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.

Mushroom Avocado Quesadilla

Let's take another trip down memory lane. Because I like revisiting old recipes especially if they contain cheese and other stuff, too. Well...also quesadillas of any kind are quite frankly delicious to eat year round. It doesn't only have to only be cheese in it. You can mix and combine to many ingredients to fit your taste. It's funny because the more you make a certain recipe, the more it becomes a little specialty you can whip up in seconds.

I remember during my college days, one of my favorite picks was ordering up a chicken or sometimes tuna quesadilla. Along with chimichanga Thursdays. Hence why I gained those Freshmen 15 or whatever, but that's another story. I'd always order the large quesadilla with several packs of tapatio sauce on the side. Thinking about it makes me salivate. Hahaha... Oh, the memories. :)

This makes 2 quesadillas.



Mushroom Avocado Quesadillas

Whole Wheat Tortillas (6" or burrito sized)
Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
2 Large Portobello Mushroom caps (rough chopped)
1 medium sized tomato (diced)
1 ripe avocado (sliced)
1 Tbps Butter or margarine
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to season
Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese (optional)
Chopped cilantro (optional)


On medium heat, heat the oil and melt the butter. Once the oil is heated toss in the portabello slices. Cook them until tender and darker in color. Season with some salt and pepper.

Sandwich the cheese between two tortillas and in another pan (medium to high) heat the tortillas until the cheese is melted.

It'll take roughly 3-5 minutes for the cheese to melt and the tortilla to get slightly crisp. Flip the quesadilla and heat the other side for another 3-5 min.

Remove from the skillet and open the quesadilla. Add in the some of the portabellos, tomato, avocado and some of the optional cilantro.

Serve with a side of sour cream.

Note: Toss the avocado with some lemon juice to keep it from turning brown.

Parmesan Mozzarella Popovers

I was watching the show The Best Thing I Ever Ate last week and in one of the episodes one of the chosen eats was popovers. I made them once before last year. I figured it's time to make them again. Yesterday, I had tweeted that I had some baking in the oven while I did some work. Gotta love multi-tasking, right? They are really simple to and it takes only a few ingredients. Now I don't have one of those popover pans. It would be cool to have one, though not really necessary. So I went for the next best thing. A 12-cup muffin pan. Still works out great.  I've been having issues with the conventional oven in my place lately and I don't have have of those 6-cup muffin pans to fit into my little toaster oven.

So after spending a good hour just to trying to start up my old clunker, I set about making the batter. I modified my previous recipe a bit and I find this version to be way better. And they even popped over a bit more, too. They are delicious by themselves, with butter, jam, or for any kind of dip really. I really need to make these more often.


Makes 12-14 muffin popovers

 

Parmesan Mozzarella Popovers

1 Tbsp unsalted butter - melted and cooled
 2 c all purpose flour
1/3 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 c whole milk (room temperature)
1/3 c shredded parmesan
1/3 c shredded mozzarella

Preheat your oven to 400˚F.

Combine both cheeses in a small bowl and set aside.

In another small bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk to combine. Set aside. In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Slowly pour the milk mixture and whisk together until smooth.Then add the butter.

Grease a muffin pan with the a little bit of butter (or cooking spray) including the top surface.

Pour a scoop of batter into the muffin molds 1/3 full. Then top each with a good teaspoon of the cheese mix. Bake in the middle rack for 40-50 minutes. Halfway though give the pan a turn. Remove the popovers to a cooling rack and pierce the top with a knife to let out any steam.

Serve warm.

Stir Fry Quesdilla

Still cleaning out the pantry/fridge in some way. A little over two week until my trip to the Philippines. I'm really excited.

Istill had some that lavash bread and havarti cheese. The only thing that came to mind was a nice big quesadilla. *insert big smile here* Mmmm... I rummaged through the pantry and among the cans of tomato sauce was a can of sardines. Boneless and packed in olive oil. A small light bulb moment.

Sardine quesadilla?

There's got to be something else I can throw in there. I savenge the fridge and find some leftover frozen mixed veggies that I totally almost forgot about. Sometimes I think my freezer becomes no man's land. Or should I say land of lost foods. You end up forgetting what's in there sometimes. So I cook that up. Did a quick defrost in the microwave and stir-fry them up with some onion, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Adding the sardine in chunks. Mix it all up and place onto the lavash bread with nice slices of the havarti cheese. I used ol' Georgie once again to press it all together and melt the delicious cheesy goodness. You can omit the sardines all together, if you'd prefer a veggie quesadilla. Either way it's all good eats.

Makes 1 large or 2 small quesadilla

Stir Fry Quesadilla

1 large lavash bread or large tortilla
a few slices of havarti cheese.

1 c mixed vegetables
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 small sweet onion - chopped
pepper to taste
1 small can sardines in Olive oil (optional)

Heat  a little olive oil in a skillet and saute the vegetables and onion until tender. Stir in the oyster sauce and soy sauce, then season with a little pepper -- to taste. Once sauteed, add the optional sardine. Stir it in chunks. (Note you may also use the oil in the sardine to saute the vegetables a onions. Set aside.

Lay the lavash bread on a flat surface. Spread the stir-fry evenly on half and top with slices of cheese. Fold the other half of the lavash bread and press firmly.

If you have a press, heat for 3-5 minutes until the cheese has melted. You may also heat the quesadilla  in a dry clean skillet. Heat both sides for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Serve warm.

Cheese Crispies

I remember when I was a kid, I would cook up those Kraft cheddar singles in the microwave. The cheese would melt on the little saucer. The edges would harden and the center was nice and melted. I'd scrap up and eat the center first, the I'd carefully remove that one ring of outer cheese that's slightly hardened and eat that up last. Bring back so many memories. My mom would look at me funny, but I didn't care. I had myself some melted cheese.

These are sort of like that melted cheese I used to have. They're great in sandwiches or as a garnish on a salad.

Cheddar Crispies

Shredded or Grated cheddar cheese

Note: you may also used mixed blended cheese.


Preheat your oven to 400˚F

On a parchment paper lines baking sheet, Take 1 2 tablespoons of cheese and lay it on the parchment paper. Carefully pat it down to lightly spread the cheese into a flat circle. Place in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Then let it cool and harden before handling.

"Eat Your Words" with Twisted Breadsticks

I promised myself that I would participate in this year's Eat Your Words Challenge hosted by Tangled Noodle and Savour The Thyme.  Well here's my entry. Just in time too. It's been crazy hectic for me lately and trying to squeeze in the time to create something during productions gets a bit tricky. But I'm glad I was able to pull it off. Just something simple and of course a favorite of mine to eat. What you may ask, is it? It's non-other than bread.  Luckily, I had a can Pillsbury pizza dough left in the fridge. One of the neat things about dough is that you can shape them any way you want. I didn't want to make ordinary breadsticks, so I stuffed them with cheese. Cheesy breadsticks. You know like the cheesy pizza crust from certain pizza joints. It's sort of from that concept. I used shredded cheese for the inside, that way the pieces that stick out will melt onto the outer crust.  I made a little happy face to along with the "bread." I was originally going to try PB&J stuffed breadsticks, but I think I'll save that for another day. It's super easy, plus you can get kids to help out and make them, too.

Makes 10 sticks

Twisted Breadsticks
1 can Pillsbury Pizza Dough
 Shredded cheese.

Preheat your oven to 425˚F

Cut the pizza dough into 2-3 inch strips. Sprinkle a good amount of cheese down the center.  Carefully roll them up by rolling up one corner diagonally and twisting to carefully seal the cheese in.

Place the sticks on an ungreased baking sheet and baked for 13-17 minutes until golden brown.

Grilled Cheese and Avocado

 We've all heard of the old fashioned grilled cheese sandwich, grilled cheese and tomato, grilled cheese with apple, grilled cheese with _____. So now it's time to add avocado into that blank.For those who've been following this blog for a while now may may know of my love to avocados.

Served this with some good ol' fashioned creamy tomato soup. Grilled cheese is on the top list of ultimate comfort foods. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The cheese I used is shredded mozarella and a couple slices of sourdough bread.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese and Avocado

4 slices of bread
1 c shredded mozzarella
1 ripe avocado - pitted and sliced
butter

Spread some butter on all 4 slices of bread. Take two slices and divide the cheese and avocado evenly between the two top with the other two slices buttered side out.

Heat a skillet, place on side of the sandwich down and toast the bread for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until the bread is browned. Flip the sandwich and cook for another 2-3 minutes until browned.

Serve warm with some soup or alone.

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

A combination of vegetables and cheese. Also a classic meal from yesteryear. You can't go wrong with that. Broccoli and cheese. Broccoli with cheese. Broccoli topped with cheese. A cheese sauce.

They seem at odds with each other, yet they taste so good. A simple steaming of the broccoli cook it until it's tender. I was tempted to add some pasta into the dish, but...actually I don't have an excuse why I didn't add the pasta. Come to think of it, why didn't I? Laziness maybe? Whatever the reason while the broccoli steamed away, I made a simple cheese sauce. Making a simple roux and adding a Mexican blend of shredded cheese with ricotta. It added an extra creaminess to the sauce.

Serves 2-3

Broccoli with Cheese Sauce


2 heads broccoli (chopped in sizable pieces) or 1 package frozen broccoli

Cheese sauce:
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 c milk
1/2 c shredded cheese
1/2 c ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place the broccoli pieces in the steamer and steam until tender.

Note: To steam in the oven. Place the broccolie in a cake pan or pie tin. add a small layer of water at the bottom and cover with foil. Place in a preheat 350˚F oven and bake until tender.

For the cheese sauce:
In a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Combine until like a dough-like substance. Then add the milk and stir until milk becomes slightly thicker. Add the cheese and stir again to combine.

Once the broccoli has been cooked through, serve on a plate and top with the cheese sauce.

Egg White Omelette

When I made my German Chocolate Mini Cakes a few days ago, I was left with a couple of egg whites that were not needed for the recipe. I didn't want to throw them away as they were still good. I put them in the fridge until I could figure out what I could make with them.

Fast forward a few days later, I'm trying to decide what to cook for dinner. I remember the egg whites in the fridge. Take out the remaining green onions, some grape tomatoes from the vegetable compartment and some shredded parmesan cheese. A simple fast delicious and healthy dinner in just minutes. I love it when the edge forms a tiny crisp crust. Yum! This is perfect for those of you who are watching your carb intake, too.

I had this with a couple warm wheat mini pan de sal.



Egg White Omelette
2 Egg White
2 green onions (chopped, including stems)
1/2 c grape tomatoes (halved)
1/3 c shredded parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Salt

Season the egg white with a pinch of salt.

Coat the bottom of a pan with oil and heat on a medium to low flame.

Pour in the egg white. Sprinkle half of the parmesan cheese, then the green onions. Place the tomatoes around, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese.

Let it cook for 3-5 min. When you see it begin to puff up and the cheese melting then it's ready. Remove from heat.

Serve with some bread or whatever you feel like serving it with.

Cheesy Bell Pepper Swirls

I mentioned last week that I would recreated the BSI: Bell Pepper winning recipe. The winner was Cheesy Bell Pepper Swirls by Parita of Parita's World. You can view the original recipe here.

Well, here's my recreation. I had to adapted it a little using one pastry sheet. I also had to tone down the spiciness and heat a bit to cater to the other taste buds in the household. Otherwise, if it was just me, I would have packed in the jalapeño and chili paste that was called for in the original recipe. But I did sneak a good amount of heat into it. Special thanks to Mr. Tobasco. I would have used sriracha or Tapatio, but I realized as I was making this, I didn't have either in the pantry.

I stuffed them good, making them nice and plump when they came out. Unfortunately, two of them burst open in the oven, spreading the cheesy goodness on the baking sheet. That's okay. It's all good in the hood. Make sure you roll them tight to prevent that from happening. I'm still working on the whole rolling pastry thing.

I think made the right choice in picking this the winner. Congrats again, Parita. One sheet make about will roughly make about 9-10 1-inch swirls including the sides. So I present to you Cheesy Bell Pepper Swirls.





Cheesy Bell Pepper Swirls
adapted from original recipe by Parita from Parita's World

1 puff pastry sheet - thawed
1 small red bell pepper - fine chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper - fine chopped
2 spring onions with their greens chopped finely
1/2 -1 cup grated cheese (your choice)
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 Tbsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp dry basil
Salt to taste

Optional:
1/2 tsp sugar
2 medium jalapeños (chopped)
1 tsp red chili paste


Preheat the oven at 400˚F.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil, add in all ingredients, except for the cheese and pastry puff. Sauteé for 5 mins.

Take a pastry puff sheet onto lightly floured surface, spread the bell pepper stuffing, leaving little space on the sides. Top it with grated cheese and fold the sheet carefully into a tight roll sticking the sides together with little water if required.

Cut 1-inch slices of the roll.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet, line the baking sheet with parchment paper and bake them for 20 to 30 mins or until golden brown.

Tuna Pestodillas

I had a little avocado pesto leftover. I still have cans of tuna left in the cupboard. I wondered what I can make with the two. Field trip to Whole Foods. Looking up and down the aisle. I spot the torillas. Whole wheat goes into my basket. Check. Head to the produce section. Spot me some bell peppers and tomatoes. Take one of each. Check. Pay for items and head for the car.

Get home. Roast bell pepper and tomato. Remove provolone cheese and avocado pesto from the fridge and tuna from the cupboard. I finally get my "Ah-Ha" moment. A tuna-pesto quesadilla. A little itty-bitty twist to the classic cheese quesadilla.

You can also use the ready roasted bell peppers and tomatoes that are preserved in oil, if you're short on time.

It's really tasty. I've never had tuna quesadillas until this. It's always chicken or the regular cheese mix and until recently mushrooms. All that gooey deliciousness!




Tuna Pestodillas

4 taco-sized torillas
Avocado Pesto
1 Tbsp Lite mayo
1 5oz can tuna in oil
6 slices provolone cheese
1 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp dry parsley
1 bell pepper (deseeded and sliced)
1 large tomato (deseeded and quartered)
Olive Oil

Optional
Roasted Bell Peppers in oil
Roasted Tomatoes in oil


Preheat oven 400˚F

In a bowl, coat the bell pepper and tomato in a little olive oil, place on a baking sheet and roast for 30min. (You can also use the ready made roasted peppers and tomatoes if you don't have the time.)

Cool after roasting and cut into chunks.

Preheat your broiler.

Remove most, but not all the oil from tuna and put into a bowl. Add in the mayo, thyme, parsley, bell pepper and tomatoes pieces. Mix well.

Lay out a tortilla. On one side, place some cheese and fold over. Do the same for the other three tortillas and place on a baking sheet.

Place the quesdillas in the broiler for 3-5 min or until the cheese it melted.

Remove from the broiler and carefully open the quesadillas. Spread some avocado pesto followed by the tuna mixture and fold it closed.

Cut in half or enjoy it whole.

Pesto #2: Avocado

Reminder about the BSI challenge with this week's ingredient of choice Bell Pepper. You've got only a couple of days left. (here) Time is ticking away. I can hear the '24' tick-tock ticking right now.

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Pesto #2. That's right. Avocado.

Why not avocado?

Aside from using it as a general spread or what not, add it into some pesto. By golly, it's really good. It brings a nice creaminess to the whole thing. You can still taste the basil along with the added lemon juice. I didn't feel like having pasta two nights in a row. I'm sure it would be great with pasta, but I wanted to make something different.

So I decided to make a some tomato mozzarella sammies. Used it as a spread on the bread. Though I didn't have bread left, but I did have a can of the Pillsbury Creations Flaky Dough Sheet in the fridge. I baked it into a flat bread and cut it into sandwich pieces.

This makes 2 6-inch sub sized or 4 square sandwiches. It filled me just right since the bread was not overly thick.

Avocado Pesto

1 Medium avocado (sliced and pitted)
1 c fresh basil
1/3 c grated parmesan (plus extra)
2 garlic cloves
1/3 c sun-dried tomato with oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
salt
pepper


Combine garlic, basil, parmesan, sun-dried tomato with oil, lemon juice and avocado in a food processor or blender. Grind until a paste like consistency. Season with a little salt and pepper.

If you've got some leftover or will not be immediately using the pesto, tightly cover the with plastic wrap to help prevent any oxidation and place in the fridge.

Here's a way to make pesto by hand: Reserve the oil from the sun-dried tomato in a bowl. On a chopping board, finely chop the garlic, then gradually begin chopping in the basil. Don't do it all at once or it will be a big mess. Do the scrap and chop method until you get a near mince. Do the same method with the pine nuts, parmesan, avocado and sun-dried tomato, minus the oil, until you get a paste like consistency. Mix in some salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture in another bowl then drizzle in the reserved olive oil from the sun-dried tomato.


Mozzarella Tomato Sandwich

1 can Pillsbury creation flaky dough sheet or pizza dough. (or your bread of choice - toasted)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
6-8 Cherry Tomatoes (quartered)
Avocado Pesto
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small bowl, toss the cherry tomatoes in a little drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Roll out the Pillsbury dough on a making sheet and bake for 15 min. or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into 4 rectangles or 8 squares.

Turn the heat on to the broiler.

Spread a nice even layer of pesto on both bottoms of the bread, then sprinkle a nice helping of mozzarella on both.

Place the cherry tomatoes on which ever sides will be the bottom of the sandwich.

On a baking sheet, place the sandwich in the broiler for 2-3 min until the cheese is melted.

Place the top over and enjoy!

Thought Iadd this last one to show the pesto itself, since
you can't really see it well in the sandwich.

Asparagus in a Blanket with Cheese Sauce

I've been using a lot of chicken tenders lately because I had gotten a 5lb bag from Costco. Everything there is in bulk. So I'm trying to think of different ways to use those tenders aside from the obvious, which I will do, too. I figured why not use them as a wrap for some thing. I butterflied and pounded the tenders close to the thickness of bacon and wrapped them around some thin asparagus. As much as I love bacon, trust me...I could go for a bacon sandwich any day, we sometimes have to go for an alternative.

Very tasty. The top tips have a little crisp crunch to them. The body of the asparagus tender with a slight crunch at the center. The chicken baked just right and topped with some of the 4 cheese sauce. I ate 3 little bundles and it was the right amount to fill me up. Not the "guilty" full, but the "satisfied and just right" full. I still had room for dessert (i.e. leche flan). If using thicker asparagus, it'd be best to blanch them first.

This will make 6 bundles.



Asparagus in a Blanket with Cheese Sauce

6 Large chicken tenders
1 bundle thin asparagus (roughly 30)
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of half a lemon (optional)


Preheat oven to 350˚F

Wash and cut the bottom ends of the asparagus off. In a bowl, toss them in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Carefully butterfly the chicken tenders. (Cutting it from the side middle like a book. Be sure not to cut all the way through you still want it to be one piece.)

Then place the tenders in between two piece of plastic wrap and pound it a few times into a thin piece. I use the bottom of a pan since I don't a have a mallet.

Remove from plastic wrap and season both side with salt, pepper and paprika.

Take 4-5 asparagus sticks and wrap it in a slight angle in the pounded chicken. Like in a twist.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, ends facing down to keep it from unraveling while it cooks. Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken.

Bake for 20 min.

Cheese Sauce:
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp All-purpose Flour
1-1 1/2 c milk or 1 12oz can of evaporated milk
Shredded cheese (I used Sargento 4 cheese Mexican mix with Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar,
Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheeses)
Salt & Pepper

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add in the flour and stir to combine making a roux. It'll clump together. Then add in the milk. Stir to combine and melt the flour mix. Once it looks a little thicker add in the shredded cheese.

Stir occasionally until the cheese is melted and has a creamy consistency. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Putting it all together:
When the chicken and asparagus are done place on a plate and pour some of the cheese sauce on top. The cheese sauce is also good for fondue.

Enjoy!

Manchego Cookies

Croustillants. Just another fancy name for cheese crackers. It's actually french. A couple Christmas' ago, my mom had given me this cookbook called Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World, Paris. She knew my love for the city and its food. Lots of delicious recipes in there that I would like to eventually try. The cheese cracker recipe was included in the appetizer section. IT got me thinking. What about cheese in a cookie? So I changed up the original by using Manchego cheese and garnishing with some dry parsley and basil. The final result is a nice cheese taste. Not overpowering with a hint of herb. A beautiful blend.


Manchego Cookies

1/2 C shredded Manchego cheese
1 C Flour
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter or Margarine
Pinch of Salt

Dry Basil
Dry Parsley


Preheat Oven 325˚F

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until a dough consistency.

If mixing by hand, grate the manchego cheese and combine with the flour. Once blended together mix in the butter until it is like a dough consistency.

Remove from bowl, mold into a cylinder shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 1/2 an hour.

Then remove from plastic wrap and cut 1/2" thick slices. Remold to a circular shape, if needed. Sprinkle some dry basil and parsley. Place on a non-greased baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25min. Let cool completely then enjoy.

Pancake Crostini?

I really don't know what to call this one.

I had one of those Bisquick Shake & Pour pancake mixes in the cupboard. I wanted to try it out and actually almost forgot I had it. Tastes like a pancake from the box. I grew up in the read-to-eat generation of pancakes. Or we'd just go to IHOP or Denny's for some flapjacks. This was just a little experimentation and an excuse to use the pancake mix. Next time I'll make the pancakes from scratch with maybe some fresh fruit and a nice dollop of my maple butter. Yum!!!!

Anyway, it's just silver dollar sized pancake. Cooked them on a medium heat in a buttered pan. Put some leftover empanada filling and a tiny sprinkle of shredded mild cheddar cheese on top. Baked for 5 to 10 min in a 400˚F oven. I can't really say how many I made as I was snacking on them while I was still cooking them.

The pancakes get a bit toasted and the cheese is nice and melted. I guess this can be a version of the crostini or mini-tostada without the dressings. Any one else have better name ideas? Either way, these are cool appetizers for any party. If only I had some sour cream, this would be so much better. But it's a good start.

Baked Inside-Out Chicken Sliders

One of the wonderful things when a special holiday comes up is that you get to cook as much as you want. I planned a 5 course Easter feast. Well, it's actually 4, but there were 5 dishes all together. Two of them were desserts.



Course #1 - Pre-Appetizer


Baked Inside-Out Chicken Sliders

4 chicken tenders or 12oz ground chicken
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Dry Basil
cheese slices divided into 4 smaller squares.
Sourdough mini rolls (sliced) or mini burger buns
pieces of butter lettuce
condiments (optional) - I used my special sandwich spread
Salt and pepper to season

Preheat oven 350˚F

Grind chicken tenders in a food processor.

Mix in paprika and basil into ground chicken. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper to season and divide into 4 palm-sized patty rounds. Take one round and place two square pieces of cheese in the center. Top with another patty round and seal the edges well to trap in the cheese.

note: ground chicken isn't as firm as beef, so it may stick to your fingers.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Use a little olive oil or cooking spray.

Bake for 15-20min on the middle rack. You'll hear it sizzle in the oven like it's on a grill.

5 min before removing the chicken, toast the buns in the oven over a piece of foil. Remove bread and chicken. Spread on mayo or any condiment you'd like along with the lettuce pieces and enjoy. This makes two sliders.

Grilled Cheese and Creamy Tomato Soup

What's more nostalgic than a good ol' fashioned grilled cheese sandwich and some creamy tomato soup. A perfect after school snack. I had seen a recipe from 30-minute meals. Click here Made some minor changes and was please with how it turned out. I used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. A bit lower in calories and gives it a nice rich taste. For the grilled cheese, my choice of bread was sourdough. I love sourdough.



Grilled Cheese Sammie

2 slices of bread (your choice)
butter or margarine
swiss cheese slices
cheddar cheese slices

Preheat skillet on a medium fire. Butter the top sides of the bread. When the skillet is hot enough place one slice of bread butter-side down. Place a slice of swiss and chedder and top it off with the other piece of bread, butter-side up. Grill for 5-10min. Then flip and grill for another 5-10min. Cheese will be nice and melted with a crispy bread crust.

Makes 1 sandwich

Note: don't smush the sandwich when grilling.




Creamy Tomato Soup

1 can (15oz) Chicken or veggie broth
1 can (15oz) fire roasted diced tomato or crushed tomato or tomato sauce
1 8oz can evaporated milk
1 Tbsp Rosemary (optional)
salt
pepper


Combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

For the creamy texture, use an immersion blender to mush up the tomato to bits. If you don't have an immersion blender, you may mush the tomato beforehand in a regular blender or food processor before adding it to the stock. If you don't have either, tomato sauce will also make a good substitute.

Serves about 2-4 people