Trying to Steal a Dog and Spaghetti Squash Pizza

We were out to lunch with some friends.  We had just finished up and were walking out to our cars.  Dave saw a scrawny little dog in the parking lot and walked back in to see if it belonged to anyone in the diner.
The little dog was one of those just-a-little-fluff-for-fur kind of dogs and was wandering around and holding up one paw and then another because he was so cold.  I walked up to the puppy, crouched down and called him over. He tentatively came over and I petted him a little and then tried to pick it up.  The dog, of course, darted away.  I started calling him over again and the man in the pickup (who was looking at his phone and not paying any attention to this little, cold puppy) opened his truck door and the dog jumped right in.

I apologized for trying to steal his dog. But the dog was cold and the guy in the truck wasn't paying attention to him so who knew this guy owned the dog.

I'm not allowed to pet strange dogs anymore.

Well, to make myself feel better about the kidnapping attempt, I made pizza.  Pizza makes everyone feel better.  I made the crust with spaghetti squash which Dave and I both liked.  I don't like cauliflower crust, it tastes too much like cauliflower.  While spaghetti squash has a couple extra carbs per cup (100grams) 7 carbs for spaghetti squash and 5 for cauliflower, it still is a low carb option and it doesn't taste like cauliflower, a win for me.

Spaghetti Squash Crust Pizza

1 med. spaghetti squash
2 eggs
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°F.

CAREFULLY poke about 5-7 vents in spaghetti squash (I use a sharp knife and my husband yells at me if he sees me do it)  Microwave for 5 minutes.

Cut squash in half and use a spoon to remove seeds.  Place squash, cut side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until soft.  Alternatively, you can cook in your microwave.

Using a fork, remove strands of squash out of the shell and place in a clean towel.  Let cook until you can handle it.  Squeeze as much liquid out of the squash as possible.  You can't get this too dry.  When all the liquid is squeezed out, place in a medium size bowl.  All all the other ingredients and mix well.

On a parchment lined sheet pan, pat the dough into a 10-12 inch circle.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and nicely browned.  Turn crust over and bake for 5 more minutes, remove from oven.

Top with pizza toppings of your choice.  We like red sauce, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, mozzarella, parm and a light sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted and golden brown.

1 year ago:    Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Jalapeños and Cheating
5 years ago:   Sun Dried Cherry Muffins and Traveling Alone
7years ago:   Roasted Chicken with Apples and Garlic

October 22, 2019  Sunrise 8:55  Sunset 6:14  Temp. H 27/L18°F

Roasted Broccoli Salad

I'm feeling very healthy these days. Mostly because I am getting my exercise in.  Our new offices are on the 5th floor of our building and the elevator is soooooo sssslllloooowww (really, we timed it and I can walk up to our floor, down to the first floor and up to our office floor BEFORE the elevator arrives). So, I walk the stairs every morning to get to my office.

Everyone in my office has been talking about what great shape we will be in as we huff and puff up those stairs.  I wonder how long it will take up to climb those flights of stairs and not be out of breath?

And because my new office is literally across the hall from the ladies room and so I don't get my steps in, I have decided to walk down the stairs and up the stairs every time I go to the bathroom...like 16 times a day. And, I placed little exercise cards in the windows of each floor so when I get to that floor I will do 10 wall push ups or 10 squats etc. So you see, I am getting a lot of exercise.

So continue my healthy habits I made this delicious roasted broccoli salad and have been bringing it for my lunch.  Broccoli is not my favorite, but I love it in this salad.  It has just enough crunch left in the broccoli and the bacon bits to make it very satisfying.  I think it gives me enough energy to climb those 5 flights of stairs up and down one extra time after lunch.

Roasted Broccoli Salad

4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup avocado oil
2 bunches of broccoli, about 4 cups, separated into bite sized florets
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. sweetener, I used swerve confectioners, optional
1/4 tsp. salt, more or less to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, more or less to taste
3 Tbsp. salted sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss broccoli with avocado oil and spread in a single layer.  Roast for 15-20 minutes until just beginning to crisp edges.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan.  Cook chopped bacon until crisp.  Remove from heat to a paper towel to drain.  Add onion to bacon fat and sauté until translucent.  Remove to paper towel to drain. 

In a small bowl mix mayo, sour cream, sweetener, salt and pepper. 

In a large bowl toss broccoli with mayo/ sour cream mixture, add onion and bacon.  Pour into serving bowl and top with sunflower seeds.

1 year ago:    Homemade Coffee Liqueur and Keeping Traditions
5 years ago:   Garlic Chili Chicken and My Saturday Afternoon Date
7 years ago:   Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

October 17, 2010  Sunrise 8:49 am  Sunset 6:21 pm  Temp. H 31/ L 20°F

30 Days Dairy Free and the First Day Fail

I was traveling last week for work.  I went to Minnesota, worked some, went to the Mall of America and ate all the good food.  I ate more than I should have, and a few things not on my current Keto plan.  I decided when I get home I'll double down and get back on Keto and do a dairy free 30 days just for grins and giggles.

Well, I flew home and got in about 10:30 pm.  My husband was not home, he flew down to Spokane to help a buddy drive his new motorhome back to Alaska.  He left my car in long term parking so I found the car and drove home...no problems.  I got to the house and let the dogs out.  They were so excited to see me after being gone for a week (probably more that they were in their kennels longer since the dog sitter just came over, let them out, fed them, and put them back in the kennels - but I'm choosing to believe it was all me), so they had to play and run around for a while to get rid of their energy and excitement, then I kenneled them about 12:30.  Of course at 5:30 the next same morning, Hershey starts barking because it is time to get up and let them out again.  So, I got up.

Now, you are probably asking yourself why I am telling you all this.  Well, it is because I want to give myself the excuse of not enough sleep and not really being awake.  Everyone who knows me KNOWS that I need my sleep.  I'm in bed by 9:00 every night, and if I'm not, nobody really wants to be around me.  O.K. on with the story.

I had my coffee (black because I was going dairy free for 30 days), read my bible study for the morning, did my guided meditation and then started to make my breakfast.  There wasn't much in the fridge because I've been gone and Dave was gone, but I had eggs and olives.  That would do.  I cooked a couple eggs, added some olives to the plate, and while I was putting the olives away I saw the cheese.  Hmmmm, that would be good on my eggs, so I slapped a piece on my eggs to melt.  I sat down with my coffee and started to eat.  I had about 2 bites and then sipped my black coffee, I really like cream in my coffee, and though to myself, "I really like cream in my coffee, but I can do this for 30 days."  Then I started to take another bite of my cheesy eggs and realized what I had done.  Crap.  I am claiming sleep deprivation for that one.

Well, I did better the next morning.  I had time to plan and shop so breakfast was a Cabbage Rosti with bacon and mushrooms.  Now, Rosti is usually made with potatoes (but carbs) so this one is made with cabbage.  I'm not going to try to fool anyone, it tastes like cabbage, but I like cabbage and it was good.  I'll try it with shredded radish next time and see how that is.  So a day later than I planned, but I am working on 30 days of dairy free.

I am headed to Austin in a couple weeks for work, I wonder if I can stay dairy free for that trip?

Rosti with Bacon and Mushrooms
The 30 Day Ketogenic Cleanse, Maria Emmerich

2 slices bacon, diced
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup chopped green onions, plus more for garnish if desired
1/4 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
egg to add to the top, if desired

Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and fry until cooked and crispy.  Remove a little for garnish.  add the coconut oil, mushrooms, green onions and garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden.

In a large bowl, mix the shredded cabbage, egg, salt and pepper.  Transfer to the skillet with the bacon mixture.  Spread out the cabbage mixture in the pan and press it down to form a large pancake.  Cook over medium heat until the bottom is crispy and golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Flip with a large spatula and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the cabbage softens.

Remove from the heat and serve.  Store extras in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.  To reheat, fry in a skillet with a tablespoon of coconut oil on both sides until crispy, about 3 minutes a side.  Garnish with green onions and reserved bacon and top with an egg, if desired.

2 years ago:  Chicken Marsala and Running out of Heat in the Camper
4 years ago:  Strawberry Mousse
6 years ago:  Hiving the Bees and Bee Cupcakes

May 1, 2018    Sunrise 5:16 am  Sunset 10:21 pm   Temp. H 43/ L 27˚F

Asiago Muffins

So, after I realized that yoga isn't the devil, and while it is not my favorite way to exercise, it is helping, I decided to try meditation like those doctors suggested (they were right not wrong about yoga).
I down loaded an app on my iPad and went to work.  I sit quietly, with my eyes closed, in a comfortable position, focusing on my breath, acknowledging my thoughts and letting them go without judgement...
Yea, not my thing.
Sometime I have to open my eyes and yell at the iPad, "This is stupid."  Then I close my eyes again and focus on my breath.
So I finished a 7 day intro class and I'm onto a 21 day class and I'm still not loving it.

So there, doctors aren't right about everything.

One thing that is right are these biscuits.  OMG they are packed with flavor and deliciousness.  Dave loved them too.  These come from my new cookbook Craveable Keto, by Kyndra Holley (great book if you're looking for a good keto book).  I've just started working through some of these recipes and so far haven't been disappointed with any of them.
Now these are something I can meditate over.

Asiago Bacon Muffins
adapted from Craveable Keto, Kyndra Holley

4 oz. full fat cream cheese
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/4 cups shredded Asiago cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease or line with papers, 8 wells of a 12 well muffin pan (or muffin top pan).

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and egg together.  Add garlic, onion powder, and salt.  Mix with a hand mixer until well incorporated.

Add 1 cup Asiago cheese, almond flour, cream and water.  Mix until well combined.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the bacon.

Using a large spoon or a scoop, divide the dough into the prepared pan in 8 equal sized mounds.  Sprinkle with remaining Asiago cheese.

Bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow the biscuits to cool before removing.

Store extras in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.  Reheat in the oven or toaster.
8 servings

256 cal, 24 g. fat, 11 g. protein, 5.5 total carbs, 2.4 g fiber

3 years ago:   Breaking the House Rules
4 years ago:   Potato Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
5 years ago:   Quinoa Blondies and Changing the Clocks


March 20, 2018   Sunrise 7:50 am  Sunset 8:07 pm   Temp.  H 29 /L 6˚F

Breakfast Chili

I had a check up on Thursday at the New Boob Dr.  I was hoping for a fill up, but the infection isn't gone yet.  I got two antibiotics for 14 days and if this doesn't work, I think we have to take the tissue expander out, heal for 6 months and start over.  I'm praying for the antibiotics working.  Bodies are such wonderful things.

I'm following a Keto diet and practicing intermittent fasting.  Basically it means you have a shorter "eating window"  so instead of eating first thing in the morning, I eat my first meal around 10:30 or 11:00 and my last meal at about 6:00.  So, I am eating breakfast at work now, instead of my car on the way to work.

I got hooked on breakfast chili.  It starts with bacon...

It has to be good if it starts with bacon.  Then add burger and chorizo.  A few veggies and some tomato sauce are added into the mix with some spices.

It makes 12 servings so I have breakfast in the freezer for a couple weeks.  Dave often will grab one of my containers for his lunch and a couple weeks ago I made a batch, saved enough for my breakfasts for the week and sent the rest to my nephew's house when they got home from his knee replacement surgery.

I top it off with an egg I cook in the microwave and some bacon bits and avocado.  Usually I'm full until dinner.

Breakfast Chili
adapted from The 30 day ketogenic cleanse, Maria Emmerich

Find the recipe in this book:


1 year ago:   Drink of the Week - Sex on the Snowbank
3 years ago:  Stuffed Pork Loin
5 years ago:  Using up left-over Halloween Candy, Pretzel Turtles

November 13, 2017  Sunrise 9:21 am  Sunset 3:48 pm  Temp. H 24/ L 4˚F

Return from Sick Leave

I'm baaaaack!

Hopefully it isn't as scary as the ghosts in poltergeist.

I had my hip replacement surgery, I'm mostly off the narcotics, and I'm feeling pretty good.  I get to go back to work in a couple of weeks, and we all survived.

My husband was so awesome!  He took really good care of me and this whole experience just reaffirmed how lucky I am to have such a wonderful man that loves me, takes care of me, and while he might not totally embrace my level of neurosis, he puts up with it well.

He has one story from our experience with the surgery where he just showed how he rolls with it. (I say "He has a story" because I don't remember any of this and just have to take his word for it...there were drugs involved!)

I have tiny veins and they collapse easily.  The day of surgery, the lady came in to put in my I.V.  I told her she had to use a butterfly and it would be hard.  The anesthesiologist came in as I was saying that and told her a butterfly wasn't appropriate for this surgery.  She got a little nervous and the anesthesiologist said he would go ahead and do it.

Well, he even struggled, and after about 12 pokes and two ultrasounds on both arms, the dr. decided he needed to give me something to relax me.  He inserted a butterfly into my hand and gave me a little something.  A minute or so later her asked, "How are you feeling, Toni?"  I said I was still a little nervous.  He gave me a little more and then asked, "How are you doing now?"  I turned to my husband and said, "I want a monkey."

"Did she just call you a monkey?" the dr. asked.
"No, she wants a monkey and she keeps asking for one.  She had one when she was a kid, her mom is a little eccentric." Dave calmly replied.
"That explains a lot." the dr. said.

And I was out.  Apparently the surgery didn't take as long as getting the damn I.V. in my arm!  I was in my hospital room about 1.5 hours later and standing a couple hours after that.

Well, my husband is really in the running for Husband of the Year with all this he has had to do and put up with.  So I do want him to know how much I appreciate him and all he has done.  I'll be cooking some husband friendly dinners now that I can get back into the kitchen.  This means we will be eating a lot of red meat, bacon, butter, and beer braised roasts.  He should be very happy.

I thought I would start with a little spicy treat.  Dave loves bacon and spicy things so I made these sweet and spicy bacon slices.  I hope he is happy and I am still working on that monkey.

Sweet and Spicy bacon

1 lb. bacon, slices cut in half
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Sriracha
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground chiles de arbol

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Place bacon in a single layer on baking sheets, bake for 15 minutes.  Drain extra fat off sheets and turn bacon.
Mix brown sugar, Sriracha, cumin and ground chile in a microwave proof bowl.  Heat for 1 minutes and mix well.  Brush mixture over bacon slices and place in oven for 10-15 minutes.  Watch carefully as the sugar burns easily!
Let cool.

1 year ago:    Start of a New Collection
2 years ago:  Braised Endive
3 years ago:  Surprise Pears and Cranberry Cheesecake stuffed Pears
4 years ago:  Banana Cake with Nutella and Hazelnuts and the Bad Mood

January 15, 2016   Sunrise 10:27  Sunset 3:34  Temp.  H -1/ L -3

Corn and Summer Vegetable Soup and the First Snow

I know most of you are still very warm.  We, on the other hand, are having a major snowfall.  Awesome!
As a matter of fact, while I was in Montana last week, it would get in the high 80s and even hit 90°, but Fairbanks was getting 6 inches of snow!

These two pictures are from my window last spring...

You can see the mountains in the back.

This is the view out my window today.

It is just awesome!

So, I understand you may not be eating a lot of soup right now but we have soup every Monday with a sandwich and watch football on t.v.  (Thank you Green Bay for that awesome win against Kansas City, I just won a bet with my brother!)

This soup is quick and a good use for your summer veggies.  Maybe you will have some cool evening with a little rain.  I doubt you'll get the amount of snow we are getting right now.

Corn and Summer Vegetable Soup

4 cups of corn, fresh or frozen work best
4 cups chicken stock
1 large onion, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces of bacon

*You can add other veggies to beef it up, or add cooked shredded chicken and top with bacon and cheese.

Measure two cups of corn and two cups of chicken stock, place in a blender and process until very smooth, set aside. Using your soup pot, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain.  Chop into small pieces.
 Remove all but about 2 tbsp. of bacon fat from pan, add onion and zucchini and sauté until soft.  Add corn puree, tomatoes, chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat but do not bring to a boil.
Serves 6

1 year ago:    Pizza Stromboli for the Blond Boy's Visit
2 years ago:   Rhubarb Meringue Bars and the Guard Goose
3 years ago:   Pecan Crispies and Saying Goodbye to the Back Yard Neighbors

September 30, 2015  Sunrise 7:57 am  Sunset 7:53 pm  Temp. H 34/ L 25°F

Clams

With all the salad my husband has been eating, without (much) complaint.  I decided he needed a little treat.  He loves clams.  Me? Not so much.  But I will make them for him once in a while.  The baby boy also eats clams, so they shared a plate while the chick and I  watched.

There isn't a real recipe for these, I'll just tell you how I make them.  It is a little different each time, but the method is the same.  It doesn't matter if you are making a pound (like I did here) or 5 pounds, which I have done before for a family gathering.  Sometimes I add finely diced yellow and red peppers for color and/or top with a small sprinkle of cilantro or parsley, depends on who I am making them for.

Since these were for Dave, I didn't add anything green or peppers (not his favorite), and he was getting salad for dinner after this appetizer so he was good.

These only take a couple minutes to make.  They are perfect with a cold beer, a crusty baguette, and a warm day on the back porch.

Clams

3 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, finely diced
splash of brandy or dry white wine
1 pound clams, cleaned and scrubbed
2 cups chicken broth

optional: diced bell pepper, parsley or cilantro

Fry chopped bacon, remove bacon to towel covered plate and drain all but about 1 Tbsp. of the bacon fat.  Fry onion in the bacon fat.  When onion is soft and translucent, add broth and brandy or wine and bring to boil.  Add clams to pan and cover.  Steam 3-5 minutes or until clams open.  Remove clams to a large bowl, cover to keep warm.  Continue to boil broth until it is reduced to about 3/4 cup (add peppers at this point).  Pour broth over clams, top with parsley or cilantro, if desired, and serve with bread.

1 year ago:   Bacon and Cheese Corn on the Cob
2 years ago:  Butterfinger Martini
3 years ago:  Barbecue Chicken Salad with Cornbread Croutons

May 15, 2015  Sunrise 4:28 am  Sunset 11:09 pm  Temp H 77/ L 48°F

bacon wrapped stuffed dates

Every Christmas Eve, we host an open house.  This year is no exception.  I do as many things ahead of time as possible, and this is a time we do the same foods over and over, with one or two surprises.

One of the regulars at our party is bacon wrapped stuffed dates.  I love them.  The sweet, chewy dates are offset by the salty crisp bacon and the almond in the middle keeps them nice and warm and gives it a good crunch.

These are so easy and I make tons of them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer.  Then I just take them out of the ziplock bags, plunk them onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake them until the bacon is cooked and crispy.  It is a mindless job to do while watching t.v. or visiting with family.

My dear friend Donna is not a fan of bacon, (I know, but I love her anyway) but her husband is, so I make extra for him.  He stands close, but not too close, to the plate of bacony goodness and eats his fill.  He has to stand close because my brother in law is also jockeying for a position next to that coveted plate and neither one wants to miss out on their share.

We put them together assembly line style...first stuff the dates with almonds.
This year we had big dates and small almonds, so we put two almonds in each date.

After the sticky fun is over, we wrapped each date in a piece of bacon...

and secured it with a toothpick.

Then placed them on a cookie sheet for a quick freeze.

Once frozen, they go into gallon ziplock bags, stored in the freezer and ready for snacking goodness.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

whole almonds
dates
sliced bacon, cut in half or thirds (depending on the size of your dates)

Stuff each date with a whole almond.  Wrap each date with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  You can freeze them at this point or bake immediately.

To bake:
Preheat oven to 375°F.  Place bacon wrapped dates on parchment lined cookie sheets.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until bacon is cooked and slightly crisp, but still has some chew (You don't want the bacon to shatter when you bite into it).

Let cool at least 5 minutes.  These hold the heat a long time because of the almond.

1 year ago:   Deep Fried Halibut and Middle of the Night Power Outage
2 years ago:  Russian Tea Cakes and the Closing of School
3 years ago:  Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Holiday Traditions

December 18, 2014  Sunrise 10:56 am  Sunset 2:39 pm  Temp: H 17/ L 4°F

Pasta with two Peas

This is a good news/bad news post.

So, Dave and the hunting party have already gotten two moose.  That was the goal for this year, they will share between six hunters, so two is plenty of meat for the year.  That's the good news.

The bad news is they haven't even been gone a week and they are headed home.  I'm going to work hard at talking them into going to Valdez to fish for silver salmon before my brother has to go back home...that gives me another week.  We'll see.

So, at 2:30 this afternoon, Dave texted and said they were on their way in.  That means they will pull into the driveway about 7:00 and hungry.  I was not planning on dinner for them today.  Good thing I have a few tricks in the pantry, like this pasta dish.  I could just eat this for dinner, but I'll add some grilled steaks to the menu for the successful hunters.  This is quick, easy, fresh, and delicious, and I have everything on hand!

I really shouldn't complain, we will now have a freezer full of meat to get us through the winter.

Pasta with Two Peas

adapted from Cooking Light, September 2014

8 cups water, really? who measures their pasta water?  Not me

8 oz. uncooked ziti

1 cup frozen green peas

8 oz. sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved diagonally

2 center cut bacon slices, chopped

1/3 cup panko

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

1 up chicken stock

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 oz. parmesan cheese, grated

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add pasta; cook 5 minutes.  Add green peas and sugar snap peas; cook 1 minute more or until pasta is done.  Drain.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium hear.  Add bacon to pan; cook 3 minutes or until bacon begins to brown.  Add panko;  cook 1 1/2 minutes or until browned.

Remove panko mixture from pan.  Add butter to pan; swirl until butter melts.  Add green onions and garlic; cook 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir in stock, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes.  Stir in pasta mixture, juice and Parmesan cheese; toss.  Top with panko mixture.  Serves 4.

1 year ago:   Guard Geese and Rhubarb Meringue Bars

2 years ago:  Missing my Backdoor Neighbors and Pecan Crispies

September 18, 2014  Sunrise 7:22am   Sunset 8:06pm  Temp. H 67/ L 44°F

Bacon Wrapped-Cheese Stuffed Hot Dogs

In the quest to find things for my husband to grill, and for things he will really enjoy, and to get distracted that he is doing all the cooking, I found this on Pinterest.  (By the way, Dave said I often write in run-on sentences and that sometimes one paragraph will be one really long sentence, with way too many comma's, when it really should be several sentences.  I don't know what he is talking about!)

Bacon-Wrapped-Cheese-Stuffed-Hotdogs!

Do I really need to say anything else?

I worked hard on Saturday.  I sanitized the dishwasher, worked in the yard, got a pedi, took a nap, made coffee, set up a table for my mosaic (I told Dave I would finish it two years ago so I think I should get it started).  And caught up on The Black List.  I deserved a treat.  So for dinner - Dave grilled.

I saw these on Pinterest.  How did we ever get along without Pinterest?  My friend Heather showed me a couple years ago and now I am slightly obsessed.  I used to read in the morning with my coffee, now I scroll through Pinterest at all the perfectly designed homes, fantastic weddings, picture perfect meals...I can never live up to all that.  But my boards are awesome!

So I found these hot dogs on Pinterest and decided we needed to try them ourselves.  I made with cheese for Dave and me, and without cheese for the dairy-free kids.  We also had some cheese and bacon wrapped corn on the cob to get a veggie in there! (My poor dairy free kids don't know what they are missing!)  This was a perfect meal after such a hard day of work!

I cut my cheese sticks in half, next time I won't do that.  

Grill over low heat and turn often.

Bacon Wrapped - Cheese Stuffed Hot Dogs

8 hot dogs
8 sticks of cheese, cheddar, mozzerella, pepper jack...
8-16 pieces of bacon
8 hot dog buns

Heat grill.

Make a slit down the center of each hot dog leaving the end uncut.

Stuff hotdog with cheese stick.  Wrap completely with bacon, overlapping the bacon and securing with toothpicks. (I pre-cooked the bacon for 3 minutes in the microwave before I used it for wrapping.)

Grill hotdogs over low heat until bacon is completely cooked and cheese is melty.  Serve on buns.

1 year ago:   Butterfinger Martini
2 years ago:  Bar-B-Que Chicken Salad with Corn Bread Croutons

May 14, 2014   Daylight 18 hrs. 35 min. 25 sec.   Temp. H 61/ L 39 °F

Cheese and Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob

I love corn on the cob.  When I was a kid we had a corn field next to our farm and my mom would have the water boiling before she would send us out to pick some corn for dinner.  It was so sweet and tender it really didn't need butter (but we slathered it on anyway)!  Unfortunately, the fresh corn we get in Fairbanks isn't that fresh, and it is a difficult thing to grow in our cool, short summers.  So, we put up with what we can get and we need to dress it up a little.

This is one of our favorite summer treats.  Corn on the cob smeared with a cheese spread and wrapped in bacon.  Then wrapped in foil and grilled.  It is a must for us during the summer and always makes an appearance at our Fourth of July dinner.

If I was living next to a corn field now, and had access to that sweet, tender corn from my childhood, I might not smear it with cheese and wrap it in bacon....who am I kidding?  Of course I would.

Notice the mayo with no artificial flavors?
That offsets the package of chemicals I used for cheese...really, it works.

Lay our your 4 pieces of tin foil and brush the cheese on the corn
while it is on the foil.  It saves a huge mess.

Grill over indirect heat, turning often.

Cheese and Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob

4 ears of corn
1 pkg. (1.5 oz) four cheese sauce mix (like Knorr or in a pinch use the cheese pkg. from a mac and cheese box like I did here.  Or for those into real food, used finely grated parmesan.)
3 Tbsp. mayo
4 slices thick cut bacon

Preheat grill for medium high heat.

Pre-cook bacon for 3 minutes in microwave between layers of paper towel.  The goal is to reduce the time needed on the grill, remove some of the fat, but not cook it enough to get stiff.

Mix cheese sauce mix and mayo in a small bowl.  Brush on the corn.  Wrap corn with bacon and wrap in foil.

Cook on grill, turning the corn often, until bacon is cooked through.

1 year ago:  Compound Butter and the Joy of an Airline Upgrade
2 years ago: Spinach and Warm Bacon and Mushroom Dressing

May 12, 2014   Daylight 18 hrs. 21 min. 24 secs.  Temp. H 72/ L 45°F