Pita Pizza

Sometimes, I just can't decide what to eat.  I know, I know, #firstworldproblems.  I'll sit there in front of the open fridge eating peanut butter from the jar because I can't make up my mind.  This is a new favorite because of 3 things.  1) It's easy.  2) It's fast.  3) It's got options.  You can switch up the ingredients and have it be a totally new lunch.  This one is a caprese salad inspired creation.  New #firstworldproblem : I don't get to work from home enough so I can eat these more often.

Grab a pita!  Easy enough, no?  I just use store bought, but my mom made them from scratch once and I gotta tell ya, it made a HUGE difference.  Also, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

I added red onions ... but I hate raw onions.  I quickly sliced up a few pieces and started to caramelize them so they didn't have as much bite.  Feel free to skip this step if you're not as picky as I am.

Slice up some tomato fairly thinly - the "pizza" is not going to be in the oven long.

Add just a brush of olive oil and some sea salt to the pita.  Simple, but big flavor difference if you skip this step. 

So instead of a tomato sauce base, I used some pesto!  I don't have any fresh basil on hand, so the jar stuff will do.

Next, a thin layer of mozzarella cheese.  Mama mia!  You don't want to add a ton, it will weigh down the pita and make it kind of soggy in the middle.  Learn from my mistakes.  

Layer on the tomatoes...

And then the onions ...

And you're ready to go!  Put it in the oven for about 12 - 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, you'll want to make sure the cheese is melted, and it starts to brown up on the edges.

 Slice with a knife or pizza cutter, and you're ready to rock!  I made a BBQ steak version a couple of days later, using BBQ sauce as the base and cheddar cheese.  The world is your oyster ... or in this case pita pizza.

Enjoy!  And here's a picture of Mac because he's just too adorable to leave out of the occasional post.

Courtzilla

Chicken and Blueberry Crunch

Remember that time I stopped blogging for like...3 years?

Woops.

Anyway, in that amount of time I had some major life changes!  I moved to a different country, got a new job, and stopped cooking as much as I used to.  I missed the blog though, so I want to keep up with it, maybe just more sporadically!  You missed me too, right? RIGHT???

For my glorious return, I decided to try and copy one of my favorite meals from a restaurant called iQ Food Co. that I frequent for lunch.  It actually turned out pretty well!   Here was the original version:  http://iqfoodco.com/menu/type/hotboxes/blueberry-crunch/

Ingredients you'll need (makes enough for 2 people):
- 1 chicken breast, pounded thin
- 1 cup of brown rice
- 1 apple
- about 6 mini carrots
- a handful of blueberries
- a handful of candied pecans, or sunflower seeds...or any type of nut really
- a 1/4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper

For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon of honey

I think that's it!

First things first, we'll need to bake some chicken.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.  Line a shallow pan with parchment paper, and throw the chicken in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear.  Should be pretty quick if it was pounded thin.

While that's working away, you'll want to julienne the apples and carrots, and get the pecans, feta and blueberries ready to go.  Colorful, no?

You can also whip up the dressing.  Just whisk the honey, oil, balsamic and dijon mustard with a fork until completely combined.  Give it a taste, if it seems out of whack you can mess with the proportions a bit.  I like the dressing to be pretty strong since it's going to be what actually flavors your rice and chicken.  I also used ground mustard, but I think the regular Dijon would be better as far as texture goes.  You can't win them all.

You'll also want to get started on the brown rice!  Just follow the directions on the package, I was just using the minute rice so it took about 10 minutes for everything to be ready.  

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Ok!  Once the chicken is done, chop it up into bite sized chunks, like so....

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Perfect!  Now, putting everything together.  Put the rice on the bottom of a bowl, and place the chicken on top of the rice.  Laugh at Mac (the golden retriever in the pic below) and give him a piece of chicken because he's trained you well.

Now add all the fresh fruit and carrots, topping everything off with the feta and chopped up pecans!

Last, but certainly not least, drizzle everything with the balsamic dressing.

Voila!  I usually attack this by mixing everything up into one big mess so I get a bit of everything in each bite.  It's so crunchy and satisfying. The sweet and tangy dressing just makes it so delicious. Also everything is pretty basic so I feel pretty good about eating this kind of stuff :)

Enjoy!

Courtzilla

Stromboli

Stromboli!  It's a recent discovery of mine.  A discovery in the best sense of the word.  It's like a JJ's italian night club rolled up in a hard to spill dough blanket.  Best description ever?

Fact: this is delicious.

You'll need:

- some italian meat.  I used genoa salami and pepperoni, but feel free to use fancier stuff if you feel like it.
- provolone cheese
- parmesan cheese
- italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes
- a can of pillsbury italian bread (you can use pizza dough too!)
- some flour to roll it out
- sauteed peppers? carmelized onions?  italian sausage?  possibilities are endless.

Alrighty!  First things first, scatter some flour on your counter.  This thing is going to get sticky.  I put a piece of parchment paper down because I live with 2 boys and you never know what's going to be on the counter.  Better safe than sorry.

Now, roll out your dough so it's roughly in a rectangle shape.  Pinch together any holes or thin spots - you don't want delicious filling flying all over your oven, trust me.

Now... layering!  Throw down one of your meats first... in my case the genoa salami.  Try to leave a 1" border of dough around the filling, it'll be easier to pinch together at the end if you do that.

Alrighty, now you'll want to sprinkle on some Italian seasoning, and the red pepper flakes.  Amount is up to you.  I went pretty heavy on the Italian seasoning, next time I'll probably cut this down by at least a third.

Now I put a layer of the cheese down.  I broke the provolone in half so it would be easier to roll up.

Add on some scattered pepperoni...

Sprinkle some grated parmesan on there...

Alright, now we're getting serious.  Rolling time.  Start at one of the long edges and start to roll up the dough, pinching the edges at the end together as you go.  This will seal in the goodness during the baking process.  When you're done, it should look like a long log.

Kinda ugly looking ain't it?

Pinch the seam shut, and place it seam side down on a baking sheet.

Oook.  Now I melted some butter and brushed it across the top to get a nice brown and crusty edge in the oven.  Sprinkle some more parmesan on top, along with some garlic powder and more Italian seasoning if you're feeling rebellious. 

Looking better looking better...

Throw your dough log in a 350 degree oven, for about 25-30 minutes.  Really all you need to cook is the bread so check your packaging for exact measurements.

It'll come out lookin' something like this:

Haha what a horrendous picture.

Slice up the stromboli, should make about 8 or so 1.5" thick pieces.  Check it out!

So good.  Serve it with your favorite marinara or pasta sauce and you're good to go!  It's just as good cold, too.

Clearly, I hated mine.

Enjoy!

<3 Courtzilla

Dill Chicken Salad

Ok, when you think of the words "chicken salad" what do you think of? I think of crappy restaurant choices and disappointments. Depressing, I realize. THAT NEEDED TO CHANGE. Whenever I order chicken salad, I'm always thinking eh...it's ok. Unless I'm at Penn Station, but I'm fairly certain they put some sort of crack in their recipe.

Chicken salad is one of those classic lunch recipes that can be so individualized, that everyone has a "chicken salad, my way" recipe. Well, you do if you're me. And here's mine.

You'll need:
- A cut up whole chicken. I believe they're called "fryer chicken".
- 1/3 cup low fat mayo
- 1/3 cup light sour cream
- handful of fresh dill
- pinch 'o paprika
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- salt and pepper
- 2-3 stalks of chopped up celery
- couple handfuls of halved grapes
- green onions if you've got any (oh wait, I didn't)

Ok! First - the chicken. The main component. The heart of the meal.

Rinse off the raw chicken, and place it in a pot of water. A BIG pot.

Put the pot on the stove, and bring to a boil. Once it hits the boil point for around 5 minutes, bring the heat down to a simmer. You'll want to let it sit and cook for about 40 minutes.


While the chicken is bubbling away in it's hot bath, I start the sauce! Basically, you'll want to combine your sour cream, mayo, salt, pepper, paprika, lemon juice, brown sugar, and whatever else floats your boat into a small bowl. Pretty sure I added some other stuff, but I'm so behind on posting I can't be bothered to remember.


Just mix that all together! You can also chop up your dill and add it to the sauce at this point.


Have you ever had fresh dill? It adds a distinctly pickle-y flavor, and I don't have to add weird pickle texture. It's the best compromise ever.

Okie dokie. When your chicken is done, take it outta the pot.



At this point you can do one of two things. I like my chicken salad chunky, so i rip the meat off the bone and chop it into cute chunks. Some people like their chicken salad all one texture - if that's your preference, go ahead and shred up all the chicken with two forks at this point.

Then, add the chicken to a bowl with your chopped up veggies, like so!



COLORS.

Guess what the last step is.

Dump in your sauce, and MIX!!



Yummo! Put it on a bun, or on some lettuce with some cute cherry tomatoes! Go crazy and TOAST the bun. I know, I know, I push you too far.



Hello, lover. Slash lunch for the next 4 days.

Enjoy!

<3 Courtzilla