Mac 'n Cheese Pie with Bacon Lattice for the Ultimate Pi Day

Do you guys know what today is? It's Pi Day! But it's not just any old Pi Day, it's the Ultimate Pi Day! *voice echo**explosion sounds**special effects*

As you may know, Pi Day is March 14th every year because 3/14 = 3.14, the first three digits of pi. This year, however, the date is 3/14/15, and 3.1415 are the first 5 digits of pi. Not only that, but at 9:26:53 AM, we're at 3.141592653, a full 10 digits of pi. This is the only time this will occur in our lifetimes, you guys, and I think that's pretty darn cool.

Does that make me a huge nerd?

Fun fact: even though I'm actually pretty good at math, I was really bad at geometry. I took it freshman year of high school, at a time when I was flirting with the idea of going into architecture. After taking geometry, I knew architecture was a bad choice for me. If you can't calculate shapes and angles, you shouldn't be building things. Statistics is more my speed. I killed at statistics.

Now, I knew I had to do something epic to celebrate the Ultimate Pi Day. Since Pi Day is traditionally celebrated with pie for obvious reasons, that was the way to go. But me and pie, we're not the best of buds. I don't really make it that often, and I wouldn't really know how to go epic, you know? So I did some interwebz research and found a bacon topped macaroni and cheese pie on Buzzfeed. That sounded pretty epic, and also pretty easy.

Now, since I'm me and I don't follow recipes, I sort of went my own way. But in this case, "going my own way" actually meant using a couple of short cuts. You may recall that I have a block against pastry crusts. I can't make them. It never works. So, I bought some frozen puff pastry to use as a crust. I also, and I'm ashamed to admit it, bought the cheese sauce from the grocery store. That's not a thing I ever thought I would say, but I didn't really feel up to making my favorite mac 'n cheese sauce, even if it would have tasted better.

I also cooked the pasta in my rice cooker, but that's not a thing you have to do. I've just been cooking everything in my rice cooker lately because it's kind of awesome, and it was so much easier to use it than to boil the pasta on the stove. (Side note: I love my rice cooker. It has a steamer tray so I can cook meat and veggies with my rice. Full meal, no added effort, what's not to love?)

I added some spinach to the pasta because... I couldn't bring myself not to add a little green. It in no way balances out the complete unhealthiness of the pie, but at least you get something good with it. You could also add some broccoli or zucchini, or skip the green stuff all together. I won't tell.

Assembling the pie couldn't be easier. Just press the puff pastry into a pie plate. Mix together the pasta, sauce, some shredded cheese, onion, and cooked spinach and put it all in the pie plate. Take 8 strips of bacon and lay it on top, basket weave style. I folded the edges of the pastry over the ends of the bacon to prevent any grease from dripping into the oven, then I baked it up.

How does it taste? It's macaroni and cheese with bacon in puff pastry. You really can't go wrong here. It it the absolute ultimate in comfort food. The cheesy pasta, the buttery pastry, the salty bacon, so many carbs it puts you in a coma, but the good kind.

One thing is that it kind of falls apart when it's warm, so you'll want to let it cool completely before slicing. I thought about putting an egg in as a binder, but I totally forgot to buy eggs when I was at the store, so I don't know if that would make much of a difference. You can warm up the individual slices to serve, or you could just eat it cold. I actually really like it cold. I know, I'm weird.

As a bonus, I remembered that I had a pi silicone ice cube tray, but since I wasn't making a dessert and couldn't really use chocolate, I was stumped as to how I could use it. I thought maybe I could pour some melted butter in the molds, but a random pat of butter on top of the pie seemed weird. Then I thought about using some of the cheese sauce and freezing it, but I wasn't sure how well that would work. Then I thought, why not just melt some cheddar and try that? And it worked perfectly.

All you do is heat the cheese in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, until it's melted. Then you just pinch off a bit and press it into the mold. Chill the refrigerator until set (between 30-60 minutes), then pop it straight out. I greased the mold first, but since the melted cheddar was pretty greasy itself, I don't know how necessary that really is. I'll just have to try it again (buy ALL the ice cube trays!).

And that's all there is to making an epic pie for an epic Pi Day. Nerd food at its finest.

Mac 'n Cheese Pie
Yield: 1 9inch pie (6-8 servings)

Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
8 oz. elbow macaroni
2 cups packed fresh spinach
1¼ cups cheese sauce
1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup diced red onion*
8 slices of bacon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Press the puff pastry into a 9 inch pie plate and trim off the excess. Prick the pastry a few times along the bottom with a fork.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, for 1-2 minutes less than recommended. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in the cheese sauce and spinach. Heat on low while stirring, until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese and diced onion.

Spread the pasta evenly into the prepared pastry. Place the bacon on top (4 strips vertically, 4 strips horizontally) and weave in a basket weave pattern (1 over, 1 under). Tuck the ends of the bacon into the pie. Fold up the edges of the pastry over the bacon to prevent grease runoff.

Bake for 15-25 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through and the pastry is golden brown (tent the edges with foil if it starts to brown too quickly). Allow to cool before slicing.

*If using a cheese sauce that already has onion, feel free to skip

Recipe inspired by Buzzfeed

Things you may need (affiliate links):

Breakfast Burritos

So, remember when I told you about my love of frozen foods? Well, that kind of goes double for breakfast foods. I love breakfast foods, but they always take way too much effort to make for breakfast, you know? I especially love those frozen breakfast burritos with the cheese and the potato and the sausage and the peppers, yuuuuuum.

I'm good though; I very rarely ever buy them because they're pricy and kind of terrible for you, especially the ones with cheese. Those are about 97% sodium.

I was looking through my refrigerator for something to make the other day, and saw scraps from a bunch of other meals. Half of a bell pepper, half of an onion, a package of bacon with only a couple slices left, a small hunk of white cheddar, a couple of potatoes. Then I remembered I had tortillas in the freezer and a new carton of eggs. I had all the fixin's for a breakfast burrito.

Now, these are much better for you than the frozen ones, but are they healthy? Probably not. You can always up the health factor buy skipping the bacon, upping the veggies, and going with egg whites and whole wheat tortillas. Me, I already like the unhealthy stuff, so slightly healthier than that works for me.

And this has got all the good stuff. Eggs and cheese and bacon and peppers and onions, oh my! Super delicious and super satisfying, and totally customizable. Make it with sausage or steak strips. Use your favorite shredded cheese. Add spinach or tomatoes or whatever your little heart desires. These puppies take a little longer to make than the frozen ones, but the effort is totally worth it. Especially when you have leftovers that you can just pop in the toaster oven when needed.

Breakfast Burritos
Yield: 4 burritos

Ingredients 
4 burrito style tortillas
3 strips of bacon, diced
1 medium potato chopped small
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions
Place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate and heat for a few seconds in the microwave until soft.

In a large, non-stick skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat until browned and crispy. Add the potato, onion, and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender. Add the eggs and cook, while stirring, until the eggs are cooked through. Stir in the cheddar and remove from heat.

Divide the filling equally between between the tortillas. Fold sides and ends of tortilla over filling and roll up. Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat on low. Add the burritos and toast on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Recipe by Kim

Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Potatoes

Happy 2015! How were your holidays? I got sick just in time for Santa to arrive. I wasn't feeling especially great when I was leaving my uncle's house on Christmas Eve, but I figured I ate too much. When I got home, it was a different story, and after I was, erm, finished, I looked at the clock and saw that it was just after midnight. My only thought was, "Gee, thanks, Santa!"

I'm still not sure what that was all about. It wasn't a stomach virus, nobody else got sick, so it couldn't have been food poisoning. Maybe since I didn't put up a stocking, that was Santa's creative alternative to coal?

It wasn't all bad, though. I did get a slow cooker and a rice cooker (I have this block against cooking rice. I can make a risotto, but I can't make rice. Does this make sense to anyone?), so basically I have a ton of appliances that help me avoid using my stove. Yay!

The parentals also bought me a new TV, since all I had was my little 17 inch one, which served me fine in the past, but since my living room is actually pretty big, it looked kind of sad and tiny (also, the sound was starting to go wonky, and it didn't have an HDMI port for my blu-ray player. It was time). It's a smart tv, so I've been fascinated by the fact that I can watch Netflix on something other than my Kindle. It's the little things in life.

Anywhozzle, I've totally had this potato craving lately, which made me realize: I don't think I've ever made a potato dish. Like, ever. I mean, I've made baked potatoes (mostly in the microwave, because I'm usually just making one for me), and I've put potatoes in soups and things and on my Italian Hot Dogs, but just potatoes? Nope.

Well, thinking about it now, I have made potato salad and roasted potatoes, and I made a potato nacho thinger where I sliced up a potato and pan fried it and smothered it with cheese and bacon and baked it. But I had to really think about it, so they totally don't count.

And that's totally crazysauce because I love potatoes. I love all things potato. Potato chips and french fries and mashed potatoes and potato croquettes and potato salad and my Aunt Sophie's potato pie. Potatoes are awesome.

So one night, I was making a baked potato in the microwave for dinner, like you do, and I suddenly decided I was going to put buffalo sauce on it instead of butter, and it was like a revelation. I was in love with the combination of potato and buffalo sauce, so the idea stuck me: what about buffalo chicken twice baked potatoes?

Now, I'd never actually had twice baked potatoes, but I liked the idea of them. You take baked potatoes, scoop out the insides, mash them up and mix them with yummy good stuff like sour cream and cheese, put it back in the potato skins and bake it back up until the cheese is all melty-gooey. What's not to like? I figure I'd just add some hot sauce, some diced red onions, peppers, and celery, a little cilantro and chives, top with some chicken, et voila, buffalo chicken twice baked potatoes.

And you guys, it's like baked potatoes meet mashed potatoes meet potato salad meet buffalo wings. It's epic. And while it sounds fussy and hard, it's really not. It takes a while, but that's mostly because the potatoes take a while for the first baking. I really like that I can do all the prep while the potatoes are in the oven. You'd have to wait anyway, so it gives you something to do while waiting. Since I hate waiting, that's a plus.

You could totally make these ahead, just follow the steps up until the second baking, cover and put in the fridge. When you're ready to serve, just pop them back in the oven for the second baking. The skins won't be as crisp, but it will still be yummy.

I love that these are super versatile too. Serve one potato half as an appetizer, or two potato halves as a meal. You can eat them with a knife and fork or pick them up with your fingers. You could even skip the chicken if you want, or use premade chicken strips from the grocery store. My original intention was to make shredded chicken and mix it in with the potatoes, but I make a lot of shredded chicken and wanted to try something different. That's always an option if you want a less saucy and messy finger food. You could totally just eat the filling and not put it back in the potato skins, which I had to stop myself from doing.

Twice baked potatoes. You need them in your life.

Buffalo Chicken Twice Baked Potatoes
Yield: 8 potato halves

Ingredients
4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried*
olive oil
salt (optional)
1 chicken breast, cut into strips
1 tbsp ranch seasoning (I used this mix, minus the dill)
2 tbsp. prepared buffalo sauce**
1/3 cup sour cream
2-4 tbsp. hot sauce
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
About 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Prick the potatoes a few times on all sides with a fork. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, if using. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat about 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and ranch seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is almost cooked through. Add the buffalo sauce, and continue to cook until the chicken is done. Set aside.

When the potatoes are done, use a sharp knife to cut them into halves, being careful not to tear the skin. (use a clean dish towel to hold the potatoes, since they will be very hot) Use a spoon to scoop out the inside into a bowl, leaving about a quarter inch in the skin to keep its shape. Use a handheld potato masher to mash the potatoes. Mix in the sour cream, butter, and your desired amount of hot sauce. Mix in the diced vegetables.

Divide the filling equally between the empty potato skins. Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheddar, and bake about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with the cooked chicken in buffalo sauce, drizzle more buffalo sauce on top, if desired, and serve immediately.

Note: If you prefer softer veggies, you can saute them with the chicken

*My potatoes were kind of on the small side, so I used the 4 biggest I had plus one small one
**You can make your own buffalo sauce using 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part melted butter

Recipe by Kim

Individual Cheater's Meatloaf

So, this recipe was not meant for the blog. Like, at all. I'm still working on stocking my pantry (I went to the grocery store on my lunch break Monday and bought nothing but spices and sauces. And Bisquick. The cashier looked at me funny), but I had this box of cornbread stuffing mix. I got it for free, and I'm not the hugest fan of cornbread stuffing, so I was just looking at it like, "what am I going to do with you?"

Then I thought, "well, I could make meatloaf" because my mom always makes meatloaf with stuffing mix and I love it. But then I was like, "I don't have any ketchup or barbecue sauce or anything." (Hence the recent shopping for sauces) But I did have a can of condensed tomato soup. And I had chopped meat and onions and eggs, so I was just all, "what the hey, I'll try it."

And I decided to make it in a muffin tin because... because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It didn't occur to me that you could make mini meatloaves freestanding. They would have probably looked better if I shaped them by hand. I'm just too used to baking things that need to be contained, I think.

Now, I'm not adverse to a few shorcuts here and there, but as I was mixing the ingredients together, I couldn't help thinking that I was making cheater's meatloaf. I didn't have much in the way of spices (pretty much just salt and pepper), so I was relying on the stuffing mix and the tomato soup to add most of the flavor. So it kind of felt like a cheat. Which is part of the reason why it wasn't intended for the blog. (The other part was that they were ugly)

But it was actually really good. The edges get browned and crusty (which is just about my favorite part of meatloaf). The loaves themselves are nice and firm-- you could pick them up and eat them with your hands with very little mess. The flavor was excellent. It's not really a regular meatloaf flavor, since you're using cornbread and tomato soup. They meld together excellently and add a nice, subtle flavoring to the meat. Now, I also added diced, sweet onion, but that's optional. Sweet onions don't add huge flavor, and most stuffing mixes are already flavored with dried onions or onion powder. I had already started cutting the onion for a different recipe, so I had it on hand.

I figured that there might be other people out in Internet-land that would like a ridiculously easy meatloaf recipe with only 5 ingredients. And, though I haven't tried it with this recipe, meatloaf traditionally freezes well. So you can always keep them in the freezer until you need a last minute meal. I'm a big fan of leftovers.

And in case you didn't notice, there is barbecue sauce on the meatloaf, which I just said I did not have when making the meatloaf. I took a picture of my leftovers. Is that some sort of foodie faux pas?

Individual Cheater's Meatloaf
Yield: 6 loaves

Ingredients
1 lb ground meat (you could use beef or turkey. I used "meatloaf mix" which is a mix of beef, pork, and veal)
1 (6 oz) box cornbread stuffing mix
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed tomato soup
2 eggs
1/2 sweet onion, diced (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a jumbo muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add all ingredients. Mix until all ingredients have been well incorporated (be careful not to overmix or the meat will be tough). Divide the mixture evenly between 6 openings in the prepared muffin tin, and press it in firmly.

Bake 35-45 minutes until well browned and the internal temperature reads 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. Serve hot.

Tip: If you don't have a jumbo muffin tin, make smaller loaves in a regular muffin tin. Or shape the loaves by hand and bake them on a rimmed baking sheet. Just make sure to adjust the cook times accordingly.

Recipe by Kim

Buffalo Chicken Dalek Pizza

Warning: If you haven't watched the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, there will be spoilers.

Weeee, the 50th anniversary special was so cool!!! Although I will never not be mad that Christopher Eccleston didn't agree to be in it. I mean, David Tennant does a great wounded Doctor, but there was definitely a step missing between John Hurt and David Tennant. The Doctor, hardened by his loss. I think that would have been a truly beautiful moment. Plus, I would have loved to see him sass Matt. I think that Nine and Ten would have totally ganged up on Eleven. But Matt and David were brilliant together, and I wish this was something they could do more often.

Although I thought how they worked Billie Piper into the storyline was very deft and unexpected. I thought it was very well done, and I totally believe the Moment was actually Rose. If you think back to Bad Wolf, Rose controlled all of time and space for a single moment and she did that to save the Doctor. Well, there's an awful lot someone can do when they control all of time and space, and of course she would do what she could to help the Doctor. Every Doctor. So I don't think that the Moment chose Rose's form, I think that the Bad Wolf is the Moment. And there were no Moffat-sized plotholes, which made me happy. *cough* Angels Take Manhattan *cough.* It actually helped explain some of what happened in The End of Time, so yay!

My one problem: the vortex manipulator. Captain Jack still had it in Miracle Day. They could have had Jack pass it along to Kate or Clara with a grin and a wink, and then John Barrowman would have been a part of the special. No plothole, happy John Barrowman, happy fangirls.

And, okay, but I think that Clara should have had less of a role in it. Because she's such a new companion, and the only one really to be a part of it (Rose wasn't really Rose, you know?), it was almost not fair to past companions. And it's not like there were a lot of them they could conceivably work into the episode. It just feels like they forget about the previous companions a lot, and it should have been all or none, you know? But that's just a personal gripe; otherwise I loved it.

To celebrate, I put together a full Whovian menu. Bowtie pasta salad, fish fingers and custard, last minute jammie dodgers (aka, leftover sugar cookie dough I had in the fridge and blackberry jam), and the star of the show, dalek pizza. Buffalo chicken dalek pizza, to be exact. It was a huge hit, and super easy to make. I had some leftover pasta sauce, so I mixed it with some buffalo sauce. Then I made some shredded chicken and tossed it in more buffalo sauce. Then I assembled it to look like a dalek.

Just roll out the dough in a vaguely dalek-y shape (think hydrant) and use a sharp knife to clean up the edges. Sauce it, add the chicken, some red onions, and the mozzarella cheese. Then add the details. I used green peppers, golden tomatoes, diced celery, and cheddar cheese. Then use the dough you trimmed off to make the lights and eye stalk. Then just pop it in the oven, 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. That's it, kiddies: simple, easy, and effective.

This is the second one I made, since there was enough dough for 2. I think this one actually came out a little better, since I knew what I was doing.

There wasn't a scrap of this pizza left by the time we sat down to watch the special. Cookies were leftover, the salad, and the fish fingers, but this was gobbled up in no time. The spicy buffalo tomato sauce really makes it. I used extra mild buffalo sauce, so I got to play with the spice, adding some smoky chipotle to just get that extra, deeper layer of flavor. Then I added a little bit of cilantro, because I like it and it works really well with those spicier flavors. In short, it's some good pizza. You will want to EXTERMINATE it with your mouth.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
6 tbsp prepared tomato sauce
2 tbsp. buffalo sauce
1/2 tbsp. chipotle hot sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp. cilantro paste
Pizza dough
Shredded chicken, tossed with more buffalo sauce (I used this method)
About 1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional: bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, diced celery, cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Mix together the tomato sauce, buffalo sauce, hot sauce, and cilantro paste. Roll out the pizza dough on a pizza stone or cookie sheet (I didn't have to grease it, but you may want to), to your desired thickness. Spread your desired amount of sauce on top, then sprinkle with the shredded buffalo chicken and red onion. Top with the mozzarella cheese and any other desired toppings. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown, and the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.

Recipe by Kim

Tamale Pie Ring- A Father's Day #SundaySupper

Hi guys! I'm very excited to share this week's post with you, because I joined a thing called #SundaySupper.

I'm not usually a thing-joiner, because I tend to be that weird kid in the corner that never speaks up and nobody remembers is actually a part of the thing. But today I broke my routine to join #SundaySupper.

 

The #SundaySupper movement was started by Isabel of Family Foodie in order to bring Sunday Supper back around the family table. As someone who comes from a large Italian family, food and family have always gone hand-in-hand, so this particular thing-joining seemed a bit like a no-brainer.

So when I was lurking around the #SundaySupper group (weird kid that sits in the corner, remember that), and I saw that this week's theme was Father's Day, the first thing that came to mind was the most vivid memory I have of my father cooking: the time he made tamale pie and scarred my brother and I for life.

If you're not familiar with tamale pie, it's basically a chili and cornbread casserole. It has absolutely nothing to do with tamales. Or pie, for that matter. It's closer to a shepherd's pie or pot pie in terms of construction, with a chili-style filling and a crusty, cornbread-style crust. I read on the interwebz that tamale pie is supposed to be an American-ized version of the tamale, with the cornmeal to replace the mesa, but I'm not really seeing a whole lot of similarity beyond that.

The tamale pie incident happened when I was really young, but I remember my dad being really excited about it. He loves tamale pie and had decided to make it, and nothing was going to stop him. Now, my brother and I were young, and kids can be picky (although my mom said I was always willing to try something at least once). Tamale pie is not usually something you feed small children, especially since neither of us liked chili at the time. Or beans.

Suffice it to say, we both absolutely hated the tamale pie. So much that it became a joke in our house. We would get threatened with tamale pie. My dad would tease that he was making it for dinner, much to our shared horror. For years afterward, we wouldn't even have to think twice when someone asked what the worst thing we ever ate was; it was tamale pie.

So when I told my dad I was making tamale pie, the very first thing out of his mouth was, "But you don't like tamale pie!" Keep in mind, the tamale pie incident happened close to 20 years ago. It has not been forgotten. By anyone.

I had pinned a sloppy joe ring made in a bundt pan from Betty Crocker, in love with the idea of it, not as in love with the ingredients (chopped meat, Manwich sauce, and Bisquick). It seemed the perfect way to remake that traumatizing childhood meal in a way that wouldn't cause flashbacks.

I used a cornbread recipe from Old Reliable, but the filling I made myself, and let me tell you, this recipe won't traumatize you in the least. There was a wonderful smokiness from the chipotle, a hint of sweetness from the onions, the lovely buttery cornbread, just a touch of spice, and the veggies still managed to keep their crunch. The filling to cornbread ratio could have been a little bit better (I was being a little overly cautious), and I forgot to add the cheese to the cornbread, but other than that, this recipe is most definitely a keeper. Now, it makes way more filling than you actually need-- enough for about 2 rings, actually-- but you can always freeze the extra. Or, my dad suggests using it to make nachos.

Tamale Pie Ring
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup diced sweet onion (I used vidalia)
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, rinsed and well drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with chipotle chilies*
6 oz. tomato paste
1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend (or your favorite chili/taco seasoning blend)
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the cornbread:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp. baking powder
2/3 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 egg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and then cook with onions and diced peppers in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until the meat is browned. Drain off the fat and mix with all remaining filling ingredients. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the cornbread ingredients, until a batter forms. Be careful not to over mix.

Generously grease and flour one regular bundt pan. Spoon in about 2/3 of the cornbread batter. Using the back of a spoon, smooth the batter a few inches up the sides and middle of the pan, creating a "moat" for the filling. (You only need a thin layer) Add about half of the filling, then top with the remaining batter, smoothing it out as much as possible. Bake 20 minutes, until the cornbread is browned and firmed. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before inverting it onto a serving dish.

Tip: This recipe works best with a relatively plain bundt pan. Keep the extra filling in the freezer, then whip up the cornbread for an easy week night meal.

*Or use regular diced tomatoes and add some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to taste.

Cornbread recipe adapted slightly from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. Filling recipe by Kim

Check out the rest of the #SundaySupper group celebrating the dads in their lives:
Dad’s Favorite Main Dishes:

• Father’s Day Ribs by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Chorizo Burgers by La Cocina de Leslie
• Whiskey Sliders by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Beer Can Chicken by Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Pesto Shrimp Roll Sandwich by Growing Up Gabel
• Cast Iron Filet Mignon with Wine Sauce by I Run For Wine
• Grilled Tilapia with Blueberry Mango Salsa by Runner’s Tales
• Chicken Wings for Dad by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Fish with Black Bean Sauce by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs by Curious Cuisiniere
• Tamale Pie Ring by Treats & Trinkets
• Grill-Roasted Chicken & Vegetables by Foxes Loves Lemons
• Grandma Papina’s Lamb Stew by Webicurean
• Barbecue Beans and Ribs by Food Lust People Love
• Skillet Meat Lasagna by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Panko Crusted Snapper by Supper for a Steal
• Gluten Free Bourbon Honey Grilled Pork Chops by No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
• Boiled Shrimp for Father’s Day by The Catholic Foodie
• Dad’s Famous Baby Back Ribs by Family Foodie
• Turkey Stuffed Peppers by Ruffles & Truffles
• Lightened Up Fish Biriyani With Fresh Dill by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Cauliflower, Potato, and Cheddar Pierogi by Healthy.Delicious

Dad’s Favorite Appetizers and Sides:

• Spicy Caramelized Bacon Wrapped Smoked Oysters by Noshing with the Nolands
• Tuna Pasta Salad - Dad’s Recipe by Juanita’s Cocina
• Grilled Bok Choy by Shockingly Delicious
• Bacon-Cheddar Potato Salad by Home Cooking Memories
• Couscous Tabbouleh by Soni’s Food

Dad’s Favorite Desserts

• Dad’s Cheesecake by Table for 7
• Cheese Crackers by The Urban Mrs
• Coconut Cream Pie by Cookin’ Mimi
• Chewy Oat Cookies with a Banana Bread Influence by What Smells So Good?
• Homemade Nutter Butters by Pies and Plots
• Shoot for the Stars Chocolate Cupcakes by Ninja Baking
• Golden Coconut Bars by Magnolia Days
• Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by NeighborFood
• Velvet Cookies by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Pecan Pie by Small Wallet Big Appetite

K-9's Italian Hot Dog

It's Doctor Who Saturday! And guess who we're featuring today? Probably my number 1 favorite character in the entirety of time and space: K-9!

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Can I just tell you guys a secret? I love robots. I think they're adorable. When I was a little girl, R2-D2 was my favorite. I had a little R2 gigapet. (Remember those things?) Except it was really upsetting because you had to shock him when he was bad, and I never wanted to do that. So R2 pretty much did whatever he wanted. Kind of like in the movies, actually.

You know what else I love. Dogs. Well, all animals really. I'm an animal lover. But there's just something about a dog.

And when you put the two together: epic squee!

K-9 with the first 5 doctors. Because K-9 is BAMF

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Now, I actually haven't watched much of classic Who (I know. I fail as a fangirl), so my first introduction to K-9 was in the episode School Reunion, which also brought back one of the most beloved companions, Sarah Jane Smith.

And let me tell you, when I first saw K-9, it was love at first sight.

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Sarah Jane and K-9

Not only was he an adorable robot dog with a good measure of sass, but in that first episode I saw with him he pretty much singlehandedly (pawedly? doggedly?) saved the Doctor, Mickey, Rose, and Sarah Jane. And he was willing to sacrifice himself to do so.

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So in that one single episode, I fell in love, I squee-d, I cried, and then I squee-d again when the Doctor fixed K-9.

It was an emotional roller coaster, let me tell you that.

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So. Much. SQUEE!!!

So my original thought for K-9 was to do a sort of replica made out of bread, wrapped around a hot dog. That's my favorite way to make hot dogs, and I thought it would be fairly easy, since K-9 is such a simple, blocky, shape.

It really wasn't. Although I did get one that kind of looked like Falcor from the Neverending Story.

I'm really exposing all my geek today, aren't I? K-9, it's all your fault.

That's my K-9 from ThinkGeek. Isn't he just the cutest?

Anyway, do you know what I just recently realized? That Italian hot dogs are a strictly New Jersey thing. I mean, you might find them in Pennsylvania or New York (cultures tend to bleed a bit in the tri-state area), but not like in New Jersey where you can get them at any pizza joint or burger place.

So for my K-9 post, I decided to do an Italian hot dog. Not that K-9 really has anything to do with New Jersey. Or hot dogs. Or Italians. Or that he eats. He's a tin dog, it's a hot dog, you can see where I'm going with this.

An Italian hot dog is just a hot dog with fried potatoes, peppers, and onions. Spread some deli mustard (spicy brown) on a torpedo roll, or a chunk of Italian bread. Hot dog buns are far too wimpy. Get yourself a quality hot dog- all beef, natural casings, no mystery meats here, please. Sausage works, too. Then grill or fry or cook it on a skillet. No boiling. This is a Jersey dog, it's hardcore. Cook up some peppers and onions just until soft. Fry up some potatoes- or, if you want to be lazy, you can do what pizza places around me do, and just use French fries. Layer it all in the prepared roll, then fuhgeddaboudit and stuff it in yer face.

For the rolls, I actually bought refrigerated Italian bread dough, and shaped it into 4 rolls before baking. Then I prepped the other ingredients while it was in the oven, so when I fixed it all up, every thing was hot and fresh and yum. And then I had to take pictures. Sometimes being a food blogger kind of sucks, you know?

But then I totally had to chow down so I could show you a picture of the inside. Totally imperative.

So it's a hot dog. And K-9's a tin dog. They're not really related except that if I had a K-9, he could totally cook the hot dog for my with his little shooty nose laser. He has a laser in his nose. Bet you didn't know that could ever be adorable. But it is. Because K-9.

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Italian Hot Dogs {Printable Version}
Yield: 4 hot dogs

Ingredients
2 large potatoes
2 bell peppers
1 large onion
4 quality hot dogs (all beef, natural casings preferred)
Vegetable oil
Salt
Deli mustard
4 torpedo rolls, or 1 loaf Italian bread, divided

Directions
Peel the potatoes and slice into thin rounds. In a large skillet, heat just enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom over high heat. Add the potatoes in an even layer and cook on either side until golden brown, 1-
3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, and salt lightly if desired. Reserve about 1 tbsp. of the oil, and
discard the rest.

In the same skillet, cook the hot dogs over medium heat until browned, turning occasionally to cook
evenly. Remove and cover to keep warm.*

Cut the onion and peppers into strips and add to the skillet. Cook on medium-low heat until softened to
your liking.

Slice open the rolls and spread generously with mustard. Line with the fried potato rounds, and add 1
hot dog, and peppers and onions to your liking. Serve hot.

*Or grill the hot dogs, if you'd prefer.

Recipe adapted from various sources

And because this is my new favorite gif in the entire world:

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