Sunday, November 23, 2008

Olive Cheese Bread


My friend, Jessica, made this for a play group a long time ago. She directed me to the website where I retrieved it: The Pioneer Woman. This yummy dish definitely satisfies a pregnancy craving, but could be classified as chick food (with a green salad or soup), appetizer (cut into smaller bites) or a side bread item to any dish. It is rich with flavor, but not too overwhelming in my opinion. However, if you don't like olives, you may think it is too strong. If you don't like mayo or butter in things, be encouraged that it is cooked into this and the cheese and olives out flavor it!

Ingredients:

6 oz green olives, cut coarsely
6 oz black olives, cut coarsely
3/4 lb shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 green onions, cut
1 stick of butter, room temp (can carefully bring to room temp in microwave on "defrost" mode; don't melt)
1/2 cup mayo
1 large loaf French bread

Instructions:

Cut olives and and onions coarsely. Mix butter, mayo and cheese in bowl. Add olives and onions. Mix well. Cut French bread in half long ways. Spread the mixture evenly onto each loaf half. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Make sure cheese is melted nicely

To Freeze one half: 2 half loaves is a lot of olive cheese bread if you are not feeding many. To freeze one loaf half, flash freeze it first. To flash freeze, put the uncovered olive cheese bread on a cookie sheet and put directly in the freezer for 20 minutes. This hardens the mixture just a bit so that it will not stick when you put the bread in a freezer bag. After 20 minutes, place it into a freezer bag and return it to the freezer for later use. I had to cut my bread in half to fit into a gallon size freezer ziploc. I always label my freezer bags with name of item, date, and basic cooking instructions for easy access later.
Used as a dip: Can refrigerate mixture up to 2 days and use as a dip with Ritz crackers.

Cut olives and onions coarsely. I used whole olives.
Mix butter, mayo and cheese together.
Add olives and onions and mix well.
Cut a large French bread loaf in half long ways. This spread makes enough to cover both halves. I literally used my hands to smear and smoosh the mixture onto the bread to even it out. It seemed easier and quicker than using a spatula. It may look like too much on top, but it will melt and soak into the bread nicely.

Final product. YUMMY!!! I only cooked one half as I froze the other half.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Pork and Lentil Chili

I got this recipe online in 2003 after watching Chef George Hirsch cook this on tv...I think he was on the Today's Show...don't remember. We love this "chili" as it is hearty, healthy, and yummy. It is very involved as it has several steps and lots of ingredients, but it is worth it. I usually fix it about once a year with garlic bread. It makes a lot so you can freeze some of it.



Ingredients:

1 lb pork tenderloin, cooked and sliced (I bake mine)
1 lb lentils, washed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head caramelized garlic (my recipe below)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 each - carrot, celery, red bell pepper, zucchini squash
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup tomato sauce
8-10 cups vegetable or chicken broth (i usually use 10 c)
2 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 ounce tequila (optional) (I leave this out)

Caramelized Garlic: (there are many recipes for this, but this is the simplest method I've found)

Cut the bottom/root end of a garlic head off so that the cloves are exposed. Keep the cloves in the tight outer covering. Drizzle olive oil on them. Bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes. This softens the cloves. Pop the cloves out and they are ready to be used for the recipe.

Instructions:

Rinse lentils in cool water and remove any small stones or twigs.

Heat a large soup pot on medium heat. Add olive oil, onions and garlic; cook for two minutes. Toss in celery, carrot, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add cumin, oregano, basil followed by tequila, lime juice, tomato sauce, and 8 cups of broth, Tabasco, and cilantro; bring to a boil. Add lentils and pork tenderloin; lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add extra broth if too dry.

Can serve with any or all of the following: (I've never served with any of this as I forget after preparing all the other ingredients)
Chopped green onions, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, strips of flour tortillas, chopped tomatos, guacamole, and pita triangles

For a veggie version: omit the pork tenderloin
For a spicy zesty version: top with sliced hot chorizo sausage
For a seafood version: top with cooked shrimp

Monday, November 17, 2008

Rice Krispy Treat Turkeys

After seeing my friend Jolene's cute Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins, I decided to try Rice Krispy Treat Turkeys. I researched them online and found multiple versions of them. I modeled mine from Marie LaBaron from website, Alpha Mom, but combined Jolene's recipe and added my twist.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz bag of miniature marshmellows for mixture
extra miniature marshmellows for decorating
10 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal
1/2 c (1 stick) of butter
~4 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips
cooking oil spray
wax paper
toothpicks
Mike and Ike candy
miniature M&Ms
candy corn

Instructions:
Melt butter and marshmellows together until almost smooth. Stir in chocolate chips to color mixture brown. Stir in Rice Krispies Cereal until coated with marshmellow mixture. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. Make round balls and put on wax paper to harden. Cut red (or almost red Mike and Ike candy in half long ways for the snood/gobbler). Use toothpicks with marshmellows or Mike and Ike candy for tail. Use miniature M&Ms for eyes. Use candy corn for nose. Can also use candy corn to make a tail. Yield: 35 balls.

Evaluation and Tips:
These were easy too make, just a bit time consuming once the decorating started. My hubbie pitched in to help which saved some time. Not all of his "turkeys" made it to the fall festival as he started making aliens, too. ha! This would be a great activity to make with kids. Originally, I wanted to make all the tails with fanned out candy corn. However, they didn't stay well so I resorted to toothpick and candy or marshmellows for the majority. Other candy like gum drops on toothpicks would work good for the tail also. Having colored toothpicks or marshmellows would be festive as well, but I didn't have any. I combined 2 recipes and added my own spin here, but one of the recipes called for cocoa krispy cereal to make brown. However, my method of turning the mixture brown works better as white marshmellow mix would leave white streaks in the brown cereal. For those who make Rice Krispy Treats, you will notice the increased amount of cereal, butter and marshmellows used to allow for more treats. Finally, my candy corn noses are backwards...oops. I looked at Alpha Mom blog again and noticed the white tips of the candy corn should be facing out on the noses. O'well...no one knew at the festival, but me. :) To get the candy corn to stay in place best, use a knife to cut a slit, then push them in. One tip for transporting... I individually wrapped each turkey in a ziploc bag as we were giving them as prizes. Originally, I had planned to use clear treat bags with ties or ribbon, but the turkeys were too wide to fit. The ziploc bags worked great and kept the treats from sticking together.
Mixing all together

Ready to decorate

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Cream Cheese Week is Over

Cream cheese week is officially over. However, I have tons more recipes involving cream cheese that I will slowly post over time. I couldn't make them all in one week. So, as they appear, they will be included in the "creamcheesedishes" tag plus other appropriate tags.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Quick Spinach and Artichoke Casserole

This recipe is from "Take Five: A Holiday Cookbook" by Debbye Dabbs. I love this cookbook as every recipe only has 5 ingredients plus great ideas for various holidays.





Ingredients:
2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped (you can find this in oriental food section of grocery)

Instructions:
Cook the spinach using the package directions; drain. Cut the artichoke hearts into halves and arrange in a 9x9 inch baking dish (or similar casserole dish). Combine the spinach, cream cheese, butter and water chestnuts in a bowl and mix well. Spoon over the artichoke hearts. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings according to recipe (mine made more)


Evaluation and Tips:
The next time I make this, I plan to chop up the artichokes and mix it in the other mixture before cooking so that the artichokes are throughout and not just on the bottom. This recipe could be used as a dip, too. However, I have other spinach and artichoke dips that I plan to make and post closer to Christmas.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Chicken Crescents

I wanted to experiment with chicken and cream cheese in crescent rolls for a change up in toddler food a couple of weeks ago. I found a "Crescent Roll Chicken" recipe in Bell's Best cookbook in which I altered/simplified for our liking and to be quicker for making lunch so I changed the name to "Chicken Crescents." I used can chicken for the chicken instead of fresh, 2 cans of crescent rolls instead of one, onion flakes instead of minced onion, and black olives instead of pimento. This was so good that I ended up serving it for dinner one night in which my husband enjoyed, too. However, it makes a great toddler and mom lunch, too....and did I mention...it is very easy! :) Eventually, this would be a great food to make with your children as they can help stuff the mixture in the crescents and close them.

Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls
2 (5oz) cans of premium chicken breast or 2 c. chopped chicken
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. onion flakes or minced onion
1 (2.25 oz) can sliced black olives or 1/4 c. chopped pimento

Instructions:
1. Mix cheese with 3 tablespoons butter.
2. Mix chicken, onion, and black olives with the cheese and butter.
3. Separate rolls into 4 rectangles.
4. Seal at perforations.
5. Place glob of chicken mix in center adn pull up 4 corners and seal edges.
6. Spray tops with butter or melt 2 tablespoons of butter and pour over rolls.
7. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Tips to make hor d'oeuvres or toddler size: You can stuff a small amount inside the individual crescent roll triangles to make a heavy hor d'oeuvres. If you do, 2 cans will make 16 chicken crescents. I make a few of these small ones for my toddler anyway along with the regular size ones; notice the 3 small ones in the bottom right corner of baking sheet.


The crescents do not have to be closed perfectly. They will have character and uniqueness when cooked. I had one extra crescent left over so I made a crescent roll out of it (bottom left corner).

I usually eat 1.5-2 regular size ones at a meal while my toddler usually eats one small one. I serve these with vegetable(s) and fruit.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Shrimp and Sausage with Parmesan Grits

I got this recipe from Vickie on her website, Uncommon Artistic Endeavors who adapted a Southern Living recipe.

Shrimp/Sausage Mixture Ingredients:
1.5 lb raw shrimp, peeled
1 tbsp butter
1 lb diced sausage (i used turkey sausage)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3/4 c whipping cream
1/3 c chicken broth
1/3 c red wine
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
Parmesan Grits

Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add sausage, pepper, and onion and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove mixture from skillet.



Add cream, broth, and wine to skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Stir in shrimp and sausage mixture. Serve over Parmesan Grits.
Yield: About 5 servings


Parmesan Grits Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
3/4 c uncooked quick-cooking grits
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over med-high heat; gradually whisk in grits. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 12-15 minutes or until thickened. Add cheeses and pepper, stirring until melted.

Grits are thick and creamy.

Evaluation and Tips:

This was the first time I made this recipe and it was delicious. My husband thought so, too. However, it is very rich so I could only eat half of the helping in my bowl. I served salad with it which was a nice balance to this heavy dish. I precut everything so the cooking process would be simpler. I managed to cook the mixture and grits at the same time so they would get ready at the same time, but it got a little hectic as both required stirring, and adding ingredients plus my toddler was competing for my attention. Thankfully, Chris was home to try to distract her.

Simple Cheese Cake

I tasted this cheesecake for the first time in the summer of 2007 at my college friend reunion. It was one of the best cheese cakes I had ever had if not the best. My good friend, Gina, hosted us at her mom's in Slidell, LA. Gina's mom, Bobbie Gibbs, who is an excellent cook gave me her recipe. Here goes...

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
1 already prepared graham cracker crust (recipe called for one bigger than 8" but I could only find an 8" crust. worked fine, but would overflow with a topping probably)

Instructions:
1. Cream sugar and eggs.
2. Add cream cheese and vanilla.
3. Beat well until fluffy. (Note: according to recipe - fluffs best when beat in food processor, but hand mixer does ok, too.)
4. Put into pie crust.
5. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. Cool. Refridgerate 2 hrs + before serving.
7. Serve with favorite topping.



I love various toppings. However, the cheese cake is wonderful plain as well. :)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Cream Cheese Week

I have declared this cream cheese week. I have several recipes that I plan to make and share this week that use cream cheese. The only traditional one that uses cream cheese is a very simple cheesecake recipe. Stay tuned for a few different uses of cream cheese this week.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Poppy Seed Chicken

This recipe is my concoction of my friend Kim's recipe and one I saw in Bell's Best cookbook. Variations below. I've never seen the same poppy seed recipe printed as they all have a slight difference.

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts, boiled
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz sour cream
1 stick of butter
1 tube of Ritz crackers
Poppy Seeds

Instructions:

1. Cook chicken. Then, cube/shred it.
2. Mix soups and sour cream.
3. Combine soup mixture with chicken and put in casserole dish.
4. Melt butter in pan, then remove from heat.
5. Crumble crackers in zip lock bag or in tube.
6. Mix crumbs in butter until all butter is absorbed.
7. Top casserole with cracker mixture and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
8. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Watch for the soup mixture to bubble and it is done.
9. Serve over your choice of rice.

Variations: I've seen recipes that call for cream of chicken instead of cream of celery, added almond slivers, more sour cream and/or whole chicken breasts vs. diced/shredded. I put together what I like best.

This recipe is pretty simple and doesn't call for too much.

The soup and chicken mix are ready to be topped with cracker mixture before baking.

While the butter melts, I put the Ritz crackers in a zip lock bag to contain the crumbs as I crush them. Remember: you cannot crush them too much. After topping the casserole with the cracker mixture, don't forget to sprinkle the poppy seeds on it. I have forgotten before and my husband claims that the poppy seeds make it taste better. I couldn't tell or maybe I was just too hungry and didn't notice.

Final Product. I usually use a casserole dish or 9x13 dish, but I was giving the disposable tin portion away this time. This could be served as a main dish. It is also a "comfort" food as it is not spicy for sensitive breastfeeding moms and it is very satisfying and filling. One new mom told me she received 3 versions of poppy seed chicken after having her son and that they all tasted different (but good :).