BBQ Chicken Pizza

I love this recipe from here. Of course I changed things up a bit for my liking. I hope you enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 whole Recipe For Pizza Crust (mine Makes Two Crusts) I bought a store pizza crust as I didn't have time to make one from scratch...it was a really good whole wheat crust. In so doing you only need about 1/2 of everything listed here.
  
• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ cups Barbecue Sauce
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• Salt For Sprinkling
• 16 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thinly
• ½ whole Red Onion, Cut In Half And Sliced Very Thin
• Chopped Cilantro, to taste I don't like cilantro unless it is a little bit so you could add a little to the top or you could just forget about it like I did. The pizza is good either way.
  

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Salt chicken breasts on both sides, then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour BBQ sauce over the breasts and turn them over to coat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Roll/stretch out one pizza crust. Lay it on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the crust, then sprinkle on a little salt.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of extra BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it evenly. Top sauce with half the sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on half the diced chicken and thinly sliced red onion.

Sprinkle again with a little salt, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on plenty of chopped cilantro. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Repeat with other crust and other ingredients, or save for another time.

Here is how I changed it. I didn't buy my own crust as

Basic Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
• 1-½ cup Warm Water
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ⅓ cups Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Green Chicken Enchiladas

Shannon clued me into this recipe from Cook's Country {great magazine}. It is incredibly easy and very tasty, if you like cilantro

2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite size pieces (approx 3 cups)
2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Salt and Pepper
12 small corn tortillas

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 400 degrees. Use Pam on bottom of 9x13 baking dish

Puree enchilada sauce and 1 cup cilantro in a blender. Combine 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, chicken and 1 1/2 cup cheese in a large bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper

Wrap tortillas in a clean kitchen towel and microwave until pliable, 30 to 90 seconds. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture and roll tightly. Arrange seam side down in baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray, then top with additional 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture and remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through, 15-2o minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and top with remaining sauce.

Asian Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

So I know how much a picture helps you want to cook something, so here is one I borrowed from some one's blog, it made me want to try this! So I made it for my cooking group using the original recipe with I thought turned out well, but when I ran out of the salad dressing {I have very poor math skills} I changed it up a little bit when I made the second batch. So I commented on the things I changed. . .

1/2 package of chow mien noodles {or you can use angel hair}

2 cups small broccoli florets

2 cups sliced carrots {I added this becuase I like them, I bought the ones already cut into butter slices}

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into thin strips

3/4 c. Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing (on the salad dressing isle)

3 Tbsp. soy sauce {I only used 2 Tbsp, it was too salty with 3}

2 Tbsp. sugar {This was my addition because I like a little sweetness}

1/4 tsp. each: ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper {I used less red pepper}

1/3 chopped dry roasted peanuts (optional)

Cook chow mien according to package

Steam broccoli and carrots until soft, but not mushy

Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and cook the chicken with salt/pepper, ginger, garlic powder and red pepper. Stir in dressing, soy sauce and sugar. Coat well, then add veggies and coat with sauce

Drain pasta and place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and mix together (lightly). Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

**Recipe and picture from Shelley Brown blog

Maple-Orange Glazed Chicken

I made this for dinner tonight- oh wow, it is up there with the new favorites!

1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
4 chicken breasts, halved crosswise

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk maple syrup, mustard, zest, vinegar and thyme in a bowl. Set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper

2. Heat oil in a large, oven safe skillet, over medium heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, until well browned, about 3-5 minutes. Turn chicken to other side and transfer skillet to the oven. Cook until chicken is deep golden brown and cooked through (about 10-15 min). Transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil.

3. Wearing oven mitt (pan handle is VERY hot), pour off any fat in skillet and add maple mixture to empty pan and cook over medium heat, scrapping up any browned bits with wooden spoon, until thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Off heat, return chicken to skillet and turn until well coated with glaze.

This recipe actually calls for the chicken to be skin on, but that kind of grosses me out and so I just did normal Costco chicken breasts. If you use the skin on chicken, cook the skin down on the skillet first and then put skin up with in the oven. Enjoy!

Yogurt Chicken

I made this one tonight for dinner and I thought it was delish! As weird as it sounds, the yogurt was really good, and even better it is SUPER easy.

4 chicken breast sliced into tenders
8 oz of plain yogurt
2 packages of Ritz crackers- crushed
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil

Combine Ritz, Parmesan and garlic powder. Dip the tenders in the yogurt and coat well. Roll in the cracker mix and place in a Pyrex. Melt butter and add olive oil, then drizzle over the chicken in the pan. Cook uncovered at 350 for 30-40 minutes or whenever it is done.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Long time no posts! These are DELICIOUS! Thanks Amber and Leticia for the recipe, I was a HUGE fan! They are sweet with a little kick to it. This makes a lot, so you can half the recipe

3/4 cup honey
Lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (or chicken breast/tender)
8-10 flour tortillas
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first five ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top

Amber added:
**Here is my addition: I didn't have any left over marinade, so I just added a bit of each of the marinade ingredients to the enchilada sauce and it worked!

My new addition:
I also added a can of cream of chicken soup to the meat mixture to make it a little more creamy (as if you needed the extra calories!) but it just helped so the meat didn't taste too dry. You could probably even get away with 1/2 a can and use the healthy version!

Lemon Pasta

I am not usually a huge lemon flavored fan, it is usually a little too much for me. That being said, this is so wonderful. It is light (in flavor not calories!) and you can't stop eating it!

1 box Pasta (I either use bowtie or Rotini)
2-3 boiled chicken breasts
Couple leaves of fresh basil chopped
Grape tomatoes
sliced and cooked zucchini


Sauce:
1 clove of garlic minced ( or 1 tsp of the prechopped stuff)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small thing of heavy whipping cream
1 Tbs butter
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan
Lemon zest if wanted

So you cook all of the above ingredients and combine in a bowl. To cook the sauce, saute the garlic in the olive oil for a couple of minutes then add the heavy whipping cream, turn the heat to low because you don't want the whipping cream boiling (makes it sour). Add butter and Parmesan and lemon zest and let it get warm. You want the cheese and butter melted, but again don't let it boil. Then pour over the Pasta and other ingredients, then add a little more shredded Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Yummy!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

OK, it is a really busy time for Pork Roast recipes - I told Laura I would post this recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

Pork Roast (Boston Butt or shoulder pork roast are best) - 6 or 7 pounds

Dry rub:

3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

5 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can leave this out if you don't want it spicy)

for a 7 lb roast, I cut it into 3 big pieces, then rubbed the rub on all the sides of it, then threw into the crock pot, poured a little bit of Worcestershire Sauce on low for 9 hours (overnight or all day), then put two forks into the crockpot and pulled all the roast into little shreds. When it is all pulled apart, pour a whole bottle of barbecue sauce over the whole thing and warm that up for about 30 minutes or as long as you want. Serve on buns/rolls.

This makes a lot - probably enough for 15-20 sandwiches (at least). I made this for a ward activity and it was a pretty big hit (I liked it anyway). I would say 3-4 people for each pound of meat - depending on how much they are planning on eating anyway.

Our version of Cafe Rio Pork

Well I know everyone has their version of Cafe Rio Pork, but this is pretty darn good and it is really easy so I told Michelle I would post it. . .

1 pork butt roast
Season with salt, pepper and a little Lawrys Seasoning. Add a cup or 2 of chicken broth and cook on low in a crock pot until it is literally falling apart as you try and get it out of the crock pot.

In a blender combine
1 1/2 cans of Coke
1 Cup sugar
the sauce from one can of Chipotle Pepper in Adobo sauce (the sauce is what you want, not the peppers, too spicy!)
1 tsp Cumin seed
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp minced garlic

Blend until it is all 1 consistency and mixed well.

Take pork out of the crock pot and shred. Get rid or the cooked juices and fat. Put the shredded pork back in the crock pot, add the sauce mixture and cook on low for another hour or two. Then you are done! easy and really good.

For a tip, it is hard to get the Adobo sauce out of the can, so I dunked the peppers in the coke to clean off the sauce and then threw away the peppers as I was done!

Salmon Burgers with Dill Mustard

1 ½ lbs. Skinless salmon filet cut into chunks (I use canned salmon)
2 Tbsp capers chopped
Grated peel of ½ lemon
1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tsp seafood seasoning (or just seasoning salt)
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ seedless cucumber, chopped or sliced thin
2 plum tomatoes chopped or sliced thin
½ small red onion, chopped or sliced thin
½ cup Dijon or Honey Mustard
3 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped
4 kaiser rolls
4 red-leaf lettuce leaves

Using a food processor, coarsely chop the salmon, transfer to a bowl. Mix in the capers, lemon peel, parsley and seafood seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties
Preheat the broiler. In a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the patties and cook for 4 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes and red onion (if chopped). In another small bowl, mix the mustard with the dill.
Toast the rolls under the broiler and slather each side with the mustard-dill sauce. Squeeze the lemon half over the cooked burgers. Set a lettuce leaf and burger on each roll bottom and top with the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions.

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Roll-Ups

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
8 chicken breast cutlets (or tenderized filets)
½ lb. deli-sliced provolone cheese
extra virgin olive oil (I use Pam olive oil spray)

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease the foil.
Place the beaten eggs and bread crumbs into separate shallow bowls. In another bowl, mix the ricotta and sun dried tomatoes. Dip the chicken cutlets into the egg, then coat with the bread crumbs and place on a work surface. Place a slice of provolone and a heaping tablespoon of ricotta mixture on each cutlet. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.
Place the chicken roll-ups side by side on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil or spray with Pam. Bake until the chicken is golden and the cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Black Bean Soup.

Delicious. Fast. Easy.

Black Bean Soup

1 cup salsa (fresca is best, but any type will do) plus more for garnish
2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth

sour cream, for garnish
lime, for garnish

Heat salsa in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Stir in beans and broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cool slightly and spoon half of soup into blender or food processor to puree.

Serve with sour cream and salsa. Also good with shredded chicken, tortilla strips, avocado, tomatoes, and cheese.

Crockpot chicken Tortilla Soup

4-6 chicken breasts (I usually just put them in the crock pot frozen)
2 cans black beans
1 can of corn
1 can chicken broth (water and chicken boullion cubes also works)
1 packet taco seasoning mix1 cup salsa (any kind, sometimes I'll just add the whole jar)
Top with grated cheese, sour cream, and chips before eating.

This recipe is great because you can throw it in the crock pot in the morning, cook it on low, and it's perfect by dinner time. The chicken usually shreds on it's own, but you may want to shred it yourself before serving it.

Fiesta Casserole

Ok, so I know casseroles are not included, but we may have to make an exception for this one. This recipe is in a new cookbook my dad gave Maren and I for Christmas. I made it a little different but let me start by giving you the recipe as the book says:

3 cups chicken broth
2 cups instant rice
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15.5 oz) can of black beans, rinsed
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 Tbsp tabasco
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups shredded cheese
6 oz Fritos, crushed to course crumbs
lime wedges for serving

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450. Combine broth, rice, corn, beans, salsa and tabasco. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Then stir in chicken and sprinkle cheese evenly over the top, then sprinkle Fritos evenly over the top. Bake until edges are bubbling and crumbs are toasted, about 8 to 12 mintues longer. Serve with lime wedges.

Ok, so that is the original, let me give you Shannon's version. So, I really don't like rice with my Mexican food so I left out the rice and only added about a cup or so of the chicken broth for the beginning bake. I also am weak and therefore left out the tabasco but instead I added a Tbsp or so of chopped cilantro (which I love!!!). From there the rest of the bake is the same but we washed up a bunch of leafy greens to place our servings of the casserole on. I am telling you it was delicious and the Fritos crushed on top were awesome! Heads up though, this does not serve as well for left overs because the fritos aren't crunchy.

Stuffed Green Peppers

I made these last night and they were SO good (and I think it is pretty good for you). I tweaked this recipe from one I got online and I loved it! This makes enough to serve 6.

6 Green Bell Peppers
1/2 c. uncooked brown rice
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 bag mixed frozen veggies
1 c. frozen corn
dried chopped onion (if you use fresh I'm sure it would be even better)
Shredded cheese (mozzarella or Mexican mix)

Make rice, as directed on bag. Brown turkey, pour off grease. Add spaghetti sauce (i used Prego Mushroom and Garlic) rice, frozen veggies/corn and chopped onion. Mix and warm in pan.

In separate pan, boil water and put peppers in for about 3 minutes. Remove peppers and put into cold water (apparently, this is called blanching). Put peppers in your baking dish and fill with filling prepared above. Cover and bake on 350 for 45 minutes. Take cover off and put cheese on top. Bake uncovered for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Hobo Pork Chop n' Pineapple Dinner

I watched Paula Deen make this one and it looked oh so good. The same day I watched the episode, I went out and bought the ingredients to try it for myself and it was oh so good!!

Pork Chops
Bell Pepper
Onion
Canned pineapple slices
Teriyaki sauce (I used Kikkoman)
Salt and Pepper

For each serving, lay a pork chop on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Top each chop with the onion, green pepper, and pineapple slices. Drizzle with the teriyaki sauce. Top with the margarine and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in the foil, rolling ends to completely seal the package. Place on the grill for 15-20 minutes. (mine took 22 minutes on medium heat)

P.S. For those of you who don't like onions or bell pepper, I'm sure it would still taste yummy without them.

Pulled Pork (or Carnitas)

I saw that this was on sale for $0.99 a lb at Ralphs so I thought I would share a delicious and very versatile roast. Hurry and try this one while you can do it cheap~

1 pork butt or pork shoulder roast (it is better if it is boneless)

Season both sides generously with salt, pepper and paprika

Place in a turkey sized baking bag
(before you put in the baking bag, put 1 Tbs of flour in the bag and shake to prevent the bag from sticking)

Put 1/4 c. of water

Close the bag and slice 5 one inch slits in the top of the bag for venting.

Cook at 300 degrees for 5-6 hours (or until fork tender, should literally fall apart with the swipe of a fork)

This is great couple of different ways. As carnitas, serve with warm tortillas, black beans, cheese, guacamole to make into burritos. For another way to serve, add some BBQ sauce and place on hamburger buns. In fact, you will probably have left overs so do it as Mexican the first night then re heat for BBQ the second.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a great meal for our family. I love getting Costco's rotisserie chicken for dinner but we don't eat the whole thing in one meal and I'm never good with leftovers, so this recipe is great to use with the leftover chicken. I imagine eventually our kids will eat more and then I'll have to buy two chicken to accomplish the two night's of meals, but for now...Enjoy!

3-4 c. chicken(or whatever you have leftover from last night's Costco rotisserie chicken), cooked and cubed
2 c. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 onion, chopped
6 T. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. forzen peas
6 T. butter
1 c. milk
I pie crust

In a small saucepan, cover the carrots and potatoes with water. Bring to a boil and let boil 5 minutes. Drain and putin a 2 qt. round casserole or deep pie pan. Add the frozen peas and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper again. Melt butter in a saucepan and add the chopped onion. Cook until the onion is soft. Add the flour, stirring constantly until it is a smooth paste. Add the milk and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the broth is thick and bubbly. Pour over the chicken and vegetables. Top with the pie crust. Cut holes in crust to vent. Bake at 425 (400 for glass pans) for 25-35 minutes, until crust is brown. Put a piece of foil on the rack under the pie to catch any broth that drips out during baking.

Pumpkin Soup

This has become our family's traditional Thanksgiving dinner appetizer. It freezes really well too....just a little FYI!


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 turn of the pan 2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh bay leaf
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
***I don’t add the celery or onion****
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Heat a soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion (optional in my opinion). Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste. then cook a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Add the Chili powder, honey and ground cinnamon. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

French Dip Sandwiches

As long as I am on a sandwich kick! I made these tonight for dinner and it was really good and quite easy.

3-4 lb. sirloin tip roast
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
2-3 whole peppercorn (I just used some from my pepper grinder and it seemed to work fine)
1 tsp dried crushed rosemary leaves
1 tsp garlic powder

Trim off fat from the roast and place in a crock pot
Mix all the ingredients and pour over the roast.
Add water until the roast is almost completely covered
Cook on low for 10-12 hours
Thinly slice meat and place on crusty rolls (slightly toasted) with a few slices of Swiss cheese
Use the juice as As Jus