{Tasty Tuesdays} Crispy Prosciutto Pizza

Pizza is my second favorite food. Next to all things Mexican.

I love coming up with different combinations of toppings. One of my favorite is Hawaiian, but Forrest is not a big fan of the pineapple. We were running around Wal-Mart a few weeks ago trying to come up with dinner plans, and I thought I might play around with some of his favorite toppings and substitute prosciutto for ham. It was totally scrumtrilescent (sp?).

Crispy Prosciutto Pizza

2 cups fresh baby Spinach

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup artichoke hearts, drained

4 tbsp pizza sauce

2 whole wheat pizza crusts

1 package of sliced prosciutto cut into small squares

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1) Preheat Oven to 375

2) Spread the pizza sauce over the whole wheat pizza crusts

3) Top with the fresh spinach

4) Strategically place the mushroom slices and artichoke hearts around the pizza

5) Layer on the cheese and top with the prosciutto

6) Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the prosciutto appears crispy

And enjoy!

I'm linking up over at 33shadesofgreen as part of her Tasty Tuesday's linky party.

TJ Special: Artie's Pizza

I was reading a few blogs recently and saw that there is an Iron Chef Challenge going on in the blogiverse and the key ingredient is artichokes. I first read about it on 33 Shades of Green in her segment Tasty Tuesdays in which she featured Artichoke & Spinach Stuffed Shells...yum :) I was so excited because I had actually typed up this blog post last Sunday and was saving it for today!



I followed her link over to A Latte' with Ott, A to learn more about the contest rules. I decided it might be fun to join this party, since I haven't done something like this before, so here it is. I may not qualify because I don't have any pictures of the cooking process, but in my defense I was working on those Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and didn't really have time to take pictures of all of the things going on in the kitchen!


This week's edition of TJ Special focuses on one of our favorite meals, homemade pizza. We put a little bit of everything on our pizzas, it all just depends on what we are in the mood for. This week, we can thank our favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's for every delicious bite!

Now I know that some of you may live where there is not a Trader Joe's. I have a few suggestions. Primarily, I would suggest moving to where there is one...just kidding...but it isn't the worst idea ever :)  Or you can do what my parents do and get to the one closest to your home about once every month or two and stock up on all of your favorite TJ goodies. Here is their website where you can find a location near to you. If neither of those work for you, you can also just look for these goodies at a grocery store or specialty foods store where you live.

This week we were looking an Italian flavor profile, but we wanted to change it up just a bit.

Artie's Pizza
1/2 cup TJ's canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1/3 cup TJ's sun dried tomatoes, sliced (they come in a resealable bag)
1/2 cup TJ's baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup TJ's feta cheese
1/4 cup TJ's shaved Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup TJ's low-fat part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp TJ's Pesto Sauce
1 Whole Wheat TJ's Pizza Curst
2 tbsp corn meal
1 tbsp EVOO

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2) Place the corn meal on the pizza stone
3) Knead and roll the dough out until it is in the shape/size you desire
4) Brush the crust with the EVOO
5) Bake for about 8 minutes until the crust begins to rise and bubble
6) Remove and spread the Pesto Sauce out evenly with the back of a spoon
7) Add all of the toppings
8) Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and begins to brown

This was the perfect Friday night treat! Check out some of my other homemade pizza recipes as well:

Tiffany Pizza
Mr. Haas's Pizza
Southwest Pizza

Mr. Haas's Pizza

I love pizza and Mexican food. Anytime I can find a way to put those two things together is magic. The following is a recipe I made this past week, and let me say that the creaminess of the avocados with the spiciness of the jalapeños and the juiciness of the fresh tomatoes...wow. I made one pizza thinking it would be enough to feed the two of us. I was wrong. We both felt disappointed that there wasn't more and I ended up sacrificing my third piece to feed the hungry man who lives with me.

Mr. Haas's Pizza

Ingredients:

1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced (into little circles)

1/4 cup sliced red onion

1 roma tomato, sliced

a little less than a 1/4 cup frozen corn

2 tbsp medium salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese

1 Trader Joe's pizza crust

2 tbsp corn meal

1tbsp olive oil

1 Haas avocado cut into large chunks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Follow the directions for getting the pizza crust to room temp

Place 2 tbsp corn meal on the pizza stone and roll the pizza crust out to desired size

Brush 1 tbsp olive oil over the crust and bake until the crust starts to bubble up
Heat the frozen corn in the microwave for about 1min 30sec
Remove the crust from the oven and spread the salsa out over the crust with the back of a spoon
Layer the corn, jalapeños, onion and tomato on the crust
Top with the cheddar jack cheese
Bake until the cheese melts and starts to brown
Remove and top with the avocado chunks

Serves ~6 medium pizza slices

It was light and fresh and absolutely delicious. Let me know what you think of it. 

Also, let me know if you have any ideas of how to give pizza a Southwest twist!

Put Your Man (or Teenager) to Work in the Kitchen :)

Tuesday is a very busy day for me. I start off at 6:30 in the morning with my bootcamp class, then I pass a few hours at the pool, spend some time working on homework, catch a nap, then off to the gym to teach my step class. After that I shower quickly at the gym and head straight to church for my women's Bible study. I get home way too late in the evening to cook dinner. And let's be honest, I'm not giving up my nap time or pool time to make dinner in advance. Also Forrest and I really try to avoid buying prepared foods or anything prepackaged or over-processed. So, the wonderful husband that I have has offered to cook dinner on these hectic days...under one condition...that I make sure we have the ingredients and leave him some pretty easy to follow directions. Last week he actually picked up chicken and asparagus and grilled them and baked up some delicious sweet potatoes. He is becoming quite the sous-chef.

Anyhow this week I had an idea for a Southwest Pizza so I left him the following directions and we had a super healthy and delicious dinner...and I didn't have to make it...which sometimes is just awesome :)

Southwest Pizza

1 can black beans

1 ear of corn

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 tsp cracked red pepper

salt and pepper

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 large whole wheat pizza crust

1 1/2 cups Lite Mexican Cheese (Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Preheat grill pan to medium-high heat

Shuck the ear of corn and remove any "hairs", drizzle with olive oil and place on the grill pan, rotating until all sides are slightly charred

Remove and let cool, then cut the kernels off

Rinse the can of black beans and drain them. Gently roll them in a paper towel to make sure they are dry.

Place the whole wheat pizza crust on a pizza stone and drizzle 2 tbsp of olive on the top and spread evenly

Add salt, pepper, and cracked red pepper

Pile on the black beans, corn, green pepper, red onion, and tomato

Top with the cheese

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and browned on top (light brown...no burning here)

Remove and let cool a bit before slicing and serving.

Chop up the cilantro and top the pizza with it for extra flavor. Scallions would work well here too.

If you want to make sure your sous-chef is successful in the kitchen leave them these directions, and probably pull out all of the tools they will need. If you have time you can pre-chop the onion, green pepper, and take care of the corn earlier too. If you leave them the chopping to do....some directions like "remove the skin from the onion" might also be helpful.

This pizza was fabulous. You could serve it with guacamole, sour cream or for a healthier dish with pico de gallo (Trader Joe's has an awesome pre-made Pico that is a big hit!) We ate it straight up and loved it!

Let me know how you like it.

P.S.: This is all that remains....

Tiffany Pizza and Celebration Sangria

Last night I waited while the most beautiful baby girl made her entrance into the world. And I am totally in love. After only 4 hours of sleep last night and a glorious 2 hour nap this afternoon, I stumbled into the kitchen with plans for one of my all-time favorite dinners.

But before I move on with the recipes...you have to see this gorgeous little girl!

Okay so this first recipe comes from a pizza my friend Tiffany made one evening when I stopped by her house for dinner. I have changed a little bit about it...and I think you'll love it! The second recipe is my trick to get my hubby to drink wine. Forrest hates wine...a lot. But he loves sangria...so if you have a friend that doesn't like wine try this recipe and see if you can bring them over to the flavorful side!

Tiffany Pizza

1 large yellow bell pepper

1 large onion

2 large portabella mushrooms

4 tbsp pesto sauce

1 tbsp butter

1 80z package of Trader Joe's Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (don't get the fresh mozzarella in water it makes the pizza soupy)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley

2 medium whole wheat pizza crusts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

In a skillet melt the butter on medium heat

Slice the onion (so they make pretty little circles) and add them to the melted butter

Cook until tender then remove from heat

Place the whole wheat pizza crusts on a pizza baking stone

On each crust evenly distribute 2 tbsp of the pesto sauce

Cut the yellow bell pepper into 1/2 cubes

Cut the portabella mushrooms into 1/2 cubes

Distribute the onions, yellow bell pepper and portabella mushrooms evenly on both pizza crusts

Slice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices and place on top of the pizza

salt and pepper to taste

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted

Roughly chop the parsley

Place on the pizza to garnish

Celebration Sangria

1 bottle of Tempranillo wine (I use La Granja from Trader Joe's $3.99)

1 bottle of Trader Joe's French Lemonade

2 limes

2 lemons

1 large orange

1/8 - 1/4 cup of sugar

In a large pitcher pour the wine and the lemonade

Juice 1 lime, 1 lemon and 1/2 of the orange into the pitcher

Slice the remaining lime, lemon and orange into 1/2 cubes and add to the pitcher

Stir in the sugar

Let chill and serve with mint garnish