.behold the power of ....cheeseball.

One of my friends in Virginia, Alisha, used to make this killer cheeseball for our scrapbook nights. I asked her once what went into it and wow.. so easy!!!

I grew up hating cheeseballs because they tasted so gross but this one is delicious. So the next time you want to have a little get together and need something quickie quick, throw this together!


Here's what you're going to need:

cream cheese, chopped olives, red bell pepper, green onion, cheddar cheese, and pecans.


Finely chop up some red bell pepper. You only need about 2 Tbsp.


Finely chop up 3 green onions.


Chop up about 1 1/2 cups pecans and toast in a 400* oven. Once toasted, pull from the oven and let cool.


Grate about 1/2 cup cheese. Use the fine grate side.


Put the cream cheese, olives, green onion, cheese, and red bell pepper in a bowl. Use your hand to smoosh things together. Form everything into a large ball.


Roll the cheeseball in the pecans until completely coated.

Wrap with saran and put in the fridge to set. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

You can easily add more to this to kick it up. Add some smoked salmon, or finely chopped cooked shrimp for a different flavor.

.grilled chicken tostadas.

This was a new recipe I found in an old magazine of mine. We had been purging like mad a couple weeks ago and there was a magazine stash in our closet upstairs that had almost a dozen old Bon Appetit on the shelf! What a surprise!

I was really interested in making these because they're grilled, which means not as fattening ladies AND it meant I didn't have to turn my stove or oven on for anything. Even better! Very fast and easy to make. I know it's fast because we were starving and I had them done within a half hour.


Let's start with our prep.


Start with some shredded chicken. I had cut up a fryer the other night to make Jerk Chicken Salad w/ Grilled Pineapple Salsa. I only used the breasts for the salad, then cut the other pieces for fried chicken. There was still quite a bit of meat left on the carcass so I tossed the rest of the bird into a pot with celery, onion, bay leaf, and carrot and then filled it up with water. Left on a stovetop to simmer and I have some chicken stock now and all of this wonderful cooked chicken. I pulled it off the cooked meat and then seasoned with chili powder (about 1 tsp) and some salt.



Grate some Cotija cheese. This is a mexican cheese made from cow's milk. It's a harder cheese and when you go to grate it, you'll find it more or less just crumbles on contact. It also has wonderful flavor. I found this at Walmart. If you have a Mexican grocery store, you can also find it there.


Cotija doesn't melt like normal cheese, so for added measure I grated some cheddar. Mix the two cheeses together.

Seed and dice some tomato.


Finely shred some lettuce.


Dice a little onion.


Chop a little cilantro.

Now comes the fun part! Grilling!


Place three fajita size flour tortillas on a hot BBQ grill. I didn't put any kind of oil on these. They don't need it.


When they start browning nicely, flip them over. Let them grill for just a minute before putting the toppings on.


Pull all of the tortillas close to the edge away from the heat. Top with some pinto beans (drained and rinsed), a little onion, tomato, chicken, cilantro, and cheese.

Push them back a little, turn the heat down to low and put the lid down and let the cheese melt.


This is what they'll look like when done. As you can see the cotija cheese holds it's shape. Remove from the grill and bring inside.

Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole. We also put some salsa on top. Enjoy!

.lodge salad.

Jim's been out in Seattle at a hiring conference so I haven't done much cooking. When he's gone though, it gives me the opportunity to make what *I* want because he usually isn't a big fan of it. I'm not sure why he doesn't like this salad.... but he said it was just "okay". HUH? LOL

There's a restaurant in town called Smokey Bones. It is a "lodge-y" type place where they serve ribs, brisket, smoked sausage, the BEST onion rings, donuts.... everything I've had there has been pretty good. My favorite thing to menu item is the Lodge Salad. It is so light and crunchy and has a little spice in it from the dressing. This is my adaptation of their salad. I had a hard time finding the exact items, but what I do use makes it pretty dang close to theirs. This is seriously a great salad!!!!!


Let's start by making the dressing. Put 1 cup mayo and 1 cup milk in a bowl. Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, 1/2 tsp dill weed, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp chili powder. Mix it all up and put in the fridge while we make the salad.

The original salad has romaine and spring lettuce. I prefer spinach instead of romaine and they make these lovely half and half bags now! Perfect!

Dump this in a large bowl.

Dice up some cucumber.


Dice up some tomato. You remember my thing about tomatoes in salad.... I pull out all of the seeds and slimy crud before dicing. I can't stand that stuff on my lettuce! Ick!


This is a pack of Oriental Party mix. It has the toasted sesame crackers, roasted peas, sunflower seeds and roasted peanuts. It's the most perfect blend of crunchy I have found. If you can't find this exact brand, use what you do find. Make sure you get one with roasted peas and the sesame crackers!

Dump in some of this into your salad. For the pack of salad I used, you'll probably want about 3/4 cup.


Grate some cheddar cheese and asiago cheese. Make sure you use the small grate side. About 1/3 cup of each one.


Mix everything together in the bowl. If you want to add a little sliced red onion, feel free! I left it out that night, but when I made more for lunch the next day, I added a little onion.

Drizzle with a little dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_85fpg57hvn

.layered salad.

I had mentioned in my previous entry that I would post the recipe for my warm potato salad, but after looking over the images on my computer, I'm missing a lot of the steps because I was in such a hurry to get things done before the wedding.

I did get all the steps for this though. We can always count on my sister, Ronda to bring this salad to our family dinners. It's a favorite and so fast to make.

Chop one head of iceberg lettuce and put in a casserole dish.

Dice 2 roma tomatoes and sprinkle on top.

Chop some green onion and put on top of the tomatoes.

Open a can of sliced water chestnuts.

Carefully arrange on top of the salad. You want to make sure you'll get some with every bite.

Cut up some bacon and fry it. You will only need half of what you see here. I used the other half for my potato salad.

You're going to need about 1 cup of peas too. If you make this salad up ahead of time (like the night before or a few hours before), you can leave them frozen. If you plan on serving the salad immediately, then thaw these by putting them in a sieve and running under cold water.

Sprinkle the top with the bacon and peas.

In a bowl, put 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp lemon juice.

Put globs of it on top of the salad and then use a spatula to spread it over the entire surface. This seals in the salad underneath and keeps it fresh.

Grate some cheddar cheese and sprinkle it on top. This salad can be made the night before you need it. It holds up really well.

.apple, bacon, and cheddar quiche.

I like quiche. Jim likes it too. Who says real men don't eat quiche? Whoever said that has no clue what they're talking about.
I feel like my life has slowly spun out of control. Last weekend I had the wedding. This weekend we had a yard sale. And this week and next weekend we're putting hardwood floors in our kitchen and entryway. I. am. insane.

Did I mention I am helping with a luncheon at church this Tuesday and planning a baby shower for a girlfriend? Mmm hmm. Out. of. control!!!!!

Since we were busy with the yard sale this weekend, I didn't have a ton of energy to fix fussy meals. Quiche is a great dish because it's not difficult to whip up.

If you're afraid of making your own crust, go on and buy them frozen or whatever. I can't stand them because the taste is "off" for me, but I understand that not everyone is confident making their own.

I, however, do make my crusts from scratch. Been doing it for so long now, I can get one whipped out in 5 minutes. In fact, over Christmas, my parents were here visiting and had to run to the drug store. In the time they were gone (approx. 1/2 hr), I made an apple pie and had it in the oven, cleaned up my mess, and started the dough for the rolls. Suffice it to say, the master pie baker (my dad) was impressed. :

For a single pie crust, I use:
1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter
ice water

Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the shortening until nice and crumbly. Spoon in some ice water and fluff with a fork until the dough starts pulling together. Use ice water so it keeps the dough cold. Cold dough=flaky crust.



Roll out and put in a deep dish pie plate. Trim edges and tuck under.

Crimp the edges.

In a bowl, crack open one dozen eggs. Slightly mix with fork. Don't overmix, because it will break down the protein.

Add 1/4 cup milk. (I eyeball it.)

Cut up about 4-5 strips of bacon and fry. I keep my bacon frozen because it makes it easier to chop. But it's virtually impossible to pull the slices apart, so I just cut strips off.

Grate a cup or two of cheddar cheese.

Peel, core, and dice one granny smith apple.



I know what you're thinking. Bacon, cheese AND apple??? It really pairs well. It adds a little sweetness and texture to the quiche. It's quite wonderful.

Season the egg/milk with some salt and pepper, and garlic powder (1 tsp).

Add all of the cooked bacon, grated cheese, and diced apple. Mix in with a fork.

Pour the egg into the pie shell.
Put in a 325* oven and bake for an hour or until the center is completely set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The edges of the crust will be nice and golden and the top will be browned nicely. It will also be slightly puffed up when it's done. Slice up and eat warm with some fresh fruit. Absolutely scrumptious!!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_65hrhk9kf8