Blender Beans

Still using and old cookbook I have for recipes using the blender...

These beans in this burrito are amazing...

Place one can kidney beans with juice in the blender, along with six sliced cooked bacon plus 2 T of the bacon drippings, along with 1/2 tsp salt.  Blend til thoroughly combined.

Return beans to your skillet where you fried the bacon, drain a second can of kidney beans and add to the skillet, mashing slightly.

Cook over low heat until bean mixture thickens, about 10 min.

For the burrito, I rolled up seasoned ground beef, the bean mixture, and cheese in a flour tortilla.

Serve with smashed avocado (with lime juice and S & P), and homemade salsa.

You'll LOVE these!

Off the Kabob

This recipe is from Bubba's Beez Cookbook again, using honey as a star ingredient, but it called for skewers and a grill.  I had time for neither tonite, so I made it off the kabob, tweaked it a bit and it was delish:

4 chicken breasts cut into cubes, 1 large onion cut into 2 inch pieces, 1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into pieces and 2 cloves garlic chopped - marinated in 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper - for about 30 minutes.

I heated a skillet and added all of the above, and let it cook, flipping around once or twice, until chicken and veggies were tender and cooked through.  Be careful - honey can burn easily.

This would be great with rice, but we had it with potatoes...and the flavor was great!

Scarf for Summer

This scarf caught my eye for two reasons - it's thin (for summer's warm temps) and it has this cute laced leather piece that brings it together!  It is from Strut, a store in my hometown - Austin TX.  If you're not local, you can totally make this yourself with a thin scarf, a piece of leather, and a string or lace!

Summer Hats

Shopping at an outdoor mall today, I stopped in Claire's to get a gift and found these really cute hats - I bought one!  These top two are on line, but the one I bought is only in the store - on clearance $5!!!

Cute Lanterns

Found this cute lantern on the shelves (in other colors too!) at Target for $7.99 - it's actually a camping lantern.  I like it for the patio and we will take it with us on outings and picnics! It has a dimmer switch, so you can have it shine brightly or very subtly....

Honey Granola Bars

Yet another winner from my new honey cookbook Bubba's Beez.  These granola bars bake up so nicely and cut into pieces without falling apart, AND they taste delicious.  They even taste nutty, but there are no nuts in them!

Here's the recipe:

And here are the bars: (be sure not to burn them!)

For the 4th

Spotted these on the aisle at Target - $5 each - great for picnicking, toting toys, carrying books - super cute for summer and 4th!