Chili Cheese Dog Egg Rolls

Happy Halloween!! 

I think I did it. I think I made something tempting enough to eliminate the pre- Trick or Treating dinner struggle. If your kids are anything like mine, they are going to be way too excited about Trick or Treating to willingly sit still long enough to eat anything before the bag load of sugar they're about to get tonight. So my plan of attack was to make something so tempting, they won't be able to say no. My Chili Cheese Dog Egg Rolls are crispy, cheesy and absolutely delicious. I've never met a kid that didn't like hot dogs, mine are no exception, but to wrap up all the cheesy meaty goodness in a crispy egg roll wrapper? They're going to gobble them up!
I suggest serving them with mustard, pickles and if you're spicy like me, pickled jalapeno slices!

Chili Cheese Dog Egg Rolls

6 cups vegetable oil
3 all natural, all beef hot dogs
1 ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup finely diced white onion
¾ cup good quality canned or leftover homemade chili
8 Twin Dragon Egg Roll Wrappers
½ cup yellow mustard
½ cup pickles (optional)

In an electric fryer or large high sided skillet fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the oil up to 375 degrees over medium high heat.
Roughly chop the hot dogs into bite sized pieces. Add the chopped hot dogs, cheese, onion and chili to a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Lay an egg roll wrapper on a large cutting board with one corner of the wrapper pointing toward you and lightly moisten all 4 edges with water. Place ¼ to 1/3 cup of the filling just below the center of the wrapper.  Fold bottom corner over mixture, fold sides in, and roll up tightly.
Fry egg rolls for 3 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Serve with mustard for dipping, and pickles if desired
Makes 8 egg rolls

You can follow JSL Foods here, on Facebook and on Twitter

#TwinDragon #ChefYaki

You can purchase JSL Foods Twin Dragon products at Albertsons, Shaw's, Von's, Stater Bros, Lucky's, Food Maxx, Fred Meyer, QFC, Cub Foods, Rainbow Foods, Safeway, Associated Stores, Price Rite, Shop Rite, Winco, Price Chopper and Gelson's!

Crispy Chicken Parm Egg Rolls

I'm so excited to be taking part in JSL Foods Fortune Noodle Blogger Recipe Challenge  to create some delicious Egg Rolls, Wontons and Gyoza! Naturally, I am putting a spin on each of these and I hope you enjoy them. First up is an Italian spin on egg rolls. My Crispy Chicken Parm Egg Rolls combine crispy fried chicken chunks and melty mozzarella cheese in a perfectly crispy egg roll shell! These come together so quickly and really are a show stopper

Crispy Chicken Parm Egg Rolls

6 cups vegetable oil
2 cups frozen breaded chicken nuggets, thawed
1 ¼ cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese
4 ounces parmesan cheese, divided
12 Twin Dragon Egg Roll Wrappers
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 ½ cups warmed marinara sauce

In an electric fryer or large high sided skillet fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the oil up to 375 degrees over medium high heat.
Roughly chop the thawed chicken nuggets into small pieces. Add the chopped chicken, mozzarella and 3 ounces of the parmesan cheese to a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Lay an egg roll wrapper on a large cutting board with one corner of the wrapper pointing toward you and lightly moisten all 4 edges with water. Place ¼ to 1/3 cup of the filling just below the center of the wrapper.  Fold bottom corner over mixture, fold sides in, and roll up tightly.
Fry egg rolls for 3-5 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Sprinkle with basil, remaining parmesan cheese and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

You can follow JSL Foods here, on Facebook and on Twitter

#TwinDragon #ChefYaki

You can purchase JSL Foods Twin Dragon products at Albertsons, Shaw's, Von's, Stater Bros, Lucky's, Food Maxx, Fred Meyer, QFC, Cub Foods, Rainbow Foods, Safeway, Associated Stores, Price Rite, Shop Rite, Winco, Price Chopper and Gelson's!

Little's Lunches

Happy Friday! I can't believe Halloween is right around the corner. October literally flew by, right?!

Hopefully this week's post will get you through the sugar filled late night next week!

On days like Halloween, Christmas and Valentines when the kids are having class parties and treats all day long I really try to boost the protein in their lunch and breakfast to offset all the junk I know they'll get when they're celebrating. I also waited until today to buy Halloween candy so it wouldn't sit there tempting me this past week. What's the first thing you steal from your kiddos Trick or Treat bags? I don't have a big sweet tooth, but Heath Bars and Caramel M&Ms get me every time!

 Monday: Sliced Deli Ham, Babybel Gouda Cheese, shredded carrots, wheat thins, Moon Cheese, Coleslaw, dried cranberries, watermelon

 Tuesday: Triscuits, baby tomatoes, yogurt tube, edemame, cubed roasted turkey, blackberries

 Wednesday: cubed roasted turkey, pretzels, BBQ sauce, roasted broccoli, baby carrots, fruit to go bar, yogurt tube

 Thursday: Pretzels, Green Chile Ham Hush Puppies, celery and carrot slices with black olives, blackberries, apple slices, Meunster cheese squares

 Friday: Turkey and meunster cheese flatbread sandwiches, raisins, blackberries, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes

Green Chile Ham Hush Puppies with Chipotle Honey Mustard

I really think you're going to love my Southwest twist on a Southern favorite! Who doesn't love hush puppies?! Crispy fried on the outside, fluffy cornbread on the inside loaded with chunks of ham and green chiles. The only thing that could make that situation better is the Chipotle Honey Mustard sauce they're dunked in

Look at how golden and delicious! I bet you can't eat just one.

Green Chile Ham Hush Puppies with Chipotle Honey Mustard 

6 cups vegetable oil for frying

1/2 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons pureed chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

2 cups flour

½ cup cornmeal

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

6 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 Tablespoons sliced green onion

1 1/2 cup diced Frick’s Quality Meats Bone In Half Ham 

½ cup chopped canned green chiles

In an electric fryer or large high sided skillet fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the oil up to 375 degrees over medium high heat.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the yellow mustard, honey, mayonnaise and pureed chipotles. Place in the fridge to chill.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, garlic salt and baking soda. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Add the sliced green onion, diced ham, chopped green chiles and the flour mixture and stir until just combined. 

Once the oil is hot, using a small cookie scoop carefully drop balls of batter into the oil. Fry for about 4 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel lined cookie sheet and allow to drain. Serve immediately with the chilled dip.

Makes 28 hush puppies

You can find Frick's Quality Meats here, on Facebook and on Instagram

#fricks #smokedmeats #itsfrickingood

Little's Lunches

Hey there and Happy Friday!! This week has been super rainy and freezing cold, so I'm looking forward to relaxing, reading and staying warm with this nugget while she snores on my lap. Beignet hates the rain, so I'm sure she won't willingly go outside the entire weekend. 

I hope these lunchbox ideas make next week easier for you! Some things I've noticed through the years of packing school lunches: dips make a difference! BBQ sauce, ranch, honey mustard, my kids love 'em all and are definitely more willing to eat new foods when they come with a dip. Also, cutting something in a new way can also make them seem more appealing. Carrot coins are just baby carrots cut into rounds, cucumbers cut into long sticks are easier to dip and look different than the typical circles - mix it up and I bet your kids will love it! 

 Monday: deli ham slices, cucumber sticks, wheat thin crackers, ranch, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, mango chunks

 Tuesday: deli ham and cream cheese tortilla roll up, raisins, coleslaw, moon cheese, kiwi

Wednesday: beef jerkey, applesauce, roasted broccoli, carrot coins, pasta salad, blackberries

Thursday: sliced apple gouda chicken sausages, pretzels, barbecue sauce, roasted broccoli and cherry tomatoes, blackberries, yogurt tube

Friday: orange wedges, fig bar, pepperoni and meunster cheese squares, green bell pepper cubes, black olives and cherry tomatoes, pretzels

Little's Lunches

Whenever I had posted Little's Lunches in the past, it was on a Monday to have fresh ideas of what to pack in lunchboxes throughout the week. This past weekend though, we were crazy busy, the kids had off of school for Columbus Day on Monday and then my daughter was home sick on Tuesday. Typical busy family life situation, right? Which is exactly why planning lunchboxes can be so difficult sometimes.....so I'm going to start posting lunchbox ideas on Friday so that by the time Monday rolls around, there's already a set of menus to pull from! Hope this helps!! 

 Monday: Harissa Honey Grilled Ham Skewers, Hawaiian Bread Roll, green beans, moon cheese, kiwi and pineapple

Tuesday: Bow Tie Pasta Salad, moon cheese, delic sliced ham, blackberries

Wednesday: cucumber sticks, breadstick, salami, Baybybel Gouda, pineapple, ranch dip

Thursday: salad, ranch, Babybel Gouda cheese, wheat thins, kiwi

Friday: Chicken Spinach Sausage slices, wheat thins, BBQ sauce, cucumber and orange bell pepper slices, pineapple, strawberries

Crock Pot Turkey Carnitas Burrito Bowls with Cilantro Lime Zoodles

My son's first pick at any fair or carnival or Thanksgiving has been, and will always be the humongous roasted turkey legs. I don't know whether it's the caveman feeling of walking around with that thing in his hand or the crazy cost that you're typically charged for one when at a festival, but he truly loves them. I don't know why it never occurred to me to buy them and make them at home, and now that I have, I can tell you it was WAY easier than I ever expected. Something seemed familiar in my mind as we were chowing down on them - something about the crispy outer edges and the tender fall off the bone meat in the middle.....

Carnitas! Of course! It reminded me of one of our favorite Mexican dishes and I knew turkey carnitas needed to happen soon. 

I'm taking part in Frick's Quality Meats Recipe Challenge and when they sent me their gorgeous Smoked Turkey Drums I was so excited to turn them into this fully loaded carnitas bowl. Instead of Cilantro Lime Rice, like the typical taco joints are serving, I used zucchini noodles. So bonus points for being gluten free, right?

Crock Pot Turkey Carnitas Burrito Bowls with Cilantro Lime Zoodles

Crock Pot Turkey Carnitas

1 cup diced onion

4 cloves garlic

1 cup pineapple orange juice

½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

½ cup water

1 package (2drumsticks) Frick’s Quality Meats Smoked Turkey Drums

Cilantro Lime Zucchini Noodles

1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil

9 cups spiralized zucchini noodles

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ Tablespoon lime juice

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Toppings

3/4 cup pico de gallo

1/3 cup crumbled queso fresco

¼ cup sliced pickled jalapenos

1/3 cup julienned radish

1 large lime, cut into wedges

Place the onion, garlic, pineapple orange juice, oregano, cumin, water and Smoked Turkey Drumsticks in a slow cooker on low heat for 6 hours, or until the meat is tender and easily falls of the bone.

Once the drumsticks are ready, set broiler to high heat. Remove the turkey from the crockpot and shred the meat, discarding any bone or skin. Place on a large cookie sheet and broil, just until the edges are crispy, about 2-3 minutes watching closely to prevent burning.

Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the zucchini noodles for 3-5 minutes, or until just tender. Add the salt, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Divide the noodles into 6 serving bowls. Top each bowl with turkey carnitas, pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco, pickled jalapenos, radishes and lime wedges.

Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

You can find Frick's Quality Meats here, on Facebook and on Instagram

#fricks #smokedmeats #itsfrickingood

Harissa Honey Grilled Ham Skewers

Look at those layers y'all!

These Harissa Honey Grilled Ham Skewers are a little spicy, a little sweet and take less than 10 minutes to cook! The prep is equally as simple, and easy enough for kids help with. Thanks to Frick’s Quality Meats Sliced Applewood Quarter Ham being pre-sliced and fully cooked, most of the work was already done for me.

 A few weeks back, when I was in St Louis, I tried harissa for the first time at a fabulous cafe for breakfast and I immediately fell in love with it. I knew the smoky and spicy flavors of the exotic hot sauce would pair perfectly in something sweet like a glaze, and after a short time on the grill the flavors get even better. If you can't find harissa in your local grocery store, order it on Amazon. Mine was less than five dollars and so very worth it!

Harissa Honey Grilled Ham Skewers

1/3 cup apricot preserves

3 Tablespoons honey

3 Tablespoons harissa

1 pounds 6ounces Frick’s Quality Meats Sliced Applewood Quarter Ham

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow or orange bell pepper

1 red onion

Heat a grill or large grill pan to high heat.

Whisk together the apricot preserves, honey and harissa in a small bowl and set aside.

Cut the Frick’sQuality Meats Sliced Applewood Quarter Ham, bell peppers and red onion into 1 ½ inch squares. Thread the cubes evenly onto 6 large skewers.

Once the grill is hot, grill the skewers for 3 minutes. Flip the skewers and brush with half of the glaze. Cook for an additional 3 minutes. Flip the skewers again and brush with the remaining glaze. Remove from the grill and serve immediately.

 

The skewers are all prepped and ready to go. You can totally make the skewers and the glaze well in advance if needed and the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you're feeding a crowd.
Let's talk skewers and assembly: if you're using metal skewers you're good to go. If you have bamboo skewers, you will want to soak them in water for 20-30 minutes before putting your ham and veggies on them. This will prevent them burning or causing any flare ups.

You (or your kids) can put the veggies and ham on in any pattern you'd like but I really loved keeping at least 3 cubes of Frick’s Quality Meats Sliced Applewood Quarter Ham right next to each other on the skewers. That way the glaze that got in the middle of the slices and stayed juicy, while the outer edges got nicely charred and thickened. Totally a personal preference, but that was my favorite part of these!

Update: I'm happy to say that this recipe won first place and $500 in the "On The Grill" category of this recipe contest!

You can find all of Frick's Quality Meats here, on Facebook and on Instagram. Be sure to follow them for tips and recipe ideas!

#fricks #smokedmeats #itsfrickingood

Quick and Easy Thai Coconut Clams

Just look at that bowl y'all!

These Quick and Easy Thai Coconut Clams are insanely delicious and so very easy to throw together! I really can't decide which is better; briny clams cooked in flavorful coconut milk or the pieces of bread drenched in the creamy coconut mushroom sauce! 

Quick and Easy Thai Coconut Clams

4 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, diced
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup vegetable broth

1 (12 ounce) jar Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA

½ teaspoon salt
3 pounds clams, rinsed and scrubbed
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 large lime, cut into wedges
1 baguette, warmed

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium low heat. Sauté the shallot until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, vegetable broth, Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA and salt and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Add the clams, cover with a tight lid and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until all the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with the lime wedges and warm bread for dipping.
Serves 2.

I think this is a fabulous appetizer as is, but feel free to stretch it and serve it as a main dish by pouring the whole mixture over some boiled fettuccine noodles!

Here's a lovely before and after....above was my plated dish, and below is my children inhaling it all and fighting over the last of it. My husband didn't even get any because they ate it so fast! And, of course, Beignet was sniffing the floor all around their feet praying for some bread to fall.

#BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

If you can't find BLENDABELLA in your local grocery store, you can purchase it online HERE

Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest too for recipe ideas!

Thai Coconut Shrimp Ceviche

 One of my favorite things about traveling is the food I get to experience along the way. I get so much inspiration from restaurants, menus and regional dishes I try, and many times, that inspiration is what leads me to the next meal I cook for my family. Last week, when I was visiting St Louis,  I just wanted a few appetizers for dinner since our lunch was so filling. That led us to a Peruvian restaurant around the corner from our hotel where my husband had ceviche as his meal. While the experience was great, the dish left me wanting more and when I got home and started thinking of new entries I could create for the BLENDABELLA Blogger Challenge, I immediately knew what to make!

My Thai Coconut Shrimp Ceviche is packed with flavor thanks to Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA and with only a few ingredients and minimal prep, this delicious dish comes together in minutes. And I know that ceviche can alarm people sometimes due to the traditional raw shrimp being cooked in lime juice recipe, but this one starts with pre-cooked tiny shrimp so there's no worries when it comes to food safety for your guests or family!

Luckily, my family will try almost anything I cook, but even I was surprised when the whole bowl was finished in one day! My son snacked on it while doing homework and even packed a container of it for his lunch today. I'm pretty sure he's the only 6th grader today with ceviche in his lunchbox.

Thai Coconut Shrimp Ceviche

1 pound cooked salad shrimp

1 cup sliced canned hearts of palm

¾ cup full fat coconut milk

1 cup Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA

2 green onions, sliced

1 Tablespoon lime juice

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Gently stir together the shrimp, hearts of palm, coconut milk, Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA, green onions, lime juice and half of the cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve immediately.

This dish can be served on its own as an appetizer or scooped as a dip with Tortilla Chips, Lettuce Cups or Crackers.

#BLENDABELLA #coconutThai

If you can't find BLENDABELLA in your local grocery store, you can purchase it online HERE

Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest too for recipe ideas!