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Recent Recipes

Family Secret Stromboli

Comments (0) | Tuesday, September 28, 2010

My mom's family is originally from Lancaster County, PA.  Home of farms, fields and the Amish.  As such, many Pennsylvania Dutch recipes were incorporated into our family fare.  Red beet eggs, sauerkraut, shoo fly pie, apple butter, scrapple - they all made regular appearances at our family get togethers.  Most of these won't make it on to my dinner table, but one item sure will...our family Stromboli. 

This is not your typically Italian Stromboli featuring a thick chewy dough and sauce, nope, this one has a thinner, crispier dough and mustard to compliment the lunch meats.  This Stromboli is perfect for when people come in to town late, stop by to watch the game or when the kids are running in and out to school events.  I try to keep one in the freezer all the time, just so I have it whenever I need it.

Stromboli
Dough:
1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
1 c. warm water
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. flour

Follow the instructions on the back of the yeast package.  Once the dough has risen, divide into 2 even pieces.  Roll out on a cookie sheet to fit.

Filling:
1/3 lb. Genoa salami
1/3 lb. pepperoni (from the deli counter)
1/2 lb. ham
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. provolone cheese (don't get the sharp provolone, I know that Boar's Head's is sharp)
yellow mustard
oregano or Italian seasoning
garlic powder
1/2 stick of butter - softened

Preheat oven to 375. Layer Genoa, pepperoni, mozzarella then provolone.  Top with ham, then spread with a thin layer of mustard.  Fold in thirds.  Pinch ends.  Butter top and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.  You may want to broil at the end to get the top brown and crispy.

As I mentioned, I like to make extra 'bolis and keep them wrapped in foil and plastic wrap in the freezer.  From frozen, let thaw completely then bake as normal.

So delish!!!




Ahhhh...food therapy complete!


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Holy Mole! (Guacamole & "Salsamole")

Comments (0) | Sunday, September 19, 2010

I am totally one of those people that would munch on appetizers and dips than eat the main course at a party.  In fact, I really love dips and these are 2 knock-outs.  Both are adaptations of traditional dips, guacamole and tomatillo salsa. 

Roasted Pepper Guacamole
2 avocados (very ripe)
2-3 Tbsp. yellow onion - finely diced
2 cloves garlic - finely diced
Juice from 1 md. lime
1/4 c. cilantro - chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
fresh cracked black pepper
2 roasted Hatch chili peppers (Hatch Chili peppers may be hard to find so you can use poblanos instead)
Garlic Powder to taste
1 Tbsp. sour cream

Place all ingredients in a med. sized bowl.  Use a fork to mash together.  Serve immediately.  Keep the avocado pit in the dip to prevent the guacamole from browning.


"Salsamole"
This one is a knockoff of the green salsa served at Taco Diner in Dallas.  Our friend Zac gave me the challenge to recreate it and he says that this one is pretty close...

12-15 tomatillos - remove outer paper and rinse
5 cloves garlic - unpeeled
olive oil
salt
1 avocado
3/4 c. cilantro
1/2 md. yellow onion
juice of 1 med. lime
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

  1. Preheat oven to 400.  Place tomatillos and garlic on a baking sheet.  Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over tomatillos and garlic.  Sprinkle with generous amount of salt.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tomatillos are soft and have some brown coloring. 
  2. Remove from oven and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the peel.  Place garlic, tomatillos, oil from the baking pan and the rest of the ingredients into food processor.  Pulse until incorporated. 
  3. Refrigerate until ready to use.



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I'm Stuffed (Peppers)

Comments (0) | Monday, September 13, 2010

Anyone that is actively following my blog has probably recognized that I am slightly inconsistent when it comes to posting.  I really don't have any good excuse for this other than I just haven't been making the time to write everything all out.  That said, I am really going to try to do my best to get more blogs up in a more timely manner.

Last week I brought back one of Matt's favorite recipes, stuffed peppers.  My mom used to make these all of the time because you literally can put anything but the kitchen sink in them.  I kept this recipe pretty traditional, but still super yummy!

Stuffed Bell Peppers
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lbs. ground meat (I used half turkey & half sirloin but also love meatloaf mix or just one type of meat)
1 bag of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (I used Chicken Brown Rice) but you can use pretty much anything
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. yellow onion - diced fine (about 1/3 med onion)
1/2 c. fresh parsley - chopped
tsp. garlic powder
tsp. salt
2 lg. eggs
3/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese (1 c. into meat mixture & reserve 1 c. to top the peppers)
1/2 c. tomato sauce (use anything that you have in your kitchen - leftover marinara, even just pizza sauce)
fresh pepper
4 bell peppers (I prefer green but red will provide a sweeter pepper) - cut off tops and remove seeds and ribs

  1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place prepared peppers in a baking dish standing up.  Mix the balance of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well incorporated (hands work best!)
  2. Fill all of the peppers to the top. 
  3. Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes top the peppers with the remaining cheddar cheese and return to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes.
  4. Let side 5-10 minutes prior to serving.
That's it!  Super easy and incredibly cheap to make.  I made these for friends and everyone loved them...and they make even better leftovers.  Be creative, try different rices and different meats and have fun.

Ahhhh....food therapy complete!


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