Stromboli

If you're looking for an accompaniment to a home style Italian meal, this is a good one. It's a perfect appetizer or even something to replace plain bread. It's quick and simple to put together and can be baked and served almost immediately. Play with the ingredients and make it your own. Let the kids help and they can make their own giant Hot Pocket!

When laying out the fillings on the dough, make sure not to over do it on the pesto or cheese. You want the dough to cook all the way through and too much liquid or oil will prevent this. Keep an eye on this while baking so that it doesn't brown up too quickly. If it looks like it is, cover loosely with foil.

1 tube of refrigerated bread, I used Pillsbury Country Italian

4-6 tbs prepared basil pesto (found in the spaghetti sauce aisle)

24 small sliced pepperoni

4-6 round slices provolone cheese

1/4 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes

4 tbs shaved parmesan cheese, more for topping

coarse salt

olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with olive oil. Remove dough from package, lay on cookie sheet and carefully unroll to make a flat piece of dough. Leaving a 1/4 on all sides, evenly spread prepared pesto. Top with pepperoni, tomatoes, parmesan and provolone. Carefully roll dough back up to form a loaf and lay seam side down on cookie sheet, make 3 slits in top of loaf.  Bake according to manufacturers instructions. When loaf is golden brown, remove from oven and spray lightly with olive oil, top with a little salt and parmesan shavings. Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Spicy Asian & Tangy Honey BBQ Drumettes/Wings

Wings are always a popular dish. Perfect for watching the game, great party food and they go great with cold beer! However, I think the chain restaurants charge way too much for something so little. By making these at home, you can make something alot tastier at a fraction of the retail cost.

The recipes below are two that my kids really enjoy, spicy for Paige and sweet for Sam. I don't serve them with the traditional side of blue cheese or ranch dressing, they have enough flavor on their own. For the wings that are coated in flour, I prefer to bake them on a rack so the coating crisps up evenly and use cooking spray for a lighter alternative to deep frying.

Spicy Asian Wings (left)

10 -12 drumettes or wings, tips removed

1 1/2 cups prepared Szechuan sauce

1tbs ground ginger

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

salt and pepper to taste

sesame seeds 

Preheat oven to 400°

In a ziplock bag combine 1/2 cup Szechuan sauce, ginger and water. Place chicken pieces in bag, seal and refrigerate for an hour. Line a cookie sheet with foil, remove chicken from bag and place pieces in single layer without touching. Season with salt and pepper and bake until done, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, place remaining  Szechuan and honey in bowl and mix. When pieces are cooked through, baste with Szechuan and honey mixture and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, arrange on plate and drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve warm with remaining sauce on side.

Tangy Honey BBQ Wings (right)

10-12 drumettes or wings, tips removed

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 tbs cornstarch

1tsp smoked paprika

3/4 cup milk

1 cup prepared BBQ sauce

1/2 cup honey

1tsp cayenne pepper

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°

Combine milk and paprika in a bowl with lid. Place chicken in bowl, seal and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Combine flours and cornstarch in a second bowl. Remove chicken from bowl and reserve liquid. Dip each piece of moistened chicken in flour mix and set aside. After all pieces are coated, repeat process again. Spray a baking rack* or foil lined cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place pieces in single layer without touching. Lightly spray each piece with cooking spray and bake in oven 20-30 minutes, or til done. Meanwhile, mix in a bowl the BBQ sauce, honey and cayenne pepper. When chicken is done, remove from oven and brush sauce on all sides of each piece. Return to oven and bake for another five minutes. Serve warm with remaining sauce on the side.

Strawberry Shortcake

First recipe for July and it's an update on a summer classic, strawberry shortcake. Instead of the traditional small sponge cakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream, I made this one in the style of tiramisu. By doing it this way, it allows you to prepare a large quantity of servings at one time. It'll be easy and quick to serve and makes for an elegant presentation.

I made this in a glass 9x12 baking dish and it took two packages of 24 count lady fingers. One package will make one layer. Dip them quickly in the liquid and lay the first layer in one direction, the second in the opposite. Refrigerate until well chilled and make sure you reserve some of the strawberries to top each individual piece.

2 lbs fresh strawberries

3 cups water

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 cups white sugar

2 packages 24 count lady fingers

16 ounces mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup half & half

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Slice strawberries and place in a bowl with water, vinegar and white sugar. Stir, cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Strain strawberries from liquid, reserving liquid and berries and set both aside. In a mixing bowl beat cheese, half & half, powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Using half of the lady fingers, quickly dip each one in reserved liquid and place in bottom of baking dish. Spread half of the cheese mixture evenly over lady fingers, top with half of the reserved strawberries and repeat with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill at least 6 hours before serving.