Doesn’t that title just draw you right in? 
Ok, ok – it might not sound too appealing to you, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one, ok? Should you ever find yourself with leftover BBQ – you’re going to want to try this…..trust me.
In my home town, there’s a restaurant that serves something called “Texas Trash”; it’s essentially a taco salad of sorts, but with BBQ instead (and lots of other yummy things!). It’s so good, most of the time I don’t even wait until I have leftover BBQ to use up – I’ll just run by a good BBQ joint and pick up some brisket, beans and sauce just for the sole purpose of making Texas Trash! Start with a bed of Fritos, top it off with some chopped brisket, a little BBQ sauce, pinto beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, black olives (yes, black olives!), jalapeno peppers (lots of ‘em), lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of ranch dressing and you’ve got yourself one tasty pile of food! I swear, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! This is seriously one of my favorite things to eat! Tired of the same old chef salads and taco salads, but still don’t want to cook?? Make this! I *promise* it’s delicious!!
Texas Trash
(there are no measurements because you just pile it on your plate according to how much you feel like eating!)
Fritos
Chopped BBQ brisket (if you’re using leftover, make sure to heat it first)
pinto beans
BBQ sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
black olives
pickled jalapenos
ranch dressing
cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
lettuce, chopped
Place the Fritos on a plate and top with remaining ingredients (however much you want!). Enjoy! (Wasn’t that simple?!)
For August’s ‘You Want Pies With That?‘ challenge, Branny decided we should create a pie that represents our personality. How fun is that?! As soon as I saw her choice, I immediately started thinking about how I could come up with an A.D.D. pie. However, with us getting ready to go on a trip, and things being so busy and with me being so, well….A.D.D., it just didn’t work out for me to devote the time I needed for my A.D.D. pie (bummer- that would’ve been perfect). So instead, I asked my hubby what he thought was the best way to describe my personality; “sunny and bright”, he said with a smile (isn’t he sweet?). Although I’m not sure about “sunny and bright”….more like, “sunny and bright with a likely chance of severe thunderstorms”; I went to work on a pie that fit the bill. Somehow I ended up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Pie, then I took it a step further and came up with a Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie. Muuuuch better (and really, really delicious!)! So anyway, this is the pie that best fits my personality (according to my husband….who is apparently blinded by love…).
Sunny and Bright Strawberry-Lemonade Cheesecake Pie with Chambord Whipped Cream
For the pie:
1 graham cracker crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
1 8-oz. block of cream cheese, at room temperature
10-15 strawberries, hulled and sliced
juice of 2 large lemons
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
splash orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
For the Chambord Whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Chambord (Raspberry liqueur)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, until the cream cheese is smooth. Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Mix just until combined. Transfer to another bowl and use the mixer bowl to whip the cream. Beat the 1/2 cup heavy cream at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture. Refrigerate until needed.
To make the Chambord Whipped Cream Topping:
Beat the 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup sugar, Chambord and vanilla extract on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until needed.
To assemble:
In the prepared graham cracker crust, place half of the sliced strawberries in a single layer. Top with the cheesecake mixture; add another layer of sliced strawberries, then top with the Chambord whipped cream. Garnish with additional strawberries. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The pie is best served on the day its made.
*The liqueur is optional- it just adds a little extra flavor, but you can certainly leave it out if you want!
Yep, that’s right. Today is National S’mores Day (there’s practically a “day” for every kind of food these days…). So, in honor of the occasion, I’ve put together a list of all my S’mores recipes. They’re all fool-proof and they’re all GOOD! I’m a girl who LOVES her S’mores!
1.) S’mores Cookies- these were a huge hit with the rest of the opera chorus this season. They were gobbled up in no time!
2.) S’mores Truffles- I made these (along with 3 other flavors- scroll down a ways to get to the S’mores ones) around Christmas this past year and sent them to work with Hubby. They were everyone’s favorite! Who can say no to a dark chocolate graham cracker-coated truffle with a marshmallow in the center??? Certainly not me….
3.) S’mores Bars- I made these a looooong time ago! But boy are they good!! I like these a lot because the chocolate-to-graham cracker ratio is in perfect balance- not too much chocolate like so many S’mores recipes out there! YUM!
And lastly, 4.) Ooey Gooey S’more Stuffed Brownies (my personal favorite)- these were right on the money! Amazingly rich, gooey and chock-full of S’mores goodness! How could anybody resist these babies?? That’s right- they can’t! Try these- you won’t be sorry!
HELLOOOOO! We’re back! We’re tan and probably about 5 pounds chubbier than we used to be, but we’re happy to be home! Omigosh, y’all – we had SUCH a fantastic time in Cancun! The place we stayed at was just amazing- the food was great, our room was great, the pools (there were like, 7 or 8 pools including a lazy river!) were awesome, the people were super friendly and the beach….oh man, the beach was just pure heaven! It wasn’t crowded at all; in fact, you could always get a fantastic spot on the beach or by the pool at any time of day…ahh, to be there again, sitting under a large tiki umbrella snacking on chips and guacamole, sipping on tropical drinks….I’m telling you, pure heaven. However, it is good to be home. We certainly missed our sweet Izzy Bear (although I don’t think she missed us nearly as much! She was livin’ it up at my parents’ house, getting treats and toys and torturing her ‘Aunt’ Beatrice, my mom’s dog), and I definitely missed all of you! Here are just a few pictures from our trip- enjoy!
And finally, one of the pictures our friend Andrea took- she’s seriously amazing!
We’re headed to Mexico for vacation with our good friends Michael and Andrea! I’ll be back next week! Don’t be jealous…. I’ll miss you!
