recipe

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon & Blue Cheese

/ Jodi / 23 Comments

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese on fork

Can you imagine any more amazing way to make potatoes?

Garlic, Crisp Smokey Bacon, and Creamy Blue Cheese?!?!

If you are looking for a SIMPLE, but KNOCK-OUT potato dish to serve for special company, with a steak for dinner, or to take to a potluck, get ready to make a lot of new friends with this dish and make your tummy VERY happy too!

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese

My friend Janet came over for dinner the other evening, so I wanted to step up the potatoes a little and thought of this.  We had them with marinated grilled London Broil, Sauteed Fresh Green Beans and Fresh, Sweet Cantaloupe.  YUM!

And if you don’t like Blue Cheese (I realize some people do have an aversion for this cheese that I absolutely ADORE), you can substitute Cheddar or Swiss, or Monterrey Jack, or your favorite cheese – or – you can even eat them without cheese.  They are good that way too.

Here’s the recipe.  I dare you to not like this!

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon & Blue Cheese

Ingredients:Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese on fork

  • 3 lbs Baby New Potatoes – I used 1.5 lbs of Yukon Golds and 1.5 lbs of Red
  • 8-10 Strips Thick Sliced Bacon – I used Peppered Slab Bacon
  • 4 Large Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 4-6 oz. High Quality Blue Cheese, Crumbled

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Dice bacon into small bite-sized pieces and fry in skillet until cooked well, but not too crisp as it will continue to cook and crisp when you roast the potatoes in the oven.
  • Drain the diced bacon on paper towels, and remove all but 1 Tbsp of bacon drippings from pan.
  • Add Olive Oil, Garlic and Potatoes.  Mix to coat potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.  Add bacon back in, and stir.
  • Place all in a shallow baking dish and roast at 450 for 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.
  • Remove from oven and crumble blue cheese over all.  Stir to coat, and ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Blackberry Pie Squares

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

Blackerry Pie Bars 1

I made another dessert this week…

I feel like I am at a meeting admitting my addiction.

But when I found this recipe for Blackberry Pie Squares via Pinterest from Kathleen at Gonna Want Seconds, I just couldn’t resist!

And besides, I was on vacation last week and baked NOTHING (as my son – with like 6% body fat –  has reminded me at least twice).

blackberry pie bars 3

And besides, my recipe for Sugar Free (Almost) Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies earlier this week WAS almost sugar free.

blackberry pie bars 2

As summer is drawing to a close, recipes with blackberries and raspberries and peaches will make way for pumpkin and apples and cinnamon.

I sorta can’t wait!

Blackberry Pie Bars

But in the meantime, this recipe turned out BERRY good and got thumbs up from the guys as well as my son’s friend who was over last evening who claims he does not like dessert…. except he always loves mine!

And he even asked for a second!

Oh – he knows the way to my heart… ❤

Hope you'll give this yummy recipe a try before we call it quits for summer.  You won't regret it!

Here is the recipe from Gonna Want Seconds, and I’m guessing you are gonna want seconds.

Blackberry Pie Squares

  • Servings: 16 squares
  • Print

Crust:Blackerry Pie Bars 1

  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 3/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 Sticks Cold Butter, cubed

Filling:

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1/3 Cup Flour
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 2 Cups Fresh Blackberries 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8″x 8″ baking stone or pan with parchment paper, allowing to extend a couple of inches up on all four sides.  Spray with nonstick cooking spray.  (This makes it easy to remove from pan once cooled)

For the crust,  mix flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Add the cubed cold butter and blend with pastry blender until the butter pieces are about the size of peas.   Set aside 1 cup of the mixture to use as a topping.  Press the rest of the crumb mixture into prepared pan.  Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and lay the berries in a single layer on top of the crust.

Combine the eggs, sugar, sour cream, flour and salt in a medium bowl, and pour over the berries.

Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture on top of the filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the filling is just beginning to turn golden and is set.

Cool bars completely on a baking rack, and then refrigerate to completely set.

Enjoy these yummy treats!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies

Can you even imagine…..

cookies with chopped up mini Milky Way bites…

and then….

stuffed with some ooey gooey caramel right in the middle?!

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 3

Yep – that’s what I made last weekend when I needed a treat to take to a party.

I had the cookie dough ready with the chopped up Milky Way bites, when my oldest son texted me a photo of some caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies with this message:

“Here is your next challenge.”

Well – I do love a challenge…

And I did happen to have a bag of caramels in the pantry…

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 4

so why not?!  If caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies are good, wouldn’t they be even more amazing with chopped up Milky Way bites?

And O. M. G.!

My youngest son said they are his new fave!  Woohoo!  Score!

Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 5jpg

Milky Way Caramel Stuffed Cookies

Ingredients:Caramel Stuffed Milky Way Cookies 2

4 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups all purpose flour
2 8-oz bags Milky Way Unwrapped Bites, chopped
1 bag of Kraft Caramels, unwrapped

Directions:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and salt, and mix another minute. Gradually add flour and beat until well incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Fold in chopped Milky Way Bites. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. With your hands, form a cookie dough ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.  Push a small indentation in center with your thumb and place an unwrapped caramel.  Wrap dough around to enclose.  Place on baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow to cool on baking stone for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy the chocolatey, caramely, ooey, gooey yumminess!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

/ Jodi / 34 Comments

chicken noodle soup casserole

I’m a soup lover.  My guys – not as much.

I ADORE homemade chicken noodle soup, so when I saw this recipe for a Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole, I knew it was right up my guys’ alleys!

chicken noodle soup casserole 2

I made it even a little more hearty than the original I found by adding more chicken, cheese, and veggies, and it turned out to be another Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

chicken noodle soup casserole 3

I make chicken for dinner at least once, if not twice a week, so am always looking for new chicken recipes to try.  I am sure this one will be made again.  And what a great casserole to take to someone who is recovering from an illness, welcoming a new baby, just moving into a new home…  It is comfort food for the soul.

Here is how I adapted it from the recipe I found at The Weary Chef:

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

Ingredients:chicken noodle soup casserole 2
1 lb of your favorite pasta
4 Tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and black pepper to taste
3 Tbsp flour
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
8 oz. sliced Havarti cheese (or our favorite – this is what I had on hand)

Directions:

Boil pasta according to package directions to al dente.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 9×13 baking stone or pan with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium to high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and green onions, and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add in chicken and seasonings, and stir fry until chicken is cooked through – about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour and 1 cup of the chicken broth until smooth. Add remaining broth and bring to a low boil, then simmer for a few minutes as the broth thickens.

Place pasta in greased baking dish, and pour the chicken mixture on top. Gently stir until all pasta is coated in the yummy sauce. Layer the cheese on top and sprinkle additional green onions if desired.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Thank You Berry (Salsa) Much

/ Jodi / 9 Comments

thank you berry much

Thank you cards might be my favorite cards to make and send.  There is something so heartwarming about putting to art and words your feelings of gratitude and sharing it with the person you are thankful to.

So when one of my co-workers did something especially nice and helpful (which is a regular occurrence from her – lucky me – eh?!), I had this little card I had made a while back when I was practicing water color painting where I had laid out some fruit and mint leaves and tried to create it.  I was goofing around with making it a (not sure of the term?) combination of words and “art.”  (Anybody know the technical name for this or is there even such a thing?)  Need to work on my handwriting, but thought it was fun… or maybe I ruined it??

Nonetheless, I used this, along with a little batch of my Fresh Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies as a way to thank my friend and co-worker.  (Thank you Judy!!)

And while we are talking about the wonderful fruits of summer and berries, it brought to mind a favorite recipe I used to make and demonstrate from Pampered Chef years ago when I was a “Pampered Chef Lady” that I thought I’d share with you here today.  Only, I kicked it up a notch by adding fresh red raspberries too!  I’ve got to make this again soon!

Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Photo courtesy of myreciperoundup.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
2 Medium Granny Smith Apples, chopped
1 Cup Strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 Kiwi, peeled and chopped
1 Cup Red Raspberries
1 Medium Orange, juiced and zested
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Apple Jelly
4 Large Tortillas
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Gently mix together first seven ingredients in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  Brush tortillas with water using a pastry brush.  Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over tortillas.  Cut each tortilla into eight wedges, and place on a baking stone (or cookie sheet).  Bake 5-7 minutes until golden brown and crisp.  Remove to cooling rack, then place in a bowl or basket alongside the salsa, and ENJOY!

Recipe from The Pampered Chef (modified)

Cheers & Hugs & Thank You BERRY Much for Visiting LifeinBetween.me,
Jodi

Old-Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

/ Jodi / 37 Comments

old fashioned fresh peach pie 2

It is fresh peach time in our little corner of the world, and some of the best come from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, an area known for micro-climate, soil and slopes conducive to growing sweet, juicy, high-quality peaches.  Though Chambersburg is about three hours from Mars, we have a local feed store (that I frequent for bird food) whose owner has a connection and receives fresh peaches and several varieties of plums for just a few weeks every August from a farm in Chambersburg.

old fashioned fresh peach pie slice

Fresh warm peach pie a la mode is one of hubby’s all-time favorite desserts.  He is a fruit pie lover, and peach is at the top of his list.

Old Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

I was happy to have an opportunity to bake a pie in my less-than-usual spare time this weekend.

blanched peaches

You see, we got a new family member Saturday morning…

Meet Charlie.  We rescued him from a shelter about an hour and a half away.  They believe him to be about a year old.  Day one, he was very shy, but warmed up quickly enough to actually help himself to jumping up and snuggling right in between hubby and me at bed time.  (not sure how long that is going to fly!)

Day two found him to be 45 pounds of galloping, fetching and retrieving exuberance.  His confidence is growing, and his puppy-ness kept me busy.

charlie 080215

He was right by my side in the kitchen while we made this yummy pie for “dad.”  We were both in our happy place!

Enjoy the old-fashioned taste of this classic recipe from our family to yours.

Old-Fashioned Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients:old fashioned fresh peach pie 2

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Blanch, peel and slice peaches.  (To blanch, place peaches in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then remove with slotted spoon and place immediately in large bowl of ice water.  The skin will slip right off. )

Mix peaches, sugars, juice of lemon, flour and cinnamon in bowl and let set aside while you prepare pie crust

Line pie pan with one crust.  Add filling.  Cut remaining crust into strips to form lattice top.  Brush with milk, sprinkle with a little white sugar.

Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to prevent pie crust from burning or overbaking.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and back for another 30-35 minutes.  Remove aluminum foil during last 10 minutes.

Peach pie is good served warm or cold, and especially yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Beer Chicken in the Crockpot

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

beer chicken 2

Are you looking for a super simple chicken dinner you can throw in the crockpot in the morning, forget about, and arrive home at dinner time to a taste-like-you-slaved-all-day meal?

I adore cooking and baking, but many (really most) days don’t allow me the luxury to spend the time I’d like in the kitchen, so this recipe is just the ticket.  It is full of flavor, tender, and moist.

Beer Chicken in Crockpot 2

And it’s EASY!  Besides the chicken, there are only FOUR ingredients:  a bottle of your favorite beer, a tablespoon or two of seasoning (I used Montreal Steak Seasoning – yep STEAK seasoning), 2 Tablespoons of fresh herbs (I used rosemary), and 2 large cloves of garlic.

Beer Chicken in Crockpot

You can use a whole chicken or chicken parts, or boneless chicken breasts like I did.  Put it all in the crockpot on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

beer chicken

The sauce can be made into a beautiful gravy, and I served it with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

SCORE!

The chicken tastes almost like those moist, tender rotisseries chickens you get at Costco or your local grocery, but even better!

Add this to your collection of winner winner chicken dinners!  You won’t be sorry!

Beer Chicken in the Crockpot

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts or a whole chicken or your favorite chicken pieces
  • 1 bottle of your favorite beer
  • 2 Tbsp Montreal steak seasoning (or your favorite blend)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh Rosemary (or your favorite herb)
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced

Directions

  • Place all in crockpot and cook for on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 hours.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 6

I had a wonderful vacation!

But I have to admit…. Once home, I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and bake.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

So Sunday morning, after a quick trip to the grocery store, I took some time to leisurely make this beautiful, amazingly delicious Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 4

Oh the wonderful smell while it baked…

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart Apricots and Honey

The juicy, ripe apricots drizzled with honey made my heart happy.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 3

And watching Hubby enjoy it….

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart Apricots and Creme

even better.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart 5

I found a recipe for an Apricot Pistachio Tart that I used as a baseline to create this recipe I think is well worth saving!

I summoned enough willpower to enjoy only a bite, but oh that bite…

This is such a special treat.  I hope you will try it and enjoy it or share with someone you know that loves fresh apricots.

Apricots are one of Hubby’s faves, so I enjoyed making it for him after enjoying a week away at GFC. A little “thank you” of sorts.

After baking this, I whipped up some cookie dough and made a fresh caprese pasta salad.

Kitchen fix complete.
Life is good.
Home sweet home.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

  • Servings: approximately 8
  • Print
Crust:Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup raw, unsalted, sliced almonds, crushed
1 stick butter, cut into small chunks
1 tsp almond extract Apricot Creme Filling: 
10-12 small ripe fresh apricots
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg yolk 
3 Tbsp honey

Directions:
Preheat to 350º.
In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, salt and flour to combine. Add the crushed almonds (I simply placed in a ziploc bag and rolled over them with a marble rolling pin), the chunks of butter, and the almond extract.  Blend with a pastry blender until the mixture just begins to clump together. Dump the crumbs into an 8 or 9-inch tart pan and press evenly.  Freeze the crust until firm for about 15 minutes.
Prick the crust about 10 – 12 times with a fork, and then place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet for easy maneuvering.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes until lightly browned.Halve the apricots and remove the pits. Arrange them, cut side up, in the warm tart shell in circles starting with the outer layer and moving inward.In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and 3 tablespoons of honey. Pour the custard evenly over the apricots. 
Sprinkle with some additional sliced almonds.Bake the tart until the custard is set when you shake the pan, approximately 45 minutes.   Let the tart cool completely, and then refrigerate to fully set.Just before serving, drizzle some additional honey over the top.
ENJOY!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

cinnamon creme crumb cake 3

Do you love a good crumb cake or coffee cake or pound cake as much as I do?

I made this recipe the day before I went away for vacation, so there would be something sweet for the guys while I was gone, and so I wouldn’t eat too much of it myself!

cinnamon creme crumb cake 1

And oh is it GOOD!

When searching for a recipe to try, I found one through Pinterest that lead me to BarbaraBakes’ blog.  I’m totally a new fan of Barbara now!

I tweaked up her recipe slightly, and had to do a little “subbing” on ingredients…again.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

I only had 1 cup of sour cream in the refrigerator, and the recipe called for 2 cups.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way, so I immediately “Googled” sour cream substitutes.

Some say yogurt.  I had one container of blackberry-on-the-bottom Chobani Greek yogurt, so in that went with the sour cream (sans the blackberries, which I ate), but that was only 5 additional ounces.  So I looked for another substitute and found mixing milk with lemon juice and soft butter.  Mixed enough of that up to make 2 full cups of “sour cream,” and off I went to town mixing and baking.

cinnamon creme crumb cake 2

I love how it turned out!  This is a heck of a cake that is great for decadent breakfast or brunch or a snack with coffee or served as dessert.  It is a rich, golden cake with a layer of cinnamon right in the middle and crumbly cinnamon streusel and powdered sugar on top that is good to the last crumb!

empty crumb cake plate

Here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Creme Crumb Cake

  • Servings: approximately 12
  • Print

Topping & Filling Ingredients:cinnamon creme crumb cake 4

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 sticks cold salted butter, cut into small chunks
Cake Ingredients:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temp, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cups sour cream

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
  • Topping:
    • Combine first five topping ingredients in a large bowl, add chunks of cold butter and blend with a pastry blender to form crumbly mixture.
  • Cake:
    • Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl, and set aside.
    • With electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla and almond extracts.   Add the dry cake ingredients alternating with the sour cream.
    • Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan.
    • Sprinkle half of the crumbly topping mixture over the batter.
    • Layer the remaining cake batter carefully on top of that so as not to disrupt the filling layer.
    • Then top with remaining crumbly topping.
    • Press the final topping layer into the cake layer very gently to make sure it sticks.
  • Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean.
  • Cool in pan for 30 minutes.
  • Loosen sides of cake with knife and invert onto a wire rack. Then immediately invert again onto a serving plate.
  • Sprinkle with powder sugar to finish.

 

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Homemade Basil Pesto

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

basil 0715

It’s not easy being green….

unless you are yummy homemade basil pesto sauce!

I have an abundance of basil in my garden this year (for once!), and decided to try my hand at homemade pesto.

basil 2 0715

So I picked a bunch – oooooh the glorious smell! There is seriously nothing like (except maybe rosemary!)

pesto marcona almonds and garlic
Then I added some fresh garlic and a handful of Marcona almonds I had (as I didn’t have pine nuts on hand).  These made a great sub!

Marcona almonds are imported from Spain. They are shorter, rounder, softer, and sweeter than the California variety. They are blanched and roasted in olive oil, then sprinkled with sea salt, making for a truly delicious flavor if you have never tried.

parmesan grated for pesto

Olive oil, salt, pepper, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese are the only other things you need to make this amazing fresh sauce that goes great on a caprese sandwich or as a pasta sauce, pizza topping, or chicken marinade around here.

pesto

We especially like it on orzo pasta.

Here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Homemade Basil Pesto

  • Servings: approximately 1 cup
  • Print

Ingredients:

  •  2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed)pesto
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup marcona almond or pine nuts
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste (freshly ground is best)

Combine the basil, garlic, nuts, and olive oil in food processor or blender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour into a bowl, and gently mix in the parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately over pasta, chicken or fish, on a caprese sandwich, as a pizza topping or use as a marinade.

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi