Fire Crackers!

Happy almost 4th of July my fellow Americans!  I hope you are celebrating safely, responsibly and abundantly!

I wanted to make sure and get this recipe out to you before the holiday.  The day before.....WINNING!  These are one of our favorites, right alongside a cold beer, or any cold drink but, let's face it, a cold beer, spicy crackers.....yes please.  There are lots of times I need a quick snack for company, or a get together and these are always a quick and easy crowd pleaser

You can adjust the heat to your taste.  They are called "fire crackers" for a reason though!  You are going to think a sparkler went off in your mouth, which will require the cold beer to or drink to put out the flames.  I have you covered, the fire, the water.  I am basically the whole package.

Here we go, make sure to adjust the heat to what you like but the recipe is written as I made it for us!  I use a Cajun spice.  Any one of your choice will work!

PS.  Don't make just one batch, double it up while you have everything out!

9-12 oz bag of oyster crackers
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
5 T melted butter
1 packet dry ranch seasoning mix
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp parsley flakes

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.  You will need a large cookie sheet.  In a large bowl, melt your butter completely.  Add in oil, followed by all of your seasonings.  Mix to combine.  Add in oyster crackers and carefully stir them until they are all completely covered in the seasoning mixture!
Pour on to a cookie sheet and spread out into a single layer.  Bake for 15-25 minutes.  Stir at about 10 minutes and then let it go until they have absorbed the butter/oil/seasoning mixture.  When they are done, remove, stir again, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Pour into a bowl and snack away!  Keep in a Ziploc for freshness!

ENJOY and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Spicy Asian Green Beans

I love green beans.  I will eat them nearly anyway you make them.  As a kid my mom grew them in her garden and I remember endless summer nights on the front porch snapping green beans so she could can them for use in the winter months.  It used to be the dreaded job, but we all had to do it and let me tell you that woman grew more green beans than I have ever seen!!

As you all know, my husband, the Chinese food master always has us eating it!  I always see these green beans on peoples plates, and on buffets, but, I have never tried them.  I am not sure why, I mean, I do love green beans, but they always seemed to look questionable to me.  I finally sucked it up the other day and tried them.  Now, I could go there, and eat only green beans.  However, as usual, I needed to add a bit more spice to mine.  I don't know how they make them, I have tried swindling other recipes from the waitresses and owner, to absolutely no avail.  Back when I was working on General Tso's Chicken, I tried, and that recipe seems to be locked up like Fort Knox.  That's fine I say, I will make my own dang green beans.  And I did! 

These are easy and quick.  In fact, this recipe is great for 2!  You can always just double it for a bigger batch.  So enjoy this twist on green beans, that I find can sometimes be a bit plain!

You will need:
1/2 lb fresh green beans
2 tsp peanut oil
1 tsp crushed or minced garlic (make that a heaping tsp)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp soy sauce
splash of water (2 tbsp approx)

Snap your green beans, just to get the ends off.  You can snap them in half or smaller pieces if you like, I prefer mine long.  Rinse them and let them drain while you begin preparing your wok.

Heat 2 tsp peanut oil in a wok or high sided skillet.  When the oil is hot, add in garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Stir constantly, do not stop or the garlic will burn.  Stir for 1 minutes and then add in the green beans.  Stir fry them for 3-4 minutes, add in water and soy sauce and stir fry another 1-2 minutes.

The beans will be crisp tender.  This is not for those who enjoy mushy green beans!!  They will have a nice crunch but, be tender.  You can omit the red pepper flakes if you don't groove on the spice!!

I hope you enjoy these delicious green beans!

Your "green beans are like green love"chefwannabe