S'More [Bacon] Trail Mix

It's summertime, people! That means there has been more baseball tournaments kicked up or attending your favorite baseball team's game(s), swimming, vacations, and...camping!

Now then, I'm not what you'd call an "outdoorsy person". I will go camping, but I'm picky about it. I will go in the woods, but it had better be in a camper...or better yet...a cabin. I'm not a fan of the heat & needing to apply 8 layers of super high sunscreen. I feel like I put in my dues doing years of tent camping on family vacations as a kid. From KOA to KOA as we'd go from state to state. I'm in a different phase of life & would prefer the indoors now.

I will make a few exceptions, however. I love a cool morning on the deck with my coffee in the peaceful stillness while smelling the moisture of the dew as it accentuates the green smell of the grass & leaves. Or, if at the lake since my hubby & sons love the camping scene, I love going out with the early morning fishers in the boat. It's quiet, still, peaceful listening to the water. Yeah...that.

But I'll admit that I do love a good campfire/bonfire/firepit going. I do love roaring & crackling of the fire while roasting up marshmallows...and even more so adding the marshmallow to graham crackers with chocolate. Mmm-mmm-mmm...gimme s'more of that!

Now then, since not everyone enjoys that scene, I came up with a cheater to-go s'mores that anyone can have at nearly anytime!

As it turns out, there was recently quite the baconfest going on in Colorado. Mmmmm...bacon...
So my hubby would keep me up to date on what was going down at the baconfest. And one of the things served was bacon s'mores! BACON S'MORES, people! WHAT??? Mmmmmm...

My hubby has been kind enough to make me chocolate covered bacon before. Yeah...only part of why I love him. And if you can have chocolate covered bacon...why not add some marshmallows & graham? Right? So I started researching & decided to make it a fun trail mix!

So, here's what I did:

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S'MORE [BACON] TRAIL MIX

Ingredients:

~ 1 C Golden Grahams cereal
~ 1 C Teddy Grahams (honey flavor)
~ 1/2 C Milk Chocolate Chips (I used Hershey's)
~ 1/2 C Milk Chocolate M&M's
~ 1 C mini marshmallows
~ 1 C mini marshmallow bites (little dehydrated ones)
~ 1/2 C bacon bits

Directions:

* Place all the ingredients into a large bowl

* Mix together

* Consume


+ Yield: about 9 servings of about 1/2 a cup each

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I love the idea of the different textures & the presentation of this trail mix. There's still the graham in the cereal, the marshmallows & the Hershey chocolate for the traditional look of the s'more. You can always stop at those ingredients if you'd like. But I wanted to bump up the color, the sizes...plus...I had to add the bears for the woodsy-campy feel! Oh...and...uh...BACON!

You can always use turkey bacon bits or imitation bacon bits, too. Or you can leave out the bacon all together if it's something you think is too weird.

Something else you can do for a switch up is by adding nuts or seeds of sorts. You can also maybe use Reece's Pieces or peanut butter M&M's if you want to add a bit of the nutty taste to the mix. You can even add mini pretzels or pretzel sticks, also! Or switch up the chocolate to dark chocolate or white chocolate for something different.

And? You can enjoy them while camping, while on the go, when out watching fireworks, or just while watching the TV from your couch or from inside your blanket fort in the living room. It's S'mores-to-go, people! It's not gooey...the only real mess you'd make is if you spilled it. But it's still easy clean up!

*Note: Use just the M&M's or hardshell candy if you plan on being in the heat for a while.

The jar on top as no bacon.
The jars below are marked with "B" since the have bacon.

Oh...and just store in snack-size plastic baggies, or small jars (like mason jars or reuse baby food jars to hold it). Then you can just pick up some s'more snacking & head out the door! Or it's easy transport when you go camping. Recharge some childhood-like memories with this mix! S'mores, M&Ms, Teddy Grahams, marshmallows...I mean...C'mon!

ENJOY!

Summer Dublin Coddle

Since my family is trying to eat better & cleaner, there have been some switch up in dishes & recipes. Even though we haven't given up EVERYTHING...we have been working hard to work in some better-for-you stuffs &/or changing up some of the ingredients we use.

With that said, I still had some overstock of mixed greens (find out my leafy greens mix HERE), so I was trying to figure out what to use. After doing the cleaner eating research, I knew it was pretty good to get some turkey in the mix. And since I had some cabbage & kale to use, I decided revisit my Dublin Coddle (recipe HERE)! However, it's pretty heavy & perfect for fall & winter eating. With my previous recipe, there were some things missing that could help lighten it up! Well...I changed that a bit.

Here's what I did:

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SUMMER DUBLIN CODDLE

Ingredients:

~ 1 pkg. turkey Lit'l Smokies
~ 1/4 C turkey bacon bits
~ 1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
~ 1 small onion, sliced
~ 6 C brewed green tea
~ 2 chicken bouillon cubes
~ 1/8 C chopped parsley
~ 2 medium carrots, sliced
~ 2 red cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 3 green cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 2 curly kale stems (just use the leaves), torn or chopped & massaged in lemon juice & sea salt
~ 2 T marjoram
~ 2 T dried (crushed) rosemary
~ 2 T dried thyme
~ 2 T minced garlic
~ salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

* Place all prepared ingredients into a large pot on medium-hi heat

* Bring coddle to a boil, then slightly lower burner temp (medium-lo), stir occasionally

* Allow to boil for about 15-30 minutes until potatoes & carrots are tender, stirring occasionally

* Turn burner down to lo to allow to simmer & until the cabbage leaves are tender & kale is slightly wilted

* Serve

Yield: about 4 servings

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When I made this, I could only get a hold of ruby potatoes. I really like a mixture of colors, but it was still really pretty! Imagine if I'd thrown in some Yukon &/or purple potatoes!

Also, if you have other root veggies to throw in, do it! If you have some parsnips or turnips to throw in, cut 'em up & do it. The more, the merrier! And, if you use turnips, throw in the turnip greens, too! Some mustard greens work in this coddle, also.

It's lighter, it's pretty, and it lends to that cleaner eating. My hubby liked it, too!  I'm thinking this one needs to be done again! And it's a lighter version, perfect for Spring or Summer dishes!

Short on time that day? Throw it all in the lazy cooker & let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
TA-DA!

ENJOY!

Lemon Herb Rainbow Chicken Noodle Soup with Green Tea

This year was supposed to have been the worst flu season on record! And not just flu, but a lot of other junk along with it. And I got hit with yucks. Mine was strep. Ewwww... 

I had been working so hard to stay well, but it didn't really happen. Instead, I had to fight to regain getting well & healthy again.

So, I have decided to take hold of the the chicken & noodles kick. I made some chicken noodle soup designed to help kick this crud where it counts!

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Lemon Herb Rainbow Chicken Noodle Soup with Green Tea

2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded

1/2 C lemon juice

80 oz chicken broth

4 C brewed green tea (yes! Green Tea)

1 C celery, chopped

1/4 sweet onion, chopped

1 C carrot, shredded

2 C finely chopped spinach or kale (or other dark leafy greens)

** other vegetables, fresh or frozen - (i.e. bell peppers - all colors, chopped; corn kernels; peas, shelled; butternut or any other squash, chopped; etc.) - the more color, the better...this is the "rainbow"

1 T salt (any)

Ground black pepper, to taste

3 T ground ginger

1/4 C parsley

3 T oregano

3 T basil

2 T thyme

2 T garlic powder

2 T cumin

1 bag whole wheat egg noodles

Pour lemon juice, chicken broth & green tea into a large pot. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, turn heat down to mid-hi heat. Put in the shredded chicken (I put the chicken breasts in my lazy cooker in the morning so it would be cooked thru & easy to shred by the time I made the soup) into the broth.

Begin adding the vegetables plus the herbs & seasonings to the soup. Continue to let boil on mid-hi heat.

Then add the noodles. Make sure they are tender.

Begin testing the soup's broth to make sure seasonings are to your liking; adjust as necessary.

Let simmer.

Serve.

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This soup is PACKED with the good for you stuffs! And, it was pretty good. I toned down the amount of lemon juice...I used about 2 cups of it when I first made it...and it was REALLY strong! Didn't need quite that much. Half a cup was just perfect!

And? It's a beautiful comfort food, too!

So...stay well, my friends.

ENJOY!