Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadillas What is it about bacon & avocado that I absolutely love?? And these quesadillas… with their buttery, crispy, heavenly tortilla shells… are seriously yum. Don’t let the green scare ya, avocados have a really delicious taste. Let’s start with the bacon. Now take about a tbsp of the bacon drippings and add to a skillet over medium heat. Add bite-sized pieces of chicken in a single layer, season with salt & pepper, and cook for about 5 mins or until chicken is golden and cooked through, flipping just once during cooking. Remove the chicken & scallions to a plate and rinse out the skillet. Then add a little butter over medium heat… And when foamy, add a tortilla and swirl it around to get it nice and buttery. Now we can start layering with the good stuff. Bacon. Avocado. Do you know how to pick out a good avocado? A little cheese.. Now use some tongs to flip the other side of the tortilla over. And pat down in place. Oh my stars. Super easy. Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadillas
Cheese and Onion Butterflies What to do with only a few lonesome puff pastry sheets? You make Cheese & Onion Butterflies of course! It’s crazy simple and so tasty. Ingredients: puff pastry sheets 1/2 cup sharp cheddar 1/2 cup Gouda 1/3 small onion Directions: I splurged. You’ll need a grater, though. Grate until you have about 1/3 cup of each cheese. You knew I’d throw in an onion, didn’t you? Grate 1/3 of a small onion. Thaw the pastry sheets. Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top of the pastry sheets, and add some grated onion. Roll both ends towards each other until they meet in the middle. Use a very sharp knife to cut them in about 1/3 inch slices. Place them on a cookie sheet—I’m using baking paper for this. They are best when served warm/luke-warm.
Lasagna Roll Ups Recipe Unfortunately, I have yet to post a lasagna recipe but I have something just as good- Lasagna roll ups. Lasagna roll ups are cooked lasagna noodles rolled up with a cheese mixture and baked in a sauce. If you are not a fan of cottage cheese it could be replaced with ricotta. This dish uses three different types of cheeses- cottage, parmesan and mozzarella. Don’t worry if you want meat in your meals, the sauce is a meat sauce. The meat sauce is very delicious and slightly spicy. Ingredients:Sauce- ¼ lb ground beef 2 tablespoons onion (chopped) 2 garlic cloves (minced) 1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon dried oregano 1 dash cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)Filling- 1 ¼ cups small curd cottage cheese ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese 1 egg (lightly beaten) 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced) ¼ teaspoon onion powder 6 lasagna noodles (cooked) ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese Cooking Instructions: Step 3: Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Pepperoni Pizza Puffs Recipe TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. I’m looking forward to some friend’s-birthday-celebrating, farmers-marketing, coffee-(friends)-dating, cake-baking, church-enjoying, and sleeping-inning here in my little corner of the world this weekend. OH, and the thing I’m perhaps most excited about — choir-directing. Did I mention on here that I’m leading an Easter choir at my church?! I’m kind of over the moon about it. Anyway, warm wishes coming your way for a good weekend ahead. Read more Ever since my friends and I met for a tapas happy hour at our neighborhood Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago, I’ve had sangria on my mind. So of course, when I found myself in the fruit section at the market this week trying to decide what kind of sangria to make for our weekly neighbor night, I immediately thought of sangria. …oh good grief, why had I never thought of this before? Sangria with All The Colors. The only reasonable solution, of course. ;)
When In Rome Tours - A Food Lover's Top 10 List in Rome Perhaps you arrived here instead of on one of our Rome tour pages, or perhaps you just wanted to read about Rome or something else. Anyway, we hope that the following links will help you find what you're looking for! Small group Rome tours - we offer many fascinating walks through ancient Rome. Small group Vatican tours - we have several interesting Vatican city tour options available Monday - Saturday. Private Rome tours - see and learn about the Rome which many tourists miss out on. Private Vatican tours - academic walks through the Vatican city with docents of repute. Rome blog - We have been known to write about Rome from time to time...
Cheese Pinwheel Rolls Sooner or later, all my conversations inevitably turn to food. Don’t believe me? Call me up sometime and try to, say, sell me some insurance. I guarantee that before we get off the phone, I’ll be giving you my recipe for blackberry jam. I can’t help it. It’s just how I work. Perfect example: I was in a meeting a few weeks ago at the office. What was the best way to make them? Ah, the Frankenroll This recipe borrows heavily from two fairly unrelated things. To make these rolls, spread pizza dough liberally with melted butter, sprinkle it with cheese and spices, roll it up like a stromboli—then slice and bake like a pan of cinnamon buns. The result? Fill them however you like The best part about these rolls? This is what I always refer to as a Sliding-Scale Recipe. You can toss it together with a ball of pre-made dough and a bag of shredded cheese from the grocery store—or you can go all out and make the dough from scratch and grate your favorite cheeses by hand. Cheese Pinwheel Rolls
Thanksgiving Stuffing Balls This post could get me in some trouble. You see, this is a serious traditional side in our family and I don't know how they'll feel about me putting it out "in the wild", as it were. It might be surprising to some that, although I've been making these since I left home 24 years ago, I've never had a recipe. It's one of those things that I've always made by look and feel. The idea of stuffing balls might seem odd, but it really makes a lot of sense. Enough of the explanation, let's get on the business end of some cooking. Ingredients1 bag (14 oz) Cubed herb stuffing (I prefer Pepperidge Farm)2 cups Chicken broth2 stalks Celery, diced to about 1/4" (approximately 1 cup)1/2 medium Onion, diced to about 1/4" (approximately 1/2 cup)1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's of course)3 Tbsp Unsalted butter, melted2 Tbsp Olive oil1 tsp Garlic salt1/2 tsp Ground poultry seasoning1/4 tsp Ground white pepper MethodHeat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat.
Hasselback Potatoes These Hasselback potatoes looks beautiful, don't' they? Here, I also added several cloves of garlic to these Swedish version of baked potatoes to enhance the flavor. It turned out great, they were very delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.. Updated: November 26th 2013 This is an updated post with a new video guide on How To Slice Hasselback Potatoes Hasselback Potatoes (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 6 Medium Size Potatoes 2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 30 g Butter Maldon Sea Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Method Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.
fish and chips or homemade fish sticks and oven fries Lately, more than usual, I find myself strapped for time. Keeping up this blog is definitely one of the reasons. Not wanting to cut back on posts, nor have my kids need to go out and join Big Brothers Big Sisters, I’ve decided they’re just gonna have to help in the kitchen. I used halibut in this recipe. It’s a good idea to wash hands before beginning. fish sticks 1 pound (450g) firm white fish, such as halibut salt and pepper 1/3 cup (50g) unbleached all-purpose flour 1-2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup (100g) panko breadcrumbs pinch cayenne pepper 2-4 tablespoons oil 1-2 tablespoons butter tartar sauce (recipe follows) french fry dipping sauce (now that I’ve lived in Utah, ketchup just won’t do) 1. 2. 3. 4. tartar sauce: 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) mayonnaise 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 3-5 small pickles, finely chopped It’s pretty obvious: Stir all ingredients together. chips (oven fries) 1. 2. 3. french fry dipping sauce Mix together and serve with oven fries.
Garlic Knots – For Superior Garlic Breath When I was in High School, I thought garlic knots were the best things on earth. I guess I still kind of think that, but often I’m disappointed by the garlic knots I buy. I’m not sure if the quality of garlic knots has gone down in NYC or if I’ve become harder to please. These days, they are often hard and dry, probably from being left around too long. As with all bread-based goodies, the freshest way to get it is out of your own oven. These really are a reasonable amount of work, and easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled for even more return. I’m assuming that pizzerias make their garlic knots with the same dough that they make pizza with, so use any pizza dough that you like. Garlic Knots~12-13 knots 3/4 cup +1 tablespoon all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon sugar1/2 teaspoon instant yeast1/2 teaspoon table salt1/3 cup water at room temperature (70 to 90 degrees)5 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, divided4 large cloves garlic, minced1/4 teaspoon kosher salt1 packed tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1.
Dulce de Leche Brownies : : Miss in the Kitchen Dulce de Leche Brownies At seven o’clock last night I had a chocolate craving. I approach the pantry and see a can of Dulce de Leche and instantly think caramel brownies. If you aren’t familiar with Dulce de Leche it is basically caramel, like caramelized sweetened condensed milk (I can eat it straight out of the can). Dulce de Leche Brownies Adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris (Broadway Books) David Lebovitz Ingredients: 8 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 3 large eggs 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup flour optional: 1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped 1 cup Dulce de Leche Cooking Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8-inch square baking dish with a sheet aluminum foil that covers the bottom up over the sides. In a saucepan melt butter, add the semi-sweet chocolate, stirring constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted.
Pizza Monkey Bread Recipe Ok are you ready for Pizza Monkey Bread. It will kinda change your life. And maybe your waistline. I’ve seen Monkey Bread made from scratch or with pre-made biscuit dough from the market. Stick these suckers in mini bundt pans and into the oven they go! Ingredients 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast1 cup warm water1 tsp sugar2 cups Bread flour1 cup AP flour2 tsp salt1/2 cup Butter, melted2/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped5 Scallions, chopped10 Basil Leaves, chopped5 cloves garlic, mincedSalt and Pepper1 cup Marinara or Pizza sauce Instructions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.In a medium bowl, combine the Bread flour, AP flour and salt. Tags: Bread, bread flour, breads, bundt pans, dip, monkey bread, Pizza, pizza bread, pizza bread recipe, pizza dip, Pizza Monkey Bread, pizza sauces, sauce, savory monkey bread
Risotto Balls (Arancini) Remember that butternut squash risotto I made a few weeks back? Well, we had tons leftover. (Why can't I remember that there are just the three of us now?) Anyway, I froze the leftovers and finally found time to make them into one of my most favorite appetizers ever, risotto balls. The beauty of these babies as it relates to entertaining is that the risotto is made in advance and the only prep work involved at party time is the dredging and frying. These risotto balls are stuffed with a little cube of cheese just to put them over the top. Risotto Balls (Arancini)2 cups risotto, chilled2 ounces cheese, cubed 1/2"1 cup all-purpose floursalt and pepper2 large eggs, lightly beatenTabasco (optional)1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs1 tsp Italian seasoning2 TBSP fresh parsley, choppedvegetable oil, for deep frying I used my deep fryer to make these, but if you're going to make them on the stove, use a heavy pan and heat about 3" of oil to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with waxed paper.