Recipe: The Yummiest Pizza

I haven't posted anything having to do with food in a while, but I decided to make sure to do that a couple times a week, from now on. I have a rule when I go grocery shopping, to always make sure to grab pizza dough from the bakery. It's so versatile. Of course you can make your own dough, but why? You either need an expensive mixer or a ton of counter space to make a serious mess on and who really wants to clean all that after cooking?

So, last night I wanted to make something that would take less than twenty minutes to prepare and cook in less than ten. Whatever you want to call these, mini pizzas, pizza fold overs, pizza roll ups, Sarah's pizza.. they came out amazing! By the way, I am a huge believer in changing recipes to fit what you actually have on hand, or what you personally like, so by all means, change away.

Ingredients:


pizza dough (from your local pizza shop or the bakery section of your grocery store, it'll already be divided up so for this recipes you just need one.)
4 cloves of garlic give or take
2 cups of chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan, just try to get the good stuff)
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup Pine nuts
Extra virgin olive oil
2 medium tomatoes
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degress F.
2. In a food processor, add the parsley, garlic (roughly chopped), pine nuts, and Pecorino. Pulse it together while streaming in the olive oil until you get a 'pesto-like' consistency. (Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but I tend to use parsley because I just love it.) Stir in the Ricotta and 1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper  and set aside.

3. Slice the two medium tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. Grease the sheet pan with either butter, margarine or olive oil (butter tends to work best).
5. Stretch out the pizza dough until it's roughly the size of your sheet pan. Don't worry about making it the exact size, just do the best you can. There are several videos on YouTube that can help.
6. Place the stretched out pizza dough onto the sheet pan and slice into 8 pieces.

7. Place about a tbsp of the pesto mixture onto each piece of dough and spread out evenly. Then place one slice of tomato on top of the pesto. Top the tomato with a sprinkling of Mozzarella cheese and fold over the dough to enclose the pizza.

8. Drizzle olive oil over the tops of each pizza and place sheet pan into the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Each oven's temperature varies so make sure to keep an eye on these, they cook fast!

9. Let them cool for 5 minutes, then eat!! Some of them may open up while baking like mine did, but I found that they actually look better that way!

These are delicious and easy to throw together. Please make them your own and enjoy!

cupcakes and love

Hi Everyone!
I've been extremely caught up in school the last week, no I don't get the summer off..unfortunately- but I promise to have some great posts coming this weekend! Thanks for being patient!

We celebrated my boyfriend's birthday today and with the help of my grandmother and a recipe for frosting, (that I have to take to the grave) I made these delicious cupcakes last minute and took a few photos to share with you!

They were so easy- they're gingerbread cupcakes, made in a mini muffin tin with Betty Crocker Gingerbread cake/cookie mix. The frosting is a no confectioners sugar recipe that is a lot like a few I've seen online- but it's our family's (and just slightly different), so of course I have to say it's better!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Obsession

The Forever 21 necklaces I ordered came in yesterday and I couldn't be happier! I'm definitely ordering more, the prices are just too good!

I have to say that Modcloth has a great selection also, make sure to visit their site to check out all they have to offer!

By the way, I tried out a couple recipes on Mother's Day and they were delicious so I'm passing them on!

Spinach and goat cheese Tarts
Tex-Mex Corn Wontons

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Empanada Love

I'm finally doing a recipe post!
These are so easy to make, and are great for lunch or dinner. Empanadas are also amazing for breakfast, just be creative! You can fill them with anything!

Empanadas:

Ingredients:

10 frozen empanada discs- I promise these are perfect. (found in the freezer section with the ethnic foods)
1 lb ground beef (can substitute turkey!)
1 cup of frozen corn
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1/4 stick butter (unsalted)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1.Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, and defrost the empanada discs (just take out of freezer about an hour before you start to make the filling).
2. Start with the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add the chopped onion and stir.
4. Mince the garlic and add after the onions have started to become translucent. (If you add the garlic at the same time as the onions, it will burn). Let them saute together for a minute or two, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the ground beef and frozen corn-break up the ground beef with a wooden spoon and give the ingredients a stir.
6. Add the thyme, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt and pepper, and stir together. Make sure to season to taste( obviously not tasting until the meat is cooked through :)). I never follow a recipe exactly as it says to. So season to your liking.
7. Let the meat cook through completely. When cooked, turn off the heat and cover until ready to fill discs.
8. In a small saucepan melt the butter and set aside
9. In a small bowl, crack 1 egg, lightly beat and set aside. Have a pastry brush on hand!
10. Have a sheet pan ready for laying filled empanadas on. (I usually line the sheet pan with foil and grease it to make sure they don't stick.)
11. Roll out each empanada disc- just slightly larger than their original size.
12. Brush the egg wash around the outside of the disc. Fill the disc with 2 tbsp of filling. Fold over to make a half-moon shape and with a fork seal/pinch the rim all the way around to seal shut.
13. Once they are are filled and layed out on the sheet pan (about a 1/2 inch apart), brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper (just to season the outside).
14. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden and crispy. Then try not to eat all of them!

Hope you like these! I'm so excited that I finally got a recipe post done!
If anyone has any cooking questions or recipes requests please let me know! Cooking is my second love and I actually know a good deal about it, thanks!