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April 23, 2007
Spicy Tortilla Rolls
Ingredients:
1 pkg tortillas
1 can diced green chiles
1 can diced jalapenos
1 can chopped black olives
2 pkgs cream cheese
Directions:
Combine chiles, jalapenos, olives and cream cheese. It's easier to mix when the cream cheese is softened up a bit. Once that's mixed, spread a thin layer on the tortilla. Roll tortillas, cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow the cream cheese to harden before slicing. If you don't, the cream cheese will ooze out the sides.
Note that you can add anything you want. What doesn't go good with cream cheese? For example, you can cube very small pieces of ham, pepperoni, or salami to put in the rolls.
Posted by Kelli Little at 07:42 AM
April 18, 2007
Lemon Bars
Ingredients:
CRUST
1/4 # butter - softened
1 cup sifted flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
TOPPING
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon pulp
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon zest
3 tbl lemon juice
2 TBSP flour
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Mix together the crust ingredients and bake at 350 degrees farenheit for 22-25 minutes.
Mix together the topping ingredients while the crust is baking. Pour over the hot crust and bake an additional 25-30 minutes. Cool, cut, and cover with powdered sugar.
Posted by Kelli Little at 03:52 PM
Breakfast Pizza
Ingredients:
1 pound ground breakfast sausage (or any other meats or vegetables you desire)
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup hash brown potatoes (I use the Simply Potatoes Hash Browns)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
5 eggs (I use Eggbeaters)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook sausage in skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage and drain.
Separate crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Place in an ungreased 12 inch pizza pan with points toward the center. Press together to form a crust. Bottom of crust should be sealed and outside edge should be slightly raised.
Place in the oven for a minute or two just to seal the edges together.
Spoon sausage over crust. Sprinkle with hash browns and top with cheddar cheese. Beat together eggs or eggbeaters, milk, salt and pepper; pour over crust. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated oven until eggs are set, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Posted by Kelli Little at 03:49 PM
April 16, 2007
Mom's Potato Soup
Ingredients:
6-8 russet potatoes
1 med-lg yellow onion, diced
1-2 stalks of celery, to taste
1/2 package of bacon, fried, or to taste
1 pint half & half
1-2 cups of milk
Parsley, to taste
Salt & Pepper
Directions:
Peel & cut into square little pieces 6 - 8 potatoes, and boil in salted water. Cut celery into small pieces and add to pot when potatoes are half done. Cook until just tender. Drain most, but not all, of the water off.
Cut bacon into small pieces. Fry the bacon in a separate pan, adding the onions when the bacon is almost done and cook until just tender. Add this to the potato pot.
Add half & half, milk, parsley, and salt and pepper to the pot. Heat on medium until hot. Don't let it boil. It should be creamy when done. (If it isn't thick enough for your taste, whisk a little flour and butter together in the bacon skillet and add to the pot).
If you want to turn it into CLAM CHOWDER, just add minced clams.
Posted by Kelli Little at 07:21 AM
April 08, 2007
Cheesy Garlic and Dill Roasted Red Potatoes
Ingredients:
20 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tbl olive oil
1 tbl water
Dill, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbl butter, room temperature
6-8 red potatoes (medium)
1/2 -3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Combine garlic and oil in a small, ovenproof dish and cover tightly with foil. (If you don't have a dish, make several layers out of tinfoil, place the mixture within, and tightly bind together.) Bake until garlic is very tender, about 45-50 minutes. Cool slightly. Shell the garlic.
Transfer shelled garlic into a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the butter and whip until relatively smooth. Transfer garlic butter to a small bowl. (You can make this one day in advance. Cover the mixture and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
Heat oven to 500 degrees F, or set on Broil.
Quarter potatoes and place in a large pot of boiling salted water, cooking until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
Transfer to a large pan. Add garlic butter and toss. Sprinkle potatoes with dill, salt, and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese. Place in the oven and broil for approximately 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is browned on top.
Posted by Kelli Little at 09:58 AM
Yogurt Mint Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 fresh mint leaves, finely minced
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Stir together mint, yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as topping to lamb chops. Makes 4 servings.
(This is not my original recipe. I nabbed this from Gourmet Magazine, April 2001.)
Posted by Kelli Little at 09:50 AM
Spiced Lamb Chops
Ingredients:
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 lime's fresh juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/16 tsp ground cloves
8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbl olive oil
1/4 cup Ripassa or other juicy red wine
1/2 tbl coarse kosher salt, or to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
8 1" thick lamb loin chops
Directions:
Pat lamb chops dry. Whisk together cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne, cloves, garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper, wine, and 4 tbl oil and transfer to a sealable plastic bag just large enough to hold the lamb inside. Add the lamb and seal the bag, forcing out excess air, and then massage the lamb until it is evenly coated. Marinate at room temperature, turning bag occasionally, 15 minutes. You may wish to marinate it slightly longer to get the taste of the seasoning deeper into the meat. 2 hours is what I prefer, so I marinate it at room temperature first, and then put it in the fridge for obvious health reasons.
Heat 2 tbl oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet or a cast iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking. Cook half the lamb about 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer cooked lamb to a platter, wipe out the skillet, and then heat the remaining tablespoon oil and cook the remaining lamb in the same manner. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 5 minutes.
(If you have lamb chops that are thicker, sear each side, then place chops and juices in a pan, cover it in tinfoil, and place in the oven at 400 degrees for ten minutes or so.)
Serve warm or at room temperature. You can serve this with a yogurt mint sauce that is also found in my recipes.
Posted by Kelli Little at 09:44 AM
April 07, 2007
Kelli's Bruschetta
Ingredients:
6 oz ricotta cheese
6 oz mozzarella, grated
3 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
3 oz white sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, minced
2 tbl Chives, minced
1 tbl Parsley, minced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbl extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tbl salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 loaf of french bread
20 basil leaves, approximately
3-4 roma tomatoes
Directions:
Toss mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and parmesan cheese evenly in a big bowl. Saute minced garlic in olive oil, add garlic (not oil) to bowl, along with chives, basil, salt and pepper, and mix evenly. Add ricotta cheese and mix thoroughly throughout, making a sort of sticky mixture. Make certain the dry cheeses are all mixed in.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

Cut french loaf lengthwise in half and then in individual serving slices, making approximately 10-14, depending on the size of your chosen portion and the size of the loaf. Place the slices bottom side down on one or two cookie sheets.
(If you want the bread not to have a very soft center, then butter the top right now, put it in the oven on 'broil' for about five minutes, and then take it out. That'll bake the top part of the bread enough to keep some of the juices from making the center slightly soft. I prefer my center slightly soft, though.)
Cover each piece with one or two basil leaves. It's ok if there's a little room left over, but you want to make certain these layers of taste are thin, spread even, and not overwhelming.
Thinly slice your roma tomatoes. Place the tomatoes on the bread just like you did the basil - covering most of the surface, which will likely require approximately two thin slices.
Sprinkle the cheese mixture over top. It's a little difficult to sprinkle because it's thick and gooey, so don't worry about covering all 'gaps', since the cheese will spread out when it bakes.
Place the bread in the oven and cook for approximately 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the oven to 'broil' (or 500 degrees farenheit) and brown the top of the cheese (approximately 2-3 minutes.)
Whalah! You have gourmet bruschetta.
Posted by Kelli Little at 09:05 AM