Deep Dish Pizza

♫ When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, that's amore ♫
Ok, ok, I will stop singing. I felt like singing this happy tune as I was making home made deep dish pizza last night. I'd like to say that I could toss the dough high in the air and catch and twirl it like the pros do, but trust me....that would not have been pretty. (Cut to the next scene....me getting out the hubbies ladder to scrape pizza dough off the ceiling)    ;)
Making home made dough was a little time consuming, as it had to rise in a couple separate intervals, but while it was rising, it gave me plenty of time to get other things done around the house. Besides, there is just pure satisfaction in knowing that the entire pizza was made from scratch, with no pre-made items. This pizza tasted great and was extremely filling. It's not too often that I can say "one piece of pizza filled me up."
If you are thinking that I forgot to add  the cheese, you thought wrong. All the cheesy goodness is hiding under all that wonderful sauce! The pizza was great and today it still tastes great as a leftover.

I used the recipe from the following link, but I adapted it some. I did not use Parmesan as the recipe  called for. I still can't talk my hubby into appreciating a good parmesan cheese. Also, I added some italian seasoning when adding the tomatoes!

 http://annies-eats.com/2010/01/21/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/
  
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. (8 1/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1 3/8 oz.) yellow cornmeal
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/8 tsp. instant yeast
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. (5 oz.) water, at room temperature
1½ tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
For the sauce:
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. grated onion
Pinch of dried oregano
¼ tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
2 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
For assembling and topping:
2 tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tbsp.)
Directions:
To make the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed.  Mix until blended, about 1 minute.  Add the water and melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.  Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes.
Using your hands, coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil.  Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, oregano, and salt.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1¼ cups, about 25 minutes.  Off the heat, stir in the basil and oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8- by 6-inch rectangle.  Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges.  Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder.  With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- by 2 inch rectangle.  Fold into thirds like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  To assemble, coat a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Transfer the dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about ¼-inch thick.  Transfer the dough to the pan.  Lightly press the dough into the pan, working into the corners and 1 inch up the sides.  If the dough resists stretching, let rest 5 minutes before trying again.
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the surface of the dough.  Spread the tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan.  Bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Yield: 1 9-inch deep-dish pizza

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I wasn't sure what my initial reaction to this recipe would be, because as I have stated many times in this blog, I am not a big fan of ground beef. But, I guess if it's disguised in enough taco seasoning, it seems to work for me.This turned out to be very delicious and pretty simple to make. I love spicy food, so this one was right up my alley! If you don't like food too spicy, you could use mild  salsa and mild taco sauce.

1 lb. ground beef
1 package Lawrys taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
18 jumbo pasta shells
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a skillet cook ground beef. Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions.  Add cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Mix together thoroughly. Set meat aside and let it cool down. Cook the pasta shells according to directions. Drain. Set shells out individually on a cookie sheet so that they don’t stick together. Pour salsa into the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish.  Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells on top of the salsa in the pan with the open side of the pasta facing upward. Cover the shells with taco sauce. You may need to use a spoon to collect some of the sauce off the bottom of the pan to help cover the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add shredded cheeses and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed.  Top with green onions. Serve with sour cream.

Samoa Brownie Cookie Bars

What do you get when you mix, brownies, shortbread cookies and yummy caramel and coconut? You get a mouthful of yummy goodness! This just might be one of my new favorite ways to eat brownies. Of course, it doesn't take much convincing for me to enjoy a brownie. If you eat a few of these, you could definitely conserve energy. By that I mean, you will no longer need to run your heater because you can create your own warmth from your thighs rubbing together. See...there are plenty of reasons to eat lots of them ;)

* This link is where the original recipe is from:jaseyscrazydaisy.com

Shortbread Crust

3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Brownie Layer:

1 package brownie mix, 

Water, oil, and eggs called for in the directions on the brownie box

1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, straight from the jar, unheated

Coconut Caramel Layer:

3 cups toasted coconut,

1 (17 oz.) jar caramel topping

Chocolate Drizzle:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut evenly over baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure coconut browns evenly. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all crust ingredients and cut with pastry knife, or mix with mixer until coarse pea-sized lumps form. Press evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Bake until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare brownie batter according to package directions, adding 1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, unheated and straight from the jar. Make sure to follow the high altitude directions if you live at high altitude. Pour over shortbread crust and bake as directed, until a toothpick comes out nearly clean with only a few crumbs remaining.

When brownies are almost finished, scoop caramel topping into a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over low until caramel is soft and easy to stir. Add toasted coconut and stir gently until evenly mixed. If brownies are not quite finished, keep this warm, stirring occasionally. Keeping the coconut caramel mixture warm will help it to spread evenly without tearing brownies apart.

Pour coconut caramel mixture over brownies and gently spread evenly over the top. 

Place chocolate chips into a zip-loc baggie and put into microwave for 20 second intervals. Squish the bag with your fingers to mix and smooth the chocolate between intervals. When melted smooth, snip a tiny piece off of the corner of the bag and drizzle over bars. Cool. 

Cabbage and Ramen Salad

I stumbled onto this recipe on Pinterest this week and realized that I have had this salad many times at baby showers, bridal showers etc. I never knew the recipe, so I was happy when I came across it. It really is a light and refreshing salad and yet still filling! I think the trick is to keep the ramen and the dressing seperate from the cabbage part of the salad until you are ready to serve it.....otherwise, I'm sure it gets pretty soggy. We  will definitely be having this again at our home.

1 head Napa cabbage, chopped or grated ( I think next time I will grate mine for smaller pieces)
4 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup butter
2 pkg broken top ramen noodles ( I used the Oriental flavor)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup vinegar
3/8 cup sugar (1/4 cup + 1/8 cup)
Both seasoning packets from the top ramen
1 Tbsp soy sauce

In a large bowl, mix together cabbage and green onions. Store in the refrigerator.

In a skillet, melt butter and then add the ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds. Stir until lightly
browned. Place in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until it's time to serve the salad.

In a separate small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar, sugar, ramen seasoning packets and soy sauce. Stir. Keep in refrigerator  until ready to serve.

When you are serving the salad, you can either mix together all the separate portions of the salad at once and serve it, or you can mix individual servings on your plate. This makes it much better if you do not intend to eat all the salad at one meal. It will tend to get very soggy if mixed all together and left in the refrigerator overnight.

Pesto and Lime Tilapia with Tomatoes and Bacon

As I was pondering how to fix the Tilapia I had laid out for dinner, the thought hit me.....people say bacon makes everything taste better. Well, not being a huge bacon lover to begin with, I toyed with the idea of some bacon wrapped Tilapia. Been there done that was the thought that followed. So I began looking through my refrigerator to see what I could come up with. I gathered a few ingredients, said a prayer that they would go together and got to cooking. What turned out was a great meal that I can't wait to repeat. I guess it's true in this case, bacon did make this taste great!

2 pieces Tilapia
1-2 fresh limes
Salt/Pepper
Pesto Sauce
Chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Jalapeno, chopped
4 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cook the bacon, crumble it and set aside. Place your tilapia into a baking dish you have sprayed with Pam. Squeeze lime over the fish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread pesto sauce over the fish. (I'm not exactly sure how much I used, but just put as much or as little as you like). Bake at 375 until fish is flaky and tender. While the fish is baking, chop your tomatoes and your jalapeno together in a small bowl. When fish is done baking, top with the tomato/jalapeno mixture and add the crumbled bacon to the top. Serve!

Chicken and Brown Rice Bowl with Lime Dressing

After dinner tonight, my grand daughter was playing with her "poppa", and pouring him imaginary tea out of a cute little pink teapot that makes the sweetest little noises.  Just watching them together, made my heart smile. God uses children in so many ways to teach us as adults how to forget about the cares of the world and just sit back and trust in Him. So while my heart was full from watching her play, my belly was just as full from the wonderful dinner we had just finished eating. My daughter helped me prepare this and we all loved it. Super healthy, quite easy to prepare and it definitely fills your belly!
This recipe makes 3 good size chicken bowls

1cup uncooked Brown Rice, cooked according to pkg directions
3 med to large or 4 small cooked and shredded chicken breasts (seasoned with salt and pepper)
Green onions, chopped
Cilantro chopped
Dry Roasted Peanuts
Carrots, shredded
Fresh limes

*Make the dressing according to directions below and set aside.
**Place cooked rice in a bowl. Top with shredded chicken.  Place whatever amount of green onions, cilantro, peanuts and carrots, as you would like, on the top of the rice. Squeeze a lot of fresh lime juice over this mixture. Top with the dressing.

For the Dressing: 
Juice from 5 limes
9 tsps olive oil
2 1/2 tsp sesame oil.
5 garlic cloves, chopped
Mix all dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Oh the sights and sounds of "winter" in Southern California! By sounds, I mean.......neighbors jumping in their pools, the sprinklers running so as not to burn the grass with the heat, air conditioning units kicking on and off in surrounding backyards. 


By sights I mean.....the neighbor taking down his Christmas lights in a tank top and shorts, poor plastic Frosty beginning to melt in the heat of the day, the traffic worse than normal as everyone is trying to get to the beach to cool off.

Yes, these are the sights and sounds of winter in Southern California!*sigh*

These 85- 88 degree winter days, are really throwing me for a loop. I was truly looking forward to good old winter comfort foods. So when "winter" hit and it's 88 degrees, it actually enters your mind  to put on your swimsuit and go for a swim in the backyard! Iced tea and easy summer salads and such had become our meals of choice. That is, until tonight! I decided that regardless of the hot weather, I was going to cook some good old "oven" food!! Oh and I'm so glad I did. These were super yummy and really easy to prepare.

12 corn tortillas
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2- 1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cups grated Cheddar Cheee (depending on how cheesy you want yours to be)
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix together: cooked chicken, 1/2 of the monterey jack cheese, cream of chicken soup (not diluted), onion and cilantro. (You can chop a few extra pieces of cilantro to put on top of the enchiladas also. When it's all mixed together, heat up 3 tortillas at a time in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, or until they are soft and easy to roll up. Place some chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla and roll up and place it in the greased 9x13 pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

In a sauce pan melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the chicken broth and stir until smooth. Heat till thickened and at a slow boil. Remove from the fire and stir in sour cream and green chilies. Stir until all the sour cream has been stirred in. Pour this mixture over the top of the enchiladas and top with remaining jack and cheddar cheeses. Bake for 25 minutes!

Zucchini Boats

This may just be the worst picture I have ever posted on this blog lol. But trust me, these tasted great. I was in such a hurry that I didn't even wait to put it on a plate before I took this shot. Like I always say....I can cook, but I sure am not great at taking pictures. I absolutely loved these and will no doubt, make them again soon. I have tried zucchini boats a lot of different ways, but I think this one might just be my fav!

Zucchini

Olive oil

Chopped garlic

Salt/Pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes

Tomato's (sliced or chopped)

 Fresh Basil

Bread Crumbs

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Cut your zucchini in half lengthwise and trim the bottoms a bit, so they are flat and can lay in a casserole dish. 

Use a spoon to drag along the length of the zucchini to remove the seeds. 

In a bowl, mix together (any amounts you would like) olive oil, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a bit of crushed red pepper flakes (if you like your food spicy)

Use a pastry brush to brush the oil mixture onto the top of each zucchini half. Make sure your brush picks up the garlic as it will add a lot of flavor to the dish. 

Place the tomato's and the basil on top of each zucchini (into the groove that you hollowed out when you removed the seeds with your spoon). Sprinkle on the bread crumbs and bake at 350 for about 25-30 mimutes. 

Remove from the oven and put the mozzarella and the parmesan cheeses on the top. Place under the broiler for just a couple minutes until the cheese  is bubbly!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Do lime and cilantro make everything taste better? I think so! Well...ok, maybe not ice cream and some other things I can think of, but they sure made this rice taste fantastic. I'm a huge fan for taking a normal old side dish and "kicking it up a notch", especially without a bunch of extra work. I like the website that I got this recipe from. It's called skinnytaste.com and it's got some great low cal/low fat recipes on it. I really want to find this "Gina" girl that blogs that site and say "thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank  you" for this recipe. Other than my homemade coconut rice, I think this is my new fav!
* RECIPE NOTE: I used the juice of a whole lime for my recipe as I liked the "limier" (is that even a word? haha) taste

Cilantro Lime Rice
1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
1/2 lime, juice of
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
3 tsp vegetable oil

In a small heavy pot,  rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Follow normal cooking instructions on the bag of rice.
Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

Honey and Lime Roasted Chicken

This picture does not do this chicken any justice at all. I never claimed to be a good picture taker, I just love to cook. You might get the impression that it's burned, but it truly wasn't . It was so moist and tender and I will definitely be making this again. I adapted this from a recipe I found awhile back. I'm not one to leave too many original recipes alone haha!

1 chicken, rinsed and patted dry
1 onion, cut into quarters
3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 lime, cut into quarters
2 limes, juiced (each one into individual bowls)
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400. Spay a roasting pan with Pam or completely cover the bottom and sides of the roasting pan in foil sprayed with Pam.....as this is a sticky glaze! Place your chicken on a roasting pan and stuff the cavity with the quartered onion, the 3 peeled garlic cloves and the 1 quartered lime.

Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix the juice from one lime with the minced garlic. Lift the chicken skin as best you can all over the chicken and use a pastry brush to brush the lime/garlic mixture all over under the chicken skin.

In a separate bowl, mix together the juice from the remaining lime, paprika and honey together. Use a pastry brush to brush the lime and honey mixture all over the outside of the chicken. (If you do not want your chicken to "brown up" this much, you can wait and brush the honey lime mixture on for just the last half hour of the roasting time.)

Place the chicken in the oven to roast.
*A good roasting time measure is: 20 min per lb of chicken and an extra 20 min for the entire bird. So if you have a 5 lb chicken, you would roast it for 2 hours. (20 min x 5 = 100 min or 1 hr 40 min for the lbs and the extra 20 min for the entire chicken.

Korean Cucumber Salad

As I was beginning to write this post, all I kept thinking is "this can't be good that my first sentence uses the words, my hubby thinks I'm crazy" haha. But truth be known, he loves me anyway :)
So now, onto my original thoughts........
My hubby thinks I'm crazy, but I could just stand with my bottle of Asian sesame oil and smell it all day. So when I found this recipe with cucumbers and it called for sesame oil, I was all over it!! These are so light and refreshing. Us folks from Southern California, cherish anything refreshing on these 86 degree WINTER days. *sigh*. With tomorrows highs expecting to be in the low 90's, I just might bust out that swimsuit and go for a dip in the pool. Well, since the holidays just ended, maybe the swimsuit isn't such a great idea. I guess if I trimmed my diet down to only eating these cucumbers for a snack, maybe the thought of my swimsuit wouldn't be so bad! 

Here is a link to the original recipe!
http://dianasaurdishes.com/05/korean-cucumber-kimchi-recipe/

LadyBug Crackers

We all agree that lady bugs are far too cute to even think about what they would taste like. That would just be a crime. But....if you could make an appetizer look like one, that included seasoned cream cheese, olives, tomatoes etc, well than maybe you might think it would taste great! That's what my mom and I did for one of our Christmas appetizers. They tasted great and everyone thought they looked super cute!

2 oz cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp sour cream

Black Paste food coloring ( I didn't have this, so I used equal parts of yellow, blue and red food coloring until I got it dark enough)

1/2 tsp chives, minced

1/8 tsp garlic salt 

1/8 tsp fresh parsley, minced

Ritz crackers
Cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters or grape tomatoes, cut into halves (width wise)
Large, ripe pitted olives
Chive pieces, cut into 1-1 /2 inch long pieces for antennas


In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Remove 1 tablespoon to a small bowl and tint black. Place tinted cream cheese mixture in a small plastic bag and set aside. 

 Add the chives, garlic salt and parsley to the remaining, non tinted, cream cheese mixture. Spread over crackers. Arrange two tomato pieces on each cracker, for the ladybug wings. 

For heads, halve the olives width wise and  place one half on each cracker with the larger hole end facing up. Insert two chives into the olive head for antennae. 

Use tinted cream cheese mixture to pipe spots onto wings. 

Orange and Vanilla Cranberries

Cranberries are not usually "my thing" but I actually wound up liking these. The sugar helps cut the tartness of the berry and the orange flavoring just adds an exciting taste twist to it. Since cranberries are so tart, I was sure glad these were rolled in sugar, because the sight of me puckering is not pretty! Well maybe when the hubby leans in for a kiss, but definitely not with a cranberry in my mouth. HaHa. Be prepared as you bite into some of the cranberries, your mouth will burst with cranberry juice that squishes out of the berry. Some of the berries behave well and do not do this! These make a great dish to have sitting out instead of the usual candies or cookies at some gatherings. If I had remembered to take a picture when they were all set up in their pretty dish with a green leaf to make them festive, the picture might have been more appealing....but instead you got stuck with the "they are done, so I just have time to throw them on a plate and take a quick one" kind of picture!

3 3/4 cups sugar, divided 
1 1/4 cups water 
1/2 cup orange juice  
2 tsp. vanilla 
2 tsp. orange extract 

1 (12 oz) bag of fresh cranberries 

Combine 2 ½ cups of sugar, water, orange juice, vanilla extract and orange extract in a sauce pan. Heat over medium until the sugar has completely dissolved, but don't allow it to come to a boil. 

Put in the cranberries and stir. Place the cranberries and the liquid into a large bowl. Use a small plate or a smaller size bowl that will fit inside the larger one and place it on top of the berries to keep them as pushed down under the water as you can. Put a cover on it and leave it in the refrigerator over night or for at least 7 hours. Place the remaining 1 ¼ cup of sugar in a dish that will fit all the cranberries and allow you to shake it all up. Drain the cranberries and shake them in the sugar until they are completely coated. Place them on a cookie sheet to dry for a couple of hours.

Whole Roasted Chicken with Orange and Rosemary

Between the pine scent from the Christmas tree, the orange and rosemary scent from the chicken that was roasted earlier and the brownies that are now cooking in the oven, my nose feels like it's been on a vacation to paradise! Thank God it wasn't really paradise and I didn't have to worry about putting on a bikini after this meal! ;)
Believe it or not, tonight was my first experience roasting a whole chicken. I guess I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit that! I just usually take the easy way out and buy the pieces already cut up. Well...that's about to change. I loved cooking my chicken like this. It was super moist and really easy to do. I can't wait to conjure up some new ways to cook it. Tonight I decided on trying a recipe I had read about awhile back that sounded good. For my first try roasting a chicken, I thought I might as well depend on someone that knows what the heck they are doing with whole chickens...so BAM...I used an Emeril recipe!
*I did adapt the recipe a bit as I used an orange instead of the tangerines called for in his reccipe. I also substituted fresh orange juice instead of the tangerine juice called for.

Here is a link to the recipe!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/whole-roasted-chicken-infused-with-tangerines-and-rosemary-with-a-tangerine-glaze-recipe/index.html

This first picture is before I put this "bad boy" in the oven!

 Now it's roasted and ready to eat!!

Cilantro and Jalapeno Latkes

This was my first experience making Latkes. I don't think it will be my last. It's almost like having a yummy, flavor filled hash brown with dinner. I really liked the flavor of these. The cilantro and jalapeno added a good, spicy, combination to the potato. I'm not exactly sure how they will fare for leftovers today, but then again, leftovers are never my favorite!

3 cups shredded and peeled potato
 1/2 cup grated onion
 3 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
 1 Tbsp chopped Jalapeno
 1 egg white and a small part of the yolk ( I just used my fingers to break apart the yolk)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup olive oil, divided
  

Combine potato and onion in a colander. Drain 30 minutes. Press occasionally with the back of a spoon to get more of the liquid/moisture out of them.. Combine potato/onion mixture, flour, cilantro,, jalapeno, egg, cumin and salt in a large bowl. Mix together with a spoon. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan. Spoon 1/2 cup potato mixture at a  time into the hot oil. Flatten with a spatula. Cook for 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. 

Candy Cane Hearts

I saw these cute candy cane hearts awhile back on the Internet. I had 5 leftover candy canes from a recipe earlier this week and they were beckoning me to either eat them or make something else with them. For once, I decided to let the "make something" side of me win the argument haha! Maybe next year I will make these as "gift toppers" to go under the Christmas tree. Just add some plastic wrap, some ribbons and voila.....a cute "gift topper".

Candy Canes
Milk Chocolate
Andes baking mint chips
Crushed Candy Canes

On a sheet of wax paper, place two candy canes in the shape of a  heart. In a bowl, melt the chocolate and Andes mints in the microwave (or you can use a double boiler, I just don't happen to have one anymore) and spoon the melted chocolate into the middle of the candy canes. Sprinkle  the crushed candy cane onto the chocolate immediately and let it all firm up on the counter.

Chicken Pot Pie

Comfort food? Yes please. I love to eat good old comfort food. This is the time of year when the classics seem to make an appearance at our home. One of those classics is chicken pot pie. Sure it might be easier to buy the little frozen Swanson brand pies at the market, but I'm sure they wouldn't be as fresh or taste as good as home made. This is a super easy meal to make and it really doesn't require a lot of cooking skills.
* Next  time I make this I am going to think of a way to incorporate cream of chicken soup into the recipe. I think it will make the insides even more of an authentic pot pie taste. 

1box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

2 3/4 cups cooked, shredded, chicken

 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out the bottom pie crust as directed on package. Place into an ungreased 9" pie pan. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Spoon the mixture onto the bottom crust, which is in the pie tin.Top with second crust ( I like to cut hearts out of mine before I place it on top) Trim the edges or seal and flute them. (Cut slits in several places in top crust, if you don't use a decorative cutter) Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with foil to prevent burning.

Peppermint OreoTruffles

Once in awhile I take a recipe I am already familiar with and love, and add just a little something different to it to produce new results. That's what I did today with this batch of Oreo Truffles. John and I are bringing these yummy truffles for the greeting ministry at church tomorrow. How can you go wrong with the words "Peppermint, Oreo and Truffle" all in one title? You can't!!! I hope they get eaten up at church tomorrow or I will be forced to bring them back home, in which case, I'm sure I will make a pig of myself eating them. It seems as though they call out my name each time I pass by. So far I have done well at ignoring their calls but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up! ;)

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
1 bag Oreo Cookies (not double stuffed)
6 Candy canes crushed (you can put the candy canes in a sealed baggie and crush with a hammer)
1/4 cup Andes mint baking chips (unfortunately these are only available at Christmas time in your local stores)
Semi sweet chocolate chips, melted with just a touch of shortening
* A few chopped Andes mint baking chips for the tops of the candies

Place the cream cheese, cookies, crushed candy canes ( you can put the whole candy canes in a sealed baggie and crush with a hammer) and the 1/4 cup Andes mints in the food processor. Process together until it comes together in a big ball and no white  cream cheese is visible anymore. Roll into balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place into the freezer for about 10-20 min. (You don't want these to be frozen, but you do want them firm enough to dip into the chocolate). Remove from freezer and dip into the melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off and place back onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet Place a little bit of chopped andes baking mints onto the top of each truffle. Place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator until they are completely solid, firm and not shiny!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate go together almost as good as my hubby and I. So why not add some chocolate chips to your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and bring some new life to it? I did that along with trying a new peanut butter cookie recipe and I actually liked the results. To be honest, if I had my choice, I would go back to the old style peanut butter cookies that are rolled in sugar and flatted with a fork to make a criss cross pattern. Maybe that's because the look and taste of those take me back to my childhood. But.....these did turn out good and I'm sure they will get eaten at work tomorrow. Today began our two weeks of our all day "grazing" pot luck in our staff lounge. Oh boy, my thighs are already staging a protest by rubbing together! *UGH*

1/2 cup (1cube) butter, softened
1cups smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg
3/4 Tbsp milk
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4  tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl combine the butter and peanut butter and beat until it's light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix thoroughly. Add the eggs and mix until it's well combined and light in color. Add the milk and vanilla and mix again. Add the dry ingredients and mix only enough to combine. Do NOT overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips. If you allow  the cookie dough to sit on the counter for 10 min or so it will firm up and be easier to scoop. Place balls of dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet with a space of about 1 to 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after baking, then move them to a cooling rack.

Cinammon and Sugar Pull Apart Bread

Well, I guess there is a first for everything. This is the first time I have ever posted on my blog without trying the recipe first. But really, how can you go wrong with bread, cinnamon, sugar, spice and butter? Those are practically staples of life. Tomorrow will be a verdict as to whether or not this recipe is a keeper. If so...then Pinterest gets another "high five" from me for having the most amazing recipes ever.

These next couple of weeks at work are going to be filled with potlucks of endless "grazing" in our staff lounge! As if I didn't feel like a cow already, this grazing definitely will not help my cause ;)
Since everyone signed up to bring two things each, I decided to make both mine tonight and contribute them tomorrow. So for now I will go lay down in my "pasture" and rest, for tomorrow brings more grazing!!

For the Dough:

2 3/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
4 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  This takes awhile but keep stirring! Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir for about 2 minutes.  The dough might be sticky.  That’s ok!

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size.  (about an hour or so)

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter. Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  Set that aside too. Punch down the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.
 Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.    

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.

You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Place the dough squares in the pan so the top looks like the pages of a book. (with the thin sides down, not the flat parts)
 Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Banana Bites

Tonight I had a craving for something sweet. Being as tired as I was, I  had to make something easy and quick! I tried to justify making these because they have fruit and peanut butter in them, so I just kept telling myself they would be healthy haha! Since I only ate two, I guess it isn't so bad. I love peanut butter and chocolate together and if you throw in a banana, I guess it's just a triple good thing! These are super yummy,  but next time I am going to make them with semi sweet or dark chocolate and cut some of the sweetness. I only had milk chocolate on hand tonight, so that's what I used.

1 Banana

Peanut Butter

Melted Chocolate, (milk chocolate, semi sweet or dark)

Cut the banana into slices. I wanted mine thick. You can cut them as thick or thin as you like.Place a small amount of peanut butter onto the top of each slice. Dip them in melted chocolate and place on wax paper to harden the chocolate.

Miracle Bread

When my sister told me about this yummy bread recipe, I was kind of hoping that the title meant that I would eat it, and wake up thin!! That would be an amazing miracle. It didn't work. A girl can dream can't she? Even though that miracle didn't take place, it was super delicious and so easy to make. Sitting in my sisters house in Oregon with the smell of freshly baking bread was such a wonderful blessing this week. Being from Southern California, where we try not to turn on our ovens too frequently, due to the fact that it is usually as hot as an oven outside.....I don't bake fresh bread too often. This recipe will definitely change that. In fact, I can't wait to make it again!! I just might try adding some fresh herbs next time, or maybe some cheese. We'll see!

Here is the link to the original recipe.
http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2011/01/miracle-bread.html

Italian Meatball Sub

I genuinely do not like ground beef. This is about one of the only ways that I can tolerate eating it. Back in the old days I would have just bought a bag of meatballs and a jar of spaghetti sauce to make this sandwich, but not this time. The meatballs and sauce are both home made. There is just something about making something yourself, which automatically makes it taste better. At least that's my opinion. You are probably wondering how I got my mouth around this monstrous thing, but oh don't you worry, food has never stopped me before!
*In this picture you can't see it, but this sandwich is also loaded with melted provolone cheese.
* cooks note: I adapted the original recipe by adding extra salt and italian seasoning, fresh basil, fresh oregano and fresh parsley into the meat portion. For the sauce portion I adapted it by adding fresh basil, fresh oregano, extra salt, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and an 8 ounce jar of tomato sauce!I also served it with pepperoncini's on the top as a garnish.

Here is the link to the original recipe.
 http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/04/italian-meatball-subs.html

Caramel Corn

Today John was working overtime, so I decided to make some home made caramel corn that he could have when he got home from work. I really like this particular version to make, because not only is it super quick and easy, but it stays chewy instead of getting hard, like some of the versions of caramel corn that are out there. I know people have many different ways they like to eat caramel corn, but I am all for the sticky, chewy versions. I mean really....who doesn't love picking the ooey, gooey, stickiness out of their teeth all night. I'm sure my dentist appreciates me eating this snack, as it keeps me coming back to see him. Fortunately I was a good girl and got all the unpopped kernels out this time, so there was no broken teeth involved. Maybe that should have been my opening line "No teeth were actually harmed in the eating of this snack" ;)

1 bag microwave popcorn, popped
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C white Karo syrup
1/4 t salt 
1 cube butter, cut into bite size chunks
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and put it into a very large bowl. Try to get out all the unpopped kernels. (Trust me, your teeth will thank you for this extra step!) In a large bowl, place the brown sugar, karo syrup, salt, and butter.   Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir thoroughly to combine. Cook on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir it again. Place it back in the microwave for 2 more minutes. When the caramel is done in the microwave, take it out and stir in the baking soda and the vanilla. Stir it well and pour it over the popcorn making sure to coat all the pieces. You can put a piece of wax paper on the counter and pour the popcorn out onto that, but I say just enjoy it warm right out of the bowl. :)

Lemon Twists with Lemon Marshmallow Dip

Yesterday as I contemplated what I could bring to the pot luck at work today, absolutely nothing came to mind. So thankfully I had some chocolate chip, banana bread in the freezer that I had made last week. So when I suddenly woke up at 4 AM, (unfortunately this happens a lot) I decided I had no excuse to not have time or energy to make something. So the hunt began to find something in the house that I could make for work. Since I don't need coffee to get going in the morning, I dove right in and started looking for ingredients. Thankfully I had some puff pastry in my freezer. Oh and thankfully I have a microwave for defrosting things ;)
So once I had decided to use the puff pastry, I reved up the imagination and started making a concoction that I hoped would taste good. Thankfully it did! In fact, I would make these again. I really liked them. they are light and crispy and it helps that they were very simple to make. Now that it's 4 PM I hope I can remember how I threw these together this morning!

Ingredients for twists:

One sheet puff pastry

4 Tbsp butter, melted

Lemon juice 

Zest of one whole lemon 

1/2 cup sugar 

Ingredients for the Dip:

Approximately 3 cups marshamllows

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened

For the twists:

Heat oven to 400

Flour a work surface lightly and roll out on sheet of puff pastry with a rolling pin until it's just a little bit thinner than it came in the package. Cut the dough into strips. I made 24 by cutting the dough into strips. I cut twelve strips and then cut across them in the other direction to create 24 strips.

In a bowl, combine 4 Tbsp of melted butter with lemon juice. You can use as much or as little as you like to bring out the lemon flavor. I used almost an entire lemon. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Take each strip of pastry and completely cover it with the melted butter/lemon mixture. Next put the buttered pastry strip into the sugar/lemon zest mixture. Make sure you get the mixture onto the entire twist. Twist the pasty and place it on a Pam coated cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for about 7 minutes and then flip them over. Bake for about 7-8 more minutes. If you have extra lemon juice and you want them more "lemony", squeeze some extra juice onto them when you flip them. 

For the Dip:

Melt marshmallows in the microwave with the corn syrup. Stir completely and add in cream cheese. Use a mixer to blend these together thoroughly. Serve soon after making. (My dip got a little "thicker" as the day wore on and it didn't seem to be as creamy later in the day! But it was still YUMMY!!!!

Stuffed Salmon wth Sriracha Cream Sauce

I'm not sure I could ever truly convey my genuine love for sushi!! I think I could eat it day and night and not tire of it. I have always like the sriracha cream sauce on the top of the rolls at sushi restaurants. So when I stumbled across this recipe, I just knew I would have to try it. It's not sushi, because the salmon is cooked, but the sriracha cream sauce is a perfect copycat of the sauce that comes on the rolls at sushi restaurants. The next time I make it, I will leave out the cream cheese on my portion as I am not a lover of cream cheese mixed with my seafood.

Here is a link to the recipe:
http://theboogieblog.net/2011/02/27/stuffed-salmon-w-sriracha-cream-sauce/

Grilled Lime Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Dressing

I'm not one for making a lot of salads at home. We do like salad, but I think we'd both rather have a hearty vegetable on the side, then a salad. So when I get the chance to make a hearty salad that serves as a main dish, I wind up liking it a lot. This was no exception. Too bad I didn't realize it was going to be so cold today as this would have made a great salad for a warmer evening.
We still managed to eat it though ;)
* Thank you Pinterest for another winner recipe!

For the salad:
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/salads/bbq-lime-chicken-salad/

For the dressing: 
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-vinaigrette-grilled-fish-tacos/

Banana, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Bread

Lately I have been finding recipes and modifying them. That's almost as fun as creating it yourself, not quite....but almost! I found a recipe for banana coconut bread on Pinterest and then modified it, by adding less almond extract, a little pinch of cinnamon and a few chocolate chips. It turned out really good.

The original recipe can be found here:
http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com/2011/10/coconut-banana-bread.html

I modified this recipe by adding only 1/4 tsp almond extract instead of the 1 tsp it called for.  I also added about 1/8 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients. You can add as many chocolate chips as you like, but I only added about 1/4-1/2 cup as I don't like my bread too chocolatey! I also found that mine cooked for quite a bit less time then the original recipe called for. So set your timer for about 40 min and keep checking it from there!

Prosciutto, Basil and Gruyere Rolls

Who doesn't love bread? Seriously....but who truly doesn't love bread stuffed with yummy goodness? Last night was our first cold day/night of the Fall season. So I made a big pot of vegetable soup and made these rolls to eat with it. These will definitely be made again at this house, because every single one of them got eaten....and quickly!! They made a great addition to a bowl of hot soup, but trust me, I could eat these as the main dish itself. Super simple to make and I can't believe I never thought of doing this before finding this recipe.
*Sorry that my pictures aren't great. I never claimed to be able to take pictures haha!

 
*Recipe adapted from: Whatscookingamerica.net 


1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese  
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 400°
Place puff pastry sheet on work surface. Cut in half.
Place the prosciutto on each half leaving a small border along one side. Place basil onto each half on top of the prosciutto. Top with the gruyere cheese. Sprinkle red pepper over the top. Brush the small border that you left unfilled, with the beaten egg. Starting at long side opposite the egg washed border, roll the pastry up, pressing gently to seal. You can use more of the beaten egg if needed, to help seal. Wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for about an hour to firm up the dough. After the dough is ready, cut into 12 individual "pinwheels" or servings. Place on a Pam sprayed cookie sheet (or you can line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I just used Pam) and bake at 400° for about  16 minutes.

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

I have always loved making my mom's home made chicken and dumpling recipe, ever since I became a grown up and started cooking my own meals. It's a "go to" meal for each winter and I can't wait to make it this winter also. A few days ago I stumbled onto a recipe for a chicken and dumpling bake. Sounded interesting! After trying it tonight, I truly like it. I can't say it's exactly as good as making good ole fashioned chicken and dumplings, but it's definitely something I would make again. It's super quick and easy, especially since I decided to use a store cooked rotisserie chicken, instead of cooking my own. I also just used a can of chicken stock instead of making my own.

Here is a link to the original recipe.
http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2009/02/chicken-and-dumpling-bake.html

Halloween Cupcakes

Boo! My daughter had to make cupcakes for her work party and she came to my house so we could make them together. I'm usually not one for liking most of the scary type Halloween things, but how could I say no to spending time with my beautiful daughter? :)
So we made these spider web cupcakes and shattered glass cupcakes. I talked to her today and she said they were a big hit at work!!

For the spider web cupcakes. Just bake cupcakes and frost with orange frosting. Then use black gel to make 3 or 4 circles around the cupcake. Then use a knife to "drag" through the circles and create the spider web look.
For the shattered glass cupcakes. Just bake cupcakes and decorate with white frosting. Then make sugar glass (see recipe below) and use red gel food color (the gel works better than the liquid for this effect) and put it on like blood on the glass.


Sugar Glass:
2 cups water
1 cup white corn syrup
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Mix ingredients and cook until it's 300 degrees on the candy thermometer. Then pour out onto a buttered cookie sheet. Let cook and harden. Break into "glass"

Cinnamon Apples

Oh my goodness, these apples are amazing! Who cares that it's 89 degrees outside still and iced tea is the drink of the day instead of hot apple cider? I care....but not enough that it stopped me from making these delicious apples. These are so simple to make and the blend of cinnamon and apple together is perfect. I like to use the actual cinnamon spice in my foods, but this is the first time that cinnamon candies have ever been involved. I am usually not a big fan of cinnamon candy, but I made the exception for this dish. So glad I did!!

4 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup butter
1 bag cinnamon red hot candies

Place your peeled and sliced apples (you can chop them if you want bite size pieces) into a large skillet. Add the butter and cinnamon candies. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until all the candies have melted. Then put a lid on the skillet and cook until apples have achieved the softness that you desire. You can serve these hot, warm or cold if you choose. The more they cooled, the more the cinnamon taste came through.

Caramel Apples

Ok so I admit that I have been known to go buy Caramels and melt them to make caramel apples. But I found this recipe for home made caramel on Pinterest and made it this morning. It may still feel like summer outside, but I am just pretending that it feels like Fall  and it's time for caramel apples. These are really yummy. The caramel  may be a bit more "chewy" than store bought, but it sure was much more fun making them. You are probably thinking, "why doesn't she just go buy caramels?" Well...I truly think it takes just as long to unwrap all those individually wrapped caramels as it does to whip up your own, besides, nothing is better than home made! I know mine don't look very "professional" but hey I'm just a mom that likes to bake and cook. I can cook it up, I just need someone else to come over and make them look pretty. I made 6 of them and none of them are the same!
Caramel/Milk Chocolate/Peanut
Caramel/White Chocolate
Caramel/White Chocolate/Milk Chocolate
Caramel/ Peanut Butter/Chocolate/Peanut
Caramel/Roasted Marshmallow

Here is the link to the home made caramel recipe!
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/grandma-bettye28099s-caramel-apples/