party food

Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta | Make Ahead Mondays

April 8, 2013 by Rebecca 15 Comments

Can we have a heart to heart for a moment? I love foods that stink: garlic, feta cheese, olives, braunschweiger, pungent and runny French cheese, onions, and much, much more. And what’s more, I have loved this stanky stuff for as long as I can remember.

Once -when I was a teenager- my mom stopped me as I was on the way out the door to a dance. (And can I get a ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Amen’ of thanks from anyone else who was more than glad to leave those years behind?) She said, “Honey? You may want to consider brushing your teeth or something before you go the dance. You know, since you ate an onion and mustard sandwich and all?”

First of all, it was an onion, mustard and Cheddar sandwich, so there. Second, you’d think my momma would’ve wanted to encourage me to have bad breath since I was so boy crazy. It might’ve made keeping me away from them much easier.

That aside, the point is that stinky food just tastes better, doesn’t it? And today’s recipe combines some of my most loved breath-offenders of all time: roasted garlic and feta cheese.

Everyone knows that feta cheese has an alarming habit of falling off of things. It’s just kind of the way it’s built. That lovely crumbly texture is fine and dandy when it’s in a pilaf, Greek salsa, baked on a pizza, or in spanakopita dip. But you sink your teeth into a sandwich you’ve adorned with the salty, briny, crumbled stuff and it makes like lemmings off a cliff falling off the front, side and anywhere that isn’t already in your mouth. This makes me sad.

Enter my friend Jessica at How Sweet Eats. A month or so ago, she posted Whipped Feta. In one fell swoop, she solved my feta problem and made my breath eternally bad. I almost hopped in my car, drove a couple hours south and kissed her face. She’s probably pretty thankful I didn’t, though, because I decided to spike my whipped feta with a hearty helping of roasted garlic which both makes it even more exciting and even more deadly.

If you’re not already drooling like a teething baby, let me explain what makes this so delicious. Copious amounts of crumbled feta are added to softened cream cheese along with several cloves of buttery roasted garlic.

They’re beaten together mercilessly in the food processor until perfectly smooth.

At this point it’s warm and melty from all the processing. Right then, right there, if you can resist sopping up the inevitable left-behind spread in the food processor bowl with torn hunks of fresh bread, then you’re a far, far stronger person than I am. I am not ashamed to say that when I ran out of bread, I licked the food processor bowl.

People. I’m married. I can do this now just as long as my darling Evil Genius partakes with me. And he does. The man is no fool.

So whaddya do with a big old jar of Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta? Oh darlin’… what don’t you do? I smear it generously on Black Olive Rolls with a handful of greens and call it lunch, apply with abandon to toasted burger rolls before topping with a grilled turkey burger and some baby spinach (Instant Greek Burger! VOILA!), spread it on crackers, serve as dip with vegetables, and top grilled fish with it. Now, given that I’ve only had the stuff handy for about a month, I’m willing to assert that I haven’t even scratched the surface of ways that Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta can be used. How will you use this?

Rebecca

P.S. You’re ahead of the game if you already made your own batch of fantastic homemade feta because it works beautifully here!

Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Roasted Garlic Whipped Feta | Make Ahead Mondays

The fabulous punch of feta cheese and roasted garlic in a creamy, flavourful spread that is great on sandwiches, burgers, fresh bread, crackers, or as a dip or dolloped into soup.

Adapted from and with grateful thanks to How Sweet Eats who adapted it from the fabulous Ina Garten

Ingredients

8 ounces feta cheese crumbles, brought to room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese (Full fat or 1/3 less fat, according to preference.)
4-8 cloves roasted garlic either purchased or homemade (See this recipe for instructions on roasting garlic.)

Instructions

Fit your food processor with a metal blade and pulse the feta cheese until it is completely broken up into tiny crumbs. It should look like this:

Add the remaining ingredients and process -stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally- until it is completely smooth and creamy, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape into a jar (or jars) with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/08/roasted-garlic-whipped-feta-make-ahead-mondays/

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

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

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

April 2, 2013 by Rebecca 4 Comments

It’s time for another installment of “I’m Obsessed with Empanadas”. I’ve made them stuffed with just about everything I can possibly think to stuff in them. The particular empanada recipe I’m sharing today starts with leftover pulled pork. Thi s pulled pork recipe is perfect because it is already spicy enough. If you don’t have any of this kind handy, there’s an easy kludge I’ll share with you, but I do like eliminating work for myself where I can.

…And because I like sweet with spicy, I soaked some golden raisins in rum for a little kick before stirring them into the pork. You could use any variety of raisin you have on hand. The only reason I went with golden ones is that I had an abundance of them. If you’re not a raisin fan, I suppose you could omit them if you’d like, but I think they bring something special to the party.

Rounding out the lineup with the spicy pork and the sweet, rum-soaked raisins is a bit of minced red onion. It adds just enough punch and brightness to make itself known without being overpowering. Now, added to all this is a neat little hand-held, fried package that makes my heart sing.

The longest part of the procedure is soaking the raisins and even that can be hurried a bit if you cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the microwave on HIGH for a minute.

If you have pulled pork and empanada wrappers in the freezer, and raisins, onions, and oil in the pantry, you’re mere moments away from chomping down on crispy, puffy, sweet and spicy pulled pork empanadas. I like to serve them with a side of sour cream that has just a little chopped cilantro and lime juice mixed in for dipping, but they’re equally great nibbled solo or with fresh salsa.

I can’t get enough of the spicy, juicy pork mixed with sweet, slightly rummy raisins and bright crisp-tender onion.

How about you? Are you a fan of empanadas? How about raisins with pork?

XO Rebecca

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

Rating: 51

Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas

Crispy, Spicy Sweet Pulled Pork Empanadas are just moments away when you have pulled pork and empanada wrappers on hand in your freezer. These hand-held meat pies get a little extra kick from minced red onion and raisins soaked in golden or dark rum. Serve these as a blockbuster appetizer or movie night main dish.

Ingredients

2/3 cup seedless raisins
2/3 cup golden or dark rum
3 cups fully cooked pulled or shredded pork *See Notes
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
Optional: one chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo, mashed with a fork
2 10-count packages frozen empanada wrappers (I use Goya Discos)
Enough canola, vegetable, or peanut oil or lard to fill a high-sided pan or skillet with 2-3 inches.

Instructions

Put the raisins in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the rum over the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let the raisins soak in the rum for at least an hour or overnight. **See Notes.

If there is any rum that has not been absorbed by the raisins, pour it off carefully. Toss the raisins with the shredded pork, minced onion, garlic, and chipotle (if using) until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Lightly roll out each empanada wrapper (just to thin it out a bit) and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling slightly off center. Fold the wrapper in half over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork. If desired, you can fold and crimp the edges decoratively as well.

Heat your oil to 350°F. Line a plate with several thicknesses of paper towels. Carefully lower only as many empanadas into the oil as can fit with quite a bit of extra room for them to move about as they fry and expand. Fry the empanadas for 3-4 minutes, turning about halfway through frying, or until they are a deep golden brown. Remember that they will continue to darken when they are removed from the oil. Transfer the cooked empanadas to the paper towel lined plate and let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with fresh salsa or sour cream with cilantro stirred into it.

Notes

*I use this recipe because it is already spicy. If you don't have leftovers of a spicy pork, you can crush one chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo and stir it into the pork to approximate the spice and flavour levels.

**If you're in a big hurry for empanadas (and who can blame you?) put the plastic wrapped covered bowl into the microwave and microwave on HIGH for 1-2 minutes, or until the raisins have plumped and absorbed much of the rum. Pour off any excess rum and proceed as directed above.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/04/02/spicy-sweet-pulled-pork-empanadas/

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

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Main Dish, Meat Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, quick meal

Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken | Make Ahead Mondays

March 25, 2013 by Rebecca 21 Comments

That is a sandwich you need in your life right now. Luckily, it takes little time to accomplish such a sandwich even though the Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken is made in the slow-cooker. Before I go any further, I’d like to thank Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen for her original recipe that inspired my version you’re seeing here today.

Now, let’s get into what makes this chicken so very good. I am a chicken breast lover in a dark meat chicken loving household. Most often, I use chicken thighs because it seems to be a happy medium and it’s usually far less expensive per pound. This chicken, however, starts with boneless, skinless chicken breast. Mrawrrrrrrrr.

Although all by itself, boneless, skinless chicken breast tends to cook more quickly than dark meat chicken, it gets a boost here by being trimmed, cut in thirds lengthwise and then in half crosswise. What this does for us to reduce the cooking time even further. You start it cooking on HIGH for an hour then drop it to low for the remaining two hours. That’s right. Three hours to slow-cooked perfection. That means that you might even be able to squeeze this in on a week night.

Cutting the chicken thusly serves another purpose, too, though. It sets it up for shredding more quickly and into more manageable bite sized pieces. See? This is the chicken straight from the slow-cooker.

And two forks and five minutes later…

As for the sauce, there’s nothing complicated to it. I drop all the ingredients in the blender (including the onion and garlic) and whizz ’til smooth. If you’re blender-averse (or blender-less) you can chop the onions and garlic separately then whisk it into the liquid ingredients before adding to the slow-cooker. When you take the chicken out of the slow-cooker, simply pour the sauce into a saucepan and reduce it over high heat until it’s thick. You return the chicken to the slow-cooker while it’s reducing, then pour the thickened, reduced sauce over the chicken and toss. Fast and fabulous is hard to beat.

This recipe also holds the distinction of being something every one of our family members loved. My kids like spicy foods, so we went with the high end of the Sriracha. If you have more delicate taste buds in your crew, reduce that down, but don’t omit it; it delivers such flavour, the chicken would be lost without it.

So why is this a Make Ahead Monday recipe? Because this recipe feeds my hungry horde two full meals! It’s hard to believe that six little boneless, skinless chicken breasts could stretch like that, but it does. And you could easily increase it to the point where you’ve filled your slow-cooker. In that case, it might take just a wee bit longer to cook, but the end game remains the same: tasty honey tinged gently spicy barbecue shredded chicken for topping salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and more.

Speaking of sandwiches, I chose to serve the chicken on toasted whole wheat buns with a simple salad of cucumber ribbons (just cut a cucumber in quarters lengthwise and use a vegetable peeler to cut the ribbons) and fresh cilantro leaves. That was topped -in turn- with a runny-yolked fried egg.

It’s eye-roll-into-the-back-of-your-head good. Really. Just look at that. I can’t help myself around runny yolked eggs. I get weak in the knees with joy. I lose control of my better senses; I lick the plate in front of my children.

So today, YES, please today, make yourself a batch of this chicken and divide it into meal sized portions. You’ll be so glad you did!

XO,

Rebecca

Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours, 10 minutes

Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken | Make Ahead Mondays

Gentle sweetness from honey brings out the best of the tasty heat from Sriracha in this great Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken. Pile the chicken high on sandwiches topped with a cucumber, cilantro salad, and a fried egg ~or~ on a tossed salad, in tacos or on a chicken fajita or barbecue pizza. Leftovers store beautifully in individual portions in the freezer.

Adapted from and with thanks to Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

3/4 cup ketchup
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped (*See Notes)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped (*See Notes)
1/2 cup honey
1-3 tablespoons of Sriracha, depending on your heat tolerance
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For the Chicken:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed of visible fat
salt and pepper to taste, but don't add until the sauce has been reduced.

For the Sandwiches:

1 English cucumber, cut in quarters lengthwise then into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
fresh cilantro leaves, to taste
1 fried egg per sandwich
1 whole wheat sandwich bun per sandwich

Instructions

Cut the chicken breast into three strips lengthwise, then cut once crosswise. This will reduce each chicken breast into 6 pieces for faster cooking and shredding when it is done. Lay all of these in the bottom of a slow-cooker crock.

Place all of the sauce ingredients in a blender, fix the lid in place, and blend on HIGH until smooth. Pour this over the chicken in the slow-cooker. Put the slow-cooker lid in place and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. At that time, reduce the heat to LOW and cook for another 2 hours or until you can pick up a large piece of chicken with the tongs and break it in half easily by pressing it against the side of the slow-cooker crock.

Use tongs to transfer all of the chicken to a cutting board. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and place it over medium high heat to reduce, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. While it reduces, use two forks to shred the chicken and return the shredded chicken to the slow-cooker on the Keep Warm setting or off, but either way, put the lid on to keep the chicken warm and prevent it from drying out.

When the sauce is reduced, pour it over the chicken and use the tongs to toss to coat it with sauce. Taste the chicken and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot on a toasted whole wheat sandwich bun topped with cucumber ribbons, cilantro leaves and a fried egg, cold on salads, tucked into tacos or baked on pizzas.

Leftovers can be frozen in individual meal-sized portions in airtight containers.

Notes

*If you do not have a blender, finely chop the onions and garlic and whisk them into the liquid sauce ingredients before pouring over the chicken in the slow-cooker.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/25/slow-cooker-honey-sriracha-barbecue-chicken-make-ahead-mondays/

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

Filed Under: Chicken and other Poultry, Happy Healthy and Wise, Make Ahead Mondays, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes, slow-cooker Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Super Bowl

Harry & David $60 {giveaway closed} | The Friday Fifteen: March 22, 2013

March 22, 2013 by Rebecca 159 Comments

This week feels like it has gone almost as quickly as that stack of cookies up there disappeared. Is it just me? We’re bustling around to get the house ready for the arrival of the many family members and friends who will be joining us for a Celebration of Life service next week for my beloved bonus mom (stepmom), Valerie. This week’s Friday Fifteen has food to feed a crowd, books that I love for quiet time, and a woooonderful giveaway to cap off our week.

Let’s do this thing!

Main Dish Madness

Thai Chicken Tacos by Gimme Some Oven Whoa. Can everyone agree with me? Just whoa. Tender chicken on slaw with Thai peanut sauce drizzled over it. I want it badly.

Kale, Mushroom, and Cheddar Bake by Simply Recipes Word. I want a pan of this and a spoon and a comfy chair. Clearly, I am in need of comfort food. This looks like the thing to do the job.

Garlicky Greens and Chevre Hand Pies by Starting Fresh Recipes It’s pretty safe to say that I am totally, 100% obsessed with these right now. As a born-Yooper, I have a hand-pie birthright (Hello, Pasties!) and I am eminently qualified to judge hand pies. I declare these to be crave-able. I also declare these to be on my to-do list.

Easy Chicken Green Chili Tacos by My Life as a Mrs. YES, baby!!!! I think tacos and pizza are the perfect foods. They’re the right ratio of meat/cheese/tacos/crunchy goodness. Rawr. RAWR. I could use a half dozen of these right now.

Thai Chicken Pizza by Seeded at the Table Didn’t I just say pizza and tacos are perfect foods? Heck to the yes. I will stick my face in the pizza very, very soon. Mark my words.

Appetizing Appetizers and Snacks

Nutella Brie Bites by Bev Cooks Seriously, Bev. You need to stop doing what you’re doing or I’m going to weigh 500 pounds. These are little tiny rectangles of puff pastry baked with thin slices of brie on top so it gets melty and bubbly as the pastry gets puffy. When they come out of the oven they’re drizzled with warm Nutella. Dear heavenly Father. I’m totally making this for the houseful of guests I have this week. I guarantee my sisters will be parked in front of the tray as it comes out of the oven. I’d better get a big honkin’ wheel of brie.

Pickled Avocados by La Fuji Mama I am all over this like brine on a pickle. It’s a well known fact that I am obsessed with pickles. Also well known is my fixation on avocados. This is happening here and soon and probably getting served on top of a rice bowl with a fried egg and some pickled carrots. That’s all I have to say about that.

Beautiful Breads

Fabulously Fluffy Buttermilk Butter Biscuits by Fields of Cake Biscuits are the instant gratification baby of the bread world. I know biscuits and these biscuits look fantastic. Can’t you just imagine a plate of these fresh from the oven slathered with marmalade? I know I can.

Deadly Desserts

Ho Ho Cake by La Fuji Mama Fuji Mama hit my Friday Fifteen twice this week and for good reason. Lemme tell you, I was talking to my aunt who’s flying up to our area from Florida for the memorial service and I asked what she wanted me to make for her food-wise. She said, “Honey? Just comfort food. Lots of it.” I would say this cake qualifies with a capital Q. It’s a ho-ho cake, people. I think I’ll make three.

Jello Blood Worms by The Idea Room I made this with a cooking class I taught for kids last year. It went over like gangbusters, people. They actually looked like REAL worms after being tossed with Oreo crumbs. In fact, someone came to me and asked if I was really and truly letting the kids eat worms. You’d like photographic evidence? Absolutely. That’s my boy!

I do have one piece of advice: have people handy to help you squeeze the jello worms from the straws. Your hands get slippery and it ends up (*wimpy alert*) kind of hurting your hands a bit.

Knock You Naked Brownies by The Pioneer Woman Well, I don’t know about THAT. I mean, I want those brownies more than I want my left foot right now, but I think I’d keep my clothes on. I’m kind of neurotically modest like that. Well, aside from the time that I actually lifted my shirt to prove to Ree that I was wearing Spanx (the one time I actually WORE Spanx because they’re EVIL) when I was visiting her for the Bush’s Beans event. But that’s another cup of coffee. And the point remains: I want these brownies, but I will eat them clothed. In lots and lots of clothing.

Beautiful Breakfasts

Oatmeal Brulee with Maple Cinnamon Cream by Very Culinary Oatmeal rocks my husband’s world. I’m pretty fond of the stuff myself. I’m pretty sure this beautiful concoction from Amy at Very Culinary is one of the best looking oatmeals I’ve ever seen. And I’m also equally certain that the heavy cream in it is offset by the whole rolled oats and fruit in the recipe. Heyyyyyy. I didn’t get to the pinnacle of food bloggerhood without some serious rationalization. It’s my gift to you.

Books, books, books!

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse. Many years ago, Val gave me my first Wodehouse collection. I had never read anything by him before and I didn’t know what to think about them. It was daughterly duty that made me crack that first cover but -oh my goodness- once I was two pages in, I was hooked. Wodehouse does situational slapstick unlike anyone else I’ve ever read. The Jeeves and Wooster stories are so lighthearted, so sweet, so ridiculous and so endearing that I re-read them nearly every year. They’re the perfect summer read and they do not tax your emotions while still remaining smart and quick. These have my absolute recommendation!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Oh sure, everyone knows Pride and Prejudice, and for good reason. Sense and Sensibility is the Jane Austen book that truly has my heart, though. The story -spun only as Jane Austen can- focuses on Elinor who is rational and sensible and her sister Marianne who is a wild, uncontrolled romantic and their suitors. The book isn’t some soppy romance, though, as Jane Austen managed to marry satire and romance. I adore this book.

GIVEAWAY!

Update: The “Pick a Giveaway Winner” plugin has chosen Barbara N. as our winner. Barbara, please check your email and send your mailing address so we can get your goodies out to you! Congratulations!

You know I love Harry & David dearly. They sent me a gorgeous Easter box of their best Royal Riviera pears to review this week. My review, in short, is that they are the best pears I’ve ever had. This is my fourth batch of Royal Riviera pears and they have all been equally wonderful. They’re so juicy and tender that you can eat them from the skin with a spoon. I hate to say it, but we’re ruined on other pears for now because the Royal Riviera pears are so darned good.

How to Enter the Giveaway!

Harry & David has generously offered to give an Easter gift to one very lucky Foodie with Family reader. Do your best Easter Bunny impersonation and hop on over to look at Harry & David’s Easter gift selection then hop back here and leave a comment letting me know which item under $60 you’d like. That’s it- you’re entered! One entry per person, please! We will use random.org to choose a winner Monday, March 25, 2013 and announce it here by noon on this post.

Filed Under: Friday Fifteen: Link Love, Giveaways! Tagged With: kid friendly, party food

Reuben Egg Rolls and Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

March 13, 2013 by Rebecca 18 Comments

A couple of months ago, my little sister sent me a hilarious exchange from NPR’s Sandwich Monday about Reuben Egg Rolls. I’m pretty sure I haven’t mentioned it here before, but I am straight up obsessed with Reuben sandwiches. As in perilously close to having named one of my children Reuben obsessed. My husband was thinking more clearly and steered me away from it by asking something like, “Would you name one of them Monte Cristo?” Well no, I’m not THAT crazy.

But I remain bonkers over Reubens. There’s something borderline mystically perfect about the crispy rye bread, salty corned beef, briny sauerkraut and creamy Thousand Island dressing that makes me lose all willpower. This particular little sister who sent me the link is just as wacky over Reubens as I am, so I sent her a text: “You know I’m going to have to make these right?” Her response was, “YESSSSS. It worked!”

…And work it did. I finely chopped some leftover baked corned beef, rinsed and chopped sauerkraut, shredded Swiss cheese, and just a pinch or two of caraway seeds to mimic the rye bread. Like Hackney’s in Chicago (the restaurant featured on Sandwich Monday) I decided to leave the Thousand Island as a dipping sauce. Homemade, of course!

I deep fried (duh) but they could’ve been baked, too. Baking would have robbed them of some of that shatteringly crisp egg roll wrapper exterior that I love so dearly, but if your fear of the deep-fryer is standing between you and a batch of Reuben Egg Rolls, I’m advising you to bake them. I’ve included instructions for both cooking methods in the recipe.

I posted a picture of the finished product to Instagram and within two minutes had a triumphant text from my sister that read, “YOU DID IT!” Oh, I surely did. And I’m making a batch to share with her when she comes to visit at the end of the month… She and I will sit and lose ourselves on a platter of Reuben Egg Rolls.

I highly suggest you make far more corned beef than you think you’ll need for Saint Patrick’s Day this coming weekend when all the world is Irish. You might even consider skipping the whole boiled dinner and going straight to these egg rolls for your Saint Pat’s feast. I guarantee you won’t get many objections.

Rebecca

P.S. My husband ate these happily with the Thousand Island dipping sauce, but insisted I tell you all that he really enjoyed them with wasabi, horseradish, spicy brown mustard, and Mae Ploy, just not all at the same time.

Reuben Egg Rolls and Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

Rating: 51

Reuben Egg Rolls and Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

This irresistible twist on the classic Reuben sandwich features shatteringly crisp egg roll wrappers stuffed with salty corned beef, briny sauerkraut, nutty Swiss cheese and a pinch or two of caraway seed to mimic rye bread. Dunk in homemade Thousand Island Dip or serve with horseradish, wasabi, or spicy brown mustard.

The recipe includes instructions for deep frying or baking the egg rolls.

Ingredients

For the Reuben Egg Rolls:

24-36 egg roll wrappers (not won ton sized)
1 1/2 to 2 pounds leftover baked or thickly sliced deli corned beef
1 packed cup sauerkraut (preferably not canned)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)
2-3 inches of peanut, canola or vegetable oil or shortening in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pan

For the Thousand Island Dressing:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
3 tablespoons ketchup
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions

To Prepare the Thousand Island Dipping Sauce:

Use a fork or whisk to combine all of the dressing ingredients. Scrape into a container with a tight fitting lid and let it rest in the refrigerator while you prepare the egg rolls.

To Prepare the Reuben Egg Rolls:

Place the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse over the sink. Squeeze as much excess liquid from the sauerkraut as you can, then transfer it to a cutting board and coarsely chop it so the largest pieces are 1/4-inch big. Put this in a large mixing bowl.

Coarsely chop the corned beef so that the largest pieces are no bigger than 1/4-inch. Transfer the corned beef to the mixing bowl with the chopped sauerkraut, add the shredded Swiss cheese and the caraway seed (if using.) Use your hands to toss the ingredients together so that everything is evenly combined.

Set the mixing bowl next to a clean cutting board that is set up with a small bowl with fresh water in it (for moistening the egg roll wrapper edges) and your pile of egg roll wrappers. On the other side of the cutting board, you should have a clean pan to hold your rolled-but-not-yet-cooked egg rolls.

Place a single egg roll wrapper with one point facing toward you and one away. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and moisten the two edges farthest away from you. Scoop 1/4-cup of the corned beef filling onto the egg roll wrapper just slightly closer to you than the center of the wrapper. You can use your hands to slightly compress the filling together if you find it is too loose. Lift the tip of the wrapper closest to you and fold it up and over the filling. Use this to help compress the filling but do it gently so you don't spring a leak in your wrapper. Fold the points on either edge toward the center like an envelope, then -using your hands to tuck in the edges as you go-, roll the egg roll away from you until the whole thing is a tight cylinder. Try to avoid holes in the wrapper as they can cause leaking melted cheese and therefore splattering during the frying process. Gently press the final edge to help seal it and lay it on the clean pan you prepared for it. Repeat until the filling is used up.

You will get anywhere between 24 and 36 egg rolls depending on how consistent you are with filling the wrappers and how much snacking you do of the filling while you roll them.

To Deep Fry the Reuben Egg Rolls (Preferred Method):

Bring the frying oil to 350°F. (*See Notes) When it reaches temperature, carefully lower as many egg rolls into the oil as you can fit without overcrowding the pan. The egg rolls should be able to move around the pan as they cook. Cook the egg rolls for about 3 minutes, flipping once or twice with tongs during the cooking, or until they are golden brown. Keep in mind they will darken somewhat when removed from the oil, so don't cook them until they're dark golden brown. You may find some of them don't want to stay flipped when you flip them which would prevent one side from cooking to crispy perfection. If this happens, use the tongs to hold the uncooked side in the oil for a few seconds to help the process.

Transfer the cooked egg rolls to a pan lined with several layers of paper towels. Let rest for at least a minute before serving with Thousand Island Dip or the dressing or sauce of your choice.. While these are definitely best hot, they are also good at room temperature.

To Bake the Reuben Egg Rolls:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray both sides of the finished egg rolls with non-stick cooking spray and lay them -not touching- on a baking sheet. Bake until the wrappers are golden brown and the Swiss cheese is melted inside. While these are definitely best hot, they are also good at room temperature.

Leftovers can be frozen on a sheet pan then transferred to a freezer bag and reheated in a 350°F oven until heated through.

Notes

*If you have a deep fryer you can definitely use it for this recipe, just set the oil temperature to 350°F and fry when it comes to temperature!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/13/reuben-egg-rolls-and-thousand-island-dipping-sauce/

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

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

Roasted Garlic Spinach Alfredo Lasagna | Make Ahead Mondays

March 11, 2013 by Rebecca 16 Comments

Remember how I said I was eating more healthy foods here? Well, I am. But I’m also doing things like what’s pictured above, so you should probably ignore any health claims I make.

I’m TRYING to have willpower people, but then I go and do this to myself. Honest-to-Pete, this uses three cups of heavy cream, a whole stick of butter, and about fifty billion pounds of various cheeses. This? Oh this. This is a Roasted Garlic Spinach Alfredo Lasagna. And all God’s people said, “Yum and pass the elastic waist pants.” Good golly.

When I made this, the kids weren’t all nutso about the idea because I only have two children who like Alfredo sauce and they’re also card-carrying members of the no-visible-veg club. Besides, a.) it’ didn’t have a meat sauce, b.) it has visible green vegetables, and c.) where’s the meat? My husband and I, on the other hand, were just too happy to have two pans of this to ourselves. In fact, we were frightened by how happy we were to have this to ourselves. The Evil Genius exclaimed, “This is great! You need to make MORE food the kids don’t like!”

I’ve been mama to these honyaks their entire lives, so that this didn’t fly over well with them was not surprising to me. Not only did I see it coming, but I planned for the eventuality in dividing the lasagna between two pans rather than cooking it in one large one.

The idea was to freeze one pan of the lasagna to eat at a later date or give to a friend who was in need of a meal while eating the other one. And since my husband and I ARE both trying to eat right (*$&#&@$*!@^#^), we each had one piece and I wrapped the chilled leftovers in individual servings for the freezer.

When one of us is on a business trip, the other can heat up a single serving of the good stuff for ourselves.

Before I share the recipe, I have to give you a couple of pictures from the “Keeping it real” file. I almost always photograph food on my porch because the light is free and easy out there. Have a good look at the dark area at the left edge of this picture. What do you think that is?

Have you guessed yet?

…

…. …

… … …

… … … …

… … … … …

It’s the chicken lasagna mafia. This hen was menacing my piece of heaven. She hopped up on the table and tried to peck it just as I whisked it away behind my back. Who knew chickens like lasagna? Little beast.

Roased Garlic Spinach Alfredo Lasagna | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: 2 (8-inch by 8-inch) lasagnas or 18 pieces

Serving Size: 1 piece

Roased Garlic Spinach Alfredo Lasagna | Make Ahead Mondays

Tender lasagna noodles are layered with creamy, rich Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce, ricotta cheese, spinach and mozzarella in this indulgent and memorable lasagna that comes together in minutes courtesy of no-boil lasagna noodles.

Ingredients

For the Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce:

8-12 cloves of roasted garlic, depending on how strong you'd like the roasted garlic flavour to be (*See Notes)
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 1/4 of a pound) unsalted butter
3 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

For the Lasagna:

2 boxes (9 ounces each) no-cook lasagna noodles. This recipe was prepared using Barilla brand noodles.
1 batch Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce
1 bag of frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess liquid
1 (32 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
8 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

To Make the Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce:

Add the butter and roasted garlic cloves to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts and the garlic cloves warm, smash them using a fork or a potato masher to break it up. Pour the heavy cream in and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to boil gently for 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Turn off the heat.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk it until it is even in colour. While whisking the eggs, slowly drizzle in two ladles full of the hot garlic cream mixture, then whisk it back into the remaining hot garlic cream mixture. When it is evenly combined, whisk in the grated cheese and set aside.

To Assemble the Lasagna:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spray 2 8-inch by 8-inch pans that are at least 2-inches deep with non-stick cooking spray. Lay three lasagna noodles -slightly overlapping them- to cover the bottom of each pan. Spread about 2/3 of a cup of ricotta cheese in each pan over the noodles. You don't have to be perfect, you just want to try to distribute it relatively evenly. Scatter about 1/6th of the spinach over the ricotta in each pan. Drizzle a ladle full of Roasted Garlic Alfredo over each pan, then toss about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over each pan. Repeat these layers two more times.

Finally, finish the lasagna by adding one more layer of the noodles and splitting the remaining Alfredo Sauce between the two pans. Pour about 3/4 of a cup of milk slowly over each of the pans of lasagna, taking your time so it doesn't leak over the sides. Cover the pans tightly with foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, covered, or until the noodles are tender and the filling is bubbly. Uncover the pans, divide the remaining mozzarella between the two pans and bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and the edges appear browned.

Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting into 9 equal pieces and serving.

To Freeze and Reheat Leftover Lasagna:

Method A: Chill the lasagna in the pan in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the pan tightly with foil then wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat the lasagna, remove the plastic wrap but leave the foil wrap intact, set on a rimmed baking sheet in a cold oven, and turn the heat to 350°. Once the oven reaches full temperature, begin timing for 30 minutes. The lasagna should be hot all the way through after 30 minutes. You can test this with an instant read thermometer or by inserting a butterknife into the center of the lasagna and carefully touching the knife to see whether it feels hot.

Method B: Chill the lasagna in the pan in the refrigerator overnight. Cut the lasagna into 9 equal pieces. Use a spatula to carefully remove and transfer each piece of lasagna to a platter or plate. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Unwrap a lasagna piece, put on a microwave safe plate and drape the plastic wrap over the top. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, or until hot all the way through. Alternatively, you can place the piece in a small, oven-safe dish and warm in a 350°F oven for 20 or so minutes or until hot through.

Notes

You can use purchased or homemade roasted garlic in this recipe. If you'd like to make your own roasted garlic, preheat the oven to 300°F. Use a high-sided pan that is just slightly larger around than the number of heads of garlic you wish to use. I always roast at least 4 heads of garlic, because I use roasted garlic in quite a few dishes. Cut at least 1/2-inch from the tops of the heads of garlic to expose the cloves. If the heads are quite large, you may need to take off up to an inch to do this. Lay them cut side down in your pan and pour in enough olive oil to come halfway up the sides of the heads of garlic. This is why you're using a smaller pan! Cover the pan with foil and bake for about an hour, or until the heads of garlic give a little when squeezed gently with tongs. Transfer the roasted garlic to a paper towel to drain a little bit. Pour the oil through cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve and save for other recipes. When the heads of garlic are cool enough to handle, turn them cut side down over a bowl and squeeze to remove the cloves. Store this in a canning jar with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to a month!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/11/roasted-garlic-spinach-alfredo-lasagna-make-ahead-mondays/

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

Filed Under: Make Ahead Mondays, Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: family-friendly, party food, Vegetarian

Quick & Dirty Raspberry Cheesecake Fried Pies

March 6, 2013 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Get the yoga pants out now, folks, because I discovered something very dangerous indeed when I was making empanadas last week. I’ve told you before of my abiding love for Goya Discos and empanadas and that I always keep a stash of those lovely little shortcut pastry rounds in my freezer. How can you go wrong for one-dollar-forty-cents for a package of ten, I ask you? You can’t! If you’re having trouble locating them, ask your local stores to carry them. If they have Goya canned goods, there’s a likelihood that they can get discos for you!

Back to the trouble at hand, though… I’m not sure WHAT motivated me to do it as I’m trying desperately to fit into a cute pair of jeans these days, but the thought process went something like, “I love these discos, I’d love to make a pie with them some day. Hey. I could make fried pies. Hey. I have oil going. HEY. I am going to make fried pies. WHOA. I am going to make cheesecake fried pies.”

And I did. And they were too good for my good. My husband’s eyes rolled back into his head when he bit into one. Warm raspberry pie filling over melted Neufchatel cream cheese in a deep-fried wrapper just about did the poor guy in for the joy of it all.

When I tell you these pies can be made as fast as you can slap some cream cheese and raspberry pie filling on a disco, crimp it and drop it in some hot oil, I mean it. I’m a double crimping kind of gal, because I like my filling to stay INSIDE the pastry where I put it. If you’re more sanguine, stick with a single crimp and you’ll have pie a few seconds faster.

I have a little trick for you to keep pie filling from squirting out the sides of the discos when you fold them. After you put the cream cheese just off center on the pastry and dollop the pie filling over it, bring the opposite sides together to fold it in half, but lift it off of the counter as you do it so that you’re holding it by the center edge that you’re pinching together, before continuing to crimp it, immediately pinch both ends shut to keep the filling from leaking out. Then, still holding it up in the air by that center edge, work your way around the seam, squeezing the pastry edges together to seal them. THEN lay it down on its side and crimp with a fork. Here’s where my Anal-Retentive Chef tendencies come through. After that first crimp, I usually fold the edges back toward the center and crimp again with a fork. Ta da!

It probably goes without saying that these taste best when warm. In the interest of scientific inquiry, though, we ate a few of them room temperature and also cold and they were still darned good. In order, we preferred them warm, then room temperature, then cold, but we wouldn’t say no to any of them if offered.

Were you to top a warm pie with a scoop of ice cream, you’d probably swoon. Alas, I will not do this at least until April because I gave up ice cream for Lent. Could someone maybe give that a try and tell me about it so that I can live vicariously?

Quick & Dirty Raspberry Cheesecake Fried Pies

Rating: 51

Quick & Dirty Raspberry Cheesecake Fried Pies

There's nothing more dangerous than these pies that are done in the blink of an eye and stuffed with tart, sweet raspberry pie filling over melted Neufchatel cream cheese in a blistery, crispy yet tender fried package.

Ingredients

1 package Goya Discos Empanada wrappers (without annatto), thawed
1 cup raspberry pie filling
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons softened low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel Cream Cheese)
2-3 inches of canola, vegetable, or peanut oil or shortening in a high-sided, heavy pan or deep-fryer

Instructions

Heat the oil to 350°F.

Slightly roll out the discos wrappers to make them just a touch thinner. This allows you to cram more of the good stuff into the wrappers before closing them. Add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese just off center on each disco wrapper.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of raspberry pie filling over the cream cheese.

Fold it in half, lifting by the center edges. Pinch both ends shut to prevent the pie filling from leaking out as you seal the wrapper. Still holding it in the air, pinch the edges to seal, working your way around the seam. Lay it down on the counter and crimp shut with a fork. If desired, you can fold the excess in toward the center and crimp the edges again. Repeat until all the disco wrappers are filled.

Fry the pies 2 to 4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan or deep fryer, taking care not to overcrowd them as they will expand slightly as they fry. Turn them over, if necessary after about 45 seconds (*See Notes). Continue to fry for another 45 seconds or until they are a deep golden brown. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the fried pies carefully to a paper towel lined plate. Let rest for at least one minute before eating.

Notes

*If you find that the pies are getting dark before the cheese has melted inside the pie, lower the temperature of your oil slightly. The goal is for the pies to be a rich brown on the outside with melted cheese and hot filling on the inside.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/03/06/quick-dirty-raspberry-cheesecake-fried-pies/

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

This post was NOT sponsored by Goya. They have no idea who I am, I just really dig their discos!

Filed Under: Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, dessert, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Sweet and Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookies | The Croods

February 27, 2013 by Rebecca 13 Comments

I love movies of all kinds: comedy, drama, action, adventure, COLIN FIRTH (because he gets his own category), HUGH JACKMAN (because he does, too), classics, musicals, suspense, animation (both silly and serious)… I love all of them. I can converse entirely in movie quotes and adaptations thereof when in the company of another movie lover. I don’t do this often because it’s just not as much fun when someone looks at you blankly when you say something like, “Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of a play date!” and try to fist bump.

Sigh.

I am especially fond of animated films. I’ve loved them my entire life and being firmly entrenched in adulthood is -in my opinion- not any kind of reason to stop. So when Dreamworks Animation -the studio behind some of my all time favourite animated films (Shrek, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run, Kung Fu Panda, and Megamind)- contacted me and asked me to develop a recipe for their upcoming film THE CROODS, I said yes enthusiastically.

From the moment I signed on, I knew what I was going to do… A Sweet and Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookie. What goes better with movies than popcorn? And without giving too much away, popcorn features prominently in THE CROODS as well. It was a match made in animated film heaven!

Sweet and Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookies are -like the movie- full of everything whimsical and bright: crunchy popcorn and salty pretzel sticks, sweet and sticky marshmallow, nutty brown butter and bright candy covered chocolate pieces.

They’re like a cross between a popcorn ball, rice crispy treat, candy bar, a bag of pretzels and a rainbow. Every bite is a happy bite; I challenge you to eat these without a smile!

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait long or fire up the oven when you get a hankering for these fabulous treats. All you have to do is pop some popcorn, melt some butter and marshmallows together, stir all the goodies together and scoop-n-squish the cookies. You don’t even have to wait until they firm up. Eat them warm and gooey if you want. I won’t tell!

Sweet and Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookies | The Croods

Sweet and Salty No-Bake Popcorn Cookies like a cross between a popcorn ball, rice crispy treat, bag of pretzels, chocolate candies, and a rainbow with crunchy popcorn and salty pretzel sticks, sweet and sticky marshmallow, nutty brown butter and bright candy covered chocolate pieces. These chewy no-bake cookies are guaranteed to make you smile!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (if using a pan on the stovetop, you also need enough oil to pop it according to package directions.)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 10-ounce bag of marshmallows or 4 cups of mini marshmallows
3 cups thin salted pretzel sticks
2 cups candy coated chocolate morsels
oil for your hands

Instructions

Pour the pretzels into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to break them roughly. The goal is to have most of them broken into three or more pieces. Set the bowl aside.

Line two sheet pans with silpats, parchment paper or wax paper and set them aside, too.

Pop the popcorn kernels using either an air popper or on the stove top using the directions on the bag of popcorn. Pour the popcorn into a bowl and give the bowl a couple of firm shakes back and forth to loosen unpopped kernels and let the drop to the bottom of the bowl.

Use your hands to scoop and shake the popcorn (again, to get rid of any remaining unpopped kernels) before transferring them to into the mixing bowl that has the broken pretzel sticks in it.

Use your hands to gently crush the popcorn so that about 1/3 of it is broken into smaller pieces.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat and let it bubble around the edges, lowering the heat if necessary to keep it from burning, just until the butter is golden and smells a little nutty. Add the marshmallows and carefully stir to coat them in butter. Drop the heat to low and -stirring constantly- melt the marshmallows in the butter until smooth. Pour over the popcorn and pretzel mixture and stir to coat everything evenly. Stir in the candy coated chocolate morsels just until distributed.

Oil your hands generously and use them to scoop about 1/3-1/2 of a cup of the popcorn mixture and gently press it together to form a ball. Put it on the lined pan and gently press down to flatten it slightly into a thick cookie. Repeat with the remaining popcorn mixture until it is gone.

Eat immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/02/27/sweet-and-salty-no-bake-popcorn-cookies-the-croods/

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

Would you like to learn more about The Croods?

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THE CROODS is a 3D comedy adventure that follows the world’s first modern family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always been their home is destroyed. Traveling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods are rocked by generational clashes and seismic shifts as they discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures — and their outlook is changed forever.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke and Cloris Leachman.