Chocolate Preztels

I hosted a book club/wine tasting night at my apartment on Tuesday. My second time hosting a get together at my new place and it was definitely a success. Lots of wine, lots of great people, and a good discussion about the book. Everyone brought a bottle of wine and I made wine scorecards so we could keep track of the ones we really liked.  I wish I had remembered to take pictures of everything else I made, but I was in a bit of a rush to get it all together before the guests arrived. I made sweet and sour meatballs, spinach and artichoke dip (big hit), an onion and garlic dip, and southwest egg rolls,which fell apart and I decided to not even serve. They tasted great, but I'll have to work on that recipe for next time. I did take pictures of the chocolate pretzels I made. They're really simple to make, super cute, and yummy. I've seen other variations of these using Hershey's Hugs or mini Resee's cups. You can also use the special holiday M&M's to for a more festive snack during Christmas or Easter, etc.

Ingredients

• 48 pretzel rings or mini twists
• 1 (8 ounce) package milk chocolate kisses
• 1/4 cup M&M's

Directions

1. Place the pretzels on greased baking sheets; place a chocolate kiss in the center of each ring. Bake at 275 degrees F for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove from the oven. Place an M&M on each, pressing down slightly so chocolate fills the ring. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Store at room temperature. 

  Source: Allrecipes.com

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

I love casseroles and any type of one-dish meals. They're probably my favorite things to make and I don't have to make side dishes because your meat, starch, and veggies are all together. I have recently discovered an amazingly brilliant creation: the braid. It's basically a casserole rolled up into a giant crescent roll. It's so pretty and tastes great too. My first attempt using the braid was for a breakfast dish; bacon and eggs wrapped in crescent dough. It didn't look so good so I didn't bother taking pictures, but it was tasty. The chicken and broccoli braid turned out much better and it's one of my favorite dishes so far. Delicious! I also loved the fact that the recipe called for dill. One of my favorite flavors of all time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced, cooked chicken meat
• 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 egg white, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
2. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, red bell pepper, garlic, Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt, almonds and onion.
3. Unroll crescent roll dough, and arrange flat on a medium baking sheet. Pinch together perforations to form a single sheet of dough. Using a knife or scissors, cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center, starting on the long sides. There should be a solid strip about 3 inches wide down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side. Spread the chicken mixture along the center strip. Fold the side strips over chicken mixture, alternating strips from each side. Pinch or twist to seal.
4. Brush braided dough with the egg white. Bake in the preheated oven 25 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown. 

 

Source: Allrecipes.com 

Creamy Cajun Gumbo

This past Thanksgiving my family rented a house in Lake Gaston, NC for the week. Dave and I drove down for the weekend and had dinner with everyone at the Waterview Restaurant. We got the creamy cajun gumbo and it was outstanding! We've been talking about it ever since, so of course I had to at least try to recreate it for my blog. I think it turned out pretty good and Dave gave it rave reviews as well. I looked at their menu online and found out it's made in a Sambuca cream sauce. I didn't have Sambuca on hand, so I used anise extract instead. I made the sauce a bit too thick, but that can be prevented by not dumping a giant handful of flour into the sauce. I panicked when it looked too milky and thin. Add small amounts of flour and stir and wait before you add more. I would definitely make this recipe again, and next time I think I'd like to add some shrimp to the mix. The restaurant version had shrimp but i forgot to get that at the grocery store. ooops.

I usually don't measure anything or write anything down as I'm cooking so I will try my best to remember everything!

Ingredients

• 1 pound Hot Italian pork sausage, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium chicken breasts chopped 
• 1 medium green pepper cut into short strips
• 1 medium onion chopped
•  2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons of anise extract
•  1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 box of Penne pasta

Directions

1. Boil the chicken breasts and cut into small pieces
2. Cook the Penne pasta in boiling water for approximately 7 minutes, drain, and set aside 
3. Cook the sausage in a skillet until well browned, stirring often. Stir in the pepper, onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add cooked chicken and stir in Anise extract. Simmer until cream sauce is ready.  
4. Heat the butter and heavy cream over medium heat in a separate pan, add garlic powder and cheese and stir until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of flour as needed to thicken the sauce. Stir until flour is fully dissolved.  
5. Pour Sausage, chicken, and veggie mixture into the cream sauce and mix well. Serve over Penne pasta.