Stuffed Pizza

I have tried to make this before after Jeremy and I watched an episode of Man vs. Food and he ate one in Chicago.....the first ones turned out OK....but they seemed to sort of fall apart once they were cut, and the crust never really got crispy.....so after doing much research today, I found someone who made one using a springform pan - genius - why didn't I think of that?!?! So.....I made one and it turned out much better - blog worthy, I guess. If you like pizza - try it - it's really not hard at all.  (Plus, I cheated a used store bought pillsbury pizza crust, just unroll it.)

Ingredients:

I didn't end up using the spinach, it was still frozen & I'm impatient.

• 2 pillsbury pizza crusts
• 1 Springform pan
• Some Mozzarella cheese - I used about 1 bag
• Olive oil/cooking spray to spray pan
• Pizza/Marinara Sauce
• Whatever ingredients you like in your pizza, I used:
• Pepperoni
• Sausage
• Yellow Bell Pepper - chopped (about 1/4)
• 1/4 onion - chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper - chopped

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Spray bottom and sides of springform pan w/ cooking spray
• Place pizza dough over top of springform and allow to fall down in, keeping some excess over the sides for tucking in at the top - you may have to cut a little off some of 2 of the sides to ensure the other 2 sides have enough dough.

• Take about a handful of cheese and sprinkle it in the bottom on top of the dough

• Mix the rest of your toppings - peppers, onion, sausage (minus the pepperoni) and then pour into the crust

• Top with pepperoni

• Then top with cheese (the amount you prefer)

• Then cut the top crust to the size of the top of your pizza, and fold over the excess edges onto it, like you would a pie.

• Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to exit during cooking
• Spread some marinara on the top of the pizza, leaving the edges clean

• Top with a little cheese for garnish

• Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the crust is to your liking

(1/2 way done....)

• Remove from the oven, and immediately remove the outer case of the springform pan

• Let the pizza cool like this for about 10 minutes before cutting so it doesn't fall apart.

• ENJOY! It was definitely delicious and very filling!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

Every time I ask Jeremy what he wants for dinner, it always seems to end up being something involving "Buffalo Chicken"..... I think it's his favorite. So tonight, I asked him what he wanted when he got home from this business trip to Mississippi, and of course he said "Buffalo Chicken Tacos"....we both LOVE the Buffalo Chicken Taco's at Taco Mac (substituting the bleu cheese for pepper jack....yum!).....BUT I don't fry chicken, so I made up my own version.

Ingredients:

(I left the onion out of the picture -- oops)

• 1 lb chicken tenderloins
• 1 box of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of wing sauce (or  how much you prefer)
• 1 tomato - diced
• 1 onion - diced
• 1 avocado - diced
• shredded lettuce
• pepper jack cheese
• 1 jalapeno - diced
• fresh cilantro - chopped
• soft taco shells
• salsa - if you want - we didn't use any
• I served mine with black beans and corn.

Steps:

• I boiled my chicken in 1 box of chicken broth and water for about 45 minutes
• remove boiled chicken from pot, shred with a fork, place in skillet

• Add wing sauce to your liking, and heat on low to medium heat for about 5-10 minutes

• Make your taco as you like! Very EASY and DELICIOUS!

• Serve along side black beans and corn, or just put the beans and corn in your taco like Jeremy did!

(Jeremy's Plate)

My Plate!

ENJOY!

My Mom's Meat Loaf

My mom made her own rendition of Paula Deen's "Basic Meat Loaf," It was delicious, so I wanted to make it. It has a little spice to it.....very good. Definitely good if you are not a HUGE meat loaf fan....I have never really liked it until my mom made it this way. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1.25 tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped vidalia onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 10oz can of rotel w/ chili's (this is the difference between paula deen's and my moms recipes)
• 1/2 cup quaker oats (quick cooking oats)

Sauce for Topping:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. mustard

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a large bowl, mix beef, salt, pepper, onion, pepper, beaten egg, Rotel, and oats

• Mix all ingredients well and pour into lightly greased loaf pan

• Mix topping ingredients together, and spread on top of loaf

• Put loaf pan in oven and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min.
• Let cool for a minute, slice and serve.

• I served mine with a side salad and steamed green beans.

Enjoy!

Ceviche Tacos

My sister recommended this recipe to me....it came from Epicurious, I adapted it to fit my own needs....but didn't need to change that much! You have to enjoy tuna....and be okay w/ eating semi-raw fish!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs sushi-grade fish ( I used sashimi Tuna)
• 1 tbsp. sea salt
• 1 tbsp. fresh crushed black pepper
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
• 3/4 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 an onion)
• 2 tbsp. fresh jalapenos ( recipe calls for jarred....no thanks) you will need a little over half a jalapeno, chopped and seeded.
• 1 tbsp. jarred jalapeno juice ( yes, you still need to buy the jarred jalapeno's....but the freshness of using the new jalapeno's will make you want to use them over the jarred)
• 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped (3-4 cups)
• 3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• Hard taco shells (we bought soft shells too)
• Salsa

Steps:

• Cut tuna into 1/2 inch pieces (or smaller)
• Place tuna in a glass bowl, add in lemon juice, lime juice, salt, pepper, and sugar, mix until incorporated, cover dish and chill for 4-6 hours, tossing occasionally.

• Mix tomato, onions, jalapenos, jalapeno juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl, cover and chill for up to 2 hours.

• When tuna is finished, strain all the juices out and  toss together with tomato mixture.

• Heat taco shells
• Make the taco's as you wish (recipe calls to mix lettuce, avocado's, and salsa with the tuna mixture, but I chose just to add what you wished to your taco.

• ENJOY....they taste SO fresh....Delicious!
• I served mine with white corn (and I cut a small corner of my tuna off before making the ceviche and saved it to make a small appetizer of ahi tuna to eat before dinner....just marinated it in soy sauce and seared it in a skillet for 2 minutes on each side)

Oven Fried Pizza Puffs

After making the "Oven Fried Chimichangas" & dating a boy who grew up in Chicago, Jeremy requested I make a rendition of the "Pizza puff"..... I don't have a deep fryer, so we tried to "oven fried" method again. This is my first recipe I've really just made up...so bear with me!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups cooked/chopped sausage
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 marinara or spaghetti sauce (we used a Tomato/Basil sauce)
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped vidalia onion
• 1/4 pepperoni (I cut them in half)
• 5 burrito sized flour tortillas
• Olive oil or cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 400
• Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or rub some olive oil on the foil
• Mix together the sausage, cheese, sauce, onion, pepper, pepperoni, and italian seasoning
• Put spoonfuls inside the tortilla's and fold closed so all sides are closed
• Place the tortillas on the cookie sheet and either spray with cooking spray or rub with olive oil
• Place in oven for 25 minutes

This may not look all that appetizing, considering I took it when I was almost done eating, but I wanted you to be able to see the inside of the puff!


Enjoy! We did!

Simple Pot Roast

I made pot roast last night for Jeremy and myself, I found the recipe online, but changed it a bit, especially since I was only making it for 2 (I Still made way too much)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless chuck roast (original recipe called for 3-4 lb. make as needed)
• 3 medium russet potatoes chopped (cleaned and skinned--you can leaves skins on if you prefer)
• 3 medium carrots chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 -32oz box beef broth (reduced sodium--healthier)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1- 6oz can tomato paste
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 3 tsp. allspice
• 1 tbsp rosemary (recipe called for 2-3 springs fresh rosemary-- but Im not a huge fan of rosemary, so I just used about 1 tbsp. dried rosemary)
• salt and pepper for taste

Now, to put it all together:

• Chop up all your veggies

• pour the beef broth, tomato paste, honey, balsamic vinegar, paprika, allspice, salt and pepper in the crock pot, and stir until incorporated

• once all mixed, pour in half of the vegetables
• next place the meat and then top with the rest of the veggies
• make sure the meat is completely submerged in the broth
• top with rosemary

• Now, just cover the crock pot and set on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours
• If you are home while it's cooking....give it a good stir every now and then....if not, it will be fine.
• Right before you serve, pull the meat out and slice it up
• It's ready to serve. (I placed the meat in the center of a platter, surrounded it with the veggies and then poured some of the broth over it)

I served mine with some bread, but you really don't need anything else!

ENJOY! We did....and Jeremy took it for lunch, reheats well--- the meat would be good for a sandwich!

Source: Crepes of Wrath