My Dreams Unreal

thank you... for a real good time

2015-02-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

Archives are now private. Recipes are still available by following the link in the header.

three hundred and twenty-nine

2013-12-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

That was the longest "tomorrow" ever. I had intended to share my recipe for green beans last Wednesday, followed by my Thanksgiving pictures and this week's menu plan* on Friday, but the holidays got in my way. I managed to overwork my side effect addled self to the point that I almost ended up being hospitalized for IV fluids.

As a last "please don't make me pay the ER copay" resort, after three days of tons of vomiting and little to no eating and drinking, I buckled down and followed some weird Oregon Trail-esque rehydration treatment (no, I am not kidding) that involved teaspoonfuls of room temperature water every 15 minutes. I kept 72+ ounces down last night, and I'm halfway through my third-24 ounce tumbler of water today as I speak, so I think it's safe to say I have dodged yet another medical bullet.

So, without further ado, here's a recipe I never want to see again. I'm not sure if I can recommend anyone make it, as it only ever seems to cause frustration for me whenever I try to share the recipe. If you're one of those daredevils who likes living on the edge, click through for the recipe. Caveat coquus!

*Speaking of menu plans... I have a big old cache of them built up. Do any of you want to see what I ate a few weeks ago? I'm thinking not, because there's only so many menus one can read without going mad.

Modernized Green Bean Casserole

1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup halved dried cranberries
1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken or turkey stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
French fried onions, to taste (optional)

Blanch the green beans and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add 1 diced onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup dry white wine.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add 4 ounces cream cheese, stirring until melted. Add 1/3 cup of dried cranberries to the saute pan, followed by 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Add the green beans to the cream cheese-cranberry mixture and toss until the beans are coated with the sauce. If it looks dry, add an additional splash of chicken stock. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan placed over low heat. Add 1/3 cup (more if you like nuts) chopped walnuts to the melted butter. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the nuts are fragrant and toasted. Remove from heat and toss into the green bean mixture.

If desired, top the casserole with French fried onions. Bake at 375 F, or until bubbly and delicious.

Serves 8-10.

three hundred and nineteen

2013-09-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

"Now that September is nigh, relief from the insanity of summer is in sight. Kids go back to school, vacations cease, and life gets back to normal until the seemingly just around the corner winter holiday season. Assuming you’re not Jewish, that is. And if you are Jewish, getting the kids to school on time is the last thing on your mind, because you know that September is the beginning of what feels like a month of constant holidays..."

Read the rest of the post "Homemade Challah" at Home Ec 101.

three hundred and two

2013-08-21T16:33:00.001-04:00

One of the things that I am looking forward to most about moving back to DC metro area is the awesomeness that is known as the Lancaster County Dutch Market. It's your standard issue Lancaster County, PA market with a slight twist: it's in Montgomery County, MD. In the middle of the week, a group of Mennonite families pack into vans and ship a little taste of Lancaster County to the suburban yuppies willing to pay extreme markup for the privilege. And, of course, among the highfalutin yuppies were Mr N and I.

Whenever we could afford it, we would walk down the street and gorge ourselves on the best fried chicken in the world, free cheese samples, spit roasted rabbit, and the best pretzels in the whole wide world. In fact, the pretzels are something I miss (nearly) as much as our friends! Since they're apparently like friends to me, I reasoned, why not invite them for a visit? I set out to make a replica of the pretzels and quickly ran into an obstacle: Cooper cheese.

Wait, what? Cheese? I wasn't making just any pretzel (you should know by now that I'm more picky than that). I was making my favorite pretzel, one that that just so happens to be Lancaster County's answer to the Hot Pocket: a pretzel stuffed with roast beef and Cooper cheese. There are other fillings, but none are able to top the seasoned, juicy (fresh!) roast beef and ever so slightly tangy, melty-enough-to-put-Kraft-out-of-business cheese. I refused to try any other kind of cheese because, well, I'm stubborn.

The above is why I may have actually cheered when I found Cooper cheese, presliced in the deli no less, at Wegmans the other week. The above may also be why I immediately set to making (and eating) a copycat Lancaster County Dutch Market stuffed pretzel. (And some plain ones, too, but those are boring when you have roast beef and Cooper cheese to eat.) Now I'm going to do what Amish and Mennonite women have done for years: share the love.

Amish Style Stuffed Pretzels

For the dough:

2 cups warm water
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons + 1 cup salted butter
5-6 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt + more for sprinkling

For the filling:

1 pound thick-sliced seasoned roast beef
1 pound thin-sliced Cooper cheese

For the dipping solution:

3 cups warm water
1/3 cup baking soda

Step One: Add 2 cups warm water, 1 ½ teaspoons yeast, and 1 ½ tablespoons sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or to a large bowl). Wait for the yeast to bloom, about 5 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to the yeasty water.

Step Two: Use your dough hook (or a spoon) to mix 2 cups of the flour into the water. Once a yucky doughy mess has started to form, attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add 1 cup bread flour, lock the mixer, and set it on “stir”. Add the remaining bread flour 1 cup at a time, keeping in mind that you may not need it all.

Once the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and forms a smooth ball, transfer the dough to a greased bowl and allow it to rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Step Three: When the dough has risen, punch it down and cut it into eight to ten equally sized pieces. To make the filled pretzels, roll out each piece of dough into an (approximately) 8 inch x 4 inch rectangle.

Preheat the oven to 475* F.

Step Four: Roll one piece of roast beef around one piece of Cooper cheese (I fold mine in half first). Place the roll of meat and cheese in the middle of the rectangle, kind of like a hotdog. Fold the narrow ends of the rectangle up an inch to seal the ends. Pinch the wide sides of the dough together to entirely encase the meat with dough.

Combine 2 cups warm water with 1/3 cup baking soda in a pie- or cake tin. (The baking soda should make the water bubble if it’s active.)

Grease a large baking sheet.

Pinch the seals again for good measure, then dip the sealed pretzel in the dipping solution. Place the dipped pretzel on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Repeat step four until all of the pretzels have been formed, filled, dipped, and placed on the baking sheet.

Step Five: Bake stuffed pretzels at 475* F for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown and no longer squishy. While baking, melt 1 stick of salted butter in a pie- or cake tin.

Using tongs, dip both sides of the pretzel into the melted butter. Place dipped pretzels on a parchment-lined cooling rack. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 stuffed pretzels (AKA Amish Hotpockets)

three hundred

2013-08-19T16:23:00.004-04:00

"I’m not a fan of summer; it’s hot, sticky, and—for someone as pale as I—sunburny. I spend most of the summer indoors, hoping for a cloudy day. For reasons probably related to my aversion to summer, I long ago decided that August is, in fact, autumn. And what does autumn mean? Soup, of course! Every year, I spend my late summer early autumn days making and consuming vats of soup. In the first week of my imagined autumn, I have already jumped into preparing my favorite soup: French onion."

Read the rest of the post "French Onion Soup" at Home Ec 101.

P.S. Holy guacamole! 300 posts! I may need to reconsider my post naming system before I hit one thousand...

two hundred and ninety-five

2013-08-12T14:50:00.000-04:00

"If you’ve ever made your own creamy salad dressings from scratch, you may have been shocked by the inclusion of up to a cup of store-bought, chemical filled mayonnaise. Since when does a 'from scratch' recipe call for 'sauce from a jar'? Moreover, can a salad dressing, potato salad, or tuna sandwich qualify as 'fresh' or 'homemade' when the main ingredients, eggs and all, can sit on the shelf for years before expiring? I’m no whole food purist (I’ve even been known to employ a well placed can of Tex Mex tomatoes) but in my opinion, store bought mayonnaise is on the same level as Miracle Whip. No hate for you Whip lovers, but this post is about real mayonnaise..."

Read the rest of the post "Homemade Mayonnaise" on Home Ec 101.

two hundred and eighty-one

2013-07-18T15:00:00.002-04:00

"If you had to summarize summer in three words, which words would you choose? Swimming, picnics, and ice cream? Vacations, thunderstorms, and fireflies? Bikinis, bonfires, and s’mores? How about red, white, and blue?..."

Read the rest of the post "Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad" on Home Ec 101.

P.S. Stuff about life after the jump.

I have some great news related to the move I mentioned back in June! After much apartment hunting, rent negotiating, and landlord/realtor talking withing, Mr N and I have decided that, instead of downsizing, it would be wisest for us to remain in our current apartment until the end of 2013. Why? Maths, my friends.

We currently live in an elevator building a five minute walk to the train station, which is helpful for me pain-wise, and our apartment has every energy efficient appliance imaginable, a walk-in closet, an outdoor storage closet, and a great open floor plan. The other apartments we considered, though $400-500 per month less, would require additional costs (higher utility bills due to electric baseboard heat and old appliances, purchasing window AC units, laundromat fees, hiring a truck, etc.) that would eat up a majority of the "savings". Originally, staying wasn't an option due to fees our property management company imposes for atypical leases, but after a bit of begging, the building manager agreed to let us stay until the end of this year at our current rate.

So, what does that mean for you? Absolutely nothing, except less whining and more consistent posts. What does it mean for me? Less stress, less pain, and no moving twice in six months! Woohoo!

two hundred and eighty

2013-07-17T16:32:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things in the world is hot chocolate with marshmallows. Unfortunately, it's been around 100 degrees here in the NYC Metro area for the last week or so which means that any cravings for hot cocoa have been thrown out the window. I know I can't be alone in my cravings for a chocolatey, marshmallowy treat, so I set out to make a recipe for a summer-friendly frozen "hot" cocoa.

Frozen Hot Cocoa

4 cups real chocolate milk (not the stuff made from water and HFCS)
1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 packets of "marshmallow lover's" hot cocoa mix

In a large bowl, combine the chocolate milk, sweetened condensed milk, and hot cocoa mix without the marshmallows.
Carefully fold the whipped cream into the chocolate milk mixture, making sure not to deflate the whipped cream too much. (Protip: Whisk in half of the whipped cream, then fold in the second half. It's easier than folding in the whole batch of whipped cream!)
Assemble your ice cream maker and turn it on. With the machine running, pour the unfrozen cocoa into the ice cream maker's bowl. (You may need to do this in two batches if you have a small machine. If so, just refrigerate the remaining unfrozen cocoa until you're ready to use it.) Churn for 20-30 minutes, or until the cocoa has frozen and the machine begins to struggle.
Pour or spoon the frozen cocoa into four giant glasses. Top each glass of frozen cocoa with a sprinkling of the marshmallows from the cocoa mix. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 hungry grown-up cocoa lovers (or 8-10 kids).

two hundred and seventy-seven

2013-07-10T16:29:00.001-04:00

"I’m sure most of you would agree with me if I said that nothing is tastier than an ice cream sandwich on a hot summer’s day. It’s cold, it’s creamy, and it conjures up memories of childhood summers spent chasing down the ice cream man. Despite its deliciousness, however, I’m often wishing for a cake by the end of summer… Maybe with a scoop of ice cream?..."

Read the rest of the post "Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches" on Home Ec 101.

two hundred and seventy-one

2013-07-01T15:10:00.000-04:00

Though I prefer homemade foods and meals, there are a couple of tasty things that come in packets--like butter curry mix. I mix the paste with melted butter, coat the chicken in it, and cook until the chicken is cooked, then I top the whole thing off by adding water and making a pot of basmati rice. Complex? Hardly. Delicious? Yes. As a housewife, however, I can't make a meal-in-a-box without feeling like a bum. In most cases I would make bread or dessert, but for years naan was one of those breads that was easier and tastier to buy. Finally, after much experimentation I realized I had tweaked my recipe and techniques enough to produce something pretty darn close to the naan I get from the local Indian restaurants without a tandoor.

P.S. The unrisen dough can be frozen for up to a month. The morning of the day you plan to bake the naan, place the frozen dough in a greased bowl at room temperature. By dinner time, it will be risen and you'll be ready to start at step 4.

Homemade Naan

2 cups bread flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup plain yogurt (not Greek)
3 + 4 tablespoons melted butter, divided

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1 teaspoon yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Use the dough hook as a spoon to combine the dry ingredients before you attach it to the mixer.
Add 3/4 cup plain yogurt and 3 tablespoons melted butter to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough is smooth, elastic, and not sticky (about 10 minutes). If the dough seems shaggy and dry, add a tablespoon of water.
Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, then grease the bowl. Return the dough to the bowl and coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a dampened tea towel and let rise until the dough has doubled (about 90 minutes).
When the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into quarters and roll the quarters into balls. (You can also add minced, sauteed garlic or onion to the dough at this point.) Cover the dough balls with the tea towel and let them rest for 20 minutes. While the dough is resting, place a large baking pan in the oven. Set the oven to preheat to 475 F.
When the dough has rested and the oven is hot, flatten out two of the balls of dough and stretch them into 10 inch long, 1/4 inch thick ovals. Remove the pan from the oven, then place it upside down on top of two cooling racks. Carefully but quickly lay the naan side by side on the inverted baking sheets. Brush the tops of the naan with butter, then return the pan to the oven.
Bake the naan for 3 minutes, then use tongs to flip them. Brush the top of the naan with more butter, then bake an additional 3 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy. Wrap the baked naan in a dry tea towel or napkin to allow them to soften.
Repeat steps 4-6 with the other two dough balls.

Makes 4 loaves.

two hundred and sixty-eight

2013-06-26T16:12:00.002-04:00

"Have you ever had a popover? If you haven’t, you’re missing out on one of my all-time favorite sides for a Sunday roast. Crispy and crunchy outside with an airy inside, popovers are the perfect utensil for transporting gravy from plate to mouth. Like Yorkshire puddings without the pan drippings, popovers are simple to make with five ingredients you probably already have in the house—or seven if you’re a fan of pepper and Parmesan cheese. And no, you don’t need some fancy schmancy popover pan. The most difficult part of this recipe is keeping yourself from peeking on them during the baking process! (Seriously, don’t open the oven until 30 minutes into baking. Deliciously good things come to those who wait...)"

Read the rest of the post "Popovers in a Muffin Tin" at Home Ec 101.

two hundred and sixty-three

2013-06-19T16:22:00.000-04:00

Remember last Friday when I said I'd share my recipe for fried chicken with you this week? Weeeell, I ended up feeling really terrible this weekend, so Mr N and I opted to get fried chicken from the KFC ripoff down the street. Despite the sides being prepackaged and terrible, the chicken was hot and crispy. It hit the spot, even though it wasn't as good as mine. Unfortunately, the okay-ish chicken left me with the problem of not knowing which recipe to share with you today! I looked at my menu plan and didn't see anything I hadn't shared before: black bean soup; penne with sausage, peppers, and onions; ginger chicken and green beans; homemade "Sierra Turkey" sandwi----wait a second!

P.S. In case you can't tell, I've been playing with my recipe formatting in order to make my Dreams Unreal recipes as well laid out as my Home Ec 101 recipes. So.... How do you like it? Is it easier to understand? Click through, check it out, and let me know!

Parmesan and Black Pepper Focaccia

2 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup warm water
3 - 3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons + 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive, vegetable, or canola oil
black pepper
1/3 + 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine 2 teaspoons yeast, 2 tablespoons white sugar, and 1 cup warm water in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or in a large bowl armed with a sturdy spoon). Let the yeast proof.
When the yeast is foamy, add 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, 1/4 cup oil, and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan to the mixing bowl. Attach the dough hook to the mixer (don't forget to lock your mixer!) and mix on the lowest speed until just combined. The dough will be shaggy.
Turn off the mixer and add the remaining 1 cup of flour. Restart the mixer on the lowest speed and stir for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and cleans the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems sticky, add up to an additional 1/2 cup of flour during the mixing/kneading process.
Transfer the dough to a bowl greased with 1teaspoon oil, cover with a damp tea towel, and allow it to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
When the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into two equally sized balls. Flatten the dough balls into circles, then place each dough circle into its own lightly greased 9" round cake tin. Use your hands to squish the dough until it reaches the sides of the tin. (Don't worry if it shrinks back at this point.) Cover the filled cake tins with your (re)dampened tea towel and let rest while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Once the oven has preheated, remove the tea towel from the cake tins. Use your fingertips to make tiny craters in the dough, which will help it spread back out and keep it from rising too much.
Drizzle each loaf of focaccia with about 1 tablespoon of oil, then use your fingers to make sure the tops of the loaves are covered. Sprinkle each loaf with 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt and as much freshly ground black pepper as you'd like. (May I recommend a lot?) Sprinkle each loaf with 1/4 cup (dare I say "or more"?) of grated Parmesan cheese.
Place the cake tins side by side in the middle of the hot oven. Bake at 375 F until risen and light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
When the bread comes out of the oven, immediately remove the loaves from the tins and transfer them to cooling racks to cool. (No one wants soggy focaccia!)
To use for sandwich bread for the homemade "Sierra turkey" sandwich, wait for the bread to cool completely. Use a bread knife to slice each loaf in half horizontally, as you would a layer cake. (Protip: Cut a shallow guideline along the circumference of the loaf before taking the plunge and cutting all the way through.) Fill and serve.

Makes 2-9" loaves.

two hundred and fifty-nine

2013-06-12T15:45:00.001-04:00

"During my freshman year of college, I was required to live in a dorm. It was the most miserable experience of my life, not because I had a terrible roommate, but because I couldn’t cook or bake without having to use the communal kitchen (which meant I had to share with whoever walked by and said “mmmm”). I told myself that I would survive that year with nary a cookie to be had, but less than a month passed before I heard about the wonders of the bakery less than 30 yards from my front door..."

Read the rest of the post "Basic Scone Recipe" at Home Ec 101.

two hundred and fifty

2013-05-30T17:57:00.002-04:00

When I stepped out the door to walk my husband to the train station this morning, I was practically punched in the face by my least favorite season. When I left the climate controlled lobby of my apartment building, the rush of heat and humidity was enough to cause me to stagger backwards as my asthmatic lungs struggled to convert themselves into gills to process the aqueous air. Okay, I'm being a little bit facetious, but the high on this lovely May day was 93 degrees. Blech.

I know that June is just around the corner, but I had honestly expected another few weeks before I was facing temperatures in the nineties! If you've read my posts from last summer, you know that I simply don't like the season. The heat, the sunburns that I get despite wearing sunscreen, the fact that I have to run the air conditioner. Those are a few of the things that I dislike about this time of year, but the number one culprit is the stove. The heat of my gas stove combined with the outside temperatures leave me with zero interest in cooking, let alone eating, hot food.

The obvious solution to my problem would be to spend all summer doing that hip raw food thing, but I'm far too unhip to be able to survive on cold food alone. The slow cooker is a help, but there are only so many slow cooked roasts that one can eat without getting bored. So, what does that leave us for meal options? Simple: one pot meals--and we're not talking Hamburger Helper here.

Mac and Cheese for Grownups

(Cheesy Penne with Sun Dried Tomatoes)

1 pound penne pasta

2 tablespoons salt

2-12 ounce cans of evaporated milk

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon minced garlic (or garlic powder)

1/2 cup diced sun dried tomatoes

2 cups mozzarella, shredded

1 cup provolone, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan, shredded

1/2 cup romano, shredded

freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Once pasta is cooked and drained, return it to the pot in which it was cooked.

Turn the burner on to medium-low, then add evaporated milk, basil, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and the cheeses to the pot with the pasta. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes look softened (the sauce may be tinged slightly pink), about 10 minutes.

Serve immediately.

two hundred and forty-nine

2013-05-29T12:52:00.000-04:00

"I don’t know about you, but late spring and early summer are not exactly my favorite times warm up the house by using the oven. Since I’m often too cheap to turn on the air conditioning, I tend to relegate my summer baking time to the necessities. Unfortunately, my stomach doesn’t often get the memo and decides that it wants, say, a soufflé when it’s 90 degrees outside. Even more unfortunately, my tummy is in charge of my mood, so what it wants, it gets. Dutifully, I’ll throw together a half-hearted soufflé and call it a day. In the end, my belly is happy that it got its way, but the rest of me is just too hot to enjoy the darn thing..."

Read the rest of the post "Let There Be Lemon Cookies" at Home Ec 101.

P.S. FYI, you can totally freeze that.

two hundred and forty-five

2013-05-20T16:00:00.002-04:00

Though I've been menu planning for the last five years or so, I still have my share of those what's for dinner tonight? moments. They don't happen regularly or even often, but sometimes I realize that what I had planned simply wasn't going to work for whatever reason. As someone who loves to plan and be organized, those moments drive me absolutely bonkers and often lead to a cheap but only kind of satisfying meal at a restaurant downtown that has epically good pickles.

Since I decided to modify my grocery budget a couple of weeks ago, however, buying a BLT as an excuse to eat pickles is no longer an option (if I want my husband to eat every day of any given week, that is). I figured I could avoid those what's for dinner? moments by more carefully planning my menus, but chronic pain and awkwardly timed Fresh Direct deliveries can get in the way of even my best laid plans--which is why I found myself wandering the Shop Rite in search of some sort of quick, budget-friendly meal last Friday.

I immediately saw yellow rice for 49 cents a packet, so I threw a couple of those in my basket. I grabbed some black beans because, duh, black beans go with yellow rice. Since my husband likes meat in meals, I decided I'd blacken some chicken, and since I like to not die of malnutrition, I decided some peppers and onions would round out the mix. The only problem was how to serve it. Feeling lazy, I decided on throwing it in a bowl and calling it a day. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it, but the bowl'o'Mexican-ish stuff ended up being easy and delicious.

Best of all, I got a blog post out of it! Woohoo!

Blackened Chicken and Yellow Rice Bowls

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon Adobo

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano

2 + 1 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 medium onion, seeded and diced

4 cups cooked yellow rice

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup taco sauce (semi-optional)

shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream, and/or cilantro (for serving)

Place the chicken breasts, soy sauce, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a gallon sized zip top bag. Set the bag in the refrigerator and let the chicken marinate for 2 hours or up to overnight.

When ready to cook, remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and pat dry before brushing evenly with the melted butter. Combine the paprika, salt, sugar, chili powder, onion powder, adobo, and oregano, then dredge the chicken in the spice mixture.

Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a large saute pan placed on a burner set to medium-high. Place the chicken in the pan and cook four minutes without touching. Flip the chicken and cook another four minutes without touching unless you think the chicken is done. The chicken is supposed to be blackened, so don't worry if the spices burn. When the chicken is cooked, remove it to a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow to rest for five minutes.

Wipe out the pan (or get a fresh pan). Add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the diced bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened. When the vegetables have cooked, reduce the heat to low and add the beans and taco sauce to the pan. Mix everything together, then cover and let sit over low heat for 10 minutes.

While the beans warm, cut the chicken into cubes. Then, add the chicken and prepared yellow rice to the bean/vegetable mixture. Remove from heat and stir until well combined.

Serve in bowls topped with cheese, sour cream, and/or cilantro.

Serves 4 .

two hundred and forty-one

2013-05-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

Growing up in a vegetarian household, I didn't really "get" the love that many Americans profess for burgers. Though tasty enough, they were mostly just vehicles for enabling mass consumption of cheese. (Land'o'Lakes American, thank you very much.) Then, as most of my stories go, I met my husband. The second the weather began to warm for the year, my father in law would go into a primal trance and spend every weekend manning the grill producing enough meat for every man, woman, and child within smelling distance. At first, all of that grilled meat was kind of off putting, but it wasn't long before I was sitting at my mother in law's kitchen table and making towers of burger patties for whatever gathering was happening that weekend.

Though I still consider the cheese a highlight of a burger, I now appreciate the patty's charred outside and juicy inside about as much as I appreciate a good steak. Even more than the taste, I appreciate the frugality of a homemade semi-gourmet burger, so I try to make them at least once a month in the summer. I bake challah rolls, think up interesting mayonnaise flavors, and try to work out a mathematical equation to calculate the maximum number of different toppings any given burger can hold (that number is known as the MTR or Maximum Topping Ratio). Usually, it's great. Sometimes, meh. Rarely, a choir of angels having a rave in my mouth.

The burger I'm about to share with you is one of those angel raves, therefore I recommend you make it as soon as possible. Preferably yesterday. (Make extra patties for lunch, too.) Oh, and not having a grill is no excuse; this recipe is apartment-friendly.

The World's Best Cheeseburger

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon powdered Ancho chiles

1 pound 93% lean ground beef

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

4-8 slices Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon butter, divided

4 large hamburger buns (I'll post my recipe later this week)

1/2 red onion

1 large, ripe tomato

2 cups arugula

4 eggs

Mix 1/3 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 teaspoon Ancho chile powder. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until you're ready to assemble your burgers.

Add 1 pound ground beef, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, and as much freshly ground pepper as you'd like to a large bowl. Use your hands to gently mix everything together. Please refrain from squishing the beef or you'll have crumbly burgers. Divide the meat into four equal pieces, then form the meat into patties that are slightly bigger than your hamburger rolls.

Put 1/2 tablespoon of butter into a large skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat and allow the butter to melt. When the butter is bubbling, gently slide the burger patties into the hot skillet. Cook to your desired doneness; I cooked mine for 3 minutes per side and it came out medium-rare. 1 minute before you remove the burgers from the pan, top each patty with a slice of cheese.

Remove the cheeseburgers from the pan and place on a plate. Do not turn off the heat. Place the hamburger buns cut-side down on the hot pan. (You may have to do this is two batches.) Toast for 30 to 45 seconds or until browned. Remove the buns from the pan and set aside.

Thinly slice the red onion; set aside. Cut the tomato into 1/4" slices. Place the tomatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Fry the tomatoes in the pan until they're slightly browned, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once the butter melts, crack the eggs into the pan and fry them for 3-5 minutes or until the whites are set. Remove the eggs to a paper towel lined plate. (You can finally turn off the pan now, by the way.)

To assemble the burgers: Spread the top and bottom half of the bun with as much Ancho mayonnaise as you would like, then top with some red onion slices. If you're being gluttonous, add another slice of cheese, then top with grilled tomatoes. Place the burger patty on top of the tomatoes, then add the fried egg, and arugula. Top the whole thing off with the other half of the bun. Repeat with the other three burgers.

Eat.

two hundred and thirty-seven

2013-05-06T15:55:00.000-04:00

Growing up, I didn't eat fast food very often. My car-having friends, on the other hand, would usually stop and get something to eat on the way home from school. Since I was in the car I got to be the little bird that stole a chip or two while they weren't looking. No one minded and it would have been a perfect system had I not developed a taste for some of those greasy eats. Now that I'm doing the "adult" thing, I can run to McDonalds and get a Big Mac should I feel so inclined--which I do once or twice a year (usually when on a road trip)--but the frustration known as the "regional chain" doesn't always allow for fulfillment of my random cravings for, say, Zaxby's.

Zaxby's is a Southern chicken semi-sit down restaurant (the kind where you order, sit, and then have your food brought to you) that would be unremarkable without one thing: Zax Sauce. A mix of mayonnaise, ketchup, and a couple of other things, it is capable of making the most boring of chicken strips into an experience. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but if I am it's not by much. I can't buy the Zax Sauce in the South and smuggle it home in my luggage since the little containers say to "keep refrigerated" (ahem). This predicament has left me with only one solution: restaurant recipe rip off!

Chicken Nuggets and Homemade Zax Sauce

For the Nuggets:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup milk or water

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

oil for frying

Cut the chicken into nugget sized pieces. Be sure to discard any sinew or fat.

Mix the egg, Worcestershire sauce, and milk in a pie pan (or, if you're lazy, in a gallon sized zip top bag). Set aside.

Mix the flour and Old Bay in a gallon sized zip top bag. Add the pieces of chicken to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Remove the coated nuggets from the flour, shaking any excess flour back into the bag. Don't discard the flour; you'll be using it again.

Add the floured chicken to the egg mixture. Toss or stir the floured chicken to coat it in the egg.

Transfer the eggy chicken back to the bag with the flour mixture. Toss the chicken to coat it with the flour. Let the chicken sit in the bag while you heat the frying oil.

Heat the frying oil over medium heat until it is shimmery, but not smoking. Shake the excess coating from the chicken and add it to the oil in two to four batches. Fry the chicken, turning if necessary, until it floats and is golden brown, about 4 minutes per batch.

Drain prepared chicken on a paper towel lined plate.

For the Zax Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

1-2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix everything together. Use one teaspoon of vinegar/lemon juice at first, then add the second if it still tastes too creamy.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (ideally overnight) before serving to allow the spices to do their thing.

two hundred and thirty-six

2013-05-03T14:34:00.000-04:00

(Today's quick tip and menu plan are after the jump.)

"I’ll never forget the first time my childhood friend showed me how to make one of her favorite treats. The recipe was simple: one piece of white bread, squished and squeezed into a compact ball. It was kind of like a bread bonbon, and the thought of it horrified me immensely. You see, I grew up eating sprouted wheat bread—the kind that can lead a child’s mind to wonder about the possibility of those seeds sprouting further during the digestion process—and it most certainly did not squish. It crumbled."

Read the rest of the post "Hearty White Sandwich Bread" at Home Ec 101.

Friday Quick Tip # 4 - Bed pillows are prone to getting musty, but the washing them too often can leave your pillows uncomfortable and lumpy. To freshen your pillows without water, set them outside in the sun for six to eight hours (flipping halfway through). By the time you bring them in, they'll be whiter, cleaner smelling, and sometimes even fluffier! Plus, Heather says sunlight is magic.

Menu Plan : May 3 - May 9, 2013

You may notice that this week includes the tacos and taco salad from last week's menu. The beef went bad sooner than it should have... Trying again this week! The homemade Zaxby's came by way of an unfulfillable craving (and will be the subject of one of next week's posts), while the linguine alla vodka con gamberi (AKA pasta and shrimp with vodka sauce) is at the request of Mr N. Shrimp aren't cheap, but how can I say no to something so easy to make?

Friday - homemade Zaxby's

Saturday - chicken makhani

Sunday - matzo ball soup

Monday - Asian style chicken salad

Tuesday - crunchy beef tacos

Wednesday - linguine alla vodka con gamberi

Thursday - taco salad

two hundred and twenty-seven

2013-04-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

"Ramen. It’s a single word that conjures images of students and young newlyweds alike, united by their grumbling bellies and meager budgets. Most of us have been there, done that—myself included—and if you’re anything like me, you may have also done a happy dance when you finally said sayonara to your noodle heavy twenty dollar a week food budget. Despite my longstanding eagerness to eat something (anything!) other than what the Japanese refer to as gakusei ryori, or “student food”, years later I still find myself craving the salty, slurpy soup that got me through the leanest times in my life..."

Read the rest of the post "Pork and Miso Ramen" at Home Ec 101.

two hundred and twenty-six

2013-04-17T15:29:00.000-04:00

Today I met with one of my pain management center's nurse practitioners, and she was absolutely lovely. After chatting for a few minutes, she abruptly stated that I needed to stop being so obsessive and paranoid about doing something wrong and/or being seen as a druggo. She said it jokingly after I mentioned that I felt like my patches weren't lasting a full seven days (but that I was probably just imagining it [turns out, a lot of people say the same thing!]), but the more I think about the nurse's words, the more I realize that her advice rings true in all aspects of my life.

As you probably know, I'm a terrible combination of perfectionist and ADHD. I literally cannot make myself slow down enough to think before I act, which means that I end up I spending a lot of time thinking about what I should have done, or should have said, or (more often) shouldn't have said. Have you ever experienced presque vu? It's when you just know the word you want to use, but you can't seem to think of the right one. Most people just shrug it off, but with the way my brain works, I'll suddenly blurt out the forgotten word days or even weeks later. I think about it in my spare time without realizing it, only because I can't just accept that a word could be so easily forgotten. Crazy, right? And that's just how much I think about something as inconsequential as a single word!

As frustrating as my obsession may be, I feel that it is the driving force behind my love of homemaking. Some people groan and grumble at the thought of cooking dinner or scrubbing the baseboards, but my perfectionism makes it an enjoyable challenge--most of the time. After a long day, my Type A self retires to its mental chambers, leaving the inexperienced Type B Michele to tentatively poke her figurative head out of her possibly less figurative shell. Type B Michele demands video games, drawing in the dust instead of wiping it, asking the cats to wash the dishes, and (perhaps most importantly) easy dinners--much like the one I'm going to share with you now.

Enjoy! Or don't. I don't really care. (Don't worry, I'll be back to my normal obsessive self tomorrow.)

Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen

1 cup prepared Caesar dressing, divided

1 head romaine lettuce

1 large, ripe tomato

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper

4 medium sized tortillas

Trim any fat from the chicken breasts. Pound the chicken until it is of an even thickness. (Skip the last two steps if using frozen chicken.) Toss the chicken into a gallon sized bag with 1/2 cup of the Caesar dressing.

Set the chicken aside as you preheat the oven to 325 F (or refrigerate it until an hour before you're ready to eat. Then, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven).

Shake excess dressing from the chicken and place on a small greased baking pan. Wrap pan with aluminum foil and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes for fresh chicken, 40 minutes for frozen, then remove from oven.

Increase the heat to 350 F. Carefully remove the foil from the pan, then return the uncovered chicken to the oven. Cook an additional 10 to 15 minutes (or up to 20 to 25 if using frozen), or until the chicken is cooked through.

Once the chicken breasts have cooked, move them to a plate, tent with foil, and allow them to cool while you prepare the vegetables.

Remove the roots and discard any wilted leaves from the romaine and seed the tomatoes, then wash them. Chop or tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces and pat dry with paper towels (or dry in a salad spinner). Dice the tomatoes and, if needed, pat them dry.

In a large bowl, mix the prepared lettuce and tomatoes with up to an additional 1/2 cup of Caesar dressing (I usually use between 1/4 and 1/3 cup, but some people prefer more). Toss in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Slice the rested chicken into large cubes. Toss the chicken with the rest of the salad.

If desired, warm the tortillas in a skillet. Then, fill each tortilla with a quarter of the salad.

Optional: Add veggies or chips on the side.

Not Optional: Eat.

two hundred and twenty-two

2013-04-10T15:44:00.002-04:00

I don't know about where you live, but here in New Jersey it is H-O-T outside, and that is really messing up my menu plan. I mean, who wants soup when it's 80 degrees out? You, that's who! (I didn't expect it to be so hot today and now this post is semi-irrelevant. It'd be great if you'd be so kind as to play along.)

For many people soup is strictly a winter food, but my stomach doesn't seem to know how to work a calendar, so soup is an anytime meal for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not usually one for eating balsamic beef chili in July, but there are certain soups that are perfect for those slightly chilly early spring evenings--and I'm not just talking about gazpacho. Actually, I'll probably never talk about gazpacho because I don't understand the phenomenon that is "cold soup", but I digress.

At some point last spring, I found myself craving some sort of soup. Not just a "Gee, I ought to make soup next week" craving, but a "SOUP. NOW. EAT." craving. (You don't get those?) Since I tend to appease my cravings for healthier foods, I figured I'd get creative and make a soup out of what I had on hand: frozen spinach, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and some frozen cheese tortellini. The idea was good, but the poor quality of the ingredients was painfully obvious. I ate my soup, however meh it may have been, and filed the idea away for future use.

I reworked the recipe several times over the year that followed, never quite happy with the finished product. Despite lingering dissatisfaction, I was convinced that I was on to something, so I never once thought of altering the original ingredients. I was begrudgingly about to admit defeat and call the soup a flop when I found myself in the grocery store, face to face with my recipe's savior. "Ciao, bella!" she breathed as she kissed me on the cheeks in that way that only Europeans can get away with.

"You can call me... Pancetta."

Tortellini Soup with Pancetta

4 ounces pancetta, cut into small pieces

1-2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2-3 large tomatoes, seeded

2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

8 ounces fresh spinach, washed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) basil, finely chopped

8 cups (64 ounces) homemade chicken broth or store bought chicken stock

16 ounces cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen

shredded Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, cook the pancetta until crispy and lightly browned. Be careful to stand back to avoid being burned by grease! Once cooked, remove the pan from the heat and do your best to reserve any grease as you remove the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towels. If less than 1 tablespoon of grease remains, add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil.

Place the greased saute pan over medium heat and allow the grease/oil to warm until it shimmers. If the oil smokes, reduce the heat! Once the pan is hot, add the garlic and allow it to cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the spinach. Carefully toss the spinach to coat it with the oil and mix in the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the spinach is slightly wilted, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the garlic, and cover.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a large stock pot. Place the stock pot over medium-high heat and allow the oil to warm until it shimmers, but is not smoking. (Reduce the heat as needed.) Add the seeded, chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes begin to break down, 1-2 minutes.

Stir the pancetta into the tomatoes and cook an additional minute, or until you smell the pancetta. Pour the broth over the pancetta and tomatoes. Cover the broth with a lid and increase the heat to high to bring the broth to the boil.

Once the broth is boiling, add the tortellini, then the spinach mixture. Let the soup simmer for 1-2 minutes to cook the tortellini (check your package for the recommended time), then remove from heat.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan.

Serve immediately.

two hundred and twenty

2013-04-08T16:16:00.000-04:00

Menu planning is your best friend, especially when you have a chronic illness or disability. It makes grocery shopping a far less painful and much more efficient event (hugely important for those of us who are prone to limping when we walk too long), and it turns daily meal preparation from a stressful hassle into a quick and easy routine--most of the time. Those of you who have never been sick or stressed or busy (email me! I want your secrets!) may not realize it, but there are times when life gets in the way and your menu plan flies out the window.

Since those days have happened to me more often than not in the last couple of months, I have written a lot of flexibility into my menu plans recently. Unfortunately, I can't tell the future (yet) so despite the flexibility in my menu, there are still days that I find myself scrambling to figure out dinner. Fortunately for you, dear readers, those scrambley days often lead to creativity out of necessity which, more often than not, leads to development of a new recipe. Case in point: tonight's dinner.

Last night I planned to roast a chicken, potatoes, and broccoli on a sheet pan. I ended up spending the majority of my afternoon and early evening working on a Home Ec 101 post while trying to will myself to have an appetite. I ended up kind of forgetting to cook the chicken and made a roasted broccoli and baked chicken (breast) pasta instead.

Problem solved, hands wiped, but a problem remained: I needed the leftover meat from the whole roasted chicken for tonight's dinner of Asian style chicken salad. I had no intention of heating up the whole house to roast the chicken Julia's way, so I decided to cut it up, marinade it to make it Asian-ish (my political correctness is totally showing), and share the recipe with you.

Chinese-ish Pan Roasted Chicken Pieces

1-5 pound roasting chicken (or 5 pounds chicken pieces)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

black pepper, to taste

Mix garlic powder, chili powder, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable oil, and pepper in a gallon sized plastic bag. If using a whole chicken, remove the spine and quarter the chicken. Place the chicken pieces in the plastic bag with the marinade and allow them to marinate for 30 minutes.

While the chicken marinates, preheat oven to 450 F. Once the oven is heated and the chicken is marinated, arrange the chicken pieces skin side up in a large skillet (I used a 12" saute pan). Pour half of the marinade over the chicken pieces and discard the rest. Bake the chicken for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the chicken's juices run clear.

Let rest for 10 minutes then serve, or let cool completely and shred for use in Asian style chicken salad.

two hundred and eighteen

2013-04-04T13:04:00.000-04:00

"A little over ten years ago today, I enrolled in home economics as a school elective. To say I was excited would be an understatement, and I showed up for my first day of class eager to learn anything and everything I could about sewing, cooking, cleaning, and—most important to me—baking. The pace was slow; by the middle of the semester, we had barely made a batch of cookies! I finally got up the courage to ask the teacher when we’d learn to make, say, a simple loaf of bread. My courage was rewarded with a “Hah!” worthy of The Simpsons’ Edna Krabapple. Deflated and embarrassed, I gave up on baking and spent the rest of the course sewing stuffed animals, taking breaks to thread my classmates’ needles..."

Read the rest of the post

"Easy Italian Bread" at Home Ec 101.

P.S. I'm going to be writing Home Ec 101 posts more frequently starting, like, today. Do my dear Dreams Unreal readers mind if I keep up the trend of posting teasers for my Home Ec 101 posts? They don't seem inappropriate to me content-wise, but I don't want anyone to feel I'm being annoying and spammy.

two hundred seventeen

2013-04-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

I grew up painfully aware of my parents' obsession with mostly organic, totally vegetarian diet (except for me; the doctor prescribed Toddler Michele lamb for anemia.) Every day, come lunchtime, my tofu became the main topic of conversation and speculation. "What is it?" "Is that bread or tree bark?" "Does your mom know how to cook?" I can't even count the number of times I heard, "Wanna trade? 'Cause I don't!" My routine pleas for normal food went ignored for so long that I finally accepted that I was going to be a lunchtime outcast, and that was that.

So, I'm sure you can imagine how shocked I was when a few years after my parents' divorce my brother moved in with my dad, and my mother and I started eating out for dinner near daily. We ate restaurant food with no abandon, and her concern about grains and non-meat protein flew out the window. It was during the Time of Restaurant Foods that I learned that I love most everything spicy--as well as anything in the form of nachos.

Fast forward a few years when Mr N and I were visiting for the holidays. My mother offered to take us out for dinner. Naturally, we accepted. She recommended we try Travinia, an Italian place down the street from her house, a suggestion that made my nose crinkle in disgust. You see, last time I had eaten there, I ordered fettuccine alfredo, which would have been decent had the sauce contained cheese instead of just butter and cream--which would have been acceptable, had they not told me I was wrong and that they would not make me another.

After my mother assured me that the restaurant was under new ownership, we were on our way. Despite her promise of better food, I still refused to order pasta and opted instead for an appetizer, except... nothing looked very good. I was about two seconds away from ordering a salad when I saw it. I knew what I wanted and I knew that, if they didn't screw up the sauce, it would. be. epic. And oh, how epic it was.

Oh, you mean you want know what it is? I'll share, but be warned: once you've had it, you'll find yourself with near constant cravings and, ~~possibly~~ probably, a larger waistline. Alright. If you're sure, you can find it behind the jump...

Italian Nachos

Minus the olives. I was out. :-(

Notes: The restaurant's version is also topped with banana peppers, so feel free to add some should you feel so inclined. You can make homemade alfredo sauce, but I've found that the sauce you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store is just fine for this recipe. If your budget is a concern, Romano works in place of Parmesan for a fraction of the price--just don't use the cheese in a can!

6 oz (24) won ton wraps, halved diagonally

oil for frying won ton wraps

1 lb bulk Italian sausage, spicy or mild

2 large tomatoes, seeded

3 oz. (1/2 can) large olives

1 bunch scallions, roots removed

4 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese

about 1 1/2 cups alfredo sauce

Fill a large saute pan about halfway with vegetable or olive oil. Start heating the oil over medium heat, but keep an eye on it. If the oil begins to smoke or bubble, reduce the heat immediately. If the oil doesn't look shimmery, increase the heat very slightly. I've found that just below medium works on my gas range, but don't take that as fact. When in doubt, use a fry thermometer to ensure the oil remains at 350*

Place a single won ton triangle into the hot oil to double check the temperature. If it begins to bubble and slowly turn golden, you're good to proceed with the other 47 triangles. (For reference, I manage to fry six at a time in my medium sized pan.)

One at a time, gently place four to six won ton wraps in the oil. Allow them to fry until golden (flipping if necessary) but do not allow them to get too brown in the oil. Quickly remove the won ton chips to a paper towel lined tray and allow the oil to drain. Repeat the process with the remaining uncooked won ton triangles. Let the chips rest until ready to assemble the nachos.

Dice the tomatoes; set aside. Slice the scallions into 1/4" rounds; set aside. Slice the olives into about four pieces; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the Italian sausage until browned. Be sure to break it up into little pieces with your spoon as you would with ground beef. Once the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain the fat and return the meat to the pan.

If your sauce is homemade but cold, reheat it in a small pot over very low heat while you cook the sausage. If you're using store bought sauce, reheat as directed on the package once the sausage is cooked.

Arrange the won ton chips on four dinner plates or on a large tray. Sprinkle the chips evenly with Parmesan cheese, then top the cheese with browned Italian sausage. Spoon or pour the alfredo sauce over the topped chips, then top the sauce with tomatoes, scallions, and olives.

Serve immediately.