Italian Night Part II - Pizza-like food!

So, continuing in what I made for Italian night with our friends and their 2 and a half year old, in addition to my pasta bake (and I also made my eggplant patties!), I made little stuffed pizzas.

Granted, they weren't the prettiest things on the table. I was trying to use crescent roll dough because we had a few tubes frozen in the house, and no pizza dough, but they weren't cooperating very nicely. Oh well - they still tasted fine. In fact, these little stuffed pizzas are perfect for game day appetizers too! I don't think they came out quite how I pictured... I am not sure what I was thinking. But, it worked, and it was easy!

I knew the little girl wouldn't eat my stuffed pizzas because 1) they probably looked really strange to her, 2) many kids are just picky to begin with, 3) there was some spinach in them which, many kids might not enjoy. So, I used something else we had in the house... our new Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Sandwich Bread!! (Comes in white or wheat).


The goldfish sandwich bread is basically like their deli flats, just in the popular shape of their goldfish crackers. I saw a coupon and ad for them last weekend and a store by us had the entire Pepperidge Farm line on sale so I sent my husband to get me a pack - he managed to grab the very last pack!! It was white bread, which is fine, I like that, but wished they still had some wheat left since I am trying to eat healthier these days.

Anyway, so I took half of the sandwich bread and I put a very light layer of sauce on it, and then some shredded mozzarella cheese. I used a pea for an eye and a green bean for the mouth (which I knew she would pick off, I just hoped she would still eat it since a vegetable touched it!). I baked it for about 10 minutes in the oven. When our friends arrived I showed the mom and she thought it was so cute, and she was so touched that I thought to make something special for her child. She said that many times people don't think about the kids and our friends got used to toting her food around - but they didn't need it at our house! Bunny pasta and fishy pizza did the trick.


The little girl DID pick off the veggies..."I'm taking the eye and mouth off..." but she ate the pizza - almost every bite! I was psyched. I don't have kids, but many of our friends do, and my husband's youngest nephew is quite the challenge during feeding time...I guess he'd rather play than eat. So to watch her eat my creation made me feel good. And my friend said to me, "your kids will eat when you have kids - you are so creative!" Well, I hope that is the case - I don't feel like fighting when them to get some nourishment!

Anyway, I digress - next up - my "stuffed pizza" recipe!

Ingredients:

1 tube crescent rolls
tomato sauce of your choice - jarred, homemade, whatever!
shredded mozzarella cheese
ricotta cheese
frozen spinach
olive oil
sesame seeds
crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and spinach. Amounts are to your taste.

Unroll crescent rolls. Split into 4 rectangles and separate the triangle pieces. Match up the pieces that were stuck together as they will be the most even.

On one triangle, spoon a little tomato sauce on. Cover the sauce with the cheese and spinach mixture.


Then, place the matching triangle piece of the crescent roll dough up with the one that has ingredients on it. Seal all edges completely together.

Once the 4 little stuffed pizzas are done, brush lightly with some olive oil and sprinkle sesame seeds and crushed red pepper flakes on top.


Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F for about 9-12 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly crunchy.

Italian Night - Pasta Bake!

We had some friends come over last Friday night for dinner, and they observe Lent, so no meat!! At first when she told me, I was like, oh no... what will I make? My go-to is usually some sort of chicken. But then I was like, oh, wait... Italian food! My friend confirmed that they do eat pizza and pasta as long as there is no meat in it, so I was set and ready to build a menu around Italian food. Or rather, my Americanized version of Italian food. I am not Italian, and my Italian friends would probably gag at the thought of store bought sauce and packaged pasta. But I love it!

I was also really excited to finally try out the bunny shaped pasta my dad got for me. I love bunnies - and collect figures of them, so they are all over my house, much to my husband's dismay.

So when someone in my dad's office had a kid selling all kinds of specialty foods, he figured I'd love the tri-colored bunny pasta - and I did. I decided these people coming over would be the perfect excuse to use it, since they were coming over with a 2 and a half year old.


I wanted to do some sort of bake. I had a can of Hunt's Petite Diced Tomatoes in the house - part of my collection of "why do I have this food, I don't want to waste it so I need to find something to use it in." So I knew the tomatoes had to be used. We also had a bunch of different cheese - from ricotta to Parmesan. So an idea formed in my mind.

This recipe is my own, but it is so basic that I bet a million people have made something like this already! But I really enjoyed it, and my guests said it was good (so hopefully they meant it!)

The only thing I would change is maybe adding some more spices or crushed red pepper flakes. My husband and I like spice, but I think my friends are more basic eaters, so I kept it relatively tame - just a little Italian seasoning.

My husband also felt it needed more regular sauce, but he LOVES sauce and too much hurts my stomach. So feel free to ladle extra globs of sauce throughout the dish too!

So here is my pasta bake!

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz-12 oz) package of pasta (I used my pasta with personality!)
1/2 can (28 oz) Hunt's Petite Diced Tomatoes
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
tomato sauce of your choosing
Italian Seasoning

Directions:

So, first I cooked the pasta per instructions on the package, drained it and set it aside.

Then, I poured some sauce in a pot and simmered it with the ricotta cheese, tomatoes and peas, until it was well mixed together.

I then too my casserole pan (about 9 x 13) and did a light greasing of vegetable shortening around the bottom and sides to keep anything from sticking. Then I poured a small layer of my sauce/tomato/cheese mixture on the bottom.


A layer of pasta followed, then by another layer of my sauce mixture. I did this another time as well.


On my top layer of the pasta, I scattered the Parmesan cheese, then one last layer of my sauce mixture, and then a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. I sprinkled some Italian Seasoning over the very top.

I popped my mixture into a 375 degree F pre-heated oven and baked it for about 35 minutes.

Delicious!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie!

Amazingly (or not), this is the first recipe I am posting that actually contains peanut butter. Most people I know LOVE peanut butter. My husband LOVES peanut butter. Me, I hate the stuff. Seriously - I know. It's sacrilegious. But I could never get into the stuff. I actually have gotten into almond butter in the past two years - but just can't eat peanut butter.

This pie, however, is one my husband made for our May 2010 BBQ and my mother-in-law actually made something similar for Father's Day last year. In both situations, it went over well for people who like that stuff. In fact - it was eaten so fast at our BBQ that my husband barely got any!!

It's pretty easy to make too! This recipe serves 10. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

16 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
1/3 cup unsalted peanuts, finely crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 oz) package brick cream cheese, softened
1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipped cream, thawed
1 square Baker's semisweet chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix cookie crumbs, peanuts and butter until well blended - press firmly onto bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate.

Bake 10 minutes and cool completely.

Beat cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in the whipped topping.

Pour over the crust and cover.

Freeze at least 3 hours or overnight. Remove pie from freezer 30 minutes before serving.

Melt chocolate as directed on package and drizzle or smear over the top of the pie.

Let stand at room temperature until pie is soft enough to cut into slices, and serve.

Store any leftovers in the freezer - though there may not be any!!

Pesach Chicken Pie

I made the following recipe for Passover 2010 - this is actually my final Passover post for the moment...all the recipes I made last year have now been posted. If I make any before Passover starts for this year, I'll post them up quickly! Otherwise, they will be posted, but hopefully you will all come back looking for them next year!

Last March I was doing a LOT of Internet searching for different passover recipes. This one caught my eye. The original source for it is a booklet for Pesach from the Bar Ilan school in Rio de Janiero.

The recipe was decent...definitely nothing super special, and not the best thing I made. My husband enjoyed it more than I did. Maybe it will strike your interest!!

Ingredients:

5 to 6 pieces of matzo
1 pound minced chicken meat
chopped parsley and green onions to taste
2 eggs
1 medium potato, cooked and mashed
1 big onion, chopped
garlic, pepper and salt to taste
2-3 TBS oil

Directions:

Soak the matzo for 3 minutes in warm water with salt. Try to keep them as whole as possible while wringing out the water.

Oil a pie pan and place half the matzo inside.

In a skillet on the stove top, brown the onion and add the chicken. Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste, as well as parsley and green onions. Continue to brown the mixture.


Let it cool and add the mashed potato mixed well with 1 beaten egg. Put this filling over the matzo in the pan and cover it with the remaining matzo.


Beat the other egg and pour it over the matzo in the pan - bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden.

Spicy Roll Up Appetizers

Hello again, fellow food lovers - sorry for a delay in posting some recipes. It was a busy week. I do have a lot to post, so hopefully I can get back on a regular schedule again.

The following recipe is one I debuted at our backyard BBQ in May of 2010 - also before I started my blog. I think I ended up making these because I had been searching for recipes containing cream cheese. Somehow, my husband and I had ended up with a large amount of cream cheese blocks and we just needed to use them. Therefore, several of the items we prepared for that BBQ contained cream cheese!

I saw a recipe that was close to the one I am posting now and knew it was easy and quick enough to throw together in the eleventh hour. It ended up being a tasty treat, especially for those loving spice, and even my husband liked them, despite him not liking black olives. He said they were chopped just enough that you couldn't really identify the taste as olives. (Personally, I think he has it in his head that he doesn't like some foods, really, and then is surprised when he does!)

So if you and your friends and family love a little spice or heat, try these out at your next party. Or make them, pack them in an ice filled cooler and bring them tailgating!

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and minced
3 teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese with chopped olives and hot sauce.

Spread mixture in a thin layer over each of the tortillas.

Start at one and end gently roll each tortilla into a tight tube. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.

Before serving, slice each roll into 1 inch thick slices.


** It's helpful if the tortillas are room temperature - they are easier to work with.

Chicken, Sweet Potato and Apple Skillet

So, today's recipe comes to you from the place where I am employed. Every quarter, we get a company wide newsletter. It talks about what goes on in our two facilities in New York and North Carolina, has some random tidbits of information, news about employees, etc. Recently I noticed they have been including a recipe as well.

I am not sure who comes up with the recipes, or where they get them, but the one in April's newsletter seemed interesting.

It was for a chicken, sweet potato and apple skillet. I knew I would have to change it up a little because the original recipe (see picture below) called for bacon and brussels sprouts, two foods I do not eat. I figured I could substitute broccoli for brussels sprouts and just leave out the bacon entirely.


I also knew I would substitute green apples for the golden delicious because I only like green apples.

So, over the weekend I purchased the ingredients I didn't already have in the house and set about making this dish. In my opinion, unless you are a wiz at chopping and dicing, leave a good hour and a half for this recipe. I wouldn't make it after coming home from work! It was easy enough once everything was peeled, chopped and diced though.

I decided to make some whole wheat couscous to serve with the meal. In the end, it came out okay...I don't know if I let something cook a little too long or if it needed the bacon for the extra flavor...but to my husband and I, we really felt like it needed some sort of sauce. I know, I know. This was a recipe for heart health (or so said the recipe in the newsletter). But, it needed a little something extra. I'd really have to sit down and think about what I could put on top of it if I ever make it again.

So, here is the recipe that I used (the modified one) - enjoy! And if you make it, tell me your thoughts on what I can add to it!!

Ingredients:

1 LB boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
4 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 medium sweet potato (abt 8 oz) peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4" cubes
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Season chicken lightly with salt and heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned and cooked through - about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Return pan to heat and add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add broccoli, sweet potato and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.


Stir in apples, garlic, thyme and cinnamon. Cook 3 minutes.


Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth, bring to a boil, and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add reserved chicken and remaining 1/2 cup broth.


Season with salt and black pepper as needed. Cook until hot, about 2 minutes.

Mandarin Chicken Skillet

I don't know if any of you watch Chopped on the Food Network, but we love that show over here. For those who don't know about it, the basic idea is there are 4 contestants to start. They each get a basic full of the same mystery ingredients and they need to cook an appetizer using all of the ingredients in the basket, plus anything else they want from the pantry area. The worst dish in the appetizer round gets chopped, and then the 3 remaining contestants get a new basket for the entree round. It then goes to 2 contestants for dessert and then one of them wins $10,000.

Well, it is always interesting to see the ridiculous items in each basket and what people do with them. I have actually learned about a lot of foods and techniques through this show.

But anyway, I sort of have to challenge myself now to use things that are in my pantry before they go bad. My husband and I have slowly been cleaning out every crevice of our house - kitchen cabinets included. I came across a few food items that I didn't even know we had, and I don't want to let them go to waste. Instead of combining all 4 into a dish (that probably would have been nasty), I took one item and just searched online for recipes using it. This ingredient was Mandarin Oranges in a can. Yeah, I know they are yummy on their own, but I wanted to use them.

I found THIS recipe on AllRecipes.com and thought it sounded good. I had to change it slightly though because 1) we had no broccoli in the house, 2) my husband isn't a huge mushroom fan, 3) we didn't have orange juice concentrate and 4) I later realized I didn't have chicken bouillon.

HAHA! At first I was like, um, why am I making this. Then, I figured out some substitutions, so I now present to you, Mandarin Chicken Skillet the A way.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped asparagus spears (I used the frozen Trader Joe's spears I had)
1 tablespoon butter
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
1 cup edamame
3 teaspoons flour
2/3 cup water
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments - reserve juice separately!
1/4 cup sliced green onion
splash of orange or citrus flavored vodka
1 tablespoon of a mixture of salt, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika **

** you could use 1 cup of chicken broth instead of this seasoned mixture.

Directions:

Steam asparagus and edamame for a few minutes - set aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute chicken in butter until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.


Stir in flour, water, mandarin orange juice and seasonings (or chicken broth). Heat to boiling.

Stir and simmer for 4 minutes. Return chicken and mushrooms to skillet and stir in orange segments, green onion, edamame and asparagus. Add the splash of vodka. Heat through and serve immediately.


This recipe makes about 4-6 servings.

My concoction actually came out pretty well! My husband really enjoyed it when he got home from work. I was quite pleased with myself.

We had some leftovers and I found that the best way to heat them is to put everything back into a covered skillet with a splash of water to let it heat up, instead of microwaving it.

Enjoy!