Horseradish Mashed Sweet Potato Pie

I should start this one off by saying this was the first time I had ever cooked with horseradish anything. Isn't that a fun word, horseradish.  Who comes up with these things? And did that same person also create Worcestershire sauce? Fun words. My husband likes to say Worcestershire with an English accent. It makes me laugh every time. 

Back to the white, spicy, yummy sauce. While I have never cooked with it personally I do have lots of memories with it. Food memories are the best.....As a small child, I remember my grandfather using horseradish to dip beef into. He also secretly mixed some in a spoon full of similarly colored mashed potatoes to surpise us grandchildren. It is a vivid, fun memory. As a young adult, working in high school, I remember serving horseradish next to prime rib at parties and catered events at the local hotel. Later as an adult, I worked in a deli and fell in love with horseradish cheddar cheese. That cheese can make a turkey sandwich the best thing you have ever eaten, and can turn a roast beef sandwich into something magical.  

This dish is perfect Sunday comfort food. I just didn't wait for Sunday. My dad is flying in and I didn't want to experiment on him! I am a good daughter....... well most of the time. 

Look at these fluffy creamy mashed potatoes. I am serious. It is delicious. By the way, this Rachael Ray recipe that I tweaked, says its serves 4 but really serves 6! I have beaucoup leftovers, which isn't a bad thing, but it is a surprise. This recipe isn't the time saver I usually post about, but the flavors and all the chopping is well worth your effort. Trust me. I had to fight the temptation to lick my bowl out!  Here's a link to the original recipe in case you want just want just regular plain mashed potatoes. Personally the sweetness goes with the horseradish perfectly. It's like that unexpected couple that you see out at the store... how did she end up with him? Yes in this dish,  the horseradish sauces marries the sweet potato and they live happily ever after. Okay I need help. Way too many kiddo stories lately. I am thinking in fairy tales. 

The recipe:

   Ingredient list:   
1 large sweet potato, peeled & diced
3 baking russet potatoes, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1/2 onion, diced 
3 parsnips, peeled & diced
1 rutabaga, peeled & diced
1 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb of ground beef
1 Tbs half and half or heavy cream
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth/stock
1 1/2 cups of low sodium beef broth/stock
1 1/2 Tbs prepared horseradish sauce
butter (for prepping the baking casserole dish)
2 Tbs olive oil (eye ball it) 
2 Tbs flour
1 large bay leaf
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce 
1 large egg
2-3 Tbs of chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Chop all the veggies into like size cubes

2. Put the diced potatoes and sweet potato into a big pot with cold water. Bring it to a boil with 1/2 tsp salt.


3. Meanwhile put the small diced onion, carrots, parsnips, and rutabaga in a large a very large or deep skillet with the olive oil, 1 tsp salt, a bay leaf, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for  8 - 10 minutes. Think tender crisp. 

4. Once potatoes come to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for approx 10-15 minutes until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and return back to the pot. 

5. To the drained potatoes add in the chicken broth and cream. Mash until smooth. Taste. Then adjust seasonings (add more salt or pepper or leave it). 

6. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk 1 egg with a fork. Pour this and the horseradish sauce into the mashed potatoes and stir until well combined. Set aside. 

7. While waiting for the veggies to saute in the olive oil, pull the beef out of the fridge and let it come to room temp, and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Butter up a large baking dish and pull out of cookie sheet/baking sheet to go underneath it. 

8. Once the veggies start looking tender add the beef to the pan and cook until all the pink is gone. Stir and break up large pieces often. 

9. After the meat has cooked for approx 10 minutes or whenever it stopped looking pink. Sprinkle in the flour over the top and stir and continue cooking for 1 minute. You don't want to taste the flour. It needs to cook out. Don't skip this tedious step because it will thicken your sauce. 

10. Add the beef broth to the skillet and let it cook for approx 2 minutes. Mine took 2 minutes exactly to thicken. Stir the entire time. You want to get all those bits of yummy veg and meat off the bottom of your skillet. 

11. Dig out the bay leaf. Taste it. If it needs more salt or pepper add it here. Mine needed 1/2 tsp salt. Pour the skillet mixture into the prepared large casserole dish. I used 7" x 11" but it bubbled over. Next time use something bigger.

Great color, amazing rich thick gravy, great texture since we didn't boil the veggies to mush, nice chunks of beef
I could've eaten this with a spoon and called it a day!  

12. Top the baking dish with the reserved sweet potato mixture. Bake for 10- 12 minutes or until golden and browned bits cover the top.

13. Sprinkled chives or parsley over the top for color and freshness.  

After watching the Hobbit in 3d with my hubby, I felt the need to be adventurous, and try a new food or sauce. This dish being a result from a movie? If that is true, I need to watch more adventure epic flicks! This was a great dish I hope you try and like it. It certainly has enough veggies it in to make up for any pizza or busy weekend and start the week off right. Besides if you make it on Sunday, you will have AMAZING leftovers for Monday at lunch.

Cheers to healthy yummy food

From my kitchen to yours

Jerk Fish with Pineapple Rice

Beautiful. Simply elegant. Easy to make. Easy to eat. 

I reluctantly admit, I had been sitting on this recipe for awhile before trying it. Wow! It had some heat, which you should expect with anything with the words "jerk" in them, but it was mild. My 3 yr old even enjoyed it, which for him usually heat/spiciness is a prect.  It had enough sweetness to cut the heat, but not take it away. It was done in 20 minutes and had only 5 steps. My 3 yr old even enjoyed it, which for him usually heat/spiciness is a problem. 

I cannot wait to do this one again, in the warmer months. It will be a wonderful addition to recipes that can be done on the outside on the grill/bbq. Trust me in Arizona during the summer the last thing you want is a heated kitchen when its 110+ outside. Besides grilled pineapple is the best!  It gets a deeper orange caramelized golden color and texture. Grilled pineapple makes a great dessert. 

This recipe is from a Rachael Ray magazine Feb 2008.  

1 1/2 cup of rice
2 Tbs unsalted butter
4 pieces of tilipia
Sliced pineapple (2 slices per person)
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted (original recipe had peas - use what you have)
1 lime, cut into wedges
1/4 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning blend per fish per side 
1 Tbs oil
1/4 tsp or 1 cube chicken bullion flavor
1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can with the sliced pineapple)
2 1/2 cups water (original recipe called for 1/2 a cup of unsweetened coconut milk - will be doing next time just subbed water for it this time) 
1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine the rice, salt, butter, pineapple juice, chicken bullion flavor, and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer, undisturbed & covered, for 15 minutes. 

2.  Coat and rub the seasoning into each side of the fish fillets. 

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the fish for approx 6-8 minutes (3 or 4 minutes each side until golden). Fish cooks fast. Watch it carefully. 

4. Remove the fish when cooked and set aside, put the sliced pineapple in the skillet until golden approx 2 or 3 minutes over med low heat. 

5. Chop some of the pineapple up and mix it with the rice. Serve the rest of the pineapple on top of the fish. Combine the defrosted corn with the rice and garnish with the lime wedges. 

Super flavorful. Super easy. 

Time may be against you in the kitchen but with this 20 minute meal you will win every time! 

From my kitchen yours

Caramel Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.... happy birthday to me!
In honor of my birthday have a cinnamon roll on me. These were delish! I love the fact that they are a make ahead too! Yes a make ahead cinnamon roll. You do have to make the caramel sauce the day of, but that takes only minutes. Enjoy!

The recipe was adapted from Mom on Time Out. A great site. You should check it out. 

For the rolls:

4 1/2 tsp or 2 pkgs of active dry yeast

1/2 cup of warm milk

3 eggs

2 tsp + 1/2 cup white sugar (divided)

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups of flour

1/2 cup of melted butter

For the filling:

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp of salt (just a sprinkle)
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/8 cup chopped almonds 

Caramel Icing*:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup half and half
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

*update: After eating and making these amazing things over two days (to celebrate my birthday) I will be trying these again. I loved the caramel icing it also gave the rolls a nice gloss. The changes i will make cutting the sugar down a little bit (1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup) in the main roll dough recipe, trying it with whole wheat white flour instead of all purpose flour to increase nutrition, and using 1/3- 1/2 less icing just because on the second day it got a little too sweet. But was very nice to have breakfast covered for two days in a row!  You will not be disappointed if you make these. 

To make the rolls: 

1. Mix together the 2 tsp sugar, warm milk, and yeast in a small bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes. 

2. While waiting, beat the eggs in a mixer bowl or a large bowl. Add in the rest of the sugar and salt until well combined. 

3. After the 5 minutes is up pour the yeast mixture into the larger bowl. Whisk to combine. 

4. Slowly add in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is stiff. You may start out using a hand mixer or mixer but may need to just use your hands towards the end. 

5. Let the dough rest and rise for approx 1 hour in a covered, buttered bowl. 

6. While waiting make the filling. Chop the pecans, almonds, peanuts and melt the butter. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and nuts. 

7. After the dough has risen. lightly flour your work surface and punch the dough and roll it out to a large rectangle. You are looking for something like 12 by 16 inches. 

8. Once evenly flat, with a rubber spatula spread the melted butter from edge to edge of the dough. Then sprinkle the nut/sugar mixture over the top. 

9. Starting  with the longest side of and roll it up like a log. Pinch the ends close. 

10. Butter a large baking dish and cut the dough log into 10 equal pieces. Place them in the buttered baking dish leaving some room for them rise for an hr in a warm place. Use plastic wrap or a clean towel over the top. 

11. Place them in the refrigerator with plastic wrap over them and bake the next day. Or if baking immediately continue to step 12. 

12. On baking day pull the rolls out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Mine were actually still a bit cold and had been out for half hr on top of the preheating warm oven.  If you are using fresh dough, not from the day before, you do not need to give it extra time to get warm. 

13. Preheat oven to 375 bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

14. While the rolls are baking make the caramel icing. To make the icing melt the butter in a small pan. Once the butter is melted add in the brown sugar and salt. Stir until smooth over low heat for 5 minutes. Should be a nice brown rich color. 

15. Add the half and half to the caramel sauce. Whisk for a few more minutes to create a super smooth sauce. Last, add in the vanilla and the powered sugar.

16. Remove the sauce pan from heat, and continoue whisking for several more minutes until extremely smooth. The lumps of the powedered sugar will dissolve into a lighter nice brown sauce. (This is your pre-cinnamon roll comsumption workout)

17. Remove the rolls from the oven and pour on icing immediately. Let the icing run all over and into the cracks. At first it will look the rolls are swimming this will settle. Let them cool for a few minutes. Serve warm to good friends, visiting guests, and of course anyone having a birthday needs one too. 

May your birthday be as tasty and sweet as mine was today. Thanks for visiting and sharing it with me. 

From my Az kitchen to yours 

Cafe Brunch: Whole Grain Berry French Toast

My husband's favorite place to eat is a chain breakfast restaurant. He is addicted to their pancakes and omelets. I should just face it and admit that he would rather have breakfast food three times a day than anything else I could whip up. This is obvious if you were to look in my freezer. It is full of "make ahead" breakfast foods such as waffles, breakfast burritos, and sausage egg cheese drive thru fake out sandwiches. I actually had my first date with my husband at this "said" breakfast chain restaurant.  Since that memorable first date, over 8 years later of marriage and friendship, we have often returned to this reliable place for lazy Saturday breakfasts (pre-kiddo), and on, during, or after many trips all over the place throughout the United States. Thankfully a couple of those were extremely handy 24 hr ones. 

But you asked ME what I preferred.... welll

While I do like someone else bringing me unlimited amounts of coffee, and putting up with my somewhat loud and playful son at a decent but chain like restaurant, I would rather eat at a cafe. This bread I made for valentines day made AMAZING french toast. It was just like something I had dreamed up in a cafe. The bread itself was amazing fresh out of the oven with some butter. It was not too sweet, but so flavorful. I love the fact that I could use the leftovers in a new way. I suspect it would be excellent as a dessert as well in a bread pudding. If you missed the whole grain berry bread recipe, shame on you, no just kidding. Please click here for the link. If you are concerned about time, no stress... the bread dough can made in advance and kept covered in the fridge. 

Making Berry French Toast

Serves 3 (2 pieces each)

Easy Five Step Recipe

Ingredient list: 

1/2 loaf of whole grain berry bread

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs

2-3 Tbs powdered sugar (optional)

butter 

syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon, each piece

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

1. Cut the bread into thick pieces. 

2. Mix up the egg, milk in a flat dish and dip each piece of bread in it. Each piece should be dripping with egg. 

3. Fry up these delicous bread pieces in a flat skillet with a tiny bit of cooking spray or oil or melted butter 3-5 minutes each side - until browned and delicous

4. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of each one while they are cooking. Dump any remaining egg mixture around the bread to create a bit of eggy texture. 

5. After cooking serve hot with french bread favorites such as butter, syrup, fresh berry topping, powdered sugar

Eat & enjoy. 

The cafe yummy brunch can be in your kitchen this week. 

I can hear your taste buds rejoicing. 

From my kitchen to yours

Cheesy Chorizo Breakfast Quesadilla Topped with Egg

The title may throw you off, if it does please keep reading. Usually quesadillas are lunch, brunch, dinner or appetizer food - not breakfast food. If you fill it with the right ingredients and top it with a perfect egg, it magically transforms into the breakfast of your dreams.  It's visually attractive and delightful flavorful breakfast or brunch fare for birthday breakfasts, lazy weekends, and even company. This would be awesome for the upcoming cinqo de mayo holiday.  Okay May is a bit aways off still. You gotta try this. Call it a practice run (wink, wink). I won't tell. You don't want to wait until May to try this... the heat is perfect on a colder morning like February. 

Disclaimer: It is not healthy. It is a special treat and tastes like one. The ingredient list says it all: melted cheddar cheese and Monterrey jack cheese throughout, topped with full fat sour cream, and cubed avocado, ground pork and beef chirozo, with a freshly over medium egg over everything. Upon it being served, prick the yolk with your fork and let golden sauce drip over the edge of the quesdilla onto the plate. Wow. The yolk seems to tie the dish together and elevate it to the next level. 

Please note: I did modify the recipe, heat wise, to adapt it for my three year old but feel free to double or triple amount of jalapenos to the recipe. I suspect it would be great just not kiddo-friendly. I made this with flour tortillas but I think it would taste great with whole wheat or corn. Experiment with the flavors. 

Recipe serves 4. Serving size 1 quesadilla. 

Recipe is from Kevin at Closet Cooking.

Ingredient List:
1 jalapeno pepper, grilled or charred using the oven (broiler) or a grill pan on the stove
1/2 package (approx 4 oz) beef chorizo 
1/2 package (approx 4.5 oz) ground pork sausage with sage
4 burrito size (10 inch) tortillas
2 cups jack, shredded
1 cup cheddar, shredded
1 green onion (will double this next time)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped or torn
4 eggs
1 avocado
4 Tbs sour cream (optional)

1. Grill or broil the pepper if not yet done, chop up finely when  it is cool to the touch. Remove seeds and membranes if desired. 

2. Cook the beef and pork sausages in a large skillet over medium heat, approx 5 minutes. No oil needed the fat from the pork should render out enough. Drain the fat off when done. Add the pepper to the mix mixture.

3. In additional skillet or 2 burner flat grill pan lay flat as many tortilla as will fit. Over one side put 1/4 cup of each shredded cheeses, 1 tsp green onion, 1 tsp cilantro, and 1/4th of the meat mixture. Fold over the tortillas and let the cheese melt and the outside crispy. 

4. Top each folded tortilla with an additional 1/4 cup of shredded cheese just to make it a tiny bit cheesier, a tiny bit more decadent.  

5. While the cheese is melting fry up some eggs, gently. Don't break the yolks like I did this morning on half of my eggs - opps.  If you use the same pan as the meat was cooked in, you don't need any oil and may pick up some additional flavor, which is a plus. 


6. Serve the quesadillas on a large plates, Top them with the freshly cooked eggs, sour cream, and remaining cilantro for color and garnish. 

Eat and Enjoy! 

We did have to use steak/table knives while eating, which was messy for my 3 yr old, but it had such great flavor. I hope you enjoy it, and your next morning in or brunch with friends. You don't need reservations to have a great Mexican inspired breakfast. 

From my kitchen to yours 

Cornmeal Crusted Fish Sandwiches with Lime Butter

Here fishy, fishy, fishy. My hubby used to have a hat that said that. It was lost in one our moves while we were in the navy. Speaking of fish though, I have a fun fish sandwich recipe for you to try. Fish, white fish, in specific has been a part of our weekly rotation for over a month now. It is a nice change. I had gotten out of the habit since moving away from the coast of Southern California almost a year ago now. It was so much easier when it was local, and warm all the time (hahaha). You don't realize what you have, until its gone. Oh well. At least I have this crunchy, flavorful sandwich to console me. The real great thing about this dish is that you can make in approx 15 minutes - a weeknight happy meal. This is something you can throw together instead of doing a drive thru, that after having a few bites, you realize has messed up your order, or really just doesn't taste all that great. This healthier than drive thru twist will make your taste buds rejoice. Personally I thought this was brilliant. I love compound butters. I suspect this lime butter would be awesome over grilled corn in the summer time. 

This recipe is from a cooking light magazine and the original can be found here. 

Serving size: 1 Sandwich. Recipe makes 4 servings. 

The recipe: 

3 Tb yellow cornmeal

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika

1/4 tsp heaping chipotle chile powder

4 (4-6 oz each) tilapia fillets

cooking spray or foil and butter (whatever your go to is for non stick)

2 Tbs butter, softened

1/2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp grated lime peel

toppings for the sandwich: cheese, tomato, lettuce

bread: 4 french bread rolls

1. Preheat the broiler

2. Combine all the seasonings and cornmeal in a shallow dish

3. Pat the fish dry and then coat each one in the seasoned cornmeal

4. Use the cooking spray to prevent sticking on a broiler pan or baking sheet. I used foil, and a cooling rack over a baking sheet to help the air circulate and create that crunchy crust. 

5. Broil for approx 10 minutes for until the fish flakes easily with a fork

6. While the fish is cooking, set the table, whip up a side dish such as a salad or fresh fruit, or grapes (like the picture in the magazine), and combine the butter, lime peel, and lime juice in a small bowl. If you have more time this would be great with fries, onion rings, or sweet potato fries.

7. Serve the fish sandwiches with the rolls and let each person top their french bread buns with the lime butter. 

8. Serve immediately and enjoy

In conclusion, here is a good easy fun recipe for weeknights when you look at the clock and wonder if it is better to eat out or attempt to eat at home. no reservations or fast food restaurants are needed when you can do dinner in 15 minutes!! 

Even though the 15 minute promise seems a bit fishy, 

that i am telling a tall tale or a fish story, do try it. 

 From my kitchen to yours

Bacon Guacamole with Fish Tacos

Oh wow. I think. I stumbled across something EPIC yesterday. I mean, of course, bacon adds flavor to food, but wow. Combining bacon and guacamole made me want to sing, and dance across the room. On top of some chips or tacos this bacon delight is the perfect completion to your next dinner, party, or game. Originally I was going to make this for friends and the time just got away from me. So this salty, creamy dip ended up as part of my family's taco night.  It took about 8 minutes to prep and put together. Overall the recipe is very easy, very speedy, and even the most basic of cooks can handle this no problem. Don't settle for plain ol' store bought guacamole when this is only a handful of ingredients and less than 10 minutes away. I know this memorable dip will be making more appearances in my home, especially during football season! 

Serves 3 or 4 or ummm two in our house last night

Recipe from Kevin at Closet Cooking - most flavorful and amazing blog you have to check it out.  Here's the link to his website. Click here. Enjoy! 

Bacon Guacamole Ingredients

2 large ripe avocados
1/4 of a red onion approx 1/4 cup ( I didn't measure)
1 jalapeño ( I took the seeds out of mine since I have a youngster)
2 Tbs cilantro (healthy handful)
1 medium sized tomato, diced
1/4 tsp salt. kosher, course
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp lemon juice (added this to the original recipe)
4 strips of bacon, cooked to a crisp

Directions

1. Cook the bacon until crispy. Pat the grease off and crumble it into a small bowl

2. Mash the avocados slightly, in a medium sized bowl, if you like chunky guac, just leave it all in chunks

3. Combine all the ingredients in the medium sized bowl.

4. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. This was pretty mild as far as heat. I kept it on the mild/medium side for my kiddo, but feel free to add heat by adding another jalapeno, more pepper, or even some red pepper flakes.

5. Serve with chips or on tacos or just grab a spoon! 

Chipotle Herbed Burgers. Welcome Spring!

It is almost spring, a few short weeks away. I am super excited. It's starting to warm up here in Arizona. It is hitting the 70s a lot more and sunny and perfect outside. This garden fresh burger fits the bill perfectly. The fragrant herbs were an easy, no fuss addition. It made for a carefree dinner along with some simple homemade fries. The freshness of the herbs, the slight kick from the chipotle, upgraded it from just "another burger recipe". Feel free to add more chipotle to make it even more spicy. I cook for a little guy so I have to moderate. Wahoo. Another enjoyable meal in less than 30 minutes. Face it, its the weekend, time to eat, play, and enjoy life. Sometimes I want to spend hours in the kitchen but when the weather is this nice, I want to spend more time outside. Even a beginner cook would feel at ease whipping these burgers up for a skillet or bbq this spring. 

Chipotle Herbed Burgers

Serves 3 or 4  

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray Feb 2008 Magazine Everyday

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 tsp dried dill (I couldn't find fresh at the store) 

1 1/2 Tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

1 large shallot finely diced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 chipotle & some adobe sauce, finely chopped

1 Tbs olive oil

Hamburger buns ( I used this recipe to make some buns - was great!)

Mustard, Ketchup, and whatever toppings you like

2 slices cheese - I cut the cheese (Colby) into triangles and put 2 triangles on each burger

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (usually add this to all my burgers to bring out the meaty taste)

Homemade bread makes a kitchen smell amazing. I made these one day in advance.
See the link above for recipe for these delightful things! 

Directions:

1. In a bowl mix meat, salt, pepper, herbs, sauce and chipotle

2. Heat the oil on an indoor grill, outdoor grill, or skillet 

3. Grill burgers approx 5-7 minutes on each side over medium - or medium low

(don't move around in the pan - let them sit and get a bit caramelized on the bottom) 

4. Flip burgers only once and when a few minutes before cooking time is done, check temp to make sure it is to the doneness that you prefer, and add the cheese. 

The cheese needs at least a minute - two minutes to get melty. Meat will continoue cooking a minute or so on the plate so take that into consideration if you are wanting it medium or rarer. 

5. Heat the buns and serve with desired toppings and sides

Optional sides that would go great with this: Corn on the cob, fries, chips, watermelon, tater tots, potato salad, green salad, any sort of fresh spring time veggie, lemonade, or sweet tea

Hope you are enjoying the last little bit of winter. I know some areas just were hit with a lot of snow. So keep making soups, stews, and yummy hardy casseroles  if you are in that predicament. If not pull out the sunglasses and get ready for Easter because 

Spring is coming! 

Cheers for getting ready for spring food

From my kitchen to yours

Pepperoni Pizza

Red Pepper Pesto Pepperoni Pizza (trust me) 

Pizza. Every kid's favorite food, right? Okay and well a lot of adults. During the fall we regularly have pizza every Monday night football. This version gives the ol' pepperoni stand by a push into adult sophistication and ups the nutrition up a bit. The name is Red Pepper Pesto Pepperoni Pizza to be exact. It even sounds a bit more refined. Wow what a difference a bit of pesto makes in the place of tomato red sauce on a pizza. I have been on a pesto kick for a few weeks now. It started with the cilantro walnut pesto I made for fish tacos, and then parsley walnut pesto I made for pork chops (both of those can be easily be found under the dinner tab). So naturally I saw this recipe in a Rachael Ray magazine and got super excited. Try it now or make it when summer hits... amazing flavor 

I needed some comfort food to start the busy weekend. Its been one of those days.... okay I will level with ya. Any day in which you have a doctors appointment that you have to strip off clothing for the doctor  - I personally think pizza should always be in order! I am making a new household rule :) 

So I picked up a loaf of french bread from the bakery and whipped this up in under 30 minutes. Super flavorful. Super yummy!!! My son hasn't even noted that he's eating 2 different veggies. The first thing you taste when you crunch into this delight is the freshness of the basil, red pepper, and tomato. Then you taste the creamy melted cheese. The pepperoni isn't a star of this pizza pie although it certainly can be if you add more than I did. So if the pepperoni is a supporting cast member, the red pepper shines brightly as the star of the show. As a veg with tons of vitamins I am happy to let it shine in the company of cheese and bread and pepperoni, probably a mom thing. Red bell pepper has fiber, vitamin a, vitamin b-6, manganese, niacin, potassium, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamin c. Some of those change when cooked, but if you roast it you aren't using any water and it doesn't change the vitamin c level which makes me happy when colds are still hitting people so hard this winter/early spring. To read more about nutrition, please click here. The original Rachael Ray recipe, from the 2010 magazine, that this was adapted from can be seen, by clicking here. 

Serves 4 

To make this amazing pizza gather these ingredients: 

1. Loaf of french bread, split horizontally 
2. 2 red bell peppers
3. 1 Tb olive oil + more for drizzling
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 1/4 tsp pepper
6. 1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
7. 1/3 cup fresh basil chopped
8. 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
9. 1 & 1/2 - 2 cups of shredded cheese for topping the pizza 
 (use the cheese of your choice. I used one labeled pizza) 
10. half a package of pepperoni (about 1 1/2 oz) 
11. One roma tomato, chopped into chunks

Directions 

1. Preheat your bbq or grill. 

2. Remove the core and seeds from the red peppers, and quarter them. Put them in a bowl with the olive oil and toss until they are all coated. 

3. Roast the peppers for 5 minutes on each side until they are charred

4. In a food processor put the 1/3 cup shredded cheese, basil, chopped tomato, salt, lemon juice, and pepper. 

5. Let the peppers cool and then remove some of the charred black skin. I left about half because I like the smell and taste of "bbq" foods. Put the red peppers in the food processor and let it pulse for about 10 seconds. 

6.  Start drizzling in some olive oil until it comes together like a liquidity paste. Taste it to make sure the salt & pepper is right. 

7. Preheat oven to 350. 

8. Cut the french bread. Pull out some of the middle sections and save them for breadcrumbs later. I threw about a cups worth of the inside fluffy bread into a zip lock bag and threw it in the freezer. But removing some of the bread you can really load the yummy pesto and cheese on. Save the bread calories so you can spend them on some real flavor. 

9. Spread the pesto over the bread (this amount will fully cover plus so pile it on or use some for something else). I am thinking this pesto would taste amazing over chicken. Layer on the cheese and pepperoni and bake. 

10. I used a oven and cookie sheet at 350 for approx 8 minutes until everything looked melted and hot. But you could do this on a grill quite easily or a pizza stone. Make it your own ;) 

This is the ultimate comfort pizza meal. 

Perfect for the upcoming 3 day weekend. 

From my kitchen to yours... happy Friday!