Jalapeno Poppers and Annie's Baked Brie

Yea it's the Golden Globes tonight! Deboard, Annie, and I are watching it at our house right now. Cameron is in town, but he sprinted to his friends house to watch the playoffs when he heard we were having a Golden Globes watch party... Hopefully he'll come back later when he hears all about the great snacks we're making!

Penelope Cruz looks absolutely beautiful, she probably doesn't eat baked brie or jalapeno poppers... But I'd rather just envy her and eat our snacks.

I made these jalapeno poppers for SAE this week, and some for Cameron when he got in town on Friday. We eat them ALL the time at the Ongena's lake house. I can't say the amount of ingredients for each one, because whenever I make it, I usually am making 140 for the SAEs... So just guesstimate!

Jalapeno Poppers:

Ingredients:

• Jalapenos (cut in half and devained)
• Cream Cheese
• Bacon! (If the bacon is really thick, it may take longer to cook, you can cut it in half and hold it with a toothpick)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the jalapenos in half and cut out the seeds and vains... This is a picture of most of the 70 jalapenos that I cut in half.

Ahh so many jalapenos! Ryan helped me cut them and at the end of all of it our hands were burning from the heat!

The next step could not have been completed without Lis, she helped me fill in all of the hollow jalapenos with cream cheese and wrap them in bacon. Stick them in the oven for 40 minutes and and make sure you line all of the cookie sheets with foil, because the bacon is super greasy and it makes clean up a breeze!

Side story: Since I was making 140 for SAE and I put so many in the oven that I set off the fire alarm about six times.

Baked Brie:

Annie makes this baked brie all the time, it is so delicious, and so I thought this night would be the perfect time to make it!

Ingredients:

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (I had some left over from SAE meetings)
• 1 circle package of Bree
• Apricot Jelly
• 6 Tbl Butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil (again easy clean up and you can transfer the brie after its done without it breaking apart).

Lay one pie crust down and put the brie ontop.

Heavily coat the top of the brie with apricot jelly, you can never have enough!

Put the second pie crust on top and fold over second pie crust and pour the brie. Poke small holes into the sides of the brie.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes and serve with crackers.

Annie with the brie right after we took it out of the oven.

ENJOY and happy MLK Day!!

Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables

Now that I'm back at school, and not working, I have a little more time on my hands... So Deboard, Ryan, and I have decided to make dinner every week together.

Deboard fittingly named it "Wonderful" Wednesday ;). Probably because I cook for her, but who knows.

SAE sing starts tonight, so I won't have time to cook tonight, but I do have time to put down the recipes for the dinner we made. Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables.

This was my first time to make both of the recipes... And it was Ryan's and my first time to butterfly a chicken! It's really not that difficult, the point of butterfling a chicken is because the chicken breast usually has uneven thickness. So you butterfly it so that the chicken will cook evenly.

You start at the thickest part and cut it horizontally, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board. Cut it almost in half and then open it like a book, then you pat it out so that the whole chicken has the same consistent thickness.

Chicken Piccata:

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied (if you don't have that many chicken breasts you can butterfly them and then cut them in half... We were just extra hungry!)
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

When the chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil.

When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning.

Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Roasted Vegetables:

For Christmas Cameron's parents got me Cooking School Italian, and the first thing I tried out from the book is the side dish of our dinner! And as a side note, I could not have made the chicken without Ryan... And the veggies would never have been cut as perfectly without Deboard! (As seen below!)

My favorite part of this dish was the eggplant, it was so good roasted and the balsamic/oil dressing on top was great. Although the recipe called for a few shavings of Parmesan... We used A LOT more, I don't think you can ever have too much cheese!

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Large Zucchini (Although Ghetto HEB in Waco only had small ones, so we used 2)
• 2-4 Garlic Cloves (We used all four, and maybe even five)
• 6 Tbl EVOO
• 1 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbl shredded fresh basil, to garnish
• Parmesan cheese shavings (and lots of it!)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut all the vegetables into even-size wedges, put into a roasting pan, and scatter over the garlic cloves. Pour over 2 Tbl of the olive oil and toss the vegetables until well coated with the oil. (although we used a little more than this, just eyeball it, and make sure that all the vegetables are evenly covered). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until tender, adding more olive oil if needed.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar, EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste into a screw-top jar and shake until blended.

When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven, arrange on a serving dish, and pour over the dressing. Sprinkle with the basil and serve warm or at room temperature with Parmesan cheese shavings.

French Dip Sandwich

I have several new recipes to put up! But I've been on break and just finished rush... Sooo I thought I would post now!

This was so delicious! I made it with my mom at home. You just stick it in a crockpot and forget about it until dinner! We ate it with grapes and oranges, but chips or veggies would be great too!

French Dip Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Beef Broth
• 1 Can Beer (I used Miller Lite)
• 1 Can of French Onion Soup
• 3 lbs Beef (Trim the fat) Makes about 6-8 sandwiches
• Whole Wheat Hoggies
• Provolone Cheese

Directions:

Trim the fat off the beef and add to the crock-pot the soup, broth, beer, and meat. Then cook for 8-10 hours on low, or until meat is cooked all the way through.

The lightly butter the hoggies and toast them in the oven (on broiler) for a bit (they brown really quickly, so you have to watch them carefully)

Then shred the beef, add the provolone cheese (you can reheat the bread with the cheese if you want the cheese to melt) and enjoy!!

Wassil Cider

This Hot Apple Cider is so good and perfect for a cold Sunday afternoon!

Wassil Cider (Hot Apple Cider)
Ingredients:

• 64 oz Apple Cider
• 1 1/2 cups Cinnamon Red Hot Candies
• Sugar to taste

Directions:
Put apple cider into a sauce pan. Add the red hot candies. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until candy is dissolved completely. Add sugar if desired. Serve with a cinnamon stick in the cup.
You can adjust the ingredients to your digression.
There are some variations of this recipe that we didn't try. But they are still really good, here they are!
Hot Spiced Cider Punch with Red Hots II
Ingredients:

• 1 Gallon Apple Cider
• 1 Quart Orange Juice
• 1 Quart Pineapple Juice
• 1 Cup Lemon Juice
• 24 whole cloves
• 1 Cup Red Hots candy

Directions:
Put apple cider, orange juice, pineapple juice, and lemon juice into a sauce pan. Add the red hot candies and cloves. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, remove cloves after 10 minutes and then continue until candy is dissolved completely. Serve with a cinnamon stick in the cup.

A Healthy Vegetarian Sandwich

I'm back in Oklahoma, Cameron surprised me and came up for the weekend!

For lunch my mom made this delicious vegetarian sandwich (which is really healthy too). It's super easy and doesn't require anytime at all to prepare. So I thought I would share it.

Ingredients:

• 1 English Muffin (Toasted)
  
• 2 Slices of Tomatoes
• 3 Slices of Red Onion
• Handful of Lettuce
• 1 Packet of Laughing Cow Cheese

Directions:

Toast the bread and assemble the ingredients together. Put the cheese on first and then the lettuce, I found this was the easiest way to keep lettuce to stay on the sandwich and then add the rest of the ingredients. ENJOY!

Cameron's Meal and A Fun Present

A couple of things... First I officially got into Culinary School! I just ordered my chef's coat and pants and set up a meeting with my adviser! I'm so excited and I start in August!

Second, I went to Dallas last week for a lunch and meeting with the Baylor Advisory Board. I told Cameron I really wanted to cook dinner instead of going out that night. When I got out of my exam and started driving to Dallas I called him to ask what we were going to cook.

He responded with "I don't know, I have a Voila in the freezer, I thought we could just make that." Needless to say I was disappointed, but I was excited to see him, so I tried to cover up my disappointment and told him that would be a nice dinner.

An hour and half later I got to Dallas. As soon as I opened the door I could smell a bunch of different ingredients and knew that he had lied and was surprising me with a homemade dinner.

I got to the kitchen and he told me we were going to make shrimp. He had already peeled and devained all the shrimp so everything as ready.

Cameron's Dinner (Shrimp, Peppers, and Salad)

Ingredients:
(Since Cameron was in charge of getting all the ingredients I don't know how much he used, but you can never have too much garlic!)

• Shrimp
• Butter
• Garlic
• Bell Peppers (Orange and Red added a lot of color)
  
• Mozzarella
• Cheery Tomatoes
• Black Olives (Sliced) Although Cameron doesn't like olives, so I just had some in my salad
• Olive Oil (Italian Dresseding or any kind of dressing works)

Mince the garlic, Cut the peppers, Peel and devain the shrimp. Heat a medium skillet and add the butter and garlic. Then add the shrimp and cook until pink. Next add the peppers to the butter-garlic mixture and cook for 5-8 minutes.

Cameron sauteing the Shrimp.

Mix together the mozzarella , cherry tomatoes, and olives (or pick out the olives like Cameron) and then toss with olive oil or Italian dressing. (Maybe even add some basil too! We didn't have any but fresh basil would be great in that salad.)

The dinner was delicious and I was so thankful that Cameron put together such a great dinner.

My third announcement is my AMAZING gift from Ryan. Every year my roommates do a Secret Santa (this way we all get special gifts and it saves us poor college girls some money!) Anyway we went to Nifas and Ryan gave me this gorgeous apron! I can't wait to wear it when I'm cooking at home for the holidays!

Chili Cheese Rice and Another Pie

Greetings for the land of pots and pans!

I'm finishing up my last Fall semester and have been so busy with work I haven't had a lot of time to cook! Last Sunday Cameron and I went to my professor's house for a Christmas party, and so of course I cooked for the occasion! I made a Chile Cheese Rice Casserole and a Blackberry-Apple Pie (my second one!) I ended up having a lot of filling left over, so I made an extra pie for my roommates.

And my professor liked my chili cheese rice so much he asked me for the recipe...

Chile Cheese Rice:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked rice ( I put in 4 cups because otherwise its just too cheesy)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped scallions (this is about a whole bundle)
• 4-oz can chopped green chiles
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 8-oz parmesan
• salt and cayenne to taste (and then more to top off the casserole!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. Mix the cooked rice, sour cream, scallions, green chilies, cheddar, salt, and cayenne together in a bowl. Then in a casserole bowl, butter, and sprinkle parmesan on the bottom. Spread the rice mixture in the bowl and then sprinkle parmesan on the top and dot with butter. I added a bit of cayenne to the top to give it an extra kick. Bake for 20 minutes. A great and easy side dish.

Blackberry-Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbl lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 lbs tart apples (about 6 apples)
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups frozen blackberries (not thawed) or fresh
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with nonstick spray.

Combine lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl. Peel, core and cut apples into 3/4-inch chunks, tossing them in the lemon juice mixture as you work. Let the apples soak in the mixture.

Mix 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch and toss with apples. Add blackberries.

Place pre-made (or homemade, I didn't have time to make my own) pie dough in the bottom of the pie shell. With a rubber spatula, scrape the blackberry-apple filling into pie shell. Cover the top of the pie with the second pie dough. Press together edges of pastry to seal. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut 3 or 4 short slashes to vent steam. Moisten a pastry brush with water and lightly brush top of pie. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbl sugar. Place the pie on a baking sheet with sides.

Bake until crust is golden and filling bubbles, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Make you bake it unit the pie crust is golden, my crust cracked, so I guess I'll have to keep experimenting so that it won't do that again!)