USAF Museum, Dayton, Part 2

This is our second post on our trip to the USAF Museum in Dayton. Our first post was on the airplane nose art on the planes on display there.

This one is on the various dioramas at the museum. They have done a really great job on their displays . If you're anywhere near Dayton, we'd recommend that you stop by.

This is the observation basket from a dirigible.

The nose gunner on a B-25, I believe.

Early flight trainer.

Hawkeye Pierce's hangout.

WWII prisoner pilots.

WWI bomber.

Plane crash. The officer on the scene was not happy with the pilot!



A lot of work goes into these displays.

The older planes with nose gunner positions are the most scary to me. Probably a pretty nice place to sit and watch the scenery until it's cold... or worse, the enemy shows up.



Actual pieces of the Berlin wall.

Mamma Mia Burger

This is my second burger from the Cheese and Burger Society. The combination of pizza sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions, and mozzarella is great!


I used our favorite home-made pizza sauce. You can substitute a pre-made sauce if you like.

Makes: 2 burgers
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: Varies depending on desired doneness
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 pound fresh ground beef (recommend 75/25 or 80/20)
• 4 slices fresh Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 4 large button mushrooms, sliced
• Pepperoni
• 2 Hamburger buns
• 1/2 medium white onion, sliced
• 2 T butter, divided

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium skillet. Add mushrooms and sautee until tender, but still slightly crisp. Remove to a plate.

2. Add remaining butter to skillet and melt. Add onions and sautee until tender, but still slightly crisp. Remove.

3. Warm sauce in skillet.

4. Preheat grill to medium high. Form burger patties. Season, and grill until cooked to your desired doneness. Toast buns. Remove.

5. To form burgers, top bun bottoms with one slice of the mozzarella, pepperoni, 2 tablespoons of the sauce and half of the onions. Add burger, and then top with more cheese, pepperoni and sauce.

Keri's Hog-Apple Baked Beans

These beans are truly the most fantastic baked beans we have ever had. I can't even begin to describe them. I even had them for lunch as a main dish.


We used leftover smoked pulled pork, but you can substitute crumbled cooked sausage if you don't have any on hand.

I found this recipe on the BBQ Brethren forums, a great place for BBQ-related discussions. Many thanks to Keri for posting this recipe! The original recipe made enough for a party. We didn't need so much, so the recipe below is cut back.

Makes: 6-8 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 slices bacon, diced
• 1 (27 oz) can Bush's Baked beans
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I used Grandma Foster's Smooth and Spicy)
• 1/2 pound smoked pulled pork (or 1/2 pound crumbled pork sausage, cooked)
• 1/2 can apple pie filling (chop larger apple pieces)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce (I used Cajun Power)
• 1 T prepared mustard
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 t BBQ rub (I used Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust)

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.

2. Brown the bacon in a large skillet. Remove and drain.

3. Saute onion and green pepper in the bacon grease. Add in remaining ingredients.

4. Pour into a 9 x 11 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 1 hour.

Casanova Burger

I decided to try and make all of the burgers that you can find at the Cheese & Burger Society. I'm doubtful I'll be able to get all of the ingredients for all of the great burgers they have, but I'm going to try.

My first burger was the Casanova. According to the web site:

The Casanova will have your taste buds at “Hello.” Fully stuffed with more flavor than it knows what to do with, this robust cheeseburger can satisfy the hungriest of bellies and the most discerning of palates. If you’re craving a little burger and cheese romance, it’s time you spent some quality time with The Casanova.

We certainly enjoyed this burger!


Makes: 2 burgers
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: Varies depending on desired doneness
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 pound fresh ground beef (recommend 75/25 or 80/20)
• 4 slices aged Swiss cheese
• 4 slices thin-sliced ham (can use sandwich meat)
• 4 large button mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 T butter
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T mayonnaise
• 2 Hamburger buns

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and melt the better. Add mushrooms and sautee until slightly tender. Remove from heat.

2. Preheat grill to medium high.

3. Form beef into two patties and grill to desired doneness. Melt one slice of cheese on top of burger. Toast buns, melting another slice of Swiss on each of the bun bottoms. Place ham on grill, turning once, until just slightly charred and warmed.

4. To make burgers, divide mayonnaise between bun bottoms and spread. Also divide the mustard between the bun tops and spread evenly. Top bottom bun with the ham, burger, mushrooms, and top bun. Enjoy!

USAF Museum, Dayton, Part 1

We went to the Air Force museum in Dayton last Friday. We'd never been there before. I've been to the Air & Space museum in DC many, many times, but this was a totally different experience.

First, the place is huge. I mean mega huge. And the planes are so well preserved. Even Anita enjoyed it!

Here's a collection of my nose art pics. Nose art was a really big thing mainly in WWII. I guess now it's not so common.

You know it'd put some fear in you to see this coming at you.

Some designs were more artsy then others.

Dennis the Menace

Bockscar. Dropped the Fat Man nuclear bomb on Nagasaki. Kind of eerie standing there with her, I have to admit.

Fiery Ginger 4.

One of my favorites. And one of my favorite planes of all time.

The AC-130. I flew on a C-130 many, many years ago. It was a cargo plane. The AC-130 is heavily armed, to say the least.

I'm not sure of the origins of nose art. But, I believe this is a WWI plane, so it's a tradition that has been around for a while.


Another favorite plane of mine.

It amazes me how many missions some of these planes ran. I heard the other day if they made it through their first 10 missions their survivability went up significantly. Good thing.

F-4 Phantom. We were able to sit in the cockpit of an F-4 later in the museum. I think it was Anita's favorite display. Well, next to the B-52 and the B-2.

Even the Brit's have nose art it seems.

Snafu Snatchers. Interesting name. I wonder if it comes from them rescuing a lot of pilots from the ocean. I should have asked one of the volunteers at the museum. They are very helpful!

I think I made the most models of this plane when I was a kid. This and the C-47 were always my favorites.

Cuban-Style Burger

This is a great take on a Cuban sandwich. There are lots of ways to make this, but the key parts are the ham, cheese and either a relish or just plain pickles.


Makes: 4 burgers
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: Varies depending on the doneness you want
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 slices thin ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 onion hamburger buns, buttered
• 4 T mustard relish (see below)

1. Preheat grill. Make patties, season with salt and pepper, and grill until almost to the desired doneness. Top with ham and cheese and grill until the cheese is melted. Remove from grill.

2. Toast the buns.

3. Assemble burgers, top with relish, and serve.

Mustard Relish

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup dill pickle relish
• 2 T red onion, minced
• 2 T pickled jalapeños, diced
• 1 T honey

1. Combine all ingredients.

Good day for a nap

We just got back from a few days on vacation out of town. Good time to kick back in the hammock and get a lil ol' nap.

Baby Back Blues BBQ, Columbus IN

We were in Edinburgh, IN, over the weekend. We usually pop over to Hickory Hills BBQ outside Camp Atterbury for lunch. This time we tried something new. We drove down to Columbus (about a 15 minute drive) to eat at Baby Back Blues BBQ.


Located in a small strip mall off a busy street (that was under construction), Baby Back Blues is a nice little joint. We were the first ones there right after they opened.

Anita ordered the sweet pork sandwich 'wet' (already sauced with a sweet BBQ sauce), slaw (good), and mac-and-cheese (very good).

I had the 1/3 pound pulled pork, dry (no sauce), slaw, corn (decent) and deep-fried cornbread (out of this world good!). I tried 2 of their sauces on my pork: sweet and spicy and hot. Both sauces were outstanding. Just the right amount of sweet and heat, and the perfect consistency. I am a big fan of BBQ restaurants that let you sauce as you like, right at the table. Plus, I get to taste the meat right off the smoker, and not hidden behind sauces or rubs. Did I mention that I could've had about 9 or 10 more of the cornbread? The cornbread alone is worth the trip!

If you're in or around Columbus, stop on by Baby Black Blues. You'll be glad you did! And remember, support your local (or not-so-local) BBQ joints!

Cheesy Chorizo-Topped Burgers

I was scouting the fridge for something to make for dinner. I found some chorizo and a block of supposedly Mexican Velveeta cheese that I was going to use to make a dip. Instead, I ended up pouring the dip over grilled burgers instead.


Very good, I have to say! I was disappointed in the Velveeta (why I thought I wouldn't be, I don't know) in that it had no kick at all. So, I added some jalapeños too.

Makes: 2 burgers, plus more for dip
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes plus burger cook time
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh ground chuck
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, membrane removed, cut into rings or chopped
• 1/2 pound Mexican chorizo
• 1/2 pound Mexican Velveeta
• 2 hamburger buns
• Tortilla chips
  

1. Form the chuck into 2 8 ounce patties.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the chorizo into the skillet and cook until done. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

3. Place the cheese and chorizo in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Continue microwaving in 1 minute intervals until the cheese is melted. Stir in the jalapeños.

4. Cook burgers and brown buns on a grill.

5. Assemble burgers, topping the meat with cheese mixture. Use remaining cheese mixture as a dip for the tortilla chips.

Watermelon 'cake'

I found this unique way of serving watermelon on the Veggie Belly blog.


I wish I'd found this earlier in the season, when watermelons were more in season, but it still came out great. Everyone got a kick out of it.

Cut the middle section out of a watermelon. This will leave you with a 'wheel' of watermelon. Lay it flat and cut it into sections like you would a cake. Using a melon baller, scoop out of some of the top of each 'slice'. Place the balls on top of the watermelon. Continue using the melon baller on the ends that you cut off and stack the balls on top of the watermelon. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

A butterfly fluttered by...

You would think that it would be hard to fly with a chunk missing from your wing.

This little fellow seemed to get around just fine.

Pesto Pasta Salad

We found this easy salad over at Kayln's Kitchen.


Add more or less olives depending on your tastes.

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1lb package of pasta
• 1 small can black olives, drained and sliced (or use a large can if you want more olives)
• 1 12oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and diced
• 1/3 cup Newmans' Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing, plus more
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta per package directions. Drain well and let cool.

2. Combine dressing and pesto in a bowl and whisk well. Pour over pasta and mix well. Add remaining ingredients except cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

3. Stir salad and add more salad dressing if it is too dry. Serve with grated parmesan.

West Coast Tacos

I was so excited to hear that Indy finally got an LA-style taco truck. I've been following West Coast Tacos on Facebook and Twitter for a while now, just waiting for them to be near me some day for lunch.


Well, today was that day. I was the first there (but second to order). I ordered 2 'The Farms', which means one of everything. Today, 'everything' was a spicy beef taco, a chicken taco, and a pork taco. The tacos are 3 for $5. They are served open-faced on 3" or so tortilla rounds, with fresh cilantro, a salsa, the meat and a really nice sauce with a good kick to it.

Minutes after they opened the crowd had grown by quite a bit. I was glad to be early, but they moved things along pretty quickly.

I saved 2 tacos for Anita. She had them when she got home and loved them.

My biggest complaint? These tacos are badly addicting. Next time they are nearby, I'm backing up the truck on some more tacos. I sure hope this is a sign that Indy will be getting more food trucks.

Avocado and Papaya Salad

Easy and refreshing. Don't be afraid to use more cayenne to add a nice contrast to the sweet fruit. You can substitute whatever fruits you like, such as mango or peaches.

If I would have had some fresh cilantro on hand, I would've added some of it, chopped, to the salad too.


Adapted from a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

Makes: 4-6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t sugar
• 1/8 t black pepper
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• 2 ripe papayas, peeled, halved, seeded and diced

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients except the fruit. Mix well. Add fruit and toss gently to coat.

Baby Cardinal

The cardinals built a nest in the northeast corner of our house. They had two little babies.

Unfortunately, the first one out of the nest did not survive. But this little fellow is doing just fine so far! Looks like he's been fed well, too.


His daddy was none to happy about me taking this picture.

Pizza Fattie

Oh yeah. It's fattie-licious!

Start with an Italian sausage fattie. Fill with pepperoni, sauteed mushrooms, black olives, fresh buffalo mozzarella. Top with homemade sauce.


Smoke for 3 hours at 225. See our standard fattie technique for more info.

Money shot. Topped with warmed sauce and fresh grated Parmesan.

Tastes just like a pizza!

New School Bologna Sandwich

I got this idea from the menu of one of Michael Symon's restaurants, B Spot Burgers.


The pickles I used were called 'sweet heat'. And they were. You could use regular dill pickles if you don't have anything with some kick.

Makes: 2 sandwiches
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 hamburger buns
• 2 slices thick bologna
• 2 T Russian salad dressing, divided
• Sweet heat pickles, to taste
• 2 eggs, fried

1. Preheat grill to medium. Toast buns. Place bologna on grill. Cook 1-2 minutes then rotate slightly to get pretty grill marks. Cook 1-2 minutes more, then flip and cook for 1 more minute. Remove.

2. Spread 1 tablespoon of the dressing on each of the bottom buns. Top with bologna, egg, and pickles.

Grilled Potato Skins with Horseradish Sour Cream

I made these potato skins and served them up as a side with some grilled burgers. I'm a big fan of loaded potatoes, but this time I scaled back a bit to keep it lighter.


Get creative with the toppings, but don't skip the tomatoes. They add a great contrast.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large russet potatoes, cleaned
• 4 T butter, melted
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (I used Tillamook)
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 T prepared horseradish
• 3 T green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup tomato, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake potatoes for 1 hour or until fork-tender. Allow to cool and cut into halves. Scoop out the pulp.

2. Cook bacon in a skillet. Drain and crumble.

3. Preheat grill over medium-high heat.

4. Brush the potatoes with butter and season. Place on grill and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes, flipping once. Top potatoes with cheese and bacon and place back on grill for 2 more minutes.

5. Combine sour cream and horseradish in a small bowl.

6. Serve potatoes topped with green onions, tomatoes, and the horseradish sour cream mixture.

Muffaletta Fattie

This idea came to me out of the blue one day. Why not stuff an Italian sausage fattie with a muffaletta olive salad?


You have to make the olive salad at least a day before you make the fattie so the flavors get happy. Then, make your standard fattie using Italian sausage and add provolone cheese and the olive salad and smoke as usual. Outstandingly good!


For the olive salad:

Makes: 2 1/2 cups (enough for a fattie with plenty for a sandwich or two leftover)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 day
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, rough chopped
• 1 cup Calamata or black olives, rough chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted sweet peppers, rough chopped
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 T white wine vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients and let stand overnight. You can do this in or out of the refrigerator.

Spicy Beef Skewers with Sour Cream

I stumbled upon this recipe one day while watching License to Grill, one of my favorite grilling shows. The meat has a great flavor to it, while the sour cream cools your taste buds off a bit.


I did have a little difficulty getting the meat to stick to the skewers, so I updated the recipe to drain the grated onions. I also added some green onion to the sour cream. When grilling, be sure you don't try to turn these until a side is done or the meat will stick and tear away from the skewers.

Makes: 8 skewers, about 3 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 medium onion, grated and well-drained (I used a cheese cloth to squeeze out the liquid)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 t paprika
• 1 t dried marjoram
• 1 t ground caraway seed
• 1 t fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 t salt
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 8 10" bamboo skewers, soaked in water 1 hour

1. Mix beef, grated onion, garlic, paprika, marjoram, and caraway in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper and mix well.

2. Diving meat into 8 equal sections by first forming into a log. Divide the log in half, then divide each half into half, and those halves into half. Mold each portion onto the skewers, shaping into a sausage.

3. Preheat grill to medium high. Season skewers with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.

4. Place on grill and cook 10 minutes, turning every so often, until meat is done. (Note: Put aluminum foil under the uncovered portion of the skewers to prevent them from burning).

5. Mix the green onions with the sour cream. Serve with the cooked meat.

Fried Cheesecake Bites with Warm Peach Coulis

These are absolutely insanely good. The kind of good that when you take a bite you just stop for a minute, close your eyes, and almost come to tears.


We went to the farmer's market yesterday and came across some just-picked local peaches that were some of the best we've ever had. I remembered that I had seen a good dessert recipe in a recent copy of Louisiana Cookin' that made use of fresh peaches, so we bought a few quarts worth.

This recipe alone makes subscribing to Louisiana Cookin' worth it. Before I subscribed, I picked up a few back issues off eBay to see if I'd like it, and I did.

You will love these bites.

Makes: 8 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours (freeze time) and 15 minutes (actual cook time)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 10 ounce store-bought baked cheesecake, plain
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups graham crackers, crumbed
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Peach coulis (see below)

1. Cut cheesecake into bite-sized pieces, place in a container and freeze for at least one hour.

2. Lay out 3 bowls. In the first one place the flour. In the second bowl, place the eggs. The third bowl is for the cracker crumbs.

3. Roll each cheesecake piece in the flour. Shake off the excess. Next, roll the piece in the egg making sure you get all sides. Shake off the excess egg. Finally, roll in the crumbs. Place back in the container and refreeze for at least two hours.

4. Heat oil to 350 F. Working in batches, fry the cheesecake bites for about 1 minute or until they begin to float. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate.

5. Serve with warm peach coulis.

Peach Coulis

Makes: 3 cups
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

• 3 cups of fresh diced and peeled peaches
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 T honey
• 1/8 t pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch of ground nutmeg

1. Place peaches and orange juice in a saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook until the fruit is softened, 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. Pour into a blender and puree. Return to saucepan and add remaining ingredients. Stir well and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Peach Salsa

The fine folks over at Simply Recipes posted this wonderful salsa recipe the other day. The next day I picked up the ingredients for it and Anita made it.


It's a really nice, refreshing salsa. We made a minor change to the original recipe by using cilantro instead of mint. We also left out the ginger and did not blend the mixture.

Makes: 2 cups
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour (marinate time)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe peaches (optionally, remove the skins)
• 3 T red onion, chopped
• 3 jalapeños, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 t sugar

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let sit for 1 hour before serving.

Beef and Cheddar Sandwich

This is a clone of one of my favorites from Arby's.


We don't eat much fast food any more. In fact, I'm not sure when the last time was that we did. Probably on the road somewhere. There aren't a lot of good sit-down restaurants along the interstate any more. You really have to search hard for them.

Make sure that you let the sauce sit a while to let the flavors get happy.

Makes: 2 sandwiches
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lean roast beef, sliced thin
• 8 oz Velveeta cheese
• 2 hamburger buns
• 2 T sauce (see below)

1. Toast buns on grill or in oven.

2. Melt cheese in microwave.

3. If desired, heat the roast beef by warming it in a pan.

4. Place roast beef on buns. Top with cheese and sauce. Enjoy!

Arby's Sauce clone:

Makes: 1 1/2 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 t onion powder
• 3/4 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t paprika
• 3 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 t salt
• 1/8 t cayenne pepper
• 2 T corn starch
• 2 T water

1. In a small bowl or cup, combine the water and corn starch. Set aside.

2. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together well. Place in a bender and blend for 20 seconds.

3. Pour mixture into a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often.

4. Add corn starch mixture and stir. Continue cooking and stirring over low for another 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.

Pancake Fattie

Our neighbor's daughter suggested this fattie to us last week. What a brilliant idea!


The flavors were outstanding! We loved the pancake and maple syrup. I was afraid that the pancakes would get soggy from the pork fat, but they held up great!

Check out our fattie page for more information on fatties. This pancake fattie doesn't require a fattie piston.

We made this two different ways as we weren't sure which would hold up the best on the smoker. First, Anita rolled out a standard breakfast sausage and topped it with a pancake. She then drizzled it with grade A maple syrup, making sure the entire fattie was covered. This fattie was difficult to roll up, and almost fell apart. Ultimately, it came out great (that's it in the first picture above).


In case the above approach didn't work out, we also tried it by stacking slices of pancake in the fattie. We didn't cut this one open (we let the neighbor's daughter take it home for them to enjoy), but it did look better on the outside than the whole pancake fattie.

Warm Italiano Spread

I came across this recipe in a monthly email I get from Kraft.


It looked so good that I ran out and picked up the ingredients to make it that day. I can see making some variations of this, such as using Velveeta instead of the cream cheese, topping with shredded cheddar, and using jalapeño pesto, served with tortilla chips.

Makes: 12 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• Crackers (I used Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits)

1. Heat grill to medium.

2. Place cream cheese in center of a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with pesto and top with tomatoes and shredded cheese.

3. Place open-faced on grill for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

4. Serve with crackers.

Grilled Pork Satay

We love peanut butter. And peanut butter on grilled pork? Even better!


I let the meat marinate overnight, but you can probably get by doing it for 2-4 hours.

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 T smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 T brown sugar
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1 T oil
• Skewers, soaked at least 30 minutes prior to grilling

1. Place all but pork and skewers into a blender and mix well.

2. Pour mixture into a large baggie and add the pork.

3. Allow meat to marinate 2-4 hours or better, overnight.

4. Preheat grill to medium high. Put meat onto skewers and grill 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until done.

Barbecue Bean Bacon Dogs

This is a combination of two ideas that I've been wanting to make for a while. First, there's a bacon-wrapped hot dog. Second, a quick and easy bean topping.


You can't beat them! You can wrap the dogs in the bacon, or just lay the bacon out on the buns as I did. Either way, you're in for some bacony, beany good eats!

Makes: 2 dogs
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 hot dog buns
• 2 large hot dogs
  
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 T chili seasoning
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T prepared yellow mustard
• 8 slices center-cut bacon
• Small white onion, chopped

1. Cook the bacon in the oven at 400 F until almost done. Drain.

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the BBQ sauce, beans, chili seasoning, brown sugar and mustard. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Preheat the grill the medium high.

4. Toast the buns.

5. Cook the hot dogs.

6. Arrange bacon on buns or wrap the hot dogs with them. Top with beans, cheese, and onion and serve.