Around Lolly's Sideboard: Lighthouses

As summer is winding down, let's have one more sideboard that reminds us of time spent at the seashore!

Sweet Harold found this unique set on FB marketplace a few years ago and it's one of our favorites.  Clean, classic lines with pops of red makes me almost able to smell the salt air.

He has always had a fascination and admiration for lighthouses and I love that we were able to enjoy this set of dinnerware.

I paired my Scarlet Fiestaware salt and pepper shakers to bring out the red in the plates.

The coffee mugs are a nice size...not too big, not too small.

The set includes a large serving bowl along with soup/cereal bowls.

Another red pop of color from the Fiestaware carafe!

The maritime figures were all my mom's.  I loved using them for this sideboard.

Harold has four beautiful Harbour Lights lighthouses.  These were perfect on top of the sideboard.

Every time I've walked through my kitchen during the last few weeks, I have to smile when I see these beautiful lighthouse dining pieces.

Air Fryer Jalapeno Peppers

 

I whipped up these easy jalapeno poppers over the weekend and they were a hit with our friends.  A few simple ingredients and the air fryer had these ready in a jiffy.

Remember to wear gloves when prepping the peppers.  The oil from the peppers, membranes, and the seeds can wreck havoc with your fingertips!  Trust me, that's a lesson you never forget.

You can make a few of these little poppers or a lot....the filling is very forgiving.  Need a little extra for a few more peppers?  It's a simple fix to mix up a tad more.

I had about 12 peppers which made, of course, 24 halves.  So here's what you'll need to make a nice batch of jalapeno poppers.

My Emeril Lagasse French Door Air Fryer has a heavy grill pan. I used that to bake the poppers.

12 jalapenos

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 T. fajita seasoning

2 - 3 T. panko bread crumbs

Put on food safe gloves!  Wash jalapenos and halve lengthwise through the stems, if possible. 

Carefully remove membranes and seeds.  Discard those.  Set peppers aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and fajita seasoning.

Using a small spoon, divide the filling evenly between the pepper halves and place on the grill pan of the air fryer.  Continue until all the pepper halves are filled.

Sprinkle the panko bread crumbs evenly over the filling.

Preheat the air fryer on the "bake" setting at 400 degrees F.  

Place the poppers in the air fryer for 15-18 minutes until the peppers have softened and the filling/bread crumbs have browned.

Let the peppers rest for a few minutes before serving.  Top with sour cream or salsa if you'd like.  For the cilantro lovers, a little chopped on top would be delish.

Instant Pot Soft Chicken Tacos

I needed a quick and easy supper this past week and the Instant Pot came through as always.  With a few simple ingredients found in my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator, supper was ready FAST!

A 9 year old friend recently highly recommended this salsa for me to try.  He gave it a strong review and stated it was "better than most restaurant salsas."  Well, that was enough to convince me to try not only their salsa, but their taco sauce as well.  He was correct.  This is some yummy salsa.

Here's what you'll need to make shredded chicken for soft chicken tacos, burritos, tostadas, etc.  This chicken would be delicious piled high on top of a green salad! 

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken tenders

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

3 T. taco seasoning

1 t. granulated garlic

1 t. onion powder

8 oz. Mateo's Gourmet Salsa

regular or low carb tortillas

shredded cheese

sour cream

Mateo's Taco Sauce

(avocados, shredded lettuce, jalapenos)

Place the chicken tenders into the Instant Pot and add the water and season with the salt and pepper.  Place the top onto the Instant Pot and set the vent to the closed position.

Set the Instant Pot to cook for 20 minutes on high pressure.  Let the chicken cook and naturally release for 10 minutes.  If the pressure is not completely gone in 10 minutes, manually release.

Using tongs, remove chicken from the Instant Pot and place in a large bowl.  Be careful, because it's going to be HOT!

Using the tongs, or two forks, shred the chicken.  Empty the liquid from the Instant Pot and return the chicken to the inner pot.  

Select the saute setting.  Add the seasonings along with the salsa.  Stir to combine and continue stirring so the chicken doesn't stick.  Let cook for a few minutes and then cancel the sauteing.  

Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.  You don't want the chicken too "wet" because no one likes a soggy chicken taco!

At this point, you can cool and refrigerate until you're ready to eat.  This is a good meal to prepare at night while you're doing laundry or lunch prep for the next day.  When you get home the next day, your chicken is ready!

But if you're ready to enjoy this immediately, heat the tortillas or taco shells according to package directions.

Then you can load them up with all your favorite toppings!

I went simple and made the shredded cheese my first layer, topped with the shredded chicken, then the taco sauce, and finished off my creation with some sour cream.  These were so delicious!

Bacon Cheeseburger Enchiladas

 

I've been thinking more and more about fusion dishes.  In particular, new variations of enchiladas.  A few weeks ago, I made an Italian Sausage and Mozzarella version.  We loved them!  

So I decided since I've been craving a cheeseburger, the next experiment really should be a Bacon Cheeseburger Enchilada, right?

If this sounds intriguing to you, here's your ingredient list!

1 cup (or more) Heinz 57 Sauce, divided

4 slices thick sliced bacon, diced

1 small yellow onion, diced

1.5 lbs. ground chuck

2 t. granulated garlic

2 t. Hardin's Seasoning

2 cups thick shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

6 medium sized tortillas (I used low carb)

Garnishes:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, dill pickle slices, diced cooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil spray.  

Spread 1/4 cup of the Heinz 57 Sauce evenly in the bottom of the baking dish.

In a large skillet over medium low heat, add the diced bacon and fry until crisp.  Remove the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

I had about 2 T. of bacon drippings in the skillet.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened, about 4 - 5 minutes.

Next, add the ground chuck to the skillet and break the meat up with a wooden spoon or spatula and cook through.  Drain the fat from the skillet.

Stir in the granulated garlic and the Hardin's Seasoning.

Lower heat to low and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and allow to melt.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the Heinz 57 Sauce. Remove from heat.

Spread the tortillas out on a flat service and divide the filling equally between the six tortillas.  Sprinkle with a little more of the cheese and roll the tortillas up around the filling placing the enchiladas into the prepared pan.

Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of Heinz 57 Sauce and the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until heated through and the cheese has melted.  If you want to brown them more, place under the broiler for a few minutes.

Now it's time to make these enchiladas into Bacon Cheeseburger Enchiladas!

Let the enchiladas rest for about 5 minutes.  Then you're going to add a layer of shredded lettuce...

diced tomatoes....

you must have those hamburger dill slices!

and finish the toppings with the bacon.

And here is your Bacon Cheeseburger Enchiladas!

Doesn't that look delicious?

Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

When it's too hot to grill, the air fryer to the rescue!  When food prices are rising each week, Food City to the rescue!

If you have the option of shopping for the day's meal, you can sometimes find great bargains like this!  Four large chicken drumsticks, blackened seasoned, and ready to cook for $2.66!  Yes, they needed to be frozen or cooked that day, but that was great for us because I did cook these for our supper.  

With temperatures still in the high 90s, I decided to utilize my air fryer.

I placed the drumsticks on the grill pan and let the air fryer preheat on the "chicken" setting.  That automatically set the temperature at 360 degrees F. and the time for 45 minutes.

Halfway through the cooking down, I removed the tray from the air fryer and turned the drumsticks over and returned to complete cooking.

With 10 minutes remaining on the cook time, I checked the internal temperature and the drumsticks were at 180 degrees F.  They were ready to eat!

I made a caprese salad to serve alongside the drumsticks.

These salads are a breeze to assemble and are so refreshing.  Simply slice a very ripe tomato and place sliced mozzarella cheese in between the tomato slices.  Lightly salt and pepper and then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar glaze.  Either chop fresh basil and sprinkle on top or tear fresh leaves of basil into large pieces and place in between the slices.

This was a super fast meal and extremely easy on my food budget!

2025 Alabama BBQ Tour: Houston County - BBQ King, LLC, Dothan, Alabama

 

Life has gotten in the way of our BBQ Trail adventures the past couple of months.  Last week we had a great time on the Gulf Coast and on the way home (through Dothan), we decided to take the opportunity to dine on BBQ in this part of our state.

We've enjoyed BBQ in big restaurants, small restaurants, award winning spots, and several in between.  But BBQ King in Dothan would be classified in my estimation as a "BBQ Joint" and I mean that in the most respectful way.  

This was a very informal setting with a menu board by the front door.  As we entered a young lady told us to review the board, sit where we wanted, and she'd be over in a bit to take our order.  We each took a picture of the menu board so we could look it over and make our selections.

We each ordered sweet tea and were pleased with the appropriate amount of sweetness.  

Sweet Harold wanted to try all the meats, so he ordered the "Trio" which includes ribs, chicken, AND pulled pork.  Slaw and baked beans were his side dishes.

We'll start with the ribs:  large, meaty, smoky, with a nice outer bark.  The ribs were well cooked and passed the KCBS taste test in that when taking a bite, only ONE bite was removed from the bone and the bone dried immediately.  

The chicken portion of the Trio consisted of a thigh and drumstick.  The chicken was juicy and had a distinct smoke flavor.

The pork was tender and moist.  No discernable smoke flavor, dry rub seasoning, or exterior bark.

The baked beans were well seasoned and had ground beef added to the mix.  He enjoyed these.

Another pleasant surprise was the coleslaw.  If Sweet Harold knows anything, it's coleslaw.  It was a nice mix of green and purple cabbage and the dressing had a nice ratio to the cabbage.

My turn!  I ordered the pulled pork plate with macaroni and cheese and fried okra.  Both of our meals came with a slice of white bread.

As you can see, this was an extremely generous portion of pulled pork.  Sadly, my serving was the same as SH's.  While the meat was delicious, it didn't have any smoke flavor, dry rub, or exterior bark mixed in with the inside meat.  However, I did find two pieces of bone with my serving.  Fortunately, the pieces were large enough for me to see before biting into them.  If you look closely at the bottom of the picture below, you can spy one of the pieces of bone.

Now to the macaroni and cheese.  I had high hopes when I ordered.  This version was baked and had a nice flavor, but was served at a more room temperature state instead of being piping hot from the oven.  It could have used a lot more cheese to have that "cheese pull" that we all love!

The okra (while possibly frozen and cooked) was my favorite on this plate.  It had that "fried in a cast iron skillet" texture instead of being dumped into a deep fryer to cook.  If that's how this was cooked, they did an excellent job in getting the texture near perfection.

There were two homemade BBQ sauces to choose from.  We liked both of them!  Of course, I will always tend to favor the vinegar or mustard based sauces because I feel that they pair best with pork.

The other was a tomato based sauce with a light smoky flavor.

Service was efficient and we received our food in a timely manner.  The owner came through the dining room and stopped at each table to inquire about any issues anyone was experiencing.  

I did enjoy seeing their very impressive smoker next to the building!

Standouts:  Smoked chicken and ribs, baked beans, slaw, okra, and homemade sauces.

Point Takeaways:  Styrofoam plates and cups, bland pork, bones in the pork.

Our Score:  91