Easy {addictive} Ranch Pretzels

Things you will need:  1 package small twist pretzels {1 lb bag} 1 package Ranch Dressing (dry) 3/4 cup olive oil {If you would prefer buttery, use an Orville Redenbacher butter oil} 2 tsp Dill 1 tsp Garlic Powder
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix together all the ingredients except the pretzels. In a separate, oven safe container {I used a large casserole dish}, place the pretzels and drizzle the oil/seasoning mixture. Stir the pretzels to make sure they are evenly coated.  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, but be sure to stir them regularly to keep them well covered in the mixture.  After 15 minutes remove from oven, give one last stir, and then allow to cool.
I promise you, if you like ranch and pretzels, you will become addicted to these. They are great to bring to get togethers. People find themselves scarfing them down like there is no tomorrow!

Tasty Tuesday Summer Salad

This is one of my go to recipes for summer time. It's great for BBQ's, potlucks, etc. because it doesn't go bad in the heat and when it's fresh out of the fridge it's super refreshing. {My grandma used to have me make it all the time} Don't let the sauerkraut scare you away. Even people that don't like kraut have liked this salad {I'm not a big fan of it myself, but the way the salad is made I love it}

Summer Salad

1 large can sauerkraut, drained {or jar}
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced (choice of color)
1 Cup sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

 

 Combine first four ingredients. Add sugar to salad and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.Chill overnight or place in freezer for 20 minutes. Stir and return to freezer for an additional 20 minutes.
I usually use red bell peppers to give the salad some color, but any color pepper would work :-) Enjoy!!
 

 

Quick Easy Chicken Recipe

This recipe is my go-to on nights when I just can't think of what to make. We always have the ingredients in the house so that HB can have something tasty when he gets home from work even if I'm feeling like a lazy bum after chasing Gbear all day. You don't have to use the exact proportions, I just kind of go with it {HB likes more cheese}. And if you like a little extra pep, you can add some red pepper flakes.

Italian Chicken Breasts
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbs olive oil

Mix salad dressing packet and cheese in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken in oil and coat chicken with cheese/dressing mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or grill 15-20 minutes

You can serve this with pasta or if you are really lazy like I often am, I just cook some veggies. I thought I had a picture, but alas, blog fail ;)

Tasty Nubbins!

Growing up with a mother straight from the ol' sod, we never had a shortage of corned beef, cabbage, and Irish Soda bread, especially around one of our favorite holidays of the year. When I got older and wasn't at home for St. Patrick's Day, I yearned for the good stuff. These recipes are tried and true, given to me by my mother and heartily approved by all who have eaten them!

Corned Beef  

(Don’t buy corned beef that has seasonings mixed in)

About 2 to  4 cloves of garlic

1 bay leaf to each pot

1 TBSP black pepper corn

1 teasp. Mustard seed

• Rinse Corned beef  really, really,  well

• Remove excessive fat

• Add garlic and spices to large pot. Fill with enough water to cover corned beef. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for about an hour per pound.

You can also cook in the oven:

• Spread 2 – 4 cloves  garlic on top of corned beef

• Spread spices

• 1/2 fill pan with water just to cover

• Cover with foil

• Cook at 350 for about an hour per pound

Be sure to cut against the grain!

Irish Raisin Soda Bread

Preheat oven 350
4   cups of flour 
1   cup of sugar 
1/2 stick of butter 
1   tsp. salt 
1   tsp. baking soda 
2   tsp. baking powder 
1/2  box of raisens
2   cups of butter milk
2   eggs 

• Grease and flour heavy pan, ( I use my cast iron skillet- this is really important, if you try to make it in a bread pan the middle never really cooks) 
• Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl.  Add raisins, mix well.
• Add eggs and buttermilk and mix well.   
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then 300 degrees for 50 minutes  

Enjoy!

McDancer's Steak Pinwheels

I had all kinds of sappy romantic posts in mind for yesterday, but instead I ended up just enjoying the day with my Valentine. While the sappiness is still lingering in our household (we're making up for all the years we've missed) I won't torture you all with anymore. So, here is my recipe for steak pinwheels. Forgive the inexactness of it. It is my own recipe and I am no Julia Child, but they are tasty!

• 1 large flank steak, butterflied along the grain (or you can substitute with any thinly cut steak)
• Your favorite marinade, I’ve done A1 and seasoning salt or beer, seasoning salt and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. 
• Provolone Cheese Slices (Or your cheese of choice, I’ve also used Mozzarella) Usually one package at the grocery store, I think about 8 slices, works fine. We buy ours at costco now, so we go a little cheese crazy ;)
• 8 ounces spinach leaves, remove the stems
• Toothpicks (or skewers) to keep the rolls together

First of all, cut your steak into long strips. I usually make each strip about 2 inches wide. Pound the meat nice and thin (if you bought the thin strips I still do this step because it helps the marinade soak in)
Put the steak in a container and cover in your marinade of choice and stick in the fridge for a few hours.
Preheat the oven to 350
After that, lay out the strips and cover them with alternating layers of spinach and cheese. I usually do two layers of each.
Stick toothpicks in them to keep them together.
Place in a dish ( the cheese tends to melt out, so cooking in a casserole type dish is best)
I usually cook if for around 40 minutes, but everyone’s ovens are a little different. The important thing is that the meats internal temp is at least 145. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can usually tell by looking, the outside should definitely have no pink (if the outside is pink, think how undone the inside is)

This usually makes plenty for leftovers for me and my husband. A pound of meat usually makes about 6 rolls. I’ve tried making it without cutting the steak into strips and just rolling the big flank steak, but I found it took a lot longer to cook and got messy when cutting. This way they stay together. Mine never turn out as gorgeous as the food photos, but they are one of my family’s favorite meals.

Hope you enjoy!

Breaking Man Law

Today my husband ignored man law. What man law you may ask? He didn't watch the Superbowl. He's just not that into sports {unless he's playing them} I can't remember the last time I've seen him watch sports or talk about them. {with the exception of Rugby}  It's not like his friends and family aren't interested; he just heard way too much about it growing up and only likes his rugby. Fair enough.

However, this doesn't mean that we didn't celebrate a Bowl game today. The Puppy Bowl that is! Bear's newest bff Piper came over with her mom and we we're fatties. The menu for the day: 6 layer dip, Spinach artichoke dip, bacon covered wienies, potato skins, taquitos, guacamole, quesadilla twisters, BBQ Beef Cups, brownies and of course Puppy chow.

We stuffed our faces and watched puppies romp, both live and on the tv.  Also, the conclusion was made that the puppy bowl should have a live audience, because who wouldn't buy tickets to watch puppies play?! Although, I guess I get that for free at the puppy park.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend and just for fun a recipe :)

BBQ Cups

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup BBQ sauce
1 can refrigerated biscuits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400
In a skillet, brown meat and onion. Drain all fat. Add salt and BBQ sauce. Generously grease a muffin pan. Separate refrigerator biscuits and mold one biscuit per muffin cup (there probably will be more muffin cups than biscuits unless you're making a larger batch) Make sure each biscuit covers the bottom and sides of its muffin cup. Spoon meat mixture into biscuit cups, dividing evenly. Sprinkle each biscuit evenly with cheese. Bake in preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Zesty Stuffed Bell Peppers

What's on the Menu tonight? These yummy Zesty Stuffed Peppers

{not my pic, got it here}

 

 

 

The recipe is from an AMAZING cookbook my neighbor from back home made me. {she's a mother of 4, amazing cook and there are over 400 pages of her favorite family recipes}

1 cup instant rice
1 cup water
6 bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1 can Ro-Tel
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack + some to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Microwave rice and water for 3 minutes. Remove tops and seeds from peppers. Blanch peppers in a large pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove from water and drain.

In a large skillet, brown beef {I like to add a little Worcestershire Sauce for extra kick}and drain. Fold in Ro-Tel and rice; heat through.  Add cheese and heat until melted. Remove from heat and divide mixture into prepared peppers.

Place peppers into baking dish and sprinkle extra cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes.

This recipe is made to serve six, but is easily halved.

Beer Bread

While we were visiting family over Christmas, HB's mom made the most delicious beer bread. When I asked her secret, she revealed it was actually a package mix that you just add a can of beer to. However, for everyday purposes, the mix was pretty expensive, especially when I realized how truly simple it was. Since HB loved it so much (as did I ) I looked up recipes online. This is the one I ended up trying. I would maybe add a bit more sugar next time, because I loved the sweetness of the premade mix, but otherwise, excellent (and saves me about 7 bucks a loaf haha)

• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt  (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) can beer (you can use any kind really, but so far I've only tried lighter beers)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine) 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients and beer. (be sure to mix it rather quickly, while the beer is still fizzy)
3. Pour into greased loaf pan
4. Pour melted butter over mixture
5. Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for 15 minutes

Dry Mix Before Adding Beer

Mix in Bread Pan

This recipe makes a very hearty bread with a crunchy, buttery crust. If you prefer a softer crust (like a traditional bread) mix the butter into the batter instead of pouring it over the top.

Finished Product