PizzaChipTizers

PizzaChipTizers = Pizza + Tortilla Chips + Appetizers

I couldn't resist. This is perfect for those game day snacks. Finger foods, so that you won't have to take your eyes off from the screen. It's basically a pizza in a portable handy form. Luckily as being a part of Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I had received a gift card courtesy of Sargento cheese. CHEEEEEESE!!!!!! I think I've mentioned I love cheese. I eat tons of it, hypothetically speaking. And it's a good thing that I've already been a loyal consumer of Sargento for quite some time now. Unless I'm on a major budget and have to go with a cheaper brand. 

I enjoy their artisan blends as they have the natural cheese taste. Now I'm not much of a cheese connoisseur, but I know good tasting when I eat it and the quality of Sargento's Artisan Blends shows it. I bought several. From the provolone sandwich slices, mozzarella, shredded parmesan (perfect for pizza and pasta). I regularly grab me a 2-pounds bag of their 4-cheese Mexican Blend when I go to the market, which is perfect for tacos.

A couple of days ago, I had a bright idea to make some kind of appetizer. I had some blue corn tortilla chips, but nothing to dip them in. Then for some reason, I had a craving for pizza. I know totally random cravings. As I mentioned above, the combination of the two I believe is a match made in heaven.

I used Sargento's Mozzarella and Provalone Artisan Blend. Pepperoni was my topping of choice. Of course you don't have to choose pepperoni. Here's a little hint to keeping the tortilla chip from getting soggy. I had pre-baked the pepperoni pieces in the oven to help crisp them up and to remove the fatty oils that are in them. That way as the cheese melts, the oils won't seep through and absorb into the chip. Neat, eh? It's been something I've done for many years when baking pizza and the extra crunch from the pepperoni is a nice touch.

Special thanks for Sargento and Foodbuzz for the gift card, so I stocked up on my cheese. :)

PizzaChipTizers

Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
1-2 (2 cup bag) Sargento Mozzarella and Provalone Artisan mix
Pepperoni


Preheat your oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay pieces of pepperoni flat to cover the surface. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pepperoni have slightly crisp.

When baked place the pepperoni pieces on a paper towel to drain out the excess oils that have cooked out of the meat.

On a clean baking sheet, lay whole pieces of tortilla chips evenly. Sprinkle generously the mozzarella and provolone cheese and place 2-3 pepperoni on top of each. Then bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Let the PizzaChipTizers cool for 5 minutes before eating.

Crisp Cheesy Breadsticks

A little reminder if you haven't entered the B + B 1-year giveaway you've still got time.  Click here.

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I needed a way to jazz up some leftover sourdough bread. I wasn't in the mood for a sandwich and I wasn't in the mood to bake up anything that would keep me in the kitchen for way too long.  So I figured breadsticks were in order. These ones had a nice and toasty crust with a slightly soft center. It was a good balance of soft and crunchy.

I cut off the crusts. When I was a kid I wished bread would always come without the crust. But of course we all know it doesn't work that way. Brushed on some olive oil on both side and some garlic powder. The garlic powder is optional. Baked them for a food 10 minutes, then sprinkled ssome shredded parmesan cheese over them and baked them for another 5 minutes just until the cheese has melted through.  I had this with a side of some of the Bertolli Arrabiata sauce I had left.

These are great appetizers, too.

Makes 14 stick.

Crisp Cheesy Breadsticks
4 sliced sourdough - 1-inch thick
extra virgin olive oil
shredded parmesan cheese
garlic powder - optional

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Cut the crusts off the the sliced of bread. Coat both sides with olive oil as well as spinkly a seasoning of the garlic powder. Cut the slices in 1-inch thick sticks and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 5-10 minutes until the surface as browned.  Give them a turn half way though for and spinkle some parmesan cheese on top. Baked for another 5 minutes.

Serve warm with a side of marinara sauce.

Cream Cheese and Mushroom Tartlettes

Appetizer #2 for Stir It 28. These little guys went quick. I barely got out of the kitchen and half was already gone! This one is pretty simple and easy to make. It's almost the same as my cream cheese and mushroom puffs, but in bite sized form. I did tweak the recipe up a bit. The cups are made from phyllos dough. No, I didn't make those. I got the premade ready to eat ones from Whole Foods. I was tempted at making them from scratch since I did make the paprika tortilla chips myself, but I've had fairly mixed experiences with working with phyllo dough sheets and being in a bit of a time crunch I couldn't afford to futz around in the kitchen too much. I'll let someone else do that work for me.

The mushrooms and onion were simply sauteed and slightly cooled before mixing in the cream cheese. I chilled it for half hour before stuffing them into the phyllo cups.

Makes 38 tartlettes

Cream Cheese and Mushroom Tartlettes

8oz white mushroom - chopped
1/2 small sweet onion - chopped
1 1/2 oz cream cheese
38 Phyllo cups
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, heat a tiny drizzle of oil. Saute the onion and mushrooms. The onions should look translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper. Transfer for a bowl and drain out the juices. Let it cool for 10 minutes before adding the cream cheese. Mix together thoroughly.

Let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then scoop into the individual phyllo cups.

These can be served at room temp.

 

 

Crab Salad Tostaditas

Another name I like to call it by is crab salad with baked paprika tortilla chips.

Here's the first appetizer I served at the Stir It 28 event. The crab salad was made from king crab meat and mixed with some celery, carrot, bell pepper, sweet onion, green onion, and combined together with a bit of mayo.  Not too much. Just a little to get everything nice and coated. and season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Let it rest in the fridge before serving.

The tortilla chips were basically homemade made flour tortillas that I added paprika into the flour. After cooking them up I cut them into triangle pieces and baked them for 10 minutes in a 400˚F oven.

Crab salad makes roughly 2 cups. Paprika Tortilla Chips makes roughly 75 chips

Crab Salad

16 oz fresh crab meat
1 celery stalk - fine chopped
1 small carrot - fine chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper - deseeded
1 green onion - chopped
1/2 small sweet onion - fine chopped
2 Tbsp mayo
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste

In a large bowl, shred the crab meat into pieces. Mix in the mayo, celery, carrot, bell pepper, both onions and salt. Season with a good pinch of pepper. Toss together evenly

Chill in the fridge if not serving immediately.



Paprika Tortilla Chips


1 c all purpose flour
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 c warm water


In a bowl combine the flour and salt. In another small glass, combine the water and oil.

Slowly mix the water mixture into the flour mixture. Combine well until it forms into a dough ball. On a light floured clean and flat surface, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. If the dough begins to stick to the board scrape up the dough and lightly flour the surface again.

Form the dough into a ball and let it rest for 20 minutes covered by a damp towel or paper towel. Then divide in the 10 equal pieces and form into small balls and let rest for another 10 minutes.

Heat up wide enough pan or cast iron skillet. No oil or butter needed.

If you have a tortilla press, use it to flatten each dough ball. If not, roll out the each dough ball in the thin circular sheet like you would a pizza dough. Use a rolling pin or your hands. Carefully, place the flatten dough on the heated skillet and cook each side for roughly 3-5 minutes. When it slightly begins to bubble is the signal to flip. You just want it to barely start browning.

Keep the tortilla warm by placing it in a tortilla warmer wrapped in foil.

Cut the tortillas into 6 pieces each making it into triangle shapes. Lay them flat on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 400˚F oven or until they have lightly browned are are crisp.

 

 

Oven Steamed Meatballs

These little rounds balls of meaty deliciousness are really tasty. Perfect alone, in a sandwich or with pasta. A lot of the time most recipes I've seen fry them up in some form or another. For these, I decided to oven-steam them. I placed them in a baking pan, evenly space and added 1/4-inch of water to the pan. It's almost like a water bath. Cover the pan with foil and baked it for 40 minutes. Since the meatballs were covered, it steamed them to deliciousness. Some of the fat renders out of the meat.

It's a mixture of beef and pork. Mmmm... with a mix of finely chopped onion and seasonings you'd find in your pantry.  I mixed these in to a spaghetti that my mom cooked up for New Year's. You'll see that recipe tomorrow.  We split the duties of this dish. I had the meatballs and she made the pasta sauce. The pasta was...well...pasta. I think a meatball sandwich is in order.

Makes roughly 24 balls.

Oven-Steamed Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
salt
pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
1 small onion - fine chopped
1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
lukewarm water


Preheat oven to 350˚F

Combine thoroughly the ground beef, pork, paprika, onion, worchestershire sauce in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture into 24 balls and place on a 2-4 inch deep oven pan. Pour water 1/4 inch deep into the pan completely covering the bottom. Cover the pan with foil crimping the edges to tightly seal it.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove the balls from the pan and serve with spaghetti or as an appetizer ot in a sandwich.

 

Buttered Toast Crisps

This is a little something I grew up eating. Actually, it is butter and sugar sandwiches. It may sound weird to some, but this is a snack I grew up eating. It's a bit common in the Philippines as a merienda (snack). Toasted -- and sometimes untoasted -- slices of bread with a spread of butter and sugar. The butter would melt on the hot crisp bread, then you'd sprinkle some sugar and watch is soak up the melted butter and eat it all up.

These toast crisps are another way of making that sandwich. The end result is almost like a biscotti, which is twice baked to get it to that crunchy consistency. The perfect type of bread to use are baguettes. I used some wheat pan de sal. There's really not right choice for what type you use. It's your preference. Instead of spreading the butter and sugar after the bread has been toasted, you put it on before and toast it in the oven or toaster oven for 10 minutes on a preheated 350˚F oven. Just until the bread becomes slightly crisp. These are great appetizers or a little snack. The sugar crystallizes together creating a really cool crisp sugar layer. Childhood nostalgia all over.

Buttered Toast Crisps

1 baguette or 5 sandwich slices
butter
granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Cut the baguette into 1/2-inch slices.  Spread some butter on on side and sprinkle a generous helping of sugar on top If using sandwich bread slices, spread the butter and sugar before cutting into toast points or squares.

Place on an baking sheet and toast for 10-15 minutes. Until bread is crisp.

Avocado Eggrolls

One of my favorite appetizers from the Cheesecake Factory is their avocado eggrolls. So here's my little take on it. Eggrolls are generally deep-fried. For this, I did a quick pan-fry. You can bake them too, if you'd like. The ingredients a pretty straight forward and can probably be found in your own pantry. Avocado, onion, parsley, sun dried tomato, balsamic vinegar.

I paired the egg rolls with a Filipino style teriyaki sauce. These are great appetizers or if you're like me have them for dinner.

Makes 6 eggrolls

Avocado Eggrolls

1 medium ripe avocado - diced
1/2 medium sweet onion - sliced
1/2 c parsley - chopped
1 c sun-dried tomato (drained from oil)
Juice of half lime
1 Tbsp paprika
salt and pepper
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg - well beaten
6 egg rolls wrappers.
Canola oil
Pinoy Style Teriyaki Sauce (recipe below)

Saute the onions in a skillet until it they slightly turn brown, near caramelizing. Add the sun-dried tomato and saute for another 2-4 minutes.

Remove from the skillet and into a bowl season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Add Parsley avocado and lime juice and balsamic vinegar. together. Mix together.

Take an eggrolls wrapper and place it like a diamond on a flat surface and place a generous scoop of the mixture.

To roll- bring the corner over and roll once. The bring in the sides and wet the top corner with the egg wash. Roll once more to seal. Do this for each.

Heat some canola oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot pan-fry the eggrolls each ride roughly 60 seconds or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve warm.

You may also deep-fry or bake these.

Serve with the teriyaki sauce

Pinoy Style Teriyaki Sauce

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
juice of half lemon or lime
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp worschestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients together.

Oven-Fried Eggplant

It's Friday, the 13th. Ooooo...Cue scary Halloween/Twilight Zone theme music. Have your lucky charms with you at all times. I'm not very superstitious. I've walked on several cracks and my mom is still walking upright. I do have certain rituals I do to keep myself in the "good luck vibe." I've thrown the occasional salt over the shoulder and a "knock on wood" every now and then. Are you superstitious? You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to.

Just like the my baked zucchini sticks, its relative cousin is the oven-fried eggplant. It's alter ego is the deep-fried kind. We're veering away from the alter ego for a moment to concentrate on the cousin.

Here's a neat little trick I learned from a friend to help it stay crispy. I cut the eggplant into 1/3-inch pieces toss them in a little salt and lay them flat on a baking pan for 1 hour. 1/2 hour would suffice. This takes out the moisture from the vegetable, so you'll get water droplettes on them. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel them dredge them in the usual breading method of flour, egg wash, and my favorite, panko crumbs.

Baked them for 20-25 minutes and what I was left with was a nice crispy, yet still slightly tender inside. A healthy version of the fried stuff

Serves 2

Oven-Fried Eggplant

2-3 long Japanese eggplants (cut into coins)
1/4 c flour
1 egg - beaten
1/3 c milk
2-3 c panko
salt and pepper
horseradish mustard dip (recipe below)

Cut the egg plants into 1/3-1/2 inch chips. Place on a baking pan and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let it sit for at least 1/2-hour to let the moisture out of the eggplant. Then pat it dry with a paper towel.

Preheat your oven 400˚F

Cut the egg plants into 1/3-1/2 inch chips.

Create three breading stations
1 - flour seasoned with some salt and pepper
2 - Egg with milk - seasoned with pinch of salt
3 - panko crumbs

Bread each piece of eggplant 1, 2, and 3 in that order and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes. Give the pieces a flip half way through for an even browning.

Horseradish mustard Dip

2 Tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp horseradish mustard
1 tsp lime juice

Combine all ingredients together.

Spinach Dip

I love to get Trader Joe's brand of spinach dip. It's been a while since I've gotten it and I've been craving for some for quite sometime now. It just so happens that I had bought a bundle of fresh spinach from farmer's market, so this gave me the push to try making my own. Have I mentioned that I love spinach dip? I like to snack on it as a sandwich between some slices of toast or with some crackers.

It's a simple recipe. A lot that I have seen use mayo and sour cream. I used some plain yogurt instead of sour cream for mine. The rest of the ingredients are pretty straight forward. Mayo, water chestnuts, some dry herbs and fresh chopped spinach. You can use frozen, too. The key to this is to let it sit. Like you would for coleslaw. It's to help blend all the flavors together and really let marinate the spinach well. You want every sing nook and cranny of the spinach to really be fused with the flavors of the herbs, mayo and yogurt. It's definitely worth the wait. Trust me because the taste is amazing. Serve it on some bread or crackers. Perfect for parties and gatherings.

Makes roughly 4 cups.

Spinach Dip

1 lb fresh spinach or 1 pack frozen (rinsed and squeezed of excess water)
1 c light mayo
1 c plain greek yogurt
1small can water chestnuts (drained well and roughly chopped)
1 dry parsley
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Combine all ingredients together. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Best if made ahead of time.

Baked Green Bean Fritters with Onion Dip

Fritter critter as I like to call these little thing.This is actually my attempt at making a baked version of some green bean fritters. I'm surprise that it actually turned out pretty good. It's like the green beans were roasted like it baked in the batter. Though, not the shape I would have liked and I do think that I made the batter was a little bit too thin also. I'd also chop up the green bean a little more rather than cutting them into 2-inch sticks. Don't worry I adjusted my recipe below in case you decide to give this a try.  It's pretty easy to make.

I paired it it an onion dip somewhat reminiscent of a french onion dip. I had sauteed some minced onion just close enough to where they started to caramelize, then I tossed them into some sour cream and added herbs as well.

Not necessarily a combination you'd find out there, but I really liked it.Another good snack or appetizer to add to the list.

Makes 13-15 fritters.

Baked Green Bean Fritters

1 lb green beans - fresh or frozen
Onion dip (recipe below)

Batter:
1 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c milk
1 tsp garlic powder

In a bowl, combine the ingredients in the batter and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

If using fresh green beans, wash and remove ends. Chop them into half inch pieces.

Mix the green beans into the batter and pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Baked for 15-20 minutes or until the edges had turned a golden brown.

Serve warm.

Onion Dip
1/2 c sweet onion - minced
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp dry thyme
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

In a skillet, heat a little olive oil. Add the onions and caramelize them. You want them just until they reach a golden brown color. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, parsley, thyme, lemon juice. Then add thr onions. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Chill in the fridge if not serving immediately.

Mini Chayote Quiche Cups

I had the idea to making a frittata with the extra chayote I had in the fridge. That's when I notice the wonton wrapper I needed to use up as they were about to expire in a few days. I had to use them up. I turned them into little cups using a mini-muffin pan I had. They're pretty useful for quite a lot of recipes that require an appetizer.

I had lightly prebaked the wonton cups in the oven to help set their shape first. Then I chopped up some chayote and mixed them with some chopped green onions and a couple of beaten eggs. Baked it in the oven until they were fully cooked.

Another delicious little appetizer.

Makes 12 mini cups.



Mini Chayote Quiche Cups

12 wonton
1 chayote - peeled and chopped into bits
2 green onions - chopped
salt
pepper
2 eggs - beaten

Note 1: you will need a mini muffin pan or something round with a 1-inch diameter.

Note 2: To avoid getting the sticky reside of the chayote on you hand, wear a rubber glove or plastic produce bag, then rise with some cold water before cutting into pieces.


Preheat your oven to 350˚F

Lightly grease the mini-muffin pan and carefully place the wonton wrappers inside the molds.

Fold and lightly crease the wonton wrappers to the edges. Baked in the oven for 2 minutes for let the wrappers harden.

Then remove from the oven and let it cool.

In a bowl, mix together the egg, chayote, green onion and season with a little salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture among the 12 wonton cups.

Bake in the oven for 20-min. Serve warm.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I love hot wings. There's a place my home that's got some pretty decent hot wings. I've been craving them recently, but I'm too lazy to go out in the heat. So I decided to make some at home. But then, I got the craving for meatballs. Who doesn't love meatballs? What do I choose? Hot wings or meatballs? Hot wings? Meatballs? Don't you just hate it when that happens. So, I sit and ponder the thought for moment on my semi-comfortable Ikea futon, when I heard that little voice inside my heard say, "Why not combine both?" My eyes widen. Genius!! "Thank you little voice inside my head," I replied back in a loud voice. Luckily, no one heard me or else they would think I'm crazy for talking to myself. Boy, that little voice of mine has sure come up with some clever ideas lately.

I reach into that big Costco bag of chicken breast, which by the way, I'm nearly done with it. Woohoo... I needed the mix-ins. Onion, check. Garlic, check. Panko crumbs, check. I thawed out the chicken and ground it in the food processor. If you can find ground chicken in the market, go right ahead. Saves you some time. Combined all the ingredients together and made 12 balls. They're slightly larger than a golf ball.

I baked these in a small cake pan that I covered the top with foil. It's like steaming and baking at the same time. Covering them helped the chicken stay tender and moist. It also helped absorb the hot sauce that I later coated them in. When you take that first bite, it's nice and juicy. Then, of course, I tossed them in a butter and hot sauce combination and served it with some dipping sauce. I'm not of a fan of blue cheese dressing. Don't get me wrong I like blue cheese, but not just the dressing form. I guess you can blame it on a bad blue cheese dressing experience a few years back.  I made a yogurt dressing that would go really great with this. Helps balance the heat. I had gotten this simple dressing from a friend when I had dinner with her and her husband. But you can use any dressing you'd prefer.

Two cravings in one dish. You can even omit the hot sauce all together and just make them into regular meatballs for pasta dishes or sandwiches. Also you can add as much hot sauce as you'd like as well. Whatever your preference of heat is. Don't forget to add some carrot and celery sticks, too.

Makes 12 meatballs or however many you desire.



Baked Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

1/2 lb ground chicken
or 1 large chicken breast - ground in the food processor
1 small onion minced
1 garlic clove
1 c panko crumbs
1 Tbsp paprika
salt
pepper

hot sauce:
2 Tbsp melted butter
1-2 tsp hot sauce (add more or less - to your preference)


Preheat your oven to 400˚F

In a large mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, onion, garlic, panko crumbs, paprika and sprinkle of some salt and pepper. Mix together until thoroughly combined.

Divide the mixture into 12 individual balls and place on a lightly greased 2- to 3-inch deep baking or cake pan. Cover the top with foil and put into the oven.

Bake for 30 min.

While the chicken bakes, combine the melted butter and hot sauce in a new bowl.

After the 30 min bakig, remove the chicken from the oven and put them into the bowl of the hot sauce. Toss the chicken until all are coated and transfer to a serving plate.

Add some carrot slices and/or celery and some of the ranch, bleu cheese, or yogurt dip on the side and serve warm.


Yogurt Dipping Sauce

3 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp water

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and serve.

Caramelized Onion Crostini

For some reason when it's unreasonably hot outside, I'm not in the mood to talk or write much. I just feel like vegging out. Here's a little idea for a crostini. Me and my appetizers, right? Okay, its some caramelized sweet onion mixed into a balsamic vinegar reduction placed over a piece of swiss cheese and a garlic flavored crostini made from a pan de sal mini loaf. Phew...that was a mouthful. Try saying that ten times fast! Oh and a sprinkle pinch of grated parmesan on top.

You can use whichever bread you desire. Traditionally, a crostini is made from slices of a french baguette. This is a great way to start the meal.

This recipe will generally make about a dozen. It's a good snack or meal in itself. Either way, it's a yummy time!



Caramelized Onion Crostini

1 medium sweet onion (sliced into half moons)
1 Tbsp dry thyme
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 french baguette (cut into 1/2 slices)
Olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
Garlic powder
Swiss cheese slices (cut into sizable pieces for the bread)
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 350˚F

Baste both sides of the the bread slices with some olive oil and sprinkle a little garlic powder over them.

Place them on an ungreased baking sheet and toast them for roughly 5-10 min.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and heat the oil. Add in the onions. Cook them until they slightly turn brown in color. Season with the dry thyme. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Using that same pan, add in the balsamic vinegar. Heat it until it slightly thickens. Add in the onions once again and stir, coating them.

Putting it together:
Take a crostini place one of the cheese slices on top followed by some of the onion. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of parmesan on top and voila!

Broiled Mini Tuna Burgers

Did you know the first burgers were made in Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut. Now, it's one of the mostly widely know and loved food all around. I've mentioned this before when I posted the 10 fun food facts for the month of April. Their burgers are flame broiled and served between two slices of toasted white bread with cheese, tomato and onion as a garnish. No ketchup allowed. It's frowned upon. I'm serious with that last sentence, which makes me want to visit the place even more.

What does that have to do with these burgers? Absolutely nothing. Thought I'd share that with you all. No...wait...I lied. Back up a bit. Ok, so I had made a mini loaf of pan de sal over the weekend. I didn't have enough room on the baking pan and thought it'd be cute to make a mini baby loaf. For those interested, I got my mini-loaf pans at Sur La Table. I bought 4 for $2 each. It's a 2"x4" size. They do look cute when the bread comes out of the oven. You just want to go "aww...".

I wanted to make crostinis with it, but I didn't really have an idea what to top it with. I got a craving for tuna, yet I didn't want it on my usual salad fix. I cut loaf into 1/8-inch slices and as I did, burgers came into mind. I had some grape tomatoes left in the fridge as well as a block of manchego cheese.

I decided to made a simple sweet and sour sauce for the "ketchup". Mixed up the tuna with an avocado instead of mayo and added some sweet relish, panko crumbs and some ground pepper.

You can make the regular sized version of these burgers. Just double up the ingredients and use regular sized bread. Adjust broiling time accordingly. These fit me just right. You can use them as starters, too.

Makes 7 mini burgers.



Broiled Mini Tuna Burgers

1 7oz can tuna in oil.
4 tsp sweet relish
1 small avocado
1 c panko crumbs
pepper
14 small slices of bread
grated cheese
4 grape tomatoes (sliced)
sweet and sour sauce


Preheat your broiler.

Make the sweet and sour sauce. This can be done ahead of time and will keep for a long time in the fridge.

Drail most but not all the oil from the tuna. Mix in the sweet relish, avocado and panko crumbs. Season it with some pepper.

Mold the tuna mixture in 7 small patties. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Toast the slices of bread either in the toaster oven or the conventional oven for 5 min.

Put into the broiler for roughly 10-15 min then flip and cook the other side for another 5-10 min. You want to see a good char crust on it. 2 min before removing sprinkle the cheese over the patties and let it melt into gooey goodness.


Putting it together:
Spread some of the sweet and sour sauce on both slices of bread. Top with the tuna patty and tomato slices.

Father's Day Dessertizer: Meatballs with cheese sauce

Meatballs with cheese sauce.

I remember watching an episode of Dinner:Impossible and the mission was to make a dinner for magicians in Las Vegas. Robert Irvine had to create dishes that tasted one thing, but looked completely like a different dish.

Here's what I did with the scrap cake pieces, leftover filling and icing. Meatballs and cheese sauce aka German Chocolate Cake Balls with Butterscotch Icing. It looks like it, doesn't it? The coconuts can be the onions.

Dessert or appetizer? It's a Dessertizer. I don't know. You decide.

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You can view my recipe for the German Chocolate Cake and Butterscotch Icing here.

To make the cake balls:
Crumble the cake into itty-bitty pieces shortly after baking. Make sure that both the cake and filling a cool enough to hand.

Mix in the coconut-pecan filling. Mold into balls. Size is your choice.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour to let them firm up, then drizzle the icing over like a sauce.

Chill in the fridge for at least an half an hour before serving to let the icing set.

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Trick you husbands, dads, father-in-laws or guests at a party with this.

"Hey dad, try some meatballs and cheese sauce" Takes bite. "Whoa...it's cake!!"

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS!!!
Here's some "meatballs with cheese sauce" for you eating enjoyment.