Jalapeño poppers revisited

 Bacon poppers with jalapeños and sweet peppers

 Crescent roll poppers with jalapeños and sweet peppers

We love jalapeños just about any way they are served, but some of our friends feel differently.  Some love the cream cheese and bacon, but can't take the heat.  Others are vegetarians and love the heat, but don't want the bacon.  So I made about four different batches recently, with every permutation I could think of: jalapeños vs sweet baby peppers, bacon vs crescent roll mix.  Yup, something for everyone!

Antique gadgets: souvenir spoon

These little metal spoons were handed out with ice cream instead of the plastic ones you get today.  Does anyone remember when you'd get a little wooden do-hickey along with your Hoodsie?

Peanut butter chocolate bark

Oh goodness...this is so good!  My mind is spinning, thinking about what other types of cookies I could crumble up and insert in place of the Oreos.  But trust me, the Oreos are great...

I originally saw this recipe on Craftster.org. I made mine thicker...it really all depends upon how liquidy you get the chocolate as you're melting it. I didn't want it to lose temper, so I didn't melt it quite as thoroughly as the originator did.

Coconut-crusted chicken

Coconut and lime together has always been a combo that I love, so when I came across a recipe for coconut-crusted tofu, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make it better.  Mike really doesn't like tofu too much, especially when it's being used as a meat-substitute, so I decided to do boneless chicken thighs.  You are welcome to do tofu or fish (or maybe even pork?) instead if that's what you like!

Coconut-Lime Batter for Chicken, Fish, or Tofu

1/2 c shredded coconut
1/4 c flour
1 T cornstarch
Salt
1 egg
Zest and juice from 1 lime
Water

Mix all the ingredients together through the lime juice.  Add just enough water to make the batter thin enough to dip pieces into.

Happy 4th of July!

Image: Wikimedia Commons, NobbiP

Antique cooking gadgets: cornbread pan

A recent acquisition that I can't wait to use!  All it needed was a bit of steel wool and seasoning with some oil in the oven and it now looks as good as new.  This photo was taken before I cleaned it up.

Crab rangoon...how do you like 'em?

We did a taste test recently.  The biggest surprise actually had nothing to do with the taste, but rather with the way they were folded!  Which do you like better...bird shaped or four-cornered?