The Chew and Clinton's Potato Salad

I love The Chew.  I have watched every show and have even protected some of them on the DVR so Charlie doesn't erase them.  If you watch, you would know the ones.  Jo Beth Williams, the relay race, Momma T and most recently Olivia Newton John.

I laugh so much while watching it that I can't help but be in a good mood.  And I generally watch it at 4:00 in the morning.  It makes my day!

I try so many of their recipes and we have loved them all.  I will admit that I don't usually try Daphne's although she has had one or two that looked good.  And I wish her the very best as she moves back home.  If I had to tell her anything, it would be focus on the goal and you can get through anything.

Here's my latest addition from The Chew:

Clinton Kelly's Potato Salad

You can find Clinton's recipe by clicking on the link above.  We didn't have any corn, which is absolutely unbelievable in this house but what can I say.  I can image how good it will be with the added crunch and sweetness of the corn.

This dish comes together to fast and is so good.  I even ate some for breakfast yesterday.

We made sandwiches too. A little different than the one Clinton made.  Although I do plan on making his.  Mango chutney sounds so awesome.  Our sandwich was a mix of a panini and a club.  Once again we used artichoke pesto and cesar dressing on the bread.  A mix of ham, turkey, bacon and swiss cheese topped with tomato and onion.  Press it into a press and Yum.  Coupled with Clinton's potato salad and you have yourself a meal.  It was scrumptious.

Try it today.  You will love it!

And try watching The Chew.  You will love it too.

Live, Laugh, Love,

Karen and Charlie

Tastefully Simple Phyllo Cups

I have found a great source of short cuts in the kitchen.  And the wonderful thing is....they are delicious.  It is tastefully simple products and while they give you the basic recipe, of course I always embellish.  They have a standard warm spinach and artichoke dip.  The recipe said to add the dip mix, 8 oz of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of shredded swiss cheese and microwave.  Sounds easy enough, right?

Well, made it according to directions adding some artichokes and bacon on top.  Then threw it in the broiler for a few minutes to melt the extra swiss cheese I put on top.

It was wonderful and take a look at this....

Don't you want a bite...

They are really good.

Phyllo Spinach and Artichoke Cups

1 package Tastefully Simple Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip Mix

1 8 - oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup swiss cheese, shredded and divided

8 artichoke hearts quarters, roughly chopped

bacon bits

1 package phyllo cups.

Mix dip as directed on package using 3/4 cup of swiss cheese.  Add artichoke hearts and combine.

Spoon into phyllo cups.  Sprinkle remaining swiss cheese on top and add bacon.  Please in broiler until cheese is melted and cups are warmed through.

These things are addicting, I tell you.

I hope you like them too.

Live, Laugh, Love,

Karen

Bacon

Remember the commercial where the dog runs around the house and he is thinking 'Bacon, Bacon, Bacon'.  That's how I feel sometimes!  I love the stuff.

Baking it in the oven is now my rule.  I saw it on a Food Network show and haven't looked back.  It's way too easy and there is very little mess.  You just throw it on a wire rack over a baking sheet with rims to catch the grease, 375 for about 30 minutes.  Check it for doneness, some like it crispy and others not so much.

But wait, there's more!  My favorite thing is to cut the bacon slices into thirds, then toss them in a mixture of brown sugar and red pepper flakes.  Oh My Gosh.  It's like heaven in your mouth.

You take a bite and it's so sweet and then, it gets you on the back of your tongue.  Like wow, that's flavor.

Think of the possibilities.  It's a great snack.  Good crumbled on ice cream.  Yes, you know it is.  Throw some on a salad.  Or you could make sandwiches.

BLTs are a staple around here.  I usually throw some turkey on mine and a few onions.  I wonder when it stops being a blt and has to have another name?

Plus we've been making sliders recently, which are great for portion control!  If you haven't seen it yet, Rhodes has some warm and serve rolls that are terrific.  And the perfect size for sliders. 

Back to the Bacon.  The turkey offsets the sweet and spiciness of the candied bacon making this...the perfect sandwich.  You should try it very soon.  Yes, you should!

So Good!

Live, Laugh, Love!

Karen and Charlie

It's Wednesday Already?

How can it be Wednesday.  I swear that yesterday was the weekend.  Time gets the best of me.  Other than the fact that my football teams didn't win, it was a great weekend.  We cooked, we enjoyed good food, we watched some really good games.  Hey, we even managed to get a school project completed with James.

This is what pays the bills.  I work for an equipment company.  They call me a Product Support Rep, that's a fancy name for 'I sell the company and make sure the customers are happy'.  Sometimes it's a great job, other times it is the most stressful place to be.

Our kitchen on the other hand, is my de-stressser.  Saturday morning I decided that we would cook a bunch of tailgate food then we could enjoy the games more.  So we turned the music up loud, laughed a lot and made a ton food.  Here's a look.

This started out as a pizza.  I didn't flour the counter enough though and the dough stuck.  Solution...Flip over the torn dough and make a calzone.  it is stuffed with italian sausage, mushroom and onions.  The dough is made with 1 1/2 cups of warm water, 2 packages of yeast, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 cup olive oil and 4 cups of flour.  Just bloom the yeast in the water, whisk in the sugar and oil then ad the flour.  Let it rise for an hour and you are ready.  That amount makes two pizzas.  Or a calzone and a base for James' school project.  More on that later.

I remember my Mom doing this with leftover biscuits.  She would put butter, cinnamon and sugar on a halved biscuit and put them back in the oven.  They would get hard on the outside and soft on the inside and I loved them.  I did the same thing but used flour tortillas instead.  And notice the game day activity of color sugar for the teams I was backing.  Let see, green for the Eagles, yea right, they are gone.  Blue for the Colts, Peyton and the boys let me down.  Yellow for the Saints.  Who would have ever guessed they would be out after the first round.  And purple (well, purple-ish) for the Ravens.  At least that defense pulled them through.

These little goodies were delish.. Cream Cheese, a slice of jalapeno and chicken all wrapped in bacon.  I put them in oven to cook the chicken, then broiled to get the bacon crisp.  Ree at the Pioneer Woman (don't you love her recipes?) had this posted.  I usually do this with shrimp but went with what we had.



I've rambled enough and now must run to see customers.  I think today is going to be one of the good days at work except that the wind chill is 22 degrees in Houston.  Yikes!

Live, Laugh, Love,

Karen and Charlie

B L T Dip

How can something so simple to make taste so good?

It has mayonnaise, sour cream and bacon.  Oh my gosh, I'm in heaven.

Here's what you need:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large chopped tomatoes
1 pound bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

Combine the mayonnaise and sour cream, spread on serving dish.
Top with shredded lettuce, then tomato then bacon.

Serve with chips.  Tip - don't use plain chips. They break too easily, the rippled kind work best.

If you aren't serving right away or if you are taking this somewhere, mix the mayonnaise and sour cream in a container and store in the fridge until ready to assembly.

This was originally a Paula Deen recipe but I got it elsewhere.  You can find it on Foodnetwork.com.
Enjoy!