Huevos Rancheros Quiche

Wanted to try something new today to incorporate all the great flavors in Guatemalan/Mexican Huevos Rancheros, into a quick grab and throw in the microwave breakfast!
Totally awesome!!!!

Ingredients:
9 corn tortillas
1/2 cup refried black beans
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk or evaporated milk
1/2 - 3/4 cup medium salsa
1/2 tsp garlic
2 Tbsp chopped green onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup monterey jack, shredded

Directions:
1.  Combine eggs, milk, salsa, garlic, green onion, jalapeno pepper, cheddar, and monterey jack.
2.  Spread 1/2 - 1 Tbsp refried beans into center of one tortilla.  Place tortilla into one of the muffin cups.  Fill with egg mixture.  Repeat for remaining tortillas and egg mixture.
3.  Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until set.

Giordano's Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza Copycat Recipe

OH.  MY.  GOSH!  It's like Pizza Heaven!
This is like the golden egg recipe for me!  I've DREAMED of a day when I could make a Giordano's Pizza in my own kitchen!  We first went to Giordano's in Orlando back in the winter of 2006.  It was so amazing that we went there twice in the week we were in Florida.  And we should have gone back EVERY night!  It was the best thing I've ever had the privilege of eating!!!!
And I've searched the internet a million times over the years in search for the perfect copycat...and nothing ever even looked like it would come close.  Until the other day.  I found a chain of posts on a blog about it, and this one guy named Steve seemed VERY knowledgeable about many different Chicago chains and their exact ingredients they use...and he listed his copycat version of their crust...and it got great reviews.  And so, I tried it...and it was PERFECT!
This will be the only Chicago style pizza we ever try!  And I'm planning on eating this a LOT!  :)  As in every week!
This should make a 12 inch pizza...we did a 12 inch and a 6-8 inch, so I'm scaling down from that...

4 cups flour
1 2/3 cup water (the amount of hydration depends on the age of the flour)
3/4 cup canola oil
3 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
mozzarella cheese (lots)
pizza toppings - we like pepperoni, mushroom, spinach, and lots of fresh garlic!
Classico ground tomatoes (apparently Giordano's uses something called 6-in-1 brand, but I emailed them and they don't sell around here...but they sell Classico brand, and it was very good!)

Directions:
1.  Put all ingredients into kitchen aid mixer.  Mix for 1 minute. Let rise for about 6 hours or so. Punch down, then cover and let the gluten relax for 10-15 minutes or so. Cut about 1/4 of the dough off and set aside.  Roll rest of dough out to size needed to cover bottom and sides of pan. Add cheese and toppings.  Roll the smaller dough ball out very thin and place on top of toppings.  Pinch together with bottom crust as best as you can.  Spread sauce on top. Bake at 450 for around 30 minutes--you'll have to experiment with time and rack placement because home ovens act in very different ways!

Apparently Giordano's adds crushed red pepper flakes to their sauce, but I didn't....I should next time though!  But we added about 2 Tbsp fresh garlic to the pizza and that was GREAT!

Bang Bang Shrimp - copycat

I found this copycat recipe online...we tried it and it was awesome!!!  The flavor was right on!  We ended up accidentally thawing out double the shrimp that were called for, and I didn't want to double the mayo for just the two of us (we had this for a date night after putting the kids to bed!)...so we ended up with twice the shrimp/half the sauce - whichever way you wanna look at it!  It was great!  The flavor was the same as at Bonefish!!!!  And the calories weren't nearly as bad b/c it wasn't so sloppy wet with mayo!  Of course, more sauce would have been awesome and more like the real deal...but it would have been way more calories too!  So, I'm good with this way!  :)

Bang Bang Shrimp

Yield: 2 – 4 as appetizer

Ingredients

• 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• For the sauce:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• For the egg mixture:
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• For the breading mixture:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• For frying:
• 8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
2. Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
3. Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
4. Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
5. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
6. When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
7. When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

This is our absolute FAVORITE summer dessert! It is SO light and refreshing!

 Blueberry Cheesecake

 Crust
9 whole graham crackers
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3 Tbsp (packed) brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

 Filling
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp unflavored gelatin
 12 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

 Topping
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar
4 1/2 pint baskets blueberries
2/3 cup blueberry jam

 Directions:

 For the Crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9" diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

 For the Filling:
1. Pour 1/4 cup water into saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.
2. Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain).
3. With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight (can be made 2 days ahead, keep chilled). 
 4. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter. 


 For the Topping: 
1. Beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream cheese mixture thickly over top of cheesecakes. 
 2. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. 
 3. Mount coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1" plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Pampered Chef's Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl 5 oz uncooked rice noodles 8 oz uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/8 tsp plus 1/2 tsp salt, divided 2 Tbsp cornstarch 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 tsp grated ginger 1 cup thinly sliced carrots 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin 6 shallots, thinly sliced (or onion) 1 cup lite coconut milk 1 cup chicken broth 2 tsp thai green curry paste 2 Tbsp lime juice 1/4 cup thinly sliced thai basil or basil lime wedges, if desired Directions: 1. Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add noodles. Let noodles soak 3-4 minutes or until softened but still slightly firm. Drain and rinse with cold water; set aside. 2. Season shrimp with 1/8 tsp salt; dredge in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Heat oil in saute pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp in a single layer; cook 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, turning once. Remove shrimp from pan; set aside and keep warm. Add gingerroot, carrot, bell pepper and shallots/onions to pan. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, chicken broth, curry paste, lime juice, 2 Tbsp basil and remaining 1/2 tsp salt; bring to a simmer. 3. Add noodles to simmering sauce mixture; cook 1 minute or just until heated through. Stir in shrimp; spoon into bowls. Garnish with remaining basil and lime wedges if desired.