Stromboli

Last week was my first time making a Stromboli. I thought it was going to be much more difficult than it actually was. I made my dough in the bread machine, which helped make this recipe quite simple. We all really liked it and I will definitely be making it again! Next time I'm going to make it with pizza sauce as one of the layers.

Ingredients

•  Basic Pizza Dough, recipe follows
• 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
• 1 cup sliced yellow onions
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced seeded and stemmed jalapenos(I left these out)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 pound sliced ham
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced pepperoni or salami(I used both!)
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 2 cups grated provolone
• 2 cups grated mozzarella(I only used mozzarella, no provolone)
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan
•  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool.
Punch down the dough and divide half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to a large rectangle, about 10 by 14 inches. Spread half of the cooled sausage mixture across the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Overlapping slightly, layer half of the ham, pepperoni, olives, provolone and mozzarella cheeses over the top. Using a pastry brush, paint the border of 1 long edge with egg wash. Starting at the opposite long end without egg wash, roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients. Let the dough rise, 20 to 30 minutes.
Brush the top of each stromboli with egg wash. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle each stromboli with Parmesan cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve.

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 cup warm (110 degrees F) water
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and 1 tablespoon oil and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse Pin It

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This week for dinner I made Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They were really good and really simple to make. The whole family loved them, even my 3 year old! I didn't add the bell pepper or the garlic.

Ingredients:

* 1 loaf Italian bread or French bread or 2 large hoagie rolls or sub rolls
* 1/2 lb deli roast beef (very rare, sliced wafer thin, or you can use a frozen Rib-Eye roast shaved on an electric slicer, )
* 1 white onion (thinly sliced)
* 1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced) (optional)
* 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
* 1/2 lb provolone cheese (thinly sliced)
* extra virgin olive oil (for grilling)
* salt and pepper
* marinara sauce or ketchup (optional topping)

Directions: Heat oil on a griddle or saute pan. Grill the onion and pepper till soft. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Push to the side and grill the meat. Break up the meat with a spatula. Once heated all the way through, mix together with peppers and onions then add meat to a toasted roll and top with provolone cheese.
Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of RecipeZaar.com Pin It

Brownie Cheesecake

Mmm...I think the name says it all! This was such a great recipe! I took this cheesecake to a party the other night and came home with an empty pan. Everyone loved it! It was so easy to make too. I did not drizzle the chocolate on the top, however I did add a layer of 6oz chopped, semi-sweet chocolate chips between the brownie layer and the cheesecake. I sprinkled them on after I removed the brownies from the oven, poured the cheesecake mixture over the top, and put it back in the oven to finish baking.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (19 to 21 oz.) brownie mix (13x9-inch pan size)

4 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp.  vanilla

1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

3   eggs

2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate 

 

Directions:

HEAT oven to 325°F.
PREPARE brownie batter as directed on package; pour into 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 25 min. or until top is shiny and center is almost set.
MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Gently pour over brownie layer in pan. (Filling will come almost to top of pan.)
BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides; cool. Refrigerate 4 hours.
MELT chocolate squares as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake. Refrigerate 15 min. or until chocolate is firm.
Recipe courtesy of  KraftRecipes.com

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Breakfast Cookies

I love finding new recipes for healthy baked items to make for my kids for breakfast. I found a really yummy recipe for Breakfast cookies. They were easy to make and loaded with things that are good for you. I made the cookies without wheat flour since I didn't have any on hand, but next time I'll remember to buy some. I also didn't use any walnuts. I was going to add pecans....but forgot. They were still great without them. I did not make them as big as recommended. I just used my tablespoon cookies scoop.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Directions

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger at Food Network Pin It

"Re Fried" Beans in the Slow Cooker

I've been wanting to try and make my own re fried beans for some time now. I found a recipe that I thought would be simple and since it received great reviews, I decided to give it a try. They were so good! Everyone loved them! This recipe makes enough to freeze some for later use.
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled and halved 3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 teaspoons salt 1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional 9 cups water

Directions:

1.	Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2.	Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

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Freezing Meals

Since some of the meals I post are meals that can be made and frozen for later use, I thought I'd explain how to do just that. One of the recipes I made to freeze ahead was the Tex-Mex Lasagna. I made one for that night, to eat, and 2 to freeze. To freeze a meal, I line an 8X8 pan(cheap aluminum one from the dollar store) with a long piece of foil. I spray the foil with cooking spray. Then I assemble the meal( in this case the lasagna) as directed(this recipe does not get cooked before freezing it). Next I lay a piece of cling wrap on the top of the lasagna, then fold over the long ends of the foil and pinch the open ends closed. I then put the pans in the freezer and let them firm up for at least a few hours. Once frozen you can remove the lasagna while in the foil, from the pan, and put it into a ziploc bag. I remove them from the pans so that I can use the pans again to make additional meals. Once you're ready to cook the meal. Put it back in the pan(while still in the foil), remove the cling wrap and bake. You will need to add more time to the baking time if you do not thaw the meal first.

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Tex-Mex Lasagna

This week was my pick for our facebook group's ROTW. I decided to go with a recipe I found for Tex-Mex Lasagna. It was really good and my whole  family liked it! I did make a few changes which are shown in bold. I made one lasagna for our dinner tonight and 2 additional lasagna's in an 8X8 pan for later use. I'm trying to make more meals that can be put in the freezer. I'll explain how you can make freezer meals later this week! It cost me about $7.00 to make 3 small lasagnas, which feeds our family of 4. Add a side of beans and that's only about $3.00 a meal!

Ingredients

• 1  pound  lean ground beef
• 1  cup  frozen diced onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery(I chopped 1/2 cup fresh onion, and omitted the peppers and celery)
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  salt-free chipotle seasoning blend(I didn't have this on  hand. I sprinkled some garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper)
• 1  (24-oz.) jar mild salsa( I used hot salsa. It was HOT, but yummy)
• 1  (15-oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained(I used a can of seasoned black beans)
• 1  (10-oz.) can enchilada sauce
• 1  (10-oz.) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed(I used 1 can of ranch beans, since I knew my family would rather not have corn in it)
• 16  (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas(I cut these into 1 inch pieces to make it easier to layer)
• 4  cups  (16 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
• Toppings: sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Preparation

1. Cook first 5 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and beef crumbles and is no longer pink.
2. Stir in salsa and next 3 ingredients. Cook 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
3. Layer 1 cup beef mixture, 2 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 1/2 cup cheese in a lightly greased 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dish. Repeat layers once. Repeat procedure with 3 additional 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dishes. Cover dishes with nonstick aluminum foil.
4. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with desired toppings.
Note: To use a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish, prepare recipe through Step 2. Omit 4 corn tortillas. Layer one-third beef mixture, 6 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 2 cups cheese. Repeat layers with one-third beef mixture, remaining 6 tortillas, remaining beef mixture, and ending with remaining 2 cups cheese. Bake, covered, at 350° for 40 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of MyRecipes.com

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