Spinach & Prosciutto Frittata

Frittatas are one of those magical things that look gorgeous, taste great, and are SO versatile.  You can seriously use just about anything you want in them making it the perfect dish to use up leftover produce, meat, cheese, etc.  They also take little effort, most come together quickly, and they serve a lot of people.  All you need is an oven safe skillet, but even that is just ideal.  You could get away with making these in cake pans, pie dishes, casserole dishes, or whatever you want.  It just looks more impressive in the skillet, and saves a few steps/dishes.  I actually have been meaning to try this for a long time …. kind of shocking that I haven’t actually other than a mini version in a muffin pan …. but I was waiting until I had a cast iron skillet.  And well… now I do!

I didn’t really follow any one recipe for mine.  I looked at a few for inspiration and to get an idea of the egg to cream ratio, as well as the cook times, but after that I just winged it so to speak and put whatever I wanted in it.  It turned out pretty dang good, but I think next time I would put even more of some of the ingredients in.  I just hadn’t wanted to over-do it and have it not turn out.  Now that I know it can hold more I won’t be shy.  Since I did wing it I am going to give pretty close estimations of what I used, but I encourage you to adjust to your tastes or if you want to play it safe like me for the first time use what I put down.

I said frittatas come together quickly most of the time, and that is true, but with these particular ingredients there are a couple more steps.  You might be tempted to take a shortcut and try cooking some of them together, but I think you might run into issues if you do, so I suggest just taking the time to do each separate and do them well.  I promise it sounds like more work than it really is.  As I mentioned I used a cast iron skillet and most of the recipes I read through suggested the same, as I think it does best with the sticking factor.  Also many suggested butter as a greasing agent to really be sure it won’t stick and who am I to argue.  If you want those perfect slices of frittata that look so impressive you can handle the little bit of extra fat/calories.

Anyway, I would call my first frittata a major success and you can be sure I will be trying other variations in the future and I imagine many of them will make it on here, so be on the look out!

Serves : 4-8 (4 for like a dinner, or 8 for like a brunch)

Ingredients :

• 8 eggs
• 1/3 cup cream (you can use milk, but the cream really makes it good!)
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• salt and pepper to taste (you won’t need much salt because of the prosciutto and cheese so go light to start and you can always season at the table)
• 3 oz. package prosciutto, roughly chopped
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach (basically two large handfuls, it really cooks down)
• 5-6 crimini mushrooms (I think I would use a couple more next time)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2/3 cups grated gruyere
• 1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan (a large grate as opposed to a fine grate)
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced (I would use a little more next time)
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded (I would use a few more of these too)
• 5-6 leaves of fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade (basically roll them up cigar style, and slice them into thin strips)
• 2-3 T. butter, divided

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large cast iron skillet heat a small bit of olive oil over medium-high heat, and cook your chopped prosciutto until crispy.  Remove and place on a paper towel to drain the grease. 
3. Next put about 1 T. of the butter into the skillet and saute your mushrooms over a medium high heat.  To really get some nice color don’t overcrowd the skillet and let them sit for a minute before you try to move them around.  When they are just about perfectly golden throw in the garlic just to take the bitter edge off and let it get fragrant.  Remove to a bowl.
4. Wipe out any leftover bits, then place your skillet back on a medium heat and throw in your spinach.  Cook it just until it wilts down and then remove it and let cool for a few minutes.  Once cool wring all the moisture out that you can and roughly chop it.
5. While the spinach is cooling whisk together eggs, cream, baking powder, and salt and pepper.  Let sit for about 5-7 minutes as you finish preparations.
6. Once you have all your ingredients ready to go, heat the skillet back up over medium-low heat and run the rest of your butter around the sides, and bottom.  Pour in your eggs, and after a minute or so start sprinkling in your basil, prosciutto, mushrooms, and spinach.  Then spread the cheese evenly over and sort of press it down a little so it sinks into the eggs, which should be slowly starting to set up ever so slightly.  Spread around your olives, and tomatoes taking care to make it look pretty of course.  Once the eggs starts to firm up a bit around the edges place your skillet into the preheated oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes until fully set.  You will know this  has occurred when there is not wiggle left in the center when you lightly shake the skillet. 
7. Turn on the broiler and allow the top to ever so slightly start to brown before removing from oven.  Let it sit for a minute or two and loosen the edges before you try to cut it and carefully remove your slices to serve.

Croque Monsieur

First an admission… I chose this sandwich because of the name.  There is just something fun about making something that has a fancy foreign name.  Well it’s foreign to me at least.  I had heard the name before, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was.  Upon further inspection I realized it was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, but then it is topped with a bechamel sauce and more cheese!  I was intrigued, but slightly doubtful about putting sauce on top and it turning the sandwich mushy/soggy.  I was very pleasantly surprised however when I took my first bite and was hit by SO much cheesy, salty, creamy flavor, and was glad the sandwich not only held up to the sauce, but still had a bit of crust to it.  The sauce does soften the tops a little, but you still have your bottom crust and the sides, and as long as you make sure to get a nice crisp golden crust when you are making the sandwiches you will be good to go.

This was another one of those recipes that needed a bit of converting, and I hadn’t realized how much cheese I would be using when I put it on my menu plan.  So I would definitely say this is not “diet” food, but for those days you want to reward yourself for your efforts and indulge a little this is the thing to try!  It’s very simple to make, with the only touchy part being the bechamel sauce.  My advice is just to have your ingredients measured out and sitting next to you so you can give full attention to  your sauce the entire time and not be running around your kitchen trying to keep up.  Furthermore I made my sandwiches first and set them aside and THEN tackled the sauce so I wouldn’t get distracted.  I am a good cook, but I am not the world’s best multitasker in the kitchen lol.  I get a little frazzled at times.  Anyway, when making the bechamel you really don’t want to turn the heat up too high…. the recipe says medium heat and I went with a medium-low on mine.  Melt your butter, add the garlic until it’s just fragrant, and then when you add your flour watch is closely, and keep it moving.  You don’t want the flour to burn and it will quickly if you aren’t careful.  Then when it’s time to add the milk you want to pour slowly (like a drizzle) and whisk the entire time you are pouring to avoid lumps and then keep whisking the entire cook time so it doesn’t clump or stick/burn.  It sounds  harder than it is, but as long as you go at it with this knowledge and stay focused it will turn out perfectly creamy and thick.

My gruyere didn’t want to slice very well, so I ended up grating it all.  I then put some on both sides of the bread and sandwiched the ham in between.  When I put it on top and broiled them at the end I ended up with a lot of grease (I may have put a little too much) so I just took a paper towel and dabbed the excess grease off and put them back under for a while to start to brown the cheese slightly.  Now for the conversion…. I don’t know why but I was having a heck of a time to figuring it out, so I just bought an 8oz block of gruyere and used most of it, and eyeballed everything.  I didn’t even bother measuring the ham and just used about 5-6 slices per sandwich.  For the bread I used a nice large sourdough loaf already cut into slices from the store and used the middle (largest) slices.  Finally the recipe called for shichimi togarashi at the end (listed as optional) and I assumed it was some sort of hot sauce or spice but had no idea so I left it off, so I can’t comment on that addition.

 

Serves : 2                

Ingredients :

• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. all purpose flour
• 1 C. skim milk
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf ( I only now realize I forgot this entirely, but I guess it wasn’t necessary for a good result)
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 4 slices firm white sandwich bread
• 100 g. sliced gruyere (I used about 4oz. grated)
• 100 g. thinly sliced ham of your choice (I used about 10-12 slices)
• 1 T. melted butter
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh chives
• Dash of shichimi togarashi (optional)

Directions :

1. Assemble sandwiches with half the sliced gruyere (or in my case grated) and ham each and brush with melted butter (I actually used spray butter).  Heat a non-stick large skillet over medium-high heat and cook sandwiches until deep golden on both sides.  Set on a baking sheet and start your sauce.
2. In a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat (see notes above).  Add in your garlic and stir around until fragrant.  Add flour and stir to work out any clumps, watching closely so it doesn’t burn for about a minute.  Slowly pour in milk whisking the entire time to avoid clumping.  Once all the milk is in stir in nutmeg and add your bay leaf.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Continue whisking the entire time, and allow sauce to thicken; about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat broiler.  Spoon sauce over tops of sandwiches and top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.  Place under broiler and allow cheese to melt and start to brown a little.  Serve with chopped chives and shichimi togarashi on top.

Recipe from sushi bytes

 

 

Crockpot Chalupas

It has been a busy week with being sick, appointments/activities for the kids, and hurting my back but I am finally getting the recipe up for dinner last Friday.  I don’t often cook with my crockpot, but when I do I always love how easy it is, and how great my house smells all day.  I should use it more, but I have this weird fear about actually leaving my house while it’s on, which is silly since that is kind of the point of a crockpot…. being able to start something in the morning/early afternoon, going about your day and having it ready for dinner.  Anyway, this dish definitely delivered on being easy and smelling great.  I didn’t think it delivered quite as well on taste however.  It wasn’t bad, I just wanted MORE flavor/spice I think.

We served ours with sour cream, cheese, and a little lettuce on top originally, and as I said it was just a little bland for my tastes.  But after I was done as I was discussing it with Jeff I had the idea to put a little salsa on top so I tried a little that way and it was AWESOME.  So with that little addition this ends up being a keeper afterall.  Additionally I would have added more spices and salt and pepper to the crockpot too.

I did have a little trouble with the beans… even after the 8.5 hours of cook time I felt they were a little on the firm side.  We were rather hungry so they were good enough lol, but I would have liked them to have gotten a little softer.  It was my first time cooking with dry beans, and sadly wasn’t convincing enough for me to want to do it again any time soon.  I wonder if you could get away with canned beans for this, or if the long cook time would result in them becoming too soft.  I also hadn’t used pork shoulder before, as pork isn’t something I cook with often.  Being as picky as I am about fat and the chewy parts it was kind of a hassle to clean them up when I got the shredding part, but not impossible, and likely most people would have left a lot of what I took out.  One more thing… I did end up putting a little more water in (maybe a half a cup) during the cooking process because I wanted to keep the meat and beans submerged as best I could, so towards the end when it was looking a little too liquid I just took the lid off during the cooktime for a while.

 

Serves : 12                Time to make : about 8.5 hours total

Ingredients :

• 1 lb pork shoulder
• 1 (15 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 lb. dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz. light beer
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 T. taco seasoning
• generous pinch or two of salt
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 C. shredded cheese
• 12+ flour tortillas (we used medium sized and filled them a little fuller so only got about 6-8)

Directions :

1. Place pork shoulder in crockpot and cover with beans, tomatoes, beer, jalapenos, garlic, spices, and water.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 without opening the lid as that adds to the cook time.
2. Remove lid and shred pork shoulder with two forks, this can be done in the crockpot or on a plate and put back in.  If it’s too runny cook a bit longer with the lid off, and if it’s dry add a little more water.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook another 30 minutes with the lid on until cheese has melted.
4. Meanwhile preheat broiler.  Place tortillas directly on your oven racks and bake for a couple minutes just until golden brown before flipping and repeating on other side.  Watch closely as they can burn quickly.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Top each with your pork and bean mixture and sour cream.  (see additional topping options above)

Recipe from pinch of yum

Stromboli

Emeril Lagasse really knows what he’s doing!  This all comes from him, from the homemade dough to the finished product, and though it’s labor intensive it is SO worth it.  Not only is it beautiful to look at, and would certainly wow anybody you served this to, but it tastes amazing with all the peppers, onion, meats, olives and cheese!  Plus the dough is seriously awesome, and is a dream to work with.

If, like me, you have always been afraid to make your own pizza crust I strongly suggest you just take the plunge and try this recipe.  It was very simple to make, and as I mentioned it was absolutely amazing to work with when forming the stromboli and pizza.  I actually made two batches of the dough because I had first thought that I might have gotten it a bit dry as I was having to add flour to my surface during the kneading process.  So for the second time I reserved a little (about 1/4 cup) of the initial 3 cups and used that during the kneading instead.  They both turned out fantastic though, and I used half of the first batch on a pizza for my son and froze the rest.  It is nice and airy/soft, but gets a good crunch on the ends where it brown.  Seriously probably the best homemade pizza I have ever had as far as crust is concerned.  I usually use frozen store bought dough, or Pilsbury dough, or even a pre-made crust.  The frozen stuff usually results in a good enough crust, but not only do you have to remember to thaw it out first, but ones I have tried have been a bear to roll out and take forever to actually get to the point where they won’t just shrink back up on me.  This dough took 2 minutes tops each time.

You could certainly adjust the fillings to your tastes, but the combination Emeril creates for this recipe is perfect.  I used pepperoni because the salami I had was looking a bit turned, but I my original plan was to use half and half between the two.  As I mentioned before I don’t particularly like sausage, but again it was crumbled up small enough with the fat rendered out that it didn’t bother me… except for the fennel in the particular sausage I bought lol.  I especially liked the combination of mozzarella and provolone, as well as the crispy Italian cheese blend on the top.  It called for finely grated parmesan and had I read that far ahead I would have gotten a block and done it myself, but when I read grated I assumed they meant the powdery type as I equate shredded with the other.  I definitely don’t think that would have worked though so I used some of the 4 cheese Italian shred I had on hand.  I also put a bit of course salt and fresh ground pepper on the top of the stromboli after brushing on the egg wash which really makes a nice crust.  And one last tip… when rolling it up just go slowly press down on your fillings a bit to keep them flat so you have less chance of breaking your dough.  Also try not to roll it out too thin to begin with and stick with the measurements he suggests.  Oh and I guess one more little tip I found really helped… I lined my baking sheets with foil first and then sprayed that and it really made clean-up a breeze since some of the grease escapes out the bottom.

 

Makes : 2 stromboli               Time to make :  3.5  hours total

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 C. warm water (110 degrees, important)
• 1 (1/4 oz) envelope dry active yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. + 1 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 C. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp.  salt

Stromboli:

• pizza dough as directed
• 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, crumbled and casings removed
• 1/2 C. thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2  C. thinly sliced green bell pepper
• 2 T. thinly sliced jalapeno, seeded
• 1 C. yellow onion sliced
• 2 T. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 lb. sliced ham
• 1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni or salami
• 1/2 C. sliced black olives
• 2 C. grated provolone
• 2 C. grated mozzarella
• 1 Lg. egg, beaten with 1 T. water to make an egg wash
• 1 C. finely grated Parmesan
• course salt and fresh ground pepper  (my addition)

Directions:

Dough:

1. In a large bowl combine warm water (110 degrees), yeast, sugar, and 1 T. oil by stirring together.  Then let sit without touching it for about 5 minutes until it is foamy.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Continue adding flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. (I reserved about 1/4 cup for the kneading the second time and that worked better) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured flat surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.  (If you have never kneaded dough before I suggest a quick youtube search for technique)
3. Place remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil into a large bowl and roll the ball of dough around in it until covered on all sides.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm dry place with no drafts (I placed mine in the oven with the light on) and allow to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Stromboli:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   Grease a large baking sheet and coat with non-cooking spray. (I used two medium baking dishes that would fit side by side in my oven and lined with foil before spraying each.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain the grease off.  The recipe says next to remove about a Tablespoon of grease from the pan, but I didn’t have any from my sausage so I actually added a little bit of olive oil before the next part.  Throw in your onions, peppers, and jalapenos and cook stirring often until very soft.  Add in garlic and Italian seasoning and cook about 1 minute more stirring.  Remove from heat and allow to cool (add the sausage back in as well).
3. Punch down the dough and divide in half.  On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 10×14 inches.  Spread half the cooled sausage mixture onto each rectangle leaving a 1-inch border all the way around.  Overlapping slightly, layer half of your ham next onto each stromboli, then your pepperoni or salami, olives and cheeses.  Using a pastry brush, pain the border of 1 long edge with some of your egg wash.  Starting on the opposite long side roll up your dough into a cylinder, pinching together the edges to seal.  You can sort of pinch and tuck the ends under.  Place on prepared baking sheet/s and allow to sit and rise for 20-30 minutes.
4. Brush on your egg wash to the tops of each Stromboli and if you choose so, sprinkle a bit of course salt and fresh black pepper on top now.  Bake until nearly completely golden brown all over, about 20 minutes.  Sprinkle each stromboli with parmesan cheese and return to the oven for about another 5 minutes until cheese has melted and starts to brown. 
5. Let stand 10 minutes out of the oven before slicing thickly and serving.

I couldn’t quite decide on one picture so I am going to share a few, including a quick snap from before I put the egg wash on of the assembled Stromboli.

Orecchiette with Sausage and Arugula

I wasn’t sure what I expected from this, but it definitely exceeded those expectations.  Jeff and I have a love hate relationship with tomatoes in that we like red sauces, but always opt out of fresh tomatoes on things like sandwiches and whatnot.  Seeing that there was an entire pint of tomatoes in this made me a bit nervous, but at least they were the small variety and cut up which we can sometimes deal with.  Still, there were a lot.  The great thing is that they break down a lot during the simmering process and lend their flavors to the sauce which is seriously delicious.  So, if you’re like us and don’t really like tomatoes or usually cut back on the amount stated at the very least, don’t be afraid to put them ALL in this one.

The sauce was nice and creamy, but had a sweetness to it from the wine.  I used a moscato because it’s what I had but the recipe didn’t state anything other than “white” wine.  The recipe recommended putting some of the pasta water into the sauce, but I really didn’t need to.  I did spoon the orecchiette into the sauce though and bits of water went along with that so maybe that was just enough.  It’s just one of those things you’ll have to judge based on  how thick your sauce is by the end.  The original recipe also called for turkey sausage, to result in a lighter dish, but I just went with some of the meat counter Italian sausage at my local grocery store that was likely pork.  I personally don’t even like sausage… something about the chewy texture, but in this it honestly didn’t bother me at all since it was broken up into pieces.  This is nice and hearty and I think would easily serve 4 people for a main course, but the recipe stated 3.  If you can’t find arugula you could easily substitute spinach instead, but for those not familiar with Arugula it has an almost peppery taste which is a nice addition to this meal.  I would check in the salads and spinach section of your grocery store.  I got mine in a big plastic container.

serves : 3-4               Time to make : 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Orecchiette pasta
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. Italian sausage (cut back calories and use turkey sausage if you prefer)
• 2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup half and half cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups Arugula
• freshly grated pecorino romano to serve

Directions :

1. Put water in a large pot over medium-high heat and allow to come to a boil.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook onions until soft and starting to brown.  Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant before adding your sausage.  Cook until browned; about 5-6 minutes.  You want to crumble the sausage up to manageable bite size pieces.  Add tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes stirring gently so as not to break up the tomatoes too much.  Add the wine next and allow to start bubbling in your skillet for a minute or so before adding the cream.  Allow sauce to simmer like this as you cook the pasta.
3. At this point your pasta water should be boiling and you can go ahead and throw in the Orecchiette.  Cook 10 minutes, but don’t drain because you may need some of the pasta water for your sauce.  Rather using a slotted spoon transfer the pasta to the skillet and gently toss around to coat evenly.  If the sauce if too thick add a bit of the pasta water.  Next throw in the Arugula and stir allowing to wilt.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and serve topped with the fresh grated cheese.

Recipe from skinnyluscious

Cheesy Spinach & Bacon Quesadillas

I started with a recipe tonight for these, but altered the already small ingredients list enough times that I think it is no longer the same recipe, so I will just share mine instead.  I was sort of concerned before making these that not only would there not be enough filling for each quesadilla (compared to past quesadillas we’ve made), but that we’d be hungry still after eating them as our dinner tonight.  It’s a fine line some nights to come up with a dish that is low enough in calories for my dietary needs while still being filling, but also high enough and filling for my husband as well who gets a lot more calories a day than me.  Quesadillas are a pretty light meal in general, but just looking at the ingredient amounts I was concerned these would be even more so.  It turns out that I was wrong, and these were more than satisfying.  I actually started to feel pretty satisfied after one to tell you the truth, but I managed to eat that second one somehow lol.

The flavor on these is awesome.  The little bit of heat from the tortillas, matched with the creamy smoked flavor of the cheese, and the sweet smokey bacon and fresh spinach is just perfect.  I think serving these with a bit of sour cream would be even better, but it’s definitely not necessary if you are hoping to keep the calories down.

I want to take just a moment to talk about the bacon…. if you have never cooked your bacon in the oven you don’t know what you’re missing!  Not only is there no splatter of oil to clean up and ruin your clothes or burn you, but each piece is perfectly done with ease, and stays nice and straight and looks amazing!  Thick cut bacon works best, but you can certainly do it with any bacon you have.  You just have to watch it closely because the time in which is crisps happens so quickly.  I am going to go ahead and say every oven is different, and so is every bacon so there is no cut and dry temperature/time combo that will work best, but I will list what I used tonight as a guideline to get you started and you’ll just have to try it for yourself to find out what works best in your oven.

Serves : 2-4                            Time to make : 10 minutes (not including bacon preparation time)

Ingredients :

• 4 Jalapeno Cheddar Tortillas (they are large and the brand is Mission)
• 3 oz. nonfat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded gouda
• 8 strips of thick cut bacon, crispy
• 1 cup of fresh baby spinach (or basically a large handful)

Directions :

1. First make your bacon… either in the skillet if you prefer, or in the oven as mentioned above.  To make it in the oven line a large cookie (with sides) with foil and place a rack on top.  The foil should come up the sides a bit to catch all your grease for easy cleanup.  Spray rack a bit with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay bacon on rack making sure not to overlap them for the best results.  Bake in a 350 degree oven (not preheated) for about 25-30 minutes or until done, paying close attention starting around 15 minutes and flipping them once or twice for even crisping.
2. Once bacon is done, combine the cream cheese and gouda in a small microwave safe bowl and heat for about a minute until melted stirring about halfway through.  Watch closely so it doesn’t burn or anything, but it should be fine as long as you stirred it.  You’ll end up with a sort of sticky, ball of cheese rather than a truly melted sauce.
3. Split the cheese among the four tortillas and spread on one half of each.  Next layer on the bacon.
4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add about a T. of water and throw in the spinach stirring gently.  Cook just until it has wilted down a bit, and then remove it.  Layer that into your quesadillas last before folding them over into half circles.
5. Wipe out any moisture in your skillet left from the spinach and spray with a bit of non-stick cooking spray.  Heat over medium-high heat and then cook your quesadillas in there either one at a time, or if you are brave and have a large skillet go for two at a time but it will make it harder to flip them.  Again, watch closely because once they start to brown they will burn fast if you aren’t careful.  It will probably only take a minute or so for the first side to brown up and start to get crispy, then flip it and cook the other side.  Note: the other side will brown even faster so pay attention.
6. Cut in half and serve warm.  Optional to serve with a bit of sour cream as well.

Cheddar Mac & Ham Casserole

If that doesn’t scream comfort food I don’t know what does!  Chances are you already have to make Mac and Cheese at least once a week for your little ones, but if you have to eat it I say you should at least enjoy it.  I am not a fan of Mac and Cheese by itself, but I LOVE it like this.  Most shocking thing of all though is how low calorie this recipe is…. relative to how much you can eat at least!  I am going to make myself sound like a pig, but when I make this I portion it into three servings.  So for an entire third of a casserole it’s only about 600 calories!  That’s a heaping plate full of cheesey, yummy goodness!

I think I came across this recipe on a site called Key Ingredient, which for those that aren’t familiar, is a recipe sharing site that goes along with the Demy (an electronic recipe reader).  The only thing I have changed from the original recipe was to pre-cook the ham a bit because I don’t care for the fatty chewy parts and that eliminates the issue.  I have tried this with an alfredo type Mac and Cheese and it was also VERY good, but normally I stick to the four cheese like it calls for.  When I am not counting calories I eyeball the ham and cheese and probably end up with more than it calls for, but it is great either way.  I also often put a little more peas than it calls for, but I figure that is actually healthier.  As for the ham… it calls for a half lb, but every time I go to the store and ask the deli counter for half a lb cut thick (sometimes I buy a ham steak from the meat section too) they end up giving me closer to 3/4-1 lb and I just throw it all in if I am not worried about the extra calories that day.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this one, and think it will easily become a regular in your dinner rotation.

Serves : 3-4                       Time to make : 25 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 (14 oz) box of 4 cheese Deluxe Mac & Cheese
• 1/2 lb Ham, cubed
• 1 C. frozen peas (I use more like 1.5 cups)
• 1/2 cup fat free milk (or whatever you have)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Also start a large pot of water to boiling.
2. Meanwhile cook the ham in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes.  I find this not only eliminates the chewy parts of the ham, but it just adds more depth to the flavor so I suggest you don’t skip this step.  I usually add just a tad bit of water (like a T.) towards the end of the cook time to the skillet to help get up some of the browned bits in the pan and keep it moist and flavorful.  Set aside.
3. Once water is boiling add your pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes.  Drain pasta then add the cheese packet and stir until well combined. 
4. Next add the milk, peas, and ham.
5. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle cheese over top.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Day 113 : Ham Steaks with Pineapple Salsa & Chipotle Oven Fries

Happy Easter everyone!  Today was a great day.  Perrin woke us up this morning, super excited because the Easter Bunny had come while he was sleeping.  Then we spent the morning hiding eggs and playing with the kids’ new playhouse (an Easter gift from us).  The weather was FINALLY warm and sunny, and just perfect.  We went for a family walk, played in the yard and even got to fire up the grill!  I’m just sad to see the day end.

Dinner tonight was awesome to say the least.   We’ve had the ham before, and it is so good, especially for how simple it is.  The fries are a method I use often, but today I changed things up a bit and bought some tiny yellow potatoes and used chipotle and smoked paprika on them which was a nice combo and went well with the bit of heat from the pineapple salsa.  Not pictured here, I also made an Angel Lush Pineapple Cake with Strawberries and we had corn on the cob.  It really was a feast lol.  We even got the corn that is part yellow, part white which I think is the best, and it was grilled to perfection tonight.  (We leave it in the husk and just put some butter in that and wrap the entire thing in foil and toss it on the grill)

For the ham, I like to just hit up the deli section and ask them to cut it rather thick.  It’s usually thicker than their largest size based on the little thing they have to choose from, but I find most of them are ok with making it a little bigger upon request.  You could of course buy a ham and slice your own or whatever.  The recipe normally calls for crushed pineapple, but I really think there is a major difference in flavor between canned and fresh pineapple and if I have the option I will always go for fresh!

Ham Steaks with Pineapple Salsa

Serves : 4                 Time to make : 20 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1.5 lbs of ham, sliced thick (you should get 4 slices about 1/2 inch thick or so)
• 1 cup fresh diced pineapple
• 2 tsp. jalapeno, diced (remove seeds if you want to make it less spicy)
• 1 T. fresh cliantro, chopped
• 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 T. orange marmalade

Directions :

1. Combine everything but the ham in a small bowl and mix together.  Set aside or make ahead and chill. (The longer it chills the more the flavors will marry together)
2. Grill your ham slices until heated through and you get good grill marks on both sides (about 10-12 minutes).
3. Serve with salsa on top.

Chipotle Oven Fries

Serves : 2-3          Time to make : 35-40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 lb potatoes, washed and cut into wedges of similar size.   I like to use small reds or yellows because they are easy to prepare and roast well.
• olive oil, enough to drizzle over potatoes
• salt & pepper
• chipotle seasoning
• smoked paprika

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Arrange wedges on foil in single layer and drizzle olive oil over all of them.  You don’t have to drown them, but it’s ok to be a little generous.  The oil really helps them to brown and roast up.
3. Season with salt and pepper.  I like to use a course salt for this and fresh ground pepper.
4. Season with chipotle seasoning and smoked paprika to taste.  Using your hands mix them all up and spread the oil/seasonings all over them.
5. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until tender and browned.