Posts from — July 2012

These individual lasagna servings are a fun and less-mess way to serve lasagna at a casual party.  They are delicious straight from the oven or even at room temperature.

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Buffalo Chicken “Wings” without the bones or the mess. Yum!

Buffalo Meatballs

Meatballs
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
2 tablespoons diced celery
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
1/2 stick unsalted butter

Celery sticks

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For the next several days I will be giving you quick and easy party food ideas. Finger food or individual serving-size portions of what would normally be a larger dish.

These six-ingredient spirals are an example of that. You may think of chicken cordon bleu as an elegant dinner entrée, but with this preparation, it becomes a fun bite-size treat.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Spirals

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder for seasoning
4 thin slices of deli ham
4 thin slices of provolone cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs

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Here is soup number two from the big refrigerator clean-out.

Mixed Potato Soup

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
3 pounds russet, sweet, and red potatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Add oil to a large pot over medium heat, until melted. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeno and cook until the onions or soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and let cook for 8 minutes without browning.

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When classes ended on the last Friday of June, I still had a refrigerator full of vegetables and I was leaving town on Sunday. Summer squash, bell peppers, onions, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, jalapeno, eggplant, russet, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes. If you know me, you know what I made with all that – SOUP!  The first, I am calling Rataouille Soup since it has all the makings of the classic Provencal dish.  The second is a mixed potato soup, which I shall post tomorrow.  It’s too hot for soup, so it all got packaged up and went into the freezer to await a cool spell.  I know that won’t happen for another 4 months, but when it does, I will be ready!

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Connor is completely addicted to these tasty morsels!  And if I had owned and operated a bar, I would put out huge bowls of these. Customers would inhale them and then order more drinks!

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So easy, so good!

Sweet and Savory Pretzel Bites

1 package frozen Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed according to package directions
Savory
3/4 cup baking soda
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Sweet
Melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

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Do you have a child in your life?
Does he/she love spaghetti?
Do you want to see a huge smile on their face?
Then make this – and be sure to have them help you!
Joy!

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Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, are three very important actions in our world today. As we strive to go green, these three actions do many things. It reduces the waste that ends up in landfills, keeps good items that still work out of landfills, and keeps materials that can be used again – you guessed it – out of landfills. It results in less hazardous waste being compressed into the ground and a greener cleaner Earth.

Alright, that’s enough preaching, let me show you one way I reduced, reused, and recycled. Hopefully, that’ll inspire you to do the same.

For the Teen Week graduation class, I always purchase flowers and have the kids use them to arrange centerpieces for the dining tables. Naturally, we had a red, white, and blue theme last Friday. Forty-eight hours we were leaving town and I didn’t want the three bunches of flowers to go to waste.

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There is nothing like the vintage images of young children setting off fireworks to wish you and yours a very festive, delicious, and Happy Independence Day! Have fun and stay safe! xoox

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