Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Ranch and BBQ Sauce

It goes without saying that pizza is a favorite in our home, especially with a teenager who swears she could live on pizza alone!   I still use the ultra-easy pizza crust I shared a while back, and if you haven’t tried it yet you really should!  Homemade pizza in less time then it takes for delivery, can’t go wrong there.  So this weekend I wanted to bake up a pizza, but didn’t have and of the “usual” toppings on hand.  I was determined though, and then remembered my daughter saying something about a buffalo chicken pizza a while back….and I just happen to have the ingredients on hand!  Well, close enough anyways

So here is what I came up with, which is now a new favorite in the house!  I actually made this pizza 3 times this week (I swear I thought it was only twice!), and here is my favorite version.  Please keep in mind measurements a bit approximate, but the recipe is very forgiving, and don’t let the short list of ingredients fool you, it’s good.  And just a little disclaimer, I’ve never had buffalo chicken pizza before, but my hubby and daughter have and they say it tastes just as good as the restaurant’s.  YUM for less then half the price, gotta love it.

 

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Ranch and BBQ Sauce-1 large pizza

• 1 large pizza crust-store bought or homemade
• 1 chicken breast-cubed and seasoned with a little Lawry’s or poultry seasoning salt
• your preferred hot sauce-like buffalo wing sauce, Louisiana Hot sauce or Tapatio Mexican hot sauce (this is what I used)
• generous 1/3 cup ranch dressing
• 3 TBLS sweet BBQ sauce-I used Baby Ray’s
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups mozzarella cheese-shredded

Directions:

• Prep the pizza crust as you normally would and pre-heat the oven to the temp needed.
• Over medium heat, cook the chicken breast until it is almost done, then add in as much hot sauce as you think you can handle for the last couple of minutes.  Once the chicken is fully cooked, turn off the heat and add in the ranch dressing and BBQ sauce.
• Spread the chicken mixture evenly over the crust, top with cheese, and cook in the oven until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown.
• Serve with extra ranch and BBQ sauce if desired.

Chinese Take-out “Cashew Chicken” in no time!

A picture of the Cashew Chicken dish taken directly from www.onceuponachef.com

Wow, it’s been a while since my last post!  It has been a crazy few weeks, with all of trying to enjoy the last bits of summer before school started, which was today!  Now that we are adjusting back to the “school schedule” that also means earlier dinners, as during the summer we sometimes do not eat until 8pm, which is way too late for the little ones as they are in bed by 9pm.  So I wanted to start the school year off in the right direction, which includes and nice home cooked dinner and not frozen pizza, lol!  I’ve had this recipe for Cashew Chicken in my “must try” pile ever since Jennifer (the author of the www.onceuponachef.com) posted it.  Boy, am I sorry I waited so long!  It came together so fast and was delicious, even with the omitted ingredients and substitutions I had to make due to what we had available to work with.

I ended up omitting the cashews and green onions as we didn’t have them, and I had to sub in white vinegar for the rice wine vinegar.  I served this with plain steamed broccoli, which was a wonderful compliment to this dish as it is quite saucy and flavorful already   Oh, and if you happen to like your sauce thick and sticky, just remove the chicken once it is fully cooked and continue to cook the sauce on it’s own.  It will reduce down to a thicker consistency in just a couple minutes, then you can add the chicken back in to re-warm it.

Enjoy!

To-Die-For Homemade Peanut Buster Parfait Sundaes!

Totally NOT my picture (as we wolfed ours down before I even thought of taking a pic!), but you get the idea....

Seriously, our family is not good news for Dairy Queen.  We’ve made delicious homemade copycat Blizzards and now AWESOME copycat Peanut Buster Parfaits, my husband says it’s so much better then the commercial version!  I owe this one all to my youngest daughter, as she was having a craving for hot fudge sundae’s and wanted me to take her to Dairy Queen, the only ice cream place for miles.  Well you know me….the first (and really only)  though that went though my head was “gee, how hard could making hot fudge sauce really be??”  So I grabbed a recipe with good reviews and 5 minutes later was rewarded with a sundae that totally hit the spot!

It was thick, gooey, and rich…which then made me crave caramel sauce too, lol.  And how can you beat the financial savings, right?!?

Super easy, fast and delicious, with just a little deviating from the original recipe simply due to what we had on hand to use.  I’m sure either one would turn out great, but for those who are curious, here is my version:

Homemade Peanut Buster Parfait Sundaes-feeds a family:

• 1 TBLS butter
• 2 TBLS water
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBLS cocoa powder
• 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 TBLS Bakers brand melting chocolate or regular chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Lots of vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or cashews

Directions:

• On the stover over medium heat, combine the butter and water and stir until the butter is all melted.
• Add in the cocoa powder and blend as well as you can, it will be a thick paste.
• Add in the condensed milk and stir, stir, stir!  You may still see some cocoa “beads”, but just do the best you can to smoosh them out with a rubber spatula.
• Once the mixture has gotten warmed through-out and mixed as best as you can get it, add in the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir a bit more.
• Scoop some ice cream into a bowl, top with hot fudge sauce and peanuts, then enjoy!
• Any left over fudge sauce can be store in the fridge or freezer.

Creamy Potato, Cheddar & Corn Chowder with Bacon, Ham, or Chicken

Phew, that title is a mouthful, figuratively and literally!  I have to admit, I prefer my soups thick, so chowder is right up my alley!  This one is pretty simple, even though it is made with 2 pots.  The outcome is creamy, savory, hearty, and oh-so-good, just like those gourmet soups you pay an arm and a leg for!  The nice thing about this recipe is that you can tailor it to you liking by choosing the meat and veggies that go into it, as well as the thickness! This would be AWESOME served in a sourdough bread bowl!!!

The original recipe HERE calls for carrots and broccoli, but I prefer to omit both and add corn in instead.  Also, if you prefer a thinner soup you can omit step #3 (mashing the potatoes) .  We all love this so much that I always make a double batch, and even then it doesn’t last more then 2 days.  Here is my adaptation:

Creamy Potato, Cheddar & Corn Chowder with Bacon, Ham, or Chicken (serves 6-8) :

• 2 cups of water
• 2 large russet potatoes or 3-4 red potatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese-grated
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 cup diced ham, chicken, or 3-4 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon

Directions:

• In a large soup pot, combine the first 6 ingredients.  Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and gently simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender.
• Meanwhile in sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat and then add in the flour and stir.  This is your “roux”, your thickener, let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute and then slowly add in the milk.  Stir, stir, stir while you add in the milk, this will help keep the sauce smooth.  Once all of the milk is added in, continue to stir frequently until the sauce is nice and thick, this should take 5-7 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add in the cheese and continue to stir until the cheese in melted.
• By this time the potatoes should be tender.  Ladle out roughly 1/2 of the diced potatoes along with a ladle of soup water into a large bowl.  Mash the potatoes and then add it all back into the soup pot.  This helps to thicken the soup, skip this step if you want a thinner consistency.
• Add in the corn, chicken or ham (if you are doing BACON I just sprinkle some on top of each bowl before serving), and all of the milk/cheese sauce.  Give it a good stir, allow everything to heat back up and then serve.

Baked Tilapia with Parmesan Mayo and Lemon Sauce

We don’t eat a whole lot of fish other then Tilapia (or Salmon), and this happens to be one of most favorite ways to prepare it!  It’s quick, SO so easy, and so tasty, my whole family loves it!  It takes less then 20 minutes from start to finish, and by “finish” I mean ready to eat!  Serve this with a complimentary rice side dish (plain is fine too) or a hearty salad.

p.s. this tastes FANTASTIC on salmon as well!!  I add just a little extra lemon and put the sauce on a little earlier to keep the salmon from drying out.

Baked Tilapia with Parmesan Mayo and Lemon Sauce (serves 6-8)

• 8 tilapia filets, thawed
• 1-2 TBLS of melted butter
• 2 TBLS sliced green onion OR regular white onion
• 1/3 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese-packed
• 3 TBLS Hellmans or Best Foods mayonnaise
• 1 TBLS lemon juice
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning or dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste (I use about 1/4 tsp of Emeril seasoning salt)
• a few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a large cookie sheet with foil, then place the tilapia fillets on to it, without overlapping.  Place the cookie sheet in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.
3. In the meantime, mix all other ingredients in a bowl.
4. Fish should just about be done, it should be a uniform solid (opaque) white color.  If the center of the fillets still look a little pinkish or transparent, give it another 2-3 minutes.
5. When fish looks just done, take the pan out and spread the sauce on top of all the fillets.
6. Place the pan on the TOP rack and BROIL at 400 degrees for 1-2 minutes, or until sauce is nice and bubbly.
7. Serve while hot.

Alfredo Sauce made with Cream Cheese

My family loves when I make pasta with alfredo sauce, buyt I don’t make it too often just because of how bad it is for you!  I’ve skinnied it down over the years, but they always prefer the full-fat version, lol.  So a week or so ago I had a craving for it, but didn’t have any cream on hand.  however, I did remember seeing a recipe calling for cream cheese in place of the cream, and decided to give it a go!

It turned out really good!  My teenager scarfed down 2 bowls and took the rest for lunch the next day   The recipe below was inspired by Alfredo Sauce, off of recipezaar.com.  Try it with sliced chicken breast and peas, YUM!  If you do decide to add in other ingredients, just cook them ahead of time and then add them into the sauce pot the last couple minutes to heat them back up.  Honestly,  this hit the spot and I think taste as good as some restaurant versions out there.  Of course we are big fans of homemade too, so perhaps we are a little biased

Alfredo Sauce made with Cream Cheese (serves 4-6):

• 3-4 TBLS of butter
• 8 oz. of cream cheese-softened is easier
• 8 oz. of milk or half and half (I used skim milk)
• 1/3 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves-pressed
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• In a sauce pot over medium heat, add in the butter and allow it to melt completely.  Add in the pressed garlic and let it cook for about a minute, be careful not to let it burn.
• Add in the cream cheese and stir it around a little to help it melt.  Once it has softened up go ahead and add in the milk or half and half.
• Continue to stir until the sauce is well blended, then add in the Parmesan cheese then salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve while hot over your favorite noodles.

Homemade Ice Cream “Blizzards” on the cheap!

Well, it’s warming up over here in MN, and by that I mean in the 60′s (haha), so of course our minds and tastebuds turn towards ice cream. And really, besides a Coldstone creation the next best mainstream ice cream fare that we love are Dairy Queen Blizzards. But, with 5 of us and Blizzards being at least $3 each…that treat doesn’t come too often. And of course I’m not one to feel left out just because of a lack of spending money, I decided to re-create them at home.

Looking online I quickly found the “original” recipe, or so it’s called, though I didn’t follow it exactly, but I rarely do, right? So here is what we found that works and is super easy, fast, and CHEAP. Did I mention cheap?? I mean, for the price of 2 small Blizzards I can buy a large pail of ice cream! Oh, and sorry for the lack of a picture, but we just ate them up too fast to even think about taking a snapshot!

So here is how I make them along with a couple tips, enjoy!

Single Serve Blizzard Ice Cream Treat:

• 2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream
• 1 TBLS of milk OR 1 TBLS of chocolate syrup and 1/2 TBLS of milk
• a couple drops of extract (optional)-this might be good for a tropical blizzard, maybe a touch of coconut extract?
• your favorite mix-ins-chopped up candy pieces, brownie chunks, nuts, chocolate chips, frozen cake, fruit, etc…

Directions:

• Put the ice cream in a tall cup. You could use a bowl as well, but I find the cup works best as the ice cream doesn’t have much room for “escape” or sliding around.
• Add the milk and chocolate syrup, if you are using it. Take a large and strong spoon (one that won’t bend) and start working the milk and chocolate syrup into the ice cream. You know, smooth it, stab at it, stir it. I like my Blizzards really thick, so I try to work fast and don’t add too much milk. If you like yours a little softer/thinner you can add more milk.
• When the ice cream is almost how you want it, put in all of your mix-ins and stir until just blended. ALL DONE!!
• If the mix is too soft for you, just pop it in the freezer for 30-40 minutes or so and re-mix quickly before enjoying.

Easy 1-Bowl Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

Ever since I tried this at Cracker Barrel I’ve wanted to try duplicating it at home, it really was the favorite part of my breakfast meal. It goes well with any meal where you would serve potatoes, even along side a juicy steak! This comes together fast in one large mixing bowl and can be pre-mixed a day ahead, just store in the fridge until you are ready to slip it into the oven. If you want it creamier and richer, replace 1-2 TBLS of sour cream with an equal amount of softened cream cheese (a little goes a long way towards creaminess, so don’t go too crazy!).

This dish has now become a tradition in our home whenever we are having special breakfast or brunch, my daughter even has this on the “menu” for one of her birthday meals.  And I say “one” because she has all 3 meals planned out, haha.

Tip: If you shop at Sam’s Club, pick up a big bag of hash browns there and weight out the 18oz. Otherwise you can use the normal 16oz. bags from your normal grocer and just omit a little bit of the soup.

1-Bowl Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (serves 6-8 people):

• 18 oz. frozen hashbrowns
• scant 1/4 cup of finely diced onions
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
• 1 packed cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 8 pan and set aside (if you use a larger pan just reduce the cooking time).
• In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients and mix well using a large rubber spatula.  At first it will seem like there are too many hash browns and not enough “wet” mix, but just keep mixing, using the back of the spatula to press or “smoosh” it all together.  Soon it will resemble one big mound of potatoes.
• Press the mix into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until nice and hot.  Serve immediately.

Awesome Meatballs for Subs and Spaghetti!

photo submitted to recipezaar by "Caroline Cooks"

Spaghetti is a popular yet complicated dish in our household, as between the 5 of us we can never seem to get it to where everyone is happy with it! The sauce is too tart, too tomato chunks, meatballs not meat sauce, and the list goes on. Honestly, it’s one of the very few staple dishes I keep taking a stab at, as I REALLY want Spaghetti to work out for all of us because I love it myself!

So this past week I gave it another go, having finally found a sauce that everyone seems satisfied with (a store bought version that I do a lot of doctoring to) and I wanted to add in some great meatballs. Not just any meatballs, but GREAT ones…ones that you “write home about”. I of course went to recipezaar (where else do I go, right?) and searched for “Italian Meatballs” and decided to try the highest rated recipe, Kittencal’s Famous Italian Melt In Your Mouth Meatballs.

So I gave it a try….and WOW, these were yummy!! They key to making these taste great is to cook them IN the sauce itself, from it’s raw state. They are so flavorful, just the right degree of tenderness, and would be awesome in meatball subs! If you are doing subs try using a canned spaghetti sauce, as it will thicken well and get a bold “tomato-y” taste. The thick sauce will hold up well on the bread and be bold enough in flavor that you won’t have to add too much.

Just a quick word of caution…these dissapear fast! My younger daughter never really cares much for meat or meatballs, but this time around that is ALL she want to eat, forget the noodles! Also, if you find your sauce has become too concentrated, just add back in some of the water that evaporated during the cooking process. I followed the recipe exactly except used a fresh slice of chopped bread and Italian Seasoning, as I didn’t have bread crumbs or Oregano & Parsley on hand.

So we are getting pretty close to finding a recipe that everyone likes! We all love the meatballs, spaghetti noodles “daddy’s way”, which is a good dose of lemon pepper, Italian Seasoning and shredded Muenster cheese, and we are getting darn close on the sauce (that’s a secret for another day). Honestly, with our personal touches and these awesome meatballs I think ours comes out tasting just as good, if not better, then the restaurant versions. Give this a try with your favorite sauce, you won’t be disappointed!

MMM…Funnel Cakes at home!

I’m *almost* ashamed to admit this, but I’ve NEVER had a funnel cake before, even though they seem to be a staple “theme park” *& “fair food” here in MN. Oh, I’ve stared longingly at the Funnel Cake booths numerous times, but just never got around to purchasing one. So my hunt actually started out as one for a good donut recipe, but I quickly realized that the kind I like are the fluffy yeast donuts and those require something I am not very fond of….rising time. Twice to be exact, which is just not *instant gratification* enough for me. I mean, I would have to REALLY like what I was making to wait for it to rise twice. Just as I was about to lose hope and throw in the towel, I remembered FUNNEL CAKES! Something I’ve always wanted to try and really, how much time could it take, right? I mean, it fried batter topped with gobs of powdered sugar for goodness sake! Plus, so much CHEAPER to make your own.

I’ve made them twice now, and have to preface this with a reminder that I have *nothing* to compare these to, as I’ve never had a Funnel Cake before. But in my humble opinion, these turned out quite delicious and so easy. Plus, you can keep the leftover batter (leftover, haha) in the fridge and just pipe some out whenever you want a quick treat. Oh, and if you don’t have a funnel don’t worry, I don’t either and just used a ziploc bag with the corner cut off.

Lastly, you can make these turn out 2 different ways:

• Light, crisp, and airy: cook them until golden brown on each side and use 1/3 cup cream and 2/3 cup water.
• Slightly crisp and a little more dense/doughy (how I like it): cook until lightly brown on each side and use 1/3 cup cream and just over 1/2 cup water.

Homemade Funnel Cakes Recipe (makes approx. 1/2 dozen 6 inch round cakes):

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (please see note above)
• generous 1/2 cup of water (please see note above)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 TBLS of sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• powdered sugar, jam, chocolate syrup or cool whip for toppings
• cooking oil for frying

Directions:

• Heat roughly 1/2 inch of oil in medium sized pan or pot, making sure it is a bit larger then the size cakes you want to make.
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg, cream, vanilla and water together in a large bowl and then set aside.
• In a different bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt, then combine it with the liquid and mix well. The batter should be fairly thick, a little stiffer then pancake batter.
• Pour the batter into a quart sized ziploc bag and seal it up. Set the bag upside down (sealed side on the bottom) in a bowl and snip off a corner with a scissor, just under a 1/2 inch wide.
• Test the oil by putting a drop of batter in, if it starts sizzling/cooking right away then it’s ready. If it gets browned almost instantly then the oil is too hot.
• Make sure to pipe the batter fairly close to the oil to prevent splattering. Starting from the center, pipe the batter in a swirl design (circles) until it is roughly 5-6 inches round.
• Allow the cake to cook to your desired consistency (see notes above) and then flip it over to finish cooking. Once it’s done place it on a parer towel lined plate to absorb the extra oil (I pat it down as well to get even more oil out) and then top with desired topping and enjoy while warm.