Barbecue Chicken Pizza

It occurred to me that I haven't posted what is arguably one of the tastiest pizzas from the Twi-tini Party I hosted a couple of months ago.  Mr. swatchcat loooooves this pizza.  And who wouldn't?  It has chicken, barbecue sauce, cheese...yep, that covers all the food groups except chocolate!


Mmmm, gaze upon the deliciousness:

1 Refrigerated Pizza Crust (thin-style)
1 lb. Chicken Breasts
1 c. Barbecue Sauce (super looove the Target Archer Farms Kansas City-Style)
1/2 Sweet Vidalia Onion (for caramelizing)
1 tbsp. Chopped Garlic (fresh or jarred, either works)
6 oz. Baby Spinach
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella
4 tbsp. Canola Oil
Salt


Prepare refrigerated crust as instructed.  Cube the chicken breasts into approximately 1/2" cubes, and in a skillet, sauté with 2 tbsp. Canola Oil and the chopped garlic, until thoroughly cooked.  Set aside in a small dish.  Cut the onion so that they are in 1/2 rings, and cut the larger pieces in to smaller strips, if desired.  In the same skillet as the chicken was prepared, heat the oil over high heat, and when the oil begins to ripple, add the onions and stir.  Add a pinch of salt and continue to stir the onions.  It's okay if they stick to the bottom, just scrape them up and keep stirring until the onions reach the darkness and texture desired.  I prefer mine a deep golden brown and on the softer side.


Now that the toppings are prepared, spread the barbecue sauce over the pizza crust, then top with the cubed chicken, caramelized onions, baby spinach (make sure it's washed!), and finally the shredded mozzarella.  Bake for approximately 8 minutes, then coax the pizza off the baking sheet directly onto the rack, and finish baking until the crust is a golden brown, and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Total baking time should be between 12 and 14 minutes.  Let it cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!


If you are averse to veggies, this pizza is just as tasty sans onions and spinach.  But I like adding them veggies just to keep it on the healthy side.

Twi-tini Party!

Yes, this would be one of those aforementioned Twilight-themed posts.  But don't stop reading just yet or you'll miss the good stuff!  This past weekend I hosted, what I dubbed, a Twi-tini Party.  A bunch of girls and I got together and watched the first two movies in the saga, Twilight and New Moon in anticipation (preparation for a couple of the ladies who hadn't seen either!) for the release of Eclipse.  Drinking + hot vampires + hot werewolves = one helluva fantastic evening!

The essential component of the Twi-tini Party is, as you may have already guessed, a martini!  A Vamptini, to be precise!  I'm sure there's some sort of "official" Vamptini recipe, but being lazy inventive, rather than do the research, I threw together my own version of the cocktail.  My creation came out a blood red color - very thematic! - and it was, uh potent, and quite delicious!

To see the drink recipe and more of the menu, keep reading!

Salmon Cake Burgers and Mediterranean Bean Salad

Yet another kitchen experiment today.  I picked up some salmon since it was on sale, and decided I'd do something a little different with it.  Plus I had leftover buns from regular ol' chicken sandwiches.  The salmon cakes are kinda another sneaky recipe.


The salad, well, isn't exactly sneaky, but the husband ate it right up, and he is not a tomato-lover.  I always tell the husband that if he were still in the 'old country', they'd have kicked him out for his dislike of tomatoes!  Extra bonus...it's a lazy-wife dish!

Recipes after the jump!

Trying to be my own "Sneaky Chef": Lasagna edition

I don't dislike vegetables, but it's just so hard to get those five daily servings.  I've had a few friends rave about the Sneaky Chef Cookbook, and while I intend to purchase it the next time I make an Amazon order, I have to be my own "sneaky chef" for the time being.


On the list of my favorite foods is lasagna.  Unfortunately, lasagna is one of those dishes that is not exactly healthy, what with the cheese, and meat, and cheese, and pasta, and did I mention cheese?  Cheese is delicious.  In order to make this dish a little more diet-friendly, I made a couple substitutions and additions to the traditional meat-and-cheese lasagna I grew up loving.

Rosé Spinach Shrimp

So, although I am a housewife, I'm a pretty lazy housewife, and the husband will attest to that.  Therefore, being a lazy housewife, I'm all about quick, easy and semi-nutritious dinners.  I'm a pretty decent cook, and have only had a couple of kitchen experiments that have gone horribly wrong.  By and large, most of what I make is relatively tasty, and the husband is happy with my cooking.  Last night I made one of our favorite dishes - mine because it's yummy and easy, his because...well, it's yummy!