Mini-Mac Sliders

Thought I'd get one more post up quickly while I am baking some yummy zucchini bread up.  I hadn't been out to my garden much lately and you would not BELIEVE the number of zucchini that I picked out there last night.  Some of them are HUGE!  Not sure if they are still very good that big?  We shall see because I decided to seed and peel one of the larger ones and try using it in a bread.  I'm thinking maybe the larger ones would be OK for baking?  I'm learning.  I obviously don't know much since I am the person that planted SEVEN zucchini plants.  I'm sure I will have many more zucchini recipes to share soon;P

I made these Mini-Mac Sliders last night and I LOVED them.  Now, I'm not a big fan of McDonald's, but these were so much better.  My kids really enjoyed them too, sliders are always just perfect for small hands to hold and manage.  My oldest skipped the Secret Sauce, but I guess I expected that since he isn't big on any type of sauce aside from ketchup on his burger.

Here is what you will need to recreate the McDonald's Special Sauce:

Special Sauce:

1/2 c. Mayo

2 Tbsp. Creamy French Dressing

3 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish

1 1/2 Tbsp. finely minced onion

1 tsp. white Vinegar

1 tsp. granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp. kosher salt (as you can see, I messed up and used regular)

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use!

Here is what you will need to complete the burgers:

Mini-Mac Sliders

1 1/2 lb. Ground Chuck

2-3 Green Onions, sliced thin, then roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

Iceberg lettuce cut into super-thin strips (about 1 c.)

Pickle Slices

6 Colby Jack cheese slices

12 Slider Buns (I couldn't find them so I used dinner rolls which worked perfectly)

Combine the ground check with the green onions, olive oil, black pepper, and kosher salt.  Mix by hand until just combined and, then form 12 mini burgers- make an indentation in the center of each burger to prevent them from becoming much thicker in the middle than in the rest of the burger.  Little tip from Bobby Flay;) 

Place on a preheated grill pan (I used my regular outdoor grill) over medium high heat.  Cook 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.  Flip and repeat.  

Toast buns if desired (I do, I just can't live without toasted buns).  Top bottom bun with a slider, cheese, pickle, lettuce, sauce, and then top bun.  

Enjoy!

Source: Simply Scratch

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

For our Sunday dinner this past weekend, I made a wonderful new soup that is supposed to be very similar to one served at the Olive Garden.  My husband and I have never had it there, but I do know that my home version was fantastic!  Aside from the heavy cream, this is a fairly healthful recipe.  I am thinking that you could also make it with half and half or milk if you want to trim the calories.  I think I might give it a try that way.  I highly recommend that you grab some crusty bread.  I was fresh out and we all wished we had some to dunk in this creamy soup.

If you are in Bismarck, please note that neither Walmart nor Dan's carries Potato Gnocchi.  I did find them finally in the freezer section of Central Market.

Doesn't this soup look delicious?  Especially on my new china!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

6 c. chicken stock

3 c. heavy cream

3 garlic cloves

1 lg. carrot, shredded

1 small onion, diced

1 bag baby spinach

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. thyme

salt and pepper, to taste

1 1/2 lb. bag frozen Potato Gnocchi

Saute the onion, garlic, and carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.  Add chicken, chicken stock, heavy cream, salt and pepper, and thyme.  Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi.  Gently boil for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to simmer and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Add spinach and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

Johnny Carino's Bowtie Festival

While I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this recipe having never had it at Johnny Carino's, I can say that it is a delicious treat.

Johnny Carino's Bowtie Festival

2 oz. melted butter

2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

1/4 c. diced red onion

1/4 c. diced cooked bacon

1/2 c. diced Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 lb. sliced, cooked chicken

2 oz. heavy whipping cream

6 oz. Alfredo sauce (recipe follows)

1/4 c. Asiago cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 lb. bowtie pasta, cooked

In a heated saucepan, combine butter, garlic, onions, bacon, tomatoes, chicken, and spices.  

When onions begin to turn translucent, and heavy cream and Asiago.

Once cheese and cream have reduced by half, add alfredo sauce and bowtie pasta.  Toss until well-combined and remove from heat.  Allow to cool for a few minutes so the cheese and sauce can thicken.

Alfredo Sauce

2 c. Heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

1/8 c. whole milk

Bring heavy cream, milk, and black pepper to a consistent boil.  Remove cream mixture from heat and fold in parmesan cheese.  Store completed sauce in fridge until use.

If you have extra alfredo sauce (which you should) you may want to serve it as a dipping sauce for some french bread or breadsticks.  

Ground Round Chicken Tortilla Soup

The Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe I am going to post today is just about as easy as they come.  I was told that it tastes exactly like the one they serve at Ground Round.  Since I have never had it at Ground Round, I cannot vouch for that fact.  This is a great really quick week-night meal.  I got the recipe awhile back from a friend, and I haven't changed a thing except the way I do the chicken.  The original recipe called for canned chicken.  My family really doesn't care for canned.  The next time I tried it, I shredded 2 chicken breasts.  There was something about the shredded breasts that I just didn't love either.  The last time I made it, I cut the chicken into about 1/2 inch pieces and browned it in a small amount of oil on the stove-top.  I really feel like the is the way to go:-)  

Wow.  I am embarrassed.  I never thought I would obsess so much about chicken cooking methods.  I see my husband in now following my little cooking blog.  I'm sure he will be teasing me later;P

Ground Round Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb. chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)

1/2 Tbsp Canola oil

10 oz. can fiesta nacho cheese soup

10 oz. can enchilada sauce, red

10 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1 soup can of milk

shredded cheddar (optional)

Tortilla Chips (optional)

Heat a over med-high heat.  Add oil.  Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.  Add to saute pan and saute them until they are browned.  

Add soups, enchilada sauce, and milk to a medium saucepan.  Whisk until well-blended.  Add chicken to mixture.  Bring to just a boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Be careful!!  It will burn onto the bottom!! 

We like to serve this topped with a little shredded cheddar and tortilla chips on the side.  They are good crushed and added to the soup, or used as scoops for the soup.

Zuppa Toscana

We made a big pot of our favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana over the weekend. It was perfect meal for a weekend filled with Winter Storm Warnings:-) I have posted this recipe before on my other blog, but I am going to work at getting all the recipes off of there slowly posted here. 

I'm not sure how you can go wrong with flavors like this together. Keep in mind, this makes a full, HUGE pot of soup. I don't recommend halfing it though, you will want the leftovers--plus it just gets better as it sits in the fridge and the flavors have a chance to meld.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb Italian Sausage
1 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. fennel

6 medium russet potatoes, thinly slices (scrub & leave skins on)

1 large onion, diced

5 slices bacon

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

4 cups kale leaves, cut in half, then sliced (stem removed)

10 cups chicken broth

11/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook the Italian sausage, red pepper, and fennel in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat browned.  Set aside.

Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towel to drain, then crumble.  Leave 1-2 Tbsps. of drippings in the bottom of the Dutch oven and drain off the extra. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream, cooked sausage, bacon, and kale; heat through. 

I HIGHLY recommend that you serve this soup with Crusty French Bread, warm from the oven. It is so good to sop up this soup with.

Buffalo Wild Wing Night at Home

           My family LOVES Buffalo Wild Wings.  One thing I DON'T love is spending $75 on one meal (yes, that price includes a couple of beers each for the hubby and I.  Who can have wings without beer?).  So...we just don't get to go out to eat as often as we would like.  I guess that is one of the drawbacks of being a stay-at-home-mom.  When we originally cut back on our dining out, I won't lie, it was hard and I really missed it.  Now, I have started to have fun with it.  Funnily enough, many of our restraunt favorites are actually very easy to make at home.

For both of the sauce recipes below, we used popcorn chicken.  The ones I used were the Member's Mark brand from Sam's Club, which are very good and almost exactly like the boneless wing pieces at BWW.  We do deep fry our chicken just like BWW's does, but I do think you could get away with baking it if you wanted to save some calories.  We don't have these very often, so we go all out when we do;P

Sweet and Spicy Wing Sauce is a tried and true recipe we have been making for awhile now.  It is a bit spicy, but it is mild enough that all 3 of my kids will eat it.  It also has a sweetness to it from the honey that is irresistable.  This sauce is not actually a BWW copycat recipe, but it is at least as good as many of their best sauces.

                                                      

Sweet & Spicy Wing Sauce

1/2 c. Ketchup

1/3 c. Frank's Hot Pepper Sauce

1/2 c. butter

2 Tbsp. honey

Combine the butter, hot sauce, ketchup, and honey in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour over popcorn chicken or wings in bowl and toss.

Serve with Bleu Cheese dressing for dipping!

The next sauce recipe I would like to share is for Spicy Garlic Sauce.  Let me just say, it is AWESOME.  It really is just like the real thing that they serve at Buffalo Wild Wings.

                                                         

Spicy Garlic Wing Sauce

1 c. Frank's Hot Pepper Sauce

1/3 c. canola oil

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

1 egg yoke

2 tsp. water

2 tsp. cornstarch

Combine all ingredients except egg yolk, water, and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Heat sauce over medium heat until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and allow it to cool, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

While sauce cools, vigorously whisk egg yolk with 2 tsp. water in a medium bowl for about 2 minutes or until the color is a pale yellow.  Whisk in cornstarch until disolved.  Drizzle sauce mixture into egg yolk mixture in a steady stream while rapidly whisking.  Now you should have a nice, thick creamy sauce!  If you aren't ready to make yours wings, just pop in the fridge and store until needed!

Pour over popcorn chicken or wings in bowl and toss.

Serve with Bleu Cheese dressing for dipping!

Now I just need to learn how to make Mango Habanero Wings!  Yum!  Those are my new favorite thing to have at Buffalo Wild Wings.  When I made the above recipes, I also made Buffalo Chips.  I will have to share the recipe for those soon!