Memories

There is something about food that always seems to bring up memories. It's probably one of the things I like best about food.

Lots of people know me by my love for cooking, my love for food (not sure that's a good thing! ;)), and being the one who always wants to try a new recipe.

But really, at the heart of the matter, I actually always go back to the standbys. The foods that mean something to me. Yes, they sure are good, but they have heart behind them.

I'm sure right now you're thinking... she is insane. It's just food we're talking about here. But it's not!! The smell of orange cinnamon rolls can instantly remind me of being a child in my grandmother's kitchen in the summer. She would always make us orange rolls - and to this day, I have orange cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. The kind from the can!

The taste of corn tortillas reminds me of my summer mission's internship in Mexico - and our favorite restaurant "The Hill". Their tacos with the cheese that you pulled with your fork was remarkable - but even more so was the amazing opportunity to share God's love with this country.

The cold and creamy taste of butter pecan ice cream instantly takes me back to my living room in high school. Watching television late at night with my dad after getting back from a basketball game on the bus was the perfect night treat. Both of us mostly sitting in silence from sheer exhaustion, but the time spent together was priceless.

And then there's these - Bacon wrapped water chestnuts. One of my favorite recipes of all time. Are they good? Absolutely! But I tend to think they are mostly as good as I think they are because of the memories they bring up. This is one of the first recipes I learned how to make from my mom. In fact - it's her recipe. I'm sure you could find some adaption of it pretty easily on the internet somewhere, but none of them taste quite like these.

It's the first recipe I mastered on my own, brought somewhere and got a really good response. They became my standby for a while - the only thing I would make because I knew I could make them well! Obviously, I've branched out since then.. but I remember my roots, and I remember standing by my mom as she taught me each step. And every time I taste one, the crunchiness of the water chestnut and the tanginess of the barbecue sauce, it reminds me of home!

What recipe or food do you have the conjures up the most memories?

Mom's Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb bacon (cut in thirds)

2 small cans water chestnuts (break in half and stack on top of each other)

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tbs. lemon juice

toothpicks

Preparation

1. Cut bacon into thirds.

2. Wrap bacon around stacked water chestnuts and secure with a tooth pick. Place on baking tray in line leaving space between so they don't stick together.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Pour off the grease.

4. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together sugar, ketchup and lemon juice. Heat just until warmed in microwave (about 30 seconds).

5. Pour over water chestnuts evenly, trying to avoid the toothpick if possible (it will burn).

6. Bake an additional 30-35 minutes until bacon is crispy.

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Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

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My sister and her family arrive on Monday!! I'm so excited, I might not sleep until then. I figured out this week that there will be 8 people and a dog in a 900 square foot house for one week.

That means that we will each get about 100 square feet each of living space! :) haha... And that doesn't include closets and the bathroom! (yeah, we only have 2 bedrooms and one bathroom!) They will be ready to go to China at the end of the week. The forty hour plane ride will seem like heaven to them!

I'm very excited to show them around, give them a tour, let them see where I live (they haven't been to California since we moved here), have them meet my friends, come with us to South Bay, and spend some great time with them before this big venture! I can't wait for my nephews to see the train right out front of our house, or the airport on the other side! :) And I'm going to take my sister out for a fun surprise day... I can't tell you what we're doing because she might read this! ;) I'll give you all the fun details after we go.

In the mean time, here's another recipe you can use for Sunday for the Super Bowl... if you're interested in that sort of thing. We, on the other hand, will only know the score the next day when someone tells us. ;)

This recipe is one of those things that sounds super fattening, and gooey, and maybe kind of gross, but I'm telling you, it's super addicting. Every time I've made this, everyone comments how they just can't stop eating it!! The Frank's hot sauce really makes this dip, so DON'T skip on this and try some other kind of hot sauce. You can find this in the same aisle as all the hot sauces. The sauce makes the dip very spicy, but in a good way - and I'm a wimp when it comes to spice. If you think it will be too much for you, just add less, and you can always add more at the end to spice things up. Or if you like things on the spicy side, just add more to taste.

You can definitely make this dip for you - including adding blue cheese dip instead of ranch, or even some crumbled blue cheese! YUM. I might have to try that... Inspiration on the spot. :)

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip (Adapted from Frank's)

Ingredients:

2 cans 12.5 oz each canned chicken breast (like Swanson's), drained

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup Frank's Buffalo RedHot Sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat drained chicken and Frank's Buffalo Sauce in skillet until heated through.

2. Add ranch dressing and cream cheese and heat until through until cream cheese is melted.

3. Mix in 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

4. This is the part where it doesn't look so good, but it will sure taste good soon! Transfer mixture to a crock pot and place remaining cheddar cheese on top until dip is heated through. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or fresh veggies.

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Random Things on A Monday:

1. Wow - is January really almost over! I can't believe there is only one week left in this month. It flew by, and I don't even know where it went. Being sick the first two weeks of the month really made my life feel so unorganized! My husband and I are trying to get all organized for the year, do a "winter cleaning" instead of spring, and feel more on top of the house this year. Besides, we'll have visitors in 2 weeks!! My sister and family (all 6!) are coming on their way to China for a week. Yes, I said CHINA! They're moving there for 2 years. So, we needed to do a organizational overhaul in order to prep! :)

2. Our church has been part of a 21 day fast called "Awakening" which we do every year. It's really a great time to get refreshed, refocused, and to grow closer in your relationship with God. This year we chose to do without cheese, bread, and sugar. YIKES! I have a COOKING blog for goodness sakes! :) This is very hard, but so worth it, and it feels oh, so good after all the indulgences of the holidays!

3. I have been offered a chance to do a review for CSN, which will work out perfectly for all the Valentine's baking I want to try and haven't been able to with the fast. I have several new recipes I cannot wait to try out bookmarked and ready. I think most everyone who's been reading my blog for a while has heard of CSN by now since I have hosted several giveaways by them, but they have an excellent selection of everything from baking tools, home decor, amazing shoes, or you can choose the perfect laptop messenger bag for your new mac or ipad you got for Christmas. It seems like everyone got an ipad for Christmas... I did not! :) So, stay tuned for the review!

4. Archie and I stayed up in San Francisco last weekend, and we discovered a whole new side of town that we'd never seen before. The neighborhood is called "Marina/Cow Hollow", but we found a whole new shopping center, tons of restaurants, and even this cute little cupcake shop.

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Of course, I didn't get to try it because I'm not allowed any sugar for the month of January, but I took a picture of the front of the shop so I wouldn't forget it! :)

We also found a great gourmet burger shop - Barney's Gourmet Burgers. So yummy. We had the burger's "protein style" - the In & Out slang for "with no bread", so it came with lettuce instead of a bun. Really yummy. I had mine with barbecue sauce, sauteed onions, and avocado!

5. The Super Bowl is coming up! (Not that we care about it at all other than yummy snacks!) That means you'll need game day recipes! I have a great one for you. This is my friend Mary's cheese ball. She made it for me for the first time when I was in high school and we hosted a sleep over for a bunch of junior high gals. I ended up sitting in front of the cheese ball, and when it was gone at the end of the night, everyone blamed ME for eating it all. I know I wasn't the only one eating it.... or maybe I was. It's just so good, you may want to make it and hide it!

It's so super easy, that it's a cinch to throw together. And there's a secret ingredient. If this wasn't a cooking blog, I wouldn't tell you because you might gross out, but I'm telling you, this ingredient totally makes the cheese ball amazing!

I promise it's different than Spam! You'll love it and everyone will rave.

Mary's Cheese Ball:

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. bar cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz. bar extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 larger can of devil ham
1 splash hot sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 splash of worcheshire (sp) sauce

Topping:

Extra shredded cheese or chopped toasted pecans

Serve With:

Fresh veggies

Ritz crackers

Wheat thins

Directions:

1. Grate cheese

2. Place softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a bowl.

3. Add deviled ham, garlic powder, and onion powder. Then add a splash of hot sauce and worcestershire sauce.

4. Mix all ingredients together and mold into a ball.

5. Dip molded ball into shredded cheese or chopped pecans. Serve with fresh veggies, ritz crackers, or wheat thins.

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Miscellany Monday

I've joined in with Carissa at Lowercase Letters for Miscellany Monday

1. CUPCAKE - On Saturday, some good friends and I had a little outing - we went consignment shopping and went to try out a new-to-us cupcake place in San Jose. Love's Cupcakes is downtown San Jose, has a fun vibe, and offers lots of yummy choices (see picture below!) I have been on a hunt for a good place since we've moved to California. I've tried all over the Bay Area, trying to compete with the Sugar Bakeshop in Charleston. I'm beginning to think it's not possible, but Loves is a good competition. Smore's, pumpkin pie, snickers, red velvet, mocha - enough to make my heart go pitter patter! :)

2. Can't Get Enough - of these cute faces... Spending time with them in Charleston for only a few days was just not enough! Love these kiddos. Here are just a few of my favorites that I captured.

My niece Ava with an apple bigger than her face! :)

My nephew Bryson... I wonder how he lost those teeth? :)

Gavin and Ava - seriously, all this food is larger than their heads! :)

3. Flames - are shooting out of our wall heater! I mean literal flames.... It really can't be safe. So we quickly turned it off and called the landlord. Hopefully we'll get that fixed before the 55 degree highs and rainy weather kicks in this weekend. For now, 80 degree highs... yes please!

4. Southern Snack - When I was in Charleston, I was reminded of one of my favorite snacks that I haven't had in years. It's definitely a Southern food... Pimiento Cheese. I used to eat a pimiento cheese sandwich almost every day for lunch in high school, and my friends almost barfed! :) But I love it! And I know lots of others who do. It's great for an appetizer, on a buffet table for the holidays, or just a little afternoon snack.

Pimiento Cheese (By: Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup grated sharp cheddar

1 cup grated Monterey Jack

1/2 cup mayonnaise

sprinkle of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to taste

2-3 tablespoons pimiento's, smashed

1 tsp. grated onion

Directions:

Grate cheddar and Monterrey Jack and place together in a bowl.

Using an electric mixer or a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Chop pimientos until fine - *Note - I had a difficult time finding just a jar of plain pimientos, so I bought olives mixed with them, and separated them.

Mix remaining ingredients together with mixer until well combined. Serve with fresh veggies, crackers, or triscuits.

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