Balsamic Strawberry Pizza with Chicken, Red Onion and Smoked Bacon

This pizza was very freaking amazing. I highly recommend it. It's based on the recipe found here.

Everybody in my family loved it.

1/2 cup strawberry jam or preserves
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Sriracha Chili Sauce
Pizza Dough (use whatever recipe you want)
1 or 2 cups diced chicken
1/2 cup bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces, cooked and drained
1/2 cup thin sliced red onion
2 cups cheese
1 cup fresh strawberries, diced small
1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

1. Place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until reduced to half of the original volume and mixture is thick and syrupy. Add strawberry preserves and Sriracha and mix well. Set aside to cool.

2. Make pizza dough and spread on a pizza pan (we use a cookie sheet)


3. Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic-strawberry mixture and mix to coat all chicken with sauce. Pour rest of sauce onto pizza dough and spread to cover. Scatter chicken evenly over the sauce.

4. Place about 3/4 of the cheese on top of dough and spread to cover sauce evenly. Scatter bacon and red onion over cheese to distribute evenly. Scatter remaining cheese over this layer.

5. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro (optional) and fresh diced strawberries. Serve and enjoy!

Balsamic Roasted Tomato-Basil Ice Cream

The ice cream flavor this week was very.... interesting. The first taste is sharp and strong, and I wasn't really sure what to think of it. The more I ate, the less strong the flavor seemed. I wouldn't call it good, but it wasn't horrible either. It was based on the recipe found here (with slight alterations).

• 1 pint of cherry/grape tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar + 1 pinch of salt to sprinkle over tomatoes while roasting
• ½ cup basil leaves packed
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1-1/2 cups cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup ricotta cheese – room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut cherry/grape tomatoes in half and toss them with balsamic vinegar. Arrange cut cherry tomatoes, cut side up, on baking sheet. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp) and roast for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely. While your tomatoes are roasting in oven, side by side you can prepare for the ice cream base.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk and keep it aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together remaining milk, cream, sugar, and salt. Add vanilla. Add basil leaves and bring it to boil over medium heat. Basil will add flavor and change a color only a bit.

When it comes to boil, cook it for 5 more minutes and then add cornstarch mixture while stirring continuously (Do not stop stirring, otherwise you will get cornstarch lumps)

Bring it to boil one more time and cook for another 5 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Add ¼ cup of ricotta cheese to the mixture and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool down.

While it is cooling down, purée those roasted cherry tomatoes in your blender. When milk mixture is almost at room temperature, strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Use back of your spoon to extract all the juices before discarding basil n vanilla. Now it is time to sieve pureed tomatoes. Just leave out seeds and skin of tomatoes.  So strain it well. I like the texture of tomato skin and seeds in my ice cream so I added a Tbsp of it before discarding it. So it is completely optional, if you want it add it.

Cover with cling film directly on the surface of milk mixture and refrigerate at least 2 hours to chill. I did it over night.

Once it is chilled, transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

When done, transfer ice cream to a freezer safe storage container and freeze until set.

Orzo Chicken Asiago

This recipe is amazing. My whole family loves it. So just make it. I don't need to say anymore. (It came from here.)

• 1 pound chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup white wine
• 1¼ cups orzo, uncooked
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
• ¼ cup green onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
• Parsley

1. Place chicken broth and wine into a large pot. Bring to boil. Add the chicken pieces and orzo. Reduce the heat and simmer 12 minutes, or until orzo is cooked, stirring constantly. Add the salt and herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary) after the orzo has cooked for about 6 minutes. Just as the orzo is finishing, add the fresh tomatoes and green onions. Cook for 1 minute. Remove pasta mixture from heat. Add the peas. Stir in to help cool the mixture. Add the cheese and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Pictures on the Toilet

When I was going to the bathroom today, and I said to Vernon, "Take a picture of me while I'm on the toilet."

He looked at me like I was kind of crazy, so I said, "We hardly have any pictures of me on the toilet. How am I supposed to know what I look like?"

He didn't get the camera.

(Here is the last picture that was taken of me on the toilet. It was at least 6 years ago.)

(You all miss my updates, don't you?)

Tequila Lime Pizza

This pizza was pretty freaking amazing. Wow. Such unique flavor combinations that came together just perfectly. I highly recommend this pizza. All my kids love it as well. (Here is the original recipe.)

Ingredients

• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow or white onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces silver tequila
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• Salt and pepper 

 

• FOR THE PIZZA:
• Pizza Dough (use whatever you want, or use my recipe here)
• 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp
• 2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/4 cup halved and quartered grape tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mango
• 1 lime, halved and sliced
• chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. To make the tequila-lime sauce: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add heavy cream and tequila and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and reduces, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F for a dark or nonstick pan (425 degrees F for all other pan types). Grease pan and roll out pizza dough to desired thickness. Prebake crust 8 minutes.
4. Remove pizza from oven and top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with tequila-lime sauce, then add another 1/2 cup cheese. Sprinkle on toppings -- shrimp, bacon, tomatoes, coconut flakes, mango and lime -- and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Return to oven and bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 6-10 minutes.
5. Remove pizza from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro, if desired, slice and serve.