This recipe is in 3 parts, so I am going to start with the aioli since it will need some time to chill. I recommend any recipe that has lots of mayo in it to refrigerate as long as possible so all the flavors can infuse and there won’t be an overwhelming mayo taste.

Garlic Aioli

1/2 cup mayo

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate. *If you have an immersion blender I recommend giving this mixture a quick blending to really get those pieces of jalapeno and garlic minced as much as possible. Also this helps blend all the flavors real well.

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

1 onion, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup brown sugar

Chop up the veggies as fine as possible. If you don’t like much pepper you can use just the leftover half from the aioli. Saute in EVOO and allow a few minutes to cool. Only use about 3/4 of this onion mixture and reserve the rest for the meat.

Combine the onion mixture with the bbq sauce, the bourbon, and the sugar. Taste and add more sugar or bourbon as needed.

Set aside.

Bourbon BBQ Sliders

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/4 of the onion mixture you made for the bbq sauce

1 pkg fried onion crisps

1 pkg Hawaiian sweet rolls

Add the remaining onion mixture with the meat and combine well. You can even add a few tablespoons of the Bourbon BBQ sauce to the meat but not too much or your burgers will not stay together.

Grill burgers and toast the rolls.

Assemble your slider by putting a small dab of aioli on the bottom portion of the roll, then a patty, topped with a dab or two of bourbon bbq sauce and some fried onions. Place top half of roll on top and enjoy!

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There are lots of things you could add into a salad like this, such as onion and bell pepper, but I just wanted to keep this simple so it’s strictly beans and dressing. And really, you could use any combination of beans you’d like.

Four Bean Salad

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can green beans, drained and rinsed

1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup EVOO

1/2 tsp salt

Combine the beans in a large bowl. Whisk vinegar, sugar, oil, and salt until sugar dissolves.

Pour vinegar-sugar mixture over beans and toss well to coat.

Cover and refrigerate over night. Stir several times.

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Cajun Chicken Fritters

3 or 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk

1 T butter, melted

1 tsp srirachi or other hot pepper sauce

1-2 tsp cajun seasoning

1 1/2 tsp liquid crab boil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (any colors)

Cooking oil

Cajun Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 T grain mustard

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1. Whisk ingredients for aioli together and refrigerate. *This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, depending on how much you like.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.

3. In another bowl combine buttermilk, butter, slightly beaten egg yolks, hot pepper sauce, cajun seasoning, and crab boil.

4. Stir to combine the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Add in peppers, garlic, and shredded chicken.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the chicken mixture completely.

6. Heat cooking oil (about 1 inch) in a dutch oven or heavy skillet, and drop chicken mixture by spoonfuls into the oil, about 4 at a time so they have room to cook and don’t stick together. Flip and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towel-lined plate.

7. Serve with cajun aioli and something creamy and crunchy like cole slaw.

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Bacon Cheddar Potato Cakes

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 tsp onion powder

salt & pepper, to taste

EVOO

1. Combine all the ingredients and form 2 oz. patties.

2. Heat EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat and cook each potato cake for about 4 or 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. *Cook about 3 or 4 at a time so they don’t stick together and you can easily flip them.

3. Drain on paper towel.

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Mini Apple Tarte Tatins

1 sheet puff pastry

3 apples

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter, divided

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon sugar

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375*.

2. Peel, core, and cut apples into 3 rings. Toss with cinnamon sugar and set aside.

3. Roll out thawed pastry sheet and cut into 9 equal squares. Wrap each apple ring.

4. Get skillet over medium heat and put in sugar and 1/2 the butter. Bring to light boil and caramelize into a syrup.

5. Place apples smooth side down into caramel syrup and cook a few minutes.

6. Melt remaining butter and mix with vanilla. Pour evenly over the upsides of the apple tarts (the side where the pastry is folded under).

7. Place whole pan into oven for about 30-45 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and apples are tender.

8. At this point you could carefully flip each tart over and give it about 10 more minutes in the oven to get some of that caramelized syrup on the top side, or spoon it over the top from the bottom of the pan.

9. Serve top side up where the folds have baked up a little. Serve with ice cream if desired.

This is an awesome steak marinade. I doubled the recipe for the London Broil, but ordinarily it’s enough for 2 to 3 steaks. You should have all these ingredients on hand, and once you try it I bet you’ll never use another marinade recipe again. This marinade is good for all kinds of steaks.

Steak Marinade

1 T EVOO

1 T Worcestershire

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Place marinade and steaks into a container and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Marinade steaks over night if possible, but at least for an hour. Steaks also cook best when they are at room temperature, so keep this in mind when marinating and preparing for cooking times. Discard extra marinade or throw it into a saucepan with some mushrooms. Awesome!

To cook the London Broil, get a large skillet really hot and sear both sides of the meat for just a few minutes. Deglaze pan with some red wine (about 1/2 cup). Then take the meat and place under the broiler until done (if needed).

White Bean Turkey Chili

1 lb. ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1 lb. dried navy beans, soaked and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp tarragon

1 tsp pepper

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1. Saute garlic in some EVOO. Add ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbled.

2. Add meat and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper

6 green onions, sliced (all of it)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T EVOO (or sesame oil if you have it)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup water

sesame seeds

1. Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and salt and pepper them, stirring to cover each piece evenly. Place into bottom of slow cooker.

2. Combine onion whites, garlic, honey, ketchup, oil and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 4 hours, or high for 2.

3. In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch into the water. Add to crock pot and stir in well. If you’ve been cooking on low then turn heat up to high. Cover and allow to cook another 15 to 20 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken some.

4. Spoon chicken over rice or noodles and top with sesame seeds and scallions (green part of onion).

5. Enjoy!

This recipe is featured at Simple Supper Tuesday!!

Thai Dragon Noodles

8 oz. Thai rice noodles

2 T butter

2 eggs

1/4 tsp red pepper

1 1/2 T brown sugar

3 T soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

1 T Sriracha (rooster sauce)

2 green onions, sliced (all of it)

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. In small bowl mix together soy sauce, the brown sugar, sriracha, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

3. Heat skillet up with the butter and scramble the eggs with the chopped whites of the green onions. Reserve the scallions (green bits) for later.

4. Take eggs out of skillet and set aside. Put sesame oil into hot skillet and do a real quick pan fry of the noodles. Combine eggs and sriracha sauce into the skillet with the noodles.

5. Sprinkle top with scallions and cilantro before serving.