Zombie Brain Popcorn Balls

We are somewhat infatuated with zombies at our house. So with the recent season of The Walking Dead starting, some friends invited us over to watch the premier. It only felt right to bring a zombie-related treat. These popcorn brains were fairly easy to make (just a little messy) and they turned out pretty fun. This would be a great option to take to any Halloween party or potluck with relatively low cost and low time commitment.

Popcorn Brains
6 cups popcorn, popped and lightly salted
1 bag (10 oz) mini-marshmallows
3 T butter
1/4 t vanilla
red food coloring
small paintbrush

In large saucepan, melt the butter and marshmallows over med-low heat, stirring regularly. This process may take 5-10 minutes, but if you rush the marshmallow melting, your popcorn balls will turn out hard. Once melted, add vanilla and 2 drops of food coloring and stir until color is distributed. Stir in popcorn until evenly coated.

Form popcorn into tennis ball sized balls. This is the part that can be kind of messy. I attempted to do this with my hands using some butter to grease my fingers, but the mixture was way too sticky and would not bind together but rather just stuck to my fingers. My solution was to take a square of wax paper, spray it with non-stick spray, spoon the popcorn into the center and use the wax paper to form around the popcorn ball. Then I carefully peeled back the wax paper to release the popcorn ball.

You will want to form these into a somewhat flattened ball so they more resemble a brain shape. After forming a ball in the wax paper, I squished the ball slightly and pressed down along the center to create a minor valley between the brain hemispheres. This is the line where you will later paint your major dividing vein. Set the finished brains aside on another clean piece of wax paper to cool.

After forming all the brains, use a paint brush and food coloring to paint the major vein down the middle of the brain and then as many side veins as you want for effect. Mmmmm....BRAINNNZZZZ!

Easter Brunch

Every Easter we host a dinner with lamb roast and homemade mint jelly. We didn't want to miss the opportunity to have the family over, but this year we wanted to try something different so we opted for a brunch instead. I made 2 frittatas, a beautiful fruit salad, some virgin mimosas and oven-cooked bacon (because everything is better with bacon).
All of these recipes were easy to put together and perfect for feeding a larger group. We kept it fairly Primal (grain & sugar free), but for those of you still loving your bread, this recipe for Stuffed French Toast would be a great addition as well.
Click below for each of the recipes.

Sausage, Spinach & Pepperjack Frittata

Ham & Cheddar Frittata

Honey-Poppy Seed Fruit Salad

Virgin "Mimosas"

Oven-Cooked Bacon

Cooking Bacon in the Oven

Who doesn't love bacon? It is definitely a crowd pleaser, but can be tough to prepare in larger quantities. Last Christmas I tried preparing it in the oven and it worked beautifully, so I went with that method again for Easter. It is a lot less maintenance to prepare and much easier to make for a large group. Plus, when you are done, you can just discard the foil & grease. Easy clean up.

Oven-Cooked Bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with foil and turn up edges slightly to help keep grease inside the pan. Lay bacon out flat on foil, not touching. Bake on middle rack for 18-25 minutes. Time will vary based on how thick your bacon is and how close together the pieces are. Just keep an eye on it. When it looks "done", it is. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Serve.

Easy Frittata

This is an easy recipe and perfect for customizing to whatever your tastes are as far as ingredients. Use this same basic recipe but try it with ham, bacon, cheddar, mozzarella, broccoli, peppers, etc. Simple and fast way to feed a larger group.

Sausage, Spinach & Pepperjack Frittata

1 lb spicy ground sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
14 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pyrex baking dish.
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onion and sausage until meat is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in the drained spinach.
Spread 1 cup of cheese in the bottom of baking dish. Layer meat mixture over the cheese. In large bowl, scramble eggs and milk. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Pour eggs over meat mixture and cheese. Do not mix or stir contents of baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until eggs are no longer runny and top is lightly browned. Cut into squares.

For variety, just change your layers using any type of meat, cheese and veggies that you want. I also made a ham and cheddar frittata using diced ham and sharp cheddar cheese.
Serves 12

Primal Elk Chili

Roland came home one day and announced that we were buying 1/3 of an elk. As a girl raised in a non-hunting family, I was excited for the new experience, but a little intimidated by the prospect of what to do with elk meat. So, I have been on the hunt (pun intended) for new recipes and uses for our freezer full of elk. Some have been terrible, others acceptable, but this one turned out delicious. Which is a good thing since I made enough to feed us for 4 nights in a row. I'm sure somewhere, Martha Stewart is cringing.

I adapted this recipe from one I found over at Civilized Caveman. Check out his site. He's got some great recipes.

Primal Elk Chili
2 lbs ground elk meat
4 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T garlic salt
2 t cayenne
2 t oregano
2 t black pepper
2 cinnamon sticks
3 T butter

In large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onions and saute for about 10 minutes. Add in zucchini and peppers and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add elk meat and all spices and mix well. Continue to cook, stirring often, until meat is no longer pink, approx 10 minutes.

Add in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and whole cinnamon sticks and stir to combine well. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and serve hot with shredded cheese if desired.

The Newest Member of Our Household!

No, we did not have a baby. And no, we did not get another dog. Although Roland makes fun of me because every time I see a Humane Society commercial I get emotional and am convinced I must adopt every hungry and/or neglected puppy.

Today my Christmas gift from my honey arrived! A brand new, smooth ceramic surface range/oven. I am excited to say the least. Our old range (may that terrible beast rest in peace) had many issues. If you have ever cooked on a stove with a short in the burner, you can sympathize. Mid-cooking your pan goes cold and you realize the burner has stopped working. Take the pan off the stove, use a hot pad to push the burner into the socket and hope a fresh connection is made before you lose the momentum of whatever you were cooking. Then there was the bottom drawer, where you store the pans. The thing never sat on the rails right so it was always crooked and made a racket anytime you opened it. 1st world problems? Of course. But for someone who loves to cook, this was enough for my sweetheart to take pity on me and surprise me with this beauty on Christmas morning!

Many recipes will be shared. Many hours will be spent cuddling. Okay, maybe not actually cuddling, but I do have a slight crush on this machine. It makes me want to dress up like Donna Reed. Who wants some celebratory cookies?