These yummy stacks start with a frozen hash brown patty for the base.  Then add some cheese, bacon, green chili, guacamole and finally a fried egg to top it off.  You can even garnish with salsa and cilantro if you like.

But let’s get to it… The coolest thing about this breakfast stack is the BACON WEAVE.  Your friends and family will think you’re a genius when you serve these at your Sunday breakfast!

Here’s how it’s done:

These bacon weaves are not hard to make at all.  Once they’re assembled, just bake them in the oven and you have yourself a BIG, delicious piece of bacon. Oh, by the way…these are awesome on bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches too!

I guarantee you are going to love these delicious Bacon Egg Breakfast Stacks. They even make a fun “breakfast-for-dinner” meal too!

Print

Bacon & Egg Breakfast Stack

Ingredients

For one bacon & egg stack you need:

• 1 frozen hash brown patty
• 3 pieces bacon you could use less if you're not weaving the bacon together
• 1 slice cheese cheddar, monteray jack or your favorite
• 1 fried egg
• 1 whole green chili I used canned
• heaping spoonful of guacamole
• Optional: garnish with chopped cilantro and salsa

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Cut bacon in half. On parchment lined baking sheet, weave bacon pieces. Place frozen hash brown patty on baking sheet next to the bacon. Bake until bacon is cooked and hash browns have crisped up, about 15-20 minutes. Flip the hash brown patty half way through cooking.
• To serve, layer hash brown patty, slice cheese, bacon, green chili, guacamole and top with a fried egg. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a spoonful of salsa.

Notes

To weave the bacon, lay 3 half pieces of bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet next to each other vertically. Fold the middle piece a third of the way back. Lay one half piece of bacon horizontal. Fold the middle piece down over the horizontal piece. Now fold back the two outside pieces. Lay another piece of bacon down horizontal. Fold those 2 pieces back down over the horizontal piece. Repeat process.

If you are making several, I suggest cooking the hash browns on a separate baking sheet so they don't get too greasy.

For more delicious recipes please visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go and catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!  Judy

Here’s a couple more delicious breakfast recipes I think you’ll enjoy:

Huevos Rancheros

Hasselback Potatoes with Chorizo and Eggs

Baja Breakfast Rice

The post Bacon Egg Breakfast Stack appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I had a bag of frozen tropical fruit from Costco, you know those huge bags that never seem to disappear in the freezer.  It had mango, papaya, pineapple and strawberries in it. It was time to use it up so I decided to make a crumble/crisp or something like that with the fruit.

To make this even more “tropical” I added shredded coconut to the crumble mixture and used coconut palm sugar to sweeten it.  Once baked and ready to eat, I topped each serving with a dollop of whipped coconut cream.

The fruit was a bit more watery than I would have liked once it was cooked; no problem, my trusty turkey baster came to the rescue! I blame it on not having totally defrosted fruit prior to cooking. I recommend defrosting the fruit completely before baking and if there’s a lot of liquid in the bowl, drain it or, if you want a “syrupy” fruit filling be sure to increase the amount of cornstarch so it will thicken better.

We loved this tropical spin on a delicious crumble recipe.  Hope you give it a try!

Print

Tropical Fruit Crumble with Coconut Cream

Ingredients

For the fruit mixture:

• 7-8 C. frozen mixed tropical fruit blend thawed (drain excess liquid)
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 1 Tbls. lemon juice
• 2 Tbls. corn starch

For the crumble:

• 1 C. flour
• 1/4 C. shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 C. coconut palm sugar
• 1/2 C. sliced almonds
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick butter softened

For the coconut cream:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk put in refrigerator overnight
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbls. sugar

Instructions

• For the fruit: Put frozen fruit in bowl and let defrost completely. If you have a lot of liquid, drain off so it's not too watery when cooked. Toss fruit with sugar, lemon and cornstarch and place in 8X8 square baking dish.
• For the crumble: In separate bowl, combine crumble ingredients. With a pastry cutter, combine until coarse crumbles are formed.
• Sprinkle crumble over fruit. Bake in preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and bubbly along the edges. Set aside to cool and set up, then top each serving with a dollop of coconut cream.
• Make the coconut cream: Scoop the hardened cream from a can of full fat coconut milk (easiest to set the can in the refrigerator the night before so the cream will harden) into a bowl. Save the coconut water for another use. Add vanilla and sugar. Whip until creamy.

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!  Judy

Here’s a couple more delicious recipes I think you’ll enjoy:

Coconut Mango Lime Popsicles

Quick and Easy Peach Dessert

Creamy Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

The post Tropical Fruit Crumble with Coconut Cream appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I recently posted a recipe on my blog for blueberry cheesecake ice cream and let me tell you… I’ve made a lot of ice cream this summer and it might have been my favorite so far! I liked it so much I just had to  make it again and spread the word.  You NEED this cheesecake ice cream in your life. Right now!

I adapted my favorite creamy cheesecake recipe into an ice cream base and it turned out amazing! Tastes exactly like the cheesecake I love so much.  Then, to make it even better, there’s an insanely delicious strawberry/blueberry sauce and yummy graham cracker crumbles to top your ice cream with. You could swirl them into the ice cream base prior to freezing the ice cream if you wanted. I decided to use them as toppings this time around.

I really hope you get a chance to make and enjoy this Cheesecake Ice Cream.  You’re gonna love it!

Print

Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients

• For the Ice Cream base:
• 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
• 1 C. sour cream
• 1 C. whole milk
• ½ C. heavy cream
• ¾ C. sugar
• 2 Tbls. vanilla
• ½ lemon juiced
• For the Strawberry/ Blueberry sauce:
• 1 C. blueberries
• 1 C. sliced strawberries
• ½ C. water
• ½ C. sugar
• ½ lemon juiced
• 1 Tbls. corn starch - optional if you want a thicker sauce
• For the Graham Cracker crumble:
• 1 package graham crackers one wrapped envelope from box
• ½ C. flour
• ¼ C. brown sugar
• ½ stick butter melted

Instructions

• Make the Ice Cream base: In blender or food processor, or use a hand mixer, add ice cream base ingredients and blend to combine ingredients. Pour into container and refrigerate several hours or overnight to completely chill the mixture.
• Make the Strawberry/Blueberry sauce: Combine strawberry/blueberry sauce ingredients into saucepan. Stir well and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat and cook several minutes until fruit has softened and sauce is thickened. You can crush the fruit if you want or leave it chunky. Pour into container and chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Make the Graham Cracker crumble: Preheat oven to 350° Crush the graham crackers into coarse crumbles. Combine graham crackers in bowl with remaining crumble ingredients. Stir thoroughly to combine ingredients and make sure they're all covered with the melted butter. Spread on baking sheet and bake in oven about 10 minutes. Stir a few times while baking, and be sure not to let it burn. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in plastic bag until ready to use.
• Make the Ice Cream: Churn ice cream base in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Mine takes about 20 minutes. Pour into freezer container and freeze a few hours to firm up.

Notes

If you want to swirl in the fruit and graham cracker crumble instead of using them as a topping, pour half of ice cream mixture in freezer container. Layer some strawberry/blueberry sauce and some crumble. Top with remaining ice cream, then more fruit/graham crackers. Using a knife, lightly swirl through the ice cream. Sprinkle a little more crumble on top, cover and freeze until frozen throughout.

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!  Judy

Here’s a couple more ice cream recipes I think you’ll enjoy:

Classic Vanilla Ice Cream

Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream (dairy free, no churn)

The post Cheesecake Ice Cream appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I’ve been pinning a lot of lemon blueberry recipes for quite some time looking for the perfect lemon blueberry cake recipe.  When I came across this pin from Chef in Training, I thought it looked so moist and full of blueberries, just want I was looking for, so I gave it a try.

This Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake is fantastic and I’m sure you will love it too!

The recipe called for the loaves to be baked for 55-60 minutes.  I checked mine at 55 minutes and I think I should have taken it out about 5 minutes earlier.  It was still moist and delicious, but the edges were a bit browned.  After 45-50 minutes start checking your loaves by poking with a tooth pick and if it comes out clean it’s ready!

I wanted the cake to have a strong lemon flavor so I swapped the vanilla for lemon extract in the cake portion of the recipe.  For the glaze I only used only lemon juice and no milk as called for.  If you’d like a milder lemon flavor make it according to the recipe as written.

Enjoy this Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake any time of the day.  I had a slice (ok, let’s be honest, 2 slices) for breakfast with a big cup of coffee after my workout.  Now that’s a perfect breakfast, in my opinion!

Print

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter 2 sticks, room temperature
• 1¾ cups sugar
• zest of one large lemon
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 2½ cups flour plus a bit more to toss with the blueberries
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Lemon Glaze
• 1½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat on low an additional minute after each egg, adding vanilla with the last egg.
• In a separate large bowl add dry ingredients and stir to combine.
• Alternate adding 1/3 of the dry ingredients and the buttermilk at a time to the butter/sugar/lemon zest/egg mixture. Don't over mix, just combine the ingredients.
• In small bowl, toss the blueberries with a tablespoon or two of flour to coat the blueberries (this helps keep them from sinking to the bottom when baking). Gently fold blueberries into batter.
• Grease and flour 2 large loaf pans.
• Divide batter between the pans and bake for about 50-55 min. Start checking for doneness after 45 minutes.
• Let loaves cool about a half hour, remove from pans. Drizzle glaze over top of loaves.

To make the Lemon Glaze:

• Whisk together glaze ingredients in mixing bowl until smooth.

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!

Judy

Here’s a few more delicious baking treats from my blog I’m sure you’ll enjoy:

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Tops

Double Berry Muffins

Zucchini Pineapple Muffins

 This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z

The post Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Recently I made a Shaved Asparagus Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette (and topped it with salmon) which was so incredible that when I came across this recipe for asparagus salad from The First Mess on Pinterest I knew it had to be good.  I love the Asian flare the dressing has with it’s chili paste, rice vinegar and sesame oil, along with ginger, garlic, lime, and honey.  A delightful combination.

No need to turn on any ovens or stove for this recipe.  It’s a raw salad! Perfect for hot days when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen.

To make this shaved asparagus salad discard the tough bottoms and don’t use the tops, but don’t throw those tops away, save them for another recipe.  Instead of cutting off the tops of the asparagus I found it easiest to peel the asparagus by holding on to the head.  Using a good, sharp vegetable peeler is essential.

If you love asparagus as much as I do, you’re gonna love this Shaved Asparagus Salad with Asian Dressing.  Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Print

Shaved Asparagus Salad with Asian Dressing

Course Salad

Cuisine Asian

Author Judy

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and grated
• 1 lime zest and juice
• 2 tsp. chili paste
• 1 Tbls. honey or agave nectar
• 1 Tbls. rice vinegar not seasoned
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbls. grape seed oil or other neutral oil
• salt & pepper to taste

For the Salad:

• 1 bunch thick stalk asparagus ends trimmed and stalks peeled into ribbons
• Handfull of thinly sliced cabbage I used about 2 handfuls
• 2-3 green onions thinly sliced (I used 2)
• 3 sprigs of mint leaves removed and finely sliced
• 1/3 C. peanuts roughly chopped (I used dry roasted peanuts)

Instructions

• Make the Dressing: In small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients in small jar with lid. Shake well to combine.
• Make the Salad: Toss the peeled asparagus ribbons, cabbage, green onions, and mint in medium bowl to combine. Just prior to serving, pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Garnish with chopped peanuts and additional mint (if desired).

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!

Judy

P.S.  Here’s a few more of my favorite salads I’m sure you’ll enjoy:

Mexican Street Corn, Zucchini & Shrimp

Chicken Salad w/Curry Dressing

Orange Avocado & Fennel Salad

This awesome post has been shared with Homestories A to Z and Whipperberry.

The post Shaved Asparagus Salad with Asian Dressing appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I love the combination of strawberry-orange-banana in my smoothies so I thought I’d turn my favorite smoothie into a popsicle and used a recipe I discovered on Pinterest from Simply Happenstance.

These popsicles are made with strawberries (I used frozen, thawed), a banana, juice from one orange, some vanilla yogurt (I used greek yogurt) and a bit of honey.  Blend it up in a blender, pour into popsicle molds and freeze.  How easy is that? This recipe makes 6 popsicles but my mold makes 10 popsicles.  Couldn’t leave those empty so I blended my morning green smoothie and poured it in the remaining 4 molds.  Yum!  Of course, you could just increase the amount of ingredients and fill up the remaining popsicle molds with more strawberry, orange, banana mixture.

Time to dust off your popsicle mold, or buy one if you don’t have one, so you’ll be ready to make these homemade Strawberry Orange Banana Popsicles for the kids this summer.  A treat you’ll feel good about giving them!

Print

Strawberry Orange Banana Popsicles

Ingredients

• 1 C. sliced strawberries
• 1 banana
• Juice from 1 orange
• 1/2 C. vanilla yogurt
• Honey optional, to taste

Instructions

• Add strawberries, banana, orange juice and yogurt to blender.
• Blend until smooth. Taste and add honey, if desired, then blend to combine honey.
• Pour mixture into popsicle molds (add the sticks) and freeze for 4 hours or until hardened.

Notes

Recipe from Simply Happenstance

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!

Judy

P.S.  Here’s a few more of my favorite treats I think you might enjoy:

Cantaloupe & Ice Cream

Strawberry Rhubarb Float

Quick and Easy Peachy Dessert

This awesome post has been shared with Tatertots and Jello and Whipperberry

The post Strawberry Orange Banana Popsicles appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

When I was trying to decide what I wanted to make to share this month I kept thinking of some sort of fresh salad with spring veggies.  Perhaps artichokes or asparagus.  When I came across a pin from Two Peas and Their Pod for a Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Peas, Avocados & Lemon Basil Dressing I knew I had to give it a try.

I’m so glad I did!  It’s a fantastic, fresh tasting salad that I enjoyed warm and chilled.  The lemon basil dressing is delicious and I loved how the creamy avocado contrasts with the crunchy peas and asparagus…and even the little pop you get from the quinoa.

I highly recommend this Spring Quinoa Salad, it’s fantastic!

Print

Spring Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 2 C. water
• 1 C. quinoa
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 small bunch asparagus cut into 1" pieces
• 1 tbls. fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 C. frozen peas
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/4 C. chopped basil
• salt & pepper to taste

For the Vinaigrette

• 3 Tbls. olive oil
• 3 Tbls. fresh lemon juice about 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 Tbls. finely chopped basil
• salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

• Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in bowl or dressing jar, whisk or shake well to combine. Set aside.
• In medium saucepan add water, salt and quinoa. Bring to boil and continue to boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Fluff quinoa with a fork.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat and add asparagus and lemon juice. Quickly sauté to soften asparagus. Add peas and heat through.
• In large bowl, add quinoa, asparagus, peas and avocado. Toss with the vinaigrette. Add basil and salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.

Notes

You could also steam the asparagus and peas or blanch in boiling water if you prefer not to sauté it in a skillet.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

For more delicious recipes I hope you’ll visit my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram or Twitter. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!

Judy

Here’s a few more recipes I think you might enjoy:

Tortellini with Asparagus, Basil & Parmesan

Mexican Quinoa Bowl with Chipotle Vinaigrette

Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Mint & Pine Nuts

This amazing article has been shared with Whipperberry!

The post Spring Quinoa Salad appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner I wanted to find something Irish inspired to make this month.  I found lots of pins for corned beef, cabbage, etc. but when I came across a pin for Irish Potato Bread from Jo and Sue I thought that sounded perfect.  I mean, hello? Homemade bread? Yummmmmmm! And since it’s a quick bread and doesn’t require any yeast and proofing, it sounded simple enough to make.  If you have a bread machine, I bet you could let the machine do all the work, but I didn’t try it with my machine this time around.

Instead of making a round loaf of bread as the original recipe suggested, I decided to make them in a muffin pan for individual sized rolls. I love the crusty top of any bread and thought a muffin pan would be fun with lots of crusty tops!  Plus, there’s something fun about individual sized portions.

These Irish Potato Bread rolls are tender on the inside, nice and crusty on the outside.  Tasty, moist and really, really good with butter slathered all over them!!! I added a half cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese to the recipe which was a great addition.  I loved the caraway seeds and chives in this bread and next time I would add even more! These would be great dunked in soup or sopping up the yummy juices from the corned beef and cabbage you might be making for St. Patrick’s Day.

Print

Irish Potato Bread

You can make this bread as individual rolls in a muffin pan or one large loaf (see notes)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cooked mashed potato
• 3/4 cup raw grated potato
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese I used monterey jack
• 2 Tbsp chives sliced (add more if you like)
• 1 tsp caraway seeds add more if you like
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• In bowl, stir together chives, caraway seeds, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, add mashed potato, grated potato, egg, egg white, oil, and milk and stir until well combined.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Turn dough onto floured work surface and knead several times.
• Divide dough into 12 balls. Place dough balls in muffin tin. Cut an "X" on top of each ball of dough with a knife.
• Bake 30 minutes, until golden and sound hollow when tapped on. Cool on wire rack.
• These rolls are best served warm with butter!

Notes

To make one large round loaf:
Grease (or use cooking spray) a 8" round cake pan or pie dish. After kneading dough several times, form dough into round loaf and place in prepared pan. Cut an "X" across the top. Bake 375 degree for about 45-55 minutes, until golden and sounds hollow when tapped on. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Recipe from: Jo and Sue

For more delicious recipes, please check out my blog at I’m Bored Let’s Go or catch up with me on  Facebook,  Pinterest,  Instagram,  Twitter or  Google+. I’d love for you to follow along!

See you next month!

Judy

In the meantime, here’s two more recipes you might enjoy for St. Patricks Day:

Cabbage with Bacon & Roasted Potatoes

Reuben Soup

 This amazing post has been shared with Living Well Spending Less and Tatertots and Jello.

The post Irish Potato Bread appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Chutney is a condiment similar to relish and is typically made with some kind of fruit, a bit of sugar, and some vinegar and spices. When I saw a pin on Pinterest for a bruschetta with strawberry chutney and goat cheese by Rock Recipes my interest was piqued. I love Major Grey’s chutney, made with mango and raisins, so I thought a strawberry chutney would be something delicious to try. The combination of sweet strawberries, balsamic vinegar and spices pairs so well. And let me tell you, when the spices hit the pan the aroma is fantastic! The toasted slice of baguette adds a nice crunch while the goat cheese adds some smooth creaminess. All the flavors blend so nicely into one delicious bite.

This recipe for Bruschetta with Strawberry Chutney and Goat Cheese is simple to make and delicious served a bit warm…gets that goat cheese a little melty. Yum!

Print

Bruschetta with Strawberry Chutney and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1/2 clove garlic. chopped
• 1/2 pound ripe strawberries cut in quarters
• 1 to 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 baguette sliced
• 4 oz. goat cheese

Instructions

• Heat olive oil over medium heat in sauté pan and add shallot and garlic. Cook until the shallots and garlic are soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add strawberries, honey, thyme, cinnamon, salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat (stir occasionally) until the strawberries break down and the mixture starts to become the consistency of jam.
• Add balsamic vinegar and cook a couple more minutes. Taste and adjust with more honey if it's too sour or more vinegar if it's too sweet.
• Slice baguette. Brush with olive oil and toast in oven.
• Top each baguette slice with some goat cheese and a dollop of the strawberry chutney.

Here’s a couple more recipes I think you might like:

Caprese Salad Stack

Beet, Peach & Goat Cheese Salad

Chicken Satay

 This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z and Living Well Spending Less.

The post Strawberry Chutney and Goat Cheese Bruschetta appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

As with every new year, probably the most common New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight (or eat healthier, or exercise more).  I know after the overindulgence of the holidays, which seem to start in October with Halloween, we might be looking for satisfying and healthier meals.  I know I am, but I don’t want to eat just salads and fish or chicken. For me, the best way to get back on track is to cut down on the carbs! However, I still need some stick to your bones kind of food.

So when I saw a pin for Black Bean and Beef Chili with Cilantro, Lime and Avocado Salsa from Kalyns Kitchen I knew I would love it and had to give it a try. I’ve been a fan of Kalyn’s site for quite some time. The recipes I’ve tried from her have never disappointed and they’re simple to make!

If you’re looking for a fantastic, flavorful, and healthier low carb chili, give this Beef and Black Bean Chili recipe a try.  I promise you won’t be disappointed!  And don’t forget, Super Bowl is coming up…this would make a great addition to your Super Bowl festivities.  The guys will love this chili too!

See you next month!

All the best, Judy

Print

Beef and Black Bean Chili

A delicious chili recipe that's low carb and satisfying very slightly adapted from Kalyns Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 cans black beans
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• pinch ground Chipotle chile pepper or one diced chile from a can of Chipotle Chiles in Adobo
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. very lean ground beef less than 10% fat
• 1 C. diced onion
• 1 T or more regular chile powder
• 1 T or more ground Ancho chile pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile pepper
• 2 tsp. ground cumin I used about 3 tsp.
• 2 C. homemade beef stock or 1 can beef broth
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 bunch cilantro chopped (reserve half for guacamole)

For the guacamole:

• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 bunch cilantro chopped
• 2 avocados
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place 2 of the 3 cans of black beans in colander and rinse well and drain. Set aside.
• In a food processor puree the third can of undrained beans, tomatoes with their liquid, and pinch of Chipotle chile powder or whole chipotle, depending on which you're using. Process until smooth.
• In bottom of heavy soup pot, heat 2 tsp. olive oil, add ground beef (breaking it apart as you cook it) and diced onions. Cook until beef is browned and onions are soft.
• Add all the chile powders and cumin and saute about 30 seconds more.
• Add beef stock, pureed bean mixture, drained beans from colander and tomato paste. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes (or longer on low heat). Taste to see if you need more chili powder, if you used a whole chipotle chile you probably won't need any more spice.
• About 5 minutes before serving, stir in half of the chopped cilantro and 1/4 cup lime juice and continue to simmer. Taste chili and season with salt and pepper if desired.
• Serve Chili hot, with a generous scoop of guacamole on top of each serving.

Make the Avocado Salsa

• Slice avocados in half lengthwise and remove pit. Scoop out flesh and put in mixing bowl with 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, cilantro, red onion. Stir to combine and lightly mash the avocado. (Original recipe had the avocado just diced). Cover and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

 If you like this and want to read more please  follow I’m Bored, Let’s Go here:
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You might also like:

Carnitas

Mexican Taco Casserole

 Refried Bean Soup

This post has been shared with Living Well Spending Less.

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For me nothing says winter time and the holidays quite as much as eggnog does.  I always look forward to eggnog making an appearance in the grocery stores this time of the year.  It’s one of my favorite wintertime holiday treats…well, besides fudge and peppermint bark! I love this sweet, thick, creamy, eggy drink! While homemade eggnog is fantastic, don’t worry, you don’t need to make homemade eggnog (unless you want to) for this recipe.  Just grab a carton of it next time you’re at the market, store-bought eggnog is perfect for baking with, not to mention quick and easy!

I love to doctor up cake mixes for making bundt cakes so when I saw this pin from Cooking with Ruthie I knew it would be one I had to try. This Eggnog Bundt Cake is so moist and is really tasty.  The frosting similar to a butter cream frosting but made thinner with additional eggnog.  The looser frosting, while thicker than a glaze, will still drip down the sides of the bundt cake.  For the finishing touch I grated some fresh nutmeg on top!

Enjoy!

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Egg Nog Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 sm. box white chocolate instant pudding mix
• ½ C egg nog
• ½ C sour cream
• 4 eggs
• ¼ C vegetable oil
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ¼ C water

For the Pan Coating:

• ⅓ C sugar
• 1½ tsp cinnamon

for the Frosting

• 1/2 stick butter softened
• ¼ C egg nog room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 2 C powdered sugar
• Optional: fresh grated nutmeg to garnish top of cake

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray bundt pan with cooking spray.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly to coat bundt pan. Shake off excess and save it for later. Set pan aside.
• In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, pudding, nutmeg; stir to combine, then add egg nog, sour cream, eggs, oil, water and blend until well combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Sprinkle leftover cinnamon/sugar mixture over the batter.
• Bake 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cake rest on cake rack in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Turn out cake onto cooling rack and let cool completely.

To make the Frosting

• In a mixing bowl cream butter, vanilla, and eggnog. Add nutmeg, salt, and powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Blend well until smooth and loose, adjust as needed with more egg nog or powdered sugar to get a good consistency.
• Put cake on serving platter, spoon frosting around the top of cake and let it drizzle down the sides. If desired, grate some fresh nutmeg to garnish top of cake

 Here’s some of my other favorite cake recipes:

Carrot Cake

Black Russian Bundt Cake

Baileys Irish Cream Bundt Cake 

 If you’d like to see more from me, you can follow I’m Bored, Let’s Go here:
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I found a pin for these cute little pies from Whisk Away Your Worries and thought they looked mouthwatering awesome!  Seriously, who doesn’t love salted caramel and apples?  And combining that into pie form is perfect.  Actually, individual pie form = even more perfection! Built in portion control if you only eat one.  Sorry to say I failed in that department.

During the hectic holiday cooking frenzy it’s always nice to find things to make that are simple, yet tasty and impressive.  These little pies fit that bill perfectly.  I used store bought pie crust because 1) it’s easy, and 2) I’ve never made crust from scratch.  I’m sure if you have a fantastic pie crust recipe and love to make homemade pie crust you could use that instead. Go for it!  For the rest of us, store bought is just fine.

You might think only one apple isn’t enough for the filling.  I know I did when I saw the recipe but it really is.  In fact, I made 8 little pies and had some filling leftover which would have been enough for a couple more little pies.  You will also have leftover crust after cutting out the circles so you could re-roll and get a few more pies.  Otherwise, if you’re just making 8, grab yourself a spoon and eat the leftover filling while the pies are cooking.  No one will know but you!

The original recipe didn’t call for any caramel sauce drizzled on top but I couldn’t help myself and gave each of the Salted Caramel Apple Pies a drizzle of caramel sauce.  It makes them a bit more difficult (read: messy) to eat but I didn’t care much….bring on the caramel!  And keep a napkin nearby.

I hope you all enjoy these Salted Caramel Apple Pies as much as I did.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I’ll see you all next month.

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Salted Caramel Apple Pies

Course Dessert

Author Judy Heinrich

Ingredients

• 1 box refrigerated pie crust
• 1 large apple peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 6 store-bought caramels diced into about 4 pieces each

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and cinnamon and diced caramels. Set aside.
• In small bowl, mix egg with water and set aside.
• Unroll pie crusts. Using a circular cookie cutter or glass, cut out as many circles as you can. I used a glass that was 3 1/4" wide and got 8 circles per sheet of dough. If you want to roll out the pie dough scraps you could probably get a few more circles cut out.
• Place half of the crusts on cookie sheet. Top each pie crust circle with a spoonful of the apple/caramel mixture. Make sure each piece has about 4 or more caramel pieces on it. Sprinkle each with a bit of sea salt. Top each pie with another pie crust circle. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges of the crusts together to seal the top crust to the bottom. Make an X on top with a small knife to slice vents on each pie.
• Brush the tops of each pie with a bit of the egg mixture then sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake in until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack. Store pies in airtight container.
• Optional: Drizzle some of your favorite caramel sauce over each pie for extra caramel goodness!

If you’re looking for other Thanksgiving recipes, be sure to check out my Ancho Chile Brined Turkey,  Sweet Potato Noodles with Pancetta, Pecans & Craisins, Spinach Mushrooms & Cheese Casserole.

 If you want to see what else I’m cooking up at I’m Bored, Let’s Go you can follow me here:
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It’s getting close to Halloween and I have a simple homemade treat to share with you today. These cookie truffles would be great to take to a Halloween party if you’re looking for something quick, simple and homemade to take along.

This year I’m living in an apartment building and not anticipating any trick or treaters. This makes me a little sad. I really love seeing all the kiddos dressed up and excited for the impending sugar high they will be on for the next several days. I don’t know about you but I always seem to buy way too much candy. I tell ya, those last few groups of trick or treaters that come by my house are the luckiest ones…they get the candy bowl dumped in their bag so I won’t eat it all the next day! This year I thought I’d make some treats to share with the staff at the apartment building I live in. They’re always so pleasant and always eager and willing to taste test whatever I bring down to them.

I came across a pin for Candy Corn Oreo Truffles from Shugary Sweets that sounded intriguing so I thought I’d give it a try. Have you ever had cookie truffles before? This was my first time I had one…or made them. They’re seriously simple to make, only 3 ingredients (not counting the candy decoration). I think kids would have a ball helping out in the kitchen with these!

Basically all you do is grind up Oreo cookies into fine crumbs, blend them with some cream cheese and roll them into little balls. Once chilled, they get a dunking in melted white chocolate, decorated with a candy corn or some sprinkles and that’s it. Doesn’t get much easier than that does it?

These little balls are pretty sweet! The inside kind of reminds me of cookie dough (I guess that would make sense since they’re made from cookies). I was unable to find Candy Corn flavored Oreos so I used the golden Oreos and added a little orange food coloring to the mix, then topped them off with candy corn and chocolate sprinkles. I imagine with all the different flavors of Oreo cookies that are available throughout the year, you’d be able to make quite a variety of cookie truffles for any occasion. A quick google search showed an assortment of limited edition flavors like Pumpkin Spice (that would be delicious this time of year), Marshmallow Crispy, Birthday Cake and so on. I think I’ll try Chocolate Mint next!

Thanks again MFP for allowing me to contribute to your site this month. See you next month!

All the best,

Judy @ I’m Bored Let’s Go

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Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Truffles

Author Adapted by I'm Bored Let's Go!

Ingredients

• 30 Candy Corn Oreo cookies or use golden Oreos and a little orange food coloring
• 6 oz cream cheese softened
• 16 oz. white chocolate melting wafers melted (I used a 120z. bag of Ghirardelli
• brand)
• Candy corn and/or sprinkles for decoration

Instructions

• Put cookies in a food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs.
• In a mixing bowl, combine crumbs with softened cream cheese. Blend well until
• completely combined.
• Roll dough into one-inch balls sized balls (doesn't have to be exact!). Freeze balls on
• cookie sheet lined with wax paper for one hour.
• Melt chocolate candy coating according to package directions.
• Dip frozen truffle into melted chocolate, letting excess drip off (I used a couple
• toothpicks to dip the balls into the chocolate) Place on cookie sheet and immediately
• top with candy corn or colorful sprinkles.
• Repeat until all truffles have been dipped.
• Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 If you like this recipe, you might also like these!

Honey Apple Cake

My Favorite Pesto

Ginger Pork

Thanks so much Judy for sharing these treats!  I have just the perfect person in mind to make these for!!

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