Fried Mozza Sticks

{fried cheese. totally american}
I was craving mozzarella sticks one night, but of course, all my favorite frozen food isle American delicacies are hard to find here. Instead of restaurant inspired appetizers they have a million different flavors of perogies. So naturally I figured it couldn't be that difficult to make my own. And guess what. It wasn't hard at all!
These were were so amazing! They only took a few minutes to make. They were warm and crispy on the outside and ooey gooey cheesy on the inside. Paired with some marinara dipping sauce and they are unstoppable!

Ingredients:
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs (Panko is great, too just add a little Italian seasoning)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
8 string cheeses, cut in half

Directions:
In a large deep skillet, heat up enough vegetable oil to nearly submerge the cheese sticks. About 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Heat over medium to medium high heat- be careful not to burn down your house. Get three seperate bowls ready, and fill one with your flour, one with your egg and water mixture, and one with your bread crumbs. Get out a plate for when your friend mozza sticks are finish frying.

Take one cheese stick and roll it in the flour. Enough to coat. Then coat it in the egg mixture, and finally, roll it in the bread crumbs. Make sure to fully coat the cheese otherwise it will melt out between the crust. You can double crust them if you feel so inclined. Repeat with remaining mozza sticks. Once your oil is hot, fry for about 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove with a spatula and place on plate until all your fried mozza sticks are done. Serve with marinara sauce if desired.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

Cowboy Quesadillas

{darn tootin'}
I seriously am in awe over these. I wanted something more on the healthy side for dinner, and when I came across these, I knew they had a permanent place on my menu. The original recipe called for green onions, but I am not a big of fan of green onions. So I tweaked it a bit and used a 1/4 of a white onion. You can easily alter these to your tastes, whatever floats your boat! All you need to know is that these are amazing and you need to try them, asap. Oh, and don't forget the dipping sauce. It's amazing.

Ingredients:
8 large flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup white rice, cooked
1/4 of a large white onion, chopped
1/2 cup black beans
1/3 cup corn (frozen or canned works great)
2/3 cup diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup grated Pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup barbecue sauce


For dipping sauce just measure out equal parts of ranch dressing and barbecue sauce, and mix together.

Directions: In a medium skillet, saute onions until just barely translucent. Add chopped chicken and cook thoroughly. Set aside. In a large bowl, add rice, corn, beans, tomatoes, chicken and onions and mix together. Then add cheeses and barbecue sauce and mix until evenly coated.
Spoon mixture into each tortilla and grill them up on the skillet... and dip away! For a vegetarian variation you can leave out of the chicken.

Check out those golden crispy delicious tortillas...

Held together by warm, ooey gooey melted cheeses... droll... 

Source: Our Best Bites

Bruschetta

{me and Italian, like a fat kid and a cupcake}
We have a new favorite in our house. It's called Bruschetta. Don't ask me why we haven't tried it before, but we did and we loved it and now all my husband wants is Bruschetta. Morning, noon and night. I have to admit that I basically loved it, too and it's not hard to make at all so we both win. The thing I like cooking the most, are things that you can alter to your own tastes. Bruschetta lands in this category. If you like just a smidgen of garlic then that's all you'll need to add. If you don't fancy onion, then you can omit it. This dish would go great with home made bread or you can purchase store bough baguettes, any flavor you like!

Ingredients:
4 ripe Roma tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon oregano
dash of salt and pepper
dried parsley for garnish

Directions:
Wash and dry tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into fourths, and remove seeds and the stem. Once all the seeds and juices are removed, dice tomatoes as small or as large as you prefer. Add to a medium bowl. Mince garlic, and add to tomatoes. Finely chop onion, add to tomatoes. Add remaining ingredients and toss together until coated and flavors come together. Taste test and add seasonings to fit your tastes. Pour into cute bowl(s), garnish with dried parsley flakes and serve with garlic toast or baguettes. Yield 4 servings.

So easy, right?! Thanks for reading!

Baked Potato Wedges

{creative?... Sure!}
This recipe isn't really anything fancy or special. I was craving some baked potatoes... but they seemed kind of boring. So I cut them up into wedges, and covered them in cheese! They were heavenly- and surprisingly very filling! I'll definitely be making these again, and soon!

Ingredients:
2-3 large baking potatoes, cut into wedges
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated (you could also use cheddar)
1/4 lb. bacon
1/4 cup bell pepper
1 green onion
a dash of salt and pepper
sour cream (optional)
parsley flakes for garnish

Directions:
In a 9x9 inch baking dish, arrange potato wedges skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with foil. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until tender, edges should be slightly browned. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until slightly crispy, drain and set aside. Chop bell pepper and onion into small pieces. Once potatoes are done, pull them out of the oven and sprinkle with cheese, bacon, bell pepper, and green onion. Bake again for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly bubbly. Garnish with sour cream and parsley flakes if desired. Enjoy!

 

Jalapeno Popper Dip

{ya know, like those popper thingies from Chili's}
You may or may not know this about me, but I really want to be a socialite. It's on my bucket list. Since my natural charm is masked by coyness, the only way to wiggle my way into the socialite life is through people's stomachs. I like to throw parties and I like to cook for large crowds, I don't know what it is, but I like it. My itty bitty ghetto kitchen makes it difficult but that's half the fun! I'm pretty much excited for this recipe (and so was Tressa, she called this morning for the recipe even before I had it posted). Are you wondering whether or not it was deliciously divine? Let me answer that with another question- why don't I have a picture of the dish without a spoonful missing? People started eating it before I was able to even get a picture!

Ingredients:
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 8oz (250 ml) jar sliced Jalapeno peppers
1 4oz can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup Corn Flake crumbs (or bread crumbs)
Parmesan cheese
Jalapeno slices for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F, spray a round or square 9x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, mayo, chilies, Jalapeno's, red pepper and shredded cheese together until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and corn flake crumbs/bread crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and melted through. Let cool for 10 minutes and garnish with slices of Jalapenos, serve warm with Baguettes, veggies, crackers, etc. There ya go!

Source: Annie's Eats via My Baking Addiction

Turkey Pesto Sliders

{it's like homemade quiznos}
I miss American Quiznos a lot. They have Quiznos in Canada, but the menu is different. It makes me sad sometimes. One thing I miss most is the Turkey Pesto. Mmmmm... so good. I had no idea pesto was so easy to make... I've been missing out. We had these for dinner, and I was impressed! I thought it would just taste like a good sandwich, but no- I couldn't stop eating them! I felt like such a fatty because I downed two at night, and then two again for breakfast!

 Ingredients:
6 slider buns (I used Kaiser Buns, the soft ones)
6 slices of Provolone cheese
12 Deli Turkey slices
Pesto Sauce (see recipe below)
Mayo

Directions:
Make an open faced sandwich- come on, it's pretty easy. I 'toasted' mine to get the full Quiznos effect by setting my oven to broil and placing my sandwich on a baking sheet (open faced) for about 5 minutes until the turkey was heated through and the cheese was melted. Then spread as much or as little mayo as you'd like, then a couple spoonfuls of pesto sauce- and shove in your mouth!

Pesto Sauce Recipe:
2 cups fresh/frozen basil (or 16 frozen cubes)
1/4 cup sunflower kernels (or pine nuts)
2 gloves of garlic, peeled
a dash of salt
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In food processor (or blender) blend all the ingredients together for about 30 seconds. So easy. Who knew?

Source: Annie's Eats

Soft Pretzels

{i could just eat these all day}
I have to give credit to my dear hubby, Warren, for coming up with the idea of making pretzels. It was his idea. I hate to admit it, but that's what we had for dinner... straight pretzels. Sad, huh? Oh the joys of being poor married students- livin' on a prayer, baby!

 Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons melted butter
veggie oil for greasing the bowl

Finishing:
Cooking spray
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel or Kosher Salt

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine water, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix with mixer on low to dissolve yeast. Add in flour and melted butter and mix until just before dough starts to come together. Then add dough to your awesome 1980's Bosch mixer, using the bowl fitted for the dough hook (or if you are living in today's world, your Kitchen Aid mixer with dough hook). Mix until dough comes together and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl lightly greased with veggie oil, turn once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 50-55 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray. Bring the 10 cups of water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope shape about 20-24 inches long. Make a "U" shape, and then twist, pinching the ends down to secure (you all know how to make a pretzel shape... we've all watched the guy do it at the Pretzel place in the mall). Don't judge my kitchen... or my husband who has his tongue sticking out.

Once each piece is in the shape of a pretzel, pop one or two in the boiling water. Keep it in there for 30 seconds, removing it using a slotted spatula. Place it back on the parchment paper. Once they have all had their boiling bath, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Then bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown or darker on the edges. Let cool before eating!

Serve with whatever you like to eat them with... my top favorites are cream cheese with marinara, nacho cheese, caramel, and chili (weird, huh?).

Directions for freezing:
You can do this many ways, they all work just fine. After the dough was split into 8 pieces, I froze them just in their ball form. You can also twist and boil them, and then freeze, so you just have to bake them straight from the freezer. I don't, however, recommend baking them and then freezing because reheating causes them to be tough and chewy.

Source: Annie's Eats via Alton Brown

Seven Layer Dip

{a classic crowd pleaser for all ages}
I made this dish for a group of friends, it was gone in 15 minutes. But I don't mean to brag ;)

Ingredients, in order:
1 can refried beans 
3 mashed avacado's with lemon juice and green tabasco sauce
1/2 c mayonnaise with 1 cup sour cream
3 chopped tomatoes (I used about a 1/2 cup [more or less] of salsa)
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 small can of chopped, black olives

Layer on a serving platter in order, don't forget the chips!