“I followed my heart and it lead me to the fridge.” ~ unknown

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015Leave a comment

Having spent the whole day yesterday watching college football and not have any food that even resembled tailgate food (aka appetizers, junk food, finger food), I was definitely craving something like that today!

But it needed to be quick and not huge because I may be the only one who would be snacking on it.

This old school dip came to mind and definitely handled my craving.

As I mentioned, this is not a large appetizer. It’s good for a few people to nibble on along with other items, although you could easily make 2 or double recipe and put on larger serving plate.

Easy Pizza Dip

4-6 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup Heinz Chili Sauce
¼-½ cup shredded mozzerela cheese
6 pepperoni slices, chopped into small pieces
2 tablespoons sweet onion, finely chopped
3-4 small olives (green or black) optional
Fritos

Evenly spread cream cheese in a small serving dish or dinner plate. Cover evenly with Chili Sauce.

Top with cheese, pepperoni, onion and olives.

Serve immediately with Frito chips or refrigerate until ready to serve.

I told you it was easy! 🙂

-abp

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” Lewis Grizzard

July 20, 2015July 20, 20153 Comments

Thanks to one of my husband’s wonderful patients – we have had a surplus of fabulous home grown tomatoes!

I can eat BLT’s all day long, all week – I love them that much – but it still doesn’t use all those home grown beauties before they go bad. So ,I had to come up with another way to use them.

Hello delicious pizza sauce!

I make this up in several batches and freeze.

Pull out of the freezer and use with a pre-made crust for a quick weeknight dinner.

It’s also great to make when tomatoes are not in season, just use canned crushed tomatoes.

Perfect Pizza Sauce

15 oz of fresh tomatoes (peeled) or canned crushed tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 leaves of fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

Blend tomatoes and basil in blender to a chunky puree.

Brown garlic over medium/high heat in olive oil until fragrant (2-3 minutes). Be careful not to burn.

Add blended tomatoes and basil to garlic/oil mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until liquid is reduced.

Let cool and use to create your favorite pizza or freeze in a zip lock bag until ready to use.

-abp

“Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around.” ~ Anna Quindlen

February 26, 2013February 26, 2013Leave a comment

Simple was the key for Sunday night when preparing dinner because I had one eye on dinner and the other eye on the tv watching The Oscars or Oscar coverage. That’s why I opted for the all time favorite – spaghetti.

I love me some “sketti”.

And don’t you just love all those dresses?!?

(Although some of those chicks really need to eat.)

The girly girl in me wishes there were more occasions to dress up – it’s so much fun!

Don’t get me wrong – I looooove casual but I do not think there are enough times that we go all out like they used to in the golden era.

You know – “dress for dinner”

Oh well. I’m sure there are more days that I’m glad I do not have to “dress for dinner” than there are days that I wish I could.

Since Sunday was just a staple dinner I thought last night I would try something a little different.

BBQ Chicken Pizza. Should be pretty simple and will go perfectly with the left over Cheesecake in the fridge. 🙂

BBQ Chicken Pizza

(adapted from My Baking Addiction)

1 store bought pizza crust or refrigerated crust
½ cup barbecue sauce
1 ½ cup cooked and shredded chicken (I pan fried a few chicken tenders and shredded that)
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
½ – 1 orange bell pepper; diced
1 cup mozzarella shredded cheese
Chopped cilantro; to taste

(all these ingredient amounts vary according to size of pizza crust and your desired tastes)

Preheat oven to the temperature your pizza crust suggests.

Place Pizza dough on pizza stone or foil lined baking sheet and cook until it has a slight toast on it – about 5 minutes. (I opted for foil lined because my stone is round and this pizza crust was square)

Remove crust and spread barbecue sauce over crust. Add shredded chicken, onion, and bell peppers on top of the barbecue sauce. Top with cheese and cilantro.