Recipe: Garden Pizza

Yesterday Joe posted on Facebook about the pizza I made for dinner. People were all "wow!" over how good it looks. But really no need to "wow" this one, guys! Quick pizza is so easy if somebody else makes the dough, and my grocery store happens to have a great ready made pizza dough in the deli section.

I wrote up a Quick Version of a garden pizza, and further down there's a more detailed explanation if you've literally never thought about making your own fresh pizza at home. We do this once a week, and we almost always make a Garden Pizza. It's especially great when everybody's gardens are busting out in tomatoes and peppers. Last night's had a purple bell pepper that Sue gave us.

PIZZA GEAR MAKES IT EASIER

• Pizza stone or pizza pan (read what prep it needs to make sure dough does not stick)

• Pizza cutter wheel thing

• Oven mitts (I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but I have stories about certain friends...you know who you are...)

Garden Pizza: Quick Version

INGREDIENTS

A ball of fresh dough
A little bread flour or white flour
Olive oil
Shredded cheese (a blend of Mozzarella with other Italian cheeses is great)
A variety of vegetables

1. Prepare the dough first by warming it.

2. Preheat the oven.

3. Slice all the vegetables.

4. Lay out the dough on your pizza pan or stone.

5. Top the pizza.

6. Bake at °425 for 12 minutes.

Be careful taking it out of the oven! It should cool for a few minutes before serving. 🍕

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Recipe: A Very Good Vegetable Soup

"Baby, this soup is outstanding."

"There's a secret ingredient."

"Love?"

"...okay, TWO secret ingredients."

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Recipe: "Leftover" Chicken Pot Pie

This is only "leftover" chicken pot pie because I use the chicken soup from earlier in the week. 

This is a fast prep, and 45 minutes to bake. When you make a chicken soup, use ingredients that you think you'll like in a pot pie later. For example, I love to put a big bunch of spinach in my chicken soup, but if I'm planning on converting the leftover soup into a pot pie, then I won't add the spinach to the whole pot. I don't like spinach in a pot pie. So when you put the pot of leftover chicken soup in the fridge, know that you'll be converting that beauty into pot pie in a few days. It's kind of like you're cooking two meals at once.

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Recipe: Loaded Potato Chowder

I whipped up this decadent soup the other night, making it up as I went along -- that's usually how I approach soup-making -- but this one came out so good that I've got to write it down. Sorry, it's not for vegans nor Atkins people. This is a hearty, fatty winter soup that's a stick-to-your-ribs meal in a bowl. You non-bacon, non-dairy, no-carb guys might live a few years longer, but then again, you don't get to have this soup. Let's call it Loaded Potato Chowder.

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