Raspberry and Spinach Pizza

Before you go guessing that this sounds super weird, let me assure you that it was not. It was AWESOME. I actually made 2, and my family ate all of both of them.

The original recipe I had called for pomegranate arils, but I couldn't find them out of season, so I switched it up for raspberries. Next time, I would switch out the squash for something seasonal as well. Peaches would have been amazing for a yummy summer pizza

Ingredients,

1 store bought pizza crust (This one is from the pizza station at my grocery store.)
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves of garlic
a handful of spinach
1 package of fresh mozzarella pearls
a handful of butternut squash (fall) or diced fresh peaches (summer)
1 small package of pomegranate arils (fall) raspberries (summer)

I started by melting the butter in the microwave and grinding the garlic in with a microplane. Then, brush the crust with the melted butter. Next, place a single layer of spinach over the crust and scatter the mozzarella pearls and butternut squash or peaches. Bake as directed. I put the raspberries on while the pizza was still warm, and it was perfection. If you choose to use butternut squash or peaches as I did in the picture, I would put either of those on BEFORE baking.

Easy and surprisingly yummy!

Cowboy Caviar

I had Cowboy Caviar for the first time at a wedding a number of years ago. One of my mom's good friends is "famous" for this recipe, actually. When I loved it at the wedding, my mom proudly informed me that she already had her friend's recipe. I've made it for a few things since. It's nice because it makes A LOT. It's perfect for a crowd at a shower, potluck, picnic, whatever. Today I'm taking it to our neighborhood block party and serving it with tortilla chips. You can also serve it as a salad. Actually, I like it wrapped up in a tortilla for a quick lunch too.

Here is the recipe,

Two cans of white shoepeg corn, drained
Two cans of black eyed peas, drained
Two cans of tomatoes with green chiles (I drained, but you probably don't have to.)

Very finely chop and stir in,

1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno (or more or less for heat)
1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 green onions (I omitted.)

Then, stir in 1 cup of fat free Italian dresses and 1/4 cup of dried parsley flakes.

Enjoy!

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.

Guacamole Taco Rolls

If there is one thing we love around here, it is GUACAMOLE! A friend of mine at work bought a bag of avocados that she knew she wouldn't finish, so she very generously gave us two. With avocado prices so high, you can bet I wasn't willing to let those go to waste! I sent my husband to the store to get the rest of the ingredients that we needed for guacamole and an extra bag of tortillas, so we could make these for dinner! They were worth EVERY PENNY of those $4 from our dwindling spending money. They were SO good, and the recipe (even with only 2 avocados) made TWELVE taco rolls. We were even able to share some with my dad while my mom was out of town. I'm always so happy when we can share on our tight budget.

The guacamole recipe alone is to die for! I will never just mash up some avocados with some stuff that sounds "right" again. Here is the recipe,

Ingredients:

-       3 ripe Mexican avocados (slightly squishy, but with some firmness)
-       1 medium size red onion (~ ½ cup), diced
-       1 medium size tomato (I used a handful of cherry tomatoes– it’s all I had), diced
-       2 tsp lime juice
-       3 gloves of garlic (or more, up to you), minced
-       ½ jalapeño, finely chopped (less or more; again, up to you)
-       ½ tsp cumin powder
-       ¼ tsp ground cardamom
-       ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
-       1 tbsp sour cream (optional, but adds to the creamy-ness)
-       salt + pepper to taste
-       10 flour or corn tortillas
-       2 cups of oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a deep and heavy pan bring the oil to 350’F.  (More deep frying tips here)
   
2. Carefully cut the avocado in half, length wise, and pit the core. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado, and dice neatly.
3. In a medium-size bowl, fold all the ingredients together. I like my guacamole to be slightly chunky—stir to the consistency you prefer. 
4. Place 1 tbsp of guacamole in the center of a flour tortilla, fold the outer edges in, and tightly roll. Secure the tortilla rolls with toothpicks. 
5. Fry the tortilla-guacamole rolls for 90 seconds on each side, or until golden brown. Carefully remove the rolls from the oil, and allow to cool slightly on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. (We sprinkled generously with salt.) Serve alongside sour cream, and pico de gallo.

For more fun recipes see balancingbeautyandbedlam.

5 Ingredient Salsa

I'm really sorry I didn't get my grocery trip posted this weekend! We've had back to back get togethers all weekend, so I just didn't quite get to it. We did go a little over budget as I used some of our "fun" money to take food to our various different get togethers.

This is one of my favorite salsa recipes, and I'll be taking it to a BBQ we are going to tonight. Here are the ingredients,

1 regular can of stewed tomatoes
1 regular can of whole tomatoes
1 handful of fresh cilantro leaves
4-5 cloves of garlic
Juice of one lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and zip together!(It is pretty mild for my taste, but perfect for a crowd with varying taste buds! If you like it a little spicier, you could definitely add a little bit of fresh jalapeno.) I think people are ALWAYS happy to see salsa that didn't come from a jar! It's SO easy and worth the effort, for sure!

Olive Garden's Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

A friend of mine made this recently for a wedding and for the baby shower we hosted last week. It is exceptionally good, but I didn't realize it was Olive Garden's recipe until I asked for the recipe. Here it is:

1 cup chopped artichokes
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 OZ. cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
dash pepper

In a small saucepan, boil artichokes and spinach in a cup of water for 10 minutes. Drain in colander. Heat cream cheese 1 minute in microwave or saucepan till hot. Then, stir all of the ingredients together. Reheat to serve if necessary!

For more recipes, see Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, LifeasMom, Joy of Desserts, Grocery Cart Challenge.

Black Bean Dip

I mentioned this recipe in passing when we had our New Year's Eve dinner. It's honestly SO yummy and so easy, and with it only having 4 ingredients, it's definitely a friend of the frugal kitchen! My husband swears he doesn't like black beans, but he had NO problem making a dent in this. My girls couldn't get enough of it either!

Here are the ingredients --

1 brick of cream cheese
1 can of black beans
about a cup of salsa
about 4 oz of grated cheese

All you do is spread the cream cheese on a plate, add a layer of salsa, a layer of black beans, and a layer of cheese. Then, you microwave for approximately 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. That's it!

See other Superbowl recipe ideas at balancing beauty and bedlam.