Panzanella (Bread Salad)

During this time of the year the produce is amazingly fresh and abundant! Take advantage my friend! When your working with great ingredients, you don't need any extras. 

If you have never had a Panzanella salad before now is the time to try it! A tuscan salad of tomatoes and crusty bread that is the perfect summer side dish!

What You Will Need: Tomatoes, onion, cucumber, basil and crusty bread. 

I sliced up a couple pieces and threw them on the grill but you can toast them in the oven or use some stale day old bread.

Cube up your bread & quarter the tomatoes, toss together in a large bowl.

Next goes the chopped cucumber and thinly sliced onions. Season with salt/pepper and add in your chiffonade of basil.

Combine!

Dress this summer salad with a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, I used balsamic. Feel free to use any dressing/vinaigrette you would like but use it lightly, you don't want the dressing to mask the fresh flavors of your vegetables. 

Serve up a big, heaping bowl full & be prepared to go for seconds! 

If you end up having leftovers, remove the bread (they will become to soggy to reuse) and refrigerate the rest. Toss in some fresh bread the next day or create a quick appetizer by toasting up thin slices of bread (I added slices of mozzarella cheese) and topping it with the mixture. 

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Caprese Pasta

At this point I have to come clean with a problem that my husband and I have. We are Caprese Crazy!! We are officially obsessed with Caprese anything...pizza, sandwiches, burgers, salads & now pasta!!!!! I fear its uncontrollable & I won't be surprised if this becomes a favorite flavor combination for my baby since Ive indulged so much during this pregnancy! We just can't get enough of the simple, delicious flavors.

What You Will Need: Pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, butter, flour, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese & milk.

The first thing you need to do is put about a cup of the balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan and place it over a low flame. We are going to reduce the vinegar till its a thick reduction to drizzle over the top of our finished pasta dish. Keep it on a low simmer and check it often during the rest of the cooking process till it has thicken and can coat the back of a spoon.

Get your pot of salted water boiling & cook your pasta to your liking. Set aside but reserve a mug full of the starchy cooking liquid for later use.

Next step is to make the cream sauce or a Bechamel sauce. Start by making a roux. Melt a tablespoon or so of butter & whisk in the flour. Allow the raw flour to cook out before adding the liquid.

Add in your milk, bring back to a simmer and check the thickness, adding more milk if necessary. Sprinkle in your chopped basil, season with salt and pepper.

Parmesan cheese goes in next, taste, adjust and then remove the sauce from the pan and set aside. 

Dice up your tomatoes & cube the mozzarella into small pieces.

Place your cooked pasta into the pan, toss in the diced tomatoes.

Ladle in some of your basil cream sauce and toss. Add in a little at a time, you don't want the sauce to take over the dish. If the mixture seems to thick, add in some of the cooking liquid from boiling the pasta. Turn off the heat and throw in the mozzarella cheese.

Serve up a good portion of the pasta, drizzle with the balsamic reduction and an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Good thing that no one was timing me when I ate this because Im pretty sure it was gone in 2 minutes. Currently, this is my new favorite way to enjoy the traditional caprese flavors.

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Green Chili Burgers

I love a good classic cheese burger. Meat, cheese & bun, nothing to take away from the flavor of beef and melted cheese....but.....I also love using the classic as a blank slate for whatever flavors I'm craving & like I've said before, Im always craving Mexican!

So how about a burger filled with 3 different green chilies & topped with spicy cheese??.....

Yes, Please!!

First we need to start by charring up your peppers about 30 minutes ahead of time. Please refer back to my old post on how to char peppers. 

http://littlechefashleykae.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-to-char-roast-peppers.html

What You Will Need: Ground beef, charred poblano pepper, charred jalapeño, half a can of diced green chilies, cilantro, onion, chili powder, cumin, tortilla chips & pepper jack cheese.

Start by dicing up all your chilies and place then in a mixing bowl. Add in your diced onions.

Mix in your ground beef. Season with a good tablespoon of chili powder. 

Add in your cumin, salt, pepper and chopped cilantro.

Taking a good handful of your tortilla chips, pulse them in a food processor or simply place them into a sealed bag and crush them up as best you can. Add them into the mixture as a binder and another flavor element. Place the mixture in the fridge so all the flavors can marinate together!

Form your patties to your desired size. I picked up a burger press at the local dollar store that actually works pretty well. Place your patties on a hot grill, flipping only once! You can also pan sear the patties if its not the grilling time of the year.

Once your burger is cooked to your desired doneness, turn off the heat and top with your cheese. Close the lid and allow the cheese just a minute or so to melt. 

To serve, get as crazy as you would like. I had just made a big batch of salsa with some fresh, local tomatoes and onions, so of course a couple big spoonfuls topped this burger! 

Feel free to top with sliced avocado, pico, salsa verde, hot sauce or sour cream.

How good does this burger look?!? I'm craving another one while posting this! My need for Mexican flavors is never satisfied! 

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

PIZZA ROLLS!

My husband, like a lot of guys out there love pizza rolls. You know, the ones you get out of the frozen food isle, place on a foil lined baking sheet and hope that you heat them just right so all the filling doesn't blow out the sides.

My husband also loves egg rolls, so with some extra wonton wrappers I thought that I would take a stab at combining his two loves into one. 

Lets just say right now, it was a huge success!! 

Now the beauty of these, is that you can fill them with whatever you like! Pick your favorite pizza toppings or do multiple flavors! I went the supreme route this time, but I know Ill be making these again for my nieces & nephews who would love the classic cheese & pepperoni!! 

What You Will Need: Wonton wrappers, cheese, bell pepper, onion, pepperoni, bacon, olives (green or black) & tomato sauce. 

I cooked these in my little deep fryer, but I have done oven baked egg rolls before so if that is the way you would like to go, just preheat your oven to the temperature on the wonton wrapper.

In a bowl, you just need to start giving a small dice to all your ingredients. Pepperoni & onions.

Bell pepper & Bacon.

Black olives and Banana peppers, which were a last minute throw in once I spotted them in my fridge.

Add in a couple spoonfuls of the tomato sauce & season with salt and pepper. Now a couple big handful of cheese. Mix well.

Lay out your wonton wrapper, and dip your finger into some water. Get the four sides of the wrapper damp, this helps seal and hold the roll together.

Have one of the wrapper corners pointing at you, and place a couple spoonfuls of the pizza filling in the center. Bring up the corner and wrap it around the filling.

Tuck in your sides and then roll it on forward nice and tight. 

Continue to wrap and roll the rest. I lined them on a piece of wax paper that I sprayed with a light coat of non stick spray.

Once your fryer is hot, drop them in. I was able to fit 3 at a time & I placed the basket over top of them so they wouldn't float up and only cook on one side. 

Once they were golden brown I laid them onto a plate lined with some paper towel to drain off the extra oil. Then they got a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some chopped flat leaf parsley. 

Crispy on the outside, hot and savory on the inside!!

 I made a salad to have with these as a healthy side option but all that did was waste tummy room for more of these awesome rolls!!

After my husbands first bite, he told me that I have now forever ruined his beloved frozen pizza rolls & he will no longer be able to enjoy them the same again. 

I tell you what, Im not upset about that at all!! 

-------------------------

Enjoy & Always Cook with LOVE!