BBQ Chicken Pizza

When I first heard of a BBQ chicken pizza, my first thought was.. I like BBQ chicken…but on a pizza??? I was the traditional pizza lover. You know the kind, cheese, peperoni, maybe some bacon and onions…ok and perhaps throw in some mushrooms, but that was it. Then I became more adventerous with my pizza topping consumption, so I threw caution to the wind and tried a BBQ chicken pizza. That was a few years ago and I can say I have been hooked ever since. So to all those BBQ Chicken pizza skeptics out there….try it you might like it.

Here’s what you need:

boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs; dried thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, red onion, dried cilantro, shredded colby jack cheese, pizza crust and a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce.

First off sprinkle the chicken with the thyme, onion powder and garlic powder on both sides.

Drizzle a little olive oil in a large pan and heat to medium high heat.

Place chicken in the pan and cook about 5 minutes.

Turn the chicken over and cover. Continue cooking another 5 to 8 minutes on medium until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the pan and Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Chop 1/2 of the red onion.

Add about 1 Tbs of olive oil in a small sauce pot and throw in the onions.

Cook over medium high heat stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.

Slice the chicken into small bite size pieces.

Place chicken in a small bowl with 2 Tbs of BBQ sauce.

Toss well to coat.

Spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce onto pizza dough.

You can use homemade pizza dough if you like. I was going for the easy way so I bought the pre-made kind.

Sprinkle on the cheese over the BBQ sauce….

then the onions…..

then the chicken.

Next, sprinkle the Cilantro over the chicken.

Top with more cheese.

Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Slice and serve.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

3 to 4 Bonless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
dried Thyme to taste
onion powder to taste
garlic powder to taste
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 to 3 Cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
dried cilantro to taste
pre made or homemade pizza crust

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with the thyme, onion powder and garlic powder on both sides. Drizzle a little olive oil in a large pan and heat to medium high heat. Place chicken in the pan and cook abut 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and cover. Continue cooking another 5 to 8 minutes on medium until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from pan and cool for about 10 minutes.

Add about 1 Tbs of olive oil in a small sauce pot and add chicken. Cook over medium high heat stirring occasionally until the onions are soft. Slice the chicken into small bite size pieces then place in a small bowl. Toss chicken with 2 Tbs. of BBQ sauce until coated. Spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce onto pizza dough.
Sprinkle cheese over the BBQ sauce, then the onions, then the chicken. Next , sprinkle the Cilantro over the chicken. Top with more cheese. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Slice and serve.

Pizza Sauce

Making homemade pizza sauce is easy. Most of the ingredients you might already have on hand and it takes only a few minutes to throw together.

Here’s what you need:

2 cans of tomato sauce (if you are only doing one small pizza I would recommend only 1 can), onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil and sugar.

Empty tomato sauce into a bowl. You might want a bigger bowl than the one I used because as you can see, I came close to some major spillage.

Add rest of ingredients, add more to taste…..

then stir to mix well.

Spread onto your pizza dough.

Now that wasn’t so hard was it?

Pizza sauce
Ingredients:

1 or 2 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. sugar

Directions:

Pour tomato sauce into a bowl. Add rest of ingredients and stir to mix well. Spread desired amount on to pizza dough.

Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Lasagna. It is comfort food with all it’s cheesy, saucy goodness. Throw in some nice crusty garlic bread, a salad on the side and you have a great go-to meal when company is coming over for dinner.  Everyone I know that makes their own, has their own special recipe. Some make it with beef and sausage, some with the grated Parmesan that comes in the little green canister and others make it with a spicy ground chicken instead of beef. To me, I think it’s up to your own style of taste…. a little of your own flair. For me, the more cheese and sauce, the better.

To begin, I start out making a meat sauce. You can make this the day before. Don’t want to make a meat sauce from scratch? No problem. Just take two jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce, add ground beef and any spices to your taste and there ya go. Hide the jars in the bottom of your trash can and no one will know you didn’t stand over a stove all day making sauce. You’re secret is safe with me.

There are times that I just make a simple marinara sauce and use that in place of the meat sauce.

Grab a large container of cottage cheese and place in a bowl. I prefer cottage cheese in my lasagna than ricotta. To me, it’s not as dry as ricotta and I prefer the flavor.

Next add 1 tbs. of dried basil or more to taste.

Sprinkle in 1/4 C. shredded Parmesan cheese.

Somehow my cat always knows when I break out the cheese. I think she’s hoping I knock over the whole bag her way.

Stir to combine then taste to see if you need more basil or cheese.

Crack in one egg then mix well.

Spray a large casserole dish with non stick spray.

Spoon in a small amount of sauce, enough to cover the bottom.

Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles in a layer, slightly overlapping one another over the sauce.
I like for the noodles to cook with the sauce, if you prefer to boil your noodles before hand, go right head.

Add another layer of sauce on top of the noodles. (I wonder how many times I have the word noodles in this recipe.)

Spread a layer of the cottage cheese mixture onto of the sauce…..

then add a layer of shredded cheese. I use a mix of mozzarella and Colby cheddar jack. I like mine cheesy.

Then, you guessed it, add more noodles. Then add more sauce, then once again layer cottage cheese mixture, shredded cheese,then the noodles then sauce.

Lastly sprinkle on 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 1/2 C. or more of the mozzarella, colby jack cheese mixture.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and continue to bake 15 to 20 minutes more or until noodles are done.

Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

If you are using noodles that have already been boiled, then bake 45 minutes covered, uncover and continue baking another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lasagna with Meat Sauce

For the Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 ground beef
1Tbs. basil
1 Tbs. Thyme
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp, garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 bay leaf

Directions:

In a large pot add about 2 to 3 Tbs of olive oil. Heat to medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes or until onions become tender. Remove onions and garlic; set aside. In same pot, add beef and cook over medium high heat until meat is brown. Drain if needed.
Add onions and garlic back to the pot. Sprinkle in 1Tbs. basil, 1 Tbs. Thyme, 2 tsp. oregano, 2 tsp. paprika, 2 tsp. onion powder, 2 tsp, garlic powder, 2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 can tomato paste and 1 tsp salt. Stir well with beef mixture and cook about 1 minute more.

Pour in 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and add 1 tsp. sugar. Stir well. If sauce is too thick, add a little water. Taste and add any more spices or salt if you prefer. Add in bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

For the Lasagna:

Ingredients:

1 box of Lasagna noodles
1 large container of cottage cheese
1 Tbs. dried basil or more to taste
1/4 C shredded parmesan cheese plus 1/2 C. reserved
1 egg
3 C. equal parts Mozzeralla, colby jack and cheddar cheese

Directions:

Mix together cottage cheese, basil, 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese and the egg.

Spray a large casserole dish with non stick spray. Spoon in a small amount of sauce, enough to cover the bottom. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles in a layer, slightly overlapping one another over the sauce. Add another layer of sauce on top of the noodles. Spread a layer of the cottage cheese mixture onto of the sauce, then sprinkle mozzarella cheese mixture over cottage cheese mixture. Place another 4 noodles, then add more sauce, then once again layer cottage cheese mixture, shredded cheese,then the noodles then more sauce.

Lastly sprinkle on 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and 1 1/2 C. or more of the mozzeralla, colby jack cheese mixture.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and continue to bake 15 to 20 minutes more or until noodles are done. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

If you are using noodles that have already been boiled, then bake 45 minutes covered, uncover and contiue baking another 15 minutes.

Birthday Luncheon at Brick Street Cafe

Another year, another birthday. In celebrating my 25th birthday…ok ok 42nd birthday my mom (yep, that’s me and my mom) and a few other important ladies in my life (my aunts and great aunt) took me to lunch at one of my favorite places- Brick Street Cafe.

What was once a belt factory many years ago, was later turned into a cafe.

The place is a unique blend of a cozy, laid back atmosphere with a touch of southern charm…not to mention great food. It isn’t unusual to walk in and find several wedding or baby showers going on. The staff are always courteous and make you feel like you were invited for a relaxing lunch at a friend’s house.

I think I have tried just about everything on their menu, from their Sid’s Trio salad ( a scoop each of chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad on mixed greens) to the Mr. Pad’s Fried Oyster Po’ Boy.

I have a weakness for crab cakes, so I had the Miss Sara’s Crab Cake Sandwich. It did not disappoint. The crab cake had nice crunchy texture on the outside with delicious jumbo crab meat on the inside, seasoned just right. The remoulade sauce was so yummy I could have eaten it with a spoon. I think I did at one point. I know I ended up using it as a dip for my chips. It would have been a shame to have wasted any of it.

For dessert we had their famous 4 layer coconut cake. See how much my mom and my aunts love me, they bought me a whole cake. Of course I shared it….mostly.

This cake will make you swoon.

At the end of my food coma, I can truly say that turning 42 wasn’t so bad after all.

Parmesan Paprika Potatoes

These potatoes are nice and crunchy on the outside, but tender on the inside, not to mention with the hint of parm cheese…yumm. I think these have become my hubby’s favorite potato and he’s not a huge potato fan. These go great with pan fried or roasted chicken. I’ve even served them with burgers instead of fries.

Here’s what you need:

Potatoes, 3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese, 1/3 C. flour, 3 Tbs. paprika, 1/4 C. melted butter, salt to taste.

I know the pictures has shredded Parmesan cheese, but grated works better. I picked up the shredded by accident, and of course I did not realize it until I started preparing these. I guess that will teach me to read the labels. The grated seems to blend better with the rest of the ingredients and sticks to the potatoes better.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a zip top plastic bag; shake to mix well.

Peel potatoes if desired, then cut into wedges….

Then throw them into the bag. Then shake shake shake to coat those potatoes well.

Place potatoes in a baking pan sprayed with non stick spray. If you happen to use shredded Parmesan cheese like I did here, you will probably see the cheese did not stick onto the potatoes while in the bag. No problem, just sprinkle the cheese that was left in the bag, back onto the potatoes. Spray the potatoes with the non stick cooking spray, then drizzle them with the butter.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, turn the potatoes, then bake another 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are done. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Enjoy!

Parmesan Paprika Potatoes

Ingredients:

Potatoes; peeled if desired then cut into wedges
3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 C. flour
3 Tbs. paprika
1/4 C. melted butter
salt to taste.
cooking spray

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients in a zip top plastic bag; shake to mix well. Place potatoes into the bag and shake well to coat.
Place potatoes in a baking pan sprayed with non stick spray. Spray the potatoes with the non stick cooking spray, then drizzle them with the butter. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, turn the potatoes, then bake another 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are done. Sprinkle with salt and serve.