Pizza on a pita

One of the things I love about living in a city is all of the diversity at my fingertips. Not too far from our place there's a bunch of small market stores that sell tons of produce from all over the world. I've never seen some of these fruits and veggies before. It's a cool experience and I've started to get to know several of the workers there. I love when I can make connections in a big city.

Now, I didn't use any of these weird veggies on the recipe I'm about to share with you, but I did find one of the main ingredients I needed at this little store. One of my girlfriends had mentioned to me that she's bought pitas at one of these stores before and used them for pizza crust. Great idea! So I tried out for the first time the other day.

I bought large, thin whole wheat pitas. I think there's about 10 in each packet. When I got home, I looked to see which ingredients I had that would taste good on a pizza. I ended up having a pepper and onion pizza with cheddar cheese on top. Yum!

Pita Pizza 

Ingredients:

2 pitas (just me and the husband)

5-6 tbsp tomato or marinara sauce

1 cup freshly grated cheese (cheddar, mozzarella would work well)

chopped onions

chopped peppers

seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, oregano, italian seasoning...you choose)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop up your veggies. I chose to saute mine for a couple of minutes in olive oil. This is optional.

Next, take your pita bread and place it on a cookie sheet. I put tin foil underneath for easy clean up.

Spread on 2-3 tbsps per pita.

Sprinkle on the cheese, about 1/2 cup per pita. I also had sprinkled on some freshly chopped oregano before I added the cheese. 

Add the toppings.

And bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Take out and let cool for 5 minutes.

I also think this would be great for families where each member gets to his pizza to his liking. I plan on doing this one day! Enjoy!

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Cheesy Chicken Pasta

This is a quick and easy pasta recipe using kitchen staples. I made this recipe for one of my girlfriends who just had a baby. I took this pasta dish along with a side salad to her for dinner the other night. I made extra for my husband and myself as well. It was delicious!

White Cheddar (although I used mozzarella) Chicken Pasta
original recipe from Homemade by Holman

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp dry mustard
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix together mustard, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and sprinkle over chicken pieces. When pan is hot, add chicken and brown about 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove to a plate.

For the pasta:
1 pound rotini or other short cut pasta
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T Dijon mustard
8 oz mozzarella, shredded (the original recipe called for sharp cheddar, but I didn't have any)
2 cups milk (I used skim milk)
1 T fresh Italian seasoning (or oregano, thyme, etc)
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Heat water to boil in a large stock pot for pasta, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente and drain according to directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine. Add wine, garlic, onions, and mustard. Cook about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.


Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk, stirring to combine. Cook about 5-7 minutes more until mixture begins to thicken.


Add cheese and stir to melt. Add chicken and pasta and toss to incorporate sauce. Add thyme and oregano or italian seasoning and serve topped with crushed red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.

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Bon appetite!

You can print off this recipe here.

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A Good Ol' Chili Recipe

I know that there's all kinds of chili out there. I've never found one that I loved until this one. Sure, I have liked plenty others, but this one did it for me! I can't claim it as my own (it's from a good friend), but I had to share. We enjoyed this chili while watching the Super Bowl.


Good Ol' Chili
serves 4-5

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped (green or red)
1 jalapeno diced (remove the seeds and white inside part of the pepper if you don’t like spicy chili)
4-6 cloves minced garlic
1 package McCormicks chili seasoning
1 TBS chili powder
1 beer (I used Goose Island 312, but I’m sure any kind will do)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14oz can each of black beans, kidney beans and chili beans drained

The How To:
Brown the meat in a large pot or dutch oven (5q). Drain and set aside.

Chop the onion and pepper. Add 2-3 TBS olive oil into the same pot that you cooked the meat and put back on med high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for five minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, jalapeno and cook for a minute more.

Add the cooked meat, all the seasoning, beer and tomatoes to the pot. Stir well and bring everything up to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook the chili for 1 hour stirring occasionally to make sure it isn’t sticking.

Finally, add the beans and mix well. Add cheese, sour cream, or whatever else you like on top!

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Enjoy! And if you have a chili recipe that you think I must try, please share it with me!

You can print off this recipe here.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup recipe is a result of having lots of leftover shredded chicken from the delicious crockpot chicken recipe I shared the other day. The original recipe is from Taste Kitchen. All right, enough talk, let's get on to the yummy goodness!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 cup shredded chicken
1 32 oz box of chicken broth
1 can mild Ro-tel (tomatoes with chiles)
1 can corn
1 tablespoon lime juice
cilantro for garnishing (optional)
shredded cheese for topping (optional)

Mix everything in a medium sized pot and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and/or shredded cheese if desired. Yep! It's that easy!

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Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This is a suuuuuuper easy crockpot meal that makes a ton for leftovers and/or freezing for a later meal. I found this on Pinterest which sent me to My Chocolate Therapy blog. Let me tell you, I think I'll be stopping by her blog more often.

Here's the recipe...

CROCKPOT CHICKEN TACOS

Ingredients
2-14 oz cans of ro-tel (tomatoes with chiles) OR 1 jar of salsa
1 pack taco seasoning
5-6 chicken breasts

Directions
Pour the salsa and taco mix into the crockpot. Stir together.

Add in the chicken breasts. Place some of the salsa mix on top of chicken.

Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

When finished, the chicken should shred fairly easily. Use a fork to help you with this process.

I was nervous to make this recipe because I haven't always had good luck with chicken cooking in the crockpot. It tends to get dried out. I cooked 5 chicken breasts for 6.5 hours on low and it turned out great!

You can add avocado, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, whatever you like on your taco.

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I had enough chicken leftover to make chicken tortilla soup which called for 1 cup shredded chicken and I froze about 2 cups shredded chicken. I will definitely be making this recipe again. I'm all about the crockpot, making multiple tasty meals, and having enough leftover for the freezer!

Be on the lookout for the chicken tortilla soup recipe later this week!

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Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been using my crockpot like crazy lately. Here's another easy and delicious recipe!

CROCKPOT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Original recipe from here. Mine is slightly different since I had to work with what I had in my pantry and my timing.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup thinly diced onions
5 cups chicken stock or broth
1 can cream of chicken
1 can corn
1.5 cups egg noodles
cooked and chopped chicken
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

Chop/dice all of the veggies. I did this the night before so I stored them in a container in the fridge overnight.

Add the veggies, chicken broth, cream of chicken, and a little salt and pepper to taste into the crockpot. Stir to mix and cook on low for 5.5 hours.

When you get home from work, add in the egg noodles and cooked and chopped chicken. Cook on high in the crockpot for 1 hour.

Finally, I ladeled this yummy soup into some bowls and enjoyed a warm, homemade meal! Yum!



This made enough for leftovers for my husband and myself. I always like to keep an extra can of chicken broth on hand so that when I reheat the soup, I can add it in. I find that the chicken and noodles can suck in some of the soup making it even more delicious, but leaving you with mostly veggies, chicken, and noodles and not much broth.

Print off the recipe here: Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

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