Starters | Avocado Fries with Roasted Garlic Jalapeno Aioli

Yup, you read that correctly. Avocado fries.

 I'm a huge avocado fan. I eat it whenever possible, on just about anything. My dog even loves it (the ASPCA warns that while avocado is toxic for horses, birds, and rodents, dogs just can't have the pits - very unsafe! But avocado itself is great for doggy skin and fur).

Besides, could you turn this face down? Those brown eyes are enough to make Van Morrison melt.

Crispy on the outside, delicious on the inside!

So with our shared love for avocado, when I came across these super delicious morsels on Circle B Kitchen, I couldn't resist. I mean, who needs potato fries when you can have avocado fries? And they're super simple. Without the roasted veggies for the aioli, the whole thing *might* have taken 5 minutes. Not even kidding. Just because the roasted jalapenos and garlic take longer doesn't mean you should skip them. The dipping sauce is oh-so-worth-it. I promise. So a sincere thank you is owed to Circle B Kitchen for spreading your love of all things avocado. Per usual, I made this recipe my own - as you should, too! These will definitely be repeats. Just look at the green goodness. Tapas party, anyone?

Avocado Fries 
with Roasted Garlic Jalapeno Aioli
Yield | 10-12 fries

Prep Time | 5 minutes
Cook Time | 1 1/2 hours for roasting, 3 min for frying
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Ingredients:

Avocado Fries
Oil for frying
1 ripe, but still firm, medium avocado
1/4 cup flour, plus 3 tablespoons**
1 large egg, beaten (I also add 2-3 tablespoons of milk for coating, totally optional)
1 cup panko
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon adobo pepper (cayenne, chili, etc. can be substituted and adjusted to taste)

Roasted Garlic Jalapeno Aioli
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 fresh jalapeno
2-3 cloves garlic (from a head so that peel is intact)
EVOO, to drizzle
Sea salt

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees F. Remove the stem and de-seed your avocado. Remove your garlic cloves from the head, but leave the skin on. Place vegetables in a pan for roasting. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

In case you were wondering, the tomatoes are for my next update - Roasted Garlic and Sundried Tomato Pizza! And yes, it was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.

Heat oil to 375 degrees F. You really only need enough oil to mostly cover the fries, so don't go crazy. Mine was about 1 1/2 inches deep. Circle B does a great job describing how these need to be cooked - the oil needs to be pretty darn hot. For me, not having a (working) thermometer at the moment, this was just a tad over medium heat (low medium-high heat? Haha).

Prepare your dipping station: put your 1/4 cup of flour in a dish for dredging, your egg in a bowl for dipping, and combine your panko and remaining flour, salt, and pepper (I used adobo (aged jalapenos) to compliment the the sauce, but cayenne or chili peppers would do just fine. Or none at all!). I add a little milk to the egg to thin it out a little whenever I batter, well, anything.

Slice your avocado in half. Remove the pit and peel. Cut your avocado into quarters, and then into 1/2 inch slices - should give you 10-12 fries, depending on the size of your fruit.

**So, this part may or may not be necessary. Circle K has you dredge your avocado slices in flour, which is generally what I do before coating any fried veggies. However, I found that a lot of the flour comes off in the egg. If you end up trying this without first covering them in flour, let me know how it works! It may work better without coating first, and adding more flour to the panko mix, maybe 1/3 cup.

Anyways, coat your avocado slices with flour. Dip in egg. Coat thoroughly with panko mixture.

Fry for 15-20 seconds on each side. These really do not take long to fry. Wait for your panko to get golden brown and remove. The hot oil cooks them quickly, keeping the avocado from getting too mushy and the panko from absorbing too much oil.

Let the fries rest on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Keep cooked fries in/on the warmed oven while waiting for subsequent batches - keeps them nice and crispy!

LOVE garlic. And roasted garlic is just tops.

Once your roasted jalapeno slices and garlic cloves are cool, remove garlic from skin (just squeeze those carmelly suckers right out!) and put in small dish with jalapeno slices. Now, if you have a food processor, I imagine you could just stick the veggies and mayo in and go. For me, though, I like to mush the crud out of them, releases the oils and gives the aioli a neat look, I think, with yummy bits of roasted garlic and peppers throughout.

The garlic should be nice and soft and gooey, so it smooshes up quite nicely with the jalapeno. Smooshes really should be the technical term, I think. Just so fun to say. Mixed smooshed jalapeno and garlic with your mayo. Makes one fantastic dipping sauce, if I do say so! It was also great in a tuna wrap the next day!

Drum roll please...

Dip those delicious bites of avocado awesomeness in your aioli and savor. They're rich, but oh-so-tasty. There really is no turning back from these.

Coming soon... Roasted Garlic and Sundried Tomato Pizza, Strawberry Daquiri Poppers, and Chicken Florentine Rolls! And whatever else I decide I feel like making, of course!

Easy Snack | Philly Cheesesteak Croissant Bites

It's Friday. Friday means scary movies and video game night with the boyfriend. Friday means beer and snacks.

Digging through the fridge yields limited results - but I did manage to scavenge up some pepperjack cheese, banana peppers, some veggies, and some shredded beef. So, the Philly Cheesesteak Croissant Bites were born.

This is a super flexible recipe. Use as much or as little of the stuffing as you want. Change it up. Use jalapenos instead of banana peppers, provolone instead of pepperjack - it's all up to you. Technically, these don't even have to be cheesesteaks. They could be quesadillas.


Philly Cheesesteak Croissant Bites
Yield | 8 croissant bites

Prep Time | 5 minutes
Cook Time | 8-10 minutes
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Ingredients:

1 tube croissant rolls (I used Pillsbury)

1/2 cup cooked steak or chicken

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a chunk of pepper jack and sliced off small pieces)

3-4 tablespoons onions, diced

3-4 tablespoons mushrooms, diced

3-4 tablespoons banana peppers, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread out croissant dough and put meat, cheese, and veggies on the wide end. 

Roll dough up and seal ends. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy! These were fantastic with bleu cheese dressing. So good. And, you can freeze and reheat. Who needs Hot Pockets?

Man Meal | Buffalo Bacon Bleu Pizza

The pool opens this weekend. I have to admit, I can't wait. I live for days with my feet in the water, margarita in my hand. And, I'm dying to try making my own frozen slushie booze. I've been trying these $2 freeze-and-drink packets from the grocery store, and they're good, and super convenient, but I can't wait to try my own flavors.

Plus, there's an entire summer of drinking them ahead of me. An entire summer of cocktails and grilling - smoked chicken wings, burgers, corn-on-the-cob, you name it. Next time, we'll even grill the pizza.

While I love pizza (who doesn't), it has never been my strong point. I can pull off a decent yeast-less dough, but the moment you throw yeast and rising and all that into a recipe I'm out of my element.

This dough, though, turned out absolutely fantastic. And this pizza... well... it is every cheesy, chewy, spicy, yummy bit of deliciousness it should be. So good we couldn't help but take picture after picture after picture. See?

After this, I think it is safe to say we may never order pizza again. Well, until a night of sheer laziness. I can definitely say, though, that we will never buy another frozen pizza again. 

Can you really blame me for being photo-happy? Just wait until you taste it.

I have to give Jason Sharp credit for his fantastic recipe on Allrecipes.com. Thank you for Jay's Signature Pizza Crust. My pizza crust ways have forever been changed.

Buffalo Bacon Bleu Pizza
Yield | 1 large pizza

Prep Time | 25 minutes, plus 1 hour to rise
Cook Time | 15-20 minutes
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Ingredients:

For the Pizza Dough
(courtesy of Jay's Signature Pizza Crust on Allrecipes.com)
1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F or 45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the Topping
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup hot sauce, plus 1 tablespoon (Frank's is awesome)
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup bleu cheese, crumbled
4-5 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1/3 red onion, thinly sliced

Dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Stir salt and oil into the yeast mixture. In a large bowl, add yeast solution to 2 1/2 cups of flour.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead in the remainder of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. Form dough into a ball and place in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and roll into a ball. Let dough relax for 2-3 minutes before rolling out. Brush dough with olive oil.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you're using a stone like we did, you can top and stick the pizza straight in the oven. If you're using a pan, however, Jay's Signature Pizza Crust recipe suggests oiling the pan and letting your pizza rise an additional 15-20 minutes before topping and baking.

Stir 1 tablespoon hot sauce into ranch dressing. Feel free to add more if you like a bit more of a bite. We swear by Frank's. Really, we should think about buying stock, we use so much of it. The spicy ranch is going to be your sauce, so spread over dough, leaving 1 inch around the edges.

Add melted butter to remaining 1/3 cup hot sauce until you reach your desired level of hotness (for us it was 2 tablespoons). Top pizza with chicken and buffalo sauce.

Cover with mozzarella and colby jack cheeses. Add bacon, red onion slices, and bleu cheese crumbles.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

This pizza was a hit. It's delicious and filling. The crust is perfect - crunchy on the outside, soft and doughy on the inside. With the bacon, buffalo, and ranchy goodness of the toppings, you can't go wrong.

I think my next one might have to be a cheeseburger pizza. Any reason to use more red onion! Add some fresh tomato, ground beef... sounds good to me.

Coming soon... Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Cajun Fried Cod (so crispy and crunchy! Perfect fish sticks!), Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Lemon Blueberry Scones and so much more.

Starters | Cajun Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Back when I first moved to Raleigh, I met a friend at a bar for a drink, where they had the absolute most amazing spinach and artichoke dip. A little spicy, with nice cool tomatoes on top and toasty pita bread.

While I've completely forgotten the name of the restaurant 400 times over, I will never forget that spinach and artichoke dip.

So that began my search. I tried recipe after recipe for homemade spinach and artichoke dip - I love this one from Food Network's Alton Brown - but a few months ago, a party popped up and smacked me in the face. I completely forgot. Five minutes at the store and a few dollars later, this quick and easy spinach and artichoke dip was born.

Cajun Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Yield | 1 batch

Prep Time | 5 minutes
Cook Time | 10 minutes
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Cheese and tomatoes not pictured... I totally spaced!

1 jar spinach and artichoke dip (I'm in love with Harris Teeter store brand just about anything)

1 package cream cheese, softened (I like reduced fat, less greasy)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus some to top

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, plus some to top

Diced tomatoes for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour jar of dip into a mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, mayo, parmesan, and seasoning. Mix well.

Top with parmesan cheese and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. Bake for 10 minutes. Top with diced tomatoes and serve (not pictured on mine, spaced on even buying tomato! But it's just fine without it!). I LOVE this tip with hot pita bread, but tortilla chips, pretzels, and toasted bread are all fantastic.

So creamy, cheesy, delicious, and quick. Just wait until you try it!

Coming soon... Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Bacon Buffalo Bleu Pizza!

Pasta Night! | Pasta Primavera

Oh man, does the Pioneer Woman's Pasta Primavera look tasty. I just don't have the time to chop all those veggies on a weeknight, though.

But I really, really want Pasta Primavera. And her recipe looks so dang good. Oh. My.

Well... only solution I can see to this is to make my own, much quicker, weeknight-adapted version.

Since primavera is really simple to begin with - veggies, cream, cheese, wham - the only real way to cut down time is in the veggies. So, I used two boxes of frozen Green Giant mix veggies. While I'm certain the Pioneer Woman's painstaking version is incroyable, but for my purposes, this was just dandy.

Of course, I added fresh mushrooms and chicken to mine - have to make it boyfriend-friendly, after all.

Pasta Primavera
Yield | 3-4 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
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Ingredients:

12-14 oz frozen vegetable mix (I used 2 boxes of Green Giant Antioxidant Blend)
1 package fettuccine, cooked al dente
2 tablespoons EVOO
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus some to top
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parsley for topping

Optional:
Chicken, shrimp, fresh veggies, tofu, etc...

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add white wine to deglaze. Simmer until reduced by half.

If you're using frozen veggies, like me, cook, but only roughly 2/3rds of the time indicated on the box - you want them to still be crunchy, like al dente, but for vegetables. Add veggies and oregano and red pepper to onion and garlic mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add cream and parmesan cheese until melted and mixed. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Sauce should be similar to an alfredo sauce, but thinner.

Toss linguine in sauce until lightly coated and top with remaining parmesan and parsley. Serve.

Quick and easy - plenty of veggies and great for a weeknight meal. Add your favorite meat/protein and enjoy.

Man Meal | Cracked Pepper Steak

Awhile back, I decided, in a rush, that I was going to throw together Rachael Ray's Tomato and Vidalia Onion Salad with Steak Sauce Dressing. I made the dressing (my way, as always), and then lost all urge to eat a salad composed of, well, tomatoes and onions. I'm sure it's absolutely delicious - Rachael has long haunted my recipe book collection, and overall, I've been quite happy with what I've tried from her books - but I just wasn't in the mood.

Of course, I saved the sauce until I found my own purpose for it. And that purpose: a sale on sirloin cuts. Oh yeah.

Marinate these babies in the sauce overnight, toss them on the grill (we did ours in the skillet since it was one of Raleigh's five annual cold nights), and you're good-to-go. A little extra sauce to dip in on the side and wham. Tastetastic.

Cracked Pepper Steak
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes, plus at least 1 hour to chill
Cook Time | 30 minutes
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Ingredients:

4 sirloin steaks (I'm sure other cuts will be just fine!)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon black pepper, ground
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons EVOO, plus 2 tablespoons for the pan
Dash hot sauce (as always, we use Franks)

Basically homemade barbeque sauce with a kick. Delicious!

Salt, to taste

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add vinegar, sugar, Worchestershire sauce, and pepper. Let mixture start to bubble and remove from heat. Add tomato sauce, garlic, and olive oil; let cool.

Marinate steaks for at least 1 hour, the longer the better - we did ours overnight and they turned out fantastic.

If you're grilling, heat grill on high and go for it. Because it was raining, we were trapped inside, so heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons EVOO on high heat.

Sear both sides of steak and reduce heat to medium. Cook to preferred temperature.

I don't know if I will ever use the dressing on vegetables, it was just too good on steak!

Boyfriend-approved. Me-approved, and I'm not even a big red meat-eater. Give it a shot, I guarantee you'll love it! And try the sauce on chicken, veggies, shrimp, you name it - it's great grilled, baked, whatever!

Coming soon... Pasta Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Stuffed Peppers, and Jerk-Style Chicken Drumsticks... can't wait!

Pasta Night! | Baked Manicotti

We try to do pasta at least once a week. The boyfriend says it's one of the things I do best.

While I'm not sure about that, I do love everything cheese-filled and sauce-slathered... not to mention garlic bread.

Originally, I wanted lasagna. It's funny, how tastes change - as a child, I hated lasagna. It was in the same category as brussel sprouts (though cover just about anything in cheese and I'll eat it) and cauliflower. Just. Not. Happening.

Now, however, I can't quite get enough. In the fall and winter I have a crockpot lasagna made with cottage cheese we swear by.

However, despite my lasagna craving, my shopportunist nature won out... big pasta sale, and lasagna was not one of them. Manicotti was, though. Never tried to stuff my own manicotti, but what the hey, sounds absolutely tasty.

So cheesy. So delicious. So worth every bite. Thank you, Anny of AllRecipes, for guiding me through this. And, the great thing about this recipe is you can either use a jarred sauce and shorten it (boil, stuff, sauce, and bake) or make your own, so I've included a recipe for a basic marinara sauce, as well. I love making my own - it's easy, and I use red wine, so there's plenty of, uhmm, tasting.

Round up some garlic bread and enjoy!


Baked Manicotti
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 15 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
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Ingredients:

1 package manicotti
1 pint low fat ricotta cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (I used a 6-cheese Italian blend)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for topping
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
2 cups spaghetti sauce (jar, or use the basic marinara recipe below!)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring water to boil and add pasta. Salt (or add olive oil) to keep pasta from sticking. Cook until nearly al dente - they tear easily so don't cook through, the sauces in the oven will soften them.

In a large mixing bowl, add cheeses, eggs, garlic, and oregano. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spoon a little sauce into the bottom of an 11 x 17 baking dish.

If you have piping tools, that's fantastic, but if not, spoon cheese mix into a Ziploc bag. Cut the corner and pipe into the noodle shell. Place filled pasta in dish and top with marinara sauce and remaining parmesan cheese.

So much easier.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Marinara Sauce
Yield | 4 servings

Prep Time | 5-7 minutes
Cook Time | 30 minutes
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Ingredients:

3 tablespoons EVOO
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/3 cup red wine (or 1/4 cup red wine vinegar)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Add oregano and crushed red pepper. Stir and add red wine (or red wine vinegar - use less if using vinegar) to deglaze the pan.

Add canned tomatoes and salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Of course, with my love for capers, this was the perfect time to sneak them in, so feel free to add a tablespoon of the salty, delicious morsels!

So yum!

Coming soon... Quick and Easy Cajun Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Pasta Salad with a Balsamic Dressing, Jerk Marinaded Chicken Drumsticks, and so much more!