Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 22)

Dear Campers ~

A quick recap in case you missed anything at MMDC last week:

Posts ~

5/25: potato salad
5/26: tip-sy tuesday: instant pot filler
5/27: dill pickle soup
5/28: TBT: pigs in a blanket
5/29: flower seed bombs
5/30: chicken vesuvio

What's cooking ~

• grilled pork chops, roasted butternut squash, kale salad
• bbq salmon, sticky rice, roasted whole broccoli
• grilled chicken breast, spinach ravioli with pesto
• steak, caesar salad
• pizza (last minute because of an unexpected thunderstorm while camping!)
• bbq ribs, chopped salad
• grilled chicken sausage, white beans baked in marinara sauce with feta

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• cleaned out the laundry room and cleaning closets - have you ever done that and wondered what the heck some of the stuff is in there? LOL I'm afraid to throw some things out but can't figure out what they are for! 
• took the RV up north and did deep clean and set-up. Camping is supposed to be relaxing but not this time. 
• read 'Undone' by Karen Slaughter, #3 in her Will Trent series. Man, can she ever write disturbing, graphic, violent, creepy storylines. I like it and dislike it at the same time, if that makes sense! But she keeps me coming back for more so...⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That's it - this week flew by for me. How are all y'all doing? Staying busy? Hope you liked everything that happened at camp and will join me next week for whatever fun projects, recipes, and more I find to make (or get my friends to make and share with me so I can share with you hahahaha! For instance, I can't wait to show you Al and Cathy's latest project and only wish I had a blank wall and could do it too!). Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and tired camper

Chicken Vesuvio

I follow Giada DeLaurentis's "Giadzy" site and this recipe for chicken vesuvio looked good (well, at least the picture looked good hahaha) - and I had a package of boneless skinless chicken thighs so thought I'd make something different. I did change it a little bit, her recipe calls for bone-in skin-on thighs; and after reading other recipes I added some frozen peas to the dish - which it actually needs from a aesthetic point of view, otherwise it's just brown on brown on brown (of course her picture looks much more appetizing LOL). I also drained some marinated artichoke hearts instead of using plain. We really liked how this turned out, very flavorful and homey (in a good way); can't say how it'll be following her recipe 100% but it's really good made like I did! 

                           

I'm sharing her recipe below since she's Giada and no one cares how I made it hahahhaha, I told you my changes above if you want to go rogue like I did ;) One more thing - mine had a lot of sauce, like swimming in sauce, so I'd recommend putting the vesuvio in a shallow bowl or platter with a rim. The sauce tastes good, there's just a lot of it - if you don't like that just don't put on as much!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 chicken thighs with skin and bones
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes, halved
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts or 1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

---

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the oil in large ovenproof pot over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Working in 2 batches if necessary, cook the chicken in the pot until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Carefully add the potatoes to the same pot and cook until they are golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the broth, oregano, and thyme. Return the chicken to the pot. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cover and bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Arrange the potatoes around chicken. Add the artichoke hearts to the sauce in the pot. Cover and simmer over high heat until the artichokes are tender, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Turn heat to low. Stir in the butter. Pour the sauce over chicken and potatoes, and serve.

Flower Seed Bombs

I've never made seed bombs before, and I have no idea if they'll work - but after seeing lots of ideas for these online I thought I'd give it a try. Because who hasn't wanted to blend up mushy paper in their food processor? Hahahhaha, nothing bad happened to my machine (yep, I was a bit worried), these were fun and easy to make, and turned out so cute! Now let's just hope once planted they will germinate - if it works I'm so making these as gifts in the future, perfect for my non-gardening friends and family!

One thing I read is that once the seeds get wet they germinate, so you want to get the pureed paper as dry as possible as quickly as possible. Dave got me a variety of seed packets, ultimately I went with wildflower mix because I like the shape of the different seed mix and they are pretty hardy so will be fitting for different climates and soils. Also, every article I read about these just says to use paper - but not what kind. I did a bunch of different scraps from my vast (hoarding) scrap folder - cardstock, colored paper,  and decorative scrapbooking paper. Other people even used newspaper and toilet paper (in light of the TP scarcity tho I'm not wasting it on crafting hahah). I mixed a bunch of colors and patterns; after pureeing it together it pretty much came out light gray with little flecks of color. If you want a more vibrant color for your bombs I'd recommend using all one color paper. 

I ripped up paper into small pieces, about 5 cups worth, put in a big glass measuring bowl and added warm water to cover. Let it sit for a few minutes to get the paper soaked. 

Put the wet paper in a food processor or blender with enough water to blend it. Initially I drained off most of the water but the processor did not like that and that's when I started to worry I was hurting it - but once I added water back in it worked like a charm. You'll know, the blades stuck in place without enough water to blend the paper.

 Once it's mushed up (see the photos, has the texture of dough) put it in a colander and press out as much water as you can. I squeezed balls of it in my fist to get even more water out, then add the seeds and knead them into the paper. Pack the mixture into molds - as you can see in my pics the more detailed molds didn't work as good, they were hard to get out of the molds. I found the small circle molds to work great. 

Once you've tightly packed the molds press on the tops with dry paper towels and even more water will be released. Set in the sun for an hour before unmolding. 

After removing from the molds, put them on a wire rack and set back outside until they are dry. I left mine out for a couple hours and then just left them on the rack on the kitchen counter until the next day. 

Now they're ready to be planted! Can't wait! 

found here at onelittleproject.com

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5 from 1 vote

DIY Seed Bombs

These adorable little seed bombs are so easy to make and would make a lovely Mother's Day or teacher gift! Kids of all ages will love helping with this DIY garden craft!

Author: Megan Kapple | Homemade Ginger

Materials

• Seeds
• Colorful Paper
• Silicone Mold
• Blender

Instructions

• Tear the paper in small pieces.
• Soak the paper in water for about 15 minutes.
• Squeeze out the water and place the paper in a blender and blend until it is a pulp consistency.
• Squeeze out any excess water out of the pulp.
• Fill the molds up half way with pulp, pressing down firmly.
• Sprinkle seeds on the pulp and fill the rest of the way.
• Allow the bombs to fully dry, about 2-3 days before removing them from the molds.

TBT: Pigs in a Blanket

This might not be an actual throw back recipe because when do pigs in a blanket ever really go out of fashion? It didn't come from my new/old cookbook tho, it's from my sissy - she made them for dinner one night and made me some extras that I ate for breakfast. Normally I make mini pigs in a blanket for party appetizers, and I can't even tell you how fast they get devoured! The full sized ones have cheese in them, I don't do that with mini's (for the little guys I use cocktail sausage and cut the crescent roll in about 7 pieces per roll), otherwise these are the same big or little. Mmmmmm. I love these  :)

-

Jen made them using low calorie turkey dogs and light crescent rolls, you can certainly use the dog and dough of your choice. Slice the hotdog lengthwise about 1/2" from each end and about 3/4ths of the way thru, don't cut all the way or the cheese will ooze out the bottom (she says 'don't ask me how I know') Cut the cheese in narrow strips (thinner than the first picture below) to stuff into the hot dogs. Wrap a crescent around each cheese-stuffed hot dog leaving the ends free, place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown. 

disclaimer * we both forgot to take a photo of the baked hot dogs after they came out of the oven and found this one online somewhere! But this photo looks exactly like hers look, promise!

Here's what the little ones look like, except I don't have a picture of the finished product for these either 🤦‍♀️ hahahah:

Dill Pickle Soup

Al gave me some of the dill pickle soup he made, he thought the pickle flavor was too strong but I think it's great. Honestly, I know it sounds weird but this soup is so good!! You could lighten up on the pickle-ness by substituting broth for some of the pickle juice, but he followed the recipe and I thought it was perfect. It's like potato soup with chunks of pickle here and there, with a background flavor of pickle because of the juice - if you didn't know there's pickle juice in it I think you'd guess vinegar. Yum. I know it's an odd one, and I didn't ask Al why he decided to make it (probably just like the pickle cupcakes I made last year, it sounded just strange enough that he had to try it! Click here for the cupcake recipe - which is also delish by the way) but I'm glad he did and I hope you'll try it!

DILL PICKLE SOUP

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Servings: 8 people

Ingredients:

5-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-3/4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups chopped carrots, smaller dice
1 cup chopped dill pickles (smaller dice ~ about 3 large whole dills)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 cups dill pickle juice*
1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Optional garnishes: sliced dill pickles, fresh dill and black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, combine broth, potatoes, carrots and butter. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add pickles and continue to boil.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sour cream and water, making a paste. Vigorously whisk sour cream mixture (2 Tablespoons at a time) into soup. (This will also break up some of your potatoes which is okay. You might see some initial little balls of flour form, but between the whisking and boiling all will disappear. Don't panic.)
Add pickle juice, Old Bay, salt (*see below), pepper and cayenne. Cook 5 more minutes and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Notes:

*All pickle juice is not created equal. Some is saltier than others. Taste your soup after adding the pickle juice and final seasonings. It's possible you will not need any salt or would prefer more or less.

Nutrition:

Saturated Fat 11.5g
Cholesterol 50mg
Sodium 537.6mg
Potassium 104.3mg
Carbohydrates 28.2g
Fiber 2g
Protein 4.8g
Calcium 161mg
Iron 1.2mg

Tip-sy Tuesday: Instant Flower Pot Filler

Today's tip came after my neighbor Midge and I were talking about filling our flower pots, I said I didn't really want to spend as much time as I usually do in the nursery designing and picking out the plants to put in my 2 big flower pots ('cuz even tho I know we need to be careful and wear masks in public, the thought of wearing it in a greenhouse when it's 90' out is not appealing!), and she said this year instead of designing her pots she's going to buy a large hanging flower basket that is already full and blooming, take it out of the hanging container and plant directly into her flower pots. Uh, hello - that's a great idea! I wondered if we couldn't just remove the hanging part and plop the container directly into the flower pot but she said taking it out of the original container and planting it into the dirt will keep the plant healthier longer, it'll be able to spread out and grow longer roots.

So that's what I did - for less money and less time waiting for my plants to fill in and grow, I have instant gorgeous flower pots. Sure it's taken away some of the 'creative' part of designing the pots (which I love to do, looking for inspiration photos and then finding plants to create the look I want), but I've decided this year to not try to re-invent the wheel and go with someone else's design that is beautiful.

I bought a very full 12" basket and look how great it's filled up my 18" pot. This is a "Proven Winner" combination of super petunias and million bells (solid and striped). So pretty!

2021 update: these flowers did amazing! They thrived in the pots, stayed full and I didn't have to fill any holes. I did the same thing this year and hoping for equally great results! 


5.26.19: 🔥
5.26.18: tuna orzo salad
5.26.17: travel blog: Edinburgh, Scotland
5.26.16: herb pallet garden (I still use this and it's held up great!)

Potato Salad

I stumbled on this post from 3 years ago for Brooke's cheese, spinach, and bacon stuffed mushroom caps (click here for the recipe) mentioning that I would post my potato salad recipe and I was positive I did...but I can't find it and it's so so good that even if I did post it and am just not seeing it, it's worth a repeat. I adapted it from The New Basics Cookbook and have been making it this way for years.

Because I've made it so many times I don't measure any of the ingredients - but I can easily tell you how to make it. All the measurements will depend on how many potatoes you start with, you will just eyeball everything. I keep it simple, the original recipe calls for onions and cucumbers but I don't add them. This is pretty standard potato salad but what makes it different is adding olive oil, vinegar, and coarse salt to the potatoes while they are still hot after boiling them; after it cools I add the remaining ingredients.

Boil whole potatoes until they are just fork tender, you don't want them too soft. I like the skins so I don't peel but you can if you want. Drain, break into rough pieces in a big bowl, drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, sprinkle with coarse salt and toss together. Let cool completely, then stir in finely diced celery; add mayonnaise and dijon mustard to taste, stir until the potatoes are coated. If the potato pieces are too big at this point I break them up with a fork - usually all the stirring and adding ingredients causes the potatoes to break apart on their own. Add chopped hard boiled eggs, gently stir to incorporate, add more mayo if it needs it, then season with salt and pepper to taste. If I have flat Italian parsley on hand I usually add some, it's fine without it.

I made it this morning for dinner later and tried to pay attention to amounts to give you an idea - I boiled 7 medium to large red skin potatoes, drizzled with about 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 Tablespoons vinegar, and about 1 teaspoon coarse salt. I chopped about 1/2 cup celery in very small pieces. Used 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup light mayo, 2 Tablespoons dijon. 4 chopped hard boiled eggs. It needed a bit more mayo once everything was mixed together, another big spoonful.

Tomato Cage Hack

Well you know you're in Michigan in the spring when in the same week you have to worry about frost and then it feels like 90 and humid! For real, I cleaned the house this morning (that's when I become "Cinder-Jill-a" LOL) and have sweat dripping off my face 🤦‍♀️. Anyway, it's definitely warm enough to plant my garden so I've been busy pulling out all my fun garden stuff; I have a few tomato cages that I'm not going to use this time around and I remembered a hack I recently read and am going to give a try. Thought I'd share in case you are also playing in your garden/yard:

Turn conventional round tomato cages upside down. Pull the three or four legs together and hold them in place with a small, overturned clay pot. Use the cages for dahlias, clematis, morning glories, black-eyed susan vines, and mandevillas, not to mention tomatoes.

I don't have a photo but I'm sure you know what a traditional tomato cage looks like, right? Have fun planting!

Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Made this for dinner tonight - perfectly patriotic for this Memorial weekend. It was very easy to make, and I'm sure it's going to taste good since it's basically a giant sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting and berries - what's not to like?

Ingredients:

• 16.5 oz tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 T. water
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• sliced strawberries and blueberries

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350'. Spray 12" pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place cookie dough in pan and press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.
2. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until fluffy. Spread over the cooled cookie base. Arrange the fruit over the cream cheese mixture.
3. In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, water, lemon juice and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and stir constantly until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Let it cool a bit and then brush over the fruit. Chill. Store in refrigerator. 

original recipe found here

TBT: stuffed potatoes

Today's experiment came from my new/old cookbook and you might be wondering what's so 'throw-back' about a stuffed potato but wait for it...

are you ready to hear what it's stuffed with?...

PEANUT BUTTER!!!

I was flipping thru the cookbook when this caught my eye, I happened to have a leftover baked potato in the fridge so didn't do exactly like the instructions said but tested it with half of the potato just to taste what a peanut butter stuffed potato would taste like. Guess what? It's really good!!

STUFFED POTATOES ON THE HALF-SHELL

Select large potatoes; scrub and bake. Remove from oven and cut potatoes in two lengthwise. Scoop out the inside, being careful to not break the shell. Mash very thoroughly or put them through the rice -- add butter, salt and milk, and beat well. Pile the mixture lightly back into the shells. Do not smooth down the top. Stand the filled shells in a shallow pan, return to the oven (400') and brown lightly on top. Tuck in small wieners before serving if desired, or add 1/2 cup peanut butter and 2 eggs whites to the potato mixture.

from 'The American Woman's Cookbook'

note: I didn't beat the potato filling, just mashed with a fork; it would be prettier if the filling was light and fluffy like mashed potatoes. I also didn't add egg whites, just the peanut butter.

Jen's 'Miracle' Pork Chops

From my sister, the whiner:

Well my sister isn't feeding me often enough and turns out the darn people in this house think they need to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY. Saw this recipe on facebook (doesn't everyone get their recipe's from facebook?) so decided to give it a try.  

Looks SUPER easy and I like everything in it, so what's not to like. First issue though was I had to send Brooke to 3 different stores to try and find the french onions. Why would those be gone during a quarantine? Why is that something people would buy the store out of? Are enough people making Green Bean Casserole that this is a thing? Anyway. So I followed the directions from the facebook screen shot attached. 

Really did just season the chops, spread the sour cream on it, sprinkle the onions and bake. Their description said something magical happened. That's a lie. Nothing "magical" happened. The beans got slightly soggy like they do with green bean casserole. Not what I would define as "magical". The family wasn't super impressed and I definitely liked it better than they did but that could be because neither of them are cooking dinners night after night. I thought this was pretty good as a change and a nice easy recipe. They thought they would have preferred if I had used cream of mushroom soup instead of sour cream. True that would have provided a different flavor but at that point EVERYONE uses cream of mushroom soup on their pork chops so the onions would have been the only change. Maybe I'll try that next time. In the mean time this recipe was somewhere between decent and magical.

Tip-sy Tuesday: freezing food

I saw this info about freezing food in an old Rachel Ray magazine and I didn't know some of it so thought I'd pass along in case you are interested. With food shortages and hoarding it's good to know that I can freeze some of this stuff for later!

5 UNEXPECTED THINGS YOU CAN FREEZE:

• MILK pour into freezer bags and freeze flat. 
• EGG WHITES freeze each white separately in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, store them in freezer bags.
• BUTTER buy it on sale with no fear of it spoiling. Store sticks in the paper wrap in a freezer bag.
• AVOCADO save ripe avocados by mashing them with a bit of lemon juice and packing in airtight containers.
• NUTS AND GRAINS store in airtight containers or freezer bags to prevent them from going rancid at room temperature.

5 THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T FREEZE:

• COFFEE the aromatic oils in the beans break down when frozen, resulting in a less-flavorful cup.
• WHOLE EGGS yolks become gummy when frozen.
• RAW POTATOES they'll turn black and gritty. Cooked potatoes, however, are fine to freeze.
• CHEESE many fresh cheeses will weep liquid and become gritty when frozen. Grated cheese and blocks of processed cheese can withstand the cold but after freezing are best used for melting.
• ONIONS they turn mushy and watery when thawed. 

HOW TO THAW FOOD FROM FREEZER:

1. The best way: IN THE FRIDGE Set frozen food in its wrapper on a plate to catch drips. Foods thawed in the fridge will last 2 or 3 more days than those thawed using other methods.

2. The shortcut: IN COLD WATER place food in an airtight bag and submerge in cold water; change water every 30 minutes. Using hot water is a no-no: It encourages bacteria.

3. The cheat: IN THE MICROWAVE unwrap foods and thaw using the defrost or low setting. If meats start to brown, remove and cool before continuing. Cook immediately.

4. For baked goods: ON THE COUNTERTOP bread and other frozen baked goods are safe to thaw on the counter. Keep them loosely covered with their wrapping from the freezer and place on a wire rack to prevent condensation and sogginess. 

STOCK YOUR FREEZER PANTRY 

(make extras of these things to keep on hand for quick use):

• PANCAKES reheat them in the microwave or toaster oven
• BURRITOS bake one for a snack or a few in a casserole
• COOKED RICE stir into soup or toss with salads
• BREADED OR BATTERED COOKED CHICKEN CUTLETS instant dinner!

Kyle's Tree Shelf

Mickey just sent me these photos of the 5' shelf Kyle made from a tree - I love it SO much and am beyond jealous, I want this SO bad!! I told her that and she wrote "well I have extra, but you'll have to come and get it". Might just be time for a road trip to North Carolina! 

                    

Here's what she wrote about the steps he went thru (and she said it was a lot of work - but I think it was totally worth it. LOL easy for me to say, right?!):

So he cut down a magnolia tree. Shaved it down with his chain saw. But then he couldn’t get it skinny enough with his chain saw, so he took it to a guy with an Alaskan saw mill who sliced it for him. Then brought it back and sanded it down, and stained! Used the same pipes to hang as we did the herb boxes (click here for that post).

before taking it to the saw mill

the underside

5.18.19: patriotic rag wreath
5.18.18: organizing bracelets
5.18.16: zucchini oat chocolate chip cookies

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 20)

Dear Campers ~

A quick recap of what happened at camp last week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~
5/10: 🔥week 19
5/11: pasties
5/12: My sis is hungry: pasty review
5/13: churros
5/14: barre workout
5/15: baked chimichangas
5/16: Jane's baked beans

What's Cooking ~

• meaty minestrone (recipe soon!), grilled cheese
• grilled chicken sausage, beans baked in spaghetti sauce with feta, roasted green beans
• baked panko crusted scallops, couscous, kale salad
• pesto marinaded grilled chicken, spinach ravioli
• grilled marinated pork tenderloin, peas with pine nuts
• steak, roasted potatoes, caesar salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• made a couple more masks, still haven't put all the supplies away in case I need to make more
• read 'coconut layer cake' by Joanne Fluke. She writes a series of light murder mysteries solved by a baker, and includes recipes which is fun. Plot line of this one was pretty ho-hum ⭐️⭐️ but I got what appears to be a couple good recipes out of it so not a complete waste of time
• I probably should own up to this, but after finishing the True Blood vampire series last week that I've whined about for a while now but continued to read - I started reading them again! Because by the time I got to the end of the series I couldn't remember a bunch of things that I know want to know! I didn't pay enough attention first time thru because I just thought they were so stupid LOL but now that I've invested so much time I want to remember some of the beginning story lines. I know, I know, ridiculous right?!
• planted more pea and bean seeds, and against my good judgement went ahead and planted some tomato plants I found - rule of thumb is to wait until Memorial Day but I checked the Farmers Almanac and it appears I'm safe. I will cover them for the next few nights to help harden them off and get them used to the weather.

Hope you had a great week - staying productive, keeping a schedule, creating while you're waiting (or maybe you're in one of the lucky states that has opened back up? In which case I hope you're out there living the dream hahah). See you next week for more fun projects, recipes, and whatever else I can think of to make.

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and true blood hypocrite 😂

PS: I really wanted to walk 5.17 miles today (May 17) and we live in a 517 area code. But it's raining and chilly,  I'm seriously procrastinating and pretty sure it's not gonna happen this year!

5.17.19: pet emergency care
5.17.18: make a party planner
5.17.17: pallet garden
5.17.16: change a duvet cover

Jane's Baked Beans with Burger

We had sausage and baked beans last night for dinner and it reminded me that I've had this recipe from Jane for a really long time and keep forgetting to share it. Mine are nothing like this so that's not what triggered the memory hahahah, I guess it was just "beans" that did it. Her recipe is so good, and different - have you ever had burger in baked beans? I'd never heard of it, and it's delicious!

                              

BAKED BEANS with BURGER

• 1 pound bacon, diced
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can (16oz) pork and beans, with liquid
• 1 can (16oz) northern beans, with liquid
• 1 can (16oz) butter beans, with liquid
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 Tablespoon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Fry bacon just until it's limp and drain off grease. Remove bacon and, in the same pan, brown the beef and onions. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake at 375' for 1 1/2 hours. For a crunchy top and less moist beans, bake uncovered during the last 30 minutes.

Note: her recipe card doesn't say what to do with the bacon after removing it from the pan. I'm assuming she added it along with the other ingredients before baking the beans.

5/21 update: Jane brought these beans to a bbq yesterday and OMG, they are SO good! Everyone was raving...

Baked Chimichangas

Made these for dinner - pretty healthy, easy to make, and we loved them. I took lots of pictures but really, it's just filling inside a tortilla and rolled up like a burrito. Feel free to change the filling up, I saw a few different recipes for these and ended up making my filling with leftover rice and black beans. You could just do chicken and cheese, or change the meat, skip the beans, whatever you like or have on hand. You definitely want toppings tho, the plain tortilla would be a little dry (for me, but then again I'm a dipper!).

• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• 1 can black beans, rinsed well
• 1 teaspoon Mexican spice blend (or cumin, chili pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, etc.)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 (8") flour tortillas
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and shredded cheese for topping

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400'. Combine chicken, salsa, rice, mexican spice blend, and cheese. Place a spoonful of black beans in the center of each tortilla and smash a little bit. Top each with about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture. Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Bake at 400' for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with desired toppings.