Veggie Pizza

I have made veggie pizza several times in the past, but I kept forgetting to add it to my blog.  Oops!  This was the perfect recipe to make for a recent party I attended, and the pizza was literally gobbled up in a matter of minutes.  This is a great recipe, especially if you're looking for something to throw together at the last minute.

Source:  Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:

2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat and nobody could tell)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix
1/2 cup of assorted colored peppers, diced small
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
Cherry tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup shredded carrot
2 tablespoons diced purple onion
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F.

If using crescent rolls: Unroll both cans of dough; separate dough into 4 long rectangles. In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust. If using dough sheets: Unroll both cans of dough. In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust.

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables and cheese. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

After a long, hard day at work, I had a big urge to cook something different, but nothing too time consuming.  I turned to one of my favorite online sources and found this recipe.  Can you believe I have never made enchiladas?  I thought this might be a good recipe to try because I LIVE for sour cream.  My husband doesn't share the love of sour cream like I do, but he even thought this was a pretty good recipe.  I will definitely have to make these again, even if it's dinner only for myself!

Source:  Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

12 whole Corn Tortillas
Canola Oil, For Frying
1 can (20 Ounce) Enchilada Sauce
2 cups Sour Cream
3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1 cup Sliced/chopped Green Onions
½ teaspoons Ground Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together sour cream, green onions 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Heat enchilada sauce in a separate skillet or saucepan.

Using tongs, fry tortillas one at a time, for only about five to ten seconds per side (don’t allow to crisp.) Remove from oil, then dunk tortilla in enchilada sauce. Lay tortilla on a plate, then spoon a good two or three tablespoons of the sour cream mixture in the middle. Roll tortilla, then place face down in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and sour cream mixture.

(If there’s any sour cream mixture left over, use it as a dip for tortilla chips!)

Cover the dish with the remaining cheese, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve immediately. Place a dollop of sour cream on each serving, then sprinkle on sliced green onions.

Salmon Florentine

For this weekend's dinner with my husband, I decided to try this recipe that I have had bookmarked for a few months now.  The dish just looked so pretty.  For being on the healthy side, this dish really did turn out great  and the spinach/ricotta mixture paired wonderfully with the taste of the salmon.  This dish will definitely be made again in our home!

Source:  Apple A Day, adapted from Ellie Krieger, So Easy

Ingredients:

10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 c. minced shallots
2 tsp. minced garlic
5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Using your hands, squeeze spinach of all excess liquid.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for three minutes until they begin to soften. Add garlic and cook for one minute more. Add spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from heat and let cool approximately ten minutes. Add ricotta and stir to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Using your hands, pack approximately 1/2 cup spinach mixture on top of each salmon fillet, forming mixture to the shape of the fillet. Place fillets on a rimmed baking sheet or glass baking dish and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake Dip

I have to apologize for the long absence.  It's been a rough few weeks at work and I havein't had a lot of time to even eat, let alone cook anything new!  I did manage to find a little free time and I made this excellent dip for a holiday party.  It also gave me a chance to use my Kitchen Aid mixer, which works wonderfully, by the way.  This dish was simple and took virtually no effort, but looked beautiful and delicious when it was finished.  I served it with graham crackers and ginger snaps and it turned out to be a fun dessert!

Source:  Pink Parsley, adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
2-3 cups mixed berries (diced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
1/3 cup red jelly (strawberry, raspberry, currant, etc)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add the sour cream, lemon zest, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat until well incorporated, then add more heavy cream if the consistency is too thick. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate and use a spatula to spread and smooth the top.

Place the jam in a medium bowl, and heat in the microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Fold in the berries, and spoon over the cheesecake filling. Chill until ready to serve, and serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps.

Chicken and Dumplings

My husband had been begging me for months to make him chicken dumplings.  Honestly, I never really had homemade chicken and dumplings before so I had been kind of ignoring the request.  However, since he was so good to me this Christmas and bought me a beautiful Kitchen Aid stand mixer, I decided to finally grant him his request.  I actually was excited to make these, because one of my favorite cooking websites recently published the recipe.  This dish really turned out fabulous.  The dumplings were perfect in flavor and texture and the chicken was moist and flavorful.  My husband said that  was truly everything he hoped it would be and asked that I make it again in the near future.

Source:  Pioneer Woman, adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Chicken, Cut Into Pieces (cut Up Fryer)
Salt And Pepper
½ cups Finely Diced Carrots
½ cups Finely Diced Celery
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
½ teaspoons Ground Thyme
¼ teaspoons Turmeric
6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ cups Apple Cider
½ cups Heavy Cream

Dumplings:
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
½ cups Yellow Cornmeal
1 Tablespoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1-½ cup Half-and-half
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley (optional)
Salt As Needed

Directions:

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour.

Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate.

In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings: sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine.

Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add minced parsley if using. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Check seasonings; add salt if needed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

St Nick's Dove Sticks

This was another recipe I made for my work's cookie exchange.  I found it on the back of a bag of peanut M&M's and it looked so easy to make that I knew I had to try it.  The recipe lived up to its expectations and it made for a very tasty treat at the exchange.

Source:  M&M's

Ingredients:

1 bag Holiday Chocolate Peanut M&M's
1 bag Dove Milk or Dark Chocolate miniatures
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

Combine the butter, confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, and graham cracker crumbs in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 15 x 10 pan.

Melt unwrapped Dove chocolate miniatures in the microwave for 90 seconds or until smooth.  Pour melted chocolate on top of the mixture and smooth with a spatula.

Place red and green Peanut M&M's over the layer of chocolate. 

Refrigerate to set chocolate for approximately a 1/2 hour.  Cut and serve.

Peppermint Brownies

I recently participated in my work's annual cookie exchange and I was looking into making festive brownies.  When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect and knew I needed to make it.  These brownies were delicious, but extremely rich!  I think I cut the brownies into pieces that were too big to finish in one sitting.  They were so consistent with fudge.  The peppermint flavor was perfect and not strong at all.  The girls at my work loved them and you can too!

Source:  Annie's Eats, adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1½ cups unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1½ tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 (1.55 oz) milk chocolate bars, broken into segments
1 bag Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, wrappers removed and coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water; heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the chocolate mixture with the sugar and eggs until well blended. Whisk in the peppermint and vanilla extracts and the salt. Whisk in the flour just until incorporated.

Spread half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Layer with the milk chocolate pieces. Spread the remaining batter evenly over the milk chocolate pieces. Bake 30-35 minutes.

Remove the brownies from the oven but maintain the oven temperature. Sprinkle the chopped Candy Cane Kisses over the top of the brownies and return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Chill the brownies until the candy topping has firmed up. Slice and serve.