Ranch Chicken Pizza

I saw this recipe just yesterday at Taste and Tell, and thought, "wow, I need to have that".  And as luck would have it I already had most of the ingredients I needed.  Seemed like it was meant to be.

This dish goes together pretty quickly, perfect for a busy weeknight.  It smelled wonderful coming out of the oven too.  I think we all approved.

Here's Deborah's recipe:

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1/3 pound bacon, chopped

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 (1 lb.) store-bought or homemade pizza dough

1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Preheat pizza stone, if using.  If not, grease a pizza pan or medium baking sheet.

Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook until crispy.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Add the chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink in the center.

Roll out the dough to a circle.  Bake the crust for 5-7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it just begins to turn golden brown.  Remove from oven.

Spread the ranch dressing over the partially baked crust.  Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.  Add the chicken, bacon, tomatoes and onions, then top with the cheddar cheese.  Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Two-Faced Pizza (& Burger Winners)

This double duty pizza was inspired by a recipe from Cooking Light's Quick Pizza Margherita.  

But I didn't really think the shorter members of the family would like the tomato covered pizza, I had some leftover taco meat, so the other half became taco pizza.  Anyway, I loved the flavors, and I loved how simple it was.  And it's really not too naughty in the calorie department. 

Here's the recipe, for the margherita half anyway.

Ingredients

• 1  (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• Cooking spray
• 1  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1  garlic clove, halved
• 5  plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 3/4 pound)
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1  teaspoon  balsamic vinegar
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Unroll crust dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven, and brush with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub crust with cut sides of garlic.

Arrange tomato slices on crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is golden.

Combine 1/2 teaspoon oil and vinegar, stirring with a whisk.

Sprinkle pizza evenly with sliced basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over the pizza. Cut pizza into 8 pieces.  (I left the vinegar stuff off)

Now, about that burger giveaway....I only had 3 entries that said they lived in the area of the country that they could get to a Jake's Wayback burger.  And that worked out perfectly since that's how many coupons I had!  So Kris, Rita, and Teresa...I'll be contacting you to get your burgers to you....enjoy!

Lunch For One: Tomato Cheese Tart

 Lunch for one, that'd be me.  This tart is mostly based on one I saw at Lick the Bowl Good.

I was pretty sure no one else would be into this so I decided to scale it down to an individual serving.  I used the pre-made crusts from the dairy case and cut it down to the size of a large saucer.

After smearing the crust with olive oil,  I layered a few basil leaves, sliced tomatoes, salt&pepper, sliced mozzerella and little more basil.  Then I folded up the edges of the tart and baked it at  425 for about 25 minutes.  

It amazes me when such simple ingredients combine to make something that's so off the charts good.   Make one for yourself, soon!

I was tagged by Teresa of A Blog About Food to do this "4 things about me" thing.  Prepare to be fascinated! 

Four Shows I Watch:  

I don't  get (or want) to control the TV much, but when I do...

1.  The Tudors (the series is over now, and I'm still mourning it)

2.  True Blood

3. No Reservations

4.  Suns basketball  

Four Things I'm Passionate About:

Oh gosh, I'm not a really an "enthusiastic" person but...

1. family

2. avoiding conflict ;)

3.  chocolate

4. My faith 

Four Phrases I Use a Lot:

1. Have you brushed your teeth?

2. Is your homework done?

3.  The *fill in the blank* is broken

4.  It's time for bed.   

Four Things I've Learned in the Past:

1. With most of the things I allow myself to worry about, the worry is way worse than the thing.

2.  Letting other people's behavior affect my emotions is a bad idea

3. Autism is not the end of the world. It's the beginning of a different one. 

4. Never trim your toenails in the dark. 

Four Places I'd Like to Go:

1. Maine

2. Florida Keys (not during hurricane season pls)

3. Ireland/ Scotland (I don't know the difference)

4. Sweden/Switzerland (also don't know the difference) 

Four Things I Did Yesterday:

I was at work so this could get gross

1.  Got up at 5:30

2.  Had to endure someone getting way up in my personal space during report.

3.  Wore navy blue...all the cool kids are doing it!

4.  Cleaned up a lot of  &*%@ 

Four Things I Love About Winter:

1.  Considering I'm in Phoenix, I don't have long to love it.  Love the break in the 100+ degree heat.

2. Our new tradition of driving north to be in the snow.

3. Comfort food!

4.  Not subjecting people to my ghostly white legs!

Now I'm supposed to tag 4 more people.

Krista of Krista's Kitchen

Diana of Diana's Cochina

Tiffanee of One Crazy Cookie

Katrina of Baking and Boys 

Fall On A Plate

Perhaps I should have said "autumn" on a plate.  It sounds as if I'm advising you to trip on dinnerware.  

But you should fall all over yourself to make this dinner...pronto!  It's delish! I knew when I first saw this at My Tasty Treasures I'd be wanting to try it.  Just be sure you have plenty of hungry people to share it with because it makes a lot and the left overs are a little mushy.  

Served up with a lovely roasted acorn squash, along with the temperatures finally dropping a bit, this meal let me know that autumn, or fall, is actually finally here.  

 Here's Donna's recipe:

Roast Kielbasa Supper 

 Ingredients 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

2 pounds baby red-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on how large they are
4 large onions, quartered with root end attached
2 pounds kielbasa, cut into 2-inch pieces( I recommend one inch pieces)
4 Gala or Honeycrisp apples, cut into wedges ( I used 3 and I recommend thin wedges.)
Honey

Directions 

Preheat oven to 425˚F.
In a large, shallow roasting pan, drizzle potatoes and onions with EVOO, salt and pepper. Roast 40 minutes.

Drizzle the apples with honey, EVOO, salt and pepper; toss and set aside

Add kielbasa 10 minutes into cooking time.

Add apples to potatoes and onions in the last 20 minutes of cooking time.

To serve, arrange kielbasa, apples, onions and potatoes on dinner plates and garnish with the pan juices.

Simon Says....Quiche!

Oh that silly boy of mine. He can get some of the strangest notions in his head.  And he's quite persistent with them.  I can remember we had a period of time where we had to go outside and say goodnight to Luna (the moon) and sing the goodnight song.  Heaven forbid if the moon wasn't showing.  Then there was the time we had to pretend our chicken legs were mutton.  Most recently he's had quiche on the brain.  I have no idea why.   So when I ran across this recipe with a lovely picture at Indigo's Sugar Spectrum as Simon was peering over my shoulder, it was all over.

As it turns out, Simon picked a very tasty and easy meal. That's my boy...always looking out for mom :)

I didn't do the hasbrown crust, just baked it in a regular pie crust, but I'm sure the hashbrown version would be great.

 INGREDIENTS

3/4 of a bag frozen hash browns, shredded
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups cooked diced ham
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream



DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Squeeze any excess moisture from the potatoes and combine them with the melted butter or margarine in a small bowl. Press this mixture into the bottom and sides of an ungreased pie pan

Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 25-35 minutes, edges should be brown.
Remove pan from oven and arrange the ham and cheese evenly over the potatoes. In a separate small bowl, beat together the eggs and the cream. Pour this over the ham and cheese..
Return pan to oven and bake for 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until the custard has completely set.

Two For One

I've got two yummy meals to share with you.  

The first one is Crispy Orange Chicken and I first saw it at Dunkin Cooking the Semi-Homemade way.

I think this is going to become one of my personal favorites.  It was quick to prepare, and we scarfed all down so it must be good!  The only thing I did different was add a big spoonful of orange marmalade to the sauce.  The kids really liked the chicken prepared this way just straight up plain.  I lost count how many times my daughter said how good it was!

Here's the recipe:

 

3 - Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (cut into cubes)
1 - Egg (beaten)
1 1/2 Tsp. - Salt
1/4 Tsp. - Ground Pepper
1 Tbs. - Vegetable Oil
1 C. - Flour
1 Tsp. - Cornstarch

Glaze:

1 Tsp. - Minced Garlic
1 C. - Orange Juice
1/2 C. - Hoisin Sauce
1/4 C. - Sugar
1 Tbs. - Sesame Seeds
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Place the chicken into a bowl along with the egg and oil, stir to combine. In another bowl mix the flour and cornstarch together. Dredge the chicken in small batches in the flour mixture until evenly coated, then cook in a deep fryer set at 375 degrees for 4 minutes then drain on paper towel, continue cooking the chicken until all pieces are fried. While you are cooking the batches of chicken make the sauce, in a sauce pan add a little more oil and sauté the garlic over medium heat just until tender, be careful not to burn it. Add the remaining items and bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, then turn down to simmer and let reduce until thick, make sure to keep an eye on it and stir constantly so it does not burn. Serve over rice and drizzle sauce over top.

 Secondly, tonight I prepared Alton Brown's version of Chicken Fried Steak. 

 I've been wanting to try to make chicken fried steak for a while because my husband really likes it.  I'm always a little leery though, I think because of the gravy.  But I really liked this gravy...it's not overly thick and milky, probably because it has a lot of chicken broth in it.   

I personally really liked this version of chicken fried steak, and my husband said it was "good" but didn't really rave about it.  

Here's Alton's Recipe, from the Food Network:

Ingredients
2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Season each piece on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour. Tenderize the meat, using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick.(I don't own a needling device, so I just pounded it) Once tenderized, dredge the meat again in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of meat. Place the meat onto a plate and allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a wire rack set in a half sheet pan and place into the oven. Repeat until all of the meat is browned.

Add the remaining vegetable oil, or at least 1 tablespoon, to the pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste, with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the gravy over the steaks.
 

 Hope y'all have a great weekend!

TY's Baked Spaghetti

It's getting late, and I have to work tomorrow, so I probably should be sleeping. But no.  I'm sitting here posting pictures of spaghetti on the internet, because we all know the internet hasn't seen nearly enough spaghetti pictures.

But this is some pretty good spaghetti.

Probably the last of the Trisha Yearwood recipes I'll be doing for a while, since I have to take her book back to the library.  She definitely has some good looking stuff in that "Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood" edition.  Can't wait to check out the other one.

Anyway, we all enjoyed this, and I think it would be great for a potluck.  Her recipe calls for a little can of sliced olives, but I hate them so I left them out.  And I was a little skeeved out by pouring cream of mushroom soup right on top of the whole thing, but it's good.  Trust me.  

6 slices bacon
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1-2 tbsp dried oregano to taste
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
12 oz thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar
1 10oz can cream of mushroom
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In large skillet, cook the bacon until slightly crisp, then cut into smaller pieces. Remove bacon and saute the garlic, onion, bell pepper until tender.
Add tomatoes, oregano, bacon and cooked beef.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Place half the spaghetti in the prepared pan. To with half the veg-beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheddar.
Repeat layers. Mix the canned soup and water until smooth and pour over the casserole. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes.
 

Chiles Rellenos

Last month when we were on our way home from vacation, we were driving through the barren southern California desert.  When we were almost to the Arizona border we decided to stop in a dusty little town to find some sustenance and found a shabby little out of the way Mexican place.  When we sat down we were served some salsa that some of the family members deemed the best ever and so I thought to myself "this is probably the perfect place to get some awesome chiles rellenos".  I was wrong.  

So since that time I've had chiles rellenos on my mind and finally did what any self respecting desert dweller would do, and made them myself.  

This is yet another recipe from Tyler Florence's "Dinner At My Place".  

I thought these were just delicious.  The outside is crispy and light, and when you bite into it you're rewarded with melty, gooey cheese.  I served mine topped with sour cream and PW's salsa.

I'm glad I made them, although they are somewhat labor intensive.  Probably not something I will be doing everyday.  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:
6 poblanos
2 pounds queso fresco, room temperature
Kosher salt
6 egg whites
1 cup all-purpose flour
Extra-virgin olive oil
 

For serving:

1/4 small onion
3 baby radishes
2 tablespoons crumbled queso fresco
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set the poblanos over an open gas flame on your stovetop for 30 to 45 seconds per side, rotating with metal tongs until they are blistered all over (or place poblanos on a roasting tray under the broiler for 4 to 5 minutes and turn occasionally until blistered on all sides). Once blistered, place hot poblanos in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to let the poblanos steam, about 2 minutes. Use a kitchen towel to "rub" off the blistered skin, then use a sharp paring knife to make a slit the length of each poblano. Remove the ribs and seeds carefully so you don't tear the poblanos. Sprinkle poblanos lightly with salt. Stuff the inside of each poblano with queso fresco. Secure the openings with toothpicks.
2. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and cover the bottom of the pan with 1/4 inch oil. Meanwhile, whisk egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Place the flour in a medium bowl. Dredge the stuffed poblanos in flour, coat in egg whites, and fry in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden on both sides. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until heated through.
3. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave onion and radishes into rings. Garnish poblanos with onion, radishes, queso fresco, and cilantro.
 

 

Eggplant Parmesan--Lightened Up

Are you somebody who really loves eggplant?  Well, this dish might be for you.  I personally would have preferred it with some chicken.  

I found this recipe at Cooking Light, and it's lightened up by not frying the eggplant but just browning it under the broiler.  

I did think the sauce was tasty, and I liked the way the cheese got all brown and melty.  

Here's the how-to's if you need your eggplant fix.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 (8-ounce) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (1-pound) eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Vegetable cooking spray
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Fresh oregano sprigs (optional)  

Directions:

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
Place eggplant in a large bowl; add water to cover, and let stand 30 minutes. Drain well; blot dry with paper towels. Combine 1/4 cup water and egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese; stir well. Dip eggplant in egg white mixture, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture.
Place half of eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and broil 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant. Set eggplant aside.
Spread half of tomato mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant over sauce; top with half of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with remaining sauce, eggplant, and cheese.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh oregano sprigs, if desired.

Yield:  8 servings

CALORIES 298 (26% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 5g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.4g); IRON 2.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 27mg; CALCIUM 422mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.8g; SODIUM 818mg; PROTEIN 19.2g; FIBER 2.6g 

Oh BTW...I went and got myself a Facebook Page.  I'd love to see ya there :D

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

It would seem I'm on a bit of a spinach kick...just call me Popeye! 

This one is also from Gina's WW Recipes.  Since I made a few changes I'll post the recipe below also with what I did different.

I found the prep to be pretty easy, which is always a plus in my book.  

Instead of using the tomato sauce referred to in the recipe, I had a chance to use the Bertolli Arrabbiata pasta sauce I received as a part of Foodbuzz's Tastemaker program.

I have to say I really like this sauce.  A lot of bottled pasta sauces are either bland or just too sweet. But this was neither and had just a little kick of spice too it.

My daughter and I really liked this dish.  Hubby was indifferent, and the boy only ate one bite under duress.

Here's the recipe with my changes:

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked  (I used whole wheat)
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I used low fat, I tend to greatly dislike fat free stuff)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce (used Bertolli's sauce)
• 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

*also added a heap of garlic to the spinach mixture

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Braised Beef Brisket and Cucumber Salad

As promised, here is Tyler Florence's braised beef brisket. Which may or may not be his, incidentally. When I went to the Food Network site to find it, the recipe had been removed. So this one comes from RecipeZaar (click there for recipe) and claims to be his. If it's not, I apologize.

This brisket has a pretty easy prep, and the aroma in the house during it's cooking was a bit maddening.

The recipe instructs you to strain off the veggies and toss them, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that. Then I wouldn't have had this bowl full of yummy stuff with that fun little half garlic head.

So in the end, how did it compare to PW's brisket? I hate to say it, but hers wins, hands down. This one makes a nice meal, no doubt. But I won't be waking up at 2 a.m. thinking about it, unable to go back to sleep. Maybe hers is better because of the long marinading time, or cooking it low and slow. I dunno, all I know is I big time puffy heart love it!

I've been seeing lots of Ellie Krieger recipes floating around. This cucumber salad is one of them. It was pretty good, maybe a little salty.

I'm not sure if I'm crazy about Ellie overall. I guess she's okay if you like little pixie haircuts on cute pixie faces, perfect skin, and calm demeanors. If you're into all that. Whatever.

Dim Sum Style Pork Buns

I'll preface this whole thing by saying that I don't claim to know jack about making any sort of Asian food with any degree of authenticity. But a couple of years ago I had the opportunity to try dim sum and the bbq pork buns they served have haunted me ever since. (yes, I did try the chicken feet, too)

So these are my attempt to recreate them at home. They weren't really much like the ones I had at the restaurant, but I enjoyed them just them same.

This effort is a combination of a couple of different recipes but mostly based on the one found here on TLC Cooking.

You start by making a 12 oz pork tenderloin and chopping it up really small. Mine was more like a pound and half so I didn't chop it all up.

I pretty much followed the directions found on the TLC site for the filling but I didn't use the mushrooms.

The bread dough is from the frozen aisle and instead of a whole loaf I got the rolls. I defrosted about 9, but I think 12 would have been better to use up all the filling. After they have defrosted and risen, you just punch them down individually and make a little circle about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Then pinch it up to close it.

After this place them seam side down to rise again about 45 minutes.

I think he's kinda purty. Even the picky boy child ate a little of it.

So do I recommend trying this at home? Sure if you're feeling adventurous and got a little time on your hands. Go for it!

I also made some fried rice cakes which start out with a box of chicken flavored rice and vermicelli. I should have known right there to not even start. They didn't really stick together like they should, and the flavor is just okay. I burned just about every finger I have making these things too. Oh well, live and learn.

We also had some roasted cauliflower that I found a recipe for at Home with Mandy.

I am not a cauliflower fan at all, but this made it quite a bit more tolerable. Could have been that 3/4 stick of butter, but whatever.

Spaghetti Chicken Madness

So...um. I made a whole bunch of chicken spaghetti ala Pioneer Woman. I'm not even gonna link it up, I know you can find it.

The big one was for my friend who just gave birth to her 7th baby. That's 7 as in SEVEN. She deserved so much more than a casserole, but that's all I had to offer.

The round one was for a friend who's preggers with her 2nd. Since I was whipping up such a huge batch I figured I could make some for her too. Along with the PW cinnamon rolls she's been craving.

The 3rd one was for us. We often times like to eat, too.

I have to say I really enjoyed doing this. I felt really happy preparing food and delivering it to people. I probably missed my calling!

Diet Coke update:

I still want it. But for the most part I've only had one a day. Except the night I had pizza and wings. That just requires more. And the excuses begin!

Waffle Update:

I found a really nice recipe at Serious Eats. It requires that you beat the egg whites separately but they're really nice and light, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. If you do go try that recipe, it really needs a bit of sugar and vanilla added to it, otherwise it's a bit blah.

Speaking of waffles, I saw this place called the Waffle Cabin on the Travel Channel yesterday.

People just ski up to the window and order a fresh made waffle that can be embellished with chocolate syrup, the workers hand it to them in a piece of paper and they ski off with it! How fun....I think it's in Vermont.

And to round out the random yet non-coherent flow of this post, here's a pic of my silly dog. He likes to sit in the hula hoop. Maybe he thinks he safe from Sea Bears.

Emeril's Cabbage Rolls and Chocolate Pecan Pie

Waiting for the hubby to cook my steak in the rain so thought I'd post up a couple of things from dinner last night. These cabbage rolls are yet another entry from the book "Emeril's Potluck" I got at the library a few weeks ago. I doubt I'd take them to a potluck, they're pretty messy! But worth it, I thought they were really yummy, I loved the sauce.

I found a link for the cabbage rolls here to save my lazy butt from having to type it out, heaven forbid! They are a bit labor intensive, but what else have you got to do?

When I was a kid my mom made a lot of pecan pies. I mean a LOT of pecan pies. Could have been because we had free pecans falling from the trees in our yard. They just never did it for me, but I've figured out why. There was no chocolate underneath it all. This recipe takes care of that!

Serves 8

• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 teaspoons, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1 1/3 cups pecan halves
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
• 1 store-bought refrigerated pie crust (not in a pie plate) (I went ahead and used the kind in a pie plate, cause I'm a rebel)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to a 12-inch round, about an inch thick. Wrap dough around rolling pin, and unwrap over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan; trim edge of dough.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, light corn syrup, 4 teaspoons melted butter, and the vanilla. Scatter chocolate evenly over tart shell. Pour filling over chocolate. Arrange pecans on top, as desired. Dot with 2 teaspoons chilled butter.
3. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is set, 45 to 60 minutes. If pecans are browning too quickly, tent pan with foil. Remove from oven; while still hot, drizzle with bourbon, if desired. Let tart cool completely before serving.

Chicken Picatta

Okay, enough of the sad...on with the food!

I tried another incarnation of chicken picatta I found at The Novice Chef, and thought it was lovely. I added a little white wine to the sauce and served it over a bed of buttery linguine.

And what's this bacon covered monstrosity we have here?

It's a Mashed Potato Casserole with Smoked Gouda and Bacon. I found the recipe in a copy of "bon appetit" I lifted absconded borrowed from work.

I have to say I liked it so much I'm even thinking of making it for Christmas dinner.

Ingredients:

6 slices thick cut smoked bacon (cooked and chopped)

3 large green onions, finely chopped

3 pounds russet potatoes (cut into cubes and boiled like you would for mashed potatoes)

3/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

2 cups coarsely grated smoked Gouda, divided

Directions:

Butter 13x9 inch baking dish.

Add green onions to chopped bacon and mix together.

Add sour cream, milk, and butter to potatoes (while they are still warm). Using potato masher, mash until almost smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Gouda and 1 cup bacon mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Gouda over top.

Bake at 375 about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved bacon mixture and serve.

Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips

Don't forgot my coffee giveaway here!

I probably should have said with peanut butter chips and chocolate chips, but the title was long enough as it was.

Found these at the Noble Pig. All her recipes are great, but these are SO good and really easy. And they've got oatmeal in there, and you know that's good for you!

Click here for her recipe, then go forth and make them immediately!

I also made her cheesy pepperoni strata, which I've never tried before.

It was pretty good too, although the pepperoni's I picked out were rather spicy.

When I served this my family looked at me like I had these guys crawling out of my ears. Guess it wasn't their favorite dinner ever, but I enjoyed it.