Movin’ On Up!

It sure is a Happy New Year! The time has come. Mr. J and I are moving to our dream home! We are beyond excited and it feels like a long time coming. The house hunt wasn’t that long, but the buying process was much more involved than House Hunters lead us to believe.
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Our house is fantastic. The kitchen is TO. DIE. FOR. I’m not even just comparing it to my horrendous apartment kitchen. I have more cabinets than I know what to do with but I’m sure willing to try! No more broken tiled floor in the kitchen! No more tiny cabinets! We have windows in the kitchen! We have stone counter tops! We have so much space!

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Mr. J is sooo excited to grill and the pup has never had a yard! Needless to say we’re in moving and homeownership bliss. We are sad to leave some really fun restaurants and we’ve loved living so close to friends, fun city happenings, hockey leagues etc. It is just time and we’ve been ready for awhile.

I’ll be back in full force soon after I break in this perfect Christmas present! Hang tight while I unpack, get internet, and swoon over my house…you know, the important things. Leave your suggestions about what I should cook now that I have all the room in the world!

Mashed Potato Pizza Pie

I had to! I’ve been remembering the Pizzaria Uno’s “Pizza Skins” aka deep dish pizza with mashed potatoes and all the fixings ever since I first made a sliced potato pizza last year.
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All my stars aligned when I was thinking what I could make for dinner without having to grocery shop. I live to avoid grocery shopping. I had a frozen ball of dough, a scant amount of cheddar cheese, a bag of potatoes, and of course I always have bacon!

Ingredients

1 ball of pizza dough (I used wheat here)
2 large potatoes
2 tbs butter
2 tbs cream cheese
1 cup cheddar, shredded
2 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions

Preheat oven to 400-degrees.
Prepare mashed potatoes (I mix mine with butter and cream cheese and I left some chunks).
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Spread pizza dough into a circular cake pan or deep dish pizza pan. (I spread some jarred pesto, but it’s not crucial.)
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Layer with half the cheddar cheese and half the bacon.
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Carefully spread mashed potatoes.
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Bake for 40 minutes until edges of dough are crisping.
Immediately after removing from oven, top with remaining cheese and bacon.
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I liked this one. I thought it was fun and different with comforting flavors. I would have used more cheese if I had it. Sour cream, ranch dressing, or scallions would have been fun additions as well.

Since Mr. J and I would easily consume more bacon than our bodies neeeeeed, I freeze it in 2 strip packets (2 strips = 1 serving) and usually label it as maple, thick cut, etc. If I don’t, a lot seems to disappear between the pan and our plates. Unfortunately I hadn’t labeled my bacon so it was a gamble coming out of the freezer and turns out it was maple. That made it a tiny bit weird. Whatev…we ate it anyway.

You could make itty bitty ones in muffin tins for single size portions! These would be so cute for a tailgating party etc. You could also stretch it a lot further if you made a regular flat pizza, rather than a deep dish.
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Cost (be prepared to be amazed)

Mashed Potato Pizza

pizza dough: $1.50
2 potatoes: $1.58
1 cup shredded cheddar: $0.93
2 slices of bacon: $0.49
total = $4.50 for the pizza (=$1.12 per serving)

Yes, folks, $1.12 per serving (I assumed you had butter and cream cheese is optional). Can’t beat that Uno’s can ya?! (Ha! Theirs half the size is $9.49 near me!)

 

 

Dressed Up Cashews

I made some dressed up cashews last summer but didn’t blog ‘em. They were gone really quickly and I knew I had to make them again. I added them to my fall list and made some to bring to one of my Thanksgivings.

They’re sweet and salty and the rosemary makes it woodsy.
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Ingredients

1 pound cashews
3 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
⅓ cup butter, melted
1 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Roast cashews for about 3 minutes until nuts have warmed through at 375 degrees.
Mix chopped rosemary with melted butter and add salt.
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Stir until well coated and return to oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally (not 10 minutes like I did).
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They were a bit stickier than last time but very tasty. I cooked them on my Silpat which I adore. Even with this sticky rosemary mixture baked the cleanup takes 2 seconds. Nice, right? I could be their spokesperson (and I’m willing to…sign me up!!)
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Make these and watch the disappearing act.

Foolproof Black Forest Bread Pudding

As you know, I’m not really a baker. This is a fool-proof dessert that will really wow everyone. It’s really rich and chocolaty. The cherries add a nice touch without too much of a chocolate and fruit combo.
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Ingredients

8 slices of pumpernickel rye bread (without seeds)
3 tsp butter, melted
1 cup dark cherries, pitted
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
½ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup sugar
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

Cut bread into 2” cubes
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Mix bread chunks with with melted butter in a 9×9 baking pan.
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In a double boiler, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips with sugar and whipping cream.
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Sprinkle the remaining chips and the cherries in with the bread chunks.
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Remove chocolate from heat and slowly mix eggs into the chocolate/cream mixture.
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Pour over bread and cheeries in the baking dish.
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Let sit in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
Bake 60 minutes at 350-degrees until the center has set.
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Serve warm.

Fun fact: pumpernickel bread has cocoa in it! Who knew? I didn’t for awhile but when you think about it, cocoa isn’t sweet on it’s own. If you are serving extremely picky eaters I would leave that fun fact until after they’ve tried it.
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This is an easy make-ahead dessert. I don’t even think you can over cook it! You can definitely add more bread and more eggs/cream in proportion. There should be enough liquid that the bread only peeks out but everything is covered.

Zesty Mac & Cheese

Last year for my birthday I made Mexican Mac & Cheese and it was such a hit at the taste-off. That was wayyy too much mac and cheese so I took a break from any for awhile. If you need a non-holiday meal this is perfect!
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This one is special. It isn’t traditional which is also why it is so good. Ohh I love it…everyone else does too.

Ingredients:

½ pound elbow macaroni
⅓ pound ground turkey
3 tbs taco seasoning
½ cup butter
2 tbs flour
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded or grated
¾ cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 roasted red pepper
⅓ cup Monterrey jack cheese
¼ cup salsa
1 cup tortilla chips, crumbled

Directions:

Brown the ground turkey with taco seasoning while water is boiling for the pasta.
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Melt butter over medium low heat and add flour to get a roux going.
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Slowly add milk stirring constantly until well incorporated.
Turn to low and add cheese.
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When pasta is just barely soft, remove from the water and add it to a baking dish. Mix the egg yolk in and then the cheese sauce.
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Add ground turkey, roasted red peppers, remaining cheese and mix. Dot with salsa but don’t mix salsa through.
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Top with crumbled tortilla chips and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
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This mac and cheese is creamy and has really great flavor. I sprinkle more taco seasoning on the top before topping with chips. It’s kind of a casserole and it is such a winner.
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Green onions would be good and jalapenos if you wanted some spice. I think I threw in some leftover black beans once for color.

I use these smart choice noodles. They only come in 3 shapes (elbows, penne, & rotini) but they’re better than regular dried pasta since wheat pasta just isn’t the same.
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