Cornbread Panzanella Salad

This is an awesome and easy Giada recipe, aka my idol… Chris made it on Sunday and we think next time it needs more olive oil… I practically drink that stuff and perhaps using shredded fontina.

It’s EASY and has a nice fresh bite with the lemon and basil. I might chop things down a little more next time so I can fit more flavors in my mouth at one time!

Cornbread Panzanella Salad: Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis  Ingredients: 8 oz cornbread cut into cubes (~2 cups) 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup fontina cheese, cubed 1/2 cup cubed cucumber 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon, juiced and zested 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper Steps: Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine. Place in a serving bowl and serve.

 

Vegetarian Chili

After making the Super Meaty Chili I decided I was craving Chili too much to not make a vegetarian kind.. let me tell you this one is WAY better! I don’t know why people have a mis-conception if there’s no meat in it than it’s not good, because that’s what I’ve discovered on my 8 months of being vegetarian now. Crazy… I’m going to incorporate meat slowly back into my diet soon, although I really don’t miss anything but sausage! haha

I give it a huge kick so I’d tone that down if you can’t handle the heat.. and started eye-ing all the seasonings so use your own discretion as well. Heck, recipes are meant to be tweaked!

Vegetarian Chili:    Ingredients: 1 med zucchini, chopped 2 med onions, chopped 8 oz bella mushrooms, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 can black beans, drained 1 can red kidney beans, drained 1 can light red kidney beans, drained 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 (28oz) can crushed tomato 1 can tomato paste 1 TBsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp dijon mustard cayenne crushed red pepper chili powder basil oregano salt-n-pep Steps: Saute the peppers and zucc in a large pot on Med heat until tender (this gets all that extra water out) then add onions, then garlic, then mushrooms. Saute till soft ~8 mins. Add tomato paste, and all the seasonings, stir around 2 mins. Add drained beans, crushed tomatoes, lemon juice, mustard and more seasonings if need be. Cook med-low for 20 mins till flavors infuse and beans are hot. Serve with cheese and bread!

Nutter Butter Balls

I decided to do a spin-off of the Oreo Truffle Balls because Chris is so crazy for Nutter Butter Cookies… and who doesn’t LOVE peanut butter? I jimmy-rigged a double-boiler with a 1.5qt pyrex and a medium saucepan. Don’t waste money on the metal ones that fit perfectly inside a saucepan… this doubles as a mixing bowl and costs under $5. [Ali, I've found our solution to melting choco chips in the microwave Thanks weggies!]

At any rate, these are equally as addicting as the Oreo ones, and would be incredible with the cookies COMBINED and a Peanut Butter chip shell… yes those are coming next! {salivating…}

I love how these things are so versatile, so let me know if you try something different!

Nutter Butter Balls: Ingredients: 1lb package Nutter Butter Cookies 1 (8oz) package cream cheese 5 oz creamy peanut butter 1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting 24 oz chocolate chips for shell (2 bags) Steps: Crush cookies in food processor, then add cream cheese, PB, and powdered sugar. Process till a dough forms. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place on cookie sheet. Throw the sheet in the freezer for 15-20 mins till they harden for dipping. In the meantime, melt chocolate chips on double boiler for shell. Coat balls using a spoon to dip them around in, then place on cookie sheet. Dust with powdered sugar. Keep cool in fridge until serving.

 

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are so yummy, and semi-nutritional with the banana’s and oatmeal in there. Super moist and I threw tons of chocolate chips (because I’m a chocoholic) so needless to say they were realllllly addicting!

 

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies:    Ingredients: 1 cup smashed ripe banana’s (about 2 small) 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 large egg 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups old fashioned oats 1 tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 3 cups chocolate chips (18 oz) Steps: Preheat oven to 350F Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at med speed until smooth. Add egg beat well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt into med bowl. Add dry mixture to wet mixture at med speed until well blended. Hand mix in chocolate chips Drop batter by the tablespoons, 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 mins. Cool on sheets 2 mins, then cool completely on wire racks.

Meaty Chili

I have TONS of meat in my freezer I’m trying to use up, so I thought to make a massive amount of chili. The recipe I got from Mom is from Silver pallet, but it’s for 35-40 people… So I tried to cut it down but it still tasted REALLY season-ey so I ended up adding more tomatoes, wine and another pound of meat… needless to say it made a tonnn. This is a 6-quart stockpot and you can see how filled up this bad-boy is.

At any rate, I brought a bunch into work and gave the rest to friends & family. I put Venison Sausage in there too so extra delish. Has a nice kick at the end and is SUPER flavorful.

Meaty Chili: Ingredients: olive oil 1 lb chopped yellow onions 1 lb sausage 1 lb ground beef 1 (12oz) can tomato paste 2 TBsp garlic 2 oz (1/4  cup) Dijon mustard 3 large cans Crushed tomatoes 3 (15.5) oz red kidney beans, drained 1 cup red wine 1-2 TBsp ground cumin 2-3 Tbsp chili powder 1 TBsp black pepper 2 TBsp salt 2 TBsp basil 2 Tbsp oregano 2 Tbsp parsley +2 TBsp crushed red pepper 1 TBsp cayenne 3 TBsp lemon juice Steps: Heat oil, add onions till translucent Crumble sausage and beef into separate pot and cook till brown Stir in tomato paste and all dried seasonings. Add crushed toms, wine, lemon juice, beans and meat. Simmer uncovered 30mins – 1 hr. Throw in crock to keep warm and serve.

 

Cheese Dollars

I made these Cheese dollars to bring on the road for our wine tour! Cheese and wine obviously pair great together, but Cheese-n-Crackers aren’t easy in a limo, and I sure wasn’t going to settle on a box of Cheese-itz! They do taste very similar to them I have to say!

Make sure to spray the baking sheet well because they do stick pretty good!

 

Cheese Dollars:    Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/8 tsp salt pinch fresh ground pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese 1/2 cup grated pepper jack 1 stick butter Steps: Soften the butter and cheese. In a mixing bowl cream the cheese with butter until well mixed. On a low speed, add the flour, salt-n-pep and beat until well blended. Scrap the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, ~30 mins. Form dough into three 1-inch diameter rolls. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap (and then foil if freezing) and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. Preheat oven to 425F Slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices 1/2 inch apart on sprayed cookie sheets Bake 8-10 mins or until very lightly browned. Transfer dollars onto wire racks to cool.

Chocolate Hummus

I know I know what you’re thinking! CHOCOLATE HUMMUS? Isn’t that made with Chickpeas? Well… Yes it is actually!! I got this awesome recipe from Hannah of Bittersweet.

I ADORE Hummus so this totally caught my eye and I HAD to try it. It’s quite delicious! Definitely serve for breakfast with toast, a much healthier Nutella, or I had it with Apples for dessert. It’s more of a semi-sweet taste, probably because I used Dark Cocoa, but I’ll be experimenting with other’s in the future.

The only tweeks I did was remove the coffee powder and add more peanut butter. I started eating this with a spoon… so beware!

Thanks Hannah!! I could use some of your picture skills as well!

Chocolate Hummus: Recipe courteous of Hannah from Bittersweet Ingredients: 1 15-Ounce Can Chickpeas 3 oz (6 TBsp)  Peanut Butter 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1/2 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey’s Dark Choc. Powder) 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar 1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder (opt.) 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 2 – 4 Tablespoons Water Steps: Put everything in food processor minus the water. Scrape down sides and keep mixing till all blended. While it’s running slowly add the water, keep checking on it till you like the texture. (I used 3 Tbsps) Serve on Toast or fruit!

 

Homemade Ravioli ~ Spicy Spinach & Mushroom and Pumpkin Ricotta

This is the Cheating/Shortcut way to make Ravioli. I used Won-ton Wrappers/Egg roll Wrappers. Now I tried this a few ways… Frying the ravioli (picture above) and Boiling the ravioli (picture below) Both taste delicious, however the worst food is the better it tastes… [of course] so yes, the frying was better, slightly firmer texture which I think also made it better.I came up with this filling because I wanted something Fun and Vegetarian, but SUPER spicy. Before I cooked the ravioli it had a strong mushroom taste, but all the flavors evened out when we ate them.

Spicy Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli:    Ingredients: 1 (60 ct) package Won-ton Wrappers, or 1 package egg-roll wrappers 1 (10 oz) package chopped spinach, drained 6 oz chopped Bella Mushrooms 2 cups BelGioisio 4-cheese blend (Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Asiago) 1 egg (for filling) 2 egg whites (for sealing ravioli) 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced Cayenne Crushed Red pepper 1/2 TBsp Dried Basil Salt-n-pep Steps: Heat Olive oil in saute pan with 1 TBsp crushed red pepper. Then add onions, then garlic. Cook till Onions are soft, then add Mushrooms. Season with Cayenne, more crushed red pepper, and salt-n-pep to taste. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temp. After Mushroom mixture has cooled, throw in food processor with spinach, all the cheese, 1 egg, and Basil. Put egg whites into a bowl for dipping, lay out wonton wrappers and spoon ~1 TBsp in the center of each. Coat one side of a fresh wonton wrapper with egg and lay across, pushing out air and pressing all sides down to seal (Do this one at a time). After you have made all your Raviolis use a glass or cookie cutter to shape into round ravioli. (Won-ton’s are square..) Drop into boiling water for 3-4 mins and remove with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towel to absorb water OR fry in shallow olive oil, rotating sides for ~2 mins. Serve with Olive oil (or butter), Parmesan and Lemon Juice.

Now these Pumpkin ones I found the recipe too and was intrigued… Just tasting the filling after I made it I couldn’t tell if I liked the flavor or not… But after they cooked I REALLY enjoyed them. They’re harder to handle than the Spinach-Mushroom ones because they’re a lot softer, which causes the wonton to become slightly doughy (and in the end they’re kind of wrinkly!) But they still taste delicious. I would serve them with a buttery-sage sauce, but I just ate them with Parm on them.I had some extras which I froze, so I’m going to try thawing those out and frying them.. We’ll see how that goes!

Pumpkin Ravioli:  Ingredients:  1 (60 ct) package Won-ton Wrappers, or 1 package egg-roll wrappers  1 cup ricotta cheese  1/2 cup pumpkin puree  1/2 tsp salt  1/4 tsp nutmeg   2 egg whites (for sealing ravioli)     Sage-Butter Sauce: 1 stick butter 2 tsp dried sage 1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts 2 Amoretti cookies, crushed (to top finished dish with) Steps: Mix all filling ingredients together, chill in fridge for 30 mins to stiffen a bit. Put egg whites into a bowl for dipping, lay out wonton wrappers and spoon ~1 TBsp in the center of each. Coat one side of a fresh wonton wrapper with egg and lay across, pushing out air and pressing all sides down to seal (Do this one at a time). After you have made all your Raviolis use a glass or cookie cutter to shape into round ravioli. (Won-ton’s are square..) Drop into boiling water for 3-4 mins and remove with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towel to absorb water OR fry in shallow olive oil, rotating sides for ~2 mins. FOR SAUCE: Melt butter in small saucepan, remove from heat and mix in dried sage. Pour over Ravioli with grated cookies, chopped hazelnuts and/or grated parmesan.

NOTE: The only difference between Won-ton wrappers and Egg-roll wrappers is the size. With the egg-rolls they’re large sheets, so you can put a smaller amount of filling and cut around for smaller ravioli’s.

Bon Appetite!

Butter Pecan Cookies

I made a batch of these to pair with my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Bake Sale for the American Heart Association. I’m hoping I get a few more follower’s by sticking my tags on the bags… or even if you’re coming for the recipe!

These are awesome cookies, there are a TON of recipes out there, but I found one that seemed straight forward and of course… tweeked it! They’re pretty crumbly so next to the moist Pumpkin Cookies it could be a weird contrast… but they’re both delish, I just wish I could have squeezed more in each bag!!

Butter Pecan Cookies: Ingredients: 1-1/4cup crushed pecans (Honey roasted if possible) 2 sticks butter, room temp. 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 2 cups all-purpose flour Steps: Preheat oven to 350F Crush the pecans with a food processor or rolling-pin. With an electric mixer cream butter and sugar for 2 mins. Beat in the vanilla, salt and flour scraping down the sides of the bowl. Just until dough comes together. Fold in the pecans. Squeeze and shape dough into 1.5″ diameter balls (it seems large but you want them thick) Roll in sugar, place 3″ apart on a baking sheet. Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass, reshaping the sides, then sprinkle with more sugar. Bake until golden brown, ~15 mins. Cool on wire rack.

Cranberry Brie Bites, Sweet Pumpkin Dip, Breaded Ravioli, & Spiked Apple Cider

I had a bunch of people over this past weekend and we all enjoyed some nice Fall food & drinks!

At the Care for Cancer Event, Ali, Larissa and I went CRAZY over this Brie Tart. It was a whole wheel of Brie with Pastry dough wrapped around it and baked… we were INHALING it! So both Ali and I had the idea of making something with Brie for this night, but I just happen to beat her to the grocery store [sorry little!  ] I made these easy and delicious Cranberry Brie Tarts.

Cranberry Brie Bites:   Ingredients:   1 Pillsbury Grands Biscuits 1 (10 oz) Triangle Brie Cheese 1-1.5 cups cranberry Sauce Steps: Preheat oven to 375F Spray Mini-muffin trays with Pam and peel layers of biscuits and shove in each muffin hole, edges sticking out slightly. (this step can be tough, try to get 3 layers per muffin) Bake 4-5 mins so they start to puff up. Cut slices of Brie and shove in each Biscuit, Top with Cranberry sauce. Bake 8-10 mins till Brie melts and Biscuits are golden brown.

Larissa made Breaded and Baked Ravioli’s which melt in your mouth and are the healthier version than Frying them. Served with our Family Marinara sauce of course

Breaded Ravioli: Ingredients:   1 (16oz) bag frozen cheese ravioli 1 egg 1-1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs Sauce for dipping Steps: Allow ravioli to thaw. (I usually just let them sit for an hour or so, but I have also run them under cold water to thaw as well). Preheat oven to 350F Beat eggs in a small bowl and place breadcrumbs in a pie plate. Dip Ravioli in egg then roll around in Breadcrumbs and place on a sprayed or foiled baking sheet. Bake 10-15 mins until ravioli are brown

Ali made this Sweet Pumpkin dip which is SO ADDICTING! Serve with Ginger Snaps or Apple slices. Tastes like a whipped Pumpkin Pie filling… so goooood!

Sweet Pumpkin Dip:  Ingredients: 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 2 cups powdered sugar 1 (15oz) can pumpkin pie filling 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger Steps: Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add pie filling, cinnamon, and ginger, beating well. Cover and chill 8 hours. Serve with Apple slices and Ginger Snaps!

And lastly we enjoyed Hot Spiked Apple Cider. Ali and I have been making this in Buffalo foreverrrrr and in massive batches and it still tastes just as good every time! Hiccup!

Hot Spiked Apple Cider:  Ingredients:   1 quart water 3 cinn. spiced tea bags 1/2 cup light brown sugar 2 cups apple cider 1 1/2 cups light rum 1 sliced apple Steps:   Pour water into a large saucepan and bring to a boil, toss in tea bags. Cover and let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and stir in sugar, apple cider, and apple slices. Heat just to steaming — do not boil. Remove from heat and pour in rum!