Russ's Bacon Wrapped Water-Chestnuts

1 pound bacon, cut into thirds
2-3 cans of whole water-chestnuts drained
toothpicks

BBQ Sauce-

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
3/4-1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon of worceshire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or more (optional)
few good cranks of fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350
Wrap the water-chestnuts with the bacon and use a toothpick to fasten, put on cookie sheet that has sides, bake for 25-30 mins until the bacon is cooked and slightly crispy. Meanwhile make sauce in a small saucepan and simmer 15 mins. When the water-chestnuts are done put them along with the sauce in a casserole dish and bake 10 mins more. If using a crockpot put everything in together and put on low until ready to serve, they will not last long so double the recipe!

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed, drained and chopped
2 cans artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1-8 oz. block of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Hellman's Mayo
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 green onion finely chopped(optional)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
few quick turns of fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder


For mixing all the ingredients up I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer, if you don't have one, mixing with whatever you have will do. Mix everything together except the spinach and hearts, once the other ingredients are mixed well toss in the spinach and the hearts and mix until well combined.
For serving I put this in a crock pot or you can hollow out a sourdough bread loaf and put the dip inside and wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 Min's.
Serve with cut up bread of any kind you like or crackers.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1-32 oz. box of chicken stock like Kitchen Basics
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 oz. green Chile's
1 tsp. ground cumin
10-8 inch flour tortillas


In a fry pan melt butter and saute onions until they are translucent, add the flour and stir with a whisk and cook for about 1 min. Stir in chicken stock and continue whisking until the liquid has come to a boil. Once the liquid has thickened remove from the heat and add the sour cream. In a bowl add the chicken, Chile's, 1 cup cheese, 2 cups of sauce and cumin and mix well. Lay out tortillas and fill each with about 1/3 of the mixture, roll up and place into a well greased 9x13 pan, top with remaining liquid and bake in the oven at 375 for 20-25 Min's, remove and top with cheese and bake for 5 Min's more until the cheese has melted.

I make this recipe quite often and love it! Feel free to use tomatoes, sour cream, salsa when serving this dish and remember to ENJOY!!

Zippy Sauce

3/4 cup Ketchup 4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup White Vinegar 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup Brown Sugar 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 small onion chopped super fine
4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
few cranks for fresh black pepper
6 drops of Franks Red Hot Sauce(or more it you like)

Mix everything in a saucepan and simmer for 15 mins or so

Hello! I'm Lisa Behsman and I am married with 2 children who are 6 and 9 years of age. I live in a small town in Southern Minnesota and I really enjoy cooking for my family and friends. I thought it would be great to share some of my recipes that I have made and enjoyed.

Both of my parents are great cooks and I guess you could say that I have inherited the passion for cooking from them. I love trying new recipes but nothing beats the tried and true recipes, recipes that you can use everyday. I'm excited to share these recipes with you and I hope that when you try them you enjoy them and even add your own flair to them.