Calzone...take two...

Yeah, I've made my chicken with cream cheese and feta calzone in the past but I made it different today and I liked it so much that I felt it was necessary to share with you again.

Normally, I boil then chop the chicken but tonight I felt like trying it differently. Plus every time I make it, I have so much left over we end up tossing it out. So in an effort to have the same dish, limited waste and to try it just a bit different - and easier, I cut the chicken up, then sauteed it in the frying pan with garlic and onion (easy way, I used dried chopped both) then added some salt and pepper. From there, I thought hmmm.... I need to get this cold cream cheese mixed well with the chicken so I chunked up the cream cheese, added it to the pan, then poured in about 1/4 cup of skim milk. From there, I turned the heat off and added the feta - I'd say 1/2-1 cup...what ever fell out of the container, really.

I have a pizza stone I never use, I thought I'd give it a try so I heated the oven to 400 degrees while I cooked the filling. Then I unrolled a thin crust pizza dough over the pizza stone - imagine, rectangle block in a round hole (square peg/round hole), poured the mix into the middle then wrapped the dough around it. To top it off, I melted some butter, brushed it on the crust and then sprinkled it with Parmesean cheese. 15 minutes later - dinner was ready! I like to finish it off with pasta sauce though I don't really know if it's needed...that's up to personal preference. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Enjoy - Be well!

Not your momma's mac'n cheese

It's no secret I LOVE watching the Chew, in fact, I think it would be a really fun job to have! I'm not a super fan of Carla Hall but I think that's only because I don't really know much about her, however, the more I watch, the more I think she's a bit silly and I could see her being a good time. Not so sure she cares what other people think...I like that!

I have NEVER made good macaroni and cheese from scratch until one night when we had the Hammock's over for dinner - thankfully, it came out good! I made Carla's mac'n cheese which worked out so well. This was the first time I was successful at making a roux - now you can't stop my rouxs!

The recipe calls for 1 cup of cheddar cheese - I used NY extra sharp, and 1 cup of pepper jack. So you make the roux, add some milk, your cheeses and then when it's almost done, you add 4 oz of cream cheese. WHAT?! That's right, you heard me...cream cheese. It made the dish so creamy and delish! Naturally, this was poured over your favorite pasta - I'm passed using elbows, I like a fun shape - any fun shape. What I forgot to mention is that the roux is made using bacon fat - how did I get the bacon fat, you ask. I started the whole meal by cooking, I think, six strips of bacon in sauce pan (a large dutch oven), remove the bacon but keep the fat, add some butter and flour for the roux. Once you're ready to serve, add the bacon as a garnish.

I love this dish. I should add that since I'm all about protein, I added some sauted chicken to the mac'n cheese so it hits all out needs!

This is really worth trying - check for the recipe on thechew.com under Carla's recipes. Let me know if you need any help, I have it saved!

Enjoy - Be well!

Chicken noodle soup

As they say, chicken noodle soup is good for the soul - especially when it's cold or you're just overall feeling the winter blues. I got my recipe from Light and Tasty forever ago - I make it my own way and sometimes I add a bit more or less than needed.

To start, saute a cup of carrots, cup of celary and a small diced onion in two table spoons of canola oil until the veggies are translucent. Then add in 1/4 cup of flour with Bell's poultry seasoning. Let it cook for about a minute. Add six cups of chicken stock and about four potatoes cut into bite size pieces. Put a lid on the pot and cook for roughly 20 minutes. Add two cups of cooked chicken and two cups of no-yolks. Cook for another 10 minutes and add a can of evaporated milk but don't let it come to a boil. Cook for another minute then you're done.

So, now how I make it... I do all the veggies and such with two bouillon cubes; I add the stock and potatoes - usually more than four. I will add more chicken and generally a box of pasts because I don't like have 1/2 a box of pasta in the cabinet and I could care for no yolks. So, adding more pasta means I need to add more stock otherwise it's too dry - almost pasty. In the past, instead of adding evaporated milk, I've been known to add sweetened condensed milk.

Truth be told, I make it however it comes out. This last time I made soup I didn't have celery, I didn't add any evaporated milk - in hindsight, I haven't used it in a long time - also, I made a bit of a roux to make it thicker. So really, this is one of those recipes that once you have the process down you can make it any way you'd like. I hope you'll try this one, your family will really enjoy it!

Enjoy, Be well!

Michael Symon vs Paula Dean Celebrity Death Match

Do you remember when M-tv used to show Celebrity Death Match? It was a clay-mation cartoon where two celebs would square off in a boxing ring and they would use some part of their personalities or what they are known for as part of the fight. I was wondering what it would look like to have my two favs go against each other - Michael Symon versus Paula Dean. He would come at her with brat wurst and she would squirt in the eye with melted butter...He'd come back at her with a cabbage mace (cabbage hanging off a stick like the mid evil weapon) and she'd pour cake batter all over him - or something.... In the end though, there wouldn't be a winner because they would both grab the bacon for the next attack, realizing each others love for salty pork, they stop the match and celebrate their common interest. I can picture the whole thing perfectly!

Since this is my little day dream, there can be no winner as I love them both! They are at the top of my list of people I want to meet and cook with so I can't have a winner....just yet! ;-)

Hee hee! Be well!

Skirt Steak - eh...

I'm not a big red meat fan - it's not my favorite to eat. I decided to try my own marinade and to try a skirt steak. I don't think skirt steak is the most tender cuts of beef though I understand that it's best grilled. I don't have a grill so I made my best effort with out a grill.

I made a marinade with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper, and a bit of oregano. Then I let the steak sit in the marinade over night then I cooked it in a grill pan.

To make it a little tastier, I sprinkled the steak with fresh blue cheese. We had the steak with grilled potatoes and peas. If I enjoyed steak this would have been better but since I don't really enjoy it... I could take it or leave it. Now, having said all that, I would make the marinade again (I eyeballed the whole thing, not a set recipe) just with a better selection of beef.

Sugar free powdered sugar - is it possible?

Yikes! That's really all I have to say about that! Ok - so this came from a few different sources... It's one cup splenda and one teaspoon corn starch that is run through the blender or food processor. So very messy and I was a bit surprised with the results.

The powder sugar was very, very sweet. When you run it through the blender or the processor, you want to make sure you cover it with a towel because you will get sugar dust everywhere. It's best to make one batch at a time, keeping in mind one batch results to 1/2 cup of powder sugar. The sugar will last in an air tight container for two months.

So, I used the powdered sugar the same way I would substitue splenda for sugar (1/2 cup splenda to 1 cup sugar). I made chocolate coconut snowballs (chocolate cupcakes, remove the liner, frost the whole cupcake with a cream cheese frosting that has powder sugar, small amount of butter and vanilla, then roll in coconut) using the sugar in the frosting. It was very sweet but you couldn't tell it was not real powder sugar.

I don't have a picture -will try for another time.

Enjoy - Be well!

Red velvet cupcakes

As you know by now - I LOVE Paula Dean! She has these amazing looking red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that, well, look to die for. I've never had a good red velvet cake/cupcake - I should say Ms. Dean makes red velvet cake I made it as cup cakes.

The actual recipe I used was on the Food network - Grandma's red velvet cake (I believe is the name). I switched out the sugar for the Splenda/sugar blend but I did use real butter - I figure it would be better to use real butter than margarine, I'd rather the real fat versus processed.

Once the cupcakes were cool - I made cream cheese frosting; this recipe came from Splenda.com. I used the splenda/sugar blend with cream cheese and butter. It was so good.

As for a splurge, this was a good way to go. The cake and frosting was so rich and delicious that it really felt like I was being so very bad!!!

Enjoy - Be well!