My place of employment features a pizza in which goat cheese and vegetables are involved. As a disclaimer to whom it may concern, this is merely an innocent attempt to make a similar dish in my own kitchen, and uses only my taste buds and imagination for guidance (not an employee ingredient/prep list!).
That being said, this pizza is incredible.
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables- I used Red & Yellow Pepper, Onion, and Zucchini; some may enjoy the addition of eggplant, olives, mushrooms, etc.
Goat Cheese a small package will do
Mozzarella fresh grated or bagged
Pizza Sauce from a jar is just fine for me
Pizza Dough I use Pillsbury found in the biscuit and cinnamon roll making isle
Method
Begin roasting vegetables on a non-stick cookie sheet in the oven while you prepare the dough, or sauté for a few minutes in a skillet
...sprinkle with a little EVOO to avoid sticking
Roll out dough, spread on pizza sauce, and a little mozzarella
Top with veggies and crumbled goat cheese ( I used half of a very small package-a little goes a pretty long way.)
Bake following the directions of your pizza dough!
Enjoy!
Top with roasted veggies
Tips
"Goat Cheese?" you may have said to yourself...yes I know, for those of us who have been perfectly happy with mozzarella and pepperonis for our whole lives, we tend to shy away from fancy-shmancy pizzas with weird toppings and cheeses. Trust me though, if you have any tolerance at all for new flavors, this is one so worth trying. Goat cheese has a great flavor and is an incredible variant for Italian dishes
Monday, February 18, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Easy Tomato & Couscous Chicken
This is a dish that is incredibly delcious and easy. The chicken basically poaches in the juices from the canned tomatoes which makes for an unbelievable level of moisture and juiciness retained in the meat. This is definitely for those days where you just don't have the will to do much more than open some containers and throw their contents in the oven, but it's good enough to serve to company.
Ingredient | Amount | Type | Prep |
| Chicken | about 1lb. | Breast/ Cutlet | Trimmed |
| Canned Tomatoes | 15oz | Diced/ Stewed/ Flavored/ Whatever | Not Drained |
| Couscous | 1 cup | Any (i love tomato basil) | Rinsed |
Method
- In a 8x8 glass dish
- Lay down couscous, then chicken, and cover with tomatoes
- Cover in Aluminum Foil
- Bake for 30-60 minutes at 375
Tips
Experiment by changing up the type of grain and vegetable.
Try a mini pasta or rice
Rotel, a Cream Soup, etc...
Picture to come.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Poached Chicken
Poaching is so easy- and super awesome.
I'm sure this is "so 50 years ago" but poached chicken totally rocks. It is amazingly simple and adds virtually no calories to the meat like so many marinades do.
This is what I do:
Put a liquid in a pot.
Bring to a simmer
Completely Submerge victim- er- food item... in liquid
Leave alone for 7-10 minutes
Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes
Careful with things like Chicken...if you aren't using it immediately, it must be chilled down to a certain temperature within a short amount of time (I think 30 minutes?) An Ice bath easily does the trick.
Insanely moist. Great for salads. Perfect for shredding.
--When I use chicken stock, I use the leftover stock for soup. I'm not 100% positive that that is sanitary...but it's been heated enough to cook raw meat so it's safe...right?--
You can apparently poach fish, fruit, -all kinds of things!
What do you poach?
*stay tuned for an incredible Tomato Couscous Poached Chicken dish*
I'm sure this is "so 50 years ago" but poached chicken totally rocks. It is amazingly simple and adds virtually no calories to the meat like so many marinades do.
This is what I do:
Put a liquid in a pot.
Bring to a simmer
Completely Submerge victim- er- food item... in liquid
Leave alone for 7-10 minutes
Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes
Careful with things like Chicken...if you aren't using it immediately, it must be chilled down to a certain temperature within a short amount of time (I think 30 minutes?) An Ice bath easily does the trick.
Insanely moist. Great for salads. Perfect for shredding.
--When I use chicken stock, I use the leftover stock for soup. I'm not 100% positive that that is sanitary...but it's been heated enough to cook raw meat so it's safe...right?--
You can apparently poach fish, fruit, -all kinds of things!
What do you poach?
*stay tuned for an incredible Tomato Couscous Poached Chicken dish*
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Steak and Potatoes
Sometimes you just need a little meat and potatoes.
Waiting tables for the past 6 years hasn't exactly been my favorite. I'd say that the worst part about it though is that it just wears me out. That is one big restaurant, and when you're in a station far away from the kitchen, it's like working out- for 6 hours. I'd like to cook a nice meal every night but I just don't have the money or the energy right now. So, I'm currently exploring ways to stretch my time and my budget.
I've found that baking potatoes are pretty versatile and when I'm tired and hungry and just don't want to move, I can pop one in the microwave, top it with a little smart balance, and the world is right again. I'm sure you low-carbists cringe at this but, I care not.
Last weekend I bought a package of what I thought was one giant steak, but it turned out to be two giant steaks. We grilled one for fajitas then, and froze the other. Foreseeing a busy weekend full of lovely customers and oh-so-lovable co-workers :) , I put the other steak in the fridge to thaw on Saturday.
Steak is awesome and delicious, but grilling on a night like this is just not in the cards. I watch a good bit of Food Network before work and I've seen them do steak in the oven so I figured I could do it too. And well, I did! One big steak and one big potato was more than enough for the two of us who are, on a normal basis, not gigantic eaters.
This is how I did it:
EVOO a skillet and get it pretty hot
Cover both sides of steak in sea salt and cracked pepper
Toss the steak in the hot oil and let it sizzle for about 1-2 minutes on each side
Pop in the broiler for oh, I'd say 10 minutes.
And- Viola!
The Potato, that is easy enough for the cat.
Wrap in Press n' seal.
Poke holes with fork
Microwave for 5-6 minutes.
It's just meat and potatoes- nothing fancy. No sauteed or scalloped this and no herb crusted that. But, it is tasty. It is filling. It is crazy easy. (And really, it's crazy cheap.)
After serving people expensive and complex concoctions all day, there's something about a meal like this that hits the spot
Waiting tables for the past 6 years hasn't exactly been my favorite. I'd say that the worst part about it though is that it just wears me out. That is one big restaurant, and when you're in a station far away from the kitchen, it's like working out- for 6 hours. I'd like to cook a nice meal every night but I just don't have the money or the energy right now. So, I'm currently exploring ways to stretch my time and my budget.
I've found that baking potatoes are pretty versatile and when I'm tired and hungry and just don't want to move, I can pop one in the microwave, top it with a little smart balance, and the world is right again. I'm sure you low-carbists cringe at this but, I care not.
Last weekend I bought a package of what I thought was one giant steak, but it turned out to be two giant steaks. We grilled one for fajitas then, and froze the other. Foreseeing a busy weekend full of lovely customers and oh-so-lovable co-workers :) , I put the other steak in the fridge to thaw on Saturday.
Steak is awesome and delicious, but grilling on a night like this is just not in the cards. I watch a good bit of Food Network before work and I've seen them do steak in the oven so I figured I could do it too. And well, I did! One big steak and one big potato was more than enough for the two of us who are, on a normal basis, not gigantic eaters.
This is how I did it:
EVOO a skillet and get it pretty hot
Cover both sides of steak in sea salt and cracked pepper
Toss the steak in the hot oil and let it sizzle for about 1-2 minutes on each side
Pop in the broiler for oh, I'd say 10 minutes.
And- Viola!
The Potato, that is easy enough for the cat.
Wrap in Press n' seal.
Poke holes with fork
Microwave for 5-6 minutes.
It's just meat and potatoes- nothing fancy. No sauteed or scalloped this and no herb crusted that. But, it is tasty. It is filling. It is crazy easy. (And really, it's crazy cheap.)
After serving people expensive and complex concoctions all day, there's something about a meal like this that hits the spot
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Appetizer and Cake
Who needs a main course?
Ladies night is so good for new recipes. And if something isn't a big hit, I usually just get drunk and eat it anyway...but you know, it's a good excuse for that.
Tonight I tried out a Buffalo Wing Dip and a Pineapple Upside Down Cake
The dip sounded a bit odd, and Kristin and I determined that either it was going to be god-awful or super-awesome. I personally think that it was the latter. I used fresh poached chicken instead of canned, Fat-Free Cream Cheese, and Light Dressing. I also did the suggested layering and baking in the oven to avoid freaky coloring, and I served it with Celery.
The Cake..
I soaked the Pineapple Rings in Rum, used half the amount of butter, used a Cherry Brook Farms White cake Mix, and baked it in a bunt pan.
I don't know if it was the cake mix or what, but it was way stickier than I was expecting. I still thought it was pretty tasty though, which is good because I ended up eating about 80% of it.
Ladies night is so good for new recipes. And if something isn't a big hit, I usually just get drunk and eat it anyway...but you know, it's a good excuse for that.
Tonight I tried out a Buffalo Wing Dip and a Pineapple Upside Down Cake
The dip sounded a bit odd, and Kristin and I determined that either it was going to be god-awful or super-awesome. I personally think that it was the latter. I used fresh poached chicken instead of canned, Fat-Free Cream Cheese, and Light Dressing. I also did the suggested layering and baking in the oven to avoid freaky coloring, and I served it with Celery.
The Cake..
I soaked the Pineapple Rings in Rum, used half the amount of butter, used a Cherry Brook Farms White cake Mix, and baked it in a bunt pan.
I don't know if it was the cake mix or what, but it was way stickier than I was expecting. I still thought it was pretty tasty though, which is good because I ended up eating about 80% of it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Mock Sausage Sandwich Loaf
Tonight I went in the kitchen and decided to completely wing it.
First I whipped up some quick and easy Pasta Salad and let it chill
All you do is cook some rotini- drain and rinse 'till it has cooled off and then mix this stuff in:
red wine vinegar
little bitty bit of olive oil,
fresh black pepper
and a package of Fetta cheese crumbles ( I like the reduced fat with sun-dried tomato and basil)
Then I made some sort of sandwich creation that we will call
First I whipped up some quick and easy Pasta Salad and let it chill
All you do is cook some rotini- drain and rinse 'till it has cooled off and then mix this stuff in:
red wine vinegar
little bitty bit of olive oil,
fresh black pepper
and a package of Fetta cheese crumbles ( I like the reduced fat with sun-dried tomato and basil)
Then I made some sort of sandwich creation that we will call
Mock Sausage Sandwich Loaf
Ingredients | Amount | Prep |
| Frozen Bread Dough | 1 loaf | Thawed; rolled to 1/4" on prepared baking sheet |
| Ground Turkey | 1 lb. | Browned & seasoned generously with garlic, basil, & oregano |
| Bell Peppers | 2 | any color (i like red & yellow) Diced |
| Onion | 1/4 | Diced |
Method
Prepare bread dough
Prepare turkey
put peppers and onions in a skillet on med/low and let them get almost soft
Place turkey and peppers and onion mixture, and cheese on top of half of the dough (long-ways)
Fold the remaining dough on to the top of the mixture (this works best when you don't actually break the dough into two pieces- it makes a nice pocket effect so that the stuffing doesn't fall out)
Top with garlic oil
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes
Enjoy!Prepare bread dough
Prepare turkey
put peppers and onions in a skillet on med/low and let them get almost soft
Place turkey and peppers and onion mixture, and cheese on top of half of the dough (long-ways)
Fold the remaining dough on to the top of the mixture (this works best when you don't actually break the dough into two pieces- it makes a nice pocket effect so that the stuffing doesn't fall out)
Top with garlic oil
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
