Pepper Jack, Chicken, and Peach Quesadillas

Found this recipe in the August issue of Cooking Light magazine last summer and it quickly became a warm weather favorite. I suggest grilling a little extra chicken with a meal earlier in the week and saving for some for these quesadillas.  We prefer chicken thigh because it is more flavorful but breast works just fine.  You can also use rotisserie chicken to make this
recipe even easier. We think you will love the combination of flavors in this summer specialty. 

Quesadilla Ingredients
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast or thigh
1 cup thinly sliced firm ripe peaches
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Combine honey, lime juice and sour cream in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2. Place tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle some cheese over half of each tortilla; top each tortilla with chicken, peaches, and 1 teaspoon cilantro. Fold tortillas in half.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan, and top quesadillas with a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until tortillas are crisp and lightly browned (leave cast-iron skillet on quesadillas as they cook). Remove quesadillas from pan; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve with sauce.

Suggested Side:  Spinach  Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette
Combine 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin in large bowl.  Top with  fresh baby spinach and 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion.  Toss gently to coat.

Rum Raisin Bread Pudding

Sara's sister Andrea made this amazing bread pudding for Mother's Day.  It was so good, we asked her if she would like a guest feature on the blog.  Here is her version of Rum Raisin Bread Pudding.  Yum Yum Yum

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon butter

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup raisins

1 tablespoon rum

1 pinch ground cinnamon

9 slices Pepperidge Farm cinnamon raisin bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup skim milk
1 cup lowfat evaporated milk

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cake pan.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the apple, raisins, 1 tablespoon rum, and pinch of cinnamon. Cook until the apples are soft. Toss apples with bread cubes, and spoon into prepared pan.

Combine brown sugar, white sugar, 3/4 cup skim milk, evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until butter is melted. Allow to cool slightly and pour over bread cubes and apples.

Whisk the eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and apples. Cover pan with aluminum foil; bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until pudding is puffed and lightly browned, about 10 additional minutes.

Let cool for five minutes and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Condiment Corner: Pesto

Ok, so I'm a little behind on this feature. So let's get back on track with a little info on pesto.

Pesto is something my wife introduced me to a few years ago. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was italian, so how bad could it be? Turns out its delicioius. We put it on a lot of stuff now from grilled cheese to bread to pasta dishes. We've made our own, but, honestly, that's expensive and the store-bought stuff is pretty darn good. If you read our blog regularly, you'll probably see it mentioned. I know we already shared our fancy grilled cheese recipe that features pesto.

Our favorite kind is a combination of pine nuts and basil leaves with hefty portions of olive oil and usually some garlic...geez, that sounds a lot like a bunch of stuff Sara and I love already. Mix it up in a blender and spread it on your favorite stuff - bread, pasta, veggies - whatever. There is a great recipe on the back of the bag of pie nuts that Costco sells, but (1) you need a membership and (2) it sells for like $20!

Do you have a favorite pesto dish? Share it in the comments. Do you have a favorite condiment? Send us an email or a message on facebook and we'll be in touch.

Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

I don't know where Sara finds some of these recipes, but this one is fantastic.  And if you make this for friends or families, it is all but guaranteed to come out of the oven looking just as good as it tastes, making you look like a gourmet chef!

This is a three-part recipe - so it does take a little planning, but it's pretty quick to put together - so stick with us.

The Crust.  This is possibly one of the best crusts I've ever had.  Pizza chains have a hard time competing with this crust, and it's a lot better than the store-bought versions available at Kroger and Meijer.  Here's the major part of the planning - this crust is best when it's allowed to rise all day.  So whip it together in the AM before work, or on a Saturday before you get started cutting the grass or headed off to the ball games, cover it and place it in a warm spot in the house - nature and chemistry will take care of the rest.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 t instant yeast
1 t salt
2 T olive oil

Combine the flours, yeast and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in 1.5 cups of water.  The dough should be relatively sticky and wet, like biscuit batter.  If not add a little more water.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and put in a warm spot for 6 - 12 hours.

Pizza Sauce.  This is a pretty easy and really tasty sauce.  I'm a big sauce guy - that's why I love LaRosa's and probably why I loved those Tostino's pizzas Grandma used to make for us.

1 T of water
2 T chopped fresh basil
1.5 T olive oil
2 t dried oregano
1.5 t sugar
1 t minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk.  Set aside.

The Pizza.  Now the fun starts.  You've got your crust, you've got your sauce, the oven is preheating to 500 deg F, and you've got the ingredients below.  Let's make a pizza!

1 T olive oil
3/4 cup pizza sauce (above)
2 T grated fresh Parmesan
1.5 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
1 t minced garlic
1.25 cups mozzarella
1/3 cup ricotta cheese

Coat a 12" pizza pan with cooking spray- we have a 16-18" pan with 1/4" holes all over it that works really well, probably from BB&B.  We put a piece of foil on the rack underneath in the oven, just in case anything drips.  Dust your hands with flour and fold the dough over in the bowl a few times.  It will be sticky, but use only as much flour as you really need.  Pull the dough into the shape of your pan - you can try tossing it like the Papa, but we don't recommend it unless you previously worked for the Papa (John's) or at Dewey's.  We like it a little thicker at the edges, but really pretty even throughout.  Press onto the pan and drizzle with 2 T of olive oil - we use a brush to spread it around evenly.  Spread the sauce evenly on the dough, leaving a 1/4" edge for the crust - feel free to adjust to your preferences.  Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.  Top evenly with spinach leaves and garlic.  The spinach can be whole or chopped per your preference.  We usually make sure the pizza sauce is almost hidden by the spinach.  Sprinkle the mozzarella over the spinach.  Spoon teaspoon fulls of ricotta over the mozzarella.  Bake at 500 deg F for 12 minutes or until the mozzarella melts and the ricotta starts bubble and slightly brown and the crust starts to brown.  Let stand 5 minutes (if you can stand it) before cutting. 

This pizza is always full of sauce and has such a great combination of cheese flavors.  The ricotta by itself wouldn't add much, but when combined with the mozzarella and Parmesan, it really makes for a great flavor and texture combination.  With just the two of us, we can usually eat half for dinner and save the second half for a pair of lunch portions, which Mike will undoubtedly try to steal both of during the following week.

Condiment Corner: Hot Sauce (by William Gillen)

In our first guest post, William Gillen has put together his thoughts on his favorite condiment: Hot Sauce.  Hope you like it!

Often times, when searching for the proper spice to enhance my favorites dishes, I find myself at a loss.  The old standbys of salt, pepper and to a lesser extent, cinnamon just do not seem to tackle the job as they used to.  But I’ve noticed one addition to my garnish collection that has never let me down.  A dab from my favorite hot sauce can turn any banquet from a mere firecracker to a volcanic eruption of flavor.

Added to any poultry, steer or seafood snack, the right hot sauce puts the kind of life into a dish that you might only expect to find at a backwoods Creole festival, deep in the swampland of Louisiana. 

Many a morning has found me dribbling a smidgen of a habanero-fueled hot sauce into a cup of black coffee.  At first it may sound a bit off the level but after a few trial weeks, I found it to be an invigorating approach to jump-start any day.

So as a recommendation for those looking for more than just a little spice in life, take a trip down the hot sauce isle of your local market and prepare to enter a new fortress of flavor – each level more sensational than the next.