Karen's "Pepperoniless" Pizza

I wanted pizza a few nights ago for dinner, but didn't feel like a greasy pepperoni pizza, which if I'm gonna do, I'm gonna go full tilt and do the bacon, sausage, extra cheese, etc., but I was feeling like behaving myself and I was in the mood to concoct so here we go.....

Ingredients:

Crust:

Store bought pre made thin crust whole wheat pizza crust (yes I wimped out on the crust....didn't feel like making my own today, and this was a healthy easy alternative)

Toppings:

Pre made store bought pizza sauce (hehe ummm...wimped out again *looking down, scuffing foot on ground*)
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts cut roughly into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup extra lean kolbassa diced
1 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (soak in hot water for ~ 15 min, and chop)
1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
2 cups low fat feta diced
2 cups low fat mozzarella grated



There were enough toppings for 2 pizzas, so I made 2 and enjoyed it for lunch all week :)

Prep all toppings

Saute chicken in basil and salt and pepper to taste



Arrange toppings on pizza (photo was taken before mozza went on)



Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes



Voila!



I served this with a side of cesar salad:



Cheers ma dears!! :)

Cute Story:

When I served this pizza to my little cutie-pie 3 year old, she said "Ummmm!! Pizza!" Then she looked at it, picked the toppings off as per her usual routine, and with a confused look that was bordering on panic she asked me "Mommy?!? Where's the pepperoni??" hahaha...poor kid felt cheated, but after some reassurance and persuasion she loved it and asked for seconds ;)


*To get to blog from facebook go to http://www.thinkoutsidethecan.blogspot.com

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I had no idea what I wanted for dinner tonight but I knew I felt like something meaty, and tangy, and for a change, I actually had time to experiment!

What did I come up with? Meatballs with an Asian flair, in a tangy sweet and sour sauce, served over a bed of basmati rice....ummmm....deeelish! I also prepared the meatballs in the oven as per my mother's suggestion to expedite the cooking process. In the past, I would pan fry my home made meatballs, which took FOREVER, but this was sooo much easier and faster, and that's what I'm all about when it comes to cooking....big bang for your buck, small effort, big result! This turned out so good that I wrote everything down so I can reproduce what I did in the future (and share it with you here) :)

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef (or pork)
2 eggs
2 tbsp ginger grated
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp liquid beef bouillon
1 tbsp soya sauce (after thought - not shown in photo)
3 tbsp sesame oil (after thought - not shown in photo)
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley (after thought - not shown in photo)
1 tbsp ground mustard
2 tbsp dijon mustard (after thought - not shown in photo)
1 tsp black pepper

Sauce:

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup diced pineapple
1 medium onion diced
3 cups VH Sweet and Sour Sauce
3 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp salt



1) Prepare Meatballs

Mix all ingredients thoroughlly by hand in a large mixing bowl.

Form into meatballs (approx. 1 inch diameter).

Arrange on a non stick cookie sheet.



Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes (in convection oven, may need longer in non convection oven). Cut 1 meatball in half, if center is browned and steaming hot, and meatball is slightly firm to touch, it is cooked.



2) Start to prepare sauce while meatballs are cooking

Saute onion, red and green peppers until tender, salt to taste



3) Arrange meatballs with sauce in casserole dish

Spray bottom and sides of a casserole dish with cooking spray

Place meatballs in a casserole dish



Add sauteed veggies and pineapple

Pour sweet and sour sauce over top

Gently shift meatballs around to let sauce and veggies fill in spaces between meatballs, be careful not to break the meatballs when doing this



4) Bake meatballs in sauce

Cover casserole dish and bake at 375-400F for 30 minutes





5) Serve over basmati rice and enjoy!!!

Penne A La Vodka

I spent a wonderful evening with my sister and her hubby this evening. Since there was rain in the forecast, for dinner we decided against a BBQ and wine by the fireplace, and decided to prepare an 'indoor' dish my lil sis had learned from a gourmet chef at a recent teacher's conference...Penne a la Vodka...ummmmm!!

It was my first time preparing this dish, but with my sister's direction, it was unbelievably easy, and delicious! We paired it with a wondeful Pinot Grigio - a perfect match!

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta
4-5 tbsp EVOO
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
6-7 green onions diced
2/3 cup pancetta diced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning mix
3 cups pasta sauce
3/4 cup 18% cream
approx 30 mls vodka



1) Boil penne noodles to desired tenderness while preparing sauce

2) Saute garlic, green onion, and pancetta in EVOO on high heat until cooked (garlic golden, pancetta browned throughout), be careful not to burn the veg






3) Tip pan so that all oil and vegetables slide to one side

4) Pour vodka over hot oil and vegetable mix, ignite with a lighter and flambe




5) Once flame has died, reduce heat to medium and add pasta sauce, bring to a simmer

6) Gradually add cream, stirring constantly until blended to create a nice rose sauce




Comme Ça :


7) Drain penne noodles, and mix sauce with pasta



8) Add fresh grated parmesan cheese over top, and voila - Penne a la Vodka! This was so good my 3 year old asked for seconds!!



Enjoy!

Cheers ;)