pizza, big island style.

speaking of creative leftovers...my ham, although freakin' delicious, seems to be the one item that i struggle to be creative with. Maybe it's because i don't really eat a lot of pork...but so far, it's been multiple sandwiches, scrambles, benedicts, breakfast burritos, and other morning-type dishes. it seems like whenever dinner comes around, my poor ham takes a back seat to the turkey. for shame! so what's a cook to do? well...epiphany hit and the pizza light bulb went on! a hawaiian pizza to be exact. with barbecue sauce, of course.

and what a great opportunity to clean out the little leftover crap that was sitting in the fridge! mixed some leftover pizza sauce with some barbecue sauce...got some bell peppers, bits and pieces of onions from sandwich stuff, and olives from the enchiladas. the dough i made from scratch from my favorite recipe, but modified it to make a half batch.

so in went a handful of ham, a small can of pineapple rings i chopped, and a couple of cups of random leftover grated cheese (an italian and a mexican blend). seasoned it with some pepper, onion powder, and paprika and in it went to the oven for thirty minutes or so.

my reward? well...even though it was in the oven for a tad too long, it was a definite win with pizza for dinner! with ham!! granted it didn't make much of a dent with the ham sitting in the fridge, but at least that's one thing that i can add for possible choices in the future. actually, i feel slightly dumb for not thinking about it sooner, lol. well...then again, i guess i'll know not to get so much ham next year, right? :)

pizza anytime!

pizza! been dying to try this out ever since i saw it on pintrest. i finally had the opportunity one morning when our garage door broke. we had the landlord come over and fix it and while they were working on it, i was whipping this up in the kitchen. i definitely enjoyed it! i tweeked the recipe to add a little bit more toppings but then again...isn't that how pizza is suppoed to be? :) personally, next time i make this, i'd probably add some more veggies (i'm a "supreme" kind of gal). other than that, pretty tasty. even the hubb liked it. woot-woot and yay for that! :D

 
Breakfast Pizza
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 1 (12-inch) pizza

1 package ready-made-dough or 1 package pizza crust mix
3 strips bacon
2 pieces of breakfast sausages, uncased and crumbled
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cups grated italian cheese mix
1/2 cups grated mexican cheese mix
4-5 large eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 can of mushrooms
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the pizza.

Prepare the dough and toppings:
Fry the bacon in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until crisp. Cool on a paper-towel-lined plate; roughly chop. Repeat with crumbled sausage.

If using mix, prepare according to package instructions. On a lightly floured countertop, pat the dough into a disc with your fingertips, then drape the dough over your fists and carefully stretch it from beneath to form a 12-inch circle.

On a parchment covered pizza pan or cookie sheet, place the stretched dough on it. Sprinkle the dough with the Parmesan, cheese mixes, mushroom, onion, sausage, and bacon. Crack eggs over the top and season with salt and pepper.

Bake the pizza:
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. When the crust is golden, the cheese is melted and the egg yolks are cooked but still runny, transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Sprinkle parsley, and scallions on top. Let cool for 2 minutes, slice and serve immediately.

chicken pizza of bbq awesomeness.

mmm . . . dinner. today was one of those cold, rainy days where all i wanted to do was spend the whole night warming up in the kitchen to make something nice and special. i've had chilli's old baby back ribs song stuck in my head all day so i decided to try my hand in making a bbq pizza from a recipe i saw a few weeks back.

when i first started getting an inkling for trying this recipe, i was actually googling corn images. i don't know about you, but when i try recipes online, i'm more inclined to go by the pictures of the food than the actual ingredients list. the ingredients list gets a looksie when it passes the visual test first. :) anyhoo, i ran across this video about roasting corn on the stovetop. i was like, wow! i never knew you could do that and not burn the house down! needless to say, i decided that it was definitely on the to-do list! and do it did! also decided to try it with the onion . . .

chicken was pan fried with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. when it was almost done, i took that off, cut it to little pieces, then topped it on the store-bought pizza crust along with the roasted corn and onion. the bbq sauce was right out of the bottle but i jazzed it up with brown sugar, honey, paprika and minced tomatoes to make it a little extra special. then after putting a four cheese blend on it, it was finished with a sprinkling of roughly sliced mushrooms.

right as it came out of the oven, it was immediately topped with fresh chopped parsley. mmm, this actually tasted as good as it smelled and looked. and the boyfriend definitely enjoyed this particular experiment. i didn't follow the recipe (of course) just because i wasn't diggin' how spicy it looked like it was gonna be...and i'm super happy i didn't. don't get me wrong i like spicy...just not too much on my pizza. :/

definitely hearty and filling. each bite was a gooey, bbq-ey bite of heavenly goodness. i was pleased that the crust came out nice and crunchy all throughout. will definitely be making this again. and what's so awesome about it is that it doesn't take a lot of ingredients to make! word of warning tho, it is a little time consuming. so if you want quick and dirty, look elsewhere for a quick pizza this one was all love and tenderness. ;)

 

Awesome Barbecue Chicken Pizza
(adapted from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet)

1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh
1 ear of corn
1/2 medium red onion
2-3 mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/8 cup of tomatoes, minced
1/2 cup or so bottled barbecue sauce
1 tsp parika
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 package pre-made pizza dough (or make your own)
1-2 cups of four cheese blend of choice (you want to use the kind that melts easily)
olive oil
garlic powder
salt and pepper
a few sprigs parsley, chopped

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees or according to pizza dough package instructions. Roast the corn and onion on the stovetop until slightly blackened (if you don't have a gas burner, roast on electric using a cast iron skillet). Cut the corn from the cob and slice thin the onion. Set aside. You can also just skip roasting the onion if it's too much or a bother...slicing it thin will do just as well. :)

Season chicken well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pan fry with a little olive oil until almost cooked, about 6-7 minutes. Let cool slightly then carefully cut into strips then chop to bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Prepare the sauce by adding in the tomatoes, paprika, brown sugar, and honey. Stir well to combine. Roll out dough on a greased pizza pan then top evenly with the barbecue sauce. Take the chicken and layer evenly, then do the same with the onion and corn. Cover with the four cheese blend then finish with a sprinkling of the chopped mushrooms.

Cook pizza in the oven until crust is crisp and golden and the cheese is hot and melted. Immediately after removing from heat, top with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

Makes one tasty pizza.