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Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Kim Beaulieu — Thu, 12 May 2016 05:49:26 +0000

This recipe for easy homemade enchilada sauce is incredibly quick and easy to make. You can whip it up in about 20 minutes. That's perfect for anyone who wants to whip enchiladas quickly.

I love Mexican food. It's my jam. Although I'll admit right here and now that I like my Mexican food a bit watered down. While I love spicy food, it doesn't always love me back. This recipe for enchilada sauce is perfect for peeps like me who like a more mellow enchilada sauce.

On occasion I'll kick it up a notch and add some fiery spices, but only if I know I'm not going anywhere special the next day. Nothing is a mood killer like the aftermath of spicy Mexican food. You know what I'm talking about. You get a little crazy with the spices and the next day you're blaming the dog for tooting. Meanwhile we all know it was YOU!

Come on now, we all know you do it. We all blame the dog, or the guy standing next to us. Who amongst us hasn't passed gas and then blamed someone else. Hubs is notorious for doing it in stores then walking away so the next person gets the blame for it. I always feel sorry for the people in the aisle with us because I know someone is going to get the stink eye from someone passing by.

I was never a fan of Mexican food growing up. That changed when I was a teenager. My Dad remarried a women with some serious cooking chops years after my Mom passed away. I was happy my Dad was happy, and had found someone to spend time with. She taught me to love Mexican food.

I have to admit I hated her something awful though. Even is she could cook like a angel. She could whip up Mexican Recipes with her eyes closed. She also rocked seafood because she spent a ton of time on the east coast when she was younger. Some of her dishes were pretty impressive. Yet I could not stand the woman.

Before you judge me for hating on her, let me tell you my reasons were valid. During my parents' marriage my Dad had an affair, with this woman he later married after my Mom passed away. I know, it's the stuff soap operas are made of. I lived it. It sucked. During my parents' marriage this woman did some really nasty things to my Mom. She was evil incarnate.

She would call my Mom on the phone to rub her face in the affair. Once she showed up while we were fishing with my Dad. Another time she showed up while we were ice skating. We had no idea who she was and went home to tell my Mom about the nice lady we bumped into. Can you imagine? My poor Mother.

It gets worse. During the height of the affair my parents thought about splitting up. My Dad encouraged us kids to join the YMCA in the city. Every Saturday we would head in to the city and spend the day playing sports while Dad "went off to work". We made friends with some kids there. Little did we know, until months later, they were my Dad's mistress's kids.

Yes, you read that correctly. Can you imagine how mortified we were when my Mom put the pieces together? Or how horrible my Mom felt when she found out who our friends were? I know, it sounds crazy. Unfortunately, it's all true. It's also why I needed therapy as an adult. My childhood was a bit of a hot mess.

The only thing I'm grateful to my Dad's ex-wife for is leaving him years after they got married. She charged up his credit cards, and took huge amounts of money from various accounts. My Dad didn't find out how much money was gone until the day she left. He called the bank to freeze all the accounts. It was seriously messed up.

So I learned three things from this woman. The first thing I learned was prenups are crucial no matter how well you know someone. The second thing is always be honest with your kids, because they're going to figure things out eventually anyway. And lastly, I learned how to make decent Mexican food. All great lessons.

This recipe is one I've used for some time. It's a cross between the recipe my Dad's ex-wife made, and a recipe from All Recipes. I combined them to make this sauce, which I love because it's not overly spicy. I hope you love it too. It stores beautifully and the flavour is off the charts.

Recipes you can use this Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce in:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Tex-Mex Meatball Subs

Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic!

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Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This recipe is incredibly easy to make, plus it is super quick. You can whip it up in about 20 minutes. That's perfect for anyone who wants to whip enchiladas quickly.

Course Condiments

Cuisine Sauce

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings cups

Author Kim Beaulieu

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup chili powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 ½ cups liquid vegetable stock
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt

Instructions

In a large skillet cook the olive oil, flour, chili powder and tomato paste over medium heat. Stir while cooking until everything comes together and the colour deepens a bit. This should only take a few minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, vegetable stock, cumin, onion powder, minced garlic, and salt. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
Use sauce immediately, or store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Serve over enchiladas, or enchilada casseroles, with a big old "not so spicy" smile!

Notes

Slightly adapted from my Dad's monster ex-wife and All Recipes. *grins*

You are going to want to slather this on everything in sight!

Recipes using this Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Tex-Mex Meatball Subs

If you're looking for more easy recipes feel free to swing by my recipe index. There's tons of great recipes in there so take your time and poke about.

Make sure you follow me on Pinterest and Instagram while you're here. It's a great way to stay current on all the latest recipes from the blog.

Toodles! xx

The post Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Pistachio Crusted Baked Cod

Kim Beaulieu — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 11:00:51 +0000

This Pistachio Crusted Baked Cod Recipe is part of our Feast of the Seven Fishes event. It's incredibly quick and easy to make. The cod is coated with yogurt, then coated with a pistachio mixture and cooked to perfection!

My pistachio obsession lives on. This time with a savoury recipe. One that you will love and make over and over again. This recipe is absolutely amazing. It's the perfect recipe to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Brought to America from Southern Italy where it is all now but forgotten, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is a meal eaten by Italian-Americans that features (at least) seven fish/seafood dishes. Along with our hosts, Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen and Lora from Savoring Italy, some bloggers have gotten together to share menu ideas for your Seven Fishes feast. Along with the traditional seven fish and seafood dishes, we've included some side dishes, a palate cleanser, a dessert, and a cocktail.

Salmon Rillettes from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Marinated Shrimp Salad from A Healthy Life For Me
Pasta con le Sarde from Savoring Italy
Tuscan Seafood Stew from Food Done Light
Mixed Seafood Risotto from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
Linguine with Scallops and Broccoli from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
Brussels Sprouts Risotto from Eats Well With Others
Marinated Roasted Vegetables from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Limoncello Sorbet from Creative Culinary
Zuppa Inglese from Christina's Cucina
Cranberry Limoncello Spritzer from Snappy Gourmet

Make sure you visit all the amazing bloggers participating in today's Feast of the Seven Fishes Event!

I've been a big fish girl my whole life. I'm allergic to shellfish, but fish is completely okay for me to eat. So I eat a ton of it. I love the taste so much.

Not only do I love eating fish, I love cooking it. There's so many options for fish. You can bake it, pan-fry it, deep fry it, poach it, and even grill it.

The possibilities are endless for recipes. You can go plain with some lemon and butter, or jazz it right up with gourmet touches, and high end sauces.

One of my favourite ways to make it is with a coconut crust. It's so good when you use a coconut breading on it. That's a recipe I make often, and happily.

For some reason I had just run out of coconut before making this recipe. I had the oven preheated and all my ingredients out and ready. Except for one.

When I reached in the pantry for my shredded coconut I was completely shocked that I was out of it. That never happens. I buy coconut in bulk. How did I run out?

My daughter had taken my car to the University because she had an exam the day I made this. So I couldn't run out to the store. So I decided to improvise.

I pulled out my pistachio stash, tossed a bunch in my food processor, and Bam, crushed pistachios. Perfect for breading fish, you can bread chicken with it too.

Once I had the pistachios in the bowl with the breading I had an epiphany. I decided I wanted to change the wet portion of my dredge for the fish recipe.

Typically I use plain greek yogurt to dredge instead of eggs and milk. I happened to have some cherry greek yogurt in the fridge so I decided to play a bit.

I combined the cherry yogurt with the plain yogurt and dropped the fish in. My thought was pistachios go perfectly with cherries so this would give it a nice twist.

This turned out to be a great decision. So instead of being upset that I ran out of coconut and things got changes up, I'm happy that I ran out of coconut.

Sometimes happy accidents are the best thing ever. I've coated other kinds of fish with crushed pistachios, but never cod. I'm so happy with the results.

This is a recipe I'll make again and again. I hope you will too!

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Pistachio Crusted Baked Cod

Course Main Course

Cuisine Fish

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Author Kim Beaulieu

Ingredients

1 package of cod fillets
½ cup cherry greek yogurt
½ cup greek yogurt
½ teaspoon almond extract trust me
¾ cup pistachios crushed
¼ cup bread crumbs
4 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons dried parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Dry off your fish with paper towels. Cut fillets into pieces, I got two pieces for each of my fillets.
Mix the cherry greek yogurt, plain greek yogurt and almond extract together in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large shallow bowl combine the crushed pistachios, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, white pepper, and dried parsley. Mix well. Set aside.
Dunk each piece of fish into the yogurt mixture. You can use a brush if you need to coat the fish more evenly.
Dredge each piece of fish in the pistachio mixture, coat evenly on all sides. Place each piece of fish on the cookie sheet, spaced about ½ inch to 1 inch apart. Continue until all the pieces are coated and placed on the cookie sheet.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your fish.
Serve with a big old pistachio & cod loving smile!

Notes

Recipe inspired by Fine Cooking's Pistachio Crusted Cod Fillets

I loved this fish. Honestly, I have a funny feeling this would be even more delightful with chopped up pieces of dried cherries in the breading. I love cherries and pistachios together. I'll likely try that the next time I whip up some cod.

Be sure you swing by all the other Feast of the Seven Fishes bloggers. You can find their information within the post. Click any recipe name and it will take you right to their recipe.

I want one of everything!! How about you??

Looking for more great recipes for Feast of the Seven Fishes? Check these out:

Penne with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Stuffed Clams - Palourdes Farcies: Guest Post by Try Anything Once

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Italian Sausage

If you're looking for more fabulous main course recipes be sure to scroll through my recipe index. You can also find seafood recipes on my blog thanks to some of my friends who guested for me during Seafood Week.

Most folks include pasta recipes for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. You can find tons of pasta recipes on my blog. There's also lots of dessert recipes, and beverage recipes.

If you like my recipes be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram. I'm always sharing tons of fun recipes on social media.

Disclosure: Post contains affiliate links within the post. I earn a small commission on anything purchased through those links. The money goes a long way to help offset the costs of running a blog, and for hosting giveaways. Much thanks to anyone who uses those links, and helps support my blog, and my family. We appreciate it more than you know. xx

Hope you're almost ready for the holidays. My son just flew in from Calgary so we're all taking a road trip to London, Ontario to finish our holiday shopping this week. We also need to get our Christmas Tree, and make our gingerbread village. I love the holidays, it's such a fun time to bond with family and make lifelong memories.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. If you ever have any questions be sure to email me.

Toodles. xx

The post Pistachio Crusted Baked Cod appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Weekly Meal Plan: Week 22

Kim Beaulieu — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 12:00:02 +0000

Weekly Meal Plan Week 22 - 10 great bloggers bringing you a full week of recipes including dinner, sides dishes, and desserts!

Weekly Meal Plan Week 22

Welcome to week 22 of our weekly meal plan. I really hope you're enjoying these weekly meal plans as much as we are. They sure help plan out recipes every week, and provide tons of recipe inspiration.

This week has been crazy at our household. We're busy with new horse, she's a cutie pie but very time consuming. There's a bit of jealousy between the two horses. We greet The Mama first, but Young One can see us when we come in so we get a huge whiny we arrive. Then a million more until we go scratch her behind the ears. New horsey loves ear scratches.

We learned she's a bit of a brat at times. She is used to go outside in all weather but the wet weather isn't permitting her to get out every day. She hasn't been outside since we moved her to the new barn. As you can imagine this is making her a bit crazy and hyper. She's got a ton of energy to burn off when we get there each day.

Having two horses is wonderful but time consuming. Bringing her in during December when I'm so busy with work may have been a bit of a bad decision. I feel like I'm hanging on to my sanity by a thread. Which isn't that unusual, to be quite honest it's pretty par for the course for me.

I would like a day off one day soon though. I feel like I could use a good sleep in day.

Until then I'll just keep on keeping on.

More Weekly Meal Plans and Recipe Ideas:

Find more great meal plans on the blog!

Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Alfredo Casserole - Diethood

Peposo (Peppered Beef Stew) - Foodie with Family

Dorito Taco Casserole - Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Philly Cheesesteak Crescent Ring - I Wash...You Dry

Kitchen is CLOSED - Enjoy a night off from cooking!

Skillet Lasagna - Cravings of a Lunatic

One Pot Pumpkin Pork Stew - Roxana's Home Baking

Honey Balsamic Carrots - The Cookie Rookie

Vegetable Tian - Barefeet in the Kitchen

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bundt Cake - Lemons for Lulu

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bites - Sweet C's Designs

This week's meal plan was brought you to by:

Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts| Barefeet in the Kitchen | Foodie with Family

Roxana's Home Baking | I Wash...You Dry | Lemons for Lulu | Sweet C's Designs

The Cookie Rookie | Cravings of a Lunatic | Diethood

Pin to share with your friends and family!

Thanks for visiting today!

Check out my recipe index for more amazing recipes. Not only can find cookie recipes but also tons of Christmas recipes.

After that, please take a minute to follow me on Pinterest. I’m always pinning great recipes as well as fun DIY projects.

Lastly, be sure to follow me on Instagram. It’s actually a great way to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest blog recipes.

Toodles! xx

The post Weekly Meal Plan: Week 22 appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Weekly Meal Plan- Week 8

Kim Beaulieu — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 09:00:35 +0000

Weekly Meal Plan Week 8 - 10 top bloggers bringing you 6 dinner recipes, 2 side dishes and 2 desserts to make a quick, easy, and delicious week!

Happy Labour Day Weekend and welcome to Weekly Meal Plan Week 8. Hope you are having an amazing holiday weekend.

Guess where I am today? Go ahead... guess. I'll wait....

*plays elevator music loudly*

Okay, so none of you guessed correctly. No, I'm not visiting Norma Reedus on the set of The Walking Dead. No, I'm not sunning in Hawaii while cute cabana boys bring me summery sips. Although both those options are completely plausible, and totally realistic.

I'm actually in London, Ontario buying a new computer!! I know right! It's about dang time. It's actually way past time. WAY past time!

If all goes well I'll be coming home with a shiny new MacBook. I've never had a Mac before so I'm a bit nervous about the transition. But I figure if I can learn what "on fleet" means at my age I'm pretty much unstoppable!

My daughter is joining me for the trip. Which, quite frankly, is pretty brave of her. I mean two hours each way to shop with Mom, aka IBS Girl, is quite the test of courage, patience and humility. I guess those months of army training this summer will come in handy today. Travelling with me takes serious guts, and a HUGE sense of humour!

We're going to do some back to school shopping. We also need a little retail therapy after a long week with a sick horse. Ginger had colic this week so it was a bit stressful. She's fine now but we definitely could use some stress relief in the form of shiny new shoes and sparkly new jeans. Rumour has it glittery purses cure stress. I'll report back if it's true or not. Oh, the things I am willing to do for you guys!

Wish us luck on our roller coaster ride. If the prize is a snazzy new computer it's all worth it. I miss being able to work! I miss being able to reply to your comments on my blog or on social media.

I've been using a broken computer for months now. We're talking over 6 months at this point. It's part of the reason I've barely worked in recent months. It has 8 broken keys so I have to copy and paste like crazy! It's slow as molasses and crashes daily. So, needless to say, I'm going to be doing cartwheels when I get the new one. Okay, maybe not cartwheels since I'm old and fluffy, but perhaps a little jig! Those are still a thing right?

I'll be sure to post some photos on Instagram of our road trip. Which reminds me, I should now shamelessly plug my Instagram accounts. Cripes eh! What kind of a slacker blogger am I? I'm suppose to pimp out my social media accounts as much as possible.

So, ya, follow my old, fluffy butt on Instagram m'kay. You can follow cravings of a lunatic on Instagram for sweet treats, savoury experiments, spoiled cat photos and way too many pictures of horses! You can also keep up with my grilling antics if you follow Kiss My Smoke on Instagram too!

There, I did my bloggy duty. Whew! I was worried for a minute I might get kicked out of the blogging world. I should probably up my game and join snapchat and blab immediately. But that would mean I'd actually have to join snapchat and blab. So, ya, maybe not. I wonder how long I can hold out before I get dragged over to the dark side. And by dark side I mean snapchat!

While you're all holding your breath for me to give in and start snapping while chatting feel free to peruse this week's meal plan. Heck, while you're at it peruse last week's meal plan, or the meal plan for the week before that, or go totally wild and peek at my chocolate tacos! Peruse any dang thing you want in my recipe index. If you can't find something that floats your boat feel free to email me a recipe request. I'm happy to help as long as it's not pickles or seafood. Or pickles and seafood! Anything else is fair game, for real. Never hesitate to email me. I love hearing from readers!

Weekly Meal Plan Week 8:

Cheesy Gnocchi Skillet - Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Cheesy Slow Cooker Meatballs - I Wash...You Dry

One Pot Chicken Risotto - Sweet C's Designs

Ranch Broccoli Chicken Burittos - The Cookie Rookie

Kitchen is CLOSED! Enjoy a night off!

Slow Cooker Korean Style Barbecue Pork - Foodie with Family

Sweet & Savory Braised Brisket - Lemons for Lulu

Crispy Cheese & Bacon Potatoes - Barefeet in the Kitchen

Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties - Diethood

Grilled Blueberry Cobbler - Kiss My Smoke

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars - Roxana's Home Baking

Pin this to your meal planning board for easy access all week long!

10 top bloggers bringing you 6 dinner recipes, 2 side dishes and 2 desserts to make a quick, easy, and delicious week!

Have a freaking fabulous holiday weekend peeps! May your weekend be long, your drinks be bottomless and you eat till you pass out on the couch while watching Netflix. That's called living the dream! Live it up! All the way up !!

Peace out! xx

The post Weekly Meal Plan- Week 8 appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Sage Smash Gin and Tonic: Guest Post by Isabelle of Crumb

Kim Beaulieu — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:00:29 +0000

The Sage Smash adds muddles grapes and fresh sage leaves to the classic gin and tonic for a refreshing fall cocktail.

Welcome to Day 4 of Booze Week Part Deux. I'm home from my blogging conference now. Super tired from all our adventures. Let's just say Seattle's stores got a boost this past weekend. My friends and I shopped till we dropped, and it takes a lot to drop us.

So we're having a blast for Booze Week, my friends are whipping up some amazing drinks. Today we have the lovely and talented Isabelle of Crumb. I heart Isabelle so very much. She is good people. Please welcome her to Cravings of a Lunatic.

I’m having a little trouble letting go of summer, even though all the signs of fall are here - the early nights, the briskness in the morning air, the colourful leaves lazily drifting down from the trees, the piles of pumpkins at the market. It’s really hard to live in denial right now.

So when Kim asked me if I wanted to come up with a guest post for Booze Week, I figured I’d shake up a little something to help me get over my fear of fall. A cocktail that would neatly bridge the things I love most about both seasons, plus a healthy splash of booze… because there’s nothing like a nice stiff drink to help me drown my sorrows.

This is the perfect compromise. It’s got all the refreshing crispness of a classic gin and tonic, but with woodsy sage and sweet grapes to make it more appropriate for fall. It’s best made with a clean, dry gin that isn’t overly floral (save the fancy Hendrick’s for another day), and with the firmest, sweetest grapes you can get your hands on.

I think I might need a couple more of these before I’m ready to accept the fact that fall is finally here to stay, though.

Actually, make that three…. or four… or five. Heck, I might just hide under my desk with a bottle of gin until it’s spring again. Sob.

Sage Smash Gin and Tonic

The Sage Smash adds muddles grapes and fresh sage leaves to the classic gin and tonic for a refreshing fall cocktail.

Course Beverage, Cocktail, Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword gin and tonic, sage smash, sage smash gin and tonic

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings

Calories 122kcal

Ingredients

6 red seedless grapes
4 leaves fresh sage
2 tablespoons sugar
2 ounces dry gin
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Tonic water to finish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together the grapes with sage and sugar to release their juices. Add the gin and lemon juice, and shake vigorously with ice for about 30 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass, and top off with tonic water. Garnish with sage leaves and halved grapes, if desired.

Notes

Recipe and Photo Credit to Isabelle Boucher of Crumb

Nutrition

Thanks so much to Isabelle for guest posting for me today. I adore this girl. Isabelle is a fellow Canuck and I have the distinct pleasure of knowing her in real life. I've been lucky enough to visit her on occasion. I get to see her again next month for the Food Bloggers of Canada conference. I'm a lucky duck.

You can see Isabelle's Saganaki Shrimp on my site, she did that for me for Seafood Week. I interviewed her for my Burning Down The Kitchen Series, and made her Brownie Biscotti. You can also see my Coconut Cherry Parfaits on her site, I guest posted for her while she was away. We dig each other so we visit each other's sites often.

You will totally dig her too. And stalk her everywhere. You can follow her blog Crumb on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You will love Isabelle. She's fabulous.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's guest post by Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.

Toodles and smoochies! xx

The post Sage Smash Gin and Tonic: Guest Post by Isabelle of Crumb appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Fig Newton Cocktail: Guest Post by My Catholic Kitchen

Kim Beaulieu — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 09:00:28 +0000

This Fig Newton Cocktail is refreshingly delightful and oh so easy to prepare. I can't think of a better way to beat the heat!

Fig Newton Cocktail is the epitome of upscale cocktails without a lot of fuss. The flavour is incredible and it's such a gorgeous drink to serve to guests!

Today is a very special day. I have the distinct pleasure of kicking off Booze Week. It's a week of guest posts by some of my bloggy buddies, all booze centric.

My first guest is no stranger to Cravings of a Lunatic. My dear friend Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen is going to entertain and delight you today.

Veronica has guest posted for me before. You can see her Boozy Caramel Apple Bread and Butter Pudding on my blog, she did that one for Boozy Desserts Week.

She also made Cedar Planked Salmon for me for Seafood Week. Not many friends would be willing to guest post for you so often but Veronica is a rare sweetheart of a friend.

Now that I've gushed on like a crazy person, please welcome Veronica back to Cravings. I'm delighted she is here.

Welcome to Veronica from My Catholic Kitchen

Hey Yall, Veronica here from My Catholic Kitchen. If you love figs they you are going to love this Fig Newton Cocktail recipe.

A few months back I was given some dried figs. Not sure what to do with them at the time, I decided to macerate them in some booze. So, I bought a bottle of cheap vodka, sliced the figs and added them to the vodka.

I then allowed them to hang out and get to know each other for a few months. They chilled out in the back of the liquor cabinet.

To be honest I didn’t know what to do with them, until Kim mentioned she was looking for a few people to guest post for her. When I heard Kim was devoting a whole week to booze, I was all in. What self-respecting Irish woman wouldn’t.

I immediately stepped up and said I would be more than glad to do it. It is a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Look, if you don’t have homemade fig vodka hanging out in your liquor cabinet, no worries. The Liquor store does have a fig vodka that they sell. Just use that, it is all good.

More Cocktail Recipes:

Bourbon Apple Cider - Guest Post by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
Spiced Plum Jam Gin Cocktail - Guest Post by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Sage Smash Gin and Tonic - Guest Post by Crumb
Electric Tea - Guest Post by Pass the Sushi
A Light Drizzle Cocktail - Guest Post by Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine
Blueberry Mango Mojito - Guest Post by The Little Ferraro Kitchen

Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest

Instagram ~ YouTube ~ Kiss My Smoke

Fig Newton Cocktail

This Fig Newton Cocktail is refreshingly delightful and oh so easy to prepare. I can't think of a better way to beat the heat!

Course Beverage, Cocktail

Cuisine American

Keyword fig newton cocktail

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings

Calories 175kcal

Author My Catholic Kitchen

Ingredients

2 ½ ounces homemade fig vodka or store bought
1 ounce sprite or other lemon lime soda

Optional:

fresh figs

Instructions

Add the vodka to a cocktail sharer. Fill with ice and shake well. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass, top with sprite.
Garnish with fig slices if desired.

Notes

Recipe and Photo Credit: My Catholic Kitchen

Nutrition

I'd like to thank Veronica for guest posting for me today. Be sure to show her some love and leave some comments on her cool drink.

Thanks to all my Booze Week Peeps for helping out while I took some time off. Cheers!

Thanks for visiting today!

If you’re looking for more cocktails be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more snack recipes as well.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest while you’re here. I love pinning great recipes! Also, make sure you follow me on Instagram. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the blog.

Toodles! xx

The post Fig Newton Cocktail: Guest Post by My Catholic Kitchen appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles: Guest Post by My Imperfect Kitchen #BoozyDessertsWeek

Kim Beaulieu — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:00:18 +0000

These Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles are going to make your summer happy hour, much happier! Made with Jim Beam Bourbon, fresh peaches and greek yogurt these take adult popsicles to a delicious new level!

Boozy Desserts Week wraps up today with the perfect recipe from my my friend Sara of My Imperfect Kitchen. Sara is an amazing blogger, cook and friend. You will absolutely love her blog and I encourage you to spend tons of time there poking about. But first you should meet her and check out here gorgeous Bourbon Peaches and Cream Popsicles. Perfect way to cool off and relax this weekend.

Hi everyone! I'm Sara and I blog over at My Imperfect Kitchen. My motto is: Life isn't perfect, but it should always be delicious!" My blog is all about learning new things, going on food-filled adventures and creating simple, great meals for your friends and family. And hey, if you screw up, that's ok. We'll learn how to fix it together! This is my first time guest posting for Kim and Boozy Desserts Week. (Does that make me a Virgin Lunatic?) To tell the truth, I'm kinda nervous about it, so y'all be gentle with me!

My reason for wanting to share during Boozy desserts week is because I'm a baker at heart. I bake when I'm happy, I bake when I'm sad and I bake for every other reason in-between. Desserts make me happy! However, it's been hot and humid here in Southern California over the the last few weeks. The heat I can handle, but the humidity makes my hair frizz. I don't like frizzy hair. I also don't like turning on the oven when it's this stinkin' hot. So, my virgin lunatic solution, instead of baking a Boozy Dessert for you, was to freeze a Boozy Dessert for you. Sound good? Oh it is, my friends. It's so very good!

These Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles use fruit-at-the-bottom Greek Yogurt, fresh peaches and of course, a good bit of bourbon. Start by dicing up a few fresh peaches into a medium size bowl. You'll need about a cups worth and you'll want to make sure to remove the skins from the peaches too. Pour ¼ cup bourbon over the peaches and set them aside. In another bowl you're going to mix 2 cups of fruit-at-the-bottom peach flavored greek yogurt with ½ cup of heavy whipping cream. These popsicles are almost like ice-cream in texture. Combine the yogurt mixture with the boozed up peaches and stir well to combine. Pour gently into six, 4 oz popsicle molds and freeze for at least four hours. I like using fruit at the bottom yogurt for these popsicles because it adds more fruit flavor to the pops and you don't need any other sweeteners.

So there you have it! Smooth, creamy, cold, delicious booziness on a stick! Is booziness even a word? It is now!

If you did want to make your popsicles virgin-style (just like this post) simply swap the bourbon for coconut milk and you'll be good to go!

Enjoy friends!

Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles

Ingredients

1 cup diced fresh peaches
¼ cup Jim Beam Bourbon
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups fruit-at-the-bottom Peach flavored Greek Yogurt I used Chiobani

Instructions

In a medium bowl, peel and dice fresh peaches. Cover diced peaces with bourbon and set aside. In another bowl, combine heavy cream with yogurt and stir to combine. Pour boozy peaches into the bowl with the yogurt mixture and stir until creamy. Pour into six, 4 oz popsicle molds. Freeze for at least four hours.

Notes

Recipe Source: My Imperfect Kitchen

I just want to sink my teeth into one, or twenty, of these tempting popsicles. Sara really outdid herself for this guest post. I just adore this recipe and may try to find a cheat weekend where I can partake of one of these, with the bourbon in it. The truly sad thing about my IBS is it does not tolerate alcohol consumption. So very sad.

Which is what prompted all the Booze Weeks coming up. I realize other people do like and consumer booze so it seemed like my site should have some booze friendly recipes. So I asked my blogging friends to help me out. They stepped up big time, just like they did with Seafood Week.

You can look forward to Booze Week in late August, Booze Week #2 in late September and Boozy Desserts Halloween Special Edition in October. It's going to epic fun and I cannot wait to share my boozy friends with you. I'll be the boring one sipping a virgin cocktail in the corner, and being bitter about it.

Thanks so much to Sara for taking over the blog today. It was an absolute delight. You can follow Sara's blog, My Imperfect Kitchen, to keep up with all the latest and greatest she has to offer. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

For more great recipes from My Imperfect Kitchen, check these out:

Berry Cream Cheese Danish from My Imperfect Kitchen

Ice Cream Sandwiches from My Imperfect Kitchen

Saucy Mama BBQ Rings by My Imperfect Kitchen

Be sure to check out all the other boozy participants this week:

B52 Layer Cake from Gotta Get Baked

Baileys Ice Cream with Baileys Caramel Sauce from Cookistry

Boozy Caramel Apple Bread and Butter Pudding by My Catholic Kitchen

For all your Boozy Cravings check out my Pinterest Board:

Follow Kim Beaulieu | Cravings of a Lunatic's board Boozy Cravings on Pinterest.

I hope you enjoyed Boozy Desserts Week as much as I did. Now go pour some booze into a cake mix and get ready for a magical weekend. I could use a little booze myself this week. Happy Weekend.

Thanks to all my Boozy Desserts Week Participants. Make sure you show them some love.

Toodles and smoochies! xx

The post Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles: Guest Post by My Imperfect Kitchen #BoozyDessertsWeek appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Cedar Planked Salmon: Guest Post by My Catholic Kitchen

Kim Beaulieu — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 10:00:30 +0000

This Cedar Planked Salmon is cooked on a cedar plank on the grill for the ultimate rich, smoky flavour with a tender, flaky texture!

Hey peeps, how is everyone doing today? I am beyond spectacular. Why? Well, because salmon makes me happy.

Salmon cooked on a grill on top of a cedar plank makes me ever happier. So, you could say I'm super spectacular today. It's like regular spectacular but I'm running around the house with a cape on today. Or a towel tied around my neck like a cape. Which is sort of the same thing, right.

Welcome to Week #2, Day 6 of Seafood Week. I am beyond thrilled my amazing blogging friends all agreed to do this for me. And by do this for me, I mean do all my work for me while I sit around watching Netflix all week.

I love my bloggy peeps so very much. They are my heart. Finding friends in life with a shared passion is a pretty amazing thing. I've met some of the coolest, sweetest people through blogging.

I feel so lucky to do what I love for a living. I feel even luckier I get to do it amongst people I adore so very much.

Today I welcome one of those very special friends to the blog. I adore Veronica so very much, she is such a sweetheart.

She formally blogged at My Catholic Kitchen. Veronica is just one of those down to earth kind of gals, so we get along swimmingly.

Welcome to Veronica of My Catholic Kitchen:

Hi Yall!

I am so excited to be guest posting for Kim here at Cravings of a Lunatic!

I remember the first time I met Kim.

Cue the dream sequence harp sounding music.

It was a few years ago and we both made Foodbuzz top ten, it was my first time so I remember it as if it was yesterday. She congratulated me and I thought what a wonderful crazy name for a blog. We have been blogger friends ever since.

I think I can speak for everyone when I say Kim has been instrumental in sharing her blogger knowledge with all of us. For that I am very grateful. So of course when she mentioned she wanted to take sometime off, I jumped at the chance to guest post to help her out.

Kim picked a seafood theme and living in Virginia Beach I have access to a lot of seafood. I have very fond childhood memories of crabbing and fishing along the Chesapeake Bay.

Planked cooking was first introduced to the colonists by the Native Americans here in Virginia. It is no wonder the colonists loved this way of cooking.

Grilling on natural wood imparts a slightly smoky flavor that cannot be compared to anything else. Perhaps the colonists love it so much because it naturally makes your grilled foods moist and delicious.

Thanks to Veronica for this tasty recipe!

Veronica, I have to tell you salmon cooked on a cedar plank is one of my favourite things in the entire world. My Dad loved salmon, and salmon fishing. So we grew up eating a lot of it and really appreciate good salmon. This is such a classic way to prepare it, and in my humble opinion one of the best ways to cook salmon. So thanks for sharing this with us. It's a real treat for me.

More Seafood Week Recipes:

Movita Beaucoup’s Lobster Pasta Salad
Cooking in Stilettos’ Coconut Almond Crusted Cod
Dinners, Dishes and Desserts Brown Butter Seafood Risotto
Crazy Foodie Stunts Braised Salmon with Mushrooms, Potato Purée and Watercress
Crumb’s Saganaki Shrimp
That Skinny Chick Can Bake’s Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers
Try Anything Once’s Stuffed Clams
Curry and Comfort’s Shrimp and Asparagus Biryani
Rants from My Crazy Kitchen Cajun Crab
It’s Yummi’s Crab ‘n Bacon Pepper Sliders
Taking On Magazines' Low Country Boil

Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest

Instagram ~ YouTube ~ Kiss My Smoke

Cedar Planked Salmon

This Cedar Planked Salmon is cooked on a cedar plank on the grill for the ultimate rich, smoky flavour with a tender, flaky texture!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cedar planked salmon, grilled salmon

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 77kcal

Ingredients

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon black pepper
6 ounce salmon filets
1 cedar plank soaked
honey for drizzling

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your grill to medium low heat.
In a small bowl combine sugar, salt chipolte powder, cumin and pepper.
Place soaked plank on preheated grill. Close lid and allow to heat for about three minutes. Turn the plank over with your tongs and place salmon on heated side of plank. Close the lid and grill for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from grill and drizzle with honey. Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe and Photo Credit to My Catholic Kitchen

Nutrition

As per Seafood Week rules, here are some more embarrassing photos of me. I swear there are so many I could do this every day and never run out of photos to share.

My folks really got a kick out of taking photos of us to use for blackmail later in life. Then, we continued the bad photos into our adulthood. I blame my folks. They twisted us at a young age.

Wait for it:

This is me with my grand-dad and grandmother at their anniversary party! I think I was 15 or 16.

Wait for it:

So sweet right. Awe, isn't Kim just the nicest, cutest, most well-behaved young lady on the planet.

Bam...there it is:

What are the chances are 3 of us would close our eyes at the same time? Pretty good if we were all drunk. We had the adults fooled until we all insisted on getting spaghetti at 3 am. Hungry drunks!

Thanks for visiting today!

If you’re looking for more dinner recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more healthy recipes as well.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest while you’re here. I love pinning great recipes! Also, make sure you follow me on Instagram. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the blog.

Toodles! xx

The post Cedar Planked Salmon: Guest Post by My Catholic Kitchen appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Low Country Boil: Guest Post by Taking On Magazines

Kim Beaulieu — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 10:00:22 +0000

This low country boil is easy to make, delightful to serve and delicious to eat! It will impress your dinner guests.

Welcome to Week #2 and Day 5 of Seafood Week. My son and myself are allergic to shellfish, so this is a cool way to give you seafood recipes without an allergic reaction of epic proportions.

I am digging these themed weeks way too much. I mean seriously, how else can you take time off to watch Netflix and make all your best friends do all your work for you. It's pure genius right. I should feel bad really, but I'm having way too much fun.

Today we're hitting the barn, not literally of course, that would hurt. We're buzzing out there to meet the farrier. Ginger needs new shoes.

Earlier this week Ginger needed to see the vet. So, let's just say Ginger is cutting into our "first week of mini-me's vacation fund" at this point. We had plans to hit a bunch of movies but have scaled it back to one.

We'll be hitting the theatre tomorrow. Any recommendations for flicks for us? I'm so out of the loop on current movies these days.

Funny how obsessing about The Walking Dead exclusively can make you lose touch with reality. I almost care but then I'm like "hey look, Daryl Dixon is flexing his arm candy again".

Today's guest post comes to from my gal pal Christiane from Taking On Magazines. I met Christiane through a foodie group years ago called Foodbuzz. We've stayed great friends ever since.

Christiane is one of the most supportive people you could ever meet. She really wants the best for the people she cares about. She is kind, warm, and generous. I love her for that.

Plus I dig her writing style, the way she spins tales of her family life draws me in. She talks often about her daughter, Dudette, and I have to say she reminds me so much of my own kiddo. I am endlessly entertained by her family's adventures in, and out, of the kitchen.

I've been to Canada once. And, surprisingly, it had nothing to do with a visit to Niagara Falls. Sure, I've been there, but I stayed on the U.S. side so the closest I got to Canada was peering at it through the mist.

No, my sole foray onto our northern neighbor's soil was when I was a much younger and way more impetuous me. A friend and I headed to Lake Superior up around the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and enjoyed a few hours along the water, but then got bored and decided to drive.

That was the extent of our planning. Drive. And, we did. After a really, really long time in the car, we had left Michigan and were weaving our way around the 10,000 lakes that make up Minnesota.

We thought we had hit the northern end of no where when we passed through Grand Portage, but since the border to another country was just about in spitting distance, we drove just a little longer and ended up in Thunder Bay. Canada.

So you see, Kim, I've been to Canada. Not only have I been there, but I've visited your province. Granted, we were on the opposite side from where you live, but it has to count for something, right?

The Process:

When Kim asked me to help her celebrate a week of seafood, I jumped at the chance to make my most favorite southern flair. Even though she can't eat the shrimp, I'm hoping that she'll pull up a chair and snag a few pieces of sausage, corn and potatoes.

This amazing meal couldn't be much easier. It's perfect as a fun family meal but also works well for large crowds.

Amounts don't really matter. What does count is the timing. It begins with boiling a big pot of water generously seasoned with your choice of seafood seasoning. I use Old Savannah, but Old Bay would work just as well. Zatarain's makes a packet that can just be thrown in also.

Once the water's boiling, the potatoes are tossed in and cooked for a 5-7 minutes. They shouldn't be cooked entirely, but be well on their way to soft. Add the corn, onion wedges and celery and set the timer for 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook 5 minutes more, then throw in the shrimp. Simmer for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and let it all sit so the shrimp can finish cooking to perfection.

I love throwing newspaper on the table and just pouring out the drained pot of goodness in the middle of it all. People can just grab what they want and it looks so fun.

When Kim asked if I'd share in the fun of seafood week with her, I was thrilled to be given the chance to spend some virtual time with an awesome friend. This low country boil is such a fantastic party meal and I can't think of anyone that would be more fun to party with than Kim. Thanks for letting me visit Canada again, Kim. I've had a ball.

More Seafood Week Recipes:

Movita Beaucoup’s Lobster Pasta Salad
Cooking in Stilettos’ Coconut Almond Crusted Cod
Dinners, Dishes and Desserts Brown Butter Seafood Risotto
Crazy Foodie Stunts Braised Salmon with Mushrooms, Potato Purée and Watercress
Crumb’s Saganaki Shrimp
That Skinny Chick Can Bake’s Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers
Try Anything Once’s Stuffed Clams
Curry and Comfort’s Shrimp and Asparagus Biryani
Rants from My Crazy Kitchen Cajun Crab
It's Yummi's Crab 'n Bacon Pepper Sliders

Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest

Instagram ~ YouTube ~ Kiss My Smoke

Low Country Boil

This low country boil is easy to make, delightful to serve and delicious to eat! It will impress your dinner guests.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword low country boil

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 17

Total Time 32

Servings

Calories 494kcal

Ingredients

2 celery stalks cut into 2-inch pieces
2 onions quartered lengthwise
4 garlic cloves smashed
2 tablespoons seafood seasoning plus more for serving
1 pound red new potatoes
3 ears corn husked cut into 3 pieces
1 pound kielbasa cut into 3-inch pieces
1 pound large shell-on shrimp
¼ cup melted butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add the seafood seasoning to a large pot with 10 cups water. Bring the liquid to a boil.
Dump in the potatoes and reduce to a quick simmer. Cook the potatoes until they are almost tender, 5-7 minutes.
Add the onions, garlic, celery and corn to the pot. Return the liquid to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the kielbasa and cook for 3 minutes more. Finally, add the shrimp. Cook the mixture for an additional 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let stand for 2 minutes more, or until the shrimp are fully cooked.
Drain the water from the pot, then pour the melted butter over everything and carefully mix to coat.
Before serving, sprinkle everything with a little more of the seafood seasoning.

Notes

Serves 4 to 6

Recipe and Photo Credit to Taking on Magazines

Nutrition

As promised I shall continue to embarrass myself with old, silly photos of my youth. Enjoy it while it lasts. I may need to move away and change my name after today. I hear Hawaii is nice.

Some days I question my parent's judgement:

So, this is what happens when you bring your daughter to her brother's graduation high as a kite. I had my appendix out but insisted on going to Ken's grad. I'm thinking someone should have said no!

More evidence of how much they enjoyed our antics:

My parents: "Hey Kim, why don't you go pose gracefully in the snow in B.C. with your brothers?" M'kay. Scott watches me slide off and take out Ken out on the way while my Dad takes pics and Mom laughs.

I think they were justified for laughing at us for this one:

We'll call this one "bored, pale Irish kids" Look at all that pasty skin, not a tan in sight. And seriously what the hell are we doing? We used to do this in our pool, did we think the lake was going to whirlpool?

Thanks for visiting today!

If you’re looking for more dinner recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can also find a lot more healthy recipes as well.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest while you’re here. I love pinning great recipes! Also, make sure you follow me on Instagram. It’s a great way to stay up to date with the blog.

Toodles! xx

The post Low Country Boil: Guest Post by Taking On Magazines appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.

Crab 'n Bacon Pepper Sliders: Guest Post by It's Yummi

Kim Beaulieu — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 10:00:07 +0000

Sweet bell peppers are filled with cream cheese, bacon, and crab, then topped with crispy pork rinds and baked until golden and bubbly.

Welcome to Week #2, Day 4 of Seafood Week. I have some of my very best blogging buddies guest posting for me so I can take some time off. It's my daughter's first week of summer vacation so we're pretty much lounging about and being lazy all week. It's been a long time coming, university does not leave much time for hanging out with the 'rents. So we make the most of her breaks. And by making the most of them I mean a lot of lounging about and being lazy, with the odd trip out to see movies here and there. Epic right!

Since we're allergic to shellfish I figured it would be the perfect time to get some seafood recipes on the blog. Guest posts are great for things you might be lacking on your site. I know how much folks love seafood so it just made good sense to me to organize seafood week. Next up will be Booze Week. That's hitting you in May and June. I cannot drink due to health issues so I've organized a week for cocktails and a week for boozy eats. I'm a giver. Without, you know, actually doing any of the work. *winks*

Today's seafood recipe is bell peppers stuffed with crab and bacon. I know right. My incredibly talented, and super cool friend Becca of It's Yummi is guest posting for me today. I adore Becca, we've been friends for ages. We met through our blogs and just became fast friends. I would classify our friendship as silly and snarky to the core, if you're a regular you know how much I dig those two attributes. We both also really love bacon, to the point of obsession. That's what true friendships are made of folks, giggles and bacon. Word!

Hi everyone! I'm Chef Bec from It's Yummi, and I'm a little giddy that Lunie asked me to come over to hang out with you today! This blog of hers is so laid back and fun, and everywhere I look, I see pistachios and Turtles and other deliciously awesome food. It's enough to make me swoon! I know that Kim is supposed to be relaxing this week, so I hope that she was able to put down her mouse long enough to get in a ride on Horsey or hang out with K a bit.

Over in my virtual kitchen, I usually try to focus on creating recipes that are low carb and a little bit lower in calories, just so that I don't have to go out and buy new stretchy pants every 3 months, but occasionally I like to whoop it up and go for the gusto, which is exactly what I'm doing today. Although this recipe for Crab 'n Bacon Pepper Sliders is definitely low carb, it's NOT low in calories. I'd say that I'm sorry, but I'm really not. These are SO flipping amazing and delicious that they're worth every extra walk around the block to burn off the calories.

I started off by prepping some fresh, crispy mini-sized bell peppers. If you come over to my site for a visit (and I hope that you will!), you'll see that I love to make "poppable", miniature sized foods. I suppose the real reason for that is to help with portion control, but if I'm being totally honest, I'd have to say that there's no way I could stop after eating just one of these crab 'n bacon pepper sliders. They're just too good, and besides, they're filled with my very favorite ingredient in the universe, bacon! These sort of remind me of that old jingle for Lays potato chips... "Once you pop, you just can't stop!" 🙂

So, after you're cored and seeded the peppers, you'll crisp up some bacon, saute a bit of onion, and mix them together with cream cheese, mayo, crab meat, and some seasonings. Fill up those cute little peppers with the crab mixture and top them off with some crushed fried pork rinds (yup, more pork fat!) Pop 'em in the oven until they're bubbly and let the party begin!

Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic!

Crab 'n Bacon Pepper Sliders

Sweet bell peppers are filled with cream cheese, bacon, and crab, then topped with crispy pork rinds and baked until golden and bubbly. This is a crowd pleasing appetizer that'll be the hit of the party!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings to 16 Sliders

Ingredients

6-8 mini bell peppers washed, seeded, and sliced in half from top to bottom
6 ounces fresh or canned crab meat finely chopped
3 slices uncooked bacon diced
½ yellow onion diced small
3 ounces cream cheese softened
1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
kosher or sea salt to taste)
¼ cup crushed pork rinds

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange bell peppers cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
Place bacon into a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onions and continue to cook 4-5 minutes more, until bacon is crisp and onions are translucent. Remove from heat, transfer onions and bacon from pan, and drain on paper towel. Discard grease.
Add all additional ingredients except pork rinds to a mixing bowl. Use a large spoon to stir and combine everything until creamy. Add onions and bacon and stir to combine.
Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling into each of the bell pepper halves. Top with crushed pork rinds and place pan into oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until peppers have softened and mixture is hot and bubbly.
Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe and Photo Credit to It's Yummi

Thank you so much to Becca for invading Chez Lunatic today. Becca I love you, and you are welcome any time. On the blog, or for dinner. I really hope we can get you to the Food & Wine Conference this summer. It would be so nice to meet you in person. I would freaking love that. We could tear up Orlando, and by tear up I mean grab takeout and hole up in our hotel room eating junk food till the wee hours of the morning. That's how foodies roll right. I have to say I'm super stoked you whipped out a fat pants recipe. It made me swoon all the way to the moon! Calories be damned, this is straight up good mood food.

Make sure you stop by Becca's blog It's Yummi to check out all her latest and greatest eats. You can follow her by signing up for Email Subscriptions, which is a fabulous way to keep up with your favourite blogs. You can also keep up to date with her through her Facebook Fanpage, it's how all the cool kids search for recipes these days. She is also on Twitter, so be sure to follow her there too. Becca is also on Pinterest, which is my very favourite way to follow my bloggy peeps. Be sure to swing by and follow her on Instagram as well, it's my newest obsession.

As the week plows on I continue my quest to fully embarrass myself with photos of my childhood. I'm not sure how this started but at this point it's too late to stop. I hope you are all getting a good chuckle out of all these old, silly photos.

Today's theme is "Hey Kim, sit like a lady". You're welcome:

Hey Kim, sit like a lady. Bite me! Don't tell me what to do or I'll sick Sorta on you. This is Sorta, my grandparent's dog. Why Sorta? Because he's sorta this and sorta that!

Apparently I didn't care, even if it was my Aunt who visited:

Hey Kim, sit like a lady. Hey Dad, bite me. You can't tell me what to do. I sit how I want. Plus this looks good. Just like my hair. And my stupid top. And my velvety corduroy pants. In your face fashion police!

Ah good times, sitting un-lady-like while annoying everyone:

Hey Kim, sit like a lady. Hell no Dad, have you learned nothing at this point. I'm going to drape my leg over Sharron's till everyone freaks out and their eyes bug out of their heads! Bam, take that!

More Seafood Week Recipes from my Awesome Buds:

Movita Beaucoup’s Lobster Pasta Salad

Cooking in Stilettos’ Coconut Almond Crusted Cod

Dinners, Dishes and Desserts Brown Butter Seafood Risotto

Crazy Foodie Stunts Braised Salmon with Mushrooms, Potato Purée and Watercress

Crumb’s Saganaki Shrimp

That Skinny Chick Can Bake’s Sea Bass with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

Try Anything Once's Stuffed Clams

Curry and Comfort's Shrimp and Asparagus Biryani

Rants from My Crazy Kitchen Cajun Crab

Toodles and smoochies! xx

The post Crab 'n Bacon Pepper Sliders: Guest Post by It's Yummi appeared first on Cravings of a Lunatic.