Pizza Obsessed

This week it was Venison Fajita Pizza, last week it was Stuffed Pizza, the week before it was just a straight up Pepperoni and Sausage. I do believe I am obsessed with making pizza.

In this picture is our Venison Fajita Pizza. I used venison, poblano peppers, onions, a jalapeno and fajita seasoning and then quick grilled them all to get some char on and used reduced salsa as the "sauce"!

Goes to show you, you can make a pizza out of anything.

Enjoy a pizza today and let me know what you strangest ingredient was that you put on a pizza

Pork and Mushroom Ragu

Well if I do say so myself this recipe I created last night was very very tasty!

Here is my recipe-it takes awhile to get the ultimate flavor so plan ahead. Trust me you will decide that eventhough it takes a little planning it is well worth it.

Pork and Mushroom Ragu
3 slices of bacon
½ medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
½ cup chopped celery
½ pound pork shoulder cut into ¼ inch pieces
½ cup red wine
8 Dehydrated Portobello mushrooms-rehydrated save the liquid
14 ½ oz tomatoes with Italian seasonings
½ tsp sage
1 bayleaf
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 jalapeno chopped
4 morel mushrooms chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry bacon in kettle. When bacon is crisp, remove from kettle and add pork-brown this until good color is obtained. Add onion, celery and garlic. Once these have become soft add the wine to deglaze the pan.
Meanwhile, put Portobello mushrooms in a small pan. Add about 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Remove the mushrooms from the liquid-reserving and chop the mushrooms roughly.
Once the wine is absorbed add the tomatoes, broth and mushroom juice. Allow this to heat thru and add the sage, bayleaf, jalapeno, mushrooms and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
At this point you will want to simmer this for at least 2 hour reducing the sauce up to ½. The longer you simmer the more intense flavor you will achieve.
Right before serving crumble bacon into sauce and add in morels if you are using them.
Serve over fettuccini.

Enjoy!

Spring Starts Today

Spring starts tonight at 6:21 pm-however, it doesn't feel like spring out today. It is rainy and very windy. So I guess that means we won't be grilling to celebrate Spring instead we will have a big plate of pasta. I am creating a pasta dish tonight with pork, bacon and mushrooms with a slow cooked red sauce-still using the tomatoes from the garden from last year.

If the recipe turns out I will post tomorrow!

One sign of spring, I will be planting all my seeds this week for my garden-I can't wait until I am able to plant them in the garden!

Enjoy

Raw Almonds

So a friend gives you fresh raw almonds-what would you do?

Well I received about 4 cups of raw almonds and I decided to make my own spiced nuts and what an easy fun project-almost like an artist with a blank canvas!

I created my own spice mixture using some left over chili seasoning, hot chili powder, black and red pepper, fajita seasoning and little sugar and salt.

You line a baking sheet with foil-then take you almonds and put them in a large bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon of vegetable oil per every two cups. Then sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the almonds until you can see the flecks of flavor on every almond.

Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 10 minutes toss almonds and then bake 5 minutes at a time until the nuts get brown-be sure to toss them every 5 minutes. This may take up to 30 minutes.

Let them cool and enjoy the wonderful artful almonds that you created!

Asparagus!

A wonderful sign of Spring.

Get some roast it and enjoy!!!!!!!

Success!

Well the weigh in was completed on Friday and Frank lost 31 pounds in 9 weeks!

He is amazing-but I have to take some of the credit too-he did all the tough working out-and I got to do what I love most, cooking the food that provides enjoyment to those that eat it!

Another year in the books with the weight loss challenge and the message that I take out of it this year-portion control, fruit and lots and lots of greens!

I am so very proud of my husband!

It's Over!

Today is weigh in day for Frank's weightloss challenge-so what did I do? I got up and made a recipe that I found during the challenge-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies! The only switch up is that I am making it Peanut Butter chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.

Sounds sinful-I will let you know how they taste!

Enjoy

Not your Mom/Grandma's Pressure Cooker

Here is a picture of my Fagor Electric 3 in 1!

This wonderful appliance is a rice cooker, slow cooker and a pressure cooker all in one.

In the old days the pressure cookers that were used on stovetop involved alot of guess work and in my opinion luck! Making sure it was up to the pressure you needed and then timing it and releasing the pressure manually-if you dared!

This wonder does all of this for you and can I tell you it makes some of the best meals you can imagine in under 1 hour.

A few years back my stove was broken during the holiday season-I cooked everything in my pressure cooker from soup to dessert. It was awesome.

Here is one of my favorite meals-which I can gaurantee you, you will not find this recipe in any of the old fashioned pressure cooker cook books.

Cheese Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion-chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Filling
4 oz calamari tentacles, finely chopped
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1 garlic clove crushed
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

12 large calamari bodies
For the sauce: in a 5-7 quart pressure cooker, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic. Cook stirring often until the onion begins to soften, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and hot pepper.

Lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Quick release the pressure and open the lid.

Meanwhile make the filling: In a medium bowl combine the chopped calamari tentacles, bread crumbs, ricotta, parmesan, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Loosely stuff the calamari bodies with the filling (fingers work better than a spoon), leaving some room for expansion, and close the openings with wooden toothpicks. Pinching the openings closed quickly rinse off any filling on the outsides of the stuffed calamari under running cold water.

Place the stuffed calamari in the sauce. Lock the lid in place. Return to high pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Allow pressure to release on it's own.

Serve calamari and sauce in bowls sprinkled with fresh basil and french bread.

Enjoy this recipe and please let me know what experiences you have had with pressure cookers.