Calzones

I will admit to never having had a calzone before I made these, but I'm so glad I did! I found this recipe in my favorite Betty Crocker cook book and just had to give it a try. These are pretty easy to make and SO yummy. You can fill them with whatever you have handy and you've got a really yummy dinner ready to go. This filling recipe came from my Betty Crocker cookbook, but we've also used cottage cheese (instead of ricotta), pepperoni, sausage, and pretty much anything else you might put on pizza). Here's a whole page of ideas for ways to make this yummy dinner treat your own. 

What you Need (crust):
2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg regular dry or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3 TBS olive or veggie oil
1 cup very warm water (120-130 degrees F)

What you Need (filling):
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/4 lb salami, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
ground pepper
1 large egg, slightly beaten

What you Do (crust):
In large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast. Add oil and warm water. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl requently. Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5-8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes. (At this point you could just use this dough to make pizza, but why stop here when you could make calzones?)

What you Do (calzones):
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 cookie sheets.
Divide dough into 6 equal parts. On lightly floured surface, roll each part into 7-inch circle with floured rolling pin.
Top half of each dough circle with mozzarella cheese, salami, ricotta cheese, basil and tomatoes to within 1 inch of the edge. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Carefully fold dough over filling; pinch edges or press with fork to seal securely.
Place calzones on cookie sheets. Brush with egg. Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

We like to warm up some marinara (or whatever pasta sauce we have handy) and serve it as a dipping sauce. YUM!

Ricotta Cheese

Yep, that's right. I made ricotta from scratch! (Although this was way back in January, so I'm a bit lazy getting this posted here)

I found the recipe from this site via Pinterest, and was way excited to try it. It was pretty quick and easy just like the pin said.
I will say that this recipe didn't make quite as much cheese as I thought it would, so I went back to the store to do a cost analysis to see if it was worth it to make my own cheese. I compared the sum of the cost/ounce of each ingredient with the price of store bought ricotta and found that the home made ricotta is two cents more expensive per ounce than the store bought. It is WAY superior in taste and texture, but a bit more money. So it's up to you, is two cents worth it to have AMAZING cheese? 

Besides the price, my other hold up about making this regularly was the fact that you have to buy a whole big thing of buttermilk, but then you only use 1 cup of it. Same problem with the cream that you buy for this. It wasn't until a month or two later that I found this gem on Pinterest and discovered that I can freeze my buttermilk and my cream for future use so I could buy the ingredients for this cheese when they're on sale, portion and freeze them, and then be able to make cheese whenever I want. That might even make up the cost difference.  

The original blog has some pretty great instructions and pictures, so I'm going to just copy in the recipe and maybe add a few notes and pictures of my own. From here on anything that is italics is from me and the rest is from FramedCooks.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups whole milk

One cup buttermilk

1/3 cup heavy cream

Coarse salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a fine mesh strainer with several folds of cheesecloth and set it in your sink.

2. Combine milk, buttermilk and cream in medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil until cooking thermometer registers 185 degrees...if you don't have a thermometer, keep an eye on it to see when the curds (the solid white parts) are mostly separated from the whey (the cloudy liquid). This will take about 10 minutes...stir a couple of times during the boiling process.(I ended up adding a small splash of lemon juice to get a few more curds out of the batch than the buttermilk alone produced. It wasn't a ton more, but every little bit counts, right?)

3. Remove from heat and using a slotted spot, scoop spoonfuls of the curd into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, sprinkling with a little salt every few spoonfuls or so.

4. Let the ricotta drain for about 5 minutes and then taste to check the consistency. If you like it drier, then let it drain a little more. If you like it moister, stir in a tablespoon or two of milk. This ricotta is best used right away, but will keep for a day or two in the fridge.

That's all the cheese the recipe made, but it was enough for some awesome home made lasagna for our dinner that night! 

Creamy Tomato Pasta

I saw this one on pinterest and knew I had to give it a try. It was so yummy! It was just as good as something you'd pay good money for in a restaurant, but I made it myself and it was easy peasy! I made a few changes for mine (mostly because I didn't have some ingredients, so I had to make do with what I had), and I'm going to be rebellious and just put what I did in this recipe. If you want to see what the original recipe said feel free to click on the link above (theirs has half and half in place of some of the milk I used, so it's probably richer and fattier and therefore yummier, just so you know)

What you need for the tomato sauce:
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
olive oil
What you need for the alfredo sauce:
1 TBS butter
2 tsps flour
1 cup milk
2 garlic cloves, peeled and slightly crushed
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2-2 cups short cut pasta (bowtie, macaroni, shells, whatever)

What you do:
1. Start a large pot of water boiling for your pasta. Add the pasta to the water as soon as it comes to a boil and cook according to the package directions. Meanwhile:
2. Put your onion, garlic, and olive oil (for your tomato sauce) into a sauce pan and let sweat for 5 minutes or until soft. (This means you are cooking them on a low-med heat setting until they are soft, but not letting them brown.)
3. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic. (I blended mine in a little food processor first so they were a little chunky, but not really. You can do this or not, whatever you prefer. You could also use a blender for this job) Let cook for around 15 minutes.
4.While the pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, make the alfredo sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook about 2 minutes, until brown.
5. Whisk in the milk and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Continue whisking; bring to a simmer and cook about 2 intues until thickened. Fish out the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
6. Whisk in the parm. The sauce will be very thick, so you can add 1/3 cup or so of the pasta water to the sauce to thin it. Remove from heat.
7. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Mix the basil into the tomato sauce and add that to the pasta. Mix well and enjoy!

Caprese Salad Skewers

These were the appetizer course for our Valentine's Dinner. I tried to incorporate an ingredient into each dish that we'd never tried before. For this dish it was the fresh mozzarella. I like these, but they weren't as yummy as I thought they'd be. I think maybe smaller basil leaves would've helped, and I didn't really love the slimy texture of the cheese.

These are so easy to make, all you need is:
Fresh basil leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh mozzarella
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

What you do:
Skewer the cheese, tomatoes, and basil on a toothpick. Drizzle with EVOO and vinegar. Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant has always weirded me out a little bit, I don't know why. This past year I finally broke down and tried it, and so far I like it...in the one recipe I've had it in. This is a really yummy and easy recipe. Cameron told me just now "Anytime you suggest this I think, ew, but then it always tastes really good and hits the spot when you make it." Give it a try! 

We got an eggplant in this past week's Bountiful Basket and decided to just stick to what we know and do this recipe. We'll try a new eggplant recipe someday, but for now, we love this one. 

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

3 eggs

about 1 c. of Parmesan cheese

marinara pasta sauce

extra spices as desired (I used onion powder, garlic powder, and cajun seasoning this time around)

How to make it:

1. Usually I peel the eggplant (with a knife), but I forgot to this time and it didn't make a difference in the taste. 

2. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" thick slices (like you were slicing up a cucumber, so not lengthwise). 

3. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam (or grease it however you normally grease your pans). 

4. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them (just so they are all mixed up). 

5. Pour the Parmesan onto a plate and if you want add a few shakes of any extra spices you want. It's great with spices, it's great withough. 

6. Dip each piece of eggplant in the egg, then coat with the parmesan on both sides. Place on the cookie sheet. Don't overlap the eggplant pieces on the pan. They can touch, but you don't want them overlapping or they won't cook quite the same. 

8. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes (or until the parmesan starts turning goldenish), then remove from oven, flip over each piece. 

9. Spoon the marinara sauce over each piece, then return the pan to the oven and bake for another 5 or so minutes (until the sauce has warmed up). 

10. Take out and enjoy!

This makes 2 good size plates full.  

Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

2-4 chicken breasts

1 cube butter

1 pkg Good Seasoning Italian Dressing, dry (I used Montreal chicken seasonings instead)

8 oz cream cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 can water or milk

pasta or rice.

Instructions

Place the chicken, butter, and dry italian dressing in crock pot. Cook 3-4 hours on low.

Take chicken out and shred it

Add cream cheese, cream of chicken soup, and water or milk.

whisk together until most of the lumps are gone. Put chicken back in for about an hour. Serve over pasta or rice.

Summer Solstice Dinner: Creamy Chicken (like Alfredo)

I found this recipe in a forum for 17 Day Diet recipes. It was amazing. I loved it. Cameron loved it. We're going to have this more often (on and off the diet). 

3-4 boneless chicken breasts-cut up into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
3 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 8oz. bar of fat free cream cheese
1 packet hidden valley ranch powder dip mix

In a skillet:
Saute the chicken in olive oil until almost cooked through
Add all veggies to chicken and saute until nearly all cooked. 
Add 1/2 the can of chicken broth and allow veggies to finish cooking. 

Meanwhile, in a seperate sauce pot add:
Last 1/2 of chicken broth
8oz fat free cream cheese
1 packet hidden valley ranch dip mixCook until mixture is smooth.

Add sauce to saute mixture and serve!

This mixture can be served on top of a pasta of choice, but it is really great just plain too. 

Pasta all' Amatriciana

This is a recipe I got from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals cook book. She calls it Bucatini all'Amatriciana, but I didn't use bucatini pasta so it seemed silly to call it that. I didn't have all the ingredients originally called for in her recipe so I kind of adapted it to work with what I had and to suit our taste. I will list all the ingredients as she originally had them, and then in parenthesis note the changes I made. If there's nothing in paranthesis, that means I didn't change that ingredient.

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil (vegetable oil)

1/4 lb pancetta, chopped (1/2 lb bacon, chopped)

1 med. onion, chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes (a generous sprinkle of red chili powder)

1 can, 28 oz, crushed tomatoes (2 cans, 14 oz, petite diced tomatoes + 1 can tomato sauce)

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (1 TBS dried parsley flakes)

salt and pepper

1 lb bucatini pasta (spaghetti)

grated parmesan (I also added some shredded mozzarella)

(I wanted creamier sauce, so I added two large spoonfuls of sour cream)

Method:

Put a large pot of salty water on to boil for your pasta. Put the past in as soon as your water's boiling. Cook pasta to al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and pancetta(bacon). Cook for 2-3 minutes, and then add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes(chili powder). Cook until the onions are translucent, 7-8 minutes. Add tomatoes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper(this is where I added the sour cream). Simmer over low heat until your pasta is done cooking and you are ready to serve.

When your pasta is done, drain it well, but don't rinse it, and toss it in the sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and enjoy.

Lemon-Lime Sorbet || Autumnal Equinox Dinner || Course 5

Course #5 and the palate cleanser in the A.E. Dinner. The only sorbet I could find in Silver City was in a tiny case and it was expensive (and it would have been even more expensive to buy enough for everyone). So, I found a recipe and made it myself. This one was probably the most time consuming of the courses, but it was fairly easy. This serving looks tiny, but this stuff is intense. Don't take a big bite, this one is for nibbling on.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed juice from lemons/limes (I could only find medium sized lemons and slightly smaller than medium limes, so it took me about 6 lemons and 7 limes to do a double recipe. You can use the bottled juice and just get a few lemons for the zest and bowls)
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest

METHOD

1. If you are not juicing your own fruit, skip this step and go to step 2.

Cut the lemons/limes in half. If you are using the lemon peel as a bowl, you will need to cut it in half lengthwise, otherwise the fruit juices easier if it is cut in half width-wise (how do you say not lengthwise?). Juice the fruit.

2. In a small saucepan on medium high heat, make a simple syrup by heating sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator, or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.

3. Once the mixture has thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker (we didn't), you may freeze it in a tall canister. Freeze for 1 1/2 hours. Remove and stir with a whisk. Return to the freezer and stir about once every hour for about 4 hours. The more times you stir, the more air will be incorporated, resulting in a lighter finished product. After 4 hours of stirring every 1/2 hour, put the sorbet in the blender and blend it on high until smooth (not too long or you will melt all your hard work).

4. Place sorbet in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

5. In the mean time, between stirrings or whenever, scoop out the insides of the lemon halves and put in the freezer. When it is time to serve the sorbet (or an hour or two before serving time), scoop out the sorbet and fill the lemon half. You will have to mold the sorbet either with your hands or the spoon. I put on rubber gloves to do this so my hands wouldn't be as cold or as sticky.

Ravioli (part 2, fillings)

These are the two fillings I've tried, but you could fill these with just about anything you want.

Savory Meat Filling

1 cup ground cooked chicken, ham, or beef (I used ground beef)
2 TBS sauce to bind the meat together (I actually used cream cheese for this, but you could use spaghetti sauce, or whatever you think would be good)
1 TBS parsley or other mixed herbs (basil, oregano, chives, thyme, etc...) I also used onion and garlic in mine.
1 egg yolk

Cheese Filling

3/4 cup (6oz) ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 TBS finely chopped parsley

What to do:
Mix all the ingredients together and season well with salt and pepper. The mixture should be firm and quite stiff. Fill ravioli dough as described in Ravioli Part 1.

Ravioli (Part 1)

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4-6 TBS milk or water



What to do:

1. Sift the flour with the salt onto a table or counter top. Make a well in the center and add the oil, eggs, and half the milk or water.

2. Start mixing the oil, eggs, and water together, gradually drawing in the flour and adding more liquid as it is needed. Work the dough until it's smooth and firm -- it should be fairly soft but not sticky. Cover with a cloth (or plastic wrap) and leave 20-30 minutes so the dough can relax and loose any elasticity.

3. Cut in half and roll out one half until it is paper thin. Slide it to one side and roll out the second half, also paper thin. Brush one of the pieces of dough with water and place the chosen filling, one tsp full at a time, at regular intervals on that piece of dough. Lift the other piece and lay it on top and press the top piece down to seal around each little mound of filling. (I used a fork to help seal the edges after I'd cut them)

4. Stamp out each one with a fluted ravioli cutter or cut in squares with a pastry or pizza cutter. Leave 2-3 hours to dry a little.

5. Simmer the dried ravioli in salted water for 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is "al dente". Drain and lay the ravioli in a buttered baking dish. Coat with the sauce of your choice (I just used a can of spaghetti sauce) and bake @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until very hot(I also sprinkled some grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top before baking.)

Sorry, my camera decided not to work normally the day I made these so most of my pictures turned out blurry. I wasn't able to get a picture of the finished product so you'll just have to use you imagination.

Italian Chicken Skillet

What you need:

8 chicken breast halves, skin removed

3/4 cup sliced celery

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can(4oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

2 cans(14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

1 tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp pepper

What to Do:

In a large skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray(I usually just use a little melted butter), saute chicken over medium heat until browned. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute celery, green pepper, onion, and mushrooms until tender. Return chicken to pan. Combine the rest of the ingredients; pour over chicken and vegetables. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover; simmer 10 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear.

Serve over warm rice.