Food Around the World - Fried Mozzarella

This month's theme is Italy for the Food Around the World club.  Who doesn't love Italian food?!  We love it in my house.  I was really excited when Kelly picked this theme!

Last weekend we had a big meal at my house.  I decided to make these for dinner.  My daughter, Kelly, and my son, Jimmy, helped out.  We did not let them sit in the freezer long enough.  Therefore, when Jimmy friend them, they came out more like fried mozzarella blogs instead of sticks!  But, they were still deliciouso!

Fried Mozzarella

16 pieces String Cheese, Removed From Wrappers
½ cups All-purpose Flour
2 whole Eggs
3 Tablespoons Milk
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes
Canola Oil, For Frying
Marinara Sauce, For Dipping
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

Slice string cheese pieces in half, for a total of 32 pieces.

Place flour in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.

In another separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley flakes.

TO ASSEMBLE: One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, then dunk in egg/milk mixture, then place in panko crumbs. Use your hand to sweep crumbs all over the mozzarella stick. Gently remove and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated.

***Place tray in freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to flash freeze.***

TO COOK: Heat 1 1/2 inches canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella sticks 8 at a time. Watch closely and turn over to evenly brown, cooking less than 2 minutes. Do not allow cheese to bubble and leak.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.

My son, Jimmy, frying the mozzarella and my son-in-law, Steve, helping to prepare rest of dinner.

Cheesy Muffins

I found this recipe in the most recent Paula Deen Magazine.  The recipe seemed easy and it had cheese in it. Yum!  I made these to go with our Sunday dinner.  My granddaughter Samantha helped me.  They were delicious and the grandkids could not stay out of them!

Sorry the picture isn't very good.  I forgot to take a finished picture so this is a cropped picture.  These are real delicious with honey, too.  I probably should have filled the muffin pans up more.  I made about 2 3/4 dozen.

Cheddar Muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3 T sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 24 miniature muffin cups with non stick baking spray with flour.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, and sugar.  Add buttermilk and eggs, stirring just until combined (mixture will be lumpy).  Stir in cheese.

3.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Peanut Butter Do-si-do Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being a Girl Scout Leader I was very excited to see this recipe on Picky Palate's site.

These cookies were DELICIOUS!  My son must have ate about a third of the baked cookies!

You can find the recipe here:  http://picky-palate.com/2013/03/25/peanut-butter-do-si-do-chocolate-chip-cookies/#more-26971.  The recipe is very easy and results were so good!

Enjoy!

Cookin' With the Deens - 1st post

This is a new cooking club - Cookin' With the Deens.  The cookbook we are cooking out of is From Mama's Table to Mine by Bobby Deen.  Bobby lightens up his mom's recipes to be 350 calories or less.

Our first two recipes are Cajun Sliders and Twice Baked Cheddar Potatoes.

Both recipes were really good, but I'm not my favorite.  We tweaked the potato recipe so it's not so "lightened up."  By we, I mean my daughter, Kelly and I.  These were good, tho.

The burgers I made some with the spices and hot sauce and some leaving out these items.  I wasn't sure if my grandkids would like them.

I double the recipe so we could each have 2.

Cajun Sliders

6 oz 93% lean ground turkey
6 oz 95% lean ground beef
1 T ketsup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning, plus extra for the vegetables
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 8 strips
4 round onion slices from 1 small onion
1 T, plus 1 tsp fat free mayo, or low-fat (used regular since it's what I had)
2 tsp spice brown mustard
4 small sandwich buns

1.  Preheat the broiler.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, beef, ketsup, Worcestershire sauce, Cajun season and the hot sauce.  Form the mixture in 4 fat patties (a little wider than the buns).

3.  Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat.  Cook the patties, covered, turning once until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes total.

4.  Meanwhile, place the bell pepper strips and onion slices on the prepared baking sheet.  Season with a pinch of the extra Cajun seasoning and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Broil, without turning, until browned along the edges, 3-5 minutes.

5.  In a small bowl, stir together the mayo and mustard and spread on the inside of each bun.  Put a patty on the bottom of each bun, top with an onion slice and 2 strips of bell pepper crossed over each other, and cover with the top bun.

Twice Baked Cheddar Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes

1 cup grated low-fat Cheddar cheese (I used regular)

1/2 cup fat free, or low fat, Greek yogurt (used cream cheese)

1/3 cup skim milk (1%)

3/4 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

paprika to taste

3 scallion (white and light green parts only) thinly sliced (skipped)

1.  Preheat the  oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Cut a slit in the top of each potato and lightly spray the skin all with cooking spray.  Arrange the potatoes on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

3.  Slice off the top third of each potato.  Scoop out the insides into a medium bowl and mash with the cheese, yogurt, milk, salt and pepper.   Return the potato shells to the baking sheet.  Scrape the mixture back into the potato shells.  Sprinkle with paprika and bake until golden, 20-30 minutes.  Toop with scallions and serve. (I added more cheddar to top).

Paula Deen's Flash-in-the-Pan Steak Fajitas

My daughter and I were talking the other day that fajitas sounded good.  In the most recent Paula Deen magazine there were several fajita recipes.  I decided to try the steak ones.  Boy were they delicious!  Everything is cut up and marinating the night before so there is not much to do the next evening.  Easy.

The recipe can be found here:  http://www.pauladeenmagazine.com/recipe_results.php?id=3485

Pioneer Woman Meatloaf and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I know it has been AGES since I posted any recipes. Hopefully, that will change.  I was just so busy for such a long time between work, Girl Scouts, grandkids, son.  Rest is busy but work is starting to ease up some.

Tonight I decided to make the Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf and her creamy mashed potatoes.  My helped me.  I got a late start on it so we did not eat until after 8:00.  But, we all thought it was worth the wait!  It was so good.  The catsup, brown sugar, dried mustard and tobasco topping caramelized on top and you also put the leftover sauce on your meatloaf before eating.  The meatloaf recipe is located here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/meatloaf-recipe/index.html

The potatoes are just as yummy!  Kelly did the potatoes.  The cream cheese, butter and half and half, plus baking makes it one of my favorites!  This is where the potatoes recipe is found:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/creamy-mashed-potatoes-recipe2/index.html



This is definitely an awesome Sunday night dinner.  Takes a little too long for me for during the week.  I will definitely make this again!

Have the Cake: Frightfully Delicious Chocolate Cupcakes

• I have not participated in the Have the Cake Challenge in a few months, but when I saw it was pumpkin themed, I had to do it!  I love this time of year with the pumpkin recipes and Halloween themed goodies!

I found this recipe on the Very Best Baking website.  They have such yummy looking stuff.

My granddaughter, Samantha had spent the night after the whole family watched the original "Halloween"movie.  The next morning, I asked if she wanted to help make cupcakes and she yelled "YES!"  I think she was excited!  She loves to bake with Grammy.  My daughter and the rest of  her family came over later.  She and her son, Austin helped to decorate the cupcakes.  I think for the decorating, I put orange food coloring in the icing and helped spread on.  The two of them did the rest.

The recipe was easy to do.  The chocolate and pumpkin blended great together and it was not too much a pumpkin flavor, just enough.

Frightfully Delicious Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 12/ cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (libby's 100% pure pumpkin)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1-16 oz container prepared white frosting
Halloween decorations Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Paper-line 20 muffin cups

Microwave 1 cup morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute; stir.  If necessary, microwave additional 10-15 second intervals just until morsels are melted.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat sugar, pumpkin, oil, milk and eggs in larger mixer bowl until smooth.  Beat in melted chocolate.  Stir in flour mixture.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

Bake for 22-27 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes; removed to racks to cool completely.  Frost cupcakes and decorate.