PENSIEVE

While I'm working on a "serious" post, I offer you (much) lighter fare

[1]  The comment thread at my shrine to George Clooney has taken a funny turn; Min and Steve are at it again and who knows if it'll end up like last time.  Once they get started, I'm relegated to blog voyeur status at my own blog (thankyewverymuch), but if you'd like to read a few masters at their craft, be sure to scroll the comments (more than one page).

[2]  Seems like Phil-the-Deen-Webmaster is hardly working working hard on a nifty invention (mentioned in the comments) that'll leave him comfy for life and in a position to surpass Gates in world philanthropy.  Once he figures out how to package "Orlando in a Tube™ " he'll probably move on to Clooney and Dempsey and from there?!  Do we really wanna know where it goes from there???  I'm pretty sure it'll put ROCKBAND and Guitar Hero to shame...;).

[3]  Mummymac at Home but not Alone is hosting this month's Recipe Round Up.   Her theme is all things breakfast, so if you have a good recipe, why don't you join her tomorrow?  Like me last month, she's giving away a cookbook.  Unlike me (and much more wisely), she's giving away ONE not an INSANE 13!.  Feeling lucky?

[4]  If you haven't already, you really should visit Written Inc. for Carmi's weekly "Caption This" contest.  Recently I had the pleasure of sharing a win again (I'm sure I was inspired by conversation with my son) and it's always a lot of fun because Carmi encourages multiple entries.  When you just can't decide which is "best", you can suggest them all.  More times than not, he seems to rule out my favorite for a second or third choice of mine, which makes me wonder if I should try that tactic for Ree's contests...my first choice never makes her radar.   

[5]  For those of you who've tagged me in the past two months or so...forgive me, I STINK at tags!!  I often have so many posts "under construction"...it's difficult for me to have the focus to follow tag guidelines. 

Here's an EASY one from Beth aka Sportsmama; little more than Linky Love, it's complete cut and paste (aka EASY!)!   My add-ons are the last five mentioned (chosen because they're new bloggers or new to my blog).  Thanks, Beth!!

Guidelines per Beth (most of this is "white noise" to me...:/):

Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!  Cut and paste the entire list in your blog, links follow automatically.

*Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!
*The benefits of Viral Linking (oh, my, is that what this is (sorry, my two cents chiming in)??):
1.    One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
2.    Increase your Google Page Rank fast
3.    Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
4.    Build your community
5.    Make new friends!

Linky Love Tag

The Strategist Notebook
Link Addiction
Ardor of the Heart
When Life Becomes a Book
The Malaysian Life
Yogatta.com
What goes under the sun
Roshidan’s Cyber Station
Sasha says
Arts of Physics
And the legend lives
My View, My Life
A Simple Life
Juliana RW
Mom Knows Everything
Beth & Cory’s Mom
A Mind Forever Voyaging
enjoying the ride
Jennifer’s thoughts
Mom of 3 Girls
Amanda
Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys
ExPat Mom
Just Jessie
Wilson Six
Kristin
Nuttier Than You
Shonnte
Summer’s Nook
Laura Williams Musings
Melissa’s Idea Garden
Eve at Confessions of an Everyday Housewife
ChristiS of the Blah Blah Blog
Stephanie at Stop the Ride!
Diane at Soap, Blings & Girly Things
Amanda at Amanda:Mama’s Musings
Kristin at An Ordinary Life
Mama Zen at The Zen of Motherhood
Atomik Kitten
The Sassy Southerner
A Room of Mama’s Own
Exploring Autumn
Immoral Matriarch: Catechizer
Real Life
Boogiemum
Living and loving every minute of it
Huckdoll
The Daily Rhythm
The Rocky Mountain Retreat
Peace is Every Step
Life According to Lizzy
Following Forward
Boys Rule My Life
A Quest for Relevance
Not Trying for a Boy
The Gaspards
Orryally’s journal
My Life with Boys
The Truest Thing
The Potter’s Hand
Permission to Peruse
Live Laugh Blog
Pianomomsicle
Heather’s Hot Mess
Kevin and Paula
SmatterdayGuidance for Victory
Sports Momma

Pensieve (<--my personal favorite :) )
The Home Team Wins
Sisters of a Different Order
Chased by Children
A Frog in My Soup

Alex, The Roaming Southerner
Jeanie, Musings From Left Field
Peculiar, How Do We Get There From Here?
Tracey, Just Another Mommy Blog
Kim, Rainy Day Diamonds

Paula Deen reads my blog...?!

Somehow, Paula Deen found out about Snackalicous and Recipe Round Up!  Yesterday I received a not-so personal email from her with this DELICIOUS Super Bowlish recipe for "Hot & Spicy Refried Bean Dip".  Since she doesn't have hew own blog, I suppose that's why she didn't link it.  Or maybe it was purely coincidental.

 

It may be little more than a ploy to sell her "Southern Spice Rub" and "Hot Sauce", but this recipe definitely looks like something I need to try. 

Oooo, and if YOU want to try it, I'll give you the email promo code that was attached for 20% off anything in her store--PDEB125.

For the record, j'adore Paula Deen!  She's sassy and sexy and FULL of life, and hers is a rags to riches tale that rivals Cinderella.  But in the kitchen.

Enjoy this little clip of vintage Paula...if you aren't already familiar with her, you'll get a kick out of it...if you ARE already familiar with her, you will, too ;).

Bacon Tomato Cups

Bacony, biscuity, oniony, Swiss cheesery, and (gulp) tomatoey snack GLORIOSITY--

The means to the end:

1 10-count can biscuits
1 pound bacon, crisp-fried, crumbled
2 small or 1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2-1 cup mayonnaise, enough to bind the ingredients
2 teaspoons basil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.    Spray mini-muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.

Separate biscuits; cut into quarters.

Note:  I've always wondered if there was a difference in taste/texture between plain buttermilk biscuits and the flaky layer version; I bought two small cans and tried 'em both for today.

Take biscuit quarters and press into prepared mini-muffin pans.  Using my almost-as-much-fun-as-my-kitchen-blow-torch Pampered Chef Mini-Tart Shaper makes it easy.

Thumbs are the best tool around for seeding tomatoes.  Slime-a-ly disgusting, yes, but highly effective.

 

If you take your time when you're chopping everything up, it might just end up in perfect piles like this:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 

The ingredients looks so colorfully appetizing, don't you think?

NOT so appetizing once they're all mixed together--

Scoop out the mixture and fill the biscuit-lined muffin cups; the mixture WILL be taller than the biscuits themselves, which is just fine.

Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven.  Spoon mixture which has overflowed back into muffin cups; bake for 5 minutes longer.  Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing.

Enjoy!

 

Want the recipe without my running commentary?  As you wish:

Ingredients:

• 1 10-count can biscuits
• 1 pound bacon, crisp-fried, crumbled
• 2 small or 1 large tomato, seeded, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1/2-1 cup mayonnaise, enough to bind the ingredients
• 2 teaspoons basil

Preheat oven to 375ºF.    Spray mini-muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Separate biscuits; cut into quarters.  Spread out in prepared muffin cups.  Combine remaining ingredients in bowl, add enough mayonnaise to bind them together, and fill muffin cups.  Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, spoon mixture which has overflowed back into the cups.  Return to oven and bake about 5 more minutes.  Cool in pan 5-10 minutes before removing.

Additional Cook's Notes:

• I've experimented with other cheeses and varied the ingredients, and this recipe seems to incorporate well just about anything you'd like to try.
• Before filling the muffin cups, be sure to wipe away any excess cooking spray; otherwise it bakes onto your pan and discolors it.
• The aroma from these alone makes this recipe worth trying--even my kids who typically turn their noses up at anything out of the ordinary wandered into the kitchen, curious about what smelled so good :).

Mmmmm, Mmmmm GREAT ~ Bon Appetit!

Are you looking for some delicious Super Bowl recipes?   Some memorable dishes that will make your party, large or small?  Snacks, finger foods or entire spreads that satisfy your ravenous, Super Bowl appetite?  Well, then...just scroll down to the links below and I think you'll find plenty of what you're looking for. 

Feel free to add links to your own recipes or to others you've found on-line...then, whenever you're looking for the recipes, you'll know where to find them the next time!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Thank you for joining this month's Recipe Round Up as it joins Snackalicious Super Dishes!  In honor of the Super Bowl, the theme is crowd-pleasing snacks (savory or sweet).

Full details for each carnival can be reached by clicking the links attached to their names, and in summary, please note:

1)  Recipes can be newly posted, archived posts, or even recipes you've read on other blogs and/or food sites (just be sure to give credit where credit is due).
2)  Please link the permalink, not your main blog page.  Include your name or blog name AND a brief title for your recipe.
3)  A drawing for one of 13 cookbooks will take place from all entries received on Monday, January 28th; additional entries can be earned if you also include a Snackalicous button in your sidebar and/or write a brief post for the joint carnival.
4)  Today and over the weekend visit as many participants as you can...let 'em know you checked in, and take notes for your own Super Bowl Commercial Viewing Party.

If you still have questions, please drop me a line.  In the meantime, it's not too late for you to thumb through your favorite recipes, write a post and then share them with a few of your friends. 

My stomach is grrrrrowling already :).

Gettin' jiggy with a tomato

MMmmmm...even as my fingers click keyboard, I'm smellin' some might fine Bacon-Tomato cups, recipe to be posted tomorrow.

Hope you're planning to share some of your favorite crowd-pleasing snack recipes for "Recipe Round Up" and "Snackalicous...", you might just win a surcie :). 

And for the record, I never knew what "getting jiggy with it" meant until I was seeding this tomato...and that phrase just kept runnin' through my mind.  I can't stand tomatoes, either, but when you taste this recipe?

It just don't matter a bit...!

Underdogs and Overachievers So what if I like to eat?

Are you the type who enjoys a good come-from-behind victory?  If so, click this and remember my name is "R-o-b-i-n".

(If not, applaud the fact I'm getting a nice slice of humble pie and a butt-kickin' in the process.)  (Is "butt-kickin'" a bad word?)  (What else could I have said?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I've been blog-busy lately-- Pensieve's Poetic License, Picture Puzzler, and now, this week........SNACKALICIOUS SUPER DISHES-meets-RECIPE ROUND UP!  WAHOOO!  I can't wait to see your favorite crowd-pleasing, appetizing Super Bowl snack recipes!  Please make plans to link a recipe on this Friday (the 25th) and you'll be eligible to win one of 13 cookbooks; it doesn't have to be an original recipe, it can even be one you've seen on another food blog or recipe web site.   Earn additional chances for winning a cookbook by writing a brief post about SSD and including the button in your sidebar (linked back to the FAQs page).

Need an email reminder?  Email me or leave a comment here. Want the rest of the details?  Visit the Snackalicious FAQs page.

Thank y'all for your enthusiasm and encouragement so far...I'm gettin' excited folks (and I'm not eating a bite til Friday so I'll be good and hungry when I read your recipes) (I can't tell a lie...that was a lie...I'm off to eat some of the Cowboy Cookies I made yesterday...:) )

Good News, continued (especially if you like to eat!)

Hey guys, if you're short on time, check out the "Snackalicious Super Dishes FAQs!!

Continuing what I began earlier today...

This month I have the pleasure of hosting and selecting the theme for Rebecca Writes' "Recipe Round Up". Because RRU usually takes place mid-month, I thought it'd be too late to post New Year's Day recipes, so I opted for a theme centered around a little football game that occurs later in the month; this year, it comes so late, it takes place on January 34th!  I emailed Rebecca and told her I'd like "Crowd-pleasers" to be January's theme and she said that was just fine.

I've really enjoyed this monthly carnival and hoped that the a few of my regular readers would discover it and want to join in, too.

Well, my bunny trail-hoppin' brain jumped from one thing to another and imaginary scents from Boo Mama's Souptacular were still teasing my olfactory senses and I've been wanting an excuse to make holiday bacon appetizers and I thought how fun it'd be to have a big ol' recipe swap and then everything collided and (breathe) SHAZAAM--

I couldn't help it, y'all...once the idea started incubating, it had to be hatched!

Here are the details:

• This month's Rebecca's "Recipe Round Up" and Pensieve's "Snackalicious Super Dishes" are joining forces.

• Any time between now and Friday, January 25, post a recipe for your favorite crowd-pleasin' dish--it can be a main course, appetizer or dessert, but I'm thinking anything that would make for a tailgating good time--Super Bowl Sunday or at your next pot luck.

• On January 25th, link your recipe post to the Mr. Linky that will be displayed here at Pensieve.

• The first ten bloggers who post the Snackalicious Super Dishes Button in their sidebar and link back to this explanation post the FAQs PAGE (in the left sidebar), and at the same time email their snail mail to me (even if they've already emailed it to me in the past), will receive a sampling of Noni's Homemade Buttermints.  Those are good, y'all.

• If you'd like an email reminder, please email me and I'll add you to the group (put "SSD reminder" in the subject line).  If my link isn't working above, you can reach me at pensieve (dot) love (at) gmail (dot) com

• This will give you plenty of time to surf through recipes that sound snackalicous to YOU, and you can add them to your own Super Bowl party fixins (for me, it'll be Super Bowl Commercial party fixins...just sayin'...).

• To make it worth your while, I'll be giving away a baker's dozen of cookbooks from my personal collection.  Some of them have been used a little, others hardly at all, some were gifts, others I bought, but there are DELICIOUS recipes in each of them.

• You can receive up to three entries for a cookbook--one for linking your recipe on the 25th (required to be eligible), one for writing a brief post about "Snackalicious Super Dishes", and one for adding the button to your sidebar.  To help me keep track of it, it'd be REEAL nice if you emailed me with "Snackalicious Super Dishes" (or SSD) in the subject line with links to your blog and post...not required, just helpful.

• Any more questions?  Please email.

I'm getting hungry just thinkin' about it.

But now that I'm nearing the end of my post, I'm getting nervous, too...vewry nervous.

What if I build it and no one comes :/ ?  Y i k e s....

To pique your curiosity, here's a look at the cookbooks you can win.

I KNOW there are some FABULOUS recipes in your stash...I'm hoping you'll wanna share them with a few of your bloggity friends!

p.s.  Oooo!  It's a backwards Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer...I just realized I have an entry for that, too :).

 

 

Wanna play?

Since I've already asked you to trash your friends and relatives today, and also provided a vital public service announcement to assure your longevity, I thought it'd be nice to give you something to do in your spare time.  Two Three somethings.

[1]  Have you noticed the "Free Rice" logo in my left sidebar (madeja look! madeja look!)?  It's been popping up everywhere so I finally decided to check it out (I like rice.) 

Click it. 

Test your vocabulary prowess.

Do your part to end hunger...for some people anyway. 

In the process, you'll discover just how inarticulate you really are have a little fun, too. 

For more information, click here.

[2]  I saw this at Shannon's (Rocks in My Dryer), and doggone it, although the link came with a warning, I found out first-hand how it's just like eating a Lay's potato chip--you can't eat just one of those, and you won't want to make just one of these virtual snowflakes.   While I realize a lot of the country is buried under snow and ice, in the Tennessee Valley global warming is alive and well as December temperatures soar into the upper 70s, people.  IT'S 13 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS AND I'M SWEATING UNDER MY ARMPITS JUST WALKIN' OUTSIDE! >:(

Anyhoo, weather-hissy fit aside,  knock yourself out.  Make snowflakes in the comfort of your own home.  Pretend it's snowing outside. 

Or, if you live somewhere close to me, walk over to your refrigerator, open the freezer door, close your eyes, stick your head inside, and imagine the beautiful one-of-a-kind snowflake creations you just made.  You'll feel bettah instantly :).

OOooo!  And I almost forgot.  Tomorrow, Rebecca Writes is hosting the December Recipe Round Up, and the theme is cookies, squares, bars, candy, etc.  If you'd like to participate (even if it's linking to a previous post), follow her link for details.

Recipe Round Up ~ Melt-in-your-mouth Buttermints

Sherry from Semicolon is hosting this month's Recipe Round Up and she requested Holiday Recipes, specifically "those special Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hannukah recipes that make your family’s celebration a little richer and those that get you all into the holiday spirit".

Since DOZENS of great recipes were posted the week Lisa-the-Food-Snob hosted Fun Monday, I decided to go with a holiday treat, half of which we eat, and half of which we give away (*give or take a percentage) (and be sure to follow Lisa's links for some DELICIOUS recipes!).

Noni's Melt-in-your-mouth Buttermints

Noni is my mother-in-law and she s.m.o.k.e.s. in the kitchen (the "good" kind).  She has made THOUSANDS of these mints over her lifetime, and has passed on the art form to me and my daughter.  They only require a few ingredients and pressing out the mints goes pretty quickly.

Here's what you need:

1 Box 10X Confections Sugar
3/4 stick of margarine, melted (yes, margarine, NOT butter...oh, the irony!)
2-3 Tbl evaporated milk
8-9 drops Peppermint OIL
Food coloring, if desired

Mix it all together; make a stiff dough (similar to Play Doh); pinch off enough mint dough to fill mold; press out onto waxed paper.  Allow 24 hours to air dry (but you can sneak a bite whenever you want ;) ).

That's it, folks. 

But, to help you out, here are a few additional "Cook's Notes":

• When Noni says "10x Confectioners Sugar", she means it.  I've been too chicken to try it with anything that doesn't say "10x".

• Peppermint OIL is NOT the same thing as Peppermint EXTRACT.  Be prepared to pay A LOT (but don't buy more than an ounce--a little lasts for YEARS, literally).  Also, you won't find this in a grocery store; you'll find it in a PHARMACY that compounds prescriptions.  Apparently, online would be the way to go, but I didn't realize that when I bought mine (and it's lasted for several years....).  I've never substituted extract for the oil, so I don't know if that would work.  Come to think of it, I've never substituted butter for the margarine.  I don't cross Noni...evah!

• Don't be tempted to use PLASTIC molds you can find at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.;  either search on-line or try a specialty candy store.  Rubber molds are easy to use when pressing out individual mints, plastic wouldn't last very long.

• If you'd like more than one color per batch, divide your dough after adding only 1 Tblsp of evaporated milk.  Then add add color a drop or two at a time--a little goes a loooong way and you can always add more; you can't remove it, though.  If it's still dry, THEN add a bit more liquid.

• Number of mints/batch depends on the size of your mold.  For instance, the fleur-de-lis mold pictured above is VERY deep--it requires almost twice as much dough as the peppermint-shaped mold on the right.

• Mints keep 3-4 weeks (longer if you freeze them in an air-tight container).

• Package them nicely and use as hostess gifts, teacher gifts, or gifts for people you want to treat to a little something special--they're FABULOUS cercies  sursees  surcies!

OOooo!  I'll be hosting Recipe Round Up in January and I hope you'll join in!  I've chosen "Crowd-pleasers" as the theme, so that can cover everything from main courses to casseroles to side dishes to appetizers to DESSERT!  Anything you're "known" for at parties or pot lucks or family gatherings (as long as it'll feed a small army) would be perfect.  Visit Rebecca for details and I'll post a reminder next month :).

Recipe Round-Up ~ Freezer Recipes

Revised 12/7/07 ~ I just saw BooMama's Souptacular and had to throw this soupalicious post hat into the stockpot (or something like that :) ).  Noni's Chicken Stew is soooo doggone good, whatever it takes to put it out there, well, it needs to be out there.  Try this...enjoy...again and again and again!

Motherhood Apoligetica is hosting this month's Recipe Round-up, and her selected them is "Freezer Recipes".

Since Fall has yet to hit the Tennessee Valley is upon us, I'm posting one of my favorite cold weather delights (and one I'm making today even though mid 70s hardly constitutes "sweatah weathah"):  Noni's Chicken Stew.  One or two few votes were cast for it when I offered it as one of my Fun Monday favorite recipes--everyone else who "voted" had no idea what they were missing.  It's simpler than pie to make as long as you don't mind shredding cooked chicken.

Noni's Chicken Stew

Ingredients:
Whole chicken or 3-4 chicken breasts
1 Bayleaf
1 Onion, chopped
1-2 Peeled, cubed potato(es)
1 Can stewed tomatoes (or 2, or when doubling the recipe, 3)
1 Can cream-style corn (I don't add two cans, even when doubling the recipe)
1/4 cup of evaporated milk or warmed 1/2 and 1/2 (I don't measure this)

Cover chicken with water, add bay leaf, and bring to a boil; simmer until done (this varies depending on whether you use a whole chicken, boned chicken cut into pieces or boneless breasts...just cook the bird til it's done--about 1-2 hours.  The longer, the more tender your chicken).

(Whole chickens, while MUCH less expensive than breasts or even leg quarters, are disgusting to de-bone.  I spared you the gore and slime of me shredding it after it was done...plus, my fingers were a slippery mess and I wasn't about to photograph it.)

Remove chicken, cool, then shred.  Skim fat from broth. 

An easy way to skim fat is to refrigerate the broth until it congeals enough to remove it in chunks.  Chunky congealed chicken fat--appetizing, n'est pas?

Return chicken to broth, add chopped onion and return to a boil.  Simmer for up to 1/2 hour. 

Meanwhile, blend stewed tomatoes in a blender.  Although my MIL always uses only one can, I always use two (mainly because for years, I kept forgetting to ask her and I figured more was better).  In this recipe, I'm actually doubling most everything so I'll have enough for dinner tonight, enough to share with a friend, and if I'm lucky, a little left over to freeze for a rainy day :).

See the smooth consistency post-blend?  There's a time and place for chunky tomatoes...Noni's Chicken Stew is neither.

After adding tomatoes, simmer for up to another half hour.  Dice a potato or two and add to pot, simmering for about 15 minutes.  Add cream-style corn and simmer an additional 10 minutes. 

Cut off pot and add evaporate milk or warmed 1/2 and 1/2.

Mmmmmm, enjoy with your favorite crusty Italian loaf or cornbread.  And what you don't eat today or for tomorrow's leftovers?  Once cooled, just seal it in air-tight packaging, tuck it away in the corner of your freezer, then pull it out and thaw for a quick meal when you're just too tuckered out to cook. 

Additional notes:  My MIL makes this over the course of an afternoon, I usually add the ingredients back-to-back because who has time to wait 30 minutes between ingredients?!  The taste seems close enough to me, and you'll never know the difference ;).