Chunky Chicken and Chutney Pizza

We've been making homemade pizza about once a week. I've been using PW's pizza dough recipe for a few months, but yesterday I was completely out of olive oil. So, instead, I picked up a package of Publix pizza dough, the plain kind, which was on sale for $1.79. If it stays about that price, it is worth it to me to buy it rather than make it. I will gladly pay the dollar for my time! And the flavor was excellent. (They'll never know it wasn't completely from scratch. Unless you tell them.)

For my Chicken and Chutney Pizza, I used this recipe as my inspiration, but then added some twists of my own.

Chunky Chicken and Chutney Pizza

Crust:
Make your own or buy pre-made ball of dough, but treat it like homemade:
1. Put a little olive oil in a large bowl.
2. Put dough in bowl, cover with towel, and let rise 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings.

Chicken:
1. In a square or rectangular metal baking pan, add 1 Tbsp EVOO.
2. Coat 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with oil and sprinkle S+P on top.
3. Drizzle with Worchestershire sauce.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes in a 375 degree oven (yours may vary) or until cooked through.
5. Chop chicken into small, bite-size squares.

Chutney:
The "sauce" in this pizza is a homemade chutney. Me like.
1. Dice 2-3 plum tomatoes.
2. Combine with 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/4 tsp Garam Masala* in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until thickened.

Other toppings:
Chopped green onions, sharp white cheddar cheese, and fresh diced plum tomatoes work well, as per the original recipe. But you could experiment. I might try chickpeas.

To assemble:
Spread crust onto a pizza stone or baking tray. Use your fingers. Get kids to help.
Bake crust for 3 minutes at 400 degrees to prepare the crust to hold toppings.
Spread the prepared chutney on the crust. Add chicken, onions, tomatoes and cheese.
Bake assembled pizza at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy! Even the leftovers are delicious.

* Garam Masala is a smoky-sweet blend of Indian spices and I bought it a while back for a curry dish. The original called for Jamaican jerk seasoning, which I don't have, so I opted for this which gave it a nice, mild kick.

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Thank you Mr. Anonymous Cooking.com Warehouse Packager

Someone should write a "Real Men of Genius" song with that title.

A few weeks ago, one Saturday morning, a box arrived at our doorstep. It was filled with goodies from Cooking.com. I ordered about five items using a gift card from some reward points. Included was an OXO mandoline and a new easy-grip peeler, both of which I desperately needed to make my life easier (think: scalloped potatoes). Among the other things I ordered was a single 8x8 square metal baking pan.

When I opened the box, there was actually a separate, smaller box from the manufacturer that listed four new baking pans, straight from the original warehouse. It was still sealed. Sure enough, when I opened it, there were FOUR metal baking pans inside. Sweet! Free baking pans! (16 layer cake, anyone?!)

But, because I'm me, I actually called customer service and asked them what I should do. Part of me thought that if I ran a large warehouse like that, I'd like to know it happened. The other part probably felt guilty and wondered if they would somehow find out and charge me for them. Still, I had a hunch the shipping would not be worth the cost of sending it back. I was right! The lady actually told me, "It's your lucky day!" And it was.

Though I am grateful for the three extra pans, someone in their warehouse department needs to be a bit more careful when filling orders. The box I received clearly said that there were four inside. Since each pan sells for around $8, if a mistake like that happens too often the losses could certainly add up. But hey, I just got $24 worth of free merchandise and so I am not complaining!

The customer service representative actually made a joke about making me send them something baked in the pans to make up for it. Though it was an empty gesture, I might actually get around to making some cookie bars one day and sending them off. I'm that grateful!

By the way, I did receive everything else in my order and it is all excellent. I highly recommend using Cooking.com if you need anything for the kitchen. (They did not pay to say this, with baking pans or otherwise. I just thought I'd give them a plug because they are so nice.)

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Dear Fall,

My calendar says you arrived today, but I just won't believe it until I see you and your bags on my doorstep.

Though we do have quite a bit of leaves in our yard that go crunch, crunch when we walk outside, they are brown and dry. And the 90-degree temperatures do not make us excited about raking them up.

These pictures are from your visit last year. Remember what a good time we had? We hope you get here all dolled up and ready to party, perhaps in something red:



Please come back and visit us soon, won't you?

Sincerely,
Your Favorite Leaf-Pile Jumpers

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A Shaky Win Is Still a Win

Yellow Jackets Top Tar Heels in Wild One, 30-24

All in all, a solid effort, yet plenty of room for improvement. The offense looked good, and had some moments of greatness (see Orwin Smith's 73-yard TD run on the third play of Tech's opening drive). Yet there were some killer mistakes, including a couple of drive-ending flubs on the pitch. Nesbitt completed 75% of his passes -- but he only threw four of them. (Granted, they were for 76 yards and a score.) The defense gave up tons of yards, yet ended up saving the day in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

Up next: at home versus NC State.

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Milestones

Yesterday, Ethan went to the potty all by himself without any prompting. We hadn't even been considering potty training, really. We'd just put the little blue potty in the bathroom because he asked for it one day. He's been sitting on it sometimes, usually clothed but sometimes without a diaper, though so far there had been no success. So when I had to change him after lunch yesterday, he just sat himself down on the little seat naked as a jaybird and went tee-tee all on his own. We clapped and cheered and did the potty dance and I think he was as shocked as we were! Nineteen months old, I tell you! I love the thought of having NO kids in diapers...

This morning, as we were getting into the car, Jacob climbed in by himself as always and buckled the top part of his 5-point harness. He's been doing that for a while now and just hadn't been able to manage the two parts of the buckle at his waist. Well, I ran back inside the house to grab a sippy cup and when I came out he said, "Mommy, Mommy! I buckled myself in ALL THE WAY!" And sure enough, I checked it and he had! We are raising some independent kids, I tell you. Three and a half years old. At least he can't UNbuckle himself from his carseat yet. I imagine that could be dangerous right now until he learns a bit more restraint.

Still, I have to admit I am proud of my boys!

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The Agony of Defeat

Georgia Tech Falls at Kansas, 28-25

Whether Kansas was fired up after their upset loss last week or Tech just got caught looking ahead, the result was four quarters of uninspired football by the Jackets. The offense just wasn't clicking, and the defense needs to get their act together, quick. The dumb mistakes didn't help, either. (Roughing the kicker? Seriously?) Saturday was an epic fail for the ACC, and Tech unfortunately contributed to the mess.

With the loss, Tech tumbles out of the Top 25. There's a lot of work to do to get ready for next weekend's ACC opener at UNC.

But, at least the Bulldogs lost.


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So Goes Bloglines

As of October 1, Bloglines will be no more.

Most of you are probably saying, "Huh? I have no idea what that is," while the rest are thinking "Why aren't you on Google Reader already?"

Well, now I am. For YEARS, probably since around 2004, I've been using Bloglines to keep up with my favorite blogs by subscribing to their RSS feed. (Gaines got me hooked on it originally, I think.) But now that blogging is dead, so goes the RSS readers, I suppose. I'm hoping Google keeps theirs around for those of us who actually like to organize what we read rather than get it all through Facebook or Twitter. Though I can't say I like the format as much.

Since I never kept up a real blogroll here at Team Redd, my Bloglines list has been the place I've visited daily to keep up with the outside world. I have bookmarked 297 blogs to date. I have categories called "All People We've Met in Real Life" (to keep it at the top of the alphabetical list) and "Theology-Minded Blogs" as well as "Home Decor Ideas" and "Bookish Blogs." Some of my go-to categories are "Musicians," the ever-present and not-as-boring-as-it-sounds "Favorite Blogs," and my latest addition: "Hutchmooters." Of course, I never have time to read the dozens of new posts each day, but it's nice to know they are there if I need them.

All this seems so mundane, and frankly, unimportant in the grand scheme of things. But still, I mourn its passing. The end of a digital era. Just like BASIC and floppy disks. Perhaps a better metaphor would be card catalogs in libraries. Remember those?

However, like many things in life, I choose to view this change with a positive outlook. This is my chance to determine my priorities, clear out the clutter, and knock down my list to a respectable 250. Or not.

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First Day

Wednesday morning was our first day back at Community Bible Study.
This is about the closest we're going to get to a first day of "school" for Jacob anytime soon, so I thought a quick photo would be a good idea.



Until I tried to get Ethan to look at the camera, too. This is the best I could do.



This is our second year as part of our local CBS, thanks to a persistent friend who asked me three years in a row until I finally decided to try it out. I'm so glad I did. Last year, though, I had a baby and a toddler so was not quite self-aware enough to take a picture. I was just lost and running late. This year, however, felt wonderful. I knew where to go and what to expect and was even (almost) on time.

I love our Community Bible Study. I get to venture into the Word with a group of women from various churches (we're study a collection of NT epistles, starting with James) and the boys get to be loved on and taught by Christian ladies. One of Jacob's teachers this year is a good friend of mine so it was great that he already knew someone. I think he knows some of his classmates from last year, as well. He definitely remembers the songs, because he was singing them for me before we even got to the car.

"Where do we go on Wednesday morning? Where do we go on Wednesday morning? Where do we go on Wednesday morning? We go to CBS, yes!

What do we do at CBS? What do we do at CBS? What do we do at CBS?
We learn about Jesus Christ!"

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And So It Begins

Jackets rout South Carolina State 41-10 in the 2010 season opener

An easy win, but also a showcase of weak spots that Tech needs to remedy, and soon. Like the passing game. And stopping the run. Still, this team has the potential to have a fantastic season.

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RIP, Paste Magazine

Paste Magazine Suspends Print Publication

Local Atlanta coverage here.

They intend to continue their online publication for the foreseeable future. Here's hoping things can pick back up for them soon.

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Nesbitt For Heisman!

Seriously.

Oh football season, how I've missed you!

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