Pepperoni Rolls

This recipe has LOTS of room for modification and still turn out great.

Pepperoni Roll/Log

Bread/pizza dough (enough for 1 loaf of bread or 1 pizza per roll)
Pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Any other favorite pizza toppings

Roll out dough into a square/rectangle around 11 inches wide. I used a premade canned pizza dough and just rolled it out and then made it into an even layer - mine ended up a rectangle. Then you are going to cover the dough completely (don't leave an edge) with your meat and other pizza topppings. Top with a light layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning (don't go too heavy on this) and garlic powder. Then you're going to roll up your pizza into a log. Start at one end (the narrow end if it's in a rectangle), and tightly (and carefully when you're starting to roll) it up into a log. Once done, place on your baking sheet and cook in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The crust will be golden brown and when you flick it, it will make a thump - similar to testing cooked bread. Now here is the really important step: Do not cut into the log/plan to eat it, until it cools. This give the dough that's all the way in the center the ability to cook completely. It also makes it much easier to cut into slices. This can be served cooled with warmed pizza sauce to dip in and it still tastes absolutely yummy. It only takes about an hour for it to cool.

Ok, now on to my notes. I cut my log in half and separated it before cooking since I wanted to leave no room for error on the dough cooking all the way through. It was perfect the way it was. Also, most people brush melted butter or an egg wash on the top on the rolls before baking but I skipped this step and I think it wasn't necessary anyways. Might be if you use bread dough, but I'm not sure. Some people slice their roll into slices (kind of like you would for cinnamon buns) before baking and have great results. I might try that another time.

3-2-1 Cake for One

There's a cake recipe that I've seen a lot lately that almost sounded too good to be true because it was extremely simple to make, extremely simple in ingredients AND low calorie too! This recipe allows you to make a single serving of just about any type of cake that is really low in calories.

3-2-1 Cake for One

1 box Angel Food cake mix*
1 box cake mix, any flavor

Mix the two dry cake mixes together in a gallon size zip lock bag (or a sealable container). Do not add anything else to it.

When you're ready to make your personal cake, place 3 tablespoons dry cake mix in a bowl, mix with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Voila! Your personal cake is ready!

The cake (once cooled) is very fluffy and yummy. I topped mine with a small amount of low-fat whipped cream. I figured everybody who tries this is probably going to go the route of making a chocolate cake of some sort, so I tried a lemon cake mix. It was great.

*The key to this recipe working (from what I understand) is that you MUST use an Angel Food cake mix as 1/2 of the recipe. I don't know what would happen if you don't, but it works absolutely great so I'm not messing with it.

UPDATE: I've since tried this with a chocolate cake mix. I had my doubts as to how it would taste because it didn't mix up quite like the lemon mix did, and it didn't smell as yummy when it cooked. Once it cooled (I don't like warm cake), I ate it plain and it was very yummy. Definitely took care of my chocolate craving.

Beef & Black Bean Tostizzas

For the second night in a row, Semi Homemade Mom was the source of our dinner tonight.

Beef & Black Bean Tostizzas

1.5 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
15oz can black beans
1 cup salsa
2 cans Pillsbury Grands rolls (Southern Style)
Shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain off fat. Return to pan and add taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed. Cool slightly. Add salsa and drained black beans, mix well.

On ungreased cookie sheets (I used parchment paper for easier clean up) press out each Grands roll to an approx. 4.5 inch circle. I fit four on each cookie sheet, and cooked them in two batches (two cookie sheets at a time).

Top each flattened roll with two heaping tablespoonfuls of the beef filling leaving 1/4 in. edge around. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until rolls are brown on the edges and cheese is melted.

Place on wire racks to cool completely while you assemble 2nd batch of tostizzas and bake. Once cool, wrap each individually in foil and place 4 at a time in a freezer bag.

My thoughts:
My family really liked this recipe. I loved the ease of making it, and it tasted great. My daughter, who is the "Don't mess with my tacos!" type, loved it and requested it to be added to her recipe book. The toddler didn't eat his, but he wasn't hungry at all. Even the husband, who is sick with a cold, really enjoyed it. We all ate ours differently. I topped mine with chopped tomatoes, diced jalapenos and a small amount of sour cream. The husband topped his with guacamole, and the daughter ate hers as-is.

The recipe made eight (oops, I can't count) sixteen tostizzas and three large burritos. Yum, yum, yum!

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

What sold me on trying this recipe, was the picture that I saw on Semi Homemade Mom.

(Image borrowed from Semi Homemade Mom because her picture was the key to making my mouth water!)

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I used a little more to taste)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
pepper and salt to taste
5 flour tortillas (the larger ones)
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced tomatoes
yellow mustard

Brown ground beef in large skillet and drain. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, dried onion, and salt and pepper to the beef and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle shredded cheese down center of each tortilla. Add a few heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of the cheese. Spread some mustard on top of the beef along with some slices of tomato. Roll up tortilla burrito-style and place wraps on preheated indoor grill (I used my George Foreman).

Grill wraps for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Cut on a diagonal and serve immediately.

My verdict:
I ended up making only four wraps with ours since I went a little heavy on the meat in the two that I made for my husband. His verdict on this recipe was that he liked it. My two year old son ate half of one pretty quickly. My daughter (who doesn't eat burgers) took a couple of bites to try it out and then declared that she didn't like it. No big surprise there since she won't eat a burger, ever. I thought it was pretty good, but I think I'll use ground turkey next time, since I rarely eat a burger that's not a turkey burger. Another option is to cook your normal burgers, and then cut it in half and proceed with the rest of the recipe (layering in the tortilla). I do think I'll try using sliced American cheese next time too. This recipe was really easy to make, and was pretty yummy.

We topped ours depending upon our personal tastes. I didn't use any lettuce on any wraps since I never eat lettuce on sandwiches, and lettuce hasn't been agreeing with me lately either. I put ketchup and mustard on the one for the kids, and the same for mine, but I also added tomato and pickles on my wrap and served it with a little mayonnaise on my plate. For the hubs, I made one like mine and one with his choice of "sauce" along with tomato. All were quite yummy.

*The meat for this recipe can be cooked in bulk and frozen for quick prep in the future.

Grilled Pizza Sandwiches

I wish I could remember which blog I saw this on a couple of days ago. She had made them look absolutely yummy, that I wanted to make them right away. My eleven year old daughter absolutely loves pizza (what kid doesn't?) and I can only give in and have pizza night only so often. This is an excellent compromise and can be made for an easy lunch or dinner. Keep in mind that the recipe is just a guide to follow and to adjust it to your taste.

Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Source: Forkful of Comfort

2 slices of bread
butter
2 slices mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese
Pepperoni
Any additional pizza toppings you love

Butter the outsides of your two slices of bread. Put one buttered side down in heated pan. Top with one slice of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a bit of Italian seasoning and Paremesan cheese on top. Top with pepperoni and any other pizza toppings you wish. Place second piece of mozzarella cheese on top, followed by your second piece of buttered bread - buttered side facing up. Grill like any other grilled cheese sandwich and serve with warmed pizza sauce.

YUM!!!

Cheesy Ziti

I ended up with this recipe off of a cooking board I belong to, but somehow no one on there seems to know who/where the orginal source of the recipe is. This recipe is extremely simple and absolutely delishious! Warning though, it does make a very large batch. The next time I make this dish, I will be dividing it into two containers - one to eat and one to freeze for later.

Cheesy Ziti

2-1/2 jars spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu Chucky Garden)
1 lb. ziti (or any small) noodles (I used mini penne)
1 lb. ground beef
15 oz. ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (I used ricotta)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 packet Italian seasoning (This is the dry dressing packet. You can also use a lasagna seasoning packet instead, but the Italian gives it a certain zest.)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a small bowl mix ricotta, egg, Italian seasoning and parmesan; set aside. Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add sauce and noodles to ground beef; mix well. Spoon half of noodle mixture into greased (I always forget to grease the pans and it doesn't seem to matter)13x9-inch** dish. Spread ricotta mixture over noodles. Top with remaining pasta mixture. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until warmed throughout and cheese is melted.

*Next time I make this, I'm going to use another recipe as a guide and add in 2-1/2 cups of fresh spinach when I do the ricotta cheese layer before topping with the rest of the pasta.

**I now make this and bake it in 8x8 pans instead of the 9x13-inch pans. For our family of four, the 9x13 pan left us with way too many leftovers. So I bake one pan and freeze the second pan for a later meal. To cook from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed above. You may have to bake for slightly longer to be sure it warmed throughout.

Spinach Stuffing Balls

While these don't sound very appealing, they were a hit with both myself and my husband. The particular recipe I chose to make came from MomAdvice.com. I tweaked it slightly, so if you want to see the original recipe, follow the above link.

Spinach Stuffing Balls

2 (16 oz) packages frozen spinach
1 package turkey-flavored stuffing mix*
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Thaw spinach and drain in a sieve, use back of a wooden spoon to press the spinach against the sieve to get as much moisture as possible out In a bowl combine the spinach, stuffing mix, Parmesan cheese, eggs, and butter. Mix thoroughly & roll into small balls 3/4 to 1″ size. (I used a "cookie" scoop to scoop out equal amounts and then rolled them in my hands to firm up the balls.) If cooking right away, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. If making for later, place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in a freezer safe bag or container.

To serve from frozen: Place frozen balls on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Use turkey, chicken, or any other dry stuffing mix. Experiment and try out different combinations to find a flavor you like.