Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Extended Shelf Life for: Bacon and Green Beans

Did you know a truck full of bacon semi-recently 'crashed' near Laramie? Not sure about all the damage, what I do know is that a LOT of Laramie residents ended up with a LOT of free bacon!

And we recently salvaged a lot of green beans...which the man does not love.

So, when I had the opportunity to put the two together and serve them up to friends, I figured I couldn't go wrong. And, truth be told, these were delicious!

I recommend putting some aluminum foil down for easy clean-up, because these can get a bit messy, but they are ultimately easy to put together and oh-so-delcious.

Simply wrap green beans in bacon, drizzle with soy sauce, butter and brown sugar, bake until bacon is fully cooked and the smells are intoxicating - enjoy!

Sweet and Savory Wonton Appetizers

After compiling a ton of Wonton Appetizer recipe ideas, I was pretty eager to try out some of the recipes I'd found or create my own versions. Everything came together super easy, making wonton appetizers, an absolute win!

Variation 1: Stuff wonton wrappers with pre-made cookie dough, bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Variation 2: Stuff wonton wrappers with flavored cream cheese of your choice, bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.


Enjoy with good friends, beloved family and a host of additional appetizers! They were a perfect fit for our New Year's Eve at home with parents and sister, games and lots...and LOTS of snacking!

From the Archives:
January 1st, 2011: Tortilla Roll-Ups

Molasses Butterscotch Cookies

Without a doubt, these are my all time favorite holiday cookies and I am incredibly thankful to be back in a country where it is possible to buy butterscotch chips and molasses without much trouble. Not to mention, it's nice to have a wide-variety of beers and, in case you were wondering, these cookies + Blue Moon Spiced Amber Ale, are indeed a fantastic after-school snack!

Ingredients/Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine 3 cups Flour, 2 tsp. Baking Soda, 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp. Ginger, 3/4 tsp. Cloves, and 1/2 tsp. Salt in a small bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together 1 cup Butter, 1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar, 1 egg and 1/3 cup Molasses until creamy. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Fold in 1 pkg. Butterscotch Chips.

Drop batter onto cookie sheet, bake for 9-11 minutes until light, golden colored, should make 4-5 dozen delicious cookies.

Cranberry Salsa

Extended Shelf Life for: Red Onion, Lime Juice, Jalapeno

A teacher at the school I work at prepared this unique salsa just before the holiday's and I knew immediate that I needed to prepare a batch and take it to our family Thanksgiving celebration. It's sweet, it's spicy and it features cranberries, can a holiday dish get any better? Yes! Because you also get to have tortilla chips at your holiday table, and who doesn't love some tortilla chips and salsa?

Ingredients/Directions:

Run one package of fresh cranberries through a food processor or the mincing component of a high-quality juicer. In a medium bowl mix minced cranberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix in 1 drained can of Crushed Pineapple, 1 diced Jalapeno (or 1 thawed jalapeno cube if your a preserver/freezer), 2 Tbsp. Lime Juice (again, if you have frozen cubes, this is a great time to use them!), 1/2 cup chopped Red Onion and 1/2 tsp. Salt. Let set for two hours or overnight and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

Tip: If you have leftovers (since it's a pretty big batch), AND you're in need of a quick lunch, make up a quick batch of brown rice (or quinoa, pasta, etc.) mix in a few large spoonfuls and you'll have a delicious and relatively nutritious lunch!

Banana Chips

Extended Shelf Life for: Bananas

As a diver, it's pretty crucial to have a dehydrator that you love.We have one that features varying temperatures which helps to ensure the best dried products possible. When it comes to drying bananas, I've discovered that the flavor and look is better if the fruit is first dipped in orange juice or another citrus juice prior to being dried. I also recently discovered that having mad chopstick skills ensures that my fingers don't get all gunky when drying bananas! Hoo-zah!

Black-Eyed Pea Hummus

Maybe readers are curious as to why the sudden increase in black-eye pea recipes...well, that's primarily because they're one of the dry bean varieties (along with chickpeas, red beans and black beans) that are available at the foreign food markets of Daejeon, South Korea AND there has been a tendency for folks leaving Daejeon to gift their leftover beans to Melissa. 

Not a problem really, considering the Harrington's eat like vegetarians in their homes and carnivores out in public. 

Anyway, this supply of beans and the impending departure of the Harrington's from South Korea has Melissa frequently searching out the next best way to incorporate black-eyed peas into a meal or snack, which in turn yields this Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, inspired by Foods for Long Life.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a food processor combine 8 oz of Roasted Red Bell Peppers (I roasted my own, but you could use store bought), 15 oz (about 2 cups) of Black Eyed Peas, 2 Tbsp. Tahini, 2 cloves of smashed Garlic, Sea Salt, 3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice, and a dash of Cayenne Pepper. May need to add olive oil or water to reach the desired consistency, process until smooth and dip-able!

Banana (n)Ice Cream Sandwiches

If you spend any time in the blogosphere or on Pinterest, you've likely seen something like this post on Banana "Ice Cream" or single-ingredient ice cream etc. You may even read some posts and discover that some people are now eating ice cream for breakfast...

How magical.

(BTW, I'm posting this weeks later, but want to note that this morning, I had a smoothie...a Pineapple Pie smoothie to be exact ^^ - I think ice cream for breakfast, whether with bananas or not is an acceptable choice)

Anyway, I decided to get in on this Banana Ice Cream action and take it up a notch by placing the mix between a couple of graham cracker like cookies.

Throw those babies in the freezer and I'm coming home for work, desperate to be cool and have a little afternoon snack. I grab one of these ice cream sandwiches and EVERY-TIME, I'm thinking to myself "I should not eat an ice cream sandwich everyday...BUT WAIT, it's not ice cream! It's banana! This is friggin' awesomeeeee!!!!!!!!!!"

Really, every time.

I've done banana plus peanut butter on chocolate lined 'cookies' (really they are graham crackers, but Korean style Digets)

I've also done banana plus watermelon slush cubes.

Both are delicious and refreshing.

Just slice up some bananas, throw in the freezer for a while.

Put them to a food processor, get on them until they turn creamy which will happen after a kind of 'gravelly' texture when the banana melts just a smidgen.

Tuna and Dill Kimbap

Sometimes, nothing comes together more quickly and easily in my Korean kitchen than a few rolls of Kimbap. This new Kimbap in a Pinch variation is one of my new favorites.

Ingredients/Directions:

Into about a cup of cooked rice mix a large handful of chopped dill, a tablespoon or two of Mustard, 1/4-1/3 cup Plain Yogurt, a couple squirts of Mayonnaise and a tin of Tuna. Split this mixture evenly on 2-4 sheets of seaweed, roll, slice, enjoy!

(All measurements are approximations as I generally just eyeball this type of recipe, if you decide to measure it out exactly, please leave a comment with either your post of the recipe or your measurements!)

No Bake Oats and Spent Grain Bars

I saw these No Bake Granola Bars on Pinterest recently and was confident I needed to give them a shot using up some spent grains. As is common with spent grains, they add a lot of moisture. I didn't perfect this, and should have actually prepared the Granola Bars without making so many substitutes so I could get a better feel for their texture/consistency and would have a better idea on how to adjust the recipe upon adding spent grains. However, I think were I to try again, I'd just add a bit more oatmeal - probably actually what the original recipe calls for and just add spent grains as if they were flaxseed, so a couple tablespoons or so - rather than trying to make a primarily spent grain bar - but then again, who knows, spent grains are more common in our household than oats.

Ingredients/Directions: (this is how I plan to try it the next time!)

In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of oats, 1 cup of popped rice (or rice crispies other puffy cereal) and 2-4 Tbsp. Spent Grains. In a small pot, melt 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup Honey and 1/3 cup Brown Sugar over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Pour this mixture over oats, grains and cereal, mix well. Pour into jelly roll pan and pack it in TIGHT! Cool at room temperature 2 hours, wrap in plastic and continue to store at room temperature - the refrigerator will supposedly make them hard as a rock, no good.

Tortilla Roll-Ups

To bring in the New Year I worked out a bit of innovation and good ole tradition to put forth these tortilla wraps which I believe my mother first made famous.

The 'original' recipe is a simple compiliation of:

Cream Cheese
Refried Beans
Salsa

mixed together, then spread evenly on a tortilla which is then rolled up, chilled for at least an hour before being sliced to create an adorable pinwheel shape. This is what I wanted to contribute to our New Years Eve celebration. I was missing however, 2 of the 3 ingredients.

The 'innovation' recipe then was a compiliation of:

Mozzarella Cheese
Left over Chili (drained of excess liquid)
Salsa

mixed in much the same way although taking a bit more care in heating the chili, using an immersion blender to gain a more 'refried' like texture, mixing the cheese with the warm beans for a more 'cream' cheese like concept and finally adding salsa. They turned out wonderful and fulfilled my every desire to have a fabulous treat from home for the New Years.

Maple-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Extended Shelf Life for: Grapes via the Dehydrator I cannot tell you anything about how exactly these cookies were made. Baking is an activity that, for me, almost always requires a recipe. However, a quick Allrecipes search brings up this recipe which I'm 99% sure is the recipe used for these cookies because my cookie cookbook is published by Taste of Home. Try it out - let me know if they are delicious...because in Laramie - when these rasins had an extended shelf life - they were Fabulous!

Creamy Mushroom Wonton Cups

Extended Life for: Mushrooms There is one use of a mini-muffin tin that surpasses all other uses -- the production of delicious, crispy wontons! The stuffing for these looked less than appealing and in all honesty, I don't much care for mushrooms, however, I served them in mixed company and received numerous compliments on the tiny little morsels. Here's to hoping they are palate pleasers to many!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil to saute
1 lb. Mushrooms, diced
1 lg. Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 oz. Cream Cheese
Spices of Choice; Salt, Pepper, etc.
Wonton Skins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350/375 degrees. Grease mini-muffin tin. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok, saute garlic, onion and mushrooms for 5-7 minutes. Season then add spices to taste. Melt cream cheese into the mix. Place wonton skins in mini-muffin tin add about 1 TBS of mushroom mix in the center, pinch up sides to look like a wonton and continue till all mini-muffin cups are holding a mushroom wonton. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy with good friends or at a potluck, preferably with CouchSurfers.

Melon-Mango Fruit Leather

Extended Shelf Life for: Mangoes and Melon You need to have a semi-fancy Food Dehydrator for this recipe, once you have that, this is a fairly simple recipe to compose.

Dice melon and mangoes. Place in food processor or blender, add sugar or honey, puree. Pour mixture onto soup/fruit roll sheets designed for your dehydrator, dry until there are no sticky spots. Enjoy in place of High Fructose Corn Syrup Fruit Roll-ups!

Road-Trip Cookies

Extended Life for: Bananas and Grapes (Raisins)

In my recipe box there are a few newspaper clippings with recipes, this is one such recipe. I had never tried them, but considering we were about to spend 5 hours on the road, decided it was well worth a shot.

Ingredients:

3 Bananas, mashed

3/4 cup Butter

1 egg

1 cup White Sugar

1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Soda

2 1/2 cups Flour

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in order given, making sure butter is well beaten in. If batter is runny, add more flour. Drop by tablespoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Cookies will be soft and ready to hit the road!

Ants on a Log

Extended Life for: Celery and Grapes/Raisins On the 12th of March we hosted a CouchSurfing potluck and CouchSurfers - added bonus! They came from a community that specialized in nut butters and rope sandals. They shared some peanut butter with us as their potluck contribution. I was simply inspired. So, with travel sandwich digesting and the fires burning, I whipped up some good ole Ants on a Log: celery, peanut butter and raisins - scrumptious!

Blender Salsa

Extended Life for: Tomatoes
and Cilantro

Few things offer greater joy than home made salsa. With a husband who tends to view as tomatoes as a least favorite vegetable, the abundance of such can make for difficult meal planning. However, even those who despise the tomato love salsa. This one comes out bit pinker than I prefer, but what it lacks in apperance it is quick to make up in taste.

Ingredients:

2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, cut into thirds

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic

2 Tbsp. Cilantro

A few Banana Peppers and juice

A few Jalapenos and juice

Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder and Cumin

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Extended Life for: Pumpkin Seeds
Directions:

Gut a pumpkin, clean off seeds. Bring seeds to boil in salt water. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Drain off water. Toss seeds with olive oil and choice of seasonings. Bake at 250 for 1 hour.

Sweet: Toss pumpkin seeds with cinnamon and brown sugar

Spicy: Toss pumpkin seeds with chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper