Buffalo Chicken Bites

My absolute fave: (if you make these you WILL get asked for the recipe…so be prepared!! )  I wish I could remember where I got this recipe…I just have it copied and pasted into a folder…but thank you to whoever created these!!  The seasoning in the cream cheese is what makes them.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

 8 ounces softened cream cheese

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp old bay seasoning

12 jalapenos halved and seeded

24 six inch pieces of bacon uncooked

 Preheat oven to 350

 Combine cream cheese and spices in a small bowl.  Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level.  Wrap each in bacon and place in on a baking sheet.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove and enjoy!

(from: the girl who ate everything)

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Jalapeno Dip

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 cup pineapple preserves
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp peeled and deveined
• 2 egg whites
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

Combine lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and pineapple preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.

Place cornstarch and coconut on two separate plates. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip and coat the shrimp with cornstarch. Next, dip the shrimp in the egg whites and finally in the coconut coating well.

Place shrimp on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until coconut is a golden brown. Make sure to turn it once halfway through (around 8 minutes into cooking time) to make sure both sides brown.

Serve with pineapple dipping sauce.

I haven’t made this recipe before, but I LOVE potato skins and these have more of a twice baked potato vibe to them which I love too!!

Potato Skins with Cheddar, Bacon and Shallots
Makes 8 servings
printable recipe here on The Comfort of Cooking
Ingredients
8 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed
8 strips bacon
3 shallots, finely chopped
3/4 cups milk
3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley, optional
2 scallions, optional

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the potato skins all over with a fork. Bake in the oven for about 45–50 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium-high heat about 4 minutes, until golden. Remove from pan, chop into small pieces and set aside. Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about 1 minute more.

Slice off the top third of each potato, horizontally. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Reserve the hollowed-out skins and place in a lightly oiled baking dish.

Mash the potato with a potato masher. Add the milk and butter, and beat until smooth. Stir in the cheddar, bacon and shallots and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and golden on top. Serve hot with extra chopped parsley, cheddar or scallions sprinkled on top, if desired.

I’m definitely making these on mini slider buns…

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Makes 4-8 servings
Ingredients

MARINADE:

Place desired amount of chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls and a few tablespoons of sauce. Top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half.

Are you hungry yet??  I’ll also be making my chili dip…no pictures, but it’s super easy!

one can of chili

1 cup cheddar cheese shredded

1 brick of cream cheese

heat and mix together either in a crock pot or the microwave.  Serve with fritos scoops…REALLY healthy!!

AND who can forget the sweets???

The Perfect Lemon Bars

Pizookie in a Jar (I love that you can re-heat these and top with ice cream as people are ready to eat)

Ice Cream Sundae Brownies

Whew…I’m feeling like I need to go to the gym just for writing this post!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Super Bowl Weekend!!

tammy

Have a great day!
tammy

I am loving the rich color palette that this bride likes…that mustardy gold…YUM!! 

Have a great day!

tammy

Aren’t they adorable??  I can’t get enough of them!!   Here’s the good news…you can make these with a few molds from Michaels, some chocolate melts in your chosen color, and a few minutes.  Save up your 40% off coupons.  All you’ll need is a microwave to make them.  The instructions are on the back of the chocolate melts packages.  Happy sucker making!!

Have a great day!
tammy

and the back…

or you can do it without the boom box handle… 

A funny side note…when I asked Andy if he knew what a stereo was he said  “nope.”  Feeling a little dated here!!   Anyways, he loved them and thinks they are totally fun…even if he does have to explain to all the kids what a stereo is. lol!! 

Would you like to create these yourself?  Here’s what you’ll need:

-large (movie theater box size) box of sweetarts  (Walmart or the Dollar Store are the cheapest I’ve found)

2 small boxes of lemonheads or similar

2 large chocolate coins

2 medium chocolate coins (you can find all these coins in bags at party city in their candy section)

1 small box of nerds

2 rolos

if you want to create the handle you’ll need about 6″ of ribbon.  Tie a knot at each end and then glue the handles at the knots to the top of your stereo. 

You’ll also need this free printable message for the back of your stereo.    You know I love you guys!!   Cut them to about 3.5x 5.5 size.

Download your free copy here:

Free Stereo Valentine Printable

And…if you’re in the mood to listen to the song, here you go! 

 have a great day!
tammy

Project #2 is going to be the party of the year!!  One of my darling little clients is turning the big O-N-E and we are going to CELEBRATE!!!  Here’s a  little sneak of some of the images dancing in my head that are serving as inspiration for this shindig…

oh!  I can’t wait!!!

have a great day!
tammy

I’ve been thinking a lot about our family traditions lately since I was asked to be a guest blogger over at The Sand Bucket, and I realized that I have never shared this one here on the blog.  All growing up we have had this tradition and it is really a fun one.  I think it’s a danish tradition if I remember correctly.  My grandma has always tried to incorporate parts of our heritage into our Christmas dinner which is fun.  It’s something fun that even the adults look forward to every year!

Each year for Christmas dessert we have rice pudding.  I have to be honest, it has never been my favorite, but the game made me eat it!!   As I’ve grown my tastes have changed and now I actually like it and I have a yummy recipe to share, so hang on!   Grandma heads to the kitchen…by herself..no peeking allowed!  She fills small dessert cups with the warm pudding then she places ONE white almond into one of the cups.  Since the pudding is white and the almond is white it is nearly impossible to detect it!  She tops all the cups off  with cherries and whipped cream and delivers them on a tray to those of us anxiously waiting in the living room.  Here’s the catch….there’s a prize…usually an entire box of sees candy for the winner…the one who finds the almond in their pudding.  It’s pretty funny to watch the different tactics that everyone uses to find “the lucky cup.”  The room is silent as everyone eats their pudding and hunts for the almond.  They all chew carefully and hope that it’s their lucky day.  It’s even funnier to watch the kids choke it down since several of them don’t particularly care for it, but you have to eat it to win and they are determined to win! 

So, do you want to play this year?  Here’s a yummy rice pudding recipe:

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

I hope your family has as much fun with this tradition as ours does!!  Enjoy!
Have a great day!
tammy

I bought some gingerbread man kits at my local trader joes, loaded the table with candy and sweets and let the boys have at it.  I was thoroughly impressed with their creations.  They were actually much more creative and took a lot more time to work with them than I expected. 

The table decor was made up of things from around the house.  Andy’s already decorated gingerbread house, a few fake table top trees, a plastic tablecloth made clean up a breeze!

The cute little gingerbread dishes Ifound at Michaels for .99 cents each.  A deal!!  They worked well to hold icing for decorating.  After the kids made their gingerbread men we had pizza and watched A Christmas Carol.  It was a fun, easy and relatively inexpensive evening for the boys.  I scored some big mom points with minimal work…that’s my kind of party!!

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

-tammy

You can download this FREE CHRISTMAS SUBWAY ART HERE

Again, this would make a wonderful gift.  Print it out in 8×10 size and frame it for an inexpensive, fun gift.  You can print this in 8×10 at home or 16×20 at Costco just like usual. 

Have a great day!
tammy

This free download coordinates with our printable party Rudolph Collection.

You can find and download the FREE CHRISTMAS SUBWAY ART HERE

For a fun, inexpensive gift you could print a frame this subway art in a fun inexpensive frame from Homegoods or the like and ta-da!!  An easy gift!!

Enjoy!! 

Have a great day!
tammy