Cinnamon Pear Chips

October 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I kinda feel like I am cheating today, but sometimes the simplest recipes make the best ones. Recently, I took a trip to Mommy’s, she sent me home with a bunch of pears from her orchard. I was super excited to come home and make a bunch of recipes with these babies. I decided the first order of business was to make pear chips. We love these! They’re super easy and delicious. They also make for a fast, healthy on the go snack.

Cinnamon Pear Chips
 
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Cinnamon Pear Chips
Author:
Recipe type: Cinnamon Pear Chips

Ingredients
  • 5-6 pears I used Bartlett
  • cinnamon & sugar mixture

Instructions
  1. Wash and dry pears.
  2. Slice pears into ¼ inch thick slices, if you can slice thinner it’s better.
  3. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on both sides of pear.
  4. Place pear slices in your food dehydrator; making sure to leave space for air flow. Dehydrate for 8-14 hours. Check after 8 hours. We like ours crunchy like chips. I believe this time around I went 14 hours.

 

Ingredients

5-6 pears, I used Bartlett

cinnamon & sugar mixture

Directions

Wash and dry pears. Slice pears into 1/4 inch thick slices, if you can slice thinner it’s better. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on both sides of pear. Place pear slices in your food dehydrator; making sure to leave space for air flow. Dehydrate for 8-14 hours. Check after 8 hours. We like ours crunchy like chips. I believe this time around I went 14 hours.

Filed Under: Sandwiches/Misc, snacks Tagged With: , , ,

Spicy Mandarin Chicken Sandwich

July 10, 2012 by 8 Comments

 

Yesterday I shared my Chipotle Mayo recipe with you. Today, you get the sandwich we spread it all over. My family LOVES spicy food. Coach and I had a jerk chicken sandwich the other day at one of our favorite spots. I knew I had to come home and try and make a jerk sauce to replicate that delicious sandwich we ate. So, I set out to make a jerk sauce, but ended up shifting gears and going down a different road. The results were a huge hit! A boneless skinless chicken breast marinated then smothered in a spicy mandarin orange sauce served on a toasted bun topped with Chipotle Mayo, lettuce, tomato and red onion. YUMMY!

Yields up to 12 sandwiches (see notes below)

Ingredients
1 can  11oz. whole segments mandarin oranges
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 bunch green onions
1 large handful fresh cilantro
2 habenero peppers, roasted, seeds removed
1 package 8 ct. sweet onion hamburger buns
butter, salted, room temp.
red onion, sliced
tomato, sliced
ice burg lettuce
Recipe For Chipotle Mayo

Directions

  1. In a blender, throw the first 8 ingredients in and hit blend. Marinate chicken breast over night. Remove chicken breast from marinade, (RESERVE MARINADE) grill chicken. Meanwhile, place reserved marinade in a heavy duty pot, cook on medium high heat and bring to a boil; stirring continually. Reduce heat and continue cooking/stirring. You will want the sauce to reduce by half. Remove from heat. (you will want the sauce to be warm when preparing sandwich.) 
  2. Spread butter on the inside of each bun and toast under your broiler. Remove from oven and assemble sandwich. Generously dip each chicken breast into sauce, place on a toasted bun, spread chipotle mayo on the inside of the top part of bun. Next garnish with onion, tomato and lettuce. Serve. 

Notes: This produces enough marinade to marinate 12 boneless skinless chicken breast in the amount of sauce above. However once you cook the sauce it reduces. You will still have enough sauce to serve 12 if you desire. Keep left over sauce to put on top of rice or ???
Additional Notes: You will need my Chipotle Mayo recipe to make this sandwich. You can find it by clicking on any of the highlighted links above.

This post was shared at:

Moms Test Kitchen 10/15/12

Filed Under: Money Saving Recipe, Sandwiches/Misc, Spicy Mandarin Orange Chicken Sandwich

Jello Popsicles

June 12, 2012 by 5 Comments

Now that summer is fast approuching. I wanted to surprise the kiddos with a tasty cool treat. This recipe is over 30 years old. Mom, doesn’t remember who gave it to her, but we have it and I’m happy about that! I think this is the best tasting popcicle I’ve ever had, no kidding! I took some to my besties, sickies, the other day and her kiddos, herself and hubs raved about them too.

Ingredients

  • 1 package Koolaid 0.16 oz. Any flavor
  • 1, 3 oz. package Jello Any Flavor
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 3 cups cold water

 

Directions
1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sized pot; remove from heat. Add Koolaid, Jello packet and sugar to pot stir to dissolve. Next, add 3 cups cold water to pot; stir. Pour into molds and freeze.  Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds, Set of 6, Yellow

Disclaimer, this post may or may not have affiliate links

Filed Under: Appetizers/Beverages, Confections, Sandwiches/Misc

Uncle Danny’s Beef Jerky

February 22, 2012 by 1 Comment

While vising my parents and the rest of my big family in Southern Oregon, my uncle brought over some beef jerky for the gang and I to try. My kids and I went nuts over this. I was so excited to get this recipe from him! I refuse to buy beef jerky for my kids, because it’s so expensive and the fact that the kiddos no sooner open a bag and it’s gone whithin two seconds flat. I’m so happy that I have a really tasty beef jerky recipe we all love. Hope you enjoy it too!

Start with a 1 large London Broil, Tritip, or any other lean cut of beef. {about 3 1/2 pounds}
Have the butcher cut it into jerky strips or do it yourself if you have a meat slicer.
Trim any fat off the strips.

Marinade:

1…….18oz BBQ sauce
        ( I use Kraft Spicy Honey or Sweet Baby Ray’s
          if you prefer original, that will work also )
2/3…..cup of soy sauce
1 1/2.. tsp of liquid smoke
1…… cup of worcestershire sauce
4…… heaping tbsp of brown sugar
1…… tbsp garlic powder
1…… tbsp coarse ground black pepper

Directions to marinade:
Mix all of the above ingredients well in a blender. Marinade for at least 24 hrs. {we prefer 24-48hrs.}
After marinating, place strips on racks of dehydrator. Sprinkle a little more coarse black pepper on each strip. Dehydrate for 8 hours.

Note:
I use a Nesco food dehydrator/Jerky maker.
I dehydrate the meat 8 hours on high.

Printable Version

Filed Under: Beef Jerky, Sandwiches/Misc

Edible Snowman: Food Art With Ty

January 19, 2012 by 2 Comments
Our son, Ty, loves art. He is more into abstract pieces. He designs, paints, draws, photographs, and it all blows me away. Every now and then you will find him in our kitchen concocting food art for our posts. We haven’t had much of a winter this year in Idaho. Yesterday, we got our first heavy snow of the year. Instead of going out side to build a snowman, Ty, decided to stay in where it’s warm and make an edible one! Smart young man! I was going to say, “Smart kid!” But, sometimes I forget he’s 6 foot 6 inches and almost 18. Yes, he’s still my baby! :)   This cute little guy would make a great surprise breakfast for your kidlets. Have a thankful Thursday.
If you’re joining us for the first time, every Thursday, is “Thankful Thursday”. I started this a while back and it’s just stuck. Feel free to leave us a comment letting us know what you are thankful for.
Me, I am thankful for the healthy giggles throughout our home on a daily basis.
This was before he knew he was going to be eaten. The picture above was when he found out!
Yields 1
Ingredients
2 large eggs, whites only for body and head
2 whole peppercorns, for eyes 
1 black olive, for mouth, optional, sliced thin
Carrot sliver, for nose
tomato pieces, for buttons
cheese stick for scarf, peeled thin
1 regular sized muffin tin
1 mini sized muffin tin
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 4oo degrees F.
2. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, crack eggs discarding yolk, keeping whites; whisk egg whites with a fork.
4. Using your judgment, pour a small amount of egg white for body into regular sized muffin tin, pour the remainder for the head into the mini muffin tin; again use your judgment. Bake for five minutes, remove the mini muffin tin with egg white; continue to bake the regular sized muffin tin with egg white for five more minutes. Remove.
5. Assemble snowman
Our snow day!
This was his first test. He decided to use the whole egg instead of egg whites. His second test, he used egg whites. He said, “Using the whole egg was too yellow for the snowman.”

The man behind the edible snowman. Meet Ty, our son and food artist.   

 

Filed Under: Edible Snowman: Food Art With Ty, Sandwiches/Misc

Edible Finger Paint

January 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

My kids love this! To tell the truth, I dig it too. I wanted to post this on the blog, as it was only posted on our face book page. I wanted to share all the fun photos here for our readers. This will dry like regular paint and smells yummy enough to eat. Yes, I have actually tasted it, the things we do for our kids to make them laugh!? I have been known to lick a few or more paintings every now and then! The kidlets get a great kick out of it. Have a marvelous Monday!
Ingredients
 1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
6 cups water
desired flavorings
desired colorings

Directions
In a medium sized pot, combine sugar, flour and water together; and cook over low heat, stirring consistently until thick, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely and spoon contents into individual cups, flavor with desired flavoring extracts and desired coloring. Paint your little heart out!
Printable Version

Now come on, you know you just want to lick that off the paper!? Pass!

Ah look, SpongeBob Square Pants. I think!?

Filed Under: Edible Finger Paint, Sandwiches/Misc

Energy Snack Mix

January 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With the kids runnin’ and gunnin’ from game to game, I like to keep this yummy snack mix on hand for a healthy boost. My kiddos love it! I like the extra crunchy goodness of the soy nuts, and the sweet taste of the carob and cranberries combined makes a delicious combination.  Have a marvelous Monday! Yields approx. 6 cups

I like to store my snack mix in convenient grab and go packages.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups salted soy nuts
1 cup carob chips
1 cup pecans, chopped, roasted
1 cup pumpkin seeds, roasted
1 cup dried cranberries
salt to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl combine soy nuts, carob chips, and cranberries; stir and set aside.
3. On a baking sheet combine chopped pecans and pumpkin seeds, sprinkle with salt to taste; bake for 10-15 minutes. Make sure to watch for burning. {Let cool completely before adding to soy nuts, carob and cranberry mixture.}
4. Once pecans and pumpkin seeds have cooled, add to soy nut mixture; stir.
5. Make individual 1/2 cup serving bags or store snack mix in a container with a lid in a cool dry place.
Printable Version

Filed Under: Energy Snack Mix, Gluten Free, Sandwiches/Misc

Chewy Cherry Cranberry Granola Bars

November 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Chewy Cherry Cranberry, now that’s a mouth full, try and say that five times in a row! My kiddos went nuts over these! Oh, for the love of honey, these were good! This one is going into my repertoire for sure. I was excited to make a quick and healthy snack in no time flat. In the past I have made several different granola bars that were either to dry or just blah tasting. Low and behold I found and adapted one that everyone liked, including myself. I love that this recipe is swift, flavorful, and interchangeable depending on our/your taste buds. I’ve had several different requests for our next batch. The MCK gang has requested mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, and cinnamon raisin. I’ll get to work on those straight away gang. Have a tremendous Tuesday!

Please excuse the chipped paint nail. I’ll get around to painting them again someday or. not.Smiley
Ingredients

3-31/2 cups granola {we buy granola in bulk at Winco, I believe it’s vanilla flavored}
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup honey
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Spray a 13×9 baking sheet with non stick cooking spray, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine granola, dried fruits, and nuts; set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat honey and sugar over medium heat until candy thermometer reaches 225 degrees; making sure to stir continually.
5. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over granola mixture and stir until granola mixture is coated evenly.
6. Press granola firmly into the baking sheet.
7. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into desired sized pieces.
8. Wrap bars individually in plastic wrap, or store in a gallon sized zip lock bag.

Adapted recipe/photos/directions by: My Crowded Kitchen
Original recipe from: Cooking in Style The Costco Way 2006

Filed Under: Chewy Cherry Cranberry Granola Bars, Confections, Sandwiches/Misc

Roasted Pepper Focaccia Sandwich: Re Post

November 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Hey everyone! I am doing a re post today for my Roasted Pepper Focaccia Sandwich. My original post that I had planned accidentally got erased. I wasn’t about to start over at 1am in the morning.  
We love peppers and onions especially when they are grilled, roasted or sauteed. I like to go meatless at least twice a week to help our food budget. This sandwich was full of flavor. Jeff said, “He didn’t miss the meat at all.” That’s a great compliment coming from my meat and potatoes kinda guy.  I was in a hurry the other night and was able to put this sandwich together in a snap. I think turkey would make a great addition to this sandwich, but it was really good as is. This recipe will be a keeper for us! I am craving it right now just thinking about the homemade pesto sauce, sweet bell peppers, caramelized onions along with the fresh melted mozzarella cheese. Oh yea, I think I better make another one right now! This yields 2 whole sandwiches. Have a fabulous Friday! 

Ingredients

sandwich Ingredients

3 medium sized red bell peppers, julienned, roasted
2 medium sweet onions, sliced, sauteed
2 tablespoons butter, for onion saute
1 loaf 12 oz. focaccia bread, garlic olive flavor
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil, for roasting peppers

Pesto Sauce Ingredients

2oz. bag fresh basil
1/2 cup roasted salted cashews
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup Parmesan cheese
3 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Seed and julienne bell peppers. Place peppers on a foil lined baking sheet with 1- 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast bell peppers in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes tossing a few times in between cooking time. Set aside when done. While peppers are roasting, place sliced onions in a medium sized skillet with butter, cook on medium heat until onions are caramelized to a golden brown. Set aside. In a blender place the above pesto ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside. Slice cheese into slices, set aside. Take focaccia loaf and cut in half to create two squares, like a giant sandwich. Then cut diagonally to create two triangles. Cut triangles open, spread a layer of pesto sauce on the bottom layer of the focaccia bread. Place roasted peppers on top of pesto layer then caramelized onions. Top with fresh slices of mozzarella. Leave the top part of the focaccia bread off the sandwich. Place sandwich under the broiler until cheese is melted. Once cheese is melted, place top piece of focaccia on to sandwich. Serve

Printable Version

Shared at: skiptomylou

Filed Under: Roasted Pepper Focaccia Sandwich, Sandwiches/Misc

Burger Idea: Triple Onion Burger

November 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I LOVE onions! Fried, sauteed, plain, you name it. My sweetie and I went out on a hot date to Red Robin. I know right?! Well, at least the fries were hot! {totally snickering} We love Red Robin’s burgers. Jeff and I love to order separate burgers, have them split, and then share with each other, this way we both get to try each others burger. Last time I was there, I had a onion onion burger. I knew that I could come home and somewhat replicate it. Here on MCK, we aren’t wimps when it comes to barbecuing in the cold, rain or snow. We BBQ all year round, how about you? Depending on where you live, do you pack that grill away or are you grill monsters like us? If you are, here is our latest burger idea. Have a Thankful Thursday!

What are you thankful for? We would love to hear what you are thankful for.

Me,  I am thankful for my sister’s phone calls. She is a huge blessing in my life. It’s the little things in life like this that I get complete joy and blessings from.

Ingredients
ground beef, your desired amount
salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
onion, sauteed, your desired amount {we use Vidalia onions}
crispy onions, make ours or buy the crispy fried onions in the can. {the link provided will say chicken wraps, this was one of my very first posts. You will need to scroll down for the recipe.}
Alouette light garlic & herbs spreadable cheese {found in the specialty cheese section of your super market}
onion buns
salted butter, melted, for toasting buns

Directions
1. Make crispy onions, set aside.
2. Shape ground beef into a patty, season with salt and pepper. Grill according to your preference.
3. Meanwhile spread melted butter on the inside of each bun, toast. Start sauteing the onions as well. {keep buns and onions warm in your ovens warming drawer until burgers are finished cooking}
4. Assembly, Spread cheese on the bottom and top of each toasted bun, lay a bed of crispy onions down on the bottom part of bun, then the burger, next the sauteed onions, top with top part of bun. Serve

Printable Version

Inspired by: Red Robin

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Filed Under: Burger Idea:Triple Onion Burger, Main Dishes, Sandwiches/Misc