Pizza

Over the past couple of years, I've tried hard to eat better -- less sweets, and sadly, less pizza.  I remember the days when pizza was delivered and on the menu at least once a week. 

This week I was grocery shopping and saw some Hannaford’s wheat pizza crust in the refrigerator section.  I grabbed a package and decided to try it out. Well, it’s football season and bad food is all around us.  How much cheese can we actually stuff into a pizza crust anyway?

Tonight I decided to give it a try.  I had some artichoke hearts in the fridge, and took out some homemade chorizo sausage from the freezer this morning.  I always have dried porcini mushrooms on hand and a red onion completed the ingredients.

The end result is amazing – crispy crust and the perfect combination of toppings equals pizza bliss!!

1 pkg refrigerated wheat pizza crust

½ cup porcini mushrooms

    (I used dried mushrooms and soaked them in warm water)

¾ cup artichoke hearts broken into pieces

¾ cup chorizo or other spicy Italian sausage, cooked
¾ cup red onion, thinly sliced

Mixture of cheeses – you can include sharp cheddar, Parmesan, Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheeses

Take the pizza dough out of the package and cover both sides with flour.  Stretch out the dough on the pan you’ll be cooking it on (I use a pizza stone and lightly rubbed olive oil on the stone first).  Spread the dough with some sauce (I used Bove’s Mushroom and Wine Sauce) and then layered the onions, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sausage.  I topped it off with a mixture of cheeses – basically what I had on hand but my main recommendations would be mozzarella and some Parmesan. 

Bake it at 450 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is crisp and the cheese melted.  

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

My mom made the most amazing macaroni and cheese.  It's one of those great, timeless recipes that takes you back to a very homey, comforting time in your life.   Heather reminded me of that this week.  I haven't made it for a long time because it's loaded with butter, flour, cheese and pasta (don't even try wheat pasta -- that wouldn't make it with this dish).  

I cut out the ham and the Ritz crackers but sprinkled it with some paprika.  I used Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar and added some parmesan cheese to the mix so it's slightly different from Mom's original recipe.

It was beyond amazing and there's even some heading to the fridge.  Thanks, Mom!!!

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

2  tbsp dijon mustard

3 cups macaroni

1 cup chopped ham

2 ½ cups milk

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

¼ cups Ritz crackers, crumbled

Cook the macaroni and set aside.  Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour and mustard.  Whisk until blended and then add the milk and heat until slightly thickened.  Add the cheddar and parmesan cheeses and mix until smooth and thick.  Add the ham and macaroni.  Place into a baking dish, sprinkle with cracker crumbs and cook at 375 for approximately 30 minutes.