It is OK to eat these Ladybugs

This is a great little family project for when you complete your day of apple picking. This recipe will show you how to make delicious little Ladybug Apples. And who doesn’t love ladybugs?

INGREDIENTS
2 red apples
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon peanut butter
8 thin pretzel sticks

DIRECTIONS:
Slice apples in half from top to bottom and scoop out the cores using a knife or melon baller. If you have an apple corer, core them first, then slice. Place each apple half flat side down on a small plate.
Dab peanut butter on to the back of the ‘lady bug’, then stick raisins onto the dabs for spots. Use this method to make eyes too. Stick one end of each pretzel stick into a raisin, then press the other end into the apples to make antennae.

TIPS:

* Instead of using peanut butter you can also use cream cheese (regular or strawberry).

* Cover the bottom with whatever you use (peanut butter or cream cheese) and put the lady bug on a lettuce leaf to prevent browning and make and even healthier salad/snack!

* Use dried cranberries, cheerios and marshmallows in place of or in combination with the raisins for more decorating fun!

Beef Bacon Cheesy Dip from Big Bites Little Bites on Vimeo.

Ingredients:

6 Onions – I prefer Yellow – mild flavor onions seems to get the richest taste during carmelizing.
Olive Oil and Butter
Sugar
Vinegar
Beef Broth
Any Bread

Cheese- Gotta go with you like. I have found a mixture of Munster and swiss works well. Others prefer Provolone.

Let’s Cook-

Slice onions in half- chop off ends (formerly the top and bottom of the onion)
Then make 1/4 inch slices – repeat and place in skillet or or pan
(to get rid of the smell of onions- wash hands with soap and water- then rub on a chrome faucet if you have one)
I like to go in and make sure each onion is broken up into individual strands- but that is my opinion.
Sprinkle generously with Olive oil and throw in a couple small scoops of butter – then toss the onions.

Place over medium heat and stir occasionally – Do not scrape the bottom (also called deglazing) yet

After about 15-20 minutes – the onions shoudl have reduced significantly.
Now sprinkle some sugar to dust the onions
Again, stir occasionally for another 12-20 minutes

Onions should be getting the golden brown color to them and the bottom of the pan/skillet should be dark.
Add a little vinegar (optional) while stirring the onions. I would suggest this being only only enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
Scrape the bottom while stirring to remove the glazing
Add beef broth and continue to deglaze

Allow to boil for a 3-5 minutes.

In the meantime prepare your bowls, bread and cheese(s).

I do not own those super nifty french onion soup bowls- so i do it ghetto style.

Regular bowl – big scoop of soup – piece of bread -layer the cheese on top- then pour boiling broth over the cheese -
then cover with aluminum for 2-3 minutes.

Grab a  big spoon and tear it up- It is so good.

Side note – after caramelizing you can remove some onions- place in airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

ENJOY

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Yummy Pasta

OK! So the wife tells me she found a recipe

1 lb Pasta
8 Slices Bacon
1/2 Cup parsley leaves
1/2 Cup fresh Basil Leaves
5 Tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Chives
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Seasoning

1. Boil pasta, drain reserve 1/2 cup of the water
2. Microwave the bacon to a crisp- nhand crumble
3. While that is cooking – puree 1/2 C basil, 1/2 cup parsley, olive and lemon juice and 2 tablespoons chives – season
4. Add herb oil, parm and reserved 1/2 cup of pasta water and toss. Add bacon and season -
5. Toss one more time

OK to be honest – I did not like it, but the wife and Claire, my youngest, went crazy for it. I am not the biggest pasta person in the world. However, I will always try something new!

I brought Bacon to our Holiday Party, honestly I did!

To be fair- I am very interested in exploring vegan recipes. I actually believe my daughters will really enjoy the few I have read about. For now, back to bacon.

So the next question is – how do you cook your bacon?

When I was kid my dad would cook it in a skillet, i can almost hear the popping sound and even sometimes the smell would wake me up. What my did after he was done cooking could only be described today as cause for concern. He would remove the bacon, then crack a few eggs and cook them in the bacon fat. Now many of your know me today- 5′6″ 300 lbs- well I can dig up picks from middle and high school – I was pretty skinny(ish).

Later in life I moved to microwaving them- sometimes in those bacon cooking devices sometime jsut paper and zap for a 1 minute per slice. For some reason I cannot get it right- so I thought- why not ask the readers of the blog.

So readers and future comment makers – 3 part question:
How do you cook bacon?
What type of bacon do you like?
Favorite meal with bacon?

Answer these questions in a comment and you are eligible for a $25 Gift Certificate from restaurant.com. Only those who comment get a chance at winning. One comment per person.
However, if you want to improve your chances you have 2 more options. If you have a blog, write about this on your blog and add a link to your comment, or if you use twitter simply tweet the link about this article -again post the direct tweet link here as proof. So by simply sharing your love for bacon you could be this weeks winner of the $25 gift certificate from restaurant.com.

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Risotto from the microwave, really? YES!

Well, throw that out the window- I found a killer quick recipe that- wait till you get this- you make in the microwave. And it will only take about 20 minutes and requires virtually no stirring- only limitation is your imagination. So lets cook!

Creates 4 servings

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice

1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a 3 quart, microwave safe casserole dish combine butter, garlic and onion. Place dish in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes.
2. Place vegetable broth in a microwave safe dish. Heat on microwave until the broth is hot but not boiling (about 1:30 – 2 minutes).
3. Stir the rice and 2 mixtures into a casserole dish. Cover the dish tightly and cook on high for 6 minutes.
4. Stir wine into the rice. Cook on high for 10 minutes more. Most of the liquid will boil off. Stir the cheese into the rice and serve.

To mix it up you can always add frozen veggies – peas, carrots, whatever…

Yes, it is that easy and incredibly yummy. Let me know what you think!

Have you ever tried this or a similar recipe?

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