Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

1 lb. green beans with the ends snapped off (buy or pick about 1 1/2 pounds so you'll have 1 lb. after the beans' ends have been snapped)
8 slices lean, regularly sliced bacon
3 Tbsp. real butter (no substitutions!)
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

When the water is boiling, briefly boil (blanch) the beans for 2-3 minutes or until you start hearing a popping noise and the beans have turned bright green. Quickly drain and rinse in cold water until the beans have cooled.


If you're planning on completing the beans immediately, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

On a cookie sheet, divide the green beans evenly into 8 piles.

Carefully bundle each pile of beans with one slice of bacon and return to the baking sheet.

This step can be done up to a day ahead of time.

When the oven is ready, place the pan in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and sizzling. While the bundles are in the oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a small saucepan. When the butter is bubbly, add in the onions and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the onions are softened and fragrant. Reduce heat to low and add in vinegar, sugar, and salt. Remove from heat and set aside.

When ready to serve, place bean bundles on a serving platter and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

From Our Best Bites.

Notes:

1. These were really good. Brent thought he was in heaven. Maybe it was the bacon.
2. You only use a small amount of onion so you might want to find another recipe so you don't waste a whole onion.
3. These were not as savory as I thought they would be. Once I got over the fact that they weren't going to taste like bacon wrapped little smokies, they were very tasty!
4. I only used 12 oz of beans and got 12 bundles.

now that's a good burger

1 ¼ lb. ground beef (that extra quarter pound is absolutely essential; if you don't have it, your burgers will fall apart when you try to cook them.)
3 Tbsp. A1 sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
¾ tsp. dry oregano
1 Tbsp. dehydrated onion

Grill for about 7 minutes on each side over medium (or until they're as non-pink as you want them.)

Taken from Our Best Bites.

Notes:

1. I don't use 1 1/4 pound. I just use one pound of hamburger. I get 4 burgers from that. (I use 93% and the burgers do tend to fall apart a little. I would go less fatty but know that I probably would have taco meat by the end and not a burger. Probably tastes better with 80/20 hamburger!)
2. This is a really good burger. If you don't liek oregano, don't put it in. You can definitley taste it but for Brent and I, we really like the flavor it adds.
3. Get a good bun.

Served with oven fries and grilled corn on the cob.

lemon mousse cups

24 jumbo cupcake liners
24 pecan shortbread cookies (pecan sandies)
1-3 oz. package lemon jello
1 cup boiling water
3 TBSP lemon juice
1-8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1-12 oz. can evaporated milk, well chilled

Place metal bowl, beaters & the can of evaporated milk in the freezer for 1 hour.

Place cupcake liners into cupcake pan. Press a cookie into the bottom of each liner. Set aside.

Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add lemon juice. Cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes,
until syrupy, then beat until light.

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar & vanilla. Add to jello mixture. Mix until all blended.

Whip chilled evaporated milk, on low speed, until full volume or beaters leave a soft peak. Blend & fold with jello mixture. Spoon into cookie lined cupcake liners. Refridgerate overnight. Top with fresh raspberries & raspberry sauce.


{Fresh Raspberry Sauce}
1 half-pint package fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
In a small sauce pan cook together raspberries, sugar & water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat & simmer for 4 minutes. Pour into a food processor. Add raspberry jam. Beat until smooth. Cool completely.

Notes:
1. At the party I helped with the other night, these were the most popular dessert - and I wasn't even going to serve them since they didn't look that great.

2. I don't think I whipped my evaporated milk long enough. So after a few minutes after being out of the fridge they started to fall apart - but they were still a huge hit.

3. These were very easy to make. Easier than the recipe looks. And they can be made the night before which is always perfect for a dessert. The raspberry topping is optional but I served it with it.

Taken from Our Recipe Club

black bottom coconut bars

CHOCOLATE BASE

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more more pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Butter bottom and sides of foil.

Using a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in microwave. Whisk in sugar and salt. Whisk in egg, then sugar and flour. Mix until smooth. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. The sides should be beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool.

COCONUT TOPPING

2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut – reserve 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top
Whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour and coconut.

Drop mounds of topping onto chocolate base. Spread and press into base with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup coconut.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely in pan. Then, remove from pan using aluminum foil overhang. Peel off foil and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Makes 24 bars.
Picture and recipe from Bake or Break

Comments/ learn from my mistakes

1. I didn't use unsalted butter and the brownie part was a little salty. It tasted fine but probably would go with unsalted next time.

2. These were really easy. They made a lot and they were pretty tasty.

3. The moistened fingertips tip was really helpful when working with the batter.

4. I might even throw a layer of sliced almonds on there. A little almond joy brownie!

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don't want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it's nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

From Our Best Bites

Notes:

1. I made this because Mere made it and said it was pretty good. It tastes a lot better than jarred Alfredo sauce.

2. Mine got really thick. REALLY thick. I was using a small pan and that was part of my mistake I think. It got really thick when I added the parmesan cheese and I think it didn't mix in smooth enough.

3. I made a parmesan chicken with it per Mere's suggestion. It was tasty. I would probably just do a grilled chicken next time to go with it.

4. I would make this again. It was very easy to make.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
6 cups 1% milk
1 1/4 c. cheddar, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. light sour cream
3/4 c. chopped green onions, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.


1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender. This step can be done in advance or you can even use leftover baked potatoes. Allow to cool. Slice in half and then scoop insides into a bowl. Discard the skins and break any large chunks into bite-sized (or smaller) pieces.

2. Place flour into a large pot and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, but do NOT bring to a full boil! Boiling will lead to curdled soup, and hey, no one likes curdled soup.

3. Add potatoes, 3/4 c. cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese melts and remove from heat.

4. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 c. onions.

5. Cook over low heat until soup is heated thoroughly. Again, this is a recipe where you have to be vigilant--don't let it boil and don't let it burn the bottom of the pot (unless it's someone else's night to do the dishes and you hate them). No running off to check your email.

6. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with bacon, remaining cheese, and green onions.

(From Our Best Bites)

Notes:

1. I used 1% milk, but used fat free sour cream.

2. My family LOVED this soup. Brent was so excited when he realized he could have the leftovers for lunch and he's never excited about leftovers. Tyson had 2 helpings and requested it for Sunday dinner.