Baby Feet

Is there anything cuter?  I wish she could just stay small forever. Tessa Jean melts my heart! I must say though, these cute little feet kick pretty darn hard. I keep my distance.

Chipotle BBQ Chicken Pizza

Being a Midwest girl, I love my BBQ. BUT I also love adding some spice to all my sweet things as well. As with a lot of my recipes you can modify them to make them more or less complex. For this one I did not make my own crust (I know, I know, it's Sunday and I'm lazy.) But I did make my own BBQ sauce which you obviously don't have to do.

• 1 Premade thin crust (Or be adventurous and make your own.)
• 1/2 Cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup of Ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons of Worsh Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of Adobo Sauce
• 1 Diced Adobo Chipotle Pepper
• 1/4 Cup of Rum (Oh yeeeeah)
• Garlic Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1/2 Cup of Diced, Cooked, Seasoned Chicken
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Red Onion
• 1 1/2 Cups of Mozzarella Cheese Grated

Preheat oven to 400.

For the BBQ Sauce combine the worsh, ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, peppers, dry mustard, and adobo sauce over a medium low skillet for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of BBQ over the crust. Top with chicken, red onions, and then the cheese.

Cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is nice and charred at the top.

Enjoy!

C

Burger Bar

Okay. The Burger Bar was a success. How do I know this?  My husband closed his eyes and did not utter a word during dinner except a few groans.

The Cast of Characters includes but is not limited to:

• Sliced Avocados
• Diced Serrano Peppers
• Caramelized Onions
• Mushrooms
• Your Choice of Cheese (I used Munster, the hubby used Crumbled Blue)
• Bacon Chunks (Yes I said chunks, we don't do bits in the Parisse household!)
• Roasted Head of Garlic
• Chipotle Mayo (You can buy it but I made my own.)
• A Pound of Ground Beef
• An Egg
• Parmesan
• Garlic Pepper (I don't ever use regular pepper if you haven't noticed.)
• Salt

If you want the exact details of what I did then keep reading, but honestly you can pretty much mix and match all your favorite burger toppings on your own.

BURGERS: Toss the ground beef with an egg and some parmesan to hold it together. Form it into patties and make a thumb print in the center to ensure even cooking. Then heat up your skillet to medium high (I don't have a grill. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous.)  Throw a tablespoon of butter on the grill and cook the patties on each side with some garlic pepper and salt for 4 minutes for medium well.

CHIPOTLE MAYO: If you're interested in making the chipotle mayo, simply mix about 6 tablespoons on mayo with 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce.

ROASTED GARLIC: To roast your garlic head, slice off the top of the head and place in an oven safe dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Once it's cooled you can literally just squeeze out the cloves. Since learning how easy this is I now add garlic to everything. Pasta, Sandwiches, Burgers, Ice Cream... yadda yadda.

BACON: You can cook your bacon however your heart desires, but I stick mine in a cold oven, turn it to 375 for 20 minutes and then do it all over again because I ate it all.

CARAMELIZED ONIONS: To caramelize the onions, slice them into strips and cook over medium high heat for about 8 minutes with some butter. Stir the suckers constantly though or they will burn.

If you spent a lot of money on clothes this week like I did, make this for your man. It really will ease his pain.

Christina

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

 

Leave it to me to somehow make a pizza more unhealthy than it already is. But let me tell you, you won't regret it and won't have any leftovers to clean up either.

 

• 1 Pre Made Thin Pizza Crust
• 4 to 5 Chicken Strips
• 1/2 Cup of Butter
• 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 Cup of Flour
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• Salt
• Garlic Pepper
• 1/2 Stalk of Celery Chopped
• 1/2 cup of Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
• 1/2 Cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Minced Red Onion
• 1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Motz Cheese

 

Start by heating the skillet to medium high and melting the butter. Whisp the egg and milk together in a bowl. Place the flour in another bowl, and the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in another.

 

Dip the chicken in each bowl in that order until coated. Then toss it into the skillet until crispy and cooked. Chop the chicken into small chunks.

 

Preheat the oven to 400 and spread and blue cheese dressing onto the crust.

 

Next place the celery, red onions and chicken onto the pizza. 

 

Layer the pizza with the cheese on top and drizzle the hot sauce on top of the cheese. 

 

Bake in the preheated over for about 15 minutes and try not to drool too much. ;)

 

Christina

Tummy Time with Tessa

You may look at this and say "Hey! That's not a picture of food!"  No it's not, but my baby is so cute I could sure eat her up. ;)  She distracted me from cleaning the house... again. Oh well. :)

Zesty Tomato Cream Chicken Pasta

I'm a sucker for anything that has the words "Zesty" and "Wine" in it, and this pasta is no exception.  In fact, its very birth was a miracle considering my stove stopped working in the middle of it and then magically came back to life!  My original idea for this did not come to pass because I cannot seem to ever remember to buy everything on my grocery list, but perhaps it was a beautiful accident because this was dog gone good!

• 1 Packet Zesty Italian Seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons of Pesto
• 1 1/2 Cups of Half & Half
• 8 Ounces of Tomato Juice
• 1/2 Cup White Wine
• 4 Tablespoons of Flour
• 4 Tablespoons of Butter
• 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 3 Chicken Breasts Diced
• 1/2 Cup of Mushrooms
• 1/4 Cup of Parmesan
• Half a package of Angel Hair Pasta

If you have time to prep, marinate the chopped chicken with the Italian Seasoning and Pesto. Toss this in the skillet on medium high heat with the olive oil until cooked and crispy on the outside. Add in mushrooms for about a minute.  Set aside.

Turn the heat to low and whisk the butter and olive oil until a nice roux occurs. Stir in cream, tomato sauce, wine, and parmesan and let simmer while you cook your noodles.

Toss the pasta and chicken into the sauce and serve!

Christina

Morning Snuggles

I'm not a fan of winter at all, but waking up a cold morning to this beautiful little face makes it all worth it.  Wouldn't it be great if our skin always stayed this clear and our eyelashes so dark and long? :)

Chipotle Beef Enchiladas

 

I LOVE spicy food and Mexican is one of my all time favs. You can modify this to make it as spicy as you want, but this definitely has a kick to it and will make you look forward to leftovers.

 

• 10 Corn Tortillas
• 3 Adobo Chipotle Peppers
• 2 Tablespoons of Adobo Chipotle Sauce
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Packet Taco Seasoning
• 1 Can Black Beans
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• 1/2 Cup of Corn
• 1/4 Cup Diced Olives
• 2 Cans Red Enchilada Sauce (Divided)
• 1 1/2 Cups Mont Jack Cheese
• 1 1/2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 and grease a 9 by 13 baking dish.

 

Start by browning the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.  Toss in the taco seasoning, corn, chipotle peppers, and black beans and cook on medium low until tender.

 

Spread one cup of enchilada sauce evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. 

 

Add half of each shredded cheese to the beef filling and mix until melted. Spread  1/2 cup of filling into each tortilla and place face down in casserole. 

 

Lightly spray the top of the tortillas with olive oil and place in over for 10 minutes or until crispy.

 

Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the tortillas followed by the remaining cheese, diced olives, and chopped cilantro.

 

Bake in oven for 15 minutes and try not to salivate too much. ;)

 

Christina