How 'bout...CUPCAKES?!?!

How ‘bout….CUPCAKES?!?!

The Sunday night tradition at the Turner house includes watching America’s Funniest Home Videos (AFV).  Last Sunday, there was a great (but older) video which has created some cooking inspiration for me. Since this video inspired this post, and certainly a few future posts, I thought I’d share it with you.

http://youtu.be/i6WPfo9qNSM

Let them eat cake, right? Since we can’t legitimately eat cupcakes everyday and for every meal, I have a solution.  I’m taking a couple of my best “loaf” recipes and cupcake-i-fying them for a few special savory cupcake posts. Yep, that’s a word. Cupcake-i-fying.

What you’ll need:

Italian Meatloaf CUPCAKES. CUPCAKES. CUP-CAKES!:

1 lb ground beef

1 box stuffing mix

1 cup water

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 cup pizza sauce (or pasta sauce)

¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 green onion (optional garnish aka sprinkles!)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix beef, stuffing mix, water, and Italian Seasoning together.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  Press mixture evenly into muffin cups.

Make a little well in the center of each cupcake. Fill each well with pizza sauce. 

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cooked through.  Sprinkle each with mozzarella and bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melty. (Really… “melty” isn’t a word?)

If I make up my own words, I can make up my own definitions J

melt-y  [mel-tee] adjective

gooey, thoroughly messy, awesome

Enough with the wording, let’s get to FROSTING!

Place your mashed potatoes in a small Ziplock bag and snip off one corner (I didn't take a pic of my bag).  Pipe your mashed potatoes onto your cupcake in a “frosting” pattern.  No Ziplock Bags? No big. Just smear the mashed potatoes on with a knife. You’ll still get the cupcake feel. Top with some green onion “sprinkles.” 

The Unconventional Sandwich: Pizza Bagels

The Unconventional Sandwich

sand·wich noun

1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between

    b : one slice of bread covered with food

sandwich verb

: to make into or as if into a sandwich; especially : to insert or enclose between usually two things of another quality or character

Ahh…the Sandwich.  Although they existed long before they were called sandwiches, John Montague, the fourth earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the tasty invention. Montague, a heavy card player, held his cards in one hand and cheese and meat between slices of bread in the other (This is still a sandwich purpose in my house today!).  Montague’s fellow players started asking for Sandwich’s …and the rest is sandwich history!

The Unconventional Sandwich posts explore a variety of sandwich condiments and toppings, twists on old favorites, and traditional sandwiches with our own unique flare.  From breakfast to dessert, there isn’t anything we can’t try to sandwich.

Pizza Bagels:

I'm 99% sure I can't count this as an Unconventional Sandwich, or even a as a recipe.  But, it's yummy, cheaper than frozen pizza bagels, and so easy it's ridiculous.  I love recipes like that :)  Tasty, cheap, and ridiculously easy.

What you'll need:

Pizza Bagels:

Pizza Sauce
Cheese
Favorite Pizza toppings
Bagels (I use Bagel thins)
(* I use a pinch of onion salt, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning as a finisher..it's kind of a signature)

First, preheat your oven to 350.

Place your bagel halves (cut side up) on a cookie sheet. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce over the bagels. Top with mozzarella cheese and pizza toppings.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through. Apparently I don't have a final product picture for you--sorry about that. However, it does look just like the picture above, except the cheese is melted  :)

After you remove your bagels from the oven, you can top with my spice additions: a pinch of onion salt, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning.

The Unconventional Sandwich: Hammies

The Unconventional Sandwich

sand·wich noun

1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between

    b : one slice of bread covered with food

sandwich verb

: to make into or as if into a sandwich; especially : to insert or enclose between usually two things of another quality or character

Ahh…the Sandwich.  Although they existed long before they were called sandwiches, John Montague, the fourth earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the tasty invention. Montague, a heavy card player, held his cards in one hand and cheese and meat between slices of bread in the other (This is still a sandwich purpose in my house today!).  Montague’s fellow players started asking for Sandwich’s …and the rest is sandwich history!

The Unconventional Sandwich posts explore a variety of sandwich condiments and toppings, twists on old favorites, and traditional sandwiches with our own unique flare.  From breakfast to dessert, there isn’t anything we can’t try to sandwich.

Hammies

One of my new obsessions is Philadelphia Cooking Crèmes.  This is a recipe I found from Taste of Home after searching for recipes using these crèmes. Although they may be a little on the conventional side, these sandwiches are super easy, incredibly tasty, and can feed a whole crew. I have several other recipes to try with different flavors of the crèmes, so I’m sure you’ll see them as an ingredient in the future.

What you’ll need:

Hammies:

12 Dinner Rolls (Hawaiian Rolls or bakery rolls work)

1 lb. Black Forest Ham (thin sliced)

12 oz Swiss Cheese (sliced)  (You could use any cheese that would melt well)

1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Crème (I’ve used “Chive and Onion” and “Italian Cheese and Herb”; You can use whichever you think you would like best)

½ cup butter, melted

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ tsp. dried minced onion

(I usually half the recipe and only make 6 sandwiches)

Arrange the bottoms of your rolls in a greased, 9 x13 baking dish. Layer with ham and then cheese.

Spread the top of each roll with your crème of choice and place on top of the sandwiches.

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and minced onion. Pour this over your sandwiches.

Cover with aluminum foil and let stand for 20 minutes (sometimes I only wait 10 minutes. Try to wait the 20 minutes if you can, but speaking from experience--it's okay to cheat).

Leave cover on and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and enjoy!

Beef Stew

Confession: I am so incredibly bad at making a meal in the slow cooker.   I typically use my slow cooker on Sundays--when I clean, fold laundry, or clear off my DVR. J I have to smell the food cooking all day. By the time it actually gets done, 8 hours or so later, I don't even want to eat the food because I've smelled it cooking all day. I also check the pot constantly like it's going to burn or something--so much for "leave it and forget about it" convenience.   As a result, the food never lives up to the anticipation of something I have smelled and fussed over all day.  New goal: Wake my butt up in the morning, start the slow cooker meal, and actually reap the rewards after work.

However, I do have a few crock pot success stories thus far… and the one I’m sharing today is Beef Stew.  I’ve made this a couple of times this winter, and it always lives up to the smell!

What you’ll need:

Beef Stew

1 lb. stew meat
4 medium potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 can beef broth
1 can V-8 Juice (if you don’t have V-8, you can blend a can of any type of tomato)
1 cup carrot chips (I buy the bagged chips)
1 medium sweet onion (I didn't have an onion--so I added green onions and mushrooms this time)
3 bay leaves
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp pepper
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen peas

First, combine the first 11 ingredients in your crock pot (and any additions you had to make your stew perfect!).  Cover with lid and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender (I usually set mine for 7.5 hours)

7.5 hours later----Remove lid. Discard bay leaves. Add the corn and peas.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into stew.  

Cover stew and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened.

The Unconventional Sandwich: PB&H Bagels

The Unconventional Sandwich

sand·wich noun

1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between

    b : one slice of bread covered with food

sandwich verb

: to make into or as if into a sandwich; especially : to insert or enclose between usually two things of another quality or character

Ahh…the Sandwich.  Although they existed long before they were called sandwiches, John Montague, the fourth earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the tasty invention. Montague, a heavy card player, held his cards in one hand and cheese and meat between slices of bread in the other (This is still a sandwich purpose in my house today!).  Montague’s fellow players started asking for Sandwich’s …and the rest is sandwich history!

The Unconventional Sandwich posts explore a variety of sandwich condiments and toppings, twists on old favorites, and traditional sandwiches with our own unique flare.  From breakfast to dessert, there isn’t anything we can’t try to sandwich.

PB&H Bagels

I love peanut butter, banana, and honey on a warm, toasted bagel.  It’s one of my favorite sandwiches.  My fondness of this concoction began while studying abroad at Harlaxton.  Don’t get me wrong—England does have some great grub. Fish and Chips. Shepherd’s Pie. The list goes on. But the refectory at Harlaxton College, well, let’s just say there were good days and bad days.  On bad days, I would eat this yummy sandwich and it wasn’t such a bad day after all.  

What you’ll need:

PB&H Bagels:

Peanut Butter

1 Banana

Honey

Bagel (I use original bagel thins)

First, turn your oven on broil and toast your bagels. While the bagels are toasting, slice your banana.

After your bagels are golden brown, remove from the oven and spread bottom half of bagel with peanut butter.

Layer the banana slices on top of the peanut butter.

Squirt one skinny line of honey around the bagel on top of the banana slices. Place the top of the bagel and form your sandwich.

There you have it. PB&H Bagel. Enjoy!

Chicken Nachos

Chicken Nachos

This chicken nacho recipe is a great catch-all.  It makes an easy and quick weeknight dinner, a tasty side for a Mexican Fiesta dinner, or a snack for game night. I have to give credit to my mom, because it’s her recipe, which is loosely based on Chi-Chi’s chicken nachos (but not so much so that I believe this qualifies as a copy-cat).  Mmmmm. Anyone remember Chi-Chi’s? I miss it.  If you have never heard of Chi-Chi’s, you can learn about their demise here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi-Chi's.  Warning: Read link after enjoying the tasty goodness of the recipe.

What you’ll need (taco cheese not pictured):

Chicken Nachos

1 can of canned chicken (drained)

2/3 package of taco seasoning

1 can tomatoes with green chilies (drained)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 tbsp dried minced onion

1 bag taco cheese

Jalapenos, Sour Cream (optional toppings)

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Next, prepare your nacho topping.  Combine canned chicken, taco seasoning, canned tomatoes,  cream of chicken soup, and onion in a medium sized cooker.  Bring to a boil

Lay your chips out on a cookie sheet or in a 9 x13 pan (depending on how impressive you want to be)

More impressive:



Less Impressive:

Place nachos in the oven until cheese is melted. Remove and serve with side of sour cream--in a pretty platter or straight from the baking pan.

More impressive:

Less Impressive: