Stromboli

I made this as an appetizer for the 'S' party. What I have listed is enough for two Stromboli. If you're not feeding an army, just cut everything in half and make this for dinner - yumm! Of course what I have listed for the filling is ridiculous; you don't need all of that, so just use what you like:)

Ingredients

• 2 cans Pillsbury pizza crusts
• 1 bag shredded mozzarella/provolone or any Italian style cheese blend shredded parmesan cheese (not the stuff that comes powdered)
• 1 tube Bob Evan’s Italian sausage
• ¼ pound salami
• ¼ pound ham
• pepperoni
• ¼ green pepper
• ¼ red pepper
• ¼ yellow or orange pepper
• ¼ large onion (white or red)
• Black olives sliced (optional)
• 1 jalapeño diced(you can use jarred just dice the rings until you have about a tablespoon +)
• 2 banana peppers diced (use the jarred ones – rings or whole 1-2 tablespoons)
• Fresh garlic (5-6 cloves chopped)
• Italian Seasoning (tbls plus)
• Crushed red pepper (about ¼ teasp – more if you like it a little hot)
• Pepper (about ¼ teasp – more if you like)
• Garlic salt (about ¼ teasp)
• Corn meal (or flour)
• 1 egg with 2 tbls water (create an egg wash)

Directions

• Pre-heat oven according to direction on can of pizza crust
• Prep meat and veg
• In a pre-heated skillet, over medium heat, brown Italian sausage with three cloves chopped or minced garlic
• Meanwhile slice the pepper and onion quarters into thin strips, and chop up more garlic and banana and jalapeno peppers
• When meat is done cooking, remove from skillet and drain on paper towels
• In the same skillet toss all peppers (including jalapeno and banana), onions and 2-3 more cloves garlic with crushed red pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning(palm-full plus), and pepper (to taste) – sauté until tender – (you should probably taste them to see if the seasoning is okay and adjust if you need to)

Assemble stromboli

• Spread out each dough on a flat surface and stretch out until it would be large enough to fit on a rectangular baking sheet – sprinkle lightly with corn meal or flour
• Because you are going to be rolling the stromboli you only want to pile toppings on one side and leave about an inch border on the short sides, and two inches on the long side so you can seal it
• On one of the long sides of the crust– starting about an inch from the edge place half of the sausage, sprinkle with Italian cheese mix (save the parmesan for later), layer half of veg on top of cheese, sprinkle veg with another layer of cheese, cover with salami, pepperoni, another layer of cheese, and top with ham (and more cheese if you like)
• Brush the entire border of the pizza dough with egg wash
• Lightly pull the 2 inch border, on the long side, closest to the filling up and over the filling and begin rolling it towards the opposite side creating a long cylinder shape.
• As you roll, pinch the sides together, sealing the crust along the edges
• Repeat with the other pizza dough
• Once you have the two stromboli assembled – transfer to a baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle lightly with Italian seasoning, garlic salt and corn meal (or flour)
• Bake for 25 minutes (or until crust looks done and lightly brown)
• Sprinkle the tops with about a handful of parmesan and bake until cheese on top melts
• Slice and serve with marinara or pizza sauce
  
  Note: the filling can be pretty much anything you want – if you don’t want all those vegetables just leave them out…
  
  Lower Fat option: substitute turkey for the ham and salami and use turkey sausage or turkey kielbasa (add Italian seasoning while browning) and turkey pepperoni – along with the 2% or fat free cheeses – or go entirely meat free and just fill it up with all vegetables and a can of diced tomatoes in Italian seasoning (drain off juice first) – you should still sautee all vegetables first in the tomatoes to thicken the tomatoes a little

Mema's Chicken and Dumplings (sort of)

Mema makes the best chicken and dumplings, but every time I tried to make it, it didn't taste the same. I only have to add about 5 ingredients to get it to taste half as good as hers! If you use a chicken with the skin on and the bone it tastes a million times better - just be sure to skim some of the fat off the top. I love to serve this with a can of peas warmed separately and spooned on top.

(The ingredients in parenthesis are optional ingredients that I added)

The chicken part
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken boneless/skinless breasts - salt and pepper
- Carrots chopped - half a small bag
- Celery chopped – three ribs
- (1 medium white onion chopped)
- Chicken bouillon -2 cubes crushed - or 1 tablespoon chicken base
- (Kosher Salt – to taste)
- (Pepper – to taste)
- (1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- (2 bay leaves)

In large pot, combine all above ingredients, add water until all ingredients are covered. Cook on stove top for about an hour. After one hour, pull out chicken and vegetables, discard bay leaves (if you used them) and put aside. Pull or cut chicken apart. Keep broth.

Prepare dumplings

The dumpling part
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
- 2 cups flour
- ¾ cups Crisco shortening
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt

Combine ¾ cup milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, Crisco, baking soda and salt until crumbly. Add milk/vinegar and stir until mixture comes together. On a floured surface push out dough until about 1 inch thick.

Bring broth to boil. Pinch off dough and drop into boiling broth, add excess flour and stir together. Add chicken pieces and vegetables and stir. Cook for about 10-15 more minutes. (Optional – add white and black pepper to taste)

Weekend Slow Cooker Irish Stew

I would say this particular recipe would be most suitable for the weekend because it requires a little bit more work than just tossing it in the slow cooker. I came up with this after looking at a number of different recipes, and I think it turned out pretty good. The Guinness and Jameson give it a very rich flavor, and the combination of spice and flavor create an aromatic experience that fills the whole house. If you make this with lamb, be sure to call your butcher ahead of time, as it is not something that our local butcher carries on a regular basis. We ended up purchasing a 5.5 pounder and froze half of it. I really liked working with lamb for the first time, the color and texture were amazing and the flavor was out of this world. One of the things I debated was slow cooking this all day with quick cooking tapioca to create more of a gravy or adding in a roux at the end; I opted for the roux, and thought that the thickness of the "gravy" was a little thin, but I kind of liked it that way. My cousin Amanda made some "champ" and Irish soda bread...the stew was great served over the champ. Hopefully she'll post links to those two recipes on here!

Don't forget to use those slow cooker bags! It seriously saves time in clean up! As ususal when I make up recipes I just dump stuff in, I'll give you my best guess for measurements.

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 pounds bonlessl lamb- trimmed of fat and cut into bite sized pieces
• olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups carrot chopped
• 3 ribs celery - with celery leaves if possible!
• 2 med. yellow onions quartered
• 6 cloves garlic -minced
• 1.5 pounds new potatoes quartered
• 1 shot Jameson whiskey
• 1 bottle Guinness
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon (+) thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour

Directions:

• Liberally salt and pepper the lamb and sprinkle with thyme
• In a large heavy skillet heat olive oil and brown the lamb on all sides
• place all vegetables, bay leaves, and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and thyme
• When lamb is finished browning, remove from skillet and add to slow cooker. Drain fat from skillet and return to heat.
• Add Jameson to the skillet and use it to lift any lamb bits off the bottom of the pan, add Guinness, beef broth, Worcestershire, tomato paste, sugar, tomato paste, thyme, and salt/pepper to taste - bring to a boil
• Pour the beer, whiskey and broth mixture over the lamb and vegetables in the slow cooker and stir to combine
• Slow cook on low for 8-9 hours (or longer)
• About 30 minutes before serving, begin making the roux
• melt about 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet and add 2 tablespoons flour - stir with wooden spoon until medium brown in color
• Stir the roux into the slow cooker and allow to cook for at least 10 more minutes
• Serve in bowls or over mashed potatoes (or Amanda's champ!)

Yummy Spinach Quesadillas

Beau and I just tried these tonight - HOLY YUM! We found the recipe in Vegetarian Suppers by Deborah Madison. They were super quick and easy to make. I would recommend you try them out when you have a craving for Applebee's.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Small Onion
1 red or green jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
Mexican oregano
1/2 lb spinach leaves without stems
salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 whole wheat tortillas
1/3 cup of Monterary Jck Cheese
Salsa and Sour Cream

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the onion, chile and oregano. Cook until onion is translucent, then add spinach. Sprinkle with some salt and cook until wilted. Stir in cilantro.
2. Using 2 skillets warms one tortilla in each, flipping them over so both sides get hot. Scatter cheese, and spinach mixture over one and the cover with second tortilla. Cook until bottom tortilla is crisp then flip and cook on second side.
3. Cut finished tortillas with pizza cutter and serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

This recipe makes 2 to 3 servings. However, if you have someone like Beau, expect them not to share.

Happy Eating