It's what's on the Inside that Counts!

So I know what you’re all thinking.  “Wow!  These ladies are perfect in every way!”  Well, this dinner blog is to show that we aren’t always perfect, but we learn, we move on, and best of all – our food STILL is delicious!

For this particular dinner night, we made Chicken Pesto Calzones.  They did not seal properly (we remembered to seal them with egg whites only after the fact).  Not picture perfect, but still delightfully delicious!

Chicken Pesto Calzones

-1 lb cubed chicken

-1/2 cup pesto

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1 medium onion

- 1 T. basil

-1 T. parsley

 - salt and pepper to taste

- Frozen Bread Dough

- Egg whites

-Directions: Cook chicken, onion and garlic until onion is translucent and chicken is thoroughly cooked, then add remaining ingredients, then cool in fridge 1 hour. Thaw bread dough and let rise per package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread dough into 6 balls, and roll out with rolling pin. Place 1/2 cup filling in each, and seal with egg whites. Cook 25 minutes, or until browned.

 

Next we made Saltine Heath Bars.  Let me tell you people, this recipe is SO easy…if you just pay attention during the 15 minutes it takes to make!
 

Saltine Heath Bars

-1-2 sleevesSaltines

-2 sticks butter

-1 cup brown sugar

-1/2 – 1  cup chocolate chips (you can judge)

-chopped nuts (pecans, peanuts, cashews…your choice!)

Directions:  Arrange saltines on a cookie sheet lined with foil (make sure your cookie sheet has edges!  If you think just folding the tinfoil to create an edge, you will likely have a mess in your oven afterwards) 

Over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together, bring to a boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly (DO NOT add more brown sugar even if you think it looks watery.  It will become grainy if you do)  When you take them out of the oven and set them on the stovetop, make sure you turned the burners off or you'll have a pan like this (as you can see I also did not have an edge on my sheet...lots of issues here).

 

Pour mixture over crackers.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes (no longer!).  Remove from oven, and sprinkle chocolate chips across the top.  Once they start to melt, spread them across the crackers/bars.  Top with chopped nuts and refridgerate for at least an hour (or freeze).  When ready, cut into squares and enjoy.

And then there was our salad, our saving grace.  Nothing can go wrong with salad!

Simple Spring Salad Recipe

Juice of 1 ½ oranges
Juice of ½ lemon
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon fine grain salt

4 handfuls of salad greens
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
1/3 cup black olives, pitted (we left these out)

Directions: Whisk together the juice of 1/2 orange, lemon juice, most of the red onion, olive oil, and salt. Taste, and add more lemon and/or salt as you see fit.

Peel the remaining orange and cut into segments, removing any seeds you might encounter. Set aside.

Toss greens with a generous splash of the dressing. Add the orange segments and walnuts and toss again. Taste and add dressing as you see fit. Serve salad topped with the remaining red onion and olives (if used).

 

So our calzones tasted wonderful even though not fully sealed.  Our heath goodies…what we were able to salvage from the smoking oven disaster of 2013, were pretty good.  And the salad...a delightfully fresh way to spring into summer (as we wait for the warmer temps!)