Some Of My Favorite Recipes - Part 2...

Just as with the first post on recipes, below are some of the ones I've done recently, they all range from "very good" to "exceptional" - although tastes may vary.  I've included the original links, any modifications I've made, and some thoughts on each.

Peach Dumplings

The original recipe that I got came from HERE.

I'm not really a peach person, and as such I've also made this with apples and mixed berries, but J and M really like it as is.  The modifications I've made to the recipe are:

Recipe Modifications:

• I don't separate the crescent rolls, I keep them as 4 "squares" instead of 8 triangles and make them double sized.
• I tend to use frozen fruit that I've thawed, though I have used fresh as well.
• As I said above, I often use fruit other than peaches, sometimes apples, sometimes mixed berries, and so on.

Thoughts:

Not much to say here, these are really good and make a great dessert or a nice breakfast on the weekend.  Very easy to make.

Taco Calzone

The original recipe that I got came from HERE.

This is a quick and fairly easy dinner and actually one I like.  I will strongly suggest fresh grated cheese, not only for this recipe but for any recipe calling for shredded cheese.  Despite what I thought for a long time, it really does make a difference.  The modifications I've made to the recipe are:

Recipe Modifications:

• I do tend to double the recipe for us as one of these often isn't quite enough if 4 of us are eating.
• I often (but not always) use the cheese flavored taco seasoning.
• I also put some cheese down first and make sure the meat is plenty cool.  Otherwise the dough gets too mushy to roll up.
• I also tend to brush a little butter and sprinkle some parmesan and oregano on the top of it right before it's done cooking, but some may prefer it without those.

Thoughts:

This is a quick and easy recipe, but I do strongly recommend that the second bullet point is followed as if the meat is too warm, the dough tears really bad.  I've also made this as more of a "pizza calzone" by swapping out the beef and taco seasoning with some pizza sauce and things such as pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, basically whatever we have handy that would be good on a pizza.  Regardless, this is a great dinner.

Pizza Egg Rolls

The original recipe that I got came from Facebook, but I can't find the post anymore

Recipe:

The recipe is basically just the following items:

• Egg roll wrappers
• String cheese - mozzarella is great, but so is pepper jack
• Pepperoni slices

The instructions are simple:

• Place egg roll wrapper in diamond position.  Place 3 slices of pepperoni in middle.
• Place string cheese on top.
• Fold corners over cheese.
• Fold bottom corner over cheese and roll until tightly sealed.
• Moisten corners with water to seal.
• Fry at 375 degrees until browned.
• Drain on paper towels

Recipe Modifications:

I do tend to double the pepperoni and as I mention below I also split the cheese lengthwise.  So I have my three pepperoni's, half the string cheese, three more pepperoni's, and the other half of the string cheese.  This can make it a little more challenging to roll the egg roll without tearing it, but I find it gives a better end result; but to each their own.

Thoughts:

Now I personally split the cheese in half lengthwise and layer it as cheese, pepperoni, other half of the cheese.  This seems to allow it to melt better.  I also fry in an electric skillet with enough oil to submerge them, but you could use a deep fryer instead.  Very simple and tasty recipe, although I tend to use it as an "appetizer" as string cheese tends to be a bit pricey based upon how many everybody eats when I make this as an entree.

Brownie Batter Dip

The original recipe that I got came form HERE.

Made this for last year's Superbowl.  M normally makes a spread for us to sit around and much on before/during/after the game and I wanted to do something a little different.  Was actually better than I expected and pretty easy to make.

Recipe Modifications:

No recipe modifications for this.

Thoughts:

A nice "different" kind of dip.  It's not something I'd make often, but more as a "special" thing.



With that I'll wrap this post up.  As I said above, tastes differ, but I would have no qualms recommending any of these recipes as they are all exceptional.  I wish I had better pictures, I've started taking some of the things I've made recently, but the only photo I have for these is one of the Taco Calzone after it came out of the oven from a while back so that will have to do.  And it really does taste better than this picture makes it look. :)

- M