Home Sweet Comfort Food

My mom is a great cook. She always tries new things, but she has her "signature dishes" too. Growing up, there were always meals my brother, father, or I would consistently beg for.

One of my all time favorite dishes of my mom's is Stuffed Zucchini. Now you, too, can enjoy this delicious meal! Thanks mom!... I hope I made it "right"!!


STUFFED ZUCCHINI

5 good sized zucchini
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 eggs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 bread crumbs
Italian seasoning
Parmesan/mozzarella cheese blend
Your favorite red pasta sauce

Preheat your over to 350. Slice the zucchini length-wise. Use a spoon to scrape out the centers of the zucchini to make a nice deep well in each one. (SAVE THESE SCRAPINGS) Pierce each piece of zucchini 3 or 4 times with a fork and place cut-side down on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes to soften.

While the zucchini bakes, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of kosher salt over the zucchini scrapings and let them sit for about 10-20 minutes. The salt will help draw out the extra moisture.

Brown the ground beef. Let cool slightly.

Drain the liquid from the Zucchini innards, give them a good squeeze and get out most of that extra liquid. We don't want a soggy meal!!
Add 2 eggs, bread crumbs, a bit more salt and pepper to taste, Italian seasoning to taste (I use about a tablespoon), diced onion, and beef. Mix it up real good.

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and place the open zucchini in it to fit. Generously spoon filling into each one, top with another zucchini half. If you end up with extra mixture (and you probably will!!) just sprinkle it around the pan. Top with red sauce to your liking. I typically use half a jar/can. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese blend and BROIL just until golden and delicious!

My mom ALWAYS served this meal with a side of creamy Parmesan noodles. They were usually Lipton or similar. As long as they are the thin angel hair noodles and Parm flavor, they go PERFECT with this dish!

Enjoy!!

Pretzel Bites

I'm warning you now... this is a dangerous, dangerous recipe. You will be fighting your friends and loved-ones for the very last nugget. Good thing this recipe makes a lot!

Don't be scared to work with dough. It's actually more difficult to mess up than you think. Just keep these tips in mind:

1. Follow directions.
2. Knead the dough for as long as you're supposed to. Not much longer, not shorter. Set a timer if you must! If you don't know how to knead dough, watch a Youtube demo.
3. Let it rest. Don't touch it, don't poke it, just let it alone while it rises.

Do that^ and your pretzels will be perfect!

Ingredients:

1 packet active dry yeast
4 cups of flour
2 tbsp sugar (white or brown)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
8-10 cups water
4 tbsp baking soda

Kosher salt for topping
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water

Combine sugar, salt, and warm water in a bowl. Sprinkle yeast packet on top and lest rest for 5 minutes until it begins to foam. If it doesn't foam it means your yeast is dead and you need a new packet.

Add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes if using a stand mixer - 8 minutes if kneading by hand. Grease a bowl and place dough ball in it, then turn it over so it's greased side up. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a nice warm place, let it rest and rise for an hour.

While dough is rising:

Heat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and grease with Crisco, veggie oil, or spray.
Bring 8 to 10 cups of water to a rolling boil, add baking soda.

When dough has rested, turn it out onto a lightly oiled surface and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch ropes. I use a pizza cutter to just slice up the large dough ball. Use the pizza cutter to slice the rope into 2 inch nuggets.

Drop dough balls, several at a time, into boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. You can boil several balls at once, just don't over crowed the water... they should be able to float.
Fish them out with a slotted utensil, drain, and place onto baking sheet.

Brush the tops of each nugget with the egg yolk mixture (you can also just use the entire egg if you want, doesn't make much difference), and sprinkle with Kosher salt.

Bake at 450 for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. You can also brush them with butter before serving, but I honestly didn't think it needed it.

You can also skip the salt and coat with sugar and cinnamon after baking.
This dough also makes a great pretzel base for pretzel-dogs, pretzel wrapped Lil' Smokies, cheese stuffed pretzel logs, ham and cheese logs, or pepperoni logs. Just flatten out the dough a bit and wrap it around anything yummy and good. You can skip the boiling stage if your going to go this route, the pretzel will just be a bit less chewy.

Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato & Chorizo Soup

This is a simple, spicy, delicious soup that is a cinch to put together and ready in 20 minutes!


If you have access to a Trader Joe's:

2 large cartons of Creamy Tomato soup - 32oz each
12 oz of vegetarian chorizo
1 bag of fire roasted corn, frozen
1 can of Cuban-style black beans, undrained
Cheese for garnish

If you do not have a Trader Joe's:

Approximately 60 oz of any base-tomato soup
12 oz of chorizo, vegetarian or pork
1 bag of frozen corn, roasted if you an find it
1 can of black beans, undrained
Cheese for garnish

De-case the chorizo and put in the bottom of a stockpot. The vegetarian just needs to be heated through, the pork choizo would need to be cooked.
Add the undrained can of black beans
Add the tomato soup and bag of frozen corn.

Simmer for about 20 minutes to heat through and blend flavors.
Serve in bowls topped with a little cheese.

This recipe makes a ton, so you can cut the recipe in half ... but the leftovers of this soup are just as yummy and it freezes very well!

Enjoy!

Butter Chicken

1 lb chicken tenders, cut into chunks
2-3 medium red potatoes
(I like potato in mine, but this can be left out)
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar Korma simmer sauce
4 oz water
1 8oz tub of whipped cream cheese
3-4 tbsp butter
Salt to taste
(fresh lime juice, optional)

Botan (sticky) rice or basmati rice, cooked per package directions.

This is a recipe I invented to give myself a quick easy butter chicken when I don't feel like going through the hassle of making the entire sauce from scratch. Using a Korma sauce as a base and tweaking it a bit will give you a very nice dinner with minimal effort!

Directions: In a pan saute the onion, diced chicken and diced potato until chicken is mostly done and potato is softening. Add minced garlic and saute a few more minutes. Add one jar of Korma simmer sauce , which can be found in the ethnic aisle of any grocery store. Add water and cumin. Simmer on medium low for 20 minutes. Stir in tub of cream cheese until melted and incorporated into the sauce. Add butter and stir until melted. Salt to taste and serve over rice. Drizzle with a bit of fresh lime juice, if desired.

Enjoy!

Grilled cheese. Need I say more?

And so my love affair has begun with all things cheesy and bready. I've long been a lover of fondue, but there is something to be said about the simplistic rustication of The Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Lately I've been craving one, so I bought myself a crusty loaf of artisan Tuscan bread. Picked up a package of marbled Swiss & Colby cheese and prepared to soften up some butter. Assemble as normal, brush with softened butter and let the heat do it's magic. It was just as delicious as I had hoped. Gooey, crusty, crunchy, chewy, buttery and warm. The perfect lunch for a cold day!


Agreed, this is not a healthy sandwich, but it is soooo good no matter which way you make it. However, better bread, better cheese, and using real butter will give you the BEST that grilled cheese has to offer. Also, a nice clean griddle is always a plus.



Now, the magic of grilling things in bread is that the options and combination never cease to vary. I showed you a traditional grilled cheese, now let me share with you a sweet variation:


Same Tuscan artisan bread, this time smeared with Berry whipped-cream cheese, topped with a few slices of banana and a dozen or so chocolate chips. Brush with butter and grilled to warm ooey-goodness! The only change I would make to this delicious dessert edition would be to halve the chocolate chips next time. 6 or 7 strategically placed chips would have been perfect.

Give it a try! Experiment with grilled cheese: sweet and savory! The possibilities are endless!

Pretzel Turtles

These are delicious and unbelievably easy to make! You know I'm all about the easy! This is one of my favorite holiday treats. It's my "go to" snack for cookie swaps and office potlucks, etc. One set of supplies will make a ton of these, so let me walk you through the simplicity:

1 bag of Rolos
(or if you can find them on sale, rolls of Rolos... save yourself all that unwrapping time)
1 bag of square waffle style pretzels
1 bag of Pecans

Heat oven to 250. On a baking sheet, lay out pretzels and top each one with an un-foiled Rolo. Place them in the oven for no more than 3 minutes! Take them out and top each one with a pecan, smoosh down.

Let them cool and set, place them in the fridge to get them to cool faster if you like, but they are best served at room temp. The pecan can also be replaced by a cashew or walnut.
For those that don't care for nuts, a few M & M's or another pretzel makes a great topper too!

Chili By Any Other Name....

.... would still taste awesome. I love chili. Who doesn't?! There are so many different ways to make it. It's really hard to go wrong when you mix meat and beans and spices together. Yum yum. So I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite ways to make chili: Spicy Pepper Style

Like all of my recipes, ingredients and measurements are approximate and slightly vague. Sorry about that.... it's the way I cook. But a little of this, a little more of that, leave something out... usually that's not going to make or break a recipe. So feel free to mix things up!

1 package of HOT Italian sausage (I like Johnsonville)
1 can of black beans (undrained)
1 onion
1 red pepper
2 green peppers
1 package of chili seasoning (any brand will do)
1 large can of Petite Diced tomatoes (about 28 oz)
Chicken stock/broth (aprox 32ish oz)
Cheese and sour cream to top
Serves about 4-5 adults

De-case the sausage. Just poke your thumb or finger into it and peel off the casing. Throw that away and toss the sausage in a stock pot. Do that for the whole package of sausage (usually 5 links) Cook that up while chop-chopping with a spatula to get the sausage down to bite-size.

Once the sausage seems mostly cooked, dump the diced tomatoes, juice and all, into the stockpot. Cut up those peppers and the onion to bite sized chunks and dump that in too. Add chicken stock, spice packet, and can of beans (don't drain them first.)

Bring that to a boil then turn down the heat and just simmer it until the peppers are nice and soft (20 minutes or so). Dish it up and top it off with some Mexican cheese blend and light sour cream.

This is a pretty spicy chili, so that bit of sour cream on the top helps cut out the bite. Now, you can always play around with this recipe and add more or less beans, more or less peppers, a different kind of bean, the only thing I definitely wouldn't change it the Hot Italian sausage. That's really the heart of this chili.

Now, this chili does run on the thin side. If you like it thicker you can stir in a can of fat free refried beans. You can also thicken it with corn starch, if you'd like. It's great served with corn bread ::lick lips::

Give it a try and let me know what you think!