Enchilada Stacks

I don't know why I felt I had to be overly cautious when making these, aside from the fact that it was my first time trying. I'm somewhat disappointed in how it looks but the taste is oh so good, even as leftovers the next day. And with green tabasco.  Next time, and there will be a next time, I am going to totally up it and fill it without hesitation and have it oozing and dripping with goodness.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 package of tortillas (I used the 8 inch - 10 pack ones).
1 lb lean ground beef (although honestly, next time I may opt for 1.5 lbs)
1 can red enchilada sauce (20 oz)
1 package taco seasoning 
Shredded cheddar cheese (8 - 16 oz or more if you like cheese)
1 can refried beans (16oz)
1 can diced green chilies (or you can cut fresh ones)
Scallions to top

* Note - add any other additional ingredients you like in your enchiladas.  The taco seasoning isn't a necessity, you can just use enchilada sauce mixed into the beef, however I found it needed an extra something so I threw in the seasoning.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Brown ground beef in a skillet.  

Add 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce to the ground beef and stir.  Add the taco seasoning now too if you plan to use it.  Take it off the heat and set aside.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  This is important to do otherwise the first layer of tortilla will stick to the baking sheet.  

Place one tortilla on baking sheet and top with a layer of beef followed by cheese, then the diced green chilies. Pour some enchilada sauce over it. I did not measure out how much I used, i just poured loosely. You can do more or less per your taste.

Next, add a tortilla on top  and spread a layer of the refried beans. 
Layer three will be the same as layer one. 

Keep following this pattern for five tortillas, but when you get to the last (top) tortilla, dip it in enchilada sauce and set on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and then cover the whole stack with foil.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Remove foil, add a thin layer of enchilada sauce and some more cheese. 
Bake uncovered for 5 minutes so the cheese melts.

Garnish with the cut scallions and serve!

Baked Ham Egg and Cheese Boats

(Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon) 

Ham, egg AND cheese... all in a loaf of bread? Yes Yes Yes! 
There's so many ways you could go with this idea but we'll keep it to the basics today. But seriously, the possibilities are endless.  Think bacon, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc..etc..etc..

Lets just jump right into it because there's not really much else to say about it other than its delicious and my non fancy self secretly felt a little fancy when I pulled it out of the oven and served it up. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
* this is based on how many I made. Adjust according to how many you want to eat!

• 4 small baguettes. (you can use hoagie rolls)
• 6 large eggs 
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (you can use milk instead)
• 1 cup diced ham (I just grabbed the sliced deli sandwich ham and chopped it up)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
• 2 scallions (sliced thin)
• Salt, pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Hollow out the bread.  Keep in mind that if you hollow it deep then you have to fill it more. I ended up doing this and had to add more ham, egg, and cheese to the mix.

In a bowl, whip the eggs and cream.  

Next, add the ham, cheese, and scallions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into the bread loaves and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the eggs are fully cooked.

Allow to cool for a few minutes then cut wedges and enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee! 

Bacon Pancakes

Oh sweet bacon, I can't tell you how many times I've zoomed in on this picture just to stare at the bacon. Bacon will be the death of me if I don't watch out and clearly I'm eating way more than I should in one sitting because each time afterwards, I'm dehydrated for at least two days. I've got the bacon fever bad and I need to stop. But first, bacon pancakes!
The song Bacon Pancakes from the show Adventure Time is a constant in my household. Its absolutely catchy and of course makes me crave bacon, so this morning I decided to follow the songs lead and make bacon pancakes, all the while singing the song... in fact, I'm singing it now that I'm talking about it..... I can't stop. 

Now I'm not a huge fan of pancakes - I prefer crispy waffles, but the idea of sticking a strip of bacon in a pancake sounds pretty damn cool if you ask me.  And before I go on with the recipe, I'm going to post this remix version that I play on a loop, of the Adventure Time song.  It'll make you happy and without a doubt want bacon pancakes! It'll also get stuck in your head. Forever.  You should totally hit play right now.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 package of bacon (preferably thick, center cut)
• Pancake mix (I buy the kind you just add water to, but make it however you like)

                         THATS IT!   How easy is that?!

DIRECTIONS:

Fry the bacon.  How much is up to you. I did most of the package but also left several strips to eat solo. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats eating crunchy bacon on its own.  If you have a bacon press, use it. You want to keep your strips somewhat flat.  Set aside when done.

Mix up your pancake batter and if you have one of those hot griddles, I'd say use that. But a skillet works just as well. Its what I use, it just takes longer. 

      

Place a strip of bacon down on the hot surface and then pour  batter over it. Let it cook and then slowly flip once the first side is done. You can gauge when to flip when all the little bubbles burst. 

Once the second side is done, move to a plate and continue with as many as you plan on making.

Pour some syrup over it for added yummy goodness. Butter too!

Stromboli

I don't really know if you'd classify this as a Stromboli, probably not, but its what I set out to make at least. I've never made one before so I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to a pass if it doesn't exactly look as it should.  It did however, taste pretty fantastic. Yay me!

I love using Pillsbury doughs in my cooking - they are such quick go to's that you can use to make a number of things. Of course, I'm sure it would make me beam if I were to make my own dough and then get to say Look at the dough I made! Fancy!  But I'm also quite content with the easy route of not having to go thru all the steps of making the dough. Plus I'm also still trying to conquer my fear of the  pop the dough can makes when I open it. One of these days it won't make me flinch anymore....

So Stromboli.  First off, I looked at a bunch of recipes online to gather up an idea of what I was to do.  I only bought pepperoni and sausage and figured I could fill the rest with whatever I had in the fridge.
Here's what I came up with, which made two fairly large loafs - this fed 4 and we still had leftovers.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Ground sausage (I used a 1lb tube of Jimmy Dean)
• 2 cans refrigerated pizza crust dough (I used Pillsbury 13.8oz Pizza Crust Classic)
• Sliced pepperoni (I bought a bagful and added liberally - how much is up to you)
• Spinach (I used fresh and added by the handful - again, how much is up to you)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used orange but you can use any color)
• 1 medium onion, diced (I used a red onion)
• Mushrooms, diced (I used 10 Baby Bella mushrooms)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Italian seasoning 
• Cooking spray or olive oil
• Spagetti sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 and spray some oil on a baking sheet. If you don't have cooking spray, you can just pour a teaspoons worth of olive oil on the pan and wipe it to coat with a paper towel.

2. In one skillet, cook the ground sausage.
Meanwhile, in another, sauté the onions until they are clear through.  Once this happens, add the garlic and bell pepper and cook until the peppers are soft.  Last, add the mushrooms.  Once thoroughly cooked, add to the cooked sausage and mix mix mix. Add some italian seasoning in as you'd like and set the whole thing aside (off of the heat).

3. Next, roll out one of the two pizza doughs. You may need to roll it out a little extra with a rolling pin. I did.  But not too thin, or the filling will push through the dough.

4. First, layer down the spinach.  I had bought a bag of spinach and ended up using most of it between the two strombolis.  Don't forget that spinach shrinks once cooked, so what may look like a lot piled on won't be that fluffy once cooked.

5. Next, add the sausage mix, pepperoni, and then the cheese - one layer after another.

6. Now you will want to take one end and slowly roll it all the way to the other and seal it with your fingers. Be careful when you roll as the filling will try to fall out.  Seal the sides too.

 

              BEFORE BAKING                                       AFTER BAKING (oooh ahhh!)

7. Your last step before baking is to coat the surface of the loaf with oil - spray or pour a little on your fingers. The idea is to cover the surface lightly and then you'll want to sprinkle the parmesan cheese all over it.

8.  Follow the steps above for the 2nd loaf.

9. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes. Let it cool on a rack for a bit so everything sets in its final resting spot and then slice into goodness.  Serve with the spaghetti sauce and enjoy!!

                   

                                                                                                                                  Burp*