Jalapeño Poppers

I spent a few days at the Keys with my family, and on the way home, we stopped by a farmer's market just as we got to Florida's mainland.  While I was there, I saw some enormous jalapeño peppers, and figured that jalapeño poppers could be a really tasty snack for tonight.  Well, these peppers were not only much larger, but they were MUCH spicier!!! Here's how I combated the spiciness and made them into a deliciously cheesy snack.

INGREDIENTS
jalapeños
cream cheese
cheddar cheese
any other kind of cheese
one egg
a handful of flour

DIRECTIONS
Pre heat the oven to 350 F and grease a baking sheet

1. cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds
2. boil the peppers in hot water for 5-10 minutes, then quickly blanch them (immediately immerse them in iced water after taking them out of the boiling water)
3. in a separate bowl, mix the egg and flour
4. fill the jalapeño halves with the cheese
5. cover them in the flour mixture
6. bake them for 20 minutes
7. let them cool and enjoy!!

Trade Strawberry Cheesecake for laundry

I think I made an amazing deal with my neighbor.  I don't have a washer and drier, so I always have to go to the on site laundry.  When I found out that my neighbor and good friend has them, the wheels in my head began to turn.  He's always been a sweet guy and we are constantly doing favors for each other.  We babysit each other's dogs, Albert and him are constantly trading video games, so I wasn't too weird about the laundry trade.

For the first load, I asked him what his favorite dessert was, and he replied Strawberry Cheesecake. YUM!  Cheesecake is one of the easiest things to make, and anything can be added to it for personal flair.

Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
1 (10 ounce) package of frozen sweetened strawberries
1 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup of butter
1 tbsp corn starch
1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup of lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of a pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.  In a blender or food processor, blend the strawberries and cornstarch;let it really get smooth.
3.  Pour the strawberry mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes on low. Make sure to really watch it, you don't want it to burn.  
4. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Really beat it into submission.
5. Gradually beat in the condensed milk. Add lemon juice; mix well. 
6. Add the eggs one at a time, and make sure everything is combined.
7. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over crust. 
8. Drop half of the reserved strawberry mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer. 
9. Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce. Drop remaining strawberry sauce by 1/2 teaspoonfuls on top. 
10. With a knife, cut through top layer only to swirl strawberry sauce, unless you like having glops of strawberry :)
11. Bake at 300 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. 
12. Let it cool down for about 10 minutes... 
13. Stick it in the fridge and don't touch it!!! Let it sit in there for the night. 

Enjoy!!!!

Chicken stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

Hello again!

Well, I managed to snag some chicken breast for $5 at Publix, and found a recipe that I was sure to enjoy.  I love the idea of stuffing poultry because it tends to scream for help from other ingredients.  I love chicken, mostly because you can add so many flavors to it.  It's like a canvas for food.  Today, I decided to stuff it.  I made a very Italian chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta.  I thought of it as a lasagna without the pasta. I decided to serve rolls with it on the side, though Albert thought a salad would be nice instead.  I am not a fan of salads, so I chose not to pay attention to him.  What else is new? haha

In the end, my dish came out delicious! I hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS
3-4 chicken breasts
1 container of ricotta cheese (15 oz)
1 bag of mozzarella (8 oz)
1 box of frozen spinach- thawed and drained: squeeze out all the juice from the spinach
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese-grated
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of red pasta sauce, I used vodka sauce (it was on sale!)

DIRECTIONS!
1. pre heat the oven to 350degrees.
2.  Cut a pocket into each breast and season them inside and out with salt and pepper
3.  Put the chicken aside.
4.  In a bowl, mix the spinach, ricotta, eggs, 3/4 of the mozzarella and Parmesan together to create the filling
5.  Fill each chicken breast with the filling and put them in a lightly greased baking dish.
6.  Glop the rest of the filling right over the chicken.
7.  Pour the red sauce over the chicken and top it with the remaining mozzarella cheese
8.  Bake for about 50-60 minutes, and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Garlic Roasted Chicken with Twice Baked Potatoes

We've been getting more and more serious about this magazine, so I decided to buy the March Food Network magazine just to get some ideas.  I stumbled upon this easy to do recipe that I pretty much had all the ingredients for.  I decided to make Garlic Roasted Chicken.  It seemed simple enough, so I gave it a try.  Half an hour later and a few minor burns on my right hand, and I can safely say, I am not impressed.  My twice baked potatoes came out tastier than the chicken, and I followed the recipe to a T.  Albert though it was delicious, but I just didn't think it was tasty enough.  We had lots of leftovers, so I think I might just make the rest into a chicken salad for tonight. I think my favorite part was the sourdough bread that accompanied it.  I'd show you a picture of my hand, but this is a food site, I would like you to keep reading my blog.

I'm sure you can find the chicken recipe on foodnetwork.com or in their latest issue of the magazine.

I can, however give you the recipe to my oh so yummy twice baked potatoes!

Ingredients:
4 IMMENSE potatoes, scrubbed and dried
a LOT of cheese
half a cup of scallions
12oz of Sourcream
bacon bits

1. Preheat the oven to 400degrees. Seriously
2. Put the potatoes in the middle rack for 30mins.
3.  CAREFULLY take them out and poke a few holes in them with a fork.
4. Stick them back in to the oven for another 30 minutes.
5. Take them out CAREFULLY. They are HOT POTATOES!!
6. Cut them lengthwise in half and scoop out the insides.  Try not to tear the skin.
7.  In a bowl, mix the potatoes, and the rest of the ingredients. (Add a little salt and pepper to taste)
8.  Put the potato salad back in the skins and put them on a baking sheet.  Cover them with cheese.
9 Stick them back into the oven at about 350degrees for about 8-10 mins.
10.  Let them sit for about 10 minutes and enjoy!!!