Sweet Birds Nests

My nieces spent winter breal with me and Ive had a lot of fun coming up with activities to keep all the lovely ladies occupied. One such activity was making chocolate birds nests. Theres even a peep garnish because every nest needs a bird.

The nests themselves were easy to assemble. I melted a pound of chocolate chips and a cup of peanut butter in a large plastic bowl. I just microwaved them for a minute, stirred it up and microwaved it for another minute. Then I stirred in six cups of chow mein noodles. We made A LOT of nests, halving the recipe will give you ten good sized nests. We have 20.

Drop dollops of your chocolate covered chow mein noodles onto wax paper. With a spoon press down onto the top of each dollop, creating an indent. Allow these to harden for at least four hours. We made them in the evening and let them sit out overnight.

After your nests are hardened, place your eggs in. we used cookies n cream eggs and secured them in place with peanut butter. You can secure the peep to the side of the nest with peanut butter too.

These were a big hit, and very tasty to boot!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts are as tricky as they are versatile. They can be used in just about anything but they dry out easily. Especially in the oven. So to stop that from happening, I wrapped my chicken breasts in bacon. In addition to fantastic flavor, bacon adds fat to the dish, keeping it moist.

To start I trimmed off all the little extra bits of fat and meat that would just burn in the oven. Then I made a slit in the large part of the breast. I was very careful not to cut through any of the sides because I didnt want to ruin my pocket. Once I was done I had three chicken breasts ready to be filled.

I used pre made stuffing mix, but homemade would have been better. I didnt cook the stuffing, I just added the liquid. I also added an egg to help hold it all together and stay moist. I stuffed each pocket as full as I possibly could.

After the chicken breasts are stuffed I wrapped three slices of bacon around each breast. For larger breasts you may need more bacon, and for smaller you may need less. Then I seasoned liberally with salt pepper and garlic powder.

Bake at 350° for thirty minutes or until the juices run clear. Now you can serve these as they are or sear them in a frying pan to get some crisp on them. I left ours as is.

There you have it! Another easy and delicious meal from my kitchen to your table.

Loaded Baked Potatoes

In my house we enjoy potatoes. They're a very versatile tuber. Filling and loaded with nutrients, potatoes are a wonder food!

These fantastic roots saved my butt tonight! We don't have much but leftovers. So while surveying the fridge contents I came across some roasted carrots, seared kielbasa and not much else. I recently made a country bake so I figured we would just have leftover and baked potatoes. When text messaging my husband this information my phone decided to say we were having kielbasa and carrots IN baked potatoes.

Divine intervention aside, I thought it was a great idea. So I baked my potatoes,  scooped out the insides and smashed them with a half a stick of butter, a quarter cup of sour cream and a cup of shredded cheese. I then mixed in my chunks of kielbasa and roasted carrot, before putting the mixture back in the shell. I baked these for 20 minutes at 400°. The end result was a crispy skinned potato stuffed with a creamy mixture, only enhanced by the meat and carrots. I didn't add adirional seasonings because if how well my carrots were seasoned, but a half a teaspoon of garlic would do these taters good.

And there you have it! A quick and easy way to utilize leftovers! From my kitchen to your table!

Homemade Crunchwrap Recipe

My guilty pleasure is Taco Bell, something my husband and I have in common. Homemade tacos are divine but such delicacies as the Mexican Pizza and The Chalupa can't be denied. We rarely indulge in this massacre of traditional foods. Tonight my husband wanted to indulge. He said he wanted a crunchwrap. As soon as he said it, I couldn't agree more. Crunchwraps are pretty fantastic.

I decided we couldn't go out... we're broke until Friday. So my solution was to make homemade crunchwraps. I had ground chuck, burrito shells, lettuce, black olives, refried beans, queso dip and onions. But what about the flat crispy shell that puts the crunch in crunchwrap? I ended up using hard taco shells split in half.

Fry up your meat like you would for tacos, along with half a cup of diced onions. I then ran my meat through my ninja chopper, to create an even texture and to mimic taco bell even better.

Spread a thin layer of refried beans onto a tortilla, creating about a four inch circle. Top with your meat, queso cheese, them your halved hard taco shell. Then spread on a layer of sour cream, your black olives (we used the pre chopped) and lettuce.

Folding the crunchwraps was easier than I expected. Simply fold one side in and continue folding over in a circular motion. You'll end up with a hexagon.

Flip your freshly folded crunchwraps over and let them rest for a minute. Now they wont try to unfold on you! Spray your pan or griddle with non stick cooking spray and allow them to cook over medium heat for four minutes on each side.

What you have now is a fantastic homemade crunchwrap. I hope you enjoy these copycat crunchwraps as much as my family did! Another great dish from my kitchen to your table!

Creamy Crunchy Crab Cakes

My husband loves seafood. Shrimp, crab, lobster, crawfish, clams, you name it. Chances are if its swimming around in the ocean, he wants to eat it. One of the saddest days for him was when our daughter was diagnosed with a shellfish allergy, and a whitefish allergy. Well two months ago she went for a follow up appointment to get her epi pen prescription re filled. We've never had to use one (thank goodness! ) but they do expire after a while. While we were there her doctor decided to test her again, and my daughter came back allergy free. The look on my husband's face after being told our daughter had outgrown her allergies was priceless. We had fish for dinner that very night.

He occasionally asks me for things that surprise me. We had a package of imitation crab meat sitting in the freezer, awaiting inspiration to strike me when he asked me if I could make crab cakes out of it. I said sure why not? Then instantly regretted it. I had never made crab cakes before, and had nothing any of the recipes I found online called for except crab and onion. So what did I do?

Got creative of course! I said I would make crab cakes so I would, even if I had to stretch the definition of crab cake a little bit. So I rummaged through my cupboards and fridge and came up with:

1 package imitation crab meat, chopped
1 eight oz brick of cream cheese, warmed in the microwave for 60 seconds
10 green onions, chopped
1 egg
1/2 a teaspoon old bay seasoning
2 cups puffed rice cereal, separated

Mix the first five ingredients with 1 cup of puffed rice. Let your mixture set in the refrigerator for five minutes. Scoop out a tablespoon at a time and press into the remaining puffed rice, to coat. This is a messy procedure so if you don't want dirty hands, wear some food safe gloves. Drop your cakes into 375° oil and fry until golden brown, about two minutes on each side. Drain off excess grease and enjoy with some Tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. Both only require three ingredients.

TARTAR SAUCE

1cup Mayo
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well.

COCKTAIL SAUCE

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons grated horseradish
1/2 cup lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well.

And there you have it! Another easy and delicious dish from my kitchen to your table!

Creamy BBQ Chicken Pinwheels

These delicious appetizers make a very rich satisfying snack. My husband adores them and I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I chopped half a pound of cooked chicken breast into small cubes and set them aside.

I put 4 oz of cream cheese in the microwave for one minute. Then I added three tablespoons of my favorite BBQ sauce and mixed well.

Then I diced up ten green onions and shredded about two cups of cheddar cheese.

Spread the BBQ cream cheese onto a large wrap. I used an actual pinwheel wrap but that's not necessary. Then sprinkle the remaining ingredients on top. I found that I had enough cream cheese for two wraps, so I made two. If your wraps are smaller you may need three. Carefully roll up your wrap and bake for ten minutes at 400°. With a very sharp knife, cut into slices. Enjoy warm or cold, I prefer warm. There you have it. Another great dish from my kitchen to your table.

Picture Perfect Ham

I bought a shank ham for Thanksgiving this year, with big plans for the leftovers. That doesn't mean I didn't dedicate my day to making this thing amazing the first time around!

Like most hams one buys at the Mega Mart, my ham was full cooked, with water added. The big beautiful bone in the middle helped maintain moisture all the while, even as a certain beagle sighed longingly, knowing it would soon be his. I don't use the bone to make soup, but by all means, you can. It adds great depth and unmistakable flavor to bean soup, and a more tasty addition to bean soup has yet to be discovered.

I started out simple. I opened a can of pineapple and drained all the juice into the bottom of the electric roaster, before lowering in my cold ham. I put the lid on and let him cook for an hour, undisturbed, at 350°.

At fifteen minutes to the hour mark, I pureed half the can of pineapple and mixed it with half a cup of marischino cherry liquid, a half of a cup of brown sugar and two tablespoons of honey. I brought this liquid to a simmer, careful to continuously stir so nothing scorched.

With this, I glazed my entire ham. Then I used toothpicks to secure marischino cherries and pineapple slices to the outside of the ham.

I lowered the heat to 300° and re glazed him every hour for three more hours. Then I glazed him one more time and turned off the heat. The results were a moist, flavorful ham, with a beautiful contrast of sweet and salty.

I recommend everyone prepares a holiday ham in a similar fashion. This meat is as versatile as it is delicious. You can make omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, hot ham sandwiches, ham and cheesy mac, scalloped potatoes, cheesy ham and hashbrowns, eggs Benedict. The sky is the limit!

So there you have it, another great dish from my kitchen to your table!