Bacon and Asparagus Carbonara

My variation of this recipe.

Bacon and Asparagus Carbonara
6-8 c water
1 t salt
2 large eggs
1 c Parmesan cheese
2 T olive oil
1 lb bacon, coarsely chopped
13.25 oz (or about .75 lb) spaghetti
1 bunch asparagus, cut into .5-1 inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
pepper and garlic salt to taste

1. Pour water and salt into a large pot and turn on high to boil.
2. Mix eggs and cheese in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet set on medium-medium high heat; sprinkle bacon into skillet and cover to cook, stirring occasionally.
4. Once water has boiled, add spaghetti and cook until just al dente; add asparagus and continue to cook for one minute.
5. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of water to the side.
6. Return pasta to pot and stir in egg/cheese mixture.
7. Drain bacon grease; add garlic to skillet along with 1/4 cup of pasta water. Cook for one minute; turn off heat.
8. Slowly stir pasta/asparagus into bacon/garlic skillet, mixing well. Add more pasta water for desired consistency. Add garlic salt and pepper; serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 block cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter, slowly add powdered sugar, and then stir in vanilla.

This will make enough frosting for a 9x13 cake or about 18 cupcakes.

Grad Cap Cupcakes

Grad Cap Cupcakes
Cupcakes
Frosting
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Dove Chocolate Squares
M&Ms (mini work best, I used regular)

1. Place frosting in a piping bag, or a piping bag.
2. Place Reese's cups face down on parchment paper. Dab a little bit of frosting on each cup; lay chocolate square on top.
3. Pipe two tassel lines of frosting coming from the middle of the "cap"; place M&M where the lines meet.
4. Let the grad caps chill in the freezer (or fridge) while you frost the cupcakes [this will cement the chocolate together and harden the tassels].
5. Top each cupcake with a grad cap and serve.

Please excuse the frosting job on this one. It was a long day...

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
1.5 lbs boneless chicken
6 oz (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (no pulp is best)
3 T brown sugar
1 t balsamic vinegar
1 T kosher salt
3 T ketchup
peanuts (opt)

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine orange juice, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup.
2. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken in the slow cooker and toss to coat.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over rice. We add peanuts to almost all Asian food we cook. Try it out.

Banana Pudding

Banana Pudding
3 just-ripe bananas (yellow/light green)
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 c sugar, separated
8 large egg yolks
5 T cornstarch
6 c half-and-half
1/2 t salt
3 T butter
2 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325*.
2. Place bananas (skin-on) on a baking sheet and bake until skins are black, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a minute or two, peel and throw in food processor with lemon juice until smooth. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of puree (this will prevent "pudding skin" from forming) and set aside.
3. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yolks, and cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth.
4. Bring half-and-half, remaining cup of sugar, and salt to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat.
5. Whisk some of the half-and-half mixture into yolk mixture, then slowly pour tempered yolk mixture into saucepan; stir in banana puree.
6. Cook until thick, about 2 minutes; remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
7. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until it begins to set up, about 30 minutes.
*Recipe courtesy of Cook's Country.

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie
Crust:
2 store-bought deep-dish pie crusts
Filling:
.25 c butter
.5 onion, chopped
.5 green pepper, chopped
1/3 c flour
.5 t salt
.5 t pepper
1- 14.5 oz can chicken broth
.25 c milk
2.5 c chicken, cooked and shredded
2 c frozen mixed vegetables
2 c Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 425*. Prepare crusts as directed, if needed.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add onion and pepper, cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in flour, salt, pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk; add frozen veggies.
4. Cover and let cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until thickened; add chicken. Remove from heat.
5. Spoon into crust; top with cheese. Cover with second crust and seal edges. Cut slits in top crust.
6. Place pie pan on a foil-lined cookie sheet to catch any overflow. Bake 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 minutes, cover edges with tin foil to prevent burning.
7. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos
15-20 jalapenos
8 oz cream cheese
1 c Cheddar cheese
1 c Feta cheese (opt)
2 tsp herbs de providence
2 tsp garlic salt
eggs and breadcrumbs (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 425*. Put on gloves. I cannot stress this enough.
2. Cut the stems off of the jalapenos, cut in half length-wise, and remove seeds.
3. In a medium bowl, combine cheeses and seasonings. Spoon mixture into jalapenos.
4. If desired, dip jalapenos in beaten eggs, then coat in breadcrumbs. (Personally, I prefer them without the bread crumbs because they have more of a kick without.)
5. Line jalapenos up on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Without coating:

 With coating: