Cheese Olive Puffs

Cheese Olive Puffs

I like these a bit spicy. I make a double batch of these and freeze them.  Right now, I have a whole bunch of these in my freezer ready for last minute guests or a special occasion.

Cheese Olive Puffs

2 Cups (225 g) of Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup (58 g) of Butter
1/2 Cup (63 g) of Flour
1/4 Tsp of Salt
1/2 Tsp of Paprika
Cayenne Pepper, to Taste
24 Pimento Stuffed Olives

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the olives.

Pinch off a bit of dough and wrap it around the olive. Place the dough covered olive on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 400F/204C/Gas Mark 6 oven for 10-15.

Or freeze on the cookie tray and then transfer to a plastic bag. When ready to serve, do not defrost, place on a cookie tray and bake in a 400F/204C/Gas Mark 6 oven for 20 minutes.

The bottom line, will I make these again? Yes, I love these. I might have make them a bit to spicy this last time.  Next time I am going to try using smoked paprika.

One Pot Bacon Mushroom Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese, the ultimate comfort food

We are still rehabbing our kitchen. I don't think we will ever be done (grrrrrr). But the stove it done and I love my induction stove top. It is incredible. I bought a lot of new pots and pans to work with the stove and I rediscovered cast iron. I don't think I will be parted from it again. Not only is it a great conductor of heat and easy to clean but it also add a bit of iron to our food. We need iron and every little bit helps.

The most used pan in my house is a cast iron skillet. I use it for my one pot mac and cheese, the ultimate comfort food. This dish can be tailored to your tastes and mood. You can switch out the onions for leeks or green onions.  Don't like mushrooms? Then don't add them. The cheeses can be switched around based on what you feel like or more likely in our house, what you have in the refrigerator. One of these days I am going to add bacon and tomato. So what is the inspiration for this dish?  I became obsessed with this dish after having mac and cheese at Anna's Oven (50% of the profits from this restaurant go to charitable causes). I always get the roasted chicken with a side of mac and cheese.

One Pot Bacon Mushroom Mac and Cheese

5 Tbsp (70 g) of Butter
4 oz. (113 g) of Sliced Mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
1/2 Small Onion, Diced
4 Slices of Bacon, Crispy
1/4 Cup (31g) of Flour (Depending on how thick you want your mac and cheese)
6 Cups (1.4 l) of Milk
12 oz. (340 g) of Pasta
Salt, Pepper, and Cayenne, To Taste
4 Cups (500 g) of Shredded Cheese (I used a mixture of White Cheddar and Mozzarella)
1 Tsp of Dijon Mustard
1 Cup (125 g) of Breadcrumbs or Panko
1/2 Cup (63 g) of Shredded Cheese (I used Parmesan)

Preheat your broiler. Melt the butter in a large oven safe skillet. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until softened.

Sautéing the mushrooms and onions.

Whisk in the flour and them slowly whisk in the milk.

Whisking in the flour

Once the milk is added, raise the heat and bring the milk mixture to a simmer. Add the pasta and the salt, pepper, and cayenne. Watch the mixture so that it doesn't boil over. Cook the pasta, stirring frequently, until tender.

Cooking the pasta

The time varies depending on the pasta you use. Don't worry if the mixture is a bit thin, it will thicken when you add the cheese. Add the mustard, bacon, and cheese stirring until combined.

Ready for the oven!

Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover with breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup of cheese. Place under the broiler until golden brown on top (about 2 minutes).

Done!

The bottom line: will I make this again? Oh my goodness yes. This is so yummy.

Cedar Planked Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Cedar Planked Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Wow that is a lot to say.  There is a lot of tastes to this dish. First let me say it is really is wonderful. But how could it not be? It has bacon. Here is my advice for making this dish great:

• Start soaking the cedar plank early. I like to soak it for about an hour. If I am making it on a weekday night, I soak the cedar plank as soon as I get home from work. 
• I like crispy bacon so I precook the bacon in the microwave for one to two minutes before I wrap it around the chicken. I also use a thicker sliced bacon because well, you get more bacon. 
• I use chicken thighs because they stay juicy. I also use bone in with the skin on. I think they are tastier. It is certainly easier to use skinless boneless thighs and they roll up nicely. But I think that is cheating....
• I use a meat thermometer to get the chicken cooked to the correct temperature. I hate cutting into raw chicken. My own personal belief is every kitchen should have a digital scale and a digital meat thermometer and a really big cast iron skillet.
• The bbq sauce is key.  If I am too lazy to make my own which happens more than I would like to admit, I use a good bottled sauce. My current favorites are Arthur's Bryant's Sauce (you can't go wrong with the classics), Head Country BBQ Sauce and Wabash BBQ Sauce (I think you can only get this in and around Kansas City).

Cedar Planked Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Chicken Thighs (2 per person)

2 Pieces of Bacon per Chicken Thigh

Salt

Pepper

Paprika (Smoked or Sweet or Both)

BBQ Sauce

Presoak the cedar plank. Preheat grill to medium heat. Precook your bacon for 1-2 minutes (if you want crispy bacon). Salt, pepper and paprika each chicken thigh. Wrap the chicken thigh in bacon. 

Ready for the grill

Place the chicken on the cedar plank and place the cedar plank on the preheated grill. 

Chicken on the grill

Grill for approximately 15 minutes and then brush with bbq sauce.

Basting the chicken

Insert meat thermometer at this point. Grill for 10-15 more minutes (until chicken reaches an internal temperature of  165F/74C). While the chicken is grilling continue to baste with bbq sauce. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes and then dig in.

The bottom line: will I make this again? Oh yes, I almost didn't get pictures. It smelled incredible and tasted even better. The best part: Steven did the grilling. 

 

Microwaved Salmon

Lékué

I know what you are thinking.... microwaved salmon.... yuck! But wait! I microwaved it in silicone cookware. Yep- I bought a Lékué and decided to try it out. I decide why not go all out and start with salmon? I brought 1.5 pounds (680 g) of salmon and cut it into three pieces. It cooks in minutes so why not try salmon three different ways? My thoughts it is utterly amazing. I am not often surprised but I was by this microwave pot.You can also use it in the oven but I was much more interested in the microwave. And the clean up?  You rise it and put it in the dishwasher. That's it.

Salmon with Broccoli 

Katie loves broccoli so I decided to make salmon with broccoli.

Add in the following order:

4 Tbsp of Water
1 Tsp of Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 Cups (125 g) Broccoli Florets
Salt and Pepper, to Taste

Close top and microwave 4 minutes. Remove

Add .5 lbs (450 g) Salmon
1 Tsp of Olive Oil
Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Tbsp of Water

Close top and microwave 3 minutes.

I thought the broccoli was too well done but Katie really like it. The salmon was amazing. Next time I will cook the broccoli and salmon together.

 Salmon with Onion, Tomato and Basil

Add in the following order:

1/2 Cup (60 g) of Diced Onions
1 Tomato (180 g)
Basil, Chopped
4 Tbsp of Water
1 Tbsp of Oil
.5 lbs (450 g) Salmon
Salt and Pepper, to Taste

Close top and microwave 3 minutes

Finished product was salmon in broth lovely! Steven added capers to his and really liked it.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill 

Add in the following order:

2 Tbsp Water
2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
.5 lbs (450 g) Salmon
Broccoli
Salt and Pepper
Dill
Lemon Zest (from 1/2 of a lemon)

Close top and microwave 3 minutes.

I added broccoli this time with the salmon this time. It was cooked perfectly.

The bottom line: It worked. Wonderfully and quickly. Who knew that microwaved salmon could be so good. I may have to try the microwave omelet maker next. Just think an omelet in 2 minutes!

Nutella People Puppy Chow

Nutella people puppy chow

I love nutella. I am aware that there are some people who do not like the incredible mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts. I do not understand this but hey who am I to judge? I normally make people puppy chow for last minute events or poor planning. I had just one of those events: our family ran a 5K in the morning (I like to eat so I run) and at 2:00 we needed to have a dish ready. While I was running, I was thinking about people puppy chow and decided I really wanted nutella chow. (I need some motivation to keep running. Although my zombie app usually is enough motivation).

On the way home we bought a jar of nutella and I searched the Internet for recipes. Well, the first time I made it I followed what everyone else did: a mixture of butter, nutella, and chocolate chips. It never made it on to the cereal. I thought the glorious taste of the nutella goodness was overpowered by the chocolate chips. I was running out of time. But I was not deterred. I decided to wing it. I melted some butter, added nutella and voilà it was what I was looking for and it was so easy. All I can say is yum! I will do something else with other mixture; I just don't know what yet. No waste; just a repurposing of resources.


Nutella Puppy Chow

1/4 Cup (57 g) of Butter
1 Cup (280 g) of Nutella
13 Cups (400 g) of Chex or Similar Cereal (One Box)
3 Cups (345 g) of Powdered Sugar


Place cereal in a large bowl. Place powdered sugar in a large paper bag. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add nutella and stir constantly until well mixed. (I used a double boiler and it worked like a charm. I think you could also do this in a microwave).

Nutella and butter

Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and stir until cereal is coated.

Coating the cereal with nutella 

Cereal coated in chocolate

Pour cereal into bag with powdered sugar. Shake until the cereal is covered in powdered sugar. That's it. It is ready to eat.

All that lovely powdered sugar

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes, as long as it leaves my house. Immediately. Wow. Once I start eating this I can't stop.

Canned Clam Pasta

Clam pasta

We eat a lot of clams. Not only are they tasty; they are a great source of heme iron. Heme iron is iron from animal sources. It is more readily assimilated by the body.  Since we are always trying to increase our iron stores, we try to have clams once a week. This is our favorite clam dish. Needless to say I change it around a lot. This is the winter version of the dish with canned tomatoes and dried herbs; in the summer I use peeled tomatoes and fresh herbs for a truly outstanding dish. Feel free to add more garlic and change out the spices. I like this sauce with a lot of broth.  If you don't want your pasta swimming is sauce, squish the whole tomatoes and add half of the tomato juice. The important thing is not to over cook the clams, five minutes out to do it. Sometimes I add a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This should feed four people; it feeds the three of us.

Clam Pasta

1 Tbsp Oil Olive
2 Tbsp Butter
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/4 Small Onion, Diced
28 oz (794 g) Whole Tomatoes in Juice
2 6.5 oz (184 g) Cans of Clams, Divided
1/8 Tsp Oregano, Rosemary, and Thyme
1/4 Tsp Parsley and Basil
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
16 oz (454 g) Pasta, Cooked

Place olive oil and butter in a medium sauce pan over medium low heat. Add garlic, onions, salt, and pepper and saute just until garlic starts to brown.

I love the smell of cooking onions and garlic

Add the squished whole tomatoes and juice. Also add the juice from two cans of clams. Raise the heat to medium and add the dried spices and pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 10 minutes.

Everything is in there except the clams

 Add clams and heat for 5 minutes.

Just cooking the clams until they are done

Serve over pasta.

The bottom line: will I make it again? Yes, I can't wait until summer tomatoes are available and I will be make this with fresh tomatoes and freshly cut herbs.....

Homemade Hamburger Helper

mmmmmm Hamburger Helper

 My daughter loves hamburger helper and I do too. I am not real happy with the hamburger helper from a box. I just don't believe in powdered cheese. Really- powdered cheese? That is worse than "cheese food." I think this is so much better than the boxed stuff. Basically it is browned hamburger, milk, water, spices, pasta, and cheese. It is the perfect weeknight one dish meal.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1 lb (.45 kg) of Ground Beef
2 1/2 Cups (600 ml) of Milk
1 1/2 Cups (360 ml) of Hot Water
2 Cups (280 g) of Pasta
1 Tbsp of Cornstarch
1 Tbsp of Chili Powder

1 Tsp of Onion Powder
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Tsp of Sugar
1/2 Tsp of Salt

1/2 Tsp of Fresh Cracked Pepper
3/4 Tsp of Paprika
1/4 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper
2 - 2 1/2 Cups (240-300 g) of Shredded Cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add the ground beef.

Lean ground beef

Brown until cooked through and no longer pink. Carefully pour off any fat.

Browned ground beef

Add the pasta, milk, water and spices and stir to combine.

I premeasure and mix the spices

Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to simmer.

Ready to simmer

Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Add the cheese and stir to combine.

Freshly grated cheese

 Serve immediately.

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes. We have this about once a month. I mix and match the past, cheeses, and spices. The only limit is your imagination.