Friday, July 22, 2011

Super California Pizza

This is one of my absolute favorite things to make in the WORLD! I love Trader Joe's pizza dough, but any will work.... I have even used my bread maker to make dough, too. For you newbies, only wash the mushrooms you will use and save the rest for another recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Pizza dough, thawed and risen
Marinara sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 c Fresh spinach
1 large tomato thinly sliced
4 oz. (1/2 container) fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
1-2 tbsp. minced garlic
Italian Seasoning
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Prepare pizza dough on floured surface. Spread over pizza pan. Don't roll up the edges yet.
3.  Spread sauce evenly over dough. Roll up the edges
4. Top with most of the mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, feta cheese, and garlic. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Sprinkle a little Italian seasoning over the top.
5. Bake about 20 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Serve with fresh spinach salad and peach tea!

Christy's Fruit Smoothie

Throw all these bad boys in the blender, pour into a to-go cup, and wala! Breakfast!

Ingredients:

1 handful of fresh strawberries
1 kiwi fruit, peeled
1 banana
1 small yogurt cup (pick your fav flavor... I like vanilla
1 handful if ice
a splash of milk (probably about 1/3 cup)
an ooze of honey, optional to make it sweeter (probably about 1 tbsp)

Directions:

1. Dump in blender and put lid on
2. Turn blender on... blend until smooth
3. Pour in to-go cup
4. Enjoy


Thanks to my student, Christy for sharing the idea... I added honey and banana, but I named it after her!

Pepperoni, Roasted Red Pepper and Spinach Pasta Bake

(found on MommaCooks)

This makes A LOT of pasta. It’s a great dish if you want to have leftovers for lunch and would also be a great dish to make if you are taking dinner to someone. I have edited the original slightly and added my notes*. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. penne pasta (*1 box of Veggie Delights Penne Pasta)
2 jars pasta sauce
1 cup pepperoni, chopped
1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped (*2 small jars or 1 large)
1 cup spinach, chopped and sauteed (I just used 1 big handful)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup basil (I cut this in half form the original recipe)
2-3 cups fresh mozzarella, cubed, divided
1 cup Parmesan, divided
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cook pasta until al dente. Heat sauce in a medium saucepan.
Saute spinach in olive oil over medium heat.
In a large mixing bowl combine cooked pasta, pasta sauce, pepperoni, red peppers, spinach, basil, 1/2 of the mozzarella and 1/2 of the Parmesan. Stir well.
Spray a 3-4 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spread pasta mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over pasta.
Bake, uncovered for about 15 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Where did this recipe come from? Food Network Magazine, March 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Laura's Chicken and Black Bean Chili (to be served over chips)

YUMMY!!!! Slow cooker recipe:

Ingredients:
- 2 cans diced tomatoes (with chiles and jalapenos)-
- 1 can plain diced tomatoes
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts
- garlic, minced onion, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
-  1 can black beans
- 1 can sweet corn
- white or yellow corn tortilla chips
- shredded mexican style cheese
- sour cream (for topping)


Directions:
Pour 1 can of diced tomatoes into slow cooker. Place raw chicken breasts on top and pour second jar of diced tomatoes. Season with garlic, minced onion, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper as you desire. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Shred chicken using 2 forks. Add last can of tomatoes, corn and black beans, do not drain. Let warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve chili over handful of chips. Top with cheese and sour cream.