Wraps!

Hey all, Kari here. Natalie invited me to start sharing some recipes here on her blog. And well, I'm honored because if you've ever eaten at Natalie's casa, you know she's a super amazing in the kitchen and will tackle just about anything and come out with shining colors.

So for my first post on here I thought I'd share a recipe that is a staple in our humble abode, I kinda developed this when Robert and I were just dating (and I'd impress him with my culinary skills trying to get a ring on my finger). It was inspired by the Sicilian pizza he loves to get from CPK. If you've never gotten it...go.now.

In our house we just call them wraps, or deliciousness wrapped in a tortilla, if you will.

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients:
- 2 Tortillas (right now we are flat-out addicted to these tortillas from Costco)

- Grated/Shredded Cheese of your choice (we love sharp cheddar)

- Lettuce (Romaine, Green Leaf is what I'd recommend)

- Caesar dressing (I prefer the creamy fatty stuff)

- 1/3 8 oz. package of Pepperoni

- 4-6 Ham, Turkey or Chicken thin cut slices (like lunch meat size)

- Any veggies you'd like to add to give it some extra nutrients I've been known to add: Hothouse Cucumbers, Tomatoes, grated carrots, scallions, corn, peas, cabbage and jicama.

Start cooking your tortillas, that is if you bought the doughy ones, on a griddle.

Shred lettuce and toss with Caesar dressing in a bowl, include any additional veggies you'd like, set aside.

Meanwhile, slice pepperoni and meat slices into thin short strips, toss these strips into a small frying pan on medium heat. Saute slices in their natural juices, or you can add Pam to the pan for extra protection, until Pepperoni is almost crisp and the meat slices turn a nice golden version of their original selves.

Once your tortillas are cooked turn on your oven broiler to high. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and sprinkle with grated/shredded cheese of your choice. Place the tortillas in the broiler for 1-2 minutes just until cheese is melted.

Top cheesey tortillas with tossed lettuce mixture and top that with your sauteed pepperoni and meat slices.

Here's the final product (excuse the cruddy photos, I am not blessed with Natalie's photog skills)

It's quick, it's delicious and it's one of my husband's favorites. Not to mention a great way to get veggies in him...yes, I married a 5 year old when it comes to veggies. Love you Roberto!

Toasted Ravioli

I was craving pasta last night and found some frozen ravioli from Costco in my freezer. (the chicken, mozzarella, rosemary flavor). I was going to boil them and serve them with marinara when I remembered a little dish I made more than 3 years ago inspired by this Rachael Ray recipe. This is what I did last night, though, since I was in a rush and only had a few ingredients:

Box of frozen ravioli
Store bought breadcrumbs
1 egg
olive oil
jarred marinara sauce

Boil water
Put in ravioli (I cooked what I had, but it was probably about 15 pieces)
Heat olive oil in a different skillet(enough to cover bottom of pan)
Put a cup of store bought bread crumbs in a bowl
Break an egg into another bowl and beat it with a fork
Once ravioli floats and looks puffy, take them out to drain on a plate
Let the ravioli cool a little
Shake off excess water from a ravioli, dip it in the egg and dip it in the crumbs
Put the breaded ravioli into the oil
Cook on each side at like medium heat for 2-3 minutes
I like them really brown so I left them in a little longer
Heat jarred marinara sauce in a bowl in the microwave (i put a paper towel on the top of the bowl to prevent a sauce explosion from getting everywhere)

Serve with the sauce and dip with your hands. It's a nice little change from normal pasta, and it took...MAYBE 15 minutes. Don't worry, I served it with a salad so it wasn't completely unhealthy!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Whenever I make homemade lasagna, I always have leftover ricotta cheese. These are the best way to use it up. They are so soft and cake-like. Perfectly lemony...Giada is a genius.

Image via Food Network

Stuff that looks good

It's pizza day at our house. My dough rising as I type. I even made homemade sauce for the pizza this time! I was browsing through tastespotting.com and found 3 new takes on pizza dough I need to try SOON.

Pizza bites look fun and easy, just to mix things up from the normal pizza pie.

David loves homemade breadsticks so I'll need to give these a try as well.

And last but not least, I NEED to make this stromboli. Instead of the feta I'd use mozarella, since I'm quite picky about my cheese selections.

On a note completely unrelated to pizza, here's an image of a dinner I made last week. I barbecued chicken legs and vegetable kebabs. I'm so excited to get back into grilling now that it's finally warm.

Crock Pot Chicken

Ok. This is seriously one of the easiest dishes I've ever made, especially when you taste how good it is! I'm writing it from memory, but I found it in a family cookbook. I will say that it's far from healthy. But sometimes you need something quick and easy and delicious. Serve a big salad next to it to make yourself feel better about the butter! :)

Here's what you need:

1 brick cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 ranch packet
1 can cream of chicken soup (you could use cream of anything probably)
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
3-4 chicken breasts

Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature, then mix everything together (I mix it all in the crock pot, then add in the chicken on top.) Cook for about 4 hours and serve over cooked rice. It's so good!

Easter Cake

I love colorful things! This is a little remake on the rainbow cake, I guess. I recreated it from this blog

The only change i made to the recipe is that I added vanilla to the frosting. I don't think the actual flavor of the cake was anything super special, but it was really moist which is always a plus. Here are some shots of my cake:

Herbs

I have been wanting to plant an herb garden for SO long. I always ended up not because of some random excuse, but this summer I was planning on going all out. We stopped at Trader Joes in Vegas on our way out a few weeks ago and I saw this:




There were a few combinations, and I really wanted basil, but I opted for this combo of rosemary, thyme and oregano. I had never used fresh thyme or oregano before so I figured it was about time to try it out.

I have never liked dried thyme and usually leave it out of recipes if they call for it because it's so strong and hay-ish. I had heard Rachael Ray describe fresh thyme as lemony and fresh- and trying it out, she is right! It has a completely different smell and taste than dried thyme. It was a pleasant surprise!

I fully recommend purchasing some herbs- basil is a good starter because it's in so much, and rosemary is great on chicken and in marinades for meat. Let me know how it goes!