Portland Union Station
Bacon wrapped Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
I came home hungry the other night and needed to make something fairly quick before heading out to a movie. I looked in the fridge and found seven jalapeños. I decided I was going to try my hand at making jalapeño poppers!
I pulled the jalapeños out and looked for some cream cheese and other usual ingredients. I found none. So, with the clock ticking, I grabbed some jalapeño Feta (I bought a 5 pound bag last week), some pre-grated Cotija cheese, and the remains of a block of cheddar cheese.
- First, I preheat the oven to 400.
- I then cut the jalapeños in half, lengthwise, and spooned out the ribs and seeds.
- I put equal parts of the three cheeses in a glass bowl and slowly heated to just before melting.
- Take a spoon and mix the cheeses together. It turned into a ball that resembled really soft dough.
- Fill each jalapeño halve with the cheese mixture.
At this point, when I went to put the cheeses back in the fridge, I noticed some thick-sliced bacon. Yum!!! I decided to wrap them.
- I took pieces of bacon, cut them in thirds, and used each piece to wrap a jalapeño.
- Next, place a wire rack over the top of a 9×13 backing pan (to catch the bacon drippings) and put in the oven until the bacon is crispy.
- Let cool and serve.
I love chilies! There are so many types of chilies, all with different flavors and different levels of heat. Experiment with other types and see what you come up with.
New Worldwide Single Release of You Are Beautiful (Live)
I have just released a new single worldwide! You Are Beautiful (Live), is a spontaneous song that came under an incredible atmosphere of God’s presence in the room. There was a long stretch of silence after this where all were in a state of awe of Him, face down.
Default (Mini):
Available in:
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1n6H6Yk
Spotify: https://bitly.com/a/bitlinks#
Heath McConnell’s Pulled Pork
This is a savory Dutch oven recipe with bite! Itypically refrain from having a pulled pork sandwiches herder in Oregon because I like the pork to have some bite. So, I finally decided to make it myself.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 pound pork loin
- SPG (salt, pepper, and garlic)
- 6 Jalapeños, diced
- 2 Radishes, diced
- BBQ sauce
- Tapitio
Directions:
Take the pork loin and sear it over an open fire (or in a large, hot skillet). Do not let it start cooking. It is 20 degrees out and we have freezing rain, so I used the hot skillet method, however, I recommend using the grill.
Next, throw the meat in a 12 quart Dutch oven, cover with SPG, 40 ounces of your beloved BBQ sauce, Tapitio, and the diced Jalapeños and radishes. Cook at 350 degrees for about 6 hours.
When the pork is tender enough to shred easily, Remove it and place on a kitchen tray, baking pan or leave in Dutch oven and shred. Mix it all together and cook another hour.
When done, place on rolls and serve with a pickle and a side of veggies and fries or mashed potatoes.
Navajo Pasole Recipe
Chicken Quesadillas
Cherry Tomato Spinich Marinade Chicken Bacon Tacos
Prep Time: 1 hr
Notes / Directions
- Combine cherry tomatoes, green onions, garlic, chilies and spinach in a food processor and purée.
- Cover diced chicken with sauce and marinade an hour or two.
- Take three pieces of thick cut bacon and use scissors to cut one inch pieces into skillet. Cook over med high heat till almost cooked.
- Add the marinated chicken to the bacon and cook for a while.
- Add 1 tbsp corn starch.
- Mix and cook a bit.
- Finely grate Cotijas cheese over chicken and bacon and cook mixture till nicely brown and lightly crispy.
- Serve in corn tortillas topped with shredded cabbage and grated cheddar cheese.
- Serve.
Campfire Citrus Shrimp, Andouille Sausage and Corn
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh Cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2-6 ears corn, small ears
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 Andouille Sausage, sliced in 1″ chunks
- 4 cups couscous, cooked
Notes / Directions
Combine the first 9 ingredients in a heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag, add the shrimp and marinate for one hour. Place the corn in a such oven, add the andouille Sausage, pour the shrimp mixture over the corn and sausage to cover it.
At campsite, Place sealed Dutch oven directly on hot coals, or in a BBQ with the coals piled all around the Dutch oven (or cook in a 450° oven if at home); cook 20 minutes. Serve over couscous.
I have a kid who hates seafood, so I used the same marinade recipe for 6 chicken thighs. I poured chicken and marinade from the bag into heavy-duty foil, sealed and placed directly on the coals next to Dutch oven, as seen in picture above. 
Hike to Kentucky Falls
We went on an adventure yesterday! My friend had said that it would be good to get me out in the woods. I am pretty sure she said this because she could sense my restlessness starting to exponentiation as it had been some time since i had done any camping, kayaking, hunting/fishing, or hiking. My love for her rose at the thought that she knew what my restlessness was from and how to fix it.
It was a very blustery day, as Winnie-the-Pooh put it. However, we decided to hike to Kentucky Falls on the North Fork Smith River. We loaded up 5 kids, a dog, and headed out. To get there, I decided to follow my phones navigation instead of my maps. During our journey there the navigation led us through the Coast Range on various logging roads. It finally led us down one that was so overgrown on the edges that it felt more like a 1/2 lane road, or a goat trail. I felt safe knowing I could get there on this path, but if there happened to be a locked gate…it was going to be a very, very long drive back in reverse. I couldn’t help but think about that ordeal, years ago, where a family followed their Google Maps app from California and ended up perishing on some logging road here in Oregon.
We came upon a pretty steep clear-cut area and had to take a picture because of how steep it appeared. As we drove along this old back (logging) road, seemingly forever, the vegetation was so thick on the sides of the road that at times it was rubbing on the roof. It made me all the more astonished when we came upon a little clearing with a burned up car. What was this fella thinking. This really wasn’t some road you take a car on.
The first waterfall didn’t seem that far and it was nice, but we hiked on. All the while we were getting more and more wet. I chose not to bring rain gear because I wanted some idea of what the kids would be facing at any given moment. I stayed pretty dry and warm because of my wool sweater.
When we finally arrived at the lower waterfalls, it was well worth the hike, however, the little ones were totally soaked to the bone and cold. The first thing We noticed was the thundering from all the rain we were having. Next, I noticed that there were two falls cascading over a box canyon wall.
I instantly left everyone behind and went out off the deck towards the middle of the canyon. You had to jump from mossy boulder to boulder trying not to fall in the water. Once out there, amid all the noise, rushing water, waterfall spray, pouring rain and wind, I felt amazed and knew all my needs to get out into the outdoors had just been met. The chaos that was my calm. I was at peace inside once again.
I quickly made my way back to the viewing deck where my fiance had her arms around all the kids like a mother hen, trying to warm their soaked bodies. I gave her a kiss and we all headed back. I realized that I gained 20 pounds of water while I was out in the middle of that canyon. The hike back warmed us up…little. We got to the car after hiking back for 1.5 hours and drove the easier route home with the heat on high.
I am pretty sure we all had a wonderful adventure, and I thank my woman for knowing what I needed and helping me achieve it…as always. I love you!
Orange Pepper Sauce Shrimp Sticks
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
1 pound 11-16 whole Gulf Shrimp
1 pound 16-22 de-veined Shrimp
2 pounds 28-34 head on whole Shrimp
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
3 large Jalapeños, cut in peices
3 Habanero, quartered
4 tablespoons Orange Marmalade
1 pound 16-22 de-veined Shrimp
2 pounds 28-34 head on whole Shrimp
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
3 large Jalapeños, cut in peices
3 Habanero, quartered
4 tablespoons Orange Marmalade
Notes / Directions
Leaving the shells on helps make shrimp juicy!
Leaving the shells on helps keep the marinade from being to spicy if using the *SPICY* additions. Skewer shrimp and place in a rectangle pan ready for marinade.
Combine a all ingredients except marmalade and pour over shrimp.
Let sit refrigerated for about a half hour.
start coals and move to side when ready, as indirect heat.
When marinaded shrimp is ready, pour off marinade into a saucepan and save.
Place shrimp on grill, INDIRECT HEAT, and turn after five minutes.
Leaving the shells on helps keep the marinade from being to spicy if using the *SPICY* additions. Skewer shrimp and place in a rectangle pan ready for marinade.
Combine a all ingredients except marmalade and pour over shrimp.
Let sit refrigerated for about a half hour.
start coals and move to side when ready, as indirect heat.
When marinaded shrimp is ready, pour off marinade into a saucepan and save.
Place shrimp on grill, INDIRECT HEAT, and turn after five minutes.
Orange Pepper Sauce
Put the reserved marinade on med high heat and add the marmalade.
Whisk continually as you bring to simmer.
Use as dipping sauce or pour over finished shrimp.
Skewer pineapple and veggies and grill to compliment shrimp.