Food Lush

Buffalo Chicken Phyllo Cups

By Ariel

One of my favorite party foods is Buffalo Chicken Dip. I lived into my twenties before I even knew it existed (I know, right?) but thanks to my sister-in-law, I have a delicious habit that I break out every time I have people over. 

This Halloween, however, I realized I had too many dips. (What? you say? I know, I know.) I had spinach, ranch, pumpkin, and caramel. I had already planned on making the chicken dip, but after some brian-storming with a co-worker I thought of something that might be an excellent alternative. I was right!

And it's simple: take your favorite Buffalo Chicken dip recipe (as long as it includes ranch), but  instead of using however much ranch dressing the dip calls for, substitute it for 4 Tbs (one packet) dry ranch seasoning powder. This makes the dip more substantial and fits perfectly into mini Phyllo Cups. I spooned the chicken mixture into the cups, about a Tbs fits, and stuck them in the oven at 250 degrees for about 10 minutes. You just need to keep an eye on the dough because they are already pre-baked. 

They were a hit! They were the first to disappear off the table, so next time I'll be doubling the recipe (I made 60 this round). I can't wait to try these as an appetizer for the holidays, I have a feeling they'll be a hit there as well! 

Product Recommendation: Kraft Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia

By Ariel

We had our annual Halloween party this past weekend, and one staple I always make (because I love it so much) is some variation of a spinach-artichoke dip. I usually like to grate my own cheese, it just seems fresher that way, but I've been seeing a ton of coupons lately for Kraft's cheese with a touch of Philadelphia. They claimed it would make my cheese extra gooey, so I decided that warrented trying out.

Wow, they were not kidding. This cheese is wonderful! I prefer my spinach dip warm and served in a bread bowl, but obviously throughout the night the dip will firm up a bit. Substituting my normal cheese with the Philadelphia blend really helped keep the dip more plyable and, well, dippy. Straight out of the oven, the cheese came out like ooey-gooey pizza cheese and I was really impressed with the texture and taste as well. Like I said, I normally grate my own over buying bagged shredded, but I think for dishes and pizza this might become my go-to cheese.

I also counted what looks like seven different varieties, so from Italian to tacos there is one for you to try!

(Photo credit: Kraft.com)

Taco Pasta Bake

By Ariel

Pinterest to the rescue again! This meal makes me a true believer that anything + carbs = amazing.

We do tacos approximately twice a month around here. It's easy and who doesn't love tacos? While on Pinterest I found this pin and knew it would be a hit. I wasn't wrong AND it makes for a great lunch for work the next day. 

I did make a few changes to the original recipe. I used ground turkey and rather than a taco seasoning packet I used Elisabeth's taco seasoning recipe from right here on Food Lush. I probably come back for that specific seasoning mix more than any other recipe out there on the internet. If you have not tried it, check it out! If you don't have all the spices, you're still going to save money (and sodium!) in the long run, I promise!

I also used reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat mexican blend (Kraft, I believe). 

A couple things I discovered:

Drain the pasta once cooked, but don't rinse it. For the ground turkey/beef do not drain the juice. If your meat is on the dry side add a quarter to half a cup of water because the casserole is great fresh out the oven but will dry for lunch the next day.

This was a great comfort food, thanks to the pasta, and the recipe could easily feed a family of four with room to spare (so I'll be cutting it in half next time!). I'm just not sure if it can be made vegetarian-friendly, which would be nice in my quest to cut more meat from our diet.

Any suggestions from the vegitarians out there? Bonus points if I can make my husband believe it still has meat in it!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

By Ariel

A few months back I introduced a co-worker to Pinterest. Yesterday she brought her own Pinterest-influenced food to work.  Obviously I needed to share (and do it myself)!

(Photo by me)

Did you know mixing 15oz of canned pumpkin could make the most delicious muffins/cupcakes you've ever had? Wow.  Seriously. I hate baking. I have no sweet tooth to speak of, but these blew me away. Mix 15oz. canned pumpkin and one box cake mix (I used white) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. I've never had better cupcakes. These were so moist and delicious I felt like I needed to share with every single person I could. My only question now is...

Anyone have a great pumpkin inspired icing I can borrow?

Reworked Italian Chicken

By Ariel

I think most people have made Italian chicken.  Marinade chicken breasts in Italian dressing and the bake or grill and serve.  It's an easy and delicious meal not too many will turn down.

I found a spin on Italian chicken via Pinterest the other day and adapted it over the weekend with what I had on hand.  It was a really great spin on the classic, and bonus?  You can make it in the CROCK POT!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken (Serves 2)
2 Chicken breasts
1 Packet (3 oz) dry Italian seasoning
1 Can Cream of mushroom soup
1 Cup (I just measure with the soup can to be honest...) chicken broth
8 oz. Cream cheese

Mix the seasonig, soup, broth, and cream cheese together in a crock pot.  Add the chicken and coat.  I used frozen chicken and cooked on high for about four hours, low would be perfect for a workday.  Serve the chicken and sauce over some whole-wheat noodles.

[Photo by me]

 

Tis the season for slow cookers!  What are you cooking this week?

Jalapeno Turkey Burger with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

By Ariel

I've been in a huge cooking rut lately. For some reason, cooking has just seemed like the least important thing on my to-do list.  Unfortunately that means a lot of dinners come out of the freezer. I'm attempting to regroup and make food and eating healthy a priority again, and I decided to start simple.

A friend of mine at work told me she makes her burgers with jalapenos and dry ranch seasoning (Hi, Julie!). That sounded fantastic and I just so happen to still have a garden full of fresh jalapenos. We already established I will never run out of dry ranch seasoning. I added a couple things and threw together one of my favorite condiments and even my husband couldn't complain over the lack of red meat.

(Photo by me)

For the Burger:
1 lb. ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh jalapenos, minced.  (you can leave some seeds and membrane for an extra kick, too!)
3 Tbs dry ranch seasoning (3 Tbs = 1 packet)
1/2 small onion, minced.

Combine all the ingredients and prepare on the grill or griddle. I usually break out the George Foreman and cook about 10 minutes on both sides. This makes four very generous sized patties.

For the Mayo:
3/4 cup Mayo
juice of one lime
1/2 Tbs dried cilantro (I've tried it with fresh cilantro, too, and dried is the way to go.)

Whisk together until the lime and mayo are fully combined. I sometimes add more cilantro, but that's personal preference.

I think the cilantro-lime mayo really plays up the jalapeno and the ranch keeps everything from getting too spicy. One thing about turkey burgers is that they're a little ... bland. This really kicks things up a notch, so much that I think I'm be replacing my old turkey burger standby, this way really showcases the fact that this is turkey rather than pretending to be a beef burger. 

How do you prepare your turkey burgers?

Kitchen Conquest: Stuffed Shells

By Ariel

When I first started cooking there were a bunch of dishes I really wanted to tackle but was always too intimidated. My biggest fear was stuffed pasta: shells and manacotti to be specific.  We ate a lot of lasagna growing up but I wanted to expand my horizons.

(Instagram makes everything look better! Photo by me)

You know what? This is actually incredibly easy thanks to a trick I read years and years ago on Kraftfoods.com. Spoon whatever you plan to stuff your pasta with into a ziplock bag, seal the bag, and then snip a small hole in one of the bottom corners. BAM! Instant disposable pastry bag.

This is probably old news to most people, but it was one of the biggest cooking discoveries of my life. My favorite stuffed shells are made with a 50/50 mix of ground sirloin and sweet sausage, ricotta cheese and freshly grated parmesan and asiago cheese. Simple and delicious, and easy to stuff! I usually stuff my pasta with the pasta uncooked and cover with pasta sauce overnight.  Once you're ready to cook it the next day the pasta is al dente and ready to go, no boiling needed!

What are your favorite kitchen tips and tricks? What is your biggest kitchen accomplishment?

Breakfast Tarts

By Ariel

I realized the other day that I havn't writen a post featuring cresent rolls in a over a year.  I don't even know who I am anymore.  Anyway, this is a throwback twist to my bacon tarts I blogged a million years ago. 

Behold:

These are super simple and very little "recipe" is involved.  One roll of cresent rolls, pop each cresent into the tin and bake on the recommended heat for about 5 minutes, just enough to "toughen" up the cresent.  This is mostly so the bottom of the cresent cooks after you put in the filling.

As for the filling...I scrambled up two eggs and threw in a handful of diced onion, some chopped up sausage, bacon, tomato, and mozerella.  You want this mix cooked, then spoon into the partially cooked cresent roll cups. 

Finish cooking until the cresent rolls start browing up nicely, and you couls also throw some sharp cheddar on top for an extra cheese fix. 

A tube of cresent rolls was WAY too much for two people (What? Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs.) The good news is these reheat surprisingly well.  These would be great for a breakfast brunch or holiday morning, maybe a tad too rich for a day to day breakfast!

What special breakfast treats have you made lately?

Where Have you Been All My Life, Garlic Bread Sprinkle?

By Ariel

I had my mother and father in-law over Sunday for dinner. Justin suggested making Manicotti, so I went to the store for all the ingredients. I was out of fennel, so I wandered over to my beloved spice aisle and tried to avoid buying anything other than the (ridiculously expensive!) fennel seeds.

Unfortunately, I made eye contact with this:

Did you guys know about this? Am I way late to the party? I'm pretty sure I've never seen garlic bread sprinkle before and I am a very frequent visitor to the spice isle. 

Anyway, long story short, I bought it. I usually make my own garlic bread by slicing a loaf of Italian bread, buttering it up, and loading it with minced garlic, onion powder, parsley, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. With this neat little creation I still sliced a loaf, buttered, and topped it with mozzarella for some cheesy goodness and I think this way might be better.  n fact, I made it for my in-law's dinner and my mother-in-law all but fought my husband for the leftovers. 

I'd call that a successful product.  What culinary shortcuts have you discovered lately?

[Photo Credit Amazon.com]

Let's Talk About Kitchen Gloves!

By Ariel

Wait!  Don't run off yet!  I promise to be fascinating! (That was a lie.)

Let me explain. My garden is doing well this year, really, really well (yay!). In fact, I'm a little intimidated by what I'm growing...

[photo by me]

Just for scale, I have big hands. I also can't figure out if what I'm holding is a poblano pepper or a banana pepper, apparently I planted them a wee bit too close together. Also it should be noted that the former is a very hot pepper and the other not so much. Anyway, back to my original point!

I use a lot of pepper, onions, garlic, basically anything that makes your eyes water, on a weekly basis. With all the peppers coming in, I'm going to be doing double duty. That means I also go through a TON of disposable latex gloves. The very first time I made chili (hot hot hot!) I didn't use gloves while I cut up all my super hot peppers...I couldn't put my contacts in for DAYS because the oil would not wash off my hands. Lesson learned, folks. So, I go through a lot of gloves. The other day I was about to cut an onion and realized I was out of gloves. I had to stop what I was doing, go take my contacts out, and then resume cooking. That's annoying.  

So, my question is, does anyone use reusable kitchen gloves for actual cooking? I just get down and dirty in the dishwater with my hands, which is something I should probably stop doing (says my cuticles). Should I buy another pair of kitchen gloves just for all the slicing and dicing I do? I was eyeing these up on Amazon.com:

[Image courtasy amazon.com]

The reviews are pretty good, and they come in pink. These two facts usually lead me to buy whatever it is I have in mind.  

Does anyone use reusable gloves for food? Do they make specific food safe gloves? I turned to both Etsy and Amazon but neither really had exactly what I was looking for. I would assume I can just "wash" my hands while wearing them to clean them when I'm done, but I can't say for sure. Besides never being out of disposable gloves, I've already all but eliminated plastic bags in my house in favor of the reusable variety, why shouldn't my next step eliminate all the latex gloves I keep tossing?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Am I the only crazy person who needs special spicy food gloves?