five ingredient fridays: bruschetta chicken pizza

my darling sister-in-law is quite the gourmet camping chef, so when the family got together to go camping at the end of the summer she, of course, wowed us with something amazing - bruschetta pizza. the veggies were all fresh from her garden and it was so good.

i thought it would be fun to do a version of my own at home instead of over the campfire. she did hers with red wine vinegar, but since i have a love affair with balsamic i stuck with my old friend.

the results were amazing. and so easy to throw together for homemade pizza. every tomato you bite into feels like it bursts an explosion of balsamic in your mouth. definitely give this one a try!

prepare ahead though and really marinate the tomatoes for at least 8 hours. it really makes a difference.

bruschetta chicken pizza
1 pizza

2 small chicken breasts, seasoned generously with salt and pepper, cooked and sliced
bruschetta (my recipe below)
10 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
pizza crust of choice (i did a half recipe of my favorite with 3/4 white, 1/4 wheat flour)

1. roll out pizza dough to fit desired pan. bake as instructed (if you're using mine cook at 400 degrees) until bottom and top of crust are starting to brown, but not quite done. this is important as you don't want the marinated tomatoes to make the top soggy.
2. put bruschetta in a strainer for a few minutes and let most of the liquid run off.
3. on partially baked crust, add bruschetta. top with basil and chicken. add mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
4. return to oven. bake until toppings are hot, cheese it melted and crust is done baking and is golden. sprinkle with sea salt and pepper before serving or put it on the table for people to add themselves.

if you're vegetarian you can try this without the chicken.

bruschetta ala bovine - prepare ahead - marinate at least 8 hours!
8 on-the-vine tomatoes (good sized - but still smaller than a baseball. my price point for these is $0.69/lb - they are normally $1.88/lb at my wal-mart. ouch!), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

cut tomatoes. add garlic and onion. pour oil and vinegar over the top. season with salt and pepper. stir well. cover and refrigerate, letting the tomatoes marinate for at least 8 hours.

confession and a quick weeknight meal

so i have a confession - i'm pregnant! we're super excited to welcome another baby to our little family in october.

the reason it is a confession is because it is an explanation for my highly marginal food blogging the last 3 months. it has been hard to figure out things i want to eat, much less mustering up the desire to cook them. i'm feeling better now, so hopefully my blogging will get a little bit better.

when i made the pasta e fagioli last week i bought a $1 loaf of french bread to go with it. it was super yummy with the soup, but i always hate wasting half a loaf since fresh french bread gets stale so fast! and then i remembered something my mom used to do - so here's a quick weeknight fix great for leftover, day-old french bread.

french bread pizza

1. cut a loaf of french bread in half (as shown in pics above). top with favorite pizza toppings.
2. bake in oven at 400 degrees just until cheese is melted (since if you cook it longer it makes your french bread harder). yum!!

serve with a yummy side salad for a healthier meal!

recipe of the week: cilantro lime chicken and black bean pizza with salsa fresca

a spin on traditional pizza, you'll feel like you brought california pizza chicken home! but it's not CPK, it's SBK!!!

cliantro lime chicken and black bean pizza with salsa fresca

makes 1 large pizza

chicken:

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

combine all ingredients and marinate all day or overnight. cook chicken in marinade in a saucepan sprayed with cooking spray. sprinkle with cumin and black pepper while cooking.

pizza sauce:

3/4 cup fat free sour cream

5-6 tablespoons cilantro, tightly packed

1/2 teaspoon lime juice

2 tablespoons green enchilada sauce

2 tablespoons green onion, chopped (no need to chop it finely - it will get that way in the blender!)

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

combine all ingredients in blender. blend until smooth.

pizza dough: click here for easy pizza dough recipe

putting the pizza together:

after rolling out pizza crust on a large cookie sheet, spread all of prepared sauce onto the crust. spread cooked chicken and 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained) onto the crust. top with cheese (i used mozzerella and a little bit of cheddar jack), salsa fresca (aka fresh salsa ala skinny bovine - click here!) and extra cilantro if desired.

mmm... i really felt like i was sitting at CPK on this one. soooo yummy! and definitely eat it piping hot.

what are your favorite toppings for homemade pizza? mary l. called me yesterday to say that she made delicious bbq chicken pizza with the sbk crust! that made my day - thanks, mary! what do you love on your pizza?

i'll be back soon to talk about snacks!

adventures in family-friendly cooking

so last week i was in las vegas babysitting my niece and 2 nephews in the afternoons while their regular sitter (a.k.a. grandma) is out of town. i decided it would be fun to be their personal chef for the week (or "auntie chef" as the kids are now calling me), but it has been more of a challenge than i thought it would be cooking for 3 kids and 2 adults that don't necessarily eat the same way i do. i had some success... and some failure and just thought i'd share my adventures with you.

first of all, a quick bio on my eaters last week:

jeremy: my brother, definitely a picky eater, a very finicky palate, often tough to please, spent most of my summer cooking trying to figure out how to do just that
melissa: my sister-in-law, good eater, not tough to please
jacob: nephew, 12, likes plain noodles, plain rice and chicken - as long as you don't season it wrong
emma: niece, 7, can "pound the sushi", a more adventurous eater than i, unless you venture into the realm of "healthy" (which i often do!)
abe: nephew, 4, funniest kid you'll ever meet, prefers hotdogs and doughnuts above all else

next, my menu with reviews (recipes will be last or click links for recipes):

monday: easy baked pasta
jer, mel and jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved the meat, got sick of the noodles 1/2 way through her plate
abe: hilarious. kept telling me he wouldn't eat it because "i tried it 20 times" and "i don't like it". i promised him i'd make him something else as long as he tried it. he tried it, admitted that he liked it, then caught me in my own promise by reminding me i only said he had to take one bite and then opting for the previous night's pizza in the fridge. funny kid man.

tuesday: turkey chili and corn bread (thanks to abe for "making" the corn bread. he's the most fun cooking buddy i've ever had) (yummiest corn bread ever. seriously. email me for recipe if you're dying for it. it can't go on skinny bovine because it is not... i repeat, not, good for you. :) )jer: liked the chili, loved the corn bread
melissa: loved both
jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved both - even had seconds of the chili!
abe: loved his corn bread. wouldn't touch the chili. he's 4. what do you expect?

wednesday: chicken tacos and quesadillas
jer: loved them, even raved about them you might say - surprised me and opted for quesadillas, though
melissa: loved them. doesn't usually like chicken, but she loved this chicken. opted for tacos. jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved the quesadillas. had 2.
abe: talked about the upcoming quesadillas all day, devoured his when it finally came and discovered a new love for sour cream

thursday: orange chicken (click here for recipe on previous post)
jer: m.i.a.
mel: liked it okay
jacob: really liked it
emma: liked it for the first 5 minutes and then changed her mind. haha.
abe: said it was the "best chicken i ever eat". :)

friday: homemade pizza (a frequent request. they love my pizza.) lots of variation is easy with this one to please different eaters - andouille sausage and kalmata olives for jer, chicken pesto for mel and i, and simple cheese for the kids
jer: has since declared this his "favorite food right now" and said he wouldn't hesitate spending another $250 bucks to fly me in if i made the pizza for him again
mel: loved it - "what did you put in that crust?"
jacob: loved it
emma: loved it
abe: loved it - and even had seconds despite the fact that he'd been begging me to make him "shells and cheese" for dinner

homemade pizza

homemade pizza (click here to read reviews)

thanks to my friend jessica for the delicious dough recipe (with a few changes of my own...):

1 tablespoon quick rise yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup very warm water (as hot as you can get it from your tap)

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white flour

a little bit less than 2 cups whole wheat flour

a teaspoon or so of olive oil (or none if you prefer)

1. combine yeast, sugar and water in large bowl. stir until it starts to bubble.

2. add salt and flour (and oil if you wish). knead just until combined.

3. cover and let rise - minimum 1 hour, but it's better if you let it rise for 2 hours.

4. roll out dough. top with desired toppings. cook in oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

makes crusts for 2 pizzas (i make them on large cookie sheets)

pizzas i love:

chicken pesto (see picture): pesto sauce, mozzerella, parmesan, chicken, olives, tomatoes

bbq chicken: 1/2 bbq sauce and 1/2 low fat ranch for the sauce, mozzerella, parmesan, chicken, green peppers, olives, tomatoes

tomato basil: your favorite pasta/pizza sauce, mozzerella, parmesan, tomatoes, spinach, dried basil