Sloppy Pockets

Happy February Everyone!  The boy and I just got back from San Francisco and it was WONDERFUL! While we were there, I saw an ad on TV for Super Bowl food and got the idea for these little gems I call "Sloppy Pockets".  They are super easy to make and quite portable - we will be taking them for lunch all this week.  Hope you like them!

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp BBQ sauce (pick your favorite - I like Bubba Stubbs)
2 tubes of buttermilk biscuits

Directions
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, pepper, and garlic.  Cook for 5 mins.  Add turkey and brown.  Add marinara, ketchup, and BBQ sauce.  Stir to mix and continue to simmer until sauce is incorporated and thickened.  Remove from heat.  Open tubes of biscuits and pull them apart.  Squish each individual biscuit flat with fingers, then spoon small amount of sloppy joe mixture into center of flattened biscuit.  Fold over into crescent shape and pinch edges to close.  Place pockets onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.

Homemade Granola!

Happy winter everyone!  It's been a loooooooong time since I last posted, so I decided I'd share a really good one with you - homemade granola!  It's crazy good, hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
3 cups oats
1-1/2 cups nuts (I used almonds)
1/2 to 3/4 cups sweetener (honey, maple syrup, agave syrup)
1/4 to 1/2 cups oil (I used canola)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup coconut flakes (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
1 egg white (optional)

Directions
 Measure out the oats, nuts, salt, spices, and chocolate chips into a large bowl.  Add sweetener, oil,  and egg white.  Stir, stir, stir! Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  Bake at 300F for 45 minutes, stirring pan contents every 15 minutes to get even browning.

Helpful Notes
- If you don't want loose granola and prefer chunkier bits, don't stir while baking.  Be careful, though, the sides might start to get a wee-bit crispy.

- If you would rather have solid chocolate chips and not melting chocolate chips, add the chocolate AFTER baking.

- You can use olive oil instead of canola, but it'll give the granola a little bit of a bitter taste - but, maybe you like bitter. :)

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Hi everyone!  It's been awhile since I posted last.  Thanksgiving and family time and what-not. . . .  But I just had some left overs of this recipe and I thought, "I must share this. . . NOW!"  Seriously, it's that durn good - plus it makes a TON, so woot-woot, freezer leftovers!

Ingredients
~2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed or frozen, either works)
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1 package of low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup low-fat sour cream or non-fat, plain greek yogurt (optional)

Directions
Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Mix next three ingredients together in a separate bowl (or large liquid measuring cup), then pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, on high for 4 hours.  When finished cooking, use two forks to shred the chicken breasts.  The mixture will appear to have too much liquid at first, but after shredding the chicken should absorb most of the liquid.  If desired, mix the sour cream (greek yogurt) into the shredded mixture.  Serve on warmed tortillas with a little Mexican blend cheese on top and a side of black beans for a yummy dinner!

Helpful Notes
- This will make a LOT of food, but it freezes really well.  So, if you aren't a fan of the same dish two nights in a row, freeze and enjoy this dish a week later!

- When I made this, the idea of mixing the greek yogurt into the shredded meat mixture didn't appeal to my boyfriend.  So, I left it out of the shredded mixture and then just topped mine with a dollop of greek yogurt - yum!

Cherry Cheesecake

This recipe is the brainchild of a dear friend of mine and it may be the best cheesecake I have ever had.  And though I have never made it myself, I can promise you it is totally amazing.  So, get ready for something really magical - and remember, always add more cherries. ;)

Ingredients

Crust:

¾ cup walnuts

¾ cup almond meal (or almond flour) 

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons margarine

1-2 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:

Butter (for pan)

1lb Farmer’s cheese

1lb cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

1 tbs cornstarch

1 can cherry pie filling (for filling and topping divided)

½ c to 1 cup sour cream for topping

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Crust:

Butter a 9 in spring form pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse walnuts until fine.  Add almond flour, sugar and cinnamon and process briefly to blend. Cut margarine into small pieces and add until crust mixture becomes moist. Pour into bottom of spring form pan and press to cover bottom and seam of pan.  Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Filling:

Reduce temperature of oven to 300 deg. Beat farmers cheese and cream cheese to make as smooth as possible. Add sugar, vanilla, eggs to make the mixture creamy and smooth. Blend in sour cream and cornstarch. Place half of the batter in the pan.

Place canned cherries in a bowl.  Remove cherries with fingers and shake off excess filling.  Scatter cherries in the batter (as many as you want). Pour in some more batter, add more cherries. Swirl some filling on the top.

Bake cheesecake at 300 deg for 1 to 1.5 hr (or until it jiggles like a custard).  Mix sour cream and remaining cherry filling, sugar, and vanilla to taste. Carefully spoon over top.  Return to oven to bake .5 hr more. 

Remove cake from oven.  Let cool.  Refrigerate overnight.

Helpful Notes (from the Recipe's Author):

- The 1 lb of farmer's cheese and cream cheese is not strict - she uses what she has

- If you can't buy farmer's cheese where you live, you can make it by boiling whole milke for awhile and then pouring it through cheese cloth.  (This would be an appropriate step for our all-star readers who are more the Suzy Homemaker/Amish Cheesemaker type . . . I can see myself buying the cheese. . . )

- It's common for the cake to crack a bit.  This is why the frosting is a good idea -  make the cake more presentable/professional.  (Also, who doesn't love frosting???)

Holiday Popcorn Cake

This recipe comes from my boyfriend's mom, and it looks like the perfect kind of yummy treat to take to holiday parties.  She suggests using holiday-appropriate M&Ms to make it fun and festive.  I'm definitely making this for our "Ugly Sweater Holiday Party" this year - yum!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons plus 1/4 vegetable oil
12 cups popped popcorn (be sure to use plain, unsalted, unbuttered popcorn)
2 cups M&Ms candies
1 cup lightly salted cocktail peanuts
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound marshmallows

Directions
Grease a large cake pan with 2 teaspoons oil, set aside.  In large bowl, mix the popped corn with the candies and peanuts.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter, remaning 1/4 cup of oil, and marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  When mixture has melted, pour over popcorn mix, then stir to combine.  Pour into cake pan, press down firmly to fit, then cover with aluminum foil and allow it to rest until firm (about 3-4 hours).  To serve, invert cake onto a large platter and shake gently to release.  Serve at room temperature in small slices.  Enjoy and happy holidays!

Helpful Notes
- I haven't actually made this yet, so when I do, I will report back!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This recipe comes from my lovely sister and it is definitely a crowd-pleaser (and super easy, so good stuff all around).  In general, this works for whatever sized pork roast is on sale at the grocery, but my sister has also used this for chicken and beef and it's turned out great each time.  So, pick your favorite meat and get ready for a reminder of summer time picnics!

Ingredients
1 chuck roast or pork loin or some frozen chicken breast - whatever tickles your fancy
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions
Mix last three ingredients together, pour over meat in slow cooker, and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4 hours.  Once everything is done cooking, use two forks to shred the meat.  (The mix will probably look like it's going to be too wet, but once you shred up the meat, everything soaks in and you get a nice liquid/meat ratio.) Serve on buns with a pickle and enjoy!

Helpful Notes
- I used Newman's Own Light Italian dressing and it worked really well, plus it's pretty low in calories, so win-win.

- I served this on King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and it was magical.  I definitely recommend them!

- You can also add a little coleslaw on top of your pulled pork  sandwich and it's quite yummy. :)

4 Ingredient Potato Soup

Last week, as I was pinning away, I saw this recipe and thought it seemed super easy and likely quite yummy - I was 100% correct.  :)  (I will post the reference link later.)  This is a slow cooker recipe, so it's great for the colder weather we are having because you come home from work and there is a warm, yummy meal waiting for you!

Ingredients
1 bag of frozen shredded hash browns
1 can low sodium cream of chicken soup
1 box (32 ounces) of low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 blocks cream cheese, softened

Directions
Mix first three ingredients into slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4 hours.  1 hour before eating the soup, add cream cheese and allow it to melt into the soup.  Add bacon bits, chives, and cheddar cheese for toppings when serving. Enjoy!

Helpful Notes
- I found the soup to be a wee-bit thick - so, when I make this again, I will either 1) add more chicken broth or 2) add some water to the mix prior to cooking.

- I used neufchatel cheese in place of cream cheese and I thought it tasted great, plus you save yourself a few calories.:)

- The recipe said to cook for only 8 hours max, but as a graduate student getting back to your apartment within 8 hours is nearly impossible.  So, I let mine cook for 10.5 hours on low and I thought it worked out fine.  If you have a timer on your slow cooker, though, that would be the preferred method.

- I think the next time I make this, I'm going to try and add some broccoli to the mix when I add the cream cheese.  The soup was good, but I felt it was too starchy and needed some green veggies to boost it up a bit. 

- Do note that if the cream cheese is not fully softened, you'll get lumps of cheese in your soup.  Not a terrible thing to happen, but also not the most pleasing while trying to enjoy creamy soup.

- My last tip is specifically for fellow graduate students. Adding the softened cream cheese is a particularly difficult step in my opinion.  Once you get home, the last thing you want to do is wait for cream cheese to soften (which, PS, takes FOREVER!!!) and then wait another hour for it to melt into your soup. . . terrible idea. . . So, this is what I did:  I took the cream cheese to work with me, and about an hour and a half before I went home, I took it out of the office fridge and set it on my desk.  By the time I got home, it was perfectly soft.  I whipped it in my mixer for a few minutes to make it extra creamy, then added it to the soup.  It was perfect and it melted super fast.  In about fifteen minutes, the cream cheese was melted, the soup was creamy, and dinner was served!