Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Veggie Pizza

Oh hello there!  I have totally been neglecting this wittle bloggy baby, but I promise to be better this week!  I feel like sometimes I go through these waves where I'm like "I CAN COOK EVERYDAY", and then there are the lulls where I'm all "Ugh I just want Mac and Cheese for the 3rd time this week".  That's what's been happening and I hope this pizza will make it up to you!

My new favorite thing to do is buy the fresh pizza dough from the deli section of the supermarket.  The rolled pizza dough by Pillsbury is just as yummy, but there is something about the fresh pizza dough and rolling it in flour that makes it feel fancy (to me anyway- there are probably fancier things in life such as caviar, champagne and butlers named Chauncey).  Last week I had a ton of leftover veggies from my Sunday shop and didn't want them to go to waste.  So, when it doubt, make a pizza :)



What you will need to serve 4

For the pizza:
  • 1 ball of fresh pizza dough
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of marinara sauce
  • 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Olive oil

For the veggies - at least 1 cup of the following:
  • Zucchini, chopped
  • Asparagus, chopped
  • Red onion, chopped
  • Green pepper, chopped
  • Red pepper, chopped
  • Corn
  • Black beans

Preheat the oven as per the instruction on the pizza dough bag (I think mine said 450 degrees).
**Make sure to let the dough come to room temperature before you are ready to cook!

Prep the veggies by chopping them into small cubes, and mix them together in a large bowl.

Lightly flour the surface where you will be rolling out the pizza dough.  Add the dough to the middle of the surface, and lightly flour the dough.  Using a rolling pin, spread the dough out until your desired pizza shape is achieved (I don't have a pizza stone, so I made the dough fit the baking pan that I was using).

If you are using a baking pan, lightly oil before placing the dough on top.  Spread the marinara sauce on the dough, leaving 1/2 to an inch of space plain for the crust.

Add the mixed veggies, and drizzle on some olive oil.  Add the mozzarella cheese.

Bake as per the package instructions, and serve immediately.

Like all pizza on this fine earth, it tastes just as awesome the next day - or I would imagine - we inhaled the entire thing ;-)






Xoxo

Jillian








Monday, August 3, 2015

Buff-Chicken Pasta

So the the whole buffalo chicken thing is starting to grow on me.  Slowly but surely.  By the way I just tried to spell "surely" as "shirley".  I should probably not have another glass of wine.  Said no one ever.  Heehee :)

Anyway.  Buffalo Chicken.  For me it started as a dip.  Then there were the wings.  THEN there was the pizza.  AND THEN (no "and then"! <--- name that movie!) there was the pawsta pasta!  Brian special requested "something buff-chicken" for our date night dinner (#again), and I didn't want to do the pizza or the wings, so I started pondering.  I wanted a real dinner, but I didn't want something "regular" like pizza, etc.  AND THEN (sorry, last one!) I saw my "One Pot" cookbook by Martha Stewart and was all "I need pasta in my face", even though that cookbook is not all about the pasta.  Oy!  The things that run through my mind on the daily.


I love this dish because there is just enough buffalo chickeneyness.  Not too hot, but spicy enough to feel the kick.


What you will need to serve 4:
  • 3/4 pound of rotini pasta
  • 1 to 1 1/2 pound of chicken breasts
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your-choice Buffalo Sauce (depending on your spice tolerance), plus a little more for drizzling later on
  • 2 - 8 oz bags of shredded mozzarella cheese (that sounds so much better than saying 1 pound of cheese)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 1 package of chunky blue cheese

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Cook the pasta as per the package instructions, drain, and set aside.

Chop the chicken into small cubes and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a nonstick pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil, and add the chicken.  When the chicken is just about cooked, add the chopped scallions and the buffalo sauce.  Stir to combine, and turn off the heat once the chicken has finished cooking.  

In a large baking dish, add a thin layer of pasta (around 2 cups) and top with a large handful of mozzarella cheese.  Add some of the blue cheese chunks on top and half of the chicken mixture.  Top with another thin layer of pasta, mozzarella, and blue cheese.  Add the last half of the chicken mixture, and the remaining mozzarella and blue cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown AND THEN stuff yo face.







Xoxo

Jillan