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.

White Bread

 I've been making this lately.  Found HERE

• 2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
• ▢ 1 Tablespoons active dry yeast*
• ▢ 1/4 cup honey or sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable)
• ▢ 4 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour*

Instructions

 

• Prepare the dough: In a large bowl or stand mixer add the yeast, water and a pinch of the sugar or honey. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until foaming and bubbly. (This is called “proofing” the yeast, to make sure it is active. If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is no good, and you need to start over with fresh yeast).
• Add remaining sugar or honey, salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour. Mix to combine.
• Add another cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running add more flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and slightly stick to a clean finger, but not be overly sticky. Add a little more flour, if needed.
• Knead the dough: Mix the dough for 4-5 minutes on medium speed (or knead with your hands on a lightly floured surface, for 5-8 minutes). 
• First Rise: Grease a large bowl with oil or cooking spray and place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place* until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
• Spray two 9x5'' bread pans generously with cooking spray on all sides. (I also like to line the bottom of the pans with a small piece of parchment or wax paper, but this is optional.)
• Punch the dough down well to remove air bubbles. Divide into two equal portions. Shape each ball into long logs and place into greased loaf pans.
• Second rise: Spray two pieces of plastic wrap with cooking spray and lay them gently over the pans. Allow dough to rise again for about 45 minutes to one hour, or until risen about 1 inch above the loaf pans. Gently removing covering.
• Bake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake bread for about 30-33 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow.
• Invert the loaves onto a wire cooling rack. Brush the tops with butter and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
• Once cool, store in an airtight container or bag for 2-3 days at room temperature, or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Fig and Goatcheese Pinwheels

Found HERE 

Ingredients

• 1 thawed sheet puff pastry (13.2 oz) - I use Jus-Rol brand and love it!
• ½ cup fig preserves 
• 4 oz log goat cheese, crumbed 
• 4-5 sprigs Fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar 
• 1 large egg, for egg wash

Instructions

1. Unroll the thawed puff pastry and place on parchment paper. Spread the fig preserves on top - making sure it’s evenly spread with about 1 inch or less of puff pastry still left untouched on the sides. 

2. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top of the fig preserves. Add the brown sugar and fresh thyme, making sure it’s evenly spread.

3. Gently roll it up into a log, making sure the roll stays tight and nothing is spilling out as you go. Once rolled, I rolled up my parchment paper around it. 

4. Pop the roll in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

5. Once they have chilled, remove and spread out the parchment paper. Use a SHARP knife to slice them in ½ inch pinwheels. I found that wiping my knife after each cut was beneficial. 

6. Once sliced, spread them evenly out on the parchment paper on a large sheet pan. 

7. In a small bowl, beat one large egg to make an egg wash. Lightly brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastries are golden and flaky!

9. Garnish with sprinkles of additional brown sugar and thyme. Enjoy while warm!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

I'm trying to up my school lunch game. The girls love these so much. I originally got the idea from this girl. (I sort of want her Costco one stop cookbook...) I'm also trying to simplify dinners. 

One Package of Kings Hawaiian Rolls (you can get a two pack at Costco)

Ham (we like smoked. Honey feels to sweet to me with the rolls)

Cheese (we like tillamook Cheddar but you could do swiss as well)

Mayo Mustard

1 T. or less Melted butter

Everything but the Bagel Seasoning (I've found this at Costco but Trader Joes has it as well)

Cut the Hawaiian rolls in half long wise so you have a top and bottom large sheet of rolls. Spread mayo mustard over the whole thing. Layer ham then cheese. Put the roll tops back on in one big sheet. Brush with melted butter (sometimes I add dry mustard to this but it's optional), then sprinkle with Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. Cut into individual roll sandwiches. I freeze 1-2  in a baggie for my little kids and 3-4 for hungrier kids. 

You can also throw all 12 rolls in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. They also air fry well in small batches.

Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

 

I doubled this and it filled my dutch oven pot. It's good. I'm always looking for new soup recipes, we get sick of the same old ones.

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced (costco rotisserie makes this soo easy)
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• ½ white onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ½ cup shredded carrots (I prefer diced carrots)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (plus bullion to taste)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon thyme (I used fresh because I had it)
• 16 ounces potato gnocchi (find this in the pasta section of the store)
• 2 cups half and half, see note
• 1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onions, garlic, and carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent. 
• Add chicken, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and thyme, bring to a boil, then gently stir in gnocchi. Boil for 3-4 minutes longer before reducing heat to a simmer and cooking for 10 minutes. 
• Stir in half and half and spinach and cook another 1-2 minutes until spinach is tender. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed, and serve. 

Notes

Milk: for even more creamy richness, swap one cup of the half and half for heavy cream. 

Turkey Burgers

 

Annie had these at a friend's house and loved it. They are a fun change, we like them. Also air fry some sweet potato fries. It's a must. This meal comes together sooo fast. Rob says they're good if you think of them as a sandwich, not a burger. ha.

Turkey Burgers 

The Ultimate Turkey Burger! Made with everyday ingredients and they taste just as good as a beefy hamburger! They take less than 10 minutes prep and 10 minutes cook time, meaning you can have dinner ready in 20 minutes, talk about must have recipe!

Servings: 4 (i make 5)

Prep10minutes minutes

Cook10minutes minutes

Ready in: 20minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. 93% lean ground turkey, I recommend using Jennie-O*
• 1 Tbsp plain dried breadcrumbs (I use Panko)
• 1/2 tsp salt, or as desired
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (optional at my house)
• 1/4 tsp (heaping) garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp (heaping) onion powder
• 2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• one egg
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

• Add ground turkey to a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle in breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add mayonnaise and drizzle in Worcestershire sauce and egg.
  
• Gently toss and break up meat mixture to evenly blend. Don't overmix or they'll be tough. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into patties about 1/2-inch thick. I like to coat them in Panko before I grill.
• Preheat olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. 
  
• Add turkey patties and sear until golden brown on bottom, about 4 - 5 minutes, flip and continue to cook until cooked through, about 4 - 5 minutes longer. Center should register 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Squeeze fresh lemon juice at the end.
• Serve warm in hamburger buns or lettuce leaves with toppings of choice.
  I like to toast a good quality bun (walmart brioche or Artesano), add mayo, iceberg, and american cheese. My friend doesn't even bother with buns. 

Notes

• *I've tried making these with other brands of ground turkey and they are too sticky. Jennie-O turkey isn't so wet and easy to work with. I agree with this.
• Good toppings include mashed avocado, red onion, sliced tomatoes, dill pickle coins, ketchup and mustard, light mayo mixed with ketchup, or bacon and provolone cheese if you want to splurge.

Brussel Sprout Salad

 Bacon and Brussel Sprout Salad

salad

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

juice of one lemon

juice of one orange

2-3 tablespoons apple cider (not vinegar, just regular apple cider! for sweetness!)

1 shallot, minced

½ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

4 dozen brussels sprouts

1 cup almonds

6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Asiago or Gruyere are also good)

Directions:

Combine the lemon juice, orange juice, apple cider, and shallots in a small bowl. Add the olive oil in a steady stream and whisk for a minute or two, until it becomes creamy-looking.

Slice the brussels sprouts with a mandoline, taking care of your fingers! and slicing them as thin as possible. This works best when you hold the stem, slice from the top, and stop with a little bit left at the bottom, discarding the remaining bottom stem part since it's not very leafy anyway. The thinner the shreds, the better the salad!

Toss the shreds and loosen them with your fingers to they separate and fluff a little bit.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped.

Toss the brussels sprouts, almonds, bacon, cheese, and dressing together. Serve immediately or within a few hours of tossing.

Source: jamie kelving

Creme Brulee

 I used Alton's recipe. Putting it here so I remember some tips for next year:

1 quart heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

(I reserve 4 of the egg whites and also make Mary Berry's Pavlova...Both of these desserts are EASY crowd pleasers for my solstice party)

1. Place the cream and vanilla into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. While you are waiting:
2. Fill water kettle all the way and get it boiling. Preheat oven to 325
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks (with a wisk and arm muscle) until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. (This fills 8 of my ramekins). 
4. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. 
5. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

 

This is a bit of an experimental cookie, and it turned out really good! 

Cream:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening 

I cup white sugar 

1 cup brown sugar 

Add:

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In separate bowl mix, then add:

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp powder

1 tsp soda

1/2 salt

6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 

Add:

half a bag of chocolate chips

Half a bag of mint chips (winco has guittard green mint chips!)

Half a cup or so of crushed candy cane (also found at winco bins) I sprinkled some on the top before baking

350 degrees, 12ish minutes  

Berry Pavlova

This recipe is from Mary Berry. Here is her recipe.

4 egg whites (at room temperature if you think of it, but not super necessary)

1 cup of sugar

2 tsp corn starch

2 tsp vinegar (like the stuff you use to clean. nothing fancy, just white distilled vinegar)

1. Start your 4 egg whites on slow speed. Gradually increase the speed until they are stiff-ish and cloud like.

2. While whisking at high speed, add your sugar one tsp at a time. Your egg whites will get beautifully shiny.

3. In a separate little bowl, mix the corn starch and the vinegar together. Then whisk them into your cloudy marshmallow. 

4. On a piece of parchment paper, plop your cloud down and make it into a 9 inch nest, with the sides higher than the middle. The middle part of the nest will hold your whipped cream and berries after it's cooked and cooled. (I leave the whipped cream and berries off because everyone in my family likes to make their own, but that's not very pretty.)

5. Have the oven preheated to 320. When you put your pavlova into the oven, immediately reduce heat to 300 degrees.

6. Cook for 1 hour until its firm and lightly beige. Leave in the oven to cool. (or don't. I took mine out because I needed the oven for something else, and it was just fine!)

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.

Creamy Chicken Soup

This is basically the recipe in the family cookbook (I've tweaked it a bit through the years).
Lots of people ask for the recipe, so I'm adding it on here for easy sharing.

In a soup pot saute:
3 Tbs butter
1 onion
1-2 celery stalks

Thicken a little by adding:
1-2 Tbs flour, let bubble for about 1 minute.

Whisk in:
2 Cans chicken broth or bone broth

Add and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes):
2-3 medium red potatoes, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped

Add:
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste
powdered garlic to taste
cooked chicken (about 2-3 breasts)

Simmer 10 more minutes, then add:
1 cup of whole milk.
Add more or less milk to your liking.