Pizza night!

Pizza night! It's always a blast when we make pizza at home. I love mixing different ingredients and trying new types of pizza. This evening we tried making pizza on Naan bread and it was actually better than the Pillsbury pizza dough! So here's to some delicious pizza and many more of these nights to come! Enjoy the pics :)

I love using the fresh vegetables on the pizza! It makes it feel like it's more healthy ;)

I bought way to much basil, but this bag was the same price as the smaller one! Anybody have some recipes that call for basil?? 

This is the mixture I spread over the pizza dough. It has minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian seasonings and some of the fresh basil chopped up. 

Andy and I have this weird love for banana peppers, so I bought a jar of them and sliced them up and added as many would fit on the pizza.

Here is the Pillsbury wheat pizza dough. I won't be using this again. It never got crispy enough for my liking, and it had more of a bread taste to it than a pizza dough taste. 

^basil, tomato, arugula and mozzarella  pizza^ 

 

Mushroom, banana pepper, tomato, basil and goat cheese pizza on Naan bread. It was as good, if not better, than a restaurant style flatbread pizza.

Cape Cod Pasta

This recipe is worth saving on your computer, writing down in a cookbook, sharing with your friends and cooking as often as possible. This pasta dish is not as healthy as I'd prefer, but I think that's why it tastes so darn good.

I served the pasta with a side salad and some whole wheat bread and butter. 

Cape Cod Pasta
                                          

1/2 package center cut bacon, chopped
14 ounces of veggie pastaHalf yellow onion, chopped2 cloves of garlic, chopped16 ounces heavy creamBay leaf (if you have it)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken brothChopped basil, at least two tablespoons for cooking and some for garnish

*you could add peas, corn, broccoli...anything you like.
*you can sub pancetta for the bacon

Place a large pot of salted water on the stove.

While you are waiting for the water to boil cook the chopped bacon in a non-stick pan over med-high heat and crisp it up. Be sure to not burn or on't overcook.

Once the bacon is crispy, take a few paper towels and some tongs and sop up some of the bacon grease and throw away. But make sure to leave about two tablespoons of grease in the bottom of the pan. Then add the chopped onions, salt and pepper and cook until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Add your garlic and let cook for another two minutes, or so.


Add noodles to your boiling water. ( I used orecchiette pasta instead of the veggie pasta) 


Add the cream and two tablespoons basil.  Allow for the cream reduce by half. Taste it. Does it need something else? If so, add something else that may flavor your sauce! (salt, crushed red pepper, parmesan cheese, the options are endless) Finally, add chicken broth to lighten it up the sauce. Let it simmer until it thickens a bit. 

At this point the sauce is done. ( unless you plan to add peas, broccili or some type of vegatble) 

In another pot bring water to a boil, then add two large breasts of chicken. Cook until there is no pink in the center. (I don't own a meat thermometer, so I just slice it and half to check). Once the chick is cooked, shred it using two forks.

Then add the chicken, (vegetables) and cooked pasta to the sauce. 

Give it all a good stir and let it simmer for just a few more minutes, and then you are done!

Simple. Easy. Delicious.

** My dad couldn't stop talking about how much he liked it. It was so good, we even ate the leftovers again the very next night!

 -original recipe from Heidi Darwish

Capturing my dad in the moment.

Just a view from our window that evening. 

White Chocolate, Cranberry & Walnut Pumpkin Spice Cookies

A few months ago I came up with this rockin' recipe. Not only is it easy, it tastes deliciously homemade too. So here's what you need...

Shopping List:

1. Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cookie mix 
2. 1 Egg
3. 1 stick of butter
4. 1/2 cup of cranberries
5. 2/3 cup of white chocolate chips
6. 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (or nuts of your choice)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix into a large bowl egg, butter and 2 tablespoons of water.

Measure out the cranberries, walnuts, and chocolate.

Chop walnuts (skip if you bought pre-chopped walnuts).

Pour into dough mixture.

Stir until mixed well.  

Then bake on a stone for for 12 minutes until golden brown on the edges.

Let cool before transferring to a tray. Then enjoy!

Just a regular Wednesday night....

Last night my dad enjoyed a relaxing and fun evening together. I made this: 

Broccoli and Sausage Fusilli

It was a variation of this recipe...

What i changed from the original recipe that I got off Mix and Match Mama's blog was the type of pasta I used. I replaced the sausage ravioli with whole wheat fusilli for a healthier alternative. I also eliminated the panko crumble on top and added crushed red pepper for some heat and a few other ingredients to spruce it up! It turned out to be super delicious. 


Here's what you do:

Shopping List

1 box of whole wheat fusilli
1 bag of frozen broccoli
1/2 white onion (finely chopped)
1 link of italian sausage
1 (16 ounce ) jar Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 table spoon of crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta and in another pan brown sausage and onion. Then add brocoli, that has already been defrosted, to the pan and reduce heat to low. Once the pasta is cooked add it to the pan with the entire jar of Alfredo sauce. Then remove from stovetop pour into a pyrex and cover the top with the Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, remove the foil and let it broil for 5 minutes to make the cheese crispy and slightly brown. 

We watched this movie while we ate: 

Good movie, but too much cussing and yelling. 

And for dessert we had: 

A+ but I sure wish it would've had chocolate in it!

It was my first time to try this flavor. I didn't love it as much as I love the Half Baked flavor, but it was still amazing. I truly think all of Ben & Jerry's flavors are terrific and I probably couldn't buy one I didn't like! I'd be extremely surprised if that ever happened. 

Nights like these are fun and are memories I will look back on for forever. I know one day I won't be living with my dad, so I am trying to cherish our time together as much as I can!