Stromboli

 Found HERE

• 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active-dry yeast (1 standard packet)
• 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface (I put flour in untill it pulls away from the sides and gets kneaded around in a ball(

Fillings for 2

• 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 pound thinly sliced meats such as Italian cold cuts, deli ham, or large pepperoni slices*
• 3/4 – 1 pound cheese (about 3 cupsshredded or about 16-20 slices deli cheese)*
• We each make our own pizza roll and put whatever we want in it: cheese (not too much!), pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, pepper, etc. 

Egg Wash & Topping for 2

• egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
• optional: sprinkle of chopped fresh or dried parsley, sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and/or parmesan cheese

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Instructions

1. Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.

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2. Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes (for a visual, watch me do it in the video below). The dough can be a little too heavy for a mixer to knead it, but you can certainly use the mixer on low speed instead. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
3. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. If using instant yeast, this takes about 1 hour. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
4. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
5. Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide in half. (If you aren’t making 2 strombolis, freeze the other half of dough. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each half of dough into a 10×16-inch rectangle. I like to use my hands to square off the edges, as shown in the video below. If the dough keeps shrinking as you try to shape it, cover it lightly and let the dough rest for 10 minutes before trying again. (The gluten just needs to settle.)
6. Add fillings: Mix melted butter and garlic together. Spread all over each rectangle. Sprinkle each with parsley. When you start layering on meats and cheeses, leave a 1 inch border on the bottom and sides and a 3 inch border on top. (Basically you’ll have an empty 3×16-inch gap on top that only has butter/garlic on it. This is because when rolling, the fillings will be pushed forward. See photos and video below if you need a visual.) Arrange a layer sliced meats onto each dough, usually about 8-10 slices on each depending on size and thickness of slices. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat with more meat and cheese until all is used—about 1/2 pound meat and 1/2 pound cheese per stromboli. Brush all edges with egg wash, including 3 inch gap at the top. This helps the stromboli hold its rolled shape. Slowly roll each into a tight 16 inch log, folding in the two ends as you roll. See me do this in the video below. Dust your hands or the dough with flour if things become too sticky. Carefully transfer each to lined baking sheets. Pinch or tuck in ends to seal if they became unfolded.
7. Brush each stromboli with egg wash and, if desired, optional toppings. Using a very sharp knife, cut 3-4 slits into the tops of each, which helps steam escape. At this point, you can cover shaped stromboli tightly and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown—if you have an instant read thermometer, the center of the stromboli should be at least 200ºF (93ºC). If meats are particularly greasy (like pepperoni), some grease will spill out the sides. Cheese may bubble out the sides or top slits, too. If baking both at the same time, rotate pans halfway through baking and extend bake time (if needed) by 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cutting board and slicing.
9. Serve plain or with pizza/marinara sauce for dipping.
10. Cover and store leftover stromboli (slices or whole) in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Chicken Fajitas

This is from Nettie, and it needs a good, safe spot on this site.

It was sooooo easy and my favorite fajitas I've made. Almost as good as our favorite Mexican place here (Juan's Flaming Fajitas. I'll take you if you visit). That's a lie. No fajitas are even close to their's.

My grocery store didn't have True Lime (I've seen it easy at other places), but I just used lots of fresh lime once they were done.
I did 3 chicken breasts and had to split all of it between 2 sheet pans.

https://ourbestbites.com/sheet-pan-fajitas/

Ingredients

1.5 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and sliced (see note)
1 large onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers (or 3 small/med ones), sliced
3–4 tablespoons olive oil (or other oil of your choice) I prefer our Lime Olive Oil
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2–3 teaspoons True Lime, optional
handful of cilantro
1 lime
optional for serving: sour cream, guacamole/avocado, tortillas, rice and beans, etc.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Have a large sheet pan ready (cover with foil or parchment for easy clean-up). 

Place sliced chicken, onions, and peppers in an extra large mixing bowl.  Drizzle on oil and all seasonings. Toss to coat.  (Tip:  I keep Nitrile gloves in my kitchen and use them for things like this- tossing with your hands is much easier!)  

Spread chicken and pepper mixture out evenly on baking sheet and place in oven.  Bake for 20-30 minutes (closer to 20 with convection) until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.  If desired, place under broiler for a quick minute to brown. 

Remove from oven and if desired, sprinkle cilantro over everything and give it a big squeeze of fresh lime juice (you might not need fresh lime if you used True Lime, but I say never enough lime.)

Quinoa Bake

This doesn't even deserve a post. But since my kids LOVED it tonight, maybe it does. it really is just ok. haha. But it was the easiest thing ever -- I had everything on hand. Well, except I ran to Costco for a rotisserie chicken. I added extra lime.

I halved it in a 8x8. We all ate it with tortilla chips.

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/quick-and-easy-cheesy-black-bean-quinoa-bake/

• 3 cups cooked quinoa, about 24 ounces (see note) 
•  2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained 
•  16 ounces tomato sauce 
•  12 ounces salsa verde (can sub your favorite tomato salsa, if desired) 
•  Juice of 1 lime (about a tablespoon) 
•  1 tablespoon chili powder 
•  1 1/2 teaspoons  cumin 
•  1 teaspoon dried oregano 
•  1 teaspoon onion powder 
•  1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
•  1/2 teaspoon salt 
•  1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
•  3 cups cooked, chopped chicken (rotisserie chicken works great here - you can easily leave the chicken out for a meatless dish as well) 
•  2-3 cups shredded Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses 
•  Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the quinoa, black beans, tomato sauce, salsa verde, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chicken (if using). Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
3. Spread half of the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Layer with the rest of the quinoa mixture followed by the remaining cheese.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro (optional) and serve with tortilla chips, if desired.

Chicken Burrito Bowls

If you have an instant pot, this is for you. Super easy, really good, and my kids all loved it. So it's a winner. I honestly can't figure out if I love my instant pot or not. For some things I do --- like this quick, one pot meal and mashed potatoes, but I don't like cooking roasts or plain chicken in it. I just prefer the crock pot/slow cooker for that. But this reminded me that I need to find more recipes like this one to use it. It was soooo easy and quick clean up.

https://damndelicious.net/2018/02/26/instant-pot-20-minute-chicken-burrito-bowls/

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks (I used 2 chicken breasts, whole. I didn't even read that I was supposed to cut them into 1 inch chunks, but I wouldn't have anyway. But next time I will cut them in half just so they cook more and fall apart more easily)
• 1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
• 1 (4.5-ounce) chopped green chiles
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add chicken, taco seasoning and 1/4 cup chicken broth to a 6-qt Instant Pot® and gently toss to combine. 
2. Stir in corn, black beans, salsa and green chiles.
3. Without stirring, add rice and remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth.
4. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 10 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in cheese until melted, about 1 minute. Here's what I did here after it was done cooking:  fluff rice with a fork and let it sit before mixing it all together so it's a better texture. Then I pulled the chicken breasts out, shredded the meat, and served separately ... just cause that's how I wanted it. Then I mixed the corn, beans, and rice together. I also served the cheese on the side, so it didn't make it a big ball of cheese in the fridge. 
5. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Creamy Tortellini Toscana

This was super good. And super easy (1 pan). It has similar flavors to zuppa toscana (one of our fave soups). It's a pretty heavy dish, but oh so delish.

https://carlsbadcravings.com/creamy-tortellini-recipe/

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz. hot Italian bulk sausage  (I used hot and it wasn't too spicy)
• 1/2 large onion chopped
• 1 large sweet potato (about 3/4 - 1 pound) peeled and cut into 1/2-1-inch cubes  (I will substitute another [nonstarchy] veg here next time)
• 3-4 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp EACH EACH dried parsley, dried rosemary, salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup half and half  (fat free worked fine)
• 1 20 oz. bag quality refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 heaping cups baby spinach torn into pieces (I used way more ... like a whole bag)

GARNISH:

• 4-6 bacon strip cooked and crumbled  (I didn't put this in it)
• chopped parsley  (nor this...)
• freshly grated Parmesan

1. Heat a Dutch oven or large skillet with tall sides, to medium high heat. Add sausage, onions, and sweet potatoes and cook until sausage is cooked through. Drain grease.
2. Add garlic, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup chicken broth and cover. Let cook 2-3 minutes or until potatoes are almost cooked through. 
3. Remove lid and add tortellini and remaining chicken broth. Whisk half and half with cornstarch and stir into skillet. Simmer until tortellini is cooked, approximately 6-8 minutes, stirring often so it cooks evenly. 
4. Stir in Parmesan until melted. Stir in spinach a handful at a time until it wilts, then stir in more. Stir in milk or half a little at time if needed to reach desired consistency. 
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with bacon, fresh parsley and additional Parmesan if desired.

   
   

   There is no mention of corn starch in her ingredients, but it calls for it in the directions. I added a couple small spoon fulls with the half and half and it was a good thickness. Next time I will use carrots instead of sweet potatoes. It was just starch on starch. Pile the spinach in bc it wilts to nothing. We had broccoli on the side, but could just add it into the mixture.