Bacon, Date and Manchego Quesadillas with Pistachio Cream

 

I have really started liking dates - yes, the food dates, real life romantic dates are great too :)  I made bacon wrapped dates awhile back (Link Here) and this time dates and bacon made an appearance together.  I never would have thought to put them together, but of course Food Network came up with a great pairing in their March 2014 magazine.  Enjoy!

Source:   Food Network Magazine Bacon issue - March 2014

Ingredients:
For the quesadillas:
12 slices bacon
4 10 -inch flour tortillas
2 cups shredded manchego cheese (about 8 ounces)
5 dates, pitted and julienned
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the pistachio cream:
1/2 cup salted pistachios
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the bacon slices side by side on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until browned and crisp, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, make the pistachio cream: Combine the pistachios, red pepper flakes, garlic, lemon juice and spinach in a food processor and pulse until chopped; with the motor running, slowly stream in the olive oil until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and process 5 more seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the crema; set aside.

Assemble the quesadillas: On 1 half of each tortilla, layer 1/2 cup cheese, 3 slices bacon and a few date slices. Fold the tortillas in half to cover the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 quesadillas and cook until golden on both sides and gooey in the middle, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining 2 quesadillas, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan.

Cut each quesadilla into 4 triangles; serve with the pistachio cream.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

An easy weeknight dinner!  Just grab a rotisserie chicken on the way home and this recipe is super easy!

Source: Raining Hot Coupons Blog

Ingredients:

• 10 small soft flour tortillas (you can use corn but I like flour with chicken)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups shredded and cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
• 3 cups Monterey Jack cheese – shredded
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4oz can diced green chillies (I like medium – they are not spicy at all)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine shredded chicken and 1 cup of cheese
3. Fill tortillas with the mixture above and roll each one then place in a greased 9×13 pan
4. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat
5. Stir flour into butter and whisk for 1 minute over heat.
6. Add broth and whisk together. Cook over heat until it’s thick and bubbles up
7. Take off heat and add in sour cream and chilies. (be careful it’s not too hot or the sour cream will curdle)
8. Pour mixture over enchiladas and add remaining cheese to top.
9. Bake in oven for 20-23 minutes then you will want to broil for 3 minutes to brown the cheese.
10. Enjoy!

Mushroom, Gruyère, and Spinach Quiche

I made this quiche one night and then had the leftovers for breakfast the next day!  Even the leftovers tasted great - heated in a 375 degree oven for about 15 min!

Source: Cooking Light April 2014

Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I used a packaged one to save time)
3 center-cut bacon slices
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 cups packed baby spinach
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
2 ounces cave-aged Gruyère cheese, grated

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Bake the crust (with pie weights on top of foil) at 425° for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove weights and foil; bake an additional 2 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
4. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings; crumble. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add shallots to drippings in pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
5. Place milk, half-and-half, eggs, egg white, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a blender; process until smooth.
6. Arrange half of cheese over bottom of crust; top with spinach mixture and remaining half of cheese. Carefully pour milk mixture over cheese. Sprinkle with bacon. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until filling is set. Let stand 10 minutes.

Gnocchi and Squash

I just love homemade gnocchi!  Add some zucchini, cheese and fresh basil and it makes a great dinner!

Source: Real Simple August 2013

Ingredients

• 1 pound gnocchi, fresh or frozen  (I used some that I had pre-made and froze) - Here is the recipe I use Homemade Gnocchi Recipe
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 yellow squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 ounces Feta, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions; drain and return it to the pot.  Note:  If you have made some and frozen them, just cook in boiling water until thye rise to the top of the water in the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add the squash to the gnocchi and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with the Feta and basil. Season with pepper.

Pasta with Bacon and Leeks

Food Network magazine this month featured Bacon.  This recipe was on their front cover and was easy and delicious!  The magazine is being treated like a work of art in my house and the guys are pouring over each page of bacon goodness :)  Enjoy!

Source: Food Network

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces mezzi rigatoni (or other short pasta)
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 bunch leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and rinsed well
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet.
3. Add the leeks to the drippings in the skillet. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the parmesan, half of the bacon and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen. To serve, top with the remaining bacon, and more parmesan.

BBQ pork stuffed sweet potato

This recipe is super easy - only 3 ingredients and it cooks in the crock pot while you are at work.  What could be easier than that.... Delicious!

Source: Adapted from The Novice Chef Blog

Ingredients:
2 lb pork loin
1 jar Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
4 large sweet potatoes

Instructions:
Put the pork loin and the BBQ sauce in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

While pork is cooking, bake your sweet potatoes:
Preheat oven to 400°. Scrub potatoes under water and wrap in foil. Bake in oven for about 1 hour.  Remove pork from crock pot and shred the meat.

When ready to serve, cut a a slit in the sweet potato, lengthwise. Grab the potato from both ends and press together to open the sweet potato up. Fill each sweet potato with a generous helping of pulled pork and top with an extra drizzle of BBQ Sauce. Serve immediately!

Red Velvet Cookies & Ice Cream Sandwiches

My co-worker LOVES red velvet, so I decided to make some red velvet cookies for her birthday.  After I made the cookies I decided they would make perfect ice cream sandwiches too.  I used cookies and cream ice cream and they were delicious!  I think these would be perfect for Valentines day, or just a normal weekday!

Source: Duncan Hines
Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine one (1) box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix, two (2) eggs and one-third (1/3) cup vegetable oil using a hand blender or wire whisk.
3. Form teaspoon size balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking pan about one inch (1") apart. Slightly pat down the top of each ball.
4. Cook for 8-10 minutes (the top of the cookie will crack).
5. While hot, lightly sprinkle the top of the cookie with powdered sugar (optional). 

Here is the ice cream sandwich version: