Chicken Enchilada Calzones

Having had some dough left over from my Basic Bread with whey, I decided calzones would be the perfect to weeknight dinner to use up a faulty yeast dough, and was I ever correct in that assessment! I also used up some of my freezer/once-a-month-cooking goods so this came together amazingly quickly and easily and absolutely deliciously.

Ingredients/Directions:

Makes 2 large Calzones

Heat in a small pan 1 cup of plain Tomato Sauce, add 2-3 Tbsp. Chili Powder, a shake or two of Cayenne Powder, Cumin, Salt and Pepper. Add 1 cup of Shredded Chicken to the 'Enchilada' Sauce.  Using half of the dough produced from the Basic Bread recipe, split into two equal portions and roll out to a circular shape. Fill each dough circle with half of the saucy chicken mixture, top with 1 cup Roasted Peppers and Onions (1/2 cup for each calzone) and sprinkle in plenty of Cheddar Cheese. Pinch edges of dough together to create a calzone or hot pocket and bake at 350* (177) for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and heated through. Enjoy with a glass of milk, or a margarita!

No Bake Oats and Spent Grain Bars

I saw these No Bake Granola Bars on Pinterest recently and was confident I needed to give them a shot using up some spent grains. As is common with spent grains, they add a lot of moisture. I didn't perfect this, and should have actually prepared the Granola Bars without making so many substitutes so I could get a better feel for their texture/consistency and would have a better idea on how to adjust the recipe upon adding spent grains. However, I think were I to try again, I'd just add a bit more oatmeal - probably actually what the original recipe calls for and just add spent grains as if they were flaxseed, so a couple tablespoons or so - rather than trying to make a primarily spent grain bar - but then again, who knows, spent grains are more common in our household than oats.

Ingredients/Directions: (this is how I plan to try it the next time!)

In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of oats, 1 cup of popped rice (or rice crispies other puffy cereal) and 2-4 Tbsp. Spent Grains. In a small pot, melt 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup Honey and 1/3 cup Brown Sugar over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. Vanilla. Pour this mixture over oats, grains and cereal, mix well. Pour into jelly roll pan and pack it in TIGHT! Cool at room temperature 2 hours, wrap in plastic and continue to store at room temperature - the refrigerator will supposedly make them hard as a rock, no good.

Menu: Kimchi Fried Rice and Taiwanese Pancakes

If you're looking for a nice menu that's completely doable in the land of Kimchi, why not throw together a bit of Kimchi Fried Rice (I decided to cook by kimchi till it was a bit crispy, which made the air slightly toxic, but gave the dish added depth of flavor - similar to the way kimchi is cooked when you eat sam-gyup-sal) and serve some Taiwanese Pancakes on the side - guaranteed to satisfy your hunger!

Overnight Oats with Spent Grains

If you spend any time at all on Pinterest, sure as anything, you have seen Overnight Oats in adorable Mason Jars being posted all-over the place, and for good reason!

In an attempt to keep up with eating hearty, healthy, filling breakfasts, I decided to jump on the train and am incredibly thankful I did because this is quite possibly one of the easiest breakfasts I've made yet.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a jar or small tuperware bowl, mix together 1/2 cup Rolled Oats, 2 Tbsp. Spent Grains, Sprinkle of Flaxseed, 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt and 2/3 cups milk. Let set overnight (or I've read a minimum of 30 minutes). In the morning serve with your choice of fruits, jams, spices, honey, peanut butter, etc. Make additional jars/bowls per mouth to feed. (Spent grains and flaxseed not required, most basic oats can be made with jut oats, yogurt and milk!)

Gypsy Soda Bread

Wanting to ensure we would have breakfast to look forward to on Monday and for a last chance using up some sour-home-made-yogurt-that-was-kind-of-like-buttermilk I hit my Kindle collection of cookbooks and searched for 'buttermilk'.  Many things turned up, but the one that sounded quickest and easiest was a Soda Bread from a cookbook about Gypsy Cuisine (although, if you read the Amazon reviews some folks don't agree about the authenticity of the recipes - I know nothing about traditional or non-traditional Gypsy Cuisine...but am still calling this Gypsy Soda Bread, sorry if you find such offensive)

Ingredients/Directions:
From Gypsy Feast: Recipes and Culinary Traditions of the Romany People by Carol Wilson

Preheat oven to 400*F (204*C). In a large bowl mix 2 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Baking Soda, 1 tsp. Salt and 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar. Rub or cut in 2 Tbsp. Butter until well dispersed. Make a well in the center and pour in 1/2 cup Buttermilk, mix quickly until a dough is formed. Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll into a round about 1 1/2 inches thick. Mark the top with four cuts. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet for 20 minutes, until golden and sounding hollow when tapped.

Pesto-Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

As per Valentine's tradition, the hubs and I whipped up some fantastic eats in 519 Kitchen this past weekend...now, I realize this past weekend was not Valentine's Day. In fact, Valentine's day has long come and gone. However, we were hosting lovely friends on Valentine's Day and went out for spicy Korean chicken. Shortly after Valentine's day, we were soaking up the broth of Pho Noodles and the warmth of Southern Vietnam.

Then we hosted more friends.

Then we started school.

And we needed to adjust to the new semester. So, Valentine's Day traditions were put on hold.

Good things come to those who wait. Such as chicken, stuffed with homemade Pesto and Ricotta.

Ingredients/Directions:

Start with two chicken breasts (or some kind of butterfly, fillet ? not entirely sure as that cut is not available in the land of Kimchi) and carefully slice in half to create four thin fillets. Pound the chicken breasts out to about 1/4 inch or less with a meat mallet or canned food item of choice. Season breasts with salt and pepper and procede to stuff as you like, we used some 'ricotta' (from the semi-failed yogurt-making operation) and Walnut-Basil Pesto before rolling and tucking. Next, dip the rolled chicken into a bit of milk (or buttermilk/failed yogurt) and Italian Bread Crumbs. Bake in a preheated oven of 450*F (232*C) for 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Enjoy with rice or bread, and your favorite person(s).



Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta

As part of our Valentine's-cooking-together-tradition, I whipped up this special treat while the man pounded out some chicken and prepared it to be baked.

At one of my favorite restaraunts in Laramie, I had the good fortune of ordering a sandwich which showcased balsamic vinegar soaked onions, they were amazing and I decided they would be double amazing if said, balsamic vinegar soaked onions were carmelized on the stovetop (medium-low heat, bit of olive oil for about 20 minutes, lots of stirring, finished when their sticking to the pan). Throw those into a bowl of quartered cherry tomatoes, drizzle with additional olive oil, season with salt, pepper and fresh basil - to-friggin-die-for.

Enjoyed this condiment of sorts on top of the not-perfect-but-delightfully-edible Basic Bread (with whey).