Valentine's Day Cheeseburger Pizza

Yes, I know.  It's well past Valentine's Day.  I just couldn't help but share with you guys what I made for Andy on Valentine's Day.

And some of you may turn your nose up to some of the ingredients... well, one in particular - Velveeta.  Yes, I know, it's not real cheese.  But to Andy.  It is real cheese.  In fact, he thinks it's the best cheese.  While we don't obviously share the same opinion regarding this, Valentine's Day is a day of love.  And because I love that man, regardless of his food and cheese preferences, I set my food snobbishness (or well, real sensibility, hehe) aside, and made this heart-shaped pizza for him using one of his favorite things... Velveeta.

Hope you guys have a great weekend, and I promise to post those Nutella cupcakes next week!



Ingredients:
Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe

2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 & 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. meatballs, about 10-15 (you can use homemade or frozen - just make sure to defrost them a little if they're frozen), chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup Pecorino-Romano cheese, grated
1/2 cup homemade tomato soup, or sauce (I made a tomato soup recently that had a pizza sauce taste, so I used that)
1/2 onion, sliced
4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese, chopped
1/2 cup pepperjack cheese, shredded

Start by making the crust. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Add the warm water and oil.  Mix until the dough is smooth.  Add additional flour if dough is still sticky.

Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until dough becomes elastic and smooth.  Cover with a warm damp towel and let rise for about 10-15 minutes.

In a large skillet, cook the chopped meatballs and garlic.  Season with salt and peppper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 450 F.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a large circle, about 1/4 inch thick.  Or if you like a thicker crust, you can always make a smaller circle.  If you want to be cutesy like me, you can make the circle into a heart shape, but it's not necessary.

Roll the edges slightly to form a thicker outer edge.  Poke the dough with a fork. 

Place crust on a greased baking stone or baking sheet.  Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned. 

Sprinkle the crust with the pecorino cheese and top with tomato sauce/soup.  Add meatball/garlic mixture, onion, chopped bacon, and Velveeta and pepperjack. 

Bake the pizza for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.  Slice and serve.

Seriously.  This was a 'man' pizza.  Andy said he liked it a lot.  I could give or take on it.  We both agreed that the crust was different and unusual.  Not something you associate a pizza crust with being, but it was pretty tasty.  The toppings, of course, could be alternated to suit your tastes.  This was a winner in Andy's book, and seriously, that's all that mattered to me. =) 

So have a great weekend guys and I'll see you back on Monday!

Meatball Subs

Happy Friday everyone!  I'm definitely ready for the weekend.  This weekend, especially, because it's Andy's Birthday!  He'll be 32 years old!  He definitely doesn't look his age, and sure as hell doesn't act it either!  But I love him either way and have some special things planned for him!  I'll definitely update you guys on Monday!

Oh, and as a side note, I won a contest!  "FoodieBlogRoll's Comment to Win a Mello's Chourico Sausage Sample Pack" contest, to be exact!  So soon, I'll be enjoying a sample pack of Mello's hot chourico, chourico franks, and buffalo chicken chourico!  I'm pretty stoked and can't wait to see what crazy recipes I come up with using them!  Definitely check out their site if you're a sausage fan... they've got some good stuff!  And I wasn't paid to say that, just stating my honest opinion!

As a kid, my favorite sub at Subway was the Meatball Sub.  I loved the melty cheese, soft bread, and what I thought to be delicious meatballs (I definitely have a different take on what delicious meatballs are made out of these days, but oh well!).  So I figured I'd bring back an old favorite and do my little take on a childhood fave.


Ingredients:
Adapted from A Food Lover's Journey's recipe


Meatballs:


1/2 lb. ground beef (I used the last of my homemade ground beef)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Tomato Sauce:

3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red wine

1 french baguette

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, garlic, green onions, water chestnuts, egg, sugar, salt, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.  Mix well.  Form small meatballs and place on a baking sheet.



Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until meatballs have started to brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Don't worry if they're cooked through, because they will finish cooking in the tomato sauce.

In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil under medium high heat.  Add garlic cook until fragrant, about a minute or two.  Add tomatoes and cook until juices are starting to bubble, about 2-3 minutes.  Add tomato paste, chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, red wine, salt, and pepper.  Let simmer for 2-3 more minutes and then add meatballs, along with any juices.

Simmer meatballs in the tomato sauce, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until they are fully cooked.  The sauce should be reduced and somewhat thick.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed, and remove from heat.


Cut the baguette into sandwich-sized portions and slice open lengthwise.  Spoon a few meatballs onto baguette and top with sauce.  You could definitely add some mozzarella cheese in there too, but I chose just to have it plain and enjoy it's simplicity!  Serve with chips along side, or feel free to have a different side!

This was definitely delicious!  Different from Subway's version, that's for sure!

What were your favorite childhood eats?



Enjoy the weekend guys!

Asian Meatballs w/ Fried Rice

I'm starting to be at a crossroads in my life. I'll be turning 25 this year, and I've been in college since I was 18, still with nothing to show for it. It's starting to really bother me. I'm antsy to make something of myself, but at the same time realize it's still going to take time to accomplish that. So here in lies the crossroads. Go to pharmacy school or finish up my biology degree and go to graduate school for food science? I love both fields, I mean, I've worked for a pharmacy for about 5 years and there's nothing better than the satisfaction you get out of really making a difference in someone's life. But then again, food science! Wow, I could work in research & development in food labs. I'd be hands on with products and potentially incur the same revenue as I would as a pharmacist. Either choice would allow me to finish up about the same time, so time really isn't an issue. I think this all just came about really because I still haven't heard back from my pharmacy school application. Am I just paranoid? I need a back up plan in case all else fails, but this is just downright nerve racking! Anyway, this all has nothing to do with today's dish, really, just had to vent for a minute.


Ingredients:
Adapted from Vanilla Sugar's blog

1 lb. ground pork
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
5 garlic cloves, minced and divided
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons black bean sauce with garlic
pinch of cornstarch
pinch of powdered ginger
2 cups jasmine rice, cooked
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, chopped
1 small can water chestnuts, drained
1 small can bamboo shoots, drained
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons pad thai sauce

Whoa that's a big list of ingredients! Don't let it deter you! Most of it, if you cook enough Asian foods like me, will already be in your pantry! If not, still give it a go because it's definitely worth it!

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine pork, egg, grated onion, 3 garlic cloves, fresh ginger, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and panko bread crumbs in a medium bowl. Mix well and form about 1-2 inch meatballs.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet and brown meatballs on all sides. Do not cook all the way, just get them nice and browned. Then place on a greased baking sheet and bake in oven for about 15 minutes.

Drain most of oil off of skillet, but leave just a bit. Combine honey, black bean garlic sauce, corn starch, powdered ginger, and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce in a small bowl. Add to skillet under medium heat and cook until it bubbles and slightly thickens. Pour mixture over meatballs and coat well.

Heat up a little more canola oil in another large skillet under medium high heat and add garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or so, and add in cooked rice. Then add carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and peanuts. Mix well. Add pad thai sauce and a few dashes of soy sauce to the rice mixture. Incorporate the sauces well throughout the rice. Top with chopped green onion.

Serve meatballs on top of rice and dig in!


These were some of the most flavorful and delicious meatballs I've ever had. Definitely has one leg up on the Italian variety! Enjoy!

Italian Wedding Soup

It was somewhat chilly last week. This week, somewhat different. Kind of like t-shirt and sweatpants weather. Nonetheless, I made this soup last week, when it was chilly and I wanted a warm up. It's a pretty straight forward soup, and the flavors are just spot on. And by the way, sorry for the lack of updating lately. It's getting to be the end of the semester and seems like professors want to jam pack everything all at the end, so I've been super busy... but yet I've still been cooking up a storm! Just not posting them as frequently. Thanksgiving Break will come as a relief and I'm sure many many posts.

Ingredients:
adapted from Rachel Ray's recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 & 1/2 cups mixture of bowtie and elbow macaroni pasta
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and drained

This is a pretty simple recipe and can be done in a flash when you have that craving for the perfect soup.

Heat the oil under medium heat in a deep pot. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cover pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring about once or twice in between.

While you're waiting for the veggies, you can make your mini-meatballs. Combine the ground beef, egg, garlic, cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Uncover your pot of vegetables and add in broth and water. Increase heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to low once mixture comes to a boil.

Form mini meatballs with the meat mixture and as each one is done, drop into liquid. When all of meat mixture is used up add in pasta and stir. Cover the pot, increase heat just a tad, and cook for about 10 minutes, when your pasta is al dente or to your liking. Once your pasta is tender, add in the spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.

This is great with a nice piece of crunchy bread or all by itself! The flavors "marry" so well together, and that's why it's called Italian WEDDING Soup. Enjoy!