Little Smokies

1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chopped onion
Pepper
2 (16 oz.) packages little hot dogs


Stir together barbecue sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, onion and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour sauce over little hot dogs in the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 2 hours, or until ready to serve.

Can use toothpicks for serving.

Harvard Beets

2-16 ounce cans sliced beets
1 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Salt to taste

Drain the beet liquid into a medium saucepan. To the liquid add vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; stir in beets and cook until heated through.

Southwestern Baked Beans

These are hands down the best ever, EVER baked beans I have tasted. And they weren't difficult to make either. Recently I was asked to bring some baked beans to a family BBQ. Typically, I am a big fan of the baked beans recipe in the Lion House Cookbook, but due to a recent move all my cookbooks are still boxed up in the garage somewhere. So... in light of that I resorted to one of my favorite online recipe sites, The Pioneer Woman. Ree Drummond never fails me! I only adjusted the recipe slightly. This is now my new favorite recipe for baked beans. They are perfect for all those BBQ's and summer picnics, enjoy and eat away!


10 slices of bacon, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced small
1/2 of a green pepper, diced small
3 large cans {28 ounces each} baked beans {I used Bush's, but any brand will do}

Sauce:
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. dry mustard
3-4 shakes of liquid smoke

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry the bacon in a deep, large saute pan until bacon has released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and pepper to drippings in pan and and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients in a separate mixing bowl. Add beans and all remaining ingredients to the pan and simmer. Pour beans into a greased 9 x 13 inch ovenproof pan. Bake until beans are bubbly and the sauce has the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from The Pioneer Woman.

Olive Cheese Bread

I like to read cookbooks in bed at night the way most people read the novels and magazines. So when my youngest sister Sarah recently turned 18 and requested linguine with clam sauce for her birthday dinner, I recalled this recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cookbook and thought it would go along perfectly with our linguine. I was luckily able to snap this shot as the bread flew off the serving plate! This olive cheese bread is divine and will be made again!


1-14.5 ounce can black olives, drained
1-6 ounce jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 green onions
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread

Chop the black and green olives and the green onions. In a large bowl combine the butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and onions. Stir until thoroughly combined. Slice the French bread in half lengthwise. Spread the olive cheese mixture in an even layer on each half. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees until the cheese mixture is thoroughly melted and beginning to turn light brown and bubbly. Cut into diagonal slices and serve immediately.


Variation:
Substitute drained, chopped artichoke hearts and grated Parmesan cheese ~ yum!

Sarah. Me. Indiana.
{After eating our olive cheese bread}

Happy Birthday Sarah! :)

Spanish Rice

This homemade Spanish rice is so good, you'll feel like you're at a restaurant! It's a really quick and easy side dish, and it tastes even better the next day as leftovers. I serve it with my favorite Mexican dishes :)

1 1/2 cup rice
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, including juice
2 T. melted butter
2 T. olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Saute onion and garlic in butter and olive oil. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on very low heat for 20 minutes.

Carrots and Zucchini

baby carrots
zucchini
olive oil
grated Parmesan cheese
dill weed
salt & pepper

Boil the carrots in water until they're soft. Saute sliced zucchini in olive oil for about 1 minute. Add the carrots and saute together for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese, dill weed, and salt and pepper over the vegetables and stir for a couple minutes more.