Margherita Tortilla Pizzas

Ryan gets a subscription to "Food and Wine" magazine, and yesterday I was flipping through the July 2009 issue and came across this recipe by chef Jacques Pepin. I thought it sounded delicious and simple enough for me to actually pull off. It was the first time I had ever used our pizza stones, and I loved the way these turned out. They were nice and light, so easy to make, and wonderfully fresh. Fresh mozzarella is one of my favorite things in the world to eat.

Margherita Tortilla Pizzas:

Four 10-inch flour tortillas
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4 medium tomatoes (2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound fresh mozzarella, preferably buffalo, shredded (4 cups)
1 cup finely shredded basil leaves

(Bonny's note: I did not use buffalo mozzarella--just fresh cow's milk mozzarella. I also didn't shred it, but rather cut slices off and placed those around the pizza.)

1. Set a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees, allowing at least 45 minutes for the stone to heat.
2. Brush both sides of one tortilla with olive oil. Place the tortilla on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Thinly slice 1 tomato; arrange on the tortilla. Season with salt and pepper and top with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
3. Slide the tortilla onto the hot pizza stone and bake for about 8 minutes, until the pizza is crisp on the bottom and the cheese is bubbling. Garnish with 1/4 cup of the shredded basil, cut the pizza into 8 wedges and serve. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, tomatoes, cheese, and basil.

Bonny's notes: I used two pizza stones so we could have two cooking at once. My stones were also plenty hot after only 30 minutes, and the pizzas were done after about 7 minutes. These are so nice and versatile--you could really make them with anything. We topped a couple of ours with some cooked chicken. Delicious!

Hawaiian Haystacks

This dinner is so easy to make and is a big hit at our house. It's definitely one we keep as a staple.

Rice (I used 2 cups uncooked and it was perfect for the 4 of us)
Chicken, shredded (I used about 3 breasts)
Chicken gravy (I used a mix and made about 3 cups worth)
Shredded cheese
Canned pineapple or pineapple bits
Canned mandarin oranges
Raisins
Crunchy chow mein or rice noodles (I like the rice noodles better because they're smaller and I love the texture)
Green onions, chopped (I didn't use these this time but Ryan said he would have loved these on top)

Cook the rice. Put the chicken in a pan of shallow water, cover, and boil until cooked. Put the cooked chicken on a plate and break apart (or shred) using two forks. Salt and pepper chicken to taste. Make the gravy. Serve everything buffet style so people can pick and choose what toppings to add to their haystacks.

My parents used to serve this with broccoli as a topping as well. I love this dish because you can be so creative and use whatever toppings you like. Yum!

Chili

I made chili for the first time tonight. It was really easy to make and turned out delicious. I cooked it in a pot, but Ryan also makes this in a crock pot sometimes.

1 to 2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomato sauce

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes

1 large can light red kidney beans

Chili powder to taste

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Brown ground beef in a large pot. Add chopped onion and stir periodically for a few minutes. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, kidney beans. Add chili powder. I used 3 kinds--chili powder, green chili powder, and chipotle chili powder, but normally we just add plain chili powder. I simmered this on medium low for about an hour and a half, stirring periodically. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and biscuits.

Baked Chicken and Couscous

I made this for dinner a few nights ago. It was so easy and I thought the plate looked really pretty on the table. I just used Shake n' Bake to coat chicken breast and pork chops, then baked them for 20 or so minutes. I then cooked couscous and steamed vegetables, and that was it. Delish.

Grilled Chicken Salad on Toasted Pita

First let me just say, man, I need a better camera. My pictures are not great, I know.

Tonight's dinner was supposed to be Avocado Chicken Pita from a "Simple and Delicious" magazine. But me being the novice cook that I am, I picked out a very underripe avocado that I couldn't use for the guacamole spread. So I improvised a little bit and this was what I came up with.

1 to 2 chicken breasts
4 whole wheat pitas
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning
Chopped lettuce and tomatoes
Grated cheese of your choice (I used a Mexican blend)
1 lemon
Hot sauce of your choice
Sour cream
Ranch dressing (optional)

Cook chicken, seasoning with salt pepper and Cajun. I cooked mine in a grill pan on the stove. Brush olive oil on one side of the pitas and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 10-15 minutes or until toasted. Once pitas are done layer them with lettuce, tomato, and the cooked chicken (either sliced into strips or cubed). Squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon juice and hot sauce on, sprinkle with cheese, top with sour cream and/or ranch dressing.

I still want to try the avocado pita, but thought these were really yummy and I'm sure I'll make these again!

Chicken Tenders and Potato Wedges

I know I named this blog "Bonny's Bakery", but I've started cooking more than I used to, so I'll just put all my favorite recipes here. Dinner tonight was a HUGE hit. Everyone loved it--so much so that when I was trying to pack leftovers for Ryan's lunch tomorrow, the kids ate them all before I even made it to the fridge. I found the recipe for the chicken on Cooks.com, and the potatoes were inspired by my friend Jonathan's recipe blog. I cooked baby carrots to go along with the chicken and potatoes. Grayson asked me to please make this chicken again tomorrow. :)

Chicken Tenders (as found on Cooks.com)

1 lb. chicken tenderloins cut into 1" pieces (I used 3 chicken breasts, and cut them into strips and smaller pieces for nuggets)
1 stick butter, melted
Ritz crackers, crushed (I used a blender to make a fine powder)
Garlic powder
Pepper
Fresh chopped parsley (1/2 bunch) (I didn't use the parsley)

Mix Ritz, parsley, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl; set aside. Toss chicken tenders in melted butter until well coated. Remove from butter and toss in crumb mixture. When completely coated place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden. I put ranch dressing and ketchup out as dipping sauces.

Potato Wedges

Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning

Wash potatoes of choice (I used Butter Golds), leave skins on, and cut into wedges. Pour enough olive oil into a bowl to coat potatoes. Put potatoes in bowl and stir until coated. Line a cookie sheet with foil and scoop potatoes onto the foil in a single layer. Lightly sprinkle seasonings over potatoes. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. I turned mine over halfway through cooking to get both sides crispy.

Enjoy!