Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Baked Brie Bites

One of the reasons I love this little recipe is the fact that I can make as many as I want. If I'm craving a little snack, I can make just a couple of these at a time. If I have company coming over and want to make a quick appetizer, I can whip up a whole batch of these in no time to keep guests busy until dinner. The ease of making these is also why they can be dangerous. You might find yourself making two or three of these bites before dinner, every day for a week. Not that I would do any such thing....

Though I came across this recipe on Pinterest here, this recipe and many variations can be found...adding jams or fruit preserves, varying the types of nuts or cheese used...around the Internet (links to some follow).

I not only liked the flavor of these but I loved the texture...the crunch of the shell and nuts, the creaminess of the cheese and honey. Great little snack that also looked pretty good presentation wise.

Except for the mini phyllo shells I usually have all the ingredients for the Baked Brie Bites on hand which makes this a quick appetizer or snack to put together.  And since these can be so addicting, I may just start keeping those phyllo shells in the freezer for quick ideas like this.

 

BAKED BRIE BITES

Mini Phyllo Tarts
Brie
Dark Brown Sugar
Chopped Pecans
Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Directions are for one brie bite:

Put a cube of brie (or a good melting cheese of your choice) in the middle of each phyllo tart. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar over the cheese in the tart. Top with the pecans. Drizzle some honey over the top of everything. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Note: I used Athens Mini Fillo Shells (there were 15 shells in the box), Small Bees Pure Raw Unfiltered Wildflower Honey US grade B (local from Los Gatos).

Note: The cheese kind of melts down a bit so you can see in my photos that the bites weren't as filled as most you'll see. I've tried to put in more cheese but then there wasn't room for the nuts and such. And I liked lots of nuts and sugar and honey in mine.

Really like this recipe and looking forward to trying all it's little variations.

More Baked Brie Bites Recipes:

Baked Brie Bites from Plain Chicken

Raspberry Brie Bites from Food.com

Mini Brie Bites from She Wears Many Hats

Brie and Honeyed Pear Tarts  from Athens Foods and Weight Watchers

Hot Brie Kisses from Recipe Girl

 

Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Like everyone else I get cravings. The other day I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich. Like, really craving, can't think of anything else, must have a grilled cheese sandwich. The thing was I was also craving pizza.  Like, if I don't have pizza now I'm going to go running in the streets screaming for the pizza man. But I thought making a grilled cheese sammie and getting a large pepperoni pizza probably wouldn't make my arteries very happy. And running through the streets screaming for the pizza guy (visions of me chasing after the Round Table delivery guy comes to mind) would probably get me committed. It was then that I remembered seeing this on Pinterest. A Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Still...my arteries kinda cringed in horror at the thought of all the calories and fat in a sandwich like that. And I could hear the disapproving voice of the Wii lady going "ohhhh" when I stepped on the scale (she's such an annoying beeotch isn't she?). So I compromised. Along with a regular package of pepperoni, I picked up a package of turkey pepperoni at the grocery store (I know, there are those of you who swear that this is just wrong on so many levels but sometimes you gotta fake it to make it). I also used some sourdough bread I had on hand to make the sandwich and instead of real butter, I used Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil (half the calories!).

And you know what? The sandwich didn't turn out half bad. I still got some of the pepperoni flavor in my grilled cheese and I didn't notice the lower caloric butter at all (sorry but I just refuse to use margarine or that fake butter stuff). Mr. L loved his Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich...which I made with regular pepperoni (he didn't seem to notice the low cal canola butter).

So for my friends out there that are trying to watch calories and such, try making this with whole wheat bread, turkey pepperoni and some low cal cheese and butter. The rest of you can use all the fattening foods you want...just be ready to be addicted. This is one tasty sandwich!

PIZZA GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Four slices of bread (whatever kind you prefer)
Butter
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
pepperoni (regular or turkey)
Italian Seasoning
PIzza Sauce for dipping

Make a grilled cheese sandwich (at this point I could give you directions on how to do this but I'm pretty sure you can figure that out for yourself). Add a dash of the italian seasoning to the inside of the sandwich before cooking. Serve with some pizza sauce for dipping.

NOTE: I made two sandwiches, one with regular pepperoni and one with turkey pepperoni.

NOTE: I used Francisco Sourdough Bread, Contadina Canned Tomato Sauce, Hormel Pepperoni (both regular and turkey), Precious Mozzarella, Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil

NOTE: I didn't have pizza sauce so I just used a can of tomato sauce and doctored it up with some more Italian Seasoning to make my pizza sauce.

Though I've run across this recipe many times over the years, it was the pin of Forkfull of Comfort that brought it back on my radar. You can see her post here.

Obviously this can be changed up in many ways. Adding different cheeses, using different breads, changing the pizza sauce up by adding more garlic etc. If you look up Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwich you can find recipes for many variations on the interwebs.

Thankfully my cravings were satisfied, the Wii lady didn't complain to much and the pizza man was saved from the crazy stalker.

 

Apple Pie Baked In Apples

This is one of the first recipes I saw on Pinterest and thought "awesome idea"!  So it ended up being one of the first dishes I made during my "must create stuff from Pinterest" phase I went through last month (and, ahem, am still going through).

I did cheat a bit though. This also fulfilled my Operation Pantry Project as my Mom's niece had sent us some wonderful jarred homemade apple pie filling. To say it went perfectly in this dish was an understatement. The filling was so flavorful and it made putting this creation together quick and easy.

I did have a bit of trouble with the pie dough staying at the top of the apple while cooking (you can see how some of it slide down the side to the bottom). I think next time I need to make the dough strips smaller?

This was a fun dish to make and also made quite a nice impression for dessert. And I'd suggest showing folks your "before" cooking apple as that really does look impressive!

Not sure where the original idea came from as there seem to be pins from many different sources.

APPLE PIE BAKED IN APPLES

4 Baking Apples
Apple Pie Filling (your own or premade)
Pie Crust (Homemade or Pre-Made)

Pre-heat over to 375 degrees.

Cut off the top of the apples and discard. Cut slivers off the bottom of the apple (be careful not to cut too much) so that the apple sits squarely. Carefully remove the inside of each of the four apples with a spoon or melon baller so that you don't puncture the peel (you want to make a bowl for the filling to reside in).

Spoon your apple pie filling into the apple bowls.

Roll out pie crust and cut into strips. Cover top of the apple in a lattice pattern with the pie crust strips.

Place apples in an 8x8 pan. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft. Serves 4

Note: I used granny smith apples. I set them on the counter at the grocery store to make sure that they were almost flat. People gave me looks. They were just a "bit" tough, so I may experiment with other types of apples or longer cooking times.

Note: Some of the recipes talk about using the innards from the apples you've scooped out and cutting up additional apples to make your own pie filling. Since I already had pie filling, I didn't use the inards of the apples. I threw that away. I know, wasteful. You are a better person than I if you can use it.

Note: I actually had a bit of leftover pie filling after filling the two apples so I took the leftover dough, pieced it together and made a free form tart. I'm thinking you could do the reverse...make these if you find you've made too much pie filling for your apple pie.

Note: I used pre-made pie dough. I bought a "natural" brand instead of my regular Pillsbury brand. It was dry and immediately cracked when I unrolled it. Next time I'll  either make my own dough or use Pillsbury.

Note: I made the lattice a bit thick and the ones on the end actually slide down the side of the apple. On one of the apples, I had used a bit of the sticky apple pie filling, smeared it around the top of the apple thinking this would hold the pie dough in place but no deal. Not sure what I can do to keep the dough from sliding down?

Note: Though I saw longer cooking times for the recipe, my pie crust was done way before these longer times. I think the apple would have benefited from a longer cooking time but I also didn't want the apple to be mush.

We really enjoy these and I suspect a good deal of that was the awesome apple pie filling from my Mom's niece. I need to make these again. Which mean someone needs to send me some more pie filling (hint hint :)

 

 

Blueberry Cheese Rolls

This Blueberry Cheese Roll was a very quick, flavorful way to get breakfast on the table. Though there were far too many calories in this for me to make on a regular basis this was a great way to use up some leftover fresh blueberries and put a warm breakfast on the table.

I originally pinned this on Pinterest (where the link no longer seems to work)  but it can be found on the Kraft Foods site here. It's simply crescent rolls, cream cheese, sugar and blueberries, but together they made something a little decadent.

I did not "form" these the way they showed on Pinterest or the Kraft site. Those took all four edges of the dough and brought them together. As I was rushing to get this in the oven so that I wasn't the woman who took an hour to get ready in the morning and made everyone late, I just brought two edges together. I think I saved 2.4 seconds of cooking time by doing this. I don't think it made a difference in anything but how quick we made it out the door that day.

I have made some exchanges to the original recipe they posted here.

BLUEBERRY CHEESE ROLLS
(Kraft Foods)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Pillsbury Original Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
4 oz (1/2 of 8-oz pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup (or more) blueberries, divided

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Unroll dough into four rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal.

Combine cream cheese and brown sugar; spread onto dough rectangles to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top evenly with blueberries. Bring opposite corners of rectangles together; press together to seal. Place on un-greased baking sheet.

Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Serves 4

Note: Their original recipe used Neufchatel Cheese, I used full fat cream cheese. Original recipe used regular sugar and I substituted brown sugar.

Note: I would spread the cream cheese closer to the edge of the dough next time and maybe put a few more blueberries closer to the points. This might not have been an issue if I had brought all four ends of the dough together.

Note: Calories listed for just one of these puppies was 350 with 19 grams of fat and 34 grams of carbs. Since I used full fat cream cheese, the calorie count will be more.

Note: Original recipe states you can substitute 1/2 cup chopped red or green apples and 2 Tbsp. raisins for the blueberries.

Note: You can sprinkle 1 tsp sifted powdered sugar just before serving to make this over the top.

Note: I probably overcooked these a bit. I blame the cat Tiggher who was screaming to be fed before I was.

Nice sweet little breakfast that is also easy to transport if one is running late and has to carry it out the door while trying to get a jacket on and grabbing keys from purse.

Sautéed Shrimp with Chardonnay-Dijon Cream Sauce

This Sauteed Shrimp with Chardonnay-Dijon Cream Sauce is one of the first dishes that I pinned that I actually made. I needed something quick last summer to make while we were on vacation, something that was tasty but wouldn't require too much effort (I mean really, after sleeping in, sitting on the deck all day reading, and watching movies I was just too tired to want to cook LOL).

I have no idea how I came across this recipe but I found it on a blog (that no longer seems active) called Cook By Your Wits. The recipe though, comes from Wolfgang Puck and has been written up in newspapers and such since 2006 (to coincide with the 78th Annual Oscars back then).

Mr. L and I really liked the sauce in this dish. Quick to put together, this makes a great weeknight meal and is a good way to use up any leftover Chardonnay you might have. Though the sauce is awesome, there really wasn't enough for us, especially since we had this as a main dish. We ended up with too much pasta (I used angel hair). Next time I would double the sauce.

 

SAUTEED SHRIMP WITH CHARDONNAY-DIJON CREAM SAUCE
(Wolfgang Puck)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and White Pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Chardonnay
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Italian parsley, chopped
Pasta or rice, cooked

Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add oil. Add shrimp to pan in single layer. Let cook for about 2 minutes on one side. Turn over and cook about 2 minutes more. Do not overcook. Remove from pan and set aside, covered with foil to keep warm.

Raise heat under pan to high. Add wine and let reduce by half. Reduce heat and add cream. Reduce slightly and add mustard. Simmer about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning.

Add the shrimp and parsley to the sauce and simmer briefly to heat up the shrimp. Serve with rice or pasta as entree, or by itself as a starter.

Serves 4.

Note: I of course used Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard.

Note: I didn't add the parsley to the sauce. It didn't state how much parsley so I didn't want to use too much and then completely forgot to put some in.

Note: We served this over angel hair pasta.

Note: To cut down calories in this dish, make the shrimp and sauce and then serve it over a bed of wilted spinach.

Again, loved the taste of the dish, but wished there had been more sauce. We plan on making this often. We tend not to be big white wine drinkers so there is usually some leftover Chardonnay when we open a bottle which will gladly be put to use in this dish.

This recipe came from my I SEAFOOD I EAT IT Pinterest Board.

 

Pork-and-Tofu Stir-Fry

I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of tofu, though there are several tofu centric dishes I've loved over the years. The Phantom used to make a wonderful tofu enchilada that the first time I tried it, I had no idea was made from tofu (lots of cheese might have helped). Mr. L also made a fried tofu dish years ago, that I loved the flavor of. But I tend to bypass most recipes that call for any types of tofu.

Of course, you tell me that you're going to add pork to tofu, I might just give the recipe a second glance. Which is what I did when I found this recipe for Pork and Tofu Stir Fry in the May 2009 issue of Food & Wine magazine.

This was okay, but I felt it could have been better. I loved the flavor of the sauce but it didn't coat the meat/tofu/veggies enough for me. The sauce was very "liquid" so I'd like it to be a bit more syrupy, a bit thicker. Next time I would cut the leeks a bit smaller and simmer the liquid longer so that it reduces more.

This was a quick dish to put together and the sauce had a nice flavor so I'd make this again with the changes mentioned.

 

PORK AND TOFU STIR-FRY
(Food & Wine May 2009)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound pork loin, cut into 1 1/2-by-1/4 inch strips
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of crushed red pepper
1 large leek-halved and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Add the pork, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry over high heat until cooked, 2 minutes.  Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the garlic and crushed pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the leek and 1/4 cup of the stock, cover and cook until the leek is softened, 2 minutes. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of stock and bring to a simmer. Add the tofu, then stir in the pork, hoisin, vinegar and sesame oil. Transfer to bowls and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: The leeks were a bit too big for me so I'd cut them smaller next time.

Note: I'd simmer the liquid longer to reduce it a bit more.

Note: This went well over rice and would work over couscous or quinoa.

Saucy Mama's Lime Chipotle Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Still continuing my Operation Pantry Project, I came across a bottle of Saucy Mama's Lime Chipotle Marinade. I checked on the Saucy Mama's website where they have a ton of recipes using their products, but didn't find anything that tickled my taste buds. I then searched online and found this pulled pork recipe from A La Carte Kitchen. The fact that it could be made in the slow cooker made the recipe sound even better.

Super simple to make, you throw everything in the crock pot and let it do it's thing for 8-10 hours (makes this a nice slow cooker dish if you're not sure you'll be home on time). I served it between some wheat sandwich rolls, with some packaged cole slaw.

This turned out okay. The pulled pork did have a nice taste and it made a ton of sauce (maybe too much for the sandwich) which made it great to serve over mashed potatoes later. I think my problem was with the coleslaw and bread. The coleslaw was store bought and had no flavor which made a nice crunch in the sandwich but I think I wanted something a bit tangier to go with the pulled pork. The wheat bread buns I used completely fell apart when you tried to eat the sandwich. I'd use a sturdier roll next time. Bread that's a bit chewier. But I did like the Saucy Mama's Lime Chipotle Marinade and would use it again.

You can find the recipe for the Pulled Pork on A La Carte Kitchen's blog here:

SAUCY MAMA'S LIME CHIPOTLE PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

Note: I used pork butt. I used whole wheat sandwich buns. I used packaged coleslaw. I used KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce.

Again, though the pulled pork made with the Saucy Mama marinade was fine, the dish as a whole didn't turn out so great. I was trying to be healthy and save calories buy using the whole wheat buns and cheap coleslaw. I did love the Saucy Mama's Lime Chipotle Pulled Pork over mashed potatoes and think it would work over rice or polenta too.

Note: Though I was sent this sauce from another blogger in a giveaway, I have not been compensated for this post nor was I asked or requested to blog about this marinade.

Balsamic-Glazed Short Ribs

I found a three pound package of beef short ribs in the freezer that I decided to pull out as my next Operation Pantry Project meal. I then went looking for a slow cooker recipe thinking that would probably be the best way to cook the ribs. I found this recipe in The Italian Slow Cooker (via Eat Your Books) and though I didn't have the right amount of short ribs, thought that a balsamic glaze sounded good.

This dish tasted pretty good, though I did have a few problems. My short ribs didn't turn out as tender as I would have liked. That may have been because I used a large crock pot and I didn't have the right amount of beef ribs (I did make the entire amount of sauce though). My rosemary sprig completely fell apart during the cooking process so I had to strain the liquid before I reduced it. Alas, the strainer also retained much of the bits of garlic that had been in the sauce. Yes, I stood there trying to get little bits of garlic out of the strainer from among the rosemary leaves before realizing I probably looked like an idiot. I decided that whatever garlic was already in the sauce would have to work cuz pickin' the little bits out wasn't working for me. I don't think anyone noticed the lack of garlic bits in the finished sauce.

I never got the "glaze" the recipe was calling for. It took a good 20 minutes before I had a decent sauce. I think part of the problem was I didn't get as much of the fat off the sauce as I would have liked. Since I didn't allocate twenty minutes to make the sauce, I took some of the sauce out at the 10 minute mark of reducing to serve Mr. L and take photos (so the photo above has a very watery sauce compared to what I served).

Even with the problems, the sauce had a wonderful flavor. We used it over rice for one meal and over potatoes the next. Making extra sauce even though we didn't have the full amount of ribs called for turned out to be a great idea for leftovers too as it kept the short rib meat somewhat moist.

BALSAMIC-GLAZED SHORT RIBS
(The Italian Slow Cooker)

1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, well trimmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 3-inch fresh rosemary sprig

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the meat dry and add only as many pieces to the pan as will fit comfortably without crowding. Cook until nicely browned on all sides. Transfer the meat to a large slow cooker and brown the remaining meat. Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper to taste.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and vinegar and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan. Pour the liquid over the ribs and add the rosemary.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the ribs are very tender. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and discard the rosemary sprig and any loose bones. Cover the ribs and keep warm.

Skim the fat off the liquid. Pour the remaining sauce into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced and slightly thickened. Spoon the sauce over the ribs and serve hot.

Serves 6

Note: With my big crock pot, I would try to use the full amount of meat called for next time. Either that or use short ribs that probably haven't been in the freezer half a decade (okay, not that long, but I don't even remember when I bought them so they had been in there a bit).

Note: I would think about maybe putting the rosemary into a bit of cheesecloth before tossing it in so it wouldn't disintegrate in the sauce. Or maybe I needed to use a fresher piece of rosemary sprig? Not sure if that would make a difference in it falling apart during cooking.

Note: In retrospect, I may not have had the heat up enough to reduce the liquid. I would have liked more of a "glaze" than a sauce, though the sauce was excellent.

Even though this took more time than just dropping everything into the slow cooker (you have to brown the meat, saute the garlic and liquid beforehand and then spend the time reducing liquid after) I did like the flavor. Since we usually have beef short ribs in the freezer, I think this is a great recipe to have on hand.

 

Creamy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

While having some potato soup at a local establishment, Mom mentioned the Broccoli Cheddar soup that we used to get at Marie Calendars. Since the weather seemed to be getting colder, I thought a Creamy Broccoli Cheddar soup would be prefect. Though you can find it at various restaurants, if you don't get there when the soup is freshly made, you can end up with a thick gummy mess that you could basically cut with a knife. And I find most of the soups you tend to get at chain restaurants these days are way to salty for my taste. And lets be honest, just how "fresh" are these soups or are they coming from a can because half the time I don't really taste the broccoli.

But which cookbook had recipes for the soup? I decided to use one of my favorite tools to find a recipe in my vast array of cookbooks...Eat Your Books* (more on that later). Sure enough, I found several books with the recipe. But quite a few of them asked for flour, potatoes or other fillers to be added. I wanted something that would showcase the flavor of the broccoli more. So I chose the recipe from The Cooks Country Cookbook..it seemed simple and something I could make with ease. It still had plenty of cheese and some cream, but it was made with fresh broccoli.

I was a little worried about this soup at first. It seemed much thinner than most of the broccoli cheddar soups I've had, but that turned out to not be such a bad thing. The flavor of the broccoli stood out much more than the cheddar cheese and together the soup had a wonderful fresh flavor you don't get from canned soups or those chain restaurant versions. This reheated very well (none of the coagulated mess) and my Mom said it even tasted good cold!

The preamble to the recipe states that what makes this soup so good is using the stalks of the broccoli for more flavor. It is a bit more work to peel the stalks, slice them up and make what they call a "broccoli stock" first, but I think it makes all the difference in the flavor of this soup.

Again, super simple and easy to make, perfect soup for these cold and rainy spring days we seem to be having. And healthy. Cuz it has fresh broccoli in it. Which negates any bad influence from the cream and cheese. Right?

CREAMY BROCCOLI AND CHEDDAR SOUP
(The Cooks Country Cookbook)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, stalks peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices, florets chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese, plus extra for garnish
Salt
Cayenne Pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli stalks and cook until bright green and just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the stalks are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the florets, cream, and nutmeg and simmer until the florets are tender, about 5 minutes.

Puree the soup in two batches in a blender until smooth, return to the pot, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the cheese until melted and season with salt and cayenne. Serve, garnished with extra cheese. (The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat over medium heat until hot, but do not boil or the cheese will separate.)

Taste the soup before adding any salt; both the cheese and the chicken broth can be quite salty.

Serves 6

Note: To thicken this up a bit more you could always just add more cheese. And for a more pronounced cheese taste, you might use a sharper cheddar or half sharp half mild.

Note: I think some crumbled bacon would go well as a garnish here (of course right??)

I really did like the flavor of this soup and will definitely make it again.

*Eat Your Books is a service where you can list all the cookbooks you own, and then be able to use their search engine to find recipes. All I had to do was type in "Broccoli Cheddar Soup" into my "library" list of cookbooks and it gave me 20 different recipes, the cookbook it could be found in, and an ingredient list of what was needed for the recipe. That way I could rule out recipes that had potatoes or flours, two ingredients I didn't want in my Broccoli Cheddar Soup. They do not post the actual recipe. What this meant was that I didn't have to pull out a ton of cookbooks just to find the one recipe I needed. Think of the service as a giant index that covers all the cookbooks you own.

 

Crunchy Oven-Fried Drumsticks

In my quest to use up stuff in my pantry I was pleased to see that the guys at The Bitten Word had their own pantry challenge. Their Clean Out the Cupboard challenge though was a bit different than mine...For one week, all three meals they made each day, were only made from stuff they had in their freezer or pantry. They only spent $15 at the store for milk and produce for that week. They came up with some really great sounding meals only using stuff they had on hand. I'm soooo not that talented a cook yet. My talent is to pick one item, then spend hours looking through all my cookbooks to see what I can make with that one item. Then I go buy tons of ingredients to use up that one pantry item. Pathetic I know, but believe it or not, my freezer and pantry are slowly getting less crowded.

This dish was perfect for me to start off my Operation Pantry Project a few weeks ago as it used up three items I had on hand...some chicken drumsticks that were in the freezer; some of the Rice Krispies cereal I had in the cabinet; and an envelope of Ranch Dressing Mix that was in the pantry.

This recipe also brought back a bit of nostalgia, because I don't know about you, but chicken cooked like this was pretty big while I was growing up. If I'm not mistaken the recipe used to be on the back of the Rice Krispies box at one point and most folks might remember the version made with cornflakes. The recipe I chose made a wonderful coating and the ranch dressing added just the right amount of flavor. I'm thinking I might need to make this again the next time I'm having a picnic.

When I went looking for the back of the box recipe I found many versions using all kinds of coatings and flavorings. This recipe comes from the Woman's Day website. What is cool about their recipe is that it gives many variations on the coating (think potato chips or wheat germ or pretzels!), one of which was using Cheese-It type crackers which I must try!

CRUNCHY OVEN-FRIED DRUMSTICKS
(Womans Day)

8 (3 1/2 lb) drumsticks
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal,  crushed
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
Nonstick Spray

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a jelly-roll pan or shallow roasting pan with foil. Coat with nonstick cooking spray.

Skin chicken by grasping skin with paper towels and pulling off. Or if you're like me and want to live a little dangerously calorie and fat wise, leave the skin on for flavor.

Place crisp rice cereal in a plastic ziploc bag. Add the packet of ranch dressing, close the bag and crush the krispies with the heel of your hand (some folks say to use a rolling pin, but that's an extra step that I think is a bit overkill. Those Rice Krispies will succumb to the force of your strong hand quite easily!).

In a pie plate or shallow bowl, slightly beat egg. Coat a few drumsticks at a time in the egg mixture.

Put 1 or 2 drumsticks in the bag with the cereal coating and shake to coat chicken evenly.

Place coated drumsticks on prepared pan; lightly coat drumsticks with cooking spray. Bake 20 to 35 minutes until chicken is cooked through and coating is browned. Serves 4.

Note: I used Rice Krispies and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Note: I didn't pulverize the Rice Krispies...instead I left bigger pieces. Some of the coating turned out great on the chicken while some pieces had a much finer coating. All tasted the same though the look was different.

Note: Yes, I did leave on the skin.

Alas, the recipe does not include any nutritional information. I estimated that the drumsticks were about 200 calories each and that the carb count would be about 12 per drumstick. But don't quote me on that.