It is getting colder....

You need to make soup and crackers. 

Crock Pot Potato soup--- the Cheaters way....

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen country style  hash browns
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 box chicken stock
 1/2 cup dried onion (or cut some fresh ones if you like)
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese
Salt and pepper
                   
Directions:
Put the potatoes, stock, soup, and onion in a crockpot.  Salt and pepper to taste (I always use fresh ground pepper and sea salt).

 Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Go do something else (like make the crackers below)

 Set out the cream cheese to soften and add it 30 minutes before serving.  Stir it in well and let cook the last 30 minutes.  Check salt and pepper levels and adjust. 
Curl up with a blanket in front of the fireplace and enjoy with the Dilly Ranch Crackers below.







 Dilly Ranch Crackers











Ingredients:
1 pkg. oyster crackers
3 T. Ranch dressing powder (or use a 1 oz. package of Ranch Dressing Mix)
1 (scant) teaspoon dill weed (or to taste.  This is a pretty strong dill flavor.)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 c. canola oil (or use vegetable oil--  I like the flavor of the canola)
Salt if you want it.  I did not.




Preheat oven to 275 degrees. 
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry Ranch, dill weed, garlic powder, salt if you want it, and oil.  Mix well.  Toss  crackers in and coat well.  Spread onto cookie sheet in one layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  Cool.  Store in Zip lock baggie when completely cool.

"Play with your food, Wednesday!"

OK.  We have been playing with the rice krispies......  Bob's creation:

Mine:

Here is how it happened:

I cannot give you exact measurements, because I just guessed.  I buttered a round cake pan (I used one that the bottom comes out of, so it was easier to remove the RK treats when they were set, but a regular pan will work if you butter it really well. 

Start with yellow.  (Ok.  I started with orange---- don't ask me why---????---  anyway, that is why Bob had a blob of orange to play with.  I already had a nice orange ring around the outside of the pan before she said, "Mom, yellow goes on the bottom."  oops.)

Anyway, don't do that.  Melt a small blob of butter with some miniature marshmallows.  Add yellow food coloring to the desired shade, then mix in some rice krispies.  Make a ring around the outside of the pan, patting it in really well.  If you wet your hands, the marshmallow stuff won't stick to you.

Next do the orange.  You need a bigger amount of orange, but don't double the amount as I thought I should.  You need it about twice as wide as the yellow, but you are working in a smaller area, duh.  (Oh well, that gave Bob more for her creation.)  Press that into a ring pushing it hard against the yellow so they will bond.  Leave a hole in the center for the white.

Make just a really small amount of white--- (We are talking  a half teaspoon of butter and 1/4 cup marshmallows here)   unless you want to share some with whoever is helping you lick the pan, or just a bunch for yourself.   Smash the white into the center hole.  Pat really well.

Let set for an hour or so.  Dump out of the pan and cut into wedges.  I cut mine straight across in half, fourths, and finally eight.

Wrap in celophane and tie with a ribbon.  Send to Christopher.  No, seriously, if you make these, send one to Christopher.  He cannot get enough candy corns!!!!!  (I love you, Christopher!  Watch for some in the mail next week.)

Redneck Bacon Turtle Burgers

This is for you Dennis.......

I saw this somewhere (probably Pinterest) and thought of you.  So here is supper:

Start by making a hamburger patty.  (Mine of course has chopped onion, Alpine Touch, and sea salt mixed into the hamburger)   Top with a slice of cheese (this will hold the shell on)

Cut 2 hot dogs in half.  Shove into the 4 corners of the patty.  (Yeah yeah, I know the patty is round.... there are no corners.... Punt.)   Cut another hotdog into 3rds.  This will make 2 heads and 2 tails.  Shove head into place, Cut center section of this hotdog on a 45 degree angle to make the tail and shove it... yeah.  there.

Make a shell of woven bacon... wrap tightly around the turtle with the ends under his belly.  OK.  Now here I must say that I laid the bacon out basketweave style on my cutting board and put the turtle cheese side down onto it, then wrapped the bacon tightly around.  When I turned him over, I had to shape him a little because his back was flat, but that is not hard.  It was easier than trying to do it right side up.

Cut slits in his feet.  You can get all artistic and carve him a face with eyes and a mouth slit, but I think the end of the hotdog looks good enough for me....

 The instructions say to now place them gently onto the grill and cover with an aluminum foil dome.  Only turn them once while grilling.  However, if it is winter out like it is here today, and you are not interested in cooking outside, you can place them on a pan, covered loosely with a foil dome  (The instructions say to put them directly on the oven rack, but I DON'T THINK SO!  Not in my oven.  Bake them for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees.


OK here they are all cooked up. (sorry about the graphic gutted turtle picture)  Their feet split really cute.  A carved face might have turned out cool.   I  do think if you like crispy bacon, you should take the foil off the last 10 minutes.  I hate bacon, so I took the BACON off mine.   It was really too much for me to eat a whole one even without the bacon, but you men might be fine with it.

Well, it was an experiment......  I think hamburger patties and (ick) hot dogs on the barbecue would be fine without all the work to make it look like a turtle, but this would be fun if you have kids. (or adults who act like kids like we have)