Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Okay... not exactly the healthiest of meals I have prepared-- but definitely one that we will be made again just about as fast as I can!  I almost cried when I realized that the leftovers somehow did not make it to the fridge and had to be thrown out instead!  My husband and I both loved this recipe, and it made a TON of pizza!  Served with a nice fresh salad, you can definitely get a few meals out of this one!  Normally I like for my deep dish crust to be a little more buttery (if you've ever had Gino's, you know what I mean) but this is about as close as I have come to replicating authentic deep dish at home.  I'd love suggestions if someone has an idea for a different crust!

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza


1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
28 ounces petite diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Press the dough into the bottom and the sides of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Cover bottom of the pan with sliced pepperoni.  In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain and sprinkle over dough and pepperoni.  Top with all of the mozzarella cheese.  In the same large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onion in oil until the onion is tender.  Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, salt, and garlic powder.  Spoon over the Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners

Mushroom Pasta Primavera

I was really excited to find this recipe in the August/September 'Taste of Home' magazine because it gave me a chance to use some of the vegetables that are just now ripe enough to pick from my garden.  This is a great summer pasta dish-- light enough to enjoy on a hot day, inexpensive, and altogether pretty healthy!  It was also a great option for my milk allergy son as he was able to simply eat his without the Parmesan sprinkled on top.

My one bit of advice would be to have all of your vegetables chopped and ready before starting to cook them.  The magazine offers a great tip as well, which I learned from my mother years ago.  The recipe calls for peeled tomatoes.  In order to peel them easily, drop them into boiling water for about a minute, then immediately into ice cold water.  The skins will peel right off for you.  If you want to save a step, I really am not so sure that you need to peel them in the first place.  I think it would be just fine with the skins left on, and actually might allow the tomatoes to hold up a little better in the cooking process.

Mushroom Pasta Primavera


1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole garlic bulb, peeled and minced
15 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium carrots, grated
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 pound cooked pasta (I used fettuccine)
Parmesan cheese to top

In a large saucepan, saute the onion in oil until tender.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, peppers, water, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Stir occasionally.  Stir in the mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until tender.  Serve over the cooked pasta.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Source: Slightly Adapted from "Taste of Home" magazine (August/September 2010)

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes & Peas

My mother bought my sisters and I a cookbook from Sam's Club called Favorite Family Dinners. If you have a membership, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy. For under $6.00, this book includes over 200 recipes for everyday meals. It's one of those books where you turn page after page realizing that you would make just about everything in it! I especially like that the first chapter is called the "Chef's Specials" chapter. It has recipes exerpted from many famous chefs' cookbooks, including this one from Tyler Florence's cookbook- Dinner at my Place. (The recipe I posted earlier this month for Guiltless Oven Fried Chicken also comes from this book.)

This particular recipe was definitely one I'd make again. It was a little time consuming, but really easy to put together. Since I was lucky enough to be given some fresh zucchini from a friend, I decided that it would be a perfect addition to the dish. I also added a bit more onion than the recipe called for and these few changes are reflected in the recipe below.

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes, & Peas
4 links spicy Italian Sausage (I used one whole package with 5 links, you can also use mild sausage if you prefer)
1 pound dried penne
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 small or 1 large zucchini, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups peas, blanched
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the sausages in a roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and just cooked through. Cut the sausage at an angle into bite-sized pieces.

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm.

Set a large dutch oven (or heavy based pot) over medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and basil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add in cream and continue to simmer until rich and creamy. Add the sausage, blanched peas, and cheese. Fold together and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Toss with the cooked pasta and serve topped with additional cheese and fresh basil.

Source: Adapted from the exerpted recipe by Tyler Florence, from Dinner at my Place

Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp

This is one of those meals categorized, by my husband, as 'girl food.' His reply when I told him that I had a batch of gazpacho in the fridge was that he might as well just eat a jar of salsa. I didn't bother to correct him because in all honesty, I'm happy to have a whole batch of this to myself! I was not at all surprised that I loved this recipe. . . it's another Pioneer Woman recipe and she has yet to let me down. I did make a few minor changes simply based upon the fresh produce that I had in my fridge at the time. Also, I tend to be a bit of a weak one when it comes to spice. Instead of using the tabasco sauce that Pioneer Woman calls for, I used some of the Garlic Chili sauce that I had purchcased to make this fried chicken a while back. It had such great flavor and I would definitely make it this way again. If you are planning on making both dishes, this is a great way to share ingredients! (If my husband ever does decide to try this, he can always add extra tabasco just to his bowl. This is an easy meal to adjust for different people's taste in terms of heat.)

Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 large cucumber, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
5-6 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 cups tomato juice (I took PW's advice and went with the store brand-- it was much less acidic.)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup (more to taste) red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons (less to taste) sugar
tabasco to taste (I replaced with the Garlic Chili Sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
grilled shrimp

(Optional garnish: finely minced jalepeno, sliced avocado, cilantro, sour cream, extra vegetables- finely diced)

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half of the red onion, half of the cucumber, half of the tomato, half of the green pepper, half of the zucchini, half of the celery, half of the tomato juice, all of the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, tabasco or garlic chili sauce, and a dash of salt. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well. The mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture. Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining vegetables to the food processor, pulsing again. Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish, if you desire. Stir the mixture togeter and check seasonings, adding salt as necessary. Chill the soup for at least a couple of hours. The soup needs to be served very cold.

Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check the seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with any of the above listed items and the grilled shrimp.

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Chicken Bruschetta

My mom was just telling me about a really good bruschetta chicken dish that she and my sister had shared while out to dinner recently. Within that same week, I found this recipe on the Pillsbury Bake Off site and I knew I'd have to try it! I'm anxious for them to make it to see how it compares, but I was really happy with it! The method of broiling the chicken kept it very moist and the topping was the perfect accompaniment. The original recipe does call for canned mushrooms, but I did leave them out to stick with more of an 'authentic' bruschetta recipe. The only other tip is that the recipe calls for either fresh or dried basil. As basil has been fairly expensive lately, and my garden basil isn't quite ready yet, I went ahead and used the dried. It still tasted great, but I do think that this is one dish that does need the fresh. I think it would make a big difference and would make a good dish great!

Chicken Bruschetta
To make the chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

To make the topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
3 medium Italian plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil sprigs, if desired

Spray broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; place on sprayed broiler pan. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until fork-tender and juices run clear. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until garlic is tender, stirring occasionally. Add onion, chopped basil, tomatoes, vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook about a minute or until thoroughly heated.
To serve, arrange chicken on individual plates. Sprinkle with half of cheese. Top each serving with bruschetta mixture; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Source: Adapted from Pillsbury Bake-Off

BLT Pasta Salad

This pasta salad will be a great addition to our summer grilling repertoire. (Now all I need is a working grill! Ours broke last fall and I am desperate to replace it... I'm not sure I can go a whole summer without grilling.) When I received the lastest addition of Food Network Magazine, this recipe really jumped out at me. My sister recently wrote about a different version of BLT Pasta Salad on her blog and it is one that I have made (and eaten) many times before. It is one of my favorite summer salads and I was definitely intrigued by some of the different ingredients and preparation in this new version. The recipe says to serve this warm, but I made it ahead of time to take advantage of 'nap time' at our house. I tried a little bite (all the self control in the world) when making it and it was very good warm-- but I think I might like it even better cold. I had some the next day for lunch and it was wonderful straight from the fridge. If anyone tries it, I'd love to hear how you liked it best-- warm or cold.

**A tip they offer in the magazine is to toss the cooked pasta with milk to keep it from becoming gummy. I have used cold water before to keep the pasta from sticking when using it in a salad, but had not tried milk. It worked really well, better than water, and is a method I would definitely use again.

BLT Pasta Salad
12 ounces corkscrew-shaped pasta (I actually used 16 ounces of rotini)
1/2 cup milk
12 ounces lean bacon (I used 16 ounces to match my increase in pasta)
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons chopped chives or scallion greens
5 heads Bibb lettuce, quartered or 5 cups chopped romaine hearts

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water as the label directs. Drain and toss with the milk in a large bowl; set aside. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add the tomatoes, thyme, and garlic to the pan and toss until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper. Crumble the bacon into bite-sized pieces; set aside 1/4 cup for garnish. Toss the remaining bacon and the tomato mixture with the pasta. Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, and 3 tablespoons chives with the pasta until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce; toss again to coat. Garnish with the reserved bacon and the remaining 1 tablespoon chives. Serve at room temperature (or cold!).

Source: Food Network Magazine

Goulash

A short while ago, I was on bedrest awaiting the birth of my little girl. During this time, an amazing group of people stepped in to help us out with basic household tasks and meals. I was astounded enough that those I love and care about immediately came through to help us out, but I was even more awed by the complete strangers that insisted on helping out, without even meeting me or my family. They simply knew that help was needed and they did not hesitate to jump in. I cannot begin to thank these people enough for what they have done for my family. It was a difficult experience to have to sit and do nothing to take care of my family, and these people kept my household running, my family fed, and made us all feel such love and support.

One dish that was brought over during this time was a goulash. I had never before tasted, much less made, goulash. As we reheated the dish, a wonderful smell filled the house. This is comfort food at its best! My husband had seconds and asked me if I knew how to make it! While I don't have this particular recipe (which was delicious, by the way!) I had seen an episode of Paula Deen where she stated that her son, Bobby, requested her goulash on his birthday every year. Apparently it is his favorite of all of her dishes. With as many good things as she makes, I assumed if this was his favorite it had to be phenomenal! One thing I will make note of is that Paula says the recipe serves 6, unless Bobby is eating. Normally, I find that recipes don't make nearly the servings I would expect-- I guess we are big eaters! I did add a little extra macaroni to the goulash, but even with that, I would say that this makes way more than 6 servings. The recipe calls for 3 pounds of meat, which seems like a lot for only 6 servings, anyway. My husband and I both had a big bowl and I have a very large container of it left in the fridge.

Bobby's Goulash

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 pound ground turkey

2 large yellow onions, chopped

2- 15 oz cans tomato sauce

2- 15 oz cans diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

3 bay leaves

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon House seasoning (recipe below)

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked)

In a dutch oven, saute the ground beef and ground turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of water, along with tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. (Paula doesn't say to, but I found that I needed to stir my goulash during this time. With the high sugar content of the tomatoes, it was starting to stick and burn on the bottom of the pot. I would stir randomly through this cooking time.) Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad.

Source: Paula Deen Celebrates!

Pasta Fagioli

Let me begin by apologizing for my horrible photograph of this delicious soup! I love my digital camera, but it certainly isn't the best for close-up food photos!

In my opinion, there is nothing better on a cold, winter day than a steaming bowl of soup. This particular one was perfectly satisfying! I was looking for a heartier soup to share with friends and this one did not disappoint. I knew I wanted to try it the moment I saw it on Brown Eyed Baker, but lost track of it until she recently re-listed it as a favorite for the previous year. I adjusted the seasoning a bit for my family's taste, but otherwise followed her recipe as listed. Brown Eyed Baker did suggest using italian sausage in place of regular ground beef, and I am so glad that I followed her advice. The sausage was a perfect addition to the soup and is definitely the only way that I would make it from now on. When paired with a fresh, crusty bread, this soup makes a perfect winter meal.

Pasta Fagioli

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

½ large (or 1 medium) onion. finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, thinly sliced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

64 oz. beef broth

28 ounce can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

4 oz. small dry pasta (Ditalini was recommended but I had a difficult time locating it)

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot, and add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add sausage back to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker