Well, boo. The first time I made these, they were totally mummies. The cheese melted into perfect gauze-like stripes. And then, I decided to make them and photograph them for the blog, and of course when I decided to do that, the cheese melted together a bit and they were kind of more ghosts than mummies.

Whether ghosts or mummies, they’re perfect for Halloween, so I’m going for it.

These Garlic Cheese English Muffin Mummies are super easy, fun to make with (and for) the kiddos, and tasty to boot. Start with plain English muffins, brush on an olive-oil-and-garlic mixture, and cover all over with string cheese strands. (Whole milk string cheese will melt together more like those photographed; part skim will melt into more of a mummy-like state. I now know.)

Tuck in a couple of olive eyes and bake.

Tell you what, I’d be goblin these up if I could tolerate more dairy. More for the kiddos, I guess.

(more…)

The post Garlic Cheese English Muffin Mummies appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

I mean, I really, really want to talk about the weather right now. (The calendar says summer’s all but here, but it’s freezing out there and now I’ve got a miserable cold – what?!) And I’m pretty much obsessed with farmer’s markets, but if I ever find myself writing that I picked up some delicious-looking peaches at one and then decided to make a tart with them, I’ll now know I’ve officially jumped the blog shark (um, again).

It can be tough to find something unique and new about, say, a sandwich wrap, though. Especially when you just had to come up with something interesting to say about chocolate chip cookies the day before and bacon blueberry chicken kiev the day before that.

Okay, maybe the fictional (and slightly scary-sounding) bacon blueberry chicken kiev is interesting on its own merit. But otherwise, if you’re a food blogger, I bet you’re nodding along.

So … who cares?

The single greatest takeaway from the workshop was this: do your words pass the “who cares” test? It’s a bit of a  harsh way to look at things, but very smart. If you can’t make your reader care about what it is you have to say, well, they’re not likely to be a reader for long.

So. I’m looking forward to trying to be a lot less cliche and hopefully a little more interesting around here, although, frankly, my life is just not that exciting. (“You’re not boring,” Kathleen said to me after one of my typically self-deprecating remarks that weekend. “Don’t ever say you’re boring.” )

Fair enough (and thank you, Kathleen, for the reminder to be nicer to myself – and for the rejuvenating workshop).

So, about these wraps! The super-cool folks over at Chobani recently sent me some of their Greek yogurt, so lately I’ve had Greek food (and, particularly, Tzatziki sauce) on the brain. I wanted to come up with an easy meal that’s super light, cool, and refreshing for summer [remove mention of the weather here], and so here we are.

Classic Greek salad veggies – red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes – tossed with a fresh, garlicky Tzatziki sauce, kalamata olives and some feta cheese, then wrapped. And devoured.

(Sandwiches and wraps are yet another food  that’s perfect for our multi-vore home – just add meat to the carnivore’s, and leave it out of the vegetarian’s version. Easy peasy.)

Be sure to allow for extra time for the wonderful homemade Tzatziki sauce, both for straining the yogurt and the cucumber and a little sitting time so that the flavors can meld. If you want something a little heartier, throw in some chickpeas.

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Creamy Greek Salad Sandwich Wraps with Optional Chicken (+ a Food Writing Workshop!)

Creamy, garlicky Tzatziki sauce tossed with feta, kalamata olives, and classic Greek salad veggies – cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, red peppers – then rolled in a wrap. Just throw in some diced, cooked chicken for the meat-eaters.

Prep Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 4 sandwich wraps

Author Kare

Ingredients

Tzatziki sauce

• 2 cups lowfat Greek yogurt can also use nonfat or full fat, depending on your preference
• 1 medium cucumber peeled, seeds scraped, and grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt I prefer coarser, milder kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 medium clove garlic finely minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill*
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh peppermint*
• Additional salt and pepper to taste

Sandwich wraps

• 1 cup cucumber peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper cut into 1/2-inch dice about 1/2 large
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/3 cup red onion peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced (about 1/4 large)
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese about 3 ounces
• 1 cup Tzatziki sauce
• A few leaves of lettuce if desired (I used assorted spring greens, but romaine would be terrific too)
• 4 12- inch flour tortillas

If including chicken, add per sandwich:

• 1/4 cup diced cooked chicken

Instructions

Make the Tzatziki sauce:

• Place a large funnel or colander over a bowl. Line with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, and carefully spoon the Greek yogurt into the cheesecloth or coffee filter. Place in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours to drain any excess liquid. Note: Greek yogurt is thick enough that you can skip this step if you like; it will just result in a slightly thinner sauce.
• Line a colander with cheesecloth or paper towels and perch over a large bowl. Toss the grated cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pour into the colander. Allow the cucumber to drain for about 30 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, add the Greek yogurt. Gently squeeze the grated, salted cucumber to discard any remaining liquid and add to the yogurt. Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, dill, and peppermint. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired. Place Tzatziki sauce in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.

Assemble your sandwich:

• In a large bowl, gently toss together the cucumbers, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, onions, and olives. Stir in the feta and Tzatziki sauce.
• Lay tortilla flat and line the middle with a few lettuce leaves, if desired. Add 1 cup of Greek salad filling to the middle of the tortilla OR, if adding chicken, add 3/4 cup Greek salad filling and then top with 1/4 cup diced cooked chicken.
• Roll tortilla tightly and tuck in the ends. Slice in half and serve.

The post Vegetarian Creamy Greek Salad Sandwich Wraps (Chicken Option) appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Yep. Pizza nachos. Where oh where have you been all my life, friend?!

It might be another one for the so-wrong-so-right files health-wise, but certainly it’s worth the splurge. And it fits right in with our mixed-diet household. Just cook up individual portions that have been customized to perfection with only the toppings you want, and none you don’t.

Mine are loaded with veggies – green peppers, mushrooms, onions – and lots of black olives. My resident carnivore, of course, goes for the meat. Not just pepperoni and not just sausage, but both. So pretty much a combination pizza assembled atop of a pile of tortilla chips.

I first spotted the idea on the wonderful comfort food blog, The Comfort of Cooking. They were inspired by Two Peas and Their Pod, who posted the recipe on Tasty Kitchen, who got the recipe from Dax Phillips of The Simple Comfort Food Blog. A blog chain of pizza nacho goodness.

Their versions include a divine-sounding garlic cream sauce, but I went for a more straightforward version made with classic pizza sauce. There was a bit of soggy chip syndrome where too much pizza sauce sat, so just be sure to distribute it well or, if you’re really averse to the occasional soggy chip, just drizzle the pizza sauce right on top before cooking.

Cheesy, pizza-y comfort food to the max.

So wrong. So right. Nachos and pizza, together forever.

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Combination Pizza Nachos with Optional Pepperoni and Sausage

You love pizza. You love nachos. You KNOW you’ll love pizza nachos. How could you not? Tortilla chips smothered in pizza sauce, classic combination pizza toppings, and gobs of ooey gooey cheese. Who needs crust?

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Kare

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• Approx. 3 cups tortilla chips
• 2/3 cup pizza sauce here’s our very favorite recipe for homemade pizza sauce
• 1 small green pepper seeded and diced
• 1/2 small red onion diced
• 3 – 4 white button mushrooms sliced
• 1/4 cup black olives sliced
• 1 cup 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup 1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

If adding optional pepperoni or sausage – per serving:

• 1/4 pound Italian sausage browned and drained
• 6 – 8 thin slices pepperoni cut into quarters

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Lay tortilla chips in a single layer, as much as possible, on two oven-proof plates or baking sheets.
• Using a spoon, evenly distribute the pizza sauce over the chips. If you prefer nachos without any semi-soggy bits, I recommend drizzling the sauce over the cheese instead.
• Evenly sprinkle the toppings – green pepper, red onion, mushrooms, olives, and meat, if using – over the top of each. Divide the cheeses between the two plates, sprinkling it over the top.
• Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and nachos are heated through.
• Allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then serve, taking care to avoid touching the hot plates (or better yet, transfer to a cool plate to serve).

The post Combination Pizza Nachos with Optional Pepperoni and Sausage appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Here’s how:

Deviled Egg Eyes

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Deviled Egg Eyes

Deviled egg eyes are traditional deviled eggs, jazzed up with paprika paste and olives so they look just like bloodshot eyes. Halloween fun!

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 24 pieces

Author Kare

Ingredients

• One dozen eggs and preparations for your fave deviled egg recipe I just smash up the yolks with about 1/2 cup of mayo, about 1 tablespoon of mustard, a couple drops of tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste
• Green food coloring
• Blue food coloring
• Ziploc baggies
• Black olives
• Paprika
• Toothpick

Instructions

• Slice hard boiled eggs in half and mash yolks using your favorite deviled eggs recipe
• Add three or four drops of green food coloring
• Spoon half the yolk mixture into a Ziploc bag (or a pastry bag)
• Cut off the tip of the bag
• Pipe into egg halves by the pair.
• Mix three or four blue drops to the remaining yolk mixture.
• Spoon into a new Ziploc bag, cut off the tip, and pipe yolk mixture into remaining pairs.
• Cut the sides of the black olives so that they're fairly round
• Place them in the center of the deviled eggs (to look like pupils).
• Pour some paprika onto a plate and wet with enough water to make a paste.
• Using a toothpick, lightly draw on a few veins here and there.

The post Deviled Egg Eyes appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.