Two Quick & Impressive Homemade Appitizers

Don’t you just LOVE when people just “drop by” to say hello…Well this happened the other day!  We got a call that friends were stopping by and I had 45 minutes to whip up something fabulous.   Luckily, I have these two super easy recipes in my back pocket.  Our guests were pleased and I was happy to serve a simple and impressive appetizer platter!

Sausage Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Kitchen Tools:

1.       Frying Pan
2.       Wooden Spoon
3.       Slotted Spoon
4.       Food Processor
5.       Mixing Bowl
6.       Small Spoon
7.       Baking Sheet

Ingredients:

1.       1 Package of Whole Mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas)
2.       1 Spicy Italian Sausage Link (Casing removed)
3.       3 Tablespoons of a soft cheese ( I used Boursin Garlic and Herb Spreadable Cheese)
4.       2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
5.       Cooking Spray

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 325°.
2.       Start cooking the Italian sausage (remove casing first) in the frying pan.  If there is not enough fat in the sausage, add a little olive oil to the pan. Using the back of your wooden spoon, break up the sausage into small pieces for a more even cooking.
3.       While the sausage cooks, wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Do not rinse the mushrooms – they will absorb all the water and won’t cook properly.
4.       Remove stems from the mushrooms and discard.

5.       Once sausage is completely browned, move from the frying pan to your food processor with a slotted spoon to avoid the excess fat. Blend until you have small pieces of sausage.  If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the cooked sausage with a knife into small pieces.

6.       In a bowl, add the sausage, cheese and bread crumbs and stir/mix until completely blended.

7.       Spoon the filling into the mushroom caps, pressing with the back of the spoon.

8.       Place filled mushrooms on greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
9.       Serve and enjoy!
 
Bacon Wrapped Artichoke Hearts
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 – 20 Minutes

Kitchen Tools:

1.       Knife
2.       Cutting Board
3.       Baking Sheet
 
Ingredients:
1.       1 Large Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts
2.       ½ lb. Bacon
3.       Cooking Spray
 
Directions:
1.       Preheat oven to 425°.
2.       Cut bacon strips in half.

3.       Wrap the cut strips around an artichoke heart and place on a greased baking sheet.  If the artichoke hearts are too big for the bacon, cut them in half.  I cover the baking sheet with foil for easier clean up.

4.       Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until the bacon looks crispy.
5.       Serve and enjoy!

Cloudy Day Corn and Potato Chowder

Yesterday was a gloomy, cloudy day that called for some soup.  This recipe was an experiment that turned out super yummy…so I decided to share it with you.

Serving Size: 6 – 8

Prep Time: 40 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 ½ - 3 Hours

Kitchen Tools:

1.      Dutch Oven or Large Stockpot
2.      Cutting Board
3.      Sharp Chef’s Knife
4.      Wooden Spoon
5.      Slotted Spoon
6.      Immersion Blender or Regular Blender

Ingredients:

1.      1Tablespoon Olive Oil
2.      ½ lb. Bacon
3.      1 Medium Yellow Onion
4.      3-4 Stalks of Celery
5.      4 – 6 Garlic Cloves (depends on how much you like garlic!)
6.      2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
7.      2 teaspoons Fresh Cracked Pepper
8.      5 cups Chicken Stock
9.      5 – 8 Red Potatoes (more if they are small – I had some monster potatoes, so I only used 5)
10.  2 lb. Bag Frozen Corn, or Fresh Corn – it is winter so I used frozen
11.  1 cup Half & Half
12.  ½ a Bunch of Cilantro Chopped (optional, I just really love cilantro – and it added a fresh flavor to the hearty soup)
13.  Hot Sauce for topping – if you like!

Directions:

1.      Chop bacon into small lardons/cubes.
2.      Place dutch oven on cooking surface and turn heat to medium high. Once the pot is warm, add 1 Tbs. of olive oil and lardons. Cook until crispy.

3.      While bacon cooks, dice onion and celery into small pieces. Crush garlic with a press or chop super small. Dice potatoes (leaving the skins on) into ¼ inch cubes.

4.      Remove the cooked bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping the bacon fat and residual olive oil in the pot. (I like to place the bacon on a plate with a paper towel underneath so it doesn’t get soggy.)  Add onions and stir with your wooden spoon to scrape up all the bacon bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the seasoned salt and pepper to the onions and let cook for 2-3 minutes.

5.      Add celery to the onions, cook another 2 minutes and then add the garlic.
6.      Add the chicken stock, potatoes and corn to the pot. Turn the heat to high, bring the soup to a boil. (If you want to leave the house, you can do steps 2-5 in a frying pan and add everything in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours)
7.      Add bacon back to soup, saving a little for to top the soup for serving.
8.      Turn heat to low and cover. Let soup cook for 2½ to 3 hours.
9.      Blend about half the soup using an immersion blender (or just scoop it into your upright blender then return to the pot).

10.  Add half & half and cilantro and continue cooking, uncovered, for about another 15 minutes, until heated through.

11.  Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
12.  Serve up and top with the extra bacon and enjoy!  For some extra flavor boost a little hot sauce on top was really good!

Chicken Pot Pies

On rainy days all you want is some comfort food, and I can’t think of a better comfort food than Chicken Pot Pies!  This recipe took a little time to prepare, but it was so worth it and everyone you make it for will be happy campers!

Serving Size: 2 Pot Pies

Prep Time: 35-45 Minutes

Bake Time: 30 Minutes

Kitchen Tools:

·         Cutting Board

·         Chef Knife

·         Frying Pan or Skillet

·         Mixing Bowl

·         Sauce Pan

·         Whisk

·         Ramekins (2)

·         Cookie Sheet
·         Pastry Brush

Ingredients:

1.       1 Breast of Chicken Cooked (I use any excuse in the world to go to Costco…so I used a Rotisserie Chicken and will use the rest for salads this week for lunch.)

2.       1 tsp. EVOO

3.       ¼ of a Large Onion

4.       1 ½ Stalks of Celery

5.       6 Baby Carrots or 1 Large Carrots (I eat baby carrots as a snack, so we always have them handy)

6.       Salt and Pepper

7.       1 tsp. Poultry Seasoning

8.       ¼ cup Frozen Peas

9.       ¼ cup Frozen Corn

10.   2 Tbs. Butter (1Tbs. for sauce and 1Tbs. melted for brushing the top of the pies)

11.   1 Tbs. Flour

12.   ½ to ¾ cup of Milk or Half and Half (I use just in between this amount and it is perfect, but if you want a thick sauce use ½ and if you want a thinner sauce, use ¾ cup!)

13.   1 Store bought Frozen Pie Dough (You could make your own, but why??)

14.   Cooking Spray

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350°.

2.       Dice onion very small and cut celery and carrots into small bite size pieces.

3.       Heat frying pan and drizzle with EVOO.  Add onions, celery and carrots to pan and cook until veggies are almost done. Season the veggies with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.

4.       Cut chicken into small cubes.

5.       Add frozen peas and corn to pan and cook until not frozen anymore. Remove from heat and add to chicken.

6.      In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the flour once the butter is melted and mix with a whisk.  Keep whisking and add the milk once the flour mixture has turned a golden color.  ALWAYS keep stirring this sauce. There is nothing worse than a burnt béchamel! Bring the sauce to a boil and turn down the heat to low. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

7.       Add the sauce to the chicken and veggie mixture and mix thoroughly.

8.       Cut the pie crust to fit on top of your ramekins.

9.       Spray ramekins with cooking spray and add chicken mixture.

 

10.   Place pie crust on top of chicken mixture and pierce dough with a knife to let steam out while cooking.

11.   Brush the dough with melted butter to get a lovely golden brown color

12.   Place full ramekins on a cookie sheet to keep your oven clean if the sauce comes over the top!

13.   Bake for 30 minutes or until the pie crust looks golden brown.

14.   ENJOY!!

Football Sunday Chili (on Saturday…)

Because both my husband’s team (the 49ers) and my team (the Patriots) were playing in playoff games yesterday, I decided to make a big batch of my Sunday football chili.  Football is big for us.  We even included our favorite teams in our vows, so today was spent dedicated to the TV – an easy one pot meal was necessary.

Note: I like my chili pretty spicy; to tone it down, don’t use ingredients 6 – 9 and throw in one more bell pepper. Also, I like beans in my chili but you can remove them from the recipe if it is against your religion (I’m talking to you, Texas).

Servings: 6 – 10 depending on who you have over to help you eat it!  With some hungry friends over we got about 6.

Prep Time: 30 – 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 Hours

Ingredients:

1.       12 oz. Pork Chorizo

2.       1 lb. Ground Beef

3.       3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I use Hundred Acre EVOO – SUPER delicious oil! Grown locally by a family in Ione, CA – 100% organic and all the olives are handpicked for pressing!)

4.       1 Yellow Onion

5.       3 Cloves of Garlic

6.       1 Poblano Pepper

7.       1 Anaheim Pepper

8.       1 Jalapeño Pepper

9.       1 Red Chili Pepper

10.   2 Bell Peppers (I used one orange and one red for color)

11.   1 Beer – I used a Sam Adams Boston Lager (you can sub beef broth if you prefer)

12.   2 15 oz. cans of Diced Tomatoes

13.   15 oz. can Kidney Beans Drained and Rinsed

14.   15 oz. can Pinto Beans Drained and Rinsed

15.   1 tbsp. Cumin

16.   1 tsp. Paprika

17.   2 ½ tbsp. Chili Powder

18.   2 tsp. Sea Salt

19.   1 tbsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper

20.   ½ Bunch of Cilantro

Kitchen Tools:

1.       Dutch Oven or Large Stockpot

2.       Sharp Chef’s Knife

3.       Wooden Spoon

4.       Cutting Board

5.       Medium Mixing Bowl

 Directions:

1.       In your pot add one tablespoon EVOO and the Pork Chorizo and Ground Beef.  Use your wooden spoon to break up the meat and move it around the pan to brown evenly.

2.       While the meat browns, dice the onion garlic, and peppers.  If you want really spicy chili, leave about half the seeds of every pepper in while chopping.  For a little less kick, remove all seeds. Be sure to chop the peppers really small! **Wash your hands really well after touching peppers; I use lemon juice and soap. And whatever you do…don’t touch your face while chopping peppers!

3.       Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pot and place it in a bowl on the side.

4.       Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO to the pot.  Add the onions and garlic, cook until the onions become slightly translucent. On a medium heat this will take about 2 minutes.

5.       Add the peppers to the pot along with the seasoning (Cumin, Paprika, Chili Powder, Sea Salt, and Fresh Cracked Pepper).  Cook pepper and onion mix for another 2 minutes.

6.       Add meat back to the pot and add beer.  Bring to a boil. This takes about 5 minutes.

7.       Add tomatoes.

8.       Drain and rinse beans then add to the pot.

9.       Let the chili cook on “Low” for 2 ½ to 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

10.   About 20 minutes prior to serving chop the Cilantro and add to the chili.

11.   Serve and enjoy with your favorite toppings and cornbread!



To end our wonderful night (both teams won!!) my sister-in-law came with dessert that was super yummy. My husband's description was ooey-gooey deliciousness. Recipe will come later, because I absolutely need it!