Pepperoni Bread

Sorry, no picture :(
A co-worker gave me this recipe on 12/31/07 so I figured, why not make it for new years eve!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb pepperoni
• 1/4 lb genoa salami
• 1/4 lb swiss cheese
• 1/4 lb provolone cheese
• 2 pkg crescent rolls
• 1 12 oz jar roasted peppers; drain and slice into thin strips (i didnt use this)
• 4 eggs
• parmesean cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• grease a 9x13 pyrex dish
• place 1 pkg rolls on bottom of dish, spread out into rectangle shape
• layer cold cuts and top with peppers.
• beat egg and cheese, pour over the cold cuts (reserve some to put on top layer)
• place remaining package of rolls over the meat
• brush with egg
• cook about 40 minutes covered; then 20 minutes uncovered
• let rest, then cut and serve
  

Chicken Parm

I got this recipe from The Foodie Fashionistas blog. It is pretty tasty!

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1-2 eggs
• 1/4 c breadcrumbs
• 1/4 c panko
• fat free mozzerella
• sauce
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  
• Beat egg in a large flat bowl. Mix breadcrumbs and panko together in second large flat bowl. Dip one chicken breast in the egg and then dredge through the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat for each chicken breast.
  
• Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Spray each side of chicken cutlets lightly with cooking spray. "Fry" each cutlet on each side just until the breading starts to brown and crisp up slightly.
  
• Place cutlets on a baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Spray reverse side when you flip the cutlets. After 25 minutes, spread about 2 tablespoons sauce over each cutlet and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over each. Bake until cheese is melted.

chocolate trifle

I made this for dessert on Christmas. I didn't have my trifle bowl, so it went in that big bowl! This is extremely sweet, I really only had like 2-3 bites. I brought it to work the next day and people housed it...so I guess it was good!

Ingredients:

• 1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy (I skipped this)

Directions:

• Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
• In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
• In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Annettes pork chops

Annette, my mother in law, made these pork chops while we were out in Vegas visiting one year. They seemed really weird, but I gave them a shot...and boy are they good! I made them tonight for me Jake and Josh. We each had 2, they were so good!

Ingredients:

• 6 pork chops
• 1 1/2 jars salsa
• around 4 t cumin (add more per your taste)
• 1 small can green chiles
• 1 1/2 bricks of fat free Philly cream cheese (or more/less depending on how much you like)
• some shredded cheddar cheese (i used colby jack)
  

Directions

• brown the pork chops on each side
• while chops are browning, mix together the salsa, cumin and chiles.
• once the chops are browned, pour salsa mixture over them, lower heat and cover
• cook about 10 minutes, or until done
• slice the cream cheese and lay on top of each chop
• cover for another minute or two
• sprinkle with cheddar cheese
  

Monas Meringues

My friend Mona made these once for a little gathering at her house. They are so good, and so lite that you can eat like 5 of them!

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites (room temperature)
• 8 T Sugar
• 1 T Corn Starch
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1 pint Whipping Cream
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 250 (yes, 250)
  

• Beat egg whites really well until fluffy. Add two tablespoons of sugar per egg white. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of corn starch (strain it in) and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

• Scoop about a tablespoon and a half onto the parchment paper and bake in the oven for 1.5-2 hours. For the last 30 minutes, reduce heat to 2:00 degrees. Cool down and test for gooey center..if too gooey, put back in the oven. Don't let them brown...they can be a tan-ish color...but you don't want them to brown
  

• Whip whipping cream and add a little sugar to taste (a teaspoon or two). Top with fresh strawberries, blueberries or in-season fruit.

Christmas Appetizers

Pita Trees

Ingredients:

• 4 flavored or plain pita folds or pita (pocket) breads (about 6” diameter)
• 16 thin pretzel sticks, halved
• ½ c. fat-free sour cream
• ½ c. guacamole (i made my own)
  
• 2 T finely chopped parsley
• ¼ t. garlic-pepper blend
• ¼ c. very finely chipped red bell pepper

Directions:

• Cut each pita fold into 8 wedges. Insert pretzel stick half into center of bottom of each wedge to form “tree trunk”.
• In a small bowl, mix sour cream, guacamole, parsley and garlic-pepper blend. Spread about 1 teaspoon of mixture on each pita wedge
• Blot bell pepper with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Sprinkle about ½ teaspoon on each wedge or arrange to form a garland. If desired, cover a refrigerate up to 8 hours before serving.

*These were good, but I would leave the red pepper off (personal taste), they just made them look cute!

**For variety, use cilantro instead of parsley

Smoked Salmon Cheese cups

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen mini fillo shells (15 shells)
• 3 oz. Chevre (goat) cheese, crumbled
• 1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 2 oz smoked salmon, flaked
• 2 T shredded fresh parmesan cheese
• 1 T chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 T whipping cream
• ¼ t. salt
• 1/8 t. fresh ground black pepper
• 2 T chopped pecans, toasted** (I did not use the pecans at all)
  

Directions:

• Thaw fillo shells as directed on package. In medium bowl, mix all remaining ingredients except pecans until well mixed. Spoon into 1 quart resealable food storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut ½ inch off 1 corner of bag.
• To serve, pipe or spoon cheese salmon mixture into each cup. Sprinkle each with pecans.

*My personal opinion on these is that I did not like the shell...it was a weird texture. Next time, I would make this more as a spread for crackers. The filling was delicious

**To toast pecans, heat oven to 350. Spread pecans in ungreasesd shallow pan. Bake uncovered 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown.

Chile-Lime Shrimp with Creamy Chipotle Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 limes
• 24 uncooked extra large deveined peeled shrimp with tail shells left on
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I used 5-6 cloves)
  
• ½ t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/3 c. mayo
• 2 T honey mustard
• 1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from 7 oz can) finely chopped
• 1 t. adobo sauce
• 1 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Reserve 1 lime for garnish. Grate 1 teaspoon peel from other lime. Cut lime in half; squeeze enough juice to measure 2 T. Set peel and juice aside.
• Butterfly each shrimp by cutting along the outside curve through the fleshiest part for about 1 ½ inches, cutting almost to the inside curve. (I didnt do this because of time restraints, i left the shrimp regular) The shrimp should spread open.
• In 1 gallon resealable food storage plastic bag, mix oil, garlic, pepper flakes, lime juice and grated lime peel. Shake lightly to mix. Add shrimp. Seal bag; rotate to coat all shrimp. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes to marinate. (I think mine marinated like 2 hours b/c I was working on other stuff)
  
• Meanwhile, in small bowl mix mayo, honey mustard, chipotle chile and adobo sauce. cover; refrigerate until serving.
• Heat oven to 400. Remove shrimp from marinade, place in 15x10x1inch baking pan. Open each shrimp, arranging in pan so that cut portion is on pan with tail tucked in. Discard marinade.
• Bake 5-7 minutes, rearranging shrimp halfway through baking time, until they are pink. Place on serving platter; sprinkle with cilantro. Spoon dip into bowl. Cut reserved lime into wedges. Garnish dip with wedges. Serve shrimp with dip.
  

*These are soooo good. The chipolte dip is amazing. I highly recommend these shrimp!