Black Bean Pepper Jack Pizza

You must think we eat pizza all the time.  And wouldn't that be great if we did?  It's been a little bit since we got groceries and that means we're low on produce.  Which means what in the world to have for dinner?  The obvious answer: pizza.  We didn't have much cheese (but when has that ever stopped me from making pizza?) so here is the improvised pizza based on what we had in the fridge.  And it was delicious.  I would have this every day.

Ok, so the avocado isn't the prettiest in this picture, but I promise you it was delicious.

Top a pizza crust with:

Tomato sauce (we used some leftover pasta sauce)
Cheddar cheese, grated (barely any, we used up our last little sliver on this)
Pepper Jack cheese, grated
Spiced black beans (These were black beans I had in the fridge that were mixed with chili powder, cumin, coriander, and a bit of lemon juice.  See exact ratios here)
Diced bell pepper

Bake at 375 for 12-15 min

Garnish with diced avocado

Enjoy!

Our little Bub-o is still eating away.  He loves food.  Wonder where he gets that from?  His latest favorite is mashed bananas.  How, you may ask, do you make mashed bananas?  Well, take a banana (or half of a banana) and mash it with a fork.  Why do people buy mashed bananas from Gerber?  We all own forks.

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Yes, it's another pizza.  Geoff said he liked this one best so far - this is something for him because he rarely likes the strange pizzas I make because they usually include lots of veggies and very little cheese.  He thinks something about that is wrong.  (He polled some coworkers during lunch and asked them if food matching this pizzas description can actually be called pizza.  They all said no.  But, as proof that they all have bad taste in exciting, delicious foods, they also thought something was wrong with this salad.)

What makes this pizza any better than the other pizzas for Geoff?  Feta cheese and a grilled crust - he really likes feta.

Pizza dough (enough for a 12 inch pizza)
2 tomatoes
2 scallions, thinly sliced (I used shallots since it's what I had in the fridge, browned in a little olive oil)
5 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled (I used feta, again because I had it in the fridge.  Plus, it's a variation on goat cheese, right, so it counts)
Salt and Pepper
Baby spinach
Avocado, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp red-wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Split the dough in half and spread out to make two 8-in pizzas.  Lightly oil the grill.  Heat grill to medium heat.  Put pizza doughs on grill.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until the dough shows light grill marks.  Remove from grill.

With the grill marks facing up, top pizzas with tomatoes and feta cheese (I also put the onions on now since I was using shallots instead of scallions).  Return pizzas to grill for another 2-3 minutes.  Resulting pizza should have grill marks on both sides.

Combine spinach, avocado, vinegar, scallions, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.  Top pizzas with spinach salad.  Enjoy!

Mexican Pizza

Remember how I love pizza?  This one was fantastic, as all pizza is.  The black bean sauce was really good and I had leftover sauce which I quite enjoy as a dip.

1 pizza crust

Black Bean Sauce:
2/3 C dry black beans (or 1 can black beans)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 C salsa
1 tsp garlic powder
Sea salt, pepper to taste

Soak beans overnight.  Cook beans, drain, and rinse.  Puree all ingredients together.  Add water until you reach the desired consistency.

Toppings:
Mexican grated cheese blend
Bell Peppers
Red onions
Corn
Tomatoes

Cook crust for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from oven and spread sauce over partially cooked crust.  Add desired toppings.  Bake until cheese is delicious looking and crust is golden brown (I didn't set a timer so I don't know how long it baked).

On another note, you may have noticed I didn't post a single thing about Thanksgiving.  How can a food blogger not blog about a holiday dedicated to gluttony?   Easy: the blogger didn't cook a thing but instead held, fed, and loved Baby while other cooked for her.  Brilliant.

Everyone is ready for the feast, including Tina!

Cousins!

Cruising up the stairs, much to his parents dismay who had to constantly follow him up since he hasn't figured out how to come down.  Thankfully Grandpa took a turn following him up the stairs, giving Desmond's parents a break.

Caesar Salad Pizza

I love pizza.  I don't know if that's the pregnancy talking or if pizza really is just that amazing but we have been making strangely topped pizzas about twice a month all summer long.  This was one of my favorites by far - up there with the veggie pizza from a few months ago.

1 pizza dough (I'm constantly going back and forth between pizza dough recipes.  Maybe I'll decide on a favorite and post it one day)
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 C fresh Parmesan cheese
2 C torn romaine lettuce (we threw in some spinach, too)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 C Caesar salad dressing
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I cooked it with a little salt, pepper, and garlic)

Bake pizza dough at 425 for 7-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and coat with just a little dressing.  Top with cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly (I didn't time how long this took, just keep an eye on it).  Remove from oven and top with lettuce, chicken, and tomatoes.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with remaining dressing.  Serve while still warm.

The Length of an Ear of Corn

24 weeks and we're still waiting for the day they compare the size of my baby to a half gallon of ice cream.  What a delicious week that will be!  Until then, though, we are still comparing our little one to fruits and veggies.  I suppose that's healthier for me (and him) since I apparently have a Kronos complex and eat whatever veggie he was compared to.

Delicious Veggie Pizza (try this one!)

1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 ears worth of corn
Salt and pepper
pizza dough
5 oz thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 C cherry tomatoes, halved (use cherry, I tried to substitute with diced roma once and it wasn't nearly as good as this time when I actually bought the cherry tomatoes.  They were so much better on this then roma!)
Fresh basil

Saute the onions and bell peppers.  Add the garlic for the last few minutes.  Add the corn, salt, and pepper.  Remove from heat.

Roll out the pizza dough.  Top with mozzarella slices.  Top with veggies (it will be a thick layer when you add them now, but it will shrink down as it bakes).  Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.  Place tomatoes evenly over pizza.  Bake an additional 5-8 minutes until crust looks done.  Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil.

Original Recipe from Cooking Light July 2011

Tex-Mex Confetti Pizza

This pizza is too pretty to not post about, but was sadly missing something.  I haven't determined exactly what yet, but I want to put the picture up anyways.

We tossed corn, black beans, and tomatoes with olive oil, smoked paprika, and salt.  And then crumbled queso fresco on top of that.  After it baked I garnished it with fresh cilantro.  It needed more salt and the cilantro helped, but it was still missing something.  Avocado (garnish after cooking)?  Less smoked paprika and some fajita seasonings instead?  Those might have helped.

A note about Smoked Paprika:  I have never used smoked paprika.  In fact, I went out and bought some just for this recipe because I had read in a cooking magazine that smoked paprika can give any food the flavor of bacon.  I couldn't resist a spice that tastes like bacon.  Who could?  So I bought some and tried this recipe.  And I am forced to disagree.  Smoked paprika does not taste like bacon.  Very unfortunate because if it did, it would have become my new favorite spice.  (Imagine: tasting bacon without the fat!  But alas, it was just a dream.)