Pizza Waffles

Posted on July 21, 2014 by alicewp

Click here to watch the Twin Cities Live segment when I made this recipe on July 21, 2014.

It’s time to get excited!! The Minnesota State Fair is just around the corner (August 21-September 1). I LOVE the Minnesota State Fair. I love the food, the NEW food and I especially love entering the Creative Activities cooking and baking competitions. On the first day I attend the fair, the Creative Activities cooking area is the first place I go. Do you love the fair as much as I do? After you read the recipe, scroll down to the end of this post to win a Family Pack to the Minnesota State Fair.

There are many different kinds of baking and cooking contests at the state fair and the entries are all displayed in glass cabinets in the Creative Activities Building. This year will be my 7th year entering competitions at the Minnesota State Fair. There are cookie, bread, pie, gluten-free, vegan, canning and corporate-sponsored contests at the fair. You prepare the dish at home, follow the contest rules and recipe requirements and then bring it to the fair on the specified day. The drop off day is almost as exciting as the first day I walk into the Creative Activities building when the fair first opens.

You can check out the competitions and register to compete online at: http://www.mnstatefair.org/competition/creative_activities.html

Deadline to Register: Tuesday, August 5 at 4:30pm.

Baking Drop Off: Saturday, August 16 between 11am-2pm.

This year Bisquick has a Quick Creations category and the 1st place prize is $200. Last year I received second place in the Bisquick Family Favorites contest for my Pizza Waffles.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
1 ½ cups Whole Milk
2 TB Olive oil
1 Egg
1 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese (shaved)
1 ¼ cup Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni Minis (5 ounce package)
Fresh Mozzarella Pearls (8 ounce package)

Directions:
Preheat waffle iron.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine Bisquick, milk, olive oil, egg, garlic salt, Italian seasoning and parmesan. Mix until combined and pour waffle mix into waffle maker that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook each waffle until golden brown.

Once waffles have been cooked, spread half of waffles with heated pizza sauce and top with pepperoni minis. Top with remaining waffles and then cut each pizza sandwich into four pieces. Top with fresh mozzarella pearls and heat in microwave or toaster oven to melt cheese.

Serves 5
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The MN State Fair and Blue Ribbon Group provided the items for this giveaway. Thanks!

Southwestern Pasta Salad

Posted on July 16, 2014 by alicewp

Click here to watch when I made this recipe on Twin Cities Live on July 16, 2014.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Radiatore Pasta (cook according to package directions)
2 cups Chicken (cooked and chopped)
15-ounce can of Corn
15-ounce can of Black Beans
5 ounces Queso Fresco Cheese (crumbled)
1 cup Mexican Blend Cheese (shredded)
¼ cup Cilantro (chopped)
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes (sliced)
1 Avocado
1 16-ounce bottle of Fiesta Salsa Ranch Dressing
2 TB Taco Seasoning
Corn Chips for Garnish

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing and taco seasoning. Chill before serving. Garnish with corn chips.

Serves 10-12

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

Posted on July 16, 2014 by alicewp

Click here to watch when I made this recipe on Twin Cities Live on July 16, 2014.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Cavatappi Pasta (cook according to package directions)
2 cups Chicken (cooked and chopped)
5 ounces Blue Cheese (crumbled)
10 ounces Carrots (shredded)
2 cups Celery (chopped)
¼ cup Bacon pieces (cooked)
¼ cup Green Onions (chopped)
1 cup Kale (chopped)
1 cup Ranch Dressing
¼ cup Buffalo Wing Sauce

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing and wing sauce. Chill before serving.

Serves 10-12

Asian Pasta Salad

Posted on July 16, 2014 by alicewp

Click here to watch when I made this recipe on Twin Cities Live on July 16, 2014.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Angel Hair Pasta (cooked according to package directions)
2 cups Chicken (cooked and chopped)
15-ounce can of Mandarin Oranges
¼ cup Cilantro (chopped)
¼ cup Green Onion (sliced)
1 cup Broccoli Slaw
1 cup Snow Peas (sliced)
4 ounces Water Chesnuts
¾ cup Peanut Sauce (House of Tang-Bangkok)
½ cup Asian Orange Sauce/Glaze
¼ cup Cashews (I like Sahale Snacks’ Sing Buri)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and toss with Peanut and Orange Sauces. Chill before serving. Garnish with cashews.

Serves 10-12

Summer Food Freezing Tips

Posted on June 30, 2014 by alicewp

Summer is a great time to do some freezing and meal planning! Here are two great summer recipes to freeze and below are my tips for freezing and some common summer foods and how to best freeze them this summer!

Click here to watch the June 27, 2014 segment when I made these recipes and talked about freezing tips.

Click here for more information about the meal exchange I organize.

Cherry Burgers: http://diningwithalice.com/twin-cities-live/cherry-burgers/

Pulled Pork and Peaches Pizza: http://diningwithalice.com/twin-cities-live/pulled-pork-and-peaches-pizza/

Alice’s Top 5 Freezer Tips

Air is your enemy. Squeeze air out of bags. Or if using Tupperware, wrap items to ensure limited air exposure.
Keep your freezer organized and labeled. Also regularly go through your freezer and toss old and freezer-burned items.
Label, Label, Label. Use Sharpies and painter’s tape to ensure you know what is in each package.
Do not use generic freezing products. To ensure seals and coverage, splurge and buy brand-name products.
For safe freezing information use the US Department of Agriculture Guidelines for Freezing available here.

Summer Food	Can you freeze it?	Notes
Hummus or Pesto	Yes	For best quality freeze for shorter durations, store in original container or in ice cube trays.
Pasta Salad	Yes	Freeze cooked pasta and ingredients without dressing. Add dressing when serving.
Fresh Herbs	Yes	Freeze in ice cube trays with oil or water. Pop out and put in freezer bags.
Corn on the Cob	Yes	Cook and then wrap with plastic wrap and squeeze out air of freezer bag.
Baked Beans	Yes	For smaller amounts and for kid meals later, put in ice cube trays.
Raw chicken in a marinade	Yes	Double bag in freezer bags. Try different salad dressings like Italian or Raspberry-flavored.
Raw hamburgers made into patties	Yes	Freeze patties in parchment and wrap in plastic for longer storage.
Pizza	Yes	Par-bake crust and then freeze topped pizza. Or freeze crust alone.
Watermelon	Yes	Cube and save in freezer bags use that summer.
Pie Dough and Pizza Dough	Yes	Spray with nonstick spray and freeze for 3 months. Defrost in fridge overnight before using.
Jam		Easy storage in glass canning jars and defrost in the fridge. Freeze for a year.

Pulled Pork and Peaches Pizza

Posted on June 30, 2014 by alicewp

Summer is the perfect time to do some meal planning and freeze ahead meals. Here is a really easy meal for the summer-pizza. It is great for family night and you can make all sorts of different ones and freeze for later. I love the mix of pulled pork and peaches in this recipe.

Click here to watch the June 27, 2014 Twin Cities Live segment when I made this recipe.

Click here to find out more about the meal exchange I organize.

Ingredients:

1 lb pizza dough (I use the recipe from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in 5 minutes a Day, you can also purchase premade dough from Trader Joe’s or your favorite pizza place).

½ cup BBQ Sauce (I like the Carolina Gold from Trader Joe’s)

½ cup Pizza Sauce

1 cup Gouda Cheese (shredded)

½ lb Pulled Pork with sauce (fully-cooked, about 1 cup). You can find this fully-prepared in most meat sections of grocery stores.

2 Peaches (sliced)

¼ cup Goat Cheese (crumbled)

½ cup Red Onion (sliced)

Fresh mint or cilantro for garnish.

Directions:

Roll out pizza dough into a pizza dough round. Par-bake the dough on a pizza stone at 525 for about 10 minutes and after 2 minutes check for any inflating and pop with a fork.

Once crust is finished, reduce heat to 375. Remove crust from oven and combine BBQ sauce and pizza sauce and spread on pizza. Top with Gouda cheese, cooked pulled pork, sliced peaches, goat cheese and onion. Return to oven at 375 and bake for 20 minutes. Once cooked top with your favorite chopped fresh herb (I like mint on this pizza).

Makes 1 pizza

Options for freezing and notes:

Prepare pizza dough recipe (I use the recipe from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in 5 minutes a Day). You can freeze prepared dough in balls within freezer bags.
Roll out pizza dough into pizza dough rounds. Par-bake each round on a pizza stone at 525 for about 10 minutes and after 2 minutes check for any inflating and pop with a fork.
Par-baked pizza rounds can be frozen without toppings in 2.5 gallon freezer bags.
You can take a par-baked round, add your toppings and freeze. For short-term storage, place pizza in 2.5 gallon freezer bag. For longer-term storage 1+ month: wrap pizza in plastic wrap, tin foil and then put in 2.5 gallon bag.
To bake a frozen pizza, heat oven to 525 and bake on pizza stone for 10-20 minutes until toppings are cooked.
For best taste and freshness eat frozen pizza within 2 months.

Cherry Burgers

Posted on June 30, 2014 by alicewp

Summer is the perfect time to do some meal planning and freeze ahead meals. Here is a really easy and tasty burger recipe. The recipe is big enough to enjoy at a meal and have enough extra for freezing. The cherries are perfect for turkey and make it a juicy and hearty burger.

Click here to watch the June 27, 2014 Twin Cities Live segment when I made this recipe.

Click here to find out more about the meal exchange I organize.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Ground Turkey

½ tsp Lemon Pepper

1 tsp Garlic Salt

10 Mint Leaves (finely chopped)

1 small Lemon (zest)

2 TB Brown Sugar

1 lb. Rainier Cherries (pitted and chopped)

2 Eggs

2 cups Brown Rice

1 cup Panko Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine turkey, lemon pepper, garlic salt, mint, lemon zest and brown sugar. Add chopped cherries and eggs and mix. Then add brown rice and panko crumbs.

Form into ½ cup patties. Makes 12 burgers.

Cook on Foreman Grill for 4-5 minutes. If using an outdoor grill, cook about 5 minutes on each side.

Options for freezing and notes:

Prepare burger recipe.
Line a jelly roll pan (rimmed cookie sheet) with parchment paper.
Make room in your freezer for a cookie sheet.
Cut parchment paper into 6×6 inch squares (you need two for each burger)
On the cookie sheet, set one piece of parchment square and then ½ cup scoop of burger mix.
Place another piece of parchment square on top, press down burger. Repeat until all burgers are made. Place cookie sheet with burgers in the freezer.
Once frozen, place parchment paper packs of burgers and place in freezer bag. For longer storage, wrap each parchment pack in plastic wrap and then place in freezer bag.
For best taste and freshness eat frozen burgers within 3 months.

Minnesota Beer Bucket List: June 2014

Posted on June 19, 2014 by alicewp

Last winter I helped organize a beer advent calendar with my brother-in-law Brendan (http://beerwithbrendan.com) and everyone drank a new beer each day in December and I blogged about the food pairings. Since summer is so short in Minnesota, I thought it would be fun to create a beer bucket list each month of the summer. Each month’s list will feature 3 Minnesota places where you need to enjoy a beer and 3 Minnesota beers you must try. Now go and get your June beer bucket list checked off they’ll be more to try and check out next month!

Click here to watch the June 20, 2014 Twin Cities Live segment when I taked about this month’s beer bucket list.

Not too fast! I have a great giveaway for you! After you read this month’s bucket list, enter to win some Minnesota beer-enter at the bottom of the post or at this mobile-friendly link: http://tinyurl.com/la3vp4m

3 Minnesota Places Where You Need to Enjoy A Beer: June 2014

Sea Salt Eatery

Address: 4801 Minnehaha Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55406 in the Minnehaha Falls Park inside the Park Pavilion.

Hours: Open every day 11am-9pm

Web: http://seasalteatery.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Salt-Eatery/105406882829148

What to Do: Take a walk and check out the falls, bring the kids to the new playground and listen to some music.

What to Eat: Calamari Tacos, For the Kids-Fried Fish

What to Drink: 12 beers on tap and rotating beer truck outside. This is my favorite place to drink a Surly Hell (German Style Lager).

Tin Whiskers Tap Room

Address: 125 E 9th St, St. Paul, MN, 55101

Hours: Wed and Thursday: 4-10pm, Friday: 3-11pm and Saturday 12-11pm.

Web: http://twbrewing.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinWhiskersBrewingCo

What to Do: Make this a date night and play board games while sipping your beer!

What to Eat: Bring your own picnic that you pick up at the new Lund’s Penfield or order takeout from Sawatdee St. Paul.

What to Drink: I love their Wheatstone Bridge (American style wheat beer with flavors of honey and chamomile tea).

Summit Beer Hall

Address: 910 Montreal Circle, St. Paul, MN 55102

Hours: Every Friday and Saturday from 4-9pm

Web: http://www.summitbrewing.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitbrewingcompany

What to do: Bring your whole family-even the kids, play lawn games and soak up the sun on their awesome patio.

What to Eat: Food from their rotating food truck schedule, pack a picnic or pick up a pizza from Carbone’s on Randolph in St. Paul.

What to Drink: I love their Summer Ale (“Session Beer” Seasonal) great drinkable beer with fruity, floral hop aroma.

3 Minnesota Beers You Must Try: June 2014

You can purchase all of these great beers at:

The Ale Jail

Address: 1787 St Clair Ave, St Paul, MN 55105

Web Page: http://winethief.net/#/the-ale-jail

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thealejail

Shenanigans Summer Ale by Indeed Brewing Company (Minneapolis, MN)

Description: American Pale Wheat Ale

Brewed with regionally produced honey. It has a zesty and citrus aroma with notes of honey.

What to eat: Light snack plate-hummus, preserved lemons, oily fish like tuna, creamy cheeses and crackers.

This is the perfect beer to make a “Shenany” cocktail!

I made one with 12 ounces of Shenanigans, 1 ounce of lemonade and 1/2 ounce of Rhubarb syrup. Indeed recently shared a recipe by Dave Mathiason: 1oz fresh lemon juice, .5 oz lavender/honey, 1.5 oz dry gin, 6 oz Shenanigans over ice, +twist. Yum!

What to do: Enjoy this beer at an outdoor summer celebration like outdoor concerts and movies.

Hunny Do by Third Street Brewhouse (Cold Spring, MN)

Description: Wheat Beer

Refreshing wheat beer with crisp honey dew melon.

What to eat: Summer Fruit and Nut Layered Salad (assemble fruits, nuts and lettuce like a Cobb Salad, serve with Poppy or Fruit-based dressings)

What to do: Enjoy this beer at an outdoor get together or a fun beer to bring up to the cabin.

Paddle Break Blonde by Bent Paddle Brewing Company (Duluth, MN)

Description: Belgian Blonde Ale

Light, crisp beer with subtle spiciness – gentle clove & banana accents.

“This Blonde balances hints of citrus and Belgian yeast much like you balance a canoe on your shoulders. Effortlessly.” I love this quote from their web page.

What to eat: Chicken Bacon Ranch Burgers-here’s my recipe

What to do: Enjoy this yummy and refreshing beer on Minnesota’s lakes or golf courses.

Ok, now enter to win some free beer! For a blog post entry, tell me what beer you’d like to try! Very special thanks to The Ale Jail, Third Street Brewhouse, Tin Whiskers Brewing Company, Bent Paddle Brewing Company and Indeed Brewing Company for providing the prizes for this giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win a stay at Grand View Lodge!

Posted on May 23, 2014 by alicewp

On May 23, 2014 I shared my photos from the Governor’s Fishing Opener and my recipe for Homemade Fish Sticks on Twin Cities Live.

This year the Governor’s Fishing Opener was held in the Brainerd Lakes Area and headquartered at Grand View Lodge. The Governor’s Fishing Opener has been a Minnesota tradition since 1948. The event serves as an opportunity for the host community to highlight the area’s fishing and recreational activities. It is a kick off celebration for fishing and summer tourism in Minnesota!

We’ve stayed at Grand View Lodge several times and in different seasons. The opener was a great experience for us to explore the start of the fishing season-epecially introducing our children to the sport!

We also were able to check out many of the activities and places to eat in the Brainerd Lakes Area that we’ve never checked out before. One of my most favorite activities of the weekend was the community picnic, there was music, vendors, educational exhibits, food and even minnow races.

Oh wait-food, yes food the big centerpiece of the picnic was a free dinner and ice cream for the community. It was such a cool experience to see the community come together for the event-families even made the beautiful fish decorations hanging in the dining hall.

We also enjoyed a real shore lunch! It was so good! Amazing fried fish and fish chowder! Yum! Wes was a huge fan!

I’d say our family gets to Grand View at least twice a year. Our daughter affectionately refers to it as “our cabin.” And you know what? It feels like it. Each time we’ve stayed there we check out a difference place on the resort to stay-each one is unique. We love the activities for adults and kids alike, we’ve attended yoga, taken boat rides, observed cooking demos and even participated in beer sampling and wine tasting. Probably my favorite thing to do is check out their spa, Glacial Waters. Will treated me to a massage for Mother’s Day and I did some strategizing for the state fair!

You’ll hear quite a bit about their breakfast buffet, rightly so, it is amazing but there are also several other great places to eat at the lodge that fit right for whatever you feel like.

What I like best is that we feel at home at Grand View Lodge. We are relaxed and I quickly get into “vacation mom mode.” It is our favorite resort in Minnesota. I was so excited to have the opportunity to giveaway a night stay to Grand View Lodge to my readers! Follow the Rafflecopter for a chance to win. For a blog comment entry, tell me why you’d love to win a nigt stay at Grand View Lodge!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grand View Lodge provided the night stay for this giveaway.

Homemade Fish Sticks

Posted on May 22, 2014 by alicewp

Hey Kids, we’re having fish for dinner! What, huh? No cheers?

Warm weather has finally arrived in Minnesota and people will be hitting the lakes reeling in some fresh fish! This is a great recipe to make at the cabin and get the kids involved! Or an easy way to prepare fish and freeze for an easy weeknight meal. The best part of this meal is that it is easy but it is also crispy without frying!

Watch the Twin Cities Live segment when I made this recipe on May 23, 2014.

Ingredients:
1 lb Fresh or Defrosted Fish Filets (I like to use Tilapia, about two large filets)
1 cup Rainbow Goldfish Crackers, Cool Ranch Doritos or Cap’N Crunch Cereal (crush after measuring)
1 cup Italian Panko Bread Crumbs (Use Plain Panko if using Cap’N Crunch)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Flour
2 eggs (beaten)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Slice filets into 12-14 small pieces. Combine your base crumb (cracker, chip or cereal) with the panko and salt, set aside.

Dip fish pieces in flour, then egg and crumb mixture. Place on greased cookie sheet. Spray top of fish sticks with nonstick spray and bake for 22 minutes.

Serves 4.

You can freeze the fish sticks after baking for a future meal. To heat, bake frozen fish sticks at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.