Kids Cat Rolls

Kids Cat Rolls
We made these Cat for a Joy School Activity- so they are easy enough for one adult to help 4 three and four year olds in making. I used Rhodes Frozen Rolls, which I always have in the freezer. Each cat uses 4 rolls (in the above picture, ignore the big roll on the right- one of the kids snuck that into the picture).

Directions:
Pull out 4 rolls about 2 hours before activity or until thawed but still cold (I put mine in the fridge once they had thawed until we needed them.)
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
1. Take two rolls and smash them together. Roll them (like a snake). This is the cats body. Lay it on the cookie sheet.
2. Take one roll and roll it like a snake. This is the cats tail. Pinch it to one end of the cats body.
3. Take one roll (the last one) and flatten it out in the shape of a circle. Then using a pair of scissors, cut it in the shape of a heart with the bottom not so pointed. Pinch it to the other end of the cats body.
4. Take scissors and clip the dough. This makes it look like fur- see pictures below. You can clip as much or as little as you want.
Let rise for 20 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Nichole's Intro

Hello, my name is Nichole Hernandez, i am Madeline's best friend and co-creator of this blog. I don't feel right calling myself that because Madeline does everything, she is just kind enough to give me that title:) I love food and i love to cook even more. I can't really say that one person inspired me to learn to cook but i do remember a couple people, i guess you could say, influencing me in different ways. First being Mom...she is a great  and adventurous cook. The thing i always remember about her and her cooking is that she was never afraid to try new things and was/is always experimenting with new spices and ingredients. That's kind of the way i cook today, i love to work with new ingredients and sometimes mix spices and flavors that you would never expect to be in the same dish. I think if you asked my husband what he likes most about my cooking, it would be that. The other person that influenced me would be my Grandma Pat...she passed away when i was 17 years old but i still have vivid memories or dishes that she made, i can remember how they smelled and tasted and how great they looked. It makes me feel close to her when i make her dishes or cook from her cookbook. I love that food can do that. She made everything look perfect and easy all at the same time, i strive to be able to cook like her and to pass down my love of cooking to my son.

I will admit that i watch quite a few cooking shows on The Food Network, and i have learned SO much from them! I love being able to watch a show and learn a cooking "method" and being able to use it that night when i make dinner for my family. Once you learn a cooking method you can use different ingredients and turn it into so many different meals, tweaking it to make it your own. I love to cook, what i consider to be, American comfort food, Mexican and Italian food the most. My goal this year is to learn more Mexican dishes, like Tamales, which shouldn't be too hard with  Mexican Mother-in law:)

I have loved being a part of this blog. I hope post more of what i cook this year than i did last year, to be honest, remembering to take a picture of my meal before i eat it is what usually keeps me from posting my recipes:) I wish everyone an exciting year in cooking and blogging!

For Mushroom Lovers Only

I say this is "for Mushroom Lovers only" because it is a very simple salad of raw Mushrooms...it only has a few ingredients but they go so perfectly together. I saw Giada De Laurentiis make it on The Food Network and i knew i had to make it, it exceeded my expectations, if you love mushrooms then give it a try!




Fresh Mushroom and Parsley Salad

Ingredients
1 pound large button mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-ounce piece Parmesan
Directions
Serving suggestion: assorted French cheeses and Poilane Bakery-style breads

In a medium salad bowl, mix together the mushrooms and parsley.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the oil mixture to the salad bowl and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan on top and serve.

Some Great Tips

Many of you probably recieved this e-mail but, I thought it would be something good to put on this blog.

Bananas

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Cheese

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Ground Beef

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Eggs

To really make scrambled eggs or omelettes rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Brownies

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt chocolate mint patties in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Garlic

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Pizza

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Reheating refrigerated bread

To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away

Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

Flexible vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and.. ta da!... static is gone.

 

Measuring Cups

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Get Rid of Ants

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can'tdigest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something else; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.. Well ...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit.You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box .well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Braised Beef with Tortellini

This week we are challenging eveyone to make a special dish that includes noodles. March is hosts National Noodle Month and we at Saltbox House Cooking exchange are happy to celebtrate it. So, whether it is with homemade noodles or not, get those favorite noodle recipes out to share.

Braised Beef with Tortellini

This is a favorite of mine and my husbands everytime we go to the Olive Garden. I found a recipe online that was close to it and i altered it just a bit. I have to admit that this was probably one of the best and most delicious things i have EVER cooked for dinner and i am looking forward to it again soon!

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs Boneless Beef Shortribs(I used bonless beef country style ribs) cut into med size chunks

1 med. yellow onion, chopped

8 oz. red wine (you may substitute beef broth if you like)

1 14.5 oz. can of dice tomatoes(don't drain liquid)

2 c. beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs. sugar

1 pkg of fresh tortellini (i used Bertolli)

Preperation:

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan of some sort, sear chunks of meat untill well browned on all sides, remove meat from pan and set aside. Saute onions untill they are translucent, add wine or beef broth to deglaze the pan (be sure to scrape all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan-thats where the flavor is:) add tomatoes, bay leaf and sugar. Add meat back to the pan and add enough broth to cover meat half way. Cover and bake in 350 oven for 3 hours or untill meat is extremely tender. When meat is done, cook tortellini according to pkg directions, when they are done, add them to the meat and juices, let them sit for just a minute to soak in all of the flavor. Serve and enjoy!

Tyler Florence's Scalloped Potato Gratin

Tyler Florence's Scalloped Potato Gratin

This is definitely my FAVORITE potato dish ever! The picture above is from the Food Network website...i have made this dish twice and i forgot to take a picture before we dug into it! It is very rich and full of flavor, you MUST try this dish, its DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C Heavy Cream

1 sprig fresh Thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 nutmeg

Butter to coat baking dish

2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/8 in. thick slices

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter baking dish and set aside. In a saucepan, heat cream with thyme, garlic and nutmeg. Layer sliced poatoes, cream mixture and cheese as if you were making lasagna. You should come out with 3 or 4 layers of potatoes, then top with parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Chunky Tuna Dip



If you like Tuna Salad, you will really enjoy this combination. I know, everyone can pretty much put together a tuna mix for sandiwiches and stuff. This combination not only has those basic tuna fish sandwich ingredients, it takes a little twist that I like to call Chunky Tuna dip.

The key is to cut eveything in large chunks (well, as chunky as you want them anyway).

This is what I like to throw in my dip:

Canned Tuna

Celery

Onions (any kind)

A splash of Pickle Juice

(I don't add pickles to this dip usually)

Dill Weed

Salt and Pepper (liberally)

It's easy and tastes like you put a little something extra in there but, like I said, it is a basic tuna fish mix with a twist. I like to serve it with large crackers and it makes a perfect snack for those days when a basic tuna fish sandwich doesn't do it for you.

My new favorite snack...

I am hooked on this snack...it might seem like an unlikely combination but it is DELICIOUS and good for you! Make sure to use a tart apple, like a Granny Smith, its great with the creamy peanut butter and sweetness from the raisins, give it a try!

Yummy Bones

Here is a spooky party snack perfect for Halloween. Use breadstick dough in the can...cut a slit about an inch and a half long on each end, then roll up the flaps untill they look like bones. Bake according to the directions on the package and serve with pizza or spaghetti sauce!(i found these on the Disney Family website)

Fennel and Orange Salad

I think Fennel is something you either love or hate. Fennel, to me, tasted a bit like a combination of celery and black licorice, very distinct but subtle at the the same time. I first saw this salad made on The Food Network, by Robin Miller and before i made it i had never tasted fennel. Needless to say, it was delicious and now one of my favorite salads. I did make a couple changes to the original recipe to suit my tastes a little more, I added the dried cranberries and used mandarin oranges instead of naval oranges. Its not only delicious but very pretty, and its actually better if you let it chill in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors marry.




Fennel and Orange Salad

1 large bulb of Fennel, sliced thinly
1 tbs. Red Wine Vinegar
1 small handfull of dried cranberries
1 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small can of Mandarin Oranges, drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix vinegar, oil, salt and pepper together. Add sliced fennel, oranges and cranberries. Let sit either in the fridge or at room temp for a couple hours before you eat. Yummy!

Judy's Banana Bread

This is a delicious and easy recipe for Banana Bread that a co worker, named Judy, gave me about 5 years ago. I am not a baker by any means, i seem to mess up even the easiest cookie recipes but i have managed to make this banana bread over and over again and its always perfect! The other thing reason i love to make this bread is because everytime I give my son, Gavin, a banana he only eats a few bites of it, so i started throwing the rest of the banana in a ziplock bag and sticking in the freezer. When i have three or four bananas I thaw them in the microwave and they are ready for the recipe and actually a little sweeter and easier to mash than before they were frozen. Hope you enjoy this recipe!






Judy's Banana Bread

2 1/2 C. all purpose flour 3 tbs. vegetable oil
1 C. sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 C. milk 1 tsp. nutmeg
3-4 Bananas 1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 egg
*nuts are optional...use about 1/2 c. of your favorite nut*

Mash bananas and sugar together, add sugar, milk, vanilla and the egg. Mix untill well combined...then add flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir just untill dry ingredients are incorporated. Pour batter into a greased and floured bread pan and bake for 45 -60 minutes...untill top is deep golden brown.

My Mom's Wontons

I don't know what else to call these yummy wontons, I ate them throughout my childhood as my mom would make them for dinner quite often, so i think the title is appropriate. They are basically meatballs wrapped in a wonton skin, fried untill golden and dipped in a very basic sauce made of vinegar, soy sauce and water. If you don't like vinegar then this sauce won't be for you but they would be equally as delicious dipped in sweet and sour sauce. This is how my mom always prepared them...

Use about a pound of ground beef (you could use ground chicken if you wanted), make little meatballs using about a tablespoon of meat in each one. Place the meatballs on a plate thats covered with a couple paper towels and microwave them for about four or five minutes, this will drain most of the fat away and pretty much cook the meatballs just enough. (You could bake them in the even but that just takes more time.) Then wrap each meatball in a wonton skin, use a little bit of water to moisten the edges of the wrapper and bring the corners together and seal tightly. Fry the wontons in hot vegetable oil untill golden brown.

To make the dipping sauce just combine 2 tbs. white vingar, 3 tbs. soy sauce and 7 tbs. water. Drop in some thinly sliced green onions.

Chinese Chicken Salad

This is the perfect salad for summer! It is light and delicious with sweet and salty flavors in the dressing, I promise you will love this asian style salad! Honestly, the dressing is what makes it so fantastic so you can switch up the ingredients to the salad itself any way you like. I have made it with toasted almonds, green onions, and crunched up ramen noodles instead of wonton wrappers and its just as delicious! Just don't mess with the dressing because that is perfect the way it is:)


CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD
2 small or 1 large head of Romaine Lettuce
2 carrots, shredded
1 can Mandarin Oranges
2 Chicken Breast, cooked however you prefer
Wonton Wrappers or Chinese Noodles, fried

Combine all ingredients in large salad bowl and top with dressing right before serving. Enjoy!

Dressing
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
3 tbsp white or rice vinegar

Just whisk or shake all ingredients untill well combined.

Rustic Cherry Peach Crostata

A "Crostata" is a baked Italian dessert...a rustic tart of sorts. The crust is flaky like a pie crust and the filling, well thats all up to you! The possibilities are endless when it comes to what you put in the middle. This was my first homemade crostada but will definitley not be my last, i made this one with a creamcheese, fresh peach and cherry filling. It was absolutley delicious and my favorite thing about it is that it is not supossed to look perfect like a pie crust...it is meant to be rustic or country looking so you just fold the edges over and it looks gorgeous!

Rustic Cherry Peach Crostata

Crust Recipe

1 c. Flour

1/8 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick cold butter, diced

3 tlb ice water

Place flour, sugar and salt into food processor, pulse to combine. Added diced cold butter and pulse untill butter is the size of peas and mixture is crumbly. Slowly add ice water while pulsing untill mixture begins to form a ball. Remove from processor and cover with plastic wrap, form into a disc and leave in refergerator for at least one hour.

After an hour, roll the dough into roughly an 11 inch circle that is about a 1/4 inch thick. Spread creamcheese mixture (recipe below) all over the unbaked crust, place sliced peaches and cherries ontop of creamcheese filling. Fold the edges of the crust over (about an inch of crust all the way around). The more rustic looking the better here! Place on greased cookie sheet and bake @425 for about 25 minutes or untill sides and bottom are golden brown.

Garden Egg Crepes

Mother's Day this year i ended up having breakfast at Ihop...i ordered the "Garden Crepes" they were really delicious but ten bucks for two small crepes with not much filling in them, i figured i could do better! This is what i came up with...i added herbs to the crepes themselves and added scrambeled eggs to the filling inside. I served them to Madeline when she was stayed the night at my house and she really liked them...we ate way too much but it was well worth it!

I didn't measure anything...just use your own judgement...add more if you're feeding more people or less if its just one or two eating. Slice and Saute mushrooms. When sauteing mushrooms you should not add salt untill your mushrooms are nicely browned...thats how you get good mushroom flavor. If you add the salt before they are done, the water will be drawn out of the mushrooms and they will just soften and never brown.


Add a big bunch of fresh spinach(this shrinks down soooooo much so add quite a bit more than you think you would need). You could use thawed and drained frozen spinach if you wanted.



Add scrambled eggs... and cook untill done.





This is a basic crepe recipe that i added fresh parsley and dill to. I think it just adds a little more fresh flavor.



Crepe recipe:

1 large egg
1 cup Milk
1 tbs butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
a couple tbs of fresh chopped herbs of your choice

Just blend all ingredients together and use a 1/4 cup of the batter for each crepe. Heat pan over low/med heat, lightly brush the pan with some oil and pour 1/4 of the batter in the center of pan. turn and rotate pan untill the batter thinly coates the bottom of your pan, they only take maybe 30 seconds on each side to cook.

Fill the Crepes with the scrambled egg and spinach mixture roll up and top with Hollandaise sauce(i just used the dry mix). Garnish with crispy,crumbled bacon and more parsley if you desire!

Enjoy!

A delicious combination in every bite!

Strawberry Salsa

Strawberry Salsa
I am sure you have heard of Mango Salsa and Peach Salsa...but here is a delicious Strawberry Salsa recipe that will blow you away! It's sweet, tart, a little spicy and very pretty. I think it is perfect for the summer because it is so refreshing and light. We had it with tortilla chips but i also served it over grilled chicken for dinner and that was even better!
Here is the recipe:
2 C. Strawberries, diced
2 tbsp. diced white or yellow onion
2 tsp. jalepeno, seeded and diced
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (more if you like the flavor)
1 tsp. lime zest
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything and let all of the flavors combine for at least 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Baked Garlic Cheese Grits

Grits are a southern favorite and can be prepared in so many different and delicious ways. If you have never tried grits, this recipe is a great to start with as long as you love garlic and cheese! This can be served for breakfast with eggs along side or as a sidedish for lunch or dinner.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and measure out one cup of quick cooking grits.

Bring 3 cups of chicken or beef stock to a boil and whisk in the grits, stir to get any lumps out. Add a pinch 1/2 tsp of garlic salt,1/2 tsp of pepper, and a pinch of Cayenne Pepper. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 8 minutes.


Stir in 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of milk, and two eggs (beaten),stir untill cheese is melted and mixture is thick and creamy.



Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with Italian Style Breadcrumbs or more cheddar cheese for a cheesy crust. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or untill edges and bottom are golden brown.




You can serve topped with sour cream and salsa on top for a mexican twist too, either way you will find this dish to be extremely delicious and comforting.

Chicken and Dumplings

Honestly, this dish tastes so much better than it looks.
I served it with rice but it would be great with mashed potatoes or noodles.

Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken breasts
1/2 c. diced carrots
1/2 c. diced onion
1/2 c. diced celery
1/3 c. frozen peas
dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste
4 c. chicken broth

Dumplings:
1 c. All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tlb. butter or margerine
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. dried dill or parsley or both

Preperation:
Boil chicken in a couple cups of water untill no longer pink inside, cut into chunks and set aside. Saute the vegetables untill softened but still a little crisp in the center, add dried herbs and seasonings. Add chicken stock and let simmer untill you have the dumpling dough ready.


To make dumplings, combine the dry ingredients and herbs then cut in the butter or margerine untill mixture is crumbly. Slowly add milk in small amounts untill you have a thick and sticky dough. With a large spoon drop balls of dough into the chicken and broth mixture, be sure not to crowd the pot too much, allow about a half inch in between each dumpling to ensure that they all cook properly. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 15 minutes...don't lift the lid or you will let the steam out! To check after 15 minutes, insert a knife or toothpick and make sure center is dry. Enjoy!

Tiramisu...Two Ways

I wish i would have taken a better picture of this fantastic dessert! This is the traditional tiramisu layered cake...with flavors of coffee, cream,chocolate and rasberries. If you have never tried Tiramisu you are in for a treat!
I had leftover ingredients after i had built my cake so i decided to make these individual portions inside these cute Martini glasses...all of the flavors are in there its just in a different form.

Tiramisu Ingredients:
6 Egg yolks
1 1/4 c. White Sugar
1 1/4 c.Mascarpone Cheese (Italian Cream cheese)
1 3/4 c. Heavy Whipping Cream (chilled)
2 (12 oz) Packages of Lady Fingers
1/3 c. Coffee Flavored Liquor such as Kahlua (you may substitute Amaretto flavored Hot Chocolate for an alcohol free version)
1 tsp. Cocoa Powder
1 (1 oz) piece of Semi-sweet Chocolate
Rasberries

Preperation:
Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over lightly boiling water. Once combined, reduce heat to low and constantly stir for about 10 minutes. Remove from double boiler and whip mixture untill thick and lemon colored.

Add Mascarpone Cheese (make sure it is at room temperature) to whipped yolks, beat untill well combined. In a seperate bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks (it helps quicken the process if your bowl and beaters are chilled). Gently fold in the yolk and mascarpone mixture and set aside.

Split lady fingers in half, length wise, line the bottom of a large cake pan and brush with the liquor or prepared hot chocolate. Cover the lady fingers with a layer of the cream filling and repeat untill you fill the cake pan. End with a layer of cream filling, to finish use a vegetable peeler to make curls of semi-sweet chocolate. Cover the top of the cake with Rasberries. Cover and chill in the referigerator overnight or at least 3 or 4 hours. Enjoy!

**Mascarpone Cheese is a little expensive, about 5 dollars for a one cup portion, and may be hard to find in your grocery store so here is a substitution that you can use if you choose to...

THIS WOULD BE EQUAL TO 10 OZ OF MASCARPONE CHEESE

Combine 1 (8 oz) pkg Cream Cheese, 1/4 C. Heavy Cream, and 2 1/2 tlb of Sour Cream (be sure not to use fat free sour cream of cream cheese.

Cranberry,Chicken and Brie Pizza

This is a delicious and unique pizza that is definately worth a try. I made if for my husband on Valentine's Day and it was a big hit...not only is it a pretty pizza but the combination of flavors from the sweet and tangy cranberry sauce to the savory brie cheese and spicy chicken all work so well together. Give it a try...you just might fall in LOVE.

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Tlb Vegetable Oil

1 12 in. Pizza Crust (homemade or store bought)

1 1/2 C. Whole berry Cranberry Sauce

6 oz. Brie Cheese

8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese

1 Jalepeno, seeded and diced

Garlic Salt to taste

Preperation:

Cut Chicken into small chunks and brown in pan with vegetable oil. Add diced jalepeno for the last couple of minutes of chicken cooking. When chicken is done...add garlic salt to your desired taste and set aside. Next add the cranberry sauce to the pizza crust, cut the Brie cheese into small pieces and scatter onto pizza...then add chicken and Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes ir untill crust in golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Adding some basil as a garnish would be great and would be beautiful with the red cranberry sauce!