BBQ Chicken & Bell Pepper Pizza

So I went to this place near my home called Tom's Farms. They have a few little country stores with all sorts of yummy things like produce, nuts, candies, sauces. Anyway, it's a fun place to go and I saw some bread that looked like pre-made pizza dough called Schiacciata. I thought this would be perfect for the left over grilled bbq chicken we made the other night.

As recommended by the lady at the store, I baked the dough for about 3 minutes to get it a little crispy (she said that the dough will soak up the pizza sauce and be too moist with this bread). Then I topped the dough with tomato garlic sauce, 4 sliced medium mushrooms, 1 small can of black olives, shredded bbq chicken, 1 whole red bell pepper slices, and a cup or two of shredded cheese.

The pizza allotted for about 6 slices, and with all the ingredients piled high it was so filling. We ate this with a side caesar salad. I love homemade pizza! Yumm!

Slow Cooked BBQ Brisket Sandwiches

Slow cooked is definitely the way to go for a hot savory meal. I picked up a 3 lb brisket put it in the slow cooker on low for 9 hours. On the 9th hour I took off the lid used a fork to pull apart and shred the brisket up, then I added our favorite homemade Barbados BBQ sauce (any BBQ sauce of your choice will suffice). An hour later, I sloped a few spoonfuls of brisket onto a panini roll and served it with mashed potatoes and zucchini. It was as good as eating out at Lucilles, but better since it was home cooked. My husband really enjoyed it too!

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread

One would think this is the Trader Joe's blog since I reference it so much, but they seriously have good stuff. Ok, so my latest find was some Pumpkin Bread Mix. I was going to make some homemade pumpkin bread over the weekend, but I saw this mix at TJ's for about $2.50. It's so delicious, serves about 12 people per loaf and it's really easy to make! You just have to add water, oil and 2 eggs.

You're supposed to cook it about 55-60 minutes, but mine wasn't ready in the middle at that time so I added some foil lightly around the edges so the middle would cook thoroughly and let it sit in the oven another 5 minutes. I didn't have any vanilla ice cream or whip cream (probably good in the end tho), but it would have tasted even better paired with that. Yummmmmm! Can't wait to make more, and this time I'm going to put them in cupcake cups and possibly draw cute little pumpkins on the top....hehehehe, what a fun treat for Halloween!

These are a few of my Trader Joe's things...

Corn Tortilla Flat Bread
This goes great with a little bit of Rondell cheese for a pre-dinner snack.

Cracked Sourdough Wheat Bread
I love making garlic bread with this sourdough, and it's nice with turkey sandwiches.

Pineapple Salsa
It's nice to have a different type of salsa every once and a while. This one has a great flavor to it, but it not chunky pineapple, it's blended nicely.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter
Nutty, creamy and delicious! You have to refrigerate this after opening. This tastes great with strawberry jam on an everything bagel for breakfast.

Charles Shaw White Zinfandel
2 Buck Chuck is always good in a pinch. I like to drink this when I have salmon or shrimp for dinner. It's light and pairs well with it.

Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup
This is the best tomato soup ever. It's wonderful with half of sandwich for lunch...especially on a cold day to warm you up.

Wild & Basmati Rice Pilaf
My favorite rice ever. I always cook this up with salmon and zucchini. It heats up well for left overs too.

Mrs. Dash-Rosemary Potatoes

This is a variation on potatoes I make in the oven, but last night I sliced them thin and put them on the grill with the tri-tip my husband was making. They go great with steak, and you don't need any butter because you cook it with olive oil which is much healthier. The flavors become more rich if you leave it on the grill longer. In the case of cooking these potatoes, the longer you leave them on the better they get.



What you need:
5-7 red potatoes
2 tbsp Mrs. Dash
1 tbsp Rosemary
2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

What to do:
1. Wash/scrub potatoes with hot water, then slice them very thin.









2. Put the sliced potatoes to a medium bowl. Drizzle olive oil on the potatoes then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything together well with a spoon.












3. Place potatoes on a sheet of foil. Wrap it, then re-wrap it with more foil. I use about 3 or 4 sheets to create a nice structure.









4. Place on heated grill. Flip occasionally, about every 10-15 minutes for about 50-60 minutes. Use a pair or tongs to flip. When they are complete put them in a dish and serve!

Yay for Yams

Ok, so they might look like overgrown funky shaped potatoes, and they are orange in the middle, but that doesn't have to make you be afraid of them. They are actually a beautiful vegetable that can be cooked just like a potato. The thing you have to do it add a little bit of butter and brown sugar and they are just like eating dessert. It's a great alternative to having a potato and it's actually healthier. So, next time you're at the store pick up a couple and try it out....I dare you.

Tamales

I was fortunate enough over the weekend to make tamales with my grandma! I've always wanted to know how to make them because they are so good. They have been a family tradition passed down from when she was a child, and I wanted to learn so I can keep the recipe in the family and not let it die.

When I go to Mexican restaurants I don't think I've seen tamales on the menu, except for Las Golandrinas, which is where we usually purchase them from around Christmas time. I can understand why many restaurants might not make them is because they are very time consuming. My grandma told me that her mother would make everything from scratch, even down to the chili powders, and because of this it could take a few days just to get all the ingredients ready. It was her job, and the other kids in the family to go to different farms to collect the ingredients such as corn stalks, cheese, and chilies.

She started the beef boiling a little before I arrived at her house at 10am, and we worked all day long (including making a trip to the Mexican market). I left about 5pm and we had only steamed half of what we made, and we wrapped at least 100 tamales. So, you can see that was at least 7 hours and we didn't even cook them all up! We had over 12lbs of beef and 20lbs of masa (corn dough). Not mention a variety of powered chilies, whole chiles, red and green sauce, cheese, and hojas (Corn husks).

I'll show you some pictures, but as for the recipe, I think I'll keep that one in the family.

Pot Roast

I'm so happy I was able to use the slow cooker we got for our wedding gift from my aunt and uncle. They got us a cook book just for the slow cooker and I tabbed many recipes that I'm eager to try. For this past Sunday's dinner I had planned on using it for the first time to make a pot roast! I wasn't too crazy about pot roast when I was little, but thought I'd like it much more as an adult. So Sunday morning about 10am I put in all the ingredients and let the crock pot work it's magic for 8.5 hours.... and dinner was served at 6pm.

Here's the recipe that was a hit with my husband...

Ingredients:
2.5-3lb beef chuck roast
5-6 medium russet potatoes
1/4 large white onion
1 can diced tomatoes
oregano
garlic salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1) In a skillet add olive oil and heat up pan on medium. When it's nice and hot, brown all sides of the roast. Drain the fat from the pan, and then add the roast to the slow cooker.

2) Cut up your potatoes in quarters or halves (whatever you choose). Cut up the onion in large sections. Add onions and potatoes to the slow cooker. Next, pour the entire can of diced tomatoes on the top and add some oregano and garlic salt to taste. I mixed this around just a bit.

3) Turn on the slow cooker to LOW and let it cook for 8-10 hours.

Garlic & Dill Salmon

Really in the mood for salmon tonight, we needed something lighter for dinner after the heavy pot roast and enchiladas we had over the weekend... not to mention all the cookies. So I was looking on line at all sorts of salmon recipes and the one I came up with is a hodge podge from other recipes that sounded good. The dinner turned out superb, and I cooked up some basmati & wild rice, steamed broccoli, and topped it off with shredded Parmesan for the side.

Ingredients:
3 salmon fillets
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dillweed
lemon juice
salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Put butter in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute on power level 4 or 5 (just enough to melt it). Next mince one clove of garlic and add it to the butter. Mix it around with a brush.

3) In a small dish (make sure there is a lid, I use Corningware) squirt enough lemon juice to cover bottom of the dish. You can add more or a lemony taste, but about 1/4 inch layer was enough. Place salmon fillets in the dish.

4) Brush the salmon with the butter & garlic and then top it with a pinch or two of salt and the dillweed.



5) Cook for 10 minutes, then flip fillets, brush on another layer of butter & garlic, and more dillweed. Put the cover back on and cook for another 10 minutes. (20 minutes total cook time)

Gingersnap Cookies

As promised, I'm making gingersnaps and I found this recipe online at Allrecipes.com and really wanted to try it. They taste yummy and I'm bringing some into work to share with my co-workers, along with some chocolate chip cocoa cookies too.
Enjoy the recipe and follow the link at the end to see it in it's original form.


Ingredients:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.

3) Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

4) Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.




Here is the original recipe on Allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Gingersnap-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Baking vs. Cooking

BAKE |bāk|
verb [ trans. ]
1 cook (food) by dry heat without direct exposure to a flame, typically in an oven or on a hot surface : they bake their own bread and cakes | [with two objs. ] I baked him a cake for his birthday | [as adj. ] ( baked) baked apples.
• [ intrans. ] (of food) be cooked in such a way : the bread was baking on hot stones.

COOK |koŏk|
verb
1 [ trans. ] prepare (food, a dish, or a meal) by combining and heating the ingredients in various ways : shall I cook dinner tonight? | [ intrans. ] I told you I could cook | [as adj. ] ( cooked) a cooked breakfast.

Enchilada Casserole

Been wanting enchiladas for a while now, and decided to make a casserole. This is an easy recipe.

Ingredients:
3 whole wheat tortillas
1 whole pre-cooked chicken
1 small can of sliced olives
1 small can of corn
1 medium can of salsa verde
3 cups of cheese (or amount to liking)

Directions:
1) In a medium casserole pan place one tortilla on the bottom and pour 1/3 can of salsa verde evenly on tortilla. Top with 1/2 of chicken pieces (I like to pick up a pre-cooked chicken from Albertsons or Ralphs, then cut it up into small pieces), 1/3 cheese, 1/2 corn and 1/2 olives. Layer and repeat. Third and last layer will only have tortilla, salsa verde and cheese.












2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 20 minutes covered, then 15 minutes uncovered. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Challah

Challah is a braided egg bread that is popular during the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana). My husband has been making Challah since he was young and this year I finally really helped make it in hopes to learn how it's made properly. It's very yummy and goes great with garlic butter.

If you follow the steps carefully (especially the temperatures) you should be able to produce a great Challah as well.

Ingredients:
1 pkg dry active yeast
1 1/4 c water (115-120 degrees)
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
2-3 drops yellow food coloring
4 1/2 c flour
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water

Directions:
1) Turn on oven to 200 degrees for less than 1 minute. Place a small towel folded in the middle of the oven and lay your thermometer gauge on top of it. You want to make sure the temperature of the oven is between 80-90 degrees. If it's over, just leave the oven door open. It's important to start this first because it might be tricky to get it the perfect temp.

2) Heat up 1 1/4 c water to between 115-120 degrees. I try to get it about 117. Once it's that temperature combine the hot water with salt, sugar, and oil, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Next add the yeast until dissolved. Let this mixture sit for about 3 minutes. Add the 2 eggs and food coloring.

3) Mix in with a wooden spoon 4 1/2 cups of floor. Add each cup separately and mix until it's creamy, repeat until you have about 4 1/2 cups in to form the dough. Put the dough on a large board or mat and sprinkle on extra flour when nessesary as you knead the dough. Work dough until smooth and elastic (approx 5 minutes).

4) Form the dough into a ball shape and place it in a greased large bowl. Cover with a dish towel and put in the oven at 80-90 degrees to rise until doubled, approx 90 minutes.

5) Put the dough on a cleaned mat and punch it down. Divide into 4 equal parts (I cut it in half, then those pieces in half with a large knife). Form these sections into strands about 21 inches long. Place them parallel to each other, then pinch the ends together at the top, then braid. To braid, you pick up strand on the left and bring it over the next one, under third and over fourth. Repeate until braided and pinch the end.

6) Place the braided dough on a cooking sheet that has foil on it. Place this in the oven and let rise until doubled (at 80-90 degrees again) for about 60 minutes.

7) Last step, in a small bowl mix 1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water. Take out your braided dough and brush on the mixture, get in all the cracks on around the bottom edges. Top with poppy seeds. Pop this back in the oven and bake at 325 degrees for approx. 30-35 minutes.

Sounds like a lot of steps, and yes it is intimidating the first time, but once you get the hang of it you'll want to make it again and again. It's so tasty.

Dinner Tonight

Tri-Tip with a seasoning of Worcestershire, garlic salt and rosemary, paired with a baked potato and zucchini puts me in a happy place for hours.

Thanks to my husband for the wonderful steak, it was the BEST ever.