~Pineapple and Shrimp Macaroni Salad~

~Pineapple and Shrimp Macaroni Salad~

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound pasta, you can use any small pasta, such as bowtie, shells, or elbow but elbow macaroni is a classic choice
• 1 pound shrimp , peeled and deveined
• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained (Reserves the liquid.)
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup thinly sliced shallots diced
• ¼ cup of chives diced
• ¼ green and/or red peppers diced
• ¼ cup celery diced
• Salt & pepper to taste.

Options:

• Use OLD BAY Seafood Seasoning or Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning instead of salt and pepper.
• Add peas
• Add corn
• You can use chicken instead of shrimp.

Directions:

• Dice the cooked shrimp (I found that dicing the shrimp prevents people from picking out the shrimp for themselves.)
• Mix the shrimp, pineapple, peppers, shallots, celery, and chives together in a large bowl.
• Whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream together in a separate bowl and slowly add the reserved pineapple juice until the mayo and sour cream has thinned out a little. You don’t want to make it too thin or it will run off the pasta and shrimp.
• Season to taste, refrigerate before serving.

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Because this dish contains mayonnaise, it should be kept cool to keep it from spoiling. When bring mayo to a picnic I always worry about the mayo going bad, I found this nice two quart insulated bowl that you put in the refrigerator before and it will keep the food cool.

~Spaetzle, Sauerkraut and Sausage~

 My grandmother use make this and it was one of my favorite. Simple and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• Spaetzle (See recipe here)
• Kielbasa (You can also use any other German sausage)
• Sauerkraut
• Onions
• Butter

Directions:

1. Dice an onion and make the Spaetzle,
2. Cut the Kielbasa into one inch pieces and in a frying pan cook the Kielbasa and chopped onions,
3. Drain the Sauerkraut and add it to the frying pan,
4. Continue cooking the Kielbasa, sauerkraut, and onions until most it the liquid from the sauerkraut.
5. Add the Spaetzle and continue stirring until the spaetzles are heated up.

Substitutions:

• Egg noodles for the Spaetzles.
• Add bacon or slat pork.
• Add diced apples.

~Creamy Pork Tenderloin Medallions~

 ~Creamy Pork Tenderloin Medallions~

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch medallions
• Flour for coating the pork
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup low salt chicken broth (or dry white wine)
• ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning or for a more Mediterranean flavor use Herbes de Provence
• 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste
• 2 shallots chopped
• ½ tablespoon fresh parsley chopped

Instructions:

1. Trim off excess fat and slice the pork tenderloin into about 1" thick pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Season the pork with Italian seasoning and coat each piece in flour.
3. Add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork (you may need to do this in batches) and cook for about 3 minutes/side or until they're lightly golden. Take the pan off the heat and remove the pork from the pan.
4. Stir in the garlic, Dijon mustard, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, the shallots, and then return the pan to the heat until the shallots turn transparent. Deglaze the bottom of the pan by scraping up any brown bits. Continue stirring  for about a minute.
5. On low heat stir in the cream and add the tomato paste, and let it bubble for about 2 minutes. Add the pork back in and cook for 5 minutes (you may need to turn the heat down a bit) until the pork is cooked through and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
6. Sprinkle the fresh parsley over top and season with extra salt & pepper if needed. 

Substitutions:

• Chicken for the pork

~Turnovers~

I have been experimenting in making turnovers, I tried using Pillsbury Crescent rolls but it was too much like bread, then I spied Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets and they worked good!

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
• 1 8 oz. box of Cream Cheese
• ¼ cup of sugar +
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 Egg

Options:

• Berry Medley Unsweetened All Natural Frozen
• Cherry Preserves
• Wild Blueberry Preserves

Direction:

• Thaw the pastry sheets, bring the cream cheese to room temperature, and preheat the over to 400F.
• Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and the Vanilla extract.
• Cut each pastry sheet into quarters.
• On each square put a dollop of cream cheese in the center of the square. (It will take a little experimentation to find the dollop of cream cheese) You can also either add a preserve or berries.
  
• Wet the four sides of the pastry sheet and fold over and seal with a the tines of a fork. You can place any filling on the cream cheese.
• Put a slot in the top of the turnovers to vent the turnover and brush with an egg wash, sprinkle with sugar.
• Place the turnover in the over for 15 – 20 minutes.
• Let cool and sever.

~Slow Cooked BBQ Country Ribs~

~Slow Cooked BBQ Country Ribs~

Super simply recipe.

Ingredients:

• One package of country ribs
• One cup of BBQ sauce
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• ½ cup of apple cider vinegar

Directions:

• Place the ribs in the slow cooker and put about a ¼ inch of water in the bottom, cover and cook on high for an hour.
• While that is cooking mix the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar together.
• After an hour drain off the water and add the BBQ sauce mix until it covers the ribs with it. If there is not enough of the BBQ sauce mixture, mix some more up.
• LOW: 7 HOURS / HIGH: 3 HOURS — Ribs that are soft but stay on the bone (as shown in the video below).
• LOW: 9 HOURS / HIGH: 4-5 HOURS — Tender, fall apart in your hands ribs that melt in your mouth like butter (as shown in the image below).

Options:

• Add Yukon potatoes, carrots, and onion.
• Serve with rice. I like wild rice.

~Western Omelet~

I basically follow the traditional recipes…

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup cubed ham (Or another type of cooked meat can be used like chicken or sausage meat)
• ¼ cup diced onion
• ¼ cup diced red pepper
• ¼ cup diced green pepper
• ½ cup shredded cheddar (Or you can experiment another type cheese.)
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 TBS water
• Tabasco sauce

Directions:

• Sauté the onions and peppers in the butter. (If there is a lot of water in the ham I add them to the pans toward the end of the sauteing to cook the water out of them.)
• While they are sautéing, beat the eggs, add the water, and add a couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce to taste.
• Turn down the heat to low and pour the beaten eggs in to the pan and spread them across the bottom of pan so it is coated with the scrambled egg.
• Sprinkle the cheese on one side top of the eggs.
• On top of the same side as the cheese sprinkle on top of eggs, the peppers, onions, and meat.
• Fold over the the uncovered half eggs on to the half with the filling.

Serve with hash browns on the side.

~~Super Easy Chicken Cheesy Casserole~~

Super simple, it all out of the can, no prep work needed!

Ingredients:
    • 25 oz can Swanson Premium White Chicken Breast Chunk w/Rib Meat in Water
    • 10 oz can RO-TEL Tomatoes Diced & Green Chilies Mild
    • 15 oz jar Kraft Cheez Whiz Original Cheese Dip
    • 1 box Stove Top Stuffing Mix For Chicken

Directions:
    • Drain the chicken and Ro-tel and mix together, melt the Cheez Wiz* and pour over the Ro-tel/chicken mixture and mix together.
    • Mix the stuffing mix according to the directions on the box and spread the stuffing mix on the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread the chicken mixture on top of the stuffing.
    • Place in a pre-heated 275 F oven for 20 minutes.

Now wasn’t that quick and easy dinner? It is not gourmet but it is good and filling. The ingredients keep so you can have them on-hand in a pinch.

~~Super Simply Tomato & Onion Salad~~

During late summer when the vines ripen with tomatoes it becomes the season of tomato salads and they are quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• Sweet onion thinly sliced
• Cherry tomatoes (I get a medley of red and yellow cherry tomatoes for more color)
• Feta Cheese
• Chopped fresh basil
• Chopped fresh parsley
• Northern Italian Dressing (Or you can use just olive oil and Balsamic or red vine or apple cider vinegar)

Directions:

• Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a bowl with the thinly sliced onions add the Northern Italian Dressing mix and let marinate for an hour.
• When ready to serve add the basil, parsley, and Feta cheese and toss lightly.

Now wasn’t that easy?

Options:

• Add a cucumbers
• Add an Avocado
• Add black olives such as Kalamata.
• Some recipes add red pepper flakes (But I don't like my tomato salad spicy)
  
• Some use red onion but I find to have too much bite of the raw onions and some some soke them in water to cut the bite.

~~Cream of Celery Shrimp~~

This recipe came about because of a thunderstorm, I was planning on grilling a steak when a thunderstorm popped up and drenched the coals. So, what to make with stuff on hand. I cobbled together a shrimp dinner but you could also use chicken or pork, cube them and cook them up first

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Cream of Celery soup
• Some type of onion, shallots, etc.
• Some type of pepper, 
• Shrimp
• Butter
• Wine or sherry
• Pasta or rice

Directions:

• Cook the rice or pasta according to the directions on the box.
• Saute the onions and peppers in the butter.
• Add the shrimp and stir for a few minutes.
• Add the Cream of Celery soup and stir for a few more minutes.
• Add a dash of wine, you don’t want to thin it out too much.
• Serve over the pasta or rice.

~~Lobster Roll~~

~~Lobster Roll~~

Okay let the battle begin!

Mayo or Butter?

online polls

The Bun.

That is half of the battle, finding a good hot dog bun! I haven’t found one yet that I like, the main factor that I look for are the bun doesn’t crumble or get soggy. I tried everything from grinder rolls to the common hot dog roll with the balloons on the bag. I think that what you buy they should be fresh after that they crumble.

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The Butter Lobster Roll:

Ingredients:

• Cooked Lobster meat (include the knuckle, claws, and tail meat)
• Roll
• Butter
• Old Bay seasoning
• Lemon slice

Directions:

• Split the roll and brown the insides. (I use the broiler and not the toaster setting because I like it only browned on the inside). Some like to butter the bun now but I find that it makes the roll soggy so I wait to the end.
• Squeeze the lemon slice over the meat.
• Place the lobster meat in the roll and season to taste with the Old Bay Seasoning.
• Okay, the traditional way is to drizzle the butter over the lobster roll but I like to put the melted butter in a custard dish and dip the end of the lobster roll in it.

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The Mayo Lobster Roll:

Ingredients:

• Cook Lobster meat (include the knuckle, claws, and tail meat)
• Roll
• Old Bay seasoning
• Minced celery
• Minced chives
• Mayonnaise
• Lemon slice

Directions:

• Split the roll and brown the insides. (I use the broiler and not the toaster setting because I like it only browned on the inside).
• Mix the mayonnaise, celery, chives and season with the Old Bay seasoning.
• Add the lobster meat and stir in until the lobster is fully coated.
• Fill the roll with the mixture and squeeze the lemon slice over the meat..

Which type do I like?

Well it is something like this… sometimes I feel like a nut and other times I don’t.

~~Stuffed Shotgun Shells~~

I was at a party where they had Stuffed Shotgun Shells and they were great! So my mind started working… how can I make them?

In the recipes that I looked at there are two fixed ingredients: manicotti shells and bacon. The stuffing had three ingredients: some kind of meat, some kind if cheese, and some kind of peppers.

So….

Ingredients:

• 1 box Manicotti Shells (Options: cannelloni pasta or large shells)
• 1 lbs. Bacon
• Dry meat rub
• BBQ sauce

Meats: any of the following as long as the total adds up to a little over a pound,

• 15% to 20% fat hamburger meat
• Sweet sausage meat
• Hot sausage meat
• Pepperoni 

Cheeses: any of the following as long as the total adds up to a little over eight ounces of cheese,

• Cream cheese
• Pepper jack cheese, shredded
• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Peppers: any of the following finely diced peppers,

• Green or red peppers
• Jalapeno peppers*
• Habaneros peppers (If you want to go hog-wild on the spicy)*

*It is advised to wear gloves when handling hot peppers.

Directions:

• Pre-boil them first. Boil the manicotti shells for 3-4 minutes until the exterior is slightly soft, but they should still be firm and hold their shape.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, cheese, and peppers together.
• Stuff the manicotti shells with the sausage, cheese, and pepper mixture.
• Wrap the shells in bacon. Ensure that the entire manicotti shell is covered by bacon. This will help to prevent the edges from getting too crispy.
• Apply a generous amount of your favorite rub evenly over the bacon wrap stuffed shells. Make sure to cover it completely.
• Allow to rest for four hours or overnight.
• Cooking...
• Oven: Preheat your oven to 275°F. Place the shotgun shells on a parchment lined sheet pan or baking sheet and cook on the middle rack for 60 minutes.
• Air fryer: Preheat your air fryer to 400°F. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is nice and crispy.
• Smoker: Preheat your smoker to 275°F. Smoke for 60 minutes.
• Grill: Preheat your grill to 275°F. Cook for 30 minutes.
• Check for an internal temperature of 165 – 170°F.
• Coat the shotgun shells with the BBQ sauce be sure to coat the shotgun shells well on all sides and the ends. The BBQ sauce will keep the noodles soft, so lather it on thick, and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Let them cool and cut them into one inch pieces.

Tips:

• The ones that I had were a little on the dry side, so it is important to use high fat content meats and if you are using pork you have to make sure you do not over cook them and make sure you cover them completely in BBQ sauce.
• To store them, let the shotgun shells cool to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat them in an oven-safe dish and heat them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. You can also heat them in the microwave or the air fryer.

~~ Cream Cheese Muffuletta Olive Tortilla Roll ~~

~~ Cream Cheese Muffuletta Olive Tortilla Roll ~~

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, drained
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, drained
• 2 large pepperoncini, drained
• 4 small pickled onions, drained
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pkg 8 oz. Cream Cheese bricks.
• 1 pkg Tortilla - Burritos Size
• 1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Directions:

•  Bring to room temperature the cream cheese to soften it.
•  Place the green olives, Kalamata olives, pepperoncini, pickled onions, capers, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
•  Place the cream cheese in a bowl add the olive mix and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix. Fold into the cream cheese. 
•  The spread can be stored up to a week in the refrigerator.
•  Mix all the ingredients except the Tortillas. 
•  Spread the ingredients onto the tortillas and roll it up. 
•  Refrigerate before cutting into 1 inch pieces. Can be refrigerated before serving.

Variation:

• Instead of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix use McCormick Taco Seasoning for a Mexican Flavor and add chopped pepperoni 

~~Muffuletta Olive Spread~~

 ~~Muffuletta Olive Spread~~

There used to be an olives, pimento, and cream cheese spread in those little 5 oz jars that I liked, (Kraft Cheese Spreads Olive & Pimento Cheese Spread) but are now almost impossible to find now. So I went about to create some… only better!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, drained
• 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, drained
• 1 large pepperoncini, drained
• 2 small pickled onions, drained
• 1 tablespoons drained capers
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese brick

Directions:

• Bring to room temperature the cream cheese to soften it.
• Place the green olives, Kalamata olives, pepperoncini, pickled onions, capers, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Place the cream cheese in a bowl add the olive mix and fold into the cream cheese. The spread can be stored up to a week in the refrigerator.

Serving suggestions:

• I like it just on bread for a cream cheese sandwich, on crackers, it can also be spread on bagels, or on a ham sandwich.
• If you want the basic Olive & Pimento Cheese Spread just double the pimento-stuffed green olives and fold it into the cream cheeses.