Easy Pizza

Home alone, how about Pizza?

Here's how you can have homemade
Pizza in a flash. I packed this in the fridge. the night before. It's fun to do this with your child just before retiring for the night.
...
1. Soft tortilla shells in sandwich bags
2. favorite shredded cheese
3. Vegetables, pepperoni, and bacon bits or cooked crumbled sausage or ground beef in a container or baggies
4. a container of pizza sauce or refried beans
5. Here are the directions I left my two children 10 and 13. Using a toaster oven is ideal, but a conventional oven works just the same. Just be sure to use safety...like oven mitts and have a cleared-off area, to place the hot pizza tray after the pizza comes out of the oven. Plan ahead saves time and keeps everyone safe...plus it's more fun.

Directions
How to make pizza safely make sure you have all your tools ready on the counter where you are cooking.
* Oven mitts and pot holders to place the tray when the pizza is done.
* A sponge or paper towel to wipe up spills
* Plates
*Spatula to move the pizza to the plates.


1.Take the cooking tray out of the toaster oven
2.Turn on the toaster oven to pizza setting(350)
3.Take out all the ingredients I left for you.
4.Place tortillas on tray
5.Spread on thin layer of sauce or refried beans
6.Top with favorite toppings
7.Open oven and carefully place tray onto the shelf.
8. close the door and push the timer button. I already have set the exact time...10 minutes. Set your watch if you have to leave the room for some reason. It's best to stay in the kitchen.
9. When the pizza smells toasty and cheesy all the smells come to your nose, check it even if the timer hasn't sounded...flick on the light and check it...Look at your timer and see how much time is left. If the cheese is all bubbly and everything's browned and looks good take it out if not. Just keep an eye out for it until the timer goes off or it gets to that point...
10 Once the pizzas are done. put on an oven mits carefully slide the shelf out and then remove the pizza tray. Take care not to touch the heating elements in the oven.

Set the tray on oven mitts or stove top to cool a bit.
Set out your plates and enjoy.

Vegetarian: Rutabegga and Collards

 
Rutabaga is a very interesting root vegetable. I love the smell, it smells like cabbage. In my effort to try and fix veggies in different ways...I didn't want to get away from my favorite way to eat my vegetables.  Mostly raw or stir fry/ saute'. I mixed these in with our greens.  Yummy.

My Father in Law has a nice size garden and these collards remind me of his. Only without the holes because the grubs have eaten like crazy!!

How I Stir Fry Collards

Ingredients.

Cleaned and chopped Collard Greens

Sliced Rutabaga

a large onion

garlic

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes (optional)

olive oil, bacon grease or clarified butter

a splash or two of cider vinegar

chicken stock just enough to keep the greens moist and tender not soaking in the juices

Begin by,

• Chopping all the veggies you need
• Start to saute' with the oil, garlic, onions and a little bit of red pepper flakes until it has a lovely aroma
• Then add in you rutabaga and your greens simmer until wilted then add more greens until you've used all you want.
• Season with salt and pepper to your taste ( I use Kosher and Cracked pepper mostly)
• Add in a splash of Vinegar
• Then pour in enough chicken stock to cover greens half way. Let simmer in the saute' pan or in a crock pot until they are tender  

Other options* Many times I've used hot sauce instead of red pepper flakes it's a little less intense to  me. 

Enjoy

Chicken Bean Vegetable or Simple Bean Veggie soup

I can't tell you where I found this recipe. My mother in-law told me how to cook them for my husband early on in our marriage. Then I watched Julia Child's and took her way of preparing beans and finally came up with the way I make beans today.  I've tweeked it so much it wouldn't be recognizable anyways. My favorite way to make them is in the oven. They cook slow like a crock but all the flavors seem to meld wonderfully.  What started out as a chicken with bean soup, has become Roasted Chicken with beans and vegetable. At the end of  a cold day you want to sit down to something warming and it's often what we have on hand. Many times If I had a bag of beans, Salt and Onions. We had a meal. Throw in a slab of ham or a few pieces of chicken and slice of bread, what a good times we had over simple meals like this. Then retire to our beds with full bellies

In this picture I roasted chicken thighs
 in the oven and served with the beans.

Ingredients

1 bag dry great northern beans
6-7 cups water
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 boullion cubes
a few shakes of liquid smoke
1 tsp. salt to start

Directions
1.Pick and Rinse beans; drain. In a large saucepan, combine beans and the 6 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
2.Place in your crock pot on high to cook until tender.
3.Meanwhile, chop veggies and saute in a frying pan with 1 bay leaf, season to taste.
4.When the Beans are tender add in your veggies with bay leaf and boullion and a few shakes of liquid smoke.
5. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
Makes about 15 servings. I'm sure this changes the nutritional info below, a bit since I didn't use meat or tomatoes.

Original Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup dry great northern beans
6 cups water
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4-1/2 cups chicken broth
2-1/2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken(e.i. rotisserie chicken or your own roasted or any type of chicken or meat you perfer, bone in is best for flavor)
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

Directions
1. Rinse beans; drain. In a large saucepan, combine beans and the 6 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
2. Meanwhile, in a 3-1/2-, 4-, or 5-quart crockery cooker, combine onion, fennel, carrots, garlic, parsley, rosemary, and pepper. Place beans atop vegetables. Pour chicken broth over all.
3. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
4. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting then Stir in chicken and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 30 minutes longer or until heated through on high-heat setting. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Nutrition facts per serving: calories: 426; total fat: 10g; saturated fat: 3g; cholesterol: 78mg; sodium: 1454mg; carbohydrate: 46g; fiber: 15g; protein: 40g; starch: 2.5 diabetic exchange; vegetables: 2 diabetic exchange; very lean meat: 4 diabetic exchange; fat: 1diabetic exchange

Strawberry Mango Bliss

 

Good Morning, 

Today I still had half of my mango and strawberry ices. So I made a bit of granola to go in it...thus the spoon. I'm going to need a straw too. Do you eat your mint? I do. It's growing like crazy, why not eat it?

Mango smoothie recipe

Peel & Chop 2 mangos.

Freeze 2 mangos.

I let them mine soften just a tad because my freezer is crazy cold...

Blitz in the blender or food processor until smooth.

 Serves 2  greedy mango lovers

Strawberry ice cream recipe

Loving Body Benefits of

  Mango, Strawberry and Mint

Mango  Boost your immune system,  some B6,  Eye and Skin Care and beat the heat back with it's natural cooling effects. 

Strawberry Wrinkle preventative? who knew, antioxidant and more, so much more.

Mint If breath freshener isn't enough benefit...??  This little gift helps your digestion, gives boost of iron and making almost any smoothie taste way more palatable. After Thyme it's my favorite herb.

Fresh tomato salsa

Salsa for tortilla tonight. I'm always in the mood for the red, yellow or orange peppers...rarely the green ones. Still I chopped one into the salsa anyway.  I also added a few tart strawberries  in too.They are full of vitamins and an extra way I get H2O! After that, a few onions, cilantro, and herb spices, with lime juice.  I let it sit a few minutes in the fridge.
In the mean time I'll whip up some coconut cream with a bit of lime and mint. Chop, chop, chop, yum!