Pizza Rolls

Every year our family friends have a tailgate party at their house for a Chicago Bears game. This year they decided to have it for the first Bears game of the year. It is always nerve wrecking when you are a Chicago fan for the first game because you never know how the season is going to go. The Bears showed up today, so the season is getting off to a great start! Go Bears!!

Everyone always brings a dish to the tailgate party. I was looking at a lot of different appetizers to bring and I settled on Pizza Rolls. I have never made anything like these before. You basically make a pizza and then roll it up into a log. It was super easy until it came time to cut the log. The ingredients did not want to stay in a nice pinwheel very well. But I haphazardly put them together and they came out pretty good once they were baked. When I took them out to serve, they were gone in under five minutes! Everyone really liked them. And they are very kid friendly. I mean what kid doesn't like pizza?

Pizza Rolls
Adapted from Tidy Mom

2 cans refrigerated pizza crust
Italian Seasoning, to taste
Garlic salt, 2 taste
1 cup sliced pepperoni
1/4 cup pizza sauce, plus more for dipping
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Dust flour on flat surface. Roll out each pizza crust.

Using a basting brush, brush pizza sauce lightly on each pizza crust.

Season with garlic salt and Italian seasoning.

Top with pepperoni and cheeses.

Starting with short end, roll each pizza crust tightly into a log.

Slice each log into 1 inch sections.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

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Zucchini Bread

My friend and coworker Nicole brought in Zucchini Bread last week to work. I had never tried it before and was a little apprehensive because zucchini in bread just does not sound good. The bread was delicious and you could not taste the zucchini at all. So I asked Nicole for the recipe because I thought it would be a great recipe to make for Phil's fishing trip.

Every year Phil, his dad, his uncles and some of their friends go on a fishing trip in Northern Minnesota for a week. They always go the same week in September and for the past few years they have been going to their friends resort in Minnesota. This is only the second year Phil has attended so I have not been around to hear all the crazy talk that goes down the year before the fishing trip. I guess the guys used to nonstop talk about this fishing trip for a whole year, so the wives finally decided that they could not breath a word about it until the 4th of July. The ladies felt as if the guys were wishing their whole summer away looking forward to the trip. I think the guys are bursting at the seams until the 4th over this trip! So in recent weeks many pictures of fish have been texted, dozens of emails sent about who is bringing what, who is driving whose cars and making sure they have all the supplies they need. 

Because Phil is so new to the trip we are not asked yet to provide a dish. I decided to make the Zucchini Bread anyway because I thought it would be a nice quick breakfast for them in the wee morning hours. The recipe is from Weight Watchers so it is a healthy version, but you would never know it, which makes it even better! The recipe makes two loaves, which I thought would be a good amount for their trip. But I could not let them take all the bread and have none for myself, so I doubled the recipe and made four loaves. Some for the freezer for later! The recipe below is the original recipe for two loaves. 

Zucchini Bread

Weight Watchers

2 cups whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 egg whites

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 cups uncooked zucchini, peeled, grated and drained

1/2 cup raisins

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Coat two loaf pans with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl sift together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg, sugar, vanilla, oil, and applesauce and mix well. Add in zucchini. 

Add the dry ingredients to mixer and mix well. Add raisins. 

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes. 

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Chai Latte Cupcakes

My General Managers last day is tomorrow because he is being promoted. He is a big fan of Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte's. We always know when he has had one as he gets overly talkative and seems very jittery. It is really funny! So I thought what would be more appropriate for his last day then to make Chai Latte Cupcakes.

I saw Starbucks flavored cupcakes first on Kimz Kitchen. I got the idea from her blog to make the cupcakes look like a Starbucks Frappacino's. I bought just white paper cups and trimmed them down to the size of the cupcakes. Then I found the Starbucks logo online and cut them out and pasted them on the cups. I stopped by Starbucks and asked if I could have several of their straws and trimmed them down to go on the top. I definitely can say it is the most visually creative thing I have ever made!

I have a knack for making a big mess in the kitchen for sure. I had frosting everywhere! I definitely have not figured out the trick to piping frosting out of a cake decorating bag, as I think I had more all over my hands and counter then I did on the actual cupcakes. Oh well, I am still pretty proud of myself!

Chai Latte Cupcakes
Adapted from Kimz Kitchen and Betty Crocker

Cupcakes:

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist French Vanilla cake Mix
( water, eggs and vegetable oil called for on cake mix box)
1 1/2 (1oz) packages instant chai tea latte mix

Frosting:

1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 container Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy White Frosting
Ground Cinnamon

Heat oven to 325 degrees (for nonstick).

Place paper cupcake liners in each of 24 regular size muffin cups.

Make and bake cake mix as directed on the box for 24 cupcakes.

Cool completely for 30 minutes.

In a microwavable bowl melt baking chips for 30 seconds. Repeat, if necessary until chips are melted. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in frosting until well combined.

Frost immediately.

Top with cinnamon.

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Tequila Lime Chicken

Cookbook Recipe #13


I think I have mentioned before that I really like Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Women. All her recipes are down home southern cooking, which is my favorite.  Ree started the website the Tasty Kitchen along with her blog the Pioneer Women and now she has cookbooks and her own show on the Food Network. I really enjoy the layout of her books because she talks about life on her ranch and where her recipes come from. The Tequila Lime Chicken recipe comes from her second cookbook, which Phil got me for my birthday this year. I was soooo excited when it came out because I loved her first book so much!


The recipe calls for marinating the chicken for several hours or overnight and I completely spaced out about it so Phil took the reigns and cooked dinner for us. When I asked him to marinade the chicken I kindly asked him to leave out the cilantro. I told him to either make two marinades or leave it out completely because I can't stand cilantro. I like it tastes like soap, which I hear is an actual thing that some people have. I guess a select few people have some sort of gene that makes cilantro taste like soap to them, and I am one of those people, but Phil is not as he absolutely loves cilantro. So he ended up making two separate marinades. What a sweet guy!

This recipe called for 3/4 a cup of tequila so we thought it was going to taste like a shot but it didn't, it came out very flavorful and juicy. Phil also made a few holes in the chicken with a fork to get the marinade to soak in well and I think that helped make the flavor stick. Phil made a delicious dish tonight, the only think I can take credit for is the plating! We served the chicken with Spanish rice and refried black beans. A great meal all around!

Tequila Lime Chicken
Adapted from The Pioneer Women Cooks: Food From My Frontier by Ree Drummond

For the Marinade:

3 limes
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Serrano Chiles, de-seeded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cilantro
5 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup tequila



Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Toppings:

Pico de gallo
Avocado
Monterrey Jack Cheese Slices

In a food processor add the juice of the limes, garlic cloves, Serrano Chiles, salt, olive oil, cilantro (or leave out if you have the soap gene) and tequila and process until smooth. Pour over chicken breasts in a resealable bag and marinate in fridge for several hours or overnight.

Grill chicken on direct high heat for 6 minutes per side, or until chicken is no longer pink. With a couple minutes left, if you choose, melt Monterrey Jack cheese on chicken.

Top with avocado and pico de gallo.

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Wonton Soup

I think my favorite part of getting Chinese food is the soup. I love the Chinese soups; hot and sour, wonton, sizzling rice soup and egg drop. I have tried to make all but sizzling rice at home. The wonton always comes out the best.

My mom used to make this recipe at home once and awhile, I always loved it. She gave me the recipe when I went to college and I started making it a lot. It can be very tedious to make though. The soup itself only takes a few minutes, but putting together the wontons can take awhile. I feel like they do not hold a whole lot so you end up making a ton of them. You have to be very careful when you boil these not to over cook them. I have over cooked them a couple times and you end up with a really messy soup as the wontons all break open and spill out all the contents. The recipe calls for green onions to go in with the pork, but of course I leave those out. I'm sure it would be a good flavor addition, if you like that sort of thing!

Wonton Soup

Adapted from Betty Crocker

For the wontons:

1/2 pound ground pork, cooked

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

24 wonton skins

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 cup spinach, torn into small pieces

In a bowl combine cooked pork, soy sauce, corn starch, ginger, and salt and mix well. 

Meanwhile, in a large pot heat up chicken broth, water, soy sauce and chicken bouillon at medium heat. 

Spoon 1 teaspoon pork mixture into middle of each wonton skin. Moisten edges of wonton skin with water. Fold each skin in half to form a triangle. Press edges to seal. Pull bottom corners of triangle down and overlap slightly. Moisten one corner with water and pinch to seal. Set wontons aside. 

Once broth is heated up add spinach and bring to boil. Once boiling add wontons and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer wontons for 2 minutes. 

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Mashed Cauliflower

My good friend and home town next door neighbor Molly was in town to go to a wedding a couple weeks ago. We were talking about different things that we have cooked recently and she told me about mashed cauliflower. I have seen several recipes for this recently but I wasn't convinced that I would like it. I love cauliflower, but pureed just didn't sound that great to me. Molly told me that she adds goat cheese to hers and it makes it really creamy. So I found a recipe for mashed cauliflower that used goat cheese and gave it a try.

People say that it is supposed to taste like mashed potatoes and that it is a good substitute for it. I wouldn't go so far to say that it tastes like mashed potatoes, but it does have a similar flavor profile. I added garlic to the recipe, because well, I like to add garlic to just about anything that it goes with!

I am always looking for new side dishes because I get tired of the same ole same ole stuff. This recipe will be going on my side rotation for sure.

Mashed Cauliflower
Adapted from Food.com

1 head cauliflower
2 ounces goat cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
Salt
Pepper

Cut cauliflower into small chunks. Mix with minced garlic in a microwave safe dish with a lid.

Microwave for 8 minutes.

Combine all other ingredients will cauliflower and blend in a food processor until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Cookbook Recipe #12

Melissa D'Arabian is another Food Network chef that I watch a lot. She makes a lot of really easy and few ingredient recipes because they are all supposed to feed a family of four for under $10. I agree that a lot of her recipes use ingredients that most people have on hand, but if you do not have some of the key ingredients on had the recipe cannot be made for 2 people for under $10, let alone 4 people. Though I may not agree that all the recipes are cheap, I do like her recipes none the less. So I was very excited when she came out with her first cookbook last month.

I decided to make the Spinach and Cheese Stuffed chicken for this cookbook recipe. I made this recipe Thursday night but have been unable to post because our computer was back in the shop getting a new hard drive. Oddly enough my computer at work also has to be cleaned off completely this week. So, don't let me touch your computers!

I changed the recipe up quite a bit as the original called to use cream cheese to make a homemade creamed spinach. I decided to just use frozen creamed spinach and skip that step all together. Phil and I really liked this recipe, it was so easy and took no time to make.

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Adapted from Ten Dollar Dinners by Melissa D'Arabian

1 box Green Giant creamed spinach, thawed
Boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 6-8oz each
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Lemon Juice, to taste
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup flour
Garlic salt, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut a pocket into each chicken breast. Cut just about all the way through the chicken (you want to stuff as much spinach inside as possible!)

In a small bowl mix thawed cream spinach, mozzarella cheese and garlic salt. Stuff spinach into pocket of the chicken. Using toothpicks, thread the pocket closed to keep as much spinach mixture in chicken as possible.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in flour and coat both sides of chicken.

Heat olive oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until browned 4-5 minutes on one side and 3 minutes more on other side.

Drizzle chicken with lemon juice and place half a tablespoon of butter on each chicken breast.

Bake for 15 minutes in oven.

Serve drizzled with sauce from pan.

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