Hummus Stuffed Chicken (and Layered Hummus Dip)

I made a delicious Layered Hummus dip the other day and it was so fantastic I decided I needed to put it in some chicken. If you just want the dip I will put the layers at the bottom of the post.









There is no exact measurements for the chicken just how many you need, and be sure not to overload your chicken.



Chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
Hummus, store bought or homemade
Cucumber, diced
Purple Onion, minced
Red Bell Pepper, diced
Feta or Goat Cheese
Shredded Spinach


Paprika, Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to  350





Place your thinly pounded chicken on a flat surface, spread with a layer of hummus
















Sprinkle on cucumbers, onions, peppers, cheese and spinach.











Carefully roll up, secure with tooth picks or tie with butcher's string if needed.


Place on a lightly greased foil on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper as desired.








Bake for 30-45 minutes until an internal temperature reads 165.


Remove from oven cover with foil












allow to set for 10 minutes before serving








For just the dip:

2 cups prepared hummus
1/2 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 small purple onion, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 roma tomato, diced*
2 cups baby spinach, shredded
2-3 oz goat or feta cheese


*I would have put this in the chicken too, but I was out!


Spread hummus in a 8 x 11 baking dish, sprinkle remaining ingredients over in the order given.

Fresh pepper to taste and refrigerate one hour.

Serve with pita or tortilla chips

Pumpkin Apple Soup

It is pumpkin season!! Yummy fall flavors for this blustery day.












4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
2 large apples, cored and quartered
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups stock or broth *
4 cups water
1 package onion soup mix (store bought or homemade)
Pepper to taste
Chives to taste
(you can add more salt if you want, but the broth and soup mixes are salty enough for me)

*I used beef for a richer flavor, you can use chicken or veggie broth if you like



Combine puree, garlic, apples, potatoes, broth and water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until potatoes and apples are very tender.

Use and immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender in batches and puree until smooth.

Add soup mix, pepper and chives. Simmer 10 minutes more.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Cashew Ranch Dressing (Dairy Free)

We are doing a dairy free trial run for skin issues and we are in love with Cashew "Cheeses". Today I needed a dairy free ranch dressing, but I also didn't really want to use a ton of mayo(which was most of the recipes I was finding). Again we turned to the cashews and this turned out beautifully!!








2/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tb white vinegar
1 Tb apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of sugar

Place cashews, almond milk, garlic, onion powder and vinegars in a high powered blender (like Vita-Mix*)
Blend until smooth

Add seasonings to taste and mix well.

Allow to sit in the fridge for flavors to mingle, and it will thicken up too!


*If you only have a regular blender, not high speed, soak your cashews overnight in the milk to soften them first.

C.R.A.B. Salad Sourdough Crepes

Sorry for the teaser, no seafood here but the acronym worked well for me 😊.
Chicken, Ranch, Avocado and Bacon Salad in a Sourdough Crepe! Deliciousness.
The salad is fantastic on a roll if you don't want to bother with the crepes!











Crepes:

Starter:
1½ cups flour (GF mixes work well)
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water

Other:
3 eggs
2 TB melted butter
milk to thin as needed




C.R.A.B. salad:
1 lb chicken breast, (seasoned/cooked to your desires), chopped
4-6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 medium avocado, mashed
¼ tsp lemon juice
¼-½ cup homemade or store-bought Ranch Dressing
2 TB fresh chives, chopped
2 TB green onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cheese as desired, I used crumbled goat cheese, you can use whatever type you like.


Combine Starter ingredients in a bowl, cover and allow to sit 4 hours +.( the longer it sits the more sour-dough it tastes)










While the starter is souring make the C.R.A.B. salad

Mash together avocado and lemon juice to get it dispersed throughout.
Add the diced chicken, bacon, ranch, chives and onion.








Toss gently, season to taste.
Wrap tightly and allow flavors to mingle in the fridge for a few hours.








Crepes:

Whisk eggs and butter into starter mixture, whisk well. Add milk as necessary. (start with just a little!)








Heat a 10 inch pan over medium heat(make sure it is nicely preheated but not OVER-heated to avoid the infamous "first crepe is for the dog"), grease lightly, heat a few seconds more then add a little less than ¼ cup batter to the pan, immediately tilting/rolling the pan to cover the entire bottom, cook 45-60 seconds until the edges start to lift and bottom is slightly browned. Flip and cook another 45 seconds.



Place on a plate, cover and continue with the rest of the batter.












When the crepes are done, place about ⅓ cup of the C.R.A.B. salad and some cheese in the center, roll it up like a burrito and place it in a greased baking dish.








Continue with the rest.













Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through.




I served on a bed of spinach, I was planning to put tomato slices on top, but my tomato went icky.

Ginger Lemon Sekanjabin

My 12 year old had to do a food project on the Renaissance era and we decided to make Sekanjabin. Our version turned out delicious so I decided to post. We were reluctant at first but it is really a fantastic drink!!!!

Makes approx 1.5 gallons













3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar might be a great flavor too!)
10 Lemon Ginger tea bags


16.5 cups cold water(more or less to taste)
Ice


In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a full boil and boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and add vinegar and tea bags.

Allow to cool to room temperature and strain out tea bags.


Mix with water (or club soda would be delicious too!)

Serve over ice

Blueberry Beer Milkshake

I needed a boozy milkshake on this sunny evening. We went down to the store and looked at all the flavors and came up with this combo!











2 cups Tillamook Oregon Blueberry Patch Ice Cream
2/3 cup Sam Adams Fresh As Helles Beer (Blue Moon Belgian White would be a good sub)*
3 oz bourbon whiskey*
1/3-1/2 cup frozen blueberries

* You can adjust your additions to more or less boozy-ness....be careful to not make it too thin though, if you add too much liquid it loses the the milkshake thickness....

Put Ice Cream, Beer and Whiskey in a blender and blend well

Add blueberries and pulse a few times, you want some chunks!



Pour into a glass and enjoy!


My husband and I split this one, but of course you can drink up the whole thing if you like!

Mexican Chocolate Flan Cake

I made a recipe for an easy flan cake for Christmas last year and it was a big hit. My family and I were invited for dinner at a friends house yesterday so I decided to make it up again and incorporate a yummy sounding bundt cake recipe I found, giving it my own twist!
I did not get process pictures but I am sure I will be making this again soon so I will stick them in when I get them!









3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
(Ree Drummond's easy sauce HERE)

Flan:
3 eggs
1-12 oz can evaporated milk
1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 TB pure vanilla extract

Mexican Chocolate Cake:

2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 TB vinegar

1/2 cup butter
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 TB vanilla


Place a large pan(big enough to set your WHOLE bundt cake pan in) with about 3/4-1 inch of water in the oven on a middle rack. Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a heavy bundt pan well. Pour the caramel sauce in evenly. Set aside.

Flan:
Whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk, sweet milk and vanilla. Making sure it is very well whisked.
Gently pour over caramel sauce in the bundt and set aside.

Cake:

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, cayenne, baking soda and salt. Set aside

Measure 1/2 TB white vinegar into a measuring cup, fill to 1/2 mark with heavy cream. Stir and let sit for at least 5 minutes.

In a  sauce pan melt butter over medium heat, add cocoa powder and stir until it is nice and thick. Add water and continue to stir until no lumps remain and it is ALMOST to a boil. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chocolate mixture with sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

Alternately add cream mixture(stir 1 more time before adding) and flour.
When it is all combined beat for 1 minute on medium speed.


Gently pour the cake batter over the flan. DO NOT STIR!!!

Set the entire pan in the water bath in the oven. Bake 50-60 minutes (don't open the oven door before a min of 50 ,  you need that steam!)

Check with a long toothpick or skewer, when it comes out clean it is done.

Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, place a good sized plate over the top, then invert, in should slide out easily and the caramel will run down the sides.....you can scrape out any excess caramel with a rubber spatula.


Enjoy!!!


(Store in the fridge!)

Gingery Banana Bread

I had a HUGE surplus of bananas that were getting over ripe and needed to be used ASAP so I settled for using some for banana bread. I thought about gingerbread and decided to give my banana bread a gingerbread twist!










3 cups flour*
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 medium over ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
6 TB butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

*sub any gluten free mix you like!


Grease 2- 9 inch loaf pans and preheat oven to 350


In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients and whisk together well.










In a mixing bowl combined mashed bananas, molasses, egg butter and sugar and beat until well combined.











Scoop in dry mixture 1/2 cup at a time beating on low speed until combined.

Gently fold in crystallized ginger.










Split the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans and bake 45-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.









Allow to cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Slice and enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Creamy Banana Squash Soup

I got a Farberware 7-in-1 Pressure cooker and have been playing around with it, but so far only followed other recipes. My friend came over and gave me some beautiful banana squash so I thought I would use it for my 1st experimental recipe to see what I can do. I did some searches and modifying to come up with this and I think it turned out very well!

If you don't have a pressure cooker, no worries, you can do it stovetop- just cover over medium heat until the squash is very tender.







2 TB butter
3 cloves garlic
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 lbs Banana Squash, peeled and cubed
1 good sized granny smith (or other tart apple) , cored and diced
1 medium sweet potato (white flesh is my preference), peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 TB dried basil
1 TB dried tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

2 cups milk, half and half or heavy cream *depending on your creaminess desires, you could use a combo blend of fat content or whatever you like, I used whole milk.


Set your pot to saute, add butter, onion and garlic and cook until they are tender and fragrant.

Add squash, apple, sweet potato, and seasonings.











Set pot to Soup/Stew setting and set the timer to 20 minutes, close pot and GO.















When it is done, do the quick release.











 Use an immersion blender or transfer it to a high speed blender in batches to puree to smooth.

Stir in milk/cream slowly. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve!

Tacos Di Pollo Squisiti

I made tacos from an awesome pizza recipe I made a few years ago. I changed it up ever so slightly
but they were fantastic!














1 lb chicken , seasoned cooked and shredded
6 slices peppered bacon, cooked crisp and diced
Baby Arugula
Crumbled Goat Cheese (Fontina or Provolone is also good!)
Taco shells---hard or soft

Sun Dried Tomato Aioli:
1.5 ounces sun dried tomatoes
2 TB olive oil
6 oz plain greek yogurt
1 clove garlic
pinch of cayenne

For the Aioli:
Place Sun Dried Tomatoes and garlic in a high powered blender and chop them into bits. Add in olive oil while the blades are running to chop more. Add in greek yogurt and process until it is mixed thoroughly, puree if you like but I prefer leaving some chunk.

Mix the aioli with the shredded chicken and allow to mingle in the fridge for at least an hour.

When the chicken and ailoi has mingled place in a pan and heat over medium heat until heated through.

Scoop chicken in/onto shells, top with arugula, bacon and cheese and enjoy!