Last night, I made some Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Dogs, with some Homemade French Fries. We started with some large Cheddar Sausages, wrapped each one with a piece of Bacon (everything is better with Bacon, lol). I had not yet cooked anything quite like this in the Air Fryer – so, here we go. I am constantly hearing from different people regarding their struggles getting things to turn out right with the Air Fryer – but, for me, it’s mostly just a case of experimenting with different Temps and Times. There is definitely some differences when cooking with the Air Fryer, but once you figure it out – it is an amazing appliance.

We also Sautéed some Mushrooms, Onions, and Bell Peppers to top the Bacon Wrapped Dogs. I put 5 of the Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Dogs in the Air Fryer, set it at 360 degrees for 15 minutes – flipping the Dogs at the half-way point. The Cheddar Sausages were browned nicely, and more importantly, the Bacon was cooked well – it was not over-cooked (or burnt), but had a nice crispness to it – which is what I look for in a Bacon Wrapped Dog.

Then, we made some Homemade French Fries, and I “double fried” them, allowing for a more crispy Fry – with a more Golden Brown color. In this instance, I fried them for about 3 minutes – then pulled them out of the and let them cool – then dropped them back in the Oil to finish frying – that helps give that crispy exterior, while the inside of the French Fries are soft and tender. Then we put a light sprinkle of Sea Salt on the French Fries. We cook the French Fries in Peanut Oil which gives them a bit different flavor than with Vegetable Oil.

As for the Bun, we used a “Sweet Hawaiian” Hot Dog Bun. I’m not a big “bread” guy, but I really like the sweet flavor of these buns and rolls. I finished off my Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Dog with some Ketchup (yes, I said Ketchup – I definitely think that Ketchup DOES belong on a Hot Dog) and some Sautéed Mushrooms. The rest of the family added the Sautéed Onions and Bell Peppers to their dogs.

This is a very simple supper, but yet, a very good supper. I have always been a “Hot Dog” kind of guy. I have heard all of the stories about “how Hot Dogs are made” – but, I like them anyway, lol. For me, it’s hard to beat a good dog!

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#bacon #baconwrappeddog #baconwrappedcheddardog #cheddarsausage #sauteedmushrooms #sauteedonions #sauteedbellpeppers #sweethawaiianbuns #ketchup #heinzketchup #frenchfries #airfryer #powerairfryer ##airfryercooking #airfriedbacon

Yesterday I continued my food adventures, lol. I am always on the lookout for recipes that sound interesting – and I came across this “Taco Salad Casserole.” I am not a big fan of Taco Salads, so I was a bit hesitant on this one – but, it did sound good. Since I am such a picky eater and, I actually made two separate batches of this taco salad casserole. I started off by browning a little over a pound of hamburger in each of two separate pans.

Then I cut up and green bell pepper, some cilantro, and some green onions and put in one pan and in the other pan I simply added some green onions. I also added some salt and pepper to the Ground Beef mixture. After the hamburger mixtures were completely cooked, I drain them, and put it back in the pans.

Then I stirred in some Taco Seasoning and the little bit of water, and well that was cooking, I shredded the cheese and prepared the other items.

I took to square glass baking dishes, and sprayed them was cooking spray. I took some store-bought 20 and chips, crushed them up on the bottom of the glass baking dishes. Then I follow that up, by putting some refried beans in each of the baking dishes.

After the refried beans, I added the hamburger mixture and to each of the two pans. The big question now, was to remember which pan had which mixture in it, lol.

I talked these two bowls with a mixture of shredded cheddar cheese and Colby jack cheese that I had shredded earlier. You just can’t have too much cheese.

I put them in a pre heated oven at 350 degrees, for a 15 minutes. We then topped it with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, olives, etc – and whatever typical taco extras that we like.

Like I stated earlier, I’m not a big taco salad fan, so I wasn’t sure how this would turn out. But, it turned out absolutely amazing. One of the things that amaze me about this dish was that the chips were still a bit crunchy after being in the oven for 15 minutes. This is definitely something that I will making in.

#tacosalad #casserole #tacosaladcasserole #tortillachips #salsa #olives #lettuce #tomatoes #cheddarcheese #colbyjackcheese #groundbeef #refriedbeans

We had a lot of Mashed Potatoes leftover from our Mother’s Day Supper, so I decided to make a Shepherd’s Pie. I put a little bit of a twist on it – by adding Sautéed Mushrooms and Cheddar Cheese.

I started by cutting up the Carrots, and Sautéing them in Butter – and when they were nearly finished, I added the Mushrooms to it, and Sautéed them as well.

Then, I browned 1 1/2 pounds of Ground Beef, drained it, then I added the Mushrooms, Carrots, Worchestershir Sauce, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, frozen Whole Kernel Corn, frozen Peas, Beef Broth, and Green Onions. I let this cook on the stove for about 20 minutes.

After this Ground Beef mixture cooked for about 20 minutes – to cook off some of the liquid – and to marry all of the ingredients together.

Then I poured this mixture into a 13″ x 9″ glass pan, leveled it out, then I added the Mashed Potatoes on top of the Ground Beef mixture, then topped with Cheddar Cheese.

I put the Glass Pan in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. I took it out, and let it cool for a while before eating. It was extremely good. All of the vegetables were cooked well, soft, but not mushy. The seasonings were mild – but not bland. Everyone enjoyed the Shepherd’s Pie supper.

#shepherdspie #groundbeef #Mushrooms #Sautéedmushrooms #sauteedcarrots #wholekernalcorn #frozenpeas #modifiedshepherdspie #foodie #foodporn

For Mother’s Day dessert – I made a Rainbow Explosion Cake. We started with making the cake batter from scratch. Then we separated the cake batter into 6 different bowls of equal portions.

Then, we added Food Coloring to each of the 6 different bowls – to creat 6 unique colors.

Then, we got our 6 inch round pans, and sprayed with cooking spray, and poured the Colored Batter into the 6 pans.

I put them in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, rotated the pans 180 degrees, then baked for another 8 minutes. After they cooled for about 10 minutes, I took them out of the pan and placed on cooling racks to finish cooling.

Then, we made the Creme Cheese Frosting. The icing is basically just Cream Cheese, Powdered Sugar, Butter, and Vanilla Extract.

Then, we took 5 of the different cakes and cut out the center, and began to build the Cake. I put some of the icing on the plate, put on the bottom cake, then some icing, and continued until finished. I did not cut the center out of the top layer.Then we filled the cavity with M & M’s, then put the top layer on.

Then we applied the Cream Cheese Icing on the sides and the too if the Cake. After I got the Caked iced, I put it in the refrigerator for a while, then added the Sprinkles. Leana put the Sprinkles on – I was having a hard time with it. She did a much better job then I was doing at it, lol.

After supper, when it was time for dessert – we cut the Rainbow Explosion Cake. It was pretty cool to cut the cake open and see the different colors and the M & M ‘s coming out. Also, it was a very good cake – a great end to a great meal.

The cake was amazing, moist and flavorful – and the Cream Cheese Icing was off the chain.

#rainbowexplisioncake #multicolorcake #sprinkles #creamcheese #creamcheesefrosting #m&ms #foodcoloring #powderedsugar #butter #sweetness #sweetdessert #desserts

Today, for Mother’s Day, I made Cheesy Bacon Chicken Breast with Honey Mustard Drizzle. The Chicken Breasts came out very tender, juicy, and the Honey Mustard Drizzle added such a nice accent to the meal. It was sweet – yet, it had a bit of an edge to it because of the Mustard and the Apple Cider Vinegar. Overall, it was great, and the entire family enjoyed it very much. I did have to make one Chicken Breast for Gunner that was plain, lol.

I sliced the Chicken Breasts in half, so they weren’t as thick, and pounded them out to close to 1/4 inch thick.

Then, I Sautéed some Mushrooms in Butter, and put aside. I also cut up some Bacon and some Green Onions , and Shredded some Cheddar Cheese.

I made some homemade Gravy for the Mashed Potatoes, and cooked the Potatoes for the Mashed Potatoes.

Then, I put a bit of Olive Oil into the Cast Iron Skillet, and put the Chicken Breasts in. I fried them for a about 3 minutes, then flipped them, added the Cheese, Mushrooms, and Bacon. I added a bit of water to the pan, covered, and cooked for another few minutes – until Cheese is melted.

Then, I put the Chicken Breasts on the plate, added some Chives, and drizzled a homemade dressing made of honey, Apple Cider Vinegar, Mayonnaise, Mustard over the Chicken Breasts.

Then, we added some Whole Kernel Corn, Green Beans, and a Salad – for an amazing meal.

#Chicken #chickenbreast #castironcooking #castironcookedchicken #Mushrooms #Sautéedmushrooms #butter #honeymustarddrizzle #wholekernalcorn #greenbeans #microsteamgreenbeans #bacon #cheddarcheese #mashedpotatoes #gravy #greensalad ##homemade #Chives #greenonions

A friend of mine from church needed a new Porch Swing – so I offered to build one. I had a design to go off of – but, it was a single seat Swing – and she wanted a Double Seat Swing. So, I did some re-engineering, and made it into a double seat Swing. Here is a picture of the Swing that I used for an example – and when you see the final Swing – you will notice the size difference.

I started by cutting out all of the pieces with curves in them – as they are some of the most critical, and difficult pieces. We talked about the different types of wood to use, and she decided on Redwood. Here are some pictures of the “cut” parts.

Then, I began to assemble the pieces – starting with the main Swing frame.

Then, I started putting the Seat Slats on – pre-drilling all of the screw holes to avoid splitting. I also put some wood glue on all of the Slats for some added strength.

After I installed all of the Seat Slats, I installed the Armrests – complete with “cup holders.” As you can see, there are 2 holes in the Armrests – on large hole for the “Cup Holders” – and the smaller hole is for the chains to suspend the Swing to go through.

Now that it was all assembled, it was time to sand it, and spray it with some Verathane Polyurethane. Since this is a “Porch Swing” – and will be outside, I used an Exterior grade Poly. We elected not to apply any Stain – but, to allow the natural Redwood colors to show through.

Then, I let the Poly dry for just over a week before installing the chains to hand the Swing. Then today, I took the Porch Swing and installed it. I even sat in it myself – and I’m not a small guy – and it held me just fine, lol.

Overall – I am very happy with the end result – and more importantly, my friend was delighted with the new Porch Swing.

#woodfurniture # redwoodfurniture #redwood #porchswing #redwoodporchswing #woodworking #polyurethane #varathane #clearcoat #clearcoatporchswing #cupholders #finefurniture #furniture #outdoorfurniture #twoseatporchswing #customporchswing

Last night, Gunner and his friend KJ (nicknamed Bacon), spent the night at our house. Several months ago, KJ came over with Gunner for breakfast, and that’s when I discovered his affinity for Bacon – so I told him that his new nickname is “Bacon.” And last night, KJ had a new name for me – he said that I’m his “Grandpa.” I will take that, lol.So, because of KJ ‘S love of Bacon, I made some Chocolate Covered Bacon. I had cooked the bacon earlier this morning, in my Cast Iron Skillet, the only way that I cook Bacon any more.

Then, I melted the Chocolate in a double boiler (to keep the Chocolate from burning).

I laid out 10 pieces of Bacon on a rack on some Parchment Paper, and drizzled the Hot, melted Chocolate over the cooled Bacon.

I have made this before – and that contrast between the sweetness of the Chocolate and the Saltiness of the Bacon is a very appetizing combination. I put the Chocolate Covered Bacon in the refrigerator to cool – then it was the for the taste test. I had KJ (Bacon) go first – and he liked it – which was no surprise to me, lol

Another successful food adventure, lol.

#bacon #chocolatecoveredbacon #chocolate #sweetandsalty #castironcooking #castironbaconcooking #battlestrong #doubleboiler #parchmentpaper #foodporn #foodie #amazingtreat #baconisgreat #baconisnotjustforbreakfast #baconanytimeofday #baconmakeseverytingbetter #foodadventure