Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Long time no post! It’s been over a month since I have posted last, and I can’t promise any more regularity. I don’t cook very often, as we live with Brandon’s family at the moment. I had started the blog as a catch all for recipes, (wedding) craft stuff, fashion, etc. However, I don’t do… any of that stuff anymore. I had to leave my job during the move, and despite my hardest efforts, I haven’t been able to get hired anywhere yet. So I don’t even get out of my PJs most days.

But! I did get a craving for my mom’s stuffed mushrooms this weekend. I hate crab and when I think about portabella mushrooms for too long I get sick (even though I love mushrooms), so I obviously have to be in a specific mood for these mushrooms. I spent way too much on the ingredients because I must live in a food desert now, and I ended up throwing most of them away because one woman can only eat so many stuffed mushrooms! But this is a treasured recipe, so I have to share it!

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

You’ll need:

• 1-2 packages of portabella mushrooms ( I use the baby bella size)
• 1 package of imitation diced crab
• 1 block cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• Handful of parmesan cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons dill weed

You will:

• Set the oven to 350 degrees
• Put softened cream cheese in a bowl and mix it up
• De-stem and use a damp paper towel to wipe off the mushrooms. Don’t rinse them under water!
• Get a cookie sheet or a cake pan handy. I always put my destemed and cleaned mushrooms on the cookie sheet while I prep!
• Keep a few stems and dice them finely, adding them to the cream cheese in the bowl
• Add the mozzarella cheese, onion and dill into the bowl
• Dice the crab as small as you can/want and then add it to the bowl
• Mix everything together
• Fill the mushrooms with heaping spoonfuls of the mixture
• Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over top of the mushrooms
• Once all the mushrooms are on the cookie sheet and filled, pour a tiny bit of water along the bottom of the pan
• Cook for 15-20 minutes

DIY Chipotle Burrito Bowls

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted! Brandon and I are in the middle of a move/job change, and things have been a little weird around the house lately… especially food wise. But since we can’t live on frozen pizza and I’m sure my mom is tired of cooking for us, I decided it was time to break out the pots and pans for some delicious DIY Chipotle Bowls.

I don’t know if it’s a universal thing, but Chipotle is a big deal here in Ohio. People go nuts for Chipotle… me included. I’m a little ashamed at how many times I’ve stood in a long line waiting for the place to even open. Opting not to drive 40 minutes to the closest town with Chipotle and trying to avoid the lines and cramped seating, we decided to try our own recipe at home. Here’s how to achieve yummy copycat Chipotle from the comfort of your own kitchen.

DIY Chipotle Burrito Bowl

YOU’LL NEED:

Chicken

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Rice

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup of rice of your choosing (we prefer brown)
• 2 cups water
• 1 lime
• freshly chopped cilantro
• salt to taste

Corn Salsa

• Two cans sweet corn
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
• Juice of ½ lime
• freshly chopped cilantro
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Other Toppings (we used)

• 1 cup black beans
• guacamole (2 avocados, ½ cup sour cream, salt)
• mozzarella cheese

YOU WILL:

Chicken

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, making sure to stir and coat the chicken evenly
• Place the mixture in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour
• Heat stove to medium high and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked
• Remove, let rest for a few minutes, then chop into small pieces

Rice

• In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat
• Once hot, add the rice and lime juice and sauté the rice for about a minute to toast it
• Add the water and bring the rice to a boil, then cover and reduce heat
• Cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed
• Add cilantro and fluff

Corn Salsa

• Drain the corn and pour into a large bowl
• Add the finely chopped jalapeno and serrano peppers
• Add the finely chopped red pepper
• Add cilantro
• Add the juice of half a lime (or more, if you want)
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Mix well

So there you have it! Our DIY Bowls, which admittedly, tasted pretty darn close to the real thing! I make a quick and easy guacamole that’s just avocado and sour cream, but I know it’s not true to Chipotle. It still tasted yummy! I know the recipes seem like a hassle and are overwhelming at first, but when you get cooking, it’s pretty quick and painless. When preparing the rice, go the extra steps to make it without instant rice. And of course, if you like peppers, salsa, lettuce, etc. with your bowls or burritos, add em! The more the merrier when it comes to Chipotle. Not really. Then your burrito rips. Nobody likes a broken burrito.

15 Minute Calzones

I haven’t been experimenting with new recipes lately because money is tight in our house. Lots of spaghetti has been made the past few weeks! I couldn’t pass up this quick calzone recipe because it was cheap and looked a lot better than frozen pizza (which is also a frequent flyer). Turns out it was just quick and delicious, just like the recipe promised. I know my picture is super lack luster. I didn’t plan on posting this recipe, but last minute I decided it’s a great recipe for those with little kids or who just have a few minutes for lunch or dinner! Enjoy!

15 Minute Calzones
Adapted from Wine and Glue

• Pillsbury Grand Biscuits
• pizza sauce
• cheese
• pizza toppings of your choosing

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Pop open your biscuits, spread out the biscuits so they are thinner.
• Add sauce, cheese, and toppings.
• Fold over, and pinch closed and bake on a greased baking sheet for 12 minutes or until golden

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I’m really late to this buffalo chicken dip train, but at least I’ve finally hopped on! This was one of the dishes we had this weekend with our finger-food frenzy meal. My mom was like, “Hey have you heard/seen any recipes for buffalo chicken dip?” And I was like, “THE INTERNET LOVES THAT STUFF!”. So we made it & I’m in love. It’s all I think about. I dream about this dip. I dream of myself lounging on a chair with Michael Fassbender feeding me this dip… because Michael Fassbender is a gentleman who feeds his lady amazing buffalo dip.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

You’ll need:
– 1 package of cream cheese, softened
– ½ cup buffalo hot sauce (Franks is the best!)
– ½ cup ranch dressing
– 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (about 3 breasts)
– ½ cup shredded cheese

You will:
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– combine all ingredients in a baking dish
– bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through; stir

That’s it! Oh, and when Michael Fassbender feeds me this dip, he does it on some tortilla chips. This dip is perfect for every day eats, but it is defiantly a good party food! We don’t do sports, but I can see why this is a football party dish. Instead of serving this while watching a sport I don’t understand, I can totally see me making this for Brandon (YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONNA SAY MICHAEL FASSBENDER) and binging out watching some Netflix movies or playing some video games.

However you enjoy your dip… and more importantly, with whomever you enjoy your dip with… this stuff is what dreams are made of.

Veggie Pizza Cups

The first time my mom made veggie pizza, I was apprehensive. Vegetables? Ew! A few years have passed since then and I love veggies of all shapes and sizes. Veggie pizza is one of my favorite finger food type dish that she makes, however, it can be so messy! This weekend Brandon, me, and my mom all had a day off and my mother and I decided to cook nothing but finger foods! We had a feast for kings! I knew I wanted veggie pizza, but I wanted something more convenient and easier to eat.

I did a quick google search and found the recipe we used as inspiration for our veggie pizza cups. My mom does not follow recipes and hates listening to cooking rules (maybe it’s because she is used to being the boss and not listening to anything anyone says… or maybe it’s just because she’s a mom). We used this recipe as a base, but the recipe below is modified to make the cups a quick and easy bake that keeps all your toppings from falling off!

Veggie Pizza Cups

You’ll need:
– 1 package of crescent rolls
– 1 package of cream cheese, softened
– 1 cup sour cream
– 1 package of powdered ranch dressing mix
– ½ teaspoon garlic powder
– chopped veggies of choice (we use carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli and tomatoes)
– shredded cheese (we just use cheddar!)

You will:
– preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit
– cut the crescent roll into sections
– press the sections into the bottom of a greased muffin tin to make little cups. be careful not to over make the cups or you won’t be able to put any of the mix and toppings in.
– bake for 10-12 minutes or until they turn a golden brown color
– in a small or medium sized bowl, beat your softened cream cheese and then add sour cream, ranch mix, and garlic powder until it is mixed together well
– chop up your veggies to the size you prefer
– let the cups cool for a few minutes once they’re out, then spoon the ranch mix in the cups
– fill the cups with the veggies and cheese
It took us a minute to figure out how to make the cups. Just experiment! Figure out what works best for your cup-making abilities. Also, when you’re spooning the ranch mix in make sure you don’t overfill. We left a little bit of an indentation in the middle so we could put the veggies in and they wouldn’t fall out.

We still had a lot of the mix left out, so you could double the recipe by just getting another pack of crescent roll. Since we didn’t have any more crescent rolls left, we used tortillas and spread the mix out and sprinkled the leftover cheese and veggies and rolled them up. We got 3 veggie tortilla roll ups out of it (and we really slathered the ranch mix on), so that should give you an indication of how much is left over! I would recommend actually using two packs of the crescent rolls. I know the next time we make these (and believe me, we will) I’m going to get two packs of crescent rolls.

Just a FYI- while writing this I got an insane craving for the veggie cups and texted my mom to see if she had any leftovers for me to come steal… nope… all the veggie pizza is gone. GUESS WE GOTTA MAKE ANOTHER BATCH, FOLKS!

And another FYI- go to my husband (and occasionally my) YouTube account! We do a bunch of videos, but are starting a movie review thing-y. Our first review is out and needs eager eyes to watch it.

Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Bites

It’s been nearly two weeks since I’ve done a post! I have cooked in the past two weeks- don’t think I let my husband starve. I’m just growing increasingly more frustrated with my inability to photograph food. A) I use my iPhone camera and B) I typically cook dinner at 10 pm and there is no natural lighting. I know from personal experience that if the picture isn’t good, I’m not very likely to try the recipe. My goal with the blog is to share ALL the good foods, so terrible pictures don’t help very much.
I decided that these chicken bites deserved a post, even with a bad picture. Full disclosure, Brandon and I have never had Chick-fil-A, so I don’t know what to compare these to. But! They are delicious little chicken bites!

Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Bites

You’ll need:
– 2 large chicken breasts, diced
– ¾ cup milk
– ¼ cup dill pickle juice
– 1 egg
– 1 ¼ cups flour
– 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
– vegetable oil
– salt and pepper

You will:
– Whisk together the egg, milk and pickle juice and pour it into a large bowl or big ziplock bag
– Add the chicken and let the pieces sit for 2-4 hours
– Combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper (just a few pinches) in a large ziplock bag & shake to combine all the ingredients
– Add the chicken chunks to the bag and shake to coat the pieces completely
– Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high (make sure it sizzles and doesn’t pop when you add your pieces)
– You will cook the chicken in a few batches, as not to overcrowd the pan, so add the first batch and cook until golden brown on one side, then turn to cook the other
– Remove chicken to a plate
– Add more oil and cook the next batch, repeat if necessary

So on my first batch; I adhered to the recipe which said 3-4 minutes on each side. As you can see, some of my pieces got um… crispy. They still were delicious, which speaks to the tastiness of the recipe. I should know better by now that I know how my oven cooks and sometimes 3-4 minutes is way too long for my hunk of metal. Just be alert when cooking these things!
I totes cheated with cooking and brought home fast food fries and honey mustard from work. My work schedule has been crazy and I haven’t had time to cook, so even making part of dinner was a big victory for me. I’ve got a few more weeks of a crazy schedule ahead of me, and I’m hoping our bellies don’t suffer!

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

I was beyond excited to try this recipe. I’m pretty sure everyone around me, especially at work, hated me for a span of 3 days because this is all I talked about. I’d drop it casually in conversation or just blatantly flail my arms around while screaming about honey and lime chicken skewers. Everyone can rest easy now because I made them for dinner tonight. Actually, no, they can’t rest easy… because I’m going to be talking about these things for a solid week.

A delicious mix of sweet and spicy, seared to perfection, these skewers make for the perfect meal.

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

You’ll need:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• juice of one lime
• 1 ½ tablespoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
• 2 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced

You will:

• In a bowl – combine soy sauce, salt, pepper, honey vegetable oil, garlic, lime, red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon of cilantro
• Place chicken in the marinade – cover and place in the fridge for at least one hour
• Place chicken on skewers and heat on a grill or fry pan – cook each side for a couple minutes

We served the skewers over a bed of white rice with some fried and seasoned potatoes.

I left the lime in the marinade bowl, cut up, instead of tossing it. I don’t know if it actually made a difference or if it was just a mental game. It also was marinating for 6 hours. I had Brandon put it in before he left for work, and I took it out as soon as I got home.

Alton Brown (Good Eats is now on Netflix!!! So I’ve been binge watching it, along with all the other goodies they added) said marinating anything for more than 2 hours is almost pointless because the meat can only  retain so much flavor. Honestly, I only leave things in so long because of scheduling conflicts. Brandon and I work staggered second shifts, he goes in a few hours after I do, making it hard to cook most of the time.

We are becoming more adventurous with our cooking. Some stuff doesn’t end up on the blog- like the yummy fresh salsa I made yesterday- just because I don’t think it’s particularly exciting enough to warrant a post. We also replaced our blender with a new and better version that doesn’t have a seal I can lose (whoopsy), and have experimented with lotsa smoothies already. I’m not sure if anyone is interested in those recipes, but I will also start to post them a little. Who doesn’t love a good smoothie recipe?!?!

Okay- so to sum this post up…

Honey lime chicken = good.