Stuffed Pizza

It's no secret that I love pizza, and that I've become fond of cooking it at home.  Although it seems that this pizza is bad for you, and of course it is, with so much dough to it, it's at least a little bit better for you with the addition of so many veggies.

I've made this once before, following Lauren's suggestion to use tomatoes, and this time, I made it with roasted red peppers instead.  I'm generally not a roasted red pepper fan, though they are slowly growing on me and I'm starting to enjoy them in certain combinations.


This came out very good; everyone enjoyed it, including my 10 month old son. I served it with marinara sauce on the side so it was actually very similar to a calzone. 

This was a really tasty meal, somewhere in between healthful and not so healthful, but something we'll be making again!

Ricotta Stuffed Spinach and Broccoli Pizza Pie

Picky Palate, via Lauren's Kitchen

16 oz whole wheat or white pizza dough
1 Cup ricotta cheese
¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
2 Cups fresh broccoli florets, steamed until fork tender, about 3 minutes in boiling water
Pinch of salt
½ Cup Roasted red bell peppers, from can or fresh
1 ½ Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Spread and press one piece of dough into the bottom and sides of a 9-9 ½ inch round cake or tart pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (I used a 9 ½ inch deep quiche pan with a removable bottom that worked perfectly) In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta and parmesan cheese until well combined. Spread into pressed pizza dough.
2. Place olive oil into a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute spinach until wilted down, about 3 minutes. Place evenly over ricotta cheese layer. Place steamed broccoli florets over spinach and season with a pinch or two of kosher salt. Layer roasted red peppers, then mozzarella cheese over top. Press out remaining piece of dough and place over filling, tucking edges inside of pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cooked through.
3. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan or cutting into wedges.
8 slices

Kiss Pies

Looking for an individualized recipe for New Year's Eve, I went to the fabulous Picky Palate for inspiration.  The recipe seemed easy as...pie (groan)...  and her pictures were too darn cute.  Of course, I  had to make them.  I went to the Kisses website, and wanted to use either the cherry cordial or candy cane kisses, but my grocery store didn't have either of those.  I instead chose caramel filled kisses.


 

I'm pretty sure it was that choice that made these a disaster, since it looked like the caramel oozed out all over the place. 

They were pretty tasty, but not something I would rave and go nuts over.  I didn't even put them out for the kids to eat.

I might try these again, with a different kind of kiss; they are just so darn simple to make that if I can get them to turn out right, they'll be a great recipe to have in the back pocket.

To make it a little bit easier, I used a biscuit cutter to cut the dough around the kiss.

Kiss Pies

1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
14 Hershey Kisses of choice, I used Mint Truffle today
1 egg white whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Powdered sugar for dusting
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll out pie dough onto a lightly floured counter top.  Place 10 kisses around the edges of pie dough, about 2 1/2 inches apart (as in the photo above).  Take a knive and cut a 2 1/2-3 inch circle around kiss.  Fold half of pie dough around top of dough and pinch edge around top of kiss.  (See Photo, step 1).  Now, fold up both sides of remaining dough up to the tip of the kiss pinching edge.  (See Photo, step 2).  Now press together edges and form criss cross as shown in photo, step 3. * *Continue cutting dough around kisses until all dough is used up. 
2.  Brush all little pies with an egg white wash then sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Bake for 20-28 minutes or until little pies are golden.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Dust each with powdered sugar and serve.
about 14 little pies.

Ice cream sundae brownies

I first saw this recipe when my friend Lauren told me about it. I then caught it on Picky Palate (she's the creator!) and her pictures definitely made me have to make it.

So, I made it today, since I had some time alone with my 3 year old and needed something to entertain him (ahem, US). We baked brownies. YUM!

I was somewhat surprised that these didn't have any of the flavor of the ice cream I chose (Blue Bunny's Birthday Party). Don't get me wrong; these were great! I wonder, though, how they would taste with a different flavor of ice cream--black cherry, peanut butter, etc. I don't really like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but I wonder how that would taste here?

Ice Cream Sundae Brownies

1 box Brownie Mix

2 eggs

1/2 Cup canola or vegetable oil

Heaping 1/2 Cup of your favorite Ice Cream (I used Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food)

1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips

1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl mix the brownie mix, 2 eggs and oil until combined…and thick. I did NOT add the water. Scoop in ice cream, chocolate chips and hot fudge; mix until combined. Pour into a foil lined 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been GENEROUSLY sprayed with cooking spray. More is better here Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.

2. Let cool completely. Remove foil from baking dish, cut into squares and serve.

12 brownies