Broccoli, Ham, & Cheese Pocket

I love this recipe because it's so EASY. I got it from my sister Melissa. She just made it up one day. I think it's pretty tasty so I'm passing it on.

Here's what you use to make the bread part:

8 1/2 oz. warm water

1 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 c white flour

1 1/2 c wheat flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp powdered milk

(I never have powdered milk so I leave this out)

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp yeast (or 1 1/2 tsp fast acting yeast)

I just throw all that in my bread machine and use the dough cycle. Another option is to use one of those Rhodes frozen dough loaves.

But whatever dough you use, just roll it out into a big rectangle and fill it with:

1 pkg (around 9 oz) ham or other pre-cooked meat (cut up into small pieces)

1 bunch of broccoli crowns chopped up quite small (put them in raw)

about 8 oz of shredded cheese

I usually do a layer of cheese, then the ham, broccoli and then another layer of cheese on top.

You put those ingredients right down the middle Then you just fold over the sides and pinch the top and the sides closed. Bake it at 350 for about 20 - 25 min. When it's done it should look something like this.

There are lots of options for the meat part of this, but here's what I like to use:

One time I used one of those variety packs with turkey, ham, and chicken and it was good too. Anything works.

Stuffed Burrito

I made this for dinner tonight (using leftover chicken that my husband didn't really care for) and he just raved about how good it was. He absolutely loved it! If you can use leftovers your husband didn't like to create something he absolutely loves, you know the recipe is a winner. I got this recipe from The Pendulum Court, a restaurant in the Eyring Science Center at BYU. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped onions (I omit)

1 1/2 tsp ch opped garlic, in water (I omit)

1 1/2 tsp oil (I omit)

1/2 cup rice, parboiled

1/2 cup water

1 can diced tomatoes, with juice

1/4 cup canned green chili peppers

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chili powder

pinch of black pepper

1 lb cooked roast beef (I usually use whatever leftover meat I have in the fridge)

1 cup salsa

1/4 cup sliced green onions (I omit)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 can (3/4 cup) black beans, drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

6 four tortillas, 10 in

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. In a medium pan, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat, until onions are tender. (I have never done this step because I don't care for onions or garlic)


2. Add remaining 8 ingredients (from rice to black pepper). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally (rice will burn if not stirred). (I tried brown rice and it took forever to cook, I ended up adding extra water to get it cooked all the way.)


3. While rice is cooking, shred the roast beef with a fork and place in a skillet. Add salsa, green onions, cumin and oregano to meat. Bring meat mixture to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.


4. In separate bowl, combine the drained black beans, frozen corn and cheese. Stir mixture (do not mash the beans).


5. When rice is done add it to the bean mixture and carefully stir together.


6. Spray one side of a tortilla with nonstick pan spray and place that side down on a plate. Spread 1/4 cup meat on each tortilla. Place 2/3 cup of rice/corn/bean mix on top of meat. Fold the ends of the burrito towards the center and then roll the burrito over the folded ends. Repeat for each burrito and place in a 9 x 13 pan.


7. Cover pan with foil and bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. (It will get a bit crispy on the outside, which makes it super yummy)


8. Sprinkle cheese on burrito and let melt.


9. Serve with chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa or other toppings of choice. (Since we live in New Mexico we top it with roasted green chili from our garden...so tasty!)

Pizza Pizza

Homemade Pizza

(I have officially decided that our camera was not made to take pictures of food)

Welcome to another installment of Emily in the kitchen. The menu for tonight was homemade pizza. Now this IS definitely one of our regular meals. We ate homemade pizza a lot growing up, so the recipe for the dough comes from my mom. Now this dough recipe will make enough for two pizzas. You could half it if that seems like too much or you could make breadsticks out of half. I usually make two pizzas and then cut one up to freeze. Here goes:

Pizza Dough

2 c warm water
1/4 c oil (I use olive oil)
up to 6 c all-purpose flour

(I use 2 1/2 c white flour and 2 1/2 c wheat flour. Wheat flour soaks up a lot more water than white flour so I end up using only 5 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast

I like to take the easy way out and I put my bread maker in charge of the dough. I just throw the wet ingredients in first, then the dry and put it on the dough cycle. About 1 1/2 hours later it's ready. If you do it by hand you're going to want to dissolve the yeast in the water, add the oil and salt, and then the flour.

For the sauce, I make mine, but you could use a bottled or canned pizza or spaghetti sauce. Here's what I do:

Sauce

In an 8 oz can of unsalted tomato sauce I add
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 tsp. Onion powder
1/4 tsp. Basil

I do this with two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce, one for each pizza. Then you get to go crazy with whatever toppings you like. This time around I only used pepperoni and olives, but sometimes I'll use Canadian bacon or pineapple for Jason. Today I used some shredded parmesan cheese that I had leftover from another night as well as some mozzarella and "pizza blend" pre-shredded cheese. I'm a pretty boring pizza topping person, but the possibilities are endless. You'll have to let me know what you use.
And if anyone out there has another yummy pizza dough recipe speak up.

Bake your pizza at 375 degrees for about 15 min!

Oh, and one more tid bit. I like to use this:

It's Turkey pepperoni with 70% less fat and we can't tell the difference in the taste.

Hawaiian Meatballs

I hereby inaugurate this blog by posting its first recipe. Now first off I have to say that this is not one of my usual recipes. In fact this is the first time I've tried it. And actually I got it off of a link from Sue's blog (so I'm sorry if you have already tried it Sue!) That being said, here it is:

I promise it looks more appetizing in real life

Hawaiian Meatballs

Mix together with your hands:

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

(I used 1 lb and decreased the other ingredients a little)

2/3 cup of saltine crackers smashed into crumbs

1/4 cup minced onion

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

Form into balls that are roughly the same size so they will cook evenly.

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of oil in saucepan and add meatballs. Brown, turning occasionally. When they are done browining put onto a plate and set aside.

Sauce:

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 can of pineapple chunks

1/3 cup white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 chopped bell pepper (optional) (I left this out)

In a small bowl while the meatballs are browning mix cornstarch and brown sugar together with fork. Then add pineapple juice from can, vinegar, and soy sauce. Pour back into the skillet that you cooked the meatballs in. Bring to boil and boil until thickened. Add pineapple chunks, meatballs, and bell pepper back in and mix.

Serve over white rice (I used brown)

I have to say it was pretty good. I'm not a big fan of cooked pineapple, but Jason is so that's why I wanted to try it. It has a chinese food taste to it (at least the sauce) which I liked, so I'm actually interested in trying the sauce with chicken. Post a comment if you try it and let me know what you think.

Welcome!

Welcome to the great food experiment. My stomach is growling in anticipation of your great ideas.  Please help save my small hungry family from my boring recipe rotation.