Italian Nachos

Oh my goodness, these are so good!  We had these for the first time as a starter at Carino's Italian restaurant about 4 years ago and fell in love.  I knew if I could just figure out what they used for their chips (since the weren't typical nacho tortilla chips) I could totally recreate this at home.  After searching for copycat recipes I concluded that wonton wrappers would do the trick. They worked perfectly and this is now one of our very favorites meals.  The flavors all combine so perfectly that all you can think about while you're chewing is your next bite.  And, even though the chips do get soggy, the leftovers are still just as tasty.

Italian Nacho's
Leah Matthews

Wonton Wrappers, cut in half diagonally forming triangles ( we use about 3/4 package for 4-6people)

Vegetable oil

16 oz jar alfredo sauce, heated (we prefer 

shredded mozzarella cheese

fresh, shredded parmesan cheese

Toppings:

jalepenos

banana peppers

sliced olives

roma tomatoes, diced

grilled chicken slices (I used the pre cooked Tyson kind you can buy in a package for salads)

cooked italian sausage

In a frying pan pour oil 2-3 inches deep and heat on med-high.  When oil is hot put in 3-4 wonton triangles at a time and turn them over in oil with tongs.  Being so thin, these literally only take about 3-5 seconds to get crispy so be careful.  Remove onto paper towel lined plate when light golden. 

Spread chips onto a cookie sheet in close to one layer and sprinkle toppings all over top.  Wait until the end to drizzle the warmed alfredo sauce over toppings * if you put it on first it will make the chips soggy by they time you're ready to eat them. Finally sprinkle cheeses over top.  Set oven to broil with rack in the center.  Put nachos in broiler only long enough for cheese to melt.  

Serve immediatley!

Lemon Crinkles

A yummy, lightly lemony summer treat.

Lemon Crinkles
Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog

*Note: the recipe calls for a teaspoon of lemon zest. I didn't really measure, I just grated the zest from the lemon I was using and threw it in there. My guess is it was more like 2 teaspoons.

*Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheets with silpat liners, parchment or lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice and mix well, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients (except the powdered sugar) and mix until just combined. Place the powdered sugar on a large plate or shallow pie dish. Roll tablespoon-size balls of dough in the powdered sugar to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will not be browned on the edges but they will have lost a bit of their shininess on top. Don't overbake! Cool the cookies on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container or eat immediately.

Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes

My mornings go like this: 

"Mom, I'm hungry will you get up now?"

"Okay, I will in just a minute . . ."

15-30 minutes later, "Mom, Arden's awake will you get up now?"

" Okay."  And this time is for reals.

"Yah!  I'm hungry can we have pancakes with seery-up? ( that's how Logan pronounces syrup, kind of like giddy-up)

Every morning, without fail, she wants pancakes and syrup.  And because I don't like to have to start my first moments of the day picking a battle, that's what they usually get-frozen walmart mini pancakes. And then Jude chimes in with "And, can I have caramel milk!?!"  Logan, "And, can I have chocolate milk!?!" I've never felt good about this "most important meal of the day" routine, so I finally did what I'd always planned to do and together we made homemade whole wheat pancakes, fishing the whole wheat flour I had bought months ago from the back of the pantry.  I doubled the recipe, as it is here, and it made ~ 40 mini pancakes to pop in the freezer and pull out a few in the mornings.  I liked them, the kids liked them and now i don't feel so bad about the chocolate milk!  I also loved that these had a light and fluffy texture, since sometimes recipes with wheat flour can end up too dense.

Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes
Food.com by WJKing
makes 40 mini pancakes, ~ 20 regular size

Ingredients

• 2 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 2 cup buttermilk * OR 2 cups regular milk+2Tbs lemon juice
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. Stir honey& oil together in a bowl.
2. Add milk& eggs& beat well.
3. Mix dry ingredients into the liquids until flour is moistened.