Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

I was in the mood for homemade pizza last night and had found a few different recipes for cheese steak pizza so I decided to give it a try. (Just google Philly cheese steak pizza and there are a TON of options!)  I pulled a little bit from a bunch of different recipes to create ours and it was fantastic! 

Shopping List:

1 pizza crust (homemade/store bought/etc...)

1/2 cup tomato sauce (we used 6 cheese from a jar)

2 oz. cream cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups Italian cheese (any kind)

1/2 lb. roast beef (from the deli)

1 medium onion

1 green pepper

2 Tbsp. butter

Dash Worcestershire

Parmesan cheese

Oregano

Directions:

-Prepare crust, if needed and heat oven to directed temperature for crust (ours was 450 for a pre-made crust). 

-Saute chopped onion and pepper in a pan with the butter until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.  Add a dash of Worcestershire at the end.

-In a small saucepan, heat the tomato sauce, cream cheese, and garlic until melted and combined. Spread thinly over crust.

-Top pizza with 1/2 of the cheese, chopped roast beef, peppers/onions, the rest of the cheese, Parmesan, and a sprinkle of oregano.

-Follow directions on crust to determine baking time. Ours was about 10-12 minutes.

The 'sauced' crust

The finished pizza, fresh out of the oven

Ready to eat!

This was a quick and simple pizza that was MUCH cheaper than ordering in!  Now I'm ready to start thinking of new ideas for pizza. Does anyone out there have any 'out of the norm' ideas? Let me know!

Happy Eating!

Pasta Fagioli

Thanks again to Pinterest for allowing me to find this wonderful recipe on Our Blissfully Domestic Life blog!  Pasta Fagioli is an Italian soup/stew and it is oh so tasty!  I know it is summer, but it has been cool this week so I decided to give it a try.  The nice part was that I now have two containers of leftovers in my freezer for the next time I want something in a flash!

Shopping List:

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped

2 medium Carrots, chopped

2 stalks of Celery, chopped

2-3 cloves of Garlic, minced

1- 28 oz can of Tomatoes

1- 8 oz can Tomato Sauce

1- 15 oz can Cannelloni Beans, drained 

4 cups Beef Broth

1 & 1/2 cup Elbow Pasta

2 cups of Fresh Spinach (packed)

1 Beef Bouillon Cube (or the equivalent in Granules)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

4-5 dashed of Hot Sauce (Texas Pete or Tabasco)

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (for topping)

 

Directions:

-Over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until meat is no longer pink and veggies are starting to get tender. Season with salt and pepper.

-Add in the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth(i used bouillon cubes to make my broth), bouillon cube, garlic, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Stir well and turn the heat to low.  Cover.

-Let the soup simmer for as long as you can. (I let mine go for about 2 hours, but this can be as fast a 30 minutes.) Stir occasionally.

-After the tomato sauce has simmered, add the beans and keep on low/covered for 1 more hour (or long enough to heat through if you are in quick mode).

-When you are ready to eat, cook the pasta according to directions in a separate pot.  Add the spinach into the tomato mixture and stir. Add in the hot sauce as well. This does not make it spicy, just a little background flavor!

-When the pasta is finished and drained, you can add it straight to the soup or serve it on the side to be dished into individual soup bowls.  We did ours on the side so the pasta wouldn't get mushy when we froze the leftovers. Top each serving with fresh Parmesan cheese (or the shaker kind if that's all you have on hand) :(

The finished stew



Everything ready to be eaten!



It was a little time consuming, but as I mentioned you can do this in as little as an hour if you choose.  It was a fantastic meal and I can't wait to dig into the leftovers in a few weeks!

Happy Eating!

Oven Roasted Chicken

Have you ever had those pre-cooked, oven roasted chickens from the grocery store? Me neither... But I do hear they are quite tasty!  If you have, you will never purchase another one, because now you can make your own at home for a fraction of the price!

Imagine an entire chicken for about $3.00.  They are usually around $1.00/lb. and can be even cheaper when on sale!  Thanks to the wonderful Taste of Home magazine yet again for this great recipe.

Shopping List:

1 whole chicken, rinsed, packet of yuckies removed, patted dry

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

6-8 small red potatoes

4 ribs celery

3 medium carrots

1 medium onion

Directions:

-Chop all veggies into bite sized portions. Set aside (in a 9x13 pan).  I usually use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of veggies for just the two of us.

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease another 9x13 with cooking spray (I usually use a disposable for easy clean up). Place chicken in prepared pan.

-Whisk olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and basil together. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons for the vegetables. Brush remaining olive oil mixture onto chicken. Roast for 30 minutes.

-Toss remaining oil with veggies, spread them into a single layer (best you can) and cover with foil.

-TRICKY PART. Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees. Baste chicken with drippings in bottom of the pan. Place both the chicken and veggies in oven when temperature is reached. ( I usually put them in a bit early because I don't want to wait).

-Roast 20 minutes. Remove foil from veggies, stir, and place back in oven uncovered. Roast 10 more minutes or until chicken is done/no longer pink! Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

In short:

-Prep chicken and veggies in separate pans.

-Roast chicken at 375 for 30 minutes.

-Baste chicken, up temperature to 450.

-Roast chicken and veggies for 20 minutes.

-Remove foil from veggies, roast veg and chicken for 10 minutes.

-Let stand for 10 minutes

-Eat

Chicken before roasting

Veggies before cooking

Finished Chicken

My favorite, some white meat! 

Finished Veggies



I know the directions seem a little crazy, but it is a super simple process, I promise!

Happy Eating!

Crabcakes!

Yet another recipe from the good ole Taste of Home. I'm going to start out by saying that I did not like these crabcakes ( and I'm a seafood junkie!). The husband, however, loved them.  Guess it will be up to you to decide.

And PS... Have you noticed my awesome counter tops yet? The retro aqua is coming back, really... right??? Probably not so much, but it is what I have to work with. If anyone would like to start a fund for 'Get the Rusks a new Kitchen' I would gladly accept. :)

Crabcake Ingredients

 Sauce Ingredients (this part was tasty)

Shopping List:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayo
1 tsp. grated onion
1/2 tsp. minced parsley
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire
1/4 tsp. seafood seasoning
1/8 tsp. ground mustard
Dash pepper
1 can lump crab meat, drained and flaked ( I actually used two)
1 Tbsp. oil

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. mayo
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire

Directions:
-In a small bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients; fold in the crab. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients together.
-In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Drop crab mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into the pan; cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with sauce.

Crab Mix

Cookin the cakes!

 

The sauce.

Like I said, I wasn't really a fan of this one.  I think maybe it was the texture for me? Feel free to use this recipe as a base for your own and let me know how it comes out!

Happy Eating!

Philly Cooking Creme

I recently got a coupon for the new Philadelphia brand Cooking Creme.  This is a flavored cream that you can use in a variety of dished (Philly has some awesome recipes on their website for them).  The recipe I chose from the website was the Southwest Pasta Skillet.  It was pretty good so I wanted to share it with you!

Ingredients

 Shopping List:
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium onion, chopped (I used onion instead of the green pepper it called for)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (not in original recipe but who doesn't love them?)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups hot cooked Rotini pasta
1 container Philadelphia Santa Fe Cooking Creme
1 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
-Cook and stir chicken and onion in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat until chicken is done and onion is soft.  Add corn, beans, tomatoes, and creme.  Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
-Add pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted.
-Top with remaining cheese. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until cheese is melted.

The Veggie/Chicken Mix

The finished pasta!



As you can tell, I took a few liberties with the recipe ( onion instead of pepper and black beans!).  Feel free to do the same when you create your dish!

Happy Eating!

Saucy

 We recently made some pork ribs at the house, but wanted something different than the standard BBQ sauce.  We found an amazing recipe for a honey mustard sauce/marinade and fell in love.

The Ingredients:

Shopping List:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups honey

1 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a pan, saute the onion in oil until caramelized (about 5-10 minutes). Stir in garlic, honey, mustard, and vinegar. Season with crushed red pepper flakes,  Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Cool.

Boiling and Bubbling



Like i said, we used this in place of BBQ on ribs, but you could also use it as a marinade for almost any meat. We also halved this recipe and still had plenty left over. It's all up to you.

Happy Eating

Who said lasagna was hard to make?

My mom rarely made real lasagna when I was younger. Most of the time is was small pasta noodles and all the fixin's mixed together into a casserole type dish. It was and is still one of my favorites, but I never understood why we didn't get the original layered stuff. I was always told it was difficult and a hassle.

Well, sorry mom. I wanted some traditional lasagna, so I set out to do it.

The Ingredients:

Shopping List:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey (or beef, but we love ground turkey)
1 28 oz. jar tomato sauce (we got vodka sauce, which is a little creamier)
1 package lasagna noodles
1 container cottage cheese
1 container Ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
-Saute onion in oil until transparent. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add tomato sauce and simmer 5-10 minutes.
-Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to directions. We like to under cook them just a bit so they soak up some of the tomato sauce while baking. Maybe about 3/4 of the time the box calls for.
-In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, basil, and Parmesan. Set aside.
-Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan. Top with a layer of noodles. Then spread a think layer of cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Lastly, sprinkle a bit of mozzarella cheese. Follow this process of layering until you run out of ingredients. (Usually 3-5 layers). Reserve the bulk of the mozzarella cheese for later.
-Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cover top of lasagna with a decent layer of remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered for another 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.

The Lasagna

A Giant Slice

As you can see, it came out wonderfully. The pictures don't really do it justice. The best part is that it seems to reheat the next day just as well.

Happy Eating

Just as Good

Have you ever been to one of the 9 million Mexican restaurants in every town/city/area of this world? Not the national chains of fake food, but the wonderfulness of places like Mi Pueblito, El Corral, El Matador, El Caporal... If you have, then you know the salsa there is great! If not, I suggest you drop what you are doing and go NOW!.

I actually found a recipe that rivals the restaurant salsa. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman's Blog (check it out if you haven't), I have a new favorite snack.

The Ingredients

Shopping List:
28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained
2 cans Rotel tomatoes and chilies, undrained (we got mild)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
The juice of 1/2 a lime (or a few splashes out of a bottle)
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin

Directions:
-Basically throw everything in a blender or food processor and go! Naturally I added the cilantro, onion, and pepper in first to get them good and chopped up, but whatever you prefer will work.
-Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
-Yield: A TON OF SALSA, probably 3-4 cups worth?

The Salsa

This recipe was super simple and can be made year round. Again, feel free to play with the ingredients and make it just your own.

Happy Eating

Avocado Addiction

We had a quiet day around the house yesterday so I decided to make some salsa (recipe to come soon) and guacamole! Both turned out great!

Ingredients

Shopping List:
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 avocados, chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

Directions:
-In a blender or food processor, pulse the onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, lime, salt, and cumin until well blended (depending on your taste).
-Add the avocados to the onion/pepper mix and blend again until desired consistency is achieved.
-Remove mix from blender/processor into a small bowl. Add in tomato and stir.
-Store in fridge until ready to eat. Makes 1-2 cups.

The finished GUACAMOLE

Don't be afraid of guacamole. I hear so many people ask for it to be removed at restaurants, but I'm sure they've never even tried it. It is so creamy and good for you.

Feel free to change this recipe according to your tastes. We don't really like extremely spicy things so only used 1 jalapeno. You can use 2 or even 3 if you want. This is definitely a recipe to taste as you are making it so it comes out just right.

Also, it may seem a little odd, but did you know that guacamole tastes great on a turkey dog? Seriously... Awesome. Give it a try.

Happy Eating.

If I had a restaurant, I would name it Soupz... My inspiration would be soups...

Yes, I've been watching America's Next Great Restaurant. Yes, I know it is terrible programming, but I'm obsessed with reality television. As Kidd Kraddick would say: Get Over It! :)


The husband wanted some grilled cheese for dinner the other night, and you can't just have grilled cheese by itself. I decided to give French Onion Soup a go! It was a first attempt, and I must say it was pretty good (considering I don't normally eat French Onion Soup).

Shopping List:
2 Large Red Onions, sliced thin ( I actually used 1 red and 1 sweet)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cans beef broth
3 cups water
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (i also used some minced garlic)
7 slices french bread (3/4 inch slices)
1 bag mozzarella shredded cheese
1 pkg. provolone cheese slices
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
-In a Dutch Oven (or really big pot), saute onions in butter until tender. The more you caramelize the onions here, the better the soup will be. You want these onions to be melt in your mouth onions. Always remember to stir often.
-Add the broth, water, soup mix, pepper, Worcestershire, garlic powder (or real minced garlic). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
-Meanwhile, place bread slices on a baking sheet ( I lined mine with foil to avoid cheesy messes later). Sprinkle each piece with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and then top it with a slice of provolone. (feel free to use any type of cheese you like, this recipe originally called for Swiss)
-Broil 4 inches from heat source for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Ladle soup into serving bowls and top each with a toast slice.
-Yield: 7 servings.

Toast Slices... Yum

Finished Soup
If you really want to let your flavors develop, you can cook this soup much longer than 5 minutes. I would say between 30-45 minutes if you have the time.

I also noticed that our bread got super soggy right away. It might be good to toast the bread by itself before adding the cheese to give it a little more crunch.

Happy Eating

Southern Style

In honor of Mardi Gras, I recently made some Jambalaya. This is normally the husband's job each year, but I had found a new recipe and wanted to give it a shot!

Ingredients:

Shopping List:
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 can condensed French Onion soup
1 can beef broth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. Creole seasoning (Cajun)
1 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1 lb. uncooked shrimp, chopped
1/2 lb. Andouille sausage, chopped
2 cups uncooked long grain rice

Directions:
-In a large pan, saute the onion and pepper in butter until tender (the original recipe didn't call for this step but we like our veggies good and done!). Add soup, broth, tomato sauce, seasoning, and hot sauce. Stir and bring to a boil.
-Remove from heat and stir in shrimp, sausage, and rice.
-Transfer to a greased 9x13 inch pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil, stir, and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until rice is tender.

Jambalaya (sorry for the terrible photo, I was hungry)

A few notes on this recipe.

-The flavor was AWESOME, not really spicy (add more hot sauce to your liking).
-We needed some more liquid because the rice seemed to absorb too much. We thought about adding a can of undrained chopped tomatoes next time.
-The recipe called for a full pound of shrimp and my bag was only about 2/3 of that. It still worked out just fine.
-I couldn't find any Andouille sausage at the grocery store so I just picked up plain smoked sausage. The husband informed me later that Cajun/Spicy brautwurst would have also done the trick.

Happy Eating!

MMMM... Pasta!

Tortellini with Tomato Cream Sauce

Here is another quick and easy recipe that will feed your entire family!

The Ingredients

Shopping List:

16 oz. package frozen tortellini

1 small onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

-In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, spinach, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes.

-Stir in the whipping cream and cheese. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 8-10 minutes or until thickened.

-Meanwhile, cook tortellini according to directions. I have found that most tortellini calls for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. You will know they are done when they all float to the top of the water! Drain the pasta. Do not rinse.

-Toss the tortellini with the sauce and heat through. At this point we also added some shredded chicken. We also considered adding shrimp! It's all up to you!

The sauce (above) and the finished product (below)!

This pasta ended up tasting great! The only change we might consider for next time is to cut the amount of spinach in half and double the tomatoes. After all, this is called Tortellini with TOMATO cream sauce!

Happy Eating!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup is a new recipe at our house! We just love the taste of this when we are out to eat, so I decided to create my own version at home. The best part about this recipe? Most of the ingredients are from a can so it is mainly a open, pour, and stir meal!

Please let me know if and when you try this in your own home!

Ingredients

The canned and packaged items

The fresh items

Shopping List

1 medium onion, diced
1 orange sweet pepper, diced

2 Tbsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can chicken broth

1 can Rotel tomatoes and chillies, with juice

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

1/2 packet taco seasoning

1/2 packet chili seasoning

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Tortilla Chips

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

-Saute onion, pepper, garlic, and butter in a large pan until tender.

-Add soups and broth to onion mixture. Stir well.

-Add Rotel, corn, beans, and chicken; stir and let heat through

-Add taco and chili seasoning with 1 cup of milk. More or less milk can be used according to desired thickness. Add sour cream and heat through; stirring often.

-Spoon into individual bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

We ate our soup with a tasty grilled cheese (with turkey). Please be warned, this recipe make enough to feed an army (about 8 large bowls). We like to freeze the leftover soup in separate containers so we have a few quick meals at our fingertips later on!

I also did a little calculating because I really wanted to know how good (or bad) this soup is for you. With all of its cheesy, creamy, rich goodness I must admit I was a little afraid. However, with a serving size of 2 large ladles it only worked out to be 475 calories! I may have done a small happy dance at that revelation.

So there you have it. The first recipe of what I hope is many to come.

Happy Eating!