Chicken Pesto Pizza

So as you have probably noticed after reading my blog for awhile, I really love pizza. But not just any pizza.  I don't care much for chain pizza, none of that stuffed crust and I cannot stand grease dripping off of my slice. Give me some fresh veggies, grilled meats and a thin crust and I'm all yours.

This year, I started a small herb garden and had some lush basil I needed to use. I didn't have quite enough to make a traditional pesto, so I improvised with a few other ingredients. Well, my improvisation was magical and the flavor of the pesto was just perfect for this light summer pizza.

Oh - and if you don't have a pizza stone, YOU NEED ONE!

Ingredients:
Pizza crust - I make mine from a dry mix I buy from my local grocery store, it's like .99, so totally worth it
Halved grape tomatoes
Chopped red onion
Grilled chicken
Fresh mozzarella
Red pepper flakes
Pesto sauce (see recipe below)

Pesto Sauce:
Handful of fresh basil
3 tablespoons EVOO
Salt and pepper
chopped red onion
3 halved grape tomatoes

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
2. Bake crust for about 7 minutes
3. Pull the crust out and add your pesto sauce, pile on your cheese and other yummies
4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until your crust is nice and golden brown

Enjoy!!

Cheese and Melon Crostini

This was the perfect little appetizer to my Tuesday dinner this week. It was so easy and delicious, I am just about ready to head out to the store right now to get some more bread so I can snack all day on this little yummy crostini's of goodness. The herbed goat cheese melted into the toasted bread and the crisp freshness of the cucumber paired with the sweetness of the melon was absolutely to die for. An absolutely wonderful starter for a summer grill-out!

Ingredients:

1 baguette

Herbed goat cheese

1 sliced cucumber

1 cantaloupe cubed/sliced, however you would like it

Instructions:

1. Slice and toast your baguette

2. Spread the goat cheese over the baguette

3. Add the sliced cucumber and cantaloupe

4. I added a little salt to the top of my snacks to really pull the flavor out of the melon

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Mmmmmm another 4th of July favorite, so celebratory! This year, to celebrate our great nation's birthday, I headed back to my hometown to spend the weekend with my wonderful parents. Mom and I of course had all of these yummies planned, and we had already made these delicious cake balls a couple of weeks earlier for the birthday of one of my coworkers. They were so good, we knew we had to make them again.

So, Happy Birthday, once again to America! Enjoy these red velvet cake balls!

Flag Cupcakes

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating our nation's birthday! As I look back and reflect on my weekend, I remember why we all are able to celebrate, we live in a nation that cares about its people, their freedoms and their rights. Thanks to all of those who fought in the past and who are still fighting today. USA!!

I really wanted to make a few things for my family to commemorate the weekend, and because chocolate is my usual go-to, I thought I would switch it up a little bit and try out some carrot cake cupcakes decorated like the American flag. I went a little Semi-homemade Sandra Lee style on you guys and added some great flavor to a carrot cake box mix. These were super easy to make and were enjoyed immensely!

Happy Fourth of July!

Ingredients:
1. One box of carrot cake mix
2. 3 eggs
3. 1/2 cup oil
4. 1 cup water
5. 1 cup grated carrots
6. 1 cup chopped walnuts


Decor:
1. Fresh blueberries
2. Sliced strawberries or other red fruit, raspberries would be delicious!
3. Cream cheese frosting - homemade or store-bought

Instructions:
1. Follow the box - I believe it's pretty complicated...mix up all the ingredients.
2. Fill your cupcake papers about 2/3 full and bake at 350 for about 16 minutes. Once you can pull out a toothpick clean, they're done!

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Mandarin glaze

My Summer Solstice dinner was a success!! So much so that I'm pretty stoked I made extra so I can have the rest tonight. I was planning on doing a little Panko breadcrumb dip and baking the chicken in the oven, but after I got home from my 3 mile run (Yes! Day 1 of marathon training done!) I was hungry and figured grilling on my livesaver George Foreman would be the fastest way to fill my growling stomach.

The picture of my summer celebration cocktail didn't turn out delicious looking, but trust me when I say it was a party in my mouth and pretty much everyone was invited. Looks like I need to bust out my passion fruit vodka a little more often. I'm thinking....vodka granita? Yes, please.

Ingredients:
1. Chicken tenders (I seasoned mine with Weber's Mango Lime seafood seasoning and it was perfect)
2. 1 small can of mandarin oranges
3. 1 tablespoon sweet and hot grainy mustard
4. Less than 1/4 sugar
5. Golden Yukon potatoes
6. Frozen green beans

Instructions:
1. Boil the potatoes over high heat in salted water for about 30 minutes or until you can easily poke them with a fork and they are tender
2. Season your chicken and place it on your in-house grill or if you can, grill it outside!
3. Add the mandarin glaze, see instructions below
4. Plate and enjoy!

Mandarin glaze:
1. In a small pan on medium heat, add half of the mandarin juice from the can, the sugar and mustard.
2. Add 1/4 cup of the oranges and let simmer.
3. Spoon over chicken and green beans for an extra kick!


Mandarin Orange Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients:
1. Shot of mandarin juice from can
2. Shot of passion fruit vodka
3. 3 mandarin slices
4. Hint of lime juice
5. Stir and enjoy!!

Enjoy this delicious summer meal!

Summer Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice bloggers!! June 21st is most definitely one of my favorite days of the entire year. Why? Sunlight!!! Now, unfortunately, this year in "The Good Life" that is Nebraska, we are experiencing some torrential downpours, thunderstorms, straight 80 mph winds and tornadoes. Whah whah....But, alas! I will not let a little thing like that get me down on this longest day of the year. I had hoped to wake up early this morning to officially start my half marathon training with a 3 mile run, but after taking a magical little Tylenol PM last night, waking up early was just not in the cards for me. I'll get that run in after work instead ;) Although I want to seize the day and be outdoors, a quick 45 minutes at the gym won't kill my spirits - especially since I would probably look like a wet dog after spending any time outside. Boo, rain.

Now, onto my Summer Solstice menu! Tonight, I plan on baking up some "fried" chicken aka, not fried at all but covered in Panko breadcrumbs and baked in the oven. Then, I'm going to whip up a mandarin orange glaze for the chicken and have a side of boiled small potatoes and some green beans! Sounds pretty summery to me. But you know what would make it better? You guessed it, a cocktail! I happen to have some passion fruit vodka chilling in my freezer (wow, I've had that for a long time...shows you how much liquor this girl consumes) that I think I will mix with a little OJ and mandarin slices. Yum Yum!

Happy Summer 2011, everyone! I hope you seize the day and make the most out of the longest day of the year!

Wait. Am I in Sweden or America?

A few things about food in Sweden: they have a lot of American foods. Let's recap what I ate in one day. Pizza Hut and McDonalds. That's right, you heard me. How hilarious is that? I will say that the Pizza Hut is much different than in America and I don't even remember the last time I actually ate there. I had a prosciutto pizza and it was quite tastey. Then, after we were out and about enjoying a few beverages at...wait for it....wait for it....T.G.I. Friday's, we had to stop at Micky D's for a cheeseburger and fries!

The next day I insisted on eating lunch somewhere that I couldn't go back home. Wayne's Coffee was the place of choice and I had a yummy yummy chicken salad with quinoa, edamame, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, avocado and lettuce. It was so good. Like, so good.

Enjoy!

Enjoying a lyxshake chocolate from Max. A yummy chocolate milkshake with chunks of chocolate - holler.

Prosciutto pizza from Pizza Hut.

The order board at McDonald's. Cheeseburger and fries, please.

Delicious salad from Wayne's Coffee.