Anytime Pizza

With the high temperatures this week, I struggled with what I should make for dinner each night. I didn’t want to turn on the oven, but the thought of standing outside and grilling in the heat was too much to bear. So, I cranked up the air conditioning and got to work, this time on pizza.

I’ve been meaning to make a breakfast pizza for awhile, but hadn’t gotten around to it. I had breakfast pizza for the first time while staying at The Borgata in Atlantic City, at their buffet. Until that point I hadn’t thought of a breakfast styled pizza, but after having a slice was immediately convinced it’s a great idea.

So when one of the things I got in my Hormel Family Food Blogger welcome package was bacon, I decided that would be the perfect vehicle for my breakfast pizza. In addition to the bacon, I added some eggs, scallion, cheese, and seasoning. Since I used a pre-made pizza crust, it was so quick and easy. Because it’s so fast and requires little effort, it’s great as a quick week night meal, or even as something easy to throw in the oven on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Breakfast Pizza
– makes one pizza –

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pizza dough crust, or your own
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but any kind will work)
3 scallions, diced
4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
3 eggs
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Layer pizza with cheese, bacon, and scallion. Crack each egg over the pizza (I did a triangle formation to try and prevent them from spreading into one another). Top with oregano and basil.
3. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until crust is crispy and eggs are cooked through

Cracker, what?

A few weeks back, I received a large box of assorted crackers from Westminster Cracker Company. I was psyched to get them since I love crackers (especially oyster crackers!) but I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I thought about just throwing them into a soup or stew, but that didn’t seem to exciting to me. So, I figured why not try to use oyster crackers as a coating on baked fish? Since I don’t know much about fish, I wasn’t sure what type I should try the coating with. My first thought was cod, but that seemed kind of boring. Plus, Wegmans had some large bags of frozen tilapia, so that’s what ultimately aided in my decision. Paired with some french fries, it was my own fun spin on fish ‘n chips!

This past Monday marked the official beginning of our Philly marathon training. So, we ran the Firecracker 4 miler on Monday, another 4 miles on Wednesday, 5 on Saturday, and then we tackled 8 on Sunday. Since I’ve been battling shin splints on and off since November (I’m going to get rid of them this time!), I’ve been nervous to increase my mileage. I’ve decided that this time, though, unlike all of the others, I’m going to try to keep my pace significantly slower. I think the combination of the faster pace plus the increased mileage is what has caused me trouble in the past. Fingers crossed!

In addition to the running, this week I also had a solid yoga class on Saturday, and went swimming on Sunday! I really wish there was a gym nearby that had a pool, I really miss it sometimes. I’m tempted every now and then to look up masters programs and check them out, but I’m yet to bite the bullet on that. Maybe one day. Perhaps it was my time in the pool on Sunday that inspired me to make the oyster cracker baked tilapia and fries for dinner that night. Or it was just because we had a giant bag of frozen fish in the freezer. Either way.

Once the fish were thawed, the recipe took a total of 20 minutes (including cooking time). I cheated a little and just had frozen french fries, but that’s because last week at Wegmans the fiancé bought a giant bag of them. Might as well use them up! Now that we still have quite a few filets left, I’m thinking fish tacos are definitely in order. But next time you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner, and you have a bunch of crackers (any kind will do) on hand, you should consider this!

Cracker Crusted Tilapia
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
4 small tilapia filets
2 cups crushed crackers of your choice (I used Westminster Oyster Crackers)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beatten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Meanwhile, beat two eggs in a shallow bowl, and crush crackers over a large plate, mixing in the cheese. Take each filet, dip it in the egg mixture, and then place it on the plate. Flipping it from side to side and pressing, make sure the filets are coated with the cracker crumbs. Place each filet on a well greased baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the fish begins to flake.

Hormel Extended Family Food Blogger

As some of you may have noticed (though most probably read these posts through some sort of Reader), I’ve added another badge to the lefthand side of the good ‘ole blog. Based on the title of the post, you can probably guess it’s the Hormel Extended Family Food Blogger badge! About a month ago I was contacted and asked if I would like to join in the fun, and I couldn’t refuse! I’ve had quite a few Hormel giveaways on the blog before, and they’ve always been so good to me, I just had to see what else they had to offer. Look what the sent just to get me started!

This month’s challenge was to make a meal using three Hormel ingredients, called Grocery Shopping 101 – Weekend BBQ Challenge. Only after perusing their website did I realize just how much I had to chose from! After some pondering, and assessing what I already had on hand and what was given to me in my “welcome kit,” I came up with the perfect Holiday weekend BBQ menu with some inspiration from a great bbq restaurant.

To start, I made some homemade tortillas using Chi-Chi’s burrito sized tortillas (same recipe found here), and had some Chi-Chi’s salsa and also some pico de guaco. I found pico de guaco in the produce section of the grocery store, and it’s exactly what it sounds like; pico de gallo on top of guacamole. It was like killing two birds with one stone, so I decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised. After enjoying the chips and dip, we moved on to the main course.

I decided to keep it simple and have some Jennie-O turkey burgers, topped with some pepper jack cheese, and of course more pico de guaco. One the side, I decided to make a potato skins potato salad

. My fiancé loathes mayo, so I’m always hard pressed to find a potato salad recipe that doesn’t have that as a main ingredient. I started thinking about potato skins (you know, the ones you get at a bar and grill), and figured I’d try and turn that into a potato salad, since it doesn’t include mayo. It does have bacon in it, and I know how most people feel about that. Well, sweet success! It doesn’t look like much, but oh did it taste delicious.

Of course we had to have some veggies as well, so I marinated some portabello mushrooms and zucchini in balsamic vinegar and grilled those along with the burgers. Unfortunately, there was a serious thunderstorm going on for most of the afternoon, so we wound up doing our grilling inside on the George Forman. I didn’t mind too much, until I heard that our local fireworks were postponed until Friday due to the weather. Thankfully, we got to check out a different town’s fireworks, which was the perfect end to a delicious day!

Potato Skins Salad
– serves 6 –

Ingredients:
3 red skinned potatoes, roughly diced
1 Idaho potato, roughly diced
3 Tbsp red onion, diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded cheese
6 slices of bacon (I used Hormel ready-cooked)
1 tsp olive oil
tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Combine diced potatoes with olive oil, chili powder, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Using a large spoon, make sure each piece of potato is coated with the seasoning. Place on a greased baking sheet.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, using a spatula to shake up the potatoes and move them around at about the 10 minute mark.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, add them back to the original bowl, and mix in the rest of the ingredients, starting with the onions, followed by the bacon, sour cream and then the cheese. Again make sure everything is well coated.

*Disclaimer: I was provided a welcome kit to be a part of the program, and for this month’s challenge I received a $50 gift card to help cover the cost of food in order to complete the three ingredient challenge. Thanks again, Hormel!

Chana Masala Tacos

Through Twitter, I stumbled upon Peas and Thank You and her absoultely delicious recipes. I had seen quite a few comments in regards to her chickpea tacos, so I figured I had to check them out for myself. When thinking about it, I wasn’t really sure how chickpeas stuffed inside a taco shell would taste. But then I had remembered making those West Indian Chana Masala Wraps, and was quickly persuaded.

When I remembered making those, I got to thinking. Of course, I was planning on going with a Southwestern/Mexican styled seasoning, as what the Peas and Thank You recipe calls for. However, I decided to do something different, and instead made a Channa Masala Taco of sorts with curry, cumin, chili powder, and garam masala. I used your typical hard corn taco shells, and they actually worked well with the flavors. I wasn’t totally confident in my decision to make “Indian tacos” but my fiancé reassured me I was making a good choice. Thankfully, after trying them, I agreed.

Chana Masala Tacos
– Makes 4 tacos –

Ingredients:
4 hard corn taco shells
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 medium baking potato, cubed
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
plain yogurt
shredded lettuce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cubed potatoes with 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp of chili powder, and 1 tsp of olive oil. Using a spoon, make sure the spices coat the potatoes.
3. Spread the potatoes onto a well greased baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, zucchini, and onion with the remaining spices (1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp olive oil), and again mix to coat and combine.
5. Once the potatoes have cooked for 10 minutes, you can either add the chickpea mixture to that baking sheet, or place it on another well greased baking sheet. Have both the potatoes and the chickpea mixture bake for 10 minutes (so the potatoes will have cooked for a total of 20 minutes).
6. Fill each taco shell with some shredded lettuce, the chickpea and potato mixture, and a dollop of yogurt.

Taco Tuesday

There have been quite a few taco recipes in my queue lately, so I decided to make some this week. First up was my variation of a recipe I saw posted on SeriousEats a few weeks ago, for roasted corn and zucchini tacos. I found the combination of just corn and zucchini interesting, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I did things a little differently, though, and I roased the zucchini and corn kernels on a baking sheet in the oven, along with some red onion. Before putting them in the oven, though, I tossed them in some seasoning to give them exta flavor. I also topped the tacos with some cheese, salsa verde, and avocado. It was quick and easy, which was just what we needed, since we recently aquired a new kitten!

Trying to get a new kitten acclimated to our house, while also conditioning our cat to be tolerant of the kitten, training for a marathon, and finishing up wedding planning and getting married should leave us quite busy this summer. At least I have some ideas for quick and easy dinners to fall back on!

Roasted Zucchini, Corn, and Onion Tacos inspired by this SeriousEats recipe
– Makes 6 tacos –

Ingredients:
6 corn or flour tortillas (I used flour)
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 zucchini, sliced into quarter moons
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp Adobo
1/4 tsp taco seasoning (I used chipotle flavored)
1/2 avocado, diced
2 Tbsp salsa of your choice (I used verde)
1/4 cup shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine zucchini, corn, and onion. Drizzle olive oil and spices over vegetables, and use a spoon to mix, making sure everything is evenly coated
3. Spread the vegetables onto a greased baking sheet, and roast for about 25 minutes
4. Top each tortilla with about a spoonful of the veggie mixture, followed by some cheese, salsa, and avocado

Stuffed Peppers: Chilean Style

My alarm has been set for 5:45a every single day for the past two weeks or so, but I haven’t gotten out of bed once when it’s gone off. I’ve been well intentioned to get up and go for a quick run before work, but I’ve been having an extremely difficult time actually getting up and completing the run. For whatever reason, my running mojo hasn’t been the same since the Disney Half. I think the chronic injuries I’ve sustained have put me on the defensive side when it comes to running, afraid and waiting for that next twinge of pain I’m going to feel. To put it bluntly, I think I’m a bit scared of running. However, I’ve turned over a new leaf and have decided to face the fear of a sport I know deep down inside I love, and to just go with it. This Philadelphia Marathon isn’t going to run itself in November!

I’ve also been in a bit of a rut when it comes to cooking; I’ve been making a lot of the same things over and over again (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but I haven’t really ventured to make anything new. So, I decided to really start tackling both running and cooking new things this week. It’s time to get the old Danielle back!

I’ve only made a few things from the Vegan Fire & Spice book I bought myself a few months ago, so I decided to make something else from it this week. I love that it has recipes from all over the world, so I can expand my ethnic palate at home. After making my fiancé pick a region to focus on for the recipe, we then narrowed it down to the Chilean Stuffed Peppers. The recipe only had one pepper in terms of it’s spice level (the book goes from one to three), so I of course had to add a jalapeno to kick up the heat. I also didn’t have any soy milk on hand, so my version wasn’t truly vegan. I also used freshly diced tomatoes instead of canned.

Because this recipe was a bit longer, I was able to prep the stuffing, put them in the oven, and then go out for a three mile run. It was nice to know that something delicious was waiting at home for me. I should try that method more often!

Chilean Stuffed Peppers adapted from Vegan Fire & Spice
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
2 large bell peppers
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (I added for extra heat)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
14.5 oz. of diced tomatoes (either canned, or fresh)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup soy milk (I used regular and it was fine)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and guts. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a skillet, and add onion and jalapeno, cooking for about five minutes until slightly soft. Add the nutmeg, cumin, and cayenne, cooking for about another minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Add the corn and mix well. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs (1/2 cup), milk, sugar, and salt, and mix well. Add the bread crumb mixture to the skillet and mix until combined.
3. Fill the peppers with the corn bread crumb mixture and arrange them in a baking dish filled with 1 cup of water. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs (2 Tbsp) and oil (1 Tbsp) over the peppers. Bake for 45 minutes (took me closer to 50) or until the peppers are tender, and the stuffing is browned but still moist.

Salad with a twist

Since I’ve been all about keeping the kitchen cool the past few weeks with the summer heat, I’ve been trying to come up with healthy (and easy!) dinners that both myself and my fiancé would enjoy throughout the week that require little to no cooking. Enter, the salad.

Last week I made another taco salad, but that still required me to use the oven. Since just a “regular” salad (i.e. on a plate or in a bowl) didn’t seem adventurous enough for dinner, I decided to give lettuce wraps a try. I know they’ve been around for awhile, but aside from ordering them once at Chilis about 10 years ago, I’m pretty clueless when it comes to them. They’re typically labeled as Thai or Chinese, and include chicken, some type of cabbage mixture (with carrots), scallions, and a ginger sesame dressing. At least those were the common ingredients I found when doing some research.

Since I’ve never made them before, and have only had them once, I really didn’t know what to expect. However, I figured it would be nearly impossible to screw up, and I was right! You can really wrap almost anything in lettuce. I remember when the no-carb diet was huge, and everyone was eating their burgers with lettuce “buns” and I thought it was insane and gladly ate theirs in addition to my own bun (swimming will do that to you), but now I see the appeal. Though I’m not planning on wrapping my burgers in lettuce any time soon, I definitely want to try some other variations of this nice twist on a salad! But be prepared – it’s messy!

Unfortunately I had grand plans to make my own ginger sesame dressing, but Wegmans was out of ginger. I was so annoyed, but when I stumbled upon a Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce in the Asian aisle, all was forgiven. This sauce rocked my socks. It has a light peanut flavor with hints of ginger, rice wine, garlic, and most importantly, it has a nice kick to it! I’m looking forward to using it in other stir-fry styled dishes.

Thai Styled Lettuce Rolls
– Serves 2 very hungry adults –

Ingredients:
10 pieces of butter or Boston lettuce, washed (I used Boston)
1/2 bag rainbow cabbage mix (about 6 oz.)
handful of soybean sprouts (make sure to wash them well, no one wants e.Coli!)
2-3 Tbsp Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce
4 scallion stalks, diced
1/4 cup water chestnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped in half

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine cabbage mixture, soy bean sprouts, diced scallion, water chestnuts, and peanuts. Add peanut sauce, using a spoon toss to coat.
2. Add about a Tbsp of the mixture to each individual piece of lettuce. Roll like a miniature burrito (tucking the sides in), and have napkins handy!

Creamy and Dreamy

I tend to go through stages with my eating; one week I’ll want sushi all the time, another week it might be pasta, or french fries, or even salads. They usually stick around for a few days, and once I finally have it, the craving goes away. The past few weeks, however, have left me wanting avocados and peanut butter (with chocolate, of course) almost non-stop. Don’t worry, not together. I have visions of creamy guacamole, or avocado sliced atop a sandwich, and following it up with some type of chunky peanut butter dessert. It’s totally weird, and I’m okay with it – I think about food 90% of my day anyway.

So, when YumSugar linked to one of Oh She Glows‘ recipes that had avocado as a main ingredient, I just knew I had to try my hand at it! I don’t know why I haven’t thought of using avocado in a regular pasta dish to help make a creamy sauce, but seeing the recipe was just what I needed to try and create my own. I’ve actually made two different versions, equally delicious.

Avocado Pasta with Cannelini and Tomatoes inspired by Oh She Glows
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 cup cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat spagetti)
1 Tbsp lemon

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions (since different types of pasta require different cooking times)
2. In a food processor, add avocado, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Pulse until creamy
3. Combined cooked pasta, beans, and avocado mixture, and add tomatoes.

Avocado Pasta with Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions inspired by Oh She Glows
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp oil
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat spagetti)
1 Tbsp lemon
2 Tbsp herbed Feta (I used Athenos brand)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions (since different types of pasta require different cooking times)
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat, then add onion, sautéing until caramelized, about 10 minutes.
3. In a food processor, add avocado, basil, garlic, and lemon juice. Pulse until creamy
4. Combined cooked pasta, caramelized onions, and avocado mixture, and add tomatoes. Top with crumbled feta.

Heat Wave Fries

The past few days have been quite warm. Actually, they’ve been down-right HOT.

Growing up, whenever it was hot out, my mom would refuse to put the oven on. In the days prior to us having central air it was a godsend, and then even after we finally had central air installed, the tradition stuck. Her logic was that heating up an oven would only heat the entire house more than what was bareable. So, this meant our dinners were either grilled, or in the rare event we needed something to be cooked in some sort of oven, we opted for the toaster oven, which emitted far less heat. Like most things you encounter when you’re young, this is something that’s stuck with me, and is the norm in my own kitchen.

With it being so hot this past week, I insisted on grilling. Not only does warm weather put me in the mood for grilling, I just couldn’t stand the thought of heating up my oven to 425 degrees. It’s making me sweat just thinking about it. So, since I couldn’t make oven fries, I made grill fries! They had a perfect crisp (with a little char, of course) and were full of flavor even though I didn’t season them too much. They were a perfect compliment to our grilled veggie burgers! You should make these.

Grill Fries
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
2 baking potatoes, sliced into wedges
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat
2. Toss sliced potato wedges with oil, salt, and red pepper flakes
3. Place wedges on the top rack of the grill, and cook on each side for about 10 minutes, or until crisped to your liking

Muffin Remix

I haven’t been posting much these days, but I promise I’ve been in the kitchen! Even though I’m done with classes for the semester, a new project has taken it’s place – wedding planning! Obviously, I’ve been planning the wedding for quite some time now seeing as that we got engaged back in January 2010, but with the wedding a mere three months away, I’m in wedding overdrive.

Having taken off two weeks from running to try and rest my achey and less than perfect legs, I set out for a two mile jaunt sans music and GPS, just to get myself back in the swing of things. It was hot (85 degrees with 70% humidity), so of course it felt much worse than it actually was. Either way, it was nice to be back out there. I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with yoga, and I can already see some extra definition in my arms, but running is still my favorite.

After the run and a much needed shower, I decided to make some muffins. I basically took the same recipe from my Coconut Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins, and made them Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins… YUM! I left out sugar simply because I wasn’t paying attention. So, if you want your muffins sweeter, I would suggest adding 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the mix. Whoops!

I love muffins for one simple reason – you can eat them at any time of day as an acceptable snack. Sure you typically associate a muffin with breakfast, but you really can eat it at any time of day without breaking eating rules. We all know I’m not one for following rules, especially when it comes to eating, but you get my point.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
– makes 12 muffins –

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl (including coconut)
3. Heat butter, and stir in milk and the egg. Add that mixture into the dry mixture, to combine, finally adding in the chocolate chips.
4. Spoon mixture into greased cupcake/muffin tin, and bake for 15 minutes.