Proscuitto White Pizza

One of our favorite things to make in our house has to be PIZZA! I think we make it at least once a week.  It's delicious, it's easy. it's quick, and easy to alter to what you have on hand.  What could be better?  This week we went with a white pizza since my parents who were staying with us for Thanksgiving left two huge containers of ricotta cheese in our fridge.  The other toppings were leftovers from an anitpasti tray served for the holiday, so some smoked mozzerella and proscuitto found there way onto our pizza. 

1 pizza dough- either store bought or bought from a pizzeria
about 1/2 cup of riccotta cheese
smoked mozzerella sliced- we used little less then half a ball of fresh
proscuitto- we used about 3-4 slices torn
little garlic- powder or minced whatever  you have on hand.

First heat oven to preheat to 500 degrees.  Place pizza stone in oven to heat. Stretch out your dough and place on a pizza peal.  Top with Ricotta, then smoked mozzerella, garlic, and proscuitto.  Move to heated stone in oven and cook. About 10 minutes or until desired crispness of dough.  Pull out and allow to cool a few minutes. Enjoy!

Italian Wedding Soup

Always during the winter I have memories of cold days being warmed by my Dad making a big pot of Italian Wedding soup.  We always look forward to enjoying this soup at a holiday or on a winter afternoon. Perfectly served with some crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmsean cheese on top.  This past Thanksgiving I think I finally got it right.  And received my Dad and family's seal of approval. This is a simple soup packed with tiny pasta, bite sized meatballs, chicken, and vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and meat shredded
bite sized meatballs (recipe below)
1 head of escarole
2-3 carrots diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced
1 onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of onion powder
3 chicken broth
approx. 1/2-3/4 cup of acini de pepe pasta (I can only find it by Ronzoni) or other tiny pearled pasta

Bite sized meatballs:
1/2-3/4 lb of chopmeat or meatball mix
1 egg
1/2 breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of parsely
1 teaspoon of parmsean cheese
splash of milk (just enough to moisten)

Mix all meatball ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and roll into bite sized meatballs.  Small enough to fit on spoon.  Put to the side.

In a large pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Over medium heat cook onion, carrot and celery till tender.  Add in the garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper.  Stir, cook about 1-2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil.  Drop in the meatballs.  When the meatballs are cooked add in the chicken and the escarole.  Allow to simmer.  I like to cook the pasta seperately then add just before serving. But you can cook it in the same pot, just have some extra broth on hand if too much is absorbed by the pasta.  Allow all to simmer a few minutes.  Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread!

Pregnancy Bed Rest

Again no new recipes or items to post as I have now been on bed rest for about a month now due to pregnancy complication.  My husband has encouraged me to update the blog but with what, all I do is lay around all day.  There are definitely no new recipes being tested.  Just a lot of take out and leftovers.  I am hoping by the summer to be back up and feeling good.  In the meantime I have organized my pins on Pinterest and have lots of new ideas!

Pregnancy Causing Lack of Motivation to Cook

Hello all.  I have to just comment on the lack of action lately on this blog.  This mainly due to the fact that I am expecting my first child.  I have made it through the first trimester.  A little morning sickness that struck mainly in the evening kept me from tackling anything new in the kitchen.  Between exhaustion, slight nausea, and the lack of desire to eat left me less then motivated to cook.  Now into my second trimester luckily the nausea has left.  However some tummy issues and doctor telling me to stay off my feet and take it easy has left me yet again unmotivated to try anything new for dinner after working all day.  My husband is wonderful and has taken on helping with the cooking and doing dishes.  Again though leaving us to plan easy, simple meals for dinner.  I am finding I still don't want anything heavy for dinner.  I find my digestion system prefers if I kind of eat a bunch of small meals all day or graze.

So if anyone has suggestions for quick simple meals please do share them.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

On a crisp fall evening a nice bowl of soup always hits the spot.  This soup has a little spice to it also to really warm you up.   My husband has been asking for this soup recently since I hadn't made it in awhile and he loves it.  I had come across the recipe originally in a USA magazine in the Sunday paper and then misplaced the recipe. We tried a different one, but we like this one so much better. And I think it is a simple soup that is quick to pull together.

Recipe:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breast, split
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 yellow onion diced
3 garlic gloves minced
2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobe sauce seeded and minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
2 quarts chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernals
tortilla chips
avocado (to top)
lime wedges
shredded cheese, cheddar or mexican blend

In a bowl combine chicken with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and chili powder.  In a dutch oven or heavy bottom pot heat 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Brown chicken on each side about 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from pot allow to cool and shred.  Add onion to pot and cook about 3-4 minutes until golden and soft.  Add garlic and chipotle peppers, cook another 1 minute until fragrant.   Add tomatoes and beans to the pot.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer 5 minutes.  Add corn and shredded chicken to soup.  Allow to simmer another 10-15 minutes. 
To serve place tortilla chips in bottom of bowl, ladle soup on top.  Serve topped with avocado slices, shredded cheese and lime wedges.

Chicken Burger with Parsnip "Fries"

In my ever quest to use leaner meats in my cooking I atempted my first chicken burger.  Yes the chicken is a better option then beef, however I'm not saying this is the perfect healthy burger as it has nice bits of bacon throughout!  The use of shredded apple and honey keep the burger moist a little sweet.  We found that a little honey mustard on this burger with some spinach worked very well.  To give the affect of french fries with all that fat we made parnsip fries.  These were seasoned and tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven.  All around a very flavorful meal.

Burger:

1 lb ground chicken

1 stalk of celery finely chopped

1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

1 apple shredded (medium sized, I used mactintosh but granny smith would work well)

2 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

4 strips of cooked bacon crumbled

Toasted buns

Optional Toppings:

dijon or honey mustard

spinach

cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl combine seasoning, celery, apple, bacon, honey.  Add in chicken and mis to just combined, don't over mix.  Form into four patties.  Cook on grill or griddle, about 4-5 minutes each side.  Place on bun and add optional toppings.

* Since this recipe makes four patties I did freeze two cooked patties between parchment paper for another night.

Keep scrolling for Parnsip Fries recipe

Parsnip Fries:
2-3 parsnips peeled and sliced into sticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried thyme crushed (or Rosemary)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place parnsips on a foil lined baking sheet.  Toss to olive oil and all seasonings.  Bake 10 minutes then turn parsnips over. Bake another 10 minutes.  Should be golden brown and fork tender.

Roasted Crusted Winter Squash

Yummy Winter Squash

This is the time of year for lots of squash.  It's is in abundance in the markets.  I was recently given a winter squash from relatives.  I stared at it for a few days not sure what I wanted to do with it.  I came up with this easy side to serve along with some fish.  And since I am always trying to eat more vegetables we also had broccoli with this meal.  Winter squash can also be used roasted simply and tossed with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  This would also work well mashed with a little maple syrup as this squash had a little sweetness to it.  So I am slowly learning what to make with all those different squash I see in the produce section right now.

Recipe:

1 winter squash, peeled and seeded

1 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash into 1 inch wedges.  Spray one side with cooking spray or brush with olive oil.  Mix rest of ingredients together.  Dip squash into mixture, sprayed side into mixture.  Place on a baking sheet.   Bake about 20 minutes or until fork tender.  

I like to cover my baking sheets with foil for easy clean up!