It's the best of all Mexican snack foods put together. Avocado, spicy cheese and salsa combine to form a warm and gooey filling between two flour tortillas. Served with sour cream, this is a delicious quick lunch/dinner or the perfect late-night snack.Ingredients:
1/2 avocado3/4 cup habanero cheese, grated (cheddar or Mexican blend cheese substitutes well)Pace picante sauce (or any other chunky salsa)sour cream for dipping
Directions:
Preheat skillet over medium heat.
To assemble: Place one tortilla on a plate and cover with a layer of cheese. Cut avocado in half and scoop out filling. Cut in thin slices and place on top of cheese. Add a thin layer of chunky salsa. Cover this with remaining cheese and cover with remaining tortilla.
Place in pan and heat until cheese is melted (flipping halfway through). Don't leave this alone or it will burn!
Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream and more salsa.
**This is the bare bones recipe. Beans, vegetables and chicken can be added for a more complete meal. The quesadilla is the perfect vessel for whatever you want to put inside, so be creative!**
Prosciutto, peas and Parmesan is one of my favorite combinations when it comes to pasta. It's also a great way to turn leftovers into a whole new dish. I found myself with leftover egg roll wrappers and ricotta cheese and with just a few simple ingredients, turned them into a baked dish that I'm now using as lunches all week!Ingredients:
Pasta Rolls:
10 egg roll wrappers2 cups ricotta cheese1 medium ham steak, diced small1 medium shallot1 cup frozen peassalt/pepper
Parmesan Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken stock2 cups skim milk1/3 cup flour1/2 cup white wine1 tsp. chicken bouillon1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Dice shallot and cook in small saute pan until just soft. Add shallots to large bowl along with ricotta, diced ham and peas. Fold mixture together until just combined. Do not overwork mixture or else the peas will become mushy and turn the white cheese green. Scoop mixture into Ziploc freezer storage bag and make sure to squeeze out any excess air. Cut the corner of the bag to create a disposable piping bag.
Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Take egg roll wrapper and squeeze a thick line of filling across the middle. Roll into log and place into baking dish. Repeat until you use up all the filling.
In a medium sauce pan, add chicken stock and allow to reduce for 5-7 minutes. Add milk and flour and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken. Do not walk away from this! It will burn! Once sauce begins to thicken, add white wine and chicken bouillon. The last step is to add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and allow to melt.
Pour warm sauce over pasta rolls, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with side salad for a complete lunch or dinner!
**The base of this recipe can really be tailored to fit whatever you have in your fridge. Leftover sausage and vegetables also make great additions. Leftover red sauce could also be a substitute instead of Parmesan cream.**
Here's another surprisingly easy way to use up leftover corned beef after your St. Patrick's Day feast. The only thing I had to buy from the store were the egg roll wrappers...everything else was on-hand from my supply of Reuben ingredients.Ingredients:
egg roll wrappersraw green cabbagesauerkraut (rinsed and drained)deli Swiss cheesethousand island dressing (for dipping)vegetable oil
Directions: (for 8 egg rolls)
Finely chop 1/4 head of raw green cabbage. Rinse 1/4 bag of sauerkraut and pat dry (wet kraut will make the rolls soggy!). Cut 4 slices of deli Swiss cheese into small squares and cube up 3-4 thick slices of corned beef.
Place a small amount of cabbage, sauerkraut, corned beef and cheese in the center of the top of the egg roll wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water. Roll over once and fold in the sides, then continue rolling until it forms that classic egg roll shape. Full disclosure: I was not great at this and they were not the prettiest looking things when they were done. But they stayed in one piece and tasted good so that's all that matters.
I decided to pan-fry these (I didn't have enough oil for deep frying). Heat the oil to 350 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, dip the end of a wooden spoon in the oil...if bubbles form around it, you're good to go. Fry 4 egg rolls at a time approx. 3 minutes on each side, but keep an eye on them so they don't burn! Serve with thousand island dipping sauce for that authentic Reuben taste!
Enjoy!
I love all kinds of breakfast foods. Pancakes, eggs, bacon...it all sounds good to me but my staple when it comes to ordering at diners is always corned beef hash with over easy eggs.If your family is super-Irish like mine (or just regular Irish) then chances are more than one corned beef is made around March 17th. Which means there is always a ton to use for leftovers! My corned beef has recipe is very easy and can be adjusted if you need to feed a crowd or just yourself!
Ingredients:
1/4 onion (white or red, whatever you have on-hand)1/4 green bell pepper1 cup diced corned beef (leave as chunky as you like)1-2 boiled potatoes salt and pepper 1 Tbsp vegetable oilbuttereggs (2 per person)
Directions:
Preheat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. While that's heating up, finely dice the onion and green bell pepper. When the pan is up to temperature, add the vegetables and cook until just soft (I prefer mine with a little crunch left). While the vegetables are working, dice corned beef and potatoes. Add to pan with the onion/pepper and stir to allow the meet to get crunchy and the potatoes to develop color. Then flatten mixture with a spatula and allow it to get a nice crust on one side. If the portion is small enough, you can flip it over and allow the other side to brown (if it's a big portion you may have to break it into sections). Once everything is brown and crunchy, remove from pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Remember, everything is already cooked, so you're really just looking for color here.
For the eggs (over easy) :
Use the same pan you cooked the hash in (it's hot and less dishes!) and add 1 Tbsp of butter. This will probably melt very quickly so you want to get the egg right in. The trick with frying eggs is to make sure there is enough butter in the pan so they don't stick (especially if you like them runny). If you're confidant, put both eggs in at once but if you're like me and have broken one too many, I like to do them one at a time. When they come to your desired runny-ness remove from pan and put right on top of hash.
Other options: Instead of eggs, top hash with cheese and allow to melt before removing from pan. Cheddar, pepper jack and Swiss would all work well with this!
Happy St. Patty's Day!
If you're like me and your grocery store only sells leeks in pre-packaged bundles, then you probably need more than one recipe to use them up! The sausage/egg/leek braid I made last weekend was good, but it only used up one leek. This week I made a homemade soup in an attempt to use up the remaining leeks and it came out delicious! Finished with a touch of cream and served with crumbled bacon and rye bread croutons and you have a meal that's perfect for when the temperature starts dropping!Ingredients:
2 leeks thinly sliced 2 cloves minced garlic4 slices of bacon 2 Tbsp. butter 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups water 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1/2 - 1 cup of creamDirections:
Chop bacon and cook in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until brown and crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Pour out all but about a tablespoon of bacon grease and add 2 Tbsp. of butter. Add thinly sliced leeks and garlic and saute until soft (this will happen much faster if you cover the pot). While the leeks are softening, peel and cube 3 potatoes and put in a bowl of water to keep from browning. Once the leeks are soft, add chicken broth, water and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat up to high, cover and let the pot come to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium and allow to boil for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Ladle half the soup into a bowl and with a blender or immersion blender, blend until smooth and creamy. Add this back to the pot. Then add 1/2 cup to a cup of cream (depending how thick and creamy you want it). Ladle into bowls and top with crumbled bacon and rye bread croutons.Rye Bread Croutons:
6 slices of bread cut into squares and drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place in an single row on a baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes (keep your eye on it though because it can burn!)
This quick and easy breakfast recipe is super easy and looks really impressive. It also reheats really well and is great to whip up on a Sunday for a yummy lunch all week!Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls8 eggs1/2 cup milk4 oz. cream cheesesalt & pepperred pepper flakes1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese1 leek
Directions: Pre-heat large skillet on medium high heat. Slice leeks into think rings and sautee until soft. Add sausage and cook through. While the leeks/sausage are cooking, whisk eggs, milk, softened cream cheese, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add mixture to sausage and leeks and cook until eggs are almost done. Add shredded cheese during the last minute of cooking. Allow mixture to cool slightly. In the meantime, take one container of crescent rolls and pinch into rectangle on a greased baking sheet. Add egg mixture down the middle and top with the other container of crescent rolls, placed in a braid shape on top. Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown.
** When you make the eggs, it's going to look like it's way too much, but trust me it will all fit on the crescent rolls**
This recipe is a really easy way to use up leftover chicken and veggies. With refried beans as a base and spicy cheese on top, this is a quick, easy and delicious weeknight dinner!Ingredients: 1 canned pizza crust (I prefer Pillsbury)1/2 can refried beans (warmed up) 3 Tbsp. salsaleftover chicken green bell pepper (thinly sliced) red onion (thinly sliced)1 cup shredded pepper jack cheeseDirections: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and bake crust plain for 5 minutes. While the crust is baking, warm refried beans in the microwave, slice peppers, onions and chicken and shred cheese. When the crust is done, use an off-set spatula to spread the refried beans as a base. add salsa and spread in a thin layer on top. Add cheese, peppers, onions and chicken. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.