Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

pic and recipe from seededatthetable.com

This recipe is a MAJOR crowd pleaser and MAJOR man food. This has taken me forever to post and I apologize but it really says something about this recipe becaise I am still thinking about these babies! YUM! They were a little labor-intense but SO worth it. I made these for New Years Eve, where traditionally we just eat heavy appetizers for dinner.

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast (or instant yeast)

2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar, divided

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)

1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees F)

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

1/2 cup finely chopped ham (about 3 ounces)

1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used cheddar)

6 cups water

4 teaspoons baking soda

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1-2 Tablespoons coarse salt

DIRECTIONS: Combine the yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, and warm water in a large bowl. Set aside until foamy, 5-8 minutes. (If using the instant yeast, you can skip this step and just add it to the flour.) In another bowl, stir together the remaining 2 Tbsp brown sugar and warm milk until dissolved.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to the yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Add the remaining flour as needed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times, forming a smooth ball.

Brush the inside of a large clean bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm, draft free area for about 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size and bubbles appear on the surface.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the four sections into a 12×4-inch rectangle. With the long side facing you, gently press 1/4 of the ham and cheese into the bottom third of the dough, and roll as tightly as possible, starting with the end that has the filling. Cut into 12 1-inch pieces and transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining 3 portions of the dough.

Let rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400?F.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the baking soda and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Boil pretzels in batches, cooking about 20 seconds each, turning once. They should be slightly puffed. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them back to the baking sheets.


Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 15 minutes.

Brush warm pretzel bites with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.



White Chocolate Strawberry Pie

recipe and pic courtesy of Jamiecooksitup.net

Made this when I bought four pounds of strawberries from Costco. Needed to use them up and this was delicious! Its similar to a recipe we already have on here but its got a little twist with the white chocolate IN the mix and on top.

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie



CRUST:


1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs

5 T butter, melted

dash salt



FILLING:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 packages)

2 C powdered sugar

1/2 C white chocolate chips (melted)

1 1/2 T orange juice (I used lemon juice)
2 C cool whip

dash of salt



TOPPING:

1 pound strawberries, sliced

3 T white chocolate chips


Directions: Make your graham cracker crust using a measuring cup to press to the edges of the pie pan. No need to cook it. In your mixer, place 12 oz of softened cream cheese and mix til smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix til combined. Add two cups of cool whip and juice (I used lemon juice) and melted white chocolate. Add a dash of salt and mix well.Pour over crust and smooth. Add on sliced strawberries.Melt three more tablespoons of white chocolate and drizzle over strawberries. ENJOY!

Bourbon Street Chicken

I'm making this for the second time! Its delicious!!! And easy! We add green beans at the end to get our vegetables in!

2 poundsboneless chicken breasts; cut into bite-size pieces

1 tablespoonolive oil; (1-2)

1 garlic clove; crushed

1/4 teaspoonginger

3/4 teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cupapple juice

1/3 cuplight brown sugar

2 tablespoonsketchup

1 tablespooncider vinegar

1/2 cupwater

1/3 cupsoy sauce

1 tablespooncornstarch; (if thick sauce desired)

Bourbon Chicken Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet.

Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.

Remove chicken.

Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium heat until well blended and dissolved.

Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes uncovered.

Serve over hot rice.

Notes

I also like to mix about 1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce (found in the asian food section of the grocery store) in with the ketchup for additional heat. Do it if you like it spicey!

Mocha Truffles

To watch this video Recipe click HERE!!

Hi everyone! Today´s recipe is a great idea for Mother´s day or any other special occasion! I hope you like it!

Makes 16-18 pieces
Ingredients:

• 9 oz of semisweet chocolate
• 3/4 cups of heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons of instant coffee (powder)
• 2 tablespoons of chocolate liquor

For Garnish:

• 10 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• 4 oz White Chocolate (optional)
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)
• Kosher Salt (optional)

Bring the cream and butter to a simmer.
Combine 2 tablespoons of instant coffee powder and 2 tablespoons of Chocolate liquor. Mix well and set aside for minute.

Chop the semisweet chocolate in small chunks and place them inside an aluminum bowl.

Pour the cream and butter mixture into the chocolate chunks (mixture should be really hot) and also add in the mixture of the coffee powder and chocolate liquor. Mix everything for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate chunks have melted.  Let it cool at room temperature for 10  minutes and then place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After an hour or so, the chocolate should be solid enough to form the truffles, grab about 1 tablespoon of the cold chocolate and form it into a ball with your hands, make it as big or as small as you want. Keep on making the truffles until all the chocolate is gone. Place the truffles back in the refrigerator for 30 more minutes.

On a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Once they are melted, add in 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, mix well, pour into a bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Grab one of the truffles and dip it into the melted chocolate chips. Place it on a piece parchment paper and keep on repeating this step until all the truffles are covered with the melted chocolate chips. Decorate with shredded coconut, white chocolate or kosher salt! Place back in the refrigerator for 1 hour, then enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables

Pic courtesy Simple Bites

I made this for dinner on Sunday. It was risky b/c we had the sister missionaries to dinner, but man oh man, it was worth it. It was SO yummy. Christian even loved it! It'll definitely be a repeat.

Slow-Cooker Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables
adapted from Simple Bites 

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 inch cube of ginger (about 30 grams), roughly chopped
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into four
• 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup fresh or frozen vegetables of your choice (I used red pepper and carrots)

For the spice blend

• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I subbed caraway seed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (I added a little more than this.)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients from the spice blend together and set aside.
2. In a mini food processor, combine garlic, ginger and onion and pulse until it forms a paste.
3. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and melt butter. Add pureed aromatics and stir well. Cook for a few minutes, then add spice blend. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Move aromatics to one side of the pot and add chicken pieces to the pan. Cook chicken slightly on all sides, using a sturdy wooden spoon to move it around the pot. It should get thoroughly coated with the spice mixture. Transfer chicken and spices to slow cooker.
5. Open the cans of coconut milk and remove the cream from the top using a soup spoon. You should have about 1 cup. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken and with both cans, it should just barely cover the chicken.
6. Cook on low for 4 hours.
7. Whisk cornstarch with coconut cream until smooth and add to the chicken. Stir well. Add frozen or fresh vegetables of your choice. Cook for another half an hour or until you deem the chicken cooked and the vegetables hot.
8. Serve over hot rice.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

I assumed going into this motherhood thing that, since I had a fair amount of childcare experience, I had it all figured out. What I hadn't realized, having always taken care of children six months and older, is that infants are quite a bit more time consuming than I had anticipated. I guess it's hard to entertain yourself when you can't sit up on your own, let alone reach out and hold something. On top of it all, my little boy is opposed to sleep. Oh, he sleeps great at night. In fact, last night, I got over six hours in a row and then a few more to boot! The problem is that my boy, who is almost ten weeks old now, doesn't like to nap much during the day. I looked up online how much infants should be napping at his age and it says around five hours a day. I'm lucky to get two out of him most days. The good news is that he isn't crabby with that little sleep. He's wide eyed and bushy tailed and ready to face the world... if only he could interact with it more!

As you might guess, between this sleep issue and keeping him fed, there isn't a huge amount of time for playing in the kitchen, but I've been making a concerted effort lately. I miss that tasty, creative outlet! So, in the last week, I've developed three new recipes. Of course, now the trick is to have the time to post them!

The first recipe I put together is for a homemade instant oatmeal. Once you've made the mix and put it in the pantry, you can prepare a serving in less than a minute and it is very, very tasty. It took me a few tries to get the flavor right, but I definitely think I've got it now. It's a brown sugar and maple flavored oatmeal with just a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. Very satisfying.

As I've mentioned before, muffins are usually my go to breakfast; it's my husband that's been consuming all the instant oatmeal up to this point (although that may change now!). As you might imagine, it galled me just a bit every time I put that box in the grocery cart. I just knew I could do better and cheaper. This recipe makes six servings for less than a buck. It looks very similar to what comes out of the box, doesn't it? But it doesn't have all those fillers in it! Just oats, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and real maple syrup.

You start by mixing a portion of the oats with all the flavorings and then baking to dry it out and make it shelf stable. You then grind up that mix in a food processor (I suppose a blender might work too) until it is fairly finely ground. Finally, mix in the remaining oats and put it in a jar in the pantry. That's it! 

Obviously, you can make the servings as large or as small as you want and add the water to your taste, but as a general guide, five tablespoons of dry mix makes a serving. That's approximately 40 grams. A Quaker Instant Oatmeal serving is 34 grams and has 120 calories. Based on the nutritional information and measurements for my recipe, it comes to about 170 calories a serving. If it was a similar serving size as the Quaker, it would be 145 calories. Why the difference? It's not that my version is sweeter. I think it has to do with the fillers they have in there. 34 grams of oats have 128 calories. Oats are less calorie dense than sugar, so to be able to have only 120 calories per serving, there must be a bunch of other, very low calorie stuff in there... perhaps the guar gum, sucralose, or calcium carbonate. 

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

Yield: 6 servings

1/2 tsp table salt

5 TBS packed light brown sugar

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

2 TBS real maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup quick oats, divided

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. In a small bowl mix the salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add 1/2 cup of the oats. Stir to completely mix. Sprinkle out on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring once, until the mixture is dry looking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, place the mixture in a food processor and process until the mix is fairly finely ground. Pour into a glass jar. Add the remaining cup of oats and shake to mix. Store tightly capped for maximum freshness. This recipe can be multiplied as many times as necessary to obtain the desired amount of mix.

To prepare the oatmeal, spoon 5 tablespoons of the instant oatmeal in a bowl. Add between 1/3 and 1/2 cup very hot water and stir. Let sit 30 seconds, stir again, and enjoy. The amount of water you use will be a matter of personal preference. Using 1/3 cup of water will lead to a thicker, more pasty oatmeal while 1/2 cup will be somewhat watery. Personally, I think halfway between is the perfect balance.

Chicken Tinga (Mexican Dish)

To watch this Video-Recipe click HERE!!!

Hi everyone, today´s recipe is a very popular Mexican dish, Chicken Tinga or Tinga de pollo is a chicken stew, slowly cooked in a Chipotle and tomato Sauce. It´s also  a very versatile dish, it can be serve in different ways from tostatadas, tacos, flautas, or simple with some white rice or a creamy spaghetti or pasta. Either way this dish will satisfy your cravings for Mexican food. It´s really easy to make, so simple and yet so delicious! Enjoy

Serve 6-8
Ingredients:

• 1 Chicken cut in pieces
• 3 cups of Hot-dog links cut into small pieces (or 3 cups of Deli-Cuts cut in small pieces)
• 5-6 slices of Bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 large Onion cut in thin slices
• 2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 whole Garlic clove
• 1 Bay leave
• 10 ounces of chorizo
• 1 10oz can of chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce
• 5-6 large Roma Tomatoes
• 1/4 small onion
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Bring enough water to cover the whole chicken to a boil. Season the water with plenty of salt, 1 Bay leave, 1 garlic clove and a 1/4 of a small onion. Cook the chicken in this water for about 1 hour or until completely cooked. Once the chicken is cooked, drain it, and let it cool. Then shred it and set it aside until ready to use.

Cook the tomatoes in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes or until soft. (you can cook them in the same water with the chicken if you want to.) Once they are soft, put them in the blender, with 1 cup of the chicken broth (the water where you cooked the chicken), and also add in the chipotle peppers, you can add as many chipotle peppers as you like. This is supposed to be a spicy dish, but the spiciness of it, depends on you, so you can add the whole can of chipotle peppers or just a couple of them, either way it will be delicious.  Blend everything together on high for about 5 minutes or until you get a soft sauce. Taste the flavor and add salt and pepper if needed.

Now in a large sauce pan on low heat, preheat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, cook the onions for about 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, you want the onions to become caramelized, to get nice and soft and a brownish kind of color without burning them. Remember to cook them on low heat.

Once the onions have caramelized, add in the bacon and also add in the hot dog links or the deli cuts, continue to Cook everything on low heat for another 5-8 more minutes or until the bacon browns a little bit.  Then add in the Chorizo, stir everything together, make sure to break down the Chorizo
really well, and continue to cook on low heat for another 10 more minutes to cook the Chorizo.

Once the Chorizo is cooked, add in the shredded chicken, stir together, to make sure the chicken is well incorporated with the rest of the ingredients, then add in the tomato-chipotle sauce, stir together again, taste the flavor and add more salt and pepper if needed. Continue to cook on low heat for another 10 more minutes or until it comes to a boil.


Once it comes to  a boil, you are ready to serve. Serve it as you please, this makes great tostadas, tacos, flautas and even a great sandwich! 

"Healthy" Chocolate Blender Ice Cream

I was at Costco today and the Vitamix guy was there doing demonstrations.  I hung around for a while, collecting samples of delicious green smoothies and THEN he made chocolate ice cream.  I saw the ingredients and was totally skeptical about whether or not it would be edible by me, much less my kids.  I took one sip and was totally sold- I would've eaten all of it, but Lauren took it from me and wouldn't give it back.  She licked the sample cup clean!  It tasted amazing- I promise you cannot taste one of the "healthy" ingredients.  Doug, the Vitamix presenter, sent me a link to his recipe (click here) and I made it for dessert tonight.  It tasted just as amazing, and all of my kids were gobbling it up and throwing praises at their "best mom in the world".  :)  You can add peanut butter, banana, chocolate chips, mint flavor, whatever you want to make it your own.

courtesy google images

"Healthy" Chocolate Blender Ice Cream

Doug, the Blender Chef

1/2 cup milk (or half & half, heavy cream for richer taste)
3 1/2 Tbs. cocoa powder
7 Tbs. hot cocoa mix (you can find a healthier one if you try- I used a Trader Joes mix)
4-6 baby carrots
small slice cabbage
small handful spinach (I didn't have cabbage so I doubled this)
1/2 of an avocado
sweetener to taste (5 Hadley dates, agave nectar, honey, etc.)
2 cups ice

Blend these ingredients on low beginning on 1 then increasing to 10, run for 10 seconds then stop.  Use tamper stick to push ice down.  Results are best when using a Vitamix.

*Doug (and his co-presenter, Keith) has a lot of great recipes for soups and smoothies that can also be found by clicking on this link.

Curried Chicken

I am not a curry fan at all, but there have been a couple of curry recipes I've tried that I love.  This is one of them.  Ignore the lentils in the picture above.  I forgot to take a picture of my finished product, and although it looks a lot like the above picture, it does not have lentils.  Grab some Naan bread from the store to go with it or eat it with rice.  Or try both like we did.  Either way, it's delicious!

Curried Chicken

2 lb chicken cubed

15 roma  tomatoes sliced,thin then halved

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3  t. curry powder *

2 t.  chili powder

¼ t. cumin

2 t. salt

1/3 c. vegetable oil

chopped fresh cilantro to taste

Heat oil in wok or very large saucepan over medium.

Add tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes, stirring

Add chili powder, curry, cumin salt and garlic.  Cook 3 minutes.

Raise heat  to Med-high and add chicken .  Stir fry for 5 minutes.

Turn heat down to medium or medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with fresh cilantro, rice  and/or Naan bread.

*I use regular McCormick curry powder, but if I want a bit more heat, I subsitute half of the curry powder with red curry powder.

Ham Bone Soup

I made this tonight using my leftover Easter ham bone, and it was surprisingly delicious!  I like that it's a non-creamy ham soup and it's so simple (in the crockpot!).  I substituted celery for the green peppers, and I used a little less bouillon than it called for.  Everyone (even my 2-year-old) ate it and loved it!

Ham Bone Soup

courtesy of Allrecipes.com

1 meaty ham bone

1 onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz) can of peeled and diced tomatoes with juice

1 can non-drained kidney beans 

3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cubed (or substitute celery)

4 cups water

6 cubes chicken bouillon

Place the ham bone, onion, tomatoes, kidney beans, potatoes, and green peppers into a 3 quart or large slow cooker.  Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the water and pour into the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high until warm.  Reduce heat to low and continue to cook 5-6 hours. (I just started mine on high and cooked for about 5 hours).

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I LOVE this pizza, and you can be creative with it.  This is what I used:

Your favorite pizza crust (I copied the homemade one from Our Best Bites)
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Cilantro
Grilled Red onion slices (saute in butter on the stove)
Gouda cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Cooked, diced chicken marinated in BBQ sauce

Spread BBQ sauce on the pizza dough.  (I usually cook my dough slightly before this step so it isn't doughy.)  Add chicken, onion, cilantro, and cheese.  Feel free to layer as you like, the more you get on there, the better.  Bake according to pizza dough directions and savor the deliciousness!

Breakfast Enchiladas

I made these breakfast enchiladas for our blessing brunch.  They are so, so good and very easy to make.  The recipe is technically an overnight recipe (make it the night before and bake it the next day) but the first time I made it I just cooked it right away and the second time I put together the burrito the night before and then poured the egg mixture on the next morning and baked it right away.  Super good and super tasty.  You can just add whatever you want into the burrito!

Breakfast Enchiladas

Recipe from Inspired Taste Blog

Why we love this recipe. You can prepare these enchiladas the night before, refrigerate overnight then bake in the morning. These are perfect for brunch or entertaining in the morning.

What you need to know. We kept the recipe below quite simple with ham, cheese and peppers, but feel free to add your favorite ingredients. Cooked bacon or sausage would be great as well as other vegetables like mushrooms.

Equipment you’ll need. You will need a 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, two large bowls and a whisk.

Created By: Joanne and Adam Gallagher

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups (151 grams) diced cooked ham
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 8 green onions, finely sliced
• 2 cups (227 grams or 8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 eight-inch flour tortillas
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups (473 ml) half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

Prepare Baking Dish

1. Lightly spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Roll Tortillas

1. In large bowl, stir together ham, bell pepper, green onions and 1 cup of the cheese. Place 1/3 cup of the ham mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up and place seam side down in baking dish.

Prepare Egg Mixture

1. In large bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, flour and the salt. Pour over the tortillas. Cover then bake or refrigerate overnight to be baked in the morning.

Bake Enchiladas

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Uncover baking dish then scatter the remaining cup of cheese over enchiladas. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, and then bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until set and cheese melted.

Lemon-Orzo Salad

Took this yesterday to an Easter dinner we were invited to and it was mm mm good. I skipped out on the chicken because I was too lazy to cook it and I didn't feel like it would add much. Otherwise it is so stinkin easy and fast I would highly recommend it!

3/4 C uncooked orzo pasta
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp honey
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 C cooked shredded or diced boneless, skinless chicken
1/2 C diced cucumber
1/2 C diced red bell pepper
1/3 C sliced green onions
1 Tbs chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill
1/2 C crumbled feta cheese

Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta feels cool to the touch.  Drain and place in a large salad bowl.

While orzo cooks, combine lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, garlic, honey, and black pepper.  Whisk to combine.

Add chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, green onions, and dill to pasta.  Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.  Divide onto 4 plates and sprinkle with feta.