Makin' Bacon

Here's a way to cook bacon without making a mess!
Take a cookie sheet and cover with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.
Put your uncooked bacon on the sheet. Place sheet in cold oven and turn on oven to 400 degrees. Check after 15 minutes. Bacon will cook in oven and remain in long neat strips. Remove from oven when cooked to desired crispiness and let cool. Enjoy!
Toss foil into trash and you are done!

Fantasy Football Draft Party 2012

We hosted the second annual fantasy football draft party yesterday. The guys had fun and a new league was formed. Here are a few things I made for the party:

Snack Stadium:

Bean dip topped with homemade guacamole for the football field and two kinds of salsas for the end zones. One side was jar Tostitos salsa and the darker is gourmet hatch green chili salsa from Market Street Grocery Store. I piped sour cream as lines and the field goals are made from beef sticks.
I put sub sandwiches around to hold in the chips. Really fun to do-but next year, I am getting a longer pan-to make the field longer.

Football brownies:
Just bake a jelly roll pan of brownies (doubled the recipe). When cooled, cut into football shapes and then pipe white icing as the laces on top.

 We are a house united-some of my money went to TCU and some went to OU :) So, I made my front door decor half for TCU and half for OU. I hand made the footballs because I couldn't find any large enough online or in any crafts stores.
I lit the garland because, well, I love lights! OK, it isn't anything NFL, but hey, I watch both NFL and college football, so it works for me and I wanted to represent these two schools anyways. IIt also matches my two yard signs.
Go Frogs! Boomer Sooner! With both of these schools in the Big 12 this year, it's going to be an interesting season.

Dixie Pies

Made these for a pool party recently-was a huge hit! I adapted a recipe to make them bite sized and easy to eat. Delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 package of phyllo dough
• 6 ounces of miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup of chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll phyllo sheets and cut into squares. Place one square into a miniature muffin pan and mold into a cup shape.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the bottom of the uncooked cups and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and flour, until well blended; add the eggs, one at a time and blend in well. Add the vanilla and pecans, mix and pour evenly into each phyllo cup on top of the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until set. Let cool completely and place on serving tray. 

Moon Pie Banana Puddin'

If you are from the South, chances are you like banana pudding and moon pies. This recipe marries the two together in a delectable trifle dessert that's sure to please a crowd.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk(not evaporated milk)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (5.1 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
• 7 Moon Pies, cut into squares or wedges
• 6 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 package of Pepperidge Farms Chessmen cookies, broken into pieces (optional)
• 1/4 cup of Heath Chocolate Covered Toffee bits (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) Cool Whip, thawed 

Instructions

Cream the cream cheese until smooth; add the sweetened condensed milk and stir until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk the pudding mix with the milk until blended. Combine the two and mix well.

In the bottom of a clear trifle bowl, add about 1 cup of the pudding mixture, 3 chopped Moon Pies, 4 broken cookies, and slice three of the bananas on top. Repeat layers with about half of the remaining pudding mixture, 3 more chopped Moon Pies, 4 more broken cookies, 3 more sliced bananas, and top with all of the remaining pudding mixture. Spread the pudding across the top, add the Cool Whip and carefully spread it evenly on top. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

 
When ready to serve, I chopped up another Moon Pie and sprinkled over the top for garnish. You can then add the Heath Toffee bits on top, if desired-to make it even more decadent. Enjoy!

America's National Bird

This is an idea I copied from pinterest (unfortunately, the site is no longer available for me to give proper credit to) and it turns out pretty cute! I used mini chocolate chips instsead of the black gel for the eyes, because, I prefer the taste of chocolate chips, don't you? The gel may look a little better, though.

To make:
12 large marshmallows (you can make more if you would like-just increase all ingredients)
2 squares of white chocolate bark
1 cup of shredded coconut
12 whole cashews
24 mini chocolate chips
12 oreo fudge creme cookies

Melt white chocolate bark in microwave, according to instructions on package. Roll each marshmallow in melted chocolate and then into coconut and place on top of cookie. Then, place one cashew in center of marshmallow for the beak and place two chips as eyes, using more melted chocolate as glue, if needed. Enjoy!

Happy Independence Day, America!

Brie Bites

Another easy appetizer that doubles as dessert! 

Frozen small phyllo shells-I used two packages

1 wheel of Brie Cheese

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1-2 TBS of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 TBS honey

Place shells on cookie sheet ( I used parchment paper on cookie sheet). Cube brie cheese and place one piece inside of each shell.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together:

Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of each pastry. Top with chopped pecan pieces and drizzle with honey.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and shells are slightly browned.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Vintage Love

Am I the only one who has begun a love affair with most things vintage? I know it's popular in some circles. I have friends who have collected antiques for years. Maybe it's because I am getting older and appreciate things more, or am now able to take the time to look at things differently. Whatever the cause, I have begun to enjoy looking at all things old and am considering adding older furniture pieces into my home.

My grandfather dealt in antiques and "junk". I have childhood memories of going to auctions where he would bid on boxes of unknown treasures. He had the better part of an entire block in Honey Grove, Tx-two extra buildings (along with an old railroad car and a detached garage behind the house that held treasures) that he ran as a collector's paradise/store. There was so much stuff inside the shops that you merely had pathways to get around the shops. He knew EXACTLY where everything was inside. I would spend hours going through the places-of course I wanted to take home more than my wise mother would allow me to-but it was fun being a kid and visiting there.

He had a guestbook that was signed by visitors and customers from all over! It amazed me how people from far away places ever found his shops in the tiny town also known as "The Sweetest Town in Texas". But they did. It provided fellowship for my semi-retired grandfather. Almost every time I sit outside underneath the willow trees in my backyard in the summertime now, I think of him. He sat underneath the shade trees in front of his stores daily and placed extra chairs around his. It was a local informal meeting place for many of the locals to stop for a visit. Many good times were had on his corner, I am certain.

I happened upon an antique store in Handley last week. Inside were so many items that I was sure I had seen once upon a time. Even the smell of that store reminded me of Honey Grove. Funny how memories are connected to all of our senses. It's also funny how people can change to allow part of their past to become blended into their present. And, it's crazy to think of how time quickly passes by-making things from our childhood to suddenly be known as "Vintage" a.k.a. "Old/Antique"! :)

Take a moment to reflect on where you have been, where you are headed, and thank God for every second of this life.