BBQ Chicken Crescent Pizza

This easy "pizza" has become a staple in our house.  The recipe came from one of the winners of a contest that Rachael Ray had on her show.  We love it!

Ingredients

• 2 tubes crescent rolls
• 1 1/2 cups hickory barbeque sauce
• 1 - 2 cups cooked chicken (I usually George Forman mine and cut it up)
• 6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled or an equal amt. of bacon bits
• 2 cups cheddar or colby jack cheese, shredded
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
• 1 sandwich-size resealable bag 
• Sliced fresh avacado

Heat oven to 375˚F.

Roll the crescent rolls out and place them on a cookie sheet. Pinch 2 sheets together in the middle to create 1 large dough. Bake 8-11 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and turn on broiler.

Spread the barbeque sauce over dough. Sprinkle the chicken, bacon and cheese over the top. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine the ranch dressing and chili powder in a small bowl. Pour into re-sealable bag and cut off a small tip at the end of the bag to make a pastry bag. Drizzle the dressing over the top and garnish with the scallions and avacado.

Cut into squares and enjoy

---

Strawberry Cake

It wasn't until the last piece was left that I remembered to snap a picture...so please know this is absolutely delicious despite the sloppiness.

I was in Walmart the other day and they had their large containers of strawberries on sale for 75 cents each, so I grabbed a few. I couldn't wait to make my favorite strawberry dessert {for the easter dinner postlude} and have extra for this divine smoothie by Ariel.

Strawberry Cake Recipe:

Make a white cake mix as directed and put in 9X13 pan. Bake and cool.

Take 1 package of Strawberry Danish Dessert and make as directed {pie glaze}.

Clean and thinly slice a large container of fresh strawberries.

When Danish Dessert is cool, add strawberries.

8 oz. cream cheese

1-1/2 cups of whipping cream {not imitation}

2 cups of powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together, then add 1/2 cup whip cream, mix well. Then add another 1/2 cup of whip cream, mix well, then add the rest of the whip cream and mix well. Beat until stiff peaks form and don't fall. Spread on top of cooled cake, then strawberry glaze.

May be made the night before.

Yummy Sweet Peppers, Garlic, Onion and Olive Oil [Cook Challenge: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking]

Sorry, I don't actually know the actual name for this dish. So I called it what it is. Four ingredients, that's it. I recently visited my cousin's family in the DC area. Her husband is a born and bred Italian. So she's picked up the yummiest recipes over the years when she visits his family in Italy. Our challenge was to cook from scratch. I'll admit, it's an easy one for me because that's really all I do. But here's what I've been making for my lunches since I returned from vacation. (Leftovers store well.)

A while back Gina posted the Catenzaro Italian Spaghetti & Sausage recipe. In her words, "don't be surprised by how easy the recipe is, and how few ingredients there are." The same goes here folks. Really, everything I've learned from my cousin's mother-in-law, via my cousin, has only a couple ingredients and it is SO good and flavorful. So here's how you make this one.

Ingredients:
One bag of mini sweet peppers from Costco (of course you can get them anywhere)
One onion (I've used regular yellow or white or sweet Walla Walla - they all work)
3 bulbs Garlic (that's the full bulb, not a little clove - but put in what you are comfortable with)
Olive Oil

Instructions:
I slice the onion first, do the painful thing and get any possible tears out of the way first. Slice, don't chop. Place in the pan.

(I figure you don't need an image of a sliced onion...)

I clean off the garlic skins, cut off the ends and then cut each bulb in half (the really big ones in three maybe.) But you want big pieces of garlic. This isn't really the seasoning, it's part of the dish. You'll cook it so long, the garlic chunks will be soft and sweet - SO good. This one you do chop so to say. Add to the pan.

Big chunks of garlic

Cut of the tops and bottoms of the peppers, slice 'em in half and clean out the guts (you know, the seeds and the white stuff) and slice the long way (top to bottom). They are mini peppers so you won't have terribly long slices, but again, slice, don't chop. Add to pan.

Lots of peppers
Get a good mix of yellow, orange and red

Now I eyeball the olive oil. This isn't Rachel Ray adding a couple swigs of EVOO to the pan. You need to coat the veggies. I add enough to make the veggies shine. (To quote Cristian, my cousin's hubbie, "the best part is the sauce.") I'd say the more sauce the better but this is oil, so you don't want pools on the bottom of the pan. Remember as the veggies cook down, they do add some of their own juices to the sauce.

Hopefully you can kind of see the glistening of the olive oil coated veggies

I simmer in the covered pan (don't want to lose any liquids... sauce...) at medium heat for about 20 minutes, and then I allow it to cook, still covered, at low heat for at least 40 minutes. At first, you'll really smell the garlic and the onion, but about 40 minutes in, the sweet smell starts to really come out. Cook for about an hour in all or longer if you want, stirring or tossing the veggies every ten minutes or so.

I added extra sauce to this plate, just so you could see it.

You should get enough extra sauce if served with a spoon.
Hopefully you get the idea.
Serve with bread (you need something to dip in the sauce.)

Enjoy.

ps: if you can think of a better name, I'm open for suggestions.

Veggie Pizza

This is a great appetizer!

For the bottom crust: Crescent Rolls (sheet) using a 9x13 pan
Cook at 375* until golden brown

Cream layer:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Cut any vegetables
(For mine, I used broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, shredded carrots and topped it off with shredded cheese)

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

 We really like this soup and think it tastes close enough to the real thing to pass in our books!

1 lb italian sausage
3 large potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 can bacon bits
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped (i've even used spinach in a pinch but the kale gives it a much heartier feel, which i like better)
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup heavy whipping cream

cook and crumble sausage, drain grease

combine onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in a pot and cook over med heat until potatoes are tender

add sausage and bacon bits

salt and pepper to taste

simmer for another 10 min or so

turn to low heat and add kale and cream

heat through, serve and enjoy!