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.

|

Celebrate Easter

Yes, it's Andrew Peterson Week here at Team Redd, but let us not forget about Holy Week!

This post, Chocolate Eggs and Jesus Risen, at Femina has finally gotten me excited about the Easter holiday this year.

Last year, litte Jacob was only a few weeks old (and it was bitterly cold!), so we didn't do much, though we did attend an Easter Lamb Roast the day before...and we attended our church's sunrise service and breakfast. In the afternoon, we had a visit from some family members on Easter Sunday, including my great-aunt Tweet.

This year, we plan to attend the Sunrise Service and Easter breakfast at our church again on Sunday. Jacob's great-grandmother gave him an adorable new outfit for his birthday, so we've got the Easter clothes. I'm putting together a little "basket" of toys that he hasn't really played with yet (no candy this year). But I'd also like to do something special, something...out of the ordinary. A feast. My mom will be coming to visit that evening, so I'd like to make a nice dinner.

Maybe I will naturally dye some Easter Eggs for the table?

Or perhaps I'll just prepare this meal of Lamb Shanks with Butternut squash? Or a slow-cooked leg of Lamb?

We'll see. If you need some food inspiration for your Easter Meal, I highly recommend this Food Blog Search.

There are so many fantastic ideas out there. How do you plan to redeem the time and make your family's Easter Celebration special?

|

Homemade Bread

While I'm thinking about food, I might as well tell you another one of my kitchen secrets.

(I promise this isn't turning into just a domestic blog...my husband is out there with all his deep theology posts and random zaniness. He'll be back someday soon, he's just really busy these days. And he can't access blogger at work. Oh, and he's sick, too, poor thing. We all go through seasons, so I suppose it is only natural that our family's diverse interests will be reflected in our blogging at different times.) Anyway, here goes nothing...

Though we have very little storage space, I've been loathe to purge any unused kitchen appliances. I never actually bought any of these, mind you, they were all gifts. (Thanks, JL, for the electric can opener-- I use it almost everyday!) I might get rid of the rice cooker, since it has been missing the power cord for over two years, but the coffeemaker does come in handy every now and then. And then there is the one wedding gift that has never been used since I took it out of the box when we arrived here as newlyweds.

The Breadmaker.

(That could be the title of a really bad action movie.)

Yes, I have owned a bread maker for over 5 years, but never used it until last Sunday.

I must pause here and thank all my wonderful AOPi sorority sisters who banded together to buy me the darned thing at that dessert shower before our wedding so many years ago. I'm sorry I can't remember who exactly got it for me, but I wanted to say thank you. Again.

Now you may be thinking, "What a silly machine! I make my own bread from scratch every day! Why do you even need one?" Or you may be closer to this persuasion: "Um, hello! You can buy perfectly good bread from the store! And it's so much easier! Get rid of it already!" Or you may think "Bread machine? And you've been holding out on us?! Those things are awesome!"

Apparently, one of Gaines' hallmates in his college dorm had a bread machine. They all thought he was lame until the first time he used it. Hello, zucchini bread!

So, on one of my recent trips to Trader Joe's I picked up a bag of whole wheat flour. I think I might have been thinking of possibly making bread one day, or maybe it was for the pizza crust kick I was on in January after getting (stealing?) a pizza stone from Gaines' aunt at the annual family Dirty Santa event. The pizza crust made with half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour was pretty good. Not quite Papa John's, but definitely cheaper. Either way, for some reason last weekend I was inspired to try making my own bread.

We had an incredibly busy weekend, so I'm not sure why I even thought to attempt it, but on Sunday afternoon, in between church functions, I got it out and put the ingredients together. I didn't start it until late afternoon, though, so the bread wasn't even ready until after 9 p.m. Silly me. Next time I need to plan ahead a little bit better.

All that to say, there really is nothing better in this world than hot homemade bread with butter on top. It really is so much better than store-bought bread. I made straight-from-the-breadmaker-manual 100% whole-wheat for the first go-round, but I attempt to experiment with this frugal recipe for beginners, next, for something a little lighter. There's also this famed concoction called WHO bread which I find intriguing. And Suess-ical! But since we don't eat much bread around here usually, I may wait a while.

We have, however, enjoyed this first loaf. I wanted to make a special note that it is very good with the Artichoke and Spinach Dip Chicken, as it is reminiscent of the dip that inspired the aforementioned recipe. The only problem with homemade bread is that it is very difficult to slice, since the whole wheat is very dense and I don't think we have a sharp knife in the apartment (I know, I know! And I call myself a cook...). Which makes me appreciate the old adage about sliced bread all the more. Perhaps the other recipes will be easier to cut neatly. I'll let you know.

I'm now going to go enjoy one of the remaining pieces for lunch!

|

The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Jamie Lyn graciously commented below that I must be creative in the kitchen (thanks!). However, I must admit I usually just change things up because I get bored. Also, I mostly steal ideas from others and adapt them just a little bit. (Isn't that what all good teachers are trained to do, anyway? Just borrow other people's ideas and use it for their own advantage? Ah, the glories of a graduate education.)

Seriously, though, I can't take credit for some of my best recent sucesses in the kitchen. I have to let you in on my most awesome favorite recipe blog of secret cooking knowledge. (Secret knowledge. Secret eating. Mmmmmm....) I'm sorry I've been holding out on you, my three loyal blog readers. So, dum da da dum....here it is:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

(The exclamation point is essential.) I don't even remember how I found out about this site, but I've been hooked ever since, especially after seeing that Thanksgiving meal. Those photographs! Those gloriously fattening foods! The easy-to-find ingredients! The step-by-step visual instructions!

Ree is like Nigella for us regular Americans. She makes everything look good!

And look at the recipe she posted today: Apple Dumplings. Made with Mountain Dew! Oh. My. Goodness. That is sure to be Gaines' favorite new dessert. I think I may have to try that. Soon.

Recently I made her Party Quesadillas for a girls' night and I finished the evening with The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. I didn't believe it was the best, but then I tried it. And it really is that good! (Also, I ended up tweaking it, too. Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa was on sale at the store, so I used that instead of the regular kind. It was heavenly and indulgent and divine. Don't make this if you are on a diet. But really, why diet when there are so many good recipes out there?)

So, go forth and make your own awesome culinary creations! Enjoy!

|

Artichoke and Spinach Dip Chicken with Couscous

Last night, as I am often in the habit of doing, I threw together a dinner from some things I had on hand. I am the queen of unexpected casseroles. This time, though, I remembered to write my version down. Or at least blog about it.

This is a good recipe if you have chicken breasts and chopped spinach in your freezer.

Whenever we go to a new American-style restaurant or sports bar, we almost invariably always try out the eatery's version of hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip. When we were first married we used to play team trivia (much more often than we do these days), and one of our favorite spots had an A&S Dip with a unique flavor, which I detected to be a package of Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix and cream cheese. From that, I developed a great dip using a variation of some knockoff Olive Garden recipe and those ingredients. It's been quite a hit.

So last night, when I realized that even though I'd left the chicken breasts in the fridge overnight and they still hadn't thawed, I knew I needed a way to bake them and still infuse them with flavor. And vegetables. I also didn't have time to just boil them and chop them and then add them to a casserole like I sometimes do. So, here are the results of my dip-inspired experiment. Tasty.

Artichoke and Spinach Dip Chicken with Couscous

cooking spray
2-3 large chicken breasts, partially thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom will work, too)
1 cup sour cream, low or non-fat
1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix (there are usually 2 per box now)
1/2 pkg bagged frozen spinach, unthawed but chopped lightly with a fork
1 can Artichoke Hearts, quartered
shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
bread or cracker crumbs
Tri-color or plain CousCous (Tri-color is prettier)

1. Spray a square baking dish with PAM and lay the chicken breasts in it. If they are still frozen, it will be okay, you just need to adjust the baking time.

2. In a bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, soup mix, frozen spinach, and artichokes together until spinach is well-blended.

3. Spoon mixture on top of chicken breasts, completely covering them on all sides.

4. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, if chicken is partially frozen. For fresh chicken, you'd probably only need 30 minutes of baking time.

5. Add bread/cracker crumbs to the top for the last 10 minutes of baking.

6. After adding crumbs, prepare couscous as directed on the package. Usually, the only requires boiling water and then adding the couscous, covering, and letting sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

7. Enjoy! Serve over couscous in a bowl or pasta dish. Serves at least 4, or two with leftovers.

I can't be certain of the sodium levels, but this is a relatively healthy comfort food dish. And so you know, it's just as good the next day!

|

More Weird Things to Try With Bacon

First, there were the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Those were actually a success! I plan on making them again.

Now, someone has perfected making bacon cups. Oh, the possibilities!

Update 2/28: I can't believe I forgot to mention this from the same site: bacon curls!

|

Mmmmm...Bacon!

Bacon and chocolate? Seriously? Yes! We've tried this inspirational recipe for Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies twice now, and we can definitely say the secret is in the maple-cinnamon glaze and bacon strip topping. Otherwise, it's just a slightly salty chocolate chip cookie and nothing special.

Here is the recipe (halved, for only 2 dozen) in its condensed form, as I've been making it:

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips (it's all I had)
1 cup REAL bacon bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Beat together the butter, sugars, flavouring and eggs until creamy. Sift dry ingredients into the butter mixture and stir together. Dough will be slightly soft. Add in chocolate chips and bacon bits. Stir until well integrated. Freeze dough for 20-30 minutes (or refridgerate an hour). Remove dough from fridge, pinch off 1 1/2 inch pieces of dough and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers in the center.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack while you ready the glaze.

Maple cinnamon glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
enough water to make a thick glaze (I used about 1 tablespoon)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Spread a small amount of the glaze on the top of each cookie and top with a small piece of crisp cooked bacon.*



*The bacon piece on top is the piece d'resistance. An easy way to make it? Once you've got the oven preheated, put a few strips of your favorite bacon on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake about 10-15 minutes (while the dough is in the fridge) or until it comes to the consistency you like. We prefer slightly chewy. Enoy!

|

Arroz con Pollo with Apples

I made this delicious recipe from realsimple for the first time last night and wanted to share!

I substituted what I had on hand--
I used chicken breasts instead of thighs (which meant cooking them a bit longer), Golden Delicious instead of Granny Smith (not as tart, but still good), and extra green bell pepper instead of yellow bell peppers.

Not only did it taste good, it looked good, too! My mom and grandmother taught me that a colorful plate is a healthy plate, so this meets all requirements. Bon appetit!

Comfort Food

Does anyone else find it strange that the foods we sometimes detest as kids can become some of our favorites as adults? I've never been a big fan of meatloaf or sloppy joe's, but the last two nights have found those very things on our dinner table. And we both liked them-- we really liked them! They were both easy recipes that took very little preparation, which was great considering Gaines had a cold last week and has now passed it on to me. I thought I'd share my secrets with the masses.

Souperior Meatloaf

Recipe can be found on the back of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. It's surprisingly moist and tasty. I used ground sirloin per Gaines' mom's suggestion (and since it was on sale). Served with a side of green beans and instant mashed potatoes, it was a hearty meal. The dinner preparation time took no more than 20 minutes plus the one hour for cooking, in which I advise using that time to take a nap. Also, the recipe serves eight, which leaves plenty for leftovers the next day. I saved half in the freezer for another night.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe's

• 2 pounds meat (we used ground beef)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
• 1 cup ketchup*
• salt and pepper to taste

*I substituted BBQ sauce b/c it'a what I had available

DIRECTIONS:
Brown meat and drain. Put onion, sugar, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, mustard, ketchup, salt and pepper in slow cooker and mix well. Add meat and stir together. Cook for a minimum of 6 hours on low setting. Serve with sharp cheddar cheese on toasted whole-wheat buns. Serves 8-10.

Bon Appetit!