Bacon Turkey Bravo with Broccoli Cheddar Soup

And now, for another of our fast food family favorites (yay alliteration!): my attempt to replicate the deliciousness of Panera bread. The Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich, in particular, has always held  a special place in my heart. Not only is it beyond yummy and adored by my sister and cousin, but my husband and I both ordered it on our second date--one of the first signs that we were meant to be!

For the record, the internet is an amazing resource when it comes to locating anything that has ever been made at any time any where, so if you have a favorite restaurant food you'd like to attempt, google it to find a copycat recipe. It'll be extremely close to the original, make more food, and be cheaper overall for the amount of food it produces. First, I found copycats for the sandwich and the broccoli soup. However, the sandwich recipe did not include Panera's tomato basil bread, so I found a different recipe for the bread itself here. Allow me to briefly tempt you with the final result:

And since now you are hungry and want homemade Panera, let's start with the bread. You will need:

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

1/4 cup fresh basil, minced (I substituted 2 tablespoons dried)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 1/2-2 3/4 cups bread flour

This came out with a very strong tomato/basil flavor (I know, that seems to be a "duh" statement, given what it is, but it was a bit strong compared with the Panera version). If I were to do this recipe over again, I would omit 1-2 tablespoons of the tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of dried basil. I would also add an extra  tablespoon or two of sugar to sweeten it a bit. This version, however, would taste AMAZING as part of a grilled cheese.

To make, first pour the yeast packet into a large mixing bowl. Add water and dissolve the yeast. Next, add the basil, tomato paste, parmesan cheese, sugar, oil, salt, pepper flakes and mix. After, add flour a little at a time, using a kitchen spatula to incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients. I didn't need more than 2.5 cups.

Flour a non-porous surface and place the dough mixture on top. Don't be worried if the dough looks somewhat dry at first--kneading will take care of it! Simply knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, then place in a greased bowl (turn once to coat the top of the dough to prevent sticking upon removal). Cover and let the dough rise until it doubles in size, about an hour.

When the dough has doubled, remove from the bowl and knead again for another minute. Shape into a round loaf and place on a greased baking sheet. (Note: I may try to make my bread into a rectangular loaf shape in the future for a more uniform shape). Allow dough to double again (another hour or so).

Finally, cut a cross shape into the top of the bread loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Bread will be golden and crusty on the outside, but soft and yummy on the inside!

And a close-up to give you an idea of the color of this bread. I love how you can see the little specks of basil:

Set the bread aside and move on to your soup. You will need:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in the butter until translucent. Add flour and whisk together for 3-5 minutes, until thick and non-lumpy (it is ok to leave the onions in the pan while you do this). Slowly add in the half and half until well-mixed and no lumps appear, then bring to a boil to thicken. Finally, add the chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the veggies (broccoli and carrots) and cook until tender (another 15-20 minutes). If you want an even thicker soup, you can puree the soup in batches in a blender. I thought the soup was already fairly thick, and I enjoy having the full pieces of broccoli in my soup, so I did not blend mine. Instead, I added the cheese, mixed until it was melted, and served the warm, cheesy soup!

Mmmm....look at that broccoli--my favorite vegetable!

And finally, put it all together! Cook up some slices of bacon, slice some fresh Gouda cheese, and wash some leaves of lettuce. Pile high with some thick-cut turkey on slices of your freshly-baked bread. Top it all off with the special Bacon Turkey Bravo sauce, a mix of:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 dash of tabasco or other hot sauce

And voila! A homemade Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich to accompany your homemade Panera Broccoli Cheddar soup. Enjoy!

Healthy Blobs

I know, I know--the title sounds less than appealing. But, that was what Melanie called them on dietriffic, so I am going to use her title. Don't let the strange name send you running, however; I know that I was skeptical of these at first too, but I really needed a new breakfast idea that I could quickly grab in the morning, and these ended up being tasty and filling! (It also helps to use up any remaining cornflakes you have from your cornflake chicken recipe)

You will need:

-1/2 cup peanut butter

-1/4 cup dried milk (I omitted this--I cheaped out on the extra $7)

-2 tablespoons honey

-3 cups of corn flakes 

To make, simply mix all of the above ingredients together by hand carefully, then separate the cornflake mixture into ten little cornflake blobs. I packaged mine individually in saran wrap for ease of transport and minimal mess and placed them in the freezer to help them hold together better. 

Now I will say that, if my blobs were out of the freezer for too long, they would sort of fall apart into little peanut-buttery corn flake baby blobs--still incredibly tasty, but not exactly a one-handed snack--so they might have held together better had I used the dried milk or crushed the cornflakes first. Since I have a psychological block on paying an extra $7 for dried milk when I already have the liquid variety for half that, I will probably continue to make mine the same way--but if you try a variation, please let me know how they work out for you!

Either way, paired with a glass of milk, they kept me full until lunch and were a sweet way to begin my day. So, give healthy blobs a shot at breakfast, and enjoy!

Turkey Sliders with Sweet Potato Fries

Growing up, my family was very "meat and potatoes" oriented. Maybe that's part of the reason that I love potatoes in a way that borders on obsession...

That said, unless we were eating chicken, red meat was usually the meat of choice at home. Tacos, meatloaves, and of course, burgers were all made using ground beef. I'm sure I must have heard of the concept of ground turkey at some point, but turkey as anything other than what you ate on Thanksgiving Day seemed like something that would only interest health nuts.  Then one day, my friend Gina made me a turkey burger--and it was so delicious, I have not made a burger with ground beef since.

This particular recipe is for turkey sliders, but the ingredients would be identical if you chose to make larger burger patties. And while I will get to the sweet potato fries later on in the post, these sliders are really the heart of this meal. Great as an appetizer or a meal that appeals to kids, I guarantee that you will want to make these again and again--and you will NOT miss the ground beef!

You will need the following for the turkey sliders:

-1 pound of ground turkey

-1 whole egg

-1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

-1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

-1 teaspoon onion powder

-1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

-Salt and pepper to taste

-3 slices of cheddar cheese, each cut into four squares

-12 Hawaiian rolls, sliced

-Suggested toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion

-Suggested condiments: mayo or ranch dressing mixed with hot sauce or ketchup/mustard

First, cut your cheese squares into quarters and slice your Hawaiian rolls (if you prefer slider buns, those work too--I just love the sweetness of the Hawaiian rolls). Set aside, and preheat your griddle to 350 degrees (or prepare your grill/pan--whatever you are using to cook them!) and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Next, crack the egg into a large bowl and beat lightly. Add in the ground turkey, spices, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well by hand. Note that you do NOT need to add in bread crumbs; the mixture will stick together well enough without them, so why add the extra calories?

When the griddle is ready, make 12 small patties out of the turkey mixture and place on the griddle. Leave them be for about 4 minutes, or until the bottom halves of the turkey patties begin to turn white (and brown on the bottom). Flip the burgers and cook for another two minutes. Place cheese slices on the patties and cook for an additional two minutes. The cheese should be melted.

Place your turkey burger patties onto the Hawaiian rolls, cover with veggies and condiments of your choosing, and they are ready to eat! Healthy turkey sliders--prepped and ready to eat in under 20 minutes!

Of course, you can't eat a burger without fries. And, since you're already doing so well on the health front, it would probably be best to pair your turkey burgers with a healthy side. Luckily, sweet potato fries are a healthy AND tasty option. I found a great set of instructions on this site, because my previous attempts at sweet potato fries came out too soggy. You will need the following:

-2 large sweet potatoes
-1/4 cup of olive oil
-1 teaspoon paprika
-salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut off the tips to prevent burning them. Cut your peeled sweet potatoes into 1/2" to 3/4" wedges and place in a large bowl. Next, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and paprika over the top of the wedges. Toss to coat evenly.

Spread the seasoned potato wedges onto a cooking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Be sure that none of the potato wedges are touching each other, because this can lead to a soggier texture when they are finished. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the fries, then return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes. That's it! The paprika from the fries will compliment the kick from the crushed red pepper flakes in the turkey burgers, making them an ideal combination. Enjoy!

Blondies

So, we finally ran out of cake balls and needed a new dessert. My husband said he would be happy with cookies, and since I know he also loves brownies, I decided to try to make blondies (or blonde brownies--sort of a cross between a brownie and a cookie). See below:

I found a recipe here. I took the recommendation of some of the posters on this recipe and doubled the recipe, so if you want a 9x9 sized pan worth of blondies, use the ingredient amounts below. If you'd prefer a 9x13 sized pan, double the ingredient amounts below:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

The procedure for making this recipe is, not surprisingly, very similar to making chocolate chip cookies. So, first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and sift your dry ingredients (minus the brown sugar) together into a medium bowl.

Next, melt your butter and pour into a large bowl. Add brown sugar to this bowl and mix well to combine with the butter. Make sure to get all the brown sugar lumps well integrated. Add the egg and vanilla to the brown sugar mixture.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the brown sugar mixture, mixing well to prevent the formation of lumps. Finally, mix in the chocolate chips.

Grease a baking dish or spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking (9x9 for the recipe as listed; 9x13 for a double batch). Pour blondie batter into the baking dish, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When the blondies begin to set and turn a golden color, they are done! Cut into 24 slices, and enjoy the flaky, buttery blondies!

Cornflake-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Chicken has always been a staple in my family--to the point where, growing up, my relatives would joke that I was adopted because I wasn't as fond of it as I am now (all in good fun--no worries!). Since then, most of my recipes have involved chicken--mostly in casseroles or baked with some sort of accompanying sauce--because it is healthy and tasty.

But, my friend Sarah has been posting this recipe in various forms on Facebook (chicken, chicken parmesan) and explaining how popular it is in her house--and admittedly, you miss a good crispy, fried chicken amid all the healthy chicken recipes--so I finally gave it a try yesterday. And it was every bit as tasty as she promised (and considerably healthier than actual fried chicken)! 

Here are the ingredients as listed by the recipe (I only used about 1/6th of this for my husband and me):

• 7 cups Kellogg's Corn Flakes® cereal (crushed to 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 pounds chicken pieces, (without or with skin) rinsed and dried (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

First, crush the corn flakes. I placed mine in a large ziplock bag, removed the air and sealed the bag, and then used a rolling pin to crush the flakes in the bag. Place crushed corn flakes in a shallow dish.

Next, prepare your batter: beat egg and milk together in a medium-sized bowl. Add flour, salt, and pepper and whisk together until smooth. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a microwave, and get out your chicken. I chose to make chicken tenders, so I cut my chicken breasts into 3 pieces each, but a whole chicken breast works just as well.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. To prepare your chicken, first dip the chicken pieces into the batter, then roll in the crushed cornflakes. Make sure that the chicken is evenly-covered, then place in the baking dish. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the breaded chicken pieces.

If you are following the recipe, bake uncovered for approximately one hour; if you are making 6 chicken tenders (like I did for my husband and me), 35 minutes will do the trick! Just be sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees before eating. Enjoy! 

Penne Alla Vodka

And now, for a recipe that is sure to become a staple in our house: Penne Alla Vodka. I first became aware of the magic that is a vodka cream sauce in a Smart Ones frozen meal: 

Granted, the frozen dinner was not the most amazing thing I've ever eaten, but as far as frozen dinners go, it was pretty good. Then, I found this recipe here from Divine Bite--and it was amazing. Not only did my husband clean his plate and go back for seconds (which is how I gauge how successful any recipe is), but he even finished the scraps I left behind on my own plate. I don't believe I have ever witnessed my husband have a third helping of any food, so that should give you an idea of just how tasty this recipe was!

To start, you will need the following ingredients: 

1 lb. penne pasta
¼ - ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¾ cup vodka, good quality
4 tbsp butter
½ large onion, diced
3 tbsp tomato paste
¾ cup heavy cream (I used light to make it a bit healthier)
½ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
Salt & pepper to taste

First, cook your penne in well-salted water according to package directions. When it is finished cooking, be sure to reserve a couple tablespoons of the cooking liquid in case your sauce ends up too thick. Add the crushed red pepper flakes to the vodka and allow it to steep before moving on to the next step.

Next, melt the butter in a large skillet, add your onion, and cook over medium-high heat until translucent. Add in the vodka/red pepper flakes and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and turn heat to low. (I only had leftover homemade marinara sauce, so I simply used 3 tablespoons of that).

Add the cream and parmesan cheese and stir well. Heat through, then add your penne to the skillet to coat evenly with the sauce. If at this point your sauce is too thick, add the reserved cooking liquid.

Serve with an extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese and some parsley, and enjoy!

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

Looking back over my last few blog entries, I could easily imagine someone thinking that I am not feeding my husband all that well--unless you count cake balls and brownies as a balanced diet. However, I promise that I have been cooking actual food too! Case in point: cheesy ham and potato soup (with lots of veggies!).

I found the recipe here and intend to use the base again in future soup recipes. To get started, you will need:

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped carrot
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 3 1/4 cups of chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

First, chop all your vegetables (onion, celery, carrot, potatoes). Place the vegetables, ham, and chicken broth in a large sauce pan, bring to a boil, and then continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes (or until potatoes are soft). Add in salt and pepper.

Next, in a separate sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and stir in the flour until thick and all lumps are removed. This is called a roux, if you've never made one before! Once this step is complete, add in your two cups of milk a little at a time, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add in the shredded cheddar cheese. Continue cooking until thick and the cheese is melted, about another 4-5 minutes.

Finally, add the milk mixture to the broth/veggie mixture in the sauce pan, and cook until heated through. And that's it--homemade soup that's better than Panera's with minimal effort! How easy is that?

And if you are concerned about the thickness of the soup (I *heart* a thick soup), this one not only starts out fairly thick, but if you refrigerate it over night and reheat it the next day, it takes on the thickness of a chowder and is even more delicious! (You can also always add more chicken stock to thin it out if you prefer a thinner soup, as well). Either way, serve it warm, with an extra sprinkling of cheese on top if desired!

Enjoy, and be sure to check back this winter for new soup recipes! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie-PB Cup Brownies

And now for the grand finale of the girls night recipes, the turducken of baked goods, the most sinful dessert you will ever consume: the cookie dough peanut butter cup brownie:

I found this recipe here, through food gawker or one of those other compilations of blog postings, and knew that this needed to come out of my kitchen. And oh my goodness was it worth it! It was so decadent that a one inch square was enough to satisfy--and of course, you're actually getting three desserts in one, so how could it not?

Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
18 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
1 box family size brownie mix (9 x 13) (and the accompanying ingredients listed on the box)

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get ready to make the cookie layer. Beat together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt, then add dry ingredients to dough. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread dough into a well greased 9 x 13 inch pan. 

Next, add a layer of Reese's peanut butter cups. The recipe didn't specify size, so I used the fun-size ones. Push the peanut butter cups directly into the cookie dough, three rows of six to ensure peanut butter in every bite!

(I had extra...it seemed wrong not to find a place for them :p).

Finally, make the brownie mix according to package directions, and pour over the top of the cookie dough/peanut butter cups, making sure every inch is covered with brownie goodness.

Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes (mine were done after about 45 minutes) and allow to cool for at least fifteen minutes before cutting, as the chocolate from the Reese's is a bit melty. Once the wait is up, cut the brownies, taste, and die of pleasure (or, you know...stick around for a second brownie ;)).

I mean really--do you see the layers in this thing?? Stop drooling now and go make these! Enjoy!! :)

Mini Twice-Baked Potatoes

Continuing with the girls night recipes, I present to you the appetizer you will never make enough of: the mini twice-baked potato! I wanted to get something delicious and potato-y on the menu for my Irish sister and cousin, and thought of this. Now, I've made twice-baked potatoes before, so I searched Google to make sure that it was possible to make a twice-baked potato this small; I found this: Tiny Twice-Baked Potatoes.

Assured that this appetizer was possible, however, I used my own recipe for twice-baked potatoes. You can use the ingredients in the link I posted, or the ingredients I used, which are as follows:

-1 bag of baby red potatoes

-A few tablespoons of milk

-1/2 stick of butter

-3 slices of bacon, cooked and roughly chopped

-1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-1/2 bunch of green onions, chopped

-1/4 cup of olive oil

-Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your potatoes in a bowl, pour oil over the top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place oiled potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes, or until potatoes are cool enough to handle.

When cool, carefully cut off the top 1/4 of each potato, doing your best to keep the potato and its skin intact. See below:

Then, using a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, carefully scoop out the insides of each potato and place in a separate bowl. Be sure to leave enough potato behind to form a stable shell for the twice-baked potatoes.

Add the butter, cheese, green onions, bacon, and a little extra salt and pepper to the potatoes in the bowl, as well as enough milk to achieve the consistency of mashed potatoes. When finished, use a small spoon to fill each potato shell with the mashed potato mixture, overfilling slightly as pictured below:

Increase the temperature of your oven to 450 degrees and return the potatoes to the oven. Bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until heated through (cheese will have melted and the potato tops will brown slightly). Serve with sour cream:

One bag of baby red potatoes made about 15 potatoes for my guests and I...and two of my guests ate all but two, so you may want to double or even triple this recipe. My sister-in-law, who hates potatoes, couldn't get enough of these either, so give these mini-twice baked potatoes a try. ENJOY!!

Cake Pops: Funfetti Cake Ball Edition

Yay for long weekends! Since I have some extra time, let me continue with my girls night recipes! Since my cake pops were so tasty the first time I made them, I decided to try making them again with a different flavor (and without the sticks). So, I decided on funfetti cake mix with funfetti frosting (i.e. vanilla frosting with pastel-colored sprinkles). You can look at the cake pops link for the recipe and instructions, but I wanted to add a few more pictures for clarity (and appeal to the taste buds!).

First, this is what the cake balls look like prior to being covered in chocolate: not too pretty, a bit rough around the edges, although I love that you can see the little multi-colored sprinkles characteristics of all funfetti cakes:

Here they are after having been dipped in chocolate and sprinkles! I think these looked visually more appealing than the red velvet ones...or maybe they just look more fun with the multiple colors:

At any rate, while I LOVED me some chocolate-y red velvet cake pops, the light, almost lemony white funfetti cake balls are my new favorite. I hope you give them a try!