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As with everything that comes from the Pioneer Woman, this was excellent. I scaled it down for just the two of us, and I used canned green beans instead of fresh just because it was easier, and we both really liked it.
She made it as an alternative to the green bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup and French fried onions on top. We loved the addition of red bell pepper and all of the typical goodness of bacon and onion and breadcrumbs. Delightful!
Pioneer Woman Green Bean Casserole
2 cans Italian cut green beans
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1/4 - 1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 roasted red bell pepper, diced
1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350. Drain and rinse canned green beans and set aside.
Add bacon pieces to a skillet over medium heat. Cook for two minutes, and then add onion, and cook for additional 3-5 minutes, or until bacon is done and onions are golden brown. Remove from skillet.
Add butter to skillet and melt over medium heat. Sprinkle flour in, and whisk immediately for 2 minutes. Add in milk, whisking for 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and Cheddar. Stir while cheese melts; turn off heat.
Add bell pepper to pan, and then add bacon/onion mixture. Stir gently to combine. Top with bread crumbs, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Back to the Bacon Jam from last week. This couldn't get much easier. If you went to the trouble of making the bacon jam, just smear a spoonful in crescent roll dough, and then bake them. That's it.
As with everything related to the bacon jam, you won't be sorry.
Bacon Jam Crescents
1 Tube crescent rolls
Bacon jam
Unroll crescent roll dough, and put spoonful of bacon jam on each crescent. Roll up, and bake according to package directions. Enjoy!
We liked this, and it was easy enough to make on a weeknight. To be honest, I took out the most Mediterranean aspect out of this by leaving out the 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives it calls for. We're not olive people, but if you are (like most people are), then add them with the tomatoes.
You can use any short pasta; the original Southern Living recipe called for penne, but I had some rigatoni that I needed to use. The feta on top never really melts, but when it gets soft and warm, it's just so good.
Hope you like it!
Chicken Mediterranean
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 cup crumbled feta
4 ounces short pasta, cooked
Combine chicken, garlic, and olive oil in a zip-top bag. Seal and marinate at least 2 hours. When ready, cook chicken mixture in a large skillet over medium-high for 8 minutes or until chicken is done; remove from skillet. Add tomoatoes and Italian seasoning to skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often for about 7 minutes.
Return chicken to skillet. Sprinkle with feta cheese, and remove from heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta. Yield: 2 servings.
Here is Teak, asleep near the coffee table, under which he left his bone standing up perfectly after chewing on it.
That's right; I said it. Bacon Jam. It's a real thing.
It's easy to put together, and then it's completely hands-off once it goes in the slow cooker. Your not-so-hard work will be rewarded with a decadent spread for toast or biscuits in the morning or on hamburger buns at dinner.
It will also make your dog's eyes shine with hope in a way they haven't shone before.
As you could imagine, a little bit goes a long way. After seeing the amount of bacon that went into the recipe to produce such a small amout of jam, I decided to go easy on it with breakfast, but the small amount I had was amazing.
I found this recipe on Ezra Pound Cake, which she adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. The full recipe makes 3 cups of jam, but I cut it in half and got 1 1/2 cups. The full recipe is below.
Once it's finished, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. When you're ready to have some, you might have to let it sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes before it will spread easily. It gets a paste-like consistency after being chilled.
Bacon Jam
1 1/2 lbs sliced bacon, cut into 1" pieces
2 medium yellow onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee
In a large, cast-iron skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered, about 20 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, and pour off all but one tablespoon of bacon grease from skillet; add onions and garlic, and cook until onions are soft, about 6 minutes.
Add vinegar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and coffee. Bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the skillet, about 2 minutes. Add bacon, and stir to combine.
Transfer mixture into slow cooker, and cook on high, uncovered, for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until liquid is syrupy. Transfer to a food processor, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool, and refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 4 weeks.
Last week, Teak had some fun play/swim time with his friend Kate.
Unfortunately, Teak was a terrible guest and tried to take Kate's bone when we left.
It was pretty cute, but he eventually left the bone.
Hope everyone has a good week!
Need some good meat-free recipes now that Lent is here? This one was outstanding! This would be such a treat for your family or dinner guests lucky enough to have it. It makes 4 servings.
I really can't say enough good things about it. It was creamy and filling and just excellent. This was a recipe I got a few weeks ago from the Publix ad. The original recipe called for two small lobster tails, but I don't have a clue how to cook those, so I just loaded up on shrimp. It also called for a can of cream of shrimp soup, but I used cream of mushroom and had great results. The recipe below reflects that.
The recipe also calls for 10 ounces of lobster bisque, and I used a container of Publix's bisque. I don't know that I've noticed or seen this at other grocery stores (a la Winn Dixie or Walmart); then again, if you have a Whole Foods or Central Market another wonderfully fancy grocery store nearby, you can probably find something very similar.
Try this! I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
Cheesy Seafood Gratin
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz rotini pasta
0.8 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 oz) container lobster bisque
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp grill seasoning
Preheat oven to 375. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Heat a large saute pan over medium. Cook shrimp until cooked through and no longer pink, 3-4 minutes.
Combine cheese, soup, bisque, pasta, and shrimp min a large bowl until blended; tranfer to a 2-qt baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs across the top of the mixture, and dot with butter. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
