Classic Cheese Fondue

I decided to try doing a fondue night for Christmas Eve this year. It's fairly easy and it's all stuff we have on hand - or that we will definitely eat over the Christmas vacation...

 

Classic Cheese Fondue

1 garlic clove, halved
1 pound Harmon's Mountain Fondue Blend
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg

In a large bowl, gently mix the cheese with the cornstarch. Rub the garlic clove all over the inside of the fondue pot. Heat the chicken stock and lemon juice to a slow simmer. Gradually add the cheese, gently melting each addition before adding more to help ensure a smooth fondue. Once creamy and delicious, either consume it immediately, stirring occasionally to keep it clump free. Serve with crusty bread, sausage, carrots, broccoli, apples, etc. Anything that goes well with cheese should be dipped into this fondue.

Parmesan Naan

These are INSANE. So good - so easy - so fast!

I'm serving soup again and I wanted to do something a little "extra" on the side.

I saw the Stonefire brand "Naan dippers" at the store and thought - these would be SO GOOD with shredded parm on them - melted!

So, I laid out all the dippers on to a cookie sheet lined with foil. I used PAM so they wouldn't stick, and laid on the shredded parm. Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 2 min and 30 sec and woah babe.

I especially love the little crispy bits on parm that land on the foil - they are equally as good! Enjoy some tonight!!

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Man oh man was this GOOOOOOD!!! I got the recipe from my old fave Ree Drummond - aka the Pioneer Woman.

It sounds like it would be really spicy - but remember green chilis are extremely mild - they just add a kick. I actually don't like olives of any kind - but my husband and all 3 girls do. In the spirit of trying new things - I tried these. The olives just add texture and saltiness. The jalapenos add some spice - but not too much to be off putting - me, my husband and all 4 kids (15, 13, 10, 6) ate it up in no time!

I ONLY made this for dinner. No sides, nada. Our week nights are ridiculously busy and we often eat in 2 shifts. I made half for the first shift before running 1/2 the kids and hubs ate, then made the other half for me and the other 1/2 of the kids when we got home for the night. So we all got a nice hot dinner.

Jalapeno Cheese Bread
8 Tbs butter (one stick) softened - NOT MELTED
1/2 cup mayo (I have a child with an egg allergy so I used Veganaise)
4 oz can diced jalapenos
4 oz can diced green chili's
6 oz jar green olives, drained and finely diced (the green olives I found were stuffed with pimento - the red you see - I figured that was a better bet that buying garlic or blue cheese stuffed).
6 oz shredded cheddar (she suggests white cheddar - but I had regular cheddar on hand)
6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
2 green onions diced (didn't have these so I skipped them)
1 loaf French bread cut in half lengthwise

Mix all ingredients except bread until well incorporated. Spread on bread. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

Watermelon and Halloumi

I have been LOVING watermelon salads this summer. I found this recipe in the July/August issue of Food Network Magazine - it's a good one from Michael Symon.

He uses Halloumi (a Mediterranean/ Greek cheese) and I couldn't find that here at my local grocery - but I did find Queso Panaela (a Mexican cheese) here and that is a good substitute. They both can be heated to high temperatures without melting…

Watermelon and Halloumi
1 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp minced garlic
Kosher salt
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 T honey
1/2 c plus 1 T evoo
2 T sliced almonds, toasted
2 T chopped fresh mint
8 small wedges seedless watermelon (I did big steaks)
8 oz Halloumi or Queso Panela cheese, cut into 8 slices

Place shallot and garlic in a mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt. Add the vinegar and honey and whisk. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil, then add the almonds and mint.

Place the watermelon in a shallow dish. Pour the dressing on top, cover and let marinate 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the remaining oil. Sear the cheese 1 minute per side, them remove from the pan. Top each with a piece of marinated watermelon.

*I didn't add the almonds to the marinade - I like them crunchy. I also put the cheese on top - super delicious!!

Green Chili White Sauce Beef Enchiladas

I felt like Mexican food but only had ground beef on hand - I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course) and tweaked it a little. I can't find the site I found it on - I'll link that in later. 

All my kids (including 2 year old babe) loved it - yummy noises all around - one of my favorite sounds:)

Green Chili White Sauce Beef Enchiladas

1 lb ground beef

1/3 c finely chopped onion

1 t cumin

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

juice of 1/2 lime

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

For the Enchilada Sauce 

2 T butter

2-3 T flour

1 c chicken broth

1/3 - 1/2 c salsa verde

1/2 t cumin

1 c sour cream

To Prepare

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded*

Cheddar cheese, shredded

6-8 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute another few minutes.  Add the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, lime juice and black beans.  Stir to combine.  Mine looked a bit dry - so I added a few Tablespoons of chicken stock.

Meanwhile, for the sauce: melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the flour until a thick paste forms (roux).  Cook for a few minutes to cook out the flour taste.  Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and stir until smooth.  Continue cooking until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally.  Stir in the salsa verde, cumin and sour cream.

To prepare: Divide meat mixture between tortillas and top each with a small amount of cheese.  Roll up tightly and place, seam side down, in a casserole dish.  Pour sauce over the top, covering each enchilada completely.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.  Broil for the last few minutes to brown the cheese on top.  Serve.   

I got 5 FAT tortillas side by side in a 9x13" casserole. 

*I didn't have Monterey Jack on hand so I used mozzarella 

Tomato Pie

Yes. Tomato Pie.

I bought 2 flats of huge beefsteak tomatoes to teach a bunch of my daughters friends how to make their own salsa. I waaaay over bought.

I went to Facebook and asked my friends what they would do with all these tomatoes - other than make salsa. I got lots of advice - marinara sauce, lasagna, tomato jam (!?) and something I'd never heard of... Tomato Pie. I was intrigued - but not sold. She posted the recipe and I was very interested. A couple of days later, my big foodie friend Geoff posted that he had made said Tomato Pie and called it the "winner!" Now, I was sold.

We all had second helpings of this delicious side - my daughter said it tasted like lasagna - but better (if you're looking for some verbage to sell your kids on this).

See all those little bits of basil in there?? I'm growing basil in the back yard - so I'm hoping the next time I make this I will have enough basil to layer fresh basil leaves over each layer of tomatoes - oh yeah baby.

I used the recipe my friend, Dawn, posted - with a slight variation.

Tomato Pie
1 frozen pie crust
3 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
2 cups Ricotta cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I used shavings)
1-2 T basil paste (stores were OUT of fresh basil!)
1 t garlic powder
salt and pepper

Slice tomatoes, lay them in a colander in the sink and salt them. Allow them to drain for about 10 minutes.

Combine cheeses, garlic powder and basil paste.

Layer the tomato slices in the pie crust - peppering as you go. Cover the tomatoes with the cheese mixture.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes - or until the top is slightly golden brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Stuffed Shells

I read an article in the November issue of Martha Stewart Living about stuffed shells. The author put her recipe in the issue - and also gave some great tips. Since I was at the doctor's office - I couldn't bring her recipe home with me - but I did bring her tips home (in my head) and I'm here to share them with you!!

Her tips were: Fill them with anything and everything your family loves. Always cook a double batch of shells b/c they freeze extremely well and so does whatever you stuff them with. She said in particular that cheese freezes very well (something I'd never thought about).

S0 - on my way home, I dropped by the store and grabbed some jumbo shells and some ricotta and made these babies...
Stuffed Shells
12 oz box of Jumbo Shells
16 oz Ricotta cheese
8 oz Mozzerella cheese either shredded or diced into small cubes
1/2 c Parmesan, shredded
2 T parsley
salt and pepper
Fav pasta sauce

Cook pasta per directions on box. Meanwhile, add all other ingredients and mix until combined. *I looked up a few recipes for stuffed shells and all of them included 1 or 2 eggs used as a binder - I chose to omit eggs b/c my kids have egg allergies and we didn't miss it one bit!*

PAM a casserole dish (size depends on how many you are serving - I guesstimated 3 shells per child and 6 per adult) After the shells are cooked, stuff them with a big spoonful of cheese mixture and set them in the casserole dish. Cover with your favorite pasta sauce (marinara is traditional - but I promised my 5 year old that next time I'd make them with alfredo). Sprinkle with more parm and more parsley.

Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until sauce is nice and bubbly.

**You can really go crazy with the 'stuffing' you can use any cheese you like - next time I think I'll try Fontina in lieu of Mozzerella just to kick it up a bit. You can also add any meat, onions, leeks, what have you!!

Easiest Empanadas Ever!

I have always wanted to work with puff pastry - so I bought some a while ago. I kept seeing it in the freezer but was unsure what to do with it. I knew whatever I made with it that it would be delicious, but since I had never used puff pastry - I felt like I had to make something extra special.

I had all these half-baked (wahaha) ideas that just never came to fruition... finally I just decided the heck with it and that I was going to use it and just wing it - turned out super delish!!
Easy Empanadas
3 medium sized boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded
Cream cheese (your fav savory flavor - I used chive and onion)
2 sheets defrosted puff pastry
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste
1 egg

I am going to tell you how I did it -there are obviously many, many ways to get shredded chicken...

I put the chicken in my crock pot with 1qt of chicken stock, set it on high for 2 1/2 hours. Pulled it out and shredded it with 2 forks. Seasoned it with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Set out the puff pastry about 45 minutes before you are ready to use it. Make sure you PAM your baking sheet and that you seperate the sheets from each other so they thaw in that time frame.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Unfold the dough and cut each sheet into 4 squares. Put about 1/4 cup of the shredded chicken on one side of each of the squares. Make sure you leave room at the edges to crimp it closed.

Add a small spoonful of your fav cream cheese on top of the chicken. Use a small amount of water on your finger to wet the corners on the 'filled' side of the pastry. Fold the 'unfilled' half of the pastry over the chicken mixture so you have a triangle. Seal the filling in by crimping the edges with a fork.

Use egg wash (one egg + 1 T water) on top of the pastry to get that little golden hint and a bit of shine.

Cook at 375 for about 15 minutes.

I cut them in half and we ate them like pizzas - so super delish!!!

*My hubs dipped his in Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (by Fischer & Weiser) yummmmm...

I am excited to experiment more with puff pastry! Do you have a fav recipe you use it for?

Goat Cheese With Figs

Yeah. Uh hu. I was at Costco last week and they were having their annual 'cheese tasting'. Since I love cheese so much that my middle name should be "Fromage" I had to taste all of them.

They were all good - but when I looked at the last cheese in front of me I thought figs?? Do I even like figs? Have I ever eaten a fig??

They had this goat cheese on a slice of LaBrea Rosemary Olive Oil bread. I thought - what the heck? If I don't like it - I'll just have another sample of a cheese I do like to counter act it.
I took a bite and fell in love. I am always extremely concious about samples. If my kids are with me, I let them have samples and I just try a small bite of theirs so that we aren't hogging all the samples. But once this delicious combination reached my pallet - all logic went out the window.

I went back SEVEN times!!!! Luckily for me there was always a big crowd so I could just do a quick drive by without being noticed - but SEVEN times? I was crazed with cheese desire.

On my last drive by, I heard one of the sample ladies say that they weren't going to restock these cheeses until the next tasting. I quickly grabbed 3 logs.

Of course, over the last week - I have eaten an entire log to my own (cheese) head - but I put the other two in the garage fridge to save for a party. And when that day comes - I will be the most loved person in all the land - this cheese is that good.

If your Costco isn't selling these little babies - you can find them HERE .