Pizza Bites

I was doing a search a couple of weeks ago for an easy recipe for something to nibble on during our Steelers game. I found a super easy recipe from Our Best Bites called Stuffed Pizza Bites. One word to describes these little bits.... delicious!!

Whenever possible, I like to bring my kids into the kitchen to help out. My daughter decided that she would help me. This recipe is great for kids to help make.

We decided to make one batch of plain cheese pizza bites and one batch of hot sausage and cheese pizza bites. Instead of using shredded cheese, I decided to use Mozerella cheese sticks cut into fourths. My daughter was able to cut the cheese sticks, help fill the dough squares and roll the dough into balls.

Pizza Bites

1 roll refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese sticks (at least 10)
Pizza toppings of your choice - I cooked hot sausage and crumbled it
pizza sauce for dipping

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*

Unroll your pizza dough. Stretch the dough until it's about 12" x 12". Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 24 squares. I didn't bother to measure it, I just eyeballed it.

For plain pizza bites:

Cut mozzarella sticks into fourths. Place one piece of the cut cheese on each square. Pick up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings, forming a ball. Pinch all edges to make sure each ball is sealed. Place the balls in a pie pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

For sausage and cheese bites:

Place a small amount of hot sausage onto each pizza square. Cut mozzarella sticks into fourths. Top the sausage with a piece of the cut cheese. If the piece of cheese seems to be too big, I sliced those pieces into two or three and stuck them around the sausage. Pick up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings, forming a ball. Pinch all edges to make sure each ball is sealed. Place the balls in a pie pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

To bake:

Brush the tops of the dough balls with melted butter and sprinkle with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the tops are browned. Ours baked 20 minutes. 

Serve immediately with warmed pizza sauce.

These are perfect little snacks for the football games! If you are having people over for a party, you can make several different kinds and store in the frig until ready to bake.

I guarantee that these won't last long!! 

Go Steelers!!!! 

Portobello Spaghetti Bake

I adapted this recipe from an old issue of Cooking for 2 that I bought last summer at a thrift store that sells magazines for 10 - 25 cents each. For the last month I have been sorting through many, many magazines that I have had stored away here and there. I've made it a mission to sort through them, keeping only the recipes that I want. I've been giving away bags of the magazines that I didn't use or hardly used. One less thing cluttering my space now!

Here is the original recipe. Keep in mind that the recipe is for only 3 servings. I need most of my recipes to feed 4 people, including a growing teenager!, and then have enough leftover for my husband's lunch.

Portobello Spaghetti Casserole
original recipe from Cooking for 2

Ingredients

4 ounces uncooked spaghetti
3 portobello mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/4 cups marinara sauce
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, salt and pepper in oil until mushrooms are tender; drain.
  
In a large bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, parsley, flour, garlic powder and pepper flakes. Drain spaghetti; add to sour cream mixture. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with mushrooms and marinara sauce.
  
Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 3 servings.

** My version **

Portobello Spaghetti Bake

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb uncooked spaghetti
3 portobello mushrooms, stems removed
and thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp minced garlic in olive oil
3 eggs
1 c. sour cream
5 tbsp Parmesan cheese
6 tbsp flour
4 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp minced garlic in olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
4 cups red spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 c. shredded Italian cheese


Directions

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

While the spaghetti is cooking, saute the mushrooms in oil and chicken broth. Sprinkle on 2 tbsp Italian seasoning & 1 tbsp minced garlic. Saute until mushrooms are tender.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, flour, remaining Italian seasoning and garlic and pepper flakes. Drain spaghetti; add to sour cream mixture. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Top with spaghetti sauce and mushrooms

Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
 

Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Chicken Eggs Rolls

This was my first time making egg rolls. For some reason, I've always thought that it would be much more complicated that it was. This recipe is really easy and it leaves lots of room to play with different ingredients to change the flavors. I used chopped chicken in place of the usual pork or shrimp because that's what I had on hand. You could even make these totally vegetarian and not miss the meat at all.

Chicken Egg Rolls

1 package egg roll wrappers
1 - 16 oz - package of coleslaw
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp fresh grated garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
1 c. cooked chicken breast, cubed into very small pieces

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil to a frying pan. Toss coleslaw mixture into the frying pan and heat until the cabbage has softened. Stir continually to avoid any sticking. Remove from heat. Cool for 5 minutes.

Unwrap egg roll wrappers. Lay one wrapper flat on the table facing you in a diamond shape. Brush outer edges with water. Add 1/3 c. of filling to the center of the egg roll wrapper.

Fold one end to the center of the wrapper. Fold the left and right edges in on each side. Roll up, making sure all edges are sealed. I ended up with 13 egg rolls.

Deep fry the egg rolls in 3 inches of oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side. Watch carefully as they will brown very fast. Remove from oil onto a plate lined with paper towels. 

Enjoy!

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Nothing screams comfort food like these two items. Everyone seems to have their favorite recipe for each of them. I'm sharing mine tonight.

Meatloaf #2

I made a variant of this recipe.

2 lbs ground meat
1 c. plain bread crumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/3 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Bake at 375* for 45 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs. Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook over medium high heat for 8-12 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well. Return potatoes to pot. Add 2 tbsp. butter and 1/2 c. chicken broth. I like to use my hand-held mixer to "mash" the potatoes. Cover to keep warm until ready to eat.

Serve with brown gravy and green beans!

Chicken & Mushroom Penne

Chicken & Mushroom Penne

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed into small pieces
1 lb. penne pasta, cooked and drained well
8 oz. sliced white button mushrooms
1 small onion, diced into small pieces
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 - 10 3/4 oz- can of cream of mushroom soup
4 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 tsp sage
2 tsp creole seasoning (optional but it adds a nice kick)

In a medium frying pan, melt 2 tbsp. butter. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan and sautee until soft.

Into a large stock pot, stir together onions & mushrooms, 1/4 c. chicken broth, chicken and seasonings. Heat until warm.

Add mushroom soup and Velveeta cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese has melted. 

Spoon the penne into the pot of sauce. Stir well to blend.

Serve immediately with crusty bread on the side.