Appetizers & Snacks

Salted Caramel Corn | Make Ahead Mondays {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

December 3, 2012 by Rebecca 280 Comments

Update: The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose Christi P. as the winner of the Whirly Pop and Coconut Oil. Look for the email I’ve sent you, Christi! I can’t even wait for you to get to try these things. Congratulations!

My Grandma is one of my biggest cooking heroes. She has spent the majority of her life feeding people. My Grandpa, her husband, was a pastor who couldn’t walk away from someone who looked hungry, and everyone looked hungry to Grandpa. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating that one of my most treasured possessions is my collection of recipe cards handwritten for me by Grandma in my first years of marriage. There is just nothing to compare to road-tested recipes written by the hand of someone you love bigger than the bay. The only drawback? Well, maybe I get just a touch weepy whenever I make her recipes. In other words? I weep a lot.

The recipe I’m sharing today is a holiday staple. I only allow myself to make it from December first through January thirty first because otherwise I’d be the size of a house. We give bags of this to friends, Romans and countrymen. In other other words? We give it to EVERYONE. If you walk near my house in Advent, you’re getting a bag full of Salted Caramel Corn shoved in your hands. It’s just the way we do things, because it’s how Grandma does it.

And since we’re talking about Grandma, let me tell you, she was ahead of her time. Grandma was doing Salted Caramel WAY before anyone else. As in decades. When salted caramel hit the food scene I was all, “What? You mean other people DIDN’T salt their caramel?” Honestly. I was agog. Aghast. Alarmed. Arsey-versey. Shall I stop now? Please say yes. I’m all out of words that mean agape that begin with ‘A’. Oh, no I didn’t. Oh yes, I did… Astounded, awestruck, astonished, amazed…

We were, however, talking SALTED Caramel Corn. On the back of the recipe card, Grandma wrote about the final step of the process, “This is what makes it crisp and it does not stick to your teeth-” I’m neither an orthodontist nor have I played one on t.v., but many of my kids’ braces wearing friends are able to eat this with no issues! If you’re looking for a caramel corn that fits the bill for your favourite dental appliance sporting pals, this is the one!

Think of this as the ultimate in caramel corn. It’s perfectly caramelled (new word. I made it up), just a touch salty, crispy and not at all sticky and is totally simple to make. I promise you many accolades and much affection (more ‘A’ words!) if you make a batch of two of these to give away. Here’s where ‘Make Ahead Mondays’ comes into play. This caramel corn is good for about ten days after it’s made. One batch makes roughly eight quarts. Make a batch, bag it up and give it away for the next few days. If it starts softening a bit, crisp it up in a 250°F oven for a few minutes. This is a room-temperature storage item. You want to spread some joy? ” The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear” AND give them a bag of this stuff. I’m pretty sure Buddy would approve. (My final ‘A’ word.)

If you want to try a sample of this good stuff, I’ll be selling it as a fundraiser for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer at the 26th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair at Houghton College in Houghton, New York tomorrow (Tuesday, December 4th) and Wednesday the 5th. Come on down and see me!

Salted Caramel Corn | Make Ahead Mondays

There is nothing that can compare to Grandma's Salted Caramel Corn with its brown sugar, nutty browned butter and touch of salt. Grandma is a genius.

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 quarts plain (unseasoned, unsalted) popcorn in a very large mixing bowl

Instructions

Line 2 half-sheet pans with silpats, parchment paper or non-stick foil. Preheat oven to 250°F.

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. It will foam up big time! Don't worry, it's to be expected.

Pour the molten caramel over the popped corn in the bowl and stir gently but thoroughly to evenly coat the popcorn. Split the popcorn between the two prepared pans and spread it out evenly. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, stirring well every 15 minutes. Grandma says "Watch it closely during baking to ensure it doesn't stick and burn. If it tends to do this, lower the temp a tad. This step is what makes it crisp and it does not stick to your teeth!"

Let the caramel corn cool on the pan (if it is sufficiently done, you'll hear it crackling as it cools!), then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/12/03/salted-caramel-corn-giveaway-and-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Now the GIVEAWAY! This one is sponsored by ME! Just me! No one else! Several years ago, my Aunt Molly sent my family a Whirly Pop. Have you ever heard of one of these? I hadn’t until she sent me one. It is, in short, the ULTIMATE popcorn popper. It’s a funky pan with built in stirring mechanism that makes up to SIX QUARTS of theatre style popcorn in under THREE MINUTES. I’m telling you, this is on the short list of things I would replace the same day if it broke, not that I see it breaking any time soon. Honestly, folks… it has a 25 year warranty on all moving parts. Can you beat that? We’ve put this thing through its paces for almost seven years and it’s still going strong! We seriously use this every. single. day. Sometimes we eat three batches a day! Oh! And you can make the best kettle corn of all time in these bad boys, too!

It is so much more inexpensive and incredibly healthier to pop your popcorn this way. Plain bagged popcorn is FAR less costly than and contains none of the weird, nasty preservatives found in the microwave stuff. You can get away with using much less oil when using the Whirly Pop than you would using a big pot on the stove. It’s pretty much the best way ever to make popcorn.

So here’s what I’m giving away. ONE WHIRLY POP…

and ONE JAR OF EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL.

Believe me, you haven’t had popcorn until you’ve had it popped with coconut oil in a Whirly Pop.

Here’s how to enter! (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry method you use so each one is counted!)

Mandatory Entry:

What’s your favourite popcorn topping? Hot sauce? Plain old salt? Sardines? (What? Could happen!) Nutritional yeast? Talk to me!

Optional Entries:

Like Foodie with Family on facebook.

Follow Foodie with Family on Instagram.

Follow Foodie with Family on Pinterest.

Follow Foodie with Family on Twitter.

Tweet the following, “I want to win a Whirly Pop and coconut oil for the perfect popcorn from @foodiewithfam ”

Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by me and paid for by me. Sadly, I can’t ship this package outside of the continental US, so this giveaway is only open to residents of the aforementioned!

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Desserts, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, Christmas, Christmas cookies, dessert, family-friendly, Food gifts, frugal gifts, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Jerk Chicken Bites with Rum Glazed Pineapple

December 1, 2012 by Rebecca 10 Comments

As a participant in the Captain Morgan’s Spice Up the Holidays Contest, I was charged with -among other things- developing three recipes (a cocktail, an appetizer, and a dessert) featuring either Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum or their Black Spiced Rum to serve at a party. My first recipe was the Dark & Stormy Orchard; an appley twist on the classic combination of dark rum and ginger beer. When it came time to make an appetizer, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted. This girl wanted jerk chicken. I’m assuming most of you are familiar with jerk chicken whether or not you’ve tried it. This Jamaican spa treatment for chicken is a total flavour explosion. If you’ve not had or heard of it, let me assure you that it doesn’t involve finding a badly behaved bird, although if you’re so inclined, I have a really foul (fowl pun alert) tempered rooster I’d volunteer for the job.

Jerk seasoning is a complex tasting combination of spices and aromatics. There are both dry-rubs and wet marinades, but both usually have a mixture of green onions, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, thyme and habanero peppers. The wet marinade usually adds vinegar, lime juice and rum to the mix . I prefer the punch of flavour that goes all the way through the meat with wet marinades. Dry jerk seasonings and wet marinades can usually be purchased in the store, but I prefer mixing my own because I can control every single nuance of spice that goes into it. I like my jerk seasoning heavy on onion and a little lighter on allspice and nutmeg than is usually found in dry mixes. And since I also prefer a wet marinade, my blender makes quick work of making the marinade.

In my first Spice Up the Holidays post, I asked for your best entertaining tips. Wow! You all are GOOD! The decor is what was daunting me the most, being the sort of girl who piles rocks she collects on her table, puts reading glasses and a hat on her bust of Beethoven and calls it good enough. You guys made it sound less frightful, so thank you! I do believe I’m going to have a gorgeous table.

Also sharing tips was our judge for the contest, Chef Spike Mendelsohn himself. Yes, I got to chat up Spike! I did it from my freezing van in the parking lot at the church where I was about to teach cooking class. The point was this, Spike had some fabulous ideas to share with me. He said that aside from dancing on the tables, he liked to liven parties up by making them interactive. He likes to ask his guests to bring a dish to share and have everyone get involved while at his house. Conversation can’t help but be easy when you’re all working together to produce a meal you’ll share. You’re an angel, Spike. Thank you!

Jerk Chicken Bites are the perfect party appetizer because they can be done entirely ahead of time (minus the garnish) leaving you more time to mingle with your guests. You can have these out to nibble while you’re all putting your meal together. Nothing sparks hunger like being around food, so if you’re going to put your friends to work with you, it’d be awfully nice for you to take the edge off. They’re good hot, warm and room temperature, but I doubt they’ll last long enough to get much cooler than warm.

The recipe can be doubled or tripled easily and yields a large amount for a small cost. I chose to cook mine on the grill in a more traditional approach, but if you don’t have (or don’t like using) a grill, you can cook the chicken under the broiler or in a frying pan on the stove top. The stove top yields a pretty splattery mess on the stove top but a moister final product.

If you’re invited to a holiday party this season and asked to bring a dish to pass, I guarantee you’ll get more oohs and aahs than you know what to do if you show up with a plate full of this. No parties? No problem, make yourself a plate, eat ‘em in your yoga pants and congratulate yourself on not having to go anywhere. Either way, you win big.

Jerk Chicken Bites with Rum Glazed Pineapple

This simple but stunning appetizer of juicy, spicy, Jerk Chicken Bites is topped with grilled, caramelized Rum Glazed Pineapple. This gorgeous dish will be a hit for any party and is easily scaled up to feed more.

Ingredients

For the Jerk Chicken::

Tops to an entire bunch of green onions (from 6-10 onions)
1 red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 whole habaneros or jalapenos (for less heat), stems removed but seeds left intact
½ cup malt or cider vinegar
½ cup lime juice
1/4 cup Captain Morgan's Black Spiced Rum
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon molasses
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese)
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground or grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground or cracked black pepper
1 1/2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

For the Rum Glazed Pineapple:

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple slices in juice, juice drained but reserved
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Captain Morgan's Black Spiced Rum
2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ginger beer or ginger ale
2 teaspoons cornstarch
zest of 1 lime
olive oil
salt

Optional for Garnish:

Fresh pomegranate arils
chopped cilantro or parsley

Instructions

To Marinate the Jerk Chicken Bites:

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the chicken thighs to a blender and blend until mostly smooth. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and add to a resealable zipper top bag. Pour over the chicken in the bag. Squeeze as much air out as you can and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator overnight or at least 8 hours.

To Cook the Jerk Chicken Bites:

On a gas or charcoal grill:

Soak a handful of wooden skewers in warm water for 30 minutes while preparing the grill and chicken.

Heat a gas grill on HIGH or build a hot bed of coals to one side in a charcoal grill. Thread the chicken onto the skewers taking care not to crowd them. Grill them over direct heat on an oiled grill for 3- 4 minutes before turning them. Flip them sooner if they're cooking too quickly. Cook on the second side for 3-4 minutes. Continue cooking and turning, trying to get colour all over the chicken as long as necessary to cook through to 165°F internally, about 2 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a clean plate and let rest while preparing the pineapple.

Under a Broiler:

Soak a handful of wooden skewers in warm water for 30 minutes while preparing the broiler pan and chicken. Lightly spray a broiler pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thread the chicken onto skewers, taking care not to crowd them. Line them up on the broiler pan and cook 5 inches under the broiler, for about 6 minutes per side or until chicken cubes measure 165°F internally.

On a Stove Top:

Add just enough canola or olive oil to coat the bottom of a non-stick pan. Drain as much marinade off of the chicken as possible. Cook the chicken over medium high heat, flipping frequently, for 6-8 minutes or until has taken on colour all over and measures 165°F internally. Take care as the oil will spatter because of the marinade.

To Make the Rum Glazed Pineapple:

Pour the pineapple juice from the can into a saucepan. Add the brown sugar, rum, jalapeño, and cider vinegar to the pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and ginger beer or ginger ale. Whisk this into the simmering juice mixture and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the lime zest.

Brush the pineapple slices with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Space them on the hot grill (or on a hot, oiled grill pan). Flip them when they have grill marks on the first side. Brush with the glaze and let it cook on the second side until that too has grill marks. Flip the pineapple again and brush generously with more glaze. When the first side has caramelized a bit (has some small blackened areas and is sticky to the touch) flip it and caramelize the second side. When that side is also sticky to the touch, transfer the pineapple slices to a cutting board, cut into pieces that are roughly equal to the size of your jerk chicken bites. You can save the additional glaze to use as a dip at the table, if you wish!

To Put the Bites Together:

Remove the chicken from the skewers (if they were used.) Skewer one piece of Rum Glazed Pineapple on top of each Jerk Chicken Bites with a toothpick. Arrange them on a platter and sprinkle, if desired, with pomegranate arils and chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/12/01/jerk-chicken-bites-with-rum-glazed-pineapple/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Remember my big old rummy dessert is coming next week. You REALLY don’t want to miss it. Trust me. Oh, trust me. And also, please remember to check out my fellow contestants gorgeous offerings!

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Spice Up the Holidays contest sponsored by Captain Morgan USA. I received products to use in my recipe development and compensation for additional ingredients but all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, seasonal

Pizza Party Bread

November 16, 2012 by Rebecca 14 Comments

I know all good food bloggers are posting their best Thanksgiving recipes right now. They have that covered. Believe me, I’m thinking of the big show, too, but there are a lot of days between then and now and a lot of days afterward and it can’t be turkey and stuffing all the time.

This recipe today is for the parties. Obviously we’re party central this time of year. Between mid-October and the first week of January, every one of my five sons has their birthday. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. In other words, from mid-October to the first week of January we are the hap-hap-happiest, most festive household since National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. (Now, let’s see… who is our Cousin Eddie? Come on. You KNOW every family has one.) If it’s not a birthday party it’s a Thanksgiving party. If it’s not a Thanksgiving party, it’s a Christmas party. If it’s not a Christmas party it’s a New Year’s party. We cannot be the only household doing this right now.

See that bread? That’s a total sanity saver. It’s not only mega comfort food -can food get more awesome than bread/cheese/butter/garlic/pepperoni?- but it’s as easy as can be to make. The Pizza Party Bread is everything you love about pizza and garlic bread minus the call for take out or the time involved in making homemade pizza.

It’s party perfection… who can resist ooey, gooey, melted mozzarella on buttery garlic bread in the first place?Not me, I’ll tell ya that. And when you add lovely crisp little pieces of pepperoni? It’s all over but me licking the foil, folks.

To really drive that pizza flavour home, we like to serve this with a bowl of warmed pizza sauce for dipping on the side. And much like the recipe that inspired this one, there are never leftovers. Whether you serve this for a quiet movie night at home or in quantity for a party buffet, you’re going to be a very happy camper.

Pizza Party Bread

Comfort food writ large. Scads of ooey, gooey mozzarella melted onto a pull-apart loaf of tender garlic bread studded with pepperoni. Does it get better than this? Maybe, but I can't see how!

Ingredients

1 loaf Italian bread (16 ounces, by weight)
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
1 large clove of garlic, minced or pressed
1 bunch of green onions (scallions) trimmed and thinly sliced
24-30 slices of pepperoni, cut into quarters
Nonstick cooking spray and foil
Optional: additional chopped scallions for garnish.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (or preheat grill to medium heat). Lay out a double thickness of standard foil (or a single thickness of heavy-duty foil.) Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside

In a microwave safe bowl, or a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the butter until melted and mix in the garlic and sliced green onions. Stir with a serving spoon.

Lay the loaf of bread on the cutting board and cut a ½” grid pattern into it stopping about ¼” above the base of the bread so that it stays connected. Gently pry apart the bread and spoon the butter mixture along the seams. Gently wrap the foil up around the top of the loaf and put on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, open the foil and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top, gently pushing some of the cheese down into the cut bread. Separate and scatter the pepperoni over the top, shoving some into the sliced bread, too.

Leave the foil open and return the pan to the oven or grill and raise the heat to 425°F or HIGH for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Let set for 3 minutes before garnishing with additional chopped scallions, if desired. Serve while still hot or warm.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/16/pizza-party-bread/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy

Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

October 29, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

I mentioned in my Cuban Sandwiches post that my mom, Free Range Nana, and my sister, Jessamine, and I went to Cornell University to visit my baby sister, Airlia.

What I failed to mention in that post is that Airlia is not just my sister, she is a braniac. Want proof? Here she is outside of the building where she has most of her classes and spends most of her free time.

That’s right folks. Nanoscale science. My sister is a PHYSICS major at Cornell University. She is currently building a machine to reduce light to its smallest state. As in visible only as a mere particle. Need another example? This is the stuff she does for fun:

I took this picture understanding NOTHING of what was on there except the word torque. For some reason, the word torque has always cracked me up. Anyone else have words that crack them up? No? I’ll be quiet now.

The point is this. She spends her FREE TIME in the LAB. Do we even need to discuss what I did with my free time in college? It’s probably best if we don’t.

Airlia took us all over campus…

And I DO mean all over campus. Up the slope, down the slope, up the slope again, up the one hundred and sixty one steps into the clock tower to watch a chimes concert, into libraries…

The stacks made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. At least until Free Range Nana and Airlia almost got us kicked out of the library for giggling and I almost got us kicked out for sloshing a cup full of ice water as I tried to walk ever so silently after reading the big old SHHHHHHHHHH sign. I failed.

Don’t blink. The angels have the library… Heh. Oh come on. I have to have at least ONE reader that loves Doctor Who.

Uncharacteristically, Jessamine didn’t do ANYTHING to get us kicked out of the library. She behaved like a saint, but only in the library. She looks downright beatified right here.

Then all bets were off… I can’t even tell you what she’s saying here. It is so not ‘G’ rated. She took her naughty vitamins before leaving home that day.

Gosh, I do love my sisters.

We got to see Airlia’s favourite study spots and her dorm from last year. As we stood in a study hall in the old dorm, she pointed down through the trees and said casually, “That’s where I get Julio fries.”

“Julio-whats?” I asked.

“Julio fries. They’re fries tossed with Red Hot and oregano.”

Go on. Seriously? Are you all aware of my Frank’s Red Hot fixation? If not, let me just say this… by this point in life, I should own stock in the company. It’s not the hottest or fanciest hot sauce, by far, but it is like your best friend for life… you always know it’s there and you can trust it to do what it’s supposed to do.

You know I beat a hot path down to Louie’s lunch truck, trying to act all casual so I wouldn’t embarrass the Rocket Scientist who is my little sister. I didn’t want her to be forever associated with that crazy woman who sprinted down the hill in not-sensible high boots and stood panting at the window of Louie’s Lunch. I was chill. I did a run-walk instead of a sprint.

These Julio Fries are the brainchild of Louie’s Lunch truck on Cornell’s main campus. Louie, whoever he was, was a genius. Red Hot is a vinegar based hot sauce and vinegar is a natch with fries, right? So hot vinegar? Hubba hubba. And I don’t know WHY he put oregano in there, but I’m AWFULLY glad he did, because holy moly. I thought Red Hot was great the way it was, but I don’t know if I’ll ever eat it sans oregano again. It’s the flavour component that I didn’t even know was missing.

Airlia showed us the proper Julio fries eating technique. Yes. She was down by the school yard. Help me out here people. Tell me someone is a Paul Simon fan…

At least Airlia thinks I’m funny. And while I’m no nanoparticle scientist, my little sis thinks I’m pretty smart, too. Especially after I told her as soon as I got home I set to work and figured out the perfect ratio for making our own Julio sauce and then doused a big old batch of crispy tater tots with it. In fact, she called me brilliant.

I’m just going to revel in that for a moment or two. Okay, I’m going to revel in that with the aid of some Julio tots…

In the spirit of scientific inquiry -because I felt so inspired by the trip to Cornell- I did a little experiment with the Julio Sauce and the tots. One bowl had the pre-doused tots. The other had nekkid tots next to a big bowl of Julio Sauce for dipping purposes.

We put on very serious faces and sampled the pre-doused ones then dipped nekkid ones.

The consensus was that we preferred dipping the tots vs. pre-soaking them. They stayed crispier thatta way. Hey Louie! Sauce on the side- is it an option?

God love Louie and his sauce.

Go make yourself some Julio Sauce. It’s what smart people eat.

Julio Sauce and Julio Tots | Make Ahead Mondays Cornell University Food Truck Style

Julio Sauce is my take on the classic Cornell University dish and sauce served by Louie's Lunch- Julio Fries. The vinegar based hot sauce mixed with oregano adds a burst of flavour to fries -to be sure- but it's also fantastic on all potato dishes. We loved them on tots, home fries and baked potatoes. What will you douse with Julio Sauce?

Ingredients

For Julio Sauce:

3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 heaping tablespoon dry oregano leaves

For Julio Tots:

1 bag frozen tater tots

Instructions

To Make the Julio Sauce:

Add the Red Hot and oregano to a container with a tight fitting lid. Fix the lid firmly in place and shake. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months.

To Make Julio Tots:

Prepare frozen tater tots according to package instructions but cook them long enough to be terminally crispy. Super crunchy. Make 'em make noise when you bite 'em is what I'm saying.

Transfer hot, crunchy tots to a bowl and either serve with a side of Julio Sauce for dipping or pour over the tots for a softer dish.

Don't you feel smarter already?

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/29/julio-sauce-and-julio-tots-make-ahead-mondays-cornell-university-food-truck-style/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, food gift, party food, quick and easy, seasonal, Snacks, Vegetarian

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

October 16, 2012 by Rebecca 7 Comments

You know those nights when you walk into the kitchen and feel like the last thing you want to do is put spatula to pan and do anything? I had a serious case of kitchen funk a couple weeks ago. The good thing (or bad thing, depending on your perspective-du-jour) about having kids is that I don’t have the option to sit out a meal. For a couple reasons -all equally valid- that just is not going to happen.

My kids don’t skip meals (or mid-morning, mid-afternoon, mid-anytime snacks) lightly. There is much moaning, weeping, gnashing of teeth and rending of hair if we even approach missing one of their fifteen daily repasts.
I have such an acutely developed sense of maternal guilt that I can’t short shrift them on any food. From the time that my eldest child was born, my pediatrician has given me the business about every one of my kids being underweight at every visit. I started getting a complex that she thought I wasn’t feeding them.
I’m a hungry person. Even if the kids weren’t here, I get downright surly if I don’t get at least two decent meals a day. Oh sure, at nearly forty years old, it’s starting to catch up with me, but I can eat just about everyone I know under the table. Feeeeeeed me!

All those reasons are explanations of why I don’t skip meals, but that doesn’t prevent me from phoning it in from time to time, and I don’t mean takeout. Living as far out from civilization as I do, any takeout beyond a sub or sub-par pizza isn’t a reality. Besides, even when I’m feeling at my laziest, that little frugal angel on my shoulder thwaps me upside the head and says, “Are you kidding? For the price of ONE of those subs, you could buy the deli meat and rolls for two sandwiches each and a bag of chips to boot.”

So when I walked into the kitchen last week and drew a blank, the well-stocked freezer and pantry that I cultivate in my finer moments came to the rescue. I grabbed a bag of homemade chorizo from the freezer, blankly shoved it in the microwave to defrost a bit, because when all else fails, chorizo wins the day. Then I stood staring into my pantry. Nuttin’. I had no idea. In a moment of pique, I whined to myself, “What I wouldn’t give for a plate full of poutine.” At that moment the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head. I didn’t have the goods or the fortitude to make a real poutine -with fresh fries, gravy and melty cheese curds- but I did have the stuff to make a riff on it.

With renewed enthusiasm, I broke up the chorizo in a hot pan and started browning it. While that browned, I tossed the innards of a bag of good frozen sweet potato fries onto a sheet pan and into the oven. I fetched a jar of my favourite salsa from my basement shelves and a brick of queso blanco from the refrigerator.

When the fries came out of the oven, I piled them in a bowl and threw obnoxious amounts of crispy chorizo and queso blanco on top, hit it with a few well-aimed dollops of salsa and a shower of chopped cilantro and sat down to congratulate myself on making my doldrums pay dividends. Don’t ever let anyone tell you nothing good can come of self-pity and laziness.

Just please do me a favour, don’t tell my kids I said that.

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

This Mexican flavoured riff on the above-the-border Quebecois classic, poutine, replaces the traditional French fries with sweet potato fries, below-the-border spicy, crispy, garlicky chorizo, and crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco. Spicy, salty, sweet, crispy, soft, cheesy, simple, and utterly satisfying!

For Game Day munchies, movie night and hectic days!

Ingredients

1 bag frozen sweet potato fries (or a large batch of homemade sweet potato fries.)
1 pound bulk chorizo, preferably homemade
1/2-3/4 cup crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco (or shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese if either of those is unavailable.)
Optional: salsa and chopped cilantro, to taste

Instructions

Bake the frozen sweet potato fries according to package directions. While they bake, break up the chorizo in a hot skillet over medium to medium high heat. Stir while cooking and continue breaking it up with a spoon.

Fry the chorizo, stirring frequently, until it is fully cooked and has taken on some deep brown, crispy areas.

As soon as the fries come out of the oven, use tongs to transfer them to a serving plate, use a spoon (use a slotted one if your chorizo is very greasy) to pile the hot chorizo on top of the fries. Scatter the crumbled cheese over the top. If using the salsa and cilantro, add immediately before serving.

Dig in!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/16/mexican-poutine-sweet-potato-fries-with-chorizo-and-queso-fresco/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, kid food, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

October 12, 2012 by Rebecca 17 Comments

Today has been a Monday kind of Friday. I overslept, didn’t get to my tea until ten this morning, then dropped and broke a plate. I started writing this post earlier, got about two-thirds of the way through it and then somehow or another, the internet pixies deleted it. I know I didn’t hit that delete button! So, after standing up, hiding in the bathroom and eating a very large chocolate bar, I’m making another attempt at finishing it because this recipe is just too good not to share. Maybe Popeye snuck in and botched my post while I was cleaning up the broken plate, the greedy Spinach hoarding twerp…

Or maybe I was overcomplicating things -as I am wont to do and this was divine intervention. It was a rather long-winded draft and a rather convoluted morning. Either way, here I am and here you are and here is one of our favourite snacks. Obviously it’s heavy on the spinach (read: Popeye reference above) which TOTALLY cancels out the insane amount of cheese (three different kinds!) and butter in it, right?

Of course it does! Besides, cheese does a body good and it makes spinach an easier sell to my anti-green-veg-contingent. In fact, the first time I made these, my most anti-green-veg of the bunch said, “What’s da green stuff, Mama?” I responded, “Try it and tell me how you like it.” He took a tentative nibble, smiled, and ate the rest while bouncing away from me. “Wait!” I called, “Didn’t you want to know what the green stuff is?” “Don’t care anymore! Dese are tasty!” he called from the other room.

All things considered, at least it is Friday. Around here, that means movie night. At this point in the day, I can’t think of anything I’d like to do better than fire up the wood stove to eleven, pop in a movie, cuddle with my kiddos and eat my weight in these Cheesy Spinach Puffs. The beauty of this is that my kids munch right alongside me, eating scads of spinach without even thinking about it. I call that a win.

Oh, I know I’ve shared more than one cheese plus spinach plus egg combo before… Yes, I clearly have a thing for it. Obviously. Today’s recipe, however, is just about the best thing you can do with that wonderful combination, and that is saying something. It’s just plain crave-able. Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but they really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. It’s enough to turn a Monday-feeling-Friday into a Friday-all-the-way.

I can’t even wait for tonight. Cheesy Spinach Puffs, here I come!

Two important notes:

I emphasize generously greasing the muffin pans for a reason. Eggs like to stick. Melted cheese likes to stick. Put the two together and you’ll be weeping a thousand salty tears unless you have massive amounts of non-stick cooking spray and/or non-stick mini-muffin liners. Trust me. That’ll totally mess up the Friday-all-the-way vibe!
Make extras! These freeze well, reheat beautifully and are great to have on hand for last minute snacks.

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

Rating: 51

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. This is a favourite movie-night snack at our house and has won over even the most ardent anti-green vegetable protesters in our family. The smaller you chop the spinach after squeezing it dry, the easier it is to get it past picky eaters.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped or grated on a cheese grater
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
3 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese
½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed hard repeatedly to remove as much liquid as possible (*See Note Below Instructions)
½ teaspoon salt
Optional: warm marinara or pizza sauce or Ranch dressing for dipping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously -and I DO MEAN GENEROUSLY- spray 48 mini-muffin wells with non-stick cooking spray. Eggs are culinary glue. If you don't grease the tar out of those mini-muffin wells, they will stick!

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan or frying pan. Stir in the grated or finely chopped onion and cook on low, stirring frequently, until the onions are very tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove the pan from the burner and set aside.

Put the squeezed-dry spinach on a cutting board and chop a few times with a knife to separate the spinach and make the pieces smaller.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Whisk in the ricotta cheese until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the remaining ingredients –including the cooked onion mixture and the chopped spinach- and mix until evenly combined.

Divide the mixture between the mini-muffin cups. Bake the puffs until set in the center and lightly browned around the outside edge (begin checking at 20 minutes.)

Let them rest in the pans for about 3 minutes before trying to remove. If any of them stick, run a butterknife around the edge to loosen them.

Serve warm or room temperature with marinara or pizza sauce.

*Note: To get the most liquid squeezed from the spinach, put the spinach in a colander over the sink. Grab only as much as you can comfortably fit between your hands, cup your hands around the spinach and squeeze flat repeatedly until almost no more liquid can be squeezed out. Put that handful of spinach on the cutting board and repeat until you've finished squeezing all of it.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/12/cheesy-spinach-puffs/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

This post is my contribution to the efforts by Hidden Valley Ranch and the Chef & Child Foundation. According to their website: “The Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) and the makers of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® dressings & dips are partnering to host the Lunch Break for Kids fundraiser to showcase how simple, good food can make healthier bodies and stronger family connections, as well as support CCF’s national Childhood Nutrition Day in its mission to promote healthier eating to kids and their families through community-based initiatives.” Please take a moment to visit their website and look for opportunities to help in your area!

The Hidden Valley® Original Ranch®, dressings & dips has provided me with free product to help with my review, but anything I receive from Hidden Valley does not affect my thoughts on its company or their product.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Vegetarian

Big Batch Crisp Topping and Any Fruit Crisps | Make Ahead Mondays

October 8, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Desserts are the big to-do. The thing over which you slave for hours or -in some cases- even days and present with a flourish to ooooohs and aaaahs. I’m as guilty of that as the next food-obsessed gal, from time to time.

But really? Desserts are supposed to be a relaxing thing. Grab a spoon or a fork, a plate or a bowl of the good stuff, plop down somewhere comfortable and give a good ahhhhhhhh. They’re supposed to feed your soul without taxing it first. In fact, ‘DESSERTS’ are ‘STRESSED’ spelled backwards. Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

I’m going through my day getting done what needs to be done. I make dinner and think to myself, “Oh, we don’t need dessert tonight. We have a big dinner and that’ll do the job.” Then after dinner, when it’s just me and my honey sitting on the couch, I think, “I wish I’d made dessert. I could go for something a little sweet right now.”

Is anyone with me? I know it can’t be just us with should’ve-made-dessert regrets. ‘No desserts’ backwards is ‘stressed on’. See?

I have a solution.

Make a big batch of crisp topping -essentially, this is sugar, oats, flour, a little spice and a lot of butter- drop it into canning jars or other airtight containers and pop it in the freezer.

When you hit the dessert-regret stage of the evening, fill a little ramekin or two or a big pan with fresh fruit or even canned pie filling. In a pinch, you could put jam in the ramekins.

Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

October 3, 2012 by Rebecca 13 Comments

Why did the chicken cross the road? I’ll get to that in a moment.

One thing I absolutely, positively adore about living in Western New York is that I can honestly say I live in the birthplace of the hot wing. If you order ‘wings’ in a nearby restaurant or bar, you’re going to receive that hot, spicy, zippy, deep-fried, buttery tip-of-a-chicken’s-wing that is known the rest of the nation over as Buffalo Wings or hot wings. If you order Buffalo wings here, they’re going to know you’re not a local.

You know the story of how the ubiquitous bar food came to be, right? A hungry Buffalonian and his college buddies piled into the Anchor Bar where his mom was working. They begged for something -ANYTHING- to eat. (Right here is where the story gets me in the heart. I know how boys eat. I feel this story deeply.) Mrs. Bellissimo (the mom in question) threw a bunch of wings into the fry-o-later and tossed them with a special sauce, served them to the hungry boys, and a legend was born. There are other versions of the story, but they too all center around Mrs. Bellissimo and her restaurant. In short, Mrs. Bellissimo is widely acknowledged to be single-handedly responsible for one of the best-loved snack foods in North America. God love her, ’cause chickens fear her very name.

I’m going to go ahead and assume you’ve had real, proper wings before now; you’ve had that magical combination of vinegar based hot sauce and butter tossed on deep-fried chicken wings. Am I right? So you know how a wing is supposed to taste; buttery, spicy, zingy, chickeny, and altogether addictive.

This hot dip is everything that a good wing dunked in blue cheese or Ranch dressing is, but in dip form. You start with a generous portion of cooked, cubed chicken mixed into a concoction of cream cheese, Ranch dressing, and hot sauce and bake it until it’s bubbly and steaming hot. Your brain will scream “WINGS” when you scoop a cracker or celery stick into this dip.

You’re not going to be screaming from the heat. In wing parlance, you’ve got mild, medium and hot, in most cases. This dip is a medium. It’s not going to make your head leap from your neck and run away yelping unless you’re the wussiest of all wussy eaters. If you are, and you still want to try the dip on for size, reduce the hot sauce but don’t you omit it…. then it would just be creamy chicken dip and that would be sad. Just sad.

…And now for the blue cheese issue, because I know some of you have one. If (sigh) you don’t like blue cheese (sigh again), yes, you can substitute mozzarella or Monterey Jack, but it will not pack that true wing punch. Wings are almost always served with a side of blue cheese dressing (Ranch if you ask for it) and some celery sticks.

Speaking of celery sticks, they would make an admirable conveyance for dip-to-mouth if you have them handy. I, however, did not. This is mainly due to the fact that my children have lately taken a serious fancy to ants-on-a-log for breakfast, lunch and dinner and had cleaned out my crisper drawer of all available celery whilst I was whipping up this dip for them at their request. *Shaking fists toward children.*

Ah well. Lack of celery sticks notwithstanding, this is mega-satisfying and fun. Crackers, tortilla chips, corn chips or breadsticks are all fantastic when dunked into, dolloped with or otherwise spread with Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip.

I guarantee this as man/boy friendly food, given that my man/boys ate up a batch in about ten minutes flat. I can also personally guarantee this as chick food, so long as your fellow chicks like wings as much as I do. Chicks and Wings. For a multitude of reasons, don’t ever let anyone tell you they don’t go together.

So why did that chicken cross the road? To get the heck out of Buffalo!

Buh-KAWK!

Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip

Bubbly, cheesy, spicy, and full of chicken, Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip is a snacker's dream. Welcome at parties, on game day, or just for a fun hot snack, this dip is everything you love about Buffalo wings minus the bone.

Instructions for preparing this with a slow-cooker are also included.

Ingredients

8 ounce brick of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons dry Ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup hot sauce, preferably Frank's Red Hot or Sriracha
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (or grated mozzarella or Monterey Jack if you dislike blue.)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced or pressed
2 cups of cooked finely chopped or shredded chicken

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add the softened cream cheese to mixing bowl. Use a fork to break up the cream cheese and smoosh in the milk, mayonnaise and ranch dressing. Switch to a sturdy spoon to continue smashing it and mixing it until smooth. Mix in the hot sauce next, whisking to combine until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients until evenly combined.

Scrape the mixture into a casserole dish or oven safe bowl and bake* for 20-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

*This mixture can also be prepared in a slow-cooker on low (2-3 hours) and kept warm for a couple hours afterward.

Serve hot with crackers, corn or tortilla chips, celery sticks, or bread sticks.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/03/hot-buffalo-chicken-dip/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com