Chicken Parmesan Pizza February 9, 2010

This is a relatively quick weeknight dinner that I’m not kidding, BOTH of my older boys ate without any hesitation. And they ate it all!! Now, it’s not super-healthy, but eating this every once in a while won’t hurt. Plus, serving something that I know will get eaten without complaint boosts my ego.

It’s from one of my newest sources for great recipes: Southern Living.

1 (10-oz.) package frozen garlic bread loaf (I used a 16 oz. package of Cole’s garlic bread, and when I opened up the loaf, I used a knife to scrape off most of the garlic spread stuff…there was still plenty of flavor, but it had to cut the fat by a lot)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
6 deli fried chicken strips (I baked some from the freezer before assembling the pizza – I’ve been using the Tyson breaded but uncooked chicken strips – all natural, and in a 3-lb bag at Sam’s Club)
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Italian three-cheese blend
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (didn’t have this, so I just skipped)

Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange garlic bread, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400° for 8 to 9 minutes or until bread is lightly browned. Spread pizza sauce over garlic bread.

Cut chicken strips into 1/2-inch pieces, and arrange over pizza sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Bake at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

+++++

It’s pizza week chez Diehl. Up next: Pizza Rolls.

Peanut Chicken Skewers (or not) January 20, 2010

When I saw this recipe in a recent Real Simple, I knew I had to make these for Matt. I realized that the skewers I thought I was going to make these on were far too long to use, so I ditched the skewers and just made little chicken nuggets. They were good! Jack Henry, who doesn’t eat anything, was intrigued enough to take a couple of bites but didn’t actually eat one. The boys thought they were just so-so, but Matt and I really liked them. I’ll note the changes I’m going to make next time after the recipe.

3/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley (I had to use dried parsley because I had no fresh herbs)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 24 thin strips
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 to 2 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
24 6-inch bamboo skewers

On a large plate, combine the peanuts, bread crumbs, cilantro, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Thread each strip of chicken onto a skewer and coat with the peanut mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere.

In batches, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the skewers until golden, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate as they are cooked and add more oil to the skillet as necessary.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and chili-garlic sauce. Serve with the chicken.

My changes:
1. Obviously, no skewers. And that was fine.
2. Next time, I’m not making the mayo mixture. We didn’t love it, but we DID love just using the Thai sweet chili sauce that we had in the fridge, and the boys loved it with sweet and sour sauce (I love World Harbors brand – it’s at our Superwalmart and grocery stores).
3. I think I’m going to use half peanuts, half walnuts next time. For one, we always have walnuts in the house (not so for peanuts) and walnuts have some actual health benefits, even though the difference would be minor in this recipe.
4. MAKE SURE you cut the chicken fairly thin, whether you plan to skewer it or not. That’s more important than how big the piece actually is, as it will cook faster when it’s thin.
5. Next time, I’ll use less oil. These won’t have to actually be fried on the outside to be good, because the panko helps keep them crispy! With just enough oil in the pan to keep them from sticking, it’ll be fine. I used peanut oil, but you could use canola or olive, too.

Crockpot Lasagna January 19, 2010

Another great Kraft recipe!

While this isn’t quite as good as traditional lasagna, it comes pretty close, and when you consider the small amount of work it takes to put it together vs. traditional, it’s worth having in your cookbook! The kids ate it up!

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu Traditional because there’s no chunks)
1 cup water
1 container (15 oz.) low-fat ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

Spoon 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

Cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed (3.5 hrs. on low in my crockpot, which has superpowers). Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Bean and Bacon Soup January 13, 2010

I’ve had this recipe for years and never tried it. But, last week I was frying up some bacon to make quiche for dinner, and wanted to use the rest in something else, so I thought of this soup. It has a can of Ranch Beans in it, and I had no idea what they were until I opened the can, but it turns out they’re just pintos in some slightly spicy tomato-y sauce. However, there is also some other kind of fatty preservative in there that I’d rather not eat, so next time I make this I’m going to try to just use a can of pinto beans and season it myself. I’ll post the details here if it turns out!

Anyway, this is so easy, and hearty and perfect for the middle of winter. it would have been great with cornbread if I would have had the time to make it! This only makes 3 servings (if you’re using it for a whole meal).

1 can Ranch beans
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I actually had to saute onion for the other recipe, so I just sauteed the portion for this recipe, too, and it was really good!)
6 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled

Combine first four ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

If you want a thicker soup, carefully mash some of the beans.

Top with bacon and serve!

Caramel Apple Pie January 9, 2010

I made this for our Christmas dinner this year.  I’ve only made it one other time so it was a much requested item for Christmas.  My mother-n-law actually said, “I really think this is the best apple pie I have ever had.”  Maybe you’ll like it too!

2 large jonathan apples
2 large fuji apples
1 granny smith apple

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 unbaked pie crust

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter
caramel ice cream topping

Dice the apples.  Yes, I said dice.  We prefer them this way versus just slicing them really thin.  Mix together the apples, sugar, 3 T flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Pour into an unbaked pie crust.

Combine brown sugar, oats, 1/2 cup of flour, and butter.  Mix until crumbly.  Sprinkle the coarse crumbs onto the pie filling.

Line the top edge of the pie crust with foil and bake at 400 for 25 – 30 minutes (25 for me).  Remove the foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.  Drizzle the caramel topping over the top of the pie while it’s still warm (but not too hot or it will just pour off onto aluminum foil that you placed under the pie, not that that’s happened to me or anything!).

*Both times I have made this, the top of the pie started to burn (I think from the crumbly butter).  We didn’t seem to notice because of all the caramel.  BUT, the next time I make this, I’m going to put the oven rack as low as it will go and hope that will help.

Jalapeno Hummus January 7, 2010

Matt and I were fortunate enough to attend the Illini/Mizzou basketball game on December 23rd…actually, it was unfortunate because Illinois was AWFUL and we lost. BUT: Matt and I sat in a suite and I ate my weight in crostini and roasted red pepper hummus. Which made it all okay.

When the Christmas festivities settled down, I had to find a suitable recipe, and decided to go with a Jalapeno version for my first try. This is great as a dip for vegetables or chips or pretzels of any kind, a spread for sandwiches, or spread on a bit of crostini or any crusty bakery bread. It is spicy, though! But it’s healthy and relatively low in fat, so a great alternative to dairy-based dips. I’ll post more hummus recipes as we try and like them!

I did buy some really good Roasted Red Pepper from Trader Joe’s and had the kids try it, and none of them liked it (Jack Henry wouldn’t even touch it, which is no surprise). However, I will try again with milder flavors because I think there’s a chance this could work!

1 cup garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas)
3 Tbl tahini
2 Tbl lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1/3 cup canned/jarred jalapenos plus a little juice (NOTE: I would recommend starting out with about a 1/4 cup and adding more if you want it spicier…it’s pretty hot)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste

Put everything in your blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You might need a few drops of water or some of the juice from the jalapenos (if you want it hotter) to make it smooth enough.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream BARS January 6, 2010

Here’s my mother-in-law’s version of the same cake, but this bakes up more like a bar that you can pick up and eat a bit more easily.

Chocolate Chip Cake Bars

6 Tbl softened margarine or butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
8 oz. sour cream
Small bag of chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate chips)
Cinnamon and sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer; add eggs; add dry ingredients; add sour cream.

Grease or spray a 9×13 pan and spread batter in it. Scatter chocolate chips over the batter. Sprinkle several tablespoons of cinnamon and sugar over the top.

Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream CAKE January 6, 2010

When I was little, my mom, Sonya’s mom, and some of their other mom friends had “coffees” at each others’ houses, and we kids got to have a playdate. This cake was something my mom made for these shindigs and for lots of other events (you make it in a 9×13, but can very easily split it into two 8×8’s and give one away to a friend and keep one for yourself!). Matt’s mom makes a similar version that we love, too, that’s more of a bar than cake (and it’s the next post). So technically this is a coffee cake, but it’s versatile…

2 cups flour
1½ cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1⅓ cup sour cream
⅔ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
½ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 oz chocolate chips

*Heat oven to 325. Grease 13×9 pan.
*In large bowl, combine first 9 ingredients. Blend 1 minute at low speed, then 3 minutes at medium speed (if you’re using a Kitchenaid you can do this in about half the time). Pour ½ batter into greased pan. In small bowl, combine ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle ½ mixture and ½ chocolate chips over batter. Repeat with remaining batter, sugar mixture and chocolate chips.
*Bake 35-40 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
*Try not to eat the whole pan.

Double Onion Dip December 22, 2009

My sister Hayley made this last year at Christmas time, and I requested it again this year! It’s from Kraft’s website.

2 Tbsp. Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup mayo (or Miracle Whip if you like it)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
Wheat Thins or other chips/crackers for dipping

HEAT Italian dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add yellow onions; cook 15 to 20 min. or until browned and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper. Cool.

MIX mayo and cream cheese in medium bowl until well blended. Add caramelized onions and the green onions; mix well.

The folks at Kraft say to serve at room temperature with the crackers, but I (and reader/commenter Julie) think that it’s better when cold.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie December 8, 2009

I made this for the first time a couple of years ago, and it got rave reviews! I do like traditional pumpkin pie, but this is good if you want to change it up a bit, too.

It makes 10 servings, and is no-bake and very quick to put together.

1/4 cup plus 2 T caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham cracker crust
1/2 cup plus 2 T chopped pecans, divided
2 pkg (3.4 oz each) Vanilla instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Lite, thawed, divided

Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans.

Beat pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate 1 hour. Top with remaining Cool Whip, caramel topping and pecans just before serving.