Marinated Goat Cheese Rounds

Now THIS is what I'm talkin' bout! This $hit is sooo delicious. And I'm telling myself healthy. If you believe, dreams really do come true.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): FINALLY A 10!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): marinating takes 2 hours to a couple days

Marinated Goat Cheese Rounds
6 ounces fresh, soft goat cheese
3 Tbl balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp cracked black pepper
10 cured black or green (or combo) olives, pitted, and chopped
1/3 cup olive oil

Roll the cheese into a 4-inch log. Slice into 1 inch thick rounds and place in shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, thyme, pepper, olives and olive oil until well blended. Pour over the goat cheese and marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours up to 1 week. Before serving, let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to warm. 

Cheese Sauce. Cheese Dip. Cheese Magic-in-your-Mouth.

Self-explanatory:

1 Tbl butter
1 Tbl flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (preferably pepper jack)

Melt butter in pot, whisk in flour. Then, slowly whisk in milk so there are no clumps (mixture will thicken, however), take off heat and stir in cheese until melted.

Dip everything in this: veggies, pretzel chips, bread, fruit, your finger, etc.

Outback take-out? No, thanks. I'll make Abby-Springs Chicken

I LOVE Outback Steakhouse. And it's one of the few restaurants where I don't get the same thing every single time I go there. One of my go-to favorites, however, is Alice Springs Chicken. Chicken smothered in bacon, mushrooms, cheese, and deliciousness.

So what if it isn't good for you?! I mean, it's smothered in cheese! What's not to love?!

Granted, this is my interpretation. And I ate it when I was absolutely starving. Which is often the case when we eat a late dinner and I can barely contain myself. But this was pretty dang good and a nice substitute if you are too lazy to even get take-out, but still have the craving for cheese and bacon.

I convince myself it isn't bad for me because it is chicken. And I suggest you do the same.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5


Abby-Springs Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 oz Worcestershire Sauce
8 slices bacon
2 Tbl butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz (1 bag) shredded cheese (mild cheddar, Monterrey jack, colby jack, etc.)
Honey-mustard dressing (optional)

Poke holes in chicken breasts with knife or fork. Place chicken breasts in shallow glass dish, or plastic bag, with Worcestershire sauce, toss to coat, and try to get into the holes. Cover and refrigerate for an hour at least. In frying pan, cook bacon, set aside. Drain grease from frying pan, then return pan to stove and add butter and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms, then set aside. Preheat oven to broil. Take chicken out and place on baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Cook under broiler 5 minutes each side (or until juices are clear, not pink). Take out of broiler, put 2 sliced on bacon, then mushrooms, on each chicken breast, then cover with cheese. Place back under broiler until cheese is melted (about 1 minute). Serve with dressing (optional).

So for the dressing, your guess is as good as mine. I don't normally keep honey-mustard dressing on hand, so for this, I just made my own quick-fix style. I'm sure there are better recipes, but I took 1 TBL cider vinegar, 2.5 teaspoons dijon mustard, 2 TBL mayo, and 1.5 TBL honey, and whisked away. It was ok. Not great, but it did the trick, considering it was lazy, and I simply used the ingredients I already had.

This is one of those recipes that is not quite as good as the original, but pretty darn close. And will probably prevent me from getting take-out here and there. If you want to go for a "healthier" version, for some unknown reason, try turkey-bacon. And saute the mushrooms in olive oil instead of butter and bacon grease. And I don't condone this whatsoever, but you could even try a lower-fat cheese. Why, oh why, would you do this? I have no idea. 

Party Pinwheels

My nana and papa have a Christmas Eve party for my dad's side of the family every year. And every year, my nana makes these things she calls "pinwheels" and they are, basically, little wraps full of cream cheese and diced veggies. They may not sound that exciting, but they are. Trust me.

I probably should have posted this recipe before the 4th of July, in case some of you needed an idea for an appetizer or dish-to-pass for your 4th of July BBQs and parties. Oops. But I would definitely take them to your next party or barbeque and I promise all guests will be thanking you.

Although, you should know that you guests will also hate you because it is impossible to stop eating them. And since they are mostly cream cheese, you're bound to be angry at yourself after you finish the batch.


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 9
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4

Party Pinwheels
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
2 green onions
4 12" flour tortillas
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1/2 cup diced celery
1 small can black olives, drained and diced

Mix all ingredients, spread on tortilla, roll and wrap tightly. Repeat with other 3 tortillas. Put on plate in fridge and chill. Right before serving, slice into 1/2 inch pieces.


So good. So so good.

Cheesy-Potatoes. Fat-free, Calorie-free, Meatless.

I just can't help myself but share this wonderfulness with the world: Cheesy Potatoes! We are going to have these at our wedding, even, they are that good. They are so delicious and so easy. And soooo NOT good for you. But if you tell yourself over and over that they are fat-free and calorie-free, you will soon believe it.


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 6


Cheesy Potatoes
1 bag frozen hash brown potatoes (country-style)
1 stick of butter (sliced into 1/2 or 1 in pieces)
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
1 16 oz container of sour cream
Casserole dish

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Mix all ingredients together in casserole dish. Cook in oven for 1-1.5 hours (at least an hour, but also until top has a little golden brown to it).

Finger, fork, bowl-licking good. And once again, good for breakfast with side of scrambled eggs.

Variations:
- Vegetarian: So, I make these for my vegetarian friends, and I don't tell them that one of the ingredients is Cream of Chicken soup, and they never know the difference. So, sorry, herbivores, but there is, in fact, a meat-flavored product in this. But you haven't noticed by now, so don't worry about it. If you now feel the need to make a change, I have to say you are being ridiculous, but if you must, use Cream of Mushroom soup instead of Cream of Chicken soup. Weirdo.
- Lower Fat: I can't exactly call this version "low-fat", so we will call it "lower, fat". Instead of butter, use margarine. Instead of Cream of Chicken soup, use the fat-free Cream of Chicken Soup. Instead of sour cream, use light or fat-free sour cream. But whatever you do, don't skimp out on the cheese. Leave the cheese be.