Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

Who doesn't love pizza? Am I right? Pizza for us is the meal we make when we don't feel like doing any real cooking. It's what we make when we are exhausted at the end of the day and just want something quick. But instead of ordering out, we just pick up some precooked pizza crust, throw on whatever veggies and cheese we have, and toss it in the oven. Well this time, we happened to have a few guests over and my dad requested that I make my infamous veggie pizza. And so I did! 
Usually I just throw on whatever I have but this is pretty much the basic.  I start off with a pre-baked crust. Then I coat the top with a light layer of olive oil. I never use tomato sauce because I can never get it quite how I like it and this way is easier and hassle-free. Then I'll put a layer of spinach and cheese, I have a problem with overloading the pizza most of the time.... so you know just use however much you'd like. And then I put on bell peppers, onions, garlic, any seasoning I feel like (usually italian), and then top it off with roasted cherry tomatoes (my favorite!). Then you just pop it in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and it's done! Super easy and you can use whatever you have in your fridge at the time, it's fun to experiment. When we don't have guests, I usually throw on a jalapeno as well. I like it hot (: And this one is my newest creation! Garlic & squash, a seriously yummy combination.  I used acorn squash with this because it's what I had but you could also use butternut. Again, I started with a prebaked crust and spread it with a little bit of olive oil. After I roasted my squash until it was mushy, I cut it into small cubes and spread them over my pizza crust. I topped that with cheese, a ton of garlic (probably about 5-6 cloves), onions, and some jalapeno. Oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking of it! I didn't even have time to take proper pictures. Before I knew it, there was only one piece left and I had to run to get my camera before that one was eaten too!  I actually made this pizza the next day too. That's how good it was! 
What are your favorite pizza combos??

Mini Gouda Pizzas

When I was home alone a few weekends ago, I had to think of simple food ideas for just one person! I hardly ever make food for just one so at first I was just completely out of ideas. And then I decided to just go to the store and see what they had! I found these little personal pizza crusts and thought they would be perfect just for me! 
I remembered that I had some asparagus left over and grabbed some gouda to go with it (perfect combo). I made a few different versions and thought I'd share! 
So here is my mini pizza. I like to get the pizza crust that's already baked. All you have to do is top it with your favorites and stick it in the over for about 8 minutes.    I loaded it up with gouda cheese (a little too much I might add)... Added the asparagus, and whatever else I could find in my fridge which was goat cheese, some jalapenos, and some shredded parmesan.     Bake for about 8 minutes and done!   For my next one, I started out the same way. A little less gouda though and I decide to cut the asparagus in half lengthwise and down the middle so that it was a bit easier to eat.   Then, I added some slices of a roasted tomato (left over from my tomato puree) as well as some shredded parmesan.     And of course, goat cheeese (I may have a slight obsession with goat cheese).    MMmmmmMMMmm.  These pizzas come in packs of three so for the last one I just made a gouda, margherita pizza. Gouda, tomato, fresh basil, shredded parm, and some italian seasoning. I was so hungry I almost forgot to take a picture of it! So here's half of my margherita pizza!  It's no secret that I love cheese. I actually can't eat pizza anywhere now unless it's at a REALLY good pizza place. No more Dominos or Pappa Johns, they just don't compare to the pizzas I can make myself (and I make them 10x healthier!). And in only 8 minutes baking time, you can't really beat it! This is also a great way to use up those left overs. Whatever I have that'll take good together gets loaded up on top! 

Cordon Bleu Pizza

I made this pizza a couple nights ago and it was delish! I got the recipe from Betty Crocker, but modified it a bit. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 Package of already cooked pizza crust. I usually get Boboli but this is cheaper and I was willing to give it a shot.

  

1/2 cup Alfredo Sauce (I recommend Bertolli)

  

4-6 slices of ham, chopped (depending on whether you really want to load it up or not). I got this Hormel Ham that came already sliced and let me tell you! It's the best ham I've had in a while!

2-3 Chicken Breasts- chopped (again, amount depends on how much you want to load it up).

 And I didn't take a picture of these (sorry!) but you'll need 2-3 stalks (?) of green onions and an 8 oz. package of shredded cheese. The first time I made this, I used Swiss (that's what it calls for on Betty Crocker) but the second time I used Mozzarella because that's all I had and I kind of liked it better with the Mozzarella.    Instructions:

So, this is super easy. Take out your crust and put it on a pan. Spread the 1/2 cup alfredo sauce on your crust.

  Layer the chopped chicken over the sauce.  

And then comes the ham, yum!

Next, sprinkle the cheese all over. I used the whole bag... I like cheese, alright!

And last, your green onions. Just to point out, I don't really like green onions but after they're cooked, you can hardly tell! 

Then follow the instructions on the pizza crust. Mine said to bake for about 10 minutes I believe and then it's done! Bon appetit!

I definitely made this like 2 nights after the first trial round.... hehe. I guess it goes without saying that we will be making this more often! I really like making homemade pizza. It's super easy, especially when you buy the crust all cooked and there are so many options! Plus it's a lot healthier than frozen pizza... right? Do you guys make pizza? If so, I'd love to hear some suggestions  on what to make next!

Sweet Onion Alfredo Pizza

We had this pizza last night and I just had to share it!

 It's pretty much the best homemade pizza I have ever made and we will definitely be making it again sometime soon! It's a chicken, alfredo, sweet onion pizza and I got the recipe from Betty Crocker (love!). I made it a little different than what the recipe says so here's what I did:  Ingredients:  1 Large Boboli Pizza Crust 1/2 cup Alfredo Sauce 1 Rotisserie Chicken A handful of fresh thyme 1 Sweet Onion (halved and thinly sliced)3 oz. of Cream Cheese 1 teaspoon of Sugar 2 tablespoons of Butter  Steps:   1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium. Add the sugar and onion (I used about 3/4 of it but only because onions kind of scare me, next time I'm using the whole thing!). Cook for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown and caramelized.  

 

 2. Take your fresh thyme and run two fingers down the sprigs to pull the leaves off. Stir into onions.  3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.    4. Spread your cream cheese onto the prebaked pizza crust.   5. Next pour your Alfredo sauce on top and spread evenly.   6. Shred up about a cup and a half of rotisserie chicken and spread onto pizza.  7. Then spread your onion mixture on top of the chicken.  8. Plop in the over for 8-10 minutes (until crust is golden brown).   9. Enjoy!  The sweet onions go perfectly with the Alfredo sauce and the thyme just pulls it all together. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it! This is a must try recipe, so go try it! And have a great weekend everyone!  

Easy Vegan Pizza

I love pizza. Who doesn't love pizza?! And it's so easy to use whatever is in the fridge and create a delicious meal. 
For this one I used pita bread for the crust which is great for making personal pizzas, this vegan cashew cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes (my fav!), spinach, jalapenos, onions, and Bravado's new Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce. Holy cow, so yummy. 
Vegan pizza is a piece of cake! 

Eggplant Pizza

Last week, we got an eggplant in our food coop share! The best thing about shares is that you are basically forced to eat/try things you would never try on your own! For instance, an eggplant. I don't like eggplant. But Brandon and I were determined to make something yummy with it. Our go-to meal is homemade pizza so that's what we went with and it was amazingly awesome. Eggplant isn't so bad after all! Here's how we did it:  Ingredients:  Monterey Jack  Olive oil Eggplant (1/4" slices) Pizza crust  Mozzarella  Black olives  Spinach  Clove of garlic (minced) Goat Cheese  Red pepper (optional)  Parmesan (optional) Instructions: 1. Bake slices of eggplant at 400 degrees F. for 5-10 minutes or until slightly browned.  2. Drizzle olive oil on crust  3. Now add a thin layer of monterey jack cheese, the eggplant, some mozzarella, black olives, and last, the garlic.  4. Follow directions on pizza crust for baking. 5. During the last 2 minutes add the goat cheese and spinach.  6. Take out and sprinkle with some parmesan and red pepper! Mmmmm mmm!
P.S. The MsDressy giveaway winner is Lídia Dias! Congratulations, expect an email soon! 

Macaroni Two Ways!

Just trying to get creative while using up random things in our pantry. Here are two ways we made some left over macaroni noodles.

Macaroni & Cheese Pizza Brandon made this one night and it was the bomb! All he did was boil up some mac, throw it on a pizza crust with cheese and some fresh basil at the end. Yum! 

Basil & Tomatoes Macaroni For this I roasted some cherry tomatoes, and sauteed up some garlic with onions. Then I boiled some macaroni and chopped up a ton of basil. Last, I threw them all together with some extra virgin olive oil! Easy peasy. 

Good Foods We've Been Eating

Another post of the wonderfully delicious foods we've cooked lately! Have I mentioned how much I love pinterest? Who need recipe books when you have pinterest?!   Green Beans with Lemon-Almond Pesto, these were AWESOME. I highly recommend them.   15 Minute Tortilla Soup  I few weeks ago I was sick and Brandon made this for me (minus the beans). This is super easy and delicious   Lentil Loaf I'm a meatloaf lover so I had to give this a try, not too bad!  Corn and Ricotta Enchiladas, you can see my version of this meal here.    Baked Apples I was craving a late night dessert one night and made this. Yummo!  Stuffed Acorn Squash You know, I don't think I'm much of a squash person but this wasn't half bad.    Spicy Mango Pizza Sounds like a weird combo but this is really awesome! Unfortunately we got a bad zucchini and had to pick them all of but it was still good! Salsa on pizza, who woulda thunk it?! Sweet Potato Burgers We will definitely be making these again!    I'm slightly obsessed with cookie dough. Like, I'd rather eat cookie dough than baking the cookies. So I've been on a hunt for a "healthier" version. This was the first recipe I tried- Raw Cookie Dough, it was alright   This was the second- Vegan Cookie Dough, this one is pretty good   And this one, I want to try: Pregnancy Cookie Dough Bites.  My last two days have been kind of rough. I've been extra super emotional about everything! I feel like I just did this last week? I don't even know what's going on. My eyes are like permanently puffy, it's kind of awful. Life. Oi. BUT I'm glad it's the weekend. I'm looking forward to doing some fun things with Brandon and Eliza and cramming a little work in too!