Bacon Wrapped Dates with Almonds

Last night for Valentines we had a homemade meal with a group of friends. Each husband brought a different part of the meal. Adam was in charge of appetizers and they were a big hit. Adam's mom told us about this treat and we were excited to try them for the first time.

MAKES 24
24 large moist dates, such as medjool

12 slices of bacon

2 oz. softened goat cheese24 whole toasted unsalted almonds

1. Move oven rack to upper third of oven and preheat oven to 500 °.
2. Pit dates, tearing them open as little as possible. Set dates aside. Halve the 12 slices of bacon crosswise. Put the goat cheese into a pastry bag fitted with a round, plain 1⁄4" tip.
3. Stuff cavity of each date with 1 almond. Pipe goat cheese into each stuffed date. Wrap 1 piece of bacon around width of each date.4. Put dates on a baking sheet, seam side down, at least 1⁄2" apart.

Bake until bacon is golden and crisp, 6-8 minutes.

Set aside to cool briefly before serving.

This recipe is from Saveur.com - a cooking magazine that we subscribe to and use often for ideas.

Magic Bars

Mmmm, these magic bars are delicious!

1 cup butter/margarine softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup coconut

2 cups chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Slowly add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Once well mixed, add the oatmeal, coconut, and chocolate chips.  Place batter in an ungreased 9x13 pan and bake for 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

They are usually pretty gooey when you first pull them out, but if they are brown around the sides its perfect! After they cool, they become less gooey and are amazing.  I made the mistake of thinking they weren't ready the first I made them and left them in longer and then burned the bottom.  

Don't forget to add the magic.

Rollo Pretzels

My mother-in-law had this simple version of a turtle at her home over Christmas two years ago.  They were fantastic and everyone kept eating them so I asked her for the recipe and could not believe how incredibly simple it was.  

Equal Parts:

 Rollos

 Small pretzels

Whole pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place pretzel pieces on a baking sheet.  Top each pretzel with one Rollo.  Place in the oven for about 2 minutes - just long enough to make the candy soft but not melted. Remove from oven and immediately press pecan or walnut on top of the Rollo.  Let them cool, or don't, and eat! 

Super easy and everyone loves them.  I have given out the recipe 5 times not including this blog post!  

Kara had a great idea to use reeses instead of Rollos, it would probably be fun to make a batch with a variety of candies.    

Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken Breast with Creamy Butternut Squash

This is super easy and can be done rather inexpensively.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Put 1 chicken breast, with its skin left on, in a bowl. Deseed and slice up half a fresh red chili and add to the bowl with the leaves from a couple of sprigs of fresh marjoram or oregano and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss together. Very carefully cut a medium butternut squash into quarters. Remove the seeds and slice one quarter of the squash as finely as you can. Place the chicken breast and flavorings from the bowl into the pan and snugly fit your squash slices around the chicken. Carefully pour a little heavy cream around the squash (not on the chicken). Season with grated nutmeg and salt and pepper, then drizzle with some olive oil and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

Use a snug-fitting baking dish or, to save on washing-up, a little aluminum foil pan

From "Cook with Jamie" by Jamie Oliver

Enchiladas Verde

Enchiladas are one of my favorite things to make when having a group over for dinner. Preparation takes a good bit of time, but is not difficult. Great leftover and fun to change it up each time.

• 12 tomatillos, husked and rinsed (Or canned)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed
• 1 red onion, quartered
• Splash white vinegar
• 3 Garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• Salt
• 3 Bell peppers (yellow, orange, & red)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion,
• sliced 3 garlic cloves,
• chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups canned chicken stock
• 1 deli roasted chicken, about 3 pounds, boned, meat shredded
• Leaves from 1 bunch fresh cilantro,
• chopped 12 oz Queso Fresca
• 1/2 pound Monterey jack cheese , shredded
• 12 large corn tortillas
  Salt and pepper to taste.
  

Make the salsa: Put the tomatillos, jalapenos, and onion in a saucepan with the vinegar and water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and poach until the tomatillos are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain. Put the vegetables in a blender, add the cumin, and puree. Add the cilantro, lime juice, garlic and salt, and pulse to combine. Set aside.


Heat a 2-count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook until softened and caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to over-crowd the pan, in order to get a nice browning. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the cumin and cook 1 minute. Then sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring, 1 more minute. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer, stirring to make sure the flour doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan; the liquid will thicken. Fold in the chicken (spinach works well, too), diced peppers, and cilantro, and season well with salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Get yourself a large baking dish. Dip a tortilla into the tomatilla salsa and put it on a cutting board. Put a big scoop of the chicken mixture in the center, sprinkle with a little of the cheese, and roll the tortilla like a cigar to enclose the filling. Use a spatula to place it seam side down in the baking dish. Continue to fill all of the tortillas and put them in the baking dish. Pour the remaining tomatilla salsa over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for about 20-30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top.

Pizza Dough

This has become one of my favorite things to make...but I have to give most of the credit to Adam because he has really perfected the art of homemade pizzas.

1 cup hot water
1 yeast packet
1 tablespoon honey
Salt, pepper, herbs to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups flour

Mix hot water, yeast and honey in small bowl and let rest in order for the yeast to activate, about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, herbs and olive oil. Slowly add flour, kneading till all flour is incorporated. (At this point we start to use our food processor with dough hook). You don’t want the dough to be sticky (if so add more flour) or falling apart (if so add more water). Pat dough ball with olive oil, cover in with towel and let rise 30 minutes.

Split dough in two halves. Roll out flat and cover with olive oil. Best if baked on a perforated pan or baking stone.

Add toppings as desired. Our favorite pizzas are roasted veggies and margherita (basil, mozzarella & tomato).

Makes 2 pizzas

Tofu & Peppers w/ Spicy Peanut Sauce

This Recipe is from Backpacker magazine and made to make on the trail, I have made a few modifications to make it easy to make at home.

2 T. Balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 T. vegetable oil

1 (12 -16 oz.) package tofu, crumbled

2 tsps. powered ginger

1/2 onion, finely chopped

5 T. soy sauce

1 dash cayenne pepper

Combine vinegar, peanut butter, and honey in a small bowl and set aside.  Heat the oil in a pan and brown tofu, then add garlic, ginger, onion, cayenne pepper, and soy sauce.  Saute for a few minutes, then add the bell peppers and peanut better sauce.  Mix well and cook over medium heat until hot.  Serve over rice or pasta.  Serves 2 or 3.