Musings of a Housewife: Valentine Cookie Baking and The My Colour Cup Contest Reminder!

This morning I'm sipping my coffee and gearing up for yet another busy Saturday.

Paying bills will start me off, followed by making double batches of both sugar cookie and M&M cookie dough, cleaning and laundry while it's chilling, decorating for a Father/Daughter Dance Fundraiser this afternoon and then hopefully, if there is enough help at the fundraiser, I can come home to bake cookies and get them into the freezer so I can spend tomorrow decorating them.

I had originally planned on making our family's annual Valentine cookies this weekend and thought I would double them to bring some to work, however I also somehow found myself volunteered to bake cookies for a special non-profit event going on this week at the state capital so up to my eyeballs in cookie dough, I'll be!

As I finish my (now cooling) coffee I just want to remind my readers of the personalized cup contest I'm currently holding with my sponsor, Twist-ID Products. A set of 6 durable, clear plastic, with a rainbow of color choices personalized band with your family or individual (or cow0rkers) names - could be yours on Valentine's Day simply by entering the My Colour Cup Contest by commenting or emailing your name and preferred email addy.

I've gotten quite a few entries by email (the comment section can be quirky so many are simply emailing) but there is an unlimited number of people who can enter so be sure to check out the link above and get your name in!

Cream Cheese Wontons

These wontons are actually my family's favorite Chinese food of all - they are simple and delicious. If you don't mind the smell of oil in the air from frying them, they are well worth making! All you need is quite literally, two ingredients; cream cheese and wonton wrappers!



Cream Cheese Wontons

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese
1 package wonton wrappers
oil for frying


Lay out the wontons on the counter or a large baking sheet and make them assembly style. Use a butter knife to slice off a little cream cheese for each; slice and then slice again diagonally or cube them. It doesn't matter! The cheese is going to melt anyway.

Place a bit of cream cheese on half of the wonton, moisten the edge with either a finger dipped in water or you can use a slightly beaten egg white, fold on the center diagonal to form a triangle and seal. Place in hot grease and fry about 30 seconds on one side, flip and another 30-60 on the second side until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve as is, dusted with powdered sugar or with a sweet and sour sauce or (our favorite) plum sauce!

Tiny Vegetable Sandwiches

When I say that today's post is for 'Tiny Vegetable Sandwiches' some people will think garden parties, tea and big hats. Wrong! These awesome little sandwiches are so adaptable I'd serve them in the garden to the 'ladies' as well as fix a big plate of them for the buffet table during the big game next to a similar sandwich with a meat filling (perhaps ham and cheese, turkey and swiss or an Italian blend).

Tiny Vegetable Sandwiches

1 (8-ounce) container cream cheese with onion and chives
1 (8-ounce) container cream cheese with garden vegetables
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 carrots, shredded
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 medium-size red bell pepper, diced
5 green onions, minced
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning
18 very thin wheat bread slices, with crusts removed
18 very thin white bread slices, with crusts removed

Stir together the cheese, carrots, garlic, peppers, onions, pecans and seasoning. Spread cream cheese mixture on wheat bread slices, and top with white bread slices. Cut each sandwich into fourths. Chill up to 24 hours in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.

Easy Last Minute Salsa and Bean Dip

Salsa and Bean Dip

1 can black beans (drained)
1 can red (not kidney beans) beans (drained)
1 can white shoe-peg corn (drained)
4 green onions (chopped)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 c salsa

Mix with a wooden spoon and serve with tortilla chips.

3 Cheese Calizza

For readers who have been around since this websites start in 2006, you might remember my posts reminiscing of the Calizza I used to have at Pizza Hut back in 1987 (ish) when I was a teenager. Baked in a personal sized pizza pan, it was a cheese stuffed crust, folded over and served with sauce but not one bit of red sauce was included in the entree, nor was there any meat. I have to go purely on memory from 20 years ago, but I knew at the time it was full of a ricotta cheese filling with bits of something green.... and I loved them.

They soon stopped making them and I've been on a small quest over the past 10 or 15 years to try to recreate this dish. Last week I came close. I saw a recipe for a ricotta flan and although it was nothing like the Calizza, my creative mind started to spin and I decided to give it a go. In the end I was close... closer than ever before. There was one thing missing, which I'll comment on at the end.

Here is what I did;

3 Cheese Calizza

15 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c grated Mozzarella
1 large egg
1 1/2 t chopped basil (use 2 T fresh or about 2 t jarred in oil)
1 1/2 t chopped chives, fresh
1 1/2 t minced/chopped garlic
1/4 t paprika
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Pizza Dough

Mix the cheeses, herbs and egg together until creamy. Divide your pizza dough into 4 balls and roll each into a flat circle on a pizza stone or a greased baking sheet. Divide the filling between the four, placing only on half of the circle, fold over and use a fork to seal the edges. Brush the tops with oil. Bake at 375 until golden brown. Brush with butter or oil when it comes out of the oven. Serve with either a side of pizza sauce or garlic butter.

*Comments
Herbs/Spices are approximate. Add more or less to your personal taste if you like heavy basil or oregano or garlic. The cheese amounts are approximate as well but the ricotta base is the most important. These were delicious but not like Pizza Hut's due to the fact they were not baked in a cast iron pan with lots of oil - as was Pizza Huts trademark Pan Pizza's and Calizzas. I will absolutely make these again, but will bake them in a small pie tin (as I don't have a personal pan pizza pan) with 2 T oil and will see if it makes the difference I'm looking for.

Mixing the cheeses

Seal the edges with a fork so the cheese filling doesn't leak out while baking

Bake until golden brown

Serve with pizza sauce or melted butter infused with garlic and parsley