Tag Archives: Five ingredients or less

Jul31

Easy and delicious slow cooker pork steaks!

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I continually get requests for meals that you can throw it in and when you arrive back home, voila!  It’s ready!  This is a super easy recipe that I believe maybe my hubster and his friend, Nick, invented.  Might have had a couple of other lake friends in the mix, but they are the chefs of the crowd.

Buy the CHEAP pork steaks — not pork chops.  Throw on a little seasoning, BBQ sauce, and layer away.  Low and slow and oh man, yummo!  You can add veggies and eat solo, or put on a little roll and they’ll be gone pronto!

pork steak

Keep your eye open for an easy Italian Chicken recipe coming soon!  Another crockpot favorite.  Happy Friday!

~Connie Kaye

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Ingredients

Pork Steak (not pork chops or pork cutlets)
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Your favorite all purpose or BBQ seasoning

Place a liner in your slow cooker.  Start with a pork steak on a little bbq sauce on the bottom liner to keep if from sticking.  Season, couple of blobs of BBQ sauce, and repeat layers.  Cook on low 6-8 hours depending on the amount of pork you  are cooking.  Delish!

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Jul30

Anybody else crazy about avocados???

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Have you ever tried grilling them?  Well, I hadn’t and my biggest issue with an avocado is that I usually eat it before I can do anything with it!  However, you should give this a whirl.

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Finished product!

I halved my little green gems (they need to be pretty ripe but not mushy), removed the pit, and placed them upside down on a hot grill.  Move them around a little to get some good grill marks:

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grill marks galore!

I removed from the grill and dressed with a mixture of Mexican shredded cheese.  Place back on grill (cheese side up, of course), lower lid and let cheese melt.

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Before attacking these little morsels, I added a little salsa.  I was afraid that the salsa, etc., would overwhelm the flavor of the avocado — NOT!!  Oh soooo good!   Thanks for dropping by, and hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

~Connie Kaye

Grilled Avocados

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Ingredients

Avocados, halved and pitted
Shredded cheese (mexican blend or monterrey jack)
Salsa

Place avocados cut side down t get some grill marks, flip over, add cheese.  Place back on grill to let cheese melt.  Top with salsa and enjoy!

Jun17

Chocolate Cracker Candy

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We actually call this Christmas Crack because I first made it in December, and it’s really good, and it’s on saltine crackers.  However, give these a whirl and your friend population will RISE!!!!  And if you don’t want to share, keep within the fam and everyone will totally enjoy it!  You can also customize with toppings, but I stick with toasted nuts.  I mean toasted pecans 🙂

I am sure you all have your favorite brand of saltine crackers, but we are cracker snobs, just as I shared that I’m a Hellman’s mayonnaise snob.  ZESTAS.  They are the total bomb.  I used to think that they are all the same, but at the Beene ranch, we consume Zestas.  (they really should sponsor me or something).

So back to the chocolate treats.  I don’t always toast the pecans when the recipe dictates, but in this case, I really do recommend it.  You get a much deeper, nutty flavor.  Just be super careful that you don’t burn them.

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Oh so yummy, and you will never believe they are saltine crackers!

This pic shows the batch I made with almonds, but I actually favor pecans more.  However, you can use either and even experiment with other toppings.  (like peanut butter things…which I’m not a fan of, so I refuse to discuss it because this is MY blog) 🙂

I am really pumped up because all the kids will be in my casa this weekend, so I plan to make some for them to take home.  The votes are currently out to them as to what they want for their home cooked meal, so I don’t know what that looks like now.  However, I’ll probably brew up several favorites!  Enjoy!

~Connie Kaye

Chocolate Cracker Candy

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Ingredients:

35 (approx) saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 15 x 10 x 1″ pan with foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Arrange saltines in single layer on foil, keeping them as close together as possible.

In large heavy saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir until brown sugar is dissolved – about 3 to 4 minutes.  Spread evenly over crackers.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly.   Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow to soften for a few minutes.  Spread over top with a spatula.  Sprinkle with pecans and allow to cool briefly.  Refrigerate, until set.  Break into pieces and store in airtight container.

To toast pecans:  Place chopped pecans on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally.

 

Jun9

Grilled Peaches!

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I love love love grilled pineapple – it brings out the sweetness and flavor.  Oh so yum.  We tried grilled watermelon in salsa last year, but I wasn’t a fan.  HOWEVER, you take a peach, throw it on the grill, dress it up and WOW.  It will knock your socks off, if you happen to be wearing any.

I bought a few peaches – not smushy but fairly ripe.  Cut them in half with little help from my (our) friends (Beatles song 🙂 :

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Gab and Gen here to assist (and taste)!

I removed the pits and then sprayed with a little bit of “it’s not really butter but tastes like it”.  We put them face down on the grill:

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Peaches chillin’ on the grillin’

and then grilled until soft (NOT mushy..I despise mushy food) and had nice grill marks, like this:

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Peaches on fancy “Beene china”

We then added a little spray of fake butter, and sprinkled on some brown sugar and just a touch of cinnamon.  Back to the grill, my little delights!

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Close the lid with the grill off and let the brown sugar melt.  We brought our little gems in the house, drooling.  DELECTABLE.  We thought MB might like them with a spoon of ice cream, and, well, no words to explain it.  They are really good without the ice cream – that’s how my helpers and I ate them.  I’ll be making this at the lake this summer.  Nothing easier and more delicious!

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Enjoy!

~Connie Kaye

Grilled Peaches

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Ingredients:

Peaches
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Margarine

Cut peaches in half, and remove pits.  Oh yeah, you might wanna wash them also.  Brush or spray with butter, and place on low temp grill, face down.  Grill until soft, but not smushy.  Sprinkle about a TBSP of brown sugar in the well of the peach, and around the top, and then lightly add a cinnamon sprinkle.  Back to the grill, face up with grill off.  Sugar melts and delish!  Eat as is, or serve with vanilla ice cream.

 

May6

Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

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Now that some really good, sweet fruit is available in the grocery store, I love to brew this salsa up.  However, the cinnamon chips are sooo delicious that you want to be sure to make plenty.

apple salsa

This will please even the most finnicky of eaters, and you can throw in additional fruit to your liking.  I’ve also made it when kiwifruit isn’t available, and it’s just as good.  Enjoy!

~Connie Kaye

Apple Salsa w/Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients:

SALSA
2 medium tart apples, chopped
1 Cup chopped strawberries
2 medium kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
1 small orange
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP apple jelly, melted

CHIPS
8 flour tortillas
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Combine apples, strawberries and kiwi.  Grate orange peel to measure 1.5 tsp; squeeze juice from orange.  Add peel and juice to apple mixture, and stir in brown sugar and jelly.

For chips, brush tortillas lightly with water.  Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas.  Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges.  Place in single layer on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool.

Apr29

Crescent Roll Ups – really easy and yummy!

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These delectable bites make an easy appetizer and are good right out of the oven, or even cold.  I highly recommend buying the whole crescent roll sheet as the first time I made them, it was a little sketchy.  However, things have improved:

spinach roll up

It took all of 10 minutes to put these together and another 15-20 in the oven.  I went a little easy on the ingredients, but next time I’m planning to use a little more mustard, green onions and maybe toss around some bacon bits.  The girls watching me make these turned their noses up at the spinach and onion idea, but you literally could put anything in these and they would be good.  If you have other fillings that are tried and true, please share in the comment section below!

Happy Hump Day!

~Connie

Easy Crescent Roll Ups

Ingredients:

Crescent roll dough (full sheet preferable)
Frozen spinach (thaw, drain and pat between towels to remove water)
Dijon mustard
Diced green onions
Shredded cheddar cheese
Crumbled cooked bacon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Unroll dough, and brush on dijon mustard.  Sprinkle with remaining ingredients.  Roll up starting with long edge.  Slice into 1/2″ to 3/4″ inch slices and place on baking sheet.  Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned.   Eat up!

Apr15

The BEST Fried Rice Ever!!! Click here to save some $$$$

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The BEST Fried Rice Ever!!! Click here to save some $$$$

On an airplane once again, with time to share the yummy meal that we had after a long Monday following a really fun weekend.

We all know how easy it is to grab Chinese (or anything from the deli) to go from your local grocer.  And, it’s not really that expensive, so admittedly we do that occasionally.   However, we enjoyed grilling some amazingly delicious pork chops on Sunday night, and I made sure that at least one of them (they were big) was just seasoned with salt and pepper – MB gets a little crazy in the seasonings cabinet sometimes.  Well, all the time.   My game plan was to use the leftover pork chops to make pork fried rice on Monday night.  BTW – I love fried rice, especially with lots of crunchy onions, sweet carrots, scrambled eggs, etc., so I would rather make it than buy it.

The pork chops were out of this world so were the perfect starter to delicious pork fried rice.   One key step – I chop the pork into bite size pieces and then add at the very end just to warm it up.  Adding at the end ensures that you won’t cook the meat longer.

I did swing by the grocery store Chinese kitchen and scored some egg rolls and crab rangoon which bumped the price of my meal by $3.00!   I’ve shared the recipe below, and since I personally don’t like to drown out the flavors with soy sauce I go easy, and let my guests add to their liking.  The finished product……oh, and one other note.  I had a little bit left over, so I ate it for breakfast at 6 a.m.  Yummo!!!!  Here’s the finished product which I quickly inhaled:

fr rice

Pork Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
5 TBSP butter or margarine
1 C diced onions
1C diced carrots
2/3 C diced green onions
4 eggs

Cook rice according to package directions.  Melt butter in large skillet.  Add onions and carrots, sautéing until carrots are almost translucent, then add green onions.  Lightly grease another skillet and add beaten eggs.  Cook until scrambled.  Combine rice, veggies, eggs and pork, stirring well to warm pork.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and soy sauce.

Mar24

French Dip Sandwiches (or Philly Cheese Steaks)

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French Dip Sandwiches (or Philly Cheese Steaks)

An easy way to start your week!  Super easy to whip this up!

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Before we go any further, I found out today that I believe Windows 7 presents a content pop up before you print.  If you are trying to print a recipe, and wondering What The Heck Is Going On??? you might need to allow pop ups on this site (if using Win 7).  Ok….let’s move on…..

I bought some rare roast beef at the deli on Saturday, and had it sliced very thin.  Why buy rare?  Part of this delicious sandwich is placing the meat in the beef consomme (warmed) so it absorbs the amazing flavor, but even with the temp on low, it will probably cook a little more.  Starting with rare rewards you with super tender roast beef.  If you want Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, you can be sauteing some onions and peppers while preparing everything else, and when I make these, I use a little oil to start the saute process, but then season with some of the canned consomme and a little minced garlic.

I take a skillet and add some consomme on low, then add some garlic and onion powder.  Heat on low and I shred or break up the meat with my hands….you want to really let it soak in the consomme, so just go low and slow.  Meanwhile, toast your rolls lightly, and warm up consomme for dipping.  (Make sure to buy canned consomme as it has a much richer flavor than beef broth)

Once the rolls are toasted, pile the meat on one side, and layer smoked provolone cheese on both sides of the roll.  Pop it back in the oven on low, low broil and let the hot mess melt 🙂    Voila — really yummy!

Hope you enjoy!

French Dip Sandwiches

  • Servings: 4
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Ingredients:

1 lb very thin rare roast beef
4 hoagie or sandwich rolls/buns
1 can beef consomme (or more for dipping)
Smoked provolone cheese
1/4 tsp garlic and onion powder

Warm consomme very low in skillet with 1/2 tsp onion and garlic powder. (suggestion:  Warm up the consomme on low, and then just shut off the heat)  Add beef to slowly warm and absorb the flavors.  Meanwhile, slice rolls and toast face side up in broiler.  Place meat on one side of roll, and layer both sides with cheese.  Broil briefly to melt cheese.  Delish!

Feb20

Firecracker Oyster Crackers for a Crowd

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Hello! I thought I’d start this blog with some appetizer recipes since pretty much EVERYONE loves appetizers and this one is easy to make!

With a house that’s way too big unless all the kids are home, my husband and I enjoy entertaining, and have the perfect basement in which to watch a lot of football (and play pool, ping pong, and foosball).  Our friends frequently join us for NFL and K-State sports, and that being said, we recently hosted a Super Bowl party.  I want to share some of the easy, unique appetizers that were consumed quickly.

I found this recipe on the Pedro Lopez Brand Facebook page and it calls for chili powder and crushed red pepper to give the crackers a kick! It was also very easy to make so the next time you need a crowd-friendly appetizer in a rush, you can whip these up in a jiffy!

Gather all your ingredients together before you get started (I hate it when I get started with something and then realize I’m missing a key ingredient). Once you’ve got it all sorted, combine the oil and seasonings together.

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Pour the mixture on the oyster crackers and stir to coat. Then spread on a cookie sheet and let dry (approximately 30 minutes). Store in an air tight container (if there’s any left after your friends leave).

Voila! Super fast, super easy and super yummy.

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I hope you enjoy these as much as we did. Would love to hear your impressions or feedback below!

– Connie

Firecracker Oyster Crackers

  • Servings: a hungry crowd
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Ingredients:

2 packages oyster crackers
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp. Pedro Lopez chili powder
2 tbsp. Pedro Lopez crushed red pepper (go easy on this 🙂
1 package of ranch dressing mix

Directions:

Combine oil and seasonings. Pour over oyster crackers and stir to coat. Spread on cookie sheet to dry. Keep stored in air tight container.

Note: You can use regular chili powder and crushed red pepper but if you choose to use Pedro Lopez it’s available at Dillon’s and Kroger stores.