We Are A Cole Slaw Family

We are a cole slaw family for the most part. Ragan and I love it, Ronnie likes it and Lacy loves certain kinds, such as cole slaw with bleu cheese or cilantro added. There are a few foods that I cannot eat without having cole slaw on the side. Fried fish, soup beans, meatloaf and beef roast to name a few. Daddy makes the worlds best cole slaw, hands down. He shreds his cabbage with a box grater, adds carrots, mayo (he uses Dukes, this is where we part company, I am a Kraft girl), vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper. He never measures and it is the same Cole Slaw everytime. Crisp, creamy and just right.
One night while Lacy was home I had bought cole slaw at Golden Fried and her comment was "why didn't you get John (that is what she calls her granddaddy) to make us some slaw?"

That said.......... I was cruising the internet last night and being the Bobby Flay fan that I am I was excited to see this recipe. With Memorial Day picnics coming up I thought you just might want to try it. I know I will.


Bobby Flay’s Smoked Chile Cole Slaw

1/2 cup Hellmann's® (you know I will use Kraft Light)
2 Tbsp. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
1 medium head green cabbage, finely shredded
2 large carrots, finely shredded
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine Hellmanns® Real Mayonnaise, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, lime juice, honey and cumin in large bowl. Season, if desired, with salt and black pepper. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since I needed to be out of the kitchen quickly last night (American Idol, go Crystal) we did pizzas on the grill. Yummmmmmmmmm
I bought the small pizza crust so we could have a bit more variety. The one that I thought was best was of course the most simple.

Goat Cheese and Basil Pizzas

Per 6 inch Pizza Crust

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. dry oregano
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more)
pinch of Kosher salt
pinch of pepper

Stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
Brush on pizza crust.
Top with:

2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese (the green can stuff)
2 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese
goat cheese crumbles - I didn't measure but I would guess 4 Tbsp.
very thinly sliced sweet onions - to your taste
a few sliced mushrooms
10 basil leaves

Ours grilled for 10 minutes and they were perfect. We have a Holland grill that only cooks with indirect heat so yours may cook quicker. Oops, I almost forgot, Ronnie put a few very thin slices of tomato on his. With tomatoes coming in a few weeks from now this will be great.

Tonight is Wednesday so no supper here tonight.

So, until tomorrow..........
S~~~

Catching Up

So many things to blog about that I don't really know where to start.
I think I will just start with today's supper post and spend the next few days sharing the past couple of weeks.

Today Ronnie and I caught up on some errands, going to the WalMart, Lowes and the Ingles.
Bought a Brita pitcher at the WalMart, in an effort to cut back on the bottled water that I buy. Up until about 10 years ago I hated water. Drinking water was equivalent to taking horrible tasting medicine. Then I went to Weight Watchers. You absolutely cannot do Weight Watchers and not drink water. So, I learned to drink bottled water. We had city water at the time and while I am sure it was fine to drink, I preferred bottled water. Then we moved out of the city three years ago and I still kept my bottled water. Our well water is very good so I really should drink it. So, today we bought this Brita pitcher with a dispenser http://www.brita.com/us/products/water-dispensers/ultramax/

Supper tonight was a favorite of mine, Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. There used to be a Pizza Inn in Morganton that served a great Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. They closed a few years back so I had to get a bit creative and make my own. You can vary the toppings, using most anything you would like on your cheeseburger. Try it and let me know what you think.



BACON CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

1 - thin pizza crust (I like Boboli)

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup prepared mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 small sweet onion - chopped or sliced thin
6 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled

20-25 slices of hamburger dill pickles

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, chili powder and sugar. Mix well and let sit 10 minutes.
Brown ground beef and drain well. **I add 1/2 cup VERY COLD water to the ground beef before cooking. Stir well and cook until all water has evaporated and beef is nicely browned. This produces a very fine texture.** Add Worcestershire sauce, celery seed, salt and pepper.

Spread the mayonnaise and mustard sauce on pizza crust. Top with seasoned ground beef, sharp cheddar, onions, bacon, and pickles. ( Lay the pickles on paper towels and dry well before adding to pizza).

Bake at 450* 10 - 12 minutes.

___________________________________________________
Ronnie and I went to Philadelphia to visit Lacy and Bashar for a few days last week. It was perfect weather and we had a wonderful time. We had not seen them since the Christmas party so we were excited to make the road trip, even with two dogs in tow. The little doggies were so good for the long ride. They both have car seats that put them up even with the windows so they can see out and still be secured.
The only bad meal we had during the entire trip was at a McDonald's somewhere in Virginia. I am not a McDonald's fan but usually the food is consistent from location to location. Ronnie had the southern chicken sandwich and I had the fish fillet, they were both dripping with grease. I know, I know, this is fast food, but this was ridiculous. Even the fries, and McDonald's has the best fries as a rule, we soggy with grease. If we had not been in a hurry to get back on the road and eating in the car I would have complained. Trust me, it has to be really bad for someone not to meet my expectation for fast food.

After a thankfully uneventful trip we arrived in the Philadelphia borough of Phoenixville around 7:45 pm. After lots of hugs and kisses we got the dogs settled in and went to supper. We were tired and just wanted to visit with Lacy and Bashar so we decided to have pizza (is this a theme?) We went to a little local place called Valley Forge Pizza that had won best of Philadelphia for their pizza. Bashar and I shared a pineapple pizza while Lacy-Jay and Ronnie had feta cheese and mushrooms.

Stay tuned for vacation day # 2.

So, Until Tomorrow..............,
S~~~