Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Ok, so normally I HATE watching "Down Home With the Neelys."  Forced humor, awkward smooching, and generally unappealing recipes make it a hard show to stomach.  Today though, I caught a glimpse of one of their recipes and knew I had to try it immediately.  It was definitely worth it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 precooked pizza crust (Feel free to make homemade, I just don't have enough counter space :( )
1-2 cups raw spinach
Handful of grape tomatoes (make a slit in them or you will end up with little tomato water balloons)
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Olive oil

First, brush the chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and cook on a grill pan until cooked through.  Move to cutting board, dice, and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium pot.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant.  Add the flour and cook until light brown in color.  Whisk in the cream, reduce to low, and simmer until thickened.  Stir in the parmesan, season with salt and pepper remove from heat.

Now, time to build the pizza :)

Lay out the crust...

Spread the alfredo sauce on the crust, leaving a small border...

Sprinkle on a handful of spinach...

Add the tomatoes...

Then the chicken...

Finally, sprinkle on the mozzarella, brush edges with olive oil, and bake until crispy and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and slice immediately.  Don't forget the ranch!

Want to print a copy of this recipe? Click Below!

4"x6" Recipe Card

Chicken Parmesan Salad

When attempting to eat healthy its easy to fail due to missing the tastes of favorite comfort foods.  This recipe takes the normally calorie-laden chicken parmesan and turns into something new and healthy, while still tasting like the delicious classic!

Ingredients:
1 tomato, cut up into a few chunks
4 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, 2 tablespoons of the oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
A few basil leaves
Grated parmesan
Salt, pepper, garlic salt
1 lb boneless skinless chicken cutlets (If using filets cut in half horizontally)
Extra virgin olive oil
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Italian blends or greens of your choice
8 oz. small mozzarella balls

Directions:
Preheat a grill pan to high.  Puree the tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic oregano, a few basil leaves and 2 tables spoons parmesan in a blender, drizzling the sun-dried oil until smooth.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

Brush chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the chicken about 4 minutes, then flip and grill until cooked through, about 3 more minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper and stir until golden.  Remove from heat and stir in 4 tablespoons parmesan and the parsley.

Toss the greens with the cut chicken and mozzarella.  Top with dressing and breadcrumbs.  Enjoy the guiltless deliciousness!

This recipe was adapted from Food Network Magazine (1-year)

Ultimate Beef Short Ribs and Salt Potatoes

Tonight my fiance Eric and I had a celebration dinner.  After a year of hating my job, I have finally been offered an amazing job that will solve all of my problems!  It's not so much that I hate the job I have now, it's just that I work opposite hours from Eric, and we never get to see each other.  Obviously, the already arduous task of planning a wedding becomes drastically less surmountable when you never even see your partner.  So, after recently viewing Tyler Florence make his recipe for "Bistro Style Short Ribs," I decided it would be the perfect recipe for celebrating my accomplishment and our subsequent happiness!

First, the Short Ribs...

Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. beef short ribs
Kosher salt and pepper  
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large tomato, quartered
3 ribs celery   
1/2 head garlic, peeled
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (I used Jeunette Rouge from Les Bourgeois)
2 cups low-sodium beef stock
Parsley for garnish

Preheat a cast iron skillet.  Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and brown on all sides.

Place the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and tomato into a food processor and blend until you reach a consistent, smooth pulp.

Take a large Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat.  Add 3 tables spoons olive oil and add the thyme to infuse the oil.  Next add the vegetable pulp, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Pour in the red wine and stock and bring it to a boil.  Using tongs take the ribs and nestle them into the braising mix.  Place the lid loosely on top, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the meat is very tender, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When the ribs are about finished, remove about 1 to 2 cups of liquid and strain into a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Heat the sauce until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.  Serve your short ribs with a dollop of sauce and some parsley.  Time to celebrate!

Let's not forget the delicious salt potatoes! What exactly are salt potatoes? They are potatoes boiled in briny water.  There is so much salt in the water that the boiling temperature is higher than usual, resulting in a potato with a crunchy crust and a super creamy center!

Ingredients:
2 pounds small potatoes (I used baby Yukon golds)
2 1/4 cups kosher salt (That's more than a pound and a half of salt!)
1 stick unsalted butter

Put the potatoes along with the salt and 8 cups of water in a large pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, the reduce to medium and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and shake to remove excess water.  Let the skins dry in the colander so that some of the salt crystalizes.
Serve with melted butter for dipping.

Skillet Turkey with Roasted Vegetables

Last Thanksgiving I took on my first turkey.  I brined it for 3 days and slathered it in and out with homemade herb butter.  It was amazing!  Assuming that neither of us would like nor have room for vegetables (what two people with a 8 pound turkey would) I only threw in a few carrots and things in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Turns out, those three carrots were the best three carrot my boyfriend said he had ever eaten!  Since then, I've been promising him I would make more.  Not wanting to slave over an entire turkey for a regular weekday night, I scaled it down for two!

Ingredients:
1 skin-on turkey breast (1 1/2 to 2 lbs.)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 cloves minced garlic
Kosher salt and pepper
1 package white pearl onions
4 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
Several carrots, trimmed

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and a large cast-iron skillet over high heat.  Rub the turkey skin with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Rub the marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper all over the skin paying special attention to rub some under the skin, between the skin and the meat.

Next, sear the turkey, skin-side down, for 4 to five minutes.  Flip the turkey, then add the onions and cook another 5 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots over the onions, drizzle with more olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the thickest part of the turkey registers 160 degrees with a thermometer, about 25 minutes.  Let the turkey rest for a few minutes before slicing.  Enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken Skillet

At long last warmer weather is here, and the sun has decided to shine enough to allow me to plant the herb garden I've been itching all winter to have.  So, in celebration of not having to pay upwards of $5 every time I need some fresh herbs, I decided to cook something "herby"!  Technically, this recipe could and should feed 4, but my boyfriend and I both love chicken so much we each had 2 hearty pieces to ourselves.  Plus with a 4 pack of chicken breasts on sale for $2, how could we not?!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
• Kosher salt
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon leaves
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon.

Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

*This dish has an estimated 415 calories per serving, which is not bad for a delicious home cooked meal!

Korean BBQ Beef

While passing by the Asian foods aisle during my latest grocery shopping trip, I decided to step outside of my usual pasta and steak box and make something fun.  This is what I came up with!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ribeye steak, cut into 1/4" strips
1/2 cup Kikoman teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 green onion, diced
rice of your choice

First, combine steak strips, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and green onion in a bowl.  Marinade in the refridgerator for 10 minutes.

Next, discard marinade and place steak strips in grill pan preheated on high.  Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Finally, serve cooked beef strips over rice and enjoy!

Baked Tortellini with Smoked Mozzarella and Parmesan

Once again, surrounded by a world full of snow and no chance of escaping the dull confines of duplex life to dine out, I decided a rich, one-pot meal was in order.  After digging through lists of "try this" and "this looks delicious" recipes, I settled on a recipe from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes, and set out to make it my own and perfect for my boyfriend and I.  Here's what followed...

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 cup marinara sauce
1/6 cup mascarpone cheese
1/8 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 (8 oz.) refrigerated tortellini 
1 ounce smoked mozzarella (If you don't like smoked cheeses, regular mozzarella will be fine) 
Grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a circular baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend.

Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes and drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat.

Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with thin slices of the smoked mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melts, about 30 minutes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dish up and serve with some crusty bread.  Delicious!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*This recipe would work with any sort of filled pasta, and would also be great with some Italian sausage or other fillings added in.  Be creative!