Chicken Parm Pizza

What happens when you can't decide whether to have pizza or chicken fingers for dinner?  Chicken Parm Pizza, that's what!  I saw a similar idea in a magazine and we had to try it.  Of course you can really make this however you prefer to make pizza, but here is how we do it.

Ingredients:
One ball of pizza dough from the Publix bakery
1 jar of pizza sauce (we used Kroger brand, Traditional flavor)
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Herbs (we used garlic powder, basil, oregano, and rosemary)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese
1 lb of fresh chicken fingers (we used Publix ones because they're soooooo good!)


Directions:
Follow directions on the bag of dough (I believe it says to remove it from the fridge about an hour before cooking).  Once it's done rising & doing it's doughy thing, flatten it, stretch it, pull it, toss it...do whatever you need to do to get it all nice & flat.  We made ours on a pizza stone, so before we laid the dough out on the stone, we brushed the stone with some olive oil.  Once we had the dough all stretched out, we placed it on the stone.  Next, we brushed the raw dough with a little more olive oil.  For this latest pizza we even brushed the edges of the crust with some homemade garlic herb butter we had in the fridge.  Then I dusted it with a little parmesan cheese.

After the dough is prepped however you like it, stick it in the oven - naked! - for 15-20 minutes (I believe it baked at 400...just follow the directions on the bag).  We have found it you try to top this dough before baking it, it never gets fully cooked in the middle.

When the dough comes out of the oven, it's time for topping!  Start with the sauce - we used the whole jar, but we like it saucy.  Use however much you like.  After the sauce, we sprinkled the mozzarella cheese on top - again, use however much you like, but we used an entire 2 cup bag.  After the cheese, we put some herbs on - basil, oregano, garlic powder, rosemary...I didn't use a ton, but enough to sort of give it that chicken parm flavoring.  Finally, you're ready for the chicken - cut the chicken fingers into bite-size pieces and scatter on the pizza.  I think last time we made it I used all but 2 of the chicken fingers - it was about a pound to start with.  Use however much you like.  And just for good measure, I sprinkled a little more parmesan cheese on the top.

Finally you're ready to finish baking.  Depending on how long you baked the crust the first time, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes (for a total of about 30 minutes of baking time) until the cheese is nice & melty.

And there you have it - chicken parm pizza!

Hungry Sunday: Simple Shredded Pork Tacos

I had intended to post a recipe each week - obviously, that has not happened, but I have been wanting to post this one for a while.  It's super easy, and super yummy - I hope yall love it as much as we do!

Simple Shredded Pork Tacos

2 pounds boneless pork roast
1 cup salsa
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies (we normally leave this out)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover; cook on low 8 hours, or until meat is tender.  To serve, use 2 forks to shred pork.  Serve with tortillas and your favorite condiments.

(I also imagine this would be equally yummy made with a beef roast - we haven't tried that yet though, because we always seem to be able to come up with plenty of beef recipes...it's pork & turkey that we always struggle with.  I like this because it's SO simple - the meat doesn't have to be pre-cooked, and there is minimal measuring involved - and no chopping!)

Hungry Sunday: Pumpkin Pie

I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie. Never have been, and always assumed I never would be. Until I tasted a pumpkin pie that I, myself made, with fresh pumpkin. I won't say it's my new favorite, but it definitely opened my eyes to pumpkin pie. When we made our annual trip to Burt's Farm last month Zachary was insistent that I make a pumpkin pie. Having never done such a thing, I was delighted to see that they were selling little cookbooks filled with pumpkin recipes. There were several pie recipes, but this is the one I chose - I have to say, it wasn't bad. Pretty good, actually (coming from someone who doesn't like pumpkin pie). So for those of you planning to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, I urge you to quit buying that crap in a can, go get yourself a real pumpkin, and make that pie fresh, the way it ought to be made.

Prepping the Pumpkin (different options):
*Bake it in the oven: Place it cut side down in shallow baking dish with a small amount of water. Bake at 350 until tender (I did about 50 minutes, but it probably could have used a little bit longer)
*Microwave it: Cut it in sections & cover with plastic wrap. Cook on high for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Scoop out pumpkin from peeling and use as desired.
*Cook it on the stovetop: Peel pumpkin & cut into cubes. Place in a pot with a small amount of water. Cover with lid & cook on low to medium heat until tender. Drain in colander.

*For using pumpkin in pies or other recipes, put in food processor (or blender - but I found the food processor to be MUCH easier) until it has a smooth texture.

Burt's Farm Pumpkin Pie
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 pie shell (I used the deep dish frozen pastry kind - regular would have overflowed)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves (ground)

1. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together & set aside.
2. Mix cooked pumpkin, milk, eggs, and melted butter together.
3. Pour pumpkin mixture into a pot.
4. Pour sugar mixture into pumpkin mixture, stir until completely blended.
5. Cook on the top of the stove on medium heat, stirring constantly to keep from sticking.
6. After mixture becomes thick, pour into pie shell.
7. Bake pie at 350 for 30 minutes, or until center of pie rises.
8. Cool before cutting.

(Now, given that I have never made a pumpkin pie before, I wasn't sure how high it was supposed to rise...I gave it probably 7 more minutes in the oven than it called for because I kept waiting for it to rise - which it never really did - but I probably should have cooked it on the stove for a little longer before pouring it into the crust, even though it seemed thick when I poured it into the pie crust. The pie held up relatively well, but the first servings were more like pumpkin pudding in a pie crust, but tasted good anyway!) And I took the leftover pumpkin puree that I had made, and put it into an ice cube tray in the freezer, for use in things like muffins or pancakes later on.

Hungry Sunday: Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

This is an amazing apple pie recipe that my former boss gave me. It's like, apple pie meets apple crisp. SOOOOOO good!

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients:1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought)
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
1 recipe crumb topping (see below)
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
¼ cup caramel topping

Ingredients for Crumb Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
½ cup butter

Directions for Crumb Topping:1. Stir together brown sugar, flour, and rolled oats.
2. Cut in ½ cup butter until topping is like coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Directions for Pie:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.
4. Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell.
5. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don’t make a mess in the oven.
6. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.
7. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil, and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans, then drizzle with caramel on top.
10. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Hungry Sunday: Honey-BBQ Glazed Pork Roast with Carrots & Corn

This is the first of what I hope will be a weekly theme for me - Hungry Sunday. I'll share mostly easy recipe ideas, maybe an occasional one that's not necessarily easy but just too yummy not to share. Some will be dinners, some will be desserts, but the idea is to share some of our favorite recipes. It also happens to be my 300th post too, so I guess this is a fun way to "celebrate".

To start off, I'm going to share a recipe that many of you already have now. I posted about it on facebook last week and got lots of requests for the recipe. So, to those of you I already sent it to, I apologize, but here it is again.

Honey-BBQ Glazed Pork Roast with Carrots & Corn

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 hours & 20 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
3-pound boneless pork shoulder roast
1 bag (1 pound) baby carrots
½ cup BBQ sauce (whatever your favorite brand is)
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

1. Remove fat from pork. Place pork in 3 ½ to 4 quart slow cooker. Arrange carrots around and on top of pork. Mix ½ cup BBQ sauce, honey, vinegar, and seasoned salt in small bowl; pour over pork and carrots.
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours
3. Remove pork and vegetables from slow cooker; place on serving platter. Cover to keep warm. Mix 2/3 cup BBQ sauce and the flour; gradually stir into juices in slow cooker. Increase the heat setting to High. Cover and cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
4. Stir corn into mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook on High heat setting 5 minutes. Serve sauce over pork and vegetables.


Recipe from Betty Crocker One-Dish Family Favorites cookbook.