BLT: the right way

I don't know about y'all but I LOVE bacon. I could eat it everyday at every meal. I do not know who came up with this but they are brilliant!!! Have you ever heard of basket weave bacon?? I will never look at a BLT the same. Plus, baking bacon is something new that I have been doing. Less clean up and it does not make my house smell like grease. 

Basket weave bacon BLT

bacon
lettuce
tomato, sliced
bread, toasted
mustard/mayo/avocado (whatever you like on your sandwiches) 

Take your whole pack of bacon and slice it down the middle. You’ll be making more than one sandwich, I hope. Arrange six half-slices of bacon in a basket weave pattern on a foil lined baking sheet as pictured. 

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. I flipped the bacon about 15 minutes in to make sure it was good and crispy. Make your sandwich however you like. I made mine with guacamole! It was delicious!

The best thing about basket weaving your bacon.... it doesn't fall out of the sandwich! Seriously, the smartest idea ever. 

Enjoy!

Beef Tips with Rice

OK I'm going to make this quick!! To sum this dish up in one word... Delicious!! My husband had a few more elk roast left in the freezer so I decided to do something besides your typical roast meal. I cut the roast in half and made beef tips and homemade vegetable soup another night. I made a quick search online and found The Country Cook blog. She has a lot of good looking recipes!! This one is easy and you throw in the crock pot and let it do what it does best. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!!

Beef Tips

1 1/2 lb. beef tips (or cubed beef stew meat)*

1 package of dry Onion Soup Mix

1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup

1 can of Beef Broth 

1/4 onion, chopped*

Brown meat in a skillet, with a touch of olive oil, over medium heat.  Add beef to slow cooker. 

In a bowl, combine dry Onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup and beef broth.  Stir to combine and pour over beef in slow cooker. Stir all ingredients together. Cook on low for at least 6-8 hours.  

Give everything a good stir before serving. Serve on top of mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.  Enjoy with your favorite veggies and salad.

*Cook’s note: You can use a whole beef roast instead of cubed stew meat. If you don’t have cream of mushroom soup, you can substitute cream of chicken. If you are not big on onions, omit the chopped onion. 

Easy Crockpot Fajitas

I don't know about you but I LOVE Mexican food. I could eat it everyday!!!  All I know... this is easy which is a must in my household these days!

1 lb chicken breast, sliced (I used a couple of large ones)
1 packet fajita seasoning mix
1/4 c water
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced

Place chicken, water, and seasoning packet in the greased crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is cooked. Add peppers and onions a hour or two before serving. (You can add with chicken but I was afraid the peppers/onions would be too soggy for my tasting.) Serve with desired toppings.

Note: I cut up all the ingredients the night before so it was easy to throw together in the morning.

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

This blueberry cobbler is SO easy anyone can do it!! I promise. It is homemade in my book! You will be sure to please any crowd with this easy southern dessert! And these ingredients are always on hand. This recipe came from Southern Plate.

2 cups berries, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt stick of butter in oven proof casserole dish in oven while mixing other ingredients. Place 1 T of margarine on top of berries in a small bowl. Pour 1/2 cup sugar over berries. Stir. Heat in microwave for 1 minute so that sugar begins to melt.

Mix together 1 cup of flour and 1 cup sugar until blended. Pour in 1 cup milk and mix until blended.

After butter is melted, take casserole out of oven and pour batter on top of melted butter. Pour berries on top of batter. DO NOT STIR!!! Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over cobbler. Place in oven and cook for 55 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!!

**Sorry for bad pictures, they were taken on my phone!!

Chicken n Rice

Hey y'all!! It has been quite a while since I've posted anything. My 4 month baby boy has been keeping me very busy! Now that I'm getting used to working and juggling being a mother, my recipes are going to keep getting easier and quicker!! I miss my time in the kitchen but I love spending time with Wilson. So where to turn... PINTEREST!! Everyones go to cook book these days. There are so many different recipes to try on there. So this one is for "Forgotten Chicken" from Darling Doodles. She said you can cook it on a low temp (250-275) and cook for a few hours. I put it in for 375 for about a hour. Depends on how big your chicken breast are. I took two big chicken breast and sliced them into tenderloins. It was a hit in the Rainwater household!

What you need:
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Minute rice (I used two bags)
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup mix (shake bag well before pouring)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can water

What you do:
Mix together soups, water, and 2 cups of rice (uncooked). Pour into greased casserole dish. Lay chicken breast on top of rice mixture and sprinkle onion soup mix on top. COVER with foil. Bake at 375 for approximately an hour. Or like I said above, you can cook for longer on a lower temp. It's a good one to put in before church and it will be ready when you get home. It should be slightly brown around the edges and bubbly. Yum!!

Banana Bread

I had 4 bananas that were very ripe. I hate to not do anything with them so I decided to make banana bread. This is a first for me. So I start looking online for EASY recipes. This recipe called for ingredients that I had on hand and it was super easy. Can't get much easier than this!! It came from Cents To Save blog. 

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

** Note: I used self-rising flour because that's what I had. If using self-rising, OMIT baking soda and salt. 

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Yield: Makes one loaf. 

Enjoy!!

Taco Casserole

I'm always trying to create new dishes with my leftovers. I don't mind leftovers but sometimes I just don't want to eat the same thing the next day. I made tacos one night and had quite a bit meat left so I started throwing stuff I had in a skillet. It was delicious!!

1 lb ground meat
1 packet taco seasoning
corn or flour tortillas
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can Rotel
Cheddar cheese, shredded
salsa, optional
jalapenos, optional
green onions, optional

Over medium heat, combine leftover taco meat, beans, corn, and rotel. Heat thoroughly. In a greased casserole dish, layer tortillas, ground meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat layer.

Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with chopped green onions, salsa, or jalapenos.

Turkey Meatballs

HELLO everyone!! It has been a while! As some of you know, we are expecting our first baby very soon. So, I have not been cooking as much as I used to. I am now on bed rest so I have some extra time at the moment. I have quite a few recipes that I have been meaning to get up! This recipe came from my sister. It is very good and easy! Plus it's made with turkey meat so I consider it healthy. You can always freeze left over meatballs for a later day. I hope you enjoy!


1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey

2 garlic cloves, minced

large handful of parsley, chopped

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 

1/3 cup dried bread crumbs (I use Italian) 

1 teaspoons of kosher salt 

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons milk

2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce (about 1/2 teaspoon).... It can't hurt to add more!

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

marinara sauce of your choice

spaghetti

 

Mix turkey, onion, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, egg, milk, Worcestershire, and black pepper in large bowl until just combined. Gently form mixture into about 18 meatballs. Cover and put in fridge for at least one hour but up to 24 hours.

 

Heat half of the oil in a non-stick skillet, add half the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally until well browned on all sides (about 6 minutes). Repeat with the other half of oil and meatballs.

 

Clean out skillet, add meatballs, and sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes until meatballs are cooked all the way through. Serve over noodles of your choice and top with cheese. Serve with a salad and french bread.

 

 

Chocolate Chip Pie

Here is another yummy masterpiece from Paula Deen. It is very rich but oh so good with  scoop of vanilla ice cream!! 


1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled
1 c pecans
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 t vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell


Preheat oven to 325.
Mix sugar and flour together in a bowl; add eggs, butter, pecans, chocolate chips, and vanilla, and stir. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until set. 


Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Enjoy!!

Bean Soup

Here is a recipe from my dear friend, Sabrina. She just posted it to her blog too (LouLou Sucre) Y'all will love this one. I made it for dinner on Christmas eve and it was prefect because it was easy, filling, and taste great. I served over rice with cornbread.

2 cans Great Northern Beans

2 cans Ranch Style Beans with Jalapenos

1 can Campbell's Bean with Bacon Soup

2 cans water

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces (I used Down Home Green Onion)

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on high for at least 4 hours.  If cooking 8 hours, reduce heat to low. 

Note: I have also made it in a stockpot on the stove. Bring all ingredients to a boil then simmer for 1-2 hours. 

Enjoy!!