Tasty Tuesday Fruity Pizza!

Thank goodness Donna is cooking and writing down recipes and sending them to me, along with the great pics, or I wouldn't have anything to post on a Tuesday! Lately, I've just been fixing the old reliables or throwing whatever I happen to have on hand into the crockpot and hoping for the best!

Donna says this is a good one to take to parties and pitch-ins and I agree!














Island Fruity Pizza


WHAT YOU NEED:

1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)

1 tsp. cinnamon sugar (3/4 tsp. sugar and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon)

1-1/4 cups half-and-half

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1 large fresh peach, sliced

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Sprinkle with toasted coconut if you wish.

PREHEAT oven to 450ºF. Unroll pie crust onto baking sheet; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until lightly browned; cool completely.
MEANWHILE, pour half-and-half into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping; cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.
SPREAD pudding mixture over crust just before serving; top with fruit. Cut into slices. Store leftovers in refrigerator.
ENJOY!!!

Tasty Tuesday Bacon-Roasted Chicken with Potatoes!

Looks like Donna has sent us another winner! Can't wait to try this one!
BACON-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES

INGREDIENTS:
12 chicken drumsticks
12 slices center-cut bacon
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds of Dutch yellow potatoes or any small yellow potatoes

Seasoning mix:
2T dried chives
2T dried basil
1 T garlic powder
1 T adobo seasoning
1 T ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wrap each chicken piece in a slice of bacon, trying to cover the whole piece. Place the wrapped chicken pieces in 9 x 13 baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the onion over the chicken. Push potatoes down into the spaces between the chicken pieces and around the edge of the dish.
3. Combine the Seasoning Mix in small bowl, sprinkle the seasoning mix to taste over the chicken and potatoes.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until the bacon is crisp and brown and the potatoes are tender.
Serve hot with a nice salad or fresh green vegetables.

Tasty Tuesday Waffles!

Here's a hearty breakfast to sustain you! The recipe and pics are courtesy of our own Diva Donna!

You won't waffle over this breakfast sandwich. In fact, one bite and it's sure to become the apple of your eye. There's no denying that it's good to the core!

Waffle Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients
3/4 cup honey, divided
1/4 cup apple juice
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 crisp, red apples, cored and sliced
8 frozen waffles, toasted
8 thin slices ham

Directions
To prepare syrup, place 1/2 cup honey and apple juice in small saucepan over medium heat; heat through. Set aside and keep warm. Melt butter with remaining 1/4 cup honey in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; cook and stir about 4 minutes or until apples are lightly caramelized and crisp-tender. For each serving, place 2 waffles on plate, overlapping slightly. Top each waffle with one slice ham. Top with 1/4 apple mixture and 1/4 syrup.

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Tasty Tuesday Crab Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers!

Lisa was kind enough not only to provide us with her DH's recipe!

Crab Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

12 large jalapeno peppers

4 oz. Dungeness crabmeat, well drained

1/3 cup minced red onion

1/4 cup minced green bell pepper

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup beer

Corn oil for deep frying

All purpose flour

1/2 Hass avocado, peeled, diced

1/2 mild salsa drained

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

*Preparation*

Starting just below the stem, cut jalapenos lengthwise in half, leaving the stems attached. Remove all seeds and core-completely. Place jalapenos in heavy medium saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to simmer. Drain. Repeat process. Dry jalapenos with paper towels. (My hubby tells me that this step is to somewhat soften the jalapenos. You don't want them too soft though!)

Combine crab, onion, bell pepper and mayonnaise in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Fill jalapeno cavities with crab mixture. Press halves together to compress filling. (You can do this step up to 4 hours ahead of cooking. Just cover and chill)

*Batter*

Place 1/2 cup flour in bowl. Gradually whisk in beer. Let stand 30 minutes.

*Frying*

Heat oil in heavy deep pot to 375 degrees F. Whisk batter to smooth. Dredge jalapenos in flour. Holding stem end, dip into batter to coat completely and depp fry in batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer jalapenos topaper towels and drain.

*Salsa*

Combine avocado, salsa and mayonnaise in small bowl. Season to taste. Enjoy!

Lisa writes:

Having not actually made these myself, it does sound a bit involved, however, Jamie has made them several times now, so he's got it DOWN! We do not use the *salsa* that the recipe recommends. Instead, my hubby found in the Asian foods isle a sweet/sour type sauce. It's Vietnamese I think and the company name is Mae Ploy. It's called Sweet Chili Sauce and is a 25 fl. oz. bottle. It's delicious with the jalapenos because it is sweet and spicy at the same time. If you've had Thai or Vietnamese food every, it's that reddish orange sauce that they give you with the egg rolls or spring rolls. It's not the same as the red sauce at Chinese food places, although that would probably work too...you just wouldn't have the spiciness. Just a note, because you remove the insides of the jalapeno, the end result is not *hot* like you would think biting into a jalapeno would be. It's really good! Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday: Cheese of La Mancha!

One of the additions to my Bucket List that I made while on vacation recently was to sample every different kind of cheese in the world before I die. While some might argue that such a pastime would hasten my death, I disagree. In my humble opinion, the production of cheese is one of mankind's greatest achievements, and if eating it means that I will die a bit sooner, well, then, so be it. Just grate up a bit of Manchego cheese on your spaghetti sometime and you'll see what I mean.

In an effort to eat healthier, organic foods, I've been buying a variety of things I've never tried before, and I'm pretty sure that those old world cheeses have been produced organically since they first began making them who knows how long ago. Made in the La Mancha region of Spain from sheep's milk and its production carefully controlled, if Manchego cheese isn't labeled as organic, it probably should be.

At any rate, I made this spaghetti dinner for the DH and myself a while back, and if it wasn't the best we'd ever tasted, it came damn close.

Spaghetti with Manchego Cheese


















Saute in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil:
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Then add:
1 24 oz jar of organic pasta sauce (I used Bertolli with olive oil, basil, & garlic) and cook over medium low heat until sauce is thickened.

Cook organic whole wheat spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

Heat 2 tbsp organic butter with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp pesto in a pan until butter is melted and sizzling. Add drained pasta and toss until coated. Top with the Bertolli sauce mixture and liberally sprinkle with grated Manchego cheese.