Friday, January 14, 2011

I'm sad to say...

...my computer has officially died (it was dying a slow death) and it'll be at least a week or two till I get a new one and until then I will not be posting!  :(  I was so excited to start the new year off right and to start back up blogging but then this happened!  But the good news is I'm still cooking so I will be collecting lots of recipes to post once I get a new computer!  If you know of any good computers/deals please let me know...I'm clueless about electronics, I don't like Dell computers thought because I've had a bad experience but other than Dell all I've ever had is HP. 

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Spinoccoli Pizza

So every once in awhile we make Pizza and since me and Lee have different tastes in Pizza I usually make us each one and then have leftovers.  This time my Dad joined us so I had 3 pizzas to make but this time I decided to make me Spinoccoli Pizza instead of my usual pepperoni with pineapple and it was AMAZING!  Of course neither my Dad or Lee would try it, I did get Lee to try the white sauce and when I tried to get my Dad to he just laughed and said "I'm not married to you so I don't have to!"  It's another Annie recipe, I usually hate to post back to back Annie recipes but I figured since I just posted about her amazing Pizza Dough yesterday I might as well post this.  FYI-I did not use the homemade dough because I had coupons to get free Boboli pizza crusts that expired 12/31 so I had quite a few to use up, and if you don't make the Pizza Dough then I suggest trying Boboli-they are pretty good. 

Spinoccoli Pizza
For the white sauce:
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
¾ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1 clove garlic, smashed
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
For the pizza:
Pizza Dough
Olive oil, for brushing
½ cup packed baby spinach leaves, torn
1 cup very small broccoli florets
2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't use cheddar cheese) 
Grated Parmesan

In a small sauce pan melt the butter and then whisk in the flour, keep whisking until it bubbles.  Add the heavy cream and the garlic, whisk until thick.  Take off the heat, add the Parmesan cheese and salt/pepper.

To make the pizza, preheat the oven and a pizza stone at 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the pizza dough into a 12-14 inch round.  Lightly brush the perimeter of the dough with olive oil.  Spread a thin layer of the white sauce over the crust, leaving a border clear around the edge for the crust.  Sprinkle the torn spinach leaves over the white sauce.  Evenly distribute the broccoli florets over the dough.  Layer evenly with the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.  Finish with additional grated Parmesan, if desired.  Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Pizza Bites

I'm BACK!!!  When I started this blog my goal was to one day be like Annie or The Pioneer Woman and I still hope to be like them one day but I think I was expecting too much out of myself too soon with trying to post 4-5x a week.  Don't worry, I'm still going to blog as much as I can every week but I'm going to aim at about 3x a week.  Now let's talk about Pizza Bites...


Speaking of Annie, this is one of her recipes and I'm so happy to be sharing it with you all.  This is perfect to serve while watching a game with friends, so if you are planning a Super Bowl Party or going to one I would suggest putting this on your list.  This is also a great meal when you don't have much time because you can do the pizza dough ahead of time and then it takes about 5min. to throw it together!  And this Pizza Dough is amazing...I'd suggest making homemade pizza's with it!  I'm not providing the recipe for the dough, I'd suggest going to the link I provided.  I was going to give it to you but Annie has a really great tutorial about homemade pizza crust along with the recipe. 

Pizza Bites
½ batch pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (about 20-24 pieces)
Sliced pepperoni
Pizza Sauce (for dipping)

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9in. pie plate or cake pan.  Divide the dough into 20-24 pieces.  Place a cube of cheese and pepperoni on top of a piece of dough and then wrap the dough around it, repeat until finished.  Place seam side down in dish.  Lightly brush the tops with olive oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan and Italian seasoning.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. 

Adapted from Annie's Eats.