Cracker Snacks 4 College Cooking

Simple makes the Holidays better--food, gifts, parties, gatherings--keep it simple, please! 

If your family throws a shin-dig for the neighborhood lend a helping hand by prepping these flavorbombs for the celebrations. Don't worry about the clean-up...because there won't be any! 

As a side, your parents will think you are "all grown up"; or, that "the aliens abducted you"--take your pick! Either way, your contribution will make whatever event tastier!

For the Triscuit Caprese, you can certainly use fresh tomatoes if you are pressed for time, but making these little appetizers with the Roasted Tomatoes from Ina Garten makes these bites exceptional!!

Cracker Snacks 4 College Cooking

Equipment:

Large Platter or Plate

Chopping Knives

Smaller Knives

Ingredients:

Part 1: Roasted Tomato Caprese

Triscuits crackers

Fresh mozzarrella, sliced to size; or, Ricotta Salata cheese for tangy version

Roasted Tomatoes

Basil, thinly chopped

Maldon Salt (optional)

Part 2: Fig Crisps

Rainforest Specialty Crackers

(Have seeds, nuts, berries in them)

Goat Cheese or Cream Cheese

Fig Preserve or Honey

Instructions: (for both crackers)

1. Wash your hands.

2. Assemble in order outlined above.

Spread The Love

Some of my favorite foods are Southern through and through--Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Okra, Eggs & Grits, Biscuits and Pimiento Cheese. You are talking about the ultimate comfort food! Welcoming people into your apartment, eating meals together, and anything that goes with Southern hospitality--the food says it all! 

Bring some of this goodness to the college apartment this weekend if you are watching NBA or NHL Playoffs, or just shooting the breeze. The Pimiento Dip is particularly easy and delicious if friends start showing up around the apartment to hang out. Simple, no-frill, no-skill college cooking, dipping, eating.

Add saltines, triscuits, veggies, baguette. 
Make a Spicy Reuben!
Whatever you do…Go Atlanta Hawks!

(Great recipe from Cook's Country February / March 2015 magazine)

Easy Pimiento Cheese Spread

Equipment:
Mixing Bowl
Fork

Ingredients:

2/3 cup mayo
8 oz extra sharp cheddar, coarsely grated
8 oz extra sharp cheddar, finely grated
4 oz pimiento peppers, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbls 1/3 reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

Add-Ons:
Triscuits 
Saltines
Carrots, celery, peppers
Fresh baguette

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Prep your cheeses and mince pimientos.
3. Whisk mayo, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire and cayenne together.

4. Add pimientos.

5. Add coarsely grated cheddar.

6. Add finely grated cheddar.

7. Stir until well-combined.

Let the games begin! Discuss and exchange ideas and dreams! Snack together!

All Things Jalapeños Part II

Following up on yesterday's post, here is the second recipe I recently discovered using jalapeños as a substitute for potato skins. To some this may seem too involved, but do not be deterred as a young college chef...as with many recipes, the steps are easy, but there may be several of them!

Try 'em out this weekend! So many things to do with jalapeños!

B. Stuffed Jalapeno Skins

Equipment:
Baking Sheet with rim
Mixing Bowl
Non-stick skillet
Latex or rubber gloves to deal with jalapeños if you are sensitive

Ingredients:
Jalapeños, as many as you can stuff
1 stick of chorizo
1 lb of ground sirloin or chuck
1 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1 small onion
1 cup plus more Chihuahua Cheese, grated

Extras:
Sour cream
Salsa

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands before and after breaking up the meats.
2. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
3. Brown the meats and garlic in a non-stick skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Drain the meat, but do not clean the skillet. 

5. Add your onions and peppers (if you are out of these items, SKIP THIS STEP).

6. Once onions / peppers are softened and slightly golden, combine with meat and set aside. 

7. Add cheese to cooled meat mixture. 

8. Prepare your jalapeños by slicing them vertically and removing the seeds. If you are making a lot of these...WEAR GLOVES...DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES!
9. In a single layer, place jalapeño halves on baking sheet and drizzle with oil and salt.

10. Fill bottom with some cheese and firmly stuff them with a mound of meat mixture.

11. Sprinkle with more cheese.

12. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with dollops of sour cream and salsa.

Championship Bowl Appetizers

Even if you are not a student at Oregon or Ohio, you are likely going to be watching the National Championship Football Game tomorrow night, right? Most likely!

We all love a good game, good party (I am sure we all have varying definitions of a "good party"). And I don't know about you, but I am bored with the bag of Doritos or Tostitos or "Rollitos" that is passed around the room as an afterthought! If you are going to eat, eat well, even if you are college student with roommates living in off-campus dorms or grad school apartments! There are so many options to make your game day snacking better!

Consider Party Sliders or Jalapeno-Cheddar Rollups or Artichoke Dip With A Kick. Or, simply head over to my Appetizer Page for other ideas!! Why not have some awesome bites...other than chips 'n salsa?

That being said, today is the beginning of featuring some awesome appetizers this week in preparation of the playoffs, Oscars, and other "party events". The first snack is a variation on one of  Jon's favorite breakfast choices, i.e. salmon, bagels and cream cheese...in other words, it's a take on Bagels & Lox! 

Get a bowl, because that is indeed all u need to get this ready!

(Adapted from a friend's recipe she brought to a birthday gathering to play a tasteless cards game that was surprisingly quite funny for those of us depraved enough to play!)

Bagel & Lox Appetizer

Equipment:

Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

4 oz smoked salmon

1 (8oz) Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup Light Sour Cream

1-2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 Tbls Fresh Dill (or 1 tsp dried dill)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Extras:

Stacie's Everything Bagel Chips

Capers

Red Onion, diced

Instructions:

1. Wash Your Hands

2. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, juice, salt, pepper and dill.

3. Fold in chopped salmon.

4. Serve with bagel chips, capers and red onion.

No Waste Left Behind: Roasted Tomatoes

Don't you hate coming home from a weekend off-campus to find half of your fridge close to rotting or rancid? Money is precious when living as an independent college student, so having to chuck your fruits or veggies or crusty-turned-concrete bread away...well, not so fun!

Recently, I have been away from work enjoying a small vacation to Charleston, SC with friends; but, arriving home early this morning, my fridge had a variety of things needing a date with the sink and garbage disposal. Fortunately, only one of my twenty plus little tomatoes was going rotten,. Nonetheless, I needed to act fast to salvage any of them.

Tomatoes (and root vegetables like potatoes, carrots) can be on the verge of bad, and yet, still redeemable with some simple measures, i.e. roasting. Roasting coaxes out all the flavor while preserving the food so that your college budget isn't thrown out the window when you over-buy groceries or don't get around to using a perishable item.

So, don't throw them out!
Especially tomatoes!

Once roasted, add them...

...to pasta.

...to a salad.

...to fresh cheeses or slices of toast or other crusty bread.

...to a sandwich.

Roasting does take some time with tomatoes, i.e. nice and slow, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Perfect so you can take care of other things like studying, getting laundry done, etc.

I made a quick little snack with some leftover mozzarella cheese, drizzled everything with balsamic glaze, a few herbs and my roasted tomatoes. Only thing that could have made it just a tad better...some crusty fresh baguette.

(Adapted from Ina Garten's Back To Basics cookbook. Omitted the sugar and used the tomatoes I had instead of Roma tomatoes.)

Roasted Tomatoes with Mozzarella & Basil

Equipment:
Large baking sheet with rim
Cutting board
Sharp knife

Ingredients:
20 plus medium cherry or sweet salad tomatoes
1/4 c. Olive oil
1-2 Tbls Balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh basil and/or thyme or a sprinkle of dried
Balsamic glaze (this is thicker and sweeter)

Instructions:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Preheat oven to 275F degrees.
3. Halve and remove seeds from your tomatoes.

4. Arrange tomato halves in single layer on baking sheet.
5. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (or syrup), garlic, salt and pepper.

6. Roast your tomatoes for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 275F degrees. Remove from oven and cool.

7. Prep a platter of mozzarella or fresh crusty bread and layer with roasted tomatoes, balsamic glaze, fresh basil and olive oil.

8. Or, boil some pasta to toss with the roasted tomatoes--simple and delicious.

See what you think. If you like what you are eating, leave me a comment. Would really appreciate some feedback.

Tailgating Hot And Cold

Football season is notorious for eating poorly and excessively.  It's one of those facts of life and being part of tailgating on a college campus, or anywhere for that matter.

Of course, no one ever wants to gain weight or fulfill the prediction of the "Freshman (or College) Fifteen", but that shouldn't prevent you from being social, having fun or contributing...right?

So here's a way around that--have it both ways! Bring two items to the party--one that's hot, spicy and "health-challenged":  Hot Jalapeño Cheese Dip--and the other, crunchy, simple and "better-for-you": Cool Cucumber Munchers. No need to stress. Don't be left out! Something for everyone!

To avoid confusion the recipes will be posted in sequence.

Hot Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Dip

(Original recipe calls for bacon.  I would recommend skipping that!)

Equipment:

8 x 10 Pyrex Oven-proof dish

Knife, for chopping

Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

(3 slices of bacon, diced and cooked crispy)

2 8 oz packages of 1/3 reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

4-6 jalapeños, chopped and deseeded--leave some with seeds if you like it hot and fiery!

1 cup corn kernels

1 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar

1/2 cup of mozzarella 

1/3 cup of green onions, sliced

For the topping:

1 cup of crushed Ritz crackers

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 stick butter, melted

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

3. Make the bacon if you choose to use this.

4. Make the topping in a small bowl combining crushed crackers, cheese and butter. Set aside.

5. Combine the first 8 ingredients (bacon to green onions) into a bowl and mix well.

6. Transfer cream cheese mixture to the pyrex baking dish.  Choose size depending how thick you want the dip to be.  For thicker dip you will need to add extra baking time vs. thinner dip.

7. Sprinkle crumbled cracker mixture evenly on top.

8. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

9. Have your crackers waiting.

10. This is a great recipe to make the night before, put it in the fridge, and bake the next day when ready.

While that's baking, move on to your next success.

Cool Cucumber Munchers

Do not be deceived by the simplicity or that this entails cucumbers.

Equipment:

Oven or Toaster Oven

Baking Sheet

Mixing Bowl

Knife, for chopping and spreading

Ingredients:

1 French Baguette, small diameter

1-2 English Cucumbers or Regular Cucumbers, sliced 1/4" thick to fit bread round

4 oz of goat cheese / Chèvre  

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp of Fresh herbs, such as oregano, parsley and marjoram, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Tajin Chili Seasoning (optional and can be bought in Mexican / International Grocery stores.  Worth the investment since this is an ingredient used in several recipes that Jon has requested)

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Alternately peel the cucumber and slice into 1/4" rounds.

2. Slice the baguette into 1/4" rounds and toast slightly.

3. Combine the soft goat cheese with garlic, herbs, S & P, and a pinch of Tajin (if available)

4. Spread cream cheese mixture on to bread rounds.

5. Top with a slice of cucumber and a dash of Tajin

6. Place on a platter or put them in a Tupperware to travel to the game wherever that may be.

7. Be safe and have fun!