Jolene's Recipe Journal

  Getting cooler here in New England and I've started looking for heartier, comfort food-type recipes.    I had a few Roma tomatoes left from a trip to the farm, and some gnocchi in the freezer, so thought that I'd make this recipe up for dinner tonight.   I only used about 10 slices of bacon, the remainder of a package.   The canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes I ran through the food processor, along with the paste and sugar.     Neither of my guys like chunks of tomato.   It looked a little skimpy, since I was doubling the gnocchi, so I added about 1/4c of tomato sauce.   Got distracted and forgot to add the cream/yogurt, we didn't miss it.  Next time I might stir in a little ricotta.  I baked this in a 13x9, for 10 mins at 400, then flipped the broiler on to brown up the cheese on top.   Thank you Alida, this recipe certainly is "Simply Delicious"! Print With Image Without Image Baked gnocchi with bacon, tomato and mozzarella Ingredients 18oz store-bought

I've been making this recipe for over 5 years now.  My guys saw an advertisement from a pizza chain for a Mega Chocolate Chip Cookie and they asked if I could make one. Since I didn't have an ovenproof skillet or pizza pan at the time, I searched the web for one I could do in a cake pan.    I found this recipe on That's So Yummy and it was perfect since I only had 1 egg.     This is a great fix for a chocolate chip cookie craving without making a huge batch, scooping dough and then babysitting cookie sheets! Most often I make it with semisweet chocolate chips, but sometimes I switch it up and and use some of the specialty ones that I can't seem to resist buying, like Sea Salt Caramel. Though the directions say to cool it completely, we like ours warm, topped with a scoop of ice cream, sometimes a drizzle of hot fudge sauce.   Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Print With Image Without Image Yield: 8 Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients US

There are so many family favorite recipes that I've been making for 10 years or more!  This is my go-to one for waffles or pancakes.  It can be changed up in so many ways.  I do always add a  teaspoon of vanilla, sometimes also a teaspoon of butter extract.  It's great with fruit mixed in, or on top. It's a filling breakfast that isn't super heavy. My son's been bugging me to see how the waffle iron works, so this morning we made this recipe. It's a great starter recipe, and it would be awesome with some strawberries mixed in, or maybe some mashed banana. Definitely add a splash of vanilla! I topped mine with Blueberry Syrup, Jake had his with real Maple syrup we got during the season. Will definitely make this one again! Oatmeal Waffles or Pancakes Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal ingredients: Ingredients 2 eggs, beaten 1t vanilla extract 1t butter extract (optional) 2 cups buttermilk 1 cup quic

I made this one as listed the first time, now it's more improvised.   I use Mild taco seasoning with ground beef and omit the tomatoes.    I've also dropped down to 3 tortillas and build the pie in a springform pan.    This is one of my husband's favorite meals. Tortilla Pie 1 pound lean ground beef Taco seasoning (we like Mild) 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley, divided (use dried parsley) 3 burrito size flour tortillas 1/2c Mexican blend cheese Preheat oven to 400º. Cook beef in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink, breaking up with a spatula.   Drain.   Add taco seasoning and water recommended on the package.   Combine the ricotta, mozzarella cheese and parsley. Spray springform pan with nonstick spray.   Lay tortilla in the bottom of pan.   Add half of meat mixture.   Sprinkle with 1/4c mexican blend cheese.   Add another tortilla.   Top with ricott

Though this recipe for pizzelles is new to me, it’s not new to my family.    My mom makes over 500 of these every December, and until now, I’ve never made them, only eaten them.   Tim bought me my own iron for Christmas, and I’ve been looking forward to trying it out.      I originally doubled the recipe that came with it since Tim can eat a half dozen in a sitting, and then I realized that it was the same as my mom’s recipe EXCEPT that she significantly increased the vanilla.    I tried a few with the lower amount and was unhappy with the taste, so I added the difference.    The end result?  They were ok, but they were not Mom’s.    Part of the issue is the iron, it seems to produce a thicker pizzelle than what I want.     I like the bigger, thinner pizzelle with the lacy edges.   These were good with some maple honey caramel and I rolled a few to fill with some cream filling that I’d stashed in the freezer.  Pizzelles Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene'

Tim and I are both big fans of calzones, stromboli, pepperoni pizza.    I found this recipe on the Taste of Home website and decided to give it a try today.    Instead of the frozen bread dough, I made the Soft Garlic Breadstick dough.   I'm low on all things flour, so I ended up using 1 1/2c all purpose and 1 1/2c white whole wheat.   It turned out ok, a little harder to work with, and I'll go back to the all bread flour next time  :)  Tim won't eat chunks of onion so when I browned the ground beef I added 2T of minced dried onion.  I used 90% lean beef, and since I had bought a package of the thick sliced pepperoni, I quartered the pieces.   I went all mozzarella for the cheese. Very happy with the final result!  I stashed the second one in the freezer unbaked to have another time.   Very easy to customize this with veggies or whatever you like. Pepperoni Stromboli Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingr

Like most of the country, we've been stuck in a rainy, cold and miserable weather pattern for a while.   I found myself craving chili yesterday, and wanted some kind of cornbread/muffin to go with it.   I found this recipe on Cooking with My Kid and couldn't wait to give it a try in my mini donut pans.    I made no changes to the recipe, though I may have sprayed my pans with Pam if I hadn't run out.      I softened some butter in the microwave and added some local honey to it, then dipped the donuts into it like a glaze    :)   I got exactly 24 donuts, and Jake & I just loved them.     Next time I'm planning on added minced jalapeno to half the batch, and maybe swapping out the lemon juice for lime. Cornbread Donut Recipe   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method --------  ------------  --------------------------------      2/3           cup  yellow cornmeal      1/3           cup  all purpose flour      3/4      teaspoon  b

I look forward to spring and seeing the first local produce hitting the farms.   Yesterday we took a ride and scored radishes, rhubarb, strawberries, 2 kinds of peas, lettuce, and local milk & cheese.    Today I wanted a light and simple lunch, and I thought about the radish/saltine creations I loved last year.   I had seen a post on FG of radishes on rye bread with lemon butter and thought that sounded great.    A quick google search brought up this recipe http://breadbaking.about.com/od/flavoredbutters/r/lemonbutter.htm I whipped up the lemon butter, spread it on some Club crackers, layered the radishes on, sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.     So good.    I'm thinking that lemon butter would also be excellent on lots of things, like potatoes and green beans.  Easy Lemon Butter   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method --------  ------------  --------------------------------      1/2           cup  butter -- (1 stic

When my son was younger, I loved making special meals for Halloween.  Mummy dogs, breadstick bones, and forked eyeballs were some favorites. These Taco Pumpkins were a huge hit as well. I first saw the idea from Taste of Home in 2009.  The ingredients were not something that he'd eat back then, so I adapted it to his tastes. It really doesn't get any more simple. I used leftover taco meat and Fiesta blend cheese. Roll refrigerated biscuits out slightly to flatten them.  Place one biscuit on the baking sheet, add 2 to 3 tablespoons taco meat and then sprinkle with cheese.  How much? I don't know, life's just too short to measure cheese, don't you think? Top with another biscuit.  You can go two ways now.  You can get artistic and cut out jack o'lantern faces, or just score lines to make it resemble a pumpkin. Cut out stem shapes from one of the biscuits, and I like to do the little curlycues too.  Press them onto the pumpkin to seal them together. Anot

Was lacking in ambition yesterday, but didn't feel like eating take out for date day, so first thing yesterday morning I threw this roast recipe into the slow cooker.    I was concerned, the vinegar smell was overwhelming and Tim is super sensitive to it.    I used a smaller amount of the crushed red pepper flakes, since I'm the only one that likes the heat.    The end result was amazing.  Not vinegary at all.    I served ours on buttered toasted rolls.   Tim had his with mozzarella cheese, tossed under the broiler for a few mins to melt.   I had mine with thinly sliced red onion and jalapeno mustard. Absolutely delicious and I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today  :)   Be sure to go check out the AddAPinch blog , she repurposes the leftovers 2 ways (reducing the juices for a dip type sandwich and also stuffed mushrooms). Balsamic Roast Beef Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal Ingredients 3 to 4 pound boneless roast be

Love Girl Scout Cookies, but you've had a rough week and could really use a drink?  I've got just the thing for you!  I've seen this named different things in different places, but we call it a Girl Scout Cookie Shooter.  I found the recipe in the Bartending for Dummies book in 2013, and we've been enjoying them ever since. Sometimes we have it as shooters, sometimes we blend it with ice cream. You can substitute Creme de Menthe for the Peppermint Schnapps, we use whichever we have on hand at the time.    Girl Scout Cookie Shooter Print With Image Without Image Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal ingredients: 1/2 oz Kahlua 1/2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream 1/2 oz Peppermint Schnapps 1 or 2 Thin Mints, crushed, for garnish instructions: How to cook Girl Scout Cookie Shooter Pour the alcohol into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well mixed and strain into a tall shot glass. Garnish with cookie crumbs, if desired. Source