Hungry and getting ready to leave for vacation in a matter of hours, I check the fridge in an effort to get something quick and tasty to eat. Thankfully, I had some pita bread, humus and various condiments – all the makings of a delicious grilled pita panini.

The directions are simple. All you need is:

• Enough ham for a sandwich
• 1 piece of pita bread
• Slice of cheese
• 1 tsp humus
• 1 tsp sweet relish
• 1 tsp ranch dressing
• Dash of hot sauce

Fold pita bread in half and apply humus to one side of bread. Apply slice of cheese and then add ham. Then simply mix the relish and ranch dressing together and spread on the other half of the pita. Add cheese on top of ham and fold over pita bread to make a sandwich. Grill for a few minutes until browned and cheese is melty.

I opened my fridge this morning only to find I had no eggs.  I wanted to get something in my belly to hold me over before a large lunch.  So, I decided to toss some random things together to make a quick meal.  Here is what I came up with.

Continuing on with our chili theme, Elisabeth and I decided to fix some chili dogs for dinner. Quick and easy, this is a fantastic weekday recipe.

All you need is some reheated chili, shredded cheese, hot dogs and some good buns and you are set. We were definitely in a goofy mood for this one. Must have been the excitement for the dogs.

Be sure to check out our chili episode to see us make the chili used in this episode here.

Have a recipe you would like to see us try, send us an e-mail at recipes@cuisinemadequick.com or hit us up on twitter at cphadley, ebear6 or cuisinemq.

After much delay and anticipation, the chili recipe has surfaced. This is a recipe we obtained online about a year ago and have been tweaking ever since.  This time around we have it just about perfect for our taste preference and we are pleased this is the one we get to share with all of you.  Since chili is such an incredibly flexible recipe, feel free to experiment and change things up.

Also, we would love to hear from you if you do make some changes so we can try them out as well.  Send us an e-mail at recipes@cuisinemadequick.com or hit us up on twitter at cphadley, ebear6 or cuisinemq.  We would love to do a follow-up episode making your recipe.

Preparation:

Brown 1 pound of lean ground beef and drain grease.  Dice 1/2 of a sweet onion and 1/2 of a sweet bell pepper. Also, mince 1 clove of garlic.

Start heating a large pot over medium heat.

For drop 1, have the following ready:

• 1 pound lean ground beef browned
• 1/2 diced sweet onion
• 1/2 diced bell pepper
• 2 cups beef broth (you can just dissolve 2 beef bouillon cubes)
• 8 oz unsalted tomato sauce/paste
• 1 Serrano chili
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 can beans (your preference here)
• 1 clove minced garlic

For drop 2, have the following ready:

• 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 6 to 8 oz cola
• 1 cup salsa of choice (we used Salsa Verde)
• Dash of hot sauce

For drop 3, have the following ready:

• 1 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 4 or 5 chocolate chips

Cooking directions:

Add ground beef to pot over medium heat and add tomato sauce, beans, Serrano chili, garlic, beef broth, onions and peppers.  Allow mixture to come to a mild simmer. Then add other dry ingredients from drop 1.

Turn up heat until mix reaches a boil.  Then drop heat to medium to medium-low.  Cover and allow to simmer for one hour.

After one hour add drop 2 and stir.  Be sure to remove your Serrano chili and use a spoon to squeeze the juices from the pepper into the chili.  For a hotter chili, allow some of the seeds to drop in as well.  Recover pot and allow to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Finally, add drop 3 and mix in allowing enough time for the chocolate chips to melt.  At this point taste and add anything you feel you may need.  If chili seems to thin, add in about 1 or 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter to thicken mixture.  Leave pot uncovered and allow to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and grade your cheese of choice.  You may also use this time to prepare some fresh tortilla chips or open up a bag.  Use a ladle to add chili to bowl and add cheese if you desire.  Once cheese is melted, dip in a chip and enjoy!

You can move remaining chili into resealable containers and store in the freezer for months.  Simply allow thawing in fridge for about 6 to 8 hour and reheat in a pot for quick chili preparation.

In an effort to make at least one healthy dish, we take on some chicken tacos with a surprising result. In only about 15 to 20 minutes, we were rewarded with some very tasty tacos that look good and are good for you. This is definitely a recipe to give a try for those days when you don’t want a heavy meal but you want a tasty treat.

Ingredients:

• 6 corn tortillas
• 1/2 boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat and cubed
• 1/8 tsp. salt (to taste)
• 1 tsp. canola oil (to coat pan)
• 1/2 large sweet onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and sliced)
• 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Other condiments to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap tortillas in foil and bake until heated through for 10 to 15 minutes.

Season chicken with salt and heat oil in large heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring until browned on all sides. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to skillet. Add onion, stirring often, until they start to brown. After about 3 to 5 minutes, add bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno and cumin. Cook, stirring, until peppers are bright green but still crisp.

Stir in salsa and chicken. Cook for a few more minutes stirring often until chicken is reheated. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Spoon into warmed tortillas with garnish and serve.

In a more relaxed Cuisine Made Quick, Elisabeth and I decided to make some burgers on the grill during one of the many warm evenings we have had lately. There isn’t much to learn here but we had fun and thought we would share.

It’s Thursday night in the middle of a very busy work week and I look at the clock. The time is after 9 PM and I realize I have not eaten dinner. This seems to be a regular occurrence for me lately and I soon realized groceries were in short supply. I was going to eat some cereal but then came to the realization I didn’t have any milk. What I did have was corn tortillas, eggs, cheese and salsa.

Not wanting to make the full egg tortilla casserole again, I decided to make up some quick breakfast tacos given they only take about 10 minutes to make. These are even better when you have more fresh ingredients available for topping. I was a bit limited.

Ingredients and Directions:

• Put a small amount of cooking oil in a pan and heat to medium.
• While oil heats up, shred about 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese or whatever kind of cheese you prefer on your tacos.
• Crack two eggs and beat so they are ready to scramble.
• Mix in chili powder, black pepper, cumin, seasoned salt, red pepper and hot sauce.
• Once oil is hot, fry up two or three corn tortillas by placing in grease for about 15 to 30 seconds until hard but still a bit chewy.
• Let shells cool for about 2 minutes and then place eggs, cheese, hot sauce and salsa in shell and fold.
• Enjoy!

After much delay and a day outside of being part of National Pancake Week, Elisabeth and I finally got around to making some fresh blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. Inspired by National Pancake Week, we thought now would be a good time to break away from the Bisquick and bust out the 1970s Joy of Cooking. To quote Elisabeth, “The results – magic.”

Ingredients:

Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups milk
• In our case, blueberries and chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Eggs & bacon

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Splash milk
• Thick cut bacon

Directions:

Pancakes

• Sift flour and combine with other dry ingredients. Sift again.
• Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Quickly mix liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
• Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, spoon batter onto hot griddle or pan.
• Flip pancakes once you see bubbles forming along the top and sides.
• Test with toothpick or fork for doneness. No batter should stick if cooked thoroughly.

Eggs & bacon

• Break four eggs into mixing bowl and whisk.
• Add in any seasonings that you desire and add a splash of milk.
• Scramble in pan over medium heat and add cheese once eggs are cooked and cover pan so cheese melts.
• For bacon, place strips on griddle set to 350 degrees or medium high heat pan. Cook flipping occasionally until starting to brown.
• Place bacon on paper towel to remove any excess grease.

Take tortillas, eggs, salsa and cheese and before I even see a recipe, I know I’m in for a treat. Today’s dish is a perfect example of this wonderful combination of tasty ingredients. Some may argue this is not really a casserole but I tend to think of a casserole as a meal that ends up in one dish and that can be eaten directly from the pot or pan without the need for a side dish. Under my personal definition, this dish definitely fits the bill.

In what may be the easiest recipe (besides the Pizza Rolls) yet on Cuisine Made Quick, I fly solo in fixing one of my favorite Mexican breakfast feasts. In about fifteen minutes you can have yourself a hearty and spicy breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Elisabeth was home visiting family during the taping of this episode but she is not without appearance. The episode before this was supposed to be a recipe for a prosciutto and melon burger with sweet potato fries. Needless to say, things did not go as planned for that recipe. Some of the highlights of that failure can be seen in this episode.

As always, if you have a favorite recipe you would like to see us attempt, or if you have video preparing your favorite dish, please leave a comment or send an e-mail to recipes@cuisinemadequick.com.

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Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 eggs
• 5 corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheese (your preference – I prefer sharp cheddar)
• 1 cup salsa
• Sprinkle of garlic powder
• Sprinkle of seasoned salt
• Multiple dashes of hot sauce (less if you prefer mild)
• 1 or 2 tsp. ground black pepper
• Enough olive oil to coat bottom of pot

Directions:

• Pour enough olive oil into the bottom of pot and place over medium high heat until oil is at roughly 350 to 400 degrees.

• While oil heats, break eggs into bowl and whisk with a fork. Add in the garlic powder, seasoned salt, black pepper and hot sauce.

• Cut about 5 corn tortillas into smaller wedges and place in pot covering bottom. You should have enough tortilla to soak up the cooking oil as they brown.

• While browning tortillas, bring a pan to medium to medium high heat and start to scramble your eggs. While they are still a bit undercooked take off heat.

• After a few minutes the tortillas should just be starting to get crispy. At that point add in the eggs and cover pot for 1 – 2 minutes.

• Add salsa and mix into the eggs and tortillas. Finally, move ingredients into a mound and top with shredded cheese. Cover pot for about 1 – 2 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

• Remove mix into large bowl and add any additional condiments (I like Tabasco Sauce).

I can’t get enough of Gregory Ng’s (the Frozen Food Master) Freezer Burns video podcast.  So when I found myself looking for a snack at 10 o’clock at night, I immediately went for the old standby – pizza rolls.

Greg did a “Fro-Down” of Pizza Rolls vs Bagel Bites back in January and I thought I would bring something new to the table.  Instead of cooking in the microwave or oven, I dropped the tasty morsels into cooking oil.  The results – delicious!

Be sure to check out Freezer Burns at http://freezerburns.com for some great frozen food reviews.