Deviled Ham Salad On Marbled Rye

  My family was not a big fan of this sandwich, but I LOOOVE it! The sprouts make me SWOOOON!

Sorry about the dark picture, it has been raining for DAYS AND DAYS and its too wet to head outside for a better shot.

Deviled Ham Sandwich On Marbled Rye

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Ingredients

• ½ pounds Smoked Ham, Coarsely Chopped
• ½ cups Mayonnaise Or Salad Dressing
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• ½ teaspoons Paprika
• Hot Sauce And Salt For Seasoning. Optional
• 8 slices Bakery-style Marble Rye Bread
• 1-½ cup Alfalfa Sprouts

Preparation Instructions

Chop ham in food processor or with food chopper until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Stir in mayonnaise, jalapeno, mustard and paprika and season the deviled ham salad with hot sauce and salt to taste.

Spread half of the pieces of bread with deviled ham mixture. Top with sprouts and top each with other bread slice.

Tastes GREAT on whole wheat bread with a slice of cheddar cheese, too!

Enjoy!

~T

Dill Chicken Salad Stuffed Cucumbers

  I am soooo in love with the Stuffed Cucumbers at the State Fair.  But for $8, I knew I could make something just as good, if not better, for a fourth of the price!!!!!

  Ok, so the photo is ugly, but y’all, this chicken salad was beyond AMAZING inside those crisp garden cucs! YUMMO

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Ingredients

• 4 whole Chicken Breasts, Cooked, Seasoned And Diced
• 1 whole Onion, Finely Diced
• 3 Tablespoons Dill
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Garlic Powder, To Taste
• 4 whole Cucumbers, Halved With Seeds Scooped Out

Preparation Instructions

Place cooked, cubed, cooled chicken in a large bowl, mix with onion, mayo, dill and seasonings.
Peel, cut in half and scoop out seeds of each cucumber then fill with cold chicken salad.
Serve with sliced garden tomatoes for a delicious summer time supper!

QUICK! Make this before summer is over! 

Hugs, T

Pepsi Chicken

  We originally made this while camping, and cooked it over an open fire as the recipe indicates. However, we tried that same recipe at home later, and it was still SO SO good!  I am giving you 3 cooking options today, and the end result is delicious, no matter which method you chose!

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Ingredients

• 20 whole Chicken Legs
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 16 ounces, fluid Of Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
• 2 liter of Pepsi (not Diet)

Preparation Instructions

Campfire Cooking Directions:
Place your chicken in a fire safe Dutch Oven with a lid. Salt and pepper chicken and add BBQ sauce. Fill with Pepsi until chicken is nearly covered. Put the lid on and place the Dutch oven on a bed of coals, covering with more hot coals. Cook 25-30 minutes depending on your fire, adding more Pepsi halfway through if it has all boiled away.

Home directions:

Option 1, Grill:
Preheat grill and place chicken legs in a large disposable roasting pan. Salt and pepper chicken and add BBQ sauce. Fill with Pepsi until chicken is nearly covered. Close the lid of the grill for the first 15 minutes while liquid comes to a boil, then leave the lid open the remainder of the time. Cook 30-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, and the liquid has mostly boiled away.

Option 2, Stove Top:
Spray the inside of a large stock pot with cooking spray. Place 20 chicken legs inside and cover with BBQ sauce and 1/2 of your 2 liter of Pepsi. Place lid on pot and bring to a rapid boil for about 10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium high and leave lid off for the remainder of the cooking time. We are wanting the Pepsi and BBQ sauce to boil away and leave a nice coated chicken leg. Mine took about 30 minutes.

  No matter how you make it, it is so tender and SO good!

Enjoy,

~T

 

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

  This is Post 2 for today, head back one Post to check out Heritage Day photos!

  Drea made this for us while she was here this summer, so we could celebrate our summer birthdays together! 🙂  It was out of this world good and probably the best cheesecake we have EVER, EVER had!

Yup, it’s that incredible.

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Ingredients

FOR THE RASPBERRY RIBBON:

• 10 ounces, weight Frozen Sweetened Raspberries, Thawed
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 cup Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ½ cups Cold Butter

FOR THE FILLING:

• 4 packages (8 Ounces Each) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1-¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 teaspoon Real Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
• 12 ounces, weight White Baking Chocolate, Melted And Cooled

Preparation Instructions

  In a small saucepan on the stove top, mix raspberries and corn starch until blended. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Press through a fine mesh strainer and discard seeds that remain. Cool and set aside.
Grease a 9 inch x 3 inches high springform pan, and wrap it in a double layer of heavy duty foil, covering the bottom and part way up the sides to create a water tight seal.
Preheat oven to 350* and make your crust by mixing flour and sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly, then press into the bottom of your pan. Place pan on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and reduce oven temp to 325*.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in cream, vanilla and eggs until just blended. Stir in cooled chocolate.
Pour half of the mixture over the crust. Spread with half the raspberry puree. Top with remaining batter and drop puree by tablespoonfuls over the top. Cut through with a knife to create swirls.
Place springform pan on a jelly roll pan or something with an edge, and add 1 inch of hot water to the baking sheet.
Bake 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until cheesecake edge is set and golden brown. {Note: the center of the cheesecake will still jiggle and that is ok.}
Remove springform pan from water bath and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing foil and running a knife along the edge of the cheesecake pan. Cool 1 hour longer, then refrigerate overnight before removing rim and serving.

Enjoy!
~T

Weekend Fun: Heritage Day

  Happy Monday! Did you all have a great weekend? We live close to a teeny little Amish town, whose population is about 195.  Once a year they throw a great big bash called Heritage Day.  We have been going …

Back To School 2013

  Yesterday was our first day of school!  Waaah! How is summer OVER already!?!?!

  I missed the Bigs terribly, but the Littles and I did enjoy our one on one time together!!!!

  Avery is a new 5, so her teachers felt it was important for her to wait one more year.  They also explained the benefits of siblings not following each other back to back in school.   Made sense!

  So, rather than do preschool another year, I am homeschooling her.  My little over achiever wanted TWO lessons today, so who was I to say no?  This is the curriculum I am using, so far I love it! Colorful and fun activities!!!!!!  Praise the Lord, it came through Zulilly last week for $14, so I snatched it up!  If you aren’t part of Zulily yet, you are missing out.

  In addition to this curriculum, I have gotten shoes for Tylan for $8, you will see them in his photo below.  Rather than buying one pair for $30, I was able to get him THREE pairs of shoes for less than that last year!!!!!! How fun to have different shoes to go with his different colored uniforms. 

  I have also gotten some neat, hands on Christmas gifts tucked away, and talk about great photo props! I am in HEAVEN!

  If you sign up so that you can receive their emails full of discount boutique items, I would be so blessed if you would use my referral link!  http://www.zulily.com/invite/tferguson790 

Thank you! 🙂

  Back to School morning would not be complete without photographs and collages!  They have changed SOOOO much since last year!!!!  Take a peek here.  Eeek! How is that even possible!?

Destiny is in her LAST year of Elementary school…….

This is Tylan’s first year to be at school ALL day.  He was very excited to skip nap time and eat lunch at school ON A TRAY! Too cool!

Avery will be ready for Kindergarten next year! She is such a good little student, blessed to have her home one more year.  There would’ve been some serious boo-hooing yesterday morning if I only had one left at home!!!!

  And although he was not dressed for the occasion AT ALL, Mr. Pax INSISTED he get a photo shoot too!  Ok buddy, you are pretty darn cute in your jammies, pull up, crocs and the ever important noise reducing ear plugs.

Happy Back to School everyone!  Here’s to a great year….

~T

 

Asian Noodle Salad

  This is the COOLEST salad ever!  I found it on PW’s site a couple of summers ago and it never fails to deliver. Its colorful, its unique and it’s delicious too!

From Pioneer Woman

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SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
• ½ heads Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
• ½ heads Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
• ½ bags Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
• 1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts)
• Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
• 3 whole Scallions, Sliced
• 3 whole Cucumbers Peeled And Sliced
• 1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet

FOR THE DRESSING:

• 1 whole Lime, Juiced
• 8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 8 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, Chopped
• 2 whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Seeded and Chopped
• Chopped Cilantro

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter.

Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

  Now be warned, this says it serves SIX.  I think it could serve SIXTEEN! It made 2 HUGE bowls full.  Either plan to serve a crowd or half this baby.  I do not care for it leftover as the spinach gets soggy.

Dig in!

~T

Pear Salad

This recipe comes from when Papa & Drea came for a visit in July, and I tell you what, I could eat this for lunch EVERY DAY!  Its AMAAAZING!

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This simple salad packs a powerful punch of unique flavor!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Mixed Greens
• 1/2 Bosque Pear, Diced
• 3 Slices Red Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Walnuts
• 3 Tablespoons Crumbled Goat Cheese
• Poppyseed Salad Dressing

Preparation Instructions

Arrange in your bowl mixed greens, pear pieces, red onion to taste, walnuts, and goat cheese. Drizzle with Poppyseed dressing before serving.

AMAZING!

~T

Paxton Is 3!

  Paxton turned 3 this weekend. HOW IS MY BABY THREEEEEEE??????????????????????

From that to this, in just a few short years………….

Happy Birthday, Tank!

   You make my heart go pitter-patter with your luscious lips, big eyes and SQUISHY cheeks!!!!!!  You sure are growing up fast, but never fear, you will be my baby forever and ever.  🙂  If you are new to 4 little Fergusons, you may read the story of Paxton here.  

  He was born a hearty 10 pounds 3 ounces against a whole lot of medical odds.  The Lord truly worked a miracle for us as He fed and gave our little {big} man oxygen in the womb.  

Love you to the Moon and back, little one!

~Mommy  xoxox

Burger Cookies

  Check out these DARLING Burger Cookies Great Grandma and Nana made for my kiddos!

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Ingredients

• 40 Vanilla Wafer Cookies
• 20 Thin Mint Or Grasshopper Chocolate Covered Mint Cookies
• 3 tubes {4-¼ ounces each} Betty Crocker Frosting Tubes: Red, Green And Yellow

Preparation Instructions

Place 20 vanilla wafers on your work surface. Squeeze a ring of yellow frosting around the edge of the “bottom bun” and then place your chocolate covered cookie on top to look like a hamburger patty.
Next, make a circle of red frosting on top of the chocolate covered cookie to look like the tomato or ketchup. Add a bloop of green frosting on opposite corners for lettuce.
Top with second vanilla wafer to finish. Store in an air tight container until serving.

  I found another variation here at Quick Dish with green coconut “lettuce” which is also super cute!  If you don’t like mint cookies, try chocolate covered oreos for your middle cookie.

~T