Pepperoni Pizzadillas

This is a recipe for those of you with kids.  Although my grown-up husband loved it just as much (if not more) than my daughter did.  It’s all the flavors of pepperoni pizza in a fun quesadilla form.  I like to think of it as “weekend” fun, but “weeknight” easy.  I did a humongous grocery shopping trip yesterday and was totally beat by the time we got home, so this was the perfect thing to have for dinner.  In fact, it was so easy that I was honestly surprised when I realized dinner was ready!  It’s an adaptation of one I saw on MyRecipes.

Pepperoni Pizzadillas


Ingredients:
4 (8”) flour tortillas
2 cups (8 oz) mozzarella cheese, shredded
40 slices pepperoni, about 2.5 oz.
Cooking spray
1 cup pizza or marinara sauce


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.


Lay tortillas on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle ¼ cup cheese over each tortilla, and divide the pepperoni among tortillas. Top each with another ¼ cup cheese. Bake for 5 minutes. 


Remove from oven, and carefully fold each tortilla in half, pressing down to make sure the cheese “seals”. Spray top side lightly with cooking spray.  Bake an additional 5 minutes or until browned, flip over, spray other side, and bake a final 5 minutes. 


Cut each quesadilla into halves or thirds.  Serve with pizza sauce to dip.


Makes 4 servings.

The original recipe called for fat-free tortillas, less cheese, and turkey pepperoni.  I would have loved to have used turkey pepperoni, but while shopping, I realized that it was literally twice the price of regular pepperoni.  As a single income household, we simply don’t have room in our budget for expensive upgrades like that.

I think that in the future I will “adultify” my own quesadilla with chopped onion and mushrooms.

 I served these with a simple salad.

This is how I laid out the pepperoni, about 10 slices per tortilla.

This recipe was included in Jane Deere’s Fusion Fridays and at

Baked Chicken Fingers

Chicken fingers you don’t have to feel bad about eating. Using panko bread crumbs gives these chicken tenders a super crispy coating without deep frying and uses only 1 tbsp of oil per four servings.

Baked Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

1½ cups panko bread crumbs

1 tbsp olive oil

½ cup flour

1½ tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

3 large egg whites

1 tbsp water

8 chicken breast tenders

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the panko and oil in a medium skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs. Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 20 minutes.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Makes 4 servings, 2 tenders each.

This is a recipe I adapted to chicken tenders. The ingredients and method are used in the Chicken Parmesan recipe I use, that was featured on America’s Test Kitchen. The recipe is no longer available online for free. I’ve been making that for a couple of years now (I’ll post it the next time I make it). I thought it would be a great way of making oven-baked chicken fingers as well. And it is! Toasting the panko before breading ensures a crispy coating without overcooking the chicken. So the chicken stays moist and juicy and the coating delivers a nice crunch that will make you forget all about the deep-fried versions.

There are tons of dipping options with these chicken fingers.  The one pictured above is my Homemade Smoky Ranch Dressing, then there’s Copycat Southwest Sauce (a chipotle mayonnaise), and my favorite bottled stuff, Ken’s Honey Mustard Dressing.

Toasting the panko on the stovetop before breading the chicken. Watch them carefully; they burn quickly! (I had to throw out the first batch last night because I let it burn. Whoops!)

Ready to go into the oven.

I served these with Oven-Fried Sweet Potatoes for an all-out finger food meal. These are great for kids and adults alike.  

Peanut Butter Banana Sticks

This is another Rachael Ray recipe that I tried recently. She made it as part of a breakfast meal, but I think it makes a great afternoon snack. Kids would love it.

Peanut Butter Banana Sticks

Ingredients:

½ cup peanut butter

2 tbsp honey

1 cup granola

2 large bananas

4 popsicle sticks or chop sticks

Directions:

Place the peanut butter in a shallow dish and microwave on high for 20 seconds to loosen it, then stir honey into it. Crush granola either by using a food processor or by placing in a Ziploc bag and smashing with the back of a large spoon. Peel and cut each banana in half across the middle. Insert a popsicle or chop stick into the cut end of each half-banana. Roll each banana half in the peanut butter sauce, then in the granola. Serve immediately. Eat the bananas right off the sticks, but serve on a plate to catch the crumbs.

Makes 4 servings.

This is so simple and super yummy. The only thing I changed was the method of coating the bananas. Rachael had you spreading the peanut butter/honey mixture on with a spatula, then sprinkling with the granola. I think rolling it works much better and you get better coverage. Hers were only covered on one side.