Posts Tagged ‘cheese’

• Homemade Pizza

  Date: 2012.05.30 | Category: recipes | Response: 0

  Chris’ mom used to make homemade pizza for the family when he was growing up and it’s become a family favorite around our house too.  Sometimes we grill it and sometimes we bake it.  I like it both ways- doing individual pizzas on the grill is a bit more labor intensive, but tastes fabulous.  The other night we were having 50 MPH winds so we baked it.  As we were preparing the dough my first inspiration struck- what if we coated the crust with our favorite cheesy garlic?  Um, yum!  We decided to double the recipe so we’d have lots of leftovers (I love cold pizza too!), but we were running low on toppings after we made the first three.  And that’s when the moment of pure genius occurred.  Dessert pizza.  Cause that’s how we roll.

  

  Pizza

  dough (makes two pizzas)-
  2 packets of dry yeast
  2 cups very warm water
  2 tsp sugar
  1 tsp salt
  4 TBS olive oil
  5 cups (a little more or less as needed) flour

  olive oil and garlic cheese sprinkle (or other seasonings- dry ranch mix would be awesome)

  Dissolve yeast in very warm water, add sugar and oil.  Place into Kitchen Aid with 2 cups of flour and salt.  Mix with dough hook, adding remaining flour slowly.  Let dough rest 5 minutes.

  toppings- (pick and choose your favorites!  These are some of ours-)
  pizza sauce or Alfredo sauce
  ham
  pineapple
  sausage
  sliced olives
  sliced mushrooms
  pepperoni
  shredded cooked chicken
  spinach
  Italian Blend or Mozzarella cheese

  Preheat oven to 425º.  Divide dough in half- shape and stretch dough to fit two pans (we use a baking sheet with a Silpat).  Lightly coat dough with oil and then sprinkle with cheesy garlic- flip dough and coat second side.  Top with sauce and toppings.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets half way through.

  OR

  Grill it!  This tutorial changed the way I make my pizza.  It is SO GOOD!  Plus I love having personal pizzas for everyone with their favorite toppings.

  Preheat your grill to medium/hot.  Gather all of your toppings right near the grill.  You need to be prepared to work fast and having a helper is ideal.  Divide your dough into 4 or 5 individual pizzas.  Use your hands to shape the first two or three crusts and liberally coat each one with olive oil.  (Now, we have had a lot of trouble with our dough sinking into the grill, making it impossible to flip- we started using a piece of foil under the first side and are much happier with the results.  I don’t know if our technique is bad or what, but this way just works better for us.  Do as you will.)  Place each crust on the grill and close the lid.  When it’s puffy and ready to flip generously coat the top with olive oil.  Flip your crusts (we remove the foil at this point) and quickly load it up with your favorite toppings without burning your fingers!  Close your lid again and remove from the grill as soon as your cheese starts to melt and the bottom is firm (the second side goes much quicker than the first- don’t let it burn!).  The Our Best Bites tutorial is much better than mine- I recommend reading it before trying this method at home!

  Dessert Pizza

  dough for one pizza
  melted butter
  cinnamon
  sugar
  peanut butter
  melted chocolate

  Take one pizza worth of dough and shape it for your crust.  Coat your dough with melted butter and then a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar on the top and bottom.  Bake at 425º for 15-20 minutes.  Immediately spread with peanut butter and drizzle with chocolate.  Die and go to heaven.  You’re welcome.

  

  

  

  yum!

  

• Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

  Date: 2012.05.17 | Category: recipes | Response: 0

  I’ve been avoiding the grocery store this month to help with the budget after an unexpected car repair, so I’ve been trying to use ingredients I already have on hand for dinner. The other night I came up with a winner. I altered the inspiration recipe enough that I’m going to go ahead and call this one an original. It is a super cheesy creamy lasagna that satisfied my craving for an indulgent dinner on Mother’s Day. Even if I did have to cook it myself.

  Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

  8 lasagna noodles (boiled per package instructions)
  2 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
  10 oz frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
  2 cloves crushed garlic
  1 can sliced mushrooms
  1 can sliced olives
  Cheesy garlic seasoning
  1 jar Alfredo sauce
  1/3 pkg feta cheese
  2 cups shredded mixed Italian cheese
  2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

  Spread a thin layer of Alfredo sauce in a 9×13 pan.
  Sauté chicken, spinach, garlic, mushrooms and olives with cheesy garlic. Remove from heat and add remaining Alfredo sauce and feta.
  Layer half of your noodles, half of the meat mixture, and half of the cheese in your pan and repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

  Yum!

  

• Beef Nacho Casserole

  Date: 2012.05.11 | Category: recipes | Response: 1

  So I forgot to start the crock pot the other day.  Thankfully I hadn’t put anything in it yet- I just completely forgot that I had planned a crock pot meal until about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I have a bunch of pre-cooked ground beef in the freezer (I’ve switched back to doing it in large batches on the stovetop, sometimes I was getting a weird texture from the crock pot that I don’t get on the stove) so I decided to pull out a pound and search online for a new casserole recipe.  I’m pleased to report that I hit upon a winner!  I found it on All Recipes, but of course I altered it a bit!

  Beef Nacho Casserole

  1 pound ground beef
  1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
  2 cups frozen corn
  1 can refried beans (I had half a can left from another recipe but a full can would work just as well!)
  1/2 cup mayo
  1/2 cup ranch dressing
  1 teaspoon fajita seasoning
  2 cups crushed tortilla chips (I used the new Tostitos Garlic and Black Bean chips- YUM!)
  2 cups cheddar cheese

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring to crumble, until evenly browned. Drain grease. Remove from the heat, and stir the salsa, corn, beans, mayonnaise, ranch dressing and seasonings into the beef. In a 2 quart casserole dish, layer the ground beef mixture, tortilla chips and cheese twice, ending with cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes uncovered in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and dish is thoroughly heated.

  Now if only I were a good blogger who took pictures of my food…

  yum!

  

• Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

  Date: 2012.01.26 | Category: recipes | Response: 2

  I know that this basic recipe has been on the back of Bisquick boxes for ages, but I’ve added a few twists to make it more healthy and flavorful and a family favorite.

  Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

  1 pound ground beef
  1 chopped onion
  Mexican or Italian seasonings and garlic to taste
  1/2 cup frozen spinach

  1/2 cup frozen corn
  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  3/4 cup Bisquick
  1 1/2 cup milk
  3 eggs
  1/4 cup ground flax seed or wheat germ

  Heat oven to 400º and spray or grease a 9×13 baking dish.

  Brown beef with onion and seasonings.  Add frozen spinach near the end of cooking to defrost and lightly cook the spinach.  Add corn and pour into baking dish.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Mix Bisquick, milk, eggs, and flax, pour over meat mixture.  Bake at 400º for 30-40 minutes.

  yum!

  

• Crab and Pesto Grilled Cheese

  Date: 2012.01.23 | Category: recipes | Response: 0

  Holy cow.  I’ve stumbled upon another winner.  Thank you Pinterest, apparently you’ve turned me into a cooking blog!

  So I’ve got some leftover pesto and was cruising Pinterest the other day looking for ideas of how to use it when I saw this recipe for crab and pesto grilled cheese sandwiches.  I knew that I had a can of crab in the pantry and I had picked up a loaf of sourdough and a loaf of this yummy olive bread, so all I had to buy was the cream cheese.  These turned out fantastic.  The only change I would make to the way I made them tonight is that I would double the crab and decrease the pesto since the pesto flavor is pretty strong and overpowered the other flavors.  Here’s the recipe the way I will make them next time…

  Crab and Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

  6 oz cream cheese
  1/4 cup pesto
  12 oz canned crab
  10 slices cheddar or colby jack cheese
  10 slices sourdough or artisan bread
  butter

  Mix cream cheese, pesto and crab.  Butter two slices of bread and  place butter side down in a skillet to lightly brown.  Add some more butter to the skillet and flip both slices of bread.  Add a slice of cheese to each slice of bread and top with a hearty layer of cream cheese mixture.  Close sandwich and continue cooking until cheese is melted and bread is lightly toasted.  Remove from heat and slice in half before serving.

  Makes 5 sandwiches.

  yum!

  

• Chicken Enchiladas

  Date: 2012.01.09 | Category: recipes | Response: 1

  Years ago, when Chris and I were engaged to be married, we decided to “play grown ups” and have his roommate and roommate’s fiance over for a fancy dinner.  I wasn’t in the habit of entertaining yet and this was slightly nerve wracking and crazy making for me (so different from now when I don’t even bother to clean my kitchen half the time before company comes!).  I decided to make these chicken enchiladas that a girlfriend of mine from dental hygiene school had given me the recipe for.  I had eaten them once a few years before and loved them and asked for the recipe, but I hadn’t ever made them.  That evening I prepared yummy appetizers, a huge tray of enchiladas, and some complicated dessert to impress them.  As we all started to dig into our meal Chris turned to me and whispered “I don’t think the chicken is cooked”.  His roommate was shoveling bites in while the fiance was politely pushing little piles of food around her plate.  I investigated my enchilada and was horrified to discover that the chicken was as raw and pink as can be!  Needless to say we whisked the plates out from under them- fortunately I had made enough that I was able to return the pan to the oven and dump the partly eaten plates.  We ended up playing cards for a good hour while we waited for the enchiladas to finish cooking so we could resume our dinner.

  I learned a lesson that night- regardless of whether the recipe says so, when you’re making enchiladas you need to precook your meat!  So now you know too.  All these years later we still enjoy this particular recipe, only now we affectionately refer to them as “Salmonella Enchiladas”.

  Chicken Enchiladas with Cream Sauce

  4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
  1/2 jar of salsa
  2 cans cream of chicken soup
  2 cups grated cheddar cheese
  16 oz (2 cups or 1 pint) sour cream
  1 can diced olives
  10 flour tortillas

  Mix sour cream and soup.  Reserve 1/3 of mixture.  Add chicken, olives, salsa and 1 cup of cheese to remaining soup mixture.  Fill tortillas and roll.  Place in a greased 9×13 pan.  Spread reserved soup mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake at 325° for 30 minutes.

  This recipe freezes well- I often make a second pan to freeze and bake later!

  Yum!

  

• Lasagna Soup

  Date: 2011.12.04 | Category: recipes | Response: 0

  I decided to try this soup recipe that I found on pinterest because we love lasagna and we love soup and man it’s cold outside!  Of course I made just a few changes.  We skipped the bell pepper and the red pepper altogether because we’re not fans.  I added some frozen spinach and a can of sliced olives.  And I might have tripled the cheese.  But it actually could have done with a little less- it was awfully stringy!  Maybe one cup next time.  Well, it turned out just as yummy as it looked so I thought I’d pass the recipe on to you.

  1 pound Italian sausage
  1 onion, diced
  3 cloves garlic, crushed

  1 cup frozen chopped spinach
  32 oz chicken broth (I used homemade turkey stock)
  15 oz tomato sauce
  1 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
  1 can sliced olives

  4 oz lasagna noodles, broken into bite size pieces

  1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
  3 TBS parmesan cheese

  Brown sausage with onion and garlic in a large nonstick stockpot.
  Add next 5 ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  Add the noodles and return to a boil, then simmer 10-12 minutes until soup starts to thicken and noodles are cooked.
  Remove from heat and stir in basil and cheeses.
  Serve with additional parmesan and with breadsticks if desired.

  yum!

  

• Chicken Corn Chowder

  Date: 2011.11.17 | Category: recipes | Response: 1

  I consider myself a lucky woman that my husband likes soups and stews and chowders.  I know a lot of men don’t consider a soup hearty enough for dinner. This chicken corn chowder is one of Chris’ favorites, especially when the weather starts to get chilly!

  1 pound chicken breasts (I throw mine in still frozen!)
  1 can creamed corn
  1 cup frozen corn
  1 can cream of potato soup
  2 cans chicken broth
  1/2 cup bacon pieces (I use the ones from Costco)
  2 cups diced potato (I sometimes skip these if I don’t have any on hand)

  1 jar queso cheese (we use the store brand sold near their salsa)
  8 oz sour cream (we use light)

  Add first 7 ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low 10 hours or so (I’m sure the recipe says something reasonable like 6-7 hours, but I’m always at work!).  Shred chicken and stir in queso and sour cream 15 minutes before serving.  If soup is too thin, thicken with instant mashed potatoes.  Serve in large bowls and top with shredded cheddar and bacon bits.

  Yum!

  

• Blooming Artichoke Bread

  Date: 2011.11.07 | Category: recipes | Response: 0

  Last weekend I was in charge of an appetizer for dinner with friends.  I planned on making this awesome looking blooming pepperoni pizza bread

  

  Then I found out that we were having pizza for dinner.  Well, I thought, it would be silly to make a pizza appetizer before we ate pizza, but I had already purchased the ingredients for it.  Then I remembered this yummy looking recipe for artichoke bread

  

  and thought that perhaps I could combine the two recipes into one new creation with ingredients I had on hand.

  I’m pleased to report that it was a hit- and super easy to do!

  Melody’s Blooming Artichoke Bread

  1 sourdough round loaf
  1/3 cup olive oil
  3 TBS diced garlic
  2 tsp Italian seasonings
  2 tsp cheesy garlic seasoning
  1 can (14 oz) artichoke heart quarters, diced
  1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
  Pizza sauce for dipping

  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Make lengthwise and crosswise cuts through most of the thickness of the bread.  Mix the olive oil and seasonings before drizzling the bread liberally.  Stuff the entire can of diced artichoke hearts between the cuts and then do the same with the cheese.  Cover the loaf with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.  Serve with warmed pizza sauce for dipping.

  I’m a terrible blogger and didn’t take a single picture of my own creation.  Sorry!  Just trust me, it blooms just like it should, so it’s pretty and yummy!

  

• Menu Plan Oct 2-8

  Date: 2011.10.03 | Category: meal plan | Response: 0

  What are we having for dinner this week?

  

  Sunday- I didn’t have a plan so we ended up ordering Chinese delivery!

  Monday- chicken gnocci soup

  Tuesday- cheesy beef stroganoff

  Wednesday- cheesy chicken and rice

  Thursday- pork chops

  Friday- Heavenly chicken

  Saturday- burgers on the grill