Penne a la Vodka and Garlic Bites. The first rose of the year! Isn't it beautiful! I can't wait for everything else to start to bloom! Tonight was Italian night for dinner. We had Penne a la Vodka and Garlic Bites. For the pasta we used a jar of San Marzano Creamy Vodka sauce from Fresh Market. I sauteed some Italian sausage until brown and then added the vodka sauce and penne pasta. These garlic bites taste just like the bread at Amore. 5 Tbs of butter1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed1 tsp Italian Seasoning Mixture1 can of flaky biscuits Preheat oven to 350. Queso Blanco Dip (White Cheese Dip), The Second and Final Attempt. Fried Dill Pickles. Drain the juice from the pickle jar and refill the jar with the garlic powder, hot sauce, and buttermilk. Marinate the pickles for at least 30 minutes. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Drain the pickles. Put the fry mix in a large mixing bowl, and toss the pickles to coat thoroughly.
Shake off the excess mix by tossing lightly in a strainer and deep fry the pickles in batches for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the spears. When golden brown, remove the pickles from the oil with a clean strainer or slotted metal spoon and place on paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Serve immediately. Spicy Buttermilk Onion Rings w/Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Onion rings remind me of George Clooney. Always. (Such a weird sentence, eh?! Well it’s true. They do.) When I was in college in North Carolina, the film Leatherheads came to shoot in town and Mr. Clooney was the lead. I got a job as a production assistant, filling in only a few days here and there because I was still in school and hated being a production assistant with a very deep passion. Anewayzzz, on this particular day I had the awesome duty of “watching the door so no one comes through it,” so I was there in this random corner of this old building all by myself doing yoga stretches or something.
So, outcomes Clooney into the real, North Carolina world, being guided by a gigantic bodyguard. I yell on the walkie that we need help…or something…and out comes another PA from a random building. Of course the bodyguard didn’t let her touch Clooney. An hour or so later I was let off of my PA shift and went to go meet some friends. Chicken Wings? Pizza? Ribs? Onion rings? P.S. 1. 2. 3. 4. Broccoli Cheese Soup: Panera Bread Copycat Recipe. On Wednesday my sister and I volunteered to make the soup supper to go with the Advent service at church. Before you go thinking I'm some kind of charitable, goodhearted soul, I must tell you that the only reason that I do it is because I LOVE COOKING. In case you hadn't figured that out yet. Okay, so I was like, "Whadaya think, Nemo?
Will two huge pots of soup, a crockpot full of barbequed meatballs, five trillion chicken salad sandwiches, fifty thousand and two loaves of bread, and a couple bazillion desserts cover it? " Well, it would have, except everybody had to try a huge bowl of BOTH kinds of soup AND meatballs. Barbequed meatballs in broccoli soup. I had to leave the room. Anyways, we ran out of soup after about ten minutes of serving. So during church I had a sudden inspiration (um, Pastor, if you're reading this, that was a typo. Anways, I burst out of church and ran up to my friend screaming, "Hey guess what!!
Yeah. I mean it would be like getting paid to have fun. Okay. Hot Party Ham Sandwiches - Football Friday. This isn't any Football Friday, it's Championship Football Friday! There are tons of big games being played this weekend, and these hot ham sandwiches are the perfect snack for watching all of them. They taste fantastic and are easy to make! They are great for a party (football or Christmas), lunch or even dinner. The sandwiches can be assembled ahead of time and baked when you are ready to serve them. Chicken Legs walked in and said the house smelled great. Hot Party Ham Sandwichesadapted from Simple Organized Living(Printable Recipe) 1 dozen Brown 'N Serve rolls 1/2 lb sliced deli ham 12 slices provolone cheese 1/2 cup butter 2 Tbsp brown sugar 1 Tbsp yellow mustard 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbsp poppy seeds Preheat oven to 350.
Split each dinner roll. In a small sauce pan combine butter, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire and poppy seeds. French Onion Soup Recipe. It’s the middle of summer and over 90 degrees outside, but I had to make French Onion Soup as a prop for a photoshoot… And it was worth every drop of sweat. Sure, I could have mocked something up with watered down coffee, bread, and cheese, but a fake dish never looks quite as delicious as the real thing and I figured if I was going to take the time to fake something, I may as well take a little more time and do it right.
A good French Onion Soup (a.k.a. soupe à l’oignon gratinée) has a crisp layer of bread topped with a layer of crusty caramelized cheese. Poking a spoon through the crust reveals a deep-brown bottomless pit of flavor that hammers home the rich beefy stock made sweet and nutty from caramelized onions. Because there are so few ingredients, the trick is to get the onions caramelized all the way, and to use a good beef stock.
Onion Soup is such a simple dish, and yet it always amazes me how poorly most restaurants make it. Add the butter to a large dutch over and melt. Fried Mac & Cheese Balls Recipe. As a kid, my mom always cooked dinner at home from scratch, she wasn’t a fan of all the artificial colors and and flavors in packaged foods, and as a curious kid, I always wondered how other families ate. I’d get little glimpses of what meals were like on the other side when I’d hang out at a friends house. Forbidden treats like Twinkies and Cheetoh’s would would come out, and the twelve year old version of me was always a bit envious.
I think the first time I had macaroni and cheese was when I was around eighteen. I was at a friends house, we got hungry, and he whipped out a box of Kraft, a can of hormel chili and some hot dogs to toss in as well. After leaving the nest for college, and left to my own devices (with an utter distrust of dorm food), Mac’n Cheese and I become good friends. Having learned a few tricks since college, I made a bechamel to help bind the macaroni balls together. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once the macaroni mixture has cooled, it will be very firm. Oven-Fried Onion Rings … Intro … and a killer pickled garlic scape tartar sauce – if I do say so myself. I’m not one to shy away from fried foods. What I do tend to avoid are large stinky messes. Fried foods are notorious for producing an enormous mess. The bubbly caldron of hot oil leaves a lingering smell which takes months and multiple bottles of Febreze to remove.
Not to mention the layer of grease that coats every counter, cabinet and counter-dwelling kitchen machinery. But when I became the proud owner of three Walla Walla onions so fresh the dirt was still attached – my first thought was onion rings. In order to avoid the mess I set out to make oven-fried onion rings. If you, like me, love the grease but hate the mess then let us celebrate in the name of laziness for a recipe that takes more time to clean the grease off our fingers than off our counters.
Oven-Fried Onion Rings 2 medium onions (sweet or yellow) cut into 1/2 – inch rings 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne. Crunchy Oven-Fried Cheese Ravioli. Oh Monday… you look good. I’ve made no bones about it: growing up, pasta was just not my thing. Combined with my utter distaste for all tomato sauce, noodles never ever did it for me. My mom religiously made pasta every Thursday night (it’s still happening) and you could often find me up in my room hungry and throwing the tantrum of the century… every single week.
Wish I grew out of that, but… I threw a massive tantrum last Sunday night when my husband refused to watch the Golden Globes with me and gossip about celebrities. He’s no fun. Some things never change? Occasionally my mom would toss some gnocchi or ravioli into the mix to appease me, but I would still choose to pout and be generally bratty in that… adorable 13-year old way.
While I’ve made a habit of baking some of my previously favorite fried foods (think chicken fingers, fish sticks and mashed potatoes), ravioli has never made the cut. Say what? Ideal for a night time snack attack. Ooooh I like this part. pinch of salt. Saucy asian meatballs. I probably should have poured a nice stiff drink recipe for you all on this loveliest of lovely tax days. Especially for my fellow small business owners who just gave half of their revenue back to the government. Good grief, I won’t even go there. Instead though, I thought I’d offer my idea of a more comforting alternative. Pasta. When life is good, and when life gets crazy, I turn to pasta. And this pasta recipe is one of my all-time favs. I actually posted it on the blog about 4 years ago when I was a brand-spankin’ new blogger, and my photos were a lovely shade of neon. And just as it has for years, this one hit the spot. Read more This past Friday night was meant for celebrating.
The weather was sit-out-on-the-deck-in-the-cool-evening-breeze perfection. And a very special birthday girl turned the big 3-0. Friends, meet Stacey. Read more TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. Read more Read more Read more Read more Happy day, friends! Fried Pickles Recipe. Tutorial: Potstickers. These are fun little Asian dumplings and they”re surprisingly easy once you master the technique. There are several ways to cook potstickers, but I’m going to show you the method I use, because you don’t need any special equipment. After that, you can have fun coming up with your own fillings. I”m going to use one of my favorite fillings for Lemon Ginger Potstickers. These make a great meal along side a steamy bowl of rice, or a fantastic appetizer at a party.
Don”t be scared if this process seems complicated- it really isn”t! I just want to explain it well so you”ll be successful on your first attempt The ingredient list really isn’t very big: Lemon Ginger Potstickers For cooking process:Skillet with lid (very important to have a lid, and one that fits)CornstarchVegetable oilWater Dipping Sauce:1/4 C Soy Sauce1/4 C Seasoned Rice Vinegar1 T Fresh minced ginger2 T chopped green onions 1.
If you have a food processor, bust it out now! I always start with the cabbage. This is the filling. Pretzel Bites with Cheese. Pretzel bites stuffed with cheddar cheese are the perfect appetizer for football games or parties! These pretzel bites are out of this world amazing! I love pretzels, it’s almost like an addiction. Seriously, I may need help! A few months ago I made some incredible soft pretzels and pretzel rolls, so it was just a matter of time before I would make another pretzel recipe. These delicious pretzel bites have cheddar cheese baked right inside. Pretzel Bites with Cheese Printer Friendly Version Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar, divided1/4 cup warm water (110˚F)1 cup warm milk (110˚F)2 1/2 to 3 cups flour1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)6 cups water4 teaspoons baking soda4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted1-2 tablespoons coarse salt Directions: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and warm water and let rest 5-8 minutes until foamy.
Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to the yeast. Queso Blanco Dip. Queso Blanco Dip We continue onto Week 8 of College Football, which means another delicious Football bite! Here is one easy and delicious appetizer that is perfect for a Saturday afternoon full of football! Queso Blanco is one of my favorite appetizers to get at Mexican restaurants. Don Pablos used to be my favorite Mexican restaurant to order Queso Blanco, but since there is not a single Don Pablos in the state of Illinois, I had to recreate it in my own kitchen.
Easy cheese dip made with white American cheese. Ingredients: 1 lb white American cheese (I used Boar’s Head White American) 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chilies, undrained ½ to 1 cup heavy cream, depending on thickness of dip you like 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced 3 tablespoons salsa Tabasco sauce to taste Directions: Combine cheese, green chilies, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, jalapeno, salsa and Tabasco sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat. Week One: Pizza Pretzel Bites.