Grilled Blue Cheese Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

The boys did not try this sandwich.  I didn't even make it for them to try but Mike and I ate this after they went to bed for a date night dinner.  It was really good.  The bread did get a little more soggy than I would like but the flavor was really good.  And to make it even better, we used the blue cheese Mike made!  

Grilled Blue Cheese Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

-4 thick slices of french bread
-2 pads of real salted butter
-1 tbs blue cheese salad dressing
-3 tbs cream cheese
-2 tbs crumbled blue cheese (we used Mike's homemade blue cheese)
-1 tbs shredded cheddar
-1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken breast
-1.5 tbs Frank's hot sauce

Combine all the cheeses  and salad dressing together.  Combine the hot sauce and chicken in another bowl.  Butter one side of two slices of bread and then flip it over and smear with the cheese/salad dressing mixture.  Next, put a generous amount of the buffalo chicken mixture on top of the cheese mixture.  Grill your sandwich as you would a grilled cheese sandwich.

Caprese Salad

original recipe from the blog Feeding my Boyfriend

Caprese Salad (serves 4)

·         2 ripe vine tomatoes, sliced

·         A small bunch of fresh basil leaves

·         ½ pound of fresh mozzarella, sliced

·         Olive oil, for drizzling

·         Course sea salt, to taste

·         Reduced balsamic vinegar (optional) *

1.       Arrange the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil on the plate. Alternating the layers.

2.       Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt to taste (and pepper if you feel so inclined!).

Homemade Butter Beer

Will did a project for a book he read for a reading challenge at school where he read Harry Potter and then dressed up as Harry and then got up and told the class about the book.  We decided to make his presentation even more fun and served the class Butter Beer.  It was a hit with the entire class.

Homemade Butter Beer

Ingredients

• 1 quart vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup butterscotch syrup or topping
• 32 oz cream soda
• 1/2 cup ice (more as needed)

Instructions

1. Place ice cream, ice, butterscotch and cream soda in a blender. Mix until combined. Serve in cold glasses and top with whipped cream if desired. Enjoy! :)
2. **You can add crushed vanilla wavers in too*

Holiday Drink

Holiday Drink (or as Mike calls it, Crapple ale)

Cranberry Juice
Apple Juice
Ginger ale

Mix all together and enjoy (you can add more of one drink than another depending on which flavor you like best--if you like the cranberry juice most, add more of that or if find cranberry juice to be too strong, then increase the apple juice)

Strawberry Watermelon Lime Smoothie

Strawberry Watermelon Lime Smoothie

In the summer the boys always want me to buy watermelon but we never finish an entire watermelon so I never want to buy one.  This past summer I found this recipe and knew it was the perfect addition to our recipes.  It was watermelon, strawberries, lime, all in smoothie and these boys love smoothies but a smoothie with watermelon, lime, and strawberries was even better.  They request this over and over.

Recipe: Strawberry Watermelon Lime Frosty

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups frozen watermelon (in large diced cubes for easy blending)
• 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 water
• *add slowly as needed to get blender moving – add more if needed
• 1 banana
• 2 limes, squeezed
• lime sherbet (optional--I only do this for a special treat from time to time.  If I don't use the sherbet I just put in a little bit of sugar or honey)
• ice optional

Instructions

1. Blend in high speed blender – add ice for a frostier sip. Serve.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 2

Recipe adapted from Babble.com

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

The boys loved this for breakfast.  I did not make the glaze as I thought it was just too much sugar and because I know the boys and know that even after putting a glaze on it they would still want to put syrup on it so we just ommitted the glaze and did syrup on top.  This is one of those recipes that is fun to change things up but won't get made regularly.  It was delicious though!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
recipe from RECIPE GIRL

CINNAMON FILLING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie or a pastry bag and set it aside. **I had an empty mustard container--the kind you get at restaurants with the skinny neck--that I put the filling in and that worked perfectly!

Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened. Or prepare a pancake mix. Set aside.

Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle. Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Granola Crumb Topping

The only change I made to this recipe was that I added 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter to the crumb topping

original Recipe

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with granola crumb topping

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup granola

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together milk, applesauce, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Add blueberries and gently toss to combine.
• Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Sprinkle with granola. Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.