Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes

This weekend we celebrated my husband's 30th birthday!  He has had a hard time with this idea of getting older, but I for one, think he is just getting better with age!  Let me take a minute to tell you about this husband I have.  He is pretty awesome.  He is one of the hardest workers I know, he is an amazing father and he. is. funny.  He has done so many things for our family in the nearly 9 years that we have been married, including but not limited to...giving me 2 perfect babies, working so hard in school and work that I can be a stay-at-home mom, buying and fixing up multiple houses, and making me laugh a whole lot.  But, one of the best things he has ever done for me personally, was win me a Kitchen Aid Mixer.  That was pretty dang awesome of him.  

Everyone raise your virtual hand if you read Our Best Bites!  If you have your hand down, I'm telling you right now that you should!  They not only share amazing recipes, but are laugh-out-loud funny!  I strongly recommend.  Anyhow, for those that don't know, about 6 months ago their second cook book was released.  To celebrate, they hosted a contest where you were to photograph yourself with a picture of the new book and send it in to them to be judged.  The best, most creative pictures would then be selected to receive prizes.  I told Jason about it, but also included that I had no ideas to make myself stand out.  He, however, has never backed down from a challenge, and viewed this as such.  So he came up with this...

And we won!!  Thanks to his creative mind and shameless desire to make people laugh, I now own a shiny red Kitchen Aid mixer (and there is this lovely picture floating out there in blog land for all the world to see)!  See, he really is the best!!  So happy birthday to him!

Okay, so I was getting to the recipe.  These Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes are one of our very favorite recipes out of that Our Best Bites Cookbook.  They are amazingly simply and incredibly delicious.  Last time I made these, I had to whip up a second batch immediately because we devoured them so quickly! Then those disappeared just as fast.  Jason loves them so much that he requested them for his birthday breakfast yesterday and we almost needed a third batch!  

Mini Puffed Oven Pancakes

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

2-3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Powdered sugar

Whipped cream, optional

Place a nonstick mini muffin pan in the oven and heat to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, place the flour, milk, eggs and salt in a blender and blend until mixture is smooth.  Remove the pan from the oven, doing so very carefully and with an oven mit, as the pan with be very hot.  Quickly spray the wells with nonstick spray.  Fill the muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.

Bake for 12-18 minutes, until batter is puffed and slightly golden on top.  Remove the puffs and place on a plate or platter.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Drizzle with maple syrup or strawberry sauce and whipped cream, or eat them alone with your fingers!  All ways are equally delicious!

Strawberry Sauce

3 cups frozen strawberries

2 Tablespoon sugar

Place strawberries and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the strawberries release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Cook for 1-2 minutes longer, stirring continuously and smashing berries slightly with a fork.  Serve over pancake puffs.

Recipe Source:  Pancake Puffs from Our Best Bites.  Strawberry Sauce from The Unsophisticated Kitchen

I like to party here!

Marsala Pork Chops

This recipe is a good one!  I love these pork chops!  However, I probably should have changed the name to something else.  The original recipe called for Marsala wine, but I don't keep wine on hand, so I improvised and adapted the recipe slightly to what I had.  Yep, I pushed the marsala right on out of there.  But I couldn't think of a better name...so Marsala it is, but isn't...get it?!  Good.  Name aside, this is a truly delicious meal.  It has only been the last few years that I have discovered a deep love of onions and this meal definitely caters to that taste.  If you love onions and garlic, you will adore this meal.  If you don't...well skip over this one and I'll have something for you non-onion lovers in the next few days!  

Marsala Pork Chops

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

4 pork loin chops (the original recipe says bone-in, I use boneless)

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 medium onions, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon peper

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter cubed

Hot cooked egg noodles

Place bread crumbs in a large resealable plastic bag.  Add pork chops, one at a time and shake to coat.  In a large skillet, cook pork chops in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, sauté onions in remaining oil until tender.  Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer.  Add the chicken broth, pepper and salt, stirring to loosen browned bits from the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally until liquid is nearly evaporated.  Stir in butter until melted.  Serve over pork chops and noodles.

Recipe Source:  Adapted slightly from Taste of Home

I link up at these parties!

Open-Faced Chicken Avocado Burgers

I first made these open-faced burgers about 3 years ago when I really started getting serious about learning how to cook.  I remember looking at the recipe and being totally overwhelmed with the list of ingredients and I remember that it took, what seemed to me, a very long time to throw them together.  I even went to a specialty store to look for the ground chicken because I was sure that the regular grocery store wouldn't carry it.  Well, after all the work I thought I put into them I was delighted at how delicious they were!  The avocado dressing sauce was tangy and delicious and took what could be just a regular old burger over the top!  Even though I loved these and thought they were one of the best things I had made yet, I didn't make them again until just a few weeks ago.  The only reason being that I remembered them to be way too much work!  But when I was at Walmart the other day and spotted the ground chicken (that I thought was some crazy uncommon ingredient), I had a sudden strong desire to make them.  So I pulled out the recipe when I got home, and I actually laughed out loud at myself.  I couldn't believe that I thought these were so difficult to make!  It showed to me how far I have traveled in my culinary journey, because things that once seemed so overwhelming and difficult to me, now seem like a piece of cake!  Beautiful in their presentation, these are an easy and delicious spin on the classic burger! 

Open-Faced Chicken Avocado Burgers

Avocado Sauce:

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 medium ripe avocado, peeled

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

4 green onions, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Burgers:

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons prepared pesto

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound ground chicken

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices

4 slices Italian bread (3/4 inch thick)

2 cups fresh arugula or fresh baby spinach

8 slices tomato

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a blender, combine the first eight ingredients; cover and process until smooth.  Chill until serving.  For burgers, in a small bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, pesto, garlic and salt.  Crumble chicken over mixture and mix well.  Shape into four patties.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook burgers in 2 Tablespoons of oil for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees and juices run clear.  Top with cheese; cover and cook for 1 minute longer.  

Meanwhile, brush the bread with remaining oil and place on a baking sheet.  Broil 3-4 inches from heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until toasted.  

Spread each slice of toast with 2 Tablespoons of the avocado dressing (refrigerate the remaining sauce for another use...I have used it on sandwiches and other hamburgers).  Top the slices of bread with the spinach, a burger and sliced tomato.  Sprinkle each burger with basil and pepper.  Serve.

Recipe Source:  Taste of Home

I like to link up at these parties!

Chocolate Lover's Dream Cookies

It has been nearly another week since my last post!  Am I the only one that ever feels like life is impossible to catch up on?!  I know I'm not, but for some reason right now that is where I am at.  I can't seem to get my head on straight lately!  And time is just flying by!  I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but my husband is graduating from dental school next month and we are moving our little family clear across the country to Chattanooga, Tennessee!  We are super excited about this new adventure we are about to embark on, but also really overwhelmed at what it takes to make a move of this magnitude!  We are also really sad to be leaving this city in Arizona that we have made our home.  Needless to say the next 8 weeks of life are going to be full of stress, anxiety and lots of other emotions.  To get me through this phase, I am going to need lots of sugary, rich desserts...just like these chocolate lover's dream cookies.  These are delicious little morsels of chocolatey goodness!  As the name implies, they are chalk full of chocolate...a base that delightfully tastes like a chewy brownie,  dotted with chunks of my personal favorite, white chocolate chips and then of course, semi-sweet (or in my case, milk chocolate) chips as well!  Perfect!  It took me about 10 cookies, before I realized that these were infinitely better when dipped in a cold glass of milk!  They were super easy to throw together and are literally a chocolate lover's dream cookie! 

Chocolate Lover's Dream Cookies

6 Tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 milk chocolate and 1/2 semisweet & loved the result)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the oil, butter and sugars until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a medium bowl; gradually add to oil mixture and mix well.   Stir in both kinds of chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets or baking mat.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Do not over bake!  Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks to finish cooling.

Recipe Source:  Taste of Home

I am linking up at these great parties!

PS...How was your Easter?!  Ours was fantastic!  We attended church, had friends over for dinner and dessert, and just spent time together as a family.  It was a really nice weekend for us!  Though this has nothing to do with food, other than the fact that Easter is a day to eat an amazingly delicious meal, I had to share this picture of my sweet kids in their Easter best!  My 2 year old is a bit of a stinker and REFUSED to let me take a good picture of her, so this one featuring her non-smiling glare, is literally the best one I got!  I hope your Easter was as good as ours!

Terrific Turkey Enchiladas

                           

Well, I inadvertently took more than a week off of blogging.  Between parent teacher conferences, a visit from my family from Idaho, and closing on our house, this past week was crazy busy!  It flew by without me even realizing it!  In fact this whole month has!  Just minutes ago, a flier fell out of my cupboard for an event that I planned to attend...on March 9th.  I thought for a second about what day it was and could not wrap my mind around the fact that it had taken place almost 3 weeks ago!  Time is flying by too fast for me right now!  

Anyhow, I am back with a delicious recipe for some hearty Mexican food.  I love Mexican food!  I mean, you cannot go wrong with melted cheese, and I do not know about you, but I don't believe I have ever eaten Mexican anything that wasn't smothered in cheese!  I'm not big on spice, in fact, often times I can't even hack mild salsa, so you can rest assure that anything I post will not pack a huge punch...just in case you can't handle the spice like me.  These enchiladas have a white sauce, which I much prefer over the red stuff, but I had only ever had when stuffed with chicken (which I also love!!).  These enchiladas break the mold in that they are made with ground turkey.  I really enjoyed this dinner!  It seems like there are a ton of ingredients but they really do come together fairly easily, so don't fret!

Terrific Turkey Enchiladas

1-1/4 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 can (4 ounce) chopped green chilies

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (I have to leave these out due to my husband's pure hatred...I am jealous of anyone that can add these in)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Enchiladas

3/4 pound ground turkey

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tablespoon olive oil (Optional.  I left out because I feel there is enough grease coming off the turkey.)

3/4 cup salsa

1 Tablespoon cornmeal

2 teaspoon chili powder

1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

6 flour tortillas (8 inch)

1-1/4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives (Optional...I left these out due to my pure hatred)

Place the first six ingredients into a food processor; cover and pulse until blended.

In a large skillet, cook the turkey, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.  Remove from the heat, stir in the salsa, cornmeal and seasonings.  Spoon 1/3 cup turkey mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 2 Tablespoons of cheese.  Roll up and place seam side down in a greased baking 9x13 inch baking dish.  Spoon corn mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with olives (if using) and remaining cheese.  

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through.

Recipe Source:  Taste of Home

I am linking up at these delightful parties!

Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps

One of my most favorite fast food restaurants in the world to eat at is New York Burrito.  I don't know if it is a big chain or anything, but I have yet to encounter one in Phoenix, which basically has everything (except for Cafe Rio, Wingers and Maurice's...at least not anywhere near me.)  But there was one in my lovely hometown, and going back to Pocatello for visits, always meant a stop at New York Burrito for a chicken caesar wrap.  Until it closed down about a year ago.  It was heartbreaking news to me.  Every time I am home for a visit and I drive past the old building, I mourn.  They really did have the best wraps of all time.  As I mentioned before, my very favorite was the chicken caesar.  I have tried many times to recreate that wrap, with only sub par results.  Don't get me wrong, anything smothered in caesar dressing can't be bad, but they just never compared to that.  Then I found the recipe for this wrap and knew I wanted to make it immediately.  And I am in love.  It is super simple and you probably have most or all of the ingredients on hand already.  Now, it isn't quite the same as NY Burrito, but it is amazingly delicious and maybe one of my favorite new meals.  I saved the leftovers, and even with the lettuce having wilted a bit, it was still yummy enough that I had a wrap for both lunch and dinner the next day!  The whole in my heart from the absence of New York burrito isn't entirely healed, but this recipe has helped quite a bit and for that I am thankful:).

Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps

The original recipe called for 1 (2.5 pound) rotisserie chicken.  I just boiled several chicken breasts in chicken broth and then shredded them afterwards.  So you could do either.  Obviously a rotisserie chicken would make this even easier.  I have included that change in the recipe.

1/4 cup light or regular mayonnaise

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon) I used bottled lemon juice with amazing results

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cups cooked chicken  

1 Romain lettuce heart (about 6 ounces), torn into bite sized pieces

4-6 (10 inch) tortillas or wraps (I have used both whole wheat, white tortillas and soft wrap bread...all work wonderfully)

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and garlic.  Whisk in the olive oil slowly until thouroghly incorporated.  

In a large bowl, toss the chicken and lettuce with the dressing.  Divide the chicken/lettuce mixture evenly among the tortillas or wraps.  Roll and secure with a toothpick, if desired.  Serve.  

Recipe Source:  Slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe who adapted it from Cook's Country

I am linking up at these parties!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake

Are you looking for a crazy, decadent, over-the-top in deliciousness, dessert?  Well then look no further.  Seriously.  I have you covered right here.  This cheesecake is heaven.  I am a lover of all things  peanut butter and chocolate (who isn't though, right?!), so this was right up my alley.  You know, when my husband and I were dating, he claimed to be a hater of cheesecake.  I thought he was completely nuts and it was almost a deal breaker for me.  I mean, how could I be with someone who wouldn't share a slice of cheesecake with me?!  Thankfully, I have since converted him (yeah, I'm taking credit for it) and he now loves it...as long as it is high quality and totally rich.  And let me tell you, he loved this!  He even had a piece for his after-church snack today and he does NOT do left overs of any kind!  My favorite part was the peanut butter mousse.  It balanced perfectly with the rich chocolate and ganache layers to create a little bit of heaven in every bite.  Make this as soon as you can, but make sure you have someone to share it with...and maybe a tall glass of milk.  This is insanely delicious!  You will love it!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake

1-1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (like Oreos)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mousse Layers

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

5 ounces cream cheese softened

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1-1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped, divided

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 milk chocolate candy bar (3.5 ounce), chopped

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.  In a bowl, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.  With a spatula, fold in 1-1/4 cups of the whipped cream.  Spread over crust.

Place bittersweet and milk chocolate in a bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring sugar and milk just to a boil.  Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Cool to room temperature.  Gently fold in remaining whipped cream.  Spread over peanut butter layer.  Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.  

For ganache, place chocolate in a bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream just to a boil.  Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Cool to reach spreading consistency, stirring occasionally.  Spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate until set.  With a knife, loosen cheesecake from the springform pan and remove rim.  Serve.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Recipe Source:  Adapted from Taste of Home

 I am sharing this recipe at these great link parties!