easy recipe – Page 3

The Ultimate Cheeseball

Published on January 29, 2014January 28, 2014 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Everybody ready for some football? You will be after reading this…or not because you will be too consumed in the rich, creamy flavor of this fan-favorite appetizer that will clear the sidelines and take them straight to your kitchen. Here is the play-by-play game plan:

Ingredients:

2 – 8 ounce cream cheese
¼ cup sour cream
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 – 2 ½ ounce packed smoked sliced beef, chopped*
2 Tablespoons green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon Horseradish
2-3 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
Italian breadcrumbs

*You can find this in the pre-packaged deli section.

Combine cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl. Mix well until combined. Stir in Parmesan cheese, beef, onion and horseradish. Once mixed, shape the cheese into balls. Depending on your crowd you can make one big one or 2 small ones. Roll in Italian breadcrumbs. Wrap the balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple hours. For best results, refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to serve, remove and place on a platter filled with your favorite crackers. It doesn’t matter who wins at this point…you are sure to score a touchdown with your guests with this recipe!

Let’s go for the t.w.o. point conversion….

Lemon Goat Cheese, Artichoke, Mushroom Pizza

Published on January 17, 2014January 15, 2014 by T.W.O.5 Comments

It’s Friday. It’s Lemon Week. So why wouldn’t we end it with our famous Friday Night Pizza Night- using lemons! This Lemon Goat Cheese, Artichoke and Mushroom Pizza satisfies all taste-buds. It’s zestful, sweet, spicy and appetizing. How so? The zesty and tart taste comes from the Meyer lemon, then complimented by the creamy, sweet goat cheese. The spice – well that comes from the garlic! And what wouldn’t be more appetizing than marinated artichoke hearts, mushrooms, all covered with a fresh arugula salad? T.W.O. has the perfect pizza to finish off this Lemon Week!

Ingredients:
– Pizza dough
– Cornmeal
-Flour
-2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
-2 Meyer lemons
-1 large log goat cheese
– 2 Tablespoons dried basil
-1 cup Crimini mushrooms, sliced
-1 small can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut
– 5 garlic cloves, diced
-3 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
– Arugula

Preheat oven to 425ᴼF.
Roll out the pizza dough on a floured/ cornmeal surface. Once the dough is evenly rolled out, transfer the dough to a greased cookie sheet.

Spread the olive oil on the dough using a spoon. Sprinkle the dried basil leaves on the dough, making sure to evenly distribute. Add 3 of the diced garlic cloves.

In a bowl, mix the goat cheese, dried basil and the juice one lemon. Set aside. Add the mushrooms and marinated artichoke hearts to the pizza dough. Place small spoonfuls of the goat cheese mixture onto the dough about ½ inch apart from one another. Make sure the cheese reaches the edges.

Let the pizza rise for about 15 minutes. Note – you don’t want to put the pizza in a cold oven, so make sure your oven reaches 425ᴼF. Once the oven is ready, place the pizza in the oven and watch closely. Do not open the oven door, as you want to keep the heat in. The pizza will take 15-20 minutes.

While the pizza is cooking, make your arugula salad for the top. In a bowl, mix together the juice of the remaining lemon, 2 diced garlic cloves, spicy brown mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the arugula and mix. Set aside.

Once done the pizza is done, take it out of the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the arugula salad and then cut your pizza. It’s time to eat!

Hope you all had a great Lemon Week, because we sure had fun making it!

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Lemon Infused Pizza!

Lemon Ice Cubes

Published on January 15, 2014January 14, 2014 by T.W.O.3 Comments

One of T.W.O.’s favorite beverages is ice water with fresh squeezed lemons. It’s refreshing, low calorie and full of nutritional benefits. Lemons help boost your immune system, aids in digestion, cleanses your system, helps you lose weight, reduces inflammation, keeps your skin blemish-free and the list goes on! With this in mind, T.W.O. decided to put our creative hats on and make it possible to have lemon water all year around- even when the tree was not producing fruit!

Supplies:
-Ice cube trays
-Lemons
-Water

Begin by squeezing fresh lemon juice into a large pitcher, making sure to remove all the seeds. Next, add your water. Depending on how concentrated you would like your ice cubes to be, add more, equal, or less water to the lemon juice. When you have your desired concentration, pour the lemon water mixture into the ice cube trays and freeze. Next time you don’t have a fresh lemon to squeeze in your water, just take out an ice cube and place it into your water! Now you have your lemon water!

Easy as that! When life gives you lemons, make ice cubes!

Chili – Cornbread

Published on November 4, 2013November 4, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Fall is in full swing at T.W.O.’s house and that means cornbread and chili are on the menu. Learn how to make a chili-cornbread that is a great addition to your chili supper.

Ingredients:

– 2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread Mix
– 2 eggs
– 2/3 cup milk (T.W.O. used almond milk)
– 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
– 1 can cream of corn, 14.75 oz can
– 1 can diced Ortega chili, 7 oz can

Preheat oven to 400°. In a bowl, mix cornbread mix, egg and milk until creamy. Slowly add in ¾ cup cheese, cream of corn and Ortega chili. Once mixed, pour batter into a greased 8.5 x 11 pyrex dish. Sprinkle ¼ cup of cheese on top of the cornbread before putting in the oven.

Batter is Ready!

Cooking in the oven

Cook for 20-25 minutes. Once done, take the cornbread out and serve immediately. Add some honey if desired and your chili night will be complete! Later this week, T.W.O. will be featuring their chili recipe, so stay tuned!

Happy Baking!

Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Swiss Chard, Cranberries & Spicy Dijon, Lemon Vinaigrette

Published on October 22, 2013October 16, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Swiss Chard, Cranberries & Spicy Dijon, Lemon Vinaigrette

Fall is in the air, and it’s also in T.W.O.’s cooking! Check out how to make this easy and tasty recipe the whole family will love. It’s great as an entrée, side dish or even lunch! T.W.O. doubled the recipe and was able to enjoy it throughout the week…leftovers are the best!

Ingredients

Spicy Dijon Dressing:

– 4-5 tablespoons spicy Dijon mustard
– 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– ¼ cup rice vinegar
– ½ lemon, juiced
– Krazy Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Spaghetti Squash:

– 1 large spaghetti squash
– 1 pound lean ground turkey meat
– 1 bunch of Swiss chard leaves, removed from steam
– ½ – 1 cup dried cranberries
– Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375ᴼ F. Using a sharp knife, cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and the “strings” just like you would when carving a pumpkin. Once clean, place the squash, face down in a sprayed Pyrex pan. Salt and Pepper to taste. Put the Pyrex in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes.

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, sauté the ground turkey meat with pepper and Krazy Salt. Once thoroughly cooked, put aside.

Next, sauté the chopped Swiss chard leaves in a lightly oiled pan. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Once complete, add the cranberries and ground turkey meat.

To make the dressing, add all the ingredients in a cup and whisk for about 2 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the spaghetti squash out of the oven and let cool for 4 minutes. Once cooled, take a fork and “stroke” the squash from top to bottom to get the “spaghetti” noodles and put in a large mixing bowl. Continue to do this until you scrape to the skin.

Once the spaghetti is ready, add the Swiss chard, cranberry, turkey mixture to the squash. Mix lightly. (You don’t want to break the spaghetti) Add the dressing and mix. T.W.O. highly suggests serving this dish warm, so you can immediately plate it!

Happy Fall cooking!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Published on October 17, 2013October 15, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Don’t throw away those brown bananas you have sitting on the counter; instead make chocolate chip banana bread! And T.W.O. did that exact thing for a Sunday afternoon project. It’s a great recipe for breakfast, a snack or even a sweet tooth craving after dinner.

Ingredients

– 2 ½ cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
– 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-¾ cups milk (or almond milk)
-1 egg
-1 cup mashed bananas, ripe (~2 to 3 medium bananas)
-2-3 cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350º. In a mixer (T.W.O. uses a KitchenAid), cream the oil, sugar and egg. Once mixed, add the mashed bananas and milk.

Next, slowly add the flour and the baking powder. The batter should be thick, but not sticky. After about 4 minutes, stop the mixer. Slowly fold in (or on low speed in the mixer) the chocolate chips. Depending on your love for chocolate, feel free to add more or less!

Put in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. You know the bread is ready, when you poke the loaf with a butter knife and it comes out clean!

Happy Baking!

Burrata Margarita Pizza

Published on October 4, 2013October 4, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Burrata. Basil. Marinara Sauce. Balsamic.

Happy Friday Night Pizza Night!!

T.W.O. decided to cook a lighter pizza for this Friday Night Pizza Night. Burrata looks a lot like fresh buffalo mozzarella, but it much softer and has a cream-like filling. And it makes for a great cheese to use for a pizza! This Burrata Margarita pizza is easy to whip up for yourself, date or family night. Has T.W.O. convince you to make this pizza yet?

Ingredients
1 – Roll of pizza dough
-12 ounces Marinara Sauce*
-8 ounces Burrata**
-1 Small package fresh, basil leaves
-2 Cloves garlic, chopped
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt

*T.W.O. uses SF Capellino Low-Fat Tomato and Garlic Sauce from Molinaris Deli…don’t let the “low-fat” scare you- the texture and flavor is still there!
**T.W.O. suggests using Di Stefano – Burrata Alla Panna

Roll out your pizza dough on a floured/ cornmeal surface. Once evenly rolled out, place dough on a pizza stone. Spread the marinara sauce on the dough making sure you get the edges.

Next, cut the burrata into pieces and distribute evenly on the pizza dough. (See below) It’s okay that the marinara is showing; the cheese will melt. Next, place your basil leaves and chopped garlic on the pizza. Last step- drizzle balsamic vinegar over the pizza and add salt to taste.

Let the pizza rise for about 15 minutes while the BBQ is heating up. Note –you don’t want to put the stone on a cold BBQ. The temperature should reach a medium-high heat before placing the pizza on. Watch the pizza closely; you don’t want your crust to burn! It should take about 15-20 minutes, depending on your grill.