October and November Recipes

This is a very long overdue post! I have been a very bad blogger! I managed to cook almost all the recipes for October and November but could not find the time to blog about it! So here is a super sized post!

October Recipes

Homemade Baked Corn Dogs


I used all natural turkey hot dogs from Trader Joe's. Since I bought a little bit more cornmeal than I needed, I decided to add it in to the dough. Major fail. F minus fail! I should have compensated the additional cornmeal with more flour and milk/water. The dough was all wrong, but I decided to go ahead and wrap them around the hot dogs. It was very hard to roll out the dough and wrap them nicely around the hot dogs. I also boiled the hot dogs before wrapping and baking. The result? My corn dogs were very, very dry and inedible. Well, like I tell my students-- "you learn from your mistakes!"

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas


This recipe was super quick and easy for enchiladas! I made the sauce as directed in the recipe and it was yummy. I liked the freshness of the homemade sauce versus a canned sauce. I would have liked for the sauce to drench all the enchiladas next time. So I would probably make more sauce!

November Recipes

Greek Pita Pizza


Very, very, very quick and easy recipe! Like my fellow Best Supper Club members, I too used whole wheat pitas. I only used feta cheese and skipped the onions. I accidentally left the pitas in too long the second bake and it burned a little. Overall, it was pretty good and I would probably make it again for lunch!

Island's Tortilla Soup


What's not to love about this soup? This must have been my tenth time making the soup and every time it tastes just as good. The only thing I did not follow in the recipe was adding the diced tortillas to the soup. This recipe gets better with experience because now it doesn't take me nearly as long because I'm a pro at chopping vegetables! ;)

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage


My first spaghetti squash experience- cooking and eating! I used fresh spicy Italian chicken sausage from Sprouts. I used a can of diced tomatoes I had in the pantry instead of Italian style tomatoes. I skipped the beans because I only like beans with rice :). Other than that, I cooked the recipe as directed. It was very simple. The taste and texture of the squash took some getting used to for me because when I hear "spaghetti", I think I am going to get the spaghetti pasta texture and taste! The spaghetti squash is a great alternative to bad carbs!


And there you go, a super sized post! I promise to be better about posting! -J

Jennifer's Greek Pita Pizzas

Yum! I made these last week and thought they were so good! I used whole wheat pita bread and tomato and basil hummus (my fave!). I think that the double baking (once after brushing olive oil all over the pita then again after putting on all the toppings) is key. It made the pita bread crispy and tasty! I'm actually thinking about making these again next week!

Kathleen's Greek Pita Pizzas

This recipe was super quick and easy since there was no cooking involved, woohoo! I used whole wheat pitas, a mix of baby arugula and spinach, left out the olives, and it was deeelish! The only downside: major onion breath. But totally worth it! I will definitely be making these again =)

November Recipes

Happy November everyone! It's finally starting to feel like fall so using heat releasing appliances no longer seems like a crime. Coincidentally, our recipes this month all primarily use different ones: oven, stove top, microwave. Well, look at that. Anyway, this is going to be a busy month with Thanksgiving and everything so there's 2 extra weeks at the end. We miss you Lisa!

Greek Pita Pizzas - October 31 - November 6

from The Best Simple Recipes, page 277

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 (8-inch) pita breads

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 small red onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped

1/2 cup hummus

1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 ounces arugula

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Brush 2 tablespoons oil over both sides of pita breads. Transfer to baking sheet and bake until golden, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining olive oil and vinegar in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss onion, olives, and 2 tablespoons vinaigrette together in separate bowl.

Spread 2 tablespoons hummus on each toasted pita round. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over hummus, then top with onion-olive mixture. Bake until onions soften and cheese is melted, 6 to 8 minutes. Just before serving, toss arugula with remaining vinaigrette. Arrange arugula on top of pita pizzas. Serve.

Serves 4.

Chosen by Jennifer.

Island's Tortilla Soup - November 7 - 13

adapted from topsecretrecipes.com

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium Spanish onion, diced (2 cups)

1 medium red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (1 cup)

2 Anaheim peppers, diced (3/4 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

4 6-inch yellow corn tortillas, diced (1 1/2 cups)

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

juice of 2 large limes (3 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

16 cups (1 gallon) chicken stock

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

For garnish:

jack cheese, shredded

avocado, sliced

spicy tortilla chips

Heat olive oil in large soup pot. Saute onion, peppers, carrot, and garlic for 10 minutes over medium/low heat.

Add the diced tortillas, chicken, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 1 hour, adding the cilantro to the pot about 30 minutes in.

Serve each bowl of soup topped with a couple of tablespoons of shredded jack cheese, a couple tablespoons of diced avocado, and a handful of tortilla strips on top.

Serves 8.

Chosen by Kathleen

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage - November 14 - 20

from Tasty Kitchen

1 whole spaghetti squash

1 pound Italian sausage, bulk

1 whole onion, diced

1 whole green pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 whole zucchini, sliced

1 can Italian style tomatoes

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 can Great Northern beans, drained

salt and pepper, to taste

Cut squash in half. Scoop out the insides, prick the skin and lay it cut side down in a glass pan. Pour 1/2 cup water over it and cover. Microwave 15 minutes or until done. Scoop out strands and place on platter. Meanwhile, brown sausage in a pan and drain. Add onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until onions are almost done. Add the zucchini, beans, tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Pour over the spaghetti squash and serve.

Serves 6.

Chosen by Judy.