Cleaning Out the Fridge Quesadilla

I don’t know about you, but I always have odds and ends in my fridge left over from other recipes. I struggle with using everything up so it doesn’t go to waste; as a result I came up with this recipe. Think of this recipe as a guide and not the rule. Be creative and clean out that fridge!

Cleaning Out the Fridge Quesadilla

Ingredients:

one flour tortilla
olive oil

handful of roasted red pepper slices
handful of sliced mushrooms
handful of sliced onions
fresh mozzarella, broken into pieces (crumbled goat cheese would also be fabulous!)
salt & pepper
sour cream
chopped scallions, chives, or cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium high heat. 

Add onions and mushrooms and cook 5-10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have rendered their excess water and the onions are about half-way caramelized. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet. 

Add tortilla to the pan and pan fry until lightly browned. 

Fill tortilla with onions, mushrooms, roasted red pepper, and cheese, then fold over. 

Place in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes so the cheese can melt and the flavors blend.

Top with sour cream and scallions, chives, or cilantro.

Makes 1 quesadilla

Source: A Food, Folks, and Fun original!

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Skip to My Lou

Tip Me Tuesday

Today’s Creative Blog

Tex-Mex Chicken Pizza

30 Minute Suppers from America’s Test Kitchen!?!? Yes, please! When I saw this magazine issue on the newsstand I instantly knew I needed to have it! Let’s face it, a lot of America’s test Kitchen recipes take time and I just don’t have that luxury every night, so as you can imagine I am so lovin’ these recipes! The Tex-Mex Chicken Pizza was the first recipe I tried from this issue and they were so yummy. They tasted like something you’d get from a restaurant. The sour cream mixture (sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro) in this recipe is so yummy and adds a fantastic contrast with it’s amped up tang that it will become something I will start making as a condiment for tacos, fajitas, and the like.

Tex-Mex Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1/2 C sour cream

1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro

2 T lime juice

Salt & pepper

1 (16-ounce) can refried black beans

1 t chili powder

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

8 t vegetable oil

2 C shredded rotisserie chicken

1 C shredded Pepper Jack cheese

1/2 C chopped pickled jalapenos

Directions:

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower positions and heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk sour cream, ¼ cup cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir beans with remaining lime juice and chili powder in second bowl.

Brush each tortilla with 2 teaspoons oil, coating both sides. Transfer to baking sheet and bake until golden, flipping halfway through, about 5 minutes.

Spread ¼ cup bean mixture over each tortilla, leaving ½-inch border around outside edge. Top each with ½ cup chicken, followed by ¼ cup cheese, and 2 tablespoons jalapenos. Bake on 2 baking sheets until cheese is melted and all ingredients are heated though, 6 to 8 minutes. Cut each pizza inot quarters, dollop each slice with heaping teaspoon sour cream mixture, and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve.

Serves 4

Source: 30-Minute Suppers from America’s Test Kitchen, Spring 2011

Oyster Crackers Mix

This recipe is an oldie but a goody. It comes together in a flash and it’s great for parties.

A vintage snack in a pretty, vintage bowl.

Oyster Crackers Mix

Ingredients:

1 1oz. package Ranch dressing mix (or 2 Tablespoons)
1/2 t dill weed
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 14oz. box oyster crackers


Directions:

In a large bowl, combine ranch, dill, garlic powder, lemon pepper and oil. Stir until well combined.

Add oyster crackers and toss gently until crackers are evenly covered with seasoning. Let sit, uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes. Store in a air-tight container.

Source: Oyster Cracker Box

Super Bowl Munchies Round-Up

Don't they all look super yummy?



Peanut Butter Popcorn





Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta





Guacamole





Spinach Artichoke Dip



Queso Blano Dip



Pizza Bites





Soft Pretzels



Pizza Bites

I recently made these for a girl’s night and man were they yummy. They really do taste like little bites of pizza and I love how you can control the amount of sauce you get with each bite by dipping them. I didn’t have a block of mozzarella on hand so I just used string cheese by cutting each stick into 4 pieces.

Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

1 tube of pizza dough (found in your grocer’s refrigerator section)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (about 20-24 pieces)
Sliced pepperoni

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese

Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan.  Divide the pizza dough into 20-24 roughly equal sized pieces.  Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni.  Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed.  Place seam-side down in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired. 

Source: Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Scotcheroos

I lived in Provo, Utah for my freshman year of college at a place many of us affectingly called “The Glenhood”. There I had the best roommates and neighbors ever! We’d often make yummy treats to share, and these were among our favorites. They have the perfect combination of peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate. Enjoy!

Scotcheroos

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup chunky peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispy cereal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Grease a 13×9-inch pan; set aside. Place sugar and corn syrup into a 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted and combined. Add the cereal; stir well until well coated. Press the mixture into the prepared pan.

Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together either over a double boiler or in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let sit until firm (or refrigerate for a faster setting time).

Source: Kellogs

Queso Blanco Dip

Ok, I have a (not so) secret love affair with chips and queso. Seriously I’d have the stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could… When I lived in Albuquerque I’d get chips and queso at Taco Cabana (menu item #21) often and this recipe comes pretty close to theirs.

Queso Blanco Dip

Ingredients:

1 lbs Kroger brand Queso Blanco with Jalapeños*

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

1 T milk

Directions:

Cut the brick of queso blanco into ½ inch cubes.

Place the cheese cubes, green chilies, and milk in a microwave oven-safe bowl. Cook on high for 2 minutes. Stir at the end of the 2 minutes.

Continue to heat and stir as needed until the mixture is smooth.

If being served shortly after preparation, allow the cheese mixture to stand 1 minute before serving to allow the mixture to thicken to the desired consistency.

If being prepared to be served at a later time, transfer the mixture to a crock pot and hold at warm-low temperature until serving time. Stir before serving.

*I’ve been able to find the Kroger brand Queso Blanco at Fry’s and Safeway grocery stores.

Source: A Food Folks and Fun original

Soft Pretzels

These were SO good and so easy to make! The taste and texture were perfect, but not the shape. Next time I make these I will definitely roll them out thinner (about the width of a pencil) to make a bigger pretzel so when they rise the holes won’t close up. Other than that modification I won’t change the recipe a single bit!

Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C warm water
1 1/8 t active dry yeast
2 T brown sugar
1 1/8 t salt
1 C bread flour
3 C regular flour
2 C warm water
2 T baking soda
to taste coarse salt or sea salt granules
4 T butter (melted)

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in 450 oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Toppings: after you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt. Or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture. Makes 12 pretzels.

Pretzels 3 Ways: parmesan herb, butter and salt, cinnamon and sugar

 

Source: AJ’s Cooking Secrets

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy New Year everyone! I don’t know about you, but I am dog-tired this morning. Mia decided to ring in the New Year by waking up every hour on the hour from midnight until 7 am(teething stinks)…so you can imagine it was a long night! In any event, I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I made this last night for a New Year’s Eve party and it was a hit! It tastes just like the dips you get in restaurants without using mayonnaise (yuck!). Enjoy!

Psst…everyone make a wish today, it’s 1/1/11! J

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce

1  C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

¼ C shredded mozzarella cheese

Chopped tomato and fresh spinach for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins and chop.

In a bowl combine all the ingredients minus the ¼ cup of mozzarella and the garnishes.

Pour the mixture onto an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Then remove the foil, add ¼ of mozzarella cheese to the top and place back in the oven, uncovered for 10 more minutes, or until the mozzarella is lightly golden. Top with you garnishes and serve warm.

Yields 12 servings.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Peanut Butter Popcorn

What’s better than watching your favorite Christmas movie on a Friday night? Eating peanut butter popcorn of course! This recipe makes a ton which is a good thing because it’s so decadent and tasty that it'll be gobbled up right away!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Ingredients:

1/2 C unpopped popcorn or 16 cups popped popcorn (I used 2 bags of microwavable popcorn)

3/4 C dry-roasted peanuts

1 C sugar

1/2 C honey

1/2 C corn syrup

1 C peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 C Reese’s Pieces

Ingredients:

Pop corn and remove any unpopped kernels. Place in a large bowl and stir in peanuts. (Jennifer pops hers in a 9X13 pan and keeps it warm in a 250 degree oven)

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, honey and corn syrup.  Bring mixture to boiling; continue boiling for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Do not boil too long or your popcorn will be rock hard. Remove from heat.   

Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.  Immediately pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Stir in the Reese’s Pieces. Serve warm or a room temperature.

Source: Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Guacamole

I’m not gonna line, I make a mean guacamole! My secret ingredient is salsa verde; it adds the extra element needed to bring out the rich avocado flavor without overpowering it. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. Enjoy!

Guacamole

Ingredients:

4 large ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled

1 T lime juice

1/3 C bottled salsa verde

1/3 C chopped cilantro leaves (or less according to your taste)

1 t ground cumin

1 t garlic powder

Directions:

Halve, pit, and peel the avocados and place in a bowl. Add in the remaining ingredients and mash with two forks. This will give you a chunky consistency. If you’d like it smoother beat the mixture with a hand-held electric mixer on medium speed until your ideal consistency is reached. Serve immediately.

Source: A Food, Folks, and Fun original!

Mini Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Two things I associate with fall are apple cider and apple cider donuts from Rogers Orchards which was located literally right up the road from my parent’s house in Connecticut. We’d often get a bag whenever we’d go to the orchard to get apples while growing up. When Curtis and I lived in the D.C. area we’d make the 6 hour drive back home to Connecticut often. On our way back to D.C. Curtis would always get a bag of apple cider donuts for the drive back because he loved them so much. So, on Saturday my niece Dayna and I decided to make donuts that were inspired by the ones we’d get at Rogers. They came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself!

Dayna dipping the donuts into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Mini Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Ingredients:

2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
1 large egg
2/3 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 C agave nectar (or maple syrup)
1/3 C spiced apple cider
1/3 C nonfat plain yogurt
3 T vegetable oil

Topping:

1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/3 C sugar
1 t ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray mini donut pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, applesauce, agave nectar, cider, yogurt, and oil. Add in dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fill each mini donut halfway.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Let donuts cool slightly for a few minutes.  Use a plastic knife; gently pry around edges of the donut until donuts pop out. Let donuts cool completely. Then melt 1/4 cup butter in a small glass bowl. In another small bowl, combine 2/3 cup white sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon.  Dip top of donuts in melted butter and then dip in the sugar mixture. Makes 4 dozen mini donuts.

Source: Adapted from The City Sisters

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I can not believe how quickly this recipe came together! I think it took me all of 5 minutes to prep the recipe.

Note: the original recipe called for ¾ cup brown sugar and I cut it back to 2/3. It also called for 1 cup of chocolate chips and I only put in ½ cup because I’m not crazy about too many chocolate chips in my granola bar. Other than the two changes I made, it’s a solid recipe for chewy granola bars!

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Ingredients:
3 1/4 C rolled oats
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
2/3 C brown sugar
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1/4 C applesauce
1/4 C honey
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 C mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oats, spices, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla until smooth. Add oat mixture and beat until oats are completely coated. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Press oat mixture into the prepared pan, using a spatula to spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack fro 5 minutes before cutting into bars and cooling completely.

Source: Adapted from The Sweet’s Life

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds 2 Ways

My sister-in-law made these yummy pumpkin seeds. I provided her with the recipes and she cooked them. So the credit goes to her!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Two Ways

Cumin Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º and line two small baking sheets with parchment or foil.

In two small bowls, combine all ingredients for each batch of pumpkin seeds.  Stir to coat completely.  Spread evenly onto the two prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 8-14 minutes, or until seeds are crunchy.  This will depend largely on the size of your seeds, so check them frequently.