Loaded Baked Potato Skins

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Ingredients

• 8 whole Russet Potatoes
• 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• Salt To Taste
• 1-1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 8 slices Thick Cut Peppered Bacon, Fried Until Almost Crisp And Chopped
• 2 whole Green Onions, Sliced
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Scrub potatoes clean and allow them to dry. With a paper towel (or just with your hands) rub the skin of the potatoes with 2 tablespoons canola oil so that they're nice and moist.
3. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until skin is crisp and potatoes are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan and allow to cool until you can handle the potatoes.
4. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the insides, leaving a little bit of potato in the skins. Melt the butter with 2 tablespoons canola oil, then brush both the outside and the inside of the potatoes. Sprinkle the inside lightly with salt. Place potato halves face-down and return to the oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn the potatoes over and continue to bake until the edges of the potatoes start to turn golden brown.
5. Remove from oven. Sprinkle the insides of the potato skins with cheddar, then sprinkle on the chopped bacon. Return to the oven long enough for the cheese to melt, about 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Serve immediately with sour cream and green onions. Yum!

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Man Log

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Ingredients

• 1 package of bacon
• 1 good sized sausage, or one pack of ground sausage
• Cheese of your choice

Instructions

1. Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in a small pan.
2. While the sausage is browning, start working on your blanket-o-bacon. I like a 7 x 7 lattice. The tighter it is woven, the better.
3. Place your filling in the bacon blanket. Be careful not to overfill the blanket; you won’t get a good roll but you will get a HUGE mess. I marked off the fill area for my helper with toothpicks (remove these before rolling).
4. Here is where it gets tricky…roll the log as tightly as you can and seal the ends with toothpicks. I use a wide spatula to get started, then use my hands after that.
5. Place your man log on a rack over a cookie sheet, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. I went with the oven over the grill because 1) you don’t have to turn it in the oven and 2) I didn’t feel like using the grill tonight. Make sure that you put your log on some sort of cookie sheet that has raised sides. The last thing you want is to burn your kitchen down with bacon grease…and this CAN happen!
6. When the bacon is crispy, remove from the oven and let stand for a couple of minutes…just long enough for the cheese to stop being runny.
7. Slice into pinwheels, get your napkins, and enjoy!

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Creamy Margarita Popsicles

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INGREDIENTS

• 1¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes), plus 4 limes for stabilizing the popsicle sticks
• 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup tequila
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (optional)
• Kosher salt or margarita salt

You will also need:

• 12 (3oz) Dixie cups
• Small popsicle sticks or craft spoons
• A pitcher or large cocktail shaker

DIRECTIONS

1. In a pitcher or large cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, water, tequila, and orange juice. It is important to combine the ingredients in a container that has a spout because it will make it much easier to pour the mix into cups.
2. Line out the Dixie cups on a baking sheet, so it will be easy to transport them to the freezer. Fill each Dixie cup 90% of the way with the tequila mixture.
3. Slice the limes into ¼ inch thick rounds. Push a craft spoon through the center of each lime round, so that half of the stick pokes out from each side. Top the mixture with the lime sticks. Make sure the lime is resting directly on top of the tequila mixture.
4. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight. When ready to remove the popsicles from the Dixie cups, simply snip a small cut in the rim of each cup and peel them away from the popsicle. Place the popsicles onto a dish with crushed ice to keep them from melting too quickly, Sprinkle the tops generously with kosher salt, and serve.

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Amazing World!

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Bellagio - Lake Como - Italy 

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Reflections of Matterhorn | Switzerland

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Eze ~ a tiny village in Provence, and one of the gems in southern France 

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Bluepueblo: Ancient Bridge, Germany 

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Winter Wonderland.

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Curried Vegan Sliders

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Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (plus a little more for searing the sliders)
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup uncooked bulgur
• 2 cups water (you might need more)
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 – 2 Tbs. green curry paste (to your liking)
• a pinch of coarse salt
• 1 cup panko
• 20 slider buns, lightly oiled (or buttered!) and toasted
• your favorite hummus, for serving
• 1/2 cup sliced red pepper, for garnish (sweet or hot, your call)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and sauté 3 minutes, or until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.
2. Add the spinach and cilantro and give it another toss for a minute or so. Add the bulgur and toss to coat. Stir in the water, throw the lid on and let it simmer on medium for 10 to 12 minutes. Taste to make sure it’s cooked through. Should be soft, but toothy.
3. Add the curry paste and a pinch of salt. Taste it and see how spicy you want it. Want to add more curry? By all means, bay-bay.
4. Now, transfer the mix to a big bowl. Let it sit about 10 minutes so it can cool a bit. After 10, add the panko to the bowl. Combine it with your hands. Now, form little golfball sized balls. You might need to press them together to stay, but it will work!
5. Heat a little more oil in a pan and arrange the sliders in a single layer. Carefully sear all over until browned, maybe 5 minutes total. You’ll probably need to do this in batches.
6. Serve on toasted slider buns with your favorite hummus, more cilantro and some sliced red pepper! Or whatever garnish makes you do the Electric Slide.e

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi

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Ingredients:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes, bake or microwaved, skins removed and mashed
• 2 cups plain all-purpose flour (approximate, as you may require more or less)
• 8 tablespoons butter
• Handful fresh sage leaves
• Squeeze half a lemon
• Sea salt

Directions:

1. Microwave the potatoes in a microwave for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel them.
2. Mash the potatoes until fluffy. Add your flour, starting off with a cup, then gradually add a quarter cup at a time, blending the dough with a spatula (very sticky) until you’ve added just enough to work into a soft dough.
3. Work in small manageable amounts on a heavily floured surface, rolling until 3/4″ in diameter. Cut into bite-sized pieces. If the dough starts to stick to your fingers, dredge them in flour. Keeping pinching off small handfuls and rolling out, placing cut pieces on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. The gnocchi cooks in a few minutes. From the moment you pop them into the boiling water, you’ll notice them buzz around and then quickly float to the top. Once they surface to the top of the water, they’re done. Pull them out and place them in a buttered or oiled baking dish while you cook the rest.
5. Make your brown butter and sage sauce by melting 8 tablespoons of butter and adding a handful of fresh sage leaves. The butter bits will brown, but watch that it doesn’t burn! Squeeze half a lemon to stop the butter from browning too much.
6. Quickly add the reserved gnocchi into the brown butter pan. Season with sea salt and toss.

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Christmas decoration!

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Wine glass candle holder ♥

Painted candy cane Snowman from wood candlestick 

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Ornament Tree 

Angel

The Christmas Table 

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