Category — Snacks

You know what today was? That’s right, the first day of school! And no one can ever celebrate the first day of school without watching this famous Staples Commercial.

I know, a bunch of you are saying “Um. My kids went back to school a month ago, what in the world are you talking about? What part of the backwoods are you living in, Angie Pangie?”

It’s true, I know. We went on vacation three weeks ago and the kids in Indiana were already in school when we got there. But, here in Michigan, they passed a law that says you can’t go back to school before Labor Day. So, every year all the kids in Michigan go back to school the day after Labor Day. The kids love it, and frankly, I don’t mind them being home for all of August. I do have to admit though, it is awfully nice and quiet here now that they are (all three) gone.

This morning I saw them all off to school without much trouble and I came home to clean out my closet (it was my hiding place on the really hairy days this summer - and I needed to get rid of all the empty bon-bon containers.) After I cleaned out the closet, I noticed something really strange. Today, when I picked up the trail of dirty socks off the living room floor they didn’t magically reappear when I turned around and looked the other way. I shut my eyes really tightly, but they just wouldn’t play.

Since Hubby and I were a little lonesome for the kids and bored since the socks refused to reappear and entertain us, we decided to hang out and have lunch together.

And, because everyone has been bringing me tomatoes from their gardens, I had an a wonderful assortment of tomatoes to use up. I decided to make some Italian salsa for us to munch on as an appetizer. Now, a lot of my friends and family would call this “bruschetta” and to be fair, most of the time, I refer to it the same way.

Technically speaking though, bruschetta is a toasted garlic-rubbed bread; not the the tomato stuff on top. I do like to make toasted bread, but a lot of time when I made this salsa I usually just serve it with garlicky crackers.

This is a simple and ultra yummy appetizer. It’s better after you let it rest in the fridge for a while, but you can make it and eat it right away, too. Make sure you tote some gum because it packs a for-real garlic punch. No foolin’ there. Use up some of your fresh tomatoes today (or hit the local farmer’s market), you’ll be glad you tried this one!

**I just noticed that the pictures that I took for this post are corrupt! I am so bummed out!! Well, I’m going to go ahead and post the recipe and maybe tomorrow I’ll make a fresh batch of salsa and take some new photos.**

Italian Salsa

1 1/2 cups of finely chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 tablespoon of fresh minced basil, or 2 tsp. of dried basil
2-3 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1 or 2 pieces of marinated sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2-3 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Use a very sharp knife to dice the tomatoes into small pieces. Make sure you aren’t just squashing the tomatoes, you want them to be cut into small squares - not pulvirized. And, yes, I know this from experience.

You can use a garlic press for the garlic, or just chop it extra tiny. It’s served raw, and you don’t want any huge stray pieces in there!

If you use the sun-dried tomatoes you’ll be please with the wonderful deep flavor and the gorgeous appearance your salsa will have. They are a bit pricey, but a jar will last a long time.

Gently mix together the tomatoes, basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.

Serve with garlic crisps or on bruschetta.

Hello Dears.   

I wish I had lots of time to tell you about my hectic week, but I don’t.  How about I just give you the highlights?

Interesting Reading:  My Hubby thinks he knows a thing or two about food blogs.  Actually, he claims to know very little about food, but is writing a series of articles titled How To Write the Best Damn Food Blog on the Net.  Confused?  I was at first too, but then I started reading it and it’s supremely interesting.  He might not know a lot about food blogs, but he does know an awful lot about writing.  So, if you are a food blogger, or actually any type of blogger who is interested in being better at what you do, you should consider taking a look over there.

Rock Band:  A new game that I want to play with all my friends as much as possible.  I’ve had company a lot over the last few nights.  And we are having SO much fun!  With this game you can play guitar, bass guitar, drums, and sing.  We all take turns and I totally rock at singing (NOT!).  Anyhow, it’s a lot of fun and it’s keeping me from my regularly scheduled duties.  Like posting here.  I knew you’d understand though. 

Which leads me to today’s snackies.

Rock Star Pizza Quesadillas.  You can eat these on the road.  Dude.  They’re portable.  And they wipe off the drumsticks real easy like.  I’m going to go ahead and give you the recipe now, so as I can get back to practice.  They’re already hollering for me to come play!

I’m kicking everyone out tomorrow so that I can actually do a proper post for Saturday Sides.  Until then, it’s party like a Rock Star with these ooey-gooey Italian inspired Quesadillas.  If you wanted to, you could get really fancy and add some sauteed onion and a handful of mushrooms, too.  I didn’t do that, though, mainly because it might have taken me an extra 45 seconds or something.  And I was in a hurry.  These are fast, easy, and scrumptious.  So go make some!  Go on . . . I’ll just play one more song while you whip ‘em up.

Rockstar Pizza Quesadillas

Adapted from Recipezaar

1 cup pizza sauce
2 teaspoons butter, softened
4-10 inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces hard salami, diced
2 ounces pepperoni, diced
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Start out by spreading butter over one side of each tortilla.

Cut up the salami and pepperoni into a small to medium sized dice.  The best stuff to buy is the big slices you get from the deli.  Is goooood.  But, as you can see here, I just used some leftover lunchmeat and pizza pepperoni I had in my fridge.  They work, too.

Put one tortilla, buttered side down in a large saute pan.  Sprinkle with a little less than half the mozzarella cheese.

Top with salami and pepperoni.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano, then sprinkle another tablespoon (or so) of mozzarella cheese over the top. 

 By adding a small amount of mozzarella on the top it will melt and act like glue.  You’ll need this when you flip these over.  Top with remaining tortillas, buttered side up.  Cook, over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted.  Flipping these can be a bit of a challenge.  I grab one side with tongs and put a large pancake turner under the other side.  Wait until it’s golden brown to turn it (you only want to flip once!).

Remove it from the pan and cut into wedges; serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Well, I’ve gotten a few emails, a phone call, and a couple of suspicious post cards accusing me of posting less than healthy stuff to eat (o.k., I didn’t really get a postcard, but it sounded good, so I threw it in just to mix it up).

So, I thought I better address this right now.  Here’s the scoop.  I love food.  And it shows.  I’m overweight, and so is my Hubby and my youngest daughter, Babs.  And.  My cholesterol is low, my blood sugar is fine, my blood pressure is good, I’m extremely active, and my self esteem . . . it’s very high, too.  The fact is, I would like to lose some weight, but I would rather eat.  I saw a birthday card the other day that summed it up:  Eat Right.  Exercise.  Die Anyway.  And you know . . . that pretty much tells you how I feel about dieting.

And it doesn’t help my reputation that I make “Snackies” for Hubby and me.  We usually eat them at night, before bed, while we watch television.  Not a great habit.  So, yes, it’s possible that maybe I might have posted a few unhealthy recipes here at Angie’s Pangies.  Maybe. 

Having said all that, I do not mean any disrespect to anyone.  I totally get eating healthy; I’ve studied nutrition, I’ve eaten vegan, fed folks with diabetes and IBS, and I’ve dealt with food allergies such as gluten, soy, eggs, nuts, and fruit.  Obviously, I’m no stranger to dietary issues.  Just because we have to die doesn’t mean we have to die tomorrow, or with loads of weight related health issues.  So, use common sense, don’t eat junk everyday!  And if you’ve got health related weight problems, you might think about not making a few of the recipes I post here.  Right?  Right!

Which leads me to today’s recipe.  If you’re dieting, just browse on to the next site . . . you do not want these in your house.  I mean, you can pretty much figure any recipe called “The Mother Lode” is bad news.  Actually, one pretzel weighs in at about 150 calories, so that’s not too bad, but you won’t want to eat just one.  It’s like that sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies - 3 cookies in a serving, WHATEVER.  And, ohhh, these are just as bad.  Maybe even worse.

Here are this weeks snackies.  Mine are all gone, so if you make these, please call me over to eat yours.

Mother Lode Pretzels
Adapted From:  Taste of Home; Best Ever Desserts

1 (10 ounce) package pretzel rods
1 (11 ounce) package caramel Bits, or regular caramels
1 tablespoon evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 milk chocolate covered candy bars, chopped (such as Heath or Skor)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

With a sharp knife, cut pretzel rods in half.

In a medium pan, over low heat, melt caramels with the milk.  You know how it’s a complete pain to unwrap all the caramels before you melt them?  Well, caramel bits are just the greatest things since sliced bread, if you ask me, which I realize you didn’t.  Anyhow, you don’t have to unwrap anything - since they come in little caramel chips!  Awesome!

In a large shallow bowl, combine the chips, toffee, and walnuts

Pour melted caramel into a 2 cup measuring cup.
Dip the cut end of each pretzel 2/3 of the way into the caramel and remove the excess caramel.

Roll pretzels in chip mixture.

Place on waxed paper until set.  Store in airtight container.