What's Cookin Up For Superbowl?

I am sooo not a football fan, but one of my favorite things about Superbowl Sunday is the yummy food. The ladies in my family just chit chat around the food while the guys get crazy over the game.

I've been playing around with some ideas to make for this weekend at my moms and knew I wanted to bring a fun dip of some sort. I love hummus, but have never made my own before, so thought I'd give it a shot. Went shopping yesterday and while I was talking out loud to myself, searching for things, my 5 year old says, "mommy what are chicken peas?" I thought it was cute, my kids are so funny! They must take after their mother. Ok, totally kidding!

After I got all of my ingredients, I decided to try out some homemade hummus this morning with my 2 year old sitting on the counter with me. He helped me put everything in the food processor and enjoyed pushing all the buttons and watching it mix up. Note: The garlic and red bell pepper can be made ahead of time. I usually stick them in the oven in the morning, then they are on hand when I need them. It's not a big deal and it adds huge flavor to this dip!

I don't know why I waited so long to make this, talk about yummy and healthy. Me and the little guy were dipping Triscuits at 9:00am this morning saying Mmmmm!

If you are looking for a good dip to bring this weekend, I assure you, you'll love this! Enjoy!

I know, I got a little carried away with the pictues this morning! It's just a Triscuit.

Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper Hummus

16 oz can Bush's Best garbanzo chick peas, drained (or chicken peas as my 5 year old calls them)
Juice of one lemon
6 cloves roasted garlic cloves *see notes*
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, roasted, chopped * see notes*
Salt and Pepper to taste (I added a few pinches of each)
Parsley sprigs to garnish
Box of Triscuits or Pita chips for dipping

1. Place chick peas, lemon juice, roasted garlic and olive oil into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Remove and transfer to a serving bowl. Stir in red bell pepper and salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley or finely chop and sprinkle it on top. Serve with Triscuits or Pita Chips and Enjoy!!

**Roasting Garlic and Red Pepper**
1. Wrap bulb of garlic (skins and all) loosely in foil. Place red bell pepper on foil. Place both into a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour. Remove garlic and let cool for 10 minutes. Gently cut off one end, then sqeeze roasted garlic into a bowl. Mix until smooth.
2. Remove bell pepper from oven and place into a brown paper bag for 15 minutes. Remove darkened skin, then finely dice/chop.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons

I had these little wonton wrappers in my fridge I've been wanting to use up and here's what I came up with for lunch yesterday. More of an appetizer, but they are tasty little things!

I gave 2 options of cooking these, you can either lightly fry them in oil, as I did in the picture or you can bake them on a baking sheet. Obviously a bit healthier to bake them, gives it a different texture, but still yummy!

At first my boys didn't want to try them, but after a bite, they both ate em' up. Especially dipped in some Ranch Dressing. My 2 year old kept yelling out, "more wanch mommy!"Bad habits started way too early!

Easy and tasty, Enjoy.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wontons

2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
½ Cup finely diced white onions
½ Cup finely diced red bell pepper
2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 12 oz can chunk chicken, drained (from Costco)
¼ Cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
¼ Cup Verde Salsa (I use Herdez brand)
2 Tablespoons prepared ranch dressing

½ package wonton wrappers (I used the brand Nasoya, found in produce section of grocery store)
1 egg white whisked with 2 Tablespoons water

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2. In large bowl add onion mixture, chicken, cilantro, salsa, ranch, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

3. Place 1 Tablespoon chicken mixture in center of wonton wrapper. Brush bottom edge with egg white wash, fold over filling and press edges together firmly, forming a triangle shape.

4. 2 options of cooking. 1^st is place about 1 inch of canola or vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. When hot, place 4 wontons at a time into oil. Cook 1-2 minutes per side or until golden brown. 2^nd option is place wontons on a baking sheet; bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until crispy, flipping once half way through cooking.

5. Serve with Ranch dressing or salsa if desired.

Whole Grain Garlic Roasted Bruschetta

I don’t know what it is about Trader Joes, but it’s one of the only grocery stores I don’t dread going to. Their products make me want to go home and create so many cool recipes, I could go on and on. I only had about 20 minutes to shop before I had to pick my oldest up from school, but I came home with plenty of stuff. First up was this bruschetta. The bread display at the front of the store caught my attention as I walked in. I saw this beautiful baguette that said it was whole grain. Sold! I strolled through the produce area and picked up garlic, basil and Roma tomatoes.

As I was picking out my produce, my youngest apparently was trying to get out of the cart and a sweet old woman said to him, “Oh, sit down honey or you’ll fall out.” You would have thought she tried to steal his snacks, he immediately burst out in tears, totally offended. He’s going through a sensitive phase in life. The old woman looked back and said, “Oh, I ruined his whole morning!” The drama!

I was so excited to go home and make bruschetta for lunch. It was fresh, delicious and guilt free, you can’t beat that combo! The roasted garlic is totally worth the time. I know it’s an extra step, but just throw the whole bulb of garlic in foil, toss it in the oven for an hour at 375 and it’s done.

I got a bunch of other stuff that I’ll be whipping up this week and will post it soon. Thanks to the person who told me about the frozen brown rice from Trader’s. I am ecstatic, 3 minutes in the microwave and out comes brown rice. What a great invention. The workers couldn’t believe it wasn’t sold out again, they said it’s next to impossible to get your hands on it. To those of you who don’t have a Trader Joes, sorry I talk about it all the time! Just find similar products at your grocery store, Enjoy everyone!

Whole Grain Garlic Roasted Bruschetta

1 loaf whole grain baguette
4 large Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 large fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled then thinly sliced
3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed (Place bulb of garlic in lightly wrapped tin foil, bake in oven at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes, peel and ready to use)
2 pinches coarse salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice baguette in ½ inch slices and place on baking sheet or tin foil. Brush lightly with good extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 5-6 minutes until lightly toasted.

2. Place tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil into a large bowl and mix well, making sure garlic is well incorporated.

3. Place heaping Tablespoonfuls of tomato mixture over each toasted baguette slice and serve!

Homemade Crunchy Almond Crusted Chicken Strips

I had to post this recipe before the new year, before we all promise to start eating healthier. Since we've got a few more weeks, you've got to try these homemade chicken strips. They are delicious with a capital D!

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner a few weeks ago and just started taking things out of the pantry and this is what I ended up making. We had them for one of our family night dinners we do every Monday and everyone loved them.

Break out the oil and get frying!! Dip the strips in some honey mustard or ranch dressing, mmmm!

Crunchy Almond Crusted Chicken Strips (my own recipe)

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ Cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 eggs, beaten
¾ Cup Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)
½ Cup finely chopped almonds (chopped in food processor or blender)
4-5 Cups Vegetable oil

1. Cut chicken breasts into ½ inch strips then cut each strip in half. Set aside

2. Place flour, salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning in a shallow bowl. Place eggs in another bowl, then the panko and almonds in a 3^rd bowl.

3. Dip each chicken strip first into the flour mixture, then the egg, then the almond mixture. Set all coated chicken strips on a baking sheet.

4. Heat about 4-5 Cups of vegetable oil in a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat, until 350 degrees F. When hot, fry strips in batches for 3-4 minutes, flipping around often, until golden brown. Transfer cooked strips to a paper towel lined baking sheet and season with salt. Serve with favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
4 servings