Flatbread Pizza

Flatbread is awesome. You can use it for so many things. One of my favorite ways to use it is for personal-size pizzas. Below is my favorite flatbread pizza recipe. It's super simple, super fast, and super yummy. I cheat and use store-bought flatbread, but someday I'll learn to make my own.



Pesto Flatbread Pizza
1 Toufayan Flatbread
1 tbsp pesto
5 cherry tomatoes, sliced in thirds and seeded
2 oz mozzarella cheese (more or less to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Spread the pesto evenly on the flatbread. Layer with tomatoes and cheese.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and flatbread is crusty. Yum!

Sausage-Cauliflower Penne

I found this delicious recipe on FoodNetwork.com. They used spaghetti, but I prefer penne in most dishes like this. I skipped the scallions as I didn't have any. While super tasty, it's not the most visually appealing. I might revisit this recipe later on and add a bit of color (green peppers maybe?), whole wheat pasta, and mushrooms. This recipe might be even better if you use vegetable stock in place of the reserved cooking water.

Sausage-Cauliflower Penne
1 16oz box Penne
1 small head of cauliflower, broken into florets
12 oz Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Save 2 cups of water from the pasta.
2. Remove casings from sausage and brown in skillet with oil. Break up with wooden spoon. Once sausage is browned, make a hole in the middle and add garlic. Saute until lightly browned.
3. Add cauliflower to skillet and cook until slightly brown. Add a cup of the reserved cooking water and cover the skillet. Cook until cauliflower is tender. Remove lid and continue cooking until most of the water has evaporated.
4. Add pasta to skillet and toss with sausage and cauliflower. Sprinkle cheese over the top and mix until cheese melts. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Savor every bite!

Rachael Ray's Quick Chicken Suiza Burritos

I saw Rachael making these on Tuesday while sitting in a waiting room and decided to try them for dinner last night. They were pretty good. Even my mom liked them, and she doesn't like to try new things. I warmed the tortillas in the oven; I'm sure they would have been much better on the grill.

Chicken Suiza Burritos

4 boneless chicken breasts
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup salsa (Rachael suggests salsa verde, but I'm cheap so I used regular salsa)
8 small flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheese

1. Drizzle chicken with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken breasts (about 5 minutes on each side). Remove from grill and thinly slice.
2. Put chicken in bowl and coat with salsa.
3. Place tortillas on the grill and char on each side. (Tortillas can be warmed in the oven if a grill is not available.) Stack tortillas and wrap in foil to keep them warm.
4. Layer chicken, avocado, and cheese in the tortilla and fold into a burrito. Eat!

French Onion Soup

After a long hiatus, I am back with some tasty new recipes. I've made French Onion soup twice now, once last week and once this week. Why did I make it twice? The first time, I made an amazing batch. It was so delicious. I had a bowl and set aside some for my aunt (who is one of the better chefs in the family). As I was attempting to pour the rest into a storage container, I dropped the pot and it went all over the floor. Very depressing.


French Onion Soup
1/4 c butter
3 cups onions, thinly sliced (white onions work the best)
1 tsp sugar (omit if using a sweeter wine or onion, such as Vidalia)
7 c water
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 c red wine (I used port. Start w/ 1/2 c and increase wine to taste.)
4 cubes beef boullion
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme (or a sprig of thyme)
1 French baguette
8 slices of cheese (Gruyere is traditional. I used muenster and loved it.)

1. Melt butter in stock pan. If using sugar, add now. Cook onions over medium heat until they have sweated down and are nicely caramelized. This could take more than half an hour.
2. Add flour to onions and mix well. Deglaze pan with wine, then add water and bouillon. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Taste periodically and adjust flavors accordingly.
3. Just before soup is ready, cut baguette into 1-inch-thick slices. Heat oven to 425F. Place cheese slices on top of bread and toast until cheese is melted and bread is slightly crispy. *
4. Ladle soup into bowl and place toasted bread on top. Enjoy!

*If you have ovenproof bowls, toast bread until lightly browned. Ladle soup into bowl, place bread on top, and add a slice of cheese. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is just melted.