A Light of Success in the Valley of Darkness...

...Wow the last couple of weeks have been muddled with many recipes that wouldn't dare make it on to this blog - yes, they were that bad!!! But as always through every long bad streak, there is always some little success that ever so slowly brings you out of those cooking doldrums and for me it was this recipe. I found it on one of my discussion boards tweaked it for a party that I was going to, so here goes:

Buffalo Wing Dip

Ingredients:

1 ½ packages low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup P.C. Buffalo Wing sauce, mild
1 cup Ranch dressing
2 cups cooked chicken - shredded or diced
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese and hot pepper sauce until well blended. Mix in the Ranch dressing and chicken. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over it.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm with tortilla chips and celery.

Note: use an already cooked rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store for a quick option to the chicken needed in this recipe.

Enjoy!

Mini Quiches...

I'm a Quiche Virgin...

This was my first time making a quiche, don't know why but I've always shied away from them. I made them as minis as I wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Didn't realize how easy and delicious they could be... The original recipe came from the Better Homes and Garden website but not having enough time to make my own dough I bought ready-made unsweetened tart shells for my base. The original recipe can be found by following the link below but the recipe below reflects the changes I made to the original recipe.

Individual Ham and Cheese Quiches

Ingredients:
2 packages unsweetened tart shells (12 per package)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
¼ cup finely chopped cooked ham
1 tbsp thinly sliced green onion
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup Evaporated Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place tart shells on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 7 minutes or until pastry is slightly golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

3. In a medium bowl combine cheese, red pepper, ham, green onions, milk, eggs, flour, salt and black pepper; mix well. Spoon mixture into shells, filling 3/4 full.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes minutes or until filling is set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Cool slightly; lift quiche from cup with tip of knife. Serve warm or cool and freeze for later entertaining.

Kitchen Tip: To make one large quiche: Line a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom with one piecrust (reserve remaining piecrust for another use). Line with double thickness of foil. Bake in 400 degrees F. oven for 7 minutes. Remove foil; bake 8 to 9 minutes longer or until pastry is set, dry and lightly browned. Spoon mixture evenly in shell. Bake in 325 degrees F oven for 30 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy :)

Yummy...Spanakopita

This was my first time using puff pastry and what better recipe to use than Elly’s Cheater’s Spanakopita. Although it was a lot easier to make than I expected I know for next time I’ll be a little better prepared and have prettier spanakopita to look at ;) Nevertheless it was extremely yummy and fit perfectly into our Greek midweek dinner.

Puff Pastry (Cheater's) Spanakopita

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp olive oil
3 green onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, to taste
2 tbsp fresh parsley, to taste
1/2 lb. fresh spinach leaves, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry dough, thawed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and sauté until tender. Stir in the spinach and then turn off the heat. The spinach will start to wilt down, but not much.

Meanwhile, roll the puff pastry dough into a square, on a lightly floured surface and then cut each sheet into 9 equal squares by making 2 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts.

To the spinach mixture, add the feta, parsley, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Beat one egg and add that into the mixture. Mix.

Spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of the spinach mixture in each puff pastry square. Brush the sides of the square with a little water and then being 2 opposite sides together to form a triangle. Press with your fingers to seal. Place on a baking sheet. Beat the second egg and then brush the tops of the triangles with the egg.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!

A Rainy Saturday...

Thought I'd start the day being very productive and preparing Stuffed Shells for the upcoming busy weeks ahead of us. It's a great freezer dish (thanks to Giada...) and very yummy!

Turkey and Mushroom Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells (approximately 40 shells)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
4 ounces jarred roasted red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon of pimento paste
1 package of mushrooms, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
½ - 2/3 of (454 g) container ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 cups tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta on a cookie sheet (to cool down faster).

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat, and spray pan with olive oil as it is heating. Add ground turkey and brown, breaking it up to cook evenly. Drain fat from pan. Bringing turkey back to the pan, add pimento pepper, garlic and onions and cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add roasted peppers and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine. (Optional: Run a hand blender through mixture for thinness to better stuff the shells).

Bring all ingredients to room temperature before stuffing the shells (if you want to freeze it).

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1 cup of tomato sauce. Take a shell and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 1 tablespoon. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full. Drizzle the remaining tomato sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen).

Today the shells were served with a spinach salad, thinly sliced red onions, 1/4 cup of mandarin oranges and 1 tbsp of dried cranberries. I like to serve the salad with a light poppyseed dressing on the side so that the dressing can be placed on the salad using the fork prongs.

The rest of the day was rainy and gloomy so hubby and I decided to have "bar food" at home. Made a quick nacho dish (wholegrain Tostitos, diced red peppers, sprinkling of salsa and shredded cheddar cheese - served with some salsa and sour cream on the side). We also had some Buffalo Wings & Buffalo chicken breast strips - a quick seasoning bag that I always have on hand in the cupboard made this a quick dish to prepare.