Taco Bubble Casserole

This, my friends, is the epitome of comfort food.  Well, Mexican comfort food anyways.  Much akin to my Bubble Puff pizza, this follows the same procedure - chopping up the biscuits for the crust so it puffs up and bubbles through the toppings for crispy, crunchy goodness.  YUMMY much! 

I wish I could claim this one as my own but I found it off TastyKitchen and I knew I had to try it.  I only altered it a wee...mostly in that she stirred the biscuits into the hot mixture but I knew that would make a melty hot mess of the biscuits so I changed it up by spreading the tomato mix over the biscuits instead.  I also added black beans and cut back the beef by about 1/2 a pound.  Feel free to use her recipe by clicking the Tasty Kitchen link or try mine.  Either way, just try it! 

You get spicy, cheesy, creamy, crunchy...just everything your mouth could possibly want!  Your belly will be mega happy you made this.  Enjoy!



Taco Bubble Casserole
adapted from FeistyFilly on Tasty Kitchen

1 pound Lean Ground Beef
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix (1 Ounce Package)
¾ cups Water
1 can (10 3/4-oz.) Condensed Tomato Soup
1 can (17.3-oz.) Grands Refrigerated Golden Corn Biscuits Or 1 (16.3-oz.) Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Your Favorite Taco Toppings:  sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, olives, green onions, etc.
 
Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x 13 with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.
 
Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning mix, water and soup; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes. Stir in the black beans.  Remove from heat.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 8 little wedges.  Add to the bottom of the 9x13 pan.  Carefully spoon tomato soup mixture over the biscuits, spreading out evenly to edges.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 23 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven; bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Let stand for 5 minutes to cool before serving.  (also makes cutting and serving easier)

To serve, cut into 8 squares. Top each serving with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, olives, sour cream and onions.  (I did this buffet style with bowls of toppings to people could customize their own piece.  It worked really well.)


Hope you enjoy!  It's absolutely delicious!

Slow Cooker Cheesy Ham & Potatoes

Since everyone has been on the slow cooker bandwagon as of late due to the uber hot weather, I wanted to share with you this delightful gem of a recipe.  Whether you add a salad, a roll and make it a full dinner meal like we do, or as a side or even as breakfast, this hearty fulfilling dish will leave you with some very happy tummys!

Using my food processor to slice the potatoes and shred my cheese makes this ever so faster.  This dish was in my slow cooker and on my plate in just 4 hours.  (on high or 8 hours on low)  It's super velvety, creamy, cheesy, salty...it just doesn't get any better than this for a quick set it and forget it type of meal.  I hope you enjoy!

Cheesy Ham & Potatoes
adapted from Mixing Bowl Magazine

6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 pound boneless ham, cut into small pieces
3 cups of shredded cheddar
1 small onion, diced
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of celery
Paprika
salt/pepper

In a 3.5-4 quart slow cooker, layer half the potatoes, half the ham, half the onion, half the cheese and one can of soup (spread out as best you can with the back of a spoon).  Add salt/pepper.  Repeat another layer with remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle paprika over top.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Edges will be bubbly and cheesy and browned. 

Note:  spray the inside portion of your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking or use a slow cooker liner available at your grocery store in the foil aisle.  It's a lifesaver as this cheese likes to stick to everything.

Lighter Spicy & Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Wow has it been awhile!  Its also been 12 pounds, 3 inches off my waist, 2 inches off my thighs and 1 inches off my arms ago!  YAY to healthier eating and exercising!  I thought I would start posting again....this time using some lighter fare for those of you who are battling the bulge like me!

One thing I thought about diet food - it was generally pretty yucky.  Reduced fat or low fat can be bland, rice noodles can get gloopy (it's a word - promise!) and skim milk is just like drinking badly flavored water.  I am NOT a diet foodie.  However, if you disguise diet food with spicy ingredients - it's winner.  I am not a fan of reduced fat cheese.  I think it had less flavor BUT in this format, it works really well, especially since cheese isn't the main flavor.  It's subtlety is nice and lends to the creamy, cheesy texture you're after.

I wouldn't dare call this diet food - as it does use a canned soup mix but it is LIGHTER than what I would normally make and I used reduced fat sour cream (you could even use Greek yogurt here instead), brown rice, white breast meat, low carb whole grain tortilla shells and reduced fat cheeses.  This in itself has been the mainstay of my diet - changing up what I can, when I can.  Making better choices where I can without sacrificing taste or texture.  Let's face it - if you can't bear to eat lighter foods because of the way they taste, you're going to turn to bad things to eat instead.

I hope you enjoy these ..we have them about once a week now.  They're amazingly good, cheesy, creamy, spicy and lighter than normal.  Perfect on all accounts.

Pepperoni & Four Cheese Lasagna Rolls

DISCLAIMER: Upon making this recipe, you hold neither Sublime Hodge Podge nor its creator Jill Moore responsible for any harm done by excessively gained weight, high carb overload, exponentially jiggly thighs, burst waistbands or broken bathroom scales. 

Hi.  I like lasagna.  I like Guy Fieri also.  And waaaay back when Guy was just a another contestant on Food Network's Next Big Star thingy, he made an ultra gooey, over indulgent pepperoni lasagna.  I remember sitting there going "omg, that's just genius."  I like pepperoni too.  (forgot to mention that)  The only thing I hate about making lasagna is that I *always* have leftovers for nearly 3 days.  I don't know about you, but I'm kinda funky monkey on the eating leftover thing for days on end.  I need a break in there somewhere for my poor taste buds.  So, taking Guy's pepperoni and riffing on it a bit, I love lasagna rolls.  Not only are they smaller portioned, but they are typically lighter than my usual lasagna, meaning not as much ricotta or sauce is used.  They're cute too, all rolled up and mini looking.  

Pancetta Mac & Cheese

I realize there are many, many, MANY mac and cheese recipes out there but how many are party worthy?  Elegant enough to serve company yet still maintain that creamy dreamy comfort factor everyone craves and loves?  This one!  This mac and cheese has an Italian flair that is by far a true show stopper and worthy of any upcoming party table.  From crispy bits of pancetta to the pretty buttery panko topping, this mac has it all!  Even its bite sized oricchette (small ear, in Italian) pasta shape makes it kid appealing even with its "grown up" adult taste.  Everyone loves this and I hope you will too.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

As promised to Siggy, I'm posting my chicken alfredo pizza recipe.  This pizza is insanely good.  Its fattening, its cheesy, its gooey and everything else that's bad for your thighs but it tastes oooh so wonderful going down.  Rich, creamy, garlicky, decadent and deliciously satisfying.  Definitely a date night food in our house...we do some white wine or Stella beer and pop in a movie.  Yummy!

While it looks daunting at first being a 3 part recipe, you certainly could take some short cuts and use rotisserie chicken, those pre-cooked chicken chunks from Oscar Mayer or use your own leftover cooked chicken.  You could also opt for jarred alfredo if you like that...but homemade alfredo is so simple to make using a few measly ingredients.  If you can melt butter, you can make alfredo sauce. 

This pizza here was made using freshly grated whole milk mozzarella, provolone, and Parm-Reggiano.  I did everything else from scratch using Siggy's garlic breadstick crust, my alfredo sauce and pan fried herbed chicken breasts. I'll break it down for you in sections.   How I do it is this:  I cook my chicken and then set it aside.  I mix the breadstick dough and while its raising, I make my alfredo sauce and grate my cheeses.  By the time the dough is risen, the chicken is cooled for cutting and from there, its just a matter of putting it all together.  Takes less than an hour and is WAAAY better than any delivery pizza.  Give it a whirl! 

Chicken Alfredo Pizza
makes a 16 x 14 inch pan - 8 big pieces

Herbed Chicken 
3 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (or 4 if you like alot of chicken)
Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
Olive oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.  Sprinkle chicken cutlets Italian seasoning, salt and pepper on both sides.  Add to pan and fry till golden brown, about 8 minutes each side.  Remove from pan and allow to cool.  When cooled enough to handle, chunk into mini bite sized pieces.


Garlic Alfredo Sauce
1 pint of heavy cream
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of Parmesan cheese (Parmesan Reggiano is my fav)
2 tsp minced garlic
salt/pepper to taste

Add heavy cream to a skillet and heat over low-medium heat until warmed.  Add butter to the cream and whisk to melt the butter and incorporate.  Add parmesan cheese slowly a little bit at a time and whisk well till all the cheese is melted.  Add the garlic and salt/pepper to taste.  (I like to go a bit heavy on pepper for this alfredo when its going on a pizza versus pasta.)  Do not boil this sauce at any point.  Low and slow...keep stirring to make sure the cheese is thoroughly melted.  When it is melted, turn heat to warm/low and stirring from time to time until ready to use.


Siggy's Breadstick Pizza Dough
1-½ cups warm water
1 TBSP instant (rapid rise) yeast from a jar
2 TBSP sugar
3-½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2-4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
McCormick's Garlic Bread Sprinkle

Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 16"x14" cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Place the whole ball of dough on baking sheet, and with floured hands, stretch and press into shape then brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap, sprinkle garlic bread seasoning over top of olive oil.  Add LOTS (we use it all actually but feel free to do as much as you like) of alfredo sauce and the chicken chunks.  Cover with lots of mozzarella and provolone and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.  Place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 25-30 minutes until cheesy is bubbly and browned slightly.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting. 

Coming this week:  beef stroganoff, honey garlic pork chops, an Italian golden chicken and who knows what else.  I cut my finger pretty good the other day using my new paring knife...so I'm sorta crippled right now.  Going pretty light on cooking this week.  lol

Pan Fried Meatloaf in Pepper Rings

So doesn't look like meatloaf does it?  Bear with me!  :)

My mother used to make those super hideous stuffed pepper with this rice & meat concoction that made me gag the second I smelled it cooking.  Oh how I dreaded that supper night.  Bleck!  I love all the flavors involved but just the way they were put together didn't work for me.  And the "meatloaf" was dry!  Double bleck.  Then one day, I saw Sunny Anderson making something similar.  She took a bell pepper and made rings from them...then packed in a meatloaf mixture and topped it with a tomato sauce.  Then she did some funky fried sage thing and she lost me there.  But the idea stuck with me that I could take my beloved meatloaf and do something different than that big blob of meat with ketchup drizzled over top.  (oh, I've done the bacon route, the bbq sauce glaze...you name it, I've ate it.) 

What I did was use her same pepper ring idea and made my own meatloaf mixture.  Then I topped it with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and baked it till all was bubbly and done.  What happens is this - you pan fry and sear both sides of your packed ring for a few minutes to lock in the flavors.  Then you bake them to cook them throughout and what you get is a super moist, fabulously flavorful meatloaf.  My hubby adores these.  He walks in the house and immediately knows what's in the oven.  Even if you're not a bell pepper fan, cook them in the pepper rings and then peel it off after cooking.  The pepper still lends its wonderful flavor to the meat.

(I don't normally do a gratuitous step by step cooking guide for my recipes because I think most of what I do, you probably already know how to do on your own.  This one merited a photo step by step since its a bit different.)  Oh...and forgive my yucky photos on this round...kitchen has horrible florescent lighting.  I try to do natural lighting but what can you do when its night?  :)

For this recipe you will need: a small jar of spaghetti sauce, mozzarella and/or provolone cheese, 2-3 bell peppers of your color choice, oil for frying and your meatloaf mix.  (if you do not have a meatloaf mix of your own, see bottom of recipe for the one I use.)

Step 1 - Hollow out your pepper (I used yellow and orange ones here but use what you can get or like).  Slice into 1 - 1 1/2 inch rings.  Try to get about 3 rings per pepper.  Slightly over-pack the rings with your meatloaf mixture.  The meat shrinks a bit when cooking. 

Step 2 - Drizzle a little oil in your skillet and heat over medium high heat till browned, about 5 minutes per side.  Take care flipping them over as the meat will have shrunk a bit and the pepper softened some.  If they come apart, just replace the ring as best you can.  It happens, no biggie.

  Step 3 - Place about 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a shallow casserole dish.  Gently remove your meatloaf rings from the skillet and place in your casserole dish.  Cover each meatloaf ring with tomato sauce and top with your cheese.  (I did a mix of provolone and mozzarella.)

Step 4 - Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes uncovered until sauce is bubbling and your cheese has browned nicely all over.  Be careful removing to your plates since they are even MORE soft and can separate.

 

Dad's Meatloaf Mix

The meatloaf mix I used is from my dad.  Its really simple and basic but good and juicy.  Feel free to use your own meatloaf mix that your and your family like but here is my dad's basic, no frills mix if you want to try it.

1 pound of ground beef

1 egg

½ cup seasoned bread crumbs (crushed Ritz crackers work too or panko)

½ cup ketchup (or tomato sauce, whichever you have)

2 teaspoon garlic, minced

½ small onion, chopped finely

1 Tablespoon McCormick Steak Seasoning

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce (or more if you like it spicy)

salt/pepper to taste

Place everything in a bowl and mix but don't overwork it.  Gentle hand mixing is the key, just like when making meatballs.  Over mixing the meat makes it tough.  (same with making hamburger, meatballs, meatloaf rings etc!)  

Breadstick Pizza Dough!

I try to steer away from posting every day meals like gourmet burgers or sammies unless they are particularly good or have some kind of spin on them.  Pizza is much in that category as there are 500,000 recipes out there for any kind of pizza you can imagine.  However, this is an exception.  This recipe is actually a breadstick recipe shared by my friend Siggy Spice.  The breadsticks alone are of such addictive quality you could easily just eat them plain...they are truly THAT good and flavorful.  I made these breadsticks last week and my husband, while shoveling in his 8th breadstick says "I bet this would make a good pizza."  And the light bulb went off in my head that I knew I was going to make pizza dough from this recipe one way, shape or form.

Let me tell you about this recipe first though.  It comes together really super quick using rapid rise yeast.  Yes, I know...you hate yeast.  We all have our woes regarding yeast but this is a really good exception.  The rise is only 30 minutes.  For fresh, hot bread that's chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside....that 30 minutes is nothing.  Shred your cheese, chop your toppings...do whatever you want for 30 minutes then come back to it.  No hot towels, no oily bowl either.  Roll it out, plop and stretch it on your pan and walk away for 30 minutes.  Its really just that simple.  My old recipe for pizza dough required overnight rising in the fridge so this - yeah, this is now my go to pizza crust hands down.

You can see Siggy's original recipe here on her blog.  Try making those too!  *DELICIOUS* in every sense of the word.  But try my variation as a pizza dough...sure to please!   The only real change I made was I instead of an herb blend and garlic salt, I used McCormick's Garlic Bread Sprinkle which is a blend of romano, herbs, salt, garlic and all sorts of goodies.  After the pan rise, I brushed olive oil on the dough and sprinkled heavily with the garlic bread sprinkle.  Then I added tomato sauce, then the toppings of hand cut pepperoni and fresh mozzarella/provolone and a heavy sprinkle of Parm-Reg cheese.

The crust was perfectly medium thick (think Pizza Hut hand tossed as a measure of thickness), chewy inside, crispy on the bottom and edges.  See my picture below to see the edges and the inside of the crust.  Sooo good!  Hope you try it out!  (forgive my double cheese, oily pizza...that's how we like it!  Drippy, gooey and super cheesy lightly browned on top!)

Breadstick Pizza Dough

Adapted from Siggy Spice's Recipe

• 1-½ cups warm water
• 1 TBSP instant (rapid rise) yeast from a jar
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 3-½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2-4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• McCormick's Garlic Bread Sprinkle

Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1-2 TBSP olive oil (just enough to coat) onto the bottom of a 16"x14" cookie sheet.  Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and large enough to fit onto baking sheet.  Place whole sheet of dough on baking sheet, stretching and pressing into shape then brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap, sprinkle garlic salt and herbs of choice over top of olive oil.  Add tomato/pizza sauce and toppings.  Place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 25-30 minutes until cheesy is bubbly and browned slightly.

Mac & Cheese Gnocchi Style

I am a bonafide mac & cheese nut...nutjob would probably be more appropriate.  If I see a mac recipe, I have to try it.  If I see a new kind in the store, I have to buy it.  Oh, new noodle shape?!  Let's dump cheese on it and see how it is as macaroni.  Bechamel sauce, three cheese sauce, alfredo, cheddar jack...you name it, I've tried it and don't get me started on the 500 restaurant varieties I've tried too.  I adore Rachel Ray's with chicken in it, Alton Brown's easy stovetop blue box knock off, the lovely mac & cheese with orichette noodles from Real Simple magazine.  I have a problem, I know.  Is there a 12 step program for this?

And then...thanks to a post by Noble Pig (fabulous!)...I found my nirvana.  Mac & Cheese Gnocchi.  For those not in the know, gnocchi is small potato doughy noodles of happiness in oval form.  I *love* them.  They are a great replacement for pasta noodles in alot of dishes.  My son loves when I swap them in place of dumplings in my chicken and dumpling recipe.  They are great with brown butter, sage and parm cheese.  They are simply delicious.  So when I saw Noble Pig's post, I knew I had to try it.  There was no getting around it. 

This recipe takes either homemade or prepackaged gnocchi (which I did) and you boil them up, put them in a shallow baking dish and then cover them with a dual cheese sauce of fontina and Gruyere and THEN top it with more parm cheese!  It was seriously, the best I have ever had.  It was a fabulous mix of chewy potato nuggets and cheesy, gooey lovliness.  You could NOT get enough!  My hubby was going "Mmm Mmm"  every two seconds as he shoveled more and more in his mouth.  Doesn't get any more comfort foody than this my friends.  It was perfect for the cooler evenings we're having.  (add some crusty bread to get EVERY bit of that cheese sauce!)  And honestly, this was so elegant and impressive, I'd happily serve it at a dinner party.  Its that good...(and easy to boot!)  If you want to see a gorgeous presentation picture, click the link to Noble Pig's post...it was all I could do to get a picture to post since hubs was dying to dig in! 

Gnocchi Mac & Cheese
from Cuisine at Home 

• 1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Basil leaves for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 375o F. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE:  I used MINI gnocchi but regular sized ones are perfect too.  Check Noble Pig's site to see an example of regular sized ones.

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Meatballs

Oh.my.goodness.

Ooey, cheesy, herby and utterly, irresistibly delicious that you cannot stop with just one.  Good thing this makes like 24 then!  What you are staring at, nay, drooling over are chicken meatballs baked with cheese inside them.  Yes.  Cheese inside a meatball. 

There are many things I love about this meatball.  First and foremost, is its functionality.  You can put these on a sub, you make them BIG and serve them main course with a little side of pasta, you can do them small sized as appetizers skewered with a toothpick, you can serve them over 'sketti in place of regular meatballs, you can add them on a deep dish pizza.  You can use ANY sauce you like - tomato, pizza, alfredo...these meatballs do it all.  Above all else, they are scrumptious!  They're pretty fun to make too..and your kids will have a ball rolling them with you.

Best of all they're better for you.  Don't buy the frozen meatballs for crying out loud.  Yes I know they're easier to do but these are healthier.  You're controlling the quality of the meat and ingredients, they're made with ground chicken and they're not pan fried in oil.  They're baked.  Have a dish of these with some fresh parm grated over top and a salad and you've got one terrific meal on your hands! 

What I do - I line my rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil, whichever you have for easy cleanup first of all.  I toss EVERYTHING into my Kitchenaid stand mixer and let it roll for a minute or two till everything is mixed in well.  (you can of course hand mix this or use a hand held mixer...its all good)  I use a big tablespoon and heap a pile about the size of a golf ball in my hand and make a patty.  I place a piece of chunked up cheese the middle and roll the meat around the cheese till its all smooth and shiny.  You want to make sure you have no gaps, holes or seams showing.  Roll it perfectly smooth.  And make SURE no corner of the cheese is showing or you'll have leakage and that's no good.  (you might have to wet your hands throughout the rolling process to keep it from sticking)  Place them on a sheet and bake.  I let them cool a few minutes then plop them into my sauce to simmer till I'm ready to serve.  These can be make WAY ahead of time and just kept in the fridge and baked right before you're ready too.  They're just that awesome.

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Meatballs

2 pounds of ground chicken (I like breast meat best)
1 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp of dried parsley flakes
1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Montreal Chicken seasoning (I sometimes use more....just eyeball it.  You want to see specks of herby goodness all throughout the meat)
Mozzarella, chunked up in 24 pieces for regular sized or 12 pieces for gigantic meatballs 
Olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.  Set aside.  Chunk up your mozzarella and set aside.

In a big bowl (or your mixer stand), combine chicken, crumbs, egg, Worchestershire sauce, herbs, Parm cheese and chicken seasoning.  Mix well till all combined.  Using a large table spoon, scoop out a mound and flatten it into a patty in your hand.  Place a chunk of cheese in the middle and wrap the meat around it, covering the cheese.  Roll the meatball until smooth and shiny, making sure no cheese is poking out or no seams or holes are visible.  Place on cookie sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and turn to coat meatballs.

Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving or adding to a simmering sauce.  Serve with pasta or by itself. 

Chicken & Bacon Philly Sammies

What you are looking at ladies and gentlemen is the most delicious sammie in the whole world.  Chicken, bacon, sauteed onions and provolone cheese.  *sighing happily & dreamily*  I'll give you a second to process that all.  I promise you, cross my heart, pinky swear and all, that your hubby will gobble this down in two minutes flat while mooning, gushing, ooh'ing and aww'ing all the way.  This appeals to hungry men on every level.  Bacon.  Need I say more?  Thought not.  :)

I admit...I tweaked this.  (I always do.)  The original sammie is from the same uber cool Brandi (ala thecountrycook on Tasty Kitchen) who brought you those Pork Chops and Gravy I gushed, raved and drooled about all over the internet.  You can find the original version of this sammie HERE.  Brandi and I simply must have the same taste bud system going on.  Everything of hers has been amazing, turns out perfect every single time and is simple, easy to do and is down right crazy delicious.  (I secretly think she, Siggy Spice and I were sisters separated at birth.)  I wish she would do her own blog to share her collection of noms but alas, I cannot convince her as I've already tried. 

I will admit too, that before this recipe, I never used lemon pepper seasoning.  It just never seemed "useful" to me but now I go through it like crazy.  Its right up there with my "gotta have it" holy trinity of onion powder, garlic powder and kosher salt.  I can do almost anything with those.  Lemon pepper is hard to describe.  Peppery, yes.  Duh.  Lemony?  Sure...it has a lemony tang to it but its not overpowering at all.  Its just this weirdo ingredient blend that adds the whole "what is that flavor" factor that nobody can figure out but don't really care b/c they're too busy stuffing their face.  Its just nom.  Get some!

Feel free to toast your buns prior to the mayo application.  I've done it both ways..toasted and not and I think its a total preference thing.  I like them soft b/c they kinda soak up all the good juices from the chicken and just made it yummier.  Add lettuce, tomato...whatever you like if you want.  Its your sub.  I'm fine just like this!  I don't want to miss one ounce of this flavor factory on a bun.  Its really good...really quick.  

Chicken & Bacon Philly Sammies (originally by Brandi, tweaked by me)

4 slices of thick sliced bacon, cut up into little bits
2 Tbsp butter
1 pound of chicken, diced up into bite sized pieces (tenders, boneless breasts or thighs)
1/2 white onion, diced
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp kosher salt   (can add more later if need be)
4 slices of provolone cheese
4 sub buns (I used soft french rolls from the bakery)
Lots of real mayo  (it is blasphemy to use Miracle Whip on this!)

Before starting, have everything chunked up, diced and ready to roll.  Goes super fast that way.  Chunk up your chicken, toss into a bowl and season with lemon pepper and salt.  Stir to coat all the pieces well.  Dice your onion.  Add to your chicken bowl and set aside.

Over medium-high heat, add your bacon bits to the pan and cook for a few minutes till done.  Scoop out and drain on a paper towel.  Set aside.  Leave the bacon grease in the pan.  Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the bacon grease.  Turn heat down to medium.

Toss in the chicken and onions into the bacon/melted butter and cook for 8 minutes or so, stirring often to break up the pieces and evenly cook on all sides.  Add in the bacon and stir.  (taste now for additional salt or pepper if you need) 

In the pan, divide up the chicken mix into 4 portions and separate.  Add a piece of provolone cheese to each portion and allow to melt over top.  While cheese is melting, SLATHER your bun with mayo on the inside.  (Don't skimp b/c it really adds to the flavor here!)  Scoop your portion onto your buns and serve.

Serves 4 for us, 2 if you're starving!  :)

Bow-Tie Lasagna Rave and Review

Her stylized, yummy picture!

Just like it says, I'm writing today to review the Bow-Tie Lasagna from Rozanie at Tasty Kitchen.  In fact, I'm absolutely going to RAVE about it because this dish was simply phenomenal.  So good in fact, my hubby and I gorged ourselves on the 6 portions.  We totally pigged out and its a rare recipe that makes us do that.  This was one of those gems that you can't quit eating.  We even had rolls with it and *still* ate all 6 servings.  Its just really, really good food, folks.

When I saw it, I thought "Wow, like a homemade Hamburger Helper!  Cool!"  I added it to my recipe file and it sat there for weeks.  Then one night, I didn't have much sitting around for dinner but I knew I had enough to make this.  So I tried it and let me tell you - Hamburger Helper would be selling completely out in stores everywhere if they could make theirs taste 1/10th the way hers does.  Its soo creamy, so rich tasting that you just cannot stop yourself from eating it.

My "Hurry Up, I'm Starving!" picture.

I've heard of people stirring in cream cheese to add some creaminess to their tomato sauce but this version uses sour cream.  The extra zip and tang really set off this dish and made it pop with flavor.  I read some of the reviews before I made it, and like alot of them, I stirred in some grated parm cheese with the last of the ingredients and let it melt in with the mozzerella cheese.  Then I added more before serving.  I've made this twice now, once using ground beef and the other using sweet Italian sausage and both were amazing.

Do yourself a favor and make this one night when you need a quicky dinner.  You won't be sorry...and you'll never reach for a box dinner again.  That's it folks...simple, fast and easy!  I used Ragu's traditional sauce because I was just too lazy to make my own and I had it sitting around.  She uses her own homemade sauce.  So preference is yours!  Mine looks a little 'soupy' because I don't think I had enough noodles left over in my box.  (just a note that yours will probably looks different depending on the sauce you use)

Bow-Tie Lasanga by Rozanie

• 1 pound Ground Chuck or Italian sausage
• 5 cups Bow Tie Noodles
• 3 cups Spaghetti Sauce (or Pizza Sauce, Whatever You Prefer)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)
• ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ½ cups Sour Cream

Fry meat in small pan. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

After noodles are cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce.  Add your fried hamburger, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together, over low heat, for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

My Homemade Horseshoe/Murphy Burger

Call it what you will...horseshoe, Murphy burger, hamburger stack...they're all delicious!  I saw the horseshoe version on Diners, Drive In and Dives and knew I could come up with my own version simple enough.  Just figuring out the cheese sauce would be the key.  (yes, I know the Murphy burger was with a gravy sauce...same principle though.)  And then, the other day, Man vs Food visited ANOTHER place that had a similar secret sauce and he tasted it and asked if there was Worchestershire sauce in it.  She told him yes.  So I filed that in the back of my head for when I went to make my own.  The concept is fairly simple - a burger, fries, Texas toast all stacked up and smothered in a cheese sauce.

I struggled with what cheese to use.  I have made homemade cheddar sauces enough to know they can get funky chunky and clumpy if not done right so for this, I thought I'd use good old Velveeta.  But at the store, NEXT to the Velveeta was a blue box of Kraft's Deluxe Cheese, just like Velveeta.  I love their Deluxe macaroni so I figured I'd give this a try.  I'm not a fan per say of the Velveeta b/c it reminds me of stuff they serve to children at restaurants and my grown up palate likes real cheese versus processed stuff but for this recipe, the melting factor of Velveeta won out.  You just can't get cheddar to behave like Velveeta.

My results were really, really outstanding.  My hubby (who I think was skeptical of my idea to begin with) took one bite and went "Oh my, that's good." and continued to decimate his plate in about 5 minutes flat.  We're talking ALOT of food here people.  Yeah, he's an Army boy but he's a semi-skinny one who doesn't really plow through food that way.  In fact, my kids always joke about when we go to a restaurant that Jon is the pokiest eater alive...and here he was pounding through this huge plate of food like he hadn't eaten in a week.  And he downed an entire homemade chocolate shake too.  That says a TON about how good this meal was.

I would recommend doing your cheese sauce first since melting it slow is the key here and takes the longest.  I baked my fries and put then in about the same time as I started the sauce.  Feel free to use whatever fries you want, I'm just particular to the skinny fries b/c I can bake them and they get mega crispy without extra oil added in.  I did Texas toast but I think sourdough would be just as awesome.  The great thing about this is, its totally adjustable for how many people you're serving.  This version made enough cheese sauce for 4 servings.

Homemade Horseshoe Hamburger Stack

1 pound of hamburger
8 pieces of Texas toast (or your favorite bread)
1 bag of frozen french fries (Fast Fries ruled here)
1/2 lb. box of Velveeta or similar melting cheese
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ground mustard powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Steak seasoning (I use McCormick's)

Shape your hamburgers into 4 quarter pound burgers.  Sprinkle both sides liberally with steak seasoning and set aside.  Chunk up the Velveeta cheese into smaller pieces so they'll melt faster.  Set aside.  Begin pre-heating your oven for your fries.

In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  When melted, add flour and mix well and allow roux to cook for two minutes.  Whisk in the milk gradually till smooth and thick, stirring constantly.  Add the cheese and allow to melt, stirring consistently so as to not burn.  Once melted and smooth, add the Worchestershire sauce, mustard powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Stir well to combine.  If the sauce is TOO thick, add a splash of milk until desired consistence.  You want something thin enough to drizzle or pour..not thick like macaroni sauce.  Reduce temperature to low, stirring often.

Fry your burgers till desired wellness while you cook your fries according to package directions and sprinkle with salt when they come out.  Toast your bread.  Stack up by 2 pieces of toast on the bottom, burger on the toast, fries on the burger and drizzle sauce over it all.

(btw - a smaller version with ONE piece of toast and smaller portion of fries is called a pony shoe. lol)  Hope you like it...we sure did!

Big, Bad and Cheesy

Note to My Readers:  This is my last post until the 31st of August.  I will be away as we're hitting the road on our way to our new house at Fort Benning, Georgia from New York.  Wish us well!  And talk to you ya'll soon!  Much love! - Jill

I am thoroughly convinced everyone on the planet has a version of these cheesy hashbrown potatoes.  They have popped up at every family gathering, bridal shower, back yard BBQ or holiday event I've ever been to.  For years I was convinced my Aunt Lori's was the only version on Earth that was worth eating.  Hers was a true work out though and required you to dice pounds of potatoes and hand shred mounds of cheddar.  It also used Cream of Mushroom soup, of which, I think is pure evil with its bits of rubbery mushrooms hidden in a slimey mush pile of gelified ingredients.  (such an image, I know)  Every serving I would pick those icky bits out and it took forever.  With Labor Day creeping around the corner, I thought I'd share my favorite potluck dish with ya'll. 

Over the years I have morphed her recipe multiple times into something more time manageable and from what everyone tells me, more delicious than any other potato casserole they've ever had.  Our one friend couldn't even describe them...he just stood there and made sounds while waving his hands.  LOL  They really are crazy delicious and super creamy.  I love you can make them ahead of time and free yourself to make/do other things.  I love these with ham strirred in for a quick bunch and served with a salad.  I love them as a side dish at big holiday dinners.  I love the leftovers with scrambled eggs for breakfast.  They are just *perfect* at every meal.  And they reheat so well - I actually think they improve overnight!  They really are big, bad and cheesy!  Hope you try them yourself!

You really can use your favorite cut of potoatoes - the diced or the shredded.  I've done them both.  I've even had the sliced version and it was like au gratins.  Its really all about your preference.  I got super lucky here on base and our commisary had these frozen bags of super small shreds and they're my favorite b/c the potatoes kinda break down and just adds to the creamy texture.  You could most certainly go the route of my aunt Lori and shred fresh yourself if you have time but I like frozen.  And for a nice change up, since there is cheddar cheese soup in the recipe, I like using a cheese blend.  Cheddar and Monterey Jack is my current favorite.  Just gives it a different background flavor.  Like I said, its really adapatable to your preferences.

Big Bad & Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole


1 bag of frozen hashbrown (i love smallest diced ones I can find)
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cup of cheddar cheese (or blend, your choice), divided
salt/pepper to taste
6 pats of butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the soups, the sour cream, onion, 1 cup of the cheese and salt/pepper to taste.  Add the frozen potatoes and mix thoroughly to coat all.  It will be very thick.  Plop into your prepared pan and smooth, pressing down evenly.  Cover with foil and cook for 40 minutes till bubbly. 

Remove foil and top with remaining cheese and place 6 pats of butter spaced out across the top.  Bake another 20 minutes or so until top is bubbly and brown and cheese is completely melted.  Allow to cool several minutes before serving.

Cheddar Mac & Chicken - as requested & bonus!

I had to giggle while making this recipe today.  My friend Kristi is preggers and craving mac like crazy and I was snickering thinking about when I was pregnant with my kids how I craved Spaghettios like they were going out of style.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner...Chef Boyardee was my personal chef.  LOL  I was also fond of chilled  chocolate covered graham crackers by Keebler.  Those elves have it going on in that tree.  Sheer genius.  Its just so funny the things you crave.

This mac recipe..yeah, I crave it ALL the time.  It is a right tie for Alton Brown's Stovetop Macaroni (recipe at the end of this post! - YUM!) as far as which is my favorite.  Its a riff on one of Rachel Ray's recipes but hers, of course, had broccoli and green stuff I'd never touch with a 10 foot pole, let alone clog up my macaroni and cheese with.  This recipe is slightly spicy.  You could totally omit the cayenne, paprika and mustard if you don't want a kick of spice in there.  Those of you with picky kids might opt for that but my teenagers are all over this as is.  The great thing about this recipe is since it's a homemade sauce, you can add whatever cheese you want.  If your family is all about the mild cheddar, use it.  If you like it stronger, use sharp cheddar.  I use a blend of cheddar and monterey jack.  I just find the two together are perfect but its totally up to you.

The sauce?   No, it's not Velveeta.  Bleck.  That's just blasphemy.  And some of you may be moaning about making a roux for the sauce but its really, really simple.  And honestly...in the time it takes you to make a box version, you can have ALL this homemade taste in the same amount of time and no wacky preservatives either!  I love controlling what I eat.  I can't pronounce half of what's on the back of the blue box, can you?  I even use whole grain noodles and you can't tell the difference.  Its better for you, you're controlling the ingredients...and really, what kinda cheese is powdered?! 

Also, this recipe makes ALOT.  Like 6 *big* servings and b/c of the homemade cheese sauce, it doesn't reheat well in the microwave.  It kinda gets funky in the microwave so if you're going to reheat, do it slowly in a saucepan and if it looks dry, add a splash of milk and stir.  Hope ya'll enjoy!  I know I sure did making it for you!  (btw - bacon is FABULOUS sprinkled across the top of this before serving!  And you could totally top it with buttered breadcrumbs if you like that as well.  All up to you!)

Cheddar Mac & Chicken

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound uncooked chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
salt/pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 pound of macaroni, choice of shape
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3c whole milk
1c chicken stock
3c sharp Cheddar, shredded
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Place a pot of water to boil for macaroni. Add salt before adding pasta.  Cook according to package directions.  While water is heating up...heat a skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil and chicken seasoned with salt and pepper. Saute a few minutes till chicken is browned lightly then add onion and cook another 5 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through.  Scoop out into a bowl and set aside.

Return the pan to medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika. Whisk together and cook until the roux bubbles.  (it will be rust colored, don't panic!)   Cook one minute more. Whisk in milk and stock slowly and raise heat to bring sauce to a quick boil.  Once it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to thicken, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.   Add cheese to the milk sauce SLOWLY, little bit at a time and whisk till the cheese has melted in and is smooth. Stir in mustard, if using then season with salt/pepper to taste.  Add chicken/onion mixture and pasta to the sauce, stirring well to coat.

BONUS RECIPE!  If you *do* like the box kind better but want to trying a  making a homemade mac for yourself, try Alton Brown's Stovetop Macaroni version.  I don't have a picture...but if you've seen Kraft Deluxe you've seen his. It is the mass yummy! Click the link  for his recipe.

Ham & Cheese All Grow'd Up

This is so easy I really shouldn't even post it but the ooh's and the ahh's I got today at lunch urged me otherwise! The other day at Adams Fairacre Farmer's Market I had bought some rosemary ham, which was super flavorful and moist but yet had this crunchy crispy edge with rosemary on it.  It was *divine* to say the least.  I have made several sammies with it but still had some bits left over and didn't want to waste any of it so I came up with this on the fly. 

This is my version of ham and cheese all grown up.  The sauce is the kicker here!  A light, creamy cheese sauce was spread on first, then the ham and finally a thin layer of mozzerella and provolone.  The two cheese flavors really complimented the ham and made for a great light lunch.  A small salad or fruit on the side would be perfect to make this into a full meal. 

And really, if you added some scrambled eggs before braiding, it would be a great brunch item.  You don't even have to braid it fancy like I did...you could flip it into a calzone shape or roll it up and slice it even.  Any way you do it, ham and cheese is winner winner!

Ham & Cheese Braid

1 package of Pillsbury's pizza dough, thick version
1/4 pound of rosemary ham (or your favorite)
2 tbsp butter
1/8 cup heavy cream or milk
1 tsp country dijon mustard, optional
1/4 bar of Velveeta, chunked up for easier melting
Shredded Mozzerella/Provolone, for sprinkling
1 beaten egg

Preheat your oven to 425. 

Roll out your pizza dough onto parchment paper set on the counter.  It will be all jumbled and wrinkley, thats fine.  Roll it out or pat it out with your hands very thinly into a big square.  (I trim mine off into a square with my pizza cutter b/c I have cooking OCD, I swear but you don't have to be so precise.)  Leaving a big two - three inch strip in the middle for the goodies to go, slice into the edges of the dough on each side, every 1/2 inch or so so you make flaps to fold over and braid with.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt your butter over medium low heat. Add the cream and chunked up Velveeta, whisking till combined and smooth.  Use a spoon, test to see if it coats the back of the spoon and stays there.  That's what you want...thick and creamy.  If its too thin, whisk in some more Velveeta.  Stir in the mustard if using.  Remove from heat and let cool a minute or two.

Spread on the cheese sauce in the middle of your dough in a thick layer right down the strip.  Add your ham on top of the cheese sauce, as much or as little as you want.  Top with a sprinkling of the mozzerella/provolone cheese.  Now the fun part!  Braid the dough over top of the ham and cheeses, pulling the dough across and stretching if you have to.  It's ok...its really forgiving to work with! When you get to the end, if you have dough left over, just trim it or tuck under the braid.   

Move the parchment paper to a low edge cookie sheet and brush the top of the braid with the beaten egg.  Salt and pepper to taste and pop it in the oven for about 15-18 minutes.  Let it cool for about 3 minutes before slicing or the cheese sauce will ooze out EVERYWHERE and you don't want that. 

Makes 4 individual size servings.  (or two if you're uber hungry!)