Zucchini-Roasted Red Pepper Pizza

Seriously delicious! I will most definitely make this again. Next time I think I will skip the red pepper flakes so the kids can enjoy it as well. The flavors in this recipe were amazing, but a little too spicy for young children. The recipe is from Rachael Ray's book, 30 Minute Meals 2.

Zucchini-Roasted Red Pepper Pizza
1 (14 oz) jar roasted red peppers
1/2 lb. refrigerated pizza dough
1 T. corn meal
1 1/2 c. smoked gouda, shredded
1//2 medium zucchini, very thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 t. dried Italian seasoning
coarse salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Drain peppers and grind into a paste using a food processor. Dust pizza dough with corn meal and spread onto pizza pan. Spread pepper paste onto dough. Top with shredded cheese.
Place thinly sliced zucchini in small bowl and combine with remaining ingredients. Toss well and evenly coat.
Arrange zucchini on pizza, but do not overlap. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Stone Fruit Bars

These are delicious! Fabulous right out of the oven and even better when cooled down. The recipe is from Brown Eyed Baker. She originally made the recipe with peaches only, but I had peaches and plums on hand. This worked out great, the peaches were slightly more tart than the plums. Mmmmmm! Fall is here!

Stone Fruit Bars

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten

5 cups diced or sliced peaches and/or plums (about 7 peaches)
2 T. lemon juice
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
¼ t. salt
½ t. ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted)

Preheat the oven to 375 . Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

For the dough- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Press half of the dough into the pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

For the filling- Place peaches and/or plums in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the fruit and mix gently.

Spread the fruit mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the fruit layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Fajita Burgers

My Rachael Ray marathon continues. This recipe was a hit! The recipe is from Rachael Ray's 30 minute Get Real Meals.

Beef Fajita Burgers:

1 1/3 pounds ground sirloin

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

2-3 tablespoons fresh picked thyme leaves, several sprigs

Several drops hot sauce

1 tablespoon grill seasoning (such as Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Combine ingredients in bowl and mix well using hands. Divide into 4 patties and drizzle with oil before grilling or broiling. Cook to desired doneness. Serve withseared pepper and onions on a tortilla.

Seared Peppers and Onions:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 red or green bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise

1 medium yellow skinned onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 jalapeno or serrano, seeded and chopped (I omitted)

2 cups tomatillo, green chili salsa or chipotle-tomato salsa, your choice (I used garlic-lime salsa as my husband is allergic to cilantro)

Heat skillet to medium heat and warm oil. Add peppers and onions and cook about 5 minutes. Add salsa and stir well. Cook an additional minute and serve with burgers.

Greta and Miles rating: They both loved this. They ate the meat really fast and wanted more!

Cauliflower-Pumpkin Pasta

Mmmmmmm! I thought I hated cauliflower...this was really, really delicious-not too bad for you and very easy to whip up! The recipe is another one from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Get Real Meals.
Cauliflower-Pumpkin Pasta

2 T. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 c. chicken stock or broth
salt
1/2 pound pasta (I used whole wheat penne)
1 c. pumpkin puree (*not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 c. cream or half and half
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 T. chopped fresh sage leaves (I used 1 t. dried)

Preheat large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cauliflower and stir to coat with oil and garlic. Add stock and bring to a boil. Place lid on pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender.

Boil water for pasta. Add pasta and cook to al dente.

Once pasta is cooked and cauliflower is tender, add pumpkin and cream to cauliflower. Heat through. Drain pasta and add to cauliflower and pumpkin. Add cheese, salt, pepper and sage. Toss with pasta and serve with extra Parmesan to top.

Greta and Miles rating: Miles loved this----Greta, not so much.

Macadamia-Crusted Chicken with Gorgonzola Sauce

I make a trip to the library at least once a month. Each trip, I borrow several cook books. This month, I was on a Rachael Ray kick. The recipe is from Rachael Ray's book 30 Minute Get Real Meals. This recipe originally calls for hazelnuts, but I subbed the macadamia nuts and it worked out really, really well. I used more Gorgonzola than the original also because we looooove Gorgonzola. This will definitely be one we make again! I served this with cous cous which worked out well because it allowed us to eat more of the heavenly sauce.

Macadamia-Crusted Chicken with Gorgonzola Sauce
2 T. flour
1 t. poultry seasoning
1 t. garlic powder
2 egg whites
1 c. chopped macadamia nuts (or hazelnuts)
4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 c. whole milk
3/4 c. Gorgonzola cheese (original calls for 1/2 c.)
2 t. chopped fresh sage or 1 t. dried

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix flour, poultry seasoning, and garlic powder in shallow dish. Beat egg whites in shallow dish. Place chopped nuts in 3rd shallow dish.

Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. Season breasts with salt and pepper. Turn in flour to dust breasts, next turn in egg whites and finally press into nuts on both sides. Add oil to pan and add chicken. Brown chicken 2 minutes each side until nuts are golden. Transfer to baking dish and cook in oven until chicken is cooked. 10-15 minutes.

Just before serving, warm milk over medium heat in small pot. Add cheese and melt into milk. If using dried sage, stir into sauce. Simmer 5 minutes.

To serve, place chicken on plate and pour a couple spoons of sauce over the center of each piece. Garnish with fresh sage (optional)

Greta and Miles rating: They both (3 years and 1 1 /2 years old) loved this! I'm glad they are fans of good cheese!