I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

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Party Ham and Cheese Sliders

Ham and Cheese Sliders – The classic combination of ham and Swiss cheese baked warm and melty, topped with a tangy mustard poppy seed sauce.

Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE

Post Originally from 4/5/13, Pictures updated 2/3/19

Have you ever had a recipe stick with you after reading about it? I mean, like stick with you for years just waiting for you to make them? I’ve had that with these Ham and Cheese Sliders. I saw them on Emily Frame’s (old) blog way back in February of 2010.

For 3 years, I’ve thought about making them. They looked so good that I have been thinking about them since then. I kept telling myself I would make them, but just finally got around to it. Better late than never. 

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Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers- SRC

Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers

It is Secret Recipe Club time!!!

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This month I was giving the blog by  fellow native New Englander Jess. She, and husband Nick, are living in Mississippi as Nick is in the air force. Jess has the blog called Flying on Jess Fuel where she documents what she makes for the 2 of them. They met through a friend at a Mexican restaurant, where she impressed him with her jalapeno eating skills. Ohh spice! I knew I would love this blog.

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I browsed her recipes and had several in mind but I picked one that featured jalapenos! I decided to make the Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers because it would be fun to make for the upcoming Superbowl and I love them as much as Jess. They are definitely different than a typical jalapeno popper but the change up is so much fun. There are much lighter as they are not packed full of cream cheese and cheese but the cornbread gets nicely fluffy and the crunchy cheesy top is a nice finishing touch. I only made a few simple changes along the way by adding some paprika to the corn bread and then broiling at the end to get the cheese extra brown and crunchy.

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I hope that you’ll add these to your Superbowl menu. We are relaxing at home this year and I can’t wait to kick back with chips and something spicy to enjoy with a cold beer!

Jalapeno Cornbread Poppers

Makes 24 poppers

Ingredients

  • 12 medium large fresh jalapenos
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
  • 1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil.
  2. Slice each jalapeno down the center and remove seeds and ribs.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, paprika, oil, milk, corn and cheese until just mixed.
  4. Fill each jalapeno half with the cornbread batter. Sprinkle them all with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar.
  5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cornbread is firm and cooked through.
  6. Broil the cheesy top until golden brown.

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Secret Recipe Club

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts.

Sweet and Spicy Wings

sweet and spicy wings

Last year I REALLY cared about the Superbowl as the Giants were playing the Patriots again. Being a Giants fan in Patriots territory is tricky but I had high hopes that the Giants would be able to beat the Patriots again, even with Patriots’ favored to win. Even if the Giants lost it would not have been that that horrible as the Giants had beat them in 2008, all the while ripping away their chance of a perfect season. But my fierce G-men won 21-17 so I did my happy danced that Sunday night and then called out of work Tuesday to attend the parade with Price and my brother. So awesome!!!

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With my Giants not playing this year (boo-hoo!!) I don’t care about the Superbowl that much this year I still look forward to the game, the event, and the food. So with the Superbowl is less than 2 weeks away (which also means that we get our puppy in less than 2 weeks… but that is another story) I am starting to plan for what we will be enjoying during the game. There are so many options… nachos, chips and dip, quesadillas, chili, subway sandwiches, and much much more!

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When I received my Musselman’s Apple Butter Packaged I flipped through the recipe cards and I immediately knew I had to make the Sweet and Spicy Wings. I am not a big fan of wings (just too much work!), BUT my boyfriend is. So this got me try to try something new and make him something that he would love. He really enjoyed the sweet and spicy flavor as it was not the typical buffalo wing. I made myself some chicken tenders and I loved them. I cooked them for half the time so when I went to flip the wings at the 30 minute mark I added the chicken tenders and then gave them a quick flip after they had been in their for 15 minutes. Everything was so quick and easy to assemble, however it’s not a last minute dish as it takes some time to marinate, but that planning is so worth it!!

Sweet and Spicy Wings

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Musselman’s Apple Butter
  • 1/2 c hot sauce
  • 1/2 c ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp celery salt
  • 2 pounds uncooked chicken wings (drumettes and wingettes) or tenders
  • 2 Tbsp butter, melted

Process

  1. Combine the apple butter, hot sauce, ketchup, and celery salt in a medium bowl.
  2. Reserve 3/4 cup of the sauce,  cover and refrigerate.
  3. Marinate the wings by coating them with the sauce and covering the bowl. Or coat the with the sauce in a plastic zip storage bag. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking pan (about 10×13-inch) with foil for easy clean up. Place the wings in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake the wings for 30 minutes then flip and baste with the remaining marinade. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until wings are fork-tender.
  5. While baking the wings, warm the ¾ cup of reserved sauce with the melted butter and serve as a dipping sauce with wings.

Options: Substitute fresh chicken tenders for the wings- depending on the size of pieces, reduce the cooking time to 30-35 minutes total. Broil or grill instead of baking

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Musselmans Apple Butter_Giveaway

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

You can win a Musselman’s package including a jar of apple butter, a and recipe cards.

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you are looking to enjoy during the Superbowl.

Extra Entries!!! 

  1. Tweet: “I want to win @Musselmansapple Apple Butter Package including a serving bowl from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-33Q #AppleButterRecipes“
  2. Follow @Musselmanapple’s on twitter to stay in touch with them.
  3. Like the Musselman’s Facebook page and to stay connected.

Come back and leave a comment each time to get 3 extra entries

Contest Ends Sunday, January 27th at Midnight EST. Good luck but if you don’t win be sure to go to your jam/jelly aisle at your local grocery store and pick up a jar of Musselman’s Apple Butter!

Bacon, Mushroom, Onion, and Cheese Stuffed Bread

It’s been a year since I’ve started to participate in Secret Recipe Club and I have really enjoyed this past year.It’s been so much fun getting to interact with other bloggers and to make some really fun recipes. I can’t wait for the next year with this great group!

 

 

This month I had Anne’s blog called Anne Jisca’s Healthy Pursuits. Wouldn’t you know I think the pick the 1 indulgent thing on the blog. She has great soups, breads, so many other great fresh homemade recipes on her blog. Of course I pick one with bacon and cheese. It’s just that once I saw her Bacon Cheese Stuffed Bread I knew I needed to have it. It would just work out perfectly to enjoy on a leisurely Sunday with some NASCAR and Football on. Plus, some Frankenstorm updates watching didn’t hurt! Oh, Hurricane Sandy, please be nice!

 

 

I made some changes to the original recipe in that I don’t have bacon bits at home so I used regular bacon and then I added mushroom and onion to the mix. I just figured adding some mushroom and onion would add to the overall flavor. Plus knowing it would basically be lunch it should have a veggie in there. ha! This was really simple to prepare and was so good. I highly suggest making this or a few different kinds, maybe with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, or some sauteed chopped broccoli. It’s the perfect game day treat!

Bacon, Mushroom, Onion, and Cheese Stuffed Bread

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 boule loaf of bread (8oz)
  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 8 oz o mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 small white onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 pinch red pepper flake
  • 2 oz of freshly grated cheese, such as cheddar or Gruyere

Process

  1. Prepare the bread but cutting a cross hatch in the loaf almost all the way through. Place the bread onto a baking sheet lined with a large piece of tin foil.
  2. Cut the bacon into small pieces. In a medium sized skillet, cook on medium low until completely cooked. Drain on a paper towel. Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon drippings.
  3. Over medium heat, cook the mushrooms and onion in the same skillet with the bacon drippings as well as the butter. season with red pepper flake, salt and pepper. Once the mushroom and onion are cooked down add the bacon back into the skillet.
  4. Add the bacon, mushroom, and onion mixture into the crevices of the bread. Freshly grate the cheese over the entire bread. Gently, wrap the foil over the bread to tent it over the cheese.
  5. In a preheated 350 degree oven, bake the bread for 15 minutes. Open the foil to expose the top and broil for 1-2 minutes to get a golden brown top.

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Secret Recipe Club

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

September: Spiced Black Bean, Grilled Avocado, and Goat Cheese Tacos

August: Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles

July: Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs

June: Cheesy Garlic Knots

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Fried Pickles

Secret Recipe Club took January off while some rules, groups, organizers were updated. I really missed it that month. I love the fun of finding my blog in the list and seeing what someone picked to make from my recipe index. In this case I hope that Rebecca from A Dash of Thyme is happy to find my blog and see what I made. Pricer and I went through her recipe index several times and had a tough time picking. For a while we planned on doing Grilled Santa Fe Burgers but in the end we decided to make Fried Pickles to go with dinner we were having to celebrate the Daytona 500 (which was pushed to today because of bad weather 🙁 ).

 

 

This reminded us of our trip to Charlotte where we ate amazing fried pickle appetizers with our BBQ. Having the fried pickles last night with our pulled pork and cole slaw was perfect. The wine with dinner didn’t hurt but I’ll stay focused on the food… The pickles were perfectly seasoned allowing an extra level of flavor to them while still letting the pickle shine through. We just had them plain with our dinner but they would be great as party food with some ranch dressing.

 

Fried Pickles

*serves 4*

Ingredients

  • 3 whole kosher dill pickles
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup of pickle juice
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • pinch garlic powder
  • pinch of onion powder
  • pinch of paprika
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • Canola oil, for frying

Process

  1. Slice the pickles into 1/4″ thick slices.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the egg and pickle juice.
  3. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and ground pepper.  Stir to combine well.
  4. In batches, dip the pickle slices flour mixture, then in the egg mixture, shaking off the excess, and then dredge in the flour mixture to finish.
  5. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, bring 1-inch of oil to 375 degrees F.  Fry the pickles in batches until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, flipping half way through.
  6. Transfer the fried pickles to a paper towel lined rack.

Secret Recipe Club

Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Caprese Bites

I have really been struggling with coming up with any ideas. This always happens to me when we begin to transition from light summery meals to warm, heartier ones. I don’t want to slip awa from my light fresh salads and grilled chicken,  and to dive into roasted root vegetables or heavy stews just yet. So at this point I spend more time wandering around the grocery store or Haymarket, where I get the majority of my fresh vegetables. However, during one visit to Haymarket I spotted pearl tomatoes and knew exactly what I wanted to make… Caprese bites!

 

Grabbing some mozzarella balls and fresh basil this came together easily and quickly. I decided that the simplest approach would be to make the tomato the vessel for the mozzarella and the basil. Basil is really flavorful so I would not need much so just a little piece could be layered with the cheese and tomato, possibly even hidden entirely so it would surprise the person enjoying the caprese bite.

I decided to create 2 different sizes of caprese bites allowing serving to be flexible. Halving the tomatoes makes more smaller bites which could be appealing when needing to serve a large crowd. These are perfectly bite size.

I also decided to make larger bites by only slicing part of the tomato and scooping out the inside guts creating a larger cup. This would allow the entire mozzarella ball to snuggly fit inside the tomato with the basil leaf. This makes for a larger bite for someone but I think that serving these could be a bit easier as someone would just need to snag one with a toothpick.

 

Caprese Bites

*Makes 20 or 40 caprese bites, depending on preparation*

Ingredients

  • 20 Cherry Tomatoes
  • 10 or 20 Mozzarella balls
  • 10 to 20  Fresh basil leaves
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Process to prepare 20 bites

  1. Wash tomatoes and basil leaves
  2. Cut a small portion of each cherry tomatoes at one end. Scoop out the wet flesh and seeds.
  3. Rip the basil leaves in 2 or 3 pieces, depending on size.
  4. Lay a piece of basil leaf into the tomato cup, and then carefully add the mozzarella ball.
  5. Repeat the stuffing process for the rest of the 19 tomato pieces.
  6. Slice a sliver of the tomato to make a flat bottom to prevent it from rolling around.
  7. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper prior to serving.

Process to prepare 40 bites

  1. Wash tomatoes and basil leaves
  2. Halve cherry tomatoes and clean out the wet flesh and seeds
  3. Halve the 20 mozzarella balls
  4. Rip the basil leaves in 2 or 3 pieces, depending on size.
  5. Lay a piece of basil leaf into the halved tomato, and then add the halved mozzarella ball, curved side down.
  6. Repeat the stuffing process for the rest of the 39 tomato pieces.
  7. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper prior to serving.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive. 

Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket

Pigs in a Blanket are a classic hor dourves. They commonly grace plates at parties because they are easy to make, can be dressed up, and are loved by all. I felt that with New Years quickly approaching! that I had to whip of a few to celebrate a bit early since we will be traveling for New Years.

I, being a cheese lover, added cheese to my pigs in a blanket. I used Swiss cheese because it has a great flavor to stand up to the buttery crescent roll. Using sliced cheese is better than using shredded cheese because it is easier to work with and evenly portion.

Enjoy the Piggies with a dipping sauce. I prefer mustard because it goes so well with hot dogs. Since I used swiss cheese in the recipe, I suggest a Dijon mustard because it is fairly acidic and it holds up against the strong swiss.

Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket

Makes 24

Ingredients

  • 1 package of cresent rolls (8 rolls)
  • 6 hot dogs
  • 2 slices of cheese, I suggest swiss

Process

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Cut each crescent piece into 3 triangles, cut each hot dog into 4 pieces, and each slice of cheese into 12 slices. This results in 24 pieces of each ingredient.
  3. To assemble the pigs in a blanket, lay out a piece of crescent roll, then a piece of cheese, and then a piece of hot dog. Roll the crescent to seal.
  4. Arrange all pieces on baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
  5. Serve with mustard.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.