Caprese Pizza

Adapted from: Culinary Cory

We finally figured out perfect success with a pizza stone! Put the stone in the oven then preheat the oven (the stone needs to heat up with the oven). Use a cookie sheet without an edge or a large cutting board that has a slide edge to prepare the pizza. Cover the cookie sheet or cutting board heavily with corn meal. Spread the dough on top of the corn meal and prepare your pizza. When ready to bake, slide the dough off the sheet/board and onto the stone. Then wait for the perfect crust!

Ingredients:

• corn meal
• 16 oz. pizza dough
• 1 cup spinach leaves, loosely packed
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

To make balsamic reduction:

Bring balsamic vinegar and sugar to a boil in a small sauce pan while stirring constantly for 5 minutes, or until the volume is reduced in half. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put pizza stone into the oven at this time. Spread corn meal and then dough onto cutting board. Layer dough with spinach leaves, basil, and tomatoes. Top with mozzarella. When oven is hot, carefully slide dough onto pizza stone. Bake for approx. 15 minutes.

Drizzle balsamic reduction over cooked pizza. Salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 3 servings

Tomatoes, Broccoli, and Chickpea Pasta

Adapted from Cheap, Healthy, Good

We've been planning this meal for a couple of weeks, and with the weekend we finally got a chance to cook it. But even tonight there was a little delay. Late this afternoon there was a tornado watch for our county, so we flipped on the news to watch the forecast for the incoming storm. When the weatherman said the tornado was headed to hit west Greenville on its course through eastern NC, we darted to the clubhouse and took shelter in the gym bathroom with 4 other friends, a neighbor, and his 2 dogs. After waiting it out there until the coast was clear, it was already late into the night, but we were so ready for this meal! It's a simple recipe and made for a great dinner, especially accompanied by breathtaking heat lightning and a full moon.

Ingredients:

• 1 14.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained
• 1 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1 12-oz. bag steamable broccoli
• 2 1/2 cups pasta shells
• 1/2 small yellow onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• Ground black pepper
• Grated parmesan, optional

Directions:

Fill a medium-size bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes. Microwave a steamable bag of broccoli for about one minute under the recommended time, then drop broccoli into bowl of ice water. After a few minutes, drain and set broccoli aside.

In a small bowl, stir chickpeas with 1/2 tbsp. olive oil. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, for 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and chickpeas and cook until heated, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and broccoli. Salt and pepper to taste. Once warm, add pasta to the skillet and mix well. Once heated through, serve and enjoy! Sprinkle parmesan on top if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

View from our deck as we watched the far away storm:

Linguine with Herb Chicken and Roasted Tomatoes

Adapted from Skinny Taste

We love delicious and easy pastas, and this meal definitely fits that description! This dish is a break from traditional spaghetti, with its own garlic and olive oil sauce perfected with grape tomatoes and chicken.


Ingredients:

• 2 skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil (and to taste)
• salt and pepper for taste
• 8 oz. linguine
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed and coarsely chopped
• 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Season chicken with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken on high heat for approx. 3-4 minutes, or until no longer pink. Once chicken is cooked, remove from skillet and cut into bite size cubes.

Boil water and cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, use the same skillet from the chicken and heat olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and saute until golden brown. Then add tomatoes and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes. When pasta is cooked, drain, and add to the skillet. Toss well and add the chicken.

Serve with grated cheese and a sprinkle of basil on top if desired.

Yield: 4 servings