Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

I've never made jello shots until now, but since it was new years I decided it was time haha.. and these were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mix:

2 boxes of strawberry jello
1 small bottle of clear tequila
Limes
Sugar

Add 1 c. boiling water to jello mix
Stir until dissolved, 1-2 min
Add 1 c. cold tequila
Add to small cups and/or hollowed out strawberries
Chill in fridge until set

Strawberries:

Hollow out strawberries VERY carefully with a tsp or a melon baller.. and then cut tip off bottom of berry, just enough so they will stand up. Trust me this take awhile.. and make sure you buy the biggest strawberries you can find because there is no way I could have done this with small berries haha.

Sprinkle sugar on top of cups & add lime slice















Dip tops of strawberries in water & then dip in sugar
Add slice of lime

HAPPY 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup oats
1 c. water
1/4 c. frozen blueberries
1-2 tsp sugar or brown sugar
2 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Bring water to boil
Add blueberries to water
Once boiling, add oats & spices
Cook 5-10 min until water absorbed 
Top with sugar and almonds

:)
It comes out SO BLUE/PURPLE. 

Wild West Chicken with Avocado Ranch Dip

This recipe is a combo of a few different recipes put together and inspired from Longhorn Steak House. :) My mom works at Longhorn so any chance I can get I ask her to bring home the famous Wild West Shrimp they have. They serve this with ranch dip. Another appetizer they have there is the firecracker chicken wraps, which they serve with avocado ranch dip. So that's where I got the dip idea from. 

Soooo one night Kt gave me the idea of wild west chicken instead of the shrimp. I looked up a few different recipes and then put this together :) I wanted to bake the chicken instead of frying it, and I wanted to do almond crust instead of regular breadcrumb crust. I decided to make baked almond chicken bites... with side of avocado ranch dip. I used the spices from the Longhorn recipe, and the only other thing I changed was I used yogurt ranch recipe instead of using pre-made ranch :D

Chicken:

1lb+ chicken

1 c. almond meal

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp seasoned salt 

1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all dry ingredients from above in a bowl

Put 1 egg, beaten in a separate bowl

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces

Dip chicken in egg, then into dry mix

Place chicken on baking sheet or oiled dish

Bake 20-25min

Meanwhile, simmer the sauce on stovetop

Sauce: 

1/2 c. peppercinis

1/4 c. cherry peppers

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt (instead of longhorn's "prairie dust")

Once chicken in done, remove from oven and top with the sauce

Avocado Ranch Dip:

3/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp hidden valley ranch mix

1 avocado

3/4 tsp tabasco sauce

3/4 tsp cumin

S+P

Blend in food processor 

(Prepare dip ahead of time, before cooking chicken & refrigerate)

And enjoy! :)

Servings: about 4

Big Sandwich ( A.K.A. Rambler Sandwich)

  Back in my home town of Winthrop, ME, the people are proud, much like any other small town. The people are especially proud of  their football, and their mascot. 

                                                                           The Rambler.

Winthrop Rambler, a school bus

Every Friday in the fall you will find most of the residents of Winthrop gathering at the football field, dressed in  green and white, rooting for their favorite school bus.  The idea came from  when Winthrop did not have sports fields of their own, and they would travel around in a frumpy old school bus. Since then the bus has has some upgrades, and stands tall. 

           But what does this have to do with a sandwich?  Well there was a local restaurant called Ned's, who  dedicated a sandwich in name of the Rambler.  A massive sandwich enough to feed a small team of people, loaded with  protein to keep them going.

It's salty, it's cheesy, it's delicious.



Ingredients:
1 Loaf Italian bread, sliced down the middle
1/4 lb Genoa Salami*
1/4 lb Hard Salami*
1/4 lb Cooked Ham*
1/4  lb Provolone*
1/4  lb American Cheese*
1/2 lb Bacon, cooked
2 Tomatoes, sliced.
1/4 Sweet onion, thin sliced.
Pickle slices.
Mustard
Mayonnaise

*All of these are sliced to standard sandwich thickness

Directions:


1. Spread mustard onto bottom half of bread,  place meats one type at a time across the bread, stack remaining meats, making sure there is even distribution.


2.   Place bacon either in strips, or crumble on top of the meats,  place cheese on top of bacon.




3.  Cook lower half of the sandwich in an oven at 350º  until the cheese has just melted. Remove from oven and place pickles onto  sandwich.


4. Spread mayonnaise onto upper half of the bread, evenly distribute tomato, and onion slices.




5. Combine halves, using a large knife, slice sandwich  accordingly.



Serves 4 - 6

Fried Bacon

I had done enough cooking for Thanksgiving,  wanted breakfast, so we went to the Golden Corral. I  do as I always do when I go there, and feast upon every last bit of bacon I can cram down my throat until I hate myself.

My husband usually only eats one plate, so I feel like I have to make up for it.

The kids get to eat eggs, cookies, donuts, cotton candy. I don't care. We don't go often.

I was looking around the buffet, getting my normal stuff. When my eyes laid upon it....

 Fried Bacon.

That is  correct.  I stood in near disgust, because bacon by itself is fairly bad for your health.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I put a piece on my plate.




I took a bite, and it  was crunchy, and I do enjoy crunchy bacon. The breading for it was decent as well, the pepper giving it a little kick.


It was surprisingly good, I feel guilty for  saying it. I enjoyed it.  

Definitely, it is not good for you, there is no debate about it, but it was enjoyable, I ate a few more pieces.

Nutella Hot Cocoa

Do you like Nutella?  It's a chocolate hazelnut spread in a jar. Mostly I eat it with a spoon, but recently my husband has been dipping Nilla wafers into it, it's pretty good. 


 I wanted to drink it. So I did.

Two ingredients, you can't go wrong, right?


Ingredients:

2 spoonfuls Nutella
1 Cup Milk, hot.

x2

Make sure it's hot. :P

Directions:

1. Stir Nutella in milk until Nutella has melted into the milk, and has become a delicious Nutella Hot Cocoa.

Add  Marshmallows if desired.

And I do so desire. 

Pizza Enchiladas

        This was another recipe of mine that sort of just came to me.   The idea had brewed in my head for a bit before I decided to make it. You can add vegetables if you want, or make it a meat lovers.  It's pretty simple, and very tasty.


Serves 4 -6

Ingredients:
1 Package Burrito-sized  Flour Tortillas
1 Can Pasta Sauce
1 Package Sliced Pepperoni
2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Oil for brushing
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
Parmesan Cheese



Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º

1. In a bowl, add pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and sauce, mix until  pepperonis are evenly distributed.

2. Scoop portion of the mixture into the middle of tortilla, roll tortilla  and place into a  grease 13 x 9" pan. Repeat until pan is full , and ingredients are used up.

Cram em all in >8D

3.  Brush tops with oil, sprinkle garlic, and  cheese on top. Cover pan with tin foil.
4. Bake at 375º  for 20 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. 


Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes. Serve with a salad. I like to drizzle a little ranch on mine.