Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue Sauce. I buy it in a jar or a squeeze bottle. Don't you? That is just how I do it, but I recently pinned a recipe for a homemade barbecue sauce, because it really got my attention.

Fast forward one month. We are prepping for my dad's retirement party. We are serving shredded turkey sandwiches, but we (I) wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary, and jazz things up a bit. After getting some southern inspiration from my blogging friend Mandy, over at South Your Mouth, I knew what I wanted to do. A variety of sauces for people to top their turkey with. I definitely was going to go with home made, as I wanted these sauces to be original and like nothing every one had already picked up in the grocery store. 

 

First up, the barbecue sauce I had pinned. O.M.G. This sauce was so good! I will always have this on hand! The ingredients were pantry staples, so no extra trips to the store.

I am still lovin' the turkey leftovers. Heat 'em up. Grab the squeeze bottle of barbecue.  Sauce it up.  You're ready!  

Try this. You will thank me. Trust me!!

Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce (Slightly adapted from: Baked By Rachel)

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 Tbsp molasses
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan, stir until combined. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cool.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Printable Recipe 



Sharing this recipe at:
Tuesday Trivia 
Thursdays Treasures 
Weekend re-Treat 
Weekend Potluck 
Pin Me Linky Party 
Foodie Friends Friday 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday 
In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party 
What'd You Do This Weekend?

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

Sometimes a cookie can take you by surprise. That was the case when my friend had picked out White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies for us to make in our Christmas bake-off. I would never complain about a cookie, but some aren't that exciting to me. Guess what... I can admit when I was wrong.

This cookie is worth getting excited over! They are such a soft chewy cookie, and you just can't go wrong with the white chocolate and dried cranberries! I loved it and have kept the recipe, and now have to share it with you!

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies (Source: Sally's Baking Addiction)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried cranberries


In medium bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking sode and salt.  Mix until combined.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. On low speed, add flour mixture until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries. Cover and chill dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop drop onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do not bake longer than 9 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy ! ! !

Printable Recipe

Sharing this recipe at:
Foodie Friends Friday
Thursdays Treasures
The Weekend re-Treat 
Weekend Potluck 
Treasure Box Tuesday

4th of July

It really doesn't seem possible that we have already past the 4th of July. Summer is moving much to fast!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and got in some fun! 

We checked the corn fields last week. 

Definitely reached, and passed "Knee high by 4th of July."

Truckin' Man was happy.

While checking the corn, I caught this gorgeous sunset.

Roofing part of the porch has been Truckin' Man's project over the holiday. Not a huge project, but when you have two days a week to take care of all house and farm needs, little projects are a big deal.

I don't do ladders or heights, so I am in charge of beverages. 

We took some time away on Sunday to go see my bestie, in a little river town, on the Mississippi. 

Flowers are getting to their peak, and are so pretty!

Black Raspberries are ready for me to nibble on when I walk by. I love them so much... My favorite berry! 

The locals here call them "Black caps". What do you call them?

Sharing this at:
Clever Chicks Blog Hop
From the Farm

A Day of Sunshine

It has been a soggy soggy spring here in Wisconsin. This past week has brought torrential rains, and there has been a lot of local flooding. There have been mud and rock slides as well. I normally only use my own photo's on the blog, but I am going to borrow one from a local news channel just to show you a rock slide around here!

Photo From WXOW

YIKES!

Today, our basement is finally drying out. It's hard to get in the garden, because the mud almost pulls your shoes or boots right off your feet. Hopefully by the weekend we will be out there and get things under control and find what plants are left.

Today, I at least was able to take advantage of the sunshine, and get out of the house, check on my flowers, let the older hens free range for a while and just enjoy some fresh air!

This view is a site for sore eyes! 

Up until two months ago, this was an old trailer site in our back yard, and was just a mess of weeds! The old septics are now filled in, grass is growing, tree's are planted. 

Dwarf Japanese Maple in our newly improved backyard... 

Truckin' Man is in charge of landscaping this area, and I think he picked a great tree!

Crooked Comb is happy to see the sun, too!

 Petunia's.... A sure sign of summer!

Rusty... Guarder of the homestead... With his pillow. His pillow stays in the basement for nights when he needs shelter. Well.... Pillow got wet in the floods, so I threw it outside to get some sunshine and dry out. Somehow, it was moved to the shade!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Sharing this at:
From the Farm Blog Hop 
Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Chicken Taquito's

When you are a household of two and make large quantities of any food, you sometimes have to get creative on using it in different ways. Honestly, when there is a food that I really like, I could eat it meal after meal, until it's gone. That isn't the case with Truckin' Man. He isn't quite so big on leftovers. I suppose it comes from eating so many repeated meals in the truck, so I do try to keep him happy and change things up on the meals as much as I can.

This was the case with my Tex Mex Shredded Chicken. We both loved it, but it made such a large amount, that I had to get creative. I had a memory of one of my old favorite foods from the days when I always had my deep fryer and the huge boxes of "fryer food" on hand.  Taquitos! I LOVED taquito's. I hadn't had them once since I gave up the fryer, and I missed them! So with a lot of yummy chicken on hand, I gave this a shot, and the whole thing was a huge hit! I rocked them out, and haven't been so proud of a meal in a long time!

For my vegetarian friends, I would suggest trying this with some re-fried beans as the filling in these. I think that would be phenomenal!

Chicken Taquitos

Corn Tortilla's
Tex Mex Shredded Chicken
Vegetable Oil (or your favorite frying oil)
Seasoned Sour Cream (See Recipe Below) - Optional
Cilantro, Avocado, Salsa - Optional


Warm corn tortilla's in microwave. Keep tortilla's covered with towel while you are working. (I am slow at rolling, so I heat a few tortilla's at a time. The warmer they are the easier they roll!) Spoon one to two tablespoons of Tex Mex Shredded Chicken down center of tortilla. Roll tortilla's as tightly as you can, and secure with toothpick.

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Use enough oil to to cover pan to about 1/8 inch deep. Once hot, place taquito's in skillet.  Do not overcrowd the pan, you need room to turn these over easily, and the tooth picks take up space! Cook each side 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on papertowel.

Serve immediately with Seasoned Sour Cream, Cilantro, Avocado, Salsa.



Seasoned Sour Cream
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. minced garlic powder

Combine and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Printable Recipe


Sharing this recipe at:
Thursdays Treasures 
Foodie Friends Friday 
The Weekend re-Treat 
Weekend Potluck 
Pin Me Linky Party 
From the Farm 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday 
Clever Chicks 
Finding the Pretty and Delicious
In and Out of the Kitchen
What'd You Do This Weekend 
Wednesday Extravaganza

Creamy Mexican Rice

For Surprise Recipe Swap this month, I headed over to Desiree's blog at SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl.  She had so many recipes to look through, but when I found her Mexican Sour Cream Rice, I knew I had to make it. I have seen versions of this recipe in various cookbooks and always meant to try it and just never get around to it. Thank you Desi for having this recipe, so that I finally got around to making it!

I did make a few tweaks to Desi's recipe, I swapped out the sour cream for Greek Yogurt, just because that is what I do anymore. I always have Chobani in the fridge, but not always any sour cream. I did tweak the cheese also, because of what I had, but I loved it! It was a lovely creamy rice, with a lovely Mexican flavor from the peppers and cilantro.  I will be adding this rice to a regular rotation on our menu!

Creamy Mexican Rice (Adapted from: SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 - 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 cup Greek Yogurt
1 - 4 oz can diced green chile peppers
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (Colby or Pepper Jack would also be great)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 Tbsp Jalapeno slices, diced (the slices you use for nacho's, then dice them)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and Pepper

Saute rice in olive oil in large pot, over medium high heat, for 4-5 minutes. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

While rice is simmering, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease casserole dish.  Set aside.  After rice has simmered for the 20 minutes, remove from heat and add Greek Yogurt, green chile peppers, one cup of cheese, corn, jalapeno, and cilantro. Mix until all are combined. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Pour rice mixture into casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, and garnish with additional cilantro if desired.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Interested in Secret Recipe Swap? Each month participating bloggers get assigned to another blogger and have to pick and cook a recipe from our partners blog!


Sharing this recipe at:
Thursdays Treasures
Foodie Friends Friday
The Weekend re-Treat
Weekend Potluck
Scrumptious Sundays
Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Pin Me Linky Party
Strut Your Stuff Saturday

The Garden is Growing!

What a spring this has been! It feels like it was just a few days ago, I took this picture of some of my seed packs. Looking at the date stamp on my photo's, it actually been several weeks!

 

 Once we were able to get the garden ready, I got in there and got it planted. And then it rained. And it rained. And it rained some more! 

No more!!! The sun is finally here and most things are growing! 

Lots of weeds growing too. I am hoping Truckin' Man will help me catch up on those this weekend.

This tiny little growth is Rainbow Swiss Chard.  I plant something new each year that I haven't tried before. This year... Chard! It's growing, so I hope we like it!

Beautiful Lettuce! I am sooo stinkin' excited to have lettuce from my own garden, I can hardly wait. Truth be told, I really could have pinched off a few of these young leaves, but I want them to grow!

 Onions are growing. They aren't looking fabulous, but I am happy with any sign of growth!

 Beans! Yeay!

Even a few pea's are poppin' up!

Squash and Pumpkins are thriving. 

Here is Hazel. She is always at my side in the garden. She is so camera shy, she refuses to take a good photo. She will sit still and stare at me for 20 minutes. Just when I even think of aiming the camera, she moves!