Smoked Bleu Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts Wrapped In Bacon

 Last week, I wound up buying a container of smoked bleu cheese. I had initially thought that I would include this on Bob's requested charcuterie board for Thanksgiving, but I thought there was more than plenty to remake one of my published recipes on allrecipes.com, Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breasts Wrapped In Bacon. I used to prepare this recipe quite often, several years ago, but had gotten away from it. It's always nice to revisit (and revamp) one of your highest rated recipes, I think.

I got away from adding anything to the bleu cheese. I figured with the smoke flavor, it didn't need any added ingredients, like shallot or parsley. Also, with the bacon and the cheese, this definitely did not need any added salt.

This also differs from the original recipe in that I baked these on a rack this time.

I baked these on a lower temperature than I did with the original recipe. I found that lowering the temp, even though I had them in the oven for over an hour, resulted in a much juicier version. These were not dried out at all.

Dinner, last night, was a sheer pleasure.


Smoked Bleu Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts Wrapped In Bacon

 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup smoked bleu cheese
4 slices of pepper bacon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Penzeys Spices Parisien Bonnes Herbes blend
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, without cutting all the way through. Stuff 2 tablespoons of smoked bleu cheese into each pocket. Wrap each breast with 2 slices of bacon. Secure with toothpicks, if necessary. Sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon of Parisien Bonnes Herbes blend. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper.
Place in oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F on a food thermometer. Let stand for 10 minutes, remove wooden picks and serve.

And The Winner of the $50 Penzeys Spices Gift Card Is...

 Drum roll please.....



















Congrats! Please contact me on Facebook to make arrangements to receive the gift card! Thanks, everyone! Happy Holidays!
I hope to do more of these in the future.

Gift Card Giveaway

 I'm rather surprised. I thought there would be a lot more than this wanting to get in on this giveaway. You guys have 4 days left. Make sure to share this blog with your friends. Tell them to sign up to follow for an extra entry. Remember, only those of you who have followed and commented on here will be entered for that $50 Penzey's Spices gift card giveaway. It ends on November 11th at noon, Pacific Standard Time, via Rafflecopter, and is only available to residents of the United States. Sorry, but I don't know all the countries that Penzey's ships to. I'm am not being compensated by Penzey's Spices for this giveaway. Bob and I bought this gift card.
Time's a'tickin' away!

Penzey's Spices Gift Card Giveaway

 Don't forget to get your extra entries in for the $50 Penzey's Spices gift card giveaway that ends on November 11th.
Unfortunately, Penzey's is not shipping out of the country, so this contest is only open to US residents. I am not being sponsored by Penzey's. I just like the company and thought I would buy a gift card and give it away.

You must be signed up to follow this blog. You must comment. That counts as one entry. You can also get an extra entry for every person that you can get that signs up to follow The RV Homestead, as well, so share this with your friends and on your social media pages.

Good luck!

Big Changes Are Coming & A Giveaway

 

 

 

I just want to let everyone know that we have some major changes coming up soon.

I'm happy to announce that Bob and I are coming to the end of RV park living.

After a dozen years, we've had enough of nosy neighbors watching our every move. We are done with the gossip mongers. We're just done with the whole works. The cherry on the top of this mess was when a neighbor went completely off their rocker because my sister came over and I gave her some of my garden produce. This neighbor started screaming and calling my husband names and acting absolutely ridiculous. Apparently,  they thought they should have gotten any extra produce just because they gave me a few broken down raised beds that they were going to throw out anyhow. What this neighbor neglected to mention is that I had already sent up 4 big grocery bags of produce to them. It was, quite seriously, something that a restraining order could have been issued over.
I'll not have neighbors spying on who I have come over to my home and what I give them. It's none of their business. The creepiness factor just takes it to a completely new level and I'm not going to live where I'm uncomfortable just going out my door because some weirdo is spying on me and what I'm doing. Just no.

We are moving onto acreage. A lot of acreage.  Nobody will be there.
I'll be able to have chickens. I'll be able to have a few ducks. I'll be able to raise some rabbits and we could raise meat pigs, if we wanted.
The sky is the limit.
There's even an established apple orchard there.

This place is out in the country, at the end of a 1/3-mile private driveway, at the end of a dead-end road. No neighbors. None. This is what my concept of heaven looks like. Our dogs can run. The cats will have a big catio that they can play in. This is a great thing and we couldn't be happier. This also means that my garden area just got exponentially bigger, too. I'm looking into getting a 20-foot high tunnel/greenhouse...whatever you want to call it...it's on Amazon for a couple hundred bucks.

Yes, we're moving this trailer up there and we're taking the canopy. The outbuilding will remain here, most likely, as it looks to be a pain to move it. Our shed will go, of course, and all my raised beds and so forth. It will take us a while. We are already planning on having a group of people come over to get this canopy down.


Wish us luck!

Now, on to the other part of this blog post.

I have a $50 Penzey's Spices gift card that I want to give away to one of you guys that are signed up to follow The RV Homestead. Here's the catch. You must be signed up to follow this blog. That will get you one entry. If you comment, you'll get an extra entry. If you can get your friends to sign up to follow this blog, you'll get an extra entry for each one that signs up to follow me.

I'll announce the winner on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at noon, Pacific Standard Time. Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
*This contest is only open to USA residents as Penzey's Spices has a limited shipping area.
I also want everyone to know that I am not sponsored by Penzey's Spices at all. I paid for this gift card so that I could give it away. This is not a sponsored post.

Good luck.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

 Vanilla is a necessity in any baked good. Any rich chocolate dessert that is delicious beyond belief has vanilla in it. Describing vanilla is like attempting to describe a color. It's strongly aromatic and it's warm, floral flavor gently and distinctly compliments many other spices and foods.

Most vanilla is grown in Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, which, in the past 20 years, has experienced 35 cyclones, 8 floods and 5 periods of severe drought. 

Vanilla is an orchid. There are hundreds of types of orchids, but only one, the vanilla planifolia, produces vanilla beans. They are finicky and very hard to keep alive. I keep thinking back to all those times, in my younger years, that I bought an orchid and brought it home and tried to keep it alive. I failed every single time. I couldn't even imagine trying to grow one outdoors!

Vanilla orchids have a short flowering season and each one has to be hand pollinated by someone who knows what they are doing. Hand pollination is a difficult process. Once harvested, the job is not over, either. From growth to export, the entire process takes about a year.

For a while, consumers were content with synthetic vanilla flavoring, which can be bought for super cheap. Today, it's trending that we only use the real stuff, so that drove up the cost of vanilla beans. They are roughly $300 per pound. This is the most labor-intensive spice to grow and it is the second most expensive spice in the world. It costs us, the American consumer, roughly $20 for 4 ounces of real extract.

So, when I was able to find some Tahitian grade B vanilla beans, 10 for less than $15, I was all over that deal! I decided to make my own extract. I started into this with a pint of Jack Daniels and a couple of vanilla beans that I wound up buying from Penzey's Spices (on a side note, here in a few weeks, stay tuned for a great opportunity, that is not sponsored, that the RV Park Homestead will be hosting. A clue is Penzey's Spices!). I was hooked. That was THE BEST extract ever! There is something about chocolate and that sour mash that is just magical to the taste buds! I wound up using that bottle up and buying another bottle and putting all the old beans into it along with 10 more! Then, a few years ago, I bought a fifth of locally made craft vodka. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it because neither of us drinks anymore, so it sat in the cabinet until I decided that I would turn it into vanilla extract. I stuck 10 vanilla beans in there and forgot about it for about 8 months. The result is a golden bottle of vanilla loveliness! So, I bought 20 more vanilla beans and some different types of booze and I'm making vanilla!

I believe in using alcohol that you would drink. I think it's the same concept as cooking with wine. If it's gross from the get-go, it's not going to be a top quality product at the end. The taste of that craft vodka puts it in the same league as Grey Goose, as far as I'm concerned. It's a shame that they went out of business.
I just started the rum and the Wild Turkey today as my 20 vanilla beans just came in. Rum extract is tasty. I like to use it in tropical flavored desserts like pineapple upside down cake or a from-scratch coconut cream pie. Vanilla rum extract is simply going to put rum extract into a league of its own. Same with all the others. Suffice it to say that I have a tidy little sum invested into my extracts and we'll enjoy them for many years to come.

The Exalt vodka used to be a clear liquor, just as the rum is right now. I've had the beans soaking in the vodka for over 8 months now. The Jack Daniels has been soaking even longer than that!

Can you tell which has been my favorite so far? 

In a few months, this rum will be the same color as the vodka is...and just as flavorful.

If you want to learn more about how vanilla is grown, here's an excellent video. Click here.

So, thank you for having this vanilla chat with me. I've really enjoyed it. I'll leave you all with some furry kid photos.

Peace!