Chuckwagon Beans

Hi gals...I thought this would be a great addition to summer cookouts. My mom made this when I was growing up. I love it! hope you like it :) I've altered it slightly from the origional. Some of the amounts of measurments are based on personal taste and preference.


1lb. bacon
1lb. ground beef
about 2 or 3 cups chopped onion (sauted)(depending on how much onion you like)
2 cup chopped celery
2 beef bouillon cubes
2/3 cup boiling water-to melt bouillon (note: you can use any kind of beef stock or beef bouillon)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar(you can redue or add a lil more if you like)(i like about 3/4C)
1/2 cup maple syrup (it gives a great flavor)
1/4 to 1/2 cup worcheshire sauce (to taste)
3 cloves finely chopped or minced garlic
1 1/2 cups ketchup
3 Tbsp. prepared mustard (ground)
pepper to taste and a lil salt if you want
1 can restaurant size BAKED BEANS (your favorite style) (bushes is a great brand)(walmart has these huge cans)...can't remember how many oz/lbs it is, it's the biggest one you can buy it's like $6 at walmart)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

All ing. will go in big dutch oven or roasting pan, you'll bake beans right in that pan.
Fry bacon and ground beef (together or apart- the bacon takes a lil longer than the beef to fy up) drain and add to dutch oven.
sautee onion and garlic & add to pan.

Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water; stir bouillon and remaining ingredients into meat mixture. Bake aprox 2 hours uncovered until hot and bubbly. I stir it a couple of times during cooking process. (it will be thick and rich (should not be watery))

serve hot and enjoy!

Let's Take a Break...

Hey Ladies!
I can't believe how fast this last round has gone by, in fact I wouldn't have realized it if the date hadn't caught my eye when I pulled up the page the other day.
I have been thinking about how involvement in the blog has sort of waned for a while and also about how busy summer-time is for all of us. I was thinking we should take a break until September... what do you think? My summer is FULL and I am guessing any amount of gourmet aspirations are on their way out and will return sometime in September. This also gives opportunity to catch up and try recipes that you may not have gotten to yet. So please let me know your thoughts and ideas about this!

Herb-Crusted Flank Steak with Cherry Tomatoes and Olives

Hello Every one! This delicious recipe is from http://www.epicurious.com/ Have a great week!


yield: Makes 6 servings
Marinate the steaks one to eight hours before grilling.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 1 1/2-pound flank steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted brine-cured green olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar

Preparation:
For steak:Mix first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Place steaks in large glass baking dish. Brush steaks with olive oil. Rub with herb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

For tomatoes:Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Season tomatoes to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill steaks until cooked to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium. Transfer steaks to cutting board. Cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.
Cut steaks across grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange steak slices on large platter. Spoon tomatoes with juices over steaks and serve.

I made this last year for The 4th of July and it was really good. You can make this using only one flank steak and then cut down on the other ingredients accordingly. It just depends on how much your family eats. The left overs are good though, I made steak salads with the left over meat and I used the tomato mixture over eggs in the morning. Mmmmmmm.

Review: Grilled Chicken Salad

I really liked this salad! I was a bit nervous about actually setting the match to the warm rum so Andy did it for me but it wasn't the dramatic flame that I expected! As far as the making of the salad goes...
I did the dressing like it called for except I ended up using canola oil because I thought they were the same. I have never made dressing like this and it was good. I used light rum for the marinade because we have it on hand. That was it for the changes I made.
We had company over for dinner and they loved the dressing, I ended up sending half of it home with them because I knew we wouldn't eat it all. Also, I opted to serve dinner rolls instead of tortillas because our friends are BIG bread eaters. I am very anxious to try it with tortillas because I think that would be a really good combo! Thanks Tisha, we loved it!

Jambalaya and Grilled Chicken Salad

I really liked the jambalaya. The flavor was great and I can't wait to make it again (and for my husband because I think he would really like it)I can't really think of anything else to say. I made it with Rachel so you can refer to her review!

I made the grilled chicken salad last night and we all really liked it, as well. I don't have a bbq so I broiled it which was great but I am SURE the bbq would have been better. I made a few mistakes but it still turned out great! I used vegetable oil and olive oil for the corn oil and I used part white wine vinegar instead of all red wine vinegar. Neither of these things were done purposely but everything still turned out. I also did not serve the flour tortillas and I wish I had because that sounded interesting, in a good way, to me (the pairing of the salad and the tortillas) I'd like to know what everybody thought about eating them together.

I still don't know what I am going to post next week but I'm looking forward to it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIC CHEF SERENA!