Cookin' With Me: January 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Pizza Factory Breadtwists

We are in LOVE with these breadsticks! So easy, I make these on a weekly basis now.

1½ cups warm water

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. yeast

Let that sit for 5 minutes. Then add:

3½ cups flour

1 tsp Salt

Mix until smooth then let raise for 10 minutes. Roll out dough into a large square on a floured surface. Brush with melted (real) butter mixed with minced garlic and then sprinkle with kosher salt. Fold in half and cut into 1 inch strips. Twist and place on a cooking sheet. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes to raise. Bake at 400 degrees. Check them after 10 minutes. Bake a couple more minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately after baking, brush with more garlic butter and sprinkle with kosher salt and grated parmesan cheese.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 (10 oz.) cans of enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (canned corn works just fine, but drain it first)

4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper

4 scallions, thinly sliced

12 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.
In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.
Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve.

Malibu Chicken

3 egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 Tbsp. butter
1 c. Panko bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
½ Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
4 slices black forest ham
4 slices Swiss cheese

Creole Mustard Sauce:
2 tablespoons Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Mix together and chill in refrigerator.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with garlic. Place chicken and egg mixture in a large Ziploc bag, squeeze out all the air and seal tightly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Mix together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dip marinated chicken in crumb mixture. Place coated chicken in baking dish, and pour remaining egg mixture over the top. Bake for 15 min on each side or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Top each piece of chicken with ham and slice of Swiss cheese. Place back in the oven for about 5 min or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and serve with Creole Mustard Sauce.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn or 16 cups popped popcorn (I used 2 bags of microwavable popcorn)

1 1/2 cups dry-roasted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pop corn and remove any unpopped kernels. Place in a large bowl and stir in peanuts. (Jennifer pops hers in a 9X13 pan and keeps it warm in a 250 degree oven)

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, honey and corn syrup. Bring mixture to boiling, continue boiling for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not boil too long or your popcorn will be rock hard. Remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Immediately pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta

This is super easy and super yummy. Everyone ate this up!

1 lb. of sausage (I just used a tube of sausage that I browned or you can buy sausage links or whatever you want.)

1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I use fat free half and half)
5-6 big leaves of fresh basil, chopped
12 ounces penne pasta (get a 16 ounce box and use 3/4 of it)
grated Parmesan for topping

Directions:
1) Cook the pasta in salted water al dente, according to package directions.
2) While pasta is cooking, brown the sausages and cut them into slices - little circles (I actually removed the casings and then browned and crumbled the sausages like you would ground beef).
3) Add the onions and garlic to the sausage and saute for a couple of minutes.
4) Pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce and heat through.
5) Pour in the cream and heat through. The longer you cook the sauce the thicker it will get so simmer it until it is the consistency you want.
6) Add the fresh basil and let it simmer for a few minutes.
7) Finally, mix the sausage sauce with the pasta and serve. Top each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty garlic bread.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am in pursuit of THE best chocolate chip cookie out there. I've made a lot of cookies lately and this is definitely one I would make again and again.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3. Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4. Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5. Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes. Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely. Makes approximately 3 dozen. Try not to eat them all.

Source: kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com