Smokehouse Maple Fajitas

With all this wonderful weather, we're breaking in the grill!

These fajitas were delightful -- especially with the smokehouse maple seasoning.  Oh. My.

Smokehouse Maple Fajitas

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
~3 tsp. Smokehouse Maple Seasoning (from McCormick)
1 sweet vadallia onion, separated
3 colored bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
4-6 whole wheat tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese, if desired

Directions

Season the uncooked {but thawed} chicken breasts with smokehouse maple.  Then, place the chicken breasts on the grill.

Grill on each side for ~10 minutes.  Check the internal temperature of the chicken breast, and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Meanwhile, slice up the onion and bell peppers into long strips.  Toss with olive oil.

Place the veggies in a grill basket.  Place on the grill and roast the veggies for 10-15 minutes, tossing the veggies every 4-5 minutes.

{Don't mind the zucchini slices in here... we often serve grilled zucchini as a side.}

When the chicken and veggies are done, remove them from the grill and cover to keep warm.

Slice the chicken breast and lay the chicken slices in the center of a whole wheat tortilla.

Top with peppers and onions.

If desired, add the cheddar cheese.  Place the tortillas then into the grill basket and set on the grill (that is now cooling down).  Close the lid to melt the cheese.

Enjoy!

Linked to: Full Plate Thursday, Strut Your Stuff, It's a Keeper, Tutorial Tuesday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Monday, Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Ingredient Spotlight

Ham and Broccoli Pockets

Ever since we had success with our pizza pockets, my mind has been swirling.  Breakfast pockets.  And, now -- ham and cheese pockets.

Whole wheat dough, a filling made with ham and green veggies, and a sauce with great flavor from extra sharp cheddar cheese made creamy from flour and milk!  

The original recipes uses a filling that combines mild cheddar cheese and butter.  I've found that you can eliminate the butter and still get a nice thick sauce.  And, if you use extra sharp cheddar cheese, the flavor is much greater and therefore you can use less cheese.  Just a little healthier... but every little bit helps, right?

Ham and Broccoli Pockets - Inspired by Good Life Eats
Makes 8-10 pockets

Dough
1 C really warm water
1 tsp. honey
1 T yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C white whole wheat flour

Filling
1 1/2 C diced ham
1 1/2 C broccoli florets, chopped
1 C peas
4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 1/2 C milk*
1/8 C chicken broth
3 T flour
1/4 tsp. pepper


Prepare dough by dissolving the yeast in the warm water.  Allow this mixture to sit for ~1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Using your mixer, mix in the flour.  Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the filling ingredients. 

Place the frozen veggies (or fresh -- I ended up using frozen) in a large bowl.  

Add the diced ham.  

Saute the veggies and ham together until warmed.  Then, set aside.  

Combine the chicken broth and flour in a measuring up.  Stir until flour and broth are smoothly mixed together.  

Add the broth and flour mixture to a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat, stirring until mixture just begins to thicken.  Then, add in the milk.  Season with pepper.  

Stir until mixture thickens.  Then, remove from the heat.  Add in the cheese.  

As the heat from the dish melts the cheese, you may need to add a bit more milk to increase the liquid nature of the sauce.  I ended up adding between 1/8-1/4 C.  

At this point, divide the dough into 8-10 pieces, and roll/press each out into a circle.  

Place ~1- 1 1/2 C filling on half of the dough circle.  

Using a pastry brush, lightly wet the outer edge of the dough.  Then fold the dough over the filling and use a fork to seal.  

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 for 10-12 minutes until pockets are lightly browned.  

Cool for 3-4 minutes before cutting and serving.  Filling will be hot!  

Linked to: Ingredient Spotlight, What's on Your Plate? Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Monday, Hunk of Meat Monday  

Breakfast Pockets

Frog Prince and I have been on a quest to have breakfasts that are not pancakes/waffles/muffins at least one morning each week.  

This recipe is a hybrid -- it brings together our beloved carbs, and mixes it with yummy veggies, scrambled eggs, and of course, a little cheese.  

We made a big batch of these up over the weekend, and unlike my pizza pockets, these actually made it into the freezer!  So, we have a quick breakfast pocket in the freezer just waiting for growling tummies in the morning.

Breakfast Pockets

{makes ~10 pockets}

Dough

1 C really warm water

1 tsp. honey

1 T yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 T olive oil

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 C white whole wheat flour

Filling

~1 C shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz. mushrooms

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 C broccoli, chopped

4 eggs

1/4 C milk

salt and pepper, as desired

4-6 slices of bacon, cooked 

Begin by preparing the dough.  Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in the bottom of a large bowl (or mixing bowl if you are using your stand mixer).  Allow the yeast and water to sit for about 1 minute.  Then, add in the honey, salt and olive oil.  Stir in the flour.  You can either do this by hand, or with your mixer.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until smooth.  Allow the dough to sit, covered for 5 minutes while you prepare your filling.  

Add the sliced veggies to a skillet with a few drops of olive oil.  Saute the veggies until crisp tender.  

While the veggies are cooking, whisk together the 4 eggs and the 1/4 C milk.  Scramble the eggs in a lightly greased skillet until eggs are set.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  

Combine the veggie mixture together with the eggs.  Then, crumble up the cooked bacon strips and mix them into the egg veggie filling.  

Now, divide the dough into 10 small balls.  Flatten and roll out those dough balls into dough circles.  Place the dough circles on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Now is also the time to preheat the oven to 400.  

Divide the topping mixture into proportions equal to the number of pockets you have to fill.  For us, that equated to about 1/2-3/4 C mixture per pocket.  Place the filling on half of the dough pocket.  

Sprinkle each pocket with shredded cheddar cheese.  

Using a pastry brush, spread water around the edges of the dough.  

Fold the dough over the filling and press to seal.  Use a fork to seal the edges tightly.  

If desired, sprinkle the top of the pockets with Italian seasoning, or chives.  

Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes until pockets are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped.  

Serve warm.  

If desired, cool the pockets completely.  Then, freeze in plastic freezer bags.  To cook, remove the breakfast pocket from the freezer and microwave for 1-3 minutes (depending on your microwave) until warmed.  

Linked to: What's Cooking Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Recipe Swap, Mangia Monday, Tasty Tuesday, These Chicks Cook

Wheat Buttermilk Bread

I've never tasted buttermilk bread before, but since I love buttermilk and had some in the fridge to use up, I decided to try my hand at making buttermilk bread.  I modified the original recipe to cut down on the butter, use all honey in place of the sugar and use some whole wheat flour in the dough, just because I love whole grains in my bread.  

This bread smelled delicious while it was baking, and Frog Prince and I had to try some freshly sliced!

What surprised me about this bread was how moist it was; and remained for even a few days after baking. In fact, it was so moist, I worried about whether or not I'd baked it long enough. The texture reminded me of super soft store-bought bread.

Frog Prince, I think, found his new favorite bread.  He just kept walking through the kitchen saying "wow", after he tasted the bread and enjoyed it in a grilled cheese sandwich.

I do have to say, it did make a pretty excellent grilled cheese :)

Buttermilk Bread - Adapted from The Domestic Engineer

1 1/4 C buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 C honey
1 T butter
1/4 C dry milk
1 1/2 C bread flour
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast

Combine the ingredients in your bread maker according to manufacturers directions.  For mine, I add them in the order the ingredients are listed.

Set to "dough" cycle and allow the bread to knead and complete the cycle. Check the dough as it starts kneading; I needed to add a bit more flour to the dough.

When the cycle is done, remove the bread dough from the bread machine, and shape into a loaf.  Place in a lightly greased loaf pan.  Cover, and allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled.

Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes until the bread is nicely browned and it sounds hallow when tapped.

Remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire wrack.

Cool completely (or very close to completely) before slicing. The bread is much too soft to slice before then!

Enjoy! Especially in a grilled cheese!

Linked to: What's on your plate?  Yeast Spotting, Two Maids a Baking, What's Cooking Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Let's Bake Bread Together.