It's-a Pizza Time-a, Si?

Pizza is not my food weakness.

My weaknesses include (but are not limited to): egg rolls, French fries, Dove bars, gummy snacks, Gushers, anything from Haagen-Dazs, beer, Starburst jelly beans, cheddar & sour cream chips, strawberries, macaroni & cheese, hamburgers, steak, calamari, pretty much anything on any happy hour menu anywhere, chewy ginger molasses cookies, mangoes, mussels, any pasta with some version of tomato cream sauce, bacon, creamy garlic mashed potatoes and breadsticks.

But not pizza.

Until last night.

When I made this:

You know when you're trying really hard to eat healthy and then you eat something really bad for you and you think to yourself, "Man, I should NOT have eaten that!" This was not one of those times. This was more like, "I don't know and I don't care how many calories were in there. It was completely and totally worth it." 

This is not diet food. I repeat. This is not diet food. But, one oh-it's-so-bad-it's-good meal every once in a while will not destroy you. In fact, I am completely and utterly convinced that indulgence is an absolute necessity in life. As is this pizza. Your life is incomplete until you've made and eaten a large amount of this pizza. And the good news is, it's easy!!

Here are the ingredients: 

The Players:

6 oz. Prosciutto

Arugula

Fresh Mozzarella

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Pizza Dough

Fig Jam

(this is enough for two, very thin crust pizzas)

Roll 1/2 the pizza dough as thinly as possible. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of the dough. Put a big blob of fig jam on top. If you don't think it's enough, add a little more!! Slice the mozzarella thin and lay on the crust. Don't put too much of it on!! Sprinkle with a little bit of blue cheese. Bake in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. 

Immediately after removing the pizza from the oven, lay the prosciutto on top of the pizza so it sinks into the cheese. Put a good handful of the arugula on top of the pizza. Wait for a few minutes.

Slice and eat!! Feel yourself melt into the deliciousness that is this pizza. 

Possible vegetarian variation: instead of prosciutto, immediately add sliced pears and candied walnuts. Then top with fresh arugula! 

Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash

Yum! As much as I would love to have a 6-month summer, I can't deny that I look forward to the beginning of fall. The air is crisp and clean (usually - around here, it's muggy right now!), the leaves change colors, it's cold enough to wear a sweater but warm enough to be comfortable. Ah, fall. Along with that beautiful weather comes the fall harvest - squash, pumpkins, potatoes. And I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of autumn food. I absolutely love squash, and last night I decided to try and make it for myself. I settled on spaghetti squash because (1) it's still pretty warm around here and it's not too heavy and (2) it was on sale at the grocery store.



What You'll Need:
1 spaghetti squash
2 grilled chicken breasts, cut into strips or decided (whichever preferable)

half sweet onion, diced

about 10 garlic cloves, minced

kalamata olives, halved
artichoke hearts, bite size
half sweet onion, diced
about 10 garlic cloves, minced
1 large tomato, diced
3/4 cup pesto (more or less, taste dependent)
feta cheese crumbles


I decided to cook the squash the lazy way - in the microwave! It takes about 15 minutes, rotated every 3-4 minutes. Make sure to pierce the squash with a sharp knife to avoid explosion.

When the squash is done cooking, cut in half length wise. Scrap out the seeds. When you've scraped out the seeds, take a fork and "scrape" the flesh - it will break into noodles, like so:



In a large non-stick sauté pan, sauté the onion and garlic in a generous amount of olive oil. When the garlic and onion are browned, add the spaghetti squash "noodles" to the pan. Stir, making sure the squash gets tossed with the olive oil. Add the artichoke hearts and kalamata olives. Next, add the pesto, mix thoroughly, to get everything covered. Add the tomatoes and the chicken - you're done!

Put on a plate, top with feta cheese, and enjoy! It's surprisingly tasty and a healthy substitute for noodles. You won't even miss the noodles. Yum!

Tastes better than it looks, I promise! 

Fettuccine Alfredo

I had been craving some Fettuccine Alfredo, but I knew the stuff in the jar just wouldn't cut it. I decided to make my own sauce, using cream cheese! I tossed it with mushrooms, broccoli, and grilled chicken. Yum! 

Alfredo Sauce Recipe: 

Minced garlic (to taste) 

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup olive oil 

8 oz. low-fat cream cheese

2 cups milk 

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

Sauté the garlic in the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. When butter melts, add the olive oil. Stir with whisk. Add the cream cheese, melt completely until there are no lumps. Slowly whisk in the milk. Add the Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring until reached desired consistency. Note that it will get thicker as it cooks. If it gets too thick, add some milk. 

Here's the results!