I awoke early this morning and watched as the sun kissed the horizon and winked at the moon as it began to exit the sky.
It's days like this that I know that life happens when no one watches.
When I was a kid my mother use to say kids grew over night. When my kids were little I would measure them in the evening and morning and sure enough they would grew over night.
I awoke this morning to the sun and grew as a person.
Summer is the perfect time to throw a few dogs on the grill and enjoy time spending time with family or friends are on your patio enjoy a breezy summer evening.
One of my favorite recipes for grilled hot dogs I found on Cook and Beer blog. Hot Dogs with Chipotle Cheese Sauce and Bacon-Corn Relish is a delicious treat for your palette.
Abby
Hot Dogs with Chipotle Cheese Sauce and Bacon-Corn Relish
Hot Dogs with Chipotle Cheese Sauce and Bacon-Corn Relish
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 25 min
Total Time 35 min
Yield 8 hot dogs
Ingredients
Chipotle Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounces canned diced green chiles
6 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
2 tablespoons tabasco or other hot sauce
salt and black pepper
Bacon-Corn Relish
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and continue to cook until slightly thickened about 5-6 minutes. In 1/4 cup increments, add the cheddar cheese to the milk. Make sure each batch is completely melted before adding the next. Once the entire cup of cheese has been added and melted, stir in the green chiles, tomatoes, chipotle pepper and hot sauce. Season with salt and black pepper if necessary. Keep warm on the stove while you prepare your other ingredients
Bacon-Corn Relish
In a large non-stick skillet, add the bacon. Cook over medium heat, until almost crispy. Add the red onion, corn, and a dash of salt and black pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes or veggies are tender and the bacon is completely crisp. Stir in the cilantro and adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside until you are ready to assemble your hot dogs.
Hot Dogs
Preheat your grill or grill pan over medium high heat. Add your hot dogs and grill for about 8 minutes, turning them every 2 minutes or so. Once you have the perfect grill marks and the hot dogs are warmed through, remove from heat.
Assemble your hot dogs by placing a grilled hot dog on top of a lightly toasted hot dog bun. Top with a drizzle of chipotle cheese sauce and bacon-corn relish. Enjoy immediately!
I am in love! I am deeply in love with Cheesy Everything Dogs in a Blanket that I found on My Modern Cookery. These are the most delicious dogs EVER! I made 16 this weekend for the kids and I will the DH was out of town on a business trip. Abby
In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients until well distributed. Set aside.
For the Dogs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit.
Lay out puff pastry on a floured surface, roll out just slightly, about 1 inch on each side. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into eight strips. I like to start in the middle and then slice each half in four pieces.
slice your hot dogs in the middle, length-wise. Slicing down to the bottom but being careful not to slice in half on accident.
Take a pinch of shredded swiss and stuff into the sliced hot dogs. Take a strip of puff pastry and wrap around the hot dog and cheese. Only the tips of the dog should be exposed. Arrange wrapped dogs on a baking sheet covered in foil. Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle generously with everything spice (you may have some leftover).
Bake for 20 minutes or until dough is golden and cheese is melted. Serve warm.
I absolutely love pasta salads in the summer time. Not only are they cool and refreshing they are a great main dish or side dish. One of my favorite pasta salad is one that I found on a blog. Abby
Deliciously Creamy Peppercorn Ranch Pasta Salad. Perfect for summer cookouts, potlucks, and picnics. Leftovers great for days!
Ingredients
Ingredients:
1 lb bag of tri-colored rotini pasta, cooked
1 lb cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, thinly sliced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 broccoli flower, chopped into bite sized pieces
¼ cauliflower head, chopped into bite sized pieces
3 green onions, sliced
2 bottles of peppercorn ranch dressing
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except for the onions and one bottle of peppercorn ranch and refrigerate for a few hours before serving to allow the dressing to be absorbed. Before serving, add the onions and the last bottle of peppercorn ranch.
Use as much vegetables as you like. You can also use whatever vegetables you like. Maybe bell peppers or some olives.
Summer and slushes go together like summer and sunshine. Here is another favorite recipe for a delicious summer treat that I found at Celebrating Sweetness. Abby
This simple two ingredient recipe combines frozen watermelon and lemonade for a delicious, refreshing frozen beverage!
Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets
Recipe type: drink, fruit
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
4 cups cubed frozen watermelon
2 cups lemonade, plus more if needed
Ice, if needed
Instructions
Process frozen watermelon and lemonade in a blender until combined. Add ice if you'd like it thicker, or more lemonade if you'd like if thinner. Serve immediately.
Life is often
captured in moments of nostalgia that collide with memories.
When I was around
seven or eight my parents bought a station wagon. In my mind’s eye I can still
see that old burgundy station wagon with its “new car” smell as we all hopped
in to take our first ride to the local state park.
I am and my sibling
would vie for a seat on the rear-facing third row seat with lots of laughter.
Summer was always a special treat as my parents loaded the station wagon and we
headed off adventures.
I am not sure why
that old memory bubbled up. But I am glad it did.
I’ve always loved the
story of Little Red Riding hood. The
story calls to the part of me that wants a man come in and save me from the Big
Bad Wolf.
Though to be honest;
I am a good girl who really loves bad boys. And I must say in a battle of bad
boys the Big Bad Wolf get my vote every time.
I mean come on what’s
not to love about a gruff guy that needs and attitude adjustment with a “killer”
smile who willing to fight the good guy for your heart.
There is a weight
that sometimes burdens the shoulders of those who walk amongst the average every
people such as myself. I often hear the
words “stand and deliver” as I walk amongst those whom are climbing to the top
of the ladder.
It is no surprise to
me that the burden of being average is a heavy. I am often reminded that great
people do great things not because can but because an average person such as
myself moved out of the way and allowed them.
There are no rules on
being great. The are no rules on being average. The only rule is if you are in
the way move.
Some days I need cake.
Nothing special just a nice slice of delicious mouthwatering calorie saturated
cake.
I crave a giant slice
of cake slathering in butter cream icing or peanut butter.Nothing soothes the soul like a delicious slice
of cake with or without ice cream. With or without a fork.
Sometimes eating a
piece of cake straight out the pan while it’s cooling or off the rake where it
sits to be iced, is the only way to enjoy a nice slice of cake.
With or without milk?
With or with our icing. Cake is the mana from the goddess you need to lift your
spirts and sooth your sweet tooth.
A Hummingbird Cake first appeared in the February 1978 issues of Southern Living, and it’s their most requested recipe to date. Hummingbird Cakes are full of so many wonderful flavors. They’re almost a combination of summer and fall, or at least that’s how I see it.
Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, bananas, and 1 cup chopped toasted pecans. Spoon batter into 3 well-greased (with shortening) and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes our clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).
Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1 cup Cream Cheese Frosting over cake layer. Top with second layer, and spread 1 cup frosting over cake layer. Top with third cake layer, and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Arrange toasted pecan halves in a circular pattern over top of cake.
Finding Wilder is my
Summer 2016 summer story that is posted every Tuesday.At the end of each month all the episodes
will be posted together to create a short story.
While applying make
up this morning, I was reminded of an old Negro spirit that was song at the local
Baptist Church during revival. I could
hear the words whispering in the air as I looked at nearly fifty-year-old face…”
don’t got over at last”, the words and their memory made me smile.
The humid southern
nights of my youth for the month of August were spent at the local Baptist
Church. There, young children would find their way to the mourning bench. Those
on the mourning bench would spend the month seeking God then take the pastors
hand acknowledging their acceptance of Jesus as their savior.
I thought of this as
I looked at my aging face remembering the days of my youth as the sun began to
spill into the French doors of my bedroom.The words of the song reminded me that I was once a child growing up in
the rural South in home with lots of sibling and a mom and dad who loved me.
The humid nights of
summer that I spent every August were happy times and although they are in my
recent past I haven’t forgot them and every now and then happy memories creep
up and remind me that the women in the mirror was once a kid.
