Pinwheels

I'm astounded at how popular these are at parties. Don't get me wrong -- they're tasty. But everytime I take them somewhere, they're gone in seconds! It's crazy!

And I love them because they're super-easy :-)

You can add a lot of different things to it - I've seen them with salsa, cheese, broccoli, etc -- but the recipe below is my standard.



Pinwheels
(Makes 15-20 "bites")

2 - 8oz. softened cream cheese (I generally use 1 full-fat and 1 reduced-fat. I find fat-free cream cheese to be rather disgusting)
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped (In these photos, I did 1/4 cup red, and 1/4 cup yellow -- because I had it)
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 package (1 oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix (the powdered kind)
4-5 flour tortillas

Directions
- Mix cream cheese until smooth
- Add ranch dressing and mix until well-blended
- Gently stir in the peppers, onions, and celery until well-combined
- Spread 2/3 to 3/4 cup of cream cheese filling on a tortilla (Make sure you don't spread completely to the edge or it will push out when you roll it)
- Roll the tortilla up to make a pinwheel design
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, twisting the ends to seal it
-Continue filling all tortillas and rolling and wrapping

- Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight)
- After being chilled, remove from plastic wrap, cut off the ends (and eat as you go along if you're me!), then slice each roll into 1" pieces.
-Serve chilled!

Katie's Strawberry Scones

I knew these would be fantastic -- I don't think Katie makes ANYTHING bad!

And how bad can fresh strawberries and scones be?!

In college, I spent a period where I existed solely on scones and vanilla cappuchino (I can't help it -- it's what the cafeteria was good at making!!) but shortly after college, I quit eating them. I couldn't find anyone who made them as delicious as the college cafeteria (go figure?) and I was scared to try making them.

Looks like I'm back in action!

Perhaps next I'll give blueberry/lemon ones a try -- I've never made scones with fresh fruit!

(Sorry for the bad image -- it's DARK in here tonight)


Strawberry Scones
(Katie's Blog)

2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (depending on how ripe your strawberries are)
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp orange zest
1 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Directions
- preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- in a small bowl, combine egg, yogurt, milk, zest, whisk to combine thoroughly and set aside
- in large bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder, salt, and whisk to combine
- using pastry cutter and to knives, cut butter into flour until all pieces are smaller than pea-sized
- add strawberries, and toss to coat
- add wet ingredients to dry and mix in lightly with fork until dough just comes together
- turn dough out onto well-floured work surface and pat into large ball
- cut the dough ball in half
- shape half of the dough into a flat disk shape and cut into 8 slices
- place on baking sheet and repeat with other half of dough
- sprinkle tops of scones with sugar and place in the oven
- bake until slightly brown, about 25 minutes (I checked mine at 22 and they were already slightly browner than I would've liked!)
- remove from oven and let cool on a baking sheet for 10 minutes
- transfer to a wire rack and let cool

Easiest Pasta Salad Ever

I always thought most people knew this simple pasta salad -- but apparently I was wrong!

I took this to a memorial day get-together, because I was super-busy and didn't have time to make anything fancy or anything that took a lot of prep.

You can add a lot of veggies to this -- I just added what I had (and like). I'll list some other common options below.

Easy Pasta Salad
(No idea of the true origin -- I've been making it since I was a wee one!)

1 16-oz. box pasta (any shape, size, whatever. you can even use regular spaghetti)
1 16-oz. bottle of italian dressing (again, regular, zesty, fancy, whatever you want)
1/2 lb. salami, cubed into bite-sized pieces (you can also use pepperoni)
1/2 lb. provolone cheese, cubed into bite-sized pieces (I've never used any other type of cheese, but hey -- go crazy)
1 tsp-1 tbsp (depending on preference) of italian seasoning (optional)
2 regular-sized tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used 4 Roma tomatoes -- however much you want)
1 seedless cucumber, diced small
(**You can also add broccoli, peppers, olives, really ANYTHING you like to eat raw!**)

Directions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions
- Drain and cool pasta
- Mix pasta and veggies, meat, and cheese in a large bowl
- Pour italian dressing over it, and mix well

This pasta salad, like many, is better the longer it sits. So make sure you prep it a few hours in advance of eating it for optimal flavor -- it really doesn't taste like ANYTHING when you first mix it!

Oatmeal Fudge Bars (Ooey Gooey Bars)

These are similar to a blondie brownie (I think? I've never had a blondie) with a fudge layer on top. They're very tasty!

I made them as a quick dessert for a memorial day get-together.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

(Chera's Recipe)

Brownie Layer:

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups oats (you can use quick or regular -- i use regular)

1 cup butter

2 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions for Brownie Layer

- Cream together butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla

- Add flour, baking soda and salt to the mixture

- Mix well

- Stir in the oats (I reccommend doing this by hand)

- Press 2/3 of the batter into a 15" x 10" pan (I often use a standard 13" x 9" with no problem...just makes a thicker brownie)

Chocolate Layer

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz can)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup nuts or coconut (optional)

Directions for Chocolate Layer

- Melt the chocolate chips, butter, and sweetened condensed milk over low heat

- Add the vanilla, salt, and nuts/coconut to melted mixture

- Spread the chocolate mixture over the 2/3 pressed batter

- ** Don't spread to the edge of the pan -- the batter will expand during cooking**

- Drop remaining 1/3 batter by little pieces on top of the chocolate layer, slightly pressing them flat between floured fingers) (I think you could make cute shapes with this remaining batter if you were so inclined)

- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Smothered Pork Chops

I found these pork chops on foodnetwork.com -- apparently they are a Tyler Florence recipe...and I realized I've never made one of his! Fun, fun

These were quite tasty -- they reminded me of the pan-fried pork chops and gravy my mom and grandma made while I was growing up.

My changes are noted below...and I think next time I'd leave the cayenne out, or cut down the amount. Personally, I see no reason for a flash of hot spice in the back of my throat after I swallow a delicious, moist piece of pork covered in gravy.

But that's just me.

Smothered Pork Chops

(Tyler Florence, Food Network)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 pork chops, 1/2" to 3/4" thick, bone in (I used boneless because I had them)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any, so I mixed 1/2 cup 1% milk with 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. Worked just fine)

Parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

- Put the flour in a shallow pan (I used a pie plate) and add onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Mix it with a fork to incorporate the spices into the flour.

- Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and then dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

- Heat a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with the olive oil.

-When the oil is hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3-4 mintes on each side until golden brown.

- Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a sprinkling of the seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the drippings to dissolve.

- Pour the chicken broth in, and let the liquid cook down for about 5 minutes to let it reduce and thicken.

- Stir in the buttermilk (or faux buttermilk, if you're me) to make a creamy gravy.

- Return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with gravy.

-Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through.

-Garnish with parsley if preferred.

Apologies for the pictures -- it was late, I was enourmously hungry (look how much food is on that plate!), and I was in no mood for model shots of my food :-)

No recipe...just amazing breakfast

Nothing quite like a big, hearty breakfast on a late Sunday morning when it's raining.

Denny's ain't got nothin' on me today!