Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon is creamy, thick, and absolutely DELICIOUS! Satisfy even the pickiest of eaters with a bowl of this soup on a cold day!Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon is creamy, thick, and absolutely DELICIOUS! Satisfy even the pickiest of eaters with a bowl of this soup on a cold day!

Well, let’s just start this post by saying that those two butternut squash I bought at the Farmer’s Market never knew what hit ’em. The Butternut Squash Soup With Bacon I made with them was truly outstanding! I knew I wanted to try making butternut squash soup, and found a recipe from Food & Wine that called for using pancetta, but I went for something we always seems to have around the house… BACON.

So, let me first start by telling you I have NEVER, EVER cooked butternut squash before, in the 37 years I have been married. Now that I got that off my chest, let me tell you something… this will not be the last time, either! This soup was amazing… my husband and I even had leftovers for lunch today, and it’s still tastes just as good as it did a couple of nights ago when I first made it.

The butternut squash soup is filling, incredibly delicious (especially with the bacon crumbles on top!), and the soup itself is thick and creamy. Seriously orange colored (ha ha) and seriously GOOD.  I hope you will give this soup a try… I think you’re gonna love it!

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Prepare The Butternut Squash

Behold… the humble butternut squash… not too lovely in appearance, but boy, oh boy…it sure makes a GREAT tasting soup!

Butternut squash before baking them, to make soup.

Split the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, add butter and salt/pepper, and into the oven they go to bake until tender

Butternut squash are halved, seeded, and butter, salt and pepper added before baking.

Here are the squash right out of the oven… that melted butter will also go into the soup. Yes, please!

Buttermilk squash are baked, and ready to use for soup!

Preparing The Butternut Squash Soup

Cook chopped onion in a bit of bacon grease in a heavy bottomed pan, then add thyme sprigs and a bay leaf. Building flavor into butternut squash soup is a GOOD thing!

Onion, thyme, and bay leaf are cooked to season butternut squash soup.

Scoop the cooked squash out of the peel and and add it to a large stockpot or Dutch oven. 

Baked butternut squash is scooped out of skin and added to soup pot.

Now you will add chicken stock to the pan. Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook the butternut squash soup for 15 additional minutes.

Chicken stock is added to butternut squash soup in pot.

Time To Purée The Soup

Okay… now it’s time to blend the soup to make it nice, thick and creamy!  NOTE: My Mom gave me an immersion blender. You can use one of those OR blend the soup in batches (in blender or a food processor), till smooth and creamy. Don’t forget to remove the thyme and bay leaves before blending!

Butternut squash soup is blended with an immersion blender.

The butternut squash soup is all blended together. Stir in the whipping cream to the creamy soup. See how thick and smooth it is? Now it’s time to ladle it up into serving bowls.

Thick and creamy butternut squash soup.

Time To Serve The Butternut Squash Soup With Bacon

To serve, place bacon crumbles on top of each portion of soup. Drizzle with whipping cream, a bit of olive oil, and some extra thyme leaves (if desired). Grab a spoon, butter some warm bread, and enjoy this butternut squash soup with bacon! It is lip-smackin’ good!

Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon is served, with bread on the side!

I really hope you will try this delicious soup, and as always, my hope is you enjoy sharing this delicious meal with those you love!

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have LOTS of yummy soup recipes you’re gonna enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
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Author's signatureRecipe Adapted From: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/butternut-squash-soup-with-crisp-pancetta

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Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon
Prep Time
1 hr 10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
1 hr 25 mins
 

Creamy, thick, and delicious, this butternut squash soup with bacon will satisfy even the pickiest of taste buds on a cold day!

Category: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: butternut squash soup
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 269 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 2 medium butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
  • 3 Tablespoons butter , cut into 4 slices
  • Salt and Pepper (to season)
  • 4 slices bacon , cooked crisp, then crumbled (Reserve bacon drippings in pan)
  • 2 Tablespoons bacon drippings
  • 1/2 large brown onion , chopped finely
  • 6 fresh thyme sprigs , divided
  • 1 bay leaf (found in spice section, or Mexican food section in bags)
  • 5-6 cups chicken stock (or low-sodium broth)
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream , divided
  • olive oil (for drizzling as garnish), optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully slice squash in half, lengthwise; scoop out the seeds. Put 4 squash halves cut side up, on a large cookie sheet (with edges). Put one slice of butter into each hole (where the seeds were). Season with salt and pepper. Roast butternut squash for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees (or until tender). When tender, remove from oven. Let squash cool until it is cool enough to scoop all the squash out of the skins into a large bowl.

  2. Cook bacon in a medium skillet until very crisp. Remove bacon from pan; drain off bacon grease with the exception of 2 Tablespoons (and any little brown bits remaining in the skillet), which you leave in the skillet. Crumble bacon pieces, and set aside for garnishing soup before serving.

  3. Add chopped onion to bacon grease in skillet; cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Transfer onions and any remaining bacon grease from the skillet into a large, heavy stockpot. Stir in cooked squash, chicken stock (add 5 cups of chicken stock at first), 3 thyme sprigs (whole), and the bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; stir frequently. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  4. After 15 minutes, remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Discard. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until thick and creamy. If not using immersion blender, transfer soup in batches to a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth (about a minute per batch), then return soup to stockpot. If you want soup to be thinner, add an additional cup of chicken stock and stir to combine. Stir 1 Tablespoon whipping cream into soup; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  5. Reheat soup, if necessary. Ladle soup into serving bowls. To serve, place some of the crumbled bacon onto the top middle of the soup. Drizzle a tiny bit of whipping cream onto top, then drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Garnish with thyme leaves. Serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

The prep time includes the time for roasting the squash. Cook the bacon, onions, etc. while squash is in oven to reduce overall time.

Nutrition Facts
Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 269 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 578mg25%
Potassium 853mg24%
Carbohydrates 28g9%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 20155IU403%
Vitamin C 41.4mg50%
Calcium 103mg10%
Iron 1.8mg10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon is creamy, thick, and absolutely DELICIOUS! Satisfy even the pickiest of eaters with a bowl of this soup on a cold day!

 

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Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon

Teriyaki Salmon is marinated in a ginger, garlic, honey & brown sugar sauce, then baked for 15-30 minutes in this easy, delicious seafood dinner!Salmon is marinated in a teriyaki, ginger, garlic, honey & brown sugar sauce, then baked for 15-30 minutes in this easy to prepare delicious seafood dinner!
Do you enjoy salmon? My husband and I certainly do… and we really enjoyed our dinner a few night’s ago when I made Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon. I found the recipe on Pinterest,  while searching out salmon recipes. I’ve been preparing Pan-Seared Creole Salmon for years and we absolutely LOVE it, but wanted to bust out of my “rut” and try a NEW recipe. Shocking, right?

Anyways, I found this recipe from Monique at Ambitious Kitchen, and gave it a try… I heartily recommend it! The flavor of the salmon was delicious! I served it with a side of garlic quinoa, and my recipe for Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry, and I gotta be honest, this was an awesome meal. I will definitely be making this dish again!

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Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon Is EASY To Prepare!

The teriyaki salmon is so easy to prepare. Salmon is marinated in a wonderful ginger teriyaki sauce, then baked (to perfection), garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds and served. I made the sauce early in the day and let the salmon marinade in it all day. In the evening, all I had to do was bake the salmon, sprinkle a garnish on it, and serve it!

Sure hope you will give this a try! I think you’re gonna enjoy some amazing tasting salmon! Here’s how it is prepared: The sauce is really easy (and quick) to make.

Preparing the marinade for the salmon.

Pouring that sweet ginger teriyaki sauce over the piece of salmon… see how easy the prep is so far???

Teriyaki marinade is poured over the salmon to cover.

Salmon has marinated… and now it’s ready to bake!

Now the marinated salmon is ready to bake in the oven.

Time To Bake The Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon!

The teriyaki salmon is baked for 15-20 minutes, and then it is removed from oven. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves, then serve. This fish tastes delicious!  See how easy that was?

Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon is served with veggies and quinoa on the side.

I truly hope you enjoy this seafood dish. It truly IS easy to prepare, and is incredibly tasty! If you enjoy seafood, be sure to check out some of my other salmon recipes such as Salmon in a Lemon-Butter Herb Sauce, Orange and Rosemary Glazed Salmon, Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon, or Garlic and Herb Baked Salmon (to name a few).

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you will come back again soon. Be sure to check out ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. Have a wonderful day.

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
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Author's signatureRecipe Adapted From: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2012/07/sesame-ginger-sweet-teriyaki-salmon-with-garlic-quinoa-stir-fry/

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Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
18 mins
Marinating Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 28 mins
 

Teriyaki Salmon is marinated in a ginger, garlic, honey & brown sugar sauce, then baked for 15-30 minutes in this easy, delicious seafood dinner!

Category: Entree
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: teriyaki salmon
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 347 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For The Marinade:
  • 1 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 pound boneless , skinless salmon (or 4 salmon "steaks")
For Garnish:
  • 1 Tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, mix together the teriyaki sauce, grated ginger, garlic cloves, brown sugar, honey and olive oil, until sugar has dissolved and ingredients are well combined.
  2. Put the piece (or pieces) of salmon in a covered container or a large Ziploc bag. Add the marinade to the container, and coat the salmon on both sides. Refrigerate the salmon for at least 1 hour (I marinated mine all day). Turn the salmon over several times during refrigeration (if using a container).
  3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Remove the salmon from the marinade and place into cooking pan. (If you are using salmon with the skin ON, then place in baking pan, skin side down.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Times will vary, due to different thicknesses of salmon. When done, the salmon should flake easily. (Our salmon took 20 minutes to reach that point) Serve, with a side of rice or quinoa, and a great veggie. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon
Amount Per Serving (1 fillet)
Calories 347 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 825mg36%
Potassium 493mg14%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Sugar 19g21%
Protein 25g50%
Vitamin A 100IU2%
Vitamin C 2.6mg3%
Calcium 43mg4%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Teriyaki Salmon is marinated in a ginger, garlic, honey & brown sugar sauce, then baked for 15-30 minutes in this easy, delicious seafood dinner!

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Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry

This Asian-inspired sugar snap pea stir fry, with mushrooms and colorful bell peppers cooked in teriyaki sauce, is a simple and delicious veggie side dish!This Asian-inspired sugar snap pea stir fry, with mushrooms and colorful bell peppers cooked in teriyaki sauce, is a simple and delicious veggie side dish!
Every year, I love to grow sugar snap peas in our backyard raised bed garden. We typically have a bumper crop, and freeze bags of them at their peak. If interested in learning about this type of pea, you can read more information here. I

t made perfect sense to me to come up with a good stir fry recipe to use these wonderful veggies. So here it is- my recipe for a delicious “Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry”.

Try not to be too dazzled by the “oh so creative” name I gave this recipe (ha ha)! It’s the best I could come up with, so don’t judge.  All that said, if you are looking for a tasty way to make a sugar snap pea stir fry, look no further!

I believe you will enjoy the taste of stir fried sugar snap peas, cooked with red and orange peppers, mushrooms, garlic, teriyaki sauce, and topped with toasted almonds! The Asian inspired flavors will delight your taste buds!

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Frozen Or Fresh?

You can use either fresh or frozen sugar snap peas, because either type will work great in this recipe with very little difference in taste. I used some I had in the freezer from our little garden this past summer. 

Here is what a couple of sugar snap peas looked like growing in my garden this past summer. Isn’t it a gorgeous, cool-looking vegetable?

Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry / The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ready To Cook?

Sugar snap peas and peppers are cooked in the skillet first. The veggies are then pushed over to one side of the skillet, and mushrooms are added to the skillet.

Stir fry them for a couple minutes. Once cooked, they are combined with the other veggies in the sugar snap pea stir fry.

Sugar snap pea stir fry with mushrooms and bell peppers cooking in skillet.

Add minced garlic to the sugar snap pea stir fry. After that, grated fresh ginger and a bit of teriyaki sauce are added to the skillet.

Garlic is added to sugar snap pea stir fry for added flavor.

Lightly toast sliced raw almonds in a “dry” skillet, to add as a garnish to the dish at serving time.

Almonds are lightly toasted in skillet, to add as topping for sugar snap pea stir fry.

Time To Eat The Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry!

Here is the finished sugar snap pea stir fry dish on a serving platter. Garnish the dish with the lightly toasted almond slices for added crunch!

This delicious sugar snap pea stir fry  is ready to eat, and enjoy! Grab a fork, and dig in!

Sugar snap pea stir fry, served on a white platter, is ready to enjoy!

I served this sugar snap pea stir fry with Sweet Ginger Teriyaki Salmon and it was a big hit! The teriyaki sauce the sugar snap peas are cooked in, paired extremely well with the sauce on the salmon.

Sure hope you will consider trying this recipe. It’s a great way to get some tasty veggies into your meals! If you enjoy sugar snap peas, be sure to check out my recipe for Parmesan Crumb Sugar Snap Peas, as well.

Thanks for stopping by, and I invite you to come back again son for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a great day!

You Might Also Enjoy These Veggie Side Dish Recipes

These recipes, listed above, and many other vegetable side dishes can be found in the Recipe Index at the top of the page.  Enjoy!

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

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The Grateful Girl Cooks!
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Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
20 mins
 
This Asian-inspired sugar snap pea stir fry, with mushrooms and colorful bell peppers cooked in teriyaki sauce, is a simple and delicious veggie side dish!
Category: Side Dish, Vegetable Dish
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: sugar snap pea stir fry
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 168 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For Stir Fry:
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups sugar snap peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/2 cup red bell peppers , sliced
  • 1/2 cup orange bell peppers , sliced
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (I used a microplane, to grate the ginger very finely)
  • 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
  • salt , to taste
For Garnish:
  • 1/4 cup sliced raw almonds , dry roasted (see notes section on "how to dry roast")
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil on medium-high in a non-stick skillet.
  2. When oil is hot, add the sugar snap peas and the red/orange peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Push veggies over to one side of skillet; add the mushrooms.
  3. Cook mushrooms for 2-3 minutes, then combine veggies. Add the garlic and the grated ginger; cook for additional minute.
  4. Stir in the teriyaki sauce, and cook until all ingredients are heated through.
  5. Place veggies onto serving dish. Garnish with toasted almond slices.
  6. Serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes

How to dry roast almond slices: Heat a skillet (with no oil or butter) on medium-low. Add the sliced almond slices to the skillet. Heat 2-3 minutes until they begin to turn light brown. Keep the almonds stirred while they cook, so they won't burn. The End.

Nutrition Facts
Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 168 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 704mg31%
Potassium 356mg10%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 1700IU34%
Vitamin C 77.7mg94%
Calcium 49mg5%
Iron 1.9mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!This Asian-inspired sugar snap pea stir fry, with mushrooms and colorful bell peppers cooked in teriyaki sauce, is a simple and delicious veggie side dish!

 

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Lemon Bars

You will LOVE these classic Lemon Bars! Sweet and tangy lemon filling on a buttery crust, they are a perfect treat to serve for dessert, or any special occasion!
You will LOVE these classic Lemon Bars! Sweet and tangy lemon filling on a buttery crust, they are a perfect treat to serve for dessert, or any special occasion!

When life hands you lemons, or in this case, when a sweet friend MAILS you lemons… make LEMON BARS for dessert! I have made them so many times over the years, and they are always a favorite!

These luscious lemon bars are a sweet, tart, and amazingly awesome dessert treat! We absolutely LOVE them, and I’m confident you will too. Here’s how to make them.

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

A Gift Of LEMONS!

A couple of months ago I mailed my life-long friend, Lenita, a box containing several jars of my homemade jams and jellies, as a gift. I had no idea that she would surprise me with a box of 6 of her prized Meyer lemons, picked from her very own tree in Southern California!

She mailed this box to me so it arrived just before Christmas.They were the most gorgeous lemons I have ever seen! Our son thought they were plastic, because they were so absolutely perfect!

This was for sure a Christmas MIRACLE! She also sent me the cool Homemade Jam Christmas ornament seen in the photo below.

I hung THAT on our tree and did not cook it in this recipe- (heh heh). Here’s my gift box… SEE-aren’t those lemons gorgeous?

Lemons in box for baking into some delicious lemon bars!

I Used The Lemons To Make LEMON BARS!

I was giddy with excitement (who DOESN’T like to receive wonderful surprises in the mail?)! My next task was to come up with different ways to use these beauties, so they would not go to waste.

This recipe for lemon bars is one of the ways I used a portion of those lemons. For this particular recipe you will use the entire lemon, except for the seeds (duh!). 

The lemon bars are absolutely fantastic! Here’s some pics I took while making this scrumptious dessert:

Making The Bottom Crust For The Lemon Bars

Before making the crust, preheat your oven to 350°F. This crust doesn’t take long to make, so to save time, you will want the oven preheated and ready to go!

Place the ingredients for the bottom crust layer in a food processor, and then process the ingredients until they are combined into a crumbly dough mixture.

Mixing dough for lemon bar crust in food processor

Form The Bottom Crust

Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil, leaving some to overhang on all 4 sides. You will be able to easily lift the entire pan of finished lemon bars out of the baking dish before serving.

Line 8x8 pan with aluminum foil for lemon bar filling

Now it’s time to form the bottom crust layer. Transfer the crumbly dough from the food processor into the foil wrapped 8×8 pan.

Bar cookie crust is added to foil-lined baking dish

Spread the dough firmly with your fingers until the crumbly dough has been compacted solidly together to form a bottom crust. Now it’s time to bake the crust!

Bake The Crust

Bake the crust in a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes. When done, remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack.

NOTE: After you bake the crust and remove the pan from the oven, reduce the oven heat to 300°F. This lower temperature is what you will need to bake the lemon bars.

Dough is pressed into bottom of dish to form base for lemon bars

Making The Filling for The Lemon Bars

While the bottom layer bakes, make the lemon filling for the lemon bars. Remove the lemon seeds, then place the cut up lemons in the food processor with granulated sugar.

Process the lemon and granulated sugar on high speed. The food processor does a great job of completely pulverizing the granulated sugar AND the entire lemon.

YES… you heard that right, friends! Use the WHOLE lemon (including the peel), because this provides maximum flavor for the lemon bars!

Once done with processing, be sure to check for any stray seeds that might have been stowaways and snuck into the mixture, and remove them.

Lemons and sugar in food processor to make filling

Finish Making The Lemon Filling

Add lemon juice, eggs, melted butter (cooled) and cornstarch to the lemon filling in the food processor. Pulse all these ingredients until the lemon filling becomes very smooth in texture.

Carefully pour the lemon filling over the hot, baked crust. Now the lemon bars are ready to be baked.

Lemon juice and eggs blended in food processor

Bake The Lemon Bars

 Bake the lemon bars at 300°F. for 25-30 minutes, or until the center is “set” and no longer “jiggly”. Once done, transfer the baking dish to a wire rack to cool.

Let the lemon bars cool completely to room temperature while still in the baking dish. 

Lemon filling is poured onto crust in baking dish and baked

Refrigerate Lemon Bars Before Serving

Place the baking dish in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours (or more) to allow the lemon bars to become firm before serving. Once refrigerated, remove the dish from the refrigerator.

Carefully lift the entire batch of lemon bars up and out of the baking dish using the aluminum foil overhanging the edges.

Peel back the foil and slice the lemon bars into 16 two inch squares. Okay…there’s only one final itty bitty step before serving these yummy bars.

Baked lemon bars, cut into slices to serve

Serve The Lemon Bars

Lightly sift some powdered sugar over the top of the lemon bars, immediately before they are served. Transfer the bars to a pretty platter, serve, and enjoy these mouth-watering dessert treats.

Powdered sugar sifted onto lemon bars

And just like that, these gorgeous lemon bars are ready to eat! Make sure any leftovers are kept refrigerated in a covered container, if you don’t eat them all in one sitting!

Close up of lemon bars on white plate

C’mon… you KNOW you want one of these lemon bars, right?  Go ahead… reach out and grab yourself one really delicious lemon bar. I don’t mind sharing! ENJOY!

Close up photo of lemon bars on a white plate.

Hope you will try these fabulous treats, and hope you will enjoy them as much as we do! They are amazing, and once you try them, you’ll want them again and again.

Thank you for stopping by today. I invite you to come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a GREAT day!

Looking For More BAR COOKIE Recipes?

You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have a nice variety of yummy bar cookie recipes. All are delicious, and will pretty much satisfy your sweet tooth craving, including:

Chocolate Chip Swirl Bars
Sprinkle Bars
Blackberry Pie Bars
Strawberry-Rhubarb Dream Bars
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars 

Want More Recipes? Get My FREE Newsletter!

I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with lots of recipes, tips, etc..
Would you like to join our growing list of subscribers?

There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use.
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The Grateful Girl Cooks!
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Author's signatureRecipe Source: http://www.fridaycakenight.com/2014/12/whole-meyer-lemon-bars/

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0 from 0 votes
Lemon Bars
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
You will LOVE these classic Lemon Bars! Sweet and tangy lemon filling on a buttery base, they are a perfect treat to serve for dessert, or any special occasion!
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Bar cookies, lemon bars
Servings: 16 servings
Calories Per Serving: 174 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For The Crust:
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter , melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For The Filling:
  • 1 Meyer lemon (seeds removed) A regular lemon may be substituted.
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled- I used fresh)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 Tablespoons butter , melted (then cooled to room temp.)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover an 8x8 baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving extra hanging over the edges on each side (this foil and foil overhang will help you to easily remove the entire pan of lemon bars at one time, after baking)
  2. Place the crust ingredients into a food processor or the base of a stand mixer. Process the ingredients until well combined and crumbly dough is formed. Put the dough into the foil-lined baking pan and press down on crust until dough is compacted into a solid crust.
  3. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
  4. While the crust is baking, make the lemon filling. Place the seeded lemon (yep... the WHOLE thing!) and sugar into a food processor. Process the lemon and sugar on high speed until the lemon is completely "pulverized". Check the mixture for any remaining seeds that might have secretly snuck into the food processor. Remove them, if you find any. They are sneaky!
  5. Add the lemon juice, eggs, cornstarch, and the melted butter to the lemon/sugar mixture. Pulse until mixture is smooth.
  6. Once crust is done baking and is removed from oven, LOWER THE OVEN TEMP. to 300 degrees. Pour the lemon filling over the baked crust; continue baking for 25-30 minutes, or until center is set, and is no longer "jiggly" (mine took 28 minutes).

  7. Remove pan to wire rack. Let cool to room temp, then place entire pan into refrigerator. Let bars refrigerate for 3-4 hours (the longer the better!) before you serve them. After the bars have chilled, lift the entire batch out of the pan at one time, by lifting them out via the aluminum foil that is hanging over the edges.

  8. Cut the bars into sixteen 2" squares, then sift powdered sugar over the tops. Serve and enjoy. Keep remaining bars stored in refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts
Lemon Bars
Amount Per Serving (1 bar)
Calories 174 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 51mg17%
Sodium 81mg4%
Potassium 22mg1%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 285IU6%
Vitamin C 1.1mg1%
Calcium 8mg1%
Iron 0.5mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You will LOVE these classic Lemon Bars! Sweet and tangy lemon filling on a buttery base, they are a perfect treat to serve for dessert, or any special occasion!

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Pork Tamales

Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a “made from scratch” California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a "made from scratch" California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!
So… this year for Christmas Eve, I came up with a plan to try making pork tamales. I didn’t have a backup plan in case I failed miserably, but that didn’t stop me from taking the plunge into the big, daunting world of “homemade pork tamales”.

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Whose Crazy Idea Was This Anyways?

Why I had the hair-brained idea of breaking from our Christmas Eve traditional Italian meal and attempting to make tamales for the FIRST TIME is anybody’s guess. Oh well. I am happy to report that we DID NOT have to eat at a fast food place on Christmas Eve. These tamales turned out to be incredible (what a relief!).

I was definitely out of my “comfort zone” in the kitchen, but one thing I am constantly learning (thanks to my friend Shari, who inspires me always!), is to become more “fearless”. This has taught me to experiment more with new recipes and foods. This is one “experiment” I am thrilled to have tried.

I found a recipe for shredded pork tamales on Pinterest, and thought it sounded good. The author of the recipe said she was given this “authentic” recipe by a woman she met at an international market in the Mexican foods aisle (how bad can that be, right?). The recipe sounded good to me, so I decided to give making tamales a try. I actually cooked the pork roast in my crock pot and made the chile sauce the day before I made the tamales, so a large part of the prep was done ahead of time.

Making Pork Tamales Was A Fun Challenge For Me

The recipe is fairly easy to follow. Truthfully I think the hardest part was trying to tie the tamales up at the end before steaming them. Since I have mastered the art of tying my shoelaces, I found it amazing that it was “harder than I thought it was” to wrangle those tamales!  I persevered, fought the good fight with strands of corn husks and finally managed to get those beautiful tamales tied up. Yippee, and Olé!!! (Note: you don’t have to tie them, if you don’t want… I just think it holds them together much better while they are cooking!)

I hope you will give these a try. They are truly, wonderfully delicious. The recipe makes 16-18 tamales. We ate some, had more for leftovers, and froze some for another meal. I DEFINITELY recommend this recipe, and will be making these again. Here’s a few pictures from the process:

Some Photos Of the “Process”

First thing I had to do was purchase corn husks and masa at the local grocery store in the Mexican food section. Easy peasy!

Corn husks and masa for pork tamales

I cooked the pork roast, onion, garlic & spices in a slow-cooker for 6 hours the day before I made the tamales. Here it is right at the beginning of the cook time.

Pork roast is cooked with onions and garlic

Once the pork is fully cooked, it must be shredded. Here is some of the fully cooked, seasoned, shredded pork ready to put into tamales.

Shredded pork ready for filling tamales

Making The Chile Sauce

The chile sauce is made using dried California chile pods. This was kind of cool. This mixture turned a dark color once it was done cooking.

Cooking California chile pods to make sauce for tamales

After the chile sauce has been cooked, cooled, and strained, it is added to shredded pork. Sour cream is then added to the leftover sauce, turning it into a light brown color.This will be used to spoon over the finished tamales once they have been removed from their husks. (Sorry for the photo quality…)

Sour cream has been added to chile sauce for tamales

Getting Ready To Cook The Pork Tamales

Pork tamales are filled, the bottoms folded up and under, and the husks are secured with a long pliable strand of corn husk. I think they look cute! The one in the middle escaped and had to be re-tied.

Stuffed Pork tamales are filled and tied before cooking

The tops of the tamales remain open, and the  tamales are then placed standing upright into a steamer basket in a large stockpot, and are steamed for 1 hour.

Pork tamales are steamed for one hour

Time To Eat Pork Tamales!

When the tamales are done cooking, you remove the husks, place them on serving plates and spoon some of the chile sauce over the tops. Muy delicioso!!!!!

Shredded pork tamales are served with chile sauce on top

I’m not kidding you when I say these shredded pork tamales were absolutely delicious!  I felt very accomplished to have made these for the first time, and plan to make many more.  I was even able to tightly wrap some of them and freeze them for another day (and they were still good!).

It is a bit of a process to make these pork tamales, but honestly, it was worth every single minute! We LOVED them! I hope you will consider trying this recipe.

Looking For More Mexican-Inspired Recipes?

You can find all my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few Mexican-inspired recipes for you to enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Have a great day!

Author's signatureRecipe Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Homemade-Tamales/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=real%20homemade%20tamales&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

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0 from 0 votes
Pork Tamales
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
7 hrs
Total Time
8 hrs
 
Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a "made from scratch" California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!
Category: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: pork tamales
Servings: 16 tamales
Calories Per Serving: 194 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For Tamale Filling:
  • 1 1/4 pounds pork loin or pork roast
  • 1 large brown onion , chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
For Chile Sauce:
  • 4 dried California chile pods (found in Mexican food aisle in most grocery stores)
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
For Tamale Dough:
  • 2 cups masa harina
  • 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup lard or shortening (I used vegetable shortening)
  • 1 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
  • 3/4 cup sour cream (add this to extra chili sauce and drizzle over tamales once removed from husk)
Instructions
  1. Place the pork into a Dutch oven or into a crock pot with the onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder and water. IF USING DUTCH OVEN, make sure pork is covered with water. bring water to a boil, reduce heat and cook pork on simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is cooked all the way through. IF USING CROCK POT, add about 1 1/2 cups water and cook for 6 hours on high. When meat is done, remove to plate and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. While meat is cooling, make the sauce: Wearing rubber gloves, remove seeds and stems from dried chile pods (trust me, you want to wear gloves). Put the de-seeded chile pods into a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer the chiles for 20 minutes, uncovered. Remove pan from heat; let cool. Place the chiles and cooking water into a blender or food processor and blend until it becomes smooth. Run the sauce through a strainer to remove any leftover chile pods. Stir the salt into the sauce, then set the sauce aside (If making the sauce ahead of serving, refrigerate it overnight, then bring to room temp before serving!).
  3. Using 2 forks, shred the cooked pork into a bowl. Add 1 cup of the chile sauce to the meat. Mix.
  4. Soak the corn husks in a large tub or pan of HOT water. Let them soak for at least 15-20 minutes, so they become pliable. While they are soaking, make up the Tamale dough:
  5. In a large bowl, or the base of a stand mixer, mix the shortening (or lard) with 1 Tablespoon of the beef broth. Mix this until it becomes fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the masa harina, salt and baking powder. Stir these dry ingredients into the shortening. Add a more beef broth, a little at a time, and continue stirring until the dough becomes "spongy" (kind of like a thick peanut butter consistency.
  6. Fill the tamale husks one at a time. Remove corn husk from water, dry it off, then spread the dough over the corn husks. Dough should not reach the bottom or the top of the husk ( I left about 2 inches on bottom, 2 inches on top, and 1/2 inch on each side. The dough should be between 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness. I kind of made a rectangle shape out of the dough (wetting my fingers to spread it out was a big help!). Once the dough is spread evenly onto the husk, spoon 1 heaping Tablespoon of shredded pork filling into the center, lengthwise (like filling a burrito) Fold the sides of the husk together in towards the center, fold the bottom part under and back, then tie the bottom part of the tamale with a long strand of another moist corn husk.

  7. Repeat process with each tamale. Carefully stand the tamales up on top of a steamer basket in a large stockpot. Steam them (covered) for 1 hour. Remove from heat.
  8. While tamales are cooking, mix the extra chile sauce with 3/4 cup sour cream until creamy; set aside (do not refrigerate).
  9. To serve: Remove the tamales you are serving from their husks and place on serving plate. Spoon the chile sauce over the tops of the hot tamales. Serve.
Recipe Notes

Note that the cook time shown is for crockpot cooking of the pork roast. Time is dramatically cut if you cook it in dutch oven. Freeze or refrigerate extra tamales in their husks. I totally recommend cooking the meat the day prior to making the tamales. Then all you have to do is make sauce, dough, assemble tamales, and cook.

Nutrition Facts
Pork Tamales
Amount Per Serving (1 tamale (w/ sauce))
Calories 194 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 26mg9%
Sodium 387mg17%
Potassium 240mg7%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 120IU2%
Vitamin C 0.7mg1%
Calcium 50mg5%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a "made from scratch" California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!

 

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Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Four ingredients and a food processor are all you need to make delicious, fresh, homemade cranberry-orange sauce in just a few minutes!4 ingredients and a food processor are all you need to make delicious, fresh, homemade cranberry-orange sauce in just a few minutes!
The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are now in the history books, but I want to publish this recipe for Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce on my blog, so I will have it handy for the future.

My mom used to make this cranberry sauce (in a chunky version) as I was growing up, but I’d never made the recipe for our family until this Christmas. I found the index card the recipe was written on years ago in an old recipe box, so I decided to give it a try!

No More Gelatinous Blobs Of Cranberry Sauce For Us!

For years my “go to” for cranberry sauce was the blob found in a can (cranberry jelly), or the whole cranberry sauce (also found in the can). Guess I was just in the habit of grabbing a can while doing my grocery shopping for holiday meals and never gave it another thought.

Truthfully, I was always a bit grossed out as that gelatinous blob of cranberry jelly came sliding and wobbling out of the can… but that’s another story. I still bought it, and would always add just a tiny bit to my plate, because that’s what you’re supposed to do at Thanksgiving, right? Until NOW!

Making Fresh, Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce Is EASY To Prepare!

Well, my tastes have certainly changed. Enter this amazing, fresh, homemade cranberry-orange sauce. Did I mention FRESH? Plus, there are only a few ingredients necessary to make it, which is a win-win, in my book.

The cranberry sauce is ridiculously easy to prepare (using a food processor), and the taste is light-years ahead of the canned stuff. No  comparison! I LOVE IT, and can eat it right out of the bowl (shhh… my little secret!)

Fresh cranberries and oranges are two of four ingredients needed to make sauce.

You don’t have to wait for the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays to make this sauce. It would be a delicious accompaniment to top off pork or chicken dishes. It’s vibrant flavors will add to the taste of the meal!

Truthfully, I don’t know what took me so long to get on board with this, but now that I have, I don’t think I will ever buy canned cranberry sauce for a holiday meal ever again. EVER!

The zest of an orange is used to make homemade cranberry-orange sauce.

Use A Food Processor To Make Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce

This sauce can be made chunky or semi-smooth, using a food processor or heavy duty blender. All you do is process the ingredients together until it reaches your desired consistency!

It’s so simple, and so delicious! Once you make this cranberry sauce once, I’ll bet you will never go back to canned cranberry gelatinous blobs, either! Ha Ha!

Ingredients for homemade cranberry-orange sauce are pulverized in a food processor.

Fresh cranberries, an apple, an orange and a bit of sugar are the only ingredients necessary to make this delicious, homemade cranberry-orange sauce! And boy… does it ever taste GOOD!

The homemade cranberry-orange sauce is ready to serve!

Sure hope you’ll give this yummy homemade cranberry-orange sauce a try, and trust you will enjoy it, too!  If you enjoy this sauce, you might also be interested in my recipe for whole berry cranberry-orange sauce! Have a great day!

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe! 

There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest:
The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram:
jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signatureRecipe Source: My Mom

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0 from 0 votes
Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Four ingredients and a food processor are all you need to make delicious, fresh, homemade cranberry-orange sauce in just a few minutes!

Category: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cranberry-orange sauce
Servings: 8 1/4 cups per serving
Calories Per Serving: 60 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries (1 bag)
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 1 medium apple (any variety), peeled, cored, seeded, and cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus more to taste, if desired)
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients into a food processor (or heavy duty blender). Process until all ingredients are mixed and consistency is to your liking... chunky or semi-smooth.

  2. Taste. Add additional sugar, if desired.
  3. Place sauce into serving bowl; Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Amount Per Serving (1 (1/4 cup per serving))
Calories 60 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 1mg0%
Potassium 75mg2%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 59IU1%
Vitamin C 12mg15%
Calcium 7mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Four ingredients and a food processor are all you need to make delicious, fresh, homemade cranberry-orange sauce in just a few minutes!

 

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Coq au Vin

You will LOVE Coq au Vin, a classic French dish, featuring braised chicken, served in a creamy wine sauce filled with bacon, onions, mushrooms and garlic!You will LOVE Coq au Vin, a classic French dish, featuring braised chicken served in a creamy wine sauce filled with bacon, onions, mushrooms and garlic!

Well, the New Year has started, and the first NEW recipe I’ve tried in 2015 is this one for Coq au Vin (Chicken and Wine).  And let me tell you, this was a fantastic dish! My husband is still raving about it (he studied French, so I had to ask HOW to pronounce the name of this dish)!

Coq au Vin (pronounced “kawk aw van”) is usually cooked in burgundy wine, but in one region of France (Alsace), it is typically cooked with Riesling (a white wine). This is THAT kind of recipe, and I love the color of this sauce, when paired with the browned chicken. The recipe is fairly easy… just a matter of following the steps in order, until you have this wonderful entree!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Coq au Vin Smells Amazing While It Cooks!

When I cooked this for dinner a couple of days ago, our house smelled absolutely incredible! I mean… how can you not love the smells of braising chicken, cooking away in a creamy wine sauce, complete with bacon, garlic, onions and mushrooms? Seriously ridiculous!

A few hours AFTER dinner, my husband went outside to get something out of our car, and when he came back into the house, he said, “Oh my gosh… the house smells soooo good! Yeah… trust me, it smells THAT good!

How To Make Coq au Vin

Here’s a few pics I took while making it:  First you melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet, and get the pan really hot.

Olive oil and butter melting in skillet for coq au vin.

Into the hot skillet go the chicken pieces (for this batch I used 4 thighs, 4 drumsticks). Let them sear (without moving them) for 3-4 minutes on each side, then remove from skillet.

Chicken pieces are seared in olive oil and butter.

The next thing to do is sauté the onions and bacon until the fat from the bacon has been rendered.

Chopped onions and bacon are cooked until fat is rendered.

Cook the sliced mushrooms in the leftover bacon fat.

Sliced mushrooms are cooked in bacon drippings in skillet.

Add The Chicken Back Into The Skillet

Now add the chicken and the cooked onions, bacon, and garlic back into the skillet… you will begin to smell this dish right about now!

Chicken, onions, garlic are added back into coq au vin sauce.

Add the white wine, then cover the skillet while the coq au vin continues cooking. The alcohol in the wine will dissipate as it cooks, but the flavor it adds to the dish is wonderful!

Wine is added to skillet for coq au vin sauce.

After 15 minutes of covered cooking, the whipping cream is added to the skillet and mixed in. Let the chicken continue to cook, uncovered for the remainder of the time. Now the coq au vin REALLY smells good, and looks good enough to eat!

Whipping cream is added to coq au vin sauce.

Serve the Coq Au Vin

The coq au vin is finished by sprinkling the tops of the chicken pieces with a handful of chopped parsley. Now this amazing dish is ready to serve!

Coq au vin is served, garnished with chopped parsley.

YUM! Serve this chicken and sauce (coq au vin) up with a side of rice or pasta… STAT! Be sure to spoon some of the amazing sauce over the dish, too!

Coa au vin is ready to serve!

I found this recipe on Pinterest a while back, and finally got around to trying it as my first “newbie” recipe of the New Year! I am positive I will be making this again. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it smells AMAZING, and looks rather elegant, also!  Sure hope you will give this delicious recipe for coq au vin a try. I think you are gonna love it!

Looking For More CHICKEN Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have LOTS of fantastic chicken recipes, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest:
The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram:
jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signatureRecipe slightly adapted from: http://simply-delicious-food.com/2013/06/26/nigel-slaters-coq-au-riesling/

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0 from 0 votes
Coq au Vin
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 
You will LOVE Coq au Vin, a classic French dish, featuring braised chicken served in a creamy wine sauce filled with bacon, onions, mushrooms and garlic!
Category: Entree
Cuisine: French
Keyword: coq au vin
Servings: 8 servings (or 4 if having 2 pieces each)
Calories Per Serving: 533 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium brown onions , finely chopped
  • 3 slices bacon , sliced into thin strips about 2" long
  • 4 garlic cloves , minced
  • 8 chicken pieces (with bone in) (I use 4 thighs and 4 drumsticks)
  • 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (white button or mini portabella)
  • 2 cups dry white wine (I used a Riesling)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • salt & pepper (to season raw chicken with, and to taste, when chicken is complete)
  • handful of chopped parsley , for garnish, if desired
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and the oil. Heat skillet to medium-high.
  2. Lightly season pieces of chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces into a very hot skillet. Do not move the pieces once you first put them in skillet. Let them sear on each side until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side). Once chicken is browned on all sides, remove to a plate and set aside.
  3. Add the finely chopped onions and the bacon pieces to the hot skillet. Let them both cook about 5 minutes or so, until onions become translucent and the bacon has rendered out it's fat. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, then remove & drain the mixture from the skillet, leaving the bacon grease in the pan.
  4. Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the onion/bacon mixture and the browned chicken back into the skillet. Add the wine. Allow the liquid to come to a boil. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and cover the skillet. Let the chicken cook for 15 minutes.

  6. After 15 minutes, remove the lid. Turn up the heat. Pour in the whipping cream. Stir, to combine. Let the chicken cook for another 10-12 minutes, uncovered, spooning up the sauce over the chicken pieces as they cook.

  7. When chicken is cooked through and is ready to serve, add the chopped parsley to the tops of the chicken pieces, and serve (1-2 pieces per person). Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Serve this tasty chicken with rice, pasta, along with a nice loaf of crusty bread.
This recipe makes 4 adult servings; you will have more servings if children are only having one piece of chicken. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Coq au Vin
Amount Per Serving (1 1 piece)
Calories 533 Calories from Fat 369
% Daily Value*
Fat 41g63%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Cholesterol 148mg49%
Sodium 202mg9%
Potassium 403mg12%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 24g48%
Vitamin A 775IU16%
Vitamin C 5mg6%
Calcium 48mg5%
Iron 1.4mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You will LOVE Coq au Vin, a classic French dish, featuring braised chicken served in a creamy wine sauce filled with bacon, onions, mushrooms and garlic!

 

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Copycat Marie Callender’s Cornbread

It’s EASY and quick to make and bake this copycat version of Marie Callender’s restaurants famous cornbread! Perfect side dish for soup, salad, or main course.It's EASY and quick to make and bake this copycat version of Marie Callender's restaurants famous cornbread! Perfect side dish for soup, salad, or main course.

I received this recipe for a copycat version of Marie Callender’s Cornbread almost 20 years ago.  My friend Sharon, from our church, gave me this recipe. I have no idea where she got the recipe, BUT I DO KNOW that it’s an excellent recipe for cornbread, AND tastes very similar to the cornbread served by the restaurant chain.

This cornbread rises very high, is slightly sweet, and absolutely delicious, just like the original! YUM! My husband and I enjoyed this cornbread last evening with our dinner… I like to drizzle it with honey; he likes to drizzle it with molasses. Either way… it’s GOOD and really easy to prepare!

We LOVE this bread, and I have made it many times over the years… it doesn’t take too long to make, and it’s very simple. Here’s a few pics during the process so you can see just how EASY it is to make homemade delicious cornbread.

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make The Cornbread

Ingredients can either be blended in a food processor or can be mixed by hand. If using food processor, process dry ingredients until blended. Drizzle in oil or add shortening, if using, processing until mixture is crumbly. When the mixture is crumbly, transfer it to a mixing bowl.

Mixing dry ingredients for cornbread in food processor.

If you do not have access to a food processor, t’s easy to mix up the cornbread batter by hand. Place dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix in the oil with a fork OR cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.

Ingredients for cornbread in bowl for hand mixing.

Oil or shortening has been added and now cornbread ingredients are crumbly.

Add eggs to the crumbly cornbread mixture. Stir Ingredients only until moistened. Don’t over-mix the batter.

Eggs are added to dry ingredients and combined to make cornbread batter.

Time To Bake the Cornbread

Pour the batter into a greased 9×9 baking pan, and then it’s ready to go into the oven! Bake the cornbread at 425 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes,  until the cornbread is light golden brown on top.

Cornbread batter is poured into a 9x9 inch baking dish.

Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the pan. If toothpick comes back out without wet batter on it, the cornbread should be done.  Once the cornbread is removed from the oven, cut it into 9 equal sized 3″ pieces. It is ready to serve!

Golden brown baked cornbread is cut into 9 pieces.

Here is a piece of the cornbread, split in half and adorned with butter, for a close-up view!

Cornbread is cut in half, and topped with butter for eating.

This is a perfect cornbread to serve alongside a big, hot, bowl of soup… (Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chili is a favorite of ours), a salad, or Pinto Beans And Ham . Really good, really easy… got it? Hope you’ll give it a try… I think you will love it!

Looking For More BREAD Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have a nice variety of bread recipes you might want to try, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

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The Grateful Girl Cooks!
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Have a wonderful day!

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Recipe Source: Sharon Fredeen

↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓

4.67 from 3 votes
Copycat Marie Callender's Cornbread
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Slightly sweet, and sky-high, this copycat version of a famous restaurant's cornbread is perfect alongside your favorite soup or salad!
Category: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cornbread
Servings: 9 servings
Calories Per Serving: 400 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow corn meal
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup dry milk powder
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil or shortening (I use oil)
  • 2 eggs , slightly beaten
  • 1 cup water
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl or food processor base, combine the flour, corn meal, sugar, dry milk powder, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the oil or shortening with a pastry blender, or process until mixture becomes small crumbs.
  2. Remove from processor, if using, and place ingredients in large bowl.
  3. Stir in eggs and water until mixture is just blended. Do not over-mix the batter.
  4. Grease a 9x9 inch square pan. Pour batter into pan and spread until it is evenly distributed.
  5. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes (or longer), or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Cornbread will turn a very light golden brown on top.
  7. Remove cornbread pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Cut into 9 pieces, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes

If using an 8x8 inch square pan, remember you will need a longer cook time!

Nutrition Facts
Copycat Marie Callender's Cornbread
Amount Per Serving (1 piece)
Calories 400 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 37mg12%
Sodium 302mg13%
Potassium 319mg9%
Carbohydrates 53g18%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 19g21%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 155IU3%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 127mg13%
Iron 2.1mg12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!It's EASY and quick to make and bake this copycat version of Marie Callender's restaurants famous cornbread! Perfect side dish for soup, salad, or main course.

 

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Pinto Beans And Ham

Pinto Beans and Ham is an easy, economical way to make a big pot full of tasty, filling, pinto beans and leftover ham, flavored with onion and garlic!Pinto Beans and Ham is an easy, economical way to make a big pot full of tasty, filling, pinto beans and shredded leftover ham, flavored with onion and garlic!
Well, here’s my first post in 2015. Nothing fancy or glamorous, but this meal is sure inexpensive, FILLING, and delicious! If you’ve ever had extra ham or ham bones left over after a meal, then this recipe for Pinto Beans And Ham is perfect for you!

This dish (besides being quite economical) is also totally easy to prepare, so consider that a win-win! Only a few ingredients are necessary to make a big soup pot full of these tasty, filling, tender pinto beans and shredded pieces of ham, flavored with salt/pepper, cumin, onion and garlic!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Make A Pot Of Pinto Beans And Ham With Leftover Ham

I prepare this meal often, usually any time we have leftover ham (always after a holiday like Christmas or Easter, and in the cold winter months). The recipe makes about 8 servings, so there is always enough left over for other meals.

Leftover ham is perfect to use in this soup.

If you have a large ham bone from a ham hanging around (with pieces of meat still attached), that’s PERFECT! If not, then just use slices of ham, cut into small chunks. The long cooking time will help the meat to be pulled off the bone or shredded easily!

Pinto beans can be found in just about every single grocery store in the country, and are quite cheap. Buy dry pinto beans (in a bag). They will cook and soften during the cooking process.

Dried pinto beans are used to make this recipe.

Why The Beans Need To Cook for So Long

The long cooking time helps the beans to soften. Find another activity to do while they are cooking, and just check on them every hour or so to make sure there is enough liquid in the pan, and give them a good stir!

During the last part of the cooking time, the liquid will begin to thicken. This is a GOOD thing! The ham also becomes very tender, so it is easy (especially if you added big chunks), to pull it apart into smaller pieces or shreds.

Pinto beans and ham is served!

Your house will smell GREAT while these pinto beans and ham are cooking! We love to eat this thick bowl of “soup” with some Copycat Marie Callender’s Cornbread or warm, buttered flour tortillas on the side… yum!

Cornbread goes perfectly with pinto beans and ham

When all is said and done, you will end up with a nice sized pot of pinto beans and ham, and not have to sped a lot on it, especially if you start with leftover ham!

If you like pinto beans or need other ways to use dried pintos, be sure and check out my blog post on how to can dried beans or how to make refried beans in the crockpot. Both recipes start with dried pinto beans!

Hope you’ll give this humble recipe for pinto beans and ham a try. I think you’re gonna love them! Sometimes simple can be so good! Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon. Be sure to check out ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page.

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓

0 from 0 votes
Pinto Beans And Ham
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 5 mins
 
Pinto Beans and Ham is an easy, economical way to make a big pot full of tasty, filling, pinto beans and shredded leftover ham, flavored with onion and garlic!
Category: Entree
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pinto beans and ham
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 289 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1 bag pinto beans (regular sized - about 2-3 cups)
  • 1 large leftover ham bone (with meat attached), OR 2 cups chopped cooked ham
  • 1 medium brown onion , chopped
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • Water
  • Additional Salt/Pepper , to taste (I usually have to add more before serving)
Instructions
  1. Rinse the pinto beans in a strainer. Place beans into a large stockpot. Cover completely with water.
  2. Add ham bone (or chopped ham). Add additional water, if necessary to more than cover the beans and ham.
  3. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin.
  4. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low heat. Let beans cook for approximately 4 hours. For first half of cooking time, keep a lid on the beans, but with lid vented. After about 2 hours, remove the lid and continue cooking, uncovered for remainder of time. As water level begins to reduce, add a bit more water back into the pot so that beans remain submerged during cooking time.
  5. Check beans to make sure they are fully softened. Remove ham bone from pot; remove any ham meat from bone and add the ham back into the pot.
  6. Taste test the beans when fully cooked. Mixture will thicken slightly as the amount of water reduces through the long cooking time. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
  7. Serve hot with some cornbread or tortillas on the side, and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Pinto Beans And Ham
Amount Per Serving (1 serving (1/8th of total))
Calories 289 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 671mg29%
Potassium 1028mg29%
Carbohydrates 47g16%
Fiber 11g46%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 20g40%
Vitamin C 5.9mg7%
Calcium 87mg9%
Iron 3.9mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Pinto Beans and Ham is an easy, economical way to make a big pot full of tasty, filling, pinto beans and shredded leftover ham, flavored with onion and garlic!

 

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