Armadillo Eggs

Another "as seen as Pinterest, sort of" recipes.  Another Pin Win too.

This is one of those make-it-with-whatever-you've-got recipes...hot peppers or sweet peppers, ground meat of nearly any persuasion or combination, whatever cheese appeals to you and whatever sauce/glaze you can rustle up out of the fridge.

I had pork sausage, sharp cheddar, mini sweet peppers and garlic jelly in my fridge so here's what I did (though meatloaf mix, provolone and beer jelly or jalapeno jelly glaze sounds good too).  The original Pin also suggested grilling them...trying to keep 3 kids under the age of 5 supervised and clear of the grill is not my idea of a good time, so I baked mine on a rack placed over a lipped sheet tray.  But I bet grilled is good too.

I really, really, really wish I had made more of these and popped them in the freezer.

Last thought...this reminds me of a recipe from the 1973 Betty Crocker International Cookbook for "Scotch Eggs"...those are peeled hard-boiled eggs wrapped in breakfast sausage, then breaded and deep-fried.  I think the next time I make Scotch Eggs (which are outstanding post-Easter leftovers), I'll glaze them and bake them instead of breading and deep-frying.

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Beer Bread

Not that kind of beer bread (although I like that kind too).  This kind is the the kind that repurposes ingredients from beer making.

There are any number of bread recipes that call for whole grains (bulgur, wheat berries, sprouted wheat, chopped wheat) or seeds and I finally decided to try one using the grain cooked in the process of brewing beer.  I substituted equal parts spent grain (for homebrew geeks, a mixture of 60L and chocolate malt) for cooked grain/seeds called for.  Delicious!


It made outstanding ham sandwiches and also a tasty-tasty platform for cherry jam.  I highly recommend this as an accompaniment to soup as well.

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Honey Beer Chicken

Adapted from Cooking Light.

Delicious!  And freezable!  I'm starting to make and freeze meal kits in preparation for the arrival of Kiddo #3 and this one is on the list.  I made a kit of this recipe for my husband to make for dinner one night that I worked late...he said it was easy to make, easy to follow and tasted great.  So it's even husband-proof ;)

My grocery store had 4 lb. bags of frozen chicken breasts on sale, so I'm making two kits of this recipe along with 4 kits of gumbo.  If you wanted not to have extra of anything hanging around (like 4 oz. of beer out of a 12 oz. bottle), plan to make 3 honey beer chicken kits.  Fortunately, I have a willing volunteer to take care of the extra for me today (the aforementioned test cook/Dear Husband).

Btw, I completely spaced out and didn't take a *single* photograph of this dish, any of the 3 opportunities I've had.  Go see the Cooking Light site for a beautifully food-styled picture.

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Beer marinated olives



Savory, dried and bundled

A twist on olives marinated in oil and red wine.  Great make-ahead party apps.
 

I use savory in this recipe, which is an herb not often found at the local supermarket but with a flavor similar to rosemary in my oh-pinion.  I've put this herb in my herb garden rotation instead of rosemary for its small leaves (no chopping necessary, unlike rosemary), its propensity for reseeding itself and its capacity for dried storage.  At the end of summer, I tie several stems into a bundle with kitchen twine and store in the pantry in an open plastic bag.  When you need to use some, you just shake the bundle over a cutting board until you have the desired amount.  Easy-peasy!  If you don't have savory, sub in rosemary.

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