Turkey Meatball & Spinach Calzones

We love calzones but to find a really good one around here at a restaurant is a big challenge, not to mention the price! It's not as hard as you might think to make your own. I took a big short cut and used frozen bread dough. If you're more inclined to make your own dough, here's an easy bread machine dough recipe that's delicious.

Either way, just add your favorite pizza toppings and bake. It's that simple.

Tonight's calzones have turkey meatballs, spinach, mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce in them. MMM! The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's so versatile. You can clean out the frig and stuff it into a calzone and your family will think that you are a 5-star chef! Get creative and get the kids into the kitchen. It will taste even better to them since they've helped to make it.

Turkey Meatball & Spinach Calzones

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed according to package directions. Let rise according to package directions
1 bag frozen turkey meatballs, thawed
1/2 bag frozen spinach, thawed
shredded mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce

Sprinkle flour onto a large cutting board or onto the table. Divide each loaf of bread in half. Working with one piece of bread at a time, roll it out flat.

Cut the turkey meatballs in half. Lay 12- 14 pieces onto the bottom half of the dough. Spoon 2-3 tbsp. of pizza sauce over the meatballs.

Divide the spinach into 4 equal amounts. Sprinkle 1/4 of the spinach over the meatballs and sauce. Top with a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Fold the top half of the dough down over the filling. Wrap the dough into a rope form around the edges of the calzone, making sure the edges are sealed tightly. Refer to picture for help.

Lay the calzone on a baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 45-55 minutes, depending on the size and ingredients. Bake until the calzones are a deep golden brown. Serve with a side of pizza sauce for dipping.

Linking up to:
Rock Your Recipes

Food on Fridays

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

The lemon and rosemary in this chicken dish is very light and refreshing. It was a nice change. I love cooking with fresh herbs but they are few and far between around here right now. Once the farmers market starts up again, it should become a good source for me. This recipe was originally supposed to be made with basil but since I went to 3 stores looking for fresh basil and couldn't find it, I settled on dried rosemary and went home.

I will definitely try this recipe again using fresh rosemary or fresh basil.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. dried rosemary
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
6 boneless chicken breast pounded out to 1/2 inch

In a small bowl, stir together the first 7 ingredients. Set aside

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a large frying pan. Add chicken breasts. Coat the top of each chicken breast liberally with the olive oil mixture. Flip the chicken over to the other side and coat that side liberally with the mixture, too.

Turn the heat to medium-high. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until it is browned on both sides. (It's ok if a little pink is still showing in the middle).

Removed chicken from the frying pan and place on a baking sheet. Little drizzle each piece of chicken with olive oil and a pinch of rosemary.

Place baking sheet under broiler set at 475*. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until nicely brown and just a little crispy around the edges. Watch the chicken carefully to make sure not to over cook it. There is nothing worse than dry chicken!

Remove from oven and drizzle lemon juice over all of the chicken. Serve immediately.

Linking up to:
Friday Potluck

Menu Plan Monday

What happened to spring? All of a sudden we are drifting backwards into the cold, rainy (and sometimes snowy) weather again! I have beautiful sunny spring days on my mind, not these cold, dreary days that we've been having. It's only 45* here today! I did some major spring cleaning over the weekend and boy am I glad that I didn't pack the sweatshirts and heavy pants away.

Nothin' like soup to warm to warm us up. That's what's on the menu tonight. My daughter made a special request for this chicken noodle soup . I think that we will skip the grilled cheese tonight but I will fill it in with warm bread sticks.

Does anyone else have a hard time finding fresh herbs in the grocery stores around them? We have 3 major chains right in our area but none of them carry a good selection of fresh herbs and the ones that look decent cost a fortune. I've decided that I'm going to try growing some. I'm not much of a green thumb but since my kids and I were able to grow cherry tomatoes from seeds last year, I've caught the gardening bug. If anyone has any tips, I'd appreciate them!

On to this week's menu....

Monday - chicken and dumpling soup with breadsticks

Tuesday - tacos and Spanish rice. Trying a small side of chipotle potato salad

Wednesday - meatball and spinach calzones (didn't make them last week)

Thursday - chicken tortilla soup

Friday - breakfast for dinner: eggs benedict bagel sandwiches and fried potatoes

Saturday - homemade baked fish sandwiches and french fries or sweet potato fries

What's on your menu this week? 

Menu Plan Monday

Pork & Beans Chili

Tonight's meal was part 3 using the pork loin that I bought a while back. For $14.98 I was able to make 3 big delicious dinners - Lime-Glazed Pork Loin, Pork Soulvaki, and today's dinner Pork & Beans Chili.

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to get my family to try different types of beans. So far, they only types that any of the 3 of them will eat are green beans and black beans. I used one of my favorites, cannellini beans, in the chili tonight. The pork and beans blended with the tomatoes creating a yummy chili.

  
Pork & Beans Chili

1lb. boneless pork loin, cubed into small pieces
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c. water
1 palm full of chili powder
1/2 palm full of cumin
2 big pinches of garlic powder
2 big pinches of onion powder
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
(I apologize for the measurements but I didn't
plan on blogging about this meal until it turned
out so delicious.)
1 lg. can of canellini beans, drained well

In a large frying pan, brown the pork. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Mix together the tomatoes and the water. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth.

Pour the pureed tomatoes back into the large frying pan. Stir in the seasonings. Add the pork.

Stir well. Cover and cook on medium-low for 20 minutes. Stir in beans and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Serve with warm cornbread.


Linking to:

Frugal Follies Thursday

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

The hummingbird cake seems to have deep roots in the south. There are many speculations as to where it originated. Some say it was a recipe submitted to Southern Living Magazine by a southern lady. While others say it originated in Jamaica...bananas and pineapple are from the area so these ingredients were use often in cakes. The cake is said to be named after Jamaica's national bird. N o matter where this cake originated, I'm glad that the recipe made it to our neck of the woods.

I had never heard of hummingbird cake before moving to the Charlotte area. It's very popular all around here. Since cupcakes go over way better than cake at our house, I decided to give them a whirl. Think banana bread filled with fruit and nuts. MMM! Bananas keep the cupcakes moist and delicious. The pineapple takes on a glazed, sugar-coated taste and the coconut and pecans give a nice little crunch. The sugars from the bananas and pineapple form a slightly sticky crust around the edges of each cupcake.

Traditional hummingbird cake is usually frosted with cream cheese frosting. My cupcakes were so sweet and moist and delicious that I decided to leave them plain. Why add more sugar if it's really not needed? My family agreed.

Take a look at those bananas peeking through. Don't you just want to stick your finger right into it?

I've done a lot of research on recipes for hummingbird cake. Most of the ingredients are the same - the only change, depending on which recipe you use, is choosing to use either oil or butter.

Hummingbird Cupcakes in the Buff

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. sugar
3 lg. eggs
2 c. ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 large bananas)
8 oz. crushed pineapple
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. sweetened coconut

Preheat over to 350*  Line cupcake pan with liners or use silicone holders.

Wisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy.

Stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined.

Stir the fruit mixture into the flour mixture.

I used a large ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners. Fill 2/3 full. Do not be tempted to fill to the rim. The cupcakes won't bake higher, they will just spill out onto the pan. (I proved it.)

Bake for 22-25 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

I'm linking up to:

House of Hempworths
Life As Mom 
I'm Lovin' It
Sweet Tooth Friday 
Muffin Monday

Menu Plan for March 20 - 26

Our menu for this week is a mix of new recipes, along with some family favs. There should be no complaining from anyone. :)

Sunday - cheeseburgers and wacky mac pasta salad

Monday - whole baked chicken baked with potatoes & carrots and cottage cheese on the side (I will be using the spices from this Atkins recipe.)

Tuesday - chili and corn bread

Wednesday - grilled honey & soy chicken wings and Asian noodles

Thursday - school function - BBQ plate dinner PTA fundraiser- I will be working at the school all afternoon and evening. We will probably grab something to eat out either before or after my son's soccer practice that evening. Sadly none of us like NC BBQ so that won't work for our dinners.

Friday - lemon sage chicken with mushrooms, jasmine rice and a Greek salad

Saturday - meatball, spinach & cheese calzones

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Back to the busy schedule this week.

Short and sweet. Here's our menu for the week:

Sunday - lime-glazed pork loin, potatoes, green beans and cucumber salad

Monday - pasta with red or white sauce

Tuesday - pork soulvaki, rice and salad

Wednesday - meatloaf, "stuffed" mashed potatoes and carrots

Thursday - cobb salad

Friday - bbq jack chicken, noodles and gravy and corn (hopefully I get to finally make this recipe.)

Saturday - taco chicken quesadillas and fiesta rice.

Menu Plan Monday

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin

I caught a good deal on boneless pork loin at Sam's Club last week - $14.98 for a huge loin. I forgot to take notice of how much it actually weight but put it this way, I cut it into 3 pieces to make 3 big meals out of it. :)  1/3 of it will become Pork Souvlaki this week, 1/3 will become some sort of stew or chili and the last 1/3 because tonight's dinner, Lime-Glazed Pork Loin.

This is another recipe from my Taste of Home Cookbook. They call it Lime-Glazed Pork Chops. I was really skeptical making this today. The whole time I was wondering whether or not my family would even try it because of the jalapeno peppers and orange rind on the showing on the meat. Things have been a little touch and go at our house lately because I've been trying new recipes and not sticking to the same old, same old. In fact, I went off on a bit of a rant because I got tired of my husband's griping before he had even tried any of the new recipes. That must have worked to open their eyes to not saying anything before trying it because today I didn't hear a peep before the cut into the pork. I didn't say anything, I just looked around awaiting the first comment. My daughter piped right up and said "MMM! Mommy, this is great!". My husband and son quickly added that they both liked it, too. Holy cow! A new recipe with "strange stuff" on the meat ....and they like it! Miracles never do cease, do they?

Besides using boneless pork loin cut into chops instead of regular bone-in chops, the only time I strayed was to double the amount of the glaze. It turned out to be a very tasty recipe. I would marinate the pork overnight in a citrus marinade the next time for a little more citrus flavor. This is definitely a keeper.

Lime-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin
adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
4 bone-in pork loin chops (8 ounces each)
4 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine the marmalade, jalapeno, lime juice and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until marmalade is melted. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill pork chops, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, brushing with glaze during the last 5 minutes.

** Notes** Keep a close eye on the pork as it's cooking. Do not overcook it.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

  

Ham & Broccoli Strata

My husband and kids gave me The Taste of Home Cookbook * New Revised Edition for Mother's Day last year. I've spent many nights flipping through the pages reading it like a good book. But up until now, I haven't made any of the recipes. I finally flipped through the book and picked out several recipes that I will be trying over the next few weeks.

For the first new recipe, I made a Ham & Broccoli Strata. Although it turned out picture perfect, it wasn't a big hit with my husband and daughter. My son and I liked it but neither of us were in a hurry to add it to the menu again. I made only one substitution - switched the Swiss cheese for a combo of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar- but this could've been a big mistake. For my taste buds, something was missing. I bet that the "bite" of the Swiss cheese would've been much better. My son didn't care for the bread in it. I think that I would try this recipe again using Swiss cheese. I would also cut the bread into smaller chunks and make sure that the bread got mixed with the wet ingredients.

Here's the recipe with the only sub in bold.

Ham & Broccoli Strata
recipe from Taste of Home

6 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese - I subbed a mix of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
1 loaf (8 ounces) French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, ham and cheese; spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Arrange bread slices on top. Cover with remaining broccoli mixture. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, onion, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Pour over broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 12 servings.

Please bear with me.....

I'm not going crazy with all of the changes that have been appearing with my blog. The last template froze up my computer so I'm trying to find something that will work. I hope to have things straightened out by tomorrow!!

March '11 Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

Last night I decided to make one of the March Cookie Carnival's cookies, Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies from Quaker Oats. I'm happy that I did. These cookies are soft and chewy and down right delicious. My kids raved about them.

Halfway through the recipe I realized that I was out of eggs. I decided to hit the Internet to see if I could find a reasonable substitute for the 2 eggs that the recipe called for. There are several dry substitutes out there but I wanted to add a wet ingredient for at least one of the eggs. Applesauce is a common substitute but I was also out of it. One recommendation was 3 tbsp. mayo. I knew that I had some in the frig. so that took care of one egg. I used 2 tbsp. cornstarch to substitute the other egg. I also read that no matter what you use as a sub., you should always add in two extra teaspoons of baking powder. I continued on with the rest of the recipe.

The recipe called for nuts but since my husband is not fond of nuts in cookies - but is really fond of raisins - it was a no-brainer to add raisins. Delicious! Like eating chocolate covered raisins in cookie form. :)

Here's my recipe including the substitutions I made:

Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Cookies
original recipe

One  8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
8  tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter, softened
1  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2  teaspoon vanilla
2  cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2  teaspoons baking soda
3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1  cup raisins
 
In large bowl, beat cream cheese, margarine and sugars until creamy. Add mayo, corn starch and vanilla; beat well. Add melted chocolate; mix well.

Add combined flour and baking soda; mix well. Add oats and nuts; mix well.

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are almost set. (Centers should still be moist. Do not overbake.) Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

*Recipe Notes*

To melt chocolate chips, place in 1-quart glass measuring cup or microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Or, place in top part of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water; stir occasionally until smooth.

*My Notes*

The recipe calls for chilling the cookie dough beforehand. I skipped this step and just scooped and baked right after mixing it up. I couldn't tell the difference.

Store the cookies in sealed container or plastic bag. Best if eaten within 2 days.




Do you enjoy baking cookies? Join us today at the Cookie Carnival! Here's what you need to do.  I hope to bake with you soon!


Linking to:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
What's On Your Plate?

Creamy Garlic Chicken Stew

We're talkin' about comfort food tonight. We are sitting down to big bowls of chicken stew. Filled with veggies, chicken and flat dumplings, this stew tastes as good as it looks!

This is the second of four new Philly Cooking Cremes that I'm testing for my House Party reviews. Since my first recipe, Santa Fe Lasagna, turned out to be a big hit, I had high hopes for the Creamy Garlic Chicken Stew. I think that they have a hit on their hands with these cooking cremes. The Savory Garlic Cooking Creme is very good. It has a mild garlic flavor to it, not overpowering at all. The cooking creme helped to make the stew really creamy.

Creamy Garlic Chicken Stew

3 boneless chicken breasts, poached and cubed into bite-sized pieces
2 c. carrots, diced small
1/2 c. celery, diced small
2 small canned of sliced mushroom, drained well
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
2 dried bay leaves
1 can of green beans, drained well and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 c. (minus 2 tbsp) flour
64 oz. chicken broth or chicken stock
1 tub Philly Savory Garlic Cooking Creme
2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil for frying pan
1/2 package of Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings

Poach chicken breasts; remove from water and cool. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.

In a large frying pan, heat butter and olive oil. Add carrots, celery and mushrooms. Sprinkle in poultry seasoning, black pepper and bay leaves. Cook over medium heat until the carrots are fork tender.

Add flour. Stir to completely cover the vegetables with the flour.

Carefully stir in the chicken broth, stirring until the broth is creamy with no lumps of flour showing. Stir in the tub of Philly Savory Garlic Cooking Creme. Continue stirring until the broth is creamy with no lumps in it.

Add chicken and green beans to the pan. Cover and cook 15 minutes over medium heat. The broth will start to thicken.

Remove half of the flat dumplings from the box. Put the remaining dumplings back into the freezer for a later use. Cut each dumpling strip in half. Drop four dumplings at a time into the stew, stirring well after every set of dumplings has been added. Put the lid back on the pot and continue cooking for 12 - 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

Serve with warm, crusty bread.

**Other serving suggestions**

Serve the stew (without dumplings) over cooked penne pasta or serve the stew (without dumplings) over warm biscuits.

My whole family enjoyed this. This recipe is definitely a keeper. As my husband says "Add it to the rotation!" :)

Menu Plan Monday

We've been getting some much needed rain the last few days. But the rain also means that the kids are staying indoors....let the fighting begin. Oh, my aching head!! Anyone else dealing with this?

I thought that I'd stir things up a bit this week by including a new recipe in every meal. :)

Sunday: creamy garlic chicken stew

Monday: greek pasta & beef - ham & broccoli strata & strawberry french toast

Tuesday: lime glazed pork loin, cooked potatoes & salad - greek pasta & beef

Wednesday: cajun shrimp rolls & rice (didn't make it last week)

Thursday: ham & broccoli strata & strawberry french toast

Friday: bbq jack chicken & mac n cheese (didn't make it last week)

Saturday: either leftovers or out for pizza

Two weeks of my husband working daylight is over with, two weeks to go! You'd think that I'd be used to it by now but I'm not. I'm looking forward to life going back to normal for us!

Things have been a little crazy this week. I've managed to stick with our menu plan, just mix the daily menus up a bit. :)   I've made the changed in italics above.

Hookin' up with Menu Plan Monday!

February 2011 Cookie Carnival Round Up!

Welcome to the Cookie Carnival's end of month round up for February 2011!

There were two really pretty cookies to choose from this month:

Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars

Kids Bake: Vanilla Shortbread Hearts


We didn't have a big turnout this time but those who did participate, their cookies are beeeeauuutiful!!!

Check out these beauties:

Tessa @ The Cookin' Chemist baked the Cosmos. She said "They have that classic shortbread crust with the fruited topping sprinkled with powdered sugar, but the lime zest in the crust and the cranberry-orange topping definitely make them both unique and delicious."

Kerri @ Kerri's Texas Kitchen baked the Cosmos. She said "What a perfect cocktail! A hint of orange, cranberry and vodka! These were one of the cookies for Cookie Carnival for February and they are really good."

Barb @ Mom's Fridge baked the cut out cookies. She said "The cookies turned out delicious, but they were really work-intensive. I love cookies, but I don't like doing cut-out cookies. I'm a "drop and go" kind of girl when it comes to cookies.

I wanted to try both of these cookies but I just couldn't squeeze it into our busy schedule. The Cosmo cookies look so delicious to me!

Thanks, ladies, for hanging out with me last month! I hope to see you back at the end of March!

If you would like to join the Cookie Carnival, here's what you need to know!

Until the end of March, Happy Baking!
Tami

Santa Fe Lasagna

I was chosen by House Party to host a Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party to try the new Philly Cooking Cremes.

There are 4 Cremes to choose from: Italian Cheese & Herb, Savory Garlic, Original and Santa Fe Blend.

From the name of my post, I bet you can figure out which creme I chose to test first. The Santa Fe Blend. Since creating a Mexican lasagna was already on my mind, I decided to run with the ingredients that I had on hand, plus I wanted to incorporate the Santa Fe Creme into the recipe. The result was a delicious, creamy lasagna that my whole family and friends raved about. (Yep, picky kids, too!!)

Santa Fe Lasagna

1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked, drained and set aside.
1 lb ground beef
1 medium-sized onion
2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained
3 C. shredded cheese with taco flavors or plain cheddar cheese
1-10 oz - tub Philly Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
24 oz. mild salsa

Directions

Boil Lasagna noodles. Rinse and set aside.

In a frying pan, saute onions and mushrooms until the onions turn opaque. Set aside

In the same pan, brown ground beef. Drain off any grease. Stir in the tub of Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme.

The creme sauce melts right into the beef creating a nice sauce.

Layer lasagna in this order: 

Spread a thin layer of salsa across the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.

Lay 5 noodles across the salsa. Top the noodles with a layer of cheese.

Top cheese with half of the mushroom and onion mixture.

Top with 1/3 of the meat and Philly Santa Fe Blend. Be careful not to overload the noodles. These are thin layers of all of the fillings.

.

Layer with 5 more lasagna noodles, this time topping with first with salsa, the remaining mushroom & onion mixture, 1/3 of the meat and sauce. End with a layer of cheese.

For the top layer, add 5 lasagna noodles, the rest of the meat and sauce mixture and any remaining salsa. Finish off with a layer of cheese.

Bake at 350* for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Delicious!!  Two thumbs up for the Philly Santa Fe Blend Creme. I will note that the Santa Fe Creme has a little spice to it. Not much, but if you are tempted to buy medium or hot salsa, taste the creme first. It might be spicy enough.

**The opinions expressed in this post are my honest opinions. I was not compensated for posting this. My participation with House Party is not related to my blog.**

Adding this recipe to Tasty Tuesday!