Mushroom and Swiss Stuffed Chicken

 

Mushroom and Swiss Stuffed Chicken

6 chicken breasts
Marinade (recipe below)
16 oz. mushrooms
A few cloves of minced garlic
1 small white onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
An 8 oz. block of swiss cheese, sliced up
A sprig of fresh tarragon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375º. Prepare the marinade and set aside 1/2 cup for later. Throw the chicken in a bag with the rest of the marinade and let it soak for about 20 minutes white you saute the mushrooms.
To saute the mushrooms, turn the burner on medium-high and add the onion, garlic, and a little bit of olive oil. You might want to do it in batches because if you get too many mushrooms in at the same time, they'll get soggy. I did it in two batches, saving half of the onion and garlic for the other half of the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, slice the marinated chicken breasts in half, but not all the way, just like a hot dog bun. Place some mushrooms, a few slices of swiss cheese, and a little of the tarragon inside. Stab each breast together with a few toothpicks.
Turn the burner on high and drizzle a little bit of olive oil in your skillet. Sear the chicken for a few minutes on each side and then place on a foil lined baking sheet. I did three at a time because they wouldn't all fit in the skillet.
Bake the chicken at 375º for just about 10 minutes or until it's done. You should not see any pink, but as soon as you don't see any more pink when you cut a little slice in the thickest part, get it right out.
Garnish with a little more tarragon if you please.

Marinade:
The juice and zest of two lemons
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons minced garlic (I actually used the stuff in a jar)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (I happened to use 1/4 balsamic and 1/4 cider)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all together.

       

Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns

Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns

1 cup warm water (probably somewhere between 105º and 115º. I just get it hot from the tap. Don't get it too hot or it will kill the yeast.)

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

-At least 8 oz. of cheese, the more the merrier (I used chunks of mozzarella for the inside and a mixture of shredded colby and swiss for the top. I was just trying to use up all the forgotten chunks in the hidden corners of the fridge)

-Parmesan cheese

-A few tablespoons of melted butter mixed with a sprinkle of garlic powder and some fresh herbs if you want.

Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for a couple minutes. Add the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter, and oil. Add the flour a little and a time, mixing in your stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt. Knead for 10 minutes, in the stand mixer or by hand. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl (I used the same bowl) covered with a wet cloth for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375º. Divide the dough into about 20 pieces or so (you can make them as big or small as you want). Put about a 3/4 inch chunk of cheese in each one and make sure you pinch all the edges back up tightly. Put the pinched side down on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the buns with more shredded cheese and some parmesan cheese. Bake at 375ºF for about 11-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Brush with the melted butter and serve warm.

 

This recipe came from www.yammiesnoshery.com

 

I'm going to add some bacon into the mix with these bad boys.

 

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

1 can (12.4 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 Bake cinnamon rolls as directed on package. Let rolls cool completely.
• 2 Spray griddle or 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat griddle to 375°F or heat skillet over medium heat. Slice each roll in half crosswise.
• 3 In shallow dish, whisk eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup and the vanilla until blended. Dip each cinnamon roll slice into egg mixture, turning to coat completely. Place on griddle. Cook about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
• 4 In small bowl, whisk reserved icing, the remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup and enough warm water to create a pourable syrup consistency. Serve over French toast.

Sloppy Casserole

1b lean (at least 80%) ground beef, cooked, drained

1 can (15.5 oz) original sloppy joe sauce
1 can Pillsbury® refrigerated original breadsticks
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

• 1 Heat oven to 375°F. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, mix beef and sloppy joe sauce. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• 2 Meanwhile, unroll dough; separate into 12 breadsticks. Cut each into 4 pieces, about 1 1/2 inches long.
• 3 Pour beef mixture into ungreased 12x8-inch or 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Place dough pieces in single layer over beef mixture.
• 4 Bake uncovered 13 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake about 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Imitation Crab Salad Recipe

This image courtesy of cullyskitchen.com

Imitation Crab Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 small sweet onion (finely diced)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 stalks celery (thinly sliced)
• 1 pound imitation crab meat (flaked or minced)
• 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (or to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil macaroni according to directions on package. Strain and rinse with cold water.
2. Stir in the onion, celery, tomato, crab meat, mayo, then salt and pepper to taste.
3. Fold in the shredded cheddar-serve cold (I like to make this a little ahead of time so it has a chance to cool in the fridge)

Kind of Cool Ranch Doritos

This image courtesy of macheesmo.com

Kind of Cool Ranch Doritos

November 17, 2008 | By Nick | 30 Comments

This is the first in a series of posts I’m working on called “The Junk Food Junkies.” My goal in these posts is to try to replicate some favorite junk foods in my kitchen. In general, I like to eat fairly healthily, but sometimes you need some snack food. I would rather make that snack food than buy it.

These are suprisingly ranchy.

Enter Doritos. Not only one of my favorite snack foods, but the favorite snack food of my Macheesmo taste-tester (aka girlfriend). One day I was working through a bag of Cool Ranch when I looked over at the ingredient list and said, “Hey. I think I can make these!”
What I was worried about obviously, was the spice. The chips I knew I could meet if not beat. But the spice… that was going to be tricky. I had an obvious place to start though:

This stuff is strong!

I poured this stuff into a bowl and thought it might just work as is. Boy was I wrong. The plain spice pack is incredibly strong. It is bitter and makes your eyes almost water. So I had to find a way to “dilute” the spice pack so it wasn’t so strong. This was the recipe I ended up with:

Kind of Cool Ranch
- One Ranch Dressing spice pack
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons season salt
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Teas. Garlic Powder
Helpful Equipment:- Cast Iron Skillet
- Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer

Mix that up and it should be much less bitter and more salty which is what you want.

Spice Dilution

Next, let’s make some tortilla chips. Homemade tortilla chips are one of my favorite treats because A) they are cheap B) they are easy C) they are better than anything you can buy in the store.
I like to use white corn tortillas cut into sixths.

Cheapest Chips on the block.

Now you can bake these at 400 degrees with just a brushing of oil on them and that is fine. Personally, if I’m eating snack food, I want these guys fried. I’m throwing down with Doritos here. Frying is the way to go.
I filled my trusty cast iron skillet with about 1 1/2 inches of corn oil and let it heat up to 350 degrees. You know when it is the right temperature because your tortilla will float and bubble immediately. If you want exact results though, I recommend using a deep fry thermometer for the oil.

Looking good guys.

The chips are pretty easy to make, but it might take a few times to get it right. The biggest problem I have is if you don’t have the oil hot enough or you don’t let them cook long enough on both sides, you end up with a tortilla chip you can bend. NOT APPETIZING.
The one trick I’ve learned is that the chips will be crispy when they stop bubbling. The reason being that all the water is out of the tortilla which makes it stop bubbling and also super-crispy. Silent tortillas are crispy tortillas.
When they are done, take them out and put them on a paper towel to drain off some of the oil and sprinkle that awesome seasoning on them immediately.

Season now!

I would recommend starting light on the spice as it is pretty intense. Just give a little sprinkle and then try them while they are hot. How many of you can say you have had Doritos while they are hot? Well, these are awesome hot!

Doritos ain't got nothing on me.

I definitely did not use all of that spice that I mixed up earlier. I probably used about half of it on a batch of maybe 60 chips

Homemade Doritos Tortilla Chips

This image courtesy of thejoyofcleaneating.com

Who said junk food had to be unhealthy? Feel better about your snacking habits with this recipe for Homemade Healthy Doritos! This homemade junk food recipe is both vegan and gluten-free so just about everyone will be able to gather around, and enjoy!
Ingredients for 1 serving of chips:

• 1 whole grain tortilla shell of your choice
• 4 tbsp Homemade Breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp Garlic Gold Oil or regular extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
   

   Cut your tortilla shell into 8 equal pieces
2. Cut your tortilla shells into 8 equal sized triangle pieces.
3. Lay your triangles out on a baking tray. (I line mine with non stick foil for easy clean up!)
   

   Lightly spray or brush your triangles with olive oil and sprinkle with the crushed crouton mixture, flip and repeat on the other side
4. Lightly spray or brush your triangles with olive oil and sprinkle with the crushed crouton mixture, flip and repeat on the other side.
   

   Place in the oven for about 10-12 minutes
5. Place in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. You will need to keep a close eye on them for the last few minutes as they can go from almost done to burnt very quickly!
6. Once your tortilla chips are done remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. They crisp up wonderfully after cooling down.

Nutritional Info:
Makes 1 serving.
Serving size 8 chips.
Nutritional info will vary greatly depending on the type of bread used in the croutons and tortilla shells used.
Notes:
You can easily double or even triple this recipe to make a larger batch of chips to have on hand.
Leftover doritos can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.