Bacon, Caesar, and Mozarella Panini's

I have been wanting to try paninis for a very long time... if you know me at all, you will know that this is because I like the sound of the word "Panini".  I saw this fun and easy recipe on Pillsbury and they were so fun ot make and delicious to eat, that I fell in love.  Have to admit though, the kids weren't such big fans... maybe if I threw out the tomatoes?  But it doesn't matter, every now and then moms should get to make something for dinner that they know they will enjoy and not worry about the picky kiddos!

BACON, CEASAR, & MOZZARELLA PANINI

From Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS

1can refrigerated classic pizza crust

4 teaspoons basil pesto (I don't even know what this is?  Needless to say, I sprinkled the sandwhiches with a little basil instead)

1/4 cup Caesar dressing (creamy or vinaigrette style)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 8 slices

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

12 slices cooked bacon

2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, each cut into 4 slices

1/4 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray large cookie sheet with No-Stick Cooking Spray. Unroll pizza crust dough on cookie sheet; press dough into 16x11-inch rectangle, pulling dough gently if necessary. Bake 9 to 16 minutes or until light brown. Cool about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

2. Cut cooled pizza crust in half lengthwise and crosswise to make 4 rectangles. Remove rectangles from cookie sheet; cut each rectangle in half crosswise for a total of 8 squares.

3. On each of 4 crust slices, spread 1 teaspoon pesto; set aside. On each of remaining 4 slices, spread 1 tablespoon Caesar dressing. Place 2 cheese slices on each crust slice with Caesar dressing. Top cheese with pepper, 3 bacon slices, and 2 tomato slices. Top with remaining crust slices, pesto sides down.

4. Heat 12-inch skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in skillet. Place 2 sandwiches in skillet. Place smaller skillet or saucepan on sandwiches to flatten slightly; keep skillet on sandwiches while cooking. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until bread is golden brown and crisp and fillings are heated. Remove from skillet; cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sandwiches.

Panda Bread

I know my little panda looks a little distorted, but it is hard to make it come out perfectly, and each loaf takes on its own little panda personality. 

I got this recipe from my most favorite cooking website in the world...Gourmet Mom-On-The-Go and you can get the directions there, but I didn't exactly follow her recipe.  The recipe she used called for cocoa and green tea for coloring, and I knew that if I was going to spend the effort to make bread, I better make Z's favorite homemade bread recipe.  I just so happened to have black food gel coloring so that I could get the black parts of my panda, and green food coloring for the green, then just left the dough alone for the white parts.  I had so much fun making this with the kids, we are dreaming up other holiday-themed inspired breads, so look for them in the future!

Fireworks Pancakes

 I know that I am totally a month late in posting this little gem, but the summers get a little hectic around here, so at least you can use this for next year if you like it!

We love pancakes at our house, and we love food coloring at our house, so this one was a no brainer...

 First, you make the pancake batter as you normally would do, and pour it onto the hot griddle.  IMMEDIATELY, use various colors of food coloring to add dots of color all over your pancake.

Next take a toothpick and drag it through the colors until you have made your fireworks to your liking!

When they were finished cooking, I gave the kids some colored sugars to add some razzle dazzle to their fireworks display.  These were a huge hit!  Fun to make and fun to eat!

Malibu Chicken with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

This is a very quick, easy, and inexpensive dinner, not to mention it tastes so good, so an all around winner.  The inspiration from this beauty came from dining at Sizzler and ordering this entree then thinking to myself, that would be so easy to make at home, so here you go...

Malibu Chicken

Source: Me!

1-2 frozen chicken patties per person

2 slizes swiss cheese per person

1 slice of deli ham per person

Cook the frozen chicken patties according to package directions.  Pull out of the oven and top with one slice of deli ham, and 2 slices of swiss cheese.  Place under the broiler in your oven and broil on high for 1-2 minutes until cheese starts bubbling.  Remove from oven and serve with honey mustard dipping sauce.

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Source: Again, me.

Okay, so I never measure out the portions so that I know how to give you the exact amounts on this, but it is something to this effect...

1/2 cup mayonaise or Miracle Whip (I always prefer the tangy zip of Miracle Whip myself)

1/4 cup honey

1 tbsp. dijon mustard (or if you don't like fancy mustard regular mustard will do)

Mix all together well, and remember this is just a guess of how much of each, so if it tastes off, add a little more of each ingredient until it tastes right.

Pickled Asparagus

When I was a child, we visited my grandma often.  She was an avid canner and her specialty was pickles!  And not just your regular run of the mill pickles (though she did those too and they were awesome), but she also pickled beans, a delicacy that you just can't buy in a store.  Years later, my sister Lyndsay took that one step further and pickled asparagus.  Since asparagus is so abundant where we live, it was an instant hit.  Recently, I was given a huge bucketful of asparagus from my amazing sister-in-law and so I decided to try my luck at canning and here is what turned out!

Pickled Asparagus

Source: Lyndsay

4 lbs. green or yellow beans (or asparagus)

8 cloves garlic (or more if you really like pickled garlic)

4 C. white vinegar

1 tsp. red hot pepper flakes

8-16 heads fresh dill

1/2 C. pickling or canning salt

4 C. water

Wash & snap beans (or asparagus).  In each jar, place 1-2 dill heads and 1 clove of garlic.  Place whole beans (or asparagus) upright in jars leaving 1/2" headspace.  Combine salt, vinegar, water, and pepper flakes - bring to a boil.  Add hot solution to beans leaving 1/2" headspace.  Adjust lids & process 25 minutes in a boiling water canner.

*So just a few explanations on her directions, mostly to myself, as I felt like Amelia Bedelia through the whole canning process.  First off, did you know that a clove of garlic is just one piece off the head of garlic?  After all this time, and I have claimed to love cooking so much, I am just now figuring this out.  So, I happened to buy 8 HEADS of garlic rather than just the 1-2 cloves I would have needed.  Needless to say, I am becoming acquainted with fresh garlic in my cooking and it is terrific!  Second of all, I searched the whole grocery store before the produce guy told me that they don't sell fresh dill and he had to go in the back and get me some dried dill that he says "everyone" knows you use in canning.  And third of all, I had to double the recipe for the brine to make enough to use the whole batch of asparagus.  And finally, fourth of all, you have to wait a couple of weeks to let these pickle before you eat them.  Not a happy thought when you spent all day and want to sample the fruit of your labors.  But the good news is that they keep for years and get better over time... so enjoy!