Mini Pizza (a variation)

I saw a commercial recently that showed those easy-bake biscuits being used for various other things like flaky desserts and little pizzas and ooh, that all looked very good.

I didn't have a recipe for this or anything, but here's a little variation of the english muffin mini pizza I'd have made otherwise.



This was dinner:

Two (from the canister) biscuit dough rolls, kneaded into a flat round disk each, and placed on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Add sliced tomatoes and spray each lightly with butter flavor cooking spray. Bake at 350F (or in your toaster oven, as I did on high/500F) for 5 minutes. Need to partially bake the biscuit dough so it isn't soggy and so the dough can thoroughly cook.

Remove from the heat and add your toppings. I used french fried onions (the kind from the can), oregano, pepper, and 2% fat shredded cheddar cheese (pre-packaged, this was a very quick & easy dinner). Bake for 15 minuntes or until the dough is golden and the cheese is bubbly.


Made for a tasty, easy meal. Not one I'd have everyday but once in a while something like this hits the spot. Sometimes I put a chunk of cheese in the center of these (from the canister) type of biscuits and bake with a bit on top. Goes well with dinner, or alone for breakfast on a weekend.

Stuffed Chicken

I usually like anything that's stuffed. Fish, chicken, veggies, mmmmmm! If it's got something in it, chances are I'll try it (though, there are some exceptions).

I had recently read about an interesting recipe for chicken roulade. The stuffing was a mix of asparagus and goat cheese (among other things) and sounded like it would be very good. But of course, I had neither fresh asparagus (canned or jarred might've been too mushy) and no feta (that's almost a crime!).... but I still wanted to give this a shot.

So, I used what I had... and made my very first roulade! (well, sort of...) I think this could be fun to experiment with different filling combinations. For now, this is what I threw together. This was enough for two, served with some rice and veggies.

This is what I used:

1 celery stalk, 3 baby carrots, 1/2 small onion, diced fine (also called a mirepoix)
butter, about 4 TBS
pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian flavored)
1 boneless chicken breast
nonstick cooking spray
wooden toothpicks

Line a baking/roasting pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. An oven-safe container without foil, but sprayed with the nonstick spray will work nicely too.

Heat up a small sauce pan and add the butter. Once melted, add the diced celery, onion, and carrot mixture and let that saute a bit on very low heat, stirring occasionally.

Lay out a large sheet of clear plastic wrap (I did this on a cutting board) and place your chicken breast on top towards one side, and cover with the remaining plastic. You want the piece of chicken to be in the center. With the flat side of a meat tenderizer (food mallet, can bottom, anything that's hard, unbreakable, that you can use to) flatten the chicken breast until it's a little (flatter and) wider than what you started with. You want it thin enough to roll but thick enough to be able to hold the stuffing.

This took me a little time because I didn't want to create any holes so I didn't bang too hard. Basically you need to pound the meat in the center (or) where it's the thickest and slide outwards. Also, I'm not sure which side is the better side to pound, but if this breast had skin (it didn't, but if it did), I pounded the skin side (and flipped the piece over before adding the filling). It just seemed like the other side was more delicate and might tear too easily.

Add the breadcrumbs to the butter, celery, carrot, and onion mixture and stir to mix well. Take off the heat.

Remove the top layer of plastic wrap from your chicken and spoon on your filling, with more filling on the wider end because you will roll from here. Don't over-stuff! Too much stuffing just ends up oozing out the sides of the roll (like in the picture below). It's ok if you have extra filling, it can be wrapped in foil and cooked separately.


Using the plastic wrap to help you, but being careful not to include the plastic wrap inside the chicken, roll your flattened chicken breast from the wider side to the narrower side (though now, I wonder if it would've been better to roll from the narrower side to the wider side). Use two-4 toothpicks to secure. Still using the plastic wrap to hold your roll, place your rolled chicken open/seam side down on your prepared baking dish and then discard the wrap.

Use a fork or wooden toothpick to gently poke some holes along the top and sides of the roll. Shake on some pepper. Bake (uncovered) until the juices run clear (when poked with a toothpick).

I cooked this in a toaster oven on high (450-500°F), for about 35-40 minutes. In a regular oven, I'd start checking it after 25 min (at 350°F). Also cut it in half to be sure it was cooked through. First time making this, seemed like a good idea to make sure.

Maybe next time I'll try rolling the other way (narrow end to wide end) and see if that's easier. I didn't have time to refrigerate the roll for a few hours before cooking it, but doing so might've prevented the filling from oozing out a bit too. So that, along with a different filling mixture is something to consider the next time I try this.

Although it's nothing like the recipe that sparked the urge to try this type of thing, all in all, I'd say it came out pretty good.

Tofu - pudding/pie filling?

I saw a recipe in a magazine for tofu pudding. Sounded simple and easy, and of course, tasty. Also saw something similar on a Good Eats episode. Both recipes were meant to be used as a pie filling.

Since the magazine recipe had only 3 ingredients (1 pkg. firm tofu, drained, 12 oz. melted chocolate chips, 1 tsp. vanilla, blend on high until smooth in a blender), I figured it wouldn't take too long (and it didn't).

I wonder if the resulting texture was correct though. It was more, fudge-like than pudding like. It would've made a great pudding dessert if served right away because it had a fluid texture and was smooth (though slightly bland with a darker chocolatey color). But once refrigerated, the fluid-like texture becomes very firm and thick (and the color lightened). So I'm not sure how this would be in a pie. With cream (or whipped topping) folded in it might make a nice cake filling.

Still..... healthy chocolate? Mmmmm. I think next time I'll add honey (as in the Good Eats recipe) and maybe some Kahlua for added flavor.

If you try this, make sure you drain the tofu well; place wrapped in paper towels with a weight/heavy can on top so the water can drain. Let it drain for about an hour.

Both recipes recommended using a blender but I think I'll try this in a food processor to see if it comes together quicker. Plan to also try using silken tofu to see if that changes the texture after refrigerating.

Overall, this was good. Dense and heavy, but pretty good.

Turkey Meat Loaf

Mom's meat loaf...

I always knew there was a secret to some recipes. Like the tasty stews and meat loaf meals that my mother made (and still makes). I always tried so hard to make them come out just the way she did, but never managed it. Finally I asked her what her secret was, and what was I doing wrong?

It turns out there are these "flavor packets" (powder mixes) for stews, meat loaf, and other such meal items (like the bake-in-a-bag roasted meals, those need a nice secret mix too).
Surprise! She thought I knew. Nope. And yep, she had a good laugh about it too.

Ok... now I know. And won't ever make another meat loaf (or stew) without a mix! Ah, but not the whole mix. If you use the whole mix, it usually comes out too salty (for us anyway). So you have to adjust for taste. If you like it really salty, use the whole mix, if you don't, use about half.

This is her basic meat loaf recipe, only, a healthier version, made with ground turkey instead of ground beef. Little by little I've managed to decrease the red meat we were having too often with "other white meat" meals. Like this one. (turkey tacos anyone? they're pretty good too...but thats another recipe and not-so-secret mix)

1/2 to 3/4 ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
2-3 TBS milk (or half & half)
1-2 pieces of sliced bread, (dampen it with water, squeeze excess)
dash onion powder
dash (dried) sweet basil
dash (dried) oregano
dash (dried) paprika
pepper to taste
1/2 packet "meat loaf mix" (seasoning packet, pick your favorite brand, there are a few)
1 8oz. can tomato sauce

Mix everything together except the tomato sauce. Make sure the bread is mixed in well. Place the mixture in a loaf pan (we usually put it in a foil lined loaf pan, for easier cleanup). Pour the tomato sauce on top and add a little more pepper and onion powder.

Bake at 350°F (in the center rack of your oven) for 1 and a half hours.

Tasty!

We accompanied this particular meal with onion potatoes and brussel sprouts.

For the potatoes, mix a little oil (just enough to coat the potatoes) and some onion soup mix (there's another mix!) in a baking/roasting pan, add some potatoes (cut however you like them, we usually do a large dice) and mix well. Make sure the potatoes are all coated with the oil and soup mix. Add a little water and bake for an hour or so (same temp). I found the onion potato recipe on the onion soup mix box, and have made it before. I just don't usually mix this in a plastic bag as they recommend. Too messy (and you can't get all the mix out of the bag afterwards, so it's kind of a waste).

A night or two later, the leftover meat loaf became (with the help of a seasoned tomato sauce) a very satisfying meat sauce for spagetti.

Quick Tomato sauce

2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
add a dash of: oregano, pepper, crushed rosemary, onion powder, salt
leftover meat loaf, crumbled


In a sauce pan on low heat, bring the sauce and seasonings to a slow simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Use it on your favorite pasta. Mmm!