Italian Mushroom & Onion Calzone

My boyfriend and I are starting "meatless Mondays" as of last night. I could probably become a vegetarian but I love meat too much, so this is a stepping stone! I decided to make a calzone last night because I haven't had one in probably 10 years! They're easy to make and taste delicious! Feel free to use your own ingredients for the filling and be creative!

Ingredients: 

Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
1 bag of your preferred shredded cheese (I used the pizza blend)
1 package of mushrooms
1 medium white onion
Italian seasoning
Non-stick spray
1 tablespoon of EVOO

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop up the mushrooms and onion to small diced sizes. Place in a medium sized frying pan with 1 tablespoon of EVOO. Place on medium heat. Stir well as they begin to cook. Once they are all finished cooking, set aside. Take a large sized cookie sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Lay out the pizza dough. Top the center of the dough with cheese (about the same amount you would use on a pizza), be sure to set some cheese aside for the topping. Next, evenly add the mushroom and onion mixture on top of the cheese. Fold up the edges of the dough to seal like the picture below. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until you start to notice it browning on the top.

Once the calzone is lightly browned on the top, take it out and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a dash of Italian seasoning.

Place it back in the oven for 1-2 minutes. Now change the oven to "broil". Make sure you watch it like a hawk! With the broil option, if you leave it in too long, it will burn. Take it out once the top is crispy looking.

Let the calzone sit for 5 minutes. Slice up and serve with your favorite sides. I served ours with a side of Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Basil sauce for dipping and Trader Joes Arancini Bites (Rissoto and Fontina cheese filled balls...yum!)

Mexican Pasta salad

Pasta salad has always been one of those sides that you can easily throw together with what ever you have in your pantry. I always make sure to keep a few boxes of pasta laying around for those last minute sides or party dishes. I had my first ever ladies night at my new place recently and had a tiered buffet server for 5 appetizers. I only had 4 on hand and thought that a pasta salad would be a great fifth addition. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of mayonnaise

2 tablespoons of chipotle ranch (if you cant find this, take 2 tablespoons of regular ranch and add 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning.)

1 box of pasta

1 bunch of green onions

5 eggs

1 tomato

1/2 white onion raw

2 celery sticks

*Feel free to add black beans, corn or other ingredient in this! I was just using what I had on hand

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, fill half way with water and place on high so you get a boil. While your water for your pasta is boiling, begin cooking your hard boiled eggs. There are many techniques for cooking hard boiled eggs. If you do not know how to hard boil eggs, here is a link on how to hard boil eggs. While you are waiting for the water to boil for the pasta, begin chopping your other ingredients to your desired size. Chop the green onion, white onion, tomato and celery and place in a mixing bowl. By now, your water should be boiling so go ahead and add the pasta to the boiling water and stir well. Also keep an eye on your hard boiled eggs. Next, mix together the mayonnaise and the chipolte ranch in a mixing bowl. Cover the chopped vegetables with this mix. Once your eggs are done boiling, chop them up and add to the mix as well. Lastly, when the pasta is finished cooking, drain and add to the mix and stir well. Let this sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours covered.The pasta might absorb some of the mayonnaise mixture so if it is too dry, add 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of the chipotle ranch to coat the mixture. Stir well and serve with a garnish of green onion.

Zucchini "Pasta" Bolognese

So zucchini noodles seem to be all the rage on pinterest at the moment, so I decided to give them a try! Let me tell you, they turned out great! They obviously don't taste like pasta but had a similar texture and were super filling! I bought an OXO brand mandolin and it was a great purchase! I think I only paid $7 for mine at TJMAXX. If you are un-familiar with what a mandolin looks like, I have a picture of mine below.

Ingredients:

3 summer squash

2 zucchini 

1 tablespoon of garlic

Non-stick spray

1 lb of ground turkey meat

1 jar of sauce (I use my favorite sauce - Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce)

Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

Cook the ground turkey as directed on package. While that is cooking, begin slicing your summer squash and zucchini with your mandolin. Be careful! The blades are sharp and I always end up cutting myself somehow. Once all of your squash is sliced, place in a medium to large sized sauce pan. Be sure to spray it first with non-stick spray. The noodles only take about 5-7 minutes to cook. I used tongs to stir them mid way. Be very careful because if you are too rough, the noddles will become mush.

When the noodles are almost done cooking, add your garlic and stir. Once the meat is all done cooking, add the jar of sauce to the mixture and mix well. Once everything is warm and finished cooking, plate up and garnish with the Parmesan cheese. Now how easy was that? Feel free to add other veggies to the mixture! I was experimenting so I was playing it safe this time! I can't wait to try new combinations.

Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing

This may sound lame, but my favorite part of going out for hibachi is the salad! The homemade ginger salad dressing is delicious and refreshing! I am a slow eater and always feel rushed with hibachi. I've experimented several times to make this dressing and finally found "the one"! It needs to set for a few hours so I find it best to make it on a work morning so that way, when I get home from work all I have to do is prepare the salad.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of minced onion
3/4 cup of peanut oil
1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons of fresh minced ginger root
3 tablespoons of minced celery
3 tablespoons of ketchup
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of white sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of fresh black pepper

Directions:

Ready for this? Take all of the above ingredients, plop them in the blender on high for 30 seconds or until it is at a smooth texture. Place it in a container and place it in the refrigerator. Let it sit for at least 3 hours. Make sure to shake well before serving. Drizzle over a salad. I served mine with my Asian Rice Noddle Soup and it made for a great dinner!

*Side note - you should eat this within 3 days or so of making it. It does not have any preservatives in it so it will go bad quicker than store bought salad dressing.

Seafood Sauté

Last night, I had to work with what I had on hand since it was below zero outside and there was no way I was going out to the grocery store! Surprisingly, this meal came out wonderful! It left me feeling full and pleased! This meal yields about 2 large servings. If  you are cooking for 4, double it.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 lb of fresh sea scallops
- 1/2 lb of fresh jumbo shrimp cocktail
- 1.5 cups of frozen shelled soy beans (edamame)
- 1 white onion
- 1 package of raw mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of EVOO
- 1 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Greek seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of beef broth base
- fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:

Rinse the scallops and shrimp and drain. Pat them dry with a paper towel. Butterfly and take the tails off the shrimp. In a medium frying pan, add 1/2 tablespoon of EVOO and place on medium.Chop up the onion and mushrooms to your desired size. Place them in the frying pan and top with seasoning, stirring occasionally.

In a separate frying pan, add 1/2 tablespoon of EVOO and place on medium. Add the scallops first and top with your seasoning. Allow them to sear on one side. Once they are well seared, flip them over allowing the other side to sear. At this time, add your butterflied shrimp and season both sides.

Going back to your vegetables. They should be just about done by now. Add in the soy beans and lower the temperature to low heat.

Now for the finishing touches. Add the butter and garlic to your seafood pan and toss well. In your vegetable pan, add the beef broth base and stir, allowing the beef broth to fully incorporate into the vegetables.

Plate up the vegetables and top with your seafood. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!

Cajun Kielbasa Pasta

Now if you  like comfort food, this is the meal for you! It's the perfect dinner for a cold winter night!

Ingredients:

- 1 package of turkey kielbasa (I prefer the buterball brand)
- 1/2 bag of frozen peas
- 1 purple onion
- 1 tomato
- 1 box of pasta of your choosing
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (less if you are sensitive to spice)
- 1 tablespoon of EVOO

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. Chop up the onion and place in a frying fan with the EVOO. Allow this to cook on medium heat until it is almost cooked through. Slice up the kielbasa into 1/4 inch thin slices and add to the frying pan.

Chop up the tomato.Once the kielbasa is just about browned, add the peas and chopped up tomato. continue stirring occasionally.

In a separate cooking pot, add the cream and Cajun seasoning. Allow it to boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get thick. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Feel free to add more spices for more flavor. I added some Greek seasoning to the mix. Add all of the ingredients in a large frying pan or wok and stir. Serve!

Roasted Veggie Croissants

I made these the other night for a family party and they were delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 package of mushrooms

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1 red pepper

1/2 bunch of asparagus

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of EVOO

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 lb of white American cheese sliced from the deli

2 packages of crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Ready to chop? Chop all of the vegetables into small small pieces. And I mean SMALL pieces. Make sure you have a radio near by or a friend to help! Once they are all chopped up, mix them together with the EVOO and sea salt in a mixing bowl.

Next, lay out the mixture in a baking dish and place in the oven. 

Once the vegetables are starting to get crispy, take them out of the oven and stir them. Place them back in the oven until they are cooked through and roasted. Remove the dish from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Lower the oven heat to 375. Lay out the crescent rolls and cut each triangle in half. Cut the cheese in quarters and place the cheese squares in the middle of the crescent triangle. Spoon 1 spoonful of the vegetable mixture in the center and wrap the dough around so that one of the ends is covered in dough. Repeat for all of the rolls. Place on an un greased cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 9-12 minutes or until crispy brown. Take them out of the oven once they are done cooking and allow them to sit for a few minutes. Serve!