Holiday Bacon Appetizers

This is one of the appetizer recipes I taste tested before deciding what to take to the office holiday pot luck lunch.  This one was high on my list, but I really thought they tasted best within an hour out of the oven.  Since I try to be at work by 7:30 every day, the two hour bake time definitely didn't fit my weekday morning schedule.

You can't go wrong with the sweet and salties, however, so believe me, this recipe will make another showing at least once this holiday season.

Pioneer Woman's Holiday Bacon Appetizers
Source:  The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Ingredients:

One package Club crackers
1 pound thin sliced bacon (might I suggest maple cured...the sweet and salty...YUM)
Grated Parmesan cheese (or brown sugar...I'm doing this next!)

Directions:

Place crackers face up on a cookie sheet. 

Using a teaspoon, sprinkle grated Parmesan on each cracker.  Cut bacon slices in half and carefully wrap each cracker in a slice of bacon, making sure to cover the entire cracker with the bacony yumness.  Place on a cookie sheet fitted with a rack and bake at 250 degrees for around two hours.  I checked mine and took them out after about an hour and forty five minutes and they were perfect.

Needing a sick day

Last week Caleb was diagnosed with a little infection, nothing serious, all it took was a little antibiotic and some cuddles from his mama and daddy to make it all better. 

Of course, there were definitely some sad faces...

And notice the little drool bead collecting on his chin?  Besides being sick, he also cut his first tooth.  All this happened in one weekend, mind you.  Little Man had a reason to be unhappy.

We spent our time hanging out together, alternating between playing on the floor with his toys and taking breaks for cuddling and comforting.  He can be very independent sometimes, so I have to admit I enjoyed that he wanted held for hours and hours. 

He might not have felt well, but he still knew how to have fun!  Check out that little goof face! I imagine he was talking to me when I took this photo, he can chatter up a storm!

Santa's making his list!

Caleb met Santa today!

Santa scheduled a quick stop off at my office building today during lunch. Caleb made it a point to get dressed up in his Christmas sweater so he could sit on Santa's lap and ask for such things as, and I quote, a brand new "Ahbwabwabwa" and a really awesome "dadahbwa". Hopefully Santa has a better ear for Caleb's bourgeoning language skills than I.

Unfortunately Santa had set up shop in front of a huge bright lobby window, causing the faces to be a little underexposed, but this little grin lights up the shot for me :) And Santa, for some reason, you look suspiciously like the security guard who checks and rechecks my badge every.single.day before letting me in the door. Hmmm.

Jalapeno Popper Spread

I've made this dip about four times since I first discovered the recipe and I have yet to get a good picture of it because it's always at night. It's been a hit at every gathering to which I've taken it and on the off chance there is some left over, it reheats wonderfully. One of the things I love about it is that the heat level can be adjusted so easily so you can cater to your friend's needs. Brent and I love spicy stuff, but his mother can't eat it without feeling badly, so I cut the jalapeno quantity in half when she's in the crowd.

Jalapeno Popper Spread
Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo and it still tasted great)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
2 ounces canned diced jalapenos, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Combine cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Add the chiles and jalapenos and stir until combined. Pour mixture into an ovenproof bowl, top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

It's best served with crusty bread because it truly is a spread, not a dip.

Paula Deen's Strawberry Cake - the cupcake version

Back when I was pregnant I saw Paula Deen make this cake on one of her shows. Soon thereafter, I ran out and got the ingredients and made it for myself, it was my very first double layer cake. I obviously need more practice with layer cakes because though it tasted wonderful, it looked awful. One of the layers stuck in the cake pan and I had to puzzle piece it back together on the cake stand. When a piece was cut from the cake, it's structural integrity was pretty much nonexistent. At the time this was fine with me, my pregnant self just took a bite off the cake with a fork every time I walked through the kitchen.

The next incarnation of this recipe came at my birthday party when it was made into cupcakes. Much better for this inexperienced baker-gal! I'm including Paula's cake recipe, but the conversion into cupcakes was simple, just watch the baking time. The cupcakes can also be prepared ahead of time and frozen.

Paula Deen's Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake
Source: Food Network

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 3 oz box strawberry flavored instant gelatin
1 15 oz package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 10 oz package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
7 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cake:
Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans.
In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix and geletin, add strawberries, eggs, oil and water, beat on medium until smooth. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Let cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Frosting:
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on medium until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.

Frost cake and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Cookie baking equipment

My mom was kind enough to put together a list of her favorite cookie equipment as a compliment to an earlier guest post she did about her cookie sheets here.

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My interpretation of the word gadget is something you can get by without, whereas equipment is something you have to have to perform the task. I love both gadgets and equipment and feel that what is one man’s gadget is another man’s equipment and that you can never have enough of either.



My pride and joy is my Kitchen Aid mixer. When I got it I went all out and got the 6 qt. bowl lift model and I love it. The only thing that would make it better is to take it into an auto body shop and have flames painted down the sides like the one Alton Brown used to use on the Food Network show ‘Good Eats’. Don’t laugh, I’ve seriously considered it!

There are some things to consider if you are thinking about purchasing one of these behemoths. First thing is, do you have the counter space to leave it out? If not, keep in mind that it weighs over 25 pounds and it takes some muscle to lift it out of a cabinet. If you think you have enough counter space to leave it out, make sure you have enough clearance. The 6 qt. bowl lift model is almost 17” tall, I do not have the clearance under my cabinets to store it on my counter. So, I’ve gotten rid of my weight lifting equipment and use my mixer instead.

Another important item is see through canisters. Decorative ceramic canisters are not the place to store flours and sugars. My choice is see though square or rectangular Tupperware or Snapware. Both brands slide in side by side, taking up much less room than round containers, and stack well. Get containers large enough for entire bags of flour or sugar.

For cookie baking I love using serving scoops. I have two of them, a 1 tbsp. and a 2 tbsp. They make very uniform size and shaped cookies that cook consistently and are pretty. I have to admit, I shape every cookie I make after scooping it onto the sheet.

If you’re over the age of 30, you’ve probably used brown paper bags to cool cookies. A couple years ago I graduated to non-stick cooling racks with criss-cross wires and I love them! Anyone who bakes cookies should have two or three of them.

Pot holders, something everyone has, and never has enough of. The little crocheted and knitted ones that your grandmother made for you, or your daughter made for you in Girls Scouts, should be kept only as heirlooms. You will burn yourself for sure, pretty though they are. Last year I found some silicone potholders that I love! They are a little pricey but definitely worth the money.

Measuring equipment, not gadgets mind you, equipment. I cannot get by without two standard sets of measuring cups and measuring spoons. The orange are Tupperware circa 1973, the white ones are also Tupperware, but I’m pretty sure they are less than 15 years old. The white measuring spoons are the best as you can see that they have a flared end and will sit flat on your counter.

I also believe in two and four cup glass measuring cups and have several of the small glass ones for liquid measurement of teaspoons and tablespoons, those are very handy. My next purchase will be a plunge type measuring cup which will be great for peanut butter, shortening, etc.

Spatulas, spoonulas, whatever. You don’t have as many of them as you need. The three I use the most are the narrow one from Food Network, but I am not crazy about wooden handles on anything because gunk can get up in the joint and is hard to clean out; the large one from William’s Sonoma, but it also has a wooden handle and isn’t flexible at all. Ahh, the bright yellow one with no brand name that I bought at a hardware store! It is my go to for everything I do. It’s flexible, there are no crevices to gather goo, and it is absolutely perfect. The only problem is I’ve looked high and low to find more and haven’t had any luck. If I ever find them again I’ll buy one in each size they have and ditch all my others.

Banny's Southern Cream Cookies

Work has picked up again, thankfully my mom has been cooking a lot and has graciously written a guest post for me. I ate like five of these awesome cookies in about two minutes, they are that good.

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When I started my cookie making odyssey a month or so ago I made 18 different kinds, all but just a few were recipes that were new to me. Some weren’t so great (and you’ll never have to hear about those) but I received the most requests for this recipe. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and absolutely loved it!!

Banny’s Southern Cream Cookies
Source: Allrecipes.com

1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sour cream
5 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1.5 c. chopped walnuts

3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, lightly grease baking sheets.

Cream the shortening w/ 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the eggs, vanilla and sour cream mixing well.

Stir in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda to make a stiff dough. Add the walnuts.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheet. Mix the 3 Tbsp. sugar with the 1 tsp. cinnamon. Grease the bottom of a small glass and dip it into the cinnamon and sugar and gently press the cookies to flatten the balls slightly.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until centers are done.

These are amazing, delicate, not overly sweet and very yummy. The recipe actually calls for black walnuts but I couldn’t find any so I just used regular chopped walnuts. Also, I did not grease my cookie sheets, I have good non-stick pans. These barely spread out so you can crowd the pan. I used my small scoop and baked them for 11 minutes.