Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

I have not been this excited about something I've prepared - ever! This one really knocked my socks off...and my husband's too! I found a photo of a Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese sandwich on Pinterest. I followed the "pin" back to a blog called "Becky Bakes" where she made the sandwich created by the blog "Closet Cooking". If you venture to the other blogs you'll see that these people are wonderful photographers. I totally need tips!

Anyways...after reading "Becky Bakes", I decided that the recipe was more involved than I wanted to commit to preparing. Why? Because I really didn't want to spend time broiling my jalapenos and then peeling them. That's just too much work for a sandwich. And Becky also mentioned that she only used one jalapeno but she'd use two next time to punch up the flavor. I had an idea! Why not try pickled jalapenos? No broiling, no peeling, use as much or as little as you like depending on the amount of kick you can handle.

I really never even read the recipe on the other sites. I just got too excited and prepped it the way I wanted to. I bought some sourdough bread, buttered the outside, slathered the insides with cream cheese, tossed a piece of real cheddar cheese on there and placed a single layer of pickled jalapenos on top. I picked out the seeds as you can see on the side on the photo below. I grilled mine on the pre-heated George Foreman grill for just over 4 minutes.
The bread came out crunchy on the outside and the inside literally tasted just like a jalapeno popper - but with bread and no frying. It was so good that I made a second one for lunch! I can't ever imagine making a plain old grilled cheese sandwich again. You've gotta try this!

In fact, I'll make it for you if you'd like! Here's a contest of sorts...If you live in the DC Metro area, leave a comment in the comment section of this blog entry and tell me why you'd like me to make this sandwich for you. If I only get a comment or two, your chances will be great that you'll be a winner! So easy.

Here's another nugget - I've got a Tummy Temptations Facebook page in the works. I don't know what I'm doing and it's sloppy, but I'm sure if you search for it you'll find it. If you are one of the first two "local" people to "Like" it, I'll make you a surprise treat!

Update: 3/26/12.
I made this again today using Mt. Olive brand pickled jalapenos. Not impressed. Definitely use Old El Paso brand. Thicker, spicier slices of jalapeno.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/04/jalapeno-popper-grilled-cheese-sandwich.html

http://www.beckybakes.net/2011/04/13/jalapeno-popper-grilled-cheese-sandwich/

Glazed Pecans

My sister-in-law had us over for dinner some time ago. She served salad with the entree. And I don't know if it was because I was hungry or not, but that salad was the best salad I had ever had! Come to think of it, I now know that it was more than about being hungry. I've had the salad many times since then. We joke that I like the salad so much because of all the "candy" in it.

In her salad is mixed greens, a diced apple, a handful dried cranberries and a handful glazed pecans. She serves it with honey mustard dressing. I started serving this during dinner so often that the cost glazed pecans was driving me into the poor house. I decided to start making my own and I went out and purchased a huge 2 pound bag of pecans from Costco. If you've been reading my blog every once in a while, you'll see this salad on a few of my dinner plates...most recently on my January 18th entry of Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders. I substituted pears for apples that night.

So feeling like I was spending all of my money on pecans instead of saving for retirement, I did an internet search and found a recipe from Pillsbury. I've made four batches of glazed pecans and I thought it was time to share this tasty treat. I need to mention that they are so yummy that you might want to sprinkle them over ice cream or just eat them out of the airtight container that you store them in. It's all natural and kind of "healthy" dessert or snack. At least it is until you glaze them! They would make a nice little hostess gift during the holidays.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons organic butter

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

2 cups pecan halves (6-7 oz) <--8 oz is too much

Directions

1 - Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. In 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and syrup; mix well. Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly.
2 - Add pecans; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until coated. Spread mixture onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.
3 - Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store in tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.

Pillsbury Note

Pecans are more than 70% fat and can become rancid easily. Store shelled pecans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Transfer cooled pecans to a tightly covered freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/glazed-pecans/a53aa7a8-efd1-42bf-886a-2d70be56f363/

Birds' Nests

Who's ready for Spring? The Robins are out in large numbers. The temperature here in the D.C. Metro area is above-average with today's high being around 66 degrees and my flowerbed is in bloom. I think the Groundhog was wrong, which is alright with me. I just wish I could return my son's new snowsuit and gloves. They'll be too small for him to use next year.

So in honor of Spring I decided to try and make a treat that I made a long time ago intermediate school home ec class. No cooking/baking makes this super easy. Use pastel M&Ms or for a fancier, more accurate looking nest use Cadbury mini eggs as your bird eggs.

Ingredients

pan spray or unsalted butter, for greasing the muffin pan

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 oz butterscotch chips

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

5 oz chow mein noodles

36 pastel M&Ms or mini Cadbury eggs

Instructions

1. Grease the wells of a muffin pan with pan spray or butter.

2. In a large microwave-proof bowl, heat the chocolate and butterscotch chips in 30 second intervals until thoroughly melted, stirring after each increment. (It only took me three 30-second intervals).

3. Once melted, add the peanut butter to the chocolate/butterscotch mixture, mixing well until smooth and completely mixed.

4. Add the chow mein noodles, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until completely coated.

5. Using a large spoon, mold the mixture into the wells of your muffin tin.

6. Chill the nests until hardened, for at least 1 hour.

7. Once chilled, gently remove the nests from the muffin tin.

8. Place three eggs on the tops of each nest.

Homemade Shells and Cheese

Who doesn't like mac and cheese? Come on...you know you're the 99%! Who likes it made with processed cheese vs. real cheese? The processed stuff tastes great, but it's not so great for you. Here's my attempt at homemade shells and cheese made with a blend of real cheese. I used a blend of regular shredded hormone-free cheddar and smoked mozzarella. It’s pretty easy to make since you make it on the stove top and there is no baking.

It turned out great! Very creamy and very smokey. My 4 1/2 year old son had never tried mac and cheese until tonight...and he ate it! He didn't inhale it like I did, but then again he's not really a pasta lover.

Because this side dish is so creamy and delicious, it really needs something to enhance the flavor and texture so thinly sliced green onions made the perfect topping. Breadcrumbs would work but I find them to often times be too heavy.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

8 ounces medium whole wheat shells
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 cups organic milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup smoked mozzarella
sliced green onions

Directions

1 - Cook shells according to package directions.
2 - Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly add the milk and cook while whisking out any lumps and stirring until the mixture becomes somewhat thick. Stir in the cheese until melted. Remove from heat.
3 - Drain shells and toss them to the cheese sauce. Stir to coat. Top with green onions for serving if desired.

(Makes 4 Servings)

Tortilla & Black Bean Pie

Something is wrong with me. While I was vacationing in Sandbridge, VA a few years ago I spent some time writing down some recipes. Who in the world spends their time at the beach writing down recipes? I'm not normal. I guess I can cut myself a little slack because we went after peak season and the temperature was a bit cooler and it was really windy, so I stayed inside one afternoon. I would now consider it crazy to write down a recipe. I've had a smart phone for about a year now and when I see a recipe I like, I take a photo of it.

This vegetarian recipe was found inside a Martha Stewart cookbook, or maybe it was a magazine...it's been a few years since I found it. This recipe is versatile. In fact, I would highly recommend doctoring it up to suit your taste. I prepared the recipe as written (substituting spicy black beans for regular) and my husband and I were pretty impressed with the presentation, but pretty disappointed with the overall lack of flavor. It has jalapenos and onions and cumin. How could it lack flavor?I loved seeing the layers; They turned out really well. I think the meal itself needed less corn, more cheese and more of a kick - like adding salsa and tomatoes inside. I topped mine with sour cream. I will make this again but with the suggestions I just made and if you're a meat-eater I'd recommend adding some marinated shredded pork tenderloin. I did not adapt the recipe.

Ingredients

4 flour tortillas (10 inch)
1 tbs canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
S & P
2 cans (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz beer or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10oz) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced + more for garnish
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Trim tortillas to fit 9" spring form pan.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic and cumin. Season with
S & P. Cook stirring occasionally - 5-7 minutes.
3. Add beans and beer to skillet and boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until liquid has almost evaporated - 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with S & P.
4. Tortilla on the bottom of the pan. Layer with 1/4 of beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat 3 times.
5. Use 1 cup cheese on top layer.
6. Bake until hot and cheese is melted. 20-25 minutes.
7. Unmold; sprinkle with scallions.
8. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Pillows

Have I mentioned in the past my love of pumpkin? I think it has something to do with my love of Fall. It's wintertime but since you can still find canned pumpkin in the grocery store I decided to try out this Kraft recipe.

I'm usually intimidated by any recipe that requires me to deep-fry something. I just have this idea in my head that deep-frying on top of the stove is difficult. I'm also not going to jump at the opportunity to make something deep-fried, knowing that no matter how healthy the ingredients, it's not going to be healthy after I cook it. But don't get me wrong. If you know me then you know I love fried foods. Doesn't everyone? I mean, you love it (admit it) but you attempt to avoid it because you know it is not good for you.

This recipe calls to wonton wrappers. Not being a fan of Asian food, in general, I didn't really know what wonton wrappers were. Well, it turns out they are this neat little thing that is kind of like pasta...at least to me. You can wrap stuff with sweet or savory ingredients and boil them for a semi-homemade ravioli. You can fry them or bake them. They seem quite versatile.

So I followed the recipe exactly except when it came to the temperature of the oil. How are you supposed to measure the temperature of the oil before frying? I'll tell you how I did it and then you can give me recommendations as to how to check the temperature in the future. I took out one of my thermometers that I got from work. Well, that only measured up to 300F. I needed to measure up to 350F. I took out my candy thermometer and it was taking so long to measure the temperature that I gave up after it hit 325F. It seemed well on its way to 350F.

I placed my first 4 "pillows" in the oil and the burnt immediately. Yay! I reduced the heat and let the oil cool for a minute or so and placed my next batch inside. By the time I got my fourth pillow into the oil the first one was ready to be flipped. By the time I had flipped my last pillow the first one was ready to come out. It was a very fast process. The recipe said it would take 2-3 minutes to cook, but for me and my hot oil it took about 30 seconds, tops.

They turned out great! The caramel sauce that you dip it in turned out great too! Definitely makes a fun presentation, definitely makes a bit of a mess in the kitchen, definitely reheats really well in the oven (pop them in, heat oven to 350F for 10 minutes and then remove - no need to preheat). I crimped my edges with a pastry wheel and that worked out really well.

Here's a photo I took with my phone. I forgot to put powdered sugar on the first batch.

Ingredients

12 Caramels

1 tsp. water

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. flour

1/4 tsp. orange zest

20+ won ton wrappers

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 cups oil

1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions

MICROWAVE caramels and water in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.; stir until caramels are completely melted. Cool 2 min. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Refrigerate until ready to use.

WHISK cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, flour, zest and remaining cinnamon until well blended. Spoon about 2 tsp. onto center of each won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with egg white; fold diagonally in half. Pinch edges together tightly to seal.

HEAT oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat to 350ºF. Add won tons, in batches; cook 2 to 3 min. or until evenly browned. Drain. Cool slightly or to room temperature. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with caramel sauce.

Make Ahead

Cook won tons as directed. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to reheat, place frozen won tons on baking sheet. (No need to thaw first.) Bake at 350°F for 15 min. or until heated through.

Becky's Favorite Banana Bread

Once upon a time, a former neighbor shared her banana bread recipe with me. I am thankful to Becky Jackson for providing me with the only banana bread recipe I'll ever use. This banana bread is so incredibly moist that it's hard to imagine someone would bake banana bread any other way. Her recipe includes suggestions for add-ins. I've prepared this recipe a time or two before and I've always added in chocolate chips (I use the mini kind). I've also tossed in toasted coconut. And one day I'll try nuts. If you enjoy a nice slice of banana bread, this one tops the one they sell at Starbucks. Simple to make and easy enough to freeze - if you can manage to get it in the freezer before someone eats it!

Enjoy!

Heat oven to 325F. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans.

Mix together in a med bowl:
* 2 cups flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, cream together:
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar

Add to butter/sugar:
* 2 eggs, slightly beaten
* 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 bananas - I mash them with a potato masher or fork)
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 cup light sour cream

Gently mix dry ingredients into wet - do not overmix.

Optional (add some, none, or all):
* 3/4 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips
* Toast 1 cup shredded coconut in a hot, ungreased frypan. Add 3/4 of coconut to batter, and sprinkle the rest on top of the loaves before baking.
* 3/4 cup raisins or dried berries

Fill pans 2/3 full. Bake about 60-70 min or until knife comes out clean.

Country Chicken Casserole

When my husband was a bachelor he didn't do a lot of cooking. I guess he still doesn't. When we married and merged everything from bank accounts to CDs I had to go through his small stack of cookbooks. They were literally all Campbells cookbooks. As a bachelor he needed super simple recipes with super simple directions such as open a can of soup, add chicken, bake. Here is one of the recipes I found on the Campbell's website. Do you think it turned out well? Yes, yes it did...especially after tweeking a few ingredients to suit my liking. I've adapted the recipe to reflect ingredients that I like to cook with.

My husband really liked this meal and was excited that there was left-overs. My preschooler wasn't thrilled the first night I served it. He wanted the corn picked out. The next night he eagerly ate the left-overs, corn and all. Definitely an easy winner that I'll make again next month.

Ingredients

1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup ( or potato)
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut-up vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (or turkey)
-sprinkle with poultry seasoning for extra flavor
2 cups Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix

Directions

1. Stir together first 7 ingredients in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Top with stuffing.
2. Bake at 400F for 25-35 minutes or until the stuffing is golden brown.

*I just used 2 chicken breasts and a bag of mixed vegetables. I didn't actually measure those ingredients out. I also didn't measure the stuffing mix. I just sprinkled on a liberal amount.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark

I cruise the Pinterest site...occasionally ;) ...and found this tasty treat. The directions were more complicated than they needed to be so I changed them. I have a similar recipe in my stash so I just borrowed a method from there and it worked. Very yummy and pretty easy to make. I recommend storing the bark in your refrigerator. You can freeze it as well.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
bag of mini pretzels
12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt

Directions

1. Wrap a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick spray. Do NOT substitute parchment paper instead of foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As it melts, cover the baking sheet in an even layer of mini pretzels. (You may not use the entire bag.)
3. Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and stir to incorporate. Allow the sugar and butter to softly simmer and bubble, but don’t let it boil, so adjust the heat accordingly. Stir occasionally. The browning process should take about three minutes from when it starts to bubble.

4. Once the sugar and butter have caramelized, pour the mixture evenly over the pretzels on the baking sheet. Strafing it back and forth down the length of the sheet works well. The caramel hardens pretty quickly so it’s important to pour it as evenly as possible from the start. If you end up with any clumps, just use a spatula to spread the caramel as best you can. Bake the pretzel-caramel mixture in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and immediately pour the chocolate chips over the pretzel-caramel mixture evenly. Let stand for a few minutes.
6. Spread chocolate with a spatula to coat evenly. Sprinkle sea salt over the bark. Place it in the fridge to cool and harden for about 2-3 hours.

Once it’s done, the tin foil should pull off easily and you can break the sheet into smaller, bark-like pieces. Store in refrigerator.

Pasta-Stuffed Bell Peppers

We've all had stuffed peppers before. For my wedding the vegetarian entree choice was stuffed green peppers. This is a different version and it is so good! Tonight I prepared a meal that I've made once before. I found this recipe while flipping through one of my Mother-in-Law's cookbooks while I was sick in bed one day. This is a vegetarian meal that the whole family can eat. I've adapted this recipe since the original version calls for bacon and olives - two unnecessary ingredients. I'll include them as an option and you can decide to use them or not. It also calls for mozzarella. I used regular mozzarella the first time I made this, but this time I decided to kick it up a notch and substitute smoked mozzarella. It was a great call; Just the boost it needed. The recipe serves 4, but here's my recommendation...one stuffed pepper per person if serving with a salad or other side, one and a half to two per person if you aren't serving a side dish. Use any color pepper you want. They all taste great. If you have larger peppers, use a little extra macaroni and/or mozzarella when preparing the ingredients. If you have a little extra of the mixture left over, just stuff a bit more into the peppers.

My husband and I gave this recipe a big thumbs up! Tasty, flavorful, colorful, filling. It doesn't get any better. This would be a great way to use fresh, local produce and easy enough to feed a crowd. I served mine standing up as shown in the photo, but you could cut the peppers in half length-wide and stuff them for a different appearance and to make them easier to serve a larger crowd. My preschooler thought it was edible if eaten with a blueberry for each bite. Eh, whatever it takes, right?

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups organic crushed canned tomatoes
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup smoked mozzarella, small diced
12 olives, pitted & thinly sliced (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
EVOO

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F. Lightly spray an 8" oval or square baking dish.
2. Cook bacon and drain, keeping bacon fat. Add onions to the bacon fat and saute for 5 minutes. Pour off any excess fat.
-If making the vegetarian version, just saute onions in EVOO for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and pepper flakes. Cook over medium-high to high heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Put pasta in mixing bowl, (add bacon), tomato sauce, mozzarella (and olives). Toss to mix. Season with S&P to taste.
5. Cut stem off each pepper and reserve "lids". Remove seeds and ribs.
6. Divide pasta mix evenly among peppers. Put "lids" on. Brush peppers all over with EVOO and set in baking dish.
7. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until peppers are tender, 25-35 minutes longer.

Jalapeno Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken with Jalapeno Ranch

Cruising around the now wildly popular site Pinterest, I found this recipe that I thought might be nice to make for my husband. I thought it might be too spicy for my preschooler so I decided to skip making him the chicken tender version.

I read that the jalapeno ranch dipping sauce might be too hot, in combination with the chicken, for some people so I decided to make the sauce without the pickled jalapenos. I should've put them in. My husband enjoyed the chicken but didn't feel it had the jalapeno-kick that the title would imply. He thought it needed a little something extra. The chicken was moist on the inside and the coating was crunchy on the outside, but the unique flavor of the ingredients used were lacking. This is a recipe that I will try again, but I'll kick up the cayenne and include the pickled jalapenos next time.

Ingredients

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup lowfat sour cream
1/4 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) lowfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (the powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of cayenne
5-6 hot pickled jalapeno slices, finely chopped

For the Chicken:
4 chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 - 2 pounds total)
1 bag Jalapeno Kettle Chips, crushed
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne

Directions

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:
Mix ingredients together (adding additional buttermilk until desired consistency). Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Chicken:
Preheat oven to 375º. Place an oven safe cooling rack in a large jelly roll pan and spray with non-cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, salt, and cayenne. As needed: pound out chicken breasts to roughly 1/2" thickness and add to buttermilk mixture (toss to coat well).

Place crushed Kettle chips in a shallow baking dish. Pull one piece of chicken at a time out of the buttermilk and gently shake to remove some of the excess. Dip into the chips and coat thoroughly on both sides. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken breast are thoroughly coated.

Place into oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cooked through (cooking times vary based on chicken thickness and actual oven temperature). Serve hot with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce.