#482: Super Hero Sandwich

This is the original photo found on All Recipes...looks so much better than mine.  Photo courtesy of Lori L. of All Recipes. 

How I love sandwiches.  The recipe below serves 6, obviously I made a super small batch so I could take this for lunch with me and not have a ton of leftovers.  I really, really enjoyed this.  I would never have put olives on my sub sandwich (although I do at Subway, so what's the difference!?), but it was really yummy on there.  Totally making this again.  Healthy, no!  Yummy, yes!

1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
2 teaspoons dried oregano (I used basil)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup black olives, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped (I omitted)

1 (1 pound) loaf round, crusty Italian bread
1/2 pound sliced deli turkey meat (I omitted b/c I didn't like the kind Brian picked out)
1/2 pound sliced ham
1/4 pound sliced salami
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
6 leaves lettuce
1 tomato, sliced

In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic. Season with parsley, oregano and pepper. stir in olives and mushrooms. Set aside.

Cut the off top half of the bread. Scoop out the inside, and leave a 1/2 inch outside wall. Spoon 2/3 of the olive mixture into the bottom. Layer with turkey, ham, salami, mozzarella, lettuce and tomato. Pour remaining olive mixture on top, and replace the top half of bread. Wrap securely in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

#481: Balsamic Succotash

My kids (as obviously do most kids) hate that I make them eat different veggies.  Chloe would be happy only eating carrots or broccoli and Allison would be happy only eating canned green beans or edamame.  But that doesn't mean that I'll keep making them try different ones.  So this week I made succotash even though I knew it wouldn't be happily received.  (Chloe picked out corn, Allison picked out lima beans thinking they were edamame).  I however, greatly enjoyed this...with bacon bits on it.  :)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cups frozen lima beans, thawed
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn, lima beans, balsamic vinegar and lemon pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in parsley.

#480: Brown Paper Bag Popcorn

Several weeks ago I saw a blog about making popcorn in the microwave using plain popcorn kernels and a brown paper lunch bag.  I LOVE popcorn.  The girls LOVE popcorn.  So I was very excited to try this.  Unfortunately I didn't have any brown paper lunch bags here so I had to put this recipe off.  Eventually I brought some home from school and today we tried this out for lunch.  I saw an Alton Brown recipe which uses olive oil and popcorn salt so that's the recipe I decided to try first. 

Let me tell you why I love this recipe...you put the salt on BEFORE popping the kernels so it wonderfully coated each piece of popcorn!!  I planned to eat this for lunch but once again the girls confiscated it before I could eat it and I had to make a second bag.  (This seems to be a reoccurring theme lately.)

The original recipe says to staple the bag shut.  1.  I don't like the thought of that in my microwave.  2.  I just folded the bag over twice and it was just fine!

This tasted just like flavored air popped popcorn, but the popped kernels were really quite dry, so the olive oil doesn't make it greasy at all.

1/4 cup good quality popcorn (I used generic)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt (I used ranch salt)

Sprinkle jalapeno seasoning mix (I omitted)

Paper lunch bag

Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and jalapeno seasoning mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over and staple the bag twice to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.

#479: Corn and Bacon Dip

This is definitely my kind of recipe...on that has minimal ingredients (although I did need to go buy hot pepper sauce since we never use it) and you can pretty much just throw it all together in one bowl.  LOVE recipes like this!  It may not be a pretty picture, but I surely enjoyed this.  Let's be honest though, I'll pretty much love any dip I try. 

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I pretty much doubled this)

1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used 1/2 bag of real bacon bits)

Assorted raw vegetables and/or crackers

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Stir in corn and bacon. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Serve with vegetables and/or crackers. Yield: 3 cups.

#478: Snow Covered Crunch Bars

It's my turn to bring treats in for work and it's a very busy week for our house, so I was looking for super, super easy snacks to bring that I could either make a few days ahead or could throw together very quickly.  This was one of the recipe I decided to make. 

Doesn't that look yummy??  The girls and I certainly thought so!!  Hopefully the teachers will enjoy it too!  This was easy and really good...I'll definitely make this again.  My only complaint is that it's kind of hard to cut into squares (although it does cut really cleanly...or at least mine did).  I thought I was going to put myself into labor pushing so hard.

1 lb 1.5 oz Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

2 1/2 cups peanut butter

6 cups Rice Chex® cereal

1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, 1/2 cup butter and egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.
In large microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and the remaining 1/2 cup butter on High about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Add peanut butter; mix until well blended.

Place cereal in 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Using your hands, gently break cereal into small pieces. Gently stir cereal into chocolate mixture until cereal is coated. Spread cereal mixture evenly over cookie crust; gently press. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until bars are set. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store covered at room temperature.

#477: Pizza Stromboli

                    Pepperoni Stromboli                Salami Stromboli

In my attempt to find a meal to make for Allison's birthday party, I decided to try out this recipe on my family first.  LOVE, love, loved it!  This made 2 smaller Stromboli and there was nothing left after dinner.  Brian would only eat the pepperoni ones, but the girls and I both really, really enjoyed the salami ones (I preferred the salami ones better!)  I am DEFINITELY making this one again!!  MMMMM........

frozen pizza dough, thawed
2 cups (or more) mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
8-10 slices salami (I used about 6 pieces of salami in one and about 15 pieces of pepperoni in the other)

Cut the dough in half and roll one half out on a floured work surface into a thin rectangle (approximately 10×16 inches).  Sprinkle 1/4 cup mozzarella evenly over the dough, leaving a margin of an inch on the long side furthest from you.. Repeat with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Layer salami over the cheese.  

From the end closest to you, roll the dough up like a carpet, tightly and evenly.  Pinch the seam together with your fingers and then pinch the ends and tuck them under the loaf.  Repeat with the second half of the dough. Place the loaves on parchment on a baking sheet and brush them with olive oil.  Let rise for another hour.

Heat oven to 400°F. When the Stromboli are ready, brush the dough once more with olive oil and slice three to four steam vent slits crosswise into each loaf with a knife down into the filling to release air pockets.  Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until the bread is a rich golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes once out of the oven and slice.  Serve with tomato sauce on the side for dipping.

#476: "Fried" Green Beans

I LOVE fried green beans from TGIFridays.  Love them.  So when I came across this recipe,  I knew I had to try them.  Of course, I'm sure these would be best made in the summer when green beans are at their peak freshness, but I was willing to try it in the winter for the sake of testing out this recipe. :)

Ok, this is nothing like fried green beans you would get at a restaurant...but that's because they aren't actually "fried."  I certainly liked these and would make them again, but they just weren't the same as restaurant ones. 

1 Cup Whole Wheat Panko or Bread Crumbs
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Flour
Green Beans, cut into bite size pieces (about 2-3 inches long) (I left mine whole)
Olive or Canola Oil Spray (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Mix the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk the egg in a separate bowl.  Place the flour in another bowl.  Make an assembly line with the three bowls, first dipping the green beans into the flour, then the egg and finally into the bread crumb mixture, coating the beans evenly and repeating with the remainder of the beans.

Place all of the coated green beans on the baking sheet or on a rack above a baking sheet. Arrange beans so that they’re not touching, spray with oil and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden.

If freezing, after step 5 place on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove and place in a Ziploc bag, label with the date and name of the recipe, and freeze. When you’re ready to eat – take them out of the freezer and put them in the oven, adding at least another 3-5 minutes to the baking time.

#475: Quick Sticky Buns

This was another recipe that I've had bookmarked for a while and was excited to try with the girls this morning.  Unfortunately this didn't come out looking anything like the picture on the original website.  I know I usually don't follow cooking instructions really, well, but this was a case that I DID!  The girls were not fans at all.  They picked off every piece of banana and pecan they could see.  :( Based on the way the recipe turned out today, I would not make this again. 

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and thinly sliced into 10 pieces
1 medium banana, thinly sliced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 7.5-ounce tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Heat oven to 375° F.  Drop a piece of butter in the bottom of each of 10 compartments of a muffin tin. Arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the bananas. Top each compartment with a biscuit. Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Place a baking sheet on top of the muffin tin while the buns are still hot. Carefully flip the tin over, tapping the bottom to release the buns. Transfer to a platter. Serve warm.

#474: Lentil-Chickpea Chili

I'm always on the lookout for healthy, easy, filling lunches to make, particularly ones that I have most of the ingredients on hand.  I had a bag of lentils sitting in my pantry for a little while and figured this would be a good recipe to use them up.  This is really yummy!  I threw some elbow noodles into the bowl and added some cheddar on top...mmm.  I hope I still enjoy eating it after 4 or 5 meals of it.  The chickpeas added at the end give it a nice texture-y crunch and the cilantro is so fresh and inviting you to eat another bite.  Loving it so far!

6 cups vegetable stock or broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric (I omitted)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (I used crush red pepper)

1 teaspoon salt

1 16 ounce bag red lentils (I used regular brown lentils)

1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 sweet onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

2 celery stalks, diced (I omitted)

3 garlic cloves, diced

2 bay leaves

2 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Flatbread (such as Stonefire naan, optional)

Whisk together stock, tomato paste, mustard, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and salt in the base of a slow cooker. Stir in lentils, diced tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir in chickpeas and cilantro. Serve with flatbread, if desired.

#473: Cheddar Gougeres (aka Cheddar Biscuits)

I was looking for a last minute, easy, bread side dish to make with our dinner the other night and decided to whip these up.  You can literally make these in about 15-20 minutes or so, so it's a great week night bread.  These were good, but I think I made them too big because the centers were a little doughy.  Next time I want to try making them smaller and seeing it it makes a difference on the texture and if we like it more. 

1 cup water

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup minced fresh chives (I threw in some dried parsley instead)

2 garlic cloves, minced

In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in cheese, chives and garlic.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 1 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with remaining salt. Bake at 375° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

#472: Sausage and Cheese Enchiladas

I really wanted to eat this for dinner, but baby brother would have made sure I remembered this meal long after it was done so I decided against it.  I did try one bite of it though and it was yummy...my family enjoyed it too!  Brian didn't even realize there were diced green chilis in it until the meal was done and he commented that it was a little spicy (so I told him why).  Brian said they also reheated well for lunches too.

1 pkg. Jimmy Dean® Regular Flavor Pork Sausage Roll
1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chiles, undrained
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon ground cumin
12 corn tortillas (6 inch) (I used larger flour tortillas)
1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce, divided
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 green onions, thinly sliced (I omitted)
Sour cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently; drain. Return sausage mixture to skillet.  Add chiles, garlic and cumin; mix well. Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

Brush both sides of 1 tortilla lightly with enchilada sauce. Spoon about ¼ cup sausage mixture down center of tortilla; top with rounded tablespoon of cheese. (I just added some enchilada sauce and cheese into the sausage mixture and stirred to combine.) 

Roll tortilla up; place, seam-side down, in lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas; top with remaining cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until enchiladas are thoroughly heated. Top with onions. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

Cook’s Tip: For best results, assemble enchiladas one at a time. Instead of brushing tortillas with sauce as directed, you can instead dip tortillas in sauce in shallow dish. Brush off excess sauce before topping with sausage mixture and cheese. 

#471: Baked Potato Cheddar Soup

I had planned on making a slow cooker baked potato soup recipe, but didn't put it in the crockpot on time, so it wasn't going to be done until the middle of the night. :)  I could have just gotten up during one of my 15 nightly bathroom breaks, but decided against it and made this stove top one instead.  It was VERY easy to make.  It's more floury/milk based rather than cheese based, but I still really, really enjoyed this.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

2 large potatoes, baked, peeled and coarsely mashed (I didn't mash mine, I just cut it into small pieces)

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I used more like 3/4 c cheese)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided

Crumbled cooked bacon, optional (I used turkey bacon)

In a large saucepan, whisk flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the potatoes, 1/3 cup cheese, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream and 1/4 cup onions until blended. Cover; cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until heated through (do not boil). Garnish with remaining cheese, onions and bacon if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

#470: Mexican Monkey Bread

This recipe from Kraft has been bookmarked for quite a while now.  I decided to make it for our January Book Club meeting since there's NO way anyone else in my family would eat it.  The recipe says to flip the monkey bread over and serve inverted...don't do it.  The top is MUCH prettier.  Personally, I don't think the recipe calls for enough ingredients (especially the biscuits), so I doubled a lot of the ingredients.

We loved this at book club.  I will absolutely, definitely be making this again!!  YUM!

1 can (16.3 oz.) refrigerated biscuits, quartered (I used 2 cans)

2 Tbsp. butter, melted (I used 4 tbsp)

1-1/4 c Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used about 2 c)

3/4 c drained canned sliced jalapeño peppers (I used 4 oz can of diced green chilis)

3/4 tsp. parsley flakes

1/4 c Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Heat oven to 350ºF.  Spray 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Dip 1/3 of the biscuit pieces in butter; place in prepared pan. Top with 1/2 cup Cheddar, 1/4 cup peppers and 1/4 tsp. parsley; repeat layers.    

Cover with remaining dipped biscuit pieces, peppers and parsley; top with combined mozzarella and remaining Cheddar.    

Bake 40 to 45 min. or until golden brown. Let stand 5 min. Invert bread onto plate; remove pan. Serve bread warm.

#469: Shredded Potatoes Au Gratin

Every so often, we get random recipe cards in the mail.  This recipe came from one of those mass mailings.  It's from Great American Home Baking and is SO easy I couldn't resist trying it.  It isn't my favorite way to eat cheesy potatoes, but the easy and quickness of throwing this recipe together will make this a repeat recipe for us. Also, Brian and I thought this was quite under seasoned, so next time I will add more seasoning...but I don't measure salt and pepper out very often so it's possible that I just didn't use enough the first time.

1 lb refrigerated shredded hashbrowns
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 c sliced green onion (about 4 medium) (I omitted)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray and 11x7 baking dish with non stick spray. 
Combine the potatoes, cream, 1 1/4 c cheese, green onion, salt and pepper in  a large bowl.  Mix well. 

Spoon the potato mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake until bubbly and golden brown and the potatoes are cooked  (about 45-55 minutes).

#468: Hot Corn Dip

Photo courtesy of Becoming Betty.  (This is NOT my photo)

I was deleting some pins (of recipes I've already made) on Pinterest and realized I never posted a picture of this recipe that I made at last month's book club.  I'm sure I didn't post it because I forgot to take a picture of it when I made it. 

When I first saw the list of ingredients (and that the original recipe came from Emeril Lagasse), I figured this would be a recipe that required too many steps for my liking.  Fortunately, it was super easy to prepare and went over very well at book club!

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups frozen corn

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped yellow onions

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell peppers

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (I used about 1/4 of a jalapeno)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise (I only used 1/2 cup)

4 ounces monterey jack or cheddar, shredded (I used 8 oz of Mexican blend cheese and omitted both the monterey jack and the sharp cheddar below)

4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Tortilla chips, for dipping

In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with corn, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes then transfer to a bowl. In same skillet, add rest of butter and onion and bell peppers. Cook until wilted then add garlic, jalapeno, and green onions. Let all the vegetables soften then add to the bowl of corn. Mix in mayo, cayenne, and half of both cheeses. Stir to combine then pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.

#467: Homemade Egg McMuffins

I love Egg McMuffins from McDonalds.  I have to restrain myself from stopping on the way to work because they are so unhealthy, and the healthier frozen versions you can buy from the grocery store are so expensive.  So when I came across this recipe, I was super intrigued and eager to try making these.  Besides, don't the cooked eggs look cute in the muffin pan?

English Muffins
Large eggs
Cheese
Breakfast sausage patties, cooked (I used pre-cooked turkey sausage patties)
Pam Spray

Lightly oil a muffin tin and crack an egg in each tin.  Bake the muffin tin with eggs in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Slice all the English muffins and toast them in the oven (or toaster oven) for 10 minutes.

Add an egg, cheese (grated cheddar or American cheese slices), turkey sausage (could use ham, bacon or Canadian bacon), and any veggies (if desired) that you want to each sandwich.

If you want to eat one right away, wrap in foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.

To eat later: Stick all your sandwiches on a baking sheet and stick it in the freezer. Leave them in the freezer until they are frozen, about an hour. Then wrap each sandwich individually in foil and store all the individually wrapped sandwiches in a freezer safe bag.

When reheating the sandwich, take out of the freezer and keep it wrapped in the foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

#466: Cheeseburger Soup

The photo of this soup does not do the recipe justice.  It is SO much better than the photo leaves you to believe.  I loved this soup and made it to eat for lunches this week...I can't wait for lunch!

1/2 pound ground beef (I used 1 lb)

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup shredded carrots (I cut mine into small chunks)

3/4 cup diced celery (I omitted)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

4 tablespoons butter, divided

3 cups chicken broth (I used 4 c chicken broth and 1 c water)

4 cups diced peeled potatoes (1-3/4 pounds)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups (8 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed

1-1/2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup sour cream
I also added 4 strips of pre-cooked bacon, diced

In a 3-qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same saucepan, saute the onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.   

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from the heat; blend in sour cream.
Yield: 8 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

#465 Carrot-Ginger Salad

I decided to throw this together at the last minute as a vegetable side dish to go with our dinner. Chloe is a huge carrot fan, but wouldn't try this one. I, however, LOVED it. I will definitely make this again, and will absolutely make this to take for lunches during the week. I made some changes to the original recipe (shocking!), but only to make this easier and faster for me.

I also didn't shred my carrots, I just threw a bunch of baby carrots into my food processor and ground them up into little pieces.

Salad:

1/2 cup slivered almonds (I used walnuts)

1/2 cup golden raisins (I omitted only because I didn't have any on hand)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 pound carrots, shredded (about 5 medium carrots)

Dressing:

1/3 cup rice vinegar (I used raspberry blush vinegar)

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (I omitted)

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup canola oil (I used olive oil)

Make salad: (I skipped this step) Place almonds in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until light golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool.

(I also skipped this step) Put raisins and cranberries in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to steep for 15 minutes. Drain.

Transfer drained raisins and cranberries to a large bowl and toss with carrots.

Make dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Add to bowl with carrot mixture and toss to evenly coat vegetables with dressing. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Just before serving, toss in almonds.

#464: Butternut Squash Cincinnati-Style Chili

In my opinion this really isn't a chili.  It's more like a stew or a really thick chili with very little liquid.  Now I'm personally okay with that.  It's also a little sweet...I'm okay with that as well.  But if you expect this to taste like typical "chili" it doesn't . 

It's supposed to be served over whole wheat spaghetti noodles, but I just added some elbow macaroni noodles instead (noodles were NOT pictured). 

1/2 of a large butternut squash, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

2 large green bell peppers, cored, seeds removed, and chopped (I used green and yellow)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 14 1/2 ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chili powder (I used about 1 tbsp)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 15 1/2 ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 ounce box whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked following package directions

4 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place squash in a large rimmed baking pan and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic. Cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cinnamon, sugar, allspice and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer 15 minutes over medium-low heat, with lid ajar. Stir occasionally.

Stir in cooked squash and beans. Simmer 5 minutes.

Serve chili over cooked spaghetti. Add shredded cheddar cheese, oyster crackers and scallions over the top if desired.

#463: Skillet Lasagna

We are a pasta loving family, so any way to try a different pasta meal, and use one pot in the meantime, is a recipe worth trying.  We all enjoyed this (except for Chloe who pretty much just ate apples for dinner), and agreed we would make this again...except Brian complained that there were to many tomato chunks in this.  If there are ANY tomato chunks in it, there's too much for his liking.  That doesn't mean I'm going to stop putting them in there though!

1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes (I used about 1/3 c total in this recipe)
water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh Italian sausage, crumbled (I used 1 lb ground turkey)
10 dry curly edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2 inch pieces
1 (8oz) tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese + more for serving
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used about 2/3 cup and mixed it into the dish)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (I used dried)

Pour diced tomatoes with their juices into 1-quart liquid measuring cup. Add water until mixture measures 1 quart; set aside.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Italian sausage and cook, breaking apart meat, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Scatter pasta over meat but do not stir. Pour diced tomatoes with juices and tomato sauce over pasta. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in cheeses. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons ricotta, cover, and let stand off heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve.

#462: Cheesy BLT Mini Sandwiches

I've had this recipe bookmarked for quite a while now and just waiting for an excuse to make it.  Well that excuse came as lunch over winter break.  :)  (Not much of an excuse huh?!)  This was really, really easy to make.  The hardest part was trying to roll out the crescent rolls...don't do it!  Rolling them out made the dough rip and super thin.  It made so much more of a mess than it should have.  Next time I'd just press it as big as I could get it on a cookie sheet and cut it into squares.  These were really good fresh.  I had a lot of the dough left over so I put it in a container on the counter to eat again the next day for lunch.  The crescent rolls were quite crunchy and not something I'd really want to serve to anyone else.  So, if you are making this and serving it immediately, it's quite good.  If you are making it ahead of time, not so much.  (oh and a personal preference...skip the lettuce!)

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

1/2 cup Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend, shredded (2 oz)

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled (1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2 medium)

1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough on work surface; press into 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut into 24 squares; place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to cooling rack.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix cheese, bacon, onions and mayonnaise. Place slightly less than 1 tablespoon lettuce on bottoms of 12 crescent squares. Top each with 1 heaping tablespoon bacon mixture and 2 slices tomato. Top with remaining crescent squares.

#461: Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I made this for our family Christmas morning breakfast and I had very high hopes for this recipe.  How could I not, it combined Brian's two favorite things: French Toast and Cinnamon Rolls.  We loved the top half of this dish...the bottom however, was super, soggy.  None of us ate the bottom half.  We could literally pull apart the crunchy top layer and the soggy bottom.  I don't know how else I could change this to make it not get soggy, except to use half the amount of egg/maple syrup mixture. 

1/4 cup Butter, melted

2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

6 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

Topping:

Icing from cinnamon rolls

Powdered sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup, if desired

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.

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.
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.
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.