Pampered Chef's Veggie Pizza

I've had this pizza once before, and I thought it was amazing. It's usually served as an appetizer, but I knew my family would accept it just fine as a quick lunch after church. Today, I baked the crust when I got up and assembled later in the day when we were ready to eat. It's super fast to prepare when the crust is already cool and ready to go!

Here is the recipe (adapted from www.pamperedchef.com,)

2 8 oz packages of crescent rolls
1 8 oz brick of cream cheese (softened)
1.5 tablespoons of mayo
1.5 tablespoons of sour cream
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of dill
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of assorted veggies (very finely diced)
1/4 cup of grated cheese

(For my veggies, I used broccoli and carrot slaw and broccoli crowns. I intended on adding radishes, but I forgot to buy them! I definitely recommend using "dry" veggies to keep everything from getting soggy. That way, leftovers will hold up just fine in the fridge for a day or so.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into sixteen triangles. On a baking stone arrange triangles in a circle with points in the center and wide ends toward the outside. (I placed mine around the edges and let them overlap a little. I filled the center with a leftover crescent, and I had two leftover that I rolled and baked when I baked my crust.) Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to press the seams together. Trim any excess. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.

1. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and dill weed. Season with salt and black pepper; mix well.. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust.
2. Dice all of the veggies in to a fine dice.
3. Sprinkle vegetables and grated cheese over pizza.
4. Slice and serve!

Salsa Con Queso Macaroni

I'm always so excited when I find a new recipe for my family to try. Since we eat at home almost 100% of the time, I just get soooooooooo bored with our regular menu items. I always get really discouraged when I try to find new recipes because it seems like everything is a boring version of the same thing. That being said, Mexican Mac and Cheese?!?!?! So not boring! I used this recipe from TheWellFedNewlyweds. for inspiration, and switched it up a little bit and adjusted it to feed a family of 5. This is how I made it!

Ingredients

1 lb large macaroni shells pasta
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, diced
 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, chopped (I left it in big pieces, so my kids could pick it out.)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 T. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
6 T. cream cheese, diced
16 oz. Monterey jack cheese, shredded, divided
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 box of Tyson grilled chicken strips
Salt, pepper and lime zest to taste

Directions -

Boil pasta as directed. Follow the "al dente" instructions.

While your pasta is boiling, in a separate pan, saute onion and jalapeno over medium heat until your onion is translucent. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder and flour. Once this mixture is warmed through, and milk, chicken, cream cheese, 12 oz of cheese, salt, pepper and lime zest. Stir until your cheese sauce is hot and melted through. Next, add your tomatoes and pour over your drained pasta. Stir everything together and spread in an 8x10 pan. Bake for 25ish minutes until it is hot and the cheese on top is melted.

There are a lot of ways you could mix this up! Next time, I will definitely add spinach. You could also swap out the chicken for ground beef. In a pinch, I think you could easily switch out the spices and veggies for a cup or so of jarred salsa. I love how adaptable this is!

I served mine with Pineapple and Avocado Pico de Gallo, and it was a hit! We enjoyed restaurant quality food without the restaurant price!

Pineapple and Avocado Pico

A friend of mine made pineapple and avocado salsa for our Bible Study last summer. I was skeptical at first, but I was blown away by how delicious it was. When I asked her for the recipe, she basically said she didn't have one and made me guess what was in it! Ha! It's been so long since I had it that I didn't remember exactly how she made it anyway! I just sort of "winged it," and it is just as good as the first time I had it. Here is how I made it,

Ingredients -

1 pineapple, diced
3 avocados, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 lime (zest and juice)
2 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

(I considered using a jalapeno, but I opted not to. You could totally add one if you want something more spicy!)

Instructions --

(Are you ready for this?)

Combine ingredients and stir!

This makes a good sized batch to share at a party or take on a picnic! I will serve this as an appetizer before a new dinner we are trying out tonight, but I'm thinking we will use any leftovers on black bean tacos tomorrow. It's going to be awesome!

See more recipes at www.beautyandbedlam.com.

Favorite Recipes from Easters Past

I haven't decided quite yet what recipes I will be making for our Easter dinner this year, but I did promise I'd take dessert! Stay tuned on that one! I'm trying to minimize what work I am doing this year because I have little people singing in the choir in three services this year, so I think I'll stick only to two desserts. If you're looking for inspiration, here are some of our other favorites! I just won't be making them this year!


Ina Garten's Mocha Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake
 

Charoset (Apples and Walnut Salad)


Paula Deen's Banana Pudding