Check occasionally to make sure squash isn't burning,

 add more water if necessary. 

Water should eventually evaporate to 

allow the squash to caramelize. 

When fully cooked remove from oven, allow to cool a

 bit before scraping the flesh from the skin into a bowl. 

To make a side dish, mash squash a little with a fork. 

Add in a little maple syrup and butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Cheers!

                                                           

Adapted from:

oven roasted butternut squash

Caprese Salad

                                             

One of our favorite apps to put out when we're having a "picky day". Thats when we make a bunch of pickles, antipasto platters, bread and what not instead of our main meal for the day. 

INGREDIENTS:

• One large log of fresh mozzarella sliced
• 2 large firm tomatoes sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• balsamic vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

On a large plate or platter arrange the tomato, basil

 and mozzarella so they are all overlapping each other.

Drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic on top.

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve and enjoy!

You know a recipe is going to be fresh and delicious when it has very few ingredients. This is one of our go to dishes. Serve with a fresh baguette and it could seriously be a meal in itself. Cheers!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

                                                   

Here's the rundown- we love blue cheese in our house. This recipe is packed with it. If you don't like blue cheese, substitute ranch dressing / shredded cheddar for the blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue cheese. I have a lot of friends that make it that was and it's just as good. Either way- quick, yummy recipe for parties- game day- quick throw together snack when you have company on the way- whatever!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 12.5oz cans of chicken in water (drained)
• 1/3 cup blue cheese dressing
• 1/3 cup buffalo sauce 
• 1/2 - 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.

In an 8x8 baking dish combine the chicken, dressing, 

buffalo sauce, and crumbled blue cheese.

Mix until all ingredients are well combined. 

Sprinkle shredded cheddar on top. 

Bake 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is golden brown. 

Allow to rest and cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

We love serving our buffalo dip with tortilla chips. Feel free to use what you prefer, and like I said above - if you don't like blue cheese substitute it out. Cheers! 

                                                                

Antipasto Bites

                                             

Made these as an app on Thanksgiving. Standing true to their name- it is everything you love about antipasto in one bite. I actually can't wait until next game day I'll be making these babies again.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 pound sliced salami
• 1 jar of mild peppadew peppers
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella 

Preheat the oven to 350.

Lay each piece of salami down.

Sprinkle a little shredded mozz on each salami.

Roll each one up, and place inside of the pepper.

Arrange each antipasto bite in a baking dish.

Bake 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melty

 and the peppers are tender.

Serve warm.

When I originally made these I only made a tiny bit with what I had leftover in the fridge. I would highly recommend making a big batch and using the whole jar of peppers. They will go fast! Cheers!

Sweet Potato Fries with Curry Mayo

                                                     

I've been in search of the best way to cook sweet potato stuffs lately. A few weeks ago I made sweet potato wedges, and while they were yummy- they were lacking what I was really looking for. 

In this recipe I soak the fries first, to draw out some of the starch. I really believe this helped in creating fries that were somewhat crispy and not just sagging all over the place. I made a curry mayo to go with them. Sweet potato fries with curry mayo hold a special place in my heart of sides dishes. Very reminiscent of my early 20's spent at the local Irish pub eating and drinking draft beers. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried parsely
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons curry powder

Peel sweet potatoes, and cut into 1/2 inch thick fires.

Soak fries in a large bowl of cold water for 1 hour.

Rinse fries with cold water, pat fries dry with a clean towel.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400.

Place fries in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil.

Season with brown sugar, parsley, salt and pepper.

Toss to coat all fries evenly.

Divide fries between both baking sheets. Evenly spread in one layer. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Flip fries.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown. 

To make Curry Mayo:

Combine curry powder, salt, pepper and mayo in a bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.

We served these sweet potato fries not only with the curry mayo which was amazing, but country ketchup made by Stonewall Kitchen. The pub I used to frequent made their own home style ketchup, this comes in a close second. Cheers!

7 Layer Dip

When researching '7 layer dips' for Taco Tuesday a few weeks ago,  I came across a couple of different options. First I had to decide if I wanted this baked and warm with chips, or as a cold side. I went with a cold side. Actually we just scooped this into our tacos instead of adding individual toppings in. It was really convenient and yummo. 

• 1 can refried beans 
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup diced tomato
• 1/4 cup diced olives
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion

Layer in an 8x8 pan. 

Refried beans, sour cream, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, olives and green onions.

Serve with chips or tacos.

I totally recommend using Doritos Sweet and Spicy Chili chips with this dish. It's my fav. Cheers!

Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges with Chipotle Mayo

Made these as a side to go with some yummy steak and cheese subs I threw together last week. They were great! Went really well with the subs. The perfect sweet and savory combination. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning 

Preheat the oven to 450.

Place sweet potato wedges in a bowl.

Season with olive oil, and seasonings. Make sure each wedge is coated well.

Prepare a baking sheet, Line it with tinfoil then place baking rack over.

Arrange wedges on the baking rack.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn broiler on and broil 3-5 minutes, until crispy.

To make chipotle mayo: take 1/2 cup mayo and combine with 1-2 tablespoons of chipotle in adobo sauce (depending how spicy you want it. 

Crispy sweet potato wedges with steak and horseradish cheddar cheese subs. So GOOD. Cheers!

Adapted from: Extra crispy sweet potato wedges

Turkey Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Whipped these babies up the other night in under 45 minutes. I've been all about easy and fun summer meals the past few weeks. The kids adored these, and hand held food is automatically a hit. Even though they're fried... we used ground turkey. Trying to keep it on the leaner side of things. Not sure how well that worked, ha! Fried anything is amazing, and I'll leave it at that. 

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes approximately 10 egg rolls )

• 1 pound ground turkey (you can of course substitute ground beef as well)
• 1/4 diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped pickles
• cheese of your choice, we used swiss and provolone about 10 slices 
• egg roll wrappers (about 10)
• veggie oil (about 1/2 cup)

In a skillet brown the ground turkey and red onion until the turkey is 

cooked all the way through. Drain any access liquid. Add in ketchup, 

mustard, worcestershire and pickles. Stir to combine. 

Set up your egg roll station. Wrappers, filling, cheese and a 

little dish of water for sealing your egg rolls.

Add about 2 tablespoons of burger filling 

plus one slice of cheese to each egg roll wrapper

Fold up the egg rolls. There should be a diagram on the

 package of egg roll wrappers that will explain how better than I ever can.

Once you have all of the egg rolls prepared. In a skillet with high sides heat up about 1/2 cup of oil over medium heat. BE CARFUL FRYING WITH OIL. When it gets up to temp place 2 egg rolls in at a time very gently and fry until golden brown, flip and fry the other side. 1-2 min each side. 

If you want something similar but don't want the grease of frying or the pain of rolling egg rolls: Try flour tortillas, then either baking or lightly toasting each side on a griddle, skillet or panini press. An example is my bacon jalapeño cheeseburger wrap. Those are ridiculously flavorful and easy to make. I'm actually thinking about doing a re-boot of those in the coming weeks, so be prepared! Cheers!

Creamy Pea and Onion Pasta Salad

The original recipe I got this from uses chives instead of onions. I've done it both ways. Many times. This has literally been the only pasta salad I've been making all spring/ summer long. It is seriously AMAZINGGG. I prefer the chives, for their mild flavor and great color. Using very finely diced onion is just as delicious too. Be careful though, to much onion can throw this dish overboard. Less is more when it comes to raw onions.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz of pasta (you're choice! In the picture about was a mixture of rigatoni and farfalle)
• 1 cup of peas (I use frozen peas and just let them defrost while pasta cooks)
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh chives chopped (or 2 tablespoons finely diced onion)
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions for al dente. 

When the pasta is cooked drain in a colander and run cold water (shock) the pasta so it stops cooking and cools down.

In a large bowl combine the pasta, peas, mayo, mustard, 

vinegar, onions, salt and pepper.

Like I said above, I've made this pasta salad with different kinds of onions and different kind of pasta- and you literally can't go wrong with this recipe. The combination of the creamy mayo, the tangy mustard and vinegar and fresh peas and chives- its just the best pasta salad Ive ever made. And I'm happy to pass it along to you! Cheers!

Adapted from: creamy macaroni salad with peas and chives

Corn Casserole with Bacon

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.givinguponperfect.com/2014/04/family-recipe-corn-casserole-with-bacon/

I originally had planned on making this for Thanksgiving- but we had no power. So I made this a few days ago instead. Oh my- it was delicious. Of course it was so good I didn't have any thoughts to taking my own photos.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cans corn (drained)
• 2 0z blocks cream cheese
• 1 medium onion diced
• 8 sliced cooked bacon crumbled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup parm cheese (plus a little more for top)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in a skillet and over medium high heat start cooking the onion until softened. Add the cream cheese a little at a time until melted. Add in the parm cheese and pepper. Gently fold in all the corn and bacon. Make sure it is well combined. Put mixture in a 9x13 baking dish - and sprinkle with some more parm cheese. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

Just leave out the bacon for a yummy veggie side! Cheers!

Credits: Corn Casserole with Bacon

Twice Baked Potatoes

This is actually a combination of a few different recipes that I read. You pretty much can do whatever you want with these guys. Any fillings and flavor combo's are more than welcome! You can adjust the ingredients below according to taste as well

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large baking potatoes washed and dried
• 1/2- 3/4 cup sour cream
• 5 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 packet "baked potato topping"
• shredded cheddar 
• pepper to taste

Bake potatoes on a baking sheet at 400 for about an hour - until cooked through.

In a large mixing bowl add sour cream and butter.

Cut potatoes length wise and with a spoon scoop out the insides into the bowl with butter and sour cream. Minding the skins of the potatoes, you need these whole to create our yummy potato vessel. Set skins aside.

Mash until completely combined. Add in the seasonings and mix tip combined.

Fill your skins with the mashed potatoes and place on cookie sheet. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 250 for 15 minutes until melted and golden brown.

These were amazballs! Like I said before, the possibilities are endless to what you can do with these. Bacon, mushrooms, grilled onions, sautéed veggies, broccoli and cheese. Anything you can think of. Cheers!