Mexican Pepperoni Pizza

Ok - this it totally made-up. Kids were having Pizza, and I'm not a pizza lover.  I want a super thin crust if I'm gonna have it.  Usually, I like BBQ chicken pizza with feta and cilantro, but I don't have chicken.  I do have tortillas, though, so I decided to make a super thin and crispy pepperoni pizza with a tortilla crust!

Ingredients:
1 Whole Wheat Tortilla
1 Tsp butter
1 Tbls pizza sauce (Contadina)
1/2 cup of Cheese
5 slices pepperoni

Directions:
1. Put butter in skillet and heat over medium heat.
2. Put whole tortilla in to heat, then add sauce and spread.
3. Sprinkle cheese over sauce.
4. Add pepperoni.
5. Add any other toppings as desired.

Super Thin Crust

The underside after it's cooked

Apple Dumplings

This is seriously to die for!! 

Wrapped Apples
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can (8-oz. crescent dinner rolls
1 large apple, peeled, cut into 8 slices


Heat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.

Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over each; gently press in, flattening each triangle slightly.

Place apple slice on shortest side of each triangle; tuck in dough edges around apple slice. Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite side; seal all seams. In a 9-inch glass baking dish or pie dish, place long side of 7 filled rolls, point side down, around outside edge of dish; place 1 in center. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tablespoon Almond extract
1 egg

Remove partially baked rolls from oven. In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients with wire whisk until well blended; spoon evenly over rolls.


Topping
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cinnamon

Sprinkle with almonds an cinnamon. Return to oven; bake 13 to 18 minutes longer or until deep golden brown, covering with foil during last 5 minutes of baking if necessary to prevent excessive browning. Serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Hot Rice (or as I like to call it, "Not-so-Hot" Rice)

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups of long grain rice
• 1 tbls butter
•  jack cheese, cut (or dice) into small pieces
• small can of diced green chilies, drained
• 3 - 10 oz cans of Beef Consumme (soup)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Melt butter and brown the rice in medium skillet.
3. Turn heat to low, add one can of soup to the rice and simmer until most of the liquid is soaked up into the soup.
4. While rice is simmering, spread the diced chilies along the bottom of a round, glass baking dish.
5. Dot the top of the chilies with the pieces of jack cheese.
6. Cover the cheese and chilies with the rice.
7. Pour the remaining soup over the rice.
8. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until the soup has soaked into the rice and/or evaporated completely.


Credits:
I remember sitting at the table with my Aunt Kay when I was a kid, watching her make this dish.  I have gotten lazy over the years with the chilies and the jack cheese.  My aunt would purchase whole chilies and then slice them lengthwise.  She would cut the jack cheese into little "fingers" and wrap the chilies around the cheese and layer in the bottom of the dish. My mom always made this dish, too, but this first time I remember seeing it was by my Aunt while we were visiting my grandmother, Alma Clark, in Arkansas. (This is the Grandmother who inspired my love of cooking.)  Now, I am famous for making this not-so-hot Hot Rice dish! It goes great with any Mexican meal!


(Pictures Coming!)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This has become one of my favorites, my "go to" recipes for church potlucks, "new baby" meals, "under the weather" meals, or family get-together meals. It's so simple to make and tastes wonderful!!!  

The first time I made this was for my book club luncheon. I wanted something different and new. So what do I do?  GOOGLE!  I find this recipe, and decide I'll make it, just hours before the girls are due to come.  RISKY!!! What if it doesn't work?  What if it just doesn't taste good? Well, the girls are pretty forgiving. So I decide to give it a go, and I'm so glad that I did! But the funny thing was, I measured out everything, to a T. (Boy, I've said that statement a million times, but I think this is the first time I've written it, and question if that is how you spell it - or even say it, for that matter!) Anyway, I was so worried since I'd never made it before, so I as so exact with what the recipe said.  Problem was, I was trying to use ingredients from two different recipes, and their measurements were totally different! So I closed my eyes, threw in the ingredients, said a quick prayer, and Voila!!!  It worked!

My first attempt was with ground beef, seasoned like taco meat.  However, after trying chicken in this recipe, it makes it soooo much better! When I make it for my vegetarian friends, I omit the meat all together - and of course, it still tastes delicious!  

This is also a great recipe to have the little ones help with - it's so easy, and there are many easy jobs for them.  Enjoy cooking with your kids.  It's these moments that you will cherish forever!  And believe me, they will remember them.  Ask me about when I was 10, cooking with my dad....  Memories I will never forget.

Ingredients:

• 18 corn tortillas
• 1 large can red enchilada sauce (Rosarita)
• 14-oz can of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups of cheese, divided
• 10-oz can of corn, drained
• small can of black olives, sliced
• small can of diced green chilies
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*

2. Cook chicken breast, then cut up and set aside.

2. Cut tortillas into 1 in. squares, add to big mixing bowl.

3. Add and combine the sauce, soup, corn,  green chilies, chicken, 1/2 of the olives and 1/2 the cheese. Mix well.

4. Spoon mixture into a 9X12 inch baking pan.

5. Top with the remainder of the cheese and olives.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Yummy! Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Variations:

I like to chop and caramelize onions and add them into this dish, but did not have one tonight, so that step was left out.  My favorite way to cook the chicken is by caramelizing the onions, then adding the chicken and 2 tbls of water, cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pick.  Flip the chicken about 2 times during cooking. I cut the chicken into smaller strips, then I take two forks and shred the chicken.

You can use any kind of cream soup (chicken, onion, mushroom, celery, etc).  You can use ground beef instead of chicken. You can also use a variety of cheese, and/or a larger quantity, if you'd like. You can omit any of the ingredients that you do not like.  This dish can be made without meat to make it vegetarian.  Really - you can not go wrong with adding extra ingredients, or leaving out what you don't like!!  Anything goes!!!

Breakfast Enchiladas

I found this recipe on the internet about a year ago...  Great breakfast alternative for those who do not like eggs (like found in breakfast burritos).

Add caption

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (28 ounce) can green chile enchilada sauce
• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Brown hash browns and ham in 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
3. Stir in diced green chilies and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese. Cook until cheese has melted. 
4. Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with a small amount of enchilada sauce.
5. Dip each tortilla in remaining sauce, and fill with potato-ham mixture. 
6. Roll each as tightly as possible and place in the baking dish, seam side down. 
7. Top with remaining sauce and cheese, and cover with tin foil.
8. Bake, covered, for approximately 20 minutes. 
9. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. 
10. Serve immediately. 

 

Pesto-Stuffed Brie

Pesto-Stuffed Brie

Almost always, around the Holidays, you can find this stuffed Brie.   But I happened to be craving it on a "Non-holiday" day... so I asked the deli what was in it.  They told me, so I began making it myself, for a lot cheaper!!!

Ingredients:

Brie
2 tbls pesto
2 tbls parmesan
2 tbls sun-dried tomatoes (chopped into small pieces)
1 tbls pinenuts
baguette

Directions:
1. Mix all of ingredients above in small bowl.
2. Cut brie in half lengthwise.
3. Spread pesto mixture over base of brie.
4. Replace top of brie over the pesto mixture.
5. Enjoy with sliced baguette or crackers.

Stuffed w/ pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan & pinenuts