Bakes and casseroles are great for weeknight dinners and also wonderful for make ahead meals. You know meals that you need to prep well before they actually get “cooked” for dinner times. I have been making these more and more often. Between my new work schedule and our new camper lifestyle, I have to get a bit more creative with how I prepare meals. This recipe for Baked Penne Parm is a great make right away or make ahead meal that you family is sure to love.
Baked Penne Parm
I have added cut up Italian sausage as the protein for this meal. You can use chicken, turkey, beef or pork sausage. If you prefer ground meat, you will just need to brown it first. You can also add some grilled chicken in place of the sausage. If you need vegetarian option, you can also just omit the meat altogether, just increase the amount of pasta by half.
Baked Penne Parm
As I’ve mentioned in the recipe and above, this can be a make-ahead option. By creating the whole dish up to the point of actually baking the dish, you can set this aside for a future meal. You can wrap it in foil and place in the refrigerator to bake in the next 48hours. Simply put it straight into the oven from the refrigerator and add 10 minutes to the initial cook time. If you want to freeze and use this at a much later date, then wrap in plastic wrap instead of foil. Then place in freezer until ready to bake it. One the day that you plan to make it, place it in the refrigerator in the morning and it should be ready to bake by dinner time.
Baked Penne Parm
A great side option for this baked pasta dish would be garlic bread and a Caesar salad. This recipe is also great as leftovers, for lunches later in the week. A few minutes in the microwave and it’s will be great.
In a 13×9 baking dish, add tomatoes, dried onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt, paprika, beef broth. Stir to combine.
Add pasta, cut sausage and 1½ cup of parmesan cheese. Stir to evenly coat. Cover tightly with foil.
If planning to use this for a "Make Ahead" meal, you can place it in the refrigerator at this to bake within 48 hours. If freezing, wrap securely with plastic wrap instead of foil and place in the freezer.
In a small bowl, combine ½ cup parmesan cheese with garlic powder, bread crumbs and parsley. Set aside.
Place in oven to bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with bread crumb mixture and bake another 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Welcome to the weekly Home Matters Linky Party #519
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I am so excited to be a part of the Home Matters Linky Party Team! I have been participating for quite some time and am eager to make some more contributions to this party. A little about me – I’m a WFH Wife and Mom. My husband, four kids, 5 dogs and 15 chickens all currently live in the PNW, but we are embarking on a cross country move to Big Sky Country over the next 3 months to live out our dreams of being Homesteaders! Like the name implies – I love to make homemade meals every night of the week for my family. I care about what types of things we are eating and I like to try new things. This blog is all about sharing those journeys and adventures with you.
Now on to this week’s party! I can’t wait to see you there.
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This might sound weird, but I know I’m not the only one…I read cookbooks like novels. I love to read them cover to cover. You can learn so many little things from all of the different kitchens and cooks and chefs and cultures from around the world. Well written cookbooks flow like a story. They start with a good foundation of learning about the author and chef of the book. They give you some ground rules about techniques that are used throughout the recipes. My bookshelves are loaded with cookbooks from all over the world – from celebrity chefs to self-published home cooks, like myself. I have pulled together some of my favorites cookbooks I found on Amazon, and new finds for you to check out.
written by Stanley Tucci, a renowned actor with a true passion for good food and great stories. If you have not been made aware that Mr. Tucci is an accomplished cookbook author and cook, you have now been informed. His ability to tell a story with a meal is incredible. This particular cookbook included the most perfect wine pairings, and exquisite photographs. A second generation Italian American, Tucci shares his classic and flavorful family recipes with vivid imagery.
written by Nick DiGiovanni, the social media protege of probably the most famous celebrity chef – Gordon Ramsey. What’s great about this cookbook is that the recipes are truly so well written that anyone can make them. He takes classic recipes and techniques and breathes new life into them using modern ingredients and flavor profiles. This cookbook is a great gift idea for any one that wants to up their game in the kitchen.
from America’s Test Kitchen, this book has over 500 recipes to give you ideas on eating well without meat. While I am a meat lover through and through, I do know that not every single meal has to be centered on the meat. There are other ways to get enough protein into tyour diet and this cookbook is an excellent place to start if you are looking to expand your cookbook library.
written by Jurgen Krauss and loaded with cakes, tarts, breads and more recipes from Black Forest and beyond. From Jürgen Krauss, called “possibly the best-loved contestant in Great British Baking Show history,” comes a celebration of German home baking. Make classic German pastries, from apple strudel and stolen to show stopping celebration desserts like Black Forest cake. It’s sehr gut!
written by yours truly. This is was first cookbook, which I self-published and truly loved writing. It a collection of over 100 recipes that my family has loved over the years. It is a starting point for my foray into the cookbook authorship world and one I hope to follow up soon!
written by Christopher Kimball, this book has 250 simple recipes centered on vegetables. IACP AWARD WINNER FOR BEST GENERAL COOKBOOK. Move vegetables into the center of your plate from the realm of sides and salads with this vegetable-cooking bible, from James Beard and IACP award winner Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. Chili-spiked carrots. Skillet-charred Brussels sprouts. Mashed potatoes brightened with harissa and pistachios. These are just three ways to put vegetables in the center of your plate.
Do you have any favorite cookbooks to share? Do you have any Cookbook suggestions that you want me to check out?
PLEASE NOTE: This post contains affiliate links to products included.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Some times dinner just needs to be a wrap. It’s easy to make, easy to eat and easy to clean up from. You can turn lots of different things into a wrap or burrito or roll-up – whatever you prefer to call them. This particular wrap puts lots of veggies into a tortilla with some crunchy crispy chicken and kicks up the heat with the addition of spicy buffalo sauce. These easy to make Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps are a great idea for a a weeknight dinner.
Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps
I have included the directions of how to make your own crispy chicken tenders in the recipe. I have also added my recipe for homemade ranch at the bottom of this page. Obviously both of these things add to cook time. If you are pressed for time, or just prefer to use store bought for either of these items then go for it. I will let you know this is an excellent recipe to use those next day cold chicken tenders from your grocers deli. You can also just bake up some chicken tenders from the freezer. Once tip on those – use a baking rack on your baking sheet. Don’t set the chicken directly onto the tray or you will get crispy on top and soggy on the bottom.
Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps
The veggies in this wrap are great for practicing your knife skills. Cutting carrots into matchsticks are an excellent test for your cutting skills. A matchstick, also called Julienne, is bigger than shredding but smaller “sticks”. You want pieces that are between one and two inches long and around an eighth inch thick. The red onion should be sliced fairly thin. I first cut the onion in half from the root end, then place the cut edge on the cutting board and thinly slice. For both of these techniques, you need to be sure that you have a nice sharp chef knife. You should have a knife sharper in your drawer as well.
Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Another great feature of this recipe is that it’s very customizable. You can omit any of the veggies one person doesn’t want. You can go full blue cheese and use blue cheese dressing instead of ranch. You can go grilled chicken instead of crispy chicken tenders. You can use less buffalo sauce or use a hotter buffalo sauce. Really make them how you want them!
Add chicken tenders and buttermilk in a bowl and let rest (at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours) in refrigerator.
In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove to paper towel covered plate. Reserve all grease in the pan.
Add flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika to a separate mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add enough oil to the bacon grease to be one inch deep. Once hot (around 350degF), begin frying chicken. Remove each piece of chicken from buttermilk and put right into flour mixture. Fully coat with flour and place right into hot oil. Cook for 4 minutes on each side and remove to a baking rack over a paper towel covered baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken tenderloins.
Once all chicken is cooked and slightly cooled, cut each tenderloin into 3-4 pieces (about 1-inch chunks).
Start with tortilla on a flat surface. Add lettuce, tomato, carrots, and onions. Drizzle with ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles. Add bacon and chicken. Drizzle with buffalo sauce. Fold the sides of the tortilla towards the middle then roll up from the bottom. Slice at an angle in the center.
A simple but full of flavor veggies dip for all your salads and veggie sides!
Ingredients
1cupSour Cream or plain greek yogurt
½cupHeavy Cream
2tbspLemon Juice
2tbspFresh Chiveschopped
1tspParsley
1tspDill
1Garlic Cloveminced
1tspSalt
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and store in refrigerator until ready to serve – up to 1 week.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Welcome to this week’s Weekly Wrap-up and Blog Link-up.
It’s a new year at the Pit Stop and it’s time to vroom-vroom to all the great posts that everyone is creating all around the the blogosphere! Scroll down to check out my Weekly Wrap-up along with my Featured posts from the previous Pit Stop!
What’s been going on at Homemade on a Weeknight?
We have had quite the snow covered week here in Montana. We got about 18 inches on the ground in around three days. Which we have learned is the most snow they have had on the ground at one time in over 7 years! The schools actually had to call the first snow day in the same amount of time. We have had snow for the last two months but this is definitely the most all at once. Usually it snows, it gets nice and sunny to melt a lot of it down and then a few days later it snows a few more inches and the cycle starts over. This time it snowed for three days almost non-stop and just kept piling up and up. We have been very fortune to have all that we need to stick it out. Power, water, food, propane – and of course the internet is holding strong. We have high hopes of being past this by next week. After all – it is truly breathtaking.
What have you been up to this past week?
One of this last week’s most popular recipe was: Blackstone Cowboy Stir-Fry– still the reigning all-time most viewed recipe on my whole blog!
Blackstone Cowboy Stir-Fry
In case you missed it, here are the recipes that I shared to the blog this week:
Have you had a chance to check out the new Facebook group Yum Hungry Hangout & Giggles? It is a place to share your foodie finds, funny facts and in general hangout and get to know each other more through out shared love of food. Please feel free to check it out and maybe join in the fun!
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If you are looking for more fun places to link up your posts – check out our Ultimate Handy Linky Party List – check back often as it’s always growing. And if we have missed your Linky Party – please send me a message and we will get it added in!
Planning out the week’s meals is something I do every Sunday for my family. I do this for a few different reasons – one it helps me get into the mindset of a new week ahead. Two it gives me the opportunity to look through the freezer, fridge and pantry to see what might need to be used up, what do I already have on hand, and what do I need to get from the store. I also try to think ahead of how can a double prep something one night to use another night, or say when a recipe calls for half an onion – I make sure to make something that needs the other half within a few days.
This Week’s Dinner Plans #15
I also like to check in with the family to see if they have anything they have been specifically craving or wanting to try something new. Sometimes this is a fruitful ask and sometimes I get bupkitz. But I still try to ask because I also get the ‘don’t forget I’m going to dinner with a friend this night’ or ‘just please no more rice/pasta/whatever’. This is all valuable info for making a dinner menu plan for the week ahead. I also like to use a menu planner with a grocery list – like this one – to make things that much easier.
Tools You May Need
To have success with the recipes this week – here are few items that I think you may consider adding to your kitchen if you do not already have them.
Food Portion Scoops – these are so super handy to make sure you are getting all of the portions you should be. This is key for the burgers and the meatballs as well as great for the sliders.
A Grill Pan – I use this to give those beautiful grill lines to sandwiches, meats, and tortillas. It’s just that something extra.
Here is my plan for the week ahead. I have included the links to the original posts (you can find more info about substitutions, and processes in the full posts), as well as the full menu right here so that you don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.
MONDAY
Mini Meatball Mac & Cheese – Everyone loves a bit ol bowl of mac and cheese for dinner – so lets make it a little extra with some adorable mini meatballs and crispy bacon! This recipe for Mini Meatball Mac & Cheese will be one that get requested time after time. It’s pretty easy to put together and you likely have most of the ingredients on hand, as they are all staples in most home cooking kitchens.
Delicious little homemade meatballs in a classic mac & cheese with bacon sprinkled on top
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, beef meatballs, cheddar cheese, mac & cheese, mac and cheese, meatballs
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
1½lbLarge Elbow Pasta
6stripsThick cut Bacon
3stalksGreen Onionchopped
For the Cheese Sauce
2tbspButter
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspOnion Powder
4tbspFlour
2cupsMilk
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspPaprika
1tspGround Mustard
1cup Heavy Cream
3cupsSharp Cheddar Cheeseshredded
For the Meatballs
1½lbGround Beef
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspPaprika
1tspGround Mustard
1tspPaprika
½cupPanko
1tbspWorcestershire Sauce
1tbspKetcup
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400degF.
Combine meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using a 1inch scoop, portion meat mixtures into balls. Roll between your hands to make round. Place on baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
Start water boiling for the pasta.
In a frying pan over medium high heat, add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove to a paper towel covered plate. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. Once bacon is slightly cool, chop into bits.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in a colander and return to pot away from heat.
In a sauce pan over medium high heat, add reserved bacon grease, butter, onion powder and garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour. Let cook for two minutes then whisk in milk and let cook for two minutes then whisk in seasonings and cook another two minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and cook another two minutes. Then add in cheese, a handful at a time, whisking until it's melted in.
Add cheese sauce to pasta, along with half of the bacon bits. and stir to thoroughly combine.
Add portion of mac & cheese to serving bowl. Add 6-8 meatballs and sprinkle with remaining bacon bits. Top with green onions.
TUESDAY
Beef Enchilada Soup – Soup is a must for homemade on a weeknight cooking. Soup can bring so much flavor in a short amount of time. I love to play with all sorts of classic dishes and flavors and turn them into flavor packed soup. And that’s exactly what I did with this Beef Enchilada Soup. A silky soup loaded with corn, tomato, jalapeno, black beans and delicious cheesy meatballs.
In a large stock pot over medium high heat, add onion. Once hot add onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes then add corn starch and cook another 3 minutes. Slowly stir in beef broth, stirring constantly. Once all broth is added, stir in seasoning mix. Reduce heat to medium.
Preheat oven to 400degF.
In a mixing bowl, add meatball ingredients, and thoroughly combine. For into 1-inch balls and line out on a baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake for 15minutes.
Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, and jalapenos to the stock pot. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium low to simmer until meatballs are done.
Serve 6-8 meatballs to each bowl. Ladle soup over top. Garnish with green onions.
Notes
Taco Seasoning
WEDNESDAY
Cheesy Kielbasa Broccoli Rice– If you are looking for another great #weeknightmeal that comes in the form of a #onepotdinner then you can stop scrolling! This cheesy rice recipe has all you want from an easy family dinner – with cheese, kielbasa, broccoli, and rice all rolled into one. Cheesy Kielbasa Broccoli Rice is so simple to make and so loaded with flavor that you are going to want to make it again and again.
An easy one pot dinner loaded with cheese and veggies all cooked together with rice and kielbasa.
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword broccoli, cheddar, cheddar cheese, Cheesy Rice, kielbasa, one pan dinner, one pot, one pot meal, red bell peppers, rice, Rice & Broccoli
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
2lbKielbasa thin sliced on the bias
3tbspOil
1tbspMinced Garlic
½Yellow Onionfine diced
1Red Bell Pepperdiced
1tspSalt
1tspPepper
1tspParsley
2cupsLong Grain Rice
1½qtBroth chicken, beef or vegetable
2cupsBroccoli Floretschopped
2cupsCheddar Cheeseshredded
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
In a large saute pan over medium-heat, add sliced kielbasa. Saute for about 4 minutes, until you start to see a little bit of browning. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the same pan add oil, garlic, and onion. Saute for 3 minutes then add red bell pepper, salt and pepper. Saute another 2 minutes then add the rice. Toast utnil all grains are white and starting to brown. Add broth and parsely, then bring just to a bubble.
Reduce heat to medium and lay broccoli on top of rice (do not stir in). Cover pan and let cook for 25 minutes.
Remove lid, add cheese and kielbasa and stir everything together. Return lid and cook another 5 minutes.
THURSDAY
Classic Orange Chicken – Adding to my ever growing list of Chinese takeaway at home recipes, this recipe is a classic! This time around, I am tackling the crispy chicken coated in a delicious orange sauce with an Asian flair and little kick. Classic Orange chicken is a staple on almost any American Chinese food menu and going to be one you will want on your meal rotation for sure!
Combine all sauce ingredients a small sauce pan. Bring just a bubble over medium-high heat. Then reduce to medium low and let simmer.
In a large mixing bowl, add cut chicken. Combine ginger and beaten eggs. Pour over chicken and toss to evenly coat. Combine flour, cornstarch, salt and ginger. Add flour to bowl and toss to evenly coat.
Add enough oil to a frying pan to be about ½ inch deep and put over high heat. Once up to at least 375degF, start add coated pieces of chicken (shake a little to separate). Do not over crowd the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to a baking rack over paper towels on a baking sheet. Repeat till all chicken in cooked.
On a large serving dish, pile crispy chicken, then pour orange sauce over top. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice or noodles.
FRIDAY
Homemade Clam Chowder – Soups are a favorite in my home, especially creamy soups. Clam Chowder is one of those soups that people either love or hate. Sometimes, it can be overpowering with the “fishy” flavors but this recipe gives the right amount of creamy base, smoky bacon, and silky potato to balance out the flavor of the clams. Homemade Clam Chowder is a belly warming, soul soothing soup that’s totally doable on a weeknight.
46.5oz cansChopped Clams (in clam juice)DO NOT USE CLAMS IN OIL
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
In your largest stock pot over medium high heat, cook bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel covered plate. Leave all grease in pot.
Add butter. Once melted add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and paprika. Saute for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium. Add flour and stir to combine. Let cook another 3 minutes.
Add broth and potatoes. Allow to boil and cook for 25 minutes. Potatoes should be soft but not mushy.
Remove a third of the soup to a mixing bowl and blitz with an immersion blender. (or use a blender, just use caution when blending hot items). Once mostly smooth, add corn starch and heavy cream. Blend until fully incorporated. Return to pot. Stir to combine.
Add clams, with all of their juices, along with cooked bacon and stir to combine. Let cook and thicken another 15 minutes. Serve in a bread bowl or other soup bowl. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
SATURDAY
Easy Chicken Shawarma -A traditional Chicken shawarma is made by stacking marinated chicken on a vertical spit or rotisserie and slow cooking it while turns near a heat source. Not many home cooks and kitchens have the means to make it the traditional way, but that doesn’t mean that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the same flavors of this classic Mediterranean street food. This home cook version of Easy Chicken Shawarma is going to be a burst of flavor that will make a a fantastic weeknight meal.
In a gallon zippered bag, add chicken and oil. Combine seasonings for chicken and then add to bag. Zip up bag and smoosh around chicken until all evenly coated with seasoning.
If making tzatziki fresh from recipe below, put that together and then place in refrigerator until ready to build.
Preheat oven to 400degF.
In large saute pan over medium high heat, add seasoned chicken. Saute and flip for around 20 minutes, to ensure all pieces are cooked through.
Line pitas out on a baking sheet and place in oven for 5-7 minutes, until warmed
To build a pita, start with warmed pita and layer on lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber. Add on 4-5 strips of chicken then top with tzatziki and sprinkle with feta cheese.
SUNDAY
Roasted Poblano Chicken Enchiladas – Enchiladas are such a perfect #weeknightmeal because you can get a nice composed dish without needing a lot of sides or extras. The deep flavors you get from roasting the chicken and the poblano peppers make for such a lovely bite. I hope you will thoroughly enjoy this recipe for Roasted Poblano Chicken Enchiladas.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add a cooking rack.
Spray poblano peppers with cooking spray and place on one half of baking tray.
Seasoning chicken with half of seasoning mixture (coating on sides). Place on other half of baking tray. Place in oven to bake for 40 minutes.
Let cool before removing chicken from bones and shredding. Remove stems and seeds from peppers and roughly chop.
In a sauce pan, over medium high heat, add oil, onions, garlic and roasted peppers. Saute a few minutes then add chicken broth, lime juice and remainder of seasoning mixture. Bring just to a bubble then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer another 5 minutes. Transfer to mixing bowl and blitz until smooth with immersion blender. Return to pan and add heavy cream and let simmer another 5 minutes.
Add roughly a cup of sauce in the bottom of the 13×9 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with a portion of shredded chicken and cheese. Roll up and line out in baking dish. Reserve once cup of sauce and pour remainder over rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and pour remaining sauce over center of enchiladas. Sprinkle with cojita and cilantro. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Do you have any tips for making a dinner menu plan each week? Which one of these recipes do you plan to add to your dinner menu plan this week?
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
I am a big fan of bbq chicken pizza. It is a fun and different take on the classic pizza pie. I have said it many times over – I could eat pizza over and over and still be a happy gal. I’m not sure what it is about a slice, but it really has everything you need to feel satisfied. And this recipe for Kickin’ Chicken Pizza is sure to do that for you. A simple homemade bbq sauce (that you are going to want to hold on for other meals) along with simple oven baked chicken.
Kickin’ Chicken Pizza
I have included my recipe for pizza at the bottom of this recipe card. As always, you can use whatever pizza crust you like, the toppings will work out the same. If you are using a pre-made pizza crust, skip the first cook on the crust. Any other crusts, simply follow the directions provided by that product.
Kickin’ Chicken Pizza
If you are unsure if the kiddos will go for the jalapenos, simply leave them off of one of the pizzas. But the jalapenos really give a nice layer of flavor to the overall pizza profile. The sweetness of the bbq sauce is really really balance out the heat of the peppers. When you are slicing up the onions, try to keep the slices together so that you place them on the pizza that way. It gives better onion flavor but it also give a better aesthetic in the end.
Kickin’ Chicken Pizza
I have written the recipe to make two rectangular pizzas, but you can certainly make them in to circular pizzas. My kids are convinced that they actually taste different. Which maybe a little bit, as the crust may be slightly thinner or thicker, but really I think it tastes the same either way. For this particular pizza, I think it goes great with a classic green salad of mixed greens, carrot, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, croutons and ranch.
Add all ingredients for sauce to a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, stirring often. Then reduce heat to low and let simmer until ready to build pizzas.
Sprinkle chicken (on both sides) with the seasonings. Place a baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
Increase oven temperature to 425degF.
Split pizza dough in half. Roll out each half out into a large rectangle and place on the parchment paper covered baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Chop chicken into small pieces.
Remove pizza crusts from oven. Spread each with BBQ sauce, then one cup of cheese, half of the cheese. Then add jalapeno slices and a half cup of cheese. Return to oven to bake for another 12-15 minutes. Drizzle with more bbq sauce and let rest on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
A simple pizza dough to use for all sorts of pizzas. Makes 2 12 by 17 pizza crust OR 2 12 inch round pizza
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword pizza, pizza dough
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Rising Time 1 hourhour
Servings 4
Ingredients
4cupsFlour
1tbspYeastinstant
⅓cupOil
1½cupWarm Water
2tbspSugar
2tspSalt
2tbspOilfor bowl
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare all of the ingredients
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Pour in water while stirring. Then add oil and continue to mix by hand. Mix until a sticky dough forms.
Brush the insides of a second bowl with oil and transfer ball of dough. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise at least 1 hour. Dough should approximately double in size.
Once risen, split dough in half. Place half of dough on each baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Stretch and press it out until you cover the baking sheet with ¼ inch thick crust. Let sit another 15 minutes.
Place in 425degF oven for 10 minutes.
Continue to pizza recipe directions.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Everyone loves a classic cookie, but sometimes we want something that’s not the same ol’ same ol’. One of my family’s favorite cookies that I bake are these Oatmeal Scotchies. They start with a base similar to an oatmeal raisin cookies – basically just swapping out the raisins for butterscotch chips and add some cinnamon for a nice rounded out flavor profile.
Oatmeal Scotchies
A few tools that I find make baking a little bit easier. For one – a food scoop, makes sure that each cookies is the same size, and thus bakes through evenly. A cooling rack is important to make sure that the cookies cool down evenly and get hard in some spots. Parchment paper is crucial to helping with the nonstick aspect but it also makes it so that you don’t have to add any cooking spray or anything that could impact the cookies themselves.
Oatmeal Scotchies
This dough is really great, as it also freezes really well. You can make up the whole batch of dough, bake one dozen and then put the rest into zipppered gallon bags. I like to flatten it out to fill up the whole bag size, then use a chopstick to press the dough into 3 dozen sqaures. Then you can break off just a few at a time to bake. I wish I could do this more often, but my kiddos eat them too fast…and these happen to be by hubs favorite cookies that I make, so I usually make them all.
Oatmeal Scotchies
If you are in need of a simple but delightful to bring along a family gathering or office party – these are sure to win everyone over. And not likely to be the second or third batch of the same kinda cookies. They are a great break from the typical chocolate chips variety that are so common.
Add butter to stand mixer and start to cream on the medium low setting (1 or 2). Add sugars. Once fully mixed in, add eggs, one at a time. Once fully mixed in then add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Then slowly add to stand mixer.
Once fully mixed, turn off mixer and remove bowl from stand. Use a spatula to fold in oats and butterscotch chips (hold out a ¼ cup for after cookies are baked).
Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours) **At least 2 hours is ideal.
Preheat oven to 375degF.
Use a food scoop to portion out cookies onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes (should be slightly golden on top). Remove from the oven and push 4-5 butterscotch chips into the top of each cookie. Then remove cookies to the cooling rack. Repeat until all of the dough is baked.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
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As most of you know, we raise our own chickens for both meat and eggs. With it being the colder months, we do tend to get a few less eggs but still have enough. Most everyone in our family enjoys having an egg salad sandwich for lunch or a snack and we do try to make it a little bit different every now and then. Most recently, I had some leftovers from the corn salsa that I used to make some tacos and opted to chop them up and add them to my egg salad. The addition of cilantro, red onion and jalapeno made for a delightful Southwest Egg Salad.
Southwest Egg Salad
When I have egg salad, I actually like to just put it in a bowl and have a couple pieces of toasted bread on the side. This way I can add some of the salad a bite at a time and keep the bread crunchy the whole time. It also tends to be much less of a mess to eat, as egg salad sandwiches are notorious for falling apart while you eat them.
Southwest Egg Salad
One key step to the way I make egg salad is that I separate the whites from the yolks before mixing everything together. By making the dressing with the yolks, you get a more pleasant texture and even flavor. If you don’t mash up the yolks enough, you will get this sort of chalky texture every so often while eating it. Just not the greatest experience. It’s also important to use the ice bath after boiling the eggs. This helps to set the egg while not allowing it to over cook and turn into that rubbery grayish yolk.
Southwest Egg Salad
If you wanted this to have even more southwest flair – namely spicy heat – then keep all of the jalapeno seeds in the mix. If you just want the flavor of the jalapeno, then remove all of the seeds before dicing. And lastly, if you want some heat but not blow your socks off spice – then leave a few of the ribs and seeds while dicing. If you do not care for red onion, you could swap out for white onion. But I will caution you a bit, as red onion is much nicer to eat raw. And while many salsas do have white onion in them, it is partially “pickled” by the salt and lime juice. There isn’t as much of those in this egg salad, so you will get a much stronger onion flavor with a white onion.
The classic egg salad with a Southwest twist, adding cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and few other things to really make it pop.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Southern
Keyword boiled eggs, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, egg, egg recipes, egg salad, eggs, jalapeno, lime juice, mayo, red onion
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Cooling Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
12Large Eggs
½Jalapenofine diced
½Medium Red Onionfine diced
½cupCilantrofine chopped
Dressing
⅔cupMayonnaise
⅓cupMustard
1tbspLime Juice
1tspSalt
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspPepper
1tspParika
1tspGround Cumin
1tspChili Powder
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Start water boiling. Once at a full rolling boil, gently add eggs. Let boil for 20 minutes.
Remove eggs to an ice bath (half ice, half cold water). Let cool for at least 30 minutes (up to 24hrs).
Remove shells. Cut in half and remove the yolk to a separate bowl. Chop up whites into small pieces and place in a larger bowl. Add red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro to whites.
Using the back of a fork, break up the yolks as much as you can. Add remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined. Add to chopped egg white mixture.
Serve right away, with toast, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
