Bacon Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

Last year for the 4th of July we were invited to a party at a close friends house and I was to bring an appetizer.  I was craving deviled eggs but wanted to put a twist on traditional.  This recipe came from playing in the grocery store and combining two of my most favorite things: bacon and jalapeños.  I will warn you, these will go quick and you will be required to bring them again to the next event :)  I love having these in my easy appetizer arsenal!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Ingredients

12 Hard Boiled Eggs (peeled and cooled)

8 pieces of cooked Bacon

3 small fresh jalapeno’s (finely chopped)

2-3 bunches green onion (chopped)

2 tbsp Zatarain’s Creole Mustard 

½ cup Mayonaise (I prefer Duke’s)

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

½ tsp Tony Chachere’s

        Paprika for garnish

Preparation

Cut the eggs in half and scoop out the yellow yolk into a mixing bowl.  Set your egg white cups aside.  Smash the egg yolks with a fork.  Chop the Bacon and add to bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients (excluding the white part of the eggs)  and mix well.  Scoop the mixture into a Ziplock bag and seal.  Cut the tip of the bag so you can squeeze the mixture into the egg hollow.  This helps you have a pretty appearance.  Sprinkle with Paprika for color and serve cold.  Enjoy!  

Southern Cornbread

Okay so I thought that homemade cornbread was going to be the bane of my existence but finally, finally!  I was able to conquer it, after many many failed attempts, and now I can't eat it any other way!  My husband grew up eating homemade southern cornbread and I grew up eating semi-homemade out of the Jiffy box cornbread.  Being a newlywed I decided that I would take on the challenge and try to conquer the southern way of making cornbread in a cast iron skillet.  I have finally perfected my recipe and cook time and just had to share it with you!  I love this cornbread so much and try to pair it with everything haha!  I hope you love it too!  

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising cornmeal (I prefer yellow cornmeal)

1/2 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup buttermilk *see below

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (you will need 3 additional tbsp for your skillet)

                2 tablespoons melted butter

                2-4 tablespoons of chopped pickled jalapeños *less if you don't like spice

                ½ tsp Onion Powder

                ½ tsp Garlic Powder

                1 tablespoon of Dried Minced Onion

                a few dashes of Tony Chachere’s 

Preparation

Pour about 3 tbsp of vegetable oil in your cast iron skillet and put in the oven while it’s preheating.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine all ingredients and mix well in a mixing bowl.  Once oven is preheated, remove cast iron skillet from oven and Pour batter into it.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about a minute.  Serve warm with butter :)

*You can use almost ¾ cup regular milk and add about 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar and stir with a fork then let it sit for about 7 minutes to create buttermilk.  This is what I do because I never have buttermilk.  I must confess that I have actually never made this recipe with real legit buttermilk because I always just do it this way.  

Green's Soup

I was craving soup one day and told my husband I was going to make up a recipe.  He told me that he had some soup at a restaurant that had spinach and sausage and that it was really good.  From there my mind began to run and I came up with this super yummy comfort soup.  It is full of healthy vegetables so you don't feel guilty when you go back for seconds...and I bet you will!  I love making this because it makes a full pot and you will have plenty of leftovers for a few meals to come.  It also freezes really well so it is also great to give to people who have just had a baby, are sick, or are in need of a home cooked but quick meal.  I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do!  

Ingredients

1 pack Andouille Sausage (sliced about ½ inch thick)

½ Rotisserie chicken (pulled apart into medium sized pieces)

1 red onion (chopped)

1 bell pepper (chopped)

3-4 stalks of celery (sliced about ½ inch thick)

3-4 carrots (sliced like celery)

1 bunch of Turnip Greens or ½ bag of mustard greens (sliced about 1 inch thick)

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 can Field Peas (drained)

1 can Black Eyed Peas (drained)

1 can Lima Beans (drained)

3 cups chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes and follow the pkg directions)

        3 cups beef broth (again I use bouillon cubes)

½ tsp ground Chipotle pepper powder

½ tsp Hickory Smoked Salt

1 tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tbsp Onion Powder

3 Bay leaves

1 tsp Tony Chachere’s

Preparation

In a sauce pan, sauté the onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, and carrots until slightly tender.  At the same time in a separate pan, sauté the Andouille sausage until it is browned on both sides.  Put the sausage onto paper towels when down to drain excess fat.  Combine the veggies, sausage, and the rest of the ingredients into a large crockpot.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low all day.  You can also cook this on the stove in a large pot on medium for about half an hour then turn down to low and cover for 2 or more hours.  This recipe makes a ton so it’s great for leftovers for a few days.  Serve with “Southern Cornbread” and a couple dashes of Crystal Hot Sauce on top of the soup.  Enjoy!

Easy Mushroom Crostini's

I first had a variation of these at a friends house and fell in love!  I had recently figured out that I can have parmesan and mozzarella cheese and not get a migraine so naturally I jump on anything with those ingredients.  When I got the recipe from her I came home and immediately made them that weekend for a party we were going to.  I changed them up a bit, I just can never resist, and voila!  These are now my favorite appetizer or side to bring to parties or to serve at our house.  The added bonus is that they are crazy easy to make and take very little time.  You can even prepare the mushroom mixture ahead of time and then just scoop them onto the bread and broil right before you leave or before your guests arrive.  

Ingredients
1 large can mushrooms & stems (drained)
1 cup Mayonnaise (I prefer Dukes)
1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded/grated)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese (whole milk and freshly grated tastes the best)
1 cup French Fried Onions
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
a few dashes of Tony Chachere’s
        ½ tsp Garlic powder
        ½ tsp Onion powder
        Optional: 1 heaping tablespoon of Cajun Mustard (I think it gives it a little zip)
        1 French Baguette (sliced about 3/4 inch thick aka crostini’s)


Preparation
Turn oven on with Broil on High
Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  Put a spoonfool of mixture on each crostini.  Spray baking sheet with Olive Oil or lightly with Pam.  Put crostini’s onto a baking sheet.  Broil in oven for about 4-5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and starting to become a light golden brown.  Be very careful not to forget about them because they will burn super fast.

Serve warm as an appetizer or side dish.  Enjoy!

Bean & Pea Salad

This is my favorite side dish this summer!  I had a similar version of this at a friends house and loved it so I decided to make my own.  Another one of the crazy foods I cannot have anymore is Kidney Beans  but this salad works really well with Kidney beans too!  At our house we normally eat this as a side dish to go with sandwiches or wraps for a quick lunch.  I have also eaten it as a semi-meal.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!  

What you will need:

1 can Blackeye Peas (drained)

1 can Northern or Navy Beans (drained & rinsed)

1 can Artichoke Hearts, quartered (drained)

1 can Black Olives, whole medium sized (drained)

Small Package of Grape Tomatoes

1/2 of a Cucumber 

1 Green Bell Pepper (or red, I have used both), remove the seeds inside and the stem

Red Wine Vinegar

Preparation:

• Pour your drained beans and peas into the mixing bowl.  
• Cut the whole olives, artichoke hearts and grape tomatoes into slices and add to mixing bowl.
• Dice the cucumber and bell pepper and add it to the mixing bowl.
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar to the mixing bowl.
• Stir it all up and then transfer it to a large tupperware and put the lid on then let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour or more before serving.  If you are in a hurry, you can serve it right away.  It tastes delicious for up to about a week!  Enjoy!

Below is a picture of my favorite way to serve this delicious Bean & Pea Salad:

Migraines, Headaches and Cheese

Most of you are looking at that title and wondering how those three things go together.  I recently found out that I am very sensitive to cheese.  It triggers headaches and migraines for me.  I am no longer able to eat any of the cheeses that I love and love to cook with.  The only cheese I can have now is Mozzarella, cream cheese, American, and Velveeta cheese.  There are several other foods that I can no longer enjoy as well but none as sad as the cheese.   So how will this affect you?  Well, I have reworked many of my staple recipes to be either cheese free to have exchanged the cheese for one of the ones I can have.  I am finding that it's not as big of a loss as I thought!  If you would like to learn more about this "sensitivity" please feel free to message me.  

Easy as Pie...Pie!

 What you will need:

•   One package of Light Cool Whip

•   One regular size fruit yogurt, you pick your favorite, I use blueberry

•   One graham or dough pie crust

•   Small pieces of fruit for topping

Preparation:

•   Heat the pie in the oven according to package instructions, and let cool about 20 minutes

•   Mix cool whip and yogurt thoroughly in a bowl

•   Fill pie shell with cool whip/yogurt mixture and put in fridge to cool and set for an hour or longer

When you are ready to serve it, top the pie with fresh fruit and enjoy!