BBQ Chicken Pizza Pinwheels/Stromboli

Hey there! So this blog is going to be a little different. I am not going to be able to perfectly illustrate how to make this recipe - because it didn't work out for me! I was cooking multiple things in the kitchen today and didn't give 100% to this recipe and therefore it got messed up. But something that I hope to do with my blog is make my readers aware that cooking is not meant to be a perfect science. You're allowed to mess up and make some mistakes. Just dont mix up the salt and the sugar - that is the WORST!

So, I was going to show you all how to make another dish for Superbowl Sunday. The recipe I was trying was called "BBQ Chicken Pizza Pinwheels" and was supposed to look like this in the end:

However, as I was making a Healthy Chicken Salad (which will be up on the blog in two weeks) I accidentally left the pizza dough out of the refrigerator and it got way too soft to work with. I couldn't cut the nice pinwheels slices without the entire thing falling apart. So after I gazed at my rolled up stuffed dough in horror, I realized I was staring at Stromboli. So I rubbed some melted butter on top and it still turned out great!

It truly sucks when you are planning on cooking for a group of people for a party and your food doesn't turn out as planned. In the kitchen, you need to learn how to turn mistakes into great food! Don't panic when something gets messed up. Just take a step back and try to think of how to save it. Even if you can't solve the problem - remember that cooking is a learning process and you will continuously be finding out new things and making mistakes along the way!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 can of premade pizza dough (pillsbury or store brand)
1/2 cup of Sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced cooked chicken breast
2 tablespoons of diced red onion
3 tablespoons of minced cilantro
flour
salt and pepper to taste

 Tools needed:

Cutting board or clean counter surface
Sharp knives
Measuring cups and spoons
Baking Sheet


Start off by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle some flour on a cutting board or clean surface

 Next, dice your chicken and onions and mince your cilantro.

Next, carefully roll out your pizza dough onto your work space. Drizzle your 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce onto the dough being careful not to get too close to the edges to avoid spillage.

Spread the sauce evenly on the dough.

Sprinkle the cheese, chicken, cilantro and onion on top of the sauce- so far so good.

Now this is where disaster struck! My dough was way too soft to be able to tightly roll the roll and filling. The rolled up dough was soft and couldn't hold its shape well. When I went to slice it into the pinwheel shapes, it looked like this:

So, I then I sulked and felt like a failure until I realized it would still make a tasty Stromboli..  I plopped it onto a baking sheet, brushed some melted butter on the top and baked it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

This was the final product! 

Still very tasty and would make any superbowl sunday crowd happy! I hope you guys still take a crack at trying out this recipe. To see the original recipe and attempt to make the pinwheels use this link: http://www.pepperlynn.com/2012/03/bbq-chicken-pizza-pinwheels-2 and remember to keep the dough chilled until right before you are going to use it and roll the dough tightly!!

I will probably attempt this again next weekend so I will let you all know how it goes! Maybe I will try it with different filling too - like buffalo chicken!

Thank you all so much for reading and I wish you all luck in your brave kitchen endeavors!

Jalapeño Popper Dip

Happy NFC/AFC Championship Day All!!

Game day is one of my favorite days to cook and while mom cooked up some awesome ribs - I kept the masses ( aka my Stepdad ) fed and happy with this awesome dip.

**Alert! If you do not like spicy food, do not eat this. It's as simple as that!**

Ingredients you will need:

1 8oz. package of cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat kind - but don't use fat free - things get weird.)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 4oz can of jalapeño slices (I only found the ones in the jar so that's apparently fine too)
2 fresh jalapeño peppers - chopped
3/4 cup of grated (or shredded.. or whatever) parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
Tortilla chips

Supplies you will need:

2 mixing bowls
electric hand mixer
measuring cups
Large spoon
small baking dish

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, bring the cream cheese to room temperature.  Mix the cream cheese, mayo and shredded cheese with a handmixer until well blended.

Kitchen helper always there waiting! Especially if there is cheese involved!

 Next you will add the jalapeños. Coarsely chop two fresh jalapeño peppers.

 Add the chopped peppers, the canned slices and the 1/2 cup of parmasean cheese. Stir these incredients into the cream cheese mixture.

 Once combined, pour the mixture into a small baking dish. I used a pyrex dish. Spread the mixture out evenly in the dish.

Next, in a small mixing bowl, mix the Panko bread crumbs and the remaining parmesan cheese. I added more shredded cheese because my boyfriend is always asking for extra cheese.

 Sprinkle this mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture.

 Bake in the oven until heated all the way through. It took me 30 minutes but keep an eye on the bread crumb topping so it doesn't burn. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!!!

I never told you that I would be making healthy food. So just mix up this dish and enjoy with drinks and friends. You can go to the gym later!

Happy game day and thank you for reading. Please subscribe or leave comments! 

Super Easy Fried Dough With Nutella

Happy Sunday friends! I hope you all are having a relaxing day. This is my first food post so I hope you all enjoy!

You will notice that I use a lot of recipes from Pinterest, so you may have seen something very close to this on there. I really strive to find recipes that use a low number of ingredients and are easy to make. Cooking should not be stressful or confusing so stick to the easy stuff and find things you enjoy making! Here is a picture of the final product:

You will need the following ingredients:

1 can of Grands Honey Butter Biscuits

Vegetable Oil
1 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 small jar of Nutella

That's it! Only FIVE ingredients!


                                     

1.) To begin, heat about an inch and a half of vegetable oil in a medium sized pot. Keep the oil on low-medium heat.


                                    

          

              Please forgive the current life state of the pot. They're from the 90's but use what you've got! 

2.) Next, remove the biscuits from the can. If the can does not pop as per the instructions on the label, use a large spoon and press along the seal in order to pop the can. See below:

Pop fail.

Press along the seal! 

3.) After you have removed the biscuits, lay them out flat in one layer on a cutting board. You will be cutting each biscuit into four pieces. Cut each one in half vertically, and then in half again horizontally.

You should end up with 24 triangle shaped pieces of dough.

                                            

Side note: I was unable to find the "homestyle" biscuits as my grocery store only had the "flaky layers" kind. If you can find the homestyle ones, than solider on chef. But, if you were like me and could only find the flaky layers kind, you will need to seal the edges of each piece of dough. Simple pinch your fingers along the edges to create a seal.

This is what they will look like if you do not seal the edges and fry them:

Unsealed vs. sealed.

4.) Next, you will want to mix up your cinnamon sugar topping. It is best to coat the fried dough in the topping when they first come out of the oil, so prepare this mixture before you begin frying the dough.

Stir together 1 cup of sugar with two tablespoons of cinnamon. 

Brown sugar could also be a good addition to the topping, so here you are free to experiment with what you'd like! 

Little tongs for flipping! 

I walked away for a few seconds
and POOF. Burned.

5.) Now you are ready to fry! Please note that these fry up VERY quickly so this is not a multitask kind of job. Stay by your pot and make sure they dont burn.

Drop 4 pieces of dough into the oil and let fry on each side. Flip each piece of dough over once golden brown. I like to use a small pair of tongs to flip the dough over.

Carefully remove the fried dough from the oil into a small bowel with a paper towel. This will help take away any excess oil to keep the dough from being soggy.

Before frying another set of dough, give the dough you just removed from the oil a quick toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a serving tray.

6.) Continue this process until all 24 pieces of dough are fried. Heat up a small dish of nutella for dipping and serve! 

                                                     

Share with friends and ENJOY! 

 

I had to test one out just to make sure they were ok to share with you all. Unfortunately for this little guy, he can't have any! So they're all for me! So much for eating healthy in the New Year! 

I hope you guys enjoyed my first post! Happy cooking! 

                                                                                                          

   

 

And the winner is.... Jim Elberson! Congratulations Jim! I know you are probably hectic with all the wedding planning so your prize will be a romantic dinner that I will cook for you and Amy on the night of your choice! (Just give me a heads up!)

So now that I have a title to my blog that hopefully no body takes any offense to.. Welcome! I have been wanting to make this blog for some time now and with the new year and the first 6 months of my new job underway, I feel like I can finally commit to this. As a way of background, I have been cooking for as long as I can remember. I would watch my mom cook breakfast and always be at her feet trying to learn.

With the amazing internet and especially Pinterest giving me access to new recipes everyday, I have picked up my cooking capabilities in the past few years. I love cooking and sharing what I have made with friends and family. Cooking is something I always turn to if I have had a long day and just want to unwind and make something to sit down and enjoy with loved ones.

I am looking forward to sharing my tips, recipes and a few kitchen horror stories here and there. If there is ever anything you want me to make - please let me know!

Thank you for following and I hope you enjoy! 

Jessica