Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Yum!  These are good, and they are SO easy.  We were having a big group of family over for a birthday/football party, and I chose to make these.  I'm glad I did...and I'm glad there are a few left!  I used the cheese I had on hand, regular pepperoni and Italian sausage, just because I wanted to.  I'm pretty sure you could use any pizza ingredients you want.

Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/02/sausage-pepperoni-pizza-puffs.html


3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
2 oz mini turkey pepperoni, (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz low-fat sausage, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup pizza sauce


Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. (*I used a silicone pan, no grease.  Came out great!)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, sausage and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Emeril's Chicken Salad

I haven't been blogging much lately...obviously. We got an offer on our house and moved 27 days later (yikes!), and then I found this website and haven't really done much else. This recipe though...this is blog worthy. Drool worthy, really. One night, I asked some friends what they'd had for dinner , and one of the responses was "chicken salad wraps" and I thought "yum! I haven't had chicken salad in a long time!" so I did some research and came upon Emeril's Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs. I don't know when the last time was I was this excited about lunch. Try it for yourself. I used light mayo, works just fine. It is a bit spicy though, but you can tame that by cutting the cayenne pepper. I also used the same herbs mentioned (parsley and tarragon). I'm now eating the last of this batch and I can't wait to make it again. It's not yo mamma's chicken salad. It's Emeril's. And now it's mine!

2lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 C mayonnaise
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 C finely diced celery stalks, plus 1/4 C chopped celery leaves
1/3 C finely chopped red onion
3 Tbsp chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley and tarragon)
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 to 3 avocados, halved and pitted (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. rinse the chicken briefly under cool running water, then pat dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Heat the oil in a 12" ovenproof saute pan over high heat. Add the chicken and cook 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over and immediately place the pan in the oven. Roast 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees when tested with an instant read thermometer. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, celery and leaves, red onion, herbs, celery seeds and cayenne pepper. Mix well.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into a 1/2 inch dice, add it to the mayonnaise mixture and mix well. If not serving immediately, transfer to the refrigerator to chill. Serve in avocado halves, if desired.

Used to be Dianne's Lasagna

I can't believe this recipe isn't on this blog yet! I make it fairly regularly. I got a recipe from Dave's sister Dianne. She makes it every Christmas. I've tweaked it to my liking, and now it's mine, but it used to be Dianne's.

Lasagna Noodles - do not cook
8 oz cottage cheese
8 oz plain yogurt
2 jars spaghetti sauce (barilla 3 cheese)
1 lb hamburger, browned and drained
8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (State Brand Mild Cheddar)
1Tbsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. After browning and draining beef, add almost all the spaghetti sauce. If you have it, add some Tastefully Simple Onion Onion to this mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix cottage cheese with plain yogurt and cheddar cheese. In a 9 x 13 pan, layer Noodles, meat sauce and yogurt mixture. Continue layering for a total of three layers, ending with noodles and sauce. Pour remaining sauce around edges.
Cover and seal with aluminum foil so that the steam can not escape. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on lasagna and return to oven (without the foil) for 15 minutes longer or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6

Chicken Soup in the Slow Cooker

I recently joined a CSA, which means I get a box of veggies from a local farm every week. Some of them are things I've never tried and am not sure what to do with...like bok choy and kohlrabi. So rather than letting them go to waste while I try to figure it out, I chop them up and use them in soup. I'm thrilled this turned out so yummy, because it is definitely a "throw what you have in the crockpot" kind of soup. So, I prepped my veggies, poached my chicken, and made it into soup. I just finished eating a bowl of it...I wish I would have waited so I could remember what all was in it!

6 chicken thighs, poached (or cooked the way you like)
2 heads kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
3 carrots, sliced into rounds
bok choy, chopped (not sure how much there was)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
Onion
2 Tbsp chicken base
water

I literally threw everything (varying amounts, whatever I had on hand) into the crock pot, covered it with water, and let it cook on low for 7 hours or so. Then I shredded the chicken and cooked it a little while longer. Sorry it's not more descriptive, but when it comes to chicken soup, I think you mainly have to get the right liquid flavor. I had chicken base (a yellow powdery substance) to use, but I'm sure chicken bouillon would work, as well as using chicken stock instead of water. A recipe I read suggested adding a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the soup, but I don't have any on hand. (*note to self: buy balsamic!)

Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I found this on Pillsbury's website, and have made it a few different times. This last time I altered it with what I had on hand, and it was still delicious. Try it, you'll like it! It's easy and tastes great!

1/4 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted*
2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
6 Eggland's Best eggs*
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream*
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Pecans
1 cup maple syrup*
Garnish
Icing from cinnamon rolls
Powdered sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired

1.Heat oven to 375°F. Pour melted butter into ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish.

2.In medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces. Sprinkle with pecans; drizzle with 1 cup syrup.

3.Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove covers from icing; microwave on Medium (50%) 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle.

4.Drizzle icing over top; sprinkle with powdered sugar. If desired, spoon syrup from dish over individual servings. Serve with the additional 1/2 cup maple syrup.

*I probably used 2 tablespoons of butter, and I just melted it in the pan right in the oven before adding everything else. I also just used 3 eggs, fat-free half and half, and just drizzled some syrup over the top before baking without measuring. It cooked faster than it called for, not sure if that was because of the super-oven we were using, or the fewer eggs. Either way, it was awesome, and I'll be making this again :)

Seriously Delicious Carrot Pineapple Cake

I was looking for a dessert to take to Easter dinner, and this is the recipe I found. I'd never made carrot cake before, but with so many glowing reviews, I figured it must be good. I had carrots and fresh pineapple on hand, along with most everything else the recipe called for. Like the name suggests, this is seriously delicious! Even without the nuts (which I didn't have) and less powdered sugar in the frosting than it calls for, because I ran out. It's possibly the easiest cake to make too. Here is the link to Carrot Pineapple Cake on Allrecipes

Make this cake. Don't tell anyone, because then you'll have to share. You won't want to.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon* until smooth. Stir in carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple.
3. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Don't panic, the center will sink a little. Allow to cool.
4. To make the frosting: Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until creamy.

*it is important to use a wooden spoon and not an electric mixer.

My Very Own Chili

I love chili. So many people tell me "I just add this and that until it tastes good" but I've always needed a recipe. Until now. I had hamburger in the freezer, so I went to the store on a mission. Find the stuff to make chili, and don't use a seasoning packet. So that's what I did, and dammit, it's GOOD! The measurements aren't precise, because who measures onions when they're cooking them for chili? And I don't know how much chili powder works for you, so do what you want. I think the main ingredient for me was the tomatoes with chiles and cilantro. You could tell there was cilantro in it, but it wasn't overpowering at all. It was definitely a background note.

Dice onions and red bell pepper. Very finely dice a carrot. I did a julienne cut first and then diced them. Cook them in about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pot until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add 1.5 pounds ground beef, cook until done.
Put ground beef mixture in a crockpot with:
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
28oz water (used to rinse out can)
2 15oz cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chiles and Cilantro
1 15oz can pinto beans
1 15oz can red kidney beans
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir well and cook on low 7 hours, or on high for 4. Or until you're ready to eat and the taste is right for you.