#1. What is your favorite appetizer?
Chili cheese cups, lumpia, crab rangoon, mozzarella sticks, fried cheese curds (can you tell I live in Wisconsin?) 

#2. Do you eat enough appetizers that you get full and can’t eat your meal?
Sometimes, but there are other nights where we’ll just make appetizers for dinner. 

#3. Do you usually make frozen or fresh appetizers?
If I make it, it’s usually fresh. 

#4. Share a recipe or instructions for an appetizer.

Here’s our chili cheese cup recipe … it makes a lot of filling, so use the extra in tortillas for quesadillas. It takes a while to make, but they’re SOOOO worth it. 

 

5 jalepeno peppers
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
8 oz grated monterey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped and drained pitted olives
1/4 cup chopped and drained green olives
1/2 cup mince scallions (white part only)
2/3 cup diced canned green chilies
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
vegetable oil
wonton wrappers

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In the largest bowl you have, combine all ingredients except wonton wrappers and vegetable oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3.  Brush both sides of wonton wrappers lightly with oil. To prepare cups, place one wrapper in each cup of a mini muffin tin. Bake at 350 until crisp - about 10-15 minutes - then remove cups and place them on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining wontons.

4. Fill cups with cheese mix and bake until cheese melts. 

Yield: About 60 cups.

I have no idea where that saying comes from - I think a relative or someone said it once and it’s stuck with me since. Go figure. 

Getting together with friends is tough for me because of my work schedule, so when it happens, I get excited. So, when my friend Raissa e-mailed me the other day and wanted to get together with our friend Mark, I offered to cook. And boy am I glad I did …. Not only did I get to spend an evening with some great friends, but I also got to try out some awesome recipes from some of the girls on the What’s Cooking forum. In my opinion, and I think it’s safe to speak for Mark & Raissa, this was better than going out. I made chicken enchiladas from Lovestoeat, Mexican rice from Melissa at Alosha’s Kitchen, and black bean succotash from recipezaar. 

Chicken enchiladas
From Lovestoeat

Homemade enchilada sauce (see below)
Tortillas one for each enchilada
4 skinned and boned cooked chicken breasts. I poached mine in chicken broth and chopped onion
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 small tub of sour cream
8 green onions finely chopped
Cheddar cheese to cover top
Sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, etc..whatever toppings you prefer!

Directions:

Homemade sauce:

1. Mix all together: One 15 oz. can of tomato sauce with 1 small can tomato paste, 3/4 cup water, 1 can beef broth, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 ts. garlic powder, 2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 to 3 drops hot sauce (I omitted the hot sauce). Mix well and bring to a boil. Boil 15 mins.

2. Mix together shredded chicken, onions, sour cream and mozz. cheese.

3. While the sauce is cooking, preheat oven at 350 degrees and prepare 9×13 baking dish. Dip tortilla in the enchilada homemade sauce, fill with chicken mix. Roll up and place seam down in pan. Do this again with all tortilla wraps. Once all are in the pan, cover the enchiladas with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle on all the cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered for 30-40 mins or until bubbly and warm. Serve immediately with rice or veggie and choice of toppings! This made about 6 large enchiladas.

Mexican rice 
From Melissa at Alosha’s Kitchen

3 tbsp oil
1½ cups uncooked long grain rice
2 cloves minced garlic
½ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz. can of tomato sauce

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the rice until it is golden brown.

2. Add the vegetables and seasonings, and continue to saute for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

3. Add the broth and the tomato sauce, and bring to a boil.Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the rice from the heat and let it stand 3 to 4 minutes, still covered. Fluff and serve.

 

Black Bean Succotash
From recipezaar.com

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper or green bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 lime, juice and zest of
1/2 small onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all together and chill.

 

My thoughts:
The enchiladas were AWESOME! The homemade sauce rocks - I’ll never go back to canned stuff. The rice was really good - still missing something in my opinion though. Not sure what. And the black bean succotash was good. I loved the lime flavor and they were great even as a dip for tortilla chips. 

Lovie likes the flowers I picked up

I’m a little late on this installment of Barefoot Bloggers … I got carried away with doing nothing on my day off (Actually, I had a mini-dinner party last night - see my next post for recipes)

I think this was my favorite recipe so far from the Barefoot bloggers. It was chosen by Melissa at It’s Melissa’s Kitchen. It was very easy and a VERY light and refreshing lunch. I halved the recipe, but wish I hadn’t! There was enough for Scott and I to have a nice lunch and Scott to have a snack later. 

Ina’s Panzanella
Copyright 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties

3 tablespoons good olive oil 
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups) 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes 
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick 
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used all green peppers)
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes 
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced 
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped 
3 tablespoons capers, drained (I omitted)

For the vinaigrette: 
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic 
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
1/2 cup good olive oil 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend. 

Our thoughts:
Scott: Add more onions & maybe some bacon
Jess: Love the bread.  I think it’s a keeper

A lot of girls on the Nest’s What’s Cooking forum have raved about this recipe … I’m not sure who the original post came from, but I found it, with slight variations, on 9 different blogs:

Jen’s blog, Pass the Pepper,
Amy’s blog, Sing for your supper,
Lauren’s blog, Lauren’s Kitchen,
VeniceForever’s blog, Loves to Eat,
Brooke’s blog, …and a cookie for dessert,
Shannon’s blog, The Shannon’s kitchen,
Angie’s blog, Angie’s simple cooking,
Smells like home,
Gillian’s blog, Gillian’s goodies.  

And those are just the blogs in my google reader. I’m sure I’ve missed someone who’s made this. (BTW, go check out those blogs … these girls are AWESOME!

The recipe I used didn’t include the sour cream or the cream of chicken soup, but I can imagine those additions would make it better. 

Crockpot salsa chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 3 since they were kinda large.)
1 jar salsa
1 package taco seasoning 
1 cup frozen corn (I added more since I like corn.)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I didn’t add, but have seen it in some recipes.) 

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken & eat.

I’m afraid of frying … There. I said it. My mom rarely fried foods in our house and, I think because I hardly ever saw her do it, I thought it was hard. What a joke! The most difficult thing I found with these is some of them didn’t want to flip over nicely. I’d flip them and they’d roll right back over, mocking me. These aren’t quite what I remember authentic New Orleans beignets being, but they hit the spot. And they’re fairly easy. 

I’m submitting this for the Cajun/NOLA eats blogging event, sponsored by Joelen of Joelen’s Culinary Adventures. This event is in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina and the culinary talent that has withstood the wind, rain and destruction and is rebuilding as we speak (type.) I wish I had more time to submit more items, since I’ve got some great cajun recipes passed down from my dad’s side of the family. But, alas, there’s never enough time :) 

I had planned to make a recipe I found on recipezaar.com, but then went to the library and picked up a bread machine book. As I was looking through it, I found a dough recipe. Seemed a bit easier to make the machine do all the work, so, here it is: 

New Orleans French Market Beignets
From The Best Bread Machine cookbook ever, by Madge Rosenberg

Dough:
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg (I think I accidently doubled this.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

2-4 cups vegetable oil

Coatings:
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
or
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Add all ingredients for the dough recipe except the oil in the order suggested by your bread machine manual and process on dough cycle. 

2. When dough cycle ends, remove dough from machine. On floured surface, and with floured rolling pin, roll out dough into rectangle about 10 by 12 inches. Cut into 2×2 inch squares to form beignets. Place on greased tray, cover, and let rise 30 minutes, or until doubled in volume.

3. In a wok or large saucepan, heat oil to 365 degrees for deep frying. Fry 3 to 4 beignets at a time for 10 to 15 seconds on one side until golden, then turn carefully and fry other side until lightly browned. Drain quickly on crumpled brown paper bags or on several layers of newspaper covered with paper towels.

4. To coat, shake a few at a time in a paper bag with confectioner’s sugar or a blend of cinnamon and sugar.

Scott and I bought the boys a new toy - a Kong toy for kitties. They played with it a bit, but I think they like sleeping with it more … 

Loki is in the top row (I think he moved in that first pic) and Lovie is in the bottom row … he was cracking me up with how he was laying!

These are probably the best daiquiris I’ve ever had … but, they are a bit of work and take a bit of time. Try it once and see if it’s worth it … I’m thinking I might just make these and always have some in my freezer. 

Strawberry daiquiri
(From the cuisinart ice cream machine booklet)

1 cup strawberries, washed & hulled 
2 1/2 cups water 
2/3 cup sugar 
1/2 cup lime juice 
1/2 cup light rum. 
Puree strawberries in blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Pour into freezer bowl and turn machine on and mix until slushy - about 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately as a beverage or transfer to freezer container. 

The only complaint I had was that it dirties two appliances - and I have to wait 25 min! But, I think they’re worth it in the end. Much better than the ones we made the night before from the Bacardi frozen mix.

 

I”m submitting this for Joelen’s Taste of the Tropics blog event. Check out her Culinary Adventure blog - there’s lots of great recipes and some really fun events. And thanks Joelen for reminding me!

To make the muffins

Doesn’t that title just make you want to run out and make them? That’s how I felt when one of the girls on the What’s Cooking forum of The Nest shared the recipe and asked if anyone made them. I immediately put them on the menu for the week. Thanks devils_food - go check out her blog called Passion Food.

A few notes: I halved the recipe and ended up with 10 large muffins. (I think these would be even better made in mini-muffin tins.) Also, Scott and I both thought next time we’d add some orange zest or something - they were good, but were missing *something*

Doughnut muffins 
(adapted from Fine Cooking)

 

For the muffins: 
12 oz. (24 Tbs.) unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 lb. 11 oz. (6 cups) all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1-2/3 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk (I just used regular milk for the whole thing) 

For dipping: 
8 oz. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more as needed (I used only 2 tbsp. to brush 10 large muffins.)
2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. ground cinnamon

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don’t overmix. Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about 1/2 cup. (A #16 ice-cream scoop gives you the perfect amount.) Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 min.

 

To finish

Melt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Lovie decided to check them out right as I was taking a picture!

 

Oh, and I’m submitting these for the I love baking event held over at What’s Cooking I found that site this morning and thought this recipe would be perfect (and get in right under the deadline.)

I’ve been trying to keep the grocery costs down, so this meal came about because we had nearly everything in house already. The only thing I had to buy was the spaghetti noodles. (Though I realized when we sat down to eat, we had no veggies …. damn.)

Chicken Yakitori 
(adapted from Cooking Light)

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
2 tablespoons mirin 
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil (I only used 1 tablespoon as that was all that was left in the bottle.)
2 teaspoons sugar 
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
1 pound chicken breast tenders (I used one HUGE chicken breast and cut it into strips.)

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Reserve half of marinade.

2. Add chicken to marinade in bowl, turning to coat. Let stand 5 minutes.

3. While chicken marinates, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Drain chicken; discard marinade. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.

4. Remove pan from heat; add reserved marinade. Toss to coat.

Rating:
Jess: 8/10
Scott: 7.5/10 

Sesame noodles
(Adapted from Everyday Food)

12 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti (I used the Smart Taste from Ronzini)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar (I used what I had - light)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used jarred)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes  

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together all other ingredients. Add hot pasta and toss to coat. Use a bit of pasta water to think of necessary. Serve at room temp. or chilled. 

I liked that both of these were VERY easy and quick. 

Rating:
Jess: 7/10 - I think there needed to be a larger pasta to sauce ratio.
Scott: 8/10

I should have known better.

Really.

But, I was so excited to be cooking with ingredients I already had and being creative and frugal that I let that cloud my judgement.

What was I hoping for? Alfredo sauce - that tangy, delicious, fattening dish I only order at restaurants. I was looking for something without cream, because I didn’t have any. (An yes, I know real alfredo uses cream, but I was trying to avoid a trip to the grocery store and make do with what I had on hand.)

What did I get, you ask?

Pasta covered in glue.

Seriously. I’m pretty sure there’s a recipe for homemade glue that uses the same ingredients. Oh look, here’s one.

I had tried a recipe from this “chef” once before and it didn’t turn out well. I’m not even going to put the recipe here. If you want to see it, go here. And if you’re confused, here’s a story that will explain my stance on this person.

Looking back, I should have looked at the reviews. That would have saved me a lot of trouble (and a night of hunger since this was dinner for work.)

Next time, I’m just gonna go buy a jar.