Calzones

I needed a quick recipe tonight, and I stumbled upon this one. For a calzone it is mighty healthy, and I even made my own changes to make it healthier. These were pretty delicious if I do say so. But use this as a jumping point - to change it and make it better. I will try some other combos next time.

Italian Calzones

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup diced pepperoni - I use turkey pepperoni

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach

1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

1 egg, beaten

Directions

To Make Dough:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the oil, sugar and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.

To Make Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and basil leaves in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 (I did 4) equal parts. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface. Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve hot with marinara sauce.

Michelle's Gravy

This is from Cristina Ferrare on the Oprah Show.  

 

Chive Gravy

Ingredients

• 5 cups hot chicken broth
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/3 cup minced fresh chives
• Salt and freshly ground cracked pepper , to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish
• Pan juices from Turkey with Marinade

Directions

Skim the fat from the Turkey with Marinade pan juices and discard. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the cooked bits. Add 1 cup of chicken broth, strain into a sauce pan and add the rest of the chicken broth. Bring to a gentle boil.

In a separate sauce pan, combine 1 ladle of the hot chicken broth and cornstarch. Stir until lumps are gone and then pour back into stock pot. Repeat five or six times until gravy has reached your desired thickness. Add dry sherry and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chives and pomegranate seeds.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/food/Chive-Gravy_1#ixzz1eU1pUn7e

This is my recipe for our Thanksgiving Turkey.  I have done it three years in a row and this will be my fourth and it has never failed!

Marinade:
1 1/2 cups Dijon mustard
3/4 c. soy sauce
3/4 c fresh lemon juice (do not discard the lemon rinds)

Turkey:
1 (15 lb) free range turkey
2 bunches fresh poultry herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage...sometimes they have pre packaged bunches, but sometimes I just have to buy them separately.  When I buy them separately then I just buy 1 bunch of each.
2-3 c. hot water.

To make marinade: combine ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk until smooth and creamy.

To make Turkey:  Preheat oven to 350

Clean out cavity of the turkey and rinse well, inside and out.  Pat dry and place turkey in a large roasting pan.  Pour the marinade over the turkey. 

Tie turkey legs together and cover tips with foil.  Stuff cavity of turkey with lemon rinds and one bunch of poultry herbs.  Place the second bunch of herbs in the roasting pan.  Place turkey breast-side up in the roasting pan.  Insert thermometer in the thickest part of the breast.  Cover with foil and roast for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add hot water to the bottom of the pan.  Stir to make gravy for basting.  Baste turkey and cover with foil.  Roast turkey another 30 minutes and repeat basting process.  Continue basting every 15 minutes until the thermometer reaches 165, approximately 3-4 hours.

Remove turkey from oven and place on cutting board or platter.  Cover turkey well with foil to keep warm.  Let it rest 15 to 20 mins before carving. 

Keep the roasting pan with the pan juices to make gravy.

Refried Bean Soup

As we are approaching fall, I am getting in the mood for soup. I think I could eat soup almost everday and be totally happy. I have only made this recipe once, but I was very happy with the way it turned out. It will be making an appearance at our table again this fall...probably long before it is cold enough for soup! I hope you enjoy it.

Love, Ash

Refried Bean Soup

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 can (31 oz) refried beans

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

1 TBSP chopped cilantro

tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream for the top

In a large saucepan bring tomatoes, onion, and garlic to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in beans, broth, and cilantro. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Garnish soup with crushed tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream.

We really ate it with tortilla chips instead of spoons. So that sort of negated the healthy part of the meal. HA!

Mexican Burger

For this recipe you will need to include two other recipes that are made before hand.

Buns.
Cooked bacon strips.
Sliced Avocados.
Creamy Cilantro dressing.
Pico de Gallo
Lettuce
Burgers
Pepper jack cheese.

Cook your burgers and melt cheese on top. Have dressing and salsa already made and bacon cooked. Toast your buns. Now Layer all the ingredients on top and try to fit your whole mouth over that beauty!

Best Burger Ever!

Pico De Gallo (MIchelle)

This is actually my own made up recipe! woot woot, I really like it and am going to stick to it.
Pico de Gallo

1 red pepper minced
1 green pepper minced
1/2 onion minced
6 tomatoes quartered and seeds removed
canned jalapenos minced
1/4 canned green salsa(optional)
1 lime juiced
salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup minced cilantro

Mince everything as small as you can, I like chunky rather than pureed but I like it small enough that you aren't missing out on the different elements cause the chunks are too big. mix everything together and enjoy.

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing (MIchelle)

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Recipe by Our Best Bites

click to print recipe text only

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
ignore directions on the packet
1C mayo
1/2 C milk
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa*
hot sauce

This is tough folks. Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend ‘er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

*A note about green salsa:
There are several brands of green salsa available in most supermarkets and they have various degrees of heat. One of the most commonly seen brands is Herdez. Herdez brand is a lot spicier than any of the others I’ve tried. Even their medium green salsa is way too spicy for my liking. There’s no way I could put the whole 1/4 C in my dressing like the recipe calls for (but then again, I’m a wuss.) I like to buy La Costena (pictured below) because their medium is actually really mild. That way I get all of the flavor of the tomatillos but I control the level of heat with the hot sauce. If you’re not used to buying green salsa, make sure to sample it first before you put it in the dressing so you know what you’re getting into!