“To Go” Breakfast Quesadillas

 

'to-go'-breakfast-quesadilla

 

For those of you who subscribe, I know you have already received a notification for one post today.  I am not a computer whiz. Far from it, so sometimes running this blog has me quite confused. I’ve been trying to make a few changes on here today. Probably nothing that you will even notice. However, to make sure that I have done everything correctly I am going to post a second recipe today.

School starts in our county on Monday. The reason I know this is because Wes has a job there this year! Those of you that have put a child through college will understand the pure joy of him having a job, making money, earning a living.  I wish I could stay young forever, with little kids forever, but that’s just not happening. College may possibly be the catalyst that parents need to push them to the point of “letting go”.  I mean, the thought of no more tuition makes me want to do a dance!! (Well, no more tuition for one child anyway.) Just knowing that he can pay for his own insurance and his own gasoline thrills me!  I could go on, but I think I’m getting a little too excited!

Here is an easy and very versatile recipe for the kiddo’s as they head back to school. Use this folding method with the ingredients you like and you’ll have a delicious and easy portable breakfast.  For convenience have a few packs of diced ham in the freezer for those rushed mornings.  You could also cook the bacon or sausage the night before and have the veggies chopped for easy a.m. preparation.  Cook the quesadillas while the kids are getting ready and keep in a warm oven.  Wrap in foil for easy traveling.

 

"To Go" Breakfast Quesadillas
 
Author:
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
  • 8 lg. eggs
  • Butter
  • 1 med. onion, finely diced
  • 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
  • 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled, drained OR
  • 1 lb. breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled, drained
  • 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed
  • 8-oz. shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Salsa, if desired
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a skillet and saute onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño until softened. Remove from skillet and set aside.
  2. Scramble eggs in the same skillet, set aside.
  3. Place a tortilla flat on counter. Add a little shredded cheese in the center of the tortilla. Keeping all ingredients in the center of the tortilla top with ¼ of the scrambled eggs and top with some of the onion and pepper mixture. Add crumbled meat of your choice. Top with some additional shredded cheese.
  4. Melt a pat of butter in your skillet while you assemble the quesadillas.
  5. With the tortilla in front of you, fold the bottom up over the filling to the center. Hold the folded piece in place and start working your way around the tortilla making folds around the quesadilla until you have completely covered the fillings. You will end up with a quesadilla that resembles a Taco Bell Crunch Wrap.
  6. Carefully place the quesadilla in the skillet, folded side down. Cook until lightly browned, then flip over and cook the other side until lightly browned. Serve with salsa, if desired.
Notes
Add chopped tomatoes, avocados, even cooked cubed hash browns to the filling, if desired.

 

Asian Pork Sliders

asian-pork-sliders

It is hot and humid here in our neck of the woods. I’m reminded daily, when I pass the parched fields of cotton and peanuts, just how much the farmers are being affected by this drought. We are in need of a slow moving tropical storm!

In this heat, I have lost all desire for cooking. The problem is, it still has to be done, and that falls under my job description. I usually prefer to grill during the hot summer months. It keeps the kitchen and house cooler, and Greg usually likes to help out with the grill.

This recipe is a fairly new find, from foodandwine.com.  I have made these sliders a few times this summer, and we love them! I usually get around 16 sliders, but you can easily make eight full-size burgers instead. They are perfect topped with mayonnaise and Sriracha and served with Napa Cabbage Salad.

 

Asian Pork Sliders
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • 3 lb. ground pork
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 lg. garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tsp. sesame oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • buns
  • Mayonnaise and Sriracha
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to high heat (about 450°F). Without handling the pork too much, mix the pork, scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pat out into 16 sliders.
  2. When the grill is ready, grill the burgers, flipping only once, until the burgers have reached an internal temperature of 160°F.
  3. During the last few minutes of grilling toast the buns if desired.
  4. Top each burger with mayonnaise and Sriracha, if desired.

 

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

chewy-oatmeal-cookies

 

When life gets hectic, I turn to baking. Baking calms my mind and soothes my soul.

Big changes for the Melton household are underway! My head is spinning with all of the adjustments that we are experiencing. After 33 years with different jobs in the same department, Greg has taken a new job. Same company but new department and new responsibilities.  He’s excited about the challenges and looks forward to doing something new. I suppose I always fear the unknown.

 Our oldest child, Wes, has a job that he starts this week! A real, full-time, paying job! He worked a lot during college. Sometimes for no pay, but always with a goal in mind. A paying job is wonderful news, especially for our bank account.

Then there’s Savannah, our baby; she will begin her junior year of college in a few weeks. She is moving out again in just two weeks. She has been busy painting furniture, making Pinterest projects, and shopping for things she’ll need out on her own.

So, with all of that being said, I recently baked. I have been cooking low-carb for several weeks now, so baking these ooey, gooey, chewy oatmeal cookies was a treat! I love a good oatmeal cookie, and these are the best. Baked in a convection oven they bake in about 5 to 7 minutes. These cookies will spread while cooking to a thin, flat cookie.  Lightly brown the edges of the cookies, leaving the middle soft. They should look slightly undercooked in the center when you remove them from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet and they will firm up as they cool.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
 
Author:
Serves: about 36 cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ c. granulated sugar
  • 1 lg. egg
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 3 c. old-fashioned oats
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp. whole milk
  • ½ c. dried cherries
  • ½ c. chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda, and salt until well blended. Stir in milk, dried cherries, and chocolate chips.
  3. Place 1 tablespoon (slightly rounded, not flat, not heaping) mounds of dough 2-inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. These cookies do spread while baking, so do not place too close together on your baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes (or 5 to 7 in convection oven), or until cooked have browned lighted on the edges but are still soft in the middle.
  5. Let the cookies cool completely at room temperature on the pan.

Low-Carb Deconstructed Pizza Casserole

 

Deconstructed-Pizza

My family has been keeping me on my toes lately requesting low-carb meals. Low-carb diets can become so boring to me. I enjoy cooking, and I like to keep things exciting. Recently, I made my week’s menu using new low-carb recipes. We had a not so good Mexican dish, some soggy zucchini boats, and a chicken dish that we hope never to see again! However, I feel that it was successful because my family found three recipes that we will make again and again. This low-carb deconstructed pizza from Kayln’s Kitchen was fabulous. It’s a super easy recipe that makes me wonder why I never thought of doing this before.

I suggest that if you prefer to use a slightly larger dish, say a 9 x 13-inch, use a little more cheese than the recipe suggests. This will make your casserole gooey and delicious. Top your casserole any way you like. We had two deconstructed pizzas for my family topped differently and they were both great. Other than using a fork, and not your hands to eat, you will never miss the crust.

 

Low-Carb Deconstructed Pizza Casserole
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. Italian Sausage
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 8 to 12-oz. fresh mushrooms, cut into thick slices, optional
  • ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1½ c. grated Mozzarella cheese
  • Topping suggestions: Pepperoni, Green Peppers, Onions, Canadian Bacon, Pineapple, Jalapeno Peppers, Banana Peppers
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray a 8 x 11-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.
  2. Pour the diced tomatoes into a colander, rinse with cold water. Let tomatoes drain well, then spread them out on paper towels to dry completely, blotting with another paper towel, if needed.
  3. Using a skillet, brown the sausage in a little extra-virgin olive oil, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain on paper-towel lined plate.
  4. Add a little more extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet and saute the mushrooms until all the liquid is released and the mushrooms are starting to brown.
  5. Layer the cooked and drained sausage in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with the dried tomatoes. Layer the mushrooms over the tomatoes and then sprinkle the ingredients with oregano, salt, and pepper.
  6. Sprinkle the cheese over the entire casserole and add topping of your choice. Bake about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve hot.

 

Peanut Butter Fingers

peanut butter fingers

 

My fascination with cooking came at an early age. It developed when I would watch my mother, grandmothers, and aunts cook and share recipes over the years.

Both sides of my family, the Glovers and the Boltons, were large families. We lived on the same dirt road as many of my Bolton family members and would visit my Glover grandparents house almost every Sunday afternoon, along with many other family members. I was never without a cousin to play with, and I cherish those memories. What I wouldn’t give for one more lazy Sunday afternoon at Ma and Pa’s house or a hot summer day on that old dirt road picking grapes off Bo and Papa’s grapevines.

When I was a little girl, Ma gave me an old Pillsbury Bake Off Cookie cookbook. The book is almost as old as I am, dated 1967. I didn’t spend a lot of time cooking when I was growing up. When I was old enough to help out around the house, my duties were dusting, washing dishes, and vacuuming. However, there was one recipe that Mama would let me cook, and I made it often. At some point Mama even allowed me to start making it without her help. That recipe came from that old 1967 cookbook that Ma had given me, and it was for Peanut Butter Fingers.

Until recently, I had not baked the tasty treats in years. The old cookbook has my childhood handwriting in it, and the page with the Peanut Butter Fingers recipe is worn and has vanilla extract stains on it. Just flipping through the book takes me back…way back!

The peanut butter fingers are chewy with a frosting of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and then topped with a sweet peanutty drizzle. It’s best to bake these in a 7 x 11-inch pan because baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan they tend to be a little dry. Watch closely and do not overbake.

 

Peanut Butter Fingers
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • ½ c. butter, softened
  • ½ c. creamy peanut butter
  • ½ c. sugar
  • ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 c. rolled oats (I used old-fashioned but original recipe calls for quick-cooking)
  • 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Drizzle:
  • ½ c. sifted confectioners' sugar
  • ¼ c. creamy peanut butter
  • 2 to 4 tbsp. milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 7 x 11-inch baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large mixer bowl beat butter until creamy. Add peanut butter and sugars, mix until combines. Add egg and mix well. Combine flour, soda, and salt, and mix into creamed mixture. Add oats and vanilla and mix until you have coarse crumbs. Press mixture into prepared pan.
  3. Bake at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely because overbaking will cause the peanut butter fingers to dry out.
  4. Sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread evenly.
  5. Mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and milk with a whisk or fork until smooth. Drizzle over the top.