Baked Potato Pizza

(pizza prior to final bake)

Ingredients:
1 large russet potato
1 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

3/4 pound bacon, cooked and chopped into bits
1 Pillsbury thin pizza crust
4 green onion stalks, chopped
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Skin the potato and cut it into four chunks, boil for 30 minutes. Drain, put back in the pan with heat on low, add sour cream, buttermilk, garlic, salt and pepper. Mash until well whipped with no chunks remaining.

Spray baking sheet and roll pizza crust out. Bake as instructed, but for 8 minutes for extra crisp. Take crust out and spread mashed potatoes thinly on pizza crust. Sprinkle bacon, green onions and cheddar cheese on top. Add salt and pepper. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, until brown.

Use hot sauce if you prefer, but not necessary as the pizza is delicious without it!

Fried Rice

4 servings

Ingredients
3 carrots, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
A handful of asparagus, chopped and/or a handful of sugar snap peas
1/2 can water chestnuts, diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

Riced, cooked (4 servings)
Meat of choice, cooked and chopped I recommend two chicken breasts OR 1 lb. of shrimp OR 1 chicken breast and 1/2 lb. of shrimp
2 eggs
Soy sauce (approx. 4 tablespoons)
Chicken broth (approx. 1 cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Cook vegetables (through ginger) on medium heat in a large pan with soy sauce, mustard, lemon juice and chicken broth (don't add full cup of chicken broth right away - add in 1/4 cup increments as liquid absorbs) until soft, approx. 30 minutes. Once the vegetables are close to being done, scramble the eggs in a separate pan. Add scrambled eggs, rice and cooked meat to vegetable mixture with additional soy sauce to taste (a couple tablespoons) and heat on low for 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. For an extra touch, add diced green onions and/or sesame seeds just before serving.

Crunchy Baked Fennel

Sweet roasted slices of fennel topped with herbed bread crumbs make for a fabulous freezer-to-oven side dish! The unbaked gratin can be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to a week. Bake the foil-wrapped dish straight from the freezer for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes longer.

Ingredients
10 medium fennel bulbs - halved, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup dry white wine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On 2 large rimmed baking sheets, drizzle the fennel with 1/2 cup of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, until softened. Let cool for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, toast the panko over moderate heat until golden, 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in the cheese and flour.

In the same skillet, melt the butter. Add the garlic, shallots and thyme and cook over moderate heat until the garlic is softened, 5 minutes; add to the panko. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of oil and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Spread half of the fennel in a 9 by 13 inch glass or ceramic baking disk. Pour the wine over the fennel, then sprinkle half of the panko on top. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes longer, until the topping is browned and crisp. Serve hot.

BBQ Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Feeds 4 people

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops
1/2 bottle regular BBQ sauce
1 TBS spicy mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
1 TBS cider vinegar
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TBS red pepper flake
1 TBS BBQ seasoning
2 TBS dried, chopped onions (optional)
1 tsp smoke salt
1 tsp horseradish cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

4 medium sweet potatoes, 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TBS cidar vinegar
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS spicey mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 stalks green onion, diced

Directions:
Mix all BBQ sauce ingredients together and poor over pork chops. Marinate for 1/2+ hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 25 minutes. Turn to low broil for 10 minutes. Mix all sweet potato dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and let sit.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake pork chops covered for approx. 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes.

Add sweet potatoes to dressing and mix.

Pumpkin-Honey Beer Quick Bread

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine.

Though the name of the recipe is long, the recipe prepping/baking time is not - I make this bread every fall and LOVE it. For someone like myself, who is not the best baker, this is an easy, delicious recipe!

Ingredients:

14.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 1/4 cups)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup flaxseed

2 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup honey beer (at room temp)

1/2 cup egg substitute

2 large eggs

1 (15-oz) can pumpkin

Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and next 4 ingredients (through pumpkin pie spice) in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.

Combine 1/2 cup water and flaxseed.

Place sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flaxseed mixture and pumpkin; beat at low speed just until blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Divide batter between 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in a pan on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

*Note: I often use a mini loaf pan that yields four small loaves of bread for smaller portions. This is a great option to bring to holiday get together/party as gift or share with family/friends. If you decide to go this route, cut back baking time to approximately 70 minutes (again, use wooden pick to check).

Mom's Quick Fix Chicken Soup

Add whole wheat penne or your choice of pasta for a heartier dish.

Ingredients:
1 whole rotisserie chicken, store bought and pulled into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 carton chicken broth
2-3 bouillon cubes
1 carton beef broth
4-6 chopped carrots
1 can corn or 1/2 bag frozen corn
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil in medium sized pot.
Add chicken broth, beef broth and chopped carrots and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add the bouillon cubes to taste. Add the rosemary sprigs, corn and chicken and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Ready to serve - a great quick winter dish!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Feeds 4-5 people, make rice or corn as a side dish.
Great for 2 people with leftovers for lunch!

Ingredients:
Enchiladas:
3 precooked chicken breasts chopped into cubes (available at meat counter or prepackaged at grocery store)
5 large flour tortillas
1/2 can Campbell's nacho fiesta cheese soup
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 Jalapeno, finely chopped
3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
Small handful of cilantro leaves (amount to your taste), chopped
Small (1/2 size) baking pan, greased

Sauce:
3/4 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
1/4 of a red pepper
1/4 of a yellow pepper
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1/2 Jalapeno
2-3 tablespoons chicken broth
Small handful of cilantro leaves (amount to your taste)
Small electric chopper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Combine all enchilada ingredients (except tortillas) into a small mixing bowl
Split enchilada mix evenly between all 5 tortillas. Roll each one tight and place in small, greased baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes covered, then switch to low broil setting, uncover and broil for 5-8 minutes (until golden brown on top).

Combine all sauce ingredients in chopper and pulse until well chopped/mixed.
Pour sauce over the top of the browned enchiladas and sprinkle additional 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top. Put back in the oven to broil for another 5/8 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.
Garnish with cilantro.

Crab and Onion Chip Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 pouch dried French onion soup mix
1 can lump crab meat
Salt and Pepper to taste

Your choice of tortilla chips, crackers and veggies

Directions:
It's easy! Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and let sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving. Add a little paprika or chopped parsley for color on top before serving.

Light and Creamy Chicken Penne (aka Comfort)

Feeds 2-3 people.

Chicken
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts cut into 2" strips
Flour
1 egg
Italian bread crumbs

In a ziplock bag, toss chicken strips with flour. Scramble 1 egg and add to ziplock bag, toss. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs, toss. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken strips until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Take chicken out of the skillet and set aside. Note: I like to put the chicken on a piece of paper towel to drain unneeded oil off.

Begin boiling water now and cook penne until el dente.

Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 large red onion chopped
1/4 large red pepper chopped
1/4 to 1/2 can of chick peas
2 garlic gloves grated
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup grated asiago or parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put one cup of chicken broth in the same skillet you cooked the chicken in and scrape the bits of chicken from the bottom. Add all veggies except the garlic and bring to a boil. Boil on medium for approximately 8-10 minutes (until veggies are soft). Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Strain this mixture over a bowl, set strainer with veggies to the side and pour sauce back into the skillet. Add the milk and half of the cheese and turn up the heat to bring back to a slight boil, stirring regularly, and then reduce to a simmer and add the rest of the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Note: If you like a thicker sauce, stir 1 tablespoon of flour with 1/4 cup water and add a little of this mixture to the sauce at a time until you get the consistency you like.

Finishing touches:
When your cream sauce is complete, add the veggies, pasta and chicken back into the skillet and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for a few minutes on low heat so that the ingredients absorb some of the sauce. Enjoy!

Last night's dinner: Homemade potstickers

Ingredients:
1 lb. Graziano Bros Garlic Sausage (if you don't have access to Grazianos, use any Italian sausage and add 2 cloves of garlic while cooking in skillet)
4 green onions, shopped
Won ton wrappers
Chicken broth
Olive oil
Soy Sauce (I prefer low sodium)

Directions:
Heat skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Chop green onions and cook white part in olive oil for 2-3 minutes, then add sausage and cook until almost done. Mix in green part of onions. Put about one teaspoon of sausage mixture in center of wonton. Brush all edges with chicken broth and fold meat in so that corners of won ton wrapper match up. Press down and seal edges shut with fork - use a knife to cut and round edges if you'd like.

Heat large skillet and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook pot stickers until both sides are brown. Once they are well browned, add a little chicken broth and cover. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Serve with soy sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

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Graziano Bros

I discovered Graziano Brothers 4 years ago and fell in love. Located in the heart of Des Moines metro, but off the beaten path, this family style Italian grocery store is a gem to me. When you walk in the door, you're greeted by the safe and friendly aroma of seasonings and meat. They have the best deli in Des Moines, hands down. You'll find imported and specialty italian foods - a huge selection of cheeses and meats (my favorites include their proscuitto, hot sopressata an their variety of homemade Italian sausage). They have awesome pizza crusts for dirt cheap if you like to make your own pizza, and a large selection of homemade ravioli in their freezer for a simple, but divine dinner. If you life olives, you must try their homemade italian seasoned green olives - YUM!

If you haven't been there, you must go! It is just south of Sec Taylor Stadium on a side street:
1601 South Union Street
Open M-F 8:30 to 5:30 and Sat 8:30 to 5

A New Journey

Welcome, to my first blog post ever! As I find myself intrigued by the endless opportunities to connect with people on the web, I thought it appropriate to create my own blog.

I'm here to share my passion for food with friends and family - and I hope that as you enjoy this blog spot, you too will be inspired to share food stories with me as well! Sit back, cozy up and let the warmth that food brings to my life enter into yours. Salud!