Black-Eyed Pea Salsa

I can't believe it's the last day of 2014! This year flew by and although it was amazing, I'm glad to wipe the slate clean and start a new year of fun and memories. To start 2015 off with a touch of good luck, I've decided to make a Black-Eyed Pea dish for my family. If Black-Eyed Peas truly do bring prosperity, I say bring it! I wasn't sure what dish I was going to incorporate Black-Eyed Peas into this year until I received a Christmas present from my fantastic husband - The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations.Black-Eyed Pea Salsa is one of the first recipes in the book and I was immediately sold!

I'm completely guilty of wanting to cook everything that Ree Drummond has shared and this was no exception. Plus, I love that starting the New Year with this Black-Eyed Pea Salsa means having a healthy beginning to 2015 - this recipe is packed with fresh produce!!

Before we get to the recipe for this delicious Black-Eyed Pea Salsa - I must give a big ol' shout-out to the book it came from! The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidaysis a great cookbook for anyone who likes down-home cooking and loves to get festive during the holidays. This cookbook starts off with recipes for New Year's Day and ends, after a yearful of scrumptious holiday recipes, with recipes for New Year's Eve. This book makes my heart go "pitter-patter" with love!!

Plus it's packed full of Ree's entertaining anecdotes and adorable family photos. It was one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year! I didn't even know this book existed, which probably makes me a HORRIBLE Ree Drummond fan - however, I'm trying to make up for it by spreading the word on this amazing cookbook. From the Valentine's Day Romantic Dinner for Two that includes Bacon-Wrapped Filets and a Bacon-Cheddar Wedge Salad to a Gingerbread House and Rum Pudding Cake for Christmas - I want it all!! {like Veruca from Willy Wonka, no shame here...} Awesome cookbook, enough said. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve tonight! Be safe and happy - see you next year!!

Black-Eyed Pea Salsa
{printable recipe}
yields approximately 4 cups
Ingredients
3 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
1.Combine all ingredients together and allow to chill for at least one hour before serving. Serve alongside tortilla chips and enjoy!
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

Bacon-Wrapped Appetizers for Your Next Party {Asian-Inspired}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #TaiPeiGoodFortune

Although the year is almost over, we still have one last celebration before the big ball drops. I'm talking about New Year's Eve y'all! I'm not going to let that food coma I'll be recovering from after Christmas sway me from whipping up something creative for the last night of the year. I want to serve something unexpected, unique, easy-to-cook and absolutely delicious to a small crowd of family and friends on New Year's Eve this year and I've done a couple trial runs on appetizers. My kids LOVE Asian food, so I decided to stick with an Asian-theme and create restaurant-inspired goodies for us all. My favorite are these Tai Pei Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls - wrapped in bacon and skewered of course!

Before we go any further, I must give a massive shout-out to these Tai Pei products. If you like Egg Rolls and/or Spring Rolls - you must try these! I've had my fair {probably more than fair...} share of frozen egg rolls and spring rolls and Tai Pei's are BY FAR my favorite. From the delicious crispy wrappers to the hearty pieces of meat and fresh-cut veggies - the flavor of these rolls will blow you away. {the included sauce is pretty awesome too!} Tai Pei combines authentic Asian-style cuisine, exciting flavor variety and a fun takeout-style experience ready to eat in just minutes. Just try them, at least once, and you'll see exactly what I am talking about!

Ok, ok - back to these Bacon-Wrapped goodies!

So easy to make, just wrap a single piece of bacon around the egg rolls or spring rolls and pop in the oven. The bacon-wrapped rolls cooked for the same amount of time as the un-bacon-wrapped rolls - 15 minutes and they were ready to be served!

I decided to skewer only  the Spring Rolls since the the Egg Rolls are a bit larger and I didn't want them falling off the skewer sticks. However, Tai Pei also makes Mini Egg Rolls which would be perfect for a little skewing action. {my absolute favorites are the Spicy Mini Chicken Egg Rolls - so tasty and perfectly spicy!}

I am going to serve these Bacon-Wrapped Tai Pei Rolls alongside Hoisin Meatballs {recipe}, Lettuce Wraps {recipe} and Tai Pei Chicken Potstickers. While I will spend a little more time preparing the meatballs and lettuce wraps - I like to think about all the time I am saving by not having to hand-make the egg/spring rolls and potstickers. Less time in the kitchen means more time celebrating with my family & friends!

I found the Tai Pei Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls at Walmart in the entree section of the freezer. Although the shelves are normally fully stocked, this past weekend they were out of several varieties - looks like these are a hot item this season!

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Bacon-Wrapped Maple & Brown Sugar Mini Meatloaves

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #QuakerUp #LoveMyCereal

I've been on a Meatloaf Mission since I've started cooking for my husband, some 7 years ago. There have been plenty of good meatloaves served at our dinner table, but nothing spectacular. Not until now. My mission has come to an end as I now have "My Meatloaf"! My secret ingredient? Quaker Life Maple & Brown Sugar Cereal. {Because what fun is a fabulous recipe without a secret ingredient?!?} I already had my heart set on making these Bacon-Wrapped Maple & Brown Sugar Mini Meatloaves, but decided to jazz them up a bit by replacing regular breadcrumbs with cereal breadcrumbs. DIY Maple & Brown Sugar Breadcrumbs - with just a push of the food processor ON button.

It takes 2 cups of Quaker Life Maple & Brown Sugar Cereal to make ¾ cup Maple & Brown Sugar Breadcrumbs. And while I realize they're not technically "breadcrumbs", since they're not made of actual bread - they do the same job, so stick with me here. This recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Maple & Brown Sugar Mini Meatloaves calls for ¾ cup of Maple & Brown Sugar Breadcrumbs which means there is still an almost-full box of Quaker Life Cereal left to enjoy in the morning for breakfast. {Bonus!} I love the sweet and crunchy goodness of Life cereal to kick off my day and lucky for me, my kids do too - so it's a cereal we all agree on. {Double Bonus!!}

These Bacon-Wrapped Maple & Brown Sugar Mini Meatloaves are incredibly moist, ultra flavorful and have even the most anti-meatloaf person finishing their plate. {true story, my children are the proof!} I am so excited to be sharing this recipe with you - it's a keeper!!

Bacon-Wrapped Maple & Brown Sugar Mini Meatloaves
yields five 1-cup loaves
{PRINTABLE RECIPE}
Ingredients
1½ lbs ground beef
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup Maple & Brown Sugar Breadcrumbs {see recipe below}
2 eggs
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup ketchup
½ cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
5 slices bacon
Glaze
¼ cup ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Directions
1.Heat oven to 350
2.Mix together all ingredients except bacon {first 11 ingredients} until well combined. Measure out five 1 cup portions and shape into small loaves. Place on baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3.After loaves have chilled, wrap one piece of bacon around each loaf.
4.Bake for 30-35 minutes, until loaves have started to brown. Remove from oven, raise temperature of oven to 400.
5.Mix together glaze ingredients {this can be done while loaves are in oven} and brush onto loaves.
6.Bake for additional 10 minutes.
7.Serve and enjoy!!

Maple & Brown Sugar Breadcrumbs
{yields ¾ cup breadcrumbs}
Ingredients
2 cups Quaker Life Maple & Brown Sugar Cereal
Directions
1.Place cereal in food processor.

I was able to get all the ingredients for this recipe at Walmart, where they have an excellent range of Quaker products. Discover the goodness of Quaker Oats with Quaker Life, Oatmeal Squares, Real Medleys, or Simply Granola products - so many delicious choices!

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Chopped Chicken Sliders with Tabasco Cheese Sauce {Delicious Party Food}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #SeasonedGreetings

For my family, this season has not been all about the holiday parties or get-togethers as usual - it's been a lot more about spending quality time together with our immediate family. Between his job, my job and homeschooling the kiddos it seems that everyday we are stretching what little time we have left to just "hang" together. It's important to us that our family connects all year long, but it is especially important during the holiday season. One of our favorite winter pastimes is snuggling up together to watch some of our favorite Christmas movies. This past weekend we go to do just that, get cuddled and cozied up with the kiddos to enjoy The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - one of our absolute favorites! I wanted to whip up some delicious party food for the occasion and decided to make these Chopped Chicken Sliders with Tabasco Sauce.

Although Tabasco has several favor varieties I opted to use their Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce due to it being milder than their Original Red Sauce.{plus it didn't hurt that our movie choice was The Grinch, who just happens to also be green!} Let me be clear - only the heat is milder , the sauce is still packing a FABULOUS punch of flavor. While my husband and I love hot hot sauces, my kiddos can only take so much heat - making Tabasco's Green Pepper Sauce the perfect choice for our movie-night dish. Of course I still had to pick up a bottle of Tabasco's Original Red Sauce and Chipotle Sauce for when I can pour hot sauce onto my own food {it's so versatile it goes on almost anything!} and not worry about the kiddos grabbing it.

Beside these three flavors Tabasco also has Buffalo Style Hot Sauce, Habanero Sauce, Garlic Pepper Sauce and Sweet & Spicy Sauce. So much goodness packed into 5oz. bottles!! Tabasco has a pretty nice user interface on their website, it's totally worth a peek to check out their products, recipes and seriously a whole bunch more. It's ok, you can go see for yourself and I'll wait right here. :)

You back? Ok, let's get to this recipe for Chopped Chicken Sliders with Tabasco Cheese Sauce. It's pretty basic and under 10 ingredients.

Plus it yields more Tabasco Cheese Sauce than will be needed for a dozen (or two) sliders - so use it as a dipping sauce, it went marvelous with french fries. Or maybe make some to pour on some baked potatoes. Or use it for a fondue and dip an array of goodies in it - from breads to veggies to apples. The cheese sauce would even be great for dipping tortilla chips. I love the kick of flavor that the Tabasco Green Jalapeño Sauce added to the cheese sauce, not an overwhelming spiciness but instead the perfect flavor enhancement!

Chopped Chicken Sliders
(PRINTABLE RECIPE)
yields 12 sliders
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
½ chop chopped onion
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I used grilled chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in skillet. Add green bell peppers, cook until starting to get tender - 4-5 minutes. Add onions, cook until started to turn translucent - 2-3 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper and heat thoroughly. Remove from heat.
2.Slice rolls in half and add chicken mixture evenly.
3.Drizzle Tabasco Cheese Sauce over top of chicken mixture before adding top bun to rolls. Serve immediately.

Tabasco Green Pepper Cheese Sauce
(PRINTABLE RECIPE)
yields 2 cups
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon chopped onion
2 cups warm milk
8 oz. Provolone cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Directions
1.Over medium heat, melt butter. Mix in onions. Add flour, whisking continuously for a minute to create a roux.
2. With slotted spoon, remove onions. Stir in milk slowly while continuing to stir. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until mixture has thickened, stirring frequently.
3.Stir in cheese and Tabasco sauce. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

I'm sure Tabasco is pretty much available at most grocers, but just a quick heads up that it can be found at Walmart. "My" store had it near the BBQ Sauces. Happy shopping!!

Smoked Salmon Breakfast Enchiladas {plus a Cheese Lover's Giveaway!}

Today's post and giveaway are sponsored by Arla Dofino, whose naturally-made cheese helped to make these delectable Smoked Salmon Breakfast Enchiladas possible! #HavartiHolidays

We recently had some friends visit from out-of-town, for the Thanksgiving holiday, and were lucky enough to have them shacked up at our place. Although their schedules were full of holiday hustle and bustle with family, we were still able to enjoy a homemade breakfast together. I had bought a couple packages of Arla Dofino Dill Havarti to be accompanied by smoked salmon as part of a meat and cheese plate, but since breakfast was all we had time for - I decided to improvise. I'd been dying to make a batch of breakfast enchiladas and jumped on this opportunity to fulfill my desires.

Even though these Smoked Salmon Breakfast Enchiladas are not the run-of-the-mill breakfast enchiladas, they are sure to please. Our guests were delightfully impressed by the use of smoked salmon in a breakfast dish, especially after being fed turkey and ham at various family members house over the weekend. Although it wasn't the night of cocktails and finger foods that we originally had planned, it was still an amazing time spent together.  It's certainly true that the holidays are all about spending time together!! Over breakfast, we were able to catch up with each other and re-charge our holiday energy over a refreshingly different meal.

I must give a major shout-out to Arla Dofino's Havarti cheeses. Their cheeses are free of added hormones and preservatives, and crafted with quality, natural ingredients in an environmentally friendly way. Arla Dofino is hands-down one of my favorite cheese brands! They also produce Gouda, Fontina, Muenster and Edam cheeses but their Havarti varieties have my heart. In addition to the Dill variety, Arla Dofino also makes Creamy Havarti, Havarti with Caraway, Havarti with Jalapeno and Hickory Smoked Havarti. I am in love with these savory selections!

The Dill Havarti was the perfect cheese to use for the Smoked Salmon Breakfast Enchiladas, in fact our guests requested the name of the brand so they could buy some when they got back home. If you would like to try Arla Dofino cheeses for yourself, you can cop a $1 off coupon on their site. Arla Dofino cheeses can be found in the deli section (not the dairy section) of most grocery stores. There is a super easy store locater found on the Arla website.

Smoked Salmon Breakfast Enchiladas
{PRINTABLE RECIPE}
yields 6 enchiladas
Ingredients
3 small potatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup white onion, minced
5 large eggs, scrambled
8oz. smoked salmon, sliced
8oz. Arla Dofino Dill Havarti, shredded
6 fajita flour tortillas
salt and pepper to season
Directions
1. In large skillet, heat olive oil and butter to medium-high heat. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Stir potatoes so seasonings are evenly distributed. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let cook for 5-6 minutes, or until starting to brown. Stir potatoes again, cover and let cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in onions, let cook uncovered until onions start to soften - about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool.
2. Heat oven to 375.
3. Divide fried potatoes, eggs, salmon (use as much or little as you like, this really depends on taste preference) and 1 cup of the cheese over the 6 tortillas. Roll tortillas up, 1 at a time, and place next to each other in casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cup of the Arla Dofino Havarti Dill over the top of the rolled enchiladas. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove foil and broil until edges of tortillas are browned.
5. Enjoy!!

Arla Dofino is offering one (1) Hungry Harps reader a prize pack valued over $60! The prize pack includes:

- Crate & Barrel mixing bowl
- Anthropologie whisk
- Crate & Barrel cheese grater
- A coupon for one free Arla Dofino product
- Set of Arla Dofino recipe cards

To enter...
1. Visit the Happy Havarti Holidays Breakfast Prize Pack Giveaway Pinterest Landing Page and follow the brand
2. Go to the Happy Havarti Holidays board and select their favorite breakfast recipe
3. Copy the recipe link and paste it in the comments section telling me why you picked it.

Giveaway ends December 15, 2014 at 8am PST. US residents only. Must be 18 years old to enter.