Weird Internet Recipes That Work

You know what I’m talking about. You’re trolling around on the World Wide Web for something easy to make with that chicken you have in the freezer, and you come across some strange recipes. Mug cakes! 2-Ingredient Ice Cream! 3-Ingredient Dinners! OK, so I tried some of them, just out of curiosity, and here’s what I found. As with anything that is “out there” on the Internet, bloggers, websites and businesses are trying to get your attention, and food novelty is evidently a great attention-grabber. I would put many of the recipes I have seen in the Make It Once for Fun Food Novelty category. I’ve tried these and they actually work.

The 3-Ingredient Baked Roll-Up

This recipe has many versions, and you can even make up your own. It can be vegetarian or not, but basically, it involves buying some bread dough or pizza dough at the store, rolling something up inside of it and cooking it. It does look kind of fancy when you slice it and see the spirals.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can, ball or thawed frozen bread or pizza dough (I used one loaf of frozen bread dough, which I thawed in the refrigerator, and then let rest for an hour or so unrefrigerated)
• Turkey, ham, salami, pepperoni, cooked bacon, etc. or vegetable of your choice. (You could combine some of these, but that would make it more than three ingredients).
• Shredded cheese such as mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, etc. (As you can see from the picture, I used Swiss cheese slices rather than shredded)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out whatever dough you’re using into a rectangle, approximately 12 X 8 inches.
2. Put the lunchmeat or vegetables over the rectangle and sprinkle cheese on top. Roll it all up starting at one of the short ends. Pinch the seam to seal and place seam side down on a greased baking sheet or one covered with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting into slices.

Depending on the filling, you can serve it with mustard, marinara sauce or condiment of your choice.

3-Ingredient Snack Bars

• 3 cups pitted dates
• 3 cups oats (not steel cut)
• 1 cup walnuts

1. Line a 9 X 12 inch pan with parchment paper or waxed paper so that it comes up over the sides.
2. Put dates in a food processor and process until they’re jam-like in consistency. Add hot water here, if you need to. Add the oats slowly until it’s all well incorporated. Add in the nuts (you may omit nuts if you prefer nut-free). Other additions can be added if you want to personalize your bars. Additions might be unsweetened coconut flakes or mini-chocolate chips.
3. Sprinkle the top with oats and freeze for 1-2 hours.
4. Cut into fingers and roll in extra oats to coat. Wrap individual bars in waxed paper and store in an airtight container.

2-Ingredient Ice Cream (with no cream)

I’m sure you’ve seen this one going around social media. I was intrigued, so I tried it. It actually works. My husband and I loved it. You can even make it one ingredient by leaving out the Nutella, but that just seems crazy. Kids will get a kick out of seeing a banana magically turn into “ice cream.”

Here’s what you do.

• Peel two bananas and slice into “coins” about half an inch thick. Place in a zip-lock bag and freeze.
• Place the frozen bananas in a food processor or blender (this takes some sturdy blending, so make sure your tools are up to it), and blend until thick and the texture is very smooth and creamy. Add a couple of tablespoons of Nutella and blend until mixed. Or blend in whatever you like – Peanut butter, cookie butter from Trader Joe’s (I used Cookie Butter/Chocolate in mine)

Enjoy your ice cream!