Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Red White and Blue Burger Bites

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Cindy Kerschner

Red White and Blue Burger Bites say, “Happy Birthday USA!” Bite-sized burgers topped with roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese, crushed blue corn chips and garlic mayo.

Part of a great lineup of #July4th recipes and ideas from Festive Foodies! Thank you Ellen from Family Around the Table for hosting our event!

Happy Independence Day!

via GIPHY

How do you celebrate on July 4th? We usually do a quiet meal from the grill. A few burgers, a couple of doggies some juicy corn on the cob and sides of potato, slaw and pasta salad.

Burgers are so easy to dress up. A standard sized burger of 1/3 or 1/4 pound and the sides is all I need. Sometimes I can’t help myself and want to dress it up a little.

Better yet, I’ll make sliders. Yummy bite-sized burgers that we can mix and match.
These beauties are dressed in their very best outfits! Lol!

I used fresh Certified Angus Beef® brand ground beef. No fillers allowed here! Only salt and pepper. Topping these to keep with the Festive Foodies Red, White and Blue Food theme was pretty easy.

Each burger bite is layered with melted mozzarella cheese, roasted red pepper strips, blue corn tortilla crumbles and roasted garlic mayo! you can find the recipe for the roasted garlic mayo here!

Food for Thought…How do you do Red, White & Blue food? I’d love to hear your ideas in a comment below!

Enjoy all these great recipes and ideas from Festive Foodies!

American Pride Cookies by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
Berry Sangria Macaron by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Cherry Berry Buckle Cake by Cookaholic Wife
Firecracker Marshmallow Pops by Family Around the Table
Firecracker Roll by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Patriotic Pudding Firecrackers by Daily Dish Recipes
Patriotic Red, White, Blue Cupcakes by Girl Abroad
Patriotic S’mores Brownies by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
Red White and Blue Burger Bites by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Red, White, and Blue Chia Puddings by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad by Simple and Savory
Red, White, and Blue Popcorn by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Red, White, & Blue Ricotta Ice Cream by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Posted in #FestiveFoodies, beef, burger, grill, ground beef, July 4th, picnic, What's For Dinner? | Tagged cookout | 20 Comments

Coconut Cherry Pineapple Blondies

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Cindy Kerschner

Coconut Cherry Pineapple Blondies blend the flavors of Pineapple Upside Down Cake with tropical flare!

I’ve been doing food demos and you get to keep the leftover product. In my case, all those display cans of pineapple and bags of coconut add up.
Luckily I love both! But not both every day!
So I’m on a tropical kick to see what I can come up with for the dessert first.
Snack bars are easy and fun to make. I used a blondie recipe. The texture is a cross between a brownie and a cookie. Soft yet chewy.
Well drained pineapple cuts the sweetness a bit.
Toasted coconut adds a bit of crunch and looks so cool too!

Coconut Cherry Pineapple Blondies

Yum

Coconut Cherry Pineapple Blondies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 9 to 12 pieces

Serving Size: 1 each

Coconut Cherry Pineapple Blondies

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted plus 2 tablespoons to grease foil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped dark cherries
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Instructions

Blondie

Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with foil. Allow a few inches to hang off the ends. Brush foil with melted butter or shortening. Set aside.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add egg. Add to dry mixture.
Spread dough evenly over bottom of the pan. Dot with cherry pieces. Use a knife to swirl into dough.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow pan to cool about 10 to 15 minutes before removing blondies with foil intact. Lift foil by overlap "handles" and set on rack to finish cooling.
Cut cooled blondies into desired sizes.
Top with crushed pineapple, toasted coconut. Add cherry half if desired.

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Food for Thought… What’s your favorite pineapple and coconut combo? I’d love to hear your ideas in a comment below!

Posted in baking, breakfast, brownies, brunch, cherry, coconut, comfort food, dessert, pineapple, tropical, What's For Dinner? | Comments Off

Simply Satisfying Salads for 4th of July

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Cindy Kerschner

Simply Satisfying Salads for 4th of July

Here’s a few salads your guests will dive into at your next summer party!

Grilled Asparagus Salad
Light crisp and crunchy asparagus in a lemon basil vinaigrette.

Strawberry Pasta Salad
Sweet strawberries and sesame seeds tossed with pasta.
Cranberry Walnut Potato Salad

Tart cranberries and crunchy nuts kick this potato salad up a notch!
Meatball and Zoodle Salad

Beefy taste with zucchini noodles!
Yankee Doodle Noodle Salad

…and they called it macaroni. Salad that is! Crunchy colorful veggies and pasta.
Cobb Salad Bar

Chicken with all the fixings! Guests can make their own salad from chicken, egg, bacon, tomatoes, cheese and more!

Smoked Brisket Potato Salad
Tender smoked beef, potatoes, crisp radishes and bright green onions drizzled with a smoky-sweet mustard vinaigrette.

Posted in beef, salad, vegetables, What's For Dinner? | Comments Off

Chef Summit Recap #CertifiedAngusBeef Event

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Cindy Kerschner

This post is sponsored by Certified Angus Beef® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

I recently attended a Chef Summit at Certified Angus Beef® brand Headquarters in Wooster, Ohio. The 3 day event brought together chefs from across the United States and Canada to learn about Certified Angus Beef® brand philosophy of farm to table accountability.

“From the Angus cattle ranchers dedicated to raising the highest quality beef to the consumers who rely on theCertified Angus Beef® brand for quality, it’s about partnering for success.”–The Certified Angus Beef® brand team.

From ranch…

to science-based specifications…

and onto the consumer table.

I was lucky to share this adventure with fellow bloggers, Alexis and Chris Grove from Nibble Me This and David Dial from Spiced.
I never feel like a visitor at the Certified Angus Beef® brand Culinary Center. Even when we ham it up for the camera!

We also got to tour the headquarters, kitchens and production areas where Certified Angus Beef® brand Facebook Live gets filmed!

Forty years of history here!

Back at Culinary Center, we got to spend a hands-on session in the Meat Lab with Meat Scientists, Carson Rogers and Diana Clark. They made breaking down a side of beef look easy. Not exactly so!
Here Carson explains the ways inspectors grade the carcass.

The purpose of the lab session was to demonstrate how economical Certified Angus Beef® brand can be for the chefs to use. We learned about which cuts come from which areas. Better ways were offered to use those cuts and eliminate waste.
Here Diana explains preparing brisket for the smoker.

This Osso Bocco style was fashioned from a beef rib. These were cooked low and slow and made fabulous tacos for lunch!

We also were treated to these Certified Angus Beef® brand appetizers and beef sausages.

One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Atterholt Farm. This farm is run by brothers Aaron and Mike Atterholt and their wives, both named Mandy!

The Atterholt Farm is a breeding farm that sells cattle for sire. Here Aaron explains how cattle are rated and registered to qualify as Certified Angus Beef® brand.

This calf named Frederick needed to be bottle fed and eventually will return to the herd. Murphy the family dog keeps him company every chance he gets.

Hay is stored in these plastic row covers to get cattle fed through winter.

Back at the Culinary Center is was time for the Chef Cook-Off!
It was great seeing Chef Tony Biggs again! He was one of our judges for the Chef Artistry in Action Contest!

Here was our entry. A Coulotte steak with pickled blackberries, shaved onions, peppers, micro radish greens and bathed in beef suet.

Check out this beef belly! All the entries were so creative!

Of course we sampled every entry!

After lunch it was time to head home.
Thanks Certified Angus Beef® brand for a wonderful experience. Happy 40th year anniversary for bringing us #BestAngusBeef from dedicated ranchers to our tables!