Sausage and Apple Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Memorial Day is this weekend and I bet a lot of us will be celebrating this holiday with the first cookout of the season. Hopefully the weather will be a little better than today, although we definitely needed the rain! Try my stuffed jalapeno poppers as a starter to your meal!

I think a lot of you probably know someone who has a stuffed jalapeno pepper recipe, most probably consisting of cream cheese and bacon as the star ingredients. For my peppers I added a few other ingredients. You get some spice from the ground sausage and jalapeno pepper, sweet from the minced apple, creaminess from the cheese, along with salty crunch from the bacon - what more could you ask for? Not really the healthiest starter, but don't you feel better since there is apple in it?! Don't be scared of the apple - those who have tried my poppers can't even tell it's there, you just get a little added sweet to help balance the heat.

I will say I have made these a few times and this is the first time the stuffing has been the exact amount I needed! Of course the size of jalapenos can vary drastically and this time they were quite large. Make modifications as you need to based on the size of pepper you get from your grocery store or famers market.

Sausage and Apple Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
Servings: 20 poppers

Ingredients:

Jalapenos, 10 large
Apple, ¼ c  minced very small
Ground sausage, 1 c cooked (approx ½ lb)
Cheddar cheese, ½ c
Cream cheese, 4 oz softened
Garlic powder 1 tsp
Bacon, 10 slices, cut into two

Slice the peppers into two. I find it is easiest to start at the tip and cut towards the head of the pepper so the stem stays intact. This makes them easier to eat once they are cooked. The flesh and seeds are where the heat lives, so I like to remove those. The outside shell provides enough heat for me. To do this, use a spoon and scoop out the insides.  

Better Bonus Tip: The spicy juice will get onto your fingers. Don’t touch your eyes without washing your hands first. You might also want to consider wearing plastic gloves.

Chop the apple into very small pieces and combine all ingredients together.

After mixed, scoop into peppers and wrap each pepper with half of a piece of bacon. 

Grill outside or bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Place under the broiler for another 3-5 minutes to crisp up bacon.

Happy Memorial Day!

~Ashley

Must Have Kitchen Essentials

So a few weeks ago I alluded to a blog coming soon about my kitchen essentials. Well this is the week! As I have shared recipes over the last 8 months, you probably noticed I do utilize various kitchen gadgets. Today, I will share my list of top ten must have appliances/gadgets (in no particular order) from my kitchen.  I am a Bed, Bath and Beyond junkie so will share a link to the products below on their website, assuming I can still find it there. If I couldn’t find it there, I have tried to find it somewhere, in case you are interested in adding it to your kitchen. Most all of these products you can get just about anywhere. I do tend to love Bed, Bath and Beyond though and with the 20% off coupons they send in the mail you can end up with a pretty good and comparable price.

Good set of knives
First up, is a good set of knives. This is imperative to successful and ease free cooking. My favorite knife is the santoku knife. I use this 98% of the time while I am cooking. It is known as an Asian Knife, hints the name, and is the one that is the widest in the picture and has the little divots on the blade edge (second from the top). I find it particularly helpful when chopping veggies. While I use this most of the time, I do think having a few other knives to choose from in your collection is important. Next up is a good paring knife. This will help with chopping smaller foods or more intricate prep work. With that said, there are certain foods that are easier to prepare with a serrated knife - tomatoes are always the first to come to mind. Last up is a good pair of kitchen shears.  You can use shears for herbs, opening packages, etc. The next few knives are what I call ‘tier two’ knives. I think you can do everything you need with what I previously listed, but it would be nice to have a few others if your budget allows. I have a large serrated knife because I find cutting bread is easier with the larger size serrated knife. Lastly, what is known as a utility knife. I like to use this knife for my meats. You can find knives just about anywhere, although this is one place in your kitchen, where you may want to spend a little more money. The price of knives can vary pretty drastically, but keep in mind, some of the more expensive knives have a life time warranty, so you will pay a little more up front, but never have to spend another dime.  

Find it here

Practice your knife skills with two kitchen basics - onion and garlic

Better Bonus Tip: Keep your knives sharp or they are doing you no good and can actually put you at risk of hurting yourself. You can purchase a knife sharpener, but I like to take my knives to Bass Pro Shop and they will sharpen them for free.

Knife block

When I went knife shopping I didn't find a knife set that I liked. I wanted to do open stock knives - meaning I pick each individual knife. While there are benefits to doing it this way, I still needed somewhere to store the knives and didn’t like the idea of storing them in a drawer even with their protective sleeve on. I found a knife block, known as Kapoosh, where you don’t have preset slots to fit your knives into, so whatever knives you have in your collection you can make fit. What a great idea! This particular brand comes in wood or stainless steel and the inside is dishwasher safe.  

Find it here

Microplane
You have probably seen me use this gadget many times over the life of this blog. I love it! I probably use it the most often when zesting citrus fruits. Yes, you can just use the juice of the fruit, but the zest gives you maximum intense flavor because the zest is where all the essential oils live. I also find microplanes extremely helpful for grating just about anything that I need really fine - garlic, ginger, nutmeg, hard boiled eggs, onion, cheese and even chocolate.

Find it here

Great to use when preparing pesto, my tuna salad cakes, or my chicken cutlets with lemon sauce

Citrus Squeezer
So yes, you can squeeze the juice out of a lemon or lime with your good old fashion hands, but that’s no fun. You probably end up having to fish the seeds out after the fact and I am just a big wimp so can’t ever get that much juice. The first ‘juicer’ I purchased was what is known as a reamer. You stick the reamer into the flesh of the citrus and it helps release the juice. With this, I still found myself fetching after the seeds. Then some genius invented this tool! You slice the citrus in half,  place in the slot and squeeze. The citrus is completely degraded, but the amount of juice obtained is not comparable to any other gadget. Plus, the seeds stay in the gadget. The one referenced below in the link is not the actual one I own. Mine has a slot for lemon and lime - not necessary!

Find it here

Great to use when preparing salsa, whether its my avocado dips or mango salsa

Better Bonus Tip: If you have a citrus fruit that doesn’t feel very ripe, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.

Immersion blender

Again, who invents this stuff? Amazing! This is a must have if you like to make soup or smoothies. Yes, you can make blended soups or smoothies in a traditional blender, but with soup in particular, I don’t ever want to transfer the contents to another appliance for a couple of reasons. One - another difficult to wash appliance to clean. Two - risk of spilling and making a mess. Just plug the immersion blender in and insert the stick into the soup pot and blend. If you think you would like it for smoothies, you have a cup that comes with it where you can add your ingredients, mix directly in the cup and then drink from the cup. So easy!

Find it here

Great when making blended soups

Blender cup
Another must have if you are a smoothie fanatic. This is great for smoothies on the go and prefer this over the immersion blender . The same cup that is used to blend, is now the cup you can take with you - lid and all. Such a time saver and ideal appliance to help ensure I get a great start to my day every morning.

Find it here

Great for breakfast smoothies

Salad spinner

So to be honest, I can be a sucker for buying kitchen appliances that I don’t really need. This was something I registered for when we got married and I wasn't really sure why. Talk about lazy - wash your lettuce with your hands! Two years later though I have grown to love this. I can get home from the store and chop up a bunch of lettuce, stick it in this spinner and spray it down (while it is in the strainer piece). Then pump this thing to death and walk away. Once I come back, it is washed, dried and I can switch to the normal lid and store it in the fridge all week. Yes, I could probably still wash a head of lettuce and dry it in a towel, but I still feel like it doesn’t get as dry. If there is still moisture in the lettuce, it will go bad quickly. Plus, if hand drying the lettuce, I have broken and bruised the leaves in the process. My husband can take all the help he can when getting lunch ready during the week, so this is a big win for us.

Find it here

Great when making taco salads or traditional salads

Seal a meal food-saver
Buying in bulk is great, if you have a way to maintain the freshness of the food you aren’t ready to eat yet. Having a food-saver can do just that. I use mine primarily for proteins, but you can really use it for just about anything. They even have vacuum capabilities for containers, in addition to the standard bags. I also like that thee bags come in all different sizes so I can portion out what I want to freeze to make it easier to use when I am ready later. I couldn’t find the one I own on any site, but there lots of brands and price ranges. To be honest, I am pretty sure the one I purchased was pretty cheap and it has lasted me many years - 5+.

Find it here

Great if you are a meal planner and/or buy in bulk.

Standard cooking set up
What do I mean by standing cooking set up? When I first started my blog, my mom said you say ‘drizzle of oil a lot. That doesn't really tell me anything’. You may have also noticed I really don’t state specific amounts of oil, salt or pepper in my recipes. That is because I don’t really know. I have what I call a standard cooking set up right next to my oven that consists of two oil dispensers, one with extra virgin olive oil and a second filled with canola/vegetable oil mix. A sugar tray, filled with salt and a pepper grinder. I also make sure I have a cooking spray close by, because oil is not always the answer. I love this, because these are standards I use in every single meal I make. I want them right there, easily accessible.

Find it here, here and here

Egg timer

This one is a little dorky, but I love my egg timer! It takes the thinking out of cooking and sometimes we all need that. You stick the timer in your pot with your eggs and it lets you know when the eggs are done by changing color. Once the eggs reach your level of desired doneness - soft, medium or hard, the purple color will move to that level noted on the egg timer.  Sure everyone probably has heard the best way to cook hard boiled eggs (one I heard just this week was bring water to a boil and remove from heat and let the eggs stay in the warm water for 13 minutes), but this is so much easier!!

Find it here

Great if making hard boiled eggs for your favorite egg or tuna salad or my tuna salad cakes.

Wine opener (bonus)
This one is just for fun. I am a wine drinker, but if you aren’t, you still may choose to cook with wine. I have a sign in my kitchen that says I like to cook with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food.  Either way, if you need to open a bottle of wine for whatever reason, this is the opener for you. The wine opener comes as a 5 piece set - the opener itself, a stand to allow the opener to sit in on your counter, a foil opener, a second backup corkscrew and a wine stopper. It is a simple three step process. Use the foil cutter to remove the foil from the top of the bottle.  Insert the corkscrew barely into the top of the cork. Push down on the opener handle and then push back up. Voila! You will never open a bottle of wine with a different opener again. I couldn’t find the exact model I have, but the one linked below is the same idea. The one I own is made exclusively for bed, bath and beyond and is cheaper than the one linked.

Find it here

So, there you have it, the gadgets and appliances I can’t live without in my kitchen! What is your favorite gadget/appliance in your kitchen?


~Ashley

Trip to the Market

Last weekend we went to the City Market with our neighbors. They go much more often than we do, but when we are able to go - I love it! Food everywhere! We by no means are the ones that are there as they are opening the booths. We start our morning a little later on Saturday. On the way down we enjoy some delicious coffee and get excited to walk around and see what the local vendors are going to have this time. 

I am a meal planner, so prior to going I still think about what I am hoping to find for next week’s meals, but of course am flexible. If I see something that looks fresh and delicious, I am certainly going to go ahead and buy it even though I don’t have a set meal to use it with. I just make adjustments and keep that in mind when I am planning my meals for that week.


So most people think of only fruits and veggies at the City Market, which they have plentiful amounts of, but the City Market is great because you can get tons of other products as well. There are vendors for just about anything -  flowers, produce and herb plants for your garden, jewelry, crafts, honey, dips, baked goods, local farmers selling meats and eggs, even dried herbs and spices.

One thing that surprised me the first time I went was the dried herbs and spices. When I walked down this particular ‘aisle’ the first time,  I couldn’t believe it. The smell was so aromatic coming from boxes and boxes full of any and every dried herb or spice that you could think of. And you can buy by the scoop - most a $1 a scoop. AMAZING!

So I have preached a bit about fresh being best, but by no means does that mean I only use fresh herbs and spices. When you can, use fresh herbs, but there are definitely some benefits of dried herbs and spices. Dried herbs and spices are easier to find, store and last longer. You can also buy pre-mixed varieties that are recommended for certain types of food - pork, beef, chicken, seafood, etc, or even types of cooking like bbq, mexican, italian, etc. Also, there are some herbs/spices that are not even available fresh. So definitely don’t feel bad for using dried.

I actually have quite the collection of dried herbs, and being the organization freak that I am, of course I had to do something with all of them. It's okay you can make fun of me, but I love my spice cabinet! I bought individual containers, a few elevated wire shelves and of course used my label maker.
 

Back to the star of the market - the produce! With all that fresh produce you can get from the City Market, it’s time to make some salads!  

Zach and I end up eating salads for dinner a lot on Mondays and Wednesdays because those are my late nights getting home and we don’t want a big heavy dinner. Salads are quick, easy and can really be just about anything you want them to be. I try to stick to similar rules for my salads as I do with my lettuce wraps. First up, a protein, especially if it is our main meal. With salads as a side dish, I am not as concerned about a protein.  Next up, lots and lots of veggies. Third, a sauce, in this case a dressing. Homemade is much better and not as hard as you might think - stay tuned! Finally, something that provides some good crunch. I will share some ideas for salads, but you get to be creative this week based on what you have in your kitchen or what you picked up from your local market.

Protein

• Chicken
• Steak
• Shrimp
• Turkey
• Ham
• Deli meat
• Egg
• Beans - garbanzo, kidney, black, white cannellini
• Quinoa

Veggies

• Greens - romaine, arugula, spinach, kale, watercress, cabbage
• Onion - red, yellow, white, green, shallot (raw or cooked; you could also try cooking in balsamic vinegar for extra flavor)
• Herbs - cilantro, parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, dill, chives, basil, mint
• Roasted veggies - beets, squash
• Peas - snap peas or regular
• Corn - roasted is delicious
• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Artichokes
• Bell pepper
• Radishes
• Cucumber
• Fennel
• Bean sprouts

Dressing
Making your own salad dressing is much easier than you may think. Plus, you can control what goes into the dressing by making it yourself - no preservatives or added junk! I really like vinaigrettes, because they are light, healthy and so simple! To be honest with you, I don’t measure what I am putting into my vinaigrette. Because of that I don’t ever have the same vinaigrette twice. This can be good and bad. If I really enjoyed it, bummer because now I don’t know exactly what I put in it, but to me it is fun to continue to experiment. Either way here are some of the things I have used in my vinaigrettes in the past.

A standard vinaigrette is actually not really standard at all. Some say the oil to vinegar ratio is 2:1, some say 3:1. For oil, I don’t recommend using a canola or vegetable. Instead try an extra virgin olive oil. This is what I use most often, but you could also try any other specialty oil, such as walnut or coconut oil. There are lots of vinegars to choice from - balsamic, red wine, white wine, rice wine, apple cider, sherry, to name a few. At this point, you could add a little salt and pepper and have a great salad dressing. If you don’t want to stop there, here are some other suggestions of things to add:

• Citrus juice and zest - orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit
• Sweet - sugar, honey, agave nectar, molasses, fruit juice
• Mustard - honey, dijon
• Dried or fresh spices/herbs - poppy seed, dried mustard, dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, mint, garlic powder, coriander, ginger
• Onion (minced very small or grated onion juice) - red, yellow, or shallot are my favorite

Just make sure you taste along the way and I don’t think you will be disappointed with any combination!

Crunch

• Nuts - pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, cashews
• Seeds - pumpkin, sunflower
• Cornnuts (yes, processed, but such good salty flavor and extreme crunch)
• Baked deli meat - bake thin slices of deli meat at 400 degrees for 6-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat - watch so it doesn’t burn
• Cooked bacon or pancetta
• Croutons - you can make homemade ones by chopping up bread, mixing with a drizzle of oil and your favorite dried herbs and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until toasted and golden brown

Some bonus additions:

• Fruit - dried cranberries, strawberries, pear, apple, grapes, coconut
• Cheese - I don’t typically like shredded cheese, instead I prefer shaved cheese (fresh parmesan or manchego), cubed (gouda) or crumbled (goat or feta). I think it is a consistency thing :)!
• Grain - pasta (shells, spiral, elbow are great because they are small) or couscous

Here are three different salads I have made recently to get you inspired.

First up the star is the coconut. Coat shrimp in coconut and panko bread crumbs and bake or fry until golden brown. Additional toasted coconut is sprinkled on the salad. Served with a lime vinaigrette.

Second, creamy meats crunch. This salad has creamy avocado, shaved manchego cheese, egg whites  and crunchy corn nuts!

Last, sweet and salt make this salad. Baked prosciutto with a balsamic vinaigrette.

So while the City Market sells many varieties of products, most go for the fruits and veggies. They are endless and cheap! Additional benefits are not only are you supporting local farmers and companies, but you are making a smaller carbon footprint and are being more eco-friendly, because you aren’t paying for produce that has been shipped across the country. You hopefully don’t have to drive too far to get to a food market. Most cities, big or small, have a farmer’s food market of some sort.

In addition to making some great food this past week with what I got at the market, Zach and I did our yearly landscaping. We planted some flowers, put down mulch, and as I mentioned a few weeks ago - I was going to give a produce garden another shot. I used the help of the market and a friend from work. 


Last year, we used an elevated box with the thought that our dogs wouldn't mess with the garden. Well this year, one of our ever so clever dogs has learned she can jump up inside the box and get a better view of all her friends - trouble! We got these little fence looking stakes to border the box in hopes that will keep her out. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

So what are we growing? A friend from work gave us multiple different tomato plants, so trying to grow many varieties. Also, we are going to try bell pepper and ancho pepper from a plant starter, cucumber from a plant starter and then carrots, radishes, lettuce, okra and beans from seeds. Obviously my garden is not terribly big, so we are really only trying one to two seeds of each. Hopefully something will take. 


Our herbs didn't do well last year either and I assumed it was because of the heat, so I am trying those in pots this year by our front door. I transplanted my chives and mint from my box and also got some starter cilantro and parsley plants. My friend from work also gave me a basil starter and I planted a couple dill seeds. I am really excited about my herbs!!!

Wish me better luck than last year. Between veggies from the garden or market, hopefully you all will have a long season of fresh produce and plentiful meals! 

(sorry for the long post this week - got a little carried away; hopefully you stuck it out to the end)

~Ashley