Chicken Pesto Spinach Pizza

Image courtesy of A Zesty Bite

I made this last night and Trip and I both really enjoyed it. We are definitely going to experiment with different toppings!

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken:
1 large chicken breast
Seasoned salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
1/2 cup Tuscan Italian dressing

Pesto: 
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea Salt, to taste

Pizza:
Refrigerated Pizza Dough from Trader Joe's
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Handful fresh spinach leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Make chicken ahead of time:
I do my trusty crockpot method: Sprinkle some onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt with a bit of water. Cook on low for about 4-6 hours. Then shred and pour some Italian dressing on the chicken and keep warm. This can be also be done the day before or the night before. 

Make pesto:
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Season with sea salt, to taste.

Make pizza:
Preheat the oven to 475.

Stretch the dough out into a circle and place on pizza baking sheet. Create a small crust by folding the ends up a bit. 

Using a brush, spread out the pesto onto the dough up til the edges of the crust. 
Place the chicken pieces and spinack on the pizza. Top with the mozzarella cheese (you can use more or less to preference).

Cook for 10 minutes until the cheese gets a bit brown on top and the crust is slightly brown. 

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

Wow, these are tasty. Like crazy delicious. I used frozen blueberries and just thawed them for a bit before I started making these, and they turned out fine. I also had to up the amount of time they bake to about 17 minutes (I think I need an oven thermometer!). 

I also only drizzled the lemon glaze on half of them. The glaze was a bit too lemony for me, but for others that tried it, they liked it. So I'm cutting the glaze ingredients by half. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• juice of half a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, adjust the oven racks to the middle position and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula, then stir in the oats and blueberries. Be careful not to break the blueberries while stirring.

Using 2 heaping tablespoons per cookie, roll the dough into balls and place them onto a cookie sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookie edges are just turning golden brown but the middles are still quite pale, about 15-17 minutes (original recipe says 12-14, so check them earlier and cook longer as needed).

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Once cookies are cool, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. Depending on your desired consistency, you can add more or less powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze on top of cookies and let sit until glaze has hardened.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Original Recipe: A Happy Food Dance

Meatloaf

This is a modification of the Pioneer Woman meatloaf recipe. I've made it probably a handful of times, and it's tasty (and I'm not usually a meatloaf fan). I make it without the bacon, and have found that it tastes exactly the same, just less greasy. I cut the recipe in half, since it's just the two of us. Also, it has always taken me WAY longer to cook it through than her recipe calls for, and I've made it in three different ovens. So here's my slightly modified version:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 3 slices White Bread
• 1 pound Ground Beef (make it close to room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 3/8 teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 whole Eggs, Beaten

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup Ketchup
• 1/6 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. The reason for the close-to-room temperature beef is that otherwise your hands will FREEZE. Plus, it will lower the temperature in the oven and take longer to cook. Don't leave it out too long on the counter though, you don't want bacteria!

Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the top of the meatloaf. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, then pour a bit of the sauce over the top. Slice and serve with remaining sauce. If the meatloaf is still pink inside, keep cooking til cooked through.

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Au Gratin Potatoes

Another Pinterest recipe keeper! I made these the other night, and they were amazing! The key is the super thin sliced potatoes, which I achieved using my food processor with the circular cutter in it. I think next time I'll change up the Jack cheese for Gruyere, since that's a favorite of mine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick (keep them in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning pink!)
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. In a large bowl, toss the cheeses and cornstarch together until evenly coated.

In a large gratin dish (about a 2- to 3-quart dish), shingle half the potatoes, then sprinkle half the cheese mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on top. Top with the remaining potatoes, shingling them neatly and evenly. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over the top.

Combine the cream and the broth in a large measuring cup and pour the mixture over the potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese mixture and bake until golden brown and a fork inserted into the center slides in easily with little resistance, 75 to 85 minutes. Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Original Recipe: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

I found this on Pinterest and had to make it, as I was having a serious peanut butter craving. Let me say, that this is so simple but SO DELICIOUS. I didn't use honey, and I don't think it needs it. It was a little more liquidy than I prefer (I like milkshake consistency), so the next time I made it, I used about a third of the milk. I also ran out of yogurt, and it was just as tasty. So here's my slimmed down version of the original:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of natural creamy peanut butter (you can use more or less to taste)
• 1 very ripe banana, sliced, and frozen (I always keep a bunch of cut up frozen bananas in the freezer)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put ingredients in blender in order given, and blend til smooth. 

Original Recipe: Sally's Baking Addiction

Berry Crumb Cake

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I have made this using just blueberries (like the original recipe), as well as mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries). Both ways are scrumptuous!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 stick Butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries (or a combo of berries)

  FOR THE TOPPING:

• 3/4 sticks Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Pour in batter.

In a separate large bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using a fork or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took 42 minutes).

Original Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Pulled Pork Tacos with Sweet Chili Slaw & Avocado Cream

I just made these last night, and they were wonderful! The sweet chili slaw added a nice zing to the taco, and the avocado cream was a good twist on the usual guacamole topping we do. These will now be in our regular dinner rotation.

I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5-2 lbs. pork tenderloin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces low sodium chicken broth
• Tortillas, for serving
• Cheese for topping (I had jack cheese on hand)

SWEET CHILI SLAW:

• 2 cups sliced green cabbage
• 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 lime, juiced

AVOCADO CREAM: 

• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons greek yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together the salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Pat the pork tenderloin dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mix on the pork til it's totally covered. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Make sure the skillet is really hot before adding the pork (should immediately sizzle). Sear the pork on all sides just until it is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the pork and place it in the crockpot. 

Pour the chicken broth into the hot pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate the seared pork deliciousness into the broth. Then pour over the pork in the crockpot. Cook for 6-8 hours on Low (Mine was super tender and done at 6 hours).

After the pork is done, remove the top and pull the pork apart with two forks. Toss it well with the broth and then cover it and let it cook for another 15 minutes or so. Taste the pork and season it additionally if desired.

To make the slaw, add the cabbage to a medium bowl. Toss it with the sweet chili sauce and the lime juice, adding in a pinch of salt. You can make this a few hours ahead of time and keep it in the fridge if desired.

To make the avocado cream, add the avocado, lime juice, and greek yogurt to a medium bowl and blend with a fork until creamy.

Assemble the tacos by adding some pork to each tortilla and covering it with a drizzle of the avocado cream. Add the slaw on top and sprinkle on a bit of cheese.

Original Recipe: How Sweet It Is