Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

What's the next best thing to going to a Baylor football game? Going to a Baylor football watch party with yummy football snacks!! Here's my new favorite game day appetizer. These little guys encompass all that is wonderful about football season... bacon, cheese, spiciness... and don't forget the ranch for dipping!

You'll need:

6 large jalapeños

6 oz. cream cheese (about 3/4 of an 8 oz. block)

12 slices of bacon

Olive oil cooking spray

Ranch, for dipping

Wash the peppers, and start preparing them by cutting off the stems and slicing them lengthwise.

Scrape out the seeds, veins, and all that junk.

Cut each half in half again so that each jalapeño creates 4 mini boats.

Continue until you have 24 lovely little poppers.

Slice the cream cheese into tiny rectangles that will fit the jalapeño quarters.

Cut the 12 slices of bacon in half, and wrap each half-slice around a mini-popper.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and line with poppers.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes and transfer to serving dish. 

Let them cool a bit before diving in.

Crsipy bacon, spicy jalapeño, and creamy cheese... almost ready for football!

Bacon-flavored ranch for dipping. Okay, now I'm ready.

Enjoy and Sic 'Em.

Strawberry Salad with Saffron Chicken + Citrus Mint Dressing

After all those Nutella recipes, I think we need a healthy one.

You'll need:

Salad:

Spring mix
Alfalfa sprouts
Cucumber slices
Strawberries
Goat cheese crumbles (or feta if that's your thing)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Shredded chicken - I used rotisserie chicken.
PINCH of saffron
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. dried mint
*Makes 2 servings... I've made this dressing before for THIS AMAZING SALAD.

Here's my secret to quick, no-fuss chicken. When I go grocery shopping - usually on Sunday - I buy an already-cooked rotisserie chicken. Then I tear it apart, shred all the meat, and store it in a tupperware container in the fridge. It's good for the rest of the week for sandwiches, salads, chicken nachos, casseroles, just about anything! One day I'll make my own rotisserie chicken, and it'll be more delicious. But not today.

Drizzle the olive oil in a small sauté pan on medium-low heat.

Add chicken, and sprinkle with pinch of saffron. Toss well to coat the chicken in the saffron. If you're not using pre-seasoned rotisserie chicken like me, add some salt and pepper, too. (If you want the chicken to be really moist, add a few tablespoons of a dry white wine or chicken broth.) Sauté for 6-8 minutes until the chicken is hot and begins to turn a golden color.

While that's sautéing, start building your salad... spring mix, sprouts, cucumbers, strawberries, goat cheese, salt & pepper, and really anything else you're in the mood for. I like to prepare my salad in a big bowl so there's plenty of room for tossing.

For the dressing, juice the lemons, using a strainer to catch the seeds.

Add dried mint. (Sometimes I'll add salt & pepper to the dressing, but this time I added that to my salad instead.)

Whisk in 2 Tbsp. olive oil.

Pour over the salad, toss, and plate!

Top with chicken.

I like to add a little more cheese right before serving.

Enjoy!

Nutella French Toast

Continuing with the Nutella recipes! Are you obsessed yet?

You'll need:

1 Tbsp. butter
2 slices bread
2 Tbsp. Nutella
1 egg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. vanilla
*French toast batter makes enough for 2 servings!

Melt the butter in a small sauté pan on medium heat.

While the butter is melting, spread a thick layer of Nutella on a slice of bread.

Mix the rest of the ingredients (egg, cinnamon, honey, milk, and vanilla) with a fork until well combined.

Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl because that honey is sticky.

Dip each side of the bread in the bowl only for about 3 seconds. You don't want it to get too soggy.

Place in the hot pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Keep an eye on it, and when it's a pretty golden brown (like this), flip it!

Once both sides are cooked to your liking, break out the good stuff...

But don't add too much, just a drizzle... Remember, you already added honey to the french toast batter. I couldn't resist adding some dollops of Nutella on the side. And the raspberries are just to make me feel healthier.

Dig in!

And clean your plate.

Yum!!

Peanut Butter-Nutella Brownies

More Nutella, this time paired with delicious, creamy peanut butter. These aren't your ordinary cake-like, box-mix brownies. These are gooey, fudgey, melt-in-your-mouth, gotta-have-milk brownies, and I'm so excited to share! I swiped this recipe from the official Noble Pig food blog. Just discovered it, and I'm in love. Check it out.

I was out of PB, so my roommate let me use her Reduced-Fat PB. (Does that mean I can call these Reduce-Fat Brownies? Sure, that's logical.)


You'll need:


Brownies
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter


Topping
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
Peanut butter chips
Mini chocolate chips

Start by melting two sticks of butter in a large sauté pan on medium-low heat.

While that's slowly breaking down, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk sugar and vanilla into the melted butter.

Add in eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each one.

Add dry ingredients and whisk together.

Whisk, whisk, whisk!

Then, melt the peanut butter and Nutella in the microwave (in a microwave-safe bowl) for about 30 seconds on High.

The mixture will be runny, but still use a rubber spatula to get all of it into the batter.

Keep whisking!

Spray a 9x13 inch glass pan with Baker's Joy (a mixture of flour and oil - best invention ever), and pour in the batter!

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the icing, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk with a fork.

When the brownies are cool, drizzle on the icing.

Or if you're impatient like me and can't wait for the brownies to cool, just know the icing will melt and not look as pretty. I'm okay with that.

Sprinkle on the peanut butter and chocolate chips.

 Mmm happiness.

Sending you lots of Nutella/love from my kitchen. Enjoy!