BBQ Chicken Pizza

(This is for you, Kristy!)

Ingredients

- Premade Pizza Dough
- Your Fave BBQ Sauce
- 2-3 cups Mozzerella Cheese
- 1 Grilled Chicken Breast, brushed with bbq sauce and sliced
- 1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
- 1/2 bunch Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven as high as you can. (450ish) Roll out pizza dough. Brush on bbq sauce. Layer cheese and chicken. Sprinkle with red onion, salt and pepper. Slide onto cookie sheet or pizza stone and bake till crispy and brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle on cilantro, salt and pepper.

Creamy Potato Squash Soup and Bruschetta

The other day, I made Giada's roasted zuchinni, potato and onion recipe hoping it would finally give me something else to do with zuchinni and yellow squash beside the old stand by... (Usually I saute it with olive oil and parm or goat cheese and serve over pasta) Alas, it was just ok... So, I made it into soup. I took the mixture and pureed it in the food processor, added some chicken stock and half and half. I'm not sure I'd make it on purpose. But, it was good! A little more exciting than your average potato soup and a good way to sneak in veggies.

The bruschetta, however, was totally on purpose and very yummy.

I sauteed some red pepper, tomatoes, yellow onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, italian seasoning and fresh basil in olive oil until softened. Added some red wine and reduced. Meanwhile, I toasted some french bread with a brush of olive oil. I made a small salad with arugula and more fresh basil and dressed it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Then, I took some goat cheese with black pepper and spread some on the toast and topped it with the salad, the red pepper mixture and then crumbled a little more goat cheese. So good.

Pesto Recipe

(Made this pesto the other day for a friend's bbq/pool party. Very good!)

Pesto:
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons diced garlic (9 cloves)
• 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 11/2 cups good olive oil
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use immediately or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups

Jaimie Dee's Sawmill Gravy

My roomie Jaimie and I made tons of this in college. Serve over crumbled biscuits. (We used low fat bisquick to make this dish "healthy."

1 package breakfast sausage
Milk
2-3 T ap flour
salt and pepper

Brown and crumble sausage over medium heat. Sprinkle flour on sausage and cook till flour dissolves. Pour milk to cover sausage and cook until mixture comes to soft bubble. Reduce heat and let thicken. Season to taste.

Challah! Egg & Cheese Casserole

This is my Grammy's Christmas Egg & Cheese Casserole (with my own little addition)

1 loaf fresh challah bread, torn into pieces
18 large eggs, scrambled
whole milk, about 5-6 cups
4 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 375. Arrange torn bread in 9 x 9 buttered pan and sprinkle/mix in cheese. Mix eggs, milk, s & p, and pour over bread and cheese. Press down and let set to soak in 30 min in fridge. (If the bread looks dry, add more egg and milk) Bake 30 minutes or until browned, set in the middle and puffy. (Bake on a cookie sheet to avoid any spills in the oven.)

(Optional) Add one combo of the following for extra flavor:
cooked crumbled breakfast sausage
sauteed mushrooms, swiss cheese and thyme
sauteed red onions and spinach
cooked bacon and diced potatoes
diced tomatoes and fresh basil

Adobo Marinade and Applications

I use this stuff for everything from skirt or flank steak, to chicken, to pulled pork in the crock pot.

1-2 cups orange juice (depending upon size of meat)
Juice and zest of one lime
1 T minced garlic (I cheat and use the jar)
1 T dried oregano
1 T cumin
salt and pepper

Marinate for 15-20 minutes or longer. Easy and super flavorful.

For steak:
Marinate and grill till medium rare. Serve with white onion and cilantro or chimichurri sauce

For chicken:
Marinate and grill. Cut up and fold into yellow rice and cilantro

For pulled pork:
Marinate and sear on all sides. Cook up 3-4 small onions till clear. Add meat and onions to crock pot with 1 more T garlic, oregano and cumin. Cover in beef or chicken broth. Cook still falls apart. Shred and add in (you guessed it) cilantro. Serve with slaw mix on burger buns.

Auntie Melissa's "Kick Ass Brownies" (The Monique Version)

For the Brownies
2 packages of dark chocolate brownie mix with chocolate chunks (I prefer Ghiradelli)
Stir up a double batch and bake in a foil lined pan till a toothpick poked in the center comes out almost clean.

For the Hazelnut Coffee Fudge
Melt one stick of butter over low heat.
Off heat, stir in 4 T unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 T International Foods Hazelnut Coffee mix
Alternate 5 cups powdered sugar and 6-7 T milk. Finish with 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Pour over brownies. Top with sprinkles, slivered almonds,or peanuts, etc. Or, stir in caramel or melted peanut butter into the fudge and swirl.

Let set in the fridge. Remove pan of brownies by the foil and cut into small squares.

Get ready to make these again. Everyone loves them.