Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

So, of all the time and money I have spent in the kitchen lately, I don't think I have gotten as much response over a recipe as this one. This simple and quick recipe...really?! I mean I'm flattered, but at the same time I like what, this took nothing to throw together (though they are pretty damn delicious). I like to think that my camera skills, along with my new $2 place mat backdrops, had something to do with it. And of course Instagram (follow me at jcoats6) because everyone can be a photographer with that thing, lol.

The idea came when I was at the store one day, I saw these huge peppers and thought "stuffed peppers do sound, but so do Philly cheese steaks, what to do?" Then it hit me, why don't I just let them have a little pan party and create Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers! The original recipe for this came from a sloppy joe version, tweaked by me of course, then I added some rice to make them stuffed peppers. Really the most annoying thing was making the rice, so next time I will cut a corner and buy some minute rice. Hope you enjoy them! PS. After saying Philly so many times, I now have the Fresh Prince of Bel Air song stuck in my head. Yo homes smell ya later! WW points = 11 for one pepper!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1`medium onion, sliced 
• 1 cup; 1/4 cup beef stock, divided
• 4 tbs steak sauce, I used Heinz 57
• 1/2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup grated Italian cheese blend
• 1/2 tsp salt, more if you like salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, more if you like pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup rice, cooked, I used brown
• 4 medium sized green peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
• 4 slices Provolone cheese
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown beef in a large skillet.
3. When almost cooked through, add onions, salt, black pepper. garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Cook for 3 more minutes.
5. Add 1 cup beef stock and steak sauce.
6. Cook down for 10 minutes until almost all liquid cooked out.
7. Add Italian cheese and stir to blend.
8. Add rice and stir to blend. 
9. Taste and salt and pepper as needed.
10. Stuff mixture between the 4 peppers.
11. Put in baking dish and add remaining 1/4 cup beef stock to the bottom of dish. (Peppers will be sitting in the stock)
12. Cover with glass top or foil and bake for 25 minutes.
13. Remove glass top/foil and place one slice of cheese over each pepper.
14. Put back in oven for 5 minutes.
15. Remove and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

• These are pretty healthy as instructed, but use ground turkey and low-fat cheese for an even healthier dish.
• Beef stock is much more flavorful then broth. It will definitely increase the flavors in your dish.
• If your peppers don't sit up straight in the baking dish, cut a very small amount off the bottom so they stand straight up.
• Use whatever steak sauce you have on hand. A-1 sauce has a bit more of a Worcestershire taste, so if you are using that, omit the extra Worcestershire sauce.
• Omit the peppers and rice to make sloppy joes!! Serve on hamburger buns!

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Rolls

I love frozen dough! I had never used the stuff before this weekend, but boy did I make some tasty treats. It's now one of my go-to premade ingredients that I am not ashamed to use. Yes, it took a day to have it thaw out, but just plan in advance and you will be golden. Once its ready to use, the possibilities are endless. Not only did I make these, I made Semi Homemade Cinnamon Rolls which were to die for. Besides the dough, I had everything else on hand to make both recipes. Take a peak and see what you have and create something unique. Most recipes take about 20-25 minutes to bake. I have a vision of rolling little bit size pieces out and putting some type of candy bar in the middle...might have to give that a try, then of course bring them to work because I rather fatten them up then my boyfriend and myself lol.

It took about an hour and a half in all to make these little pillows of loveliness since I let them proof and get all big and glorious. If I had pepperonis they would have definitely been added, but I wasn't going to make a special trip. You can really stuff them with anything you like, I just kept them plain Jane but delicious with cheese. They warm up well in the oven if you have any leftovers and served them with leftover pasta sauce I had.

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Knots

• 1 loaf bread dough, thawed and proofed
• 3 tbs melted butter
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
• 1 tbs parsley flakes
• 1/2 tps garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbs Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 cup marinara or pasta sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix parsley, garlic powder, salt, and Parmesan cheese together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cut dough into 1-inch chucks.
4. Flatten with hand and put a small amount of cheese in the middle. Gather all the sides and pinch to close.
5. Brush with butter and dip in seasoned Parmesan mix.
6. Continue until all the dough is used.
7. Place in 2 9-inch pie pans and left proof for 45 minutes until doubled in size.
8. Put in oven for 20 minutes until lightly browned.
9. Serve hot with marinara sauce.

Tips and Tricks

• Use whatever cheese you have on hand. It would probably be easier to use block cheese cut into small cubes, but I had shredded on hand.
• If you don't have time to let them proof that is ok, they just won't be as big and fluffy.
• To warm, place in 300 degree oven for 5 minutes.
• Make into little pizza puffs by stuffing with pepperonis, onions, peppers, and cheese.

Chicken Fettuccine Diavolo

Yes, this is a made up name for a dish that I randomly created one night. I tried to make it sound fancy and look up what spicy sauce was referred to in Italian. Though diavolo means red sauce made spicy with chili flakes (and I think devil, but not too sure about that), and this is a "pink" sauce (red and white sauce mixed), I liked the name so I went with it. Using the thesaurus and dictionary.com make me often sound smarter than I am, lol. Kinda reminds me of that episode of Friends where Joey uses the thesaurus on literally every word for Monica and Chandler's recommendation letter for adoption. The letter came out horribly but so hilarious. Check it out here.

This recipe is actually pretty healthly as far as pasta dishes go. Instead of making a full fat cream sauce, I used fat-free half and half and only 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, then mixed that with a red sauce. I love spicy foods, so I kicked it up a notch with red pepper flakes. The peas made a great addition with a nice little pop, literally, of texture and just enough sweetest to counter the spice. All in all, it took under 30 minutes to make a pasta dish that feed us for days.

Chicken Fettuccine Diavolo

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 sweet onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced 
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup fat-free half and half
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce, bottled
• 2 tbs olive oil, divided
• 1 tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 8 oz fettuccine pasta
• Salt and pepper

1. Boil a large pot of water for pasta. Add pasta once water has reached a rolling boil and cook for 12 minutes or until al dente. Remove and set aside.
2. Cut chicken into small, 1/2 inches pieces and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. Heat skillet to medium high with 1 tbs olive oil.
4. Cook chicken until done, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
5. Add mushrooms to pan that chicken was cooked in. Cook for 3 minutes until slightly browned.
6. Add onions to the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until onions are softened. Remove onions and mushrooms and set aside.
7. Add remaining tbs of olive oil and add flour. Cook for one minute.
8. Add half and half and mix continuously until sauce thickens. 
9. Add cheese and continue to mix until cheese is fully incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
10. Add tomato sauce and mix until it is fully incorporated. Add red chili flakes.
11. Add peas to sauce, stir, then add chicken, mushrooms and onions.
12. Add pasta and stir until all pasta is coated.
13. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

Tips and Tricks

• If you are in a rush, you can use a store made Alfredo sauce in place of olive oil, flour, half and half and Parmesan cheese.
• Use whatever type of pasta you have on hand. Shaped pasta with ridges would be a great idea as the sauce will stick well to it.
• Grilled chicken would really kick up the flavor if you have that on hand.
• If you are serving this later, wait to mix the pasta with the sauce until right before serving.

Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Health food! Well, not really, but with 2 1/4 cup carrots, they have to be somewhat healthy right? I post all the pictures that I take for this blog on Facebook and keep getting asked how I don't weigh 300 pounds since all I have been making lately are unhealthy, amazingly delicious recipes. The truth is I take most of what I make to work (this might be a lame attempt at getting people to work the extra time that seems inevitable in the next month, but honestly it's so I don't eat it all myself.) Most of the dinners I have blogged about are actually quite healthy, but the desserts are not, obviously. Baking on the weekend gives me time to try new recipes, enjoy a one or two of them, then take them to work on Monday. Everyone at work seems to enjoy this and my waist line doesn't triple.

Carrot cake is a new favorite of mine. When I was younger, I pretty much turned my nose up at it. Carrots in cake, ewww; combine that with the spices that are used (I am still not a fan of clove) and it just wasn't the cake for me. However, your taste buds change every 10 years or so (says my boyfriend and I believe him, he's a very smart man. He always has "useless" trivia facts to share, but they come in handy when you want to mildly impress someone.) Well, that would mean that my taste buds have change almost 3 times now, and I'm glad because I really enjoy foods that I didn't when I was a kid (beer too, BIG smile). However, my buds have still not changed enough for me to like coffee; I still despise the stuff. I also still do not enjoy cloves, so I didn't add that to this recipe. The original called to make 3 9-inch cakes, but since I wanted to share, I made mini cupcakes. There is also a glaze that you top each cupcake with that shouldn't be left out. While the cake is very moist on its own, the glaze gives an extra WOW favor that sets this recipe apart from others.

Adapted from Southern Living

Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Cake Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups grated carrot
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla together with a electric mixer on medium until well blended.
4. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients on low until well mixed.
5. Add carrot, pineapple, and pecans to mixture with spatula until mixed.
6. Line mini cupcake tray with liners and fill each to top with cake mixture.
7. Bake for 13 minutes.
8. While baking, make glaze; see below.
9. Remove from oven and brush each with glaze.
10. Let cool completely and ice with frosting; recipe below.

Buttermilk Glaze

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, and butter together and bring to boil.
2. Remove and add vanilla.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Beat butter and cream cheese together with electric mixer on medium until combined.
2. Add sugar one cup at a time, beating on high until combined.
3. Once all sugar is added, beat in vanilla on high until combined.

Tips and Tricks

• If you would like to make a layered cake, grease 3 9-inch pie pans and cook for 25-30 minutes.
• The original recipe called for coconut. If you would like to add this, cut back carrot by 1/4 cup and add 1 cup coconut.
• For easy icing, put frosting in a large zip lock bag and cut the corner off. Cut very small at first and increase size as needed.
• If the icing is too runny, put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Semi Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I am not one to turn my nose up at pre-made ingredients for the most part. Being a self proclaimed gastronome doesn't mean I have to be a biatch, lol. They are usually tasty and save you a lot of time in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, the 100% made from scratch thing is usually better, but sometimes I just don't have time or patients for that (usually the patients). I have come across a couple of pre-made items that weren't that great, so I just don't use them. I'm not as semi homemade as Sandy is from Food Network, she must do all semi homemade so she has time and money to make those lavish "tablescapes", lol. Not knocking it, they are beautiful and the food usually looks yummy, but sometimes I think she cuts to many corners. My favorite semi homemade products are marinades and season blends, and now frozen dough. I made two recipes this weekend with the dough; these and Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Knots.

I consider these cinnamon rolls semi homemade since I used pre-made frozen bread dough and canned cake frosting, but the rest was all me. I often make the canned cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the weekends, the boyfriend loves them, so I decided that I could do one step better and make these. I was going to make my own frosting, but had some frosting in the cabinet (honestly don't know how this wasn't already eaten by now since a spoon of frosting is a guilty pleasure of both mine and the BF. Don't judge us, lol.) In all, it took about 30 minutes to prep these. The lack of a rolling pin was definitely the reason it took longer. Somehow the glass I was using just didn't to the job as fast, duh. I could have let these proof for longer, but I was hungry and ready to eat. They came out perfect and now will be a weekend staple in our house.

Semi Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 loaf frozen dough, thawed and proofed
• 1/4 stick salted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 can vanilla frosting
• 2 tbsp half and half or milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Flour for rolling out dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 9 inch pie pan with melted butter.
3. Clean counter top and cover with light layer of flour.
4. Roll dough out to be 1/8 thick, about the thickness of a nickle and about 15 inches in length. Just eye ball it, doesn't have to be exact.
5. Brush dough with melted butter to cover the entire surface.
6. Mix sugars and cinnamon until well blended.
7. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough until all used.
8. Starting from one end, roll the dough as you would a jelly roll until completely rolled up.
9. Cut into 1 inch pieces and press down lightly to flatten. You only want them lightly flattened.
10. Put in cake pan, they should all be touching.
11. Cover with a warm towel (lightly moisten with water and put in microwave for 30 seconds) and let proof on counter top for 30 minutes.
12. Bake for 25 minutes.
13. While rolls are baking, mix cake frosting, half and half or milk, and vanilla together Consistency should be runny, but still have some texture. If too runny, add more frosting. If not runny enough, add more half and half or milk.
14. Remove rolls from oven and remove from pan. 
15. Ice immediately. You can either leave them all touching and ice or pull apart and ice individually.

Tips and Tricks

• If you would like to make your own frosting, use this recipe
• 1 cup powder sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk
• Add all ingredients and mix until blended.
• Cream cheese cake frosting would be amazing to use.
• If you like nuts, finely chop pecans or walnuts and add to sugar and cinnamon mixture before you cover dough.
• If you like your rolls a bit more cooked on the outsides, place rolls on a cookie sheet, not touching and bake for 20 minutes.

Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

Yes, the title is a mouthful, but you will be glad to have a mouth full of these cheesy, melty (yeah, that's not a word), spicy goodness. Don't be afraid of the word jalapeno either. Consider this your training wheels for eating them since cooking a jalapeno releases much of their heat; the longer they cook, the more mild they become. Of course, you need to remove the seeds and the membrane for that statement to be true. Leave that stuff in and your mouth will be on fire, and as for your tummy...well, be warned that leaving that stuff in will cause you much discomfort if you are not use to spicy foods.

Many people will refer to recipes like this as poppers, but I believe that poppers are breaded and fried where these are not. I have made stuff jalapenos several different ways in the past, but have found this to be my favorite recipe. The addition of sausage came from my boyfriend's brother's wife; I could just say Wendy, but few would know who that was, and I like to give credit where credit is due. At first I was wondering how sausage and jalapeno would taste, but once I tried it, I was sold! It really brings a texture and meatiness to these delicious apps. I usually wrap them in bacon that is half cooked before wrapping since soggy, chewy bacon is the worst and precooking insures that the final product is crispy, but sometimes I just crumble cooked bacon over the top of them and its just as good. If you like sausage, I guarantee you will like these.

Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

• 7 large or 12 small jalapenos,
• 1 8oz bar cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 pound hot breakfast sausage
• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lay strips of bacon on cooking sheet and bake in oven for 7 minutes.  Remove and set aside.Turn oven down to 375 degrees.
3. Cut jalapenos in half and remove seeds and membrane with a spoon. Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin. Wash hands immediately after.
4. Cook sausage in skillet over medium high heat until browned. 
5. Mix sausage, cream cheese, cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a medium mixing bowl.
6. Fill jalapenos with spoon until all are stuffed.
7. Wrap bacon around each jalapeno. Cut bacon into two pieces if necessary to wrap all jalapenos. Secure with toothpick if necessary.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. Remove toothpick and enjoy.

Tips and Tricks

• If you like heat, cook the stuffed jalapenos for 12 minutes. This will keep the heat of the pepper.
• Use low-fat or fat-free products for a healthier version.
• You can place crumbled bacon over each stuffed pepper for easier assembly.
• These reheat very well. Heat oven to 375 and cook for 12 minutes.
• These can be prepared in advanced if needed.

Butterfinger Blondies

You would think that with all the post that I have on baked goods that I have been baking for years. The truth is that I just got into baking. Since my multiple failed attempts at making cream puffs in the 8th grade (damn French pastries), I swore off all baking. I thought I was just no good at it. Being a cook is much different then being a baker. Baking is science, a very exact art where instructions and techniques must be followed. You can't just add a splash of this and a dash of that like I do when I cook and you must have patients; something at times I lack. Since Pinterest (follow me here!) has entered our lives, for better or fatter and broke, lol, I have gotten into baking. There are so many amazing pictures of cupcakes, cookies, bars, breads, cakes, brownies, and the list goes on, that I couldn't help myself. My skills in the kitchen have certainly increased since 8th grade, so I figured it was time to try baking again.

This recipe was actually the second baking recipe that I attempted; both came out great I might add. Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes was the first one. The boyfriend is a huge fan of Butterfingers and I love all desserts that comes in bar form, so I knew I had to try these. The original recipe called for a homemade frosting, but I didn't have Crisco and didn't feel like buying it, so I went with a canned frosting. Yeah, yeah, shame on me, but it's awesome and fast. The frosting from the Oatmeal Cream Pies would be amazing on these, so might have to try that out next time. Sorry for the crappy picture, I forgot to take one until they were already wrapped up to deliver. Just another excuse to make these again.

Adapted from Six Sisters Stuff

Butterfinger Blondies

• 1 cup salted butter, room temp.
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped Butterfinger Bars (approx 20 “Fun Size” bars) 
• 1 can vanilla frosting

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. 
2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish or pan.
3. Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl with a mixer.
4. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated.
5. On low add your dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda) until just combined.
6. Stir in cup 2 cups chopped Butterfinger.
7. Pour mixture into the baking dish, distributing evenly, and bake for 25 minutes until center is JUST set. Do not over cook or you will lose the chewy center.
8. Remove from oven and cool completely. 
9. In a bowl, mix frosting on high speed for 3 minutes until frosting is fluffy. (You can skip this step, but I find this will give you "more" frosting and makes it light and fluffy.
10. Ice bars evenly and top with remaining 1/2 cup of Butterfingers.
11. Cut into 1-inch bars and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

• A food processor or Slap Chop will chop up the Butterfingers nicely. Only pulse the processor a couple times, you still want some chucks, not powder.
• If you use unsalted butter, add one tsp of salt when you add the eggs and vanilla.
• Line the baking pan with foil with a four to five inch over hand on the shorter sides to easily remove the bars in one solid sheet, then ice and cut.