Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches

If your a fan of just regular grilled cheese, prepare yourself for how much more amazing grilled mozzarella is!! 

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into 4 equal pieces about 3-inches by 4-inches
• 8 1/2-inch thick firm white sandwich bread
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• A grating of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Place the mozzarella on 4 slices of the bread. Cover with the remaining slices to form sandwiches. Trim the crusts off to make perfect 4-inch squares.
2. In a wide shallow bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cream, thyme leaves, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk until well blended.
3. In a 10 to 12-inch nonstick saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook until the sizzling subsides. Dip 2 of the sandwiches into the egg mixture, turning to coat, place in the pan, and cook until golden brown on the first side, about 2 minutes. Flip over and brown on the other side. Transfer the sandwiches to individual plates and repeat the process with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 sandwiches. Cut in half, and serve immediately.

Adapted from:Martha Stewart

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts

I love crispy chicken..So I already craved it the second I read the recipe. The picky eater (my daughter) loved it, which is a bonus! I liked it better without the honey garlic sauce but it was still really good!!

Ingredients:

4 large boneless chicken breasts

Sift together:

2 cup flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

4 eggs
8 tbsp water

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then dip the meat in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the breast into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the meat to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. Make sure the chicken does not brown too quickly. The thinness of the breast meat practically guarantees that it will be fully cooked by the time the outside is browned. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 5 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked breasts into the Honey Garlic Sauce.

Honey Garlic Sauce

In a medium saucepan add

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add:

1 cup honey
¼ cup soya sauce (low sodium soya sauce is best)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

Adapted from:

Mexican Dorito Casserole

Another yummy Mexican recipe! I have yet to find one bad recipe on pinterest...or from any of my magazines and cookbooks. 

Ingredients:
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 c. shredded cheese (or more if you are a cheese hound)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
Bag of doritos

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except doritos.

3. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

Adapted from:Jam Hands

Weight Watchers Cheddar Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch Pasta

Chicken, bacon, and ranch pasta is so delicious. We don't eat pasta that much because I'm not always the biggest fan but my daughter and husband love it so when I found this recipe I knew it would be a winner!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta

4 slc bacon, diced

1/2 Tbsp light butter

1 lg chicken breast, boneless & skinless, cut into bite sized pieces

1 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 pkg ranch dressing mix ( 1/2 oz)

1 c fat free milk

1/2 c fat free shredded cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions in boiling salted water; drain, return to pot, and keep warm. 

          

2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the pan. 

          

3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the reserved bacon drippings, then add the chicken to the same skillet. Cook until tender, no longer pink, and slightly browned. 

          

4. Sprinkle the flour and ranch dressing mix over the chicken, stirring to coat evenly. Stir in the milk, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the cheddar cheese and half of the reserved bacon; cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. 

          

5. Serve each plate of pasta with more bacon sprinkled over the top.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

Not sure if I mentioned in previous posts buuut our family eats a lot of chicken so I'm all for finding new kinds of chicken recipes! This one was another winner!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)

Bacon slices

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish. Make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine

** I honestly think you could coat your dish with nonstick cooking spray instead to save a few calories

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy. Delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top.

Honey Glazed Bacon-wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken breasts
20 thin bacon slices
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp coarse mustard
fresh lemon juice

1. Cut the chicken breasts in halve (not too thin) I opted not to cut them.

2. Grab a bowl and combine 3 tbsp honey with 2 tsp coarse mustard.

3. Squeeze in some lemon juice. Not too much, about a tbsp or so. I think orange juice will be great, too.

4. Bacon rights all the wrongs in this world. It brings justice to all the injustices. Or something like that.

5. Wrap the bacon around the chicken (because I decided not to cut the chicken breasts I used 2 slices of bacon

6. Place them in a roasting tray or on a cookie sheet. If you’re afraid of cleaning up, line the tray or sheet with some tin-foil first. I’m hard-core (And own a dish washing machine. It helps).

7. Brush the chicken bites with half the marinade.

8. Bake them in a preheated oven at 425F (225C) for 10 to 13 minutes. Until the bacon is crispy.

As soon as one side is done, take the tray out of the oven. Does this look good or what? I could never be a vegetarian simply because I cannot forsake bacon. I absolutely love it, in an artery clogging kind of way!

9. Flip them over and brush them with the remaining marinade. Put them back in the oven for another 10 to 13 minutes, until the other side is crispy as well. Keep an eye on them.

Frosty S'more Cups

Made these as a dessert for a cookout and they absolutely AMAZING!!!! My only advice is to let them thaw out just a little bit before hand!

INGREDIENTS:

• 18 graham cracker squares (9 sheets or about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. whipping cream
• 2 c. mini marshmallows
• 1 1/2 c. cold milk
• 1 box (4 servings, 3.9 oz)instant chocolate pudding
• 1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (as topping)

DIRECTIONS
1. Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs.
2. Melt butter and add to graham crackers, mixing until well combined to make crust.
3. Prepare pan by placing disks into the bottom of each cup.
4. Evenly divide crust mixture into all 12 cups, saving about 1/4 cup to use as topping later.

5. Place milk chocolate chips and whipping cream into a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
6. Spoon chocolate into a zip top bag, cut a tip off and evenly pipe chocolate into the center of each cup, on top of the crust.

                                                     
7. Divide Marshmallows among cups.
8. Mix cold milk with pudding on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the Cool Whip container (the rest will be used as topping).
9. Spoon filling into a large zip top bag (and ZIP it or you might have a mess!) Clip a corner off and pipe pudding into each cup evenly. Try to pipe it in between the marshmallows so that the whole cup is filled. I did have a little left over (which was really tasty straight out of the bag!)
10. Use a knife to smooth the tops level with the top of the pan.
11. Freeze for at least a couple of hours.
12. Allow the pan to warm just a bit before popping each dessert cup out. Poke a finger up through the hole in the bottom of the pan and grab that s’mores cup by its crust. Remove the disk from the bottom and you are ready to add topping.
13. For topping, I just piped a little bit of the left over Cool Whip on each dessert using a decorating tip. Then I sprinkled the remaining crust and mini chocolate chips on top.

                                             
14.Serve cold right away– or put them in a sealed container and freeze until you are ready to serve.

Adapted from: Easy Baked

Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups

I'm not a big fan of making breakfast..I mean seriously, your kids wake you up at the crack of dawn so you're still half asleep and you have to make breakfast which sometimes involves a dangerous appliance...the stove or oven. I already have problems burning myself when I'm wide awake, I would rather not take that chance when I just wake up. But when I'm in the mood to go all out (and by all out I mean not throw an eggo waffle or toast in the toaster and call it a day) I like to try something new. This morning I was in the mood for eggs so I jumped online to Pinterest and found this awesome recipe! I mean three of my favorite breakfast foods mixed into one bite, You can't go wrong! hmmm I wonder how much more amazing it would be with sausage!?!?! :-D

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

8 slices bread (I use whole wheat)

6 slices bacon

6 large eggs

salt and pepper if desired

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with remaining butter.
2. Cook bacon in skillet or microwave, until almost crisp(it will continue to cook in oven), Lay 1 bacon slice (I cut in half and put side by side) in each bread cup and crack an egg over each. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

*Note: 20 minutes would be good if you like the yolk runny. 25 minutes the yolk was almost cooked through but not fully.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese

Aubrey started dance class tonight and I needed something quick and easy to make when we got home. Who doesn't love a big ol' baked potato with the works and grilled cheese? Whoever thought of combining the 2 is pure genius!!! So amazing I can still taste it and crave more!!! Score! Another recipe my hubby loves!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Strips of Bacon
• 1 Potato
• 2 tbsp of Sour Cream
• Cheddar Cheese
• Green Onions/Chives
• 2 Slices of Bread
• Butter
• Canola Oil (I used Olive Oil)
• Garlic Powder
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Get a pan on medium heat with enough Olive oil to lightly cover the bottom. Cut your potato into even slices, you will need 4-5 slices for the sandwich, then place them in your pan, cooking each side until browned and crispy.

2. While cooking, salt and pepper the potatoes to taste (they don’t need a lot of salt as the bacon will help with the saltiness as well) and sprinkle a light pinch of garlic powder. In another pan cook your bacon on medium heat to desired tenderness..or microwave like me. (I tend to burn my bacon when I use a stove)

3. While everything is cooking, slice your bread (use some crusty bread like french or sourdough if you have it), and generously butter the outside of each piece. On the inside, put about 1 tablespoon of sour cream on each slice as well as slices of cheddar cheese on each side. Once your potatoes and bacon are finished frying, dab them on paper towel to remove some grease, then fan the potatoes out on your bottom slice of bread, put a little more sour cream on top of the potatoes if you desire (I did to help the bacon and chives stick in the sandwich). Slice up one green onion stalk and spread it on top of the potatoes along with the bacon. Place your other slice of cheese on top of all of this and top with your bread!

4. Grill the sandwich in a pan on medium heat until each side becomes golden brown.

5. DIG IN and ENJOY!

photo credit: BS in the Kitchen

I'm still craving for more!!!