Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Wrap

Hey there! Remember me? Spryte... from Spryte's Place...? I mostly post about what's going on in my kitchen? Yes!! THAT Spryte! I knew you'd remember me eventually!

Sorry for my long absence.

While I've been gone, we bought a new (to us) house and moved up the hill from our old house. So I have a new kitchen. There's great light for pictures. But I'm still kind of getting used to it.

We're also fixing up our old house to rent. So that takes up a lot most of our spare time. And in addition to that, I started a new job! Unfortunately, I work a later shift that gets me home more than an hour later than I used to. Plus I take the bus to work, so I can't stop at the grocery store on my way home anymore. Now I have to plan my menus a week at a time and only go grocery shopping once a week. Dinners haven't really been very blog-worthy, mostly quick meals, that I've already blogged about.

So that giant pile of reasons excuses is why I've been MIA.

Anyway... my posting will be a bit sporadic for a while longer, but I'm hoping to be back on track in the kinda near future.

So anyway.... here I am, with a nice customer service story and a quick delicious copy-cat recipe!



I use a lot of flour tortillas, as you've probably noticed. I used to mostly use Mission Flour Tortillas. But my local Giant Eagle grocery store stopped carrying them and now only sells their own brand. I gave them a try, mostly because they were the only ones available. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I liked them as much or more than Mission brand. They are thinner and more pliable. But, there was a problem. The plastic zipper that closed the bag malfunctioned. It pulled away from the plastic, so there was no way to reseal it. And it didn't just happen with one package, it happened with several. So sent an email to company and let them know.

A couple weeks later, I got a phone call from their rep. He said that they had done some testing and couldn't duplicate the problem. I told him I understood and actually, even though I'd had 5 or 6 faulty packages, the package I had at the moment was working just fine. He asked if it was ok if he sent me some gift cards. What was I gonna say? No?? So of course I said, "yes". Then he said he'd also like to send me a few packages of tortillas for my trouble. I also accepted that offer.

In a couple of days, I got $20 in Giant Eagle gift cards. That was cool and very quick. Then a few days after that there was a package on my front porch (cuz I have a front porch now!) I had forgotten all about the tortillas and was impatiently waiting for some used paperbacks I ordered from Amazon. The box was a little big for paperbacks, but I figured there must be packing in there. When I picked up the box, it was WAY too heavy to be two paperbacks and I couldn't imagine what was in there.

I opened it up and discovered a whole case of Giant Eagle Flour Tortillas!


A case is 18 packages of 6 flour tortillas each!! That's a lot of tortillas!

I don't want to freeze them, because I think frozen bread products never come out of the freezer as good as they went in. I know many disagree and they are free to try to trick me with thawed bread products, but until that day, that's how I feel about freezing that kind of stuff.

So first thing, I gave away a bunch!

The day before the tortillas arrived, I made Easy Skillet Chili, so Tawny suggested I make Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Wraps!

I LOVE those things!!!

In addition to these.


You'll need these.


Your favorite chili, Fritos, and shredded cheese. I used Colby/Jack.

Warm your tortilla in the microwave for a few seconds.

See how thin it is!


Place some shredded cheese on the tortilla.


Add some Fritos.


Then some chili.


Now roll it up!



Enjoy!


Normally I would never neatly cut a Fritos Chili Wrap... but a picture with a big bite out of it is just not very pretty!

What would have made this Fritos Chili Cheese Wrap better?

A Route 44 Cherry Limeade of course!!!

Giant Eagle, thanks for the awesome customer service!!!

Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

I've been wanting to make more cakes from scratch. Jon likes cakes from a box mix. They are his preference. So when there's an 'occasion' I typically make what he requests.

But we had friends over for dinner this past weekend and it just happened to be Drew's birthday. So I decided to make them my cake guinea pigs. Actually, there really is no shortage of volunteers for this position, but it's easier when they come to my house.

With St Patrick's Day coming up, I went with the Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake and frosted it with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting.

This is a Nigella Lawson recipe. I used a different frosting than the one included with the recipe, so I've left out that part. The Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting recipe is from Food.com



Chocolate Guinness Cake
1 cup Guinness stout
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups superfine sugar (I used granulated)
3/8 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F
Pour the Guinness into a large sauce pan. Add butter and heat until melted. Whisk in cocoa and sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add to sauce pan and mix well. Add flour and baking soda and whisk until smooth.
Pour into a greased, parchment paper lined 9 in springform pan. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.
Move to cake plate and top with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting.

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 TBLS butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 TBLS Bailey's Irish Cream

In a medium bowl, blend together cream cheese, butter, and Bailey's. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well until it's all incorporated. Use immediately.

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First you need some Guinness. Jon doesn't care for Guinness, so it's not something we keep on hand. We picked this one up at Smokin' Joe's.


Even though he doesn't care for Guinness, he took one for the team and finished it for me, since I only needed a cup.

Pour one cup of Guinness into a large sauce pan with the butter. Heat until butter is melted.


Turn off heat when butter is melted.

Whisk in cocoa


I used Dutch Process Cocoa from Penzey's.

And sugar


I didn't have superfine sugar, so I used granulated. It seemed to work out fine.

Whisk together eggs, sour cream & vanilla



Whisk that into the chocolate stout mixture


Then whisk in the flour and baking soda until smooth



Line a 9 in springform pan with parchment paper and butter the sides


Pour cake batter into prepared pan


Bake at 350F for 45 - 60 minutes

Cool in pan on wire rack until completely cooled


No worries about the grand canyon around the edge, it will get covered with frosting.

Move to cake plate and top with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting.



If you look at the two previous pictures, you'll notice that the middle of the cake has sunk a bit. It probably could have cooked a few more minutes, but the pick came out dry, so I took it out. I'm pretty new to this cake from scratch thing.

Anyway...

A few tablespoons of Bailey's from a mini and you still have a little left for later.


Beat butter, cream cheese & Bailey's until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar.


Top the cake with a generous covering of the frosting.


I have to say... this frosting is amazingly delicious!
LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!



So the middle definitely could have been done more.


I typically don't care for chocolate, but I had a small piece and it's delicious!

You get just a hint of the stout flavor.

Very thick, rich, moist decadent cake.

I really can't recommend it enough. Everyone really loved it!

Bubble Pizza

I'd seen Bubble Pizza floating around the interwebs and it's been on my list of 'things to make' for a little while now.

I needed something to feed my pack of teens, plus Jon & me on Friday night. I also didn't want to spend a fortune on it. Then I remembered Bubble Pizza.



Bubble Pizza
2 (12 oz) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 (14 oz) jar of pizza sauce (Or your own homemade pizza sauce)
1 lb ground Italian sausage, cooked & drained
1/4 lb sliced pepperoni
1/4 lb bacon, cooked drained & diced (microwave bacon is perfect for this)
1 1/2 - 2 C shredded mozzarella/provolone cheese blend
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.
Open canned biscuits and cut each uncooked biscuit into 4 pieces and put them into a large bowl. Toss with pizza sauce until well coated. Add sausage, pepperoni and bacon and mix well. Pour into greased baking dish. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Cut up the biscuits in to quarters and place in a large bowl.


Add pizza sauce


Toss until well coated


Stir in the cooked sausage, bacon and pepperoni


Ok... that's not very pretty, but pour it into the greased baking dish and bake 20 - 25 minutes.

I missed the timer and this was a little more cooked than intended. But I like my pizza cooked well anyway!


I made the Meat Lovers version


And I made one with Pepperoni & Pepperonicinis


I'll be honest with you. The dinner reviews were kinda mixed. No one disliked it. I think one or two kids did like it. But everyone mostly thought it was just ok. I was a little disappointed, because it sounded like a fun easy dinner. And it DOES feed a lot! I doubled the recipe to make two different kinds, but we had about a full pan left, between the two of them. And my crew can really roll through pizza! So this really does feed a lot. One pan will definitely satisfy 4 teens & 2 adults.

But the good news is, it's an awesome room temperature leftover! So much tastier that way!

If I knew I had a swarm of hungry teens descending on the house later, this is definitely something I'd make ahead and cut into squares for their arrival.

So there ya go. Not a fail... and it made a very nice comeback as a leftover!

Finally ~ A Recipe Index!

It's taken me a couple of weeks, but I finally finished putting together a Recipe Index for Spryte's Place!

No offense blogger, but the tags & search that come with blogger, aren't really user friendly for the readers.

You can now click the Recipe Index button at the top of the right column.
Over there and up a little ~~>>

I hope that makes browsing Spryte's Place a little easier when you're looking for something specific.

Now I can get back to putting put recipes.

Enjoy!

Kidney Bean Relish

I was at my sister's house for Thanksgiving last year. On the appetizer table, I was surprised to see Kidney Bean Relish from Century House in Peabody, MA. I love that stuff! We get it every time we go there. Which is pretty often. I love the Mussels Margueray... the Steak Tips are great too... as is the Lobster Pie! Actually... I noticed online they are pretty well known for their breakfasts. I'll have to give that a try next time I'm in town! Anyway... they used to serve the Kidney Bean Relish with Crackers free, at every table. It's not free anymore, actually it's not even on the menu. But you can still order (and pay for) it, which we always do. But you can also buy it in their Epicurean Shoppe, which boasts, "delightful selection of our most delicious dishes, oven-ready to take home, lets you have a healthy home-style meal in less than a half hour!" If you've picked up the Kidney Bean Relish, it won't even take that long. You just have to remove the lid and enjoy. But since I no longer live anywhere near Peabody, I had to try to recreate it. And I think I have it pretty close!



Kidney Bean Relish
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 C sour cream
2 TBLS red onion, finely chopped
2 TBLS thousand island dressing
1 TBLS +1 tsp prepared horseradish
1 small clove garlic, grated
2 shakes of Tabasco sauce
1 or 2 shakes worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients, gently so you don't crush the beans. Refrigerate several hours, overnight is best. Enjoy on buttery crackers.








That's it! So easy & tasty!

Press Drop Cookies (that's Spritz Cookies to the rest of the world)

These are cookies that are made with a cookie press. I've had a few different styles of cookie press over the years, but I have to say my absolute favorite is the old style one my mom had. I ended up getting this beautiful tool on eBay a couple years ago.


My first cookie press was the ratchet style.


Then I had a couple of electric ones.


I hated the electric cookie press and to a lesser degree the ratchet style. The dough from the ratcheted press never seemed to come out at a consistent rate. The electric ones were even worse. I like the nice even turn of the screw from my vintage press.

Anyway... these cookies have been on Mum's Christmas Cookie trays for as long as I can remember. I know, you're saying, "Come on now Spryte, it's almost Valentine's Day." But really, even though I've only made these cookies at Christmas time, I'm going to make a concentrated effort to make them throughout the year this year!

The cookie discs are definitely usable for the whole year!

The only problem is I tend to forget which cookie discs I actually have. None of the discs from my previous presses are interchangeable and sometimes I end up looking for a disc from the past.

These are my current discs.


Of course there's the star for cheese straws and the little spikey line thing for bar cookies.

I have all the suites from a deck of cards. I could be making these every time we have friends over for an evening of cards & food.

The hearts and flowers would be great for Valentine's Day.

Butterflies & flowers are good all spring and summer, plus tea parties or bridal showers, or the Cookie Table at a wedding.

The dog, well.. maybe you could make some as a gift for your dog walker or vet... or those hard working people at the humane society.

The camel... hmmm... ummmmm... ok... I know! Hump Day! Everyone needs special cookies for Wednesday right?

I've been making these my whole life and I know this will sound dumb, but I only found out they were called Spritz Cookies within the past couple of years! Mum always called them Press Drop Cookies. So that's what I call them!

Press Drop Cookies
1 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp extract (almost is my favorite)
2 1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375F
Cream together shortening, sugar, egg and extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix into shortening & sugar mixture until completely blended. I always color the dough. So when it's thoroughly mixed, add food coloring and mix until desired color is reached. Select a shape, load dough into barrel of cookie press. Press cookies out onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Decorate with jimmies or colored sugars if desired. Bake at 375F for 7 - 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

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So cream together shortening, sugar, egg and extract. I almost always use almond, but really, you can use whatever you like! Lemon, peppermint, rootbeer, coconut, butter... it's totally up to you... ya know... just typing this out kinda makes me wanna change it up a little next time!


Mix in the flour mixture.


Time for color!

Green, Red & Blue


I was making Green for Christmas trees, Red for Poinsettias, and Blue for ummm.. for some reason I was thinking they were going to be Stars.. but they turned out to be diamonds... so Blue Diamonds! (aren't there Blue Diamonds in Lucky Charms?)


It takes a lot of mixing to get the colors worked through the dough.


But it does eventually get blended.


Insert your disc of choice.


Load the barrel with the appropriately colored dough.


Screw down the press until dough is firmly packed in the barrel.

I find 1/3 of a turn to be the perfect amount for this dough.




You can sprinkle with sugars or jimmies or other decorations if you like.




Bake at 375F for 7 - 10 minutes and cool on racks.


Enjoy!


These are definitely one of my kids favorite cookies. They'll be pretty psyched to see them pop up throughout the year.

Hey! I just thought of another occasion for the diamond shaped cookie!!

Yellow, Red & Blue Diamonds...


Go Steelers!!