Reuben Pizza

We had leftover corned beef after I had made it in the slow cooker.  I wanted to make something with the leftovers, instead of just serving leftover corned beef.  So, I thought that I'd make a pizza since our family loves pizza so much.  My husband and I came up with the ingredients and discussed how I would make it.  As much as I love a good reuben every now and then I don't really like seeded rye bread.  I had to draw the line when my husband suggested that we add caraway seeds to the dough!  Overall, I think this sounded better in concept than it tasted.  Although my husband really enjoyed this I thought it was okay.  The kids surprisingly ate this, sauerkraut and all! 

Reuben Pizza
recipe by The Busy Mom (my own recipe)

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup sauerkraut
2-3 Tbps. Thousand Island dressing (or more if you prefer)
1 cup shredded corned beef
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:
Preheat pizza stone in oven at 450 degrees F.  Roll/stretch dough into desired shape and thickness.

Brush olive oil on dough, leaving approximately a 1-inch crust.  In a small bowl mix sauerkraut and thousand island dressing (use more dressing if you want it saucier).  Spread on prepared crust. Arrange corned beef on top.  Sprinkle swiss cheese on top.

Cook in oven for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

This recipe is shared at:
Tastetastic Thursday @ A Little Nosh
Full Plate Thursday @ Mis Helen's Country Cottage
Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

The other day I posted the recipe for London Broil with Mustard-Soy Sauce.  We served the steak with broccoli and these potatoes that I put together.  Unfortunately, we had fewer potatoes on hand than we thought we had so this didn't make nearly as much as we would have liked!  I honestly didn't really measure anything....kind of threw the ingredients together and cooked.  But they turned out delicious!  I will definitely have to make these again since I definitely didn't get my fill! Next time I'll just double all of the ingredients (and make sure I have enough potatoes!) to make a larger, more appropriate amount.

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
Recipe my TheBusyMom (my own recipe)

Yield: Approximately 2 adult servings

Ingredients:
3 small Eastern potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 packet dry Ranch Dressing mix
handful of Bacos
handful of shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a gallon size plastic bag or large bowl mix potato pieces with olive oil.  Then add Ranch Dressing mix making sure potatoes are coated with oil and mix.  Pour potatoes into 1 quart baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Cook uncovered for approximately 25 minutes, mixing half-way.  Check potatoes for doneness.

3.  Once potatoes come out of the oven sprinkle cheese and Bacos on top.  Stir to combine. 

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Mexican Breakast Hash

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of different ingredients left over that I thought would make a great breakfast for dinner meal.  Breakfast for dinner is always a huge hit in our house and I'm guaranteed that the kids will eat all of their dinner.  This dish was no exception.  The chorizo was a little spicy for them but otherwise they enjoyed this.  I know hash is normally made with fried eggs.  My husband made some fried eggs for his when he got home.  But since I hate egg yolks, (especially runny ones) I made scrambled eggs for the kids and I.  This was a nice hearty meal that used a bunch of leftover ingredients up!

Mexican Breakfast Hash
my own recipe

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Eastern potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 chorizo link, casing removed and crumbled
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa (more for topping)
 shredded cheddar cheese for topping
6-8 eggs scrambled

Directions:
Heat oil in cast iron skillet (or large frying pan) over medium heat. 

Add potatoes and onions and cook until browned, stirring every once in awhile for approximately 20 minutes.

Add chorizo crumbles and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add black beans and salsa and cook for 3-5 minutes until heated through. 

Spoon hash on plate, pile scrambled eggs on top, top with a couple of pinches of cheese and additional salsa if desired.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am a recipe follower.  I am not very creative in coming up with my own flavor combinations and knowing what goes with what.  My husband, a.k.a. "The Weekend Chef" on the other hand loves to throw things together and somehow, more often than not, it comes out amazingly good.  But, don't ask him to make it exactly the same or how much of an ingredient he used!  So, I was very proud of myself when I came up with the following recipe on my own (well, maybe not exactly on my own....)  I know, baking is more exact than just experimenting with something for dinner.  But I knew I wanted to make banana chocolate chip muffins and when I went looking for a new recipe to try, they all called for ingredients that I didn't have.  Looking at many different muffin recipes (not just banana chocolate chip ones!) I kind of combined and tried bits and pieces of many different recipes to get the muffin base.  Overall, I was very happy with this recipe, as were the kids, although as seen in the picture below they came out a little flat!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
The Busy Mom (my own recipe!)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Using mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamed, then add eggs one at a time.

3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a small bowl. 

4.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the yogurt into the sugar mixture until mixed well.

5.  Fold in the bananas and chocolate chips.

6.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

*This made 18 muffins for me.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Caramelized Onion, Pear, and Goat Cheese Pizza and Veggie Pizza

Here are the other two pizzas that we made for lunch last week.  Four pizzas was way too much for four adults, but it left us with plenty of leftovers!

Caramelized Onion, Pear, and Goat Cheese Pizza
by The Busy Mom and the Weekend Chef (us!)

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
flour, as needed
1 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 Anjou pears, sliced thin
1 large onion, sliced thin
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1. Heat pizza stone in oven preheated to 450 degrees F.

2.  Roll out pizza dough, using flour as needed, to shape and thickness of your preference.

3. Add 2 Tbsp. of butter to a small frying pan, on medium-low heat. Cook onions for approximately 20 minutes until browned.

4.  Brush olive oil onto pizza crust.  Spread pears and caramelized onions on dough.  Sprinkle with the goat cheese crumbles.

5.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, until crust is crispy.

Adult Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Veggie Pizza
by The Busy Mom and The Weekend Chef (us!)

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
flour, as needed
3/4 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup canned tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup fresh broccoli florets,cut small
3/4 (6.5 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced

Directions:
1. Heat pizza stone in oven preheated to 450 degrees F.

2. Roll out pizza dough, using flour as needed, to shape and thickness of your preference.

3. In large saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add sliced onions and broccoli florets.  Saute 5-7 minutes until onions are soft and broccoli is cooked.

4.  Spread sauce onto dough.  Add the onion, broccoli, olives, and mushrooms.  Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.

5.  Cook in oven for 10-12 minutes until crust is crsipy.

Adult Rating: 2 thumbs up!

BBQ Chicken Pizza and White Pizza

We had friends come over for lunch last Monday (MLK day) and decided to make a variety of pizzas and a garden salad for lunch.  It was fun trying to come up with different pizzas and they were all pretty easy to make.  We took the dough out early in the morning which my husband said made it much easier to roll out. We highly recommend using a pizza stone, to give your pizza a nice, evenly cooked, crunchy crust.  If you don't have one (and we only have one stone, so only 2 of our pizzas were cooked on the stone!) it's fine, the bottom just was a bit soggy. Will definitely be making some of these again when we're not in the mood for the same old cheese pizza! The kids just had plain pizza, which I know they like, and which also left more leftovers for us!  Our friends loved all of the pizzas as much as we did, so they are all getting two thumbs up!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
By The Busy Mom and The Weekend Chef (us!)

Ingredients:
1 store pizza dough
flour as needed
1 tsp. olive oil
1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup bbq sauce of your choice (we used Wanda's All in One Sauce (hot) that my parents brought back to us from a trip to North Carolina)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Heat pizza stone in oven preheated to 450 degrees F.

2.  Place oil in frying pan on medium heat.  Cook chicken pieces until browned, approximately 3-4 minutes.

3. While chicken is cooking, roll out dough to the shape/thickness of your preference, using flour as needed.
3.  Spread the bbq sauce out on the crust.  Sprinkle the cooked chicken, sliced red onion, and cheddar cheese on top.

4.  Place on stone in oven and cook for 10-12 minutes until crust is crispy.

Adult Rating: two thumbs up!

White Pizza
by The Busy Mom and The Weekend Chef (us!)

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough
flour as needed
1 cup part-skim ricotta
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Heat pizza stone in oven preheated to 450 degrees F.

2. Roll out pizza dough, using flour as needed, to shape and thickness of your preference.

3.  Heat olive oil in small frying pan on medium-low heat.  Add the minced garlic and saute approximately 2-3 minutes until golden. 

4.  Mix the minced garlic with the ricotta.  Spread on the pizza dough.  Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top.

5.  Cook for 10-12 minutes until crust is crispy.

Family Rating: two thumbs up.