Homemade Pizza

Okay, it's nothing fancy. I didn't make the crust, I didn't grate the cheese, I didn't even slice the mushrooms. But I did bake it myself, and by not ordering it from the local pizza place, I felt justified in putting it up here. More than anything, it makes for good ideas. Usually when you want pizza, you order up the greasy goodness, and if you get more than just one topping, you're really paying for it. This is a healthier, hopefully cheaper alternative that you might feel better about and have fun doing. This was also the perfect way to use up some extra veggies I had before going out of town (beach time!). Use whatever toppings you like; again, I'll write down what I did. (What I like about this pizza is that I don't use tomato sauce--just diced tomatoes. I think it makes it a little bit lighter.)


Homemade Pizza

1 can Pillsbury pizza crust (I used thin crust)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 chopped green bell pepper
handful of sliced mushrooms
handful of sliced pepperoni (I'm not very good with my measurements)
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Prebake the crust for at least 8 minutes! When crust is prebaked, top with toppings and bake for another 8-10 minutes.

Southwest Veggie Dip

This is one of our absolute favorites, and we never have to feel guilty about eating it! (Might have to work on portion size, though, since we eat the whole bowl.) I adadpted this recipe from a dip my sister made called Texas Caviar that used a can of black-eyed peas. This one has black beans, and that suited me better. Although I'm putting it on here as a dip to eat with chips, we've made it to serve atop grilled chicken breasts. It's another one that you can add to according to your tastes. I love this dip with some sliced avocado, but I forgot to get one from the grocery store; it's great with some chopped onion. Of course, all of the ingredients would be excellent fresh, but canned veggies are our way to go for this one. It's as easy as opening cans.

Southwest Veggie Dip

1 can diced tomatoes, mostly drained
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained
1/4 cup of jalapenos, chopped
1 Tbsp vinegar
handful of cilantro, chopped
dash of cumin
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Allow dip to sit for at least half an hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread

Are you loving all of the posts I've been able to do since school is out? I usually put up one per week, but now I have a record four in one day! Whoo hoo! (Side note 1: It was silly of me to start this thing at the end of the school year when things are busy, but apparently that's how I roll--making things unnecessarily complicated. Side note 2: It's a good thing I have four posts from today. I have nothing else to show for the twelve hours I've been awake. Zero. Nothing.) As nice as all the posts are, just being able to cook this much since school is out is even better, so now we're moving on to the cheesy cornbread muffins (from scratch!), another Barefoot Contessa recipe.

I halved the recipe, and it fit perfectly into a 12-cup muffin tin. This accompanied the soup nicely, but it would go well with a lot of dishes. They weren't really that spicy, but the change of extra color and flavor to the cornbread was well worth it. Very good.

Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread (the halved recipe)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/8 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
2 scallions, chcopped
2 Tbsp seeded and minced jalapenos

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are gone. Don't overmix! Mix in the Cheddar, the scallions, and the jalapenos. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray the muffin tin with cooking spray (or an 8"x8" pan, if you don't want the individual muffins).

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and sprinkle with any remaining cheese or scallions, if desired. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mexican Chicken Soup

I love Mexican food, and I'll often just get some tortilla soup at a restaurant, hoping that the chicken broth and vegetables will be good enough for me to counteract the three bowls of chips I inevitably eat by myself. Sometimes the soups are better than others. This one is excellent and healthy! It also feeds an army, so be prepared to cut the recipe in half, or make room in your freezer. Five people had bowls of soup, and we didn't make a dent in it. It was SO good though, so eating more isn't a problem. I served it with cheesy cornbread muffins and pineapple margaritas, and all of the recipes were from Ina Garten. I followed her recipe exactly, except I didn't have coriander, so I left that out. I would definitely make this again!


Mexican Chicken Soup

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree
2-4 jalalpenos, seeded and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro (optional, if you're one of those people who doesn't like it)
6 tortillas
For serving: sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and tortilla chips

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the onions are slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, one tablespoon of salt (depending on the saltiness of the stock), one teaspoon of black pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Tear the tortillas in half; then tear them into 1/2" strips, and drop into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot, topped with cheese, sour cream, avocado, and broken tortilla chips.

Pineapple Margaritas

These are good and strong! One or two will do the trick, and you'll be thanking your designated driver. They don't have an overwhelming tequila taste, but you can just taste that they're strong. They're not quite as sweet as I was expecting, but still very good. (And also--Geaux Tigers!) The original recipe is from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I cut the lime juice down to one cup instead of two, as the recipe reviewers suggested.

Pineapple Margaritas

2 cups tequila
2 cups triple sec
2 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup lime juice

Mix ingredients and serve over ice.

Teak Dog Tuesday!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I forgot to take a picture of the dip before I served it, but I was lucky to get that much of it in the picture; in 30 minutes, the whole thing was gone. This was good and easy! I even took a shortcut and used canned chicken breast instead of actually defrosting and grilling more chicken breasts. Biz had a few friends over tonight to see what happened to Jack Bauer, and everyone filled up on this first! Very yummy. Thanks to my teacher friend, Gina Davies, for her recipe!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (or 2-3 cans cooked chicken breast)

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese

1 cup Frank's (Buffalo) hot sauce

1 cup ranch dressing

2 cups shredded mozarella and jack cheeses

Lightly spray a 9"x12" pan with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350.

Cut the cold cream cheese into small blocks and place evenly in the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of half of the mozzarella/jack cheese mixture over the cream cheese. Cover cheese layers with ranch and hot sauce. Bake uncovered for 7-10 minutes. Then remove from oven, stir, and bake for another 7-10 minutes. Stir well so that cream cheese has melted and combined with other ingredients. Add chicken to the pan and add last cup of cheese mixture Cover with foil, and bake for 20-30 mintues. Serve warm with chips, bread, or celery sticks.