Jalapeño Popper Soup Re-visited

We have been sick with the crud this month so soup and scrambled eggs have made up the bulk of our diet.  We made some super-easy Cheaters Chicken Soup and then turned around, once we got a bit of our energy back, and turned some of the stock into this delicious, creamy, spicy, hearty, filling soup as it’s a great way to use up the leftover chicken.  We enjoy the soup quite hot and spicy but you can mellow it out some by either removing the seeds from the jalapenos or using less of them.  Also, we use white meat in the soup but if you have a preference for dark meat, go for it!

Jalapeño Popper Soup

• 2 chicken breast halves, roasted, skin & bones removed, shredded
• 1 lb bacon, cut crosswise in 1/8-in strips
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4-6 whole jalapenos, stems removed, sliced in thin 1/2 rounds
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups cheaters chicken soup, or chicken stock of your choice
• 6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 oz. block of cream cheese, cut in chunks
• salt & pepper to taste

In a soup pot, slowly cook the bacon pieces until crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside, leaving the fat behind.  To the fat add the onion and sauté until golden.  Add the jalapenos and garlic and sauté until the jalapenos and garlic are fragrant and softened.  Remove half of the onion/jalapeno mix and set aside with the reserved bacon.  Add the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the cheddar cheese and while stirring, allow it to melt.  Add the cream cheese and using a hand blender, blend until fully mixed and creamy.  Return the soup to a simmer and add in the shredded chicken and reserved bacon and onion/jalapenos.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes and season to taste with salt & pepper.

Enjoy!

Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip

Seven weeks down and five to go before it’s back to school for Miss. Maisie.  We can’t believe how quickly summer is passing and honestly none of us are looking forward to it being over and returning to the school year schedule.  One of the things that we’re really enjoying this summer is our time relaxing out on the dock, sipping our cocktails and snacking on appetizers, such an enjoyable way to spend summer evenings.  So of course when it came time to search out a recipe on our assigned Secret Recipe Club blog Colie’s Kitchen, we were on the lookout for appetizers. 

 

There were many recipes on Nicole’s blog, both appetizer and non-appetizer which caught our attention and were in the running for this month’s recipe.  I mean how delicious do Southwest BBQ chicken, Southern fried corn, Avocado mozzarella salad, or bunuelos sound?  I mean seriously, difficult choices.  But then there were two recipes which really sparked the debate on which to make and it came down to either Nicole’s cold Jalapeno popper dip or her hot Jalapeno popper dip.  I mean it’s Jalapeno popper dip two ways!  We adore, ADORE, the taste of jalapeno poppers as evidenced by two of our other favorite recipes, Jalapeno Popper Soup and our Totally Outrageous Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich, yes we do love our jalapeno poppers!  In the end it was the hot dip which won the coin toss and it was made for the ladies of book club.  Now you’d think that some hot spicy dip would be too much for the ladies who read but let me tell you, they were scraping that serving dish clean, licking their lips and asking for the recipe.  Needless to say the dip was a huge hit and super simple to make and thus, has been added to the make-again-and-often recipe list. 

 

We did of course change Nicole’s recipe a bit.  Her recipe calls for a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese and we thought that we had both in the house but when we were preparing the dish we found that we were out of cheddar and only had about a 1/3 cup of parmesan so we went with what we had and that was mozzarella.  We also added crumbled bacon and that was a very last minute decision.  Seriously, we had put the dish in the oven and two minutes in, pulled it out and added on some bacon.  Not sure what possessed us to do that, but it sure was delicious.  Check out Nicole’s recipe or use ours, either way, if you’re a jalapeno popper lover, you won’t be disappointed. 

 

Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip (Adapted from here)

 

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos, diced (use diced chilies for less heat)

• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• 1/3 cup crumbled cooked bacon

Preheat oven to 375F.  In a bowl mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese and the diced up jalapenos.  Lightly grease a baking dish (I used a shallow 1.5 qt. oven safe dish) and spread the jalapeno cheese mix evenly.  Top with the shredded Parmesan cheese and bacon.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown on top.  Serve hot with crackers or tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms 
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema  
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries
Zesty Zucchini Skillet
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata

It’s difficult to believe that our previous time participating in The Secret Recipe Club was way back in November!!  In some ways it feels like a long time ago, but with the holidays and all that they entail, the time passed quickly.  It’s really good to be back and participating again.  This month we were assigned Mellissa’s blog, A Fit & Spicy Life.  Mellissa is a healthy, wine-loving, dog-loving, recipe-loving gal and reading her blog allows a glimpse into her fun-loving life.

It was a cold, gray, rainy night the evening we perused Mellissa’s blog and the idea of something warm, comforting & easy was what made us stop and drool when we spotted her Bacon & Vegetable Frittata.  Seriously, there’s nothing easier, more comforting or delicious than a hearty breakfast for dinner so that’s exactly when and what we enjoyed, using Mellissa’s Bacon & Vegetable Frittata as the inspiration and guide for our meal.  Mellissa mentioned in her post, that a frittata “can be the best dish to use up all those veggies that are about to go bad” so we raided our veggie drawer and used what we had.  Also, to make it a bit heartier and because we had it already defrosted and it needed to be used, we added ground turkey to the mix.  In the end, with the inspiration of Mellissa’s recipe as our guide, we enjoyed a perfectly hearty breakfast for dinner frittata…and it reheated beautifully for meals later in the week.  Check out Mellissa’s Bacon & Vegetable Frittata and all her other recipes on A Fit & Spicy Life.

Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata (adapted from here)

• 8 Eggs
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper 
• 6 slices bacon, divided
• 2 cups fresh chopped (chunky) broccoli
• 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup oven roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

Heat oven to 325F.  In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy whipping cream, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. pepper, and set aside.  In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.  Pour off all but 2 TBS. of the bacon fat and return the pan to the heat.  Add the broccoli and cook until tender and golden in spots.  Remove the broccoli from the pan and set aside.  Add the ground turkey & minced garlic to the pan and season with salt & pepper.  Cook the turkey until no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks.  Add the roasted tomatoes just as the turkey finishes cooking.  Remove the pan from the heat and add back in the cooked broccoli.  Dice three of the bacon strips and add those to the pan along with the grated cheese, stir to combine.  Pour the contents of the pan into a 10-inch silicon cake pan which has been placed on a baking sheet, or if your pan is oven-proof, just keep the ingredients in the pan and continue.  Pour the egg mixture over the turkey/broccoli mix and top with the remaining three strips of bacon (each cut in half.)  Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly delicious.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce 
Asian Pork Chops 
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing 
Beef Keema  
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries 
Zesty Zucchini Skillet 
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk 
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of bacon and eggs!  My mind went off in so many directions with these ingredients, of course first thinking about breakfast and then going to the sweet side thinking about my Piggy-Out Cookies which contain bacon and eggs or my over the top Kicked Up Piggy-Out Cookies which also contain eggs along with my Spicy Brown Sugar Bacon…YUM!!  In the end though I decided to go the breakfast / brunch / anytime hold-it-in-your-hand, easy-to-reheat, great-on-the-go route with my Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups.   I love that I can bake up a batch of these, they can be eaten right away or saved for later as they reheat beautifully in the microwave.  Eammon likes when I have extra as I’ll freeze them so he can, pull out, reheat and enjoy one or two anytime he desires.  I hope that you’ll give these easy to make Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups a try.

Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups

5 slices bacon
1 brick (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 TBS milk (I used fat-free)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 medium green onions, chopped
1 can (12 oz) flaky refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)

Heat oven to 375F.  In a skillet cook the bacon until crisp and then drain on paper towels. Take two strips and cut each into 5 equal pieces.  Crumble the remaining three slices and set aside.  In a bowl the beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the milk and eggs, beating on low speed until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese and green onions. Set aside.

Spray 10 regular-sized muffin cups with cooking spray.  Separate the dough into 10 biscuits. Press biscuit to form a 5-inch round. Place one biscuit round in each muffin cup and firmly press into the bottom and up sides. Divide the crumbled bacon between the 10 dough lined muffin tins, placing it into the bottom of dough-lined muffin cups. Spoon the cheese mixture evenly into cups.  Bake 21 to 26 minutes or until filling is set and edges of biscuit cups are golden brown. Remove from the oven and into the top center of each Quiche Cup, stick a piece of the cut bacon for decoration.  Remove biscuit cups from pan and serve.

These do really well being reheated in the microwave so a great do-ahead breakfast meal-to-go.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

March 2013  Carrots & Peas:  Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup 
February 2013  Hearts & Flours:  Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Loaded Potato Soup

It’s Secret Recipe Club time and this month I was assigned the blog Cupcakes with Sprinkles which is written by Meghan, a sweets loving, cooking and crafting Mama to two cutie-patootie little girls.  So I know you’re scratching your head thinking Cupcakes with Sprinkles and a sweets loving Mama and here I am posting a recipe for Loaded Potato Soup???  Well I had just done a whole slew of sweet treat baking as I was sending a care package off to a friend’s daughter who’s away on her mission for the next year, so here in the Cook Lisa Cook home we were sort of sweet treated out.  Also, about a month ago we were out for dinner and Eammon ordered loaded potato soup and just adored it and had asked if I would try to make some at home for him, so when I saw Meghan’s loaded potato soup recipe I knew what I’d be making.  Trust me though a number of her sweet treat recipe have been saved to make in the future.  I mean check these out and I know you’ll be adding them to your list of recipes to make:  Boston cream pie, one of my all time favorites, white chocolate mousse torte for my white chocolate loving husband and Avalanche Bars which I know I’ll be making one day soon with Maisie.

The day that I made Meghan’s soup was a cold day here in Georgia so it was a perfect & delicious meal.  I’m not even going to mention how much of the pot Eammon consumed in just one day but I’ll put it to you this way, I have already made this soup again and seeing how much Eammon especially loved it the first time, I was smart and made a double batch the second time around.  Oh and here’s something amazing and almost unheard of, other than adding a bit of salt, I changed nothing in Meghan’s recipe…yes amazing for the cook who is always tweaking and changing recipes.  Oh and when I say I didn’t change anything, I mean even the second time around, this recipe is just absolutely perfect and I hope you’ll give it a try…but make a double batch, trust me on that one!    

Loaded Potato Soup (recipe from here)

• 1/2 lb bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 30 oz. Cheaters Chicken Soup or 2 - 15oz cans chicken stock or vegetable stock  
• 3 TBS. butter
• 3 TBS. all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used skimmed)
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 
• sea salt, to taste
• sour cream for garnish

In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot and add the onions, cook until tender.  Leave the onions in the pot and add the potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon remove about a cup of potatoes. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes on med-low. Whisk in the milk, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened.  Slowly stir the milk mixture in to stock pot of potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Stir the bowl of smashed potatoes back into pot.  Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and three-fourths of the bacon to the pot. Add pepper and salt to taste. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with some shredded cheese, bacon and sour cream.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast

Here in the Cook Lisa Cook home, Eammon and I are huge fans of buffalo-ed foods.  One of our favorite meals is my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole and we can’t resist Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, so when I saw a recipe on Mercedes’ The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife for Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast, well I was on it faster than you can say aye, aye Captain!

I made a few changes to Mercedes’ recipe.  First, I didn’t have wing sauce so I made my own and then I completely mixed her Gorgonzola cheese as we don’t care for stinky or blue veined cheeses.  I also decided to add bacon because…well, I just thought it would make the recipe and for us, and it did.  These Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toasts were wonderful and I will say,quite filling. 

I’m not a huge bread person but I loved the thick, buttery, garlic Texas Toast and it held up well to the creamy ranch dressing and the spicy chicken and sauce.  

I loved that I could make all the components of the dish and have them ready so that when it was time to serve, it only took a minute or two to assemble, heat it up and have a wonderful little meal or a delicious appetizer, and these will be especially easy and good for the guys on game day.

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast

• 8 slices Texas Garlic Toast
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
• 2 TBS. peanut oil or oil of your choice
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper 
• 1 tsp. garlic powder 
• 2/3 cup hot sauce 
• 5 TBS. butter 
• 3 TBS. ranch dressing 
• 1 cup Fiesta Blend Cheese or shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon bits 
• 4 green onions, sliced

Bake Texas Toast according to package directions, allowing them to get a bit toasted.  In a microwave safe bowl combine the hot sauce and butter and heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce.  Set the sauce aside.

In a separate bowl mix together the cheese, bacon bits and green onions and set aside.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Toss chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and add to the skillet.  Cook quickly until the chicken is just cooked through.  Don’t over cook as you want the chicken to remain moist.  Add 1/2 cup of the buffalo wing sauce and stir to toss and coat the chicken.  Remove garlic bread from oven and switch oven to broil. Brush each slice first with ranch dressing, then with hot sauce mixture.  Next add the chicken and top with the cheese mixture.  Broil toast 2-4 minutes, watching closely and rotating the pan as needed. Once the cheese has melted, remove from the broiler and top with another drizzle of the hot sauce mixture.

Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe is spicy and on my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole I get a lot of questions from people saying that they don’t do hot foods and what could they substitute for the hot sauce or how to tone down the spiciness.  So to address that question on this recipe, here are some suggestions if you don’t care for spicy foods.  Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce in place of the hot sauce.  Another suggestion is to increase the ratio of butter to hot sauce so to cool it a bit, On my casserole recipe people have had good luck using Italian dressing as the seasoning on the chicken and still using the ranch sauce as well.  Still others have mixed a little bit of hot sauce in with a larger amount of ranch dressing just to give a little flavor of Buffalo chicken.  Use this basic recipe and tailor it to you tastes and enjoy.

Maisie “Safe” Bacon & “Cheese” Zucchini Fritters (gluten, egg & dairy free)

Maisie has been gobbling these fritters down like crazy and I’m thrilled that she loves them so much.  Recently I made Bacon & Cheese Zucchini Fritters which were crazy good and they tasted more like loaded potatoes then zucchini and I knew that Maisie would love them but because of her allergies she couldn’t have any.  Well as I stated in that recipe, our garden is producing a lot of zucchini so I figured that I’d give this recipe another go but make it safe for my girl to eat…and am I ever glad that I did because she’s eating lots of zucchini, not knowing it and loving it.

Maisie “Safe” Bacon & “Cheese” Zucchini Fritters (gluten, egg & dairy free)

• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 medium sweet onion, grated
• 1 cup hot water
• 3 TBS. Chia Seeds 
• 1 cup potato flakes  
• 1 8oz. bag Daiya Cheddar style shredded "cheese” 
• 1/2 cup bacon bits
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• peanut oil or oil of your choice

Add the grated zucchini and grated onion to a cheesecloth lined sieve and squeeze & press out as much of the water as possible.  In a small bowl mix together the hot water and Chia seeds and allow a gel to form.  In a large bowl add the squeezed out zucchini & onion, Chia seed gel, potato flakes, Daiya “cheese” shreds, bacon bits, salt & pepper.  Stir to combine well.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Using a large cookie scoop portion out the zucchini mixture into the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan.  Press and spread the zucchini mixture just a little.  Cook until the bottom side is golden and then carefully flip to cook the other side.  Once both sides are golden remove to a paper towel lined cooling rack.  Serve hot, room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

Bacon & Cheese Zucchini Fritters

Yesterday I pulled a giant zucchini from the garden which was the length and girth of Eammon’s forearm.  I’ve been in the mood for Zucchini Fritters and I’ve made them in the past but I wanted to do something a bit different so decided to change up my recipe a bit by adding bacon and cheese and I also omitted the flour as I’m trying to avoid carbs.  These fritters were tender and full of wonderful flavor.  The funny thing about them though, everyone thought that they were eating potato pancakes as they really tasted almost like stuffed potato skins.  I wish that I had had some sour cream to top the fritters as I think that would have been the perfect finishing touch.  I’d bet if you wanted to fool some veggie hating adult or child into thinking that they’re eating potato, just take off the green skin of the zucchini and they’ll never know that they’re eating a healthy vegetable.  These were delicious hot last night but I enjoyed them even more as leftovers for breakfast this morning.  

Bacon & Cheese Zucchini Fritters

• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 medium sweet onion, grated
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup bacon bits 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt 
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• peanut oil or oil of your choice

Add the grated zucchini and grated onion to a cheesecloth lined sieve and squeeze & press out as much of the water as possible. In a large bowl add the squeezed out zucchini & onion, eggs, grated cheese, bacon bits, salt & pepper.  Stir to combine well.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Using a large cookie scoop portion out the zucchini mixture into the hot pan, being careful not to over crowd the pan.  Press and spread the zucchini mixture just a little.  Cook until the bottom side is golden and then carefully flip to cook the other side.  Once both sides are golden remove to a paper towel lined cooling rack.  Serve hot or as I prefer, chilled for breakfast the following morning.

Enjoy!

Totally Outrageous Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

For this month’s Crazy Cooking Challenge the participating bloggers were challenged by our hostess Tina, of Moms Crazy Cooking to find the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich and I’m telling you, I found it.  This is no ordinary grilled cheese sandwich, this is an over the top totally outrageous Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  Let me explain the challenge a bit and then I’ll get to the sandwich.  The way that the Crazy Cooking Challenge works is that each month there is a dish that our hostess Tina challenges the participating bloggers to make.  We all go out searching non-celebrity blogs looking for what we think is the ultimate recipe for that dish and once we find it, we make it and then all on the same day we do our post featuring the recipe and the blog where it was found.  As I said, this month the challenge was to find the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich and I was excited because though I’m not a real sandwich lover, I have always adored grilled cheese sandwiches.  Honestly, school cafeteria grilled cheese and tomato soup was my absolute favorite when I was growing up.  Can’t say that you’d get me to eat it today but oh, the sweet delicious memories.

When I started searching blogs for grilled cheese inspiration my first thought was to do a more grown up version of my childhood favorite, maybe mini grilled cheese sandwich croutons floating on creamy roasted tomato soup but then decided that I needed to leave my childhood behind so I ventured out into a whole new world of grilled cheese sandwiches.  I found so many fabu grilled cheese sandwiches the choices were overwhelming.  I drooled over a gorgeous pepper jack cheese, bacon, avocado & apple grilled sandwich as well as a caprese sandwich with pesto, tomato & fresh mozzarella, but I make an open faced version of that so I thought I’d move on.  I was tempted to make a pizza grilled cheese on rosemary focaccia as well as a very unique and delicious sounding goat cheese, strawberry & watercress sandwich.  Then I happened upon Kevin’s Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich and I knew I had found my sandwich because I am a jalapeno popper lover and I knew that by using his sandwich as inspiration I could create popper grilled cheese nirvana…and I did. 

 I started with a mini jalapeno cheddar loaf which I had sliced thin.  I then spread the bread liberally with soft, room-temperature salted butter.

I laid half the slices of bread, buttered side down, in a cool cast iron skillet.

I added a generous layer of shredded Fiesta Blend Cheese.

Topped the cheese with crispy bacon bits.

Back after our final summer harvest of 8 million jalapenos, I stuffed some of them with cream cheese and froze them to be used later.  I pulled a few of them from the freezer and baked them from frozen at 500F for 20 minutes, until they were cooked through and delicious.  Thankfully I made more than I needed as I couldn’t resist eating a few and man were they delicious and really got me even more excited about the sandwiches I was making.  So after I popped a few of the hot poppers in my mouth I added the cooled down ones to the sandwiches.

 After the poppers another layer of cheese was essential.

I then topped all the deliciousness off with the remaining slices of buttered bread.  I then started cooking the sandwiches over a medium low flame.

As the sandwiches were stuffed so full I decided to press them a bit and one of my pot lids worked perfectly.

Using a medium low flame so that all the cheese would perfectly melt, I cooked the first side until golden delicious and then carefully flipped to cook the other side.

This sandwich is not for the faint of heart and don’t even ask how you can turn down the heat on it because it ain’t gonna happen.  This is hot, cheesy, creamy, bacony, buttery, crispy over-the-top deliciousness.  And see all those crispy little bits of cheese in the pan and attached to the sandwiches?  Yep I ate every last piece.

Totally Outrageous Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

• thinly sliced jalapeno cheddar bread
• salted butter, room temperature
• Fiesta Blend Cheese 
• bacon bits 
• cream cheese filled jalapenos, roasted and cooled

Generously butter one side of each slice of bread and place half of the slices buttered side down in a cool cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan.  Add a generous amount of shredded cheese to each slice of bread.  Top the cheese with desired amount of bacon bits.  Add the roasted jalapenos and more cheese.  Add the remaining buttered slices of bread, buttered side up.  Turn on the heat to medium low and using a press or a pot lid, press the sandwiches a little.  Cook sandwiches until the bottom is golden brown and then carefully flip the sandwich and cook until the cheese is completely melted and the remaining side of bread is golden.  Allow to sit for a minute or two before slicing.

Enjoy!

My previous Crazy Cooking Challenge entries:

Blueberry Muffins Challenge:  Skinny Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Spaghetti with Red Sauce Challenge:  Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter 
Chocolate Cake Challenge:  Double Chocolate Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake 
Chicken Noodle Soup Challenge: Thai Chicken Noodle Soup 
Fudge Challenge: Biscoff Fudge 
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Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

My friend Lisa recently had surgery and while she recovered I wanted to make dinner for her and her family.  Lisa has been on Weight Watchers and she really liked the sound of my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole so I set out to make a healthier version for her and her family. 

I cut way back on the oil that I used in the recipe and it made for a thicker coating on the potatoes which I really liked.

I used less potatoes, creating only a single layer in the pan.

Because I used less oil I had less leftover oil/hot sauce left in the bowl to use for marinating the chicken.

Though there was enough to coat the chicken, I think that next time I will just add a few dashes of extra hot sauce to the chicken.

The potatoes roasted up beautifully with the reduced oil and I loved the thicker coating of the hot sauce mixture.

Raw marinated chicken placed on top of the roasted potatoes,

In place of the regular bacon I used turkey bacon and for the cheese I used Weight Watchers Reduced-fat shredded Mexican-style cheese.

Ready for the oven.

The casserole baked up the nicely though not quite as gooey melty as when I use other cheese.  The reviews, well Lisa and her family loved the casserole and finished off the entire pan and if asked to make a slimmed down version again I wouldn’t hesitate to make this exactly as written below.  Also, after making this slimmed down version and seeing how it worked out, I think that in the future I will only use the reduced amount of olive oil and if needed I’ll add a bit of extra hot sauce to help marinate the chicken. As far as the bacon and cheese, just because of my personal taste preferences I’ll most likely continue using real bacon and regular cheese.  So in the future our family will enjoy a less slimmed down version but I guess cutting any bit of fat out of a recipe is good for the diet. 

Slimmed Down Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

• 24 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 30 oz. potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes  (I leave the skin on)
• 2 TBS. olive oil 
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBS. freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS. paprika 
• 2 TBS. garlic powder 
• 6 TBS. hot sauce 

Topping:

• 8 oz. Weight Watchers Reduced-fat shredded Mexican-style cheese
• 6 oz. turkey bacon, diced and pan fried until crispy
• 1 c diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500F.  In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & hot sauce.  Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat.  Carefully scoop the potatoes into a cooking spray coated 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mix as possible.  Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside.  While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover olive oil/hot sauce mix and stir to coat.  Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.  In a bowl mix together the cheese, cooked turkey bacon & green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.  Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Enjoy!