Onion Strings

These were so yummy! This recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman Cooks. The PW is amazing! I don't know where she learned to cook, but I would love to spend a weekend at her ranch learning from her!

Onion Stings

Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 large onion

2 C buttermilk

2 C all-purpose flour

1 T salt

Black pepper (she just says "plenty")

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Oil for frying

Peel the onion. Slice into very thin rings. Separate the onion slices and place in a shallow baking dish. Pour the milk over the top. Press the onions down with a fork so they are soaking in the milk. Let sit on the counter for 1 hour. Half way through, stir them so they all get coated.

In a bowl, combine the flour and spices. Pour 1-2 quarts of oil in a large pot or dutch oven and heat to 375.

Using tongs, remove a handful of onion and immediately toss in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour and put into the hot oil. Break them apart with a slotted spoon and let them fry until golden. This doesn't take long. Continue with the remaining onions.

Thin Mint Ice Cream

It's cookie time! I love Girl Scout cookies! I can't wait for February every year! I always buy too many. Wait...is that possible? Can you ever have too many Girl Scout cookies? I was a GS when I was a young girl and I was also the top seller one year in my council. Very exciting! I've seen what good the money from cookie sales can do for those girls. It helped pay for my Girl Scout camp a couple summers! Great memories! So 17 boxes later and a freezer full, we are finding things to do with our cookies besides just eat them!

For Christmas, my mom gave ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid. This thing is amazing! I was a little intimidated because I've never made my own ice cream before, but it was so easy! AND this ice cream was amazing! We shared it with friends and got rave reviews! I made a double batch because I knew we were sharing. This week I'm going to tweak the recipe and try to make it with Carmel Delights. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I had a hard time getting the ripple effect with this ice cream. I'm going to try to do it a little different with the next batch. But in the mean time...

Thin Mint Ice Cream
Source: Erin Cooks

2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk
2 tsp. peppermint extract
1o oz. hot fudge sauce
1 sleeve of thin mint cookies, crushed

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and whisk until blended. Pour in the cream, milk, and peppermint extract and whisk together. Begin freezing the mixture according to your maker's directions.

When the mixture begins coming together add the crushed cookies. In the KA, this is in the last 10 minutes. Pour half the ice cream into your freezer container. Top with the hot fudge to create a ripple layer. ***This is where I had trouble. The fudge was too heavy and sunk to the bottom of the not hardened ice cream. I think if I had frozen the ice cream to let it set and then put the layer of fudge on it would have worked better. Either way, it was still yummy!*** Top with the remaining ice cream.

Freeze in your freezer to harden the ice cream. Enjoy!!!

Bacon Pineapple Bites

So, what can I say? It's been a while! I have been cooking, but I've been really busy! Most of the stuff we've had lately has been repeats. Sorry I've been absent. I got a new job teaching 3rd grade and that consumes most of my time! I do get home in time to cook dinner thankfully. Charlie has also been begging for healthy food lately too. I find healthy food boring. One day I will have an exciting healthy recipe to share! In the mean time, we have these....

I hosted Book Club a couple weeks ago and made this yummy appetizer and black and white brownies (YUM). You make these the same way you make the sausage ones, but instead use pineapple! They reminded me of Hawaiian pizza. I would definitely make these again.


Bacon Pineapple Bites


1 fresh pineapple, cored and cut into chunks
1 lb. bacon
1 C brown sugar


Cut the bacon slices in half so they are shorter. Dredge in the sugar and wrap around the pineapple. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes and serve. So easy, so yummy!