Broccoli Cheddar Soup With Crispy Pancetta

Now that the weather is getting colder (or, per usual, in North Carolina...flip flopping daily) soup is making its way into my dinner repertoire with a vengeance. This is one I had been playing around with for a while and finally made it happen one afternoon when I was craving something simple and filling. This recipe fits the bill on both counts. 

This is when I should admit that this may be the first time I actually ate my broccoli. Covered in cheese, cream and the addition of crispy pancetta. And it was worth every caloric bite. 

I also didn't use flour in this recipe so as long as you use gluten free stock, you can make this gluten free. 

This was best served immediately, if you have leftovers and want to re heat, add a little more cream and cheese as it heats.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

3 cups cheddar (shredded)
1/2 cup colby jack (shredded)
2 cups cream
1/4 cup stock
1/4 cup chopped pancetta (crisped)


Heat the cream on medium until it begins to bubble, add in the cheese and stock. Whisk continuously until it begins to thicken.  Add pepper and salt to taste. 

Ladle into bowls and top with pancetta. 

This got my husband's seal of approval and surprisingly...mine 

Pancetta & Prosciutto Mac & Cheese{Southern Version}

I may have a slight addiction to bacon and ham, in any form. And two of my favorites are these lovely Italian styles. I sometimes buy them and just throw them in the saute pan with a little bourbon and apricot jelly and call it dinner. Obviously a lot of work goes into meals around here.

But seriously, pancetta wrapped pretzels, biscuits stuffed with goat cheese and prosciutto, brie with pancetta and prosciutto and maple pumpkin butter wrapped in puff pastry...the combinations are endless.

And since I am a proper Southern lady, I adore me some mac and cheese and decided to try out this combo of two of my favorite regional flavors.

and yes, it was a winner. And I will start this by saying, the first time I made it...I was somewhat ambivalent towards it. My hubs really liked it. So the second time I made it(which was what I will reference as "The Tuscan" version), I made changes that made me fall in love. And so I adapted it for the purpose of sharing with you guys.

1 pound pasta 

 8 oz shredded yellow cheddar(reserving a small handful)

8 oz white cheddar(reserving a small handful)

1/4 lb pancetta (thinly sliced)

1/4 lb prosciutto

1 cup heavy cream

salt/pepper to taste

 Chop the pancetta and prosciutto and saute until crispy, (I added a little olive oil and then patted them dry to remove any excess oil after cooking) set aside.Boil the pasta to al dente(if you overcook it will turn to mush in the baking process.) Drain and place in a separate bowl while you make the sauce. In the pan, on medium heat, heat the cream up, slowly adding the cheeses and diligently whisking to create a sauce. Once it has thickened up, add in the pasta, continuously stirring to coat. Toss in the pancetta and prosciutto, stirring to mix thoroughly. Place in a baking dish, top with the remaining cheeses and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.

notes***This is the original one I made, and I didn't saute the meats, yeah...I don't recommend that. and the second time I used shell pasta, it just seems to hold the sauce better. In a few weeks I will share the Tuscan version, it was an accident, I actually hadn't set out to make it, Wiki came home with ingredients I normally wouldn't use and let's just say.."Happy Accident" 

And if you like this, you'd probably love my pancetta and prosciutto bourbon and goat cheese pizza, check it out here.

Linking up with

Ashley & Jessica
Not Just a Housewife
Wonderful Food Wednesday
The Weekly Creative

Bacon Wrapped Ribs With a Brown Sugar, Chili and Bourbon Glaze

This was one of those ideas that just came about from eyeing two separate items almost simultaneously in my fridge. I am probably not the first person to wrap bacon around ribs, but...let's just for the sake of fun, pretend I am. I feel better about myself already.

Mainly, the best thing about this recipe is that it, once again, combines two of my absolute favorite edible items: bacon and bourbon. And it was just as good as I thought it would be.

This is one of those recipes that you really can't go wrong with, you can switch in and out any spices or sauce, making it sweeter or spicier. Whatever pleases your palette most.

Ingredients

1 lb boneless pork ribs

bacon(you will need one slice per rib)

2 cups bbq sauce(homemade or store bought)

1/4 cup bourbon

2 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp chili pwdr

1/4 cup apricot jam(optional)

Mix together the brown sugar and chili powder to create a rub. Wrap each rib in a slice of bacon. Brush the ribs with the bourbon and sprinkle one side with the rub. Place in a very hot saute pan(I had used olive oil to prevent sticking), seasoned side down. Brush unseasoned side with bourbon and sprinkle with the rub. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side to get slightly crispy. Place in crockpot and top with bbq sauce and apricot jam. You can also add any left over bourbon or spices.

or if you want...just add more bourbon. Period.

Keep on low for for 7 to 8 hours, or high for 4 to 5.  If you want the ribs to maintain their "rib shape" integrity, you may want to cut cooking time by about 30 min. Otherwise  it is fall apart and still beyond delicious. If you do not have a crockpot, you should be able to bake these at 375 for 2 hrs or so, keeping watch to make sure you have enough liquid. 

If you have some left over, they are perfect for shredded pork tacos.

Linking up with

Taste of Tuesday

Avocado and Egg Salad

I should probably tell you first that I made this and didn't eat any as there are things in this life I love to eat and well.... avocado and eggs do not fall into that category  But I stumbled upon the picture on pinterest and promptly pinned it under my "for the mister" board knowing it would be right up Wiki's alley.

He was running late coming home from work on Friday and I had already eaten and when I looked in the fridge saw I had hard boiled eggs and we always have avocado on had and I remembered seeing this recipe and decided to whip it up. 

It seemed very simple and, to me at least, underwhelming...but alas, when he took the first bite his eyes slightly bulged and then he quickly inhaled the rest and just kept shaking his head in approval. I will take this as a sign that I must make it numerous times. 

6 hard boiled eggs

2 medium or 1 large avocado

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

salt/pepper to taste

any spices you have on hand that you want to add

Directions

slice the avocado open and remove the pit, scoop the avocado out and put in large bowl. Slice the hard boiled eggs into pieces and add to bowl. Add in the tsp of dijon and drizzle in the olive oil. Add the salt pepper and any other spices. I used a pinch of curry powder. Combine using a fork, careful not to over stir. If you need to put this in fridge beforehand, place one of the pits in the bowl and remove before serving(this helps to keep it from turning brown too quick)

This would be great as a sandwich  but I think next time I may put in between quesadillas and add cheese. I will just have to do it on Wiki's cheat day...no carbs. Blah.

I also made a slightly different version and just sliced the eggs and avocado and drizzled it with bacon infused honey mustard,

I am including the picture and original link from where I found it, but I didn't use their recipe so if you want their specific one, you'll have to check it out.

http://chickenrecipebox.com/recipes/avocado-egg-salad/

If you want a tasty treat to accompany this, may I recommend a little frozen redneck margarita;)

I should probably not brag on how delish this was...but in reality.

Oh, it was so gooooood. Each can yielded two popsicles and you need to freeze them for at least two days and you should know they won't be frozen solid, more like a frozen slushy. 

Linking up with

Taste of Tuesday.

Prosciutto, Pancetta and Goat Cheese Flatbread.

So there are those moments when you make something and you love it so much...that you falter on whether or not you want to actually share it with others. 

Oh... maybe that's just me. oops.

This flatbread pizza was one of those instances. I only got one slice the last time and I am still sad about it. I should probably get over it, but for the next few weeks I am gluten free and all I can think about is wanting more of this.

I came up with this recipe from a few other creations combined. I had done a baked brie w/the pancetta and prosciutto and a stuffed crescent rolls with the brie and the same mixture. and this was a stumble upon of those dishes.

I am not the biggest fan of brie...but I could seriously eat goat cheese by the pound. Oh. muy. goodness. and so when I was coming up with and finalizing this recipe, I decided to forgo the brie for goat cheese. and maybe best decision ever. no big deal.

I came up with this idea for a cooking contest...and it wasn't till after I submitted it that I realized the two of the winners from the previous three years had a pizza with prosciutto...and I think that probably hurt me.

Anyways. if you like bacon or ham and you like Italian. and bourbon...then this is for you;) if not...I am sorry. and I am confused;)

Ingredients

1 pizza dough

1/4 lb thinly cut prosciutto(sliced into small pieces)

1/4 lb thinly pancetta(sliced into small pieces)

1 small log of goat cheese

2 tbsp bourbon(I used Makers Mark)

1 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp EVOO

Directions Preheat oven to 375'

roll out pizza dough on pizza stone/cookie sheet. if you like a crispier crust, before adding any ingredients, prebake for about 8 minutes.

In a saute pan, heat the pancetta, prosciutto and apricot jam together. Using a spoon to stir and coat all the pieces. Add in the bourbon and cook till slightly crispy.

Yeah...that's right, I worked bourbon onto my pizza. That's called winning.

Take the pre baked crust out and brush the dough with olive oil. Using your hands, scatter the pancetta and prosciutto mix over the crust and add the crumbled goat cheese. If you have any liquid left over in the saute pan, drizzle over the pizza.

Place bake in oven and bake for another 12-15 minutes. 

Then before you serve it...eat a big ole slice and don't tell anyone. I won't tell.

and if you want to email or text or do anything of the like...You should check auto correct before you inadvertently call your pizza a street girl.

It does...kinda have a ring to it. Right?

Linking Up With

Taste Of Tuesday
Wonderful Food Wednesday
What I Whipped Up Wednesday

Sausage Spinach & 'Shroom Soup

or as I like to call it "BBD" which obviously stands for 'big bowl of Death' as I am allergic to all three of those ingredients. haha So, I can give you zero feedback as to how tasty this was. Wiki, on the other hand  wants me to tell you that this was "mmmmm, what soup is this? mmmmm. This is the best you have ever made. I just ate all of it" as I stand there... flabbergasted;) haha As I always say, an empty bowl is the best compliment you can be given.

This soup was actually an accident. I was so excited when Mel announced she was doing the link up again this year. I love soup. I may be one of the few strange people who actually even crave it when the temp is above 75'. I love me some soup. and I was all ready to whip up one of my favorites, 'Pepper Steak Soup" when I realized I forgot to get the potatoes. Gasp, the horror;) and so at 1:15 am, unable to sleep because I read a creepy book...I remembered seeing a spinach and sausage soup on a menu somewhere and realized I had both ingredients(along with the mushrooms) on hand and somewhat blind about how it would turn out(being allergic means you can't actually taste test the whole process as I usually do;)...and this is what I came up with..

1 can cream of mushroom soup

32 oz beef broth

1 cup cream(or half/half)

1 lb sausage

1/2 lb mushrooms

1 large bag fresh spinach

olive oil(2 tbsp)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

spices to taste

Cook sausage through in a skillet, drain excess grease and add in spinach, sauteing till spinach begins to reduce and add in sliced mushrooms. Cook for about 2 to 3 min. Stirring to combine, add in the butter and as it melts add in the flour to coat and make a thickening rue. In a separate stock pot, heat on medium, empty in the can of cream soup and slowly whisk in the beef broth. bring to a simmer and add the sausage mixture. Stirring slowly add in the heavy cream and any spices you want for taste( I used salt, pepper and badia seasoning) Simmer for half an hour and serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Badia has lots of varieties  but their complete seasonings are
life changing...promise.

If you want it to be healthier, you could use chicken/turkey sausage and fat free half and half. 

So if you make this and don't enjoy it...you know who to blame. Wiki, not me;)

via

Panera Macaroni...Baked.

I am Southern. We bake our macaroni! haha I will admit I am getting on the "creamy" mac and cheese bandwagon just a little bit, but who says you can't have the best of both?! I made this for Befana(read about that here) 

We had a great weekend! Basically did a bunch of not a whole heck of anything. Getting to be my favorite kind of weekend! Started out on Friday by having dinner and a movie. The dinner was less than stellar, then the movie more than made up for it. Except for that one tiny moment when I got up to go to the bathroom and knocked my husbands root beer bottle onto the floor and it shattered...about 3 rows in all directions. Ooops...who did that?

We went to see Silver Linings Playbook and I can say that I probably had a different view of that movie than 75% of the people watching it. It revolves around a man who had been released from a mental hospital and diagnosed w/bipolar and trying to figure his way through and make the best out of it.(and sometimes being a slight punk) There were parts that were absolutely hysterical...and then there were the scenes that everyone was howling with laughter and I silently cried. Very close to home and not funny when they're struggles you know well (although, I have certainly never been violent or arrested, I'll just throw that out there;) But I loved the movie. It was...real and honest and almost as good as the book. If you get a chance, see it. 

Saturday it was 70' here and I went for a walk in my favorite park and then Saturday night we hit up a sushi place and watched the Ravens/Broncos game. Currrazzzyyy. Wiki got his fill of buy one/get one sushi and I had steak.  

oh, and I did indulge in a dark chocolate dunkachino. Yummmsss.

On Sunday I got to have lunch w/a favorite at this new Mexican place in Brier Creek. They had frozen margaritas and sangria. And then I remembered no alcohol for 2 more weeks and I got all kinds a sad. then I had their queso and I got over it;) 

and now...the recipe

I found panera's recipe on their website(ummmm, awesome) and then decided to twist it just a bit to make it my own.

1 pound penne(or any fork pasta)

8 oz shredded cheddar(set aside 2 oz)

8 oz shredded gouda (set aside 2 oz)

1 cup cream(I actually used half and half)

1/4 cup cream

1/2 tsp dijion mustard

splash hot sauce

2 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

cook macaroni to desired taste, strain. In pan, melt butter. Add 1/2 cup cream and whisk together  Once heated, slowly add in cheese and cream, whisking continually till all cheese is melted and you have a "sauce" add in the mustard and hot sauce. Whisk together and add pasta back in, careful to coat all pasta. Pour into a baking dish and top with remaining cheese and cream. Bake at 375' for 20 to 25 min.

and yes, I had the reaction of "there's mustard and hot sauce in their recipe?!" 

I have said many times that Wiki is one of those low carb people. He will "cheat" for occasions. He ate 3 servings of this and then declared "Ummm, hands down best macaroni you have ever made" I am still in the after glow of his adulation.

So you should probably make this...just saying.

Hope everyone enjoys their week! 

Spicy Apple Pork Roast

One of my favorite reasons for Fall is the use of apples in so many dishes... that involve pork. No to apple pie, no to apple bundles. I kinda hate baked fruit(which you're gonna find today's whoopie pies funny) I just have never been a fan of baked apples. The texture I think, but I do love the added flavor they give dishes & this one was no different. I stumbled upon this apple salsa at Aldis and I knew instantly what was going to happen with it. and it didn't involve tortilla chips. and if you can't find this salsa, never fear...read the notes section and I will have an alternate idea.

Ingredients
1 pork butt or roast
1 jar of Apple salsa
1 small sweet onions, sliced thin
2 apples, cut in small pieces
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup peach vodka, or brandy

Directions
Place meat in crockpot and dump in all ingredients, cook on low for 6 hrs. and I also cut up a sweet potato & a few red bliss potatoes & with about an hour left I added them to the crockpot, just stirred them about every 15 minutes.

Notes
If you cannot find this, try using 1 cup of applesauce, 1 small can of Mexican spiced tomatoes & a pinch of cinnamon & nutmeg, along w/salt & pepper to taste.

These would also be really good as tacos & fajitas, we've made them that way before and yum!

This was so easy to make and my kitchen smelled superb!!!

sausage throw in...

Yeah, you like that title? Well...someone asked me what this was and my mind blanked and I finally said it was sausage and what else I had to throw in, so there you go. Uber fancy, huh? I know. haha  However, this is super simple and pretty healthy. And this can easily be adapted to fit your needs/taste.

Ingredients
1 lb turkey sausage(brat style)
1 pkge cherry tomatoes
1/2 lb okra(fresh or frozen)
1 packet ranch seasoning
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup beer

slice the sausage into small pieces and brown in a skillet, add the tomatoes and okra. Sprinkle the ranch season over the ingredients(I only used about 1/2 the packet) then add chicken stock and beer. Stir to dissolve the ranch seasoning and turn heat to simmer and cover for about 15 minutes.

***Notes, obviously you can use just your preferred liquid. You can just use chicken stock and omit the beer or vice versa, or you could always simply just use water. And I feel that this is a "preference" recipe and what I mean by this is some of you may like this much liquid, some may want more...Try and eye ball it as your pouring to see where you may be with it. and obviously you could use any meat (or even tofu) that you have on hand, and I think that next time I may add sliced onions. the second time I made this I didn't use the ranch, I just used a smorgasbord of spices we had on hand.

I would love to tell you how delightful I found this to be, but I didn't eat any. I am allergic to sausage(I know, gasp) and this was a quick "Wiki friendly"(ie:sans carbs) meal. He really enjoyed it, hope you do too!

Easy Stroganoff

I am not even a little bit embarrassed that I may have(only eaten) hamburger helper a lot. That stuff is good. haha ok, good for boxed food. I had seen various "homemade" recipes for Stroganoff but none were any I decided to try my hand at. Then, around 4 years ago, I stumbled onto this recipe on the back of some package and decided to venture out. So glad I did as the result is always the same: people gobble it up!

And I am going to preface the ingredients/directions with this...Yes, Sprite!!! Whenever people first taste this and I explain/relay recipe they always have a slightly befuddled look on their face and they ask, as if they're unsure I was serious, "sprite?" I actually use sprite in a plethora of my recipes, especially white/yellow cake mixes that call for water. I feel like sprite just gives it an added oomph. But I can't take credit for this, this was on the back of previously stated box. Live a little people, try Sprite(or if you have an utter aversion to soda, sub lime flavored tonic water)

1 lb stew meat
1 packet onion soup(I prefer the beefy onion)
1 can mushroom soup(I'm allergic so I subbed cream of chicken)
1/2 cup sprite
1 bag egg noodles
sour cream *option

Preheat oven to 225
in a casserole dish, lay the meat evenly in the bottom(you can now season w/any salt/pepper if you like) then open can of soup and pour over meat. Open packet of onion soup and sprinkle over the soup/meat. Then pour the sprite over top & cover. DO NOT STIR!!! This should cook for 4 hours. I like to check the progress around an hour and a half in, I stir lightly. It will all come together, I promise. Don't try to rush the "sauce making" Then I stir about every 1/2 hour till it's ready. Boil the egg noodles and serve w/the meat. You can top with sour cream

This should be pretty adaptable in a crockpot/slower cooker.

Enjoy, this is a hearty meal, especially in the late Fall/Winter, your house will smell decadent...For sure!!!

easy dinner:bacon wrapped chicken

According to Pinterest, this is a popular dinner. Obviously, the world is full of intelligent people(or at least pinterest is)  reason #1) bacon makes everything better. reason #2) did you not see reason #1)? Why could we possible need a reason #2?! Self explanatory. We've been making this dish for years, and it's so simple. I try to mix it up sometimes, just so not to bore Wiki. But for this particular recipe...

Ingredients:
1 lb package chicken tenderloin
1 package bacon(thin slice)
2 oz honey mustard
2 oz mango chutney
1 oz bourbon
Preheat oven to 350'

Wrap chicken w/bacon. In separate dish, whisk together honey mustard, chutney and bourbon. Brush with the sauce Lay chicken in pan( we chose to slice up some squash this time and lay in bottom of pan, the flavors melded together perfectly and the sauce season the veggies, hello, time saver.) Pour any remaining sauce over chicken, cover and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until juices run clear. This won't disappoint, I would promise, but this involves bacon and I fervently believe it unnecessary for me to overtly sing it's praises.