Chicken Parmesan Sub

Sub or Hoagie?  Hero or Sandwich?  Whatever you call it in your house , they are a step above a basic sandwich.  They are a great way to add variety to traditional sliced bread. A "dinner" sandwich can be a quick hit on the run.

1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 6-ounce bag spinach
1/3 cup prepared marinara sauce
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 soft whole wheat sandwich rolls, toasted

1. Combine flour, salt & pepper in a shallow dish.  Place chicken between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with smooth side of meat mallet until chicken is even 1/4 inch thickness.  Dredge chicken in the flour mixture.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a large skillet.  Add spinach and cook, stirring often until wilted 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to small bowl.
   
3. Add remaining 2 tsp oil to pan.  Add chicken, and cook until golden on first side, 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn the chicken, reduce heat to medium  Top with wilted spinach, marinara sauce and Parmesan.  Sprinkle with mozzarella, cover and cook until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.  Serve on rolls.

Tupps Tidbits:  Refrigerate marinara sauce for up to 1 week or freeze.  You can use it to make pizza, lasagna or toss with pasta or veggies.

We both thought this meal was good.  When making this next time, we would  add oregano and basil to the flour mixture. In the ingredients it calls for a toasted bun, but in the preparation it does not mention this.  We did toast the buns. This recipe is a KEEPER IN OUR HOUSE.

Where did we find this one?  eatingwell.com

Cajun Shrimp

Most shrimp recipes are quick and easy to make making them an excellent choice for a weeknight meal. Shrimp is delicious boiled, sauteed on the stove or grilled in the backyard.  Within the temp -10 the last week or so, we decided against grilling in the backyard.   You would think this barbecue-style shrimp "CopyKat" recipe from Red Lobster  would be made on the grill and covered with barbecue sauce; rather it is baked in the oven in a spicy sauce.  It states to serve with rice or plenty of bread to mop up the extra sauce! That sounds interesting!

1/ 2 cup margarine (or unsalted butter)
1 pound medium or large shrimp
2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
2 1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
lemon wedges, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place the margarine in  9 X 13 inch baking pan and then place the pan in the oven. While the pan is in the oven, wash peel, and devein the shrimp.  By the time you have finished prepping the shrimp, and margarine should be melted in the pan.  In a small bowel, mix together all the spices and blend well. Place the shrimp into the pan and then sprinkle on the seasoning mixture.  Mix the shrimp, margarine, and spices until the shrimp is well coated.  Bake for approx. 15 minutes, then remove the shrimp from the oven and check the doneness.  Shrimp should be pink when done.  Serve with lemon wedges.

TUPPS TIDBITS:  oven baking was an easy way to make shrimp, we served a lettuce salad, garlic cheddar biscuits and baked potato to make this meal complete

These were fired up shrimp! Not for the timid to try and eat. Even with lemon juice squirted on them, these were way too spicy for us.  This recipe is a NOT A KEEPER in our house.

Where did we find this one?  www.CopyKat.com

Jalepeno Popper Cheesy Stuffed Pretzel Bombs

This yummy picture came across my Facebook page just a few days ago.  The ooey gooey cheese, crisp bacon and jalapenos dripping out of the bread and I knew it would rock! I had to try it. Even though the recipe is intense & time consuming,  my wonderful husband said, with a smile on his face,  "Yes"  we can try this one.  Don't get lost in the recipe just check on the picture! YUMO!

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
12 oz. warm beer
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting counter
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pretzel tops
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 cups water
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar cheese)
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapenos
12 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
     Note: You will also need an egg, even though the recipe did not call for it

Preheat oven to 450.

Pour beer into the bowl of a stand mixer filled with dough hook, sprinkle yeast over top, add sugar and stir. Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes. Once it is nice and foamy, it is ready.  It should look like the 'head' of a beer poured too quickly and smell yeasty.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl combine cheeses, bacon, and jalapenos.  Mix together. You may need a to use a wooden spoon to get it well mixed.

In a small bowl beat egg, set aside.  Sprinkle clean counter top with 1/4 cup flour.   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Add flour and salt to mixer.  Kneed for 3-5 minutes until the dough comes together in one ball.  Add more flour a tablespoon at  time as needed, if bread is too sticky to come together. Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, not sticky.

Place dough on floured counter top and kneed in flour until it is no longer tacky, just a minute or two.  Form dough into a ball.  You need to cut this ball into 36 (somewhat) even pieces.  First quarter the ball of dough, roll each quarter into a fat log, cut that into 3 pieces.  Roll each piece into a log an cut into 3 pieces.  When you are done you will have 36 pieces.

Fill medium (4 cup) bowl with 2 cups of hot water and add baking soda.  Place baking sheet, baking soda water and cheese mixture on the counter that you are working on.

Roll each dough piece (one at a time) into a ball and then flatten it into a circle.  Add 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center. Carefully pull each side over the cheese to create a 'cheese package', pinching the edges closed. Roll the dough into a ball. Be careful to make sure you can not see the cheese through the dough. Tap fingers in flour, pinch any tears and roll again.  Set aside and repeat until you have 3 stuffed dough balls. Transfer 3 stuffed dough balls to hot water mixture and allow to set while you are prepare the next 3.  Prepare the next 3 dough balls.  Remove dough balls from water with a slotted spoon and place on prepare baking sheet.  Place 3 newly prepared balls into the water and prepare 3 more.  Repeat until all dough balls are on the cookie sheet.

Arrange all pretzel balls on parchment so they are not touching.  Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with course salt. Bake 8-10 minutes until the tops are browned.

TUPPS TIDBITS:  Take a 16 oz. can of beer and drink only 4 oz.  and  put it near a furnace vent to obtain "warm beer"  for the receipe.  Also, you can, mix the dough in a bread machine and this allows you time to have a few more beers!




These were the bomb! Soft and chewy and just a hint of jalapeno hot. We could not stop eating them. We did cut this recipe in half and ended up with about 16 bombs total.  They were a bit of work but totally worth it! This recipe is a KEEPER in our house.

Where did we find this one?  www.theslowroasteditalian.com
(this is a awesome site you might see us trying other recipes from it!)

Oriental Chicken Ginger

The holidays are over and you want to start eating more healthy but you are hungry! This faces all of us in January.  Let's feast healthfully! Your waistline and your heart will thank you!

6 uncooked chicken breast halves, cut-up
1 cup carrotts, diced

1./2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. ground ginger or 1/4 cup grated gingerroot
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets




Combine all ingredients except broccoli and cauliflower in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 3-5 hours. Stir in broccoli and cauliflower and cook an additional hour.  Serve over brown rice. Note:  If you use Gluten Free soy sauce, this would be a GF recipe!

TUPPS TIDBITS: You could use a variety of vegetables for this recipe and add them the last hour of cooking.

It's probably happened to you before; you buy all the ingredients for a new recipe and follow the instructions exactly, but what you end up with is...just not right. It is possible you made a mistake in the cooking,  but sometimes you are just dealing with a bad recipe. But that is why we are trying them, right? We were excited for our first 2015 recipe, but we start off the New Year with NOT A KEEPER!

Where did we find this one?  Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly cookbook: Healthy, Low-fat recipes for your Slow Cooker

Welcome to 2015!

I’m Deanna, food eater & writer of the blog.  Sean (Tupps) is your cook and grill master. We made yet another New Years resolution together to try and attempt to make and share with you 52 NEW recipes. We will make ONE new recipe a week, taste it & decide it if is a “Keeper” or “NOT” in our house.

The recipes are either original (created by Sean), family recipes, or have been adapted from magazines, cookbooks, newspapers, and internet. The majority of the recipes comes from sources, which we always credit when we can! We also “try” to keep them on the healthy side.

We are the photographer’s. The camera of the moment is an IPAD 2 or our Nikon Coolpix L18. 

Only "we"  enter the recipes on this site, others aren't allowed to submit recipes on their own (sorry), but you certainly can email us to tell us about something fabulous that you think we should know about or if you tried a recipe listed and if it was a “Keeper” in your house.

Hope you got your fill of champagne, cookies & holiday leftovers because it's time to return to the real world of everyday eating!  We will be attempting our first meal this week and post is as soon as we can.  

Happy New Year everyone!