So, I very rarely buy pizza, it is too expensive,  and I since I have found the best (in my humble opinion) pizza crust recipe it seems silly to order take out. But feel free to use your favorite homemade or if you are short on time; store bought pizza crust. Just an FYI about the homemade pizza crust... I do it a bit different because I don't have a pizza stone.. feel free to follow my directions or use the directions found with the recipe, it will be great either way.

 
*This recipe is for one 10-12 in pizza, the crust recipe will make enough dough for 2 so either double the ingredients and sauce or do like I do and freeze half the dough for next time.

White Sauce-  (recipe credit)
1 TBSP olive oil
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and flour. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes than whisk in milk. Reduce heat and whisk and stir until sauce is smooth and has started to thicken. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Set aside.

Toppings-
1 TBSP olive oil
3 cups broccoli florets
salt and garlic pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced chicken breast meat
1 cup shredded cheese
(I used the blend of shredded cheese from the grocery store)

Directions-
Turn your oven on set at 450 degrees. Cook diced chicken seasoning with salt and garlic pepper, remove from pan. Place broccoli in pan and cook until almost done, it will finish cooking in the oven. Set the broccoli and chicken aside. Now spray cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray, and prep your pizza dough by either rolling it out to the size of your pan or use your hands and just spread it out starting in the middle like I do. Now use a fork and poke some holes all over the dough and bake for about 5 minutes by itself. (If you are using store bought crust you will obviously skip the pre-baking step... just put topping and sauce on and bake it according to directions on the crust.) Remove from oven and put on sauce and toppings and return to the oven until the cheese and crust are golden brown,  about 10-15 minutes.

I am having a hard time wanting to eat hamburgers for dinner after writing this recipe. Isn't it awesome that God gave us taste buds...  just another reason to be thankful besides this one...
    “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
                                          -2 Corinthians 5:21

Have a blessed day,
    Tobi

I love to have those frozen hamburger patties in the freezer for easy dinners and they are great to have in case company shows up.. makes for an impromptu BBQ relatively stress free. But I personally can taste the difference between them and homemade burgers, so I came up with a way to fix them.
Here is my secret.. shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

Yep, its soy sauce and garlic pepper. I added a little salt but be careful since the soy is so salty. How much you ask? I have no idea.. until it looks good to you.
Here is a picture, does that help?

So season up the burgers and then slice some onion..

Throw them in a skillet with some oil to caramelize (don't forget to stir them once in a while.) while ya BBQ the burgers.. don't forget to put cheese on the burgers.

Now just build your burger with the onions, and some mustard, and mayo.. usually I put ketchup on my burger but I like it without with these.. Oh and I also grilled the buns a bit.
I served them with sweet potato oven fries!

I have always loved Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie..but have you ever read the nutritional information?? It's scary. I think I gained half a pound just reading it. But on nights like tonight when it's cold and rainy, I crave some kind of comfort food. That is why I was so happy to find this recipe on the Quit Eating Out food blog. I changed it around since I didn't have all the ingredients but be sure to  check out her version it sounds yummy too.

 Here is my version...

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie
1 TBSP butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups white potatoes- cut into small pieces..do them smaller then mine.. some weren't quite done (but don't worry they were close and we ate it anyway)
1/3 cup white wine (I used chicken broth since I didn't have any wine)
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast( I baked some chicken  seasoned with salt and garlic pepper)
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper
1 1/2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP water
2/3 cup half-and-half
Cooking Spray
1 1/4 cups low-fat baking mix (Bisquick) I used my homemade baking mix from Kitchen Simplicity that is part whole wheat)
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425*.  In a large, non-stick skillet melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and saute an additional 2 minutes.  Add the wine (broth) and cook for 1 minute to evaporate the liquid.  Add the rest of the chicken broth; stir and bring to a boil.  Cook the mixture for 4 minutes, being sure to stir occasionally.  Stir in the chicken, mixed veggies, salt and pepper ~ cook for a minute. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and 2 TBSP water; stir with a whisk.  Add this mixture and the half-and-half to the pan.  Reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes while stirring constantly.  Pour this mixture into a 13x9" pan that's been coated with cooking spray.
  Here is a picture of the filling...

Crust-
In a large bowl, combine baking mix, milk and egg ~ stir with a whisk.  Spoon this batter over the chicken mixture and spread evenly to cover. 
Bake at 425* for 20 minutes or until golden brown with the filling bubbling.  Let the dish stand for 10 minutes.

It was a hit.. everyone ate seconds and I am gonna eat the last serving for lunch. (Sorry Marie, you have been replaced, but don't worry I still love you for your chocolate silk pie.)
       Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Quit Eating Out has a Saturday Recipe Swap and there are always lots of yummy things to check out.

Barbacoa Beef and Cilantro Lime Rice are the spotlighted recipes today.. here is a picture-

To check out the rest of the recipes and the awesome Quit Eating Out website just click the button..

Oh, Karen's Kitchen linked up the Sweet Potato Pancakes Recipe found in Tobi's Taste and See Tuesday blog post.

     Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Salad

2 cups diced chicken breast - Feeds 2 people unless you like a lot of chicken.
Fresh baby spinach / green salad mix (either or both will work)
Feta Cheese (any brand will do)
Mushroom (unless you are like me who does NOT eat fungus!!)
Sliced Bell pepper (I prefer yellow, orange, red)
4-6 whole strawberries, diced (or chunks, whichever you prefer)
Any salad dressing of your choice. (I used Ken's Lite Asian Sesame With Ginger and Soy.) 

I ran out of chicken breast, so I borrowed dinosaur chicken nuggets (please see disclaimer). I fried them up with a small amount of olive oil til they were crunchy but not overdone. I placed them in a bowl and put them in the freezer to cool off. (I am not one who likes hot salads, but if you do, skip this step completely) Make a bed of salad on your plate and add all the ingredients! Dig in! YUUM :) You cannot go wrong with this salad; it is light, but very filling. Quick to make when you have to make something in a pinch. This is also great as a lunch.

**The dinosaur chicken were donated by my two lovely children who also benefited from them. However they did not eat the "yucky salad", they did however enjoy the chicken and strawberries.**

BIG disclaimer.. I am sorry to everyone. I was going to snap a few pictures but due to being hungry, I completely forgot till I was done eating. Sorry!!

Much love,
Karen

Hey Everyone!
    Tobi here.. I hijacked Karen's blog (with permission of course) to put this recipe up. And if she tells you any different it's just because she is mad that she didn't get to eat these. ;)
 Anyway on to the recipe. When I think of mango or citrus salsa I usually think of fish tacos. But since I had a ripe mango and some kiwi but no fish I decided to try it with chicken. It turned out pretty good. The pics aren't great..It was much prettier in person. I hate florescent lighting.

   Mango/ Kiwi Salsa
1 large mango cubed
2-3 kiwi cubed (I used 3 because mine were little)
1/2 finely chopped red onion
diced jalapeno to taste
a pinch of salt
tsp. fresh cilantro
a splash of lemon,or lime juice
     I used orange juice because that is what I had on hand.. I do think it would be better with lemon or lime though. The orange was almost too sweet.

    Chicken Tacos
3 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
cooking spray
salt
garlic pepper

Spray pan with cooking spray, add chicken and season with salt and garlic pepper.  Cook with lid on pan until chicken is done.
    -You can season the chicken with whatever you want but it should be pretty mild so that it doesn't interfere with the flavor of the salsa. Also this and the salsa can be easily doubled to feed more people. Just heat the tortillas and serve.

Here I served them with 'Un' Refried Beans...

                Have a great weekend!
                                           Tobi