Friday, August 17, 2012

Roasted Brussels Sprout Pizza

I recently bought this weird looking vegetable at the grocery store and didn't know quite what to do with it.  I decided to roast the Brussels sprouts and if you think you don't like them, try them roasted in olive oil...mmmm, so good!
We had some left over pizza dough from the night before.  I use Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe.  Pretty much everything she makes is incredible and I get a lot of my inspiration from her recipes.

PW Pizza Dough
  • 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
  • 4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 
1. Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
2. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Pizza
  • 1 cup roasted Brussels sprouts, cut in half
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup diced tomatos
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese
  • EVOO
1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  To roast the Brussels sprouts: Slice the sprouts in half, cover in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for 10 minutes on each side or until the sprouts turn golden brown on the edges.
2.  Use 1/2 the pizza dough and stretch it out onto a baking sheet.
3.  Drizzle olive oil over the dough and spread it around evenly with your fingers. 
4.  Put the Brussels sprouts, bell pepper slices and tomatos around the pizza.  Then sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the pizza.  I also used a bit of grated Manchego cheese to punch up the flavor.
5.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.  Slice pizza immediately from the oven and enjoy!
I made a quick dessert of Nutella and sliced strawberries on toast.  Everything is better with Nutella!
And I would never leave you without a picture of Cooper!  I think he looks like a little cow with his red bandana.

Ridiculously Easy Crock Pot Chili

This is a recipe I've been making for a while and it's so easy because you can add whatever you like in your chili and then go do whatever you want...like apply for jobs or lay in the sun with your bff who has Mondays off.


Ridiculously Easy Crock Pot Chili
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook time: 6 hours
Servings: At least 8.  Probably 10.  It's a lot of chili.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 jalapenos, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
shredded cheese
sour cream

Spices:
Chili Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Ground Cumin
Garlic Salt (or powder)
White Pepper
Black Pepper

TIP: I light a candle when I cut onions so my eyes aren't flowing with tears.  I'm not sure if it's an old wives tale but I swear by it.


1. Put turkey in a non-stick skillet on medium heat and smoosh it down so the whole pan is covered.  Add chili powder until the turkey is mostly covered in red deliciousness, then use about half that amount of cayenne pepper and ground cumin.  Lightly sprinkle garlic salt and white pepper, and pile on the black pepper.  Now mix it up so that the spices are mixed in well with the meat.
 
2.  Once the turkey is mostly browned, add the diced onions, garlic, and jalapenos.
3.  Add the remaining ingredients to the crock pot.
4.  Add in your meat mixture and stir that baby up!  Then add more chili powder (again, cover it in red), cumin and black pepper.  Stir, stir, stir some more.  It should smell delicious at this point. 
5.  Set your timer for 6 hours and wait.
The cat enjoys his bed of extension cords.
 Once the time is up, add some sour cream and cheese and enjoy!