Peanut Butter Cups

I’ve been craving peanut butter lately–and I’m always in the mood for chocolate–so I thought I’d play around with my peanut butter cup recipe. I have to say that I like this combination the best so far, and I believe it’s because of the milk chocolate/dark chocolate combination.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp(s) melted butter
• 4 ozs of milk chocolate, crushed
• 4 ozs of dark chocolate, crushed
• Sea salt, optional

Directions:

1. Place butter in a small bowl and melt butter in microwave (about 15 – 20 seconds).
2. Add powdered sugar, peanut butter, and salt to melted butter and stir until well combined.
3. Line a baking sheet with 12-13 mini muffin wrappers (the number of wrappers you fill will vary, depending on how much chocolate you eat beforehand).
4. Add crushed milk chocolate and crushed dark chocolate to a small saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring constantly until most of the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat immediately, and continue to stir until remaining chocolate has melted.
5. Add a small amount of chocolate to each muffin wrapper (about 1-1  1/2 tsp of chocolate).
6. Drop a small amount of the peanut butter mixture onto the chocolate in wrappers.
7. Top peanut butter with another 1 – 1 1/2 tsp of chocolate.
8. If desired, sprinkle a dash of sea salt onto peanut butter cups.
9. Refrigerate for at least 30- 45 minutes or until chocolate has hardened.

 

 

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Cajun Chicken Po Boy

It’s 100 degrees outside, but I’m still in the mood for something a little spicy. Last week’s cajun fries really hit a sweet spot with me, so I decided to try the same seasoning on a personal favorite, the Po Boy, and I wasn’t disappointed. Paired with lemon pepper fries and topped with provolone or pepperjack, this meal has just enough heat for a warm summer night.

 

Cajun Chicken Po Boy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8-1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp red pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 Chicken Breasts, cut in half

Directions:

1. Rinse and cut chicken breasts and place in a glass casserole dish (the type that comes with a lid).
2. Drizzle chicken with olive oil.
3. Combine all other ingredients and add to chicken, coating evenly on both sides. Cover dish with glass lid.
4. Cook for 35-45 minutes on 425 degrees or until juices run clear.

Assembly:

• 1 sub roll, lightly toasted
• 1-2 slices of provolone or pepperjack cheese
• 4-5 slices of green peppers, sauteed
• 1/8 cup of onions
• 1/8 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• Cajun chicken

Directions:

1. Sautee onions in sugar and olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Sautee bell peppers for 3-5 minutes or until soft
3. Shred 1-2 pieces of chicken and combine with onions and bell peppers. Place on top of sub roll.
4. Add cheese to chicken/onion/bell pepper mixture and cook at 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

Lemon Pepper Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 russet potatoes
• Lemon pepper seasoning to taste
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 tsp parsley
• about 24 ozs of canola oil

1. Rinse potatoes and wipe with paper towel. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch sticks.
2. Pour canola oil into a 8-10 inch cast iron skillet and heat to medium-high heat.
3. Once oil is heated, place a handful of fries into the oil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside. Repeat until all fries are cooked.
4. Sprinkle with lemon pepper, sea salt, and parsley.

Pizza Roll & Cajun Fries

I know it’s only Tuesday, but if you ask me, it’s never too early in the week for pizza, especially if it includes a side of cajun fries!

Pizza Dough and Toppings

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 1/2-2 tbsps granulated sugar
• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• Oil, for greasing

Toppings:

• Pepperonis
• Sausages or sausage links, lightly peppered and sea salted
• Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Mix flours into a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, add sugar, salt, and oil to the warm water. Add yeast to water mixture and stir. Cover for 2-3 minutes to let bubbles rise.
3. Pour water mixture into flour. Knead the dough for roughly 3-5 minutes, or until softer and less sticky.
4. Roll dough into ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm spot. Let dough rise for 1-1 ½ hour.
5. Cook pepperonis and sausages on stovetop (do this roughly 10 minutes before dough is done rising).
6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease pizza stone with olive oil if necessary.
7. Separate pizza dough in half. Refrigerate half for use at a later date.
8. Combine parslet, oregano, basil, and onion powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
9. Roll out dough onto pizza stone and cut in half.
10. Fill dough with cheese, sausage, and pepperonis. Close the sides and end pieces of the dough together to form a log shape. Flip dough over to hide creasing. Repeat with other roll.
11. Top unbaked pizza roll with parsley mixture. Repeat with other roll. Cook for roughly 10-13 minutes or until pizza roll is golden brown on top.
12. Serve with marinara/pizza sauce.

Cajun Fries

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8-1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp red pepper
• 2 russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into strips

Directions:

1. Rinse potatoes and wipe with paper towel. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch sticks.
2. Place potatoes in a medium-sized bowl and add all other ingredients, mixing well.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes–or until fries are golden brown–rotating halfway through.

Breakfast in a Crescent Sandwich

I love a big breakfast on the weekend–pancakes, bacon, grits, skillet potatoes–but on the weekdays, I like my morning meal to be a little more mobile-friendly. The sandwich that follows is a nice compromise between Sunday and Monday.

Breakfast in a Crescent Sandwich Sandwich

Ingredients:

Skillet Potato Filling

• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup onions, diced
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1 large russet or Yukon Gold potato
• 1-2 tbsp(s) canola oil

Additional Filling

• 5-6 slices of bacon
• Black pepper, to taste
• 8 Crescent rolls, premade or from scratch
• Shredded Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese, to taste
• 1 scrambled egg, optional

Directions:

1.  Line bacon on cookie sheet and sprinkle with pepper.
2. Cook bacon in oven on 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes, flipping halfway through (or until bacon is completely cooked).
3. Drizzle 1 tbsp of the canola oil into a large, nonstick skillet. Set aside.
4. Chop potato into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes and boil over high heat for 5 minutes. Drain.
5. Place potatoes into oiled skillet.
6. Dice onions and bell peppers and sprinkle over potatoes. Add salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder to potato mixture.
7. Cook potato mixture over medium-high heat for 8-14 minutes or until potatoes are thoroughly cooked, softened, and browned. Add additional tablespoon of canola oil as needed.
8. Crumble bacon over potato mixture and thoroughly combine.
9. Unroll crescent rolls into triangles. Scoop approximately 1 tbsp of potato-bacon mixture and place in the center of the crescent roll.
10. Top mixture with cheeses, and roll dough into the shape of a crescent, repeating until all of the crescent rolls are filled.
11. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Serve with syrup or jelly for a touch of sweet!

Tuesdays

I know it’s Wednesday, but let’s talk about Tuesday. Every afternoon I have a turkey sandwich, and every Tuesday I stop by my local Target deli to ask my favorite deli person for the same order (she knows me by order!)

I love sandwiches, but I’m very particular about turkey: I’ll only eat it shaved. I mean tearing, paper-thin turkey. I mean, I should be able to see between the slices. There’s just something refreshing about layering delicately thin turkey on top of wheat bread and topping it with cheddar cheese, a tomato, and a roasted red bell pepper. It just makes the perfect lunch.

So, here’s to Tuesdays. Even though it’s Wednesday.

 

 

Have any routines of your own? Let me know!

Chicken Fajita in a Pita (Salad)

Like most origin stories, this one involved a chance event. I wanted a salad but I wasn’t in the mood for my usual turkey salad. I wanted something with a bit of a kick to it, so I decided to go for a chicken fajita salad. Simple enough.

But then, what was I going to eat with a chicken fajita salad? I needed some type of bread. My immediate thought was a biscuit–I’ll eat biscuits with just about any meat–but biscuits seemed an odd choice for a Mexican dish. So I said, hey, why don’t I just make tortilla strips? That’ll be easy and fast, and I can even use a premade tortilla.

And then it dawned on me. Biscuit got me to tortilla and tortilla got me to . . . pita bread (I’m not really sure how tortilla got me to pita. Clearly, my brain made an odd association there. Just roll with it.) I would take my delicious salad and stuff it inside of a pita pocket. A fajita in a pita. It rhymed. It would be glorious. It would eliminate the need for a fork.

It would have a kick :O.

So I did just that, and the Chicken Fajita in a Pita (Salad) was born.

Pica de Gallo Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup purple onions, diced
• 1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
• 1/4 cup jalapenos, diced
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/8-1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes.

Fajita Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2-1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsps corn starch
• 1/4 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Chicken Fajita

Ingredients:

• Fajita seasoning
• 3 large chicken breasts, halved
• 1/4 cup of onions, sliced
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1/4 each of one red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and orange bell pepper, sliced (note: this is not 1/4 cup, but 1/4 of the bell peppers)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash and clean chicken.
3. Place chicken in a glass casserole dish. Coat chicken in olive oil.
4. Rub fajita seasoning into chicken, being sure to coat both sides.
5. Add all other ingredients and combine/mix using a spatula.
6. Cover dish with glass top and cook for 15 minutes. Turn chicken and cook for 15 additional minutes or until chicken is tender and juice run clear.

Optional Toppings:

• 2 tbsps low sodium corn
• 2 tbsps Black beans
• a handful of tortilla strips

Putting it all together

Ingredients:

• 1-2 chicken fajita strips
• 2-3 tbsps Pico de Gallo
• low sodium corn, black beans, tortilla strips, or other toppings
• Pita bread, warmed on low for 5 minutes
• 1-2 cups of salad mix
• 1/4 cup of Mexican cheese
• Taco sauce, optional

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, pico de gallo, corn, salad mix, cheese, and taco sauce in a small bowl.
2. Stuff above mixture into pita bread and enjoy!

Pepperoni Panini

Pizza and sandwiches are two of my favorite things (along with bright copper kettles), so anytime I can combine the two into one and form some kind of extra-cheesy lovechild I’m there.

Hence, the Pepperoni Panini*. It’s cheesy. It’s pesto-y. It’s just what you need when you don’t want to make the poor pizza guy come out in Florida’s unpredictable weather.

* Who cares that it’s not technically a panini? We love alteration and we’re rolling with it.

Pepperoni Panini

 

Ingredients:

• 3-6 sandwich-sized pepperonis
• 2 slices of Italian bread
• 2-4 tsps of pesto
• 1 slice of Havarti Cheese
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella, Asiago, Muenster, and Parmesan cheese
• 3-4 sun dried tomato slices
• 1/8 tsp each of parsley, oregano, and basil
• 2-2 1/2 tbsps olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat pepperonis on stovetop over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on either side. Drain.
2. Spread half of the pesto on either side of the Italian bread.
3. Top one slice of the bread with pepperonis, parsley, oregano, basil, cheeses, and sun dried tomatoes. Place other slice of bread on top.
4. Pour half of the olive oil into a small, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook sandwich until golden brown on one side. Remove sandwich, add olive oil, and replace sandwich on uncooked side. Cook until golden brown.
5. Serve with sea salt and vinegar chips, baked french fries, or pasta salad.