Hasselback Potatoes; Mac 'n' Cheese; Pop Tarts; Chocolate Ice Cream; Mozzarella Sticks; AND Green Eggs and Ham!

Well I've done it again. We have an overload of goodness. I just can't keep up with all this cooking. And it's starting to get nice out. It's tough to be productive behind the computer. But I'm getting started. That's what counts.

So here we go. Get ready for a plethora of magnificent foods. All fast, easy, and yuuuuuummmmyyyyy!

Hasselback Potatoes: Or as I'd like to think of them... Hasselhoff potatoes. Don't ask... But don't deny that you want to call them that too.

Ingredients:

potato (the bigger the better)

minced garlic

~ 1 tsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

other toppings optional

Step One: Carefully slice your potato like you're making chips BUT only cute through about 2/3 of the way.

Step Two: Lather that baby up with some olive oil. Making sure to get in between all of the different potato leaves.

Step Three: Shove some garlic in. The more the merrier.

Step Four: Toss on some salt and pepper and throw into the oven at about 425 for roughly 45 minutes.

Step Five: Take out and top with anything you'd like. I went with some cheese.

Mac 'n' Cheese:

Ingredients:

package of elbow noodles

~ 1tbs. oil

~ 3-4 c. grated cheese

~ 1/2 c. milk

~ 1 tbs. flour

~ 1/4 c. butter

salt and pepper to taste

Step One: Cook noodle until they are basically done. Just a tiny bit under cooked.

Step Two: Toss drained, cooked noodles into a greased cake pan (or whatever).

Step Three: Add cheese or your liking, oil, butter, milk, flour, salt and pepper and mix well.

Step Four: Toss in the oven to let the cheese melt. I'd say just about 15 minutes at 350.

Step Five: Give a solid taste testing and see what needs to be done. Salt and pepper can do wonders. I also recommend throwing on some Sriracha, which is delicious on anything and everything. If you don't have some already you're missing out, big time.

Pop Tarts: So I saw these just about everywhere after finding them on smittenkitten, and I absolutely had to try them. As do you. Get ready for some awesomeness; you're going to love these. The best part is you can stuff them with anything; jellies, chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, eggs, veggies, the list goes on. I've been testing out different things in here for awhile. I really like the savory pop tarts; with mushroom, garlic, and cheese, yuuuum. Really you can throw just about anything you have in this little pastry crust and make the most delicious thing you've ever tasted. I'll say it again, you're going to love these. Also, you're going to wonder how in the world you've been eating store bought pop tarts all your life. Enjoy. P.S. I cut out a stick of butter; I'm sure they are d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. and oh, so flaky with two sticks of butter, but I just can't bring myself to put two sticks of butter into such a little pastry crust. Do as you wish, but your heart will thank me, and you, later.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour
1 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) of butter
1 egg
2 tbs. milk

Step One: Mix together flour, sugar, and salt.

Step Two: Mix in butter. I recommend using two butter knives and kind of slicing the butter up real small. You want to end up with pea sized chunks. You could also use a fork, your hands, a food processor, other handy gadgets, whatever you want really; just get it evenly distributed.

Step Three: Mix in egg and milk; stir well. Get your hands in there and knead it up a little bit to ensure even distribution of this magic.

Step Four: Ok, now here is the fun part. Putting these puppies together. You can also refrigerate your dough for a day or two if you have the will power to sit around and wait for these. You're crazy if can actually do this though. Anyway, for us normal impatient beings, decide what you want to fill your pastry. Refer to this list below for some ideas (these are just a few I've tried) or be creative and use what you have.

Jelly Filling:

~ 3/4 c. of your favorite jelly/jam

1 tbs. corn starch mixed with 1 tbs. water (I've always skipped this step, but be warned, if you do they will be really runny) **We did try some tapioca flour and it worked perfectly; I just sprinkled a little in**

Bring this to a boil for a couple minutes. Let cool before filling pop tarts.

Savory Filling:

~ 1/4 c. mushrooms

~ 1/4 c. shredded cheese

~ 1/2 tsp. garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Cook up mushrooms and garlic a little bit. Place in pastry crust and add cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. **You could also try adding in some eggs. We are doing this as I type. Just scramble them up first and throw them in**

Step Five: Once you've decided what you want to stuff in here; gauge how many pop tarts you want/can make with the amount of dough you have. This depends on how big (or little) you want these to be. I made 8 decent sized pop tarts with this, but you could make them bigger if you'd like more filling or smaller if you'd like them for something like an appetizer. Either way decide, divide your dough, and get some rectangles, squares, circles, whatever shape you want, rolled out about 1/8 in. thick. Place your filling to one half and fold. Make sure to seal the edges. Use a fork or just press together well with your fingers.

Step Six: Place into your heated oven, which should be at 350 degrees, for roughly 30 minutes. Here's the hard part. Waiting. Our monster oven usually keeps the wait at about 10 minutes. We also turn it down a hefty amount. It's set at about 300 today, we'll see how it goes.

Chocolate Ice Cream: I must say, out of all the ice creams, this just may be my favorite. It's soooooo yummy. And so chocolaty. I love it. I also want to make a note that all these ice cream recipes (vanilla and dulce de leche) I use are the ones you can throw into a bag and shake for like 15 minutes and BOOM! ice cream. I just haven't tried it yet.

Ingredients:

1 pint half and half
1/2 c. whipping cream (honestly this time I just did 1 cup I was sick of having half a cup sitting around. It still tastes the same. Who knows maybes that's why it was so delicious)
~2 tsp. vanilla (you can do more or less or none, whatever)
3/4 c. sugar
pinch of salt
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)

Step One: Whisk all ingredients together (except chocolate). Make sure that all the sugar dissolves.

Step Two: Melt chocolate chips. Stir into liquid mixture. Make sure to distribute evenly.

Step Three: Cover and freeze. Come back and whisk well about every 45 minutes roughly 3 or 4 times; until it looks like ice cream. Eat and love.

Mozzarella Sticks: I came across these little guys on penelope's oasis. I love mozzarella sticks in a bad way so I had to try these. They are super easy, way healthier than anything you're going to buy, and they are soooooo yummy.

Ingredients:

~ 10 cheese sticks (you know, those delicious little string cheeses, they're about to get even better)

1/2 c. flour

2 eggs (the other recipes calls for whites, but I was too lazy to separate them out)

1 c. panko, bread crumbs, whatevers clever.

seasoning (like garlic salt, salt, pepper, you know)

dipping sauce

Step One: Chop cheese sticks in half and toss them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Step Two: Mix panko and seasonings. Or whatever kind of crumb you choose.

Step Three: Get your bowls of flour, panko, and egg (mixed all up) lined up and ready for dipping.

Step Four: Dip cheese into flour, egg, and panko. I did some double dipping for extra coverage. Lay out on a greased cookie sheet.

Step Five: Put in oven for about 10-15 minutes at 300 degrees. Sit and wait impatiently. It's so worth it. They are golden, crispy and delicious. 

Green Eggs and Ham: Last, but certainly not least, I made green eggs and ham for Dr. Seuss Day. It took me straight back to second grade. Everyone should enjoy these on Dr. Seuss Day. I took some time to read some Dr. Seuss quotes as I ate. I absolutely love Dr. Seuss; you're never too old to enjoy his rhymes. What's your favorite Dr. Seuss quote or book?

Ingredients:

2 eggs

ham (I just tore up a slice of sandwich meat ham)

~4 tbs. milk

cheese

a drop of green food coloring

salt and pepper to taste

Step One: Mix together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, ham, and food coloring (I did mine after cooking, but I think you should do it before).

Step Two: Cook over medium heat and stir frequently until eggs are cooked. Throw some cheese on top and let melt. Smile and enjoy. 

Once again I'm super sorry for the terribly long wait. And I hope that it doesn't take too long to get some more things going. Once things are settled expect a heavy flow of recipes coming your way. I hope you enjoy.