Brussels Sprouts w/bacon & spinach

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon (I used turkey bacon this time & cooked w/olive oil)
  
• 2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced
• sea salt to taste
  
• fresh lemon juice (can use red wine vinegar)
  
• 1/2 pound spinach - chopped, washed and dried

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, steam Brussels sprouts until tender.
2. Heat the remaining fat in the skillet over medium high heat and add the Brussels sprouts. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender.
3. Add the spinach. Saute the mixture over moderately high heat for 1 minute or until the spinach is wilted. Season salad with fresh lemon juice, sea salt and sprinkle with bacon. Serve warm.

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Ingredients

2 Small Roasting Chickens
2 Cans of Miller Lite
Lemon
1/2 Red Onion
10 Cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper
Creole Seasoning

Easy dinner...
Pre-heat oven to 375

Remove gizzards from chicken...rinse chicken. Open cans of beers...drink 1/2 of each...or set aside for Carey Leigh! Take a can opener and remove the entire top of the can (this is so you can fill it with the seasonings! Rub bird with olive oil, creole seasoning (I didn't use a lot of this just a dusting) and salt and pepper. I sauteed garlic cloves with olive oil for a few short minutes and then I chopped them up pretty fine...rubbed the outsides of the birds with the garlic and put the remainder into the cans of beer. Diced the onions and put in beer can. Slice lemons and squeeze juice into the cavity of the bird...put remainder into the can. Through in a couple of shakes of red pepper and creole seasoning into beer and you are ready to mount the bird!

I lined a roasting pan with foil and set the cans of beer on the bottom of the pan. Carefully place the bird over the can of beer and balance the legs like a tripod...they are small enough, so they will balance very easily!

I put them in the over for 1.5 hours at 375...I increased to broil for 10 min or so to get the skin crispy and reduced heat to 450. I took the birds out when they hit 175 degrees at the thickest point and let them set for 10-15min.

They were so juicy and DELICIOUS...if I do say so myself. Sorry...no pics...I was a bad host this month;-)

You can cook on grill...but since I do not have a grill...I do not know all of the specifics on timing.

Enjoy!

Yummy Snicker Cheesecake Lollipops

Filling

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 bag of Snickers Miniatures
  

Decoration

• 4-5 mini snickers
• Baker's Semi sweet Chocolate
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a foil liner in 9" baking pan.

Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Chop Snickers into small pieces and fold into cream cheese mixture. Spoon cream cheese mixture into pans. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and place entire pan in freeze for at least hour (I did over night).

Melt the bakers chocolate in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until completely melted. Use remaining chopped Snickers. Cut frozen cheesecake into squares and insert lollipop stick and immediately dip into chocolate then into chopped Snickers. Set on parchment paper and refrigerate for another 1/2 hour. Server immediately out of fridge for best results.