Mushroom and Onion Pizza

Pizza is one of the easiest meals to throw together.  I know I posted another pizza recipe recently and really didn't think I would post another because they are just that easy.  I had some leftover tomato sauce and instead of putting it on pasta, M and I wanted pizza.  I love the mushroom and onion combination so that's what we went with.  Another great trick is to prebake the pizza dough with some herbs.  It adds another layer of flavor and this way, the middle is cooked all the way through.  I hate it when homemade pizzas are soggy in the middle because the cheese browned before the crust was completely cooked through.  Prebaking it first makes all of that go away and you have a delicious, cheesey pizza. 

M says he prefers homemade pizza to the local pizza shop's pie.  I am still on the fence.  But since we moved to where we currently live, there is really no good pizza place nearby which really doesn't bode well when M and I are just too tired and want a big, gooey, made by someone else pizza.  So, we have done more homemade pizzas and I am warming up to them.  I think it's the store bought dough that throws me off.  I think that should be one of my goals - learn how to make homemade pizza dough.  We'll see.

Mushroom and Onion Pizza

A recipe by Noelle at A Homemade Kitchen

1 tube or package prepared pizza dough

extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp dried oregano

salt

tomato sauce - jarred or homemade, whichever you like

1 bag shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese

1 small onion, chopped

7-8 mushrooms, sliced

Preheat oven to 425.  Roll out pizza dough onto a baking sheet or pizza stone.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.  Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle on the oregano and salt.  Place in the oven and baked for about 7 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Top the pizza dough with tomato sauce, cheese, and vegetables.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melty and browned.  Serve immediately.

Chicken, Rice, and Beans Burrito

Leftovers are not usually my favorites.  Nothing really tastes the same and the texture gets a little weird too on certain things.  Reheating them into the same dinner again doesn't really work.  The best thing to do is to turn them into something different and then they won't feel like leftovers.

Leftover chicken can be one of the best foods to reinvent into something different.  When a whole chicken is roasted, the possibilities seem to be endless.  Remember the fake baked ziti - chicken piccata style?  That was awesome.  Another great thing to do with leftover chicken - burritos!  M and I roasted a whole chicken and after I took it all off the bone, it was time to decide what to do with it.  I thought of burritos.  Yummy burritos.  Throw anything in a tortilla with cheese and sour cream and I am a pretty happy girl. 

Chicken, Rice, and Beans Burrito

A recipe by Noelle at A Homemade Kitchen

This recipe is super easy and was just thrown together really.  Add whatever you want and use whatever seasonings you like in your burrito.  I just used cheddar cheese and sour cream but lettuce, tomato, and/or salsa or guacamole would be excellent too.  I'll even let you use cilantro.

extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed

burrito seasoning (yes, I used a packet)

1/3 cup water

1 14oz can red kidney beans, drained

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

tortillas- corn, flour, wheat, spinach - whatever you like

cooked rice - again, whatever kind you like

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

Preheat oven to 325.  Wrap tortillas in foil.  Set aside.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil.  When heated, add the chicken and cook until it is warmed through.  Add the burrito seasoning and water.  Cook until most of the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan, add the beans.  Season with chili powder and cumin.  Heat the beans until hot.  Place the tortillas in the oven until they are warm, about 7 minutes.

Remove tortillas from oven and take one out of the foil package.  Add some of the chicken, rice, and beans.  Top with cheese and sour cream.  Wrap up the burrito.  Serve immediately.

Cheese Dreams

It's been a while.  How've you been?  I haven't done a whole lot of cooking lately.  I mean, I have been cooking but not really cooking.  Know what I mean?  All I have been doing is really simple, thrown together dinners.  Sometimes those are some of the tastiest but I haven't referred to a cookbook in a couple of weeks.  I kind of miss it.  Soon.  I will get back to them soon.

I am on my own at least one night a week and I don't usually cook a full meal.  Sometimes I do pancakes, sometimes eggs, sometimes pasta.  It is usually really simple and quick.  One of these nights, I get home from work, take Maddux for a walk, and then go into the kitchen and open the fridge.  Don't you love that?  Just open the fridge and make a dinner out of what you can find.  This night, I had some bacon in the fridge and a tomato on the counter.  I thought BLTs.  But, no lettuce.  I really wanted to use the bacon and tomato and I started thinking.  Bacon and tomato omlette, grilled cheese and bacon.  Then I remembered something my mother used to make as a quick and easy dinner for my brother and I: Cheese Dreams.  Don't you just love that name?  It was an open faced bacon, tomato, and cheese sandwich that gets all brown and bubbly.  Dinner was planned.

How good is bacon?  I really does make everything better.  I prefer mine almost to the point of burnt.  I love it extra crispy.  None of that limp, chewy stuff.  That is such an unappealing texture in your mouth.  I cooked up the bacon and put some toast under the broiler and built my Cheese Dreams.  Cheesy, bacony, tomatoey goodness.

Cheese Dreams

A recipe by Noelle at A Homemade Kitchen

This really isn't a recipe.  It is bread, cheese, bacon, and tomato.  You can then add whatever else you might like.  And you can use any kind of bread or cheese.  You could also add some mustard or aioli if you like.  This night, this is what I used and how I did it:

Bread, any (I used wheat sandwich bread)

Bacon

Tomato

Cheese, any kind (I used good old white American - remember the kind you used to get a slice of at the deli at the grocery store when you were a kid?  Yeah, that one)

Chives, for garnish, if desired

Preheat broiler

Cook bacon at your preferred method (baking, broiling, frying) until it is cooked to your desired doneness.  Place bread on baking sheet and toast under the broiler for 1 minute.  Don't burn the bread!

At this point, you could rub the toast with a crushed garlic clove or add any condiment that you like.  Then, top with cheese, bacon, tomato, and more cheese.  Place baking sheet back under the broiler.  Cook until cheese is all brown, melty, and bubbly.

Remove from oven and top with chives, if desired.  Serve immediately.