Pizza with a Twist!

I love pizza! Of all the foods out there I can eat pizza every day, as well as Chinese and Mexican foods. Oh and Italian too! I was inspired to try making this myself after having a pizza like this from a little place that was in San Carlos, CA called Cheshire. This pizza uses tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Are you ready for some pizza!

Would you like some pizza?

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

Ingredients
Pizza Dough, I use a pre-made dough in this recipe
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Basil and Oregano, dried
1 huge ripe tomato
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Prosciutto – You can buy this in a thick slice, or some brands offer this already chopped
Black Olives
Capers
Parsley flakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take your pizza stone, brush it with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Then spread out the dough to the edges.

Spread out the pizza dough

Brush on EVOO and sprinkle with basil and oregano

Top with most of the cheese

Follow with tomato slices

Next sprinkle with finely chopped garlic

Next is the prosciutto

Add the olives

Follow with capers

Add remaining cheese

Put this into the oven and bake until the bottom side of the crust is browned, about 12 – 18 minutes.

Pizza right out of the oven!

Remove from the oven and let this sit for a minute or two, if you can, then slice and serve!

Dinner is served!

I hope that you enjoy this as much as we did.  This is a 2 – 4 serving pizza, depending on whether you want to share it!

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Chile Rellenos in the Crock Pot

My friend at work the other day mentioned Chile Rellenos to me and I have not been able to get it out of my head!  This recipe is a take off from a recipe by Roseann Wilson of Albuquerque, NM, with one change.  Her recipe uses stewed tomatoes.  I chose to use diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano.  I just cannot handle bell peppers!  Eat one bite of those dogs and I will be burping bell peppers the rest of the day.  The chiles in this recipe do not affect me that way!

Ingredients
2 – 4 oz. cans of whole green chiles
1/2 lb. each of shredded cheddar and jack cheese
14 oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (or stewed tomatoes if you prefer)
4 eggs
2 TBS flour
3/4 cup of evaporated milk

Spray the inside of your crock pot with a non-fat cooking spray to keep the dish from sticking. Take the chiles drain them.

Drain the cans of whole green chiles

Then cut them into strips.

Cut down the side of the chile and open

Layer the chiles and cheese in the crock pot.

First layer - the chiles

Add a layer of jack cheese

Then cheddar

Repeat the layers.

Then start the layers over again

Finish with the cheddar. Then pour the tomatoes over this.

Add the tomatoes

Next, in a bowl, take the eggs and combine them with the flour and milk. Pour this into the crock pot.

Add the milk, egg and flour mixture

Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours.

I like this dish as it not only tastes wonderful, but it is all done in one pot! When done, serve this up with some rice and refried beans!

Dinner is served!

Dinner is served, quick and easy! Enjoy!

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Pizza Mia!

I could live on Pizza!  It is one of my most favorite foods.  Who doesn’t love all that gooey cheese? But pizza did not start out with all that gooey cheese!

Pizza has been around for a long time, and what we call pizza today is not the pizza of the past! Pizza is actually Greek in origin. Ancient Greeks used to cover their bread with oil, herbs and cheese. The name Pizza is derived from the Latin word “pinsere” which means to press. The Romans had their version too. They called it “placenta.” This pizza was made of dough covered with cheese, honey and bay leaves.

What we eat today comes from Naples. This pizza, called a Neapolitan pie added tomatoes to the cheese about 1889. The Pizza Margherita was named after the Queen of Italy who was presented with a pizza resembling the Italian flag. This pizza was made with tomatoes for the red color in the flag, mozzarella for the white and basil for the green! This is still a popular pizza today!

Around the world everyone has their own style pizza. In Australia the pizza is made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and bacon and eggs. Mmmm…breakfast pizza! Indian pizza includes tandori chicken and paneer. Korean pizza includes sweet potatoes, shrimp and crab. In Brazil they use bananas, pineapple and chocolate as toppings.

The best pizza I have ever had was in New York City. There is just something about New York pizza that is different from anywhere else that I have eaten pizza. In New York City you can buy pizza by the slice and then follow it up with my other favorite: Italian ice! Raspberry is my favorite flavor of that sweet dessert.

My all time favorite pizza is pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and extra cheese. What is yours? Do you make your own pizza? What do you top yours with? Please share this with me as I think making pizza will be coming as a future blog! And, one with some unusual ingredients!

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Check this amazing recipe out! This is from a gal in Texas who has the challenge of cooking gluten free!

glutenvygirl

I made these one night, on a whim. I have whims quite often…and much of the time they turn out so-so, or worse. Those don’t get shared here (you’re welcome). These, however, were a huge hit. The kind of hit that has my kids asking excitedly when they come home from school: Are we having those yummy cereal pork chops again tonight?

I used crushed breakfast cereal to create the coating, along with sage, lemon zest, salt, pepper, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and butter.

I also used pork chops, but they were camera shy.

Ingredients:
6 center cut bone-in pork chops
2 cups crushed crisp rice cereal (I use Erewhon Crisp Brown Rice Gluten Free)
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano
1 tablespoon dried sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

First, preheat the oven to 425 and prepare two shallow baking dishes. Then, shred…

View original post 106 more words

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Slop for Breakfast

What could be better than some slop for breakfast! What is slop you ask? When camping it is whatever you have available, and at home, it is whatever you want it to be! Here is the slop we had for breakfast this morning:

Ingredients
1/2 # Peppered bacon
1 large potato cut into very small cubes
1/4 cup chopped onion
8 eggs
Cheddar – enough for about one cup grated
Toast

Cut the bacon into half strips. Fry them up in a pan over medium to medium high heat. When browned remove to a pan layered with paper towel to drain. Let cool. Drain the pan but leave about 1 TBS bacon grease.

Cut up the potato and the onion. Re-heat the pan to heat up the bacon grease. Add the potatoes and onion.

Brown the potatoes and onion

Watch the potatoes and onions, and turn when needed so that they brown. While this is browning, break up the peppered bacon into small pieces. Grate the cheddar. When the potatoes look like they are browned enough to your liking, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk well, then add to pan.

Add the eggs

Stir to combine, then add the bacon and cheddar.

Add the cheddar and peppered bacon

Get your toast going now. Stir the slop in the pan until combined and well cooked. The toast should be ready about the same time!

Slop is served!

Pour a good size cup of tea or coffee, and a glass of orange juice and enjoy!

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Taco Casserole

I had a hankering for tacos but wanted to do it in one dish. I like one dish meals. So, I faced the challenge of coming up with a Taco Casserole. First time made and it was a hit!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 #’s lean ground beef
1 small onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 cup of water
3/4 cup of medium taco sauce
7 oz. can diced green chili’s
1 3.8 oz. can sliced black olives
1 package of Schilling Taco Seasoning Mix
6 handfuls of tortilla chips
2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes chopped
2 green onions sliced
Avocado, sliced
Sour cream

Directions: Crumble beef into a large frying pan. Add the onion and garlic. Brown over medium high heat. While the meat is browning, combine the water and the taco sauce. When the meat is browned, drain, and add the water/taco sauce mixture, the green chili’s and 1/2 of the olives. Stir until blended and then add the taco seasoning. Stir until combined, and lower the heat to low. Cook for about 5 minutes. And at this point, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Simmering meat mixture

Stir frequently. While the sauce cooks over the low heat, take the tortilla chips and place them in a plastic zip lock bag. Using the side of your hand, break up the tortilla chips so that the pieces are between 1/4″ to 1/2″.
Using a casserole dish, spray it first with a non-stick spray, then add one half of the crushed tortilla chips. When the meat mixture has cooked for 5 minutes, spoon out one half over the crushed tortilla chips. Then scatter one half of the cheddar.

First layer with cheese

Then repeat the tortilla and meat layers. Sprinkle the tomatoes, remaining olives and green onion.

The final layer before the remaining cheese

Then cover with the remaining cheddar cheese and bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Finished bake dish

Serve in bowls, and add a couple of slices of avocado to each serving and a dollop of sour cream.

We had a small amount left over which I had for lunch today. It was tastier today! I hope that you enjoy this dish, and if you try this I would like to hear if you liked this too!

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