S'mores Pizza

I needed a dessert for our Super Bowl Party (I know...that was a month ago) and stumbled upon THIS recipe from Guy Fieri @ The Food Network in my search.  While it looked delicious,  my husband nor Olivia were sold on the pizza dough crust.  My husband (believe it or not) said, "Wouldn't that be so much better without the pizza dough....maybe you should use chocolate chip cookie dough instead!"   I thought it sounded perfect either way, but had to keep the troops happy....
I did think it'd be way too chocolaty and sweet for my taste buds, so I convinced them to let me do sugar cookie crust instead!   Everyone agreed and we had our Super Bowl party dessert!    While it was very sweet, even with the sugar cookie crust, it was amazing for any sweet tooth!  Make this SOON!!!!  Next time I make this I am going to try it with the pizza dough!

S'mores Pizza
(adapted from Guy Fieri)


1 batch of sugar cookie dough.  Homemade or store-bought.
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 sleeve graham crackers (broken into crumbs)
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
3 large Hershey chocolate bars -- broken into 1/4 inch pieces


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make cookie dough.
Roll and push into 12" round pizza pan )making sure you get it as thin as you can without breaking through.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
While it's cooking,  melt butter in a skillet and add graham crackers.  Cook for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.


When cookie crust is done remove from oven and scatter marshmallows and chocolate pieces. 
Return to oven for approx. 5 minutes or until marshmallows are brown and toasted.
Remove and top with graham cracker crumbs evenly over pizza.
Let sit for a few minutes, slice and serve.


ENJOY!!!!

~Gianna~

Lemon and Wine Salmon

Whenever I am asked, "Where did you learn to cook?"  My answer is simple......"My Nana and my Mom are 2 of the best cooks, EVER and they taught me everything I know!"  That's 90% true....the other 10% comes from my love of cooking and other bloggers and friends who give me yummy recipes!  :)

This recipe is one of my Nana's recipes.   We eat a lot of fish in our house (mostly salmon, shrimp, scallops, tilapia), but salmon is one of our favorites.  My kids gobble it up, which makes it a great dinner choice for us!  This recipe is one of our favorites, and while I definitely do it's justice, I've got nothing on Nana!

Lemon and Wine Salmon


1 pound fillet of salmon (skin removed)
Half a sick of butter
1/4c white cooking wine (or any white win you use to cook with)
1 lemon
garlic powder
paprika


Preheat oven to 375
Grease bottom of baking dish with butter
Wash salmon and pat dry with paper towels
Place salmon in baking dish
Pour wine over salmon
Squeeze lemon over salmon
Sprinkle garlic powder and paprika
Place in oven; uncovered for 20 minutes or until cooked through


ENJOY!!

~Gianna~

Creamy Taco Mac

Here is a recipe that has been floating around for quite some time on blogs, websites and message boards I frequent....I've made it lots of times and everyone in my family enjoys it!  It's simple, uses ingredients I always have on hand and is equally (if not better) heated up as leftover!   It's delish!!!
There are different variations of it, but this is the one I do!

Creamy Taco Mac

Ingredients:


1 lbs ground turkey breast
1/2 onion, chopped
8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water (I used medium shells)
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp mild taco seasoning
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican blend cheese (plus extra for individual use)
salt & pepper


Directions:


Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.


Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. 
Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. 
Add taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. 
Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. 
Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese and sour cream. 
Give it a good stir until cheeses are melted and incorporated. 
Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. 
Season with salt & pepper, as desired. 
Top off with Mexican cheese for extra cheesiness.


ENJOY!

~Gianna~

Chocolate Pretzel Buttons

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!!!!  In honor of this holiday of all things love and chocolate I have a perfect little treat!    You can make these in bulk and give them to all of your special someones!

A friend of mine gave me this idea when I was trying to figure out something cute and edible for teachers this  past Christmas.    Once I made them, I was hooked!   They are so easy, you can do any combo of chocolates and they are the perfect combo of sweet and salty!  AND you can use any color M&M so these can be used for holidays, birthdays, sporting events, and they are still so cute!    So far I've done them for Christmas, for fun and for Valentine's Day and they always get rave reviews!  I've done them with HUGS instead of KISSES and I've done them with dark chocolate and milk chocolate!    These have milk chocolate KISSES and dark chocolate M&Ms (not my first choice, but I couldn't find regular and didn't want to use peanut butter.)


Chocolate Pretzel Buttons


Bag of pretzels (the square ones that look like little windows)
Bag of Hershey Kisses (or Hugs)
Bag of M&Ms (which ever colors you want)
Pam


Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Spray Pam on baking sheet.
Lay pretzels on baking sheet -- I get about 70-80 per sheet
Unwrap and put a Hershey Kiss on each pretzel
Place in oven (middle rack) for 3-4 minutes....keeping an eye that the kisses don't melt and have their shape
Remove from oven and gently push an M&M into the center of the kiss
Place baking sheet in refrigerator until chocolate hardens (about an hour)
Store in air tight container or fridge


ENJOY!!

Here is another example of the ones I made for Christmas....with HUGS and red and green M&Ms!

~Gianna~

Flank Steak Marinade

I don't eat (or cook) much red meat, as you may have noticed with my lack of red meat cooking.  It's really for no other reason than I don't like the meaty taste in steaks, burgers, ground beef.   BUT if I find a good recipe that is very flavorful and can camouflage that taste I don't like......it's a keeper!  And this is one of those recipes!    I got it from a friend of mine a few years ago.  This marinade is sweet and savory.....it also really keeps the meat tender.   YUM!

When grilling flank steak...it's best cooked on a high heat for a short amount of time.  And it's best when it's medium rare...if you overcook flank steak it gets tough.  Also it should be sliced on the thinner side, against the grain and on a slight angle.   I learned all of this from my Uncle when I made this recipe for Easter!  :)



Flank Steak Marinade
(this is for about a pound of meat)

1/4 c. oil

3+ Tbs. red wine vinegar (may need more)

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. minced onion

3+ Tbs. peach preserves (can use apricot if can't find peach) - may need more to taste.

Combine all ingredients in large zip lock bag with meat and stick it in the fridge no less than 3 hours, but as long as over night!  The longer it sits, the better it tastes.  I usually keep mine in over night, and during the time it's in the fridge I squish it around in the bag to make sure all the meat gets nice and marinated!

Heat grill to medium-high.  Place steak on grill and cook for about 5 minutes in each side....I wouldn't go less than 4 or more than 7 on each side.

Remove from grill and place on cutting board.  Let it sit for a few minute, slice and serve!

ENJOY!!!

~Gianna~