Bagel Skins

There's a bar/restaurant (it actually calls itself a Saloon, which I love!) near my house that I never get to go to. On the rare occasion the husband and I do go out we don't go there because they don't serve chicken wings and my husband won't go anywhere they don't serve chicken wings. Weirdo.

Anyways, my absolute favorite item on the menu there is their bagel skins. Like a potato skin, sans potato! They serve them with Caesar Salad and they are just the most perfect, yummy lunch food/snack I can think of. Since I never get to go there (I may be a wee bit bitter about this) I have been making them at home for some time now. Great for a light lunch or even a Superbowl Snack, these cheesy, garlicky, doughy bites will have you looking at bagels in a whole new light.... move over cream cheese!

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Bagel Skins

1 everything bagel, cut in half and hollowed out slightly

1 tbsp garlic butter, melted

2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 scallion, diced

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I like to use 1/4 c marble cheddar and 1/4 c mozzarella)

salsa (optional)

sour cream (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut the bagel in 1/2 like you would to toast it. Using a sharp knife remove some of the dough to form a shell (you can dry the dough and make bagel croutons!)

2. Brush the inside of the bagel halves with the melted garlic butter and place under the broiler until lightly browned.

3. Remove from the over and stuff each half with the bacon, scallions and cheese.

4. Return to the broiler and heat until the cheese has melted.

5. Serve with salsa and sour cream

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Beer and Bacon Jam

Beer. Bacon. Jam. I know what you're thinking, but this is a family site and I can't repeat it. Don't let the name throw you, jam is a loose description of this amazing bacon "spread". I first heard of it while watching FoodNetwork's show Eat St. A food truck's most popular burger had bacon jam on it. My ears perked up and I hit Google.

I found some recipes and picked the one from Not Quite Nigella's site (LOVE that blog name) to work from. I was going to make her recipe as is, but I was lacking some ingredients and it was pouring out... and I was in my sweats...  and didn't feel like going to the store. Wow, I'm just full of all kinds of excuses. Anyways, some simple substitutions (like beer!) from my pantry and fridge later and I had an amazing tangy, slightly spicy and totally delicious bacon and beer purée.

We tried it on sliders and it was soooo good. I can't wait to try it on a toasted bagel with a fried egg, or on crostini with goat cheese and arugula.

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Beer and Bacon Jam

500g (1 pkg) smoked bacon

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp fancy molasses

1 chili in adobo sauce, diced

1 tbsp adobo sauce
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 cup brewed coffee

1 bottle of beer

1/4 cup maple syrup

Black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut the bacon into 1" pieces and fry over medium heat in a dutch oven or deep pot until browned but not crisp.

2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain all but 1 tbsp of the bacon grease.

3. Fry the onion and garlic in the bacon fat until soft.

4. Add the chili, adobo sauce, cooked bacon, paprika and molasses and stir.

5. Add the coffee, 1 cup of the beer, maple syrup and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. As the liquid boils away add more beer a bit at a time to keep the mixture from drying out.

7. Allow the mixture to cool a bit and then purée until smooth with a bit of texture.

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Potato Skin Nachos

Don't you just love when two of your favourite foods join forces to become a super-awesome ninja snack? Last week I wrote an article for amotherworld.com (<-- click the link when you're done reading here!) about how we're feeding our kids crap. This recipe may seem like total hypocrisy when you read it, all I can say in my defense is: don't share this with your kids! In fact, don't share this with anyone! Eat it all yourself! Muh ah ah ah!

Okay, that's out of my system. Thin, crispy-fried potato rounds are smothered in cheese and bacon and are served with a spicy ranch sour cream dip. I have no idea where I got this idea but it's been bouncing around inside my head for a while. After I made it the first time I did a little research and found some restaurants that serve versions of this. Mine are better. Trust me. (I have nothing but women's intuition and my taste buds to base that claim on, let's just go with it.) These pop-in-your-mouth potato skin treats are an awesome Saturday-afternoon-watching-the-game kind of snack. It comes together quickly and is satisfying without being too heavy or filling.

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Potato Skin Nachos

4 medium potatoes, washed, dried and sliced into 1/8"-1/4" rounds
1 tsp seasoned salt
5 strips bacon, cooked
1 c shredded marble cheddar
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 c grape tomatoes, quartered

Spicy Ranch Sour Cream

1/4 c sour cream (I use light)
1/4 c ranch dressing
1/8 - 1/4 tsp smoked chipotle powder (depends on how spicy you like it)


Instructions:

1. Preheat oil (any kind except Olive oil) to 200˚F.
2. Deep fry the potatoes for 2 minutes and then remove from the oil. Increase the oil temperature to 375˚F and return the potatoes to the oil. Cook until golden brown and crispy.
3. while potatoes are frying, mix together the sour cream, ranch dressing and chipotle powder in a bowl.
4. Remove the potatoes from the oil and spread out on a few sheets of paper towels to drain the excess oil. Sprinkle with the seasoned salt.
5. Arrange the fried potatoes on a baking sheet and sprinkle on 3/4 of the cheese. Top with the bacon and the remaining cheese.
6. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
7. Top with chopped scallions and grape tomatoes and a side of the ranch sour cream dip.

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enjoy!

Amanda's Chunky Chicken Quesadilla

I lurvvvvvvvvve Mexican food. The spiciness, the smokiness, the flavour explosion! I could eat refried beans and enchiladas every day. I guess technically it's tex-Mex, but whatever you want to call it it's freakin' delish!

A lot of people have a dish that they judge restaurants by. My husband's is chicken wings. If a restaurant can rock the chicken wings they have his repeat business and he'll try out the rest of the menu. But if their wings leave a bad taste in his mouth, we never go back. My dish is the quesadilla. If it's too greasy, too bland, not enough veggies, or I'm paying an extra $4 for 3 tiny pieces of chicken I'm not a happy chica.

I've taken all the best elements of all the best quesadillas I've ever had and combined them into one totally delicious tex-mex meal. Make this on a couple of 6" flour tortillas for a quick, light lunch, or on 12" flour tortillas for dinner with a side of Mexican rice or a salad.

Start by roasting some red, green and yellow peppers, and some onions in a bit of olive oil and chopping up some cooked chicken.

On top of a flour tortilla (this one is a 6") put a slice of jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese and top with a generous amount of the veggies and chicken

top the chicken and veggie mixture with shredded marble cheddar

top with another flour tortilla. Drizzle a wee bit of olive oil on top and sprinkle on a dash of seasoned salt and cajun seasoning. Bake at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

deeeeelish!

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Amanda's Chunky Chicken Quesadilla
serves 4

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
8 6" flour tortillas
4 slices (1-2oz) jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese
2 c marble cheddar, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp cajun seasoning

Instructions:

1. Slice peppers and onions and toss with a bit of olive oil and roast in a 450˚F oven for 15 minutes.
2. Slice a chicken breast and set aside.
3. Lay the flour tortillas on a cookie sheet and top with a slice of jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese and a generous amount of the veggies and chicken.
4. Top with shredded cheddar and another flour tortilla.
5. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt and cajun seasoning.
6. Bake at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole

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enjoy,

Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan - The Gourmet Pregnancy

For our 2nd recipe from The Gourmet Pregnancy, we tried the Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan for lunch. The recipe calls for you to pan sautée chicken breasts, but the night before I was making chicken breasts for the girls for dinner on the grill so I threw a few extra on for the pizza. It was excellent! I also cooked the pizzas on the grill (it was far too hot to turn on the oven!), as the toppings were already hot all it needed was 5 minutes on low for the cheese to melt and the naan to heat through.

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Mild Curry Chicken Pizza on Naan

1 tsp vegetable oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cloce garlic, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp mild indian red curry paste
4 pieces naan
1/2 c fresh spinach, finely chopped
3 1/2 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add chicken, browning one side for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Flip chicken and add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the other side is browned.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into thin slices then return to the pan to finish cooking.
5. In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste and curry paste. Spread on the naan.
6. Top the naan with the chicken & onion mixture, spinach and cheese.
7. Place on a baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
8. Sprinkle with the pepper and enjoy!

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Review: We all thought this was delicious. We wanted a light lunch as we had early dinner reservations and this was perfect. Phil and PJ loved the curry flavour and Jason was too busy eating for me to get anything more than a thumbs up out of him. I loved the chicken and onion and monterey jack combination. I also loved how quick and easy this recipe came together, the whole lunch took me about 15 minutes to make. We gave it a score of 4.5 cupcakes!
(It would have been a 5 but Jason never gives out a perfect score... he's weird!)

enjoy!

Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

If you read my previous post (does anyone actually read them or does everyone skip down to the recipe?) you'd know I'm whipping up snackies for my husband's annual Superbowl par-tay. Every year he can expect the same staples: Chili, meatballs, nachos, and something with bacon. I wanted to make something no one had ever had before! Some new! Something exciting! Something with so many calories it just HAD to be the greatest superbowl snack ever!

Enter the Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno. I was cruising allrecipes.com looking for inspiration and came across this recipe and it jumped off the screen at me. I had intended on making it as per the posted recipe but upon tasting the sausage mixture I made some adjustments and the result was deliciousness in my mouth (as you can see from the picture below)!


A little tip on working with jalapenos: WEAR GLOVES! I live in a cold dry climate in the winter and my hands get cracked from all the hand washing and dishes I do, jalapeno juice and cracks/cuts do not mix! WEAR GLOVES when seeding and deveining the jalapenos and wash your hands thoroughly after too just in case. That jalapeno oil is lethal stuff!

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Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb (5) ground mild Italian Pork Sausage, removed from casing
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 lb large fresh Jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 c. Ranch Dressing
1 tbsp. Clubhouse Roasted Garlic & Peppers seasoning mix
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Instructions:

1. Crumble sausage in a skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain grease.
2. In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, ranch dressing, seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake 20 minutes in a 425˚F oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

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enjoy!
Amanda

One Bite Potato Skins

It's Superbowl Weekend! Yippee. Can you feel my enthusiasm? I am a girlie girl, football does not appeal to me in the least. (I know, men with nice rears in tight pants, I get it, still not watching.) My husband goes to a party every year at a friend's house (Thank Jeebus!) so I'm spared the day long analyzing about a game that hasn't even happened yet on the sports channels, the belching and the cloud of testosterone that fills the air on days such as these. But like a dutiful wife, and also cause I feel for the poor woman who does have to put up with the aforementioned items, I send along some snacks to keep the men-folk from rioting when their team is tanking.

This year my husband picked potato skins. I made them a couple of years ago and the guys loved them. The only complaint was that they were very filling (I made them using gigantic potatoes cause as we all know in man-world, bigger is better, right?) and with all the food that everyone brings, half of them were left behind cause they wanted a little bit of everything.

This year I got smart. I made tasty little one bite skins that they can pop into their mouths between spoonfuls of chili and mouthfuls of nachos. These work great for your little football fans too. Cheesy, bacony (is that a word?), and crispy, these will be a hit at your Superbowl party, or with a chick flick, which is what I'll be watching at kickoff time!

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One Bite Potato Skins

1 lb. Petite/Mini/Baby potatoes (I used yukon gold, but russet or white would be fine)
1 tsp olive oil
8 strips bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
4 tbsp. light cream cheese
2 tbsp. half and half or milk
1/2 c. shredded cheese (I use marble cheddar)
2 green onions, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prick the potatoes and arrange in a single layer of paper towel in the microwave and cook on high for approximately 3 minutes or until fork tender.
2. Cut potatoes in half length wise and scoop out inside leaving a bit to give the skins some stability.
3. Place hollowed out skins on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Place in a 350˚F oven for 10 minutes.
4. In a bowl, mix the potato, cream cheese, cream and salt & pepper until combined and smooth.
5. Stir in the cheese, bacon and onion and combine.
6. Remove the skins form the oven and fill each one with the potato mixture.
7. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until potatoe mixture is heated through and cheese has melted.

Serve with sour cream, salsa or ranch dressing to dip in.

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enjoy!
Amanda

Veggie Packed Pizza Sauce

Cooking for kids is never easy... or appreciated! I have a 13 month old and a 3 1/2 year old, so almost everything I make either ends up on the floor or is pushed away with declarations of "I don't like dat mommy!" Some days I want to cry, others I just shrug and say "well I guess you're gonna be hungry today then".

I'm sure every mom can agree that veggies, at one time or another, are the real battle. Whether it's the texture, the taste or merely the colour, kids seem to avoid veggies like I avoid 3-sided mirrors.

There are a few cookbooks out on the market about hiding fruits and veggies in sneaky ways to trick kids into eating them. I'm not cruel enough to hide spinach in a brownie (I love spinach but that particular combination gives me the dry heaves) but I am willing to sneak extra veggies into recipes where it seems fitting, like my homemade pizza sauce.

A variety of roasted veggies paired with garlic and tomato paste and then puréed until smooth makes a healthy, vitamin and nutrient rich sauce that your family will love, even if your pizza is a meat lovers!

Veggie Packed Pizza Sauce

1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 c. mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sea salt (optional, but I find it helps to balance the sweetness of the tomato paste)
1 can tomato paste
1 c. crushed tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Roughly chop your veggies (no need to be fussy as it will all be puréed) and place in a large bowl.
2. Add garlic, oregano, salt and olive oil and mix to coat.
3. Spread veggies out on a cookie sheet and roast in a 450˚F oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove veggies from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
5. Add veggies to a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.
6. Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes to veggie purée and blend until smooth.
7. Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Tip: I spread a generous amount of sauce onto a greek pita, top with a little bit of part skim mozzarella and pop it into a 350˚F oven for 10 minutes and my kids have a super fast and easy lunch that they gobble up with no food throwing or complaints!

enjoy!
Amanda

Cheesy & Pizza Puffs

Cheesy Puffs

I love entertaining over the holidays. Every year my parents have a big Christmas Eve party and friends and family stop by for drinks, and food, and catching up. It's always a lot of fun. I can't make it home this year so I plan to throw a little party here for just my little family, but with all the same elements, food, drinks and catching up (I forget my husband's name some days!) with the people I love most.

This little appetizer is sure to make an appearance on Christmas Eve. My cousin Kelly made them for us when she visited 2 summers ago and I fell in love with them! Made with Pillsbury Cresent dough, these tender little, buttery bites have a wonderful cheesy-garlic flavour. I decided to play around and made one batch with pizza sauce and finely diced pepperoni and cheese and the result was delish!

Great on their own or dipped in marinara or pizza sauce, these little appetizers are sure to be a hit at your next holiday party!

Cheesy Puffs

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent rolls (1 tube makes 18 puffs)
2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp grated cheese (I use marble cheddar)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp italian seasoning

Instructions:

1. Open cresent roll tube and unroll the dough.
2. Press together the pieces to form a square.
3. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the rolled out dough and top with the cheese.
4. Roll up the dough starting at one end to form a log.
5. Slice into 1/2" rounds (pinwheels)
6. Place rounds onto a cookie sheet and brush tops with egg white.
7. Sprinkle tops with a bit of italian seasoning.
8. Bake at 375˚F for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
9. Serve warm right from the oven.

Pizza Puffs

Pizza Puffs

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent rolls (1 tube makes 18 puffs)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp pizza sauce
2 tbsp finely diced pepperoni
3 tbsp grated cheese (I use marble cheddar)
1 egg white
1/4 tsp italian seasoning

Instructions:

1. Open cresent roll tube and unroll the dough.
2. Press together the pieces to form a square.
3. Spread pizza sauce over the dough leaving about 1" at one end.
4. Sprinkle the pepperoni over the pizza sauce and top with the garlic powder and then the cheese.
5. Roll up the dough starting at the end opposite the end without pizza sauce to form a log.
6. Slice into 1/2" rounds (pinwheels)
7. Place rounds onto a cookie sheet and brush tops with egg white.
8. Sprinkle tops with a bit of italian seasoning.
9. Bake at 375˚F for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
10. Serve warm right from the oven.


enjoy!

Amanda