I'm Back!!!!!

It has been nearly 2 YEARS since I last posted.  During my pregnancy and my daughters first year I was very busy and tired, however I did make my own baby food....but am sure that's not what you may be looking for, HA!  This school year I started a new job (that I LOVE), which allows me to stay home more with my beautiful, sassy baby girl and make delicious healthy food again for my family.  My girl is a very good eater and loves to be in the kitchen with her mama!  Thank goodness!

My News Years Resolution (a few weeks early) is to get my cook books out, wipe off the dust and be inspired to create new dishes and make new dishes from the millions of recipes I have stored in the cupboard.  

The last few weeks, I have been taking pictures of some of my creations (I will share and hopefully remember how I made them!)...let the cooking begin...again!  

WELCOME, 2015!

Asparagus Risotto with Shrimp in a Sherry Parsley Sauce

Eggnog Cookies!  Thank you Pinterest....great recipe!

Pizza with Butternut Squash Sauce, sausage caramelized onions topped with fresh local farmers cheese!  So good!

Roasted chicken thighs with carrots, fennel, celery and potatoes.

Modern Hawaiian Pizza

Jason loves Hawaiian pizza, so I decided to make my own!  It came out pretty good....fresh pineapple are a bit juicy for the pizza, but the flavors were all there!

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough

1 red onion

fresh pineapple

fresh mozzarella cheese

prosciutto or speck

arugula

salt and pepper

Saute and brown onions in a pan

On the pizza dough, add fresh mozzarella cheese, carmelized onions, fresh pineapple slices, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until crust in golden on bottom and cooked through.

Add prosciutto or speck to pizza, bake for another 5 minutes.

Once out of oven, top with arugula.  

Enjoy :)

Ricotta, Spinach and Sausage Pizza

1 pizza dough

2 cups part skim ricotta cheese

2 large cloves garlic; minced

salt and pepper

TB parsley; chopped

1 bag baby spinach

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 links of hot italian sausage

olive oil

fresh mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a saute pan, cook sausage links, remove and slice into bite size pieces.  To the same pan Add 1-2 TB olive olive oil with garlic.  Add spinach and salt and pepper to taste. 

Roll out dough on a pizza pan.  In a bowl, add ricotta, spinach, parmesan cheese, parsley and salt and pepper.  Spread mixture over dough.  Add sliced sausage pieces.  Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and bubbly! Enjoy!

Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pizza

pizza dough
1 lb beef
1 lb bacon
1 onion; chopped
1/2 cup mustard
1/2-1/3 cup ketchup
1 cup tomatoes; diced
Fresh cheddar cheese
salt and pepper


Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Cook bacon on cookie sheets.  15-20 minutes, flipping once half way though.  Cook until crispy (or fry in pan).  Chop.

In a skillet, heat oil and onions.  When cooked though add beef season with salt and pepper.  Remove when cooked through.  Add ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper and tomatoes.  Cook though once tomatoes soften, remove.

In a cast iron skillet, spread out dough.  Using this type of skillet will make a deep dish pizza!  Remember to oil the pan before putting the dough in!  Begin the layering.  the ketchup and mustard is the sauce, then top with ground beef, bacon and cheese. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Pizza with Zucchini and Sausage

Ok, maybe another zucchini recipe or two....then I won't be cooking with it for at least a month! AH!  This was a spur of the moment Wednesday night meal that turned out fabulous, flavorful and different...a great combination all in 30 minutes :)

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

 Pizza Dough..on the go!

3 cups flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 packet yeast

1 cup warm water

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

Mix Ingredients and knead for a minute or two in mixer.  Brush olive oil on pizza pan and roll out dough.

After

Before

Bake dough for 6-8 minutes.

Pizza:

tomato pesto sauce (I cheated, shh)  oh how I love Wegmans!

1 small zucchini; sliced thinly

3 links of Hot Italian Sausage; cooked through and sliced

mozzarella and provolone cheese

Top with tomato pesto sauce, zucchini, Italian sausage and cheese.  Bake for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

ENJOY!

Grilled Naan Pizzas

Grilled Naan and Hummus Pizza:


1 whole wheat Nann Bread
Roasted Garlic Hummus (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup Peppadews (Wegmans olive bar!)
1/2 cup roasted tomatoes (Wegmans olive bar!)
fresh basil leaves; cut/torn


Brush olive oil on bottom of Naan bread. Spread hummus over Naan bread.  Place pepadews and roasted tomatoes on hummus, top with basil.  Grill for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.  Eat immediately!  SO GOOD!


Grilled Naan with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarlla Cheese Pizza:


1 Garlic Naan Bread
3-4 plum tomatoes, diced and seeded
1 shallot; diced
handful of fresh basil leaves
fresh mozzarella sliced thinly
salt and pepper


Brush olive oil on bottom of Naan bread.  Mix tomatoes with salt, pepper and shallot.  Top with basil and mozzarella Cheese.  Grill for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.  Eat immediately!  Enjoy every bite!

Pizza Dip

I just learned of this week from a co-worker and already had to make it for a family party! Another VERY easy and tasty concoction. 


2 jars of chunky pizza sauce
1 pepperoni stick; thinly sliced and chopped OR 1 package of pepperoni; choppped
1 block of cream cheese
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
Frito Scoops


In a saucepan or crockpot add the pizza sauce and pepperoni.  Cook on low for a half hour - hour to mix flavors.  Add cubes of cream cheese and mix into pizza sauce.  Add mozzarella.  Pour into serving bowl or keep in crockpot.  Serve with more mozzarella on top and eat up with Frito Scoops!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza!

Just in the mood for a buffalo chicken pizza.  Here is a great way to have it and not feel crazy unhealthy.  The next buffalo chicken recipe I might dive into may be a soup...hmm we will see!

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound chicken breast cutlets
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizzeria
• 1/2 cup tablespoons wing sauce, medium to spicy heat (add more sauce if you like it extra spicy :) )
• 1/2 cup tomato pizza sauce (Wegmans fresh sauce!)
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Place chicken on a baking dish with wing sauce.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cut/slice chicken into extra small bite size pieces.

Turn oven up to 425 degrees F.

Stretch dough to form pizza. If you let it rest and warm up a few minutes it will handle even easier. Set pizza on pizza pan and bake for 5 minutes or so before adding toppings.  (This is our secret to a crispy pizza!)

Top pizza with tomato pizza sauce, chicken, blue cheese, mozzarella cheese and top with scallions!

Bake pizza for 20-25 minutes until crispy and bottom looks brown.  ENJOY :)

Rosemary Pizza with Zucchini

A VERY homemade pizza! Simply Delicious!  I was just in the mood for some tasty bread and pizza, so I put them together and it turned out to be heaven.   A thin, crispy crust that was just perfect and full of flavor!  In the garden I picked fresh rosemary, basil and zucchini.  I had already made homemade pizza sauce from my tomatoes so I was ready to go.  I hope this inspires you, too!

Dough: Makes 2 pizzas
1 heaping TB of fresh rosemary; finely chopped
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TB yeast (1 package)

pinch of salt

1 TB of Olive Oil

You only need to use 1/2 of the dough for pizza, I froze the other half for a rainy day!

Mix yeast in warm water.  In a bowl, add flour.  Make a hole in the center. Add rosemary then the warm water/yeast mixture, salt and olive oil.  Knead with hands or mixer until the dough is no longer sticking to your hand/kneader.  May need more flour...

Put in bowl with olive oil (so it won't stick) and let rise at room temperature for a 1 1/2 to 2 hours.


Assembling the Pizza:

Pre-Heat Oven to 500 degrees

1 zucchini, sliced thin
1/4 cup red onion, sliced thin
Pizza Sauce : Tomatoes, garlic, basil cooked down.
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Ricotta Salata
Fresh Basil Leaves

Roll out dough.  Put a thin layer of sauce.  Layer with basil leaves, fresh mozzarella and zucchini slices on top.  Add  onion slices and top with ricotta salata and a pinch of salt and pepper!  Bake pizza for 15- 20 minutes.  Enjoy :)

Tomato and Basil Pizza

With so many fresh tomatoes in the garden, of course a pizza is on the menu!  A few weeks ago, I was at the Rochester's farmers market I bought homemade bread dough for only 1 or 2 dollars (great deal!) and froze it.  I used it for this pizza and it was delicious!  I highly recommend not only checking out the fruits and veggies at the public market!

1 pizza dough

2 medium tomatoes; thinly sliced

1 small fresh mozzarella ball; thinly sliced

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

handful of fresh basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup of EVOO

salt and pepper

Pre-Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a small bowl mix olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Microwave for 30 seconds to marinate flavors!  Roll out dough.  Baste dough with olive oil/garlic mixture.  Layer pizza with tomatoes, basil then mozzarella. Remember, if you put the basil on top, it may burn.  Top with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and bottom!

Enjoy with your favorite glass of vino :)

Grilled Pita Pizzas

A fun fresh tasty meal that can be made in only 15 minutes!

For 2:

3 whole wheat pitas 

4 medium tomatoes 

2 medium garlic cloves minced

small handful of fresh basil (tear with fingers!)

salt and pepper

fresh mozzarella

fresh gated parmesan

Dice tomatoes into very small pieces, I like to toss the seeds/juice to avoid a watery pizza.  Mix tomatoes, garlic, basil salt and pepper.  I like to marinate flavors together for at least 15-20 minutes,  but you don't need to.  On a cookie sheet, flatten pitas and add a few spoonfuls of tomato mixture on top.  Add cheeses and grill to your liking.  Enjoy :)

Spinach, Ricotta and Caramelized Onion Pizza

2 Pizza Doughs (room temperature)

sun dried tomatoes

1-2 cups baby spinach

2 small cooking onions - thinly sliced 

(saute in pan until browned and cooked through)

1 cup ricotta cheese

fresh mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

provolone cheese

2 cloves minced garlic

tomato pizza sauce 

(I made ahead of time, just need tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, oregano, onions)

capers

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Pizza #1  Spinach, Ricotta, Caramelized Onion

Assemble:

Roll out dough, spread pizza sauce evenly and top sauce with minced garlic.  Add fresh baby spinach leaves.  On top layer, caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes.  Add some fresh thin slices of mozzarella and dollop 1 tsp. of ricotta over the pizza.  

Pizza #2 Capers and Caramelized Onion

Assemble:

Roll out dough, spread pizza sauce evenly and top sauce with minced garlic.  Layer capers, caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, provolone cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until brown and dough is crisp!

Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy :)