Poached Pear and Fig Pizza

It's time for another pizza experiment. This one makes dinner taste like dessert! The pears make the house smell like Christmas. The tart pears, sweet figs, and salty onions all compliment each other really well.

Red Wine Poached Pear and Fig Pizza

1-2 pears, peeled and sliced
3/4 cups red wine (I used Merlot)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 figs, thinly sliced (keep in fridge until ready to use)
1/2 medium onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2-1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 pizza crust (We like the Boboli thin wheat)

1. Preheat oven as directed by pizza crust.
2. Combine wine, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and vanilla in small saucepan. Heat until boiling. Reduce to simmer and add pears.
3. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pears are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Remove from heat, scoop out pears and put on plate to dry out a little.
4. Simmer remaining sauce until reduced in half. Save for pizza "sauce".
4. Meanwhile, thinly slice onion and sauté on medium heat with olive oil until caramelized. Set aside.
5. Spread/drizzle a little bit of the left over pear sauce on the pizza crust. Layer pears, thinly sliced figs, onions, and cheese onto pizza crust. I also topped with just a smallest sprinkling of parmesan cheese
6. Bake according to pizza crust directions.

AEM

Mini Corn Dogs

These are always a huge hit when I make them because who doesn't love a good corn dog. These are bite-sixed mini corn dogs though, perfect for snaking or a little pre-dinner treat. Since they are so cute, it only seems natural to name them Corn Puppies (thanks Alison!) These are the definition of semi-homemade, super easy and super quick.

Mini Corn Dogs aka Corn Puppies

1 package of corn muffin mix (we like Krusteaz)
5-6 hot dogs (we like the 97% fat free Hebrew National)
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven as directed on the muffin mix. In my case, 400 degrees. Spray mini-muffin tray with cooking spray.
2. Prepare muffin mix according to package. I just needed to add 1/2 cup of water and shake!
3. Pour/spoon muffin mix intro prepared muffin tray. Fill each about halfway.
4. Cut hot dogs into 4-5 pieces each. Put one hot dog piece into each muffin mix.
5. Back about 10 minutes.
6. Cool on a cooling rack at least 5 minutes before serving. They are hot when they come out of the oven and too good resist so be careful!

**my muffin mix yields 6 normal muffins but it makes 24 of these little guys**

AEM

Easy Pad Thai

This was a delicious and easy way to whip up some dinner. Heck, I was making crab rangoon for an appetizer, I couldn't switch over to spaghetti and meatballs after that so we tried this. We really liked it.

Easy Pad Thai

1 8oz package of wide lo mein noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1-2 cups cooked, sliced chicken breast

1. Cook noodles according to package.
2. Combine brown sugar, lime juice, and soy sauce
3. In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly about 30 seconds. Add eggs and cook, scraping pan with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
5. Add noodles, scallion greens, chicken and sauce to pan. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
6. Serve noodles topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Original Recipe: http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/

AEM

Baked Crab Rangoon

I tried to take on crab rangoon today and I almost won. The recipe below is good if you like crab and has less than 1g of fat per rangoon! If you don't really like crab (like us) there's a tip at the end for additions....Lesson learned!

Baked Crab Rangoon

12-15 wonton wrappers
1 6oz can white lump crab - drained
1/4 cup fat free cream cheese
1 tablespoon light mayo
2 finely sliced green onions
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a dozen cups of a mini-muffin tray with cooking spray.
2. Mix together crab meat, cream cheese, mayo, and green onions in a bowl.
3. Place each wonton wrapper into the cups of a mini-muffin tray. Fill each with crab filling.
4. Lightly brush the inside corners of the wonton wrappers with water and bring the 4 corners to the center to create a little pouch (or leave the wrappers open). Once all are closed, spray tops with cooking spray.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes (keep an eye on them after about 17 or so to be sure they don't burn). Cool about 5 mins before eating, the filling gets hot! We dipped them in sweet and sour sauce.

**if you aren't a huge fan of crab, add at least 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of mayo to the initial mixture**

AEM

Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza

Nothing is off limits when it comes to pizza around here. While I was struggling to come up with dinner last night and finally deciding on pizza, Alison suggested Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza. Brilliant! I'll be honest, this was good and pretty rich but I wouldn't say it was great. Something needs to be tweaked, possibly a little more soy sauce...

Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza

chicken (I used a leftover breast), cooked and cubed

pizza crust (we like Boboli's thin whole wheat crust)

1/2 - 1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

2/3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for some heat

1/4 cup peanuts

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup shredded carrots

sesame seeds for garnish

1. Cook and cube your chicken if you're not using leftovers. About 20 minutes at 400 degrees should do the trick. 

2. Prepare the veggies you are planning on using (I just microwaved mine for a few minutes)

3. Add peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes into a small sauce pan. On medium heat, whisk just until it begins to boil, remove from heat. 

5. Use the peanut butter/soy sauce as your pizza sauce and spread a thin layer on the crust. Top with chicken and cheese. Bake according to pizza crust package instructions. 

6. Once cheese is almost melted top with peanuts and place in oven for another 2 minutes. Top with bean sprouts, carrots, and sesame seeds.

AEM

Thanksgiving Wraps

We are suckers for Thanksgiving and therefore do not believe it should only come around once a year. Every now and then we'll create a mini-Thanksgiving with turkey and stuffing and the whole nine yards. Then there are the days when we are just far too lazy for that so we make a delicious and quick 5 minute meal: Thanksgiving Wraps...

Thanksgiving Wraps

1/2 lb deli Turkey
1 cup Stovetop Stuffing
1 can whole cranberry sauce
shredded lettuce
tortillas/wraps

1. Make the stuffing according to directions.
2. Spread cranberry onto tortilla. Top with turkey. Add stuffing and lettuce.
3. Roll/wrap!

AEM

Birthday Wishes

Mike's mom is celebrating a special birthday this year so we wanted to do something extra nice to show our love. Her gift was best opened in a specific order so I created tags for each piece so she'd know which order to open things. She also likes sweets and since it seemed inappropriate to travel across the country with cake, it seemed only reasonable to bring cake pops! This time we tried "chocolate covered strawberry" pops which means strawberry cake with chocolate frosting, Mike's favorite combination thus far!

AEM

Coconut Shrimp

Ok, I honestly can't handle the thought of zucchini after last week so we're started this week off with an Asian flair. We have baked coconut shrimp fairly and we think they are delicious.

Coconut Shrimp

1/2 lb shrimp - peeled, deveined
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup sweetened coconut
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare cookie sheet: line with foil, top with oven-safe cooling rack, spray with cooking spray
2. Put flour in a bowl or plate and add salt & pepper to taste. Put egg, beaten, in a separate bowl. Combine coconut and panko on a third plate.
3. Dip shrimp in flour, then egg, then coconut/panko. Line them up on the cooking rack/tray. To be honest, I did it the sloppiest possible way but it made it so much easier. I put all of the shrimp into the flour at once and coated them. Then I put them all into the egg at once and coated them. Then, one-by-one I dipped them into the coconut/panko mixture and then put them on the tray. One hand was the "wet hand" to pull the shrimp out of the egg and drop them into the panko while the other hand was the "dry hand"which coated the shrimp in panko and transferred them to the tray.
4. Once all shrimp are on the try, spray lightly with cooking spray.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, spray with cooking spray and cook another 8-10 minutes or until done.
6. We like to dip them in sweet and sour sauce

AEM

Zucchini Sticks

Well, anyone noticing a theme yet? It's not pumpkin this time, now it's zucchini! We've declared Zucchini Fest 2012 and up to bat tonight would be Zucchini Sticks.

Zucchini Sticks

1 large, thin zucchini
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs (I used half Italian, half Panko)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
seasoning (I used some garlic salt, onion flakes, pepper)
salt
cooking spray

1. Cut zucchini in half so you have two short barrels. Then cut each mini-zuch into 9 pieces/sticks. 2 East/West cuts, 2 North/South cuts. Place zucchini in a bowl or strainer and sprinkle with about 1/2 tablespoon salt and let sit for about 30-45 minutes. Zucchini water will collect. Drain off water, rinse zucchini, and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (400 convection). Place an oven-safe cooling rack on a cookie sheet.
3. Beat egg in medium bowl. Put zucchini sticks into egg and allow sticks to become coated in egg.
4. On a deep plate or in a bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese, and seasoning. Dip egged zucchini sticks into bread crumb mixture one-by-one. Place on cooling rack/cookie sheet. Once all sticks are breaded, spray top with cooking spray.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from oven, flip sticks, spray with cooking spray, and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until browned.

Enjoy!

AEM

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala has quickly become a household favorite around here. It was a little rainy and dreary today and Mike was jonesing for this so we whipped it out tonight. Here's how it went down. I also made a zucchini salad and some mashed potatoes but you're on your own for the potatoes!

Chicken Marsala

2 thin chicken breasts

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup Marsala

1 cup chicken stock

salt and pepper

1. Prepare chicken breasts as you choose (I did about 15 mins in a 400 degree oven but floured and done on the stove in some olive oil is also a good option). 

2. Add half the butter to a large pan, over medium heat, add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are slightly brown on the edges. 

3. Add Marsala. Boil and allow Marsala to reduce in half. Add chicken stock and boil for another 2 minutes or so. 

4. Add chicken and remaining butter. Also add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve when sauce thickens. 

Zucchini Salad

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1/4 cup diced tomato

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1. All all ingredients into a pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender. 

2. Serve

AEM

Sausage Zucchini Pizza

Pizza night! Tonight's conquest: sausage and zucchini, a delicious combo! Might be even better with some caramelized onions on top!

Sausage Zucchini Pizza

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup cooked turkey sausage
1/2 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
about a dozen basil leaves, chopped
1 pre-made pizza crust (we like the Boboli whole weat thin crust)
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven according to crust instructions.
2. Mix zucchini, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper in small boil. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and drain any extra fluid
3. Spread 1/2 tablespoon olive oil on pizza crust. Add zucchini and sausage. Top with cheese.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes (or according to crust instructions). After baking, top with basil. Serve

AEM

Salsa Chicken and Zucchini Cakes

The dreaded dinner time strikes again! What to make, what to make?! So many choices yet it seems like there's nothing to make. I know! Zucchini cakes! Although Mike will never go for just that...what else, what else? Chicken! and Mashed potatoes! The chicken sauce and zucchini cake recipes are below, you're on you own for mashed potatoes!

Salsa Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Prepare chicken to your liking. I baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
2. Add garlic to small pan and cook on medium for about a minute. Add salsa, orange juice, and brown sugar. Heat to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, add chicken. Cook on low until sauce thickens slightly.
4. Place chicken on plate (or in my case potatoes and zucchini cakes) and add sauce on top.


Zucchini Cakes

1 large zucchini grated, excess water removed (put grated zucchini into paper towel and squeeeeeeeze out water)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
sprinkle of nutmet
1 clove minced garlic
1 egg
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients except olive oil. Form patties.
2. Coat bottom of pan in olive oil and heat to medium. Add zucchini patties and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Original Zucchini Recipe: http://www.lifesambrosia.com/2009/02/zucchini-cakes-recipe.html


AEM

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Brownie Cups

As a thank you for someone and a gift for someone else I decided to whip up some heavy-chocolate treats. One just didn't seem like enough with all of the delightful recipes so I turned a classic Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and a Brownie Cup recipe into reduced fat deliciousness. The cookies were very light and fluffy, almost cake-light and the brownies were flat-out dreamy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat over to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda in medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat sugar, vanilla, butter, applesauce, and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Slowly add flour mixture, beat well. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove from tray and cool on wire rack. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Brownie Cups

48 Hershey Kisses (Meltaway)
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar

1. Unwrap kisses and place in freezer.
2. Beat butter, applesauce, sugar, water, vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs and beat well.
3. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda. Slowly add to sugar/butter mixture, beating on low until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until dough is firm enough to roll into balls.
4. Heat over to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin tray with paper/foil baking cups or spray with cooking spray. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place in muffin cups.
5. Bake 11-13 minutes or until cookie surface is set. Cookies will appear soft and moist. Do NOT overbake. Cool 5 minutes on wire rack, dust tops with powdered sugar. Press frozen kisses into each brownie. Cool IN PAN on wire rack and remove when cool. Makes 4 dozen.

Original Cookie Recipe: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=5014&name=HERSHEY%27S-%22Perfectly-Chocolate%22-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies

Original Brownie Recipe: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=8608&name=Chocolate-Meltaway-Brownie-Bites


AEM