RO*TEL

As the nights get chillier and chillier, nothing is more comforting than snacking on something spicy, cheesy, and delicious. When I was young, my family would whip together this snack on many occasions. Superbowl, Academy Awards, or a movie night called for none other than the classic, old-school snack of RO*TEL.


For those who don't know, RO*TEL is a brand of canned tomatoes that began in the 40s in Elsa, Texas. RO*TEL is most known for their canned diced tomatoes and green chilies seasoned with flavorful spices. Carl Roettele, founder of this fine Texas canning company, came up with the name RO*TEL knowing that folks would have a tough time pronouncing Roettele. RO*TEL with a little Texas star in the middle of its name has provided America with these recipe makers for over 70 years. Now you can purchase RO*TEL in a variety of spice levels, milder and extra hot, as well as Mexican or Italian but the RO*TEL I crave is the original.


These affordable canned tomatoes are the perfect item to stock in your pantry. Grab one of these cans to add loads of flavor to any soup, casserole, chili, or dip. My favorite RO*TEL recipe has got to be the "Famous RO*TEL Cheese Dip". This simple guilty pleasure involves 2 ingredients, a one pound block of Velveeta or other processed cheese and one can diced RO*TEL tomatoes and green chilies. The hardest part of this recipe is picking up the giant block of Velveeta cheese in the grocery store and ignoring the fact that the recipe calls for one whole pound of yellow processed cheese. All concerns about this fact go straight out the window when you scoop up some creamy, cheesy and hot RO*TEL Cheese Dip with a tortilla chip.

Cut the Velveeta into cubes and place in a large bowl. Add the RO*TEL tomatoes and green chilies. Pop the bowl into the microwave and nuke for about 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 3 minutes. Repeat if necessary until you reach the desired consistency. Serve piping how with a large bowl of your favorite tortilla chips. Best enjoyed with a group of people, near a fireplace, under a blanket in front of the television.


Check out more RO*TEL recipes like Southwest Lasagna, Tex Mex Chili, and Baked Macaroni and Cheese at http://www.texmex.net/Rotel/main.htm.

Bobby's Burger Palace

So maybe you have seen celebrity chef Bobby Flay on one of his many programs on Food Network like "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" or "Boy Meets Grill". If you are a fan or know anything about him, you know that he is quite a business man with many high end restaurants in exciting locales such as Manhattan, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas. Everyday people may not have the opportunity to pop into one of Flay's three Mesa Grill restaurants and spend a whopping $48 to sample Flay's New York Strip Steak. There is something to be said for fine dining, indulging in a perfectly cooked and seasoned steak or lobster dish, so beautiful that it is a work of art. For everyday life, this extravagance is unobtainable and unrealistic, however Flay has found an approachable way to offer his bold, decadent flavors to everyone, no matter what their dining budget may be with his creation of Bobby's Burger Palace-a burger chain available throughout the Northeast region of the United States. This festive and modern spin on the classic fast food joint combines all of the things we love about fast food such as easy, rapid service and delicious comfort food but adds a higher quality product, the flavors of Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay and a fabulous bar menu to the equation. What could be better?
















Bobby's Burger Palace offers a full menu of every style burger imaginable. Be as indulgent as you like with "Bobby's Blue Burger-blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato", "Philadelphia Burger-Provolone or Whiz, griddles onions and hot peppers" and "Buffalo Style Burger-Red hot sauce, blue cheese dressing and watercress", all served with your choice of Certified Angus beef, ground turkey or chicken breast. Or stay on the lighter side with the "L.A. Burger-Avocado relish, watercress, cheddar cheese and tomato" and the "Napa Valley Burger-Fresh Goat cheese, watercress and Meyer lemon honey mustard". You also have the option to make any item extreme as Flay lets the customer know right on the menu with his tagline, "any burger can be crunchified". "Crunchified" means adding the crisp perfection of potato chips to any burger or sandwich. With all the buzz about these "crunchified" burgers, I knew exactly what I would be ordering and that was the "Crunchburger-Double American cheese and potato chips" with Angus beef. The burger itself was smoky, juicy and well-seasoned with the creamy richness of old-school yellow American cheese and the unmistakable salty potato crunch right underneath the soft bun. Along with the "Crunchburger", we indulged in a side of "French Fries-with BBP Fry Sauce" and "Beer Battered Onion Rings".












With Flay's pop-shop style, light-hearted menu, I am tempted to return and try something new like the "Griddle Cheese Deluxe-Brie, Goat cheese, tomato and bacon" with perhaps a Vanilla Bean Malted Milkshake. This fun list of "Milkshakes & Malteds" includes flavors like dark chocolate, coffee, pistachio, mango, cola, and blueberry-pomegranate. Add a little zing to your outing at BBP with one of Bobby's Spiked Milkshakes like the "Vanilla Caramel Bourbon" or the "Mocha Kahlua Vodka". Another winning difference that BBP has over traditional fast food is a fabulous bar menu. Aside from the spiked milkshakes, wine, beer and "Frozen Cactus Pear Margaritas" can be enjoyed as well.


Flay's theme of enjoying comfort foods in a festive atmosphere is exactly what you will find just without the hefty price tag. Check out Bobby's Burger Palace online to find a location near you and the burger of the month. October's creation is the "Nacho Burger-Nacho cheese sauce, tomato-chipotle salsa, pickled jalapenos and blue corn tortillas".




Bobby's Burger Palace

Portobello Stacks

Need a quick and easy dinner that's light on the carbs? If your schedule is packed to the rim with work, life and events, then cooking dinner at night after a long day may be the last thing you want to do. This recipe was created by making do with what is my fridge combined the lack of energy to cook anything difficult and the need for something comforting. Also in an effort to keep my diet low in carbs, I picked up a pack of giant portobello mushroom caps. With some chopped spinach, slices of salami, provolone and tomato, I had my recipe ready to go!


Lizzy M.'s Portobello Stacks

1 Portobello mushroom cap
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sprinkle of garlic powder
2 slices of salami
2 slices of provolone
2 slices of tomato
3 Basil leaves


Directions:


1. Fill the portobello cap with the spinach and season with salt, pepper and garlic.

2. Stack or layer the salami, cheese and tomato slices as well as the basil leaves. Save one fresh basil leaf to top the portobello stack.

3. Bake in a conventional oven or toaster oven on 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.


Enjoy this super simple carb-free meal any night of the week!

Pistachio Pesto

After one of the driest summers on record here in Philadelphia, not much survived in our garden. The tomato plants struggled to stay green and budded only a few little tomatoes. The cucumber plant managed to grow a couple of little cucumbers and one large one following one of our only heavy rains of the summer. But one plant did not let us down this summer and that was our Basil plant. Long, fragrant green basil leaves sprouted again and again from our humble garden. Temperatures dropped last week, sometimes in the 50s overnight. I feared the Basil plant would soon be no more, so I it was time to harvest.


I knew exactly what I would do with the Basil harvest. Pistachio Pesto would be the fate of my plentiful Basil leaves. After snipping away at the plant for a while, I thoroughly washed my garden green before concocting a pure and beautiful pesto. I say pure because I usually cut the Basil with spinach leaves to save a bit on pricey store-bought Basil. When your garden supplies for free, there is no reason to use spinach. With a bag of freshly shelled pistachios in my pantry, I chose to use this nut instead of the traditional pine nut. By the way, any nut can make a fabulous flavor burst within a pesto. My favorites are pistachio, walnut, and the pine nut. With my pistachios on hand, olive oil, fresh lemon zest and juice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper, and of course a giant pile of Basil leaves, I was ready to make a beautifully simple pesto.


Lizzy M.'s Pistachio Pesto

1 large bunch fresh Basil leaves
4 oz. pistachio nuts, shelled
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp lemon zest
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper



1. In a food processor, blend the pistachios and garlic cloves until it looks like a bread crumb mixture.


2. Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and basil leaves.


3. Using the opening at the top of the food processor, slowly steam in the extra virgin olive oil as the ingredients blend together. Continue until a green colored almost creamy mixture forms and then you have your pesto!


4. Use pesto immediately or portion into small plastic bags, which can be stored in the freezer until ready to use. For frozen pesto, just remove from the freezer a few hours before using. It tastes just as fresh and delicious as it would on the day it was made. This way you can enjoy undeniable decadent flavor of fresh basil even throughout the cold winter months.


Delight in the savory satisfying flavorful of pesto mixed with vegetable pasta dishes, topped on a grilled chicken breast or smeared on top of a warm flat bread topped with cheese. Your pesto can even make a fabulous, tangy dressing on any salad or pasta salad by just adding a touch of red wine vinegar to thin out the pesto. Grill or saute all of your favorite vegetables and toss in pesto for a healthful, comforting meal.


Make your pesto today with the last of the summer Basil, so you can partake all year round!

Down on the Ranch Chickpeas

This is not my first commentary on chickpeas, garbanzo beans, whatever you like to call them. Last year I wrote about a piece called "Best. Snack. Ever.", which was true in that much more innocent time in my life. Chickpeas roasting up in the pan with cooking spray topped with Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt, pepper and garlic was amazing. I thought it didn't get much better than that. Little did I know, even the "best snack ever" could be improved. It was a Friday night after a long and exhausting work week, when I craved a snack to go with my carefully picked out bottle of red wine. With little to work with in the fridge, I looked into the cabinet finding a can of chickpeas, the perfect, quick go-to snack. Friday night started out like most flipping through the channels looking for a good Friday night flick. I got out my usual colander to drain the chickpeas, the saute pan and cooking spray. As I began to roast up the chickpeas in the pan, I noticed a half-empty packet of Ranch Seasoning Mix. Something called me to pick up that Ranch seasoning and sprinkle it all over my chickpeas. And that is just what I did.


I turned the heat off and tossed the chickpeas in a healthy dose of Ranch Seasoning Mix, black pepper and Parmesan cheese. I sat down with my husband with the steamy, hot, Ranch-covered chickpeas and a glass of wine; and that is the moment when I knew how much better the best snack ever could be. The Ranch Seasoning Mix acts as a tenderizer making the chickpeas more tender and melt-in-your-mouth than before. That Ranch flavor is undeniably delicious, and it made me realize how many other things could be improved by adding Ranch Seasoning Mix. Honestly, I don't know what's in it. Are there real spices in it? Are there chemicals and preservatives? I do not know. What I do know is that everyone else in America loves Ranch Dip, Ranch Dressing and I never quite got that. I am more of a vinaigrette or Blue cheese kind of girl. As for dips, hummus is good and I am always a sucker for that Bacon and Horseradish Dip. Finally, I have found a place where I can be comfortable with the American love for Ranch. And that place is on my chickpeas.


Lizzy M.'s Down on the Ranch Chickpeas



Cooking spray
1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp Ranch Seasoning Mix
2 tbsp Parmesan or Romano Cheese
Dash of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper



Directions:


1. Drain the canned chickpeas into a colander and rinse well. Shake well in the colander to remove any excess water.


2. Into a large saute pan, coat well with cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high.


3. Place the chickpeas into the pan. For 2 people use half of a can and for 4 people use a whole can.


4. Toss the chickpeas in the pan while they cook, so they roast evenly. Continue to cook them until they browned and then lower the heat.


5. Add the Ranch Seasoning Mix, the Parmesan or Romano cheese, salt and pepper and toss well. Once the ingredient are mixed well then turn the heat off, pour into a bowl and serve piping hot!


Best. Snack. Ever. Just got better! Enjoy!