The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 eCookbook

Happy New Year!

With the new year here it is time for a new edition of The Best of Closet Cooking eCookbooks! The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 eCookbook contains all of the tastiest and most popular new recipes in 2012! As is the tradition, I will be giving this eCookbook away for free to everyone that is subscribed to the Closet Cooking email newsletter! If you are not already subscribed to the Closet Cooking email newsletter you can subscribe now and get it! The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 eCookbook will of course also be made available on your favourite readers including the Kindle, iBooks and Nook for your viewing pleasure! For those of you that prefer a physical copy you can order a softcover version from Lulu.com.

Get The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 Now!

Enjoy!

The Best of Closet Cooking 2013 Pinterest Pin Board

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

The other day when I made the slow cooker bacon wrapped apple BBQ chicken it reminded me of another bacon wrapped chicken dish that I wanted to make, bacon wrapped jalapeno popper stuffed chicken. The basic idea was to stuff the chicken with all of the flavours of jalapeno poppers and then to wrap them in bacon and grill or bake them. Jalapeno poppers are commonly filled with cream cheese and or cheddar cheese and they are either coated in bread crumbs and fried until crispy or wrapped in bacon and grilled or baked until cooked. Although I liked the sound of a crispy coating on the chicken the bacon wrapping was calling my name and I could not resist going with that option! For the filling I went with a simple mixture of cream cheese, cheddar and diced jalapeno peppers. The bacon wrapped jalapeno popper stuffed chicken tastes just like jalapeno poppers and makes for one really tasty light meal!

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Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa

One of my favourite side dishes has to be cheesy broccoli rice which is a quick and easy dish where with the amazing broccoli and cheddar cheese flavour combo! Ever since I discovered quinoa I have been trying my favourite rice dishes with the rice replaced with the healthier quinoa and it was finally time to try a cheesy broccoli quinoa! This dish is super easy to make and you pretty much just cook the quinoa with the broccoli and then mix in the cheese once the quinoa and broccoli are cooked. Some of the things that I like about this recipe are that it is a one pot dish and that it is a stove top dish which is great for holiday dinners where there never seems to be enough oven space or time. I think I now have a new favourite side dish!

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Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Gratin

The roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup has been on my mind a lot lately and when it came time to think about side dishes for my Thanksgiving dinner one of the first ideas that came to mind was to convert the soup into a side dish. It seemed only natural that the side dish would take the form of a gratin and a roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar gratin was sounding really good! Although steamed cauliflower would work in a gratin, I wanted the extra flavour that roasting adds even if it meant more oven time! I kept the gratin really simple with a base of an easy bechamel sauce that the aged white cheddar is melted into before being poured over the roasted cauliflower. Once the cauliflower has been roasted the aged white cheddar bechamel sauce has been made, all that need to be done it to mix them, top them with panko bread crumbs and then bake them until golden brown.

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Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas in Creamy Avocado Sauce

Chicken and avocado enchilada recipes have been making their way around the food logging sphere lately like these spicy avocado chicken enchiladas on the novice chef, these chicken and avocado enchiladas on gimme some oven and these avocado cream and chicken suiza enchiladas on foodie crush and given my obsession with both Mexican cuisine and avocados it was only a matter of time until I made some of my own! For my recipe I wanted to get as much avocado into the dish as possible so I stuffed the enchiladas with big chunks of avocado in addition to using avocados in the creamy enchilada sauce. Another goal that I had with the recipe was for it to be really quick and easy to put together and if you have the salsa verde and cooked and shredded chicken on hand already then you can whip these super tasty enchiladas up in about 30 minutes!

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Maple Bourbon Bacon Jam

I do not know how I could have possibly missed the whole bacon jam band wagon when it came around a while ago but I recently discovered it and jumped right on board! I mean, how could you possibly go wrong making a jam where the primary ingredient is bacon? I was completely smitten with the idea and had to make a batch right away!

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Esquites (Mexican Corn Salad)

If you like Mexican corn on the cob, elote, then you are going to love esquites which is essentially elote but served in a bowl, only better! This year I have been enjoying using my cast iron skillet to 'roast' corn until the kernels char and caramelize which intensifies their sweetness making them even more irresistible! When I came across the idea of esquites where the corn is roasted in this way I immediately knew that it would be amazing! This salad has it all with the sweet caramelized corn, the salty cheese, the sour lime juice and the jalapeno heat and it is all held together with garlicky mayonnaise!

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Creamy Avocado Dressing (aka Guacamole Buttermilk Dressing)

For a new salad that I have been thinking about I wanted a nice and cool and creamy dressing and I was thinking about trying something a little bit different, an avocado dressing. I am so totally addicted to avocados and I am always looking for new ways to enjoy them! I was originally planning on including diced avocado in the salad but I liked the idea of a creamy avocado dressing even more. For the avocado dressing I was thinking about starting it off a lot like a guacamole with plenty of fresh ingredients like cilantro, lime juice and even some jalapeno peppers to add a touch of heat. A quick search of the internet for these ingredients turned up a recipe for an avocado dressing pretty much just like the one that I was thinking about on Skinny Taste. I did make one quick change to the recipe by including some mayonnaise which goes fabulously well with avocados. I have to say that this avocado dressing is amazingly good; nice and creamy so so fresh and vibrant! Now I just need to resist eating it all by the spoonful so that it can make it into the salad!

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Buffalo Chicken Chili

I am always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy the totally addictive buffalo chicken flavours and so when I came across the idea for a buffalo chicken chili on Blog is the New Black I pinned it immediately! I could not resist the idea of a using the buffalo chicken flavours in a bowl of chili and it was sounding like pure comfort food in a bowl! This buffalo chicken chili starts out with a base of onions and plenty of carrots and celery which is appropriate given that buffalo wing are often served with carrot and celery sticks. From there the chili is seasoned with garlic, cumin, paprika and of course plenty of your favourite hot sauce. I chose to go with beer for the liquid and then I bulked the chili up with some tomatoes and white beans. I have to say that this chili is good and you will definitely find yourself going back for seconds which is ok as it is fairly healthy! I server the chili topped with crumbled blue cheese with a side of corn chips, carrots and celery sticks along with a blue cheese sauce for dipping.

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Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Easter is right around the corner and this last weekend I took the opportunity to test out a new recipe. When I think of Easter dinner I almost always gravitate towards lamb which reminds me of spring and I have had this recipe for a Greek style roast leg of lamb from Kalofagas bookmarked for a while now, just waiting for a special occasion. One of the things that I really like about Greek cuisine is the heavy use of fresh herbs and this roast lamb is marinated in a mixture of rosemary, thyme and oregano in addition to lemon juice, mustard, paprika and of course a generous amount of salt and pepper. After marinating the lamb is roasted until it is moist and falling apart tender and then potato wedges are tossed in the drippings along with more lemon juice and some oregano before being roasted until nice and crispy! What a meal!

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Corned Beef Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Guinness Caramelized Onions

When I made the Guinness caramelized onions for the onion cheddar quiche I could not help but snack on a few of them before adding them to the quiche and I was immediately entranced by them! While I was slowly caramelizing the onions, images were flying through my head with all of the different ways that I could use them and I wanted to try them all! I was finding it difficult to decide exactly which dish to make when I had the idea of using them in a grilled cheese sandwich and I was sold! I was thinking that a corned beef grilled cheese sandwich would be perfect for St Patrick's Day and stuffing it with drunken caramelized onions would be a treat indeed! Given the use of the corned beef in this sandwich I was reminded another favourite, the reuben sandwich, and because of that I decided to go with a dark rye for the bread. Since I was seasoning the Guinness caramelized onions with Worcestershire sauce and grainy mustard, cheddar cheese only seemed natural to finish the sandwich off. Don't let the time required to caramelize the onions stop you from making one of these sandwiches as they are definitely worth the effort and otherwise really easy to make!

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Ale and Cheddar Soup

When I came across a recipe for an ale and cheddar soup recently on From and Away I immediately pinned it thinking that it would be perfect to make some time around St. Patrick's Day. In addition to the ale and cheddar this soup contains plenty of bacon and spicy jalapenos peppers so there was really no way that I could resist making it! This recipe starts out by cooking the bacon, and I used a double smoked bacon to add a smokiness, and then uses the bacon grease to saute the onions, celery and jalapeno peppers so that you do not loose any of that bacon-y goodness. Next up is some garlic and thyme for flavour followed by some flour to thicken the soup before adding the ale and broth. With the soup containing both ale and cheese I added some mustard and Worcestershire sauce which always makes for a great flavour combo. The soup is of course finished off with plenty of cheddar cheese and some heavy cream.

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Bacon Wrapped Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers

A little while ago I came across a recipe for bacon wrapped buffalo chicken jalapeno poppers on Copy Kat Recipes that sounded so good! Unfortunately I was all snacked out after the big football game so I very reluctantly set the recipe aside for another time. Although I resisted making them for a while, over the weekend I broke down and made them using some leftover cooked shredded chicken from the freezer. I did not really stand a chance, I mean this recipe combines two irresistible snacks, jalapeno poppers and buffalo chicken wings, into one and then wraps them up in bacon and I just had to find out how amazing the combination was!

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Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup

Although the winter has been pretty mild so far I have still been enjoying some hearty soups with the most recent one being this roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup. It never ceases to amaze me how simple vegetable soups like this one can be so good with so few ingredients and that might be why I keep coming back to them. The main vegetable in this soup is of course the cauliflower and it is roasted before being added to the soup to concentrate its flavour and to get a bit of caramelization going. Up next is the basics with the onions and garlic followed by the herb of choice, thyme and finally the cheese. For the cheese I went with a white cheddar and one trick to keep in mind when adding cheese to soup like this is that if you use a stronger flavoured cheese like an aged cheddar then you will not need to use as much of it to get the same flavour. This soup can be amazingly creamy if you use heavy cream for some of the liquid but you can keep it on the lighter side by using milk.

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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas with Swiss Chard Pesto

It has been my experience that most things that make good taco filling also make good quesadilla filling and so whenever I make tacos I try to make sure that there are some leftovers to make quesadillas. I mean, you really cannot go wrong taking an already tasty filling and covering it with ooey gooey melted cheese, placing it in a tortilla and grilling it until it is golden brown and crispy! It was with this in mind that I made these sweet potato and black bean quesadillas with swiss chard pesto with the leftovers from the tacos. I kept things nice and simple and filled the quesadillas with the chipotle roasted sweet potato and black beans along with some of the swiss chard salsa and of course, plenty of cheese. As is sometimes the case, these sweet potato and black bean quesadillas with swiss chard pesto turned out to be even better than the tacos that inspired them!

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Taco Stuffed Shells

Taco stuffed shells have been on my to try list for a long time and when I recently came across some taco stuffed shells on Inspired Taste I could not put off making them any longer. The basic idea of the taco stuffed shells is that large pasta shells are stuffed with the flavours of tacos and then covered in cheese and baked. For the taco inspired filling I started out with ground beef that I flavoured with a homemade taco seasoning blend along with some onions and garlic. I then filled the mixture out, and made it a bit healthier, with some tomatoes, corn and black beans before finishing it off some hot sauce and creamy goat cheese. The shells are then stuffed with the filling and placed in a baking pan with a layer of salsa on the bottom and then cheese is sprinkled on along with some bread crumbs for a crunchy topping.

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Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins

I have had the idea to do buffalo chicken stuffed potato skins for a long time now and what better time to pull out the skins than for the the big football game? The basic idea was to stuff some potato skins with chicken in a buffalo hot sauce along with cheese and baked them until the cheese melts and gets all nice and bubbly. I mean you really cannot got wrong with spicy buffalo chicken covered in melted cheese right?

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Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach and Artichoke Dip

With the big football game coming up I have been thinking about snacks a lot lately and dips have been getting almost all of the attention. As I reminisced about how great artichoke dip baked in bread is, I remembered wanting to try roasted portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach and artichoke dip. I had made a portabella mushroom stuffed with a creamy chicken mixture a long time ago and I figured that the classic combination of spinach and mushrooms would be even better; but who are we kidding, it was the perfect excuse to make some more hot cheesy spinach and artichoke dip!

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Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A guacamole grilled cheese sandwich has been on my to try list for a while now and since I was making the bacon guacamole on the weekend I figured I would just pick up double the ingredients and make both. The basic idea behind this grilled cheese is quite simple and it started out with just adding guacamole to a grilled cheese but with the success of combining salty bacon-y magnificence with cool and creamy guacamole I could not resist adding a few slices of bacon to the sandwich. I also had some leftover corn tortilla chips from dipping on the weekend so I decided to crumble a few of them and add them to the sandwich for texture.

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Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip

The Super Bowl is quickly approaching and that means that it is time to start dusting off some recipes for snacking! I am a big fan of hot melted cheese dips and I had an idea for a new one, a bacon double cheese burger dip that has all of the flavours of a bacon double cheese burger. Beef is the main part of a burger so I started out there and I added some ingredients that I commonly add to burgers including onions, garlic and worcestershire sauce. Next up was the bacon and then the cheese and I included both cheddar for the flavour and mozzarella for the stringy melted goodness. I went with the standard hot melted cheese dip ingredients including the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream to form the base of the dip. One final touch was the addition of ketchup as it is a pretty standard condiment used in burgers. All of the ingredients are then mixed together and baked until the cheeses all melt and start to brown and get all bubbly.

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