Southwestern Sweet potatoes

I've been racking my brain Pinterest for new recipes lately as I feel like we've been eating the same recipes over and over again for dinner. Does that happen to you? Well I came across this recipe that I pinned back in January from a GREAT cooking blog, Haute Apple Pie, I read and I thought it was the perfect time to make it! 

Y'all!! You must try this recipe, its really easy and didn't require any crazy ingredients! 

Twice-Baked Southwestern Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 lb spicy turkey sausage
1/2 C frozen corn
1/2 C black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 C shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick potatoes with a fork in multiple spots. Place on foil lined, rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour or until soft in the middle.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add turkey sausage and cook until no pink remains. Reduce heat to medium and add black beans and corn and all spices (chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper). Mix and cook 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove sweet potatoes from oven. With a knife, slice the potatoes lengthwise from tip to tip. Using tongs (the potatoes are hot!), hold the sweet potato in place. Take a fork and mash the insides of the potato until completely mashed. Repeat for each potato. Spoon sausage mixture into the top of the potatoes, working it into the sides a bit. Top each potato with a sprinkle of cheese. 

Throw the potatoes back in the oven on the baking sheet for about 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted. 

So tasty!! 

PS- the original recipe actually called for Chorizo, which would be delicious too but I was trying to cut down on the fat content so I could use this as an any day weeknight meal! For a special meal though I would totally use chorizo.

Recipe and picture from Haute Apple Pie

pumpkin chocolate chip bread

I ran across this recipe on a blog I read, Our Best Bites, and it is amazing! I followed the recipe word for word and it was wonderful so I had to pass it along! It would be perfect for Thanksgiving- either as breakfast or dessert- take your pick!

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (spooned into measuring cup and leveled)
1 cup whole wheat flour (again, don’t scoop!)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup white sugar
6 ounce container vanilla yogurt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (plus a few extra for the top of loaves)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 9×5 (or similar sized) loaf pans with nonstick spray and set aside.

Combine flours (after you put your flour in the bowl, just grab a teaspoon or two of it and toss with chocolate chips to keep them from sinking to the bottom), cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk gently to combine and set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl combine brown sugar and white sugar and whisk to combine, breaking up any clumps of brown sugar.  Add yogurt, eggs, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and mix together, being careful to not over mix.  When combined, gently stir in chocolate chips.   Divide batter between loaf pans and sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs attached.  All ovens are different, I would set your timer for about 45 minutes and keep an eye on it after that.  Don’t overbake!

Let cool for 10 minutes and then run a sharp knife around edge of pan and remove loaves from pan.

All info and pic from Our Best Bites- YUM is all I have to say! I would even make this without the chocolate- that's how yummy the flavor is! 

Key lime pie

• So, I don't know about where you are but it is just plain hot here, and humid! I think it's especially hard coming back from the cool weather in Alaska to this heat! Now that we are in full on summer mode, key lime pie just seems so right. It feels just like summer, but I had never actually made one. After a somewhat lengthy search on Pinterest, I've combined two of the best recipes I saw (from Martha Stewart and Paula Deen) and made my own! 
• It's so easy, you'll be able to whip it up in no time, for an anytime summer treat or just in time for Father's day! 

Ingredients

• graham cracker crust (you can buy a pre-made one but I think you'll be surprised how easy/ fast they are to make) 
• 1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 
  

filling

• 1 can (14 ounces) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed key-lime juice
• 1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest, plus more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

topping

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Combine graham cracker crust ingredients and mix until you have a mixture resembling wet sand. 

3. Press into a 9-inch pie plate, and bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.
4. Squeeze and squeeze all those little limes- should be between 10-15 key limes to get 1/2 cup of juice

5. Lower oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, 
Key lime juice, zest and cream. Pour filling into the cooled crust.

5. Return pie to oven, and bake until the center is set but still quivers when the pan is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for 20 minutes
6. Shortly before serving, combine cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon or pipe over cooled pie

ps- pardon the pot mark where I stuck my finger before it was completely cooled. . . 

chicken enchiladas

I found these enchiladas on Pinterest and decided the other day to make them on a special night and they were so good! I didn't change barely anything but I thought you had to know about them! They are really pretty easy to put together and come out in no-time! These are seriously delicious! 

What you'll need

10 corn tortillas

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

3. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

4. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese along with 2-3 tablespoons of the sauce in a separate floor.  Place a small amount of mixture into a tortilla. Roll up and place in pan.

5. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Yum!! 

I wasn't reading Joyful Momma's Kitchen before, but I think i'll start! 

Crockpot Roast Tacos

Um, before we even get into this recipe, I just need to tell you, you need to make this dish.
1. it is ridiculously easy
2. it is ridiculously tasty
3. anyone you cook it for will thank you
4. it's ridiculously easy- did I mention that??

Seriously- it's that good
I found this recipe on A La Mode a style/ home blog that I read. I even pinned it on Pinterest a while ago before finally making it last week for the first time

Source: alamodemaven.com via Susannah on Pinterest

Tasty no?? YES!

Here's what you need
Sirloin tip roast ( we used about 2 lbs)
1 jar of salsa (I used On the Border's hot salsa because I had it)

Just put the roast in the crockpot and cover with the salsa. Oh and I sprinkled some salt on top too. Then set on high and cook for 5 hours in your crockpot. The meat will be fall apart tender and be very easy to shred. And that's it!!
We serve it on flour tortillas with shredded cheddar but you could use chips and sour cream or anything really! The flavor is really great, you will love it!

homemade frozen yogurt

As the temperature rises and we are outside more, I crave ice cream more and more. Duh! We have an ice cream maker but I hesitate to use it because while homemade ice cream is yummy its not any better for you than the Blue Bell I'd pick up at the store!
The past few weeks have been so nice I went in search of a good low-fat/ lower calorie frozen treat.  I came across this recipe on 101 Cookbooks after doing a little research. It is simple, easy and fast!

What you'll need:
3 C Greek yogurt
3/4 C sugar
6 packets of Splenda
2 tsp vanilla  (paste or extract)

The original recipe calls for 1- 1 1/4C of sugar depending on how sweet you want it, but I lowered the sugar amount and substituted some splenda just to cut calories. This will result in a more icy/ hard yogurt, but to compensate for the lack in sugar you can add one tablespoon of vodka to help keep the yogurt soft in the freezer. You won't be able to taste it, it just keeps the yogurt from completely hardening.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Then let sit in the fridge for an hour.

Then freeze according to your ice cream maker directions. I think mine took about 20 minutes. As you can see, we added a few chocolate chips! It's very tasty and satisfies those summer ice cream cravings!

Funfetti cupcakes

As promised- I have the recipe for the funfetti cupcakes I made for my sister's baby shower! I have made a lot of recipes from box mixes or doctoring up a box mix but I really wanted to try making cupcakes from scratch for this occasion. For a great recipe I turned to one of my go-to cupcake sources- My Baking Addiction. I just used her basic vanilla cupcake recipe and added a little almond extract too because, well, I just like to! And of course sprinkles to make them FUNfetti!! It is a baby shower after all!

Here's what you need:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used Swan’s Down brand)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 C sprinkles or jimmies**


** I know you can use regular old non pareil sprinkles but I found that the softer confetti dot sprinkles- ( I believe they are made from fondant) like these from Etsy work really well and give you more color since they are larger . .. and i just like the colors too! 


Directions: 

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites. Then in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean seeds (or paste) at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until the butter and sugar are very light I'd say this took about 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract and one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter fully incorporated and smooth, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Then dump in all of your sprinkles and give it a good mix. They should be pretty well dispersed. 

Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), distribute the batter between 18 muffin wells, filling each well 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean. Cool on wire rack. See all those fun specks! The ones inside completely melt and just leave the fun colors! 

Lemon Matcha Pound Cake

So I realize I am WAY too late to have any sort of Easter update. . . what is wrong with me?? I feel like I have been chronically like 15 minutes late to everything for the past few weeks- translating to like a week late on the blog. It's driving me crazy! I am zoo going to make a conscious effort to be on time for a change, but until then- here's a better late than never Easter update. . .

Does this happen to anyone else? I know exactly why it happens every time too, yet I fail to stop doing the same thing over. If I have an extra 10 minutes I always try to fit in some sort of like 30 minute activity just to see if I can get it done and be able to check it off my list. I usually do finish but not with enough time to get where I'm going.. . anyways!

This pound cake! Again made at the last minute in a huge time crunch- just because I have wanted to make this pound cake for a long time now. It was a favorite on my computer before I even got on Pinterest! Now That's a long time people! So when we decided to have an impromptu friend brunch on Easter Sunday at 5:45pm on Saturday I knew I had to make this cake. It was the perfect Spring-y dessert that wouldn't be too heavy!

YIPPEE! Off to Whole Foods for matcha powder I went! It sounds super fancy but all matcha is, is ground up green tea leaves. It actually has a lot of nutrients that you wouldn't get just from steeping green tea leaves, and many people mix the matcha with warm water for green tea in the morning. It's a really neat product and this was my first venture with it! I expect many more in my future!

I found this recipe on the Joy the Baker blog and I'm so glad I made it for Easter- I got lots of oohs and ahhs! Even from the green averse husband :)

Here's what you need:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

zest of one lemon and juice of half a lemon

1 Tablespoon matcha powder

1 stick plus 7 Tablespoons (15 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Directions: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the loaf pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Also line a regular muffin tin with cupcakes papers for the small amount of excess batter.  Set aside. (the batter makes a little bit more than you need for one loaf- that's why you also have  a few muffins too)

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk the eggs into the sugar.  You can use a large bowl with a whisk for this- no need to pull out the big guns! Beat until the eggs and sugar are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the extract, then whisk in the sour cream. Continuing with the whisk, or switching to a large rubber spatula, gently stir in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions; the batter will be smooth and thick. Finish by folding in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions.

Pour out half the batter into another bowl- eyeballing it- you don't have to be technical here.  In one bowl add the zest and lemon juice.  In the other bowl, fold in the matcha tea powder.

Pour some of the lemon batter into the pan.  Top it with a portion of the green tea batter.  Add more lemon and top with more green tea batter.  Fill the loaf pan, leaving at least 1-inch of room at the top of the pan for the cake to rise.  Swirl gently and minimally with a butter knife to get a good swirl effect.  With the remaining batter, make mini muffins or cupcakes.

Voila!! baked pound cake all ready for our Easter brunch :)

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. The cupcakes will take about 18-20 minutes.

Once removed from the oven, allow the loaf to rest in the pan for 20 minutes before running a knife along the edges of the pan and inverting the cake onto a cooling rack.

Seriously- make this for someone or something- it is really quite easy to make- no power tools even required and it is seriously impressive when you slice it up! 

Garlic Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

So I promise once I get the pictures uploaded and edited I will show you all the fun party pics later this week! In the meantime I had to share with you this recipe from Our Best Bites I've had pinned on Pinterest for a while and just tried for the first time last week when I was out of ideas for dinner I decided to try these- mainly because they take less than 30 minutes to make- start to finish- that by itself is a reason to make these little gems!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. fingerling or baby potatoes, washed; try and pick the potatoes that are as bite-sized as possible
2 1/2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse-grain or Dijon mustard
2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Rosemary (be sure and strip the needles from the stem before chopping them)
About 5 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
Coarsely-ground black pepper
Kosher salt


Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. While you are waiting on the water, combine the olive oil, mustard, rosemary, garlic and black pepper in a bowl and set aside.

When the water comes to a boil place your potatoes in and boil for about 15 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Pour mustard mixture over the potatoes and mix to coat all potatoes in the mixtures. Then turn potatoes out onto a cookie sheet covered in foil. Spread into one layer and sprinkle salt over the potatoes. Then bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes until skins are bubbling and crispy. You can also read on her website about making these ahead of time!

Photo from Our Best Bites

Serve warm- and enjoy all the compliments- cause I promise you'll get them!

Baked boneless buffalo wings

I thought I'd start your week off with a super easy and fast recipe for baked buffalo wings! P loves wings (not going to lie I like them too- well the boneless kind) but knowing the amount of fat going into the sauce, then the frying etc, makes them kind of hard for me to eat!

I came across this recipe for baked honey Dijon chicken tenders a while ago- we made it and it was delicious! The flavor was great, especially in the breading. It was just SO flavorful. So it got me thinking and I decided to use the same quantities of breadcrumbs and spices but instead of using honey, butter and Dijon mustard, I just used Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce.

OMG! They are amazing- really and truly- P thinks its the best thing I've EVER cooked! If you like wings I really suggest you try them

Ingredients

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

pinch cayenne pepper (I use red pepper flakes if I don't have any cayenne)

1/2 Cup Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce

1 lb package chicken tenders- or chicken breasts cut into strips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap a sheet pan (that has edges) in foil just to keep your cleanup easy, then put a cooling rack onto the pan and spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray. The rack on top of the pan will give all sides of the chicken a really crispy crust.

In one small dish mix the panko breadcrumbs with all of the spices (through the cayenne), In another dish pour your buffalo sauce. I let the chicken tenders sit in the sauce for a minute or two just to let it sink in there a bit.

Then, a few at a time, transfer to the breadcrumb dish, using your fingers to make sure the crumbs stick well on all sides of the chicken. Lay the chicken onto the rack (sitting on the sheet pan) so they are spaced apart and none are touching each other. If you have any more crumbs I usually sprinkle them over the tops of my "wings". Cook for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and no pink remains.

If your fingers look like this:

you are doing it right!

When the wings come out of the oven I drizzle them with a little more buffalo wing sauce

Then serve with a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing (and usually some zucchini as well!)

Enjoy!

Breakfast pizza

When we were in Galveston and stayed at the Tremont House Hotel in July, we had this amazing little creation at the cafe inside the hotel. A breakfast pizza. It was soo good, I just couldn't get over it. Well I was thinking a week or so ago- I could TOTALLY make that. The only thing they did that was "difficult" was the cheese sauce they used instead of a marinara sauce. So I got to thinking how I could do that and DUH I could use a bechamel sauce with cheese- as if I was making macaroni and cheese.

So that's exactly what I did. I adapted The Barefoot Contessa's sauce from her Grown up Mac and Cheese using all cheddar cheese. And after that it was simple. Made the PW pizza crust (but you could easily use a pre-made crust), scrambled some eggs and fried up a few slices of bacon. Then all you have to do is assemble!

What you'll need
Pizza crust

3/4 Cup milk (anything you've got will do)

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons all purpose flour

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch nutmeg

4-6 eggs, scrambled (depending on how thick you want your egg layer- I used four for a thin layer)

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Heat the milk in a small saucepan (or just in the microwave) but don't boil it. In the meantime, melt the butter in a small pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. It will bubble up and combine to a paste. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more whisking the whole time until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Cheddar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Let cool.

Preheat the oven to 425. Once the sauce has cooled down, roll out your dough and place on a baking sheet. If using a homemade crust I rub a little olive oil over the crust and sprinkle with salt. Pre-bake the pizza crust for about 10 minutes, until starting to bubble and brown on the top. Take the crust out and spread the bechamel sauce over the crust as you would pizza sauce. Then just layer on your goods! Eggs, then bacon crumbles and a little more shredded cheese. We also used some pickled jalapenos. You can add any other topping you like- kind of like an omelet! Then put it back in the oven and back for 8-10 more minutes, until the cheese has melted!

Slice it up and voila!

Super easy and really pretty fast- you could even have all the components cooked in advance and then throw them on there really fast and bake! And trust me- I have NO fancy pizza equipment and it's still so easy to throw a homemade crust together (even if its not round- it's still delicious!)

S'mores cookie bars- better late than never!

I found this recipe via Pintrest, my newest obsession and knew I had to make it immediately. It is far and away the best looking and easiest s’mores adaptation I’ve found yet and it does NOT disappoint. I was hoping to have this up last week for National S’mores Day but I just stinkin’ missed it! But being someone that’s late 70% of the time, I have no shame in being a week late to the party! We may have missed s’mores day by a week or so, but none the less you NEED to make these. Everyone around you will sing your praises and love you forever- THAT is how good they are.

Special thanks to Pearls Handcuffs and Happy Hour for the amazing recipe and the photo!

1 stick of butter, room temp.

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs {about 1 sleeve of crackers crushed, or you can cheat like me and use the pre-packages graham cracker crumbs from the baking aisle ‘cause that’s what I had!}

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 king size Hershey’s bars (the ones that have 16 sections on them- you know- 4 across and four down)

1 1/2 cups marshmallow crème {the entire small jar…7 oz }

In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until light.  Now beat in the egg & vanilla.

Crush your graham crackers real quick (or if you’re cheating with the crumbs just measure them out!) In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt.  Now pour that into the butter mix in the other bowl and mix on low until combined.

Divide the dough mix in half and evenly spread one half in a greased 8x8 baking dish.  This will be your crust. It’s going to look a little crumbly but it’s got enough butter to help you spread it out to fill the pan, promise!

Place the two King sized Hershey’s bars on top of the crust.  Spread the marshmallow crème on top of the chocolate.  It helps if you spray your spatula with some Pam first to keep the crème from sticking to it so much. No need to measure this one out and dirty up a perfectly clean measuring spoon.  Just use the entire small 7 oz. jar of marshmallow crème and that’ll be perfect!

Now take the rest of the dough and spread an even layer on top of the marshmallow crème.  It’s easiest to do this is small portions, taking some dough into your hands, flattening it out, and THEN placing it on the marshmallow because once it’s on there, it isn’t super easy to maneuver.

Now bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Herbed Balsamic Chicken

I found this recipe through an old friend and it does NOT disappoint! Its so good I promise you'll love it! If you aren't big on blue cheese we've also used goat cheese (crumbled or sliced) and it is just as delicious.

• 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (5 to 6 ounces each)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
• 1 3-to 4-ounce wedge blue cheese, cut into 6 slices

Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Mix vinegar, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence in small bowl. Add to chicken; seal bag. Chill 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack generously with oil. Arrange chicken on grill. Sprinkle with 2 tsp herbes de Provence, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plates; top each with slice of cheese.

I also like to boil down the leftover marinade on the stove top until reduced to a sauce and drizzle over the cheese making it even more wonderful!

picture and recipe from  Epicurious

BBQ chicken polenta cakes

I saw this recipe last week on one of my daily reads Picky Palate and I knew I was going to be making it soon. For one thing, I already had some shredded chicken sitting in BBQ sauce in my fridge (from when we thought we were going to make a BBQ chicken salad but weren't really hungry) and I mean- LOOK AT THE RECIPE! It just sounds delicious! I didn't even alter her recipe, well I didn't really use a recipe, I just bought a log of polenta and a log of mozzarella (pre-sliced, which was very nice) and added a spoonful of meat on top of each slice of polenta. The flavor was delicious and they were really filling. We thought we'd have a few for an appetizer but they were definitely hardy enough for a meal, with a salad or something!

What you'll need

(of course I had already sliced the polenta so it's not as pretty)

OH and I added a little seasoned salt to the polenta as I grilled them

1 pound/tube of polenta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cooked/shredded BBQ chicken
12 1-inch slices fresh mozzarella
12 individual cilantro leaves (I left these off just because I forgot to get some)

1. Preheat oven’s broiler with rack places 5 to 6 inches below heat.
2. Slice polenta into 1/2 inch slices. Place oil into a grill pan over medium heat. (I brushed the oil on so I would get all the crevices) Place polenta slices into hot grill pan and grill for 4 to 5 minutes, until slightly browned.

Flip - and check out the pretty grill marks :)

and top with a spoonful of BBQ chicken then a slice of mozzarella cheese

Grill for 4 minutes then place under broiler until cheese is melted. Top with a cilantro leaf and serve.

VOILA!

It did actually make 12 individual pieces I just couldn't fit them all into one pan!



Jalepeno Cheddar cornbread

You are going to want to make this like this weekend right now. It is seriously the best cornbread I've ever had and I can say that because I didn't come up with the recipe. Perfect for a Memorial Day weekend picnic or party!
This is my slightly altered version of the Barefoot Contessa's recipe which has a few extra ingredients and more jalapenos- feel free to add as many jalapenos as you like though- however much heat you can handle!
This makes a TON of cornbread- it goes in a 9 x 13 pan and it comes out thick, but it freezes very well in just a few layers of foil. We freeze it in small two serving sections so it's just enough for the two of us, or if we are having company we can get out just as much as we need!

What you'll need

3 C Flour
1 C yellow cornmeal
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 C milk
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled
6-8 oz of sharp cheddar, grated ( 8 oz is really a TON of cheese so we usually don't use all of it. Also best with freshly shredded cheese but the other will work as well)
2-3 Tbsp jalapenos, minced (we use pickled not fresh but either will work)

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the milk, eggs and butter.

Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until most (but not all) lumps are gone. Do not over mix. Mix in the cheddar and jalapenos and give it one more stir. Then let the mixture sit, at room temperature for at 20 minutes or so.

While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 pan. Pour batter into dish and smooth top. Sprinkle a little bit more cheese over the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

 Enjoy!