Buffalo Chicken Pizza

We're having a very lazy Sunday Funday today. I made Buffalo Chicken Pizza to complement the mood. Enjoyed this with a nice Whiskey and Coke. This is so quick and easy for the days when you just want to relax. 

Ingredients

1(13 oz) tube of refrigerated Pizza Dough

1/4 cup Ranch Dressing

1 cup cooked Chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup Frank's Buffalo Sauce

1-2 stalks of Celery, chopped

1 1/2 shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 

2. Roll out the Pizza Dough on baking sheet. 

3. Spread Ranch over the dough. 

4. In medium size bowl, mix the Chicken and the Buffalo Sauce until Chicken is well coated. Spread over Dough. 

5. Add Celery. 

6. Cover with Mozzarella Cheese and bake for 13-15 minutes. 

Pesto Chicken

I have recently discovered how delicious pesto is! It's perfect for throwing together dinner in no time. Made this for dinner last night. It's always a hit!

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken Breast
1/2 cup Basil Pesto
1 Tomato, sliced
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
Angel hair pasta-Prepare according to package instructions

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spread 1/4 cup of Basil Pesto over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.
3. Place Chicken Breast over Pesto.
4. Spread 1/4 Pesto over Chicken Breasts.
5. Place Tomato slices over Chicken.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until Chicken is no longer pink.
7. Remove from oven. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over Chicken.
8. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
9. Serve over Angel Hair Pasta.

Beef Stroganoff

Today was my first day back to classes for the semester. This meant that it was time to start doing my Crockpot Mondays again! Mondays are my longest work day so it is nice to come home to a fully cooked meal. This is also really quick to throw together.  This recipe only uses 1 1/2 lb of meat since it's just for two of us. Always have leftovers though. 

Ingredients 

1 1/2  lb Beef Stew Meat

1 cup Onion, chopped

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

8 oz fresh Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 tsp pepper

4 ox Cream Cheese 

1 (oz) Sour Cream

1 (12 oz) package Egg Noodles

Instructions

1. In crock pot, mix together Beef Stew Meat, Onions, Soup, Mushrooms, and pepper. 

2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours. 

3. Stir in Cream Cheese until melted. Stir in Sour Cream. 

4. Serve over Egg Noodles. 

Quick Tip: For a quick clean up, use sow cooker liners. 


Featured Beer

Tonight I'm having a Mt Carmel Winter Ale. Another Cincinnati brew. I am definitely on a Winter Warmer kick. I can;t seem to get enough of this style of beer lately. This one is a good alternative if you can't pick up a Great Lakes Christmas Ale. This beer has an inviting Ginger aroma and a hint of orange spice. 

Spinach Manicotti

I have always loved Manicotti. Tonight, I was craving Spinach Manicotti and since we have been eating mostly chicken lately, this was the perfect way to mix up our menu. Even without the meat this dish leaves you with a full and happy belly. I added a red pepper to the mix tonight simply because I had one.

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) box Manicotti Noodles
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 (8 ounce) package Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Tsp Italian seasoning
15 oz Ricotta
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Red Pepper, chopped (optional)
1 package frozen Spinach, thawed, drained
1 (24 oz)jar Pasta Sauce (any kind)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cook Manicotti according to package instructions. Drain. 
3. In a large bowl, stir in Garlic, 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella, Italian seasoning, Ricotta, and Egg. Mix well.
4. Stir in Red Peppers and Spinach until well blended.
5. Spread 1 cup of Pasta sauce on the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 baking dish.
6. Spoon mixture into Manicotti noodles. Place the noodles over the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the Manicotti.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, add remaining Mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.


Quick Tips: 

• You may also want to try the technique of putting the mixture in a large ziploc bag and cutting off one corner hole in it for an easier way to fill the Manicotti noodles.
• For a quicker and just as delicious alternative, you can substitute Jumbo Shells for the Manicotti noodles to make stuffed shells.  

Featured Beer

Tonight I tried Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. This is a well priced beer from England with a very dark pour that I thought was quite smooth. It has a strong taste for a beer with an ABV of 5%.

Pretzel Turkey Burgers

I usually make these in the summer but it is negative degrees out right now Shane and I are craving summer, I decided to make these. I saw an idea for something similar a long time ago and these were the first thing I ever made for Shane. They have been a favorite ever since. I had some bagels that I wanted to use up so I used these instead of buns this time.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Green Peppers, chopped
1 cup Snyder's Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzels
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper
4-5 hamburger buns (depends how big you make your burgers)

Cheese, lettuce, tomato or whatever toppings you prefer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mix Ground Turkey, Green Peppers, Pretzels, egg, and salt and pepper.
3. Form mixture into 4 or 5 patties and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the burgers over and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
5. Top with cheese or other toppings of your choice. I also like to snack on the additional pretzels on the side.


Featured Beer

Since I was lucky enough to have a day off on a day as cold as this one I made sure to stock the refrigerator. Today, I bought Old Man Winter Ale by Southern Tier Brewing Company. Upon the first few sips I could tell that it was a perfect choice for being "snowed in". One of my new favorites by Southern Tier. I was surprised when I looked at the label and saw that it was 7%. This is a seasonal that I will be looking for again next year.

Buffalo Chicken Bites

I made these for a friend's birthday this past weekend. They were gone very quickly. I hadn't really decided how I wanted to roll them yet  but the party was starting so they all look pretty different in my picture. No one seemed to mind :)

Ingredients

1 cup cooked Chicken, cut into bite size cubes
1/4 cup Buffalo Sauce (I used Frank's buffalo)
4 ox Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
1 can Pizza Dough
Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for dipping


Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. 
2. Mix Chicken with Buffalo Sauce and Cream Cheese until well coated. Stir in Blue Cheese. 
3. Roll out Pizza Dough. 
4. Cut into squares about two inches wide.  
4. Top each square with rounded teaspoon of Chicken mixture in the center. Fold up the sides and seal the edges.
5. Place seam side down about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. 
6. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
7. Serve with Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for dipping. 

Cheesy Italian Sausage Penne

This is one of my favorite dinners! I love just mixing the meat, pasta and veggies all in one dish. Shane asks me to make this all of the time. I make a lot of this even thought there is only two of us because we like to have extra for the next day. Normally, I only use Penne pasta for this one but as you can see in the picture I mixed in some Rotini this time. I wanted to use what I had in the pantry up. 

Ingredients

1 box Penne Pasta. 
1 lb Mild Italian Sausage
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1 Zucchini, sliced
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 jar Pasta Sauce (any kind)
8 oz Velveeta, cubed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. 
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions. 
3. In large skillet, brown sausage breaking up the sausage as you cook it. Drain. 
4. Return to heat adding the garlic, zucchini, red peppers, and pasta sauce. Cook until vegetables are tender. 
5. Drain pasta and add to sausage mixture. Lightly mix in Velveeta. 
6. Move to a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. 

Featured Beer

While making this meal last night I also had a Unit 6 by Rivertown Brewing Company. It's an American Hefeweizen Ale. I must say I am a little disappointed. While the beer itself is good it is not your typical Hefeweizen. It is more of a plain wheat beer in my opinion. Hefeweizen beers are typically has hints of bananas and cloves giving them a distinct taste. This beer is lacking such flavor. 

Pepperoni Bread

A friend of mine requested this for our New Year's Eve party. I bring this to get-togethers all of the time. Everyone loves it and there are NEVER leftovers. I meant to take a pretty picture of it but the minute I started slicing it up my friends were already snacking. 

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated pizza crust 
1 package pepperoni slices
6-8 slices Mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 
Pizza sauce for dipping

Instructions

`1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Roll pizza dough out on a lightly greased rectangle cookie sheet. 
3. Place a layer of pepperoni slices over dough. 
4. Cover the pepperoni slices with Mozzarella slices. 
5. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. 
6. Starting on one of the long sides slowly roll the dough up. Leave the seam side down. 
7. Bake 25-30 minutes.
8. Slice and serve with pizza sauce for dipping.