Honey-Drizzle Cheddar Cheese

It's Christmas time and I get to host Christmas Dinner for the second year in a row. The challenge is preparing it with a 4-year old and a 7-week old baby. I keep saying to myself, "keep in simple". How can you really keep it simple when you're preparing food for a dozen people? Simple would be having pizza delivered. I'm not going to go that route, of course. So after coming up with a menu that consists of a cheese & cracker appetizer, I decided to do something a little different. Enter a recipe from Kraft.com. I decided that I could do something different yet simple.

So easy. Take a block of aged white cheddar cheese, drizzle it with honey (or better yet - English Golden Syrup) and top it with a combo of chopped nuts and dates. I was a little nervous only because I'm not a huge fan of honey. But, I've gotta tell you, it was wonderful! I used hazelnuts since I had them on hand and they worked out really well. The balance of flavors between the ingredients was wonderful. This is definitely an appetizer that I'll put out again or even take to a friend's house.

Ingredients

1 8 oz. Aged Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup chopped nuts (any kind: walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans)

1/2 cup chopped dates

1 apple, sliced
crackers

Directions

1. Place cheese on cheese board; drizzle with honey.

2. Top with nuts and dates.

3. Serve with apples and crackers.

Side Note:

I really should start concentrating more on food presentation. I primarily only use recipes that have a photo of the end product. I don't like leaving anything to the imagination in this respect. In the real world, do people spend that much time thinking about the presentation or are we all thinking more about the taste and temperature of the food we prepare?

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/honey-drizzled-cheddar-cheese-123518.aspx

Tuxedo Sesame-Crusted Chicken

Now that I feel almost human again (I can bend over) after giving birth just over 6 weeks ago, I've gotten back into the swing of cooking. My energy level has returned from zero and I was finally able to fill out my dinner menu calendar for the month of December. I had abandoned it back in March while I was in my first trimester and sleep, or at least being horizontal, overrode everything. I think we ate nothing but pasta for three months. I may not follow my dinner calendar to the date but that's okay. I had planned this meal to following a Boxing Day meal of left overs. I moved this to tonight since I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients for the meal I had "planned" for tonight. I'm behind on grocery shopping and laundry. That's the story of my life.

So this recipe is brought to us by the creative people at McCormick, the spice company. I've prepared this once before but I forgot how easy it is to make, or else I'd make it every month. I even made organic chicken tenders using this recipe for my son. This time I made it smarter and will use my "smarts" to make my life easier in the future. After you read or skip over reading the ingredients and directions, I'll tell you what I did differently and then give you my family's feedback.

Ingredients 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

3 tablespoons Sesame Seeds

3 tablespoons Sesame Seeds, Black

1 egg

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper, ground cayenne

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

Directions

1. Mix bread crumbs and sesame seeds in shallow dish. Beat egg, garlic powder, salt and red pepper in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg mixture. Coat evenly on both sides in bread crumb mixture, pressing firmly so mixture adheres to chicken. Discard any remaining egg and bread crumb mixtures.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; several pieces at a time; cook 5 minutes per side or until chicken is browned and cooked through. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding remaining oil if needed.
--
So I failed to read the directions in their entirety before starting the preparation. I've failed to do this before and I've really screwed things up. Apparently I didn't learn from that experience, but it didn't matter this time. In fact, I found an easier way to do things.

In a gallon size plastic bag I mixed the bread crumbs and all of the spices. I didn't add the garlic powder, salt or red pepper to the beaten egg. It just went into the bag. In fact, I completely forgot to add salt. Oops. It's such a necessary ingredient that isn't all that necessary in this dish. I dredged the chicken in the egg and then tossed it directly into the bag with the breadcrumbs and spices. I tossed it around like shake-n-bake. I know I'm not the first person to every do this, but I know how awesome the first person felt when they did it! Pure genius! No messy hands, no bowl full of gooey mixture on a plate. When I was done I just tossed the bag out.

I cooked the chicken as directed, for 5 minutes each side. I didn't cut it open to check it.

The first comment my husband made after trying it was, "this is really juicy"! Yay! I didn't dry it out. He proceeded to give me a critique much like that given by the judges on Chopped (my favorite tv show). He asked what the little kick was. Red pepper I told him. He said it was just enough to give it a little something.

The real test came when my son was told to try it. He finished off his haricot vert like it was Nutella, doing everything he could to avoid this "new" chicken. He was so hesitant to try the chicken, even though he got to shake the spices and breadcrumbs together in the bag. He tried it, with ketchup of course. I think the photo says it all.

He learned to give a "thumbs up" tonight. :)

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

I love French Toast and when I make it I usually make a lot and freeze it so that on a busy morning we can just take a few slices out of the freezer and pop them into the toaster oven and leave the house having had a yummy, warm breakfast.

Sometimes though I want French Toast without the time commitment & effort of making a big batch. This Cinnamon French Toast Casserole recipe is great...and you can eat it for left-overs for 3 more days or cut it into portions and freeze it for later.

I found this recipe in the book "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Family Favorites" that I checked out from the library. I had to cut down the cooking time by 15 minutes and I only had quick oats on-hand even though the recipe calls for old-fashioned rolled oats.

It is so tasty and moist and it's great with or without pure maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

One 1-pound loaf sliced cinnamon swirl bread, each slice cut into quarters
2 tbs cold, unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
8 large organic eggs
2 cups half-&-half
1 cup whole milk (1% or 2% is okay too)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

3 tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup old-fashion rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Coast the inside of the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add half the bread quarters to the crock and sprinkle with the slices of butter. Add the remaining bread quarters.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-&-half, milk, maple syrup, nutmeg and salt. Pour over bread. Press down gently to soak all the bread.
3. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and work them into a crumble. Sprinkle over the top of the bread mixture. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/4 hours, until the sides are browned and the center is set. Thermometer inserted into the center should register 190F.
4. Let the casserole rest, covered, in the turned-off cooker for 15 minutes before serving.

Corn Candy Bark

I dislike Candy Corn. Enough said.

While browsing Pinterest, an addictive website, I came across this recipe for Candy Corn Bark.

I'm trying to be a fun, holiday Mom, decorating the house for my 4 year old. Making footprint ghosts to hang on the wall and trash bag ghosts for the front lawn. You'd have to see photos to understand how cute these crafts are. And, since my little guy has been recently exposed to candy corn, I decided to give this recipe a try.

Ingredients

• 16 Halloween-colored chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped (Oreo brand)
  
• 1 1/2 cups broken small pretzels
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 pounds white chocolate, broken into squares
  
• 2 cups candy corn
• orange and brown sprinkles (optional)
  

Directions

1. Spread the cookies, pretzels and raisins evenly onto a lightly greased small baking sheet. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from the heat while there are still a few chunks, and stir until smooth. White chocolate burns easily.
2. Drizzle chocolate with a spoon over the goodies in the pan, spreading the top flat to coat evenly. Top with candy corn and sprinkles. Let cool until firm. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

I made a few changes to the recipe...

Ingredient change: I used white chocolate chips instead of chopping up bars.

Direction changes: I used parchment paper to line a 13x9 pan. It made it easy to pull out of the pan. I also do not have it stored in an air-tight container. I have it in a glass bowl (the one in the photo). After 4 days it's still fresh.

This recipe came out really well. The sweet of the raisins and the salty flavor of the pretzels combined nicely with the creamy flavor of the white chocolate. The taste of candy corn disappears and therefore you can have a fun, colorful Halloween treat that tastes really good.

Cheesy Ham Bubble Bakes

I've found a refrigerated buttermilk biscuit that I enjoy and that I prefer to use since it has no trans-fats. It's made by the Immaculate Baking Co. and they also make really great crescent rolls. They cost quite a bit more than your typical Pillsbury brand, but I feel its worth it.

I had some organic thick-cut ham in the refrigerator that I needed to use so I decided to try out Kraft's Cheesy Ham Bubble Bakes recipe. Three easy ingredients mixed together and placed in a muffin pan. Prep time was next to nil and the bake time of 20 minutes was worth it.

My husband really liked them. He couldn't speak highly enough of the actual biscuits. Thank goodness because this will be my justification for splurging on them from now on! He enjoyed the additional hardiness of simply adding ham and cheddar cheese. Since the biscuits are cut up, the cheese melts all over them and gets the diced ham to stick inside and on top. I made one without the ham and the cheesy biscuit was yummy - to put it simply.

Fast prep for a busy morning breakfast and a nice snack to grab and go. I'll definitely be baking these again, with no changes to the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 oz. Smoked Ham

3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350°F

1. CHOP ham; mix with cheese in large bowl.

2. CUT each biscuit into 4 pieces. Add to ham mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8-10 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

3. BAKE 20 min. or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 min. before removing from pan. Serve warm.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cheesy-ham-bubble-bakes-112588.aspx

Chocolate Chip & Toffee Cookie Dough Truffles

Being in my third trimester of pregnancy I find that I am often lacking energy. Two days ago I started to come down with a head cold, or is it a sinus infection, or maybe its just allergies. Whatever I have has got me zapped. But tonight I had a tiny bit of energy and instead of taking care of things that need to be taken care of (ie - sweeping, laundry, etc), I decided to use this burst of energy to try a new recipe. This one comes courteous of allrecipes.com. I stuck closely to the recipe and I was impressed with how this one turned out - visually. In terms of taste, you'd better be in the mood for sugar and have a tall glass of milk close by. I'm not really a "cookie dough" fan but this tastes like the real thing. Unlike real cookie dough, there are no eggs in this recipe. I can't imagine that my family will be able to eat the 46 pieces that I got out of this batch, so like me know if I have any takers!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toffee baking bits
• 1 pound chocolate confectioners' coating

Directions

1. Beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add flour, alternately with sweetened condensed milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits; mixing just enough to evenly combine.
2. Using a small cookie scoop, make 1-inch balls and place them on waxed paper lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Melt the chocolate coating in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave). Do not overheat or coating will scorch. Dip the dough balls in the chocolate coating, allowing any excess to drip off. Place on waxed-paper lined baking sheets and sprinkle the truffles with additional toffee pieces. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles/detail.aspx

Homemade Meatballs

One day I was shopping at Wegmans and frozen meatballs caught my eye. Being a vegetarian I was obviously looking for something to feed the meat-eaters in my life. I work two nights a week and I'm always thinking about fast, easy meals that my husband can prepare for himself and our son. I grabbed a small bag and decided to see if my son would even eat meatballs. He tends to only eat my mini-meatloaves and no other red meat. In fact, as he approaches his fourth birthday, he had finally had his first hamburger. It was a slider and he only ate half of it, and he didn't use a bun, but I considered it progress - in terms of him eating like a more 'normal' child.

The night I bought the meatballs I served it with whole grain pasta, another food my child turns his nose up at (not normal). He kept asking for more meatballs! I prefer to feed him only organic meat, but before I would commit the time and energy to making my own meatballs I had to see if he'd at least try them. He was so excited about them that I managed to get him to eat all of the pasta on his plate (a "happy plate" as the daycare calls it when they finish all of their food) in exchange for another meatball.

So tonight I decided to make my own meatballs. The idea in the back of my head is, if he eats them, then I'll get a grinder attachment for my stand mixer and buy my organic meat and grind it to make into meatballs and hamburgers. Doesn't this seem like a lot of effort for a vegetarian to go through? I must love my family! ;)

I prepared the meatballs and it was one of the easiest things I've made! And, to top off the ease, they only took 10 minutes in the oven! I drained them and tossed them into simmering marinara sauce and served over pasta. The guys ate them up and gave motivating compliments. I'll definitely get that grinder (hint, hint: would make a great Christmas gift) and I'll prepare these in bulk and freeze.


Ingredients:

1 lb. organic ground beef
1/4 cup stuffing mix or breadcrumbs
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs organic ketchup
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together
2. Form into 1" balls - will make approx. 20-24 each
3. Place into ungreased 15x10 pans
4. Bake uncovered at 400F for 10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165F.

Parmesan Crusted Baked Zucchini Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Back in the beginning of August when I was hosting a dinner for neighbors who had returned to the US, I executed a bunch of new recipes. One of the apps I made is this one. I loved the idea of baking a zucchini stick appetizer. I actually followed this recipe 100& and it turned out really tasty. The only problem I encountered was keeping the breading on the sticks. The egg that is used for dredging doesn't stick very well to zucchini and even less when you have skin on the stick. I mashed it in a bit and it worked pretty well. I'd make this again.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 pound zucchini/courgettes (sliced into sticks and pat dry)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Directions:

1. Mix the bread crumbs, parmigiano reggiano and oregano in a bowl.
2. Season the zucchini with salt and pepper.
3. Dip the zucchini in the egg and then dredge in the bread crumb mixture.
4. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer with the skin side down.
5. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/02/parmesan-crusted-baked-zucchini-sticks.html

Blueberry-Banana Stacks

Having my neighbors back in town and coming over for dinner inspired me to try three new appetizer recipes. Their children were visiting grandparents out-of-state, but I still had three young ones to try and appeal to. I found this recipe in Parents Magazine back in April 2009. Simple, cute, versatile and bite size. They were a hit!

Ingredients:

8 mini flavored popcorn cakes (or mini rice cakes)
strawberry cream cheese
1 banana, sliced
8 blueberries

Directions:

1. Spread popcorn cakes with strawberry cream cheese
2. Place a slice of banana on top
3. Add an extra dollop of cream cheese
4. Top with a blueberry

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip

My next door neighbors moved away for a year...a very long year. And, they moved very far away...very far, like to The Republic of Georgia...right at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Far across the world, my neighbor Monica read my blog and made kind comments about wanting to try some items when she returned home.

Well, she and the rest of her family are back in the States and to welcome them home we hosted a dinner and invited some other neighbors over. I didn't recreate any of my previous blog entries but I did try to execute three new appetizers and here's the first one.

Hot spinach and artichoke dip! Who doesn't love it when you go out to a restaurant and order it? Although I am a vegetarian, I am not a fan of spinach and will only eat it raw. I also am not a fan of artichokes and will only eat it in combination with spinach in a creamy dip. I might have a strange condition. ;) I found this recipe on someone else's blog and changed the recipe only slightly. I tried it on a multi-grain cracker before serving it and then decided to toast up some "black & white" loaves from a local bakery department. I lightly brushed the bread with garlic olive oil before toasting and it was wonderful. I later put out some untoasted bread and my husband preferred to eat it this way. To each their own...

Ingredients:

1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach (thawed, drained and coarsely chopped)
2 (7 ounce) jars of marinated artichoke hearts (drained and coarsely chopped)
4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic (grated)
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1/4 cup mozzarella (grated)

Directions:
1. Mix everything and pour it into a baking dish.
2. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until bubbling and golden brown on top, about 30-40 minutes. Finish off under the broiler for a browner top, if desired.

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/11/hot-spinach-and-artichoke-dip.html

Berry Slab Pie

And now for dessert...Blackberry Slab Pie! Click on the photos to enlarge and to active salivary glands.

I could not have chosen an easier recipe to try out for dessert. Pinterest really needs to start paying me for mentioning their website in every blog entry I write. Yet again is another recipe I found while cruising around their site. This one was linked to http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/18/the-easiest-blackberry-slab-pie-ever/. I didn't adapt this one at all, except to say that I didn't measure the fruit or the sanding sugar. I just tossed in a container of blackberries and all the clean blueberries I had in a bowl.

I cannot stress how fast and easy this was to make and the outcome is really impressive. It must be served with vanilla ice cream. It is the perfect summer dessert, minus turning on the oven in the middle of summer.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh blackberries, blueberries, or a mixture of both
1 prepared round of pie dough, thawed
1 egg white
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sparkling sugar

Directions:

1. Place the round of pie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.

2. Wash and dry the berries, then place them in a heap right in the center of your pie dough.

3. Carefully fold the edges of the pie dough around the berries, pinching it together to keep the edges in place.

4. Melt the butter and drizzle half of it over the berries.

5. Whisk the egg white into the remaining bit of butter. With a basting brush, spread the butter/egg mixture all over the edges of the pie crust, then sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve piping hot with giant scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Taco Stuffed Shells

O.M.G. Could there be anything better than combining Italian and Mexican food together? This fusion of flavors is awesome! The flavor of a taco in a stuffed pasta shell! Who thinks of these things?

Again...Pinterest lead me to this tasty creation and I made this entree on the night my friend came over with her family. If you've read my other recent posts, you'll know that I made about 5 new recipes that night and this was one of them. I made a organic ground beef version and a vegetarian "crumbles" version. The crumbles are the "vegetarian ground beef" substitute that you can buy in any grocery store.

I adapted this recipe a bit and was happy with the outcome. I didn't measure the salsa, taco sauce, cheese or tortilla strips. I just used enough to cover the shells to my liking. I also used more salsa then the recipe calls for. I used medium-flavor and it was not overly spicy at all. No worries there.

The two young girls visiting ate them right up! That was a huge compliment. Thanks Brooke and Summer!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (or meat substitute)
1 package taco seasoning
1 4 ounce package cream cheese
12-15 large pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 ½ cups tortilla chips (crushed)
3 green onions (chopped)
sour cream

Instructions:

1. In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool. While ground beef is cooking cook the pasta shells, drain.

2. Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

3. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.

4. Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, uncover, sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheeses on top. Cook for 15 more minutes or until cheese has melted. Garnish with green onions.

6. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives, or whatever you think goes good with tacos.

http://blogchef.net/taco-stuffed-shells-recipe/

Pineapple Strawberry Limeade

Here's another recipe that I found "pinned" on Pinterest. It's linked to this website: http://www.mychicfinds.net/2011/05/pineapple-strawberry-limeade.html. This is the beverage I decided to try on the night my friend and her family were coming over. Easy to make, non-alcoholic and very versatile. I tired to make garnishes but ran out of time. I also tried to find natural ingredients at Whole Foods, but apparently there isn't enough demand for frozen pineapple or limeade concentrate. I've never had club soda and adding it just seemed to add fizz without the sugar and extra calories that are in something like ginger ale. I think it could've used a bit more club soda since I prefer my beverages a little less sweet - not that this was overly sweet. It was great!

Ingredients:

1 - 12oz can frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1 - 6oz can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
4 cups cold water
1 liter club soda, chilled
ice cubes
fresh organic strawberries (optional)
assorted fruits: sliced oranges, lime slices, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc...
- to toss inside and to use as garnish
short (6-inch) wooden skewers

Directions:

1. In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. To serve, add club soda and mix. Transfer to a serving pitcher and add ice cubes and fruit as desired.

Make-Ahead Tip:

Up to 24 hours ahead, prepare juice mixture and chill well. Proceed as directed.

Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Mini-Calzones

On Saturday night I had friend and her family coming over for dinner. I hadn't spent much time with this friend recently and so having her family of four coming over gave me the inspiration to try all of these amazing recipes I keep finding on Pinterest. I actually had 5 new recipes to try on her family as guinea pigs! Watch out and cross your fingers!

I started out the evening with a Smoked Mozzarella and Apple Calzone. I found smoked mozzarella at Whole Foods. I really wanted to use whole wheat pizza crust, but I didn't have time to make my own and the grocery store only had regular pizza crust. I had quite a bit of the various filling ingredients left over, but I don't think I could've managed to stuff any more things inside.

My guests gave it the thumbs up. I loved them with the dijon mustard for dipping, my husband didn't. This was labor-intensive so next time I might try and use crescent rolls, although that might be sacrificing too much flavor to save some time. I'll let you know...

Makes 12.

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat pizza crust

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tbs butter
1 medium apple (honeycrisp, fuji)
1 cup diced smoked mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
handful of fresh thyme
handful of fresh chives

extra virgin olive oil for brushing
dijon mustard to serve

Instructions:

1. Make the pizza dough or use store-bought fresh dough, let it come to room temperature
2. Warm butter over medium heat in a saucepan and add the thinly sliced onion. Continue to move them every so often until they begin to caramelize, about 12-20 minutes.
3. Seed and cut the apple into a rough dice. Pull the thyme leaves and give them and the chives a nice chop. Get all of your fillings in order.
4. Roll out dough into a rectangle shape. Roll it thin, but not too thin since you don't want it to rip. Make 3x3 inch squares and lay them on a floured baking sheet.
5. Pile toppings into the middle of the square. Take a pinch of onions, then apple, both cheeses then herbs. Add a twist of black pepper if desired. Fold one corner across to the opposite corner, gently press and fold the open edges and pinch or roll the edges.
6. Brush the top of each mini calzone with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the upper third of the over for about 14 minutes, until tops are crispy brown. Let them rest a minute before eating. Serve with dijon mustard for dipping.

http://sproutedkitchen.com/?p=2173

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Continuing with my new found addiction to the website Pinterest, I found this recipe. I had fresh organic strawberries on hand and really wanted to give it a try. The recipe comes from the blog lululu at home http://lululuathome.com/2010/03/strawberry-and-cream-cheese-muffin.html.

They muffins aren't too sweet but they do take a little longer to make than muffins from a box. These are made from scratch, so you know they're going to ROCK!

Ingredients (12 regular-sized muffins):

Muffin

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped into very small pieces

Cream Cheese Mixture

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.

In a small bowl, mix together with a spoon the cream cheese mixture ingredients until smooth. Set aside.

In a big bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and egg until incorporated.

Use a spatula, mix the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Fold together until combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins, filling them no more than 1/2 full.

Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one.

Top it with a tsp of cream cheese mixture, a tablespoon of muffin batter, and finally a few more pieces of strawberry.

Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Okay. So it's not visually stunning, but it is amazingly tasty.

I love pumpkin. I think it's a seasonal Fall food but sometimes I want it at other times throughout the year. I was shopping in Whole Foods and found this pumpkin ravioli in the frozen food aisle. I can't imagine putting Marinara Sauce on a pumpkin flavoured food and Brown Butter Sage Sauce doesn't do anything for me, hence the Garlic Alfredo Sauce.

In this house we go through our fair share of jarred Alfredo Sauce. It's nothing special, but it's easy. I've been longing for a homemade sauce and learned that I could make a batch and freeze it for up 4-6 months. Preparing it fresh, portioning it out and freezing it seems like the ideal plan to me! Now...how hard would it be to make my own? Mine came out thick since I used heavy whipping cream. That's why I dolloped the sauce on top of the raviolis. I improvised and grated a little nutmeg on top for a garnish. I am so fancy!

I went to the recipes that are saved on my computer and found this recipe. I usually copy the link to the site where I found the recipe, but this time I didn't...so I can't give anyone credit. Oops!


BTW - If you're looking for healthy...look elsewhere!

Ingredients:
6 tbs butter
3 tbs cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
4-6 cloves of fresh garlic
S & P to taste
2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:
1. In a medium or large saucepan melt butter over medium heat
2. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth and melted
3. Whisk in the heavy cream
4. Add garlic, salt and pepper
5. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens. About 15-25 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in cheese
7. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

Frozen Banana Bites

So a friend sent out an invite to a website called Pinterest. I had never heard of it but I had an opportunity to cruise around the site and I fell in love with what I saw. There were recipes (with photos!), DIY crafts that looked really cool, photography and fashion. All these photos of things you like could be "pinned" to your virtual cork board and shared with anyone else on the site. I signed up and started pinning right away. The recipes re-inspired me to get back in the kitchen. Since becoming pregnant, I've been zapped of energy...even though I am now in my 2nd trimester. Now, I have the inspiration to skip my much-needed nap and get cooking.

This recipe needs no cooking, just a little microwaving. I picked up this recipe from http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/06/frozen-banana-bites.html. I adapted it slightly since I'm not vegan.

Ingredients:
2 large bananas
1/2 cup chocolate chips, use more if needed
1/2 cup peanut butter, use more if needed
shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:
1. Line a plate/tray with parchment paper
2. Cut bananas into chunks (5-6 pieces)
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix then heat the chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave on high for one minute or until melted
4. Dip/roll banana pieces into the mixture and lay them out on the parchment paper. Use any remaining mixture to spoon on top of the bananas (no waste).
5. Sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired.
6. Transfer to the freezer for an hour (if you can't wait to dig in) or leave overnight. Cover as desired.

Sausage & Sweet Potato Squares with Garlic-Lemon Mayo

Southern Living magazine has so many wonderful recipes and they put together so many great cookbooks. I'm kicking myself for letting my magazine subscription run out because I'm probably missing more really neat recipes like this one.

This relatively simple appetizer has such a great visual presentation and pops with flavor. If I was a food stylist it might have looked more like the photo in the magazine (Sept. 2008). As you can see in the photo below, mine didn't turn out as shiny and I forgot to include the absolutely amazing garlic-lemon mayo in the photo. Cutting sweet potatoes into 1" chunks isn't easy. Using a restaurant dicer would've been much easier. You definitely want to get the sweet potatoes diced to the same size so that they cook evenly. You also want to cut them to a size that complements the size of the sausage you serve with them.


This appetizer was so good. Being a vegetarian I just dipped roasted sweet potato into the garlic-lemon mayo. It was so wonderful! Definitely worth making again and again.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 32 (1-inch) cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage, cut into 32 (1/2-inch) pieces
• 32 wooden picks
• Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
• Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Drizzle potatoes with 2 Tbsp. oil, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss to coat.
2. Bake at 450° for 15 to 20 minutes, turning cubes twice.
3. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Drain on paper towels.
4. Place 1 sausage slice on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining sausage slices and potato cubes. Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise. Garnish, if desired.
   

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-squares-with-lemon-garlic-mayonnaise-10000001831906/

Magazine Note:

Serve Sweet Potato Squares warm or at room temperature. Make garlic-lemon mayo in advance.

Mediterranean Pasta with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

So the other weekend was a very busy weekend, with swim class for the little guy, cleaning the house and hosting two dinners. This might not sound overwhelming, but when you have kids to feed both nights and you don't want to make a separate meal, it can be challenging to try and find something for everyone. Saturday night was a special challenge because one of the guests has a peanut allergy and a pet allergy. It was easy enough to make arrangements for the dog to be taking to my parents house for a night of pet-sitting. Trying to keep the exposure to peanuts at a minimum is challenging since my son eats peanut butter practically every day and this particular day he got peanut butter on his pants and in his hair, requiring a bath and a change of clothes before our guests arrived.

So after grocery shopping and checking all the food labels for peanut allergy warnings I decided to make Mediterranean Pasta with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes. I've made this one time before and I remember really enjoying the flavor-packed tomatoes. I got this recipe from a magazine ad for McCormick's Spiced Sea Salt.

The plan was to serve four adults and three children. I bought two pounds of roma tomatoes, as the recipe called for, and the rest of the ingredients. After I got home I prepped and popped the tomatoes in the oven and then I re-read the recipe. It called for 8oz of pasta. I don't know about you, but between me and my husband we can eat 8oz of pasta with no problem. I had a one pound box of fettuccini so I cooked it all. The smell drifting out of the oven was to die for! The perfect blend of tomatoes, garlic and the sea salt mixture was pure Heaven.

Considering all pasta basically tastes alike, you'd think I'd like fettuccini, but I don't. I prefer small, bite-size pieces of pasta. I was trying to replicate the photo with the recipe and it looked like a thicker noodle so I used the fettuccini.

My guests arrived as two instead of four. No longer was a peanut allergy an issue, but what was an issue was the amount of pasta I had cooked. It looked like plenty for the original seven, but it didn't look like enough fire-roasted tomatoes. After smashing half of the tomatoes and tossed everything in with about 3/4 of the pasta. We all helped ourselves to dinner and sprinkled on extra sea salt to suit our preferences.

My final thought are that I should've used angel hair pasta. I think the lighter, thinner pasta would've complimented the tomatoes better. I also should've only used half of the cooked pasta, especially since I had two less diners than expected. The meal was wonderful, I just wish I had gotten more fire-roasted tomatoes.

http://www.mccormickgourmet.com/Recipes/Main-Dishes/Mediterranean-Pasta-with-Fire-Roasted-Tomatoes.aspx

This recipe is slightly different than the one I used. It looks like they've tweaked it a bit.

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes and Hericot Vert

Fish is on the dinner menu once a week and the hubby likes Tilapia for it's light texture and flavor. I found a tilapia recipe that seemed easy enough to make in Bon Appetit magazine back in January 2007. If you've been following my blog here and there then you know I've been trying to plan a dinner menu a month at a time and I'm trying recipes that I've been saving for years that I've never prepared before. Here's one of those recipes. I wish I hadn't waited so long because the feedback was possibly the best I've received from my husband in the 9-10 years we've known each other.

I had a few problems making this dinner...well, three. The third problem involves FIRE, but I'll get to that in a minute. Oh wait! Four problems come to mind. I can't believe this meal made it to the table and the feedback I got. I should've thrown in the towel over and over again.

So I gathered up all the ingredients that I needed to successfully prepare a wonderful meal. I started by boiling the potatoes for the Thyme Mashed Potatoes. I've cooked boiled potatoes hundreds of times. It's not hard and 20 minutes is all you need. 20 minutes is all the recipe called for. 20 minutes is all I cooked the potatoes for. But, wouldn't you know it? I messed them up, kind of. If I had been making anything other than mashed potatoes I would've needed to head back out to the grocery store.

When I went to drain the potatoes, they were a mushy mess. They practically mashed themselves as they boiled away. I guess it made my job easier, but they looked rough. To mess up the THYME mashed potato recipe further, as I was mincing the thyme I noticed something seemed off. No, I didn't buy the wrong herb. It looked like thyme, but it smelt so good - like flowers or lemons. I checked the container it came in and sure enough, it was lemon thyme. Okay - not a total disaster, but not what the recipe called for. What ever - a hint of lemon sounded nice with a fish dish.

So with two disasters down and two more to go, including the one with FIRE, it was time to get the Balsamic Butter Sauce going. In a small sauce pan I put in the 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and the minced garlic. The recipe calls for this to simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. I needed to start on the fish so I turned the heat down and let it simmer away...until I smelt, nope, not FIRE, but a burning smell. My sauce was turning into charcoal in the pan. Crap! Again, not a complete disaster because I had plenty of balsamic vinegar and garlic left and I just needed to dump it and scrub the pot clean.

So, with three disasters dealt with I moved on to preparing the fish. The fish was not frozen. The instructions called for the pan to be heated on HIGH with a TBS of oil. Not a problem, but when the oil was starting to smoke I felt that the temperature was up too high. I turned it down a bit and added the fish. Well, I guess the pan didn't cool down enough and the fish was cooking very fast. I added some more oil to keep the fish from sticking but the kick back from the oil was crazy. It was although I was cooking something frozen in the pan. Oil was shooting everywhere. I was gentle shaking the pan back and forth to prevent the fish from sticking when all of a sudden, you guessed it, FIRE! Flames were circling around my electric flat top stove. This isn't a gas stove so I was a little freaked out. I called out to my husband, who had no idea I wanted a new kitchen remodel this badly! By the time he got to the kitchen, everything was under control again and no damage was done. I have a handy fire extinguisher, but luckily I didn't need to use it.

I shewed my husband back out of the kitchen and finished cooking the meal. I presented it after all of my near-secret disasters and heard nothing but great feedback. The fish was cooked perfectly, the potatoes were seasoned perfectly and were so smooth, and the sauce was incredible. The meal was truly restaurant quality. Hearing all of this made the whole effort worth it!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2007/01/tilapia_with_balsamic_butter_sauce_thyme_mashed_potatoes_and_sugar_snap_peas

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I don't get every recipe I make from Allrecipes.com or Kraft.com or from my Mother-in-law, although most of them I do. Every once in a while I'll find them in an advertisement for a particular item. For example, this recipe for Cajun Chicken Pasta came from a Sargento cheese ad, although I've made it without their cheese.

Not every recipe I try is a winner and then some are and I mess them up. This is one of those recipes. I first prepared this recipe back in...I can't remember and it really doesn't matter. It's been a while and I liked it the first time so I decided to make it again.

After cooking the pasta and cooking the chicken, I remembered that the last time I made it I felt like the amount of cajun seasoning the recipe called for didn't seem like enough, so I decided I'd double it. OOPS! Not a good idea on a couple of levels. First, deciding to double it was crazy. Maybe a tad more would've helped. Second, instead of adding a total of 4 TEAspoons, I used 4 TABLEspoons. Ya see my problem?

After preparing it almost according to the instructions and plating it up, photographing it and making sure it was still hot enough to be served, the family sat down to eat. BTW, I made myself a batch without chicken.

O.M.G. AWFUL! The salt content was enough to make your tongue fall off. I was wiping sauce off the pasta and trying to make it edible. My husband was so hungry he ate it even though he thought the salt was too much too. And, my son, who we're trying to get to eat new things, was told it was a PB&J night. I wouldn't let him near the stuff.

So...I will make this again after we have the sodium flushed from our bodies and next time I will follow the recipe exactly and if there's not enough seasoning, I'll just sprinkle a little on top.

Since I've made this before, I will recommend it, but I will not be adapting this recipe anytime soon!

http://www.sargento.com/recipes/1260/cajun-chicken-pasta/

Fish Tacos

My husband really likes Tilapia so I've been looking for recipes that I think he might enjoy. I came across this recipe in Parade Magazine back in late 2009. It looked easy enough to make so I've finally decided to give it a try. I decided to use regular tortillas instead of the whole grain tortillas we always use. I diced up roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro and red onion. I mixed the salsa and sour cream to make a zesty sauce and I completed the meal by brushing the fish with a little EVOO and S&P and tossing it in the pan. Wow! It's really just that easy. After the fish came out of the pan, I drizzled fresh lime juice on it, then let it rest for a few minutes before flaking. Does fish even have to rest?

The result, as reviewed by my husband, was fantastic...minus one thing...it wasn't very hot. I have found an issue with blogging. I plate up dinner and then spend time photographing it, then I serve it. Oops! After putting effort into making a nice tasting, visually appealing meal, the effort is practically wasted if it's not served at the ideal temperature. I won't make that mistake again! Thankfully it was good enough that he ate everything that I prepared. I even made a couple with no fish (being a vegetarian and all) and it was so good! Everything was fresh and the flavors worked so well together. I'll make it again and skip the camera work.

Ingredients:
8 - 6" flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa
S&P
3 - 8oz fish fillets (tilapia, haddock, flounder)
2 tbs EVOO
Juice of 2 fresh limes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 ripe roma plum or beefsteak tomatoes, diced
2 cups red cabbage, finely shredded (optional)
fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Stack the tortillas on top of each other and wrap in foil. Place in oven while you prepare the fish.
2. Whisk together sour cream and salsa in a small bowl; season with S&P. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Heat a grill pan or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Brush the fish on both sides with oil and season with S&P. Cook the fish until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate; drizzle with lime juice. Let rest for 5 minutes. Using a fork, flake the fish into large pieces.
4. To serve: Put some fish in the center of the tortilla and top with onion, tomatoes, and cabbage, then drizzle with sou-cream sauce and cilantro leaves.

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

I continue on my journey of planning our our dinners a month-at-a-time, while actually making recipes I keep collecting. I decided to try something that I know, if I was still a meat-eater, that I'd love. French Dip with warm au jus.

I adapted a recipe from Allrecipes.com, using other people's comments to make my French Dip the best it could be. But first, I had to figure out which cut of meat to use. The recipe calls for rump roast, but many people also used chuck roast or sirloin tip. I enjoy reading people's comments, but figuring out what to add to my shopping list meant doing a little homework.

Rump roast and and chuck roast are very flavorful and tender, while sirloin tip is less fatty. I decided to look for sirloin tip because I knew it would be tender in the crock pot. Alas, I was unable to find it and bought a chuck roast instead.

The end result was my kitchen smelled fantastic all day and my family loved it (served it to four people). They all said it was worth making again, except my son who isn't a red meat fan yet.

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chuck roast
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth or consomme
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle DARK beer
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 6 French rolls
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from the chuck roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, onion soup, beer and spices. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before serving, cut the meat then placed it back into the juices to cook a little bit more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Split French rolls, and spread with butter. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
5. Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping.