BBQ Chicken & Apple Pot Pie Recipe (& Giveaway!)

I just received my Rufus Teague Blue Ribbon Recipe Battle prize pack today! My original BBQ Chicken & Apple Pot Pie made the Top 5 recipes submitted and I want to share!

One (1) winner will receive some tasty Rufus Teague products from ME! Just what you'll need to make one of these scruptious pies all for yourself! How do you enter? Head on over to 'LIKE" my GinnyBites FaceBook page and then COMMENT on my GiveAway post! Easy peasy, right?! 

Want one (1) more BONUS entry? Head over to good ol' Instagram and follow me @GinnyBitesLife!

I will draw the winner on Wednesday, September 13th! (Continental U.S. mailing address only)

Have a great weekend and if you make my pie...ENJOY!

BBQ Chicken & Apple Pot Pie 

Created by: Virginia Louden, for the Rufus Teague 'Blue Ribbon Recipe Battle' - Summer 2017

This dish made the Top 5! 

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breasts

2 tablespoon Rufus Teague Meat Rub

1 medium red onion diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ½ cups frozen 'riced' sweet potato & cauliflower blend

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 large Granny Smith apples (cut into 1/2” cubes, about 3 cups)

1 cup Rufus Teague Apple Mash BBQ Sauce

Crust:

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

4 slices bacon (cooked & crumbled)

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon Rufus Teague Meat Rub

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

10-12 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breasts into 1/2” cubes, evenly coat with 2 tablespoons Rufus Teague Meat Rub. (Optional: cover & refrigerate for 2 hours) Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 10” cast iron skillet (or a pie tin) with vegetable oil and set aside.
3. In a large skillet cook chicken, red onion, riced sweet potatoes & cauliflower, butter, minced garlic, salt and pepper on medium heat until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
4. Add diced apples and Rufus Teague sauce to skillet and stir to coat. Remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl combine all crust ingredients and cut together with a pastry cutter until resembles pea sized crumbles. Add and incorporate 10-12 tablespoons of water one at a time until crust mixture is just moistened. Divide dough in half and roll out on a generously floured surface to @ 1/4” thickness.
6. Place bottom crust into prepared cast iron skillet and fill with BBQ chicken & apple mixture.
7. Roll out top crust and cut out desired shapes in center of dough for venting. Place top crust over filling. Tuck crust edges under and pinch/flute edges of crust. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until crust is golden. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving

Saucy Mama Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Burgers

Hello #GinnyBites fans! The time has finally come. I am now able to share my original burger recipe that I created for the Saucy Mama World Food Championships 2017 qualifier! I was 1 of 25 foodies chosen to compete and create an original recipe using my choice of Saucy Mama products for either the burger or the bacon category. I chose BURGER!! Yummo!

The 6 Saucy Mama products I chose to work with. So much potential! MMM!

Saucy Mama is looking for 1 more chef to complete their 6 teams this year at the WFC in Orange Beach, Alabama this November. Will it be me? Who knows! But it is so fun to try. 

Me competing at WFC 2016 with my Cubano Cristo Sandwich
(Image from: https://www.facebook.com/WorldFoodChampionships/
photos/a.386724011360054.92900.194780627221061/1372358002796645/?type=3&theater)

As many of you already know, last year was the first time I made it into the WFC. Back in 2015 I tried for the first time to earn a Golden Ticket through this same Saucy Mama contest using my Miso Slaw Burger recipe. I did not get in that year but it was truly a delicious journey. Then, in Summer 2016 I entered the WFC Taste of America Challenge on Instagram with my Hot Ham & Wild Rice Sandwich and won the spot for my home state of Minnesota AND a free ticket into the competition. It was the most amazing experience and I am so very proud of Team #GinnyBites.  Now that I have had a taste of this whole food sport "thing"...I am totally hooked! I hope you enjoy this fun recipe AND I will have my fingers and toes all crossed, sitting on pins and needles, just waiting to hear if I am the chosen one, LOL! Wish me luck and PRETTY PLEASE SHARE! And after you check out this recipe...Don't forget to scroll down for a chance to WIN some tasty Saucy Mama products of your very own! Who doesn't love a good ol' GIVEAWAY!?

My inspiration!

The recipe in my head that I decided to run with is a buffalo chicken salad stuffed burger. It's big. It's messy. It's delicious. And just a little bit spicy. Now how fun is that?! The Spicy Garlic Wing Sauce from Saucy Mama is soooo flippin' good. Think Frank's Redhot wing sauce...only WAY better! Once I tasted it I knew this crazy idea I had could really come to life. It is a must try, truly.

Literally dripping with flavor!

Saucy Mama Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Burgers

Recipe (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Salad:

1 cup cooked chicken (chopped)

1 celery stalk (diced small)

1/4 cup red onion (diced small)

2 T mayo

3 T Saucy Mama Spicy Garlic Wing Sauce

3 T Saucy Mama Poblano Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

cracked black pepper

For the Burger Patties:

2 lbs ground beef

cracked black pepper (generous amount)

1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 T minced garlic

1 T Saucy Mama Creamy Horseradish

Extras:

4 Onion buns, buttered and lightly toasted/grilled

8 slices sharp cheddar 

Romaine lettuce leaves and sliced tomato for 4 burgers

extra blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

1. Combine all chicken salad ingredients in a bowl very well and set aside.

2. Combine all burger patty ingredients very well and form 8 patties about 1/2" thick.

3. Lay out 4 of the burger patties and place a heaping 1/4 cup of chicken salad in the middle of each one, leaving 1/2" of burger around the edges. Cover each with the other 4 prepared patties and pinch/seal the patty edges together to hold in the chicken salad.

4. Cook the burgers on a grill pan on medium/high heat for @ 16 minutes, flipping them every 4 minutes and rotating for nice grill marks on both sides.

5. After the last patty flip, pour 1 T of Saucy Mama Spicy Garlic Wing Sauce onto each patty and then place 2 slices of sharp cheddar on each burger. Turn off heat when done and let rest for a few minutes.

6. Butter and toast the Onion Buns and then spread Saucy Mama Creamy Horseradish on all 8 buns halves.

7. Build the 4 burgers from the bottom up: Bottom bun, lettuce, stuffed burger patty with cheddar, tomato slice(s), crumbled blue cheese, top bun.

And bring the napkins!

*** Wish me luck! And share, share, share!  ***

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!! 1 lucky winner will receive 3 Saucy Mama products of their choice! Only excludes olives and the Apricot Ginger Mustard. Winner will be chosen on June 22nd, 2017! So check back to see if YOU won...and try not to drool!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

National Cherry Popsicle Day

It's National Cherry Popsicle Day! Gave me an excuse to go pick up some new Popsicle molds. Oh darn!

I decided that a Shirley Temple angle would be my best bet for a good cherry Popsicle. Supposedly the well-known Shirley Temple beverage was created for the sweet little actress by a friendly bartender who wanted her to have something fun to drink while she was hanging out with all of the grown ups.

Three ingredients total: mandarin orange flavored carbonated water, one wild cherry juice pouch and a small jar of maraschino cherries. I made eight Popsicles. First, I divided the juice pouch evenly into each mold. Then I dropped in three cherries each and topped them all off with the bubbly water. Put them in the freezer and waited. They turned out great and taste just like the bubbly beverage I remember so well from my childhood. Yay!

Thank for stopping by! See you tomorrow for National Pots de Creme Day!

National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day

It's National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day today! Now, I love pecan pie. One of my all time favorites so far. Especially around Thanksgiving time. Mmm! I never even knew there was chocolate version. How can you possibly make something you love so much even better?! Add chocolate, pecans and bourbon, of course!

Here is a link to the recipe I chose: Chocolate Pecan Pie by Betty Crocker. I followed this recipe exactly.

Super easy! And my house smells totally amazing right now! Here she is...

Ain't she a beauty? This pie is truly spectacular inside and out. I hope you get a chance to make one soon. Thanks for swinging by! And see you back here tomorrow for National Spumoni Day.

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If you are enjoying this national food holidays challenge so far, please like, follow, share and more! I am only on Day 6 of 365! So much more fun to come!

You can find Ginny Bites on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GinnyBites/

On Instagram at www.instagram.com/virginialouden/ ... @virginialouden

On Twitter at twitter.com/VirginiaLouden ... @virginialouden

On Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/ginnylouden/

National Potato Day

Today marks National Potato Day! I love potatoes. I decided to celebrate the day by sharing my favorite potato recipe that I created in January when I entered a Food Network contest called The Ordinary Extraordinary Potato Recipe Contest. I did not win but was very proud of how my entry turned out. Here are my Loaded Potato Stacks!

My version of a loaded baked potato but more potato parfait style. That's a thing, right?


Loaded Potato Stacks Recipe

Ingredients:

2-3    large red potatoes

4       slices bacon – cooked and crumbled

¼ C  green onion – diced

2 T   olive oil

8 oz  cream cheese – softened

¼ C  sour cream

¼ C  shredded cheddar – chopped small

3 T   Dijon mustard

         salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes and remove any eyes and blemishes. Cut off the ends of each potato. Slice the rest of the potatoes into 1/2” thick slices, You will need 12 slices total.

2. In a bowl, toss the 12 potato slices with the olive oil, salt and pepper, coating well. Place the prepared potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, turning over once during cooking time.

3. In a standing mixer whip together the cream cheese, sour cream, Dijon mustard and chopped cheddar until smooth and creamy. Place cheese mixture into a piping bag.

4. To assemble the potato stacks, start with one potato slice topped with 2 T of the cream cheese mixture. Add another potato slice and top with 2 T of the cream cheese mixture. Add the last potato slice and top with 1 T cream cheese mixture. Garnish with the crumbled bacon and green onions. Repeat for all 4 servings. Serve immediately.

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You really should try these. Adds some unexpected flair to a common potato side dish. Thank for stopping by and see you tomorrow for National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day. Yup! You heard me. It's sure to be delicious!

National Ice Cream Pie Day

Are you kidding me?! National Ice Cream Pie Day? Never even heard of it. What a genius idea! A great excuse to break out my Hamilton Beach ice cream maker that I bought a few months back on clearance for only fifteen dollars. What? Score.

I decided to choose an ice cream flavor using mostly what I already had on hand for ingredients. I had a couple frozen bags of sliced Washington peaches left from my son's high school band fundraiser so peaches and cream ice cream it is!

I found a recipe on the Hamilton Beach website. You can find it by clicking HERE. The only change I made was to add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Yum!

I prepared a basic graham cracker crust by crushing 1 sleeve of graham crackers in a zip lock bag, tossing them with 4 Tbsp melted butter and then pressing them evenly into the bottom of a pie dish. I set the prepared crust in the freezer while I waited for the ice cream maker to finish churning.

When the ice cream was ready I poured it into the crust and spread it out evenly and then returned it to the freezer to firm.

I also prepared an easy homemade caramel sauce to drizzle over the top. You can find the recipe HERE. The only change I made to this recipe was substituting almond extract for the vanilla extract. I really like how the flavor turned out. The hint of almond is a nice change.

And because I had some, I decided at the last minute to roast some cashews in the oven with a coating of cinnamon and sugar. I am so glad I did!

So, here is. My Peaches & Cream Ice Cream Pie with caramel sauce and candied cashews! What a treat!

If you decide to make the pie I would love to hear about it. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @virginialouden. Tomorrow is National Potato Day and I can't wait to share a fun recipe I made up a while back that takes the loaded baked potato to a whole new level! Thanks for reading!

National Vanilla Custard Day

Before this I had never made a custard. I know. Crazy, right? It honestly just never came up. In all my 26 years of cooking (Eek!) I never had a reason to make something so simple as a custard. This is one of the many things I am looking forward to the most during this year long national food holidays project. A great opportunity to try out some new things, not only by tasting them but by adding them to my cooking abilities, as well.

So, I went online to try and find a good vanilla custard recipe to use. I was immediately drawn to one claiming to be the "ultimate" vanilla custard recipe. I mean, come on. The ultimate has got to be good. But once I started reading the recipe and information I decided that it was a little too fancy and complicated to use as a beginner recipe. I am not impervious to failures in the kitchen and decided a basic vanilla custard would be a more realistic starting point.

Here is the link to the recipe I chose: Basic Vanilla Custard Recipe

It turned out creamy and delicious. My three youngest children really enjoyed eating it. I think they are starting to realize, just a few days in, that mommy's new "adventure" is going to be fun for them, too. I even added some sprinkles on top for a little visual appeal. Because let's face it, plain 'ol vanilla custard is really kind of boring to look at.

This was so easy to make. Looking back, I probably could have gone for the "ultimate" custard. I will definitely play around with custard in the future, though. The only change I made to their recipe was substituting the 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 5 Tbsp of flour. I accidentally used up the last of my cornstarch on our previous family dinner, forgetting that I needed it for this particular recipe. It turned out good anyway. (Thank goodness!) Next time I may try using a different flavor extract for a tasty twist. Maybe orange or almond. Mmm!

Thanks for stopping by and come on back tomorrow for National Ice Cream Pie Day. I won't give away the flavor yet but I am pretty excited to break out my ice cream maker. My kids are gonna freak!

National Rum Day

Why is the rum always gone?! A common problem in my world. And don't tell me that you didn't read that in your head with your inner Johnny Depp as Captain Black Sparrow voice.

It's National Rum Day today! I do love me some rum. Especially the spiced kind. Captain Morgan is usually the rum of choice around here, happened to have a bottle on-hand. What better reason to create a fun rum cocktail recipe to share with you all today. A celebratory cocktail even. Because this girl just found out yesterday she got into the World Food Championships this November in Orange Beach, Alabama!!! I qualified for a spot during the World Food Championships 2016 #TasteofAmericaChallenge. I was the winner for Minnesota in this qualifier event and am competing in the sandwich category at WFC. So very pumped right now!

On with the rum, though! I am calling this little cocktail A Pirate's Life.

Now, I really wanted this to be in a martini glass but I went to the store and two different neighbors' houses last night to find one with no such luck. It would be so much prettier as a martini. But, whatcha' gonna do? It was tasty anyway.


A Pirate's Life Recipe

2 oz spiced rum
3 oz pineapple juice
splash of french vanilla creamer

Shake well with ice
Strain into a martini glass with a cinnamon and sugar rim (don't skimp)

sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted coconut



And there you have it, folks. Something sweet and fun to sip on. Enjoy and I'll see you back here tomorrow for Vanilla Custard Day! Mmm!

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

It's here! It's finally here! Today is the big day and the beginning of my year long national food holidays journey. I will be cooking, baking, eating, drinking and blogging my way through a whole year of food holidays! This is a BIG project for me and I am excited for and up to the challenge. Not only will this be a whole lot of delicious fun but it will also be a great way to spread the word about my personal chef business and my local food related charity. I can not wait to see where this food adventure takes me! Super glad you are along for the ride.

August 15th is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day! This excites me because I am very picky about my pies. I prefer pies without large chunks of fruit in them. So, a cool and creamy lemon meringue is right up my alley. What a fun and tart summer treat!

For this pie I chose the recipe from the tried and true Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. You know, the old red and white checkered one your grandma used to have? Maybe your mom? Well, that's where I got mine anyway and I use it quite often. It's old, beat up and beautiful...as it should be!

Below is the link to the current version of this recipe from the official BHG website, including the lemon filling, meringue topping and flaky pastry crust. The only difference between this recipe and the one from my old book are the meringue ingredients. Online it states to add 1 tsp lemon juice to the egg whites and sugar. In the book it states to use a 1/2 tsp vanilla and a 1/4 tsp cream of tartar instead. That latter is what I did.

BHG Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Pastry crust and lemon filling

Meringue is amazing, by the way! Many years ago I found it rather intimidating to make but now that I know what I am doing and feel confident, I will not substitute. It is just too yummy! If you are scared to make a meringue topping and choose the cool whip method instead, no big deal. Still very good. But, there is something to be said about a nice fluffy, sticky, perfectly golden meringue topping that really brings authenticity to a homemade pie. Totally worth the extra few minutes. Just go for it! I also like to use a spatula to make designs in the meringue before baking. Gives it some dimension once it is cooked and golden.

Meringue before baking

So, there it is. The first of many days to come! Come on back tomorrow for National Rum Day. I am mixing up an original recipe for it even...and am going to go eat some pie now!

Getting Ready!

Hello out there! Now that my crazy National Food Holidays project is in motion, I have been planning and preparing as best I can. Only 16 more days until my launch date of 8/15/16 and I can't wait! I would have started it sooner but am headed to Jamberry conference in Florida next month and decided it would be best to wait until the day after I come home to begin. Figured I wouldn't have access to a kitchen out there so, yeah. Kinda need that. 8/15 it is.

I have been busy! Blog is all set and ready. I also created a public Google calendar that you can find by scrolling down to the bottom of this blog page. Just in case you want to follow along. I have mapped out the food holidays I plan to cover each day from 8/15/16 through mid-April 2017 so far and will finish it up soon. There are very few days without a food to prepare. Some days even have 2 or more to choose from. If I have more than 1 item listed on a specific date, then I plan to try and make them both or incorporate them into something together. Sounds like fun to me...but, I'm crazy like that. In a good way, right? Don't answer that.

I have some extra fun things planned along the way, too. I wanted to find ways to highlight some local businesses that I admire. So far, 10K Brewing has invited me over for a tour and tasting on National Beer Lover's Day 9/7/16. I am not a beer drinker, more of a hard liquor kinda girl, and am excited to branch out and try some local brews. And, Two Scoops has invited me and my kiddos to swing by on Banana Split Day 8/25/16 for a tour and tasting, as well. Um, yum! I have a couple more local businesses on the line too but will wait to mention them until it's all set in stone. I am looking forward to sharing these places with you and will be sure to take lots of pictures!

Now, when I was researching this as something I possibly wanted to do, I could not find anyone that had taken on this project before. I thought it was an original idea. Ha ha ha. Scha! As if! (Imagine that said like I were Wayne & Garth) Anyway, yesterday, I came across a fellow blogger who did this starting back in 2014. I immediately reached out and am glad I did. She is so nice and gave me some great advice. If you have the time, swing on over to Jen's blog The Foodie Patootie. An awesome Miami based food blog! Jen made ALL of the national food holidays, which is like 400 or so. I so respect her ambition. My journey will be a little different and I am glad to have her in my corner.

If you are wondering how I chose the food holidays to cover, I used a combination of www.nationaldaycalendar.com AND the Wikipedia List of Food Days. I am sticking to holidays "observed" in the US. I only say observed because most of these are not "official" but are just public knowledge and fun. If there were any discrepancies between these 2 sites, I Googled the holiday and made sure it was a real thing, that the dates matched up and that multiple other sources agreed on it. Pretty time consuming, to be honest. But I am learning a bunch and looking forward to trying lots of new things! Hoping my kiddos get a kick out of it, too. Many days sound down-right delicious...but there are a few days that I am so glad I have time to mentally prepare myself for. Ha! Just you wait and see.

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