This Glazed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken could not be any easier to put together with a few ingredient. The bacon keeps the chicken nice and moist that you can cut with a fork. The smokiness of the bacon and the sweet from the brown sugar gives a big and bold flavors that will have your family will be asking for more. Serve with your favorite sides and you will have a easy dinner.

Now the we are moving closer to the winter months I tend to like to have heartier dishes that make you feel warm inside when it is colder outside. This Beef and Mushroom Ragu is packed with vegetables and protein that will give you energy to get through your day and is the perfect family meal. The time to prepare the dish is short while to cooking time takes longer but its all hands free so you can spend time doing other things while your home fills with the wonderful smell of this dish.

Growing up in Minnesota there is nothing like the classic soup of chicken wild rice on a day that is cold to make you feel warm inside. Why not combine two of my favorite classic soups into one with this version of creamy chicken wild rice and dumpling. soup This recipe is a bit healthier without all of the heavy cream that is normally in the chicken wild rice but replaced with nice pillow like dumplings that make up for it for sure. If you are gluten free you can easy replace the flour for a gluten free option like rice flour.

This recipe is very simple to make, this recipe can be easily made withing the 45 minutes i mention below in the recipe if needed and only needs a few ingredients that are extremely easy to find anywhere around.

Add butter and saute the onion, carrots, celery and chicken until slightly tender and the chicken is cooked . Add the flour and spices, let cook for 2-3 minutes making sure all flour is mixed in.

Stir in the chicken broth and milk. Let the soup come to a boil and thicken. Add the cooked rice to the soup, cover the pot with a lid and allow mixture to simmer.

Add the dumplings by dropping a tablespoonful on top of the simmering soup.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes,  serve the soup warm.

Fall time here in Minnesota brings one of our most favorite crops here, APPLES!!. Every year we seem to have a new variety created here and they keep getting better and better. For a main dish, there is nothing that goes better with apples then pork, they both seem to balance the flavors out just perfectly. This one pan pork chops and apples is a great family favorite that everyone will enjoy. and is  one of those great recipes which looks and tastes a LOT more complicated than it really is.. Also its a easy and healthier family meal that only uses one pan for everything so clean up is a breeze.

This recipe is simple and only uses a few ingredients. You want to start off by slicing your apples thin and seasoning your pork on both sides with the seasoning.

 Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned and just cooked through, remove the pork chops for the pans and saute the apples until light brown and add the cider and reduce by half. Then add the cream and mustard and heat until you have a thickened sauce, should be an additional 5 minutes. Plate and serve the pork chops with the apples and sauce on top.

The tinga sauce is a classic mexican sauce made from tomatoes, chipotle chilis in adobo, garlic and cinnamon that packs a bold smoky flavor with just the right amount of heat that wont be too overwhelming for the whole family. As you cook the liquid out of the  sauce to thicken the sauce it fill your home with a great scent that almost as great as the taste.

Homemade pot stickers are extremely easy to make and can be fun for the whole family to make, and with this recipe makes about 4 dozen which you will need the extra help. The flavor of these Korean style beef pot stickers will make you stay away from the easy store bought ones you kind in you local. Plus all of the ingredients are easy to find in any grocery store.

The first thing you want to do is combine the ground beef, onion, shredded carrots, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and chili paste. Mix until you a mixture that is well combined.

Place about a teaspoon of filling into the center the wrapper. Dab your finger in the egg and drag it across two edges of the wrapper. fold over and press to seal. The wrappers should be full but not leaking out.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and or vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add the prepared pot stickers and fry both sides until brown. Once they're cooked on both sides, add 1/4 cup of water and cover over and reduce heat to medium-low. Steam for about 3-5 minutes.

For the dipping sauce, add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and chili paste in a bowl and mix until combine.

Check out a video for a wanton roll up that uses a similar recipe for an additional appetizer.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to barbecue, but on days like today where it is all rainy with no sign of letting up or in the middle of the winter when it is negative degrees below zero there need to be a way to get a great flavor rib without needing to go out in the elements. These oven baked BBQ ribs come out fall off the bone tender and juicy.

In a bowl combine  the brown sugar,salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard and  chili powder. Once mixed add the apple cider vinegar to form a thick marinade. On a foil lined pan, rub the marinate onto both sides of the ribs. Cover with foil and let rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour, over night is preferred.

Ina 300°F oven, place the ribs in the oven covered and bake for 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours until the internal temp is about 180-190°F degrees. Brush on your favorite sauce and back for an additional 20-30minutes until the sauce caramelizes onto the ribs.

Let the ribs rest for about 5 minutes then cut the ribs into individual ribs and serve.

A nice change from the usual pasta and potato based picnic salads is this delicious chilled asian wild rice salad. this a great recipe to use up leftover rice from your dinner you might have and it has majority ingredients that most homes have already in the pantry. I has a a great balance the the soy sauce and brown sugar build off each other. This recipe increases the flavor the colder the salad gets so i recommend at least 3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

The first thing is to cook the rice according to the packaging. you are wanting to have about 2 cups of cooked rice for each rice for this recipe. I have found if you are in a huge time crunch with both the cooking and refrigerating time, you can use those single serve packaging of cooked rice and the recipe does actually turn out pretty well also.

The next thing is you want to cut all of the ingredients that will be going into the salad. I like to cut everything a little different just got different textures for the whole mouth feel. I like to keep it simple with the carrots, water chestnuts and green onions, you can for sure change and add more to the salad.

Add the mayonnaise, brown sugar, soy sauce and the ground ginger in a large bowl. Mix until you get a smooth dressing for the salad.

Add the cooled rices and vegetables to the large bowl and mix until all of the rice is coated and refrigerate the salad for about 3 hours for full flavor.

Check the flavor before serving and salt if needed, a lot of different soy sauces have different sodium contents so the salt content in the salt will vary quite a bit.

Israeli Couscous is an ingredient that is commonly mistaken as a grain, but it is actually a type of pasta as it is made with wheat. Unlike normal pasta salad that will keep soaking up liquid until the pasta noodles will just fall apart and the salad is unpleasant to look at and soggy mess, Israeli Couscous wont soak up any of the dressing and will keep the perfect Al dente texture. The flavors of the creamy pesto style dressing and the roasted vegetables make a great powerful flavor that will keep everyone coming back for more. Check out the recipe below and don't forget to share with your friends and family.

Israeli couscous can be found in about every grocery store in my area. Cook the Couscous  in simmering water like the package directions state, drain and run under cold water to cool the pasta down quickly and let drain until everything else is ready.

Cut all of the vegetables up into small bit size pieces and toss with oil and spread over a thin layer on oiled sheet pans. Bake in a 475 degree oven until everything is fully cooked and roasted. Make sure to stir half way through to make sure both sides get caramelized.

Add the basil, olive oil, garlic and mayonnaise to the food processor. Puree until everything is well combined and smooth. salt and pepper to taste.

Add everything to  a large bowl and mix until well combined. This salad can be made a few days a head of time without any issues, Just remix before serving.

All of my life I have had this fascination with the steak sandwich. There was a time in my life if i saw one on a menu of a restaurant I would order it, well that still is true!! I love the taste of the steak that a simple burger doesn't offer and with the addition of the great taste of grilled onions and peppers on this one it is just amazing favor in your mouth.

Preheat and oil your grill. In a bowl, add the garlic, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and vegetable oil. mix until combined. Add the steak and let marinate for 10-15 mins, you can marinate longer if you desire.

Cut the pepper into sections and the onions into 1/4-1/2in rings, keeping the rings together. Oil both sides of the peppers and onions.

Once your grill is hot on high, add the steak and vegetables until the vegetables are tender and the steak has reached 130-140 degrees internal. Let the steak rest for 10mins.

Preheat the broiler on your oven, mix the ingredients for the Aioli in a small bowl. Spread over each of the hoagie rolls. Slice the steak across the grain in 1/2" slices. Add to the hoagie roll equally and top with 3 slices of cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and bun begins to brown.