Crescent Roll-ups

It's been awhile since I sat down and blogged. I know you've missed me oh so much! j/k Sorry! 

Tonight I made my take on a recipe I found on pinterest. Seriously guys if you haven't checked out pinterest yet-Go GO NOW....then come back once you need a break from your latest addiction and try this recipe! Yeah go ahead and pin this one! :)

What you need:

1 pkg of crescent rolls

1/4-1/2 lb deli ham

4 slices of Havarti cheese

Preheat oven according to crescent roll directions. Open crescent rolls, there will be 8 triangles...leave them in sections of 2. So you will have 4 sections when you are done. Place a slice of cheese on each section and 1-2 slices of ham on top of the cheese. Then roll the crescent rolls up. Bake according to package directions probably about 13 minutes or so. 

Makes 4 servings.

This is such a simple and quick recipe to throw together when you don't have a lot of time or energy...and guess what-everyone loves it!

It's simple to change it up too. Here is a link to the original recipe I found. I never made it with the swiss she used. I also made it with chicken salad from the deli-it was on sale! Both versions were great. I just substituted the chicken salad for the ham. 

Can't wait to see what else we'll try. My guess is tuna will be an easy change up that will be requested. Also, the Chicken Spinach Ring filling would hold up well for this. It's basically the same thing in individual servings.

Duck WHAT?

How about we talk about drinks today? I'm not a beer drinking girl. I like the fruity girly drinks. I know to some that's cool, to others that's just horrible. I hate that I can't enjoy a beer-trust me I'd love to save the money! Those fruity girly drinks add up quick! My husband can have 2 or 3 beers for the cost of ONE drink for me. Good thing I don't drink too often.

I also am a "shot" girl. I love shots. I think I can't stand it when my drinks get warm so I'd rather just down it and feel good quick and not have my drink get warm. The problem with that? Well, it's down quick and then I don't have a drink! Plus you get drunk way faster. It is never my goal to get drunk, I just want to loosen up a bit and have a good time. But it happens sometimes. I tend to be a bit of a control freak and uptight. If I drink I let go a little bit.

Today I'd like to tell you about one of my favorite shots. Every once in awhile a bartender will make it as a drink instead of a shot. Depending on where you go, there's a good chance EVERYONE will look at you and say you want WHAT? It's kind of funny. Anyway, the shot is called a Duck Fart. Yes, a Duck Fart. No I don't know why it has that name. It's easy to make yourself at home, and easy to tell a bartender how to make too.

Ingredients:
Bailey's Irish Cream
Kahlua
Crown Royal

Mix equal parts of all 3. Simple as that. (You can substitute Crown for Southern Comfort if you prefer)
It is supposed to be a "stacked" shot, meaning you can see each layer in the shot glass. I personally don't care if it's stacked or not.
My problem with this drink....the after taste is so sweet on my lips that I want more and more and more. It doesn't take many to knock me on my butt though. BE CAREFUL.

I attempted to "stack" the drink. This above picture is sort of shows you how it works. If you look at the below picture, well the shot on the left is how it usually looks when I get it. I don't think I've ever had one "stacked" like it's supposed to be. If you look real close at the shot on the right, you can see 3 layers-barely. So, you shouldn't make single shots. I prefer to do shots with someone. I was making these just for the sake of the blog and no one was here to do them with me. Oh darn, I had to do them both! :) I still say YUM, stacked or not! BUT I hadn't had dinner yet and was waiting on the hubster to bring dinner home-probably should have waited to eat a little before doing BOTH shots! Definitely felt these quick!

If you ever see me post anywhere or say "QUACK" just out of the blue...I could very well be stating I NEED a shot! I'd love to hear from you. What is your favorite drink? How do you make it? Did you try this one? If you did, what did you think of it?

Green Bean Casserole

I grew up thinking green bean casserole was made by dumping a can of French cut green beans and a can of soup into a pot on the stove top and cooking until warmed through. I didn't know any different and really-I still like it that way!

However, I'm guessing most of the world has never had it like that. Most people have it with the "fancy" onions on it and baked in the oven. So today, here is my recipe for baking Green Bean casserole with all the pazzazz. I'm not real fond of making this dish, but it seems like it's what I get asked to bring a lot of the time. I think the only reason I'm not fond of making it, is because I don't care for "fancy" onions! lol

In case you don't know what "fancy" onions are-seriously use THIS brand!

Ingredients:
4 cans French cut green beans
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk (slightly more than 1/2 soup can full)
French's french fried onions
Salt & pepper to taste

I add all ingredients right into the pan (less dirty dishes! Who is not a fan of that?)

Preheat oven to 350
Pour the soup, beans, salt & pepper, & milk into a 9x13 pan and mix. I mixed about 3/4 cup onions into 3/4 of the pan and sprinkled the top of the same section with more onions.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 min. Remove foil and bake another 10 min.

This was right before I added the foil and cooked. 

We have people who don't eat onions so that's why part was left without. I happen to be one who does not care for these onions. (I love onions most of the time)

This time I bought all great value brand products for this dish except the onions.
I normally do not buy great value brand canned green beans. I can't tell you what possessed me to do so this time. However, I did it. IF you do beware of stems! We ALWAYS get at least one stem in every can. I know it happens with other brands too, but it's not this bad. By the way, this is the only dish I use canned green beans for-EVER. When I first moved out on my own I used only canned vegetables, now I go for fresh or frozen as much as possible.
I also have tried the great value brand of onions and am not a fan of those either.
I am not trying to "Great Value" brand slam, I obviously shop at that store. I've just learned from experience these are two products I don't care for in their brand.

Chicken Spinach Ring OOO LaLa

A favorite dish in our home is a "Chicken Spinach Ring". My children get to pick whatever they want for dinner on their birthday's and I make it. My daughter actually requests this meal. My son, well he wants french toast with strawberries, bananas, chocolate syrup, and rediwhip (with a little spray in the mouth for the birthday boy lol) He was however excited to see this going into the oven. They request this quite often. I love this because it's something that really isn't a lot of work, we usually keep the ingredients on hand, and it seems healthy. Well, maybe healthier than some things- like my son's birthday meal for example!

Ingredients:

2 cans of chicken, drained

2 pkg of crescent rolls

1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese (we like cheese)

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach

1/2 a medium onion diced

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to temp your brand of crescent rolls requires. (all brands are different)

In a medium to large bowl put in your chicken and flake it up.

          I seriously hate the smell of canned chicken, but it doesn't taste too bad and it's great in a pinch when you forgot to thaw out meat for dinner! You can also use left over chicken from another meal or even part of a rotisserie chicken from your local deli. Keep in mind how your chicken is flavored will change the flavor of this as well.

Thaw out your spinach. This is very simple to do in the microwave. I put the whole box on a plate and put it on defrost for 3-4 minutes. Take the spinach out of the box and put it on a couple of large paper towels-doubled (at least 2 layers). Then wrap the towels around the spinach and over your sink wring out the spinach. YES WRING IT OUT. Get out as much of the moisture as you can. Be careful though, because the paper towels will tear. You can do this with a clean kitchen towel if you'd like. I'm always scared I'll stain my towels so I use paper towels. Put the spinach in the bowl with the chicken-if your paper towel tears, be sure not to get any in with the food. Break it up as you put it in-wringing it out will make it be in a pretty solid ball.

Add the onions, cheese, salt & pepper to taste. I actually use whatever cheese I have on hand. The only one I've tried so far and didn't care for was pepper jack.

Add the mayonnaise-but do it in stages and mix. Watch the consistency and adjust the amount you need accordingly. You don't want it to be TOO wet. You want it to just barely stick together or it will taste like just mayonnaise. 

My great idea was to picture all needed ingredients-except I forgot to put the mayonnaise & spinach out!
The picture on the right is the texture your mixture should be when you're done.

Next you need to make the ring. It seems complicated, but it's really not. I am using stoneware (which I love and truly believe makes things cook more evenly) but a cookie sheet would do fine too.

First you put one triangle on edge of each side of your pan in the center. (See picture 1)

Then between each of the triangles put three more (See picture 2)

Continue in this manor until you have used all 16 triangles (See picture 3)

Then slightly roll the edges together. (See picture 4)

Next place the filling on the thick part of the crescent rolls all the way around the ring. You could use the spoon or fork you used to stir your mixture, or you could just use your hands. I prefer hands. It's faster and the kids think it's more fun that way. You don't have to use all of the mixture in this ring, it's pretty full if you do. (See picture 1)

Then take each triangle and fold it over the filling and tuck it under the crescent roll and filling in the center. Do this all the way around. (See picture 2)

Bake for about 20 minutes, or whenever they are golden brown. This could vary depending on the brand of crescent rolls you use. (See picture 3)

I cut with a pizza cutter between each triangle. Goes well with a nice salad.

The filling is great by itself. You can eat it as is, but it's great in a pita pocket or on a baked crescent roll or on regular old bread.

Once you get the hang of making the ring the possibilities for the filling are endless. I'm sure I'll post more recipes for filling in time! I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does. What ideas do you have? 

Stuffed Peppers

Notice I did NOT call them stuffed GREEN peppers. They don't have to be green! So many people like red, yellow, and orange peppers but not green. We made a trip to the farmer's market and scored some nice "stuffable" peppers ($.50 each). What I mean by "stuffable" is, they need to have a flat enough bottom that they can sit up all by themselves. They were all different colors but I didn't mind. My husband and daughter love the green ones, but I kind of like the less bitter taste of the other colors.  

Time: about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min from prep to table 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs hamburger

2 med-large onions diced

8 peppers

1/3 cup chili powder

salt & pepper

1-2 cups instant rice

5 cans of diced tomatoes 

(I'm a Red Gold fan. It's a fairly local brand, your favorite brand will do) I mix up my varieties, like diced and petite diced. I also use italian flavored or chili ready sometimes too. If you use pre-flavored tomatoes you may need to adjust your spices.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cut the tops off of all of your peppers and clean out the veins and seeds. Throw the stems away off the tops, but chop up the tops of the peppers that are around the stems.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Once the water is to a full boil you need to put in the peppers for 5 minutes. My pot will hold 4 peppers at a time. When 5 minutes is done take them out and turn them upside down to drain. See the picture below. I use a cooling rack balanced over my sink so it's let mess to clean up.

Draining peppers. This is a pampered chef cooling rack-fits perfect over a standard sink.

In a LARGE skillet/pan brown your hamburger, onions, & chopped pepper tops with salt & pepper. (The pan I use is 12" around and 3" tall and it was FULL when I was done)

Drain your grease. 

Then put all back into the same pan and add all the tomatoes and chili powder. Let simmer for a short bit.

Then add your instant rice and cover for about 5 minutes. If your tomatoes didn't have very much juice you might need to add a little bit of the boiled water when you add the rice. It doesn't take much. You don't want this to be liquidy when you fill the peppers. 

Once the rice is cooked (about 5 minutes for my instant rice), TASTE your filling. You may need more seasoning for your liking. I like cayenne pepper in it, but one of my children gets an upset stomach with spicy foods so I add a little to my own plate once it's cooked.

Fill each pepper full with the filling. You should be able to get 8 peppers into a 9x13 pan. Some people like cheese on their peppers, if you do put it on before you put them in the oven. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. 

This amount of filling is WAY more than you need for 8 peppers. I would probably do at least 12. We love to eat just the filling and my son does not like the whole pepper. So he gets just the filling (and a lot of times picks out the chopped peppers). The filling is ready to eat even if you don't bake it.

**Time saving Tip** multitask! Have your water boiling and do your peppers at the same time as your meat is cooking.

A lot of recipes have you just mix all of your ingredients and bake it all from raw. I like to cook my filling first so I can drain as much of the grease as I can. If you bake it from raw all of that grease from the hamburger is all baked into your pepper and probably leaked all over you pan as well. 

Sometimes I'll mix sausage and hamburger and sometimes I'll use ground turkey...ALL versions taste good!

Sometimes I throw in fresh chopped garlic, but I forgot this time! Garlic Garlic is a great substitute for fresh garlic-but I forgot! If you remember and have fresh garlic or Garlic Garlic-put it in when your meat is cooking.

These are filled and ready to be baked. (I ate the pretty yellow one!)

Baked peppers-after we ate. We were all hungry and dug in before I remembered to take a picture!

This is one dish I don't usually serve a side dish with. Once you start cutting open that pepper it's going to take over your whole plate and man it's A LOT of food! 

We LOVE the farmer's market. Fresher product, grown locally, and you're helping the local economy as well! I'm sad that the green beans are now done for the season and most other vegetables are getting there too. We'll keep going until it closes for the winter, and then wait as patiently as possible until next May when it will open again! I wasn't planning to make stuffed peppers or even looking for peppers when I got to the market, but couldn't resist when I saw all the beautiful peppers!! Have you visited your local market lately?

Is it good? It smells good.

New "adventures" in food. Let's just start this right-maybe it should be hurdles? :) I found a recipe through pinterest and it was a little out of my comfort zone but it looked delicious. I decided "I have to try it!" (we have banquets in the freezer if all else fails).
Hurdle #1 The recipe called for pesto, but there was no recipe for pesto and guess what...I have NEVER ate or made real pesto before. I have always wanted to try pesto though. So-"how the heck do you make pesto?". I searched online and found a pesto recipe too (which is now pinned on my pinterest board). I buy the ingredients for pesto-which are expensive by the way! I have never cooked with fresh basil or with pine nuts before. Fresh basil is VERY aromatic. I was a little intimidated by its strong smell.
Hurdle #2 Where the heck is the food processor? Seriously-who loses a food processor? Only me! lol I own a small 3 cup food processor and I RARELY use it. We remodeled our kitchen back in May-I'm guessing I moved it then and haven't needed it since, because I still don't know where it is. So now I think: I own a little mini chopper-which I also rarely use, can all those ingredients really fit in that tiny thing? The answer-yes! If you add a little at a time it will be small enough to fit it all by the end. By the time I decide to use the mini chopper my pasta water has been boiling and my pasta is in the water!

Hurdle #3 Get everything to the finish line at the same time. I used a package of green beans that we just prepped and froze ourselves. I was worried that they wouldn't be as done as I like them if I added them when the recipe said too so I put them in early. They were plenty done, and probably would have been fine when the recipe said! So my pasta and veggies are cooked and my pesto is done and then I realize- I never cooked the sausage! 

Luckily sausage was on sale this week and they had a new product (at least new to me), it was the Echrich smoked sausage we usually buy, except it was pre-sliced. I normally wouldn't buy the short cut sausage because there was less in the package for the same price as the regular sausage, but of course there was a coupon tempting me to buy it! What a time saver it was tonight-I threw it in a skillet and in no time it was browned and ready to go.

Pesto:

2 packed cups fresh basil

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup evoo

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I useds shaved, but think grated would have been fine and cheaper)

3 cloves garlic (I used a couple shakes of Garlic Garlic)

salt & pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processor until a paste like consistency. It's really as simple as that. This pesto recipe makes quite a bit more than you need for this meal, you could try to divide this in thirds or fourths to actually make the right amount, or freeze the extra or use for other meals.

For those of you who know me, you know that I love Tastefully Simple seasonings. Garlic Garlic is one of them I use frequently. There is a link above to my friend and wonderful consultant Mel Oliver's website if you'd like to order some garlic garlic, host a party, or see more about Tastefully Simple.

Pesto Orecchiette with smoked sausage

12 oz Orecchiette (I think thats a fancy name for pasta, I just used 16 oz salad shells)

1/2-3/4 pound frozen cut green beans

1 cup frozen peas

13 oz smoked sliced sausage

1/3 cup pesto

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

-Cook pasta according to package directions, add peas and green beans during last 3 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain pasta and veggies and return to pot. 

-While that is cooking you should also be cooking your sausage, you may need a little oil for this-I don't use oil to brown smoked sausage. I just cooked it until it was lightly browned and warmed through.

-Add sausage and pesto and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water to pasta and mix well. If it seems dry add a little more of the pasta water. Salt and pepper to taste.

-Sprinkle parmesan cheese on each individual serving.

The recipe I followed says it makes 4 servings, but it made a lot more than I thought it would. I would think it would easily make 6 servings.

As I'm serving dinner my daughter says: "What is it? Is it good? It smells good." She had two large bowls of it. My son had two smaller helpings, and said he didn't love it. The hubster still has not been home to try it, I really liked it. It was different. 

This really is another 20 minutes to dinner meal though-if you remember to cook the sausage at the same time, and know where your food processor is. :)

Below are the links to the original recipes, plus the link to my pinterest page. I'm telling you, if you give pinterest a chance-you'll be addicted to it just like me!
Link to the original recipe I found : Pesto Orecchiette With Chicken Sausage
Link to the pesto recipe I found: Fresh Basil Pesto (read the comments there are great tips for freezing pesto and pesto variations)

I again just have to say I LOVE PINTEREST.  Now, off to find my food processor, did I let someone borrow it???

20 Minutes to Dinner

I've been trying lots of new recipes lately all thanks to Pinterest. Tonight I actually remembered to take pictures so I could share with you. The recipe I found was called "Panko-Crusted Salmon". 

Salmon & "Burnt" Green Beans

If you've ever cooked with me or asked me for a recipe you know you get a "add a little of this and a little of that" response. I am a "dump cooker". I know how to measure, but I don't like to take the time to do it-plus it just makes more dirty dishes! I use what we have on had whenever possible and improvise when needed. I am going to share with you how I made this recipe plus you can click here for the original recipe that I worked from.

Salmon:

2/3 cup bread crumbs

2 T dried parsley

1/2 t salt

1/2 t fresh ground black pepper

3-4 T evoo

4 salmon fillets, skin on

4 T Dijon Mustard

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, salt, & pepper. Add half the evoo and mix until all ingredients are coated.  Place your fillets skin side down on your work surface. EVENLY coat the flesh of each fillet with a thin layer of dijon mustard. (I think 4Tbs was probably too much) Season each one with a little more salt & pepper. Press the bread crumb mixture on each fillet. The mustard will allow it to stick. Heat the remaining evoo in a skillet. Once oil is hot add the fillets skin side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven for 5-7 minutes.

If you look at the original recipe you will notice a few changes, we did not have PANKO, lemon zest, or fresh parsley. I also did not tent my fillets once I removed them from the oven. I do think I had a little too much dijion-as I did not measure it and a couple bites were a little over powering.

My kids are not salmon fans...and this recipe did not change their minds. It was nice for my husband and I though, better than plain old baked salmon.

**Bonus recipe**

I also made as my daughter calls them "burnt green beans". :) She calls them that because some of them get quite dark while cooking-but taste just as delicious, if not better than the green ones. And NO they do not taste burnt. The first time I made them both kids refused to eat them because they were "burnt", of course the nice mommy that I am-I made them try them. Now I bet they ask at least once a week for "burnt green beans".

"Burnt" Green Beans

1lb fresh or frozen green beans

2-3 slices of uncooked bacon

salt

pepper

1/4 cup water (if using fresh green beans)

Cut bacon into bit size pieces and put in a skillet and add your green beans salt & pepper to taste. Cook until bacon is fully cooked and beans are to your preferred doneness. Be sure to stir frequently. If you are using FRESH green beans, you will want to add a little bit of water. Once the bacon starts cooking down the grease from it should be enough to keep your beans from sticking. Since green beans can be eaten raw, there is not right or wrong time here. I usually cook min about 20 minutes...sometimes longer. 

I do have to add that I HATE soggy bacon, your bacon should be crispy with this recipe. I have read and tried many recipes with bacon and beans and usually I don't like them, because the bacon is soggy.

I'd love to hear what you think, if you try one or both of these dishes.