(28) Triple Cheese Garlic Bread

I will say that I did not make this recipe as written, but even still, there was no cheese flavor AT ALL and no distinct garlic flavor. It was tasty and had a good texture though. I'm not sure I would make it again, but I did want to review it and maybe revisit it to tweak sometime in the near future. I was out of white flour (I know, for real?!) so I used 2.5 cups of whole wheat flour.

Also, recipes for bread machine breads always say to put ingredients in using the machine's instructions. My machine tells me to put in liquids, dry ingredients, then yeast last. The handbook also mentions that if you've got salt, don't put that near the yeast because salt can prematurely activate the yeast. Good to know!

Here's what the bread looked like when it came out of the bread machine. Hello!? What the heck happened to the top?!

---

Triple Cheese Garlic Bread

1 cup water
1/2 cup creamed cottage cheese
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
3 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

Place ingredients in bread pan in order listed for your machine. This makes a 1.5 lb loaf

Starting of the new year with a bang...

Well alrighty then! Starting out the new year with a kitchen mishap. Good times! Tonight, I made turkey ruebuens (which I will review in a sec) and Cheese Fries from Cooking Light. DISASTER. We had someone at the house tonight, so I thought I'd do 1.5x the recipe so we had enough. Apparently more is not merrier where fries are concerned. They were not ready after 40 minutes, total mush and stuck to the pan like crazy.

Now for the blonde moment of the evening. I went on the CL website to read reviews - thinking someone had maybe had this problem before and had a suggestion on how to make them not stick. Yeah guess what, that would be ME. Okie dokie! In my defense, it was in 2005 and seeing as how I can't remember things you told me yesterday, I don't feel TOO stupid, but I do feel mildly dumb!

These are tasty, but I have got to figure out how to avoid the stick. Suggestions? Are you a whiz at oven fries?! Help a sister out!!

(68) Mushroom Ravioli w/Parmesan Chive Sauce

Ok, let me say that the flavor on this was OUT.OF.THIS.WORLD. I mean, it was so good that I'm dreaming of the leftovers. The ravioli itself was a bit, um, interesting, though. It wasn't hard to stuff, but maybe I cooked them 3 seconds too long or something (I watched closely, I promise!), I dont know, but they were awfully mushy. In the bowl it was kind of like mushroom lasagna w/cream sauce. NOTHING like the picture you will see below. Anyway, the flavor totally made up for it. I want to try this one again and stuff it in cannelloni shells or maybe even fill crepes with it. SO FREAKING GOOD.

PS: Two things extra - (1) I doubled this so the baby could have some and we'd also have leftovers and (2) my camera died a sad death yesterday, but I promise when I get a new one this week, I'm going to start taking pics of my recipes! Just FYI!

---

Mushroom Ravioli w/Parmesan Chive Sauce

Freeze leftover wonton wrappers in heavy-duty zip-top bags.

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 7 ravioli and 3 tablespoons sauce)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, June 2007

Ravioli:
1/2 (8-ounce) package button mushrooms
1/2 (6-ounce) package presliced portobello mushrooms
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/8 teaspoon salt
14 wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce:
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Remaining ingredient:
Fresh chives (optional)

To prepare ravioli, place mushrooms in food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely chopped. Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook 5 minutes or until moisture evaporates, stirring occasionally.

Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep them from drying), spoon about 2 teaspoons mushroom mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners together. Pinch edges together to seal, forming a triangle. Place ravioli on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch.

To prepare sauce, combine milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; stir with a whisk. Cook 4 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, 1 tablespoon chives, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Set aside; keep warm.

Cook ravioli in boiling water 2 minutes or until tender. Drain. Serve with sauce. Garnish with fresh chives, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 334 (22% from fat), Fat: 8.2g (sat 3.5g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.8g), Protein: 17.3g, Carbohydrate: 48.7g, Fiber: 2.5g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Iron: 3mg, Sodium: 896mg, Calcium: 410mg

(64) Southwestern Chicken Roll-Ups

I'm not a huge recipe tweaker and I certainly am not a make-it-up kind of girl. I am in awe of people who make up their own recipes. So what I say here is a rare statement from me - I'm gonna work on this one. I think this recipe has a LOT of potential, but as written, I didn't love it. It was pretty good, but has the potential to be awesome.

Next time I think I will mix the cream cheese and salsa together as well as chop up the cilantro and mix that in with it. The breadcrumbs were kind of awkward. I don't know if it needed egg wash (or salsa wash?) or maybe panko instead? In any case, I will keep you updated on my progress. I know you'll be hanging on the edge of your seats until then ;)

---

Southwestern Chicken Roll-Ups

This recipe is fast and easy, and I can prepare it in advance for guests. Use toothpicks to secure the chicken before dredging. -CL Reader

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken roll)
Source: Cooking Light Magazine, June 2004

6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 tablespoons (about 3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
6 tablespoons picante sauce
6 cilantro sprigs
6 tablespoons Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Top each breast half with 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 tablespoon picante sauce, and 1 cilantro sprig. Roll up jelly-roll fashion, beginning at narrow end.

Dredge chicken rolls in breadcrumbs. Place rolls, seam sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; lightly coat rolls with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until chicken is done.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 257 (20% from fat), Fat: 5.8g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.6g), Protein: 41.7g, Carbohydrate: 6.9g, Fiber: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Iron: 1.6mg, Sodium: 385mg, Calcium: 40mg