Recipe Variation: Cheesesteak Stromboli

I made several variations of stromboli for a recent party. Beyond my usual two (pepperoni and chicken), I threw in a vegetarian version and a Philly cheesesteak one. The vegetarian one didn’t turn out that great (I think I used too much ricotta) but the Philly cheesesteak was nice. Just sautee some shaved beef, green peppers, and onions and use that along with provolone cheese for your filling. Don’t go with too sharp of a provolone – I found that takes over the flavor of the stromboli too much.

Kielbasa and Homemade Sauerkraut

This is how we served the sauerkraut I made. This recipe is super easy – I have a thrown out back and still managed to make this dinner while barely mobile.

I wanted a bit of balance between my kraut and my kielbasa, which is why I doctored it a bit from the original base recipe.

Stuffed Portabellos with Ricotta and Lamb Sausage

I love it when dishes I make up turn out well.

This doesn’t look pretty, but it tasted terrific. I got the idea when watching someone on Food Network make calzones. My thought process: “I could go for a calzone. Not exactly low-carb. Hmm.” I used homemade ricotta for this; I think that plus the excellent lamb sausage really made a difference here (we also had really nice mushrooms from the market).

We served this with broccoli rabe and some strawberries tossed with basil, a pinch of sugar and white balsamic vinegar.

Mike’s Chicken and Broccoli White Pizza

My friend Mike made a variety of pizzas for a recent game night, and this was my favorite. I decided, with his guidance, to recreate it at home. It uses the Joy of Cooking crust recipe, though it divides it into three rather than two. I love broccoli on pizza. Pictured before baking (yes, I am pretty free form with my pies).

Bibimbap

Sort of obsessed with this recipe – one of the best things I’ve made recently. Can’t stop eating it! I thought this looked pretty labor intensive at first glance, but it didn’t really take much time at all. Especially if you make it Missy Works From Home style: chop the veggies and meat earlier in the day, make the rice while you’re at spin class in the rice cooker, etc. The spinach is also easy enough to make in another pan while you’re doing the rest of the recipe. I garnished this with some Korean red pepper, which isn’t called for in the recipe, but makes things a little spicier. You could easily make this vegetarian by amping up the mushrooms and omitting the beef.

Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken tetrazzini is one of those weird foods that I didn’t really like as a kid, but find myself thinking about sometimes now that I’m older. I’ve made a full fat version once or twice, but wondered if there was a lighter one out there that still tasted good. Cooking Light delivered. The photo isn’t great, but I really like the recipe. I halved the recipe because it is for two casseroles, and I only made one (that’s six servings just for us), but you can follow the original link for the larger portions. Not a great photo, but you get the idea.

Lighter Deep Dish Pizza

Sounds like an oxymoron but this Cooking Light recipe ended up managing to be low calorie and delicious! I particularly liked the crust. I ended up subbing 2 oz pepperoni for the 6 oz sausage (calorically it looked about to be an even switch), just because I prefer it, and that was more than enough pepperoni to be satisfied.

Cassoulet

Ok, this was pretty exciting. Yes, I spent three days on it. Yes, boneless lamb and duck are super expensive. And yet, worth it. A showpiece recipe from Cooking Light.

The next time I make it, I’d go with a milder sausage, like chicken and garlic. I bet you could also swap in chicken for SOME of the duck meat, but not all, as it really adds to the flavor. I didn’t rinse the duck, which made mine saltier, but I like salt.

Everything Lo Mein

This recipe makes a ton, and is tasty. Adapted from Rachael Ray.

Chickpea Fajitas

This is one of those recipes I saw and wanted to make that night for dinner. I decided to to save it for entertaining friends this weekend, but they ended up canceling. John and I had them for dinner anyway and they were really satisfying. The chickpeas don’t taste like meat but they make it taste like you’re not just eating condiment fajitas, if that makes sense.