Personal Pumpkin Pizzas

It's a little chilly outside, a little breezy and also happens to be Halloween.  So in the midst of it all I decided to have a little helper make some very festive personal pizzas...Pumpkin Shaped! These little personal pumpkin pizzas are such a fun way to have little ones enjoy Fall.  And they really are easy to do too. 

Preheat the oven to 485°F.  Start by taking a little butter and smearing it into the shape of  two pumpkins onto a cookie sheet. The base of these pumpkins will be either store bought pizza dough or homemade dough. (a typical store bought round of dough will make 2-3 personal pizzas)

To keep the dough from sticking to your hands simply coat your hands with either olive oil or a little butter.  Separate the dough into baseball sized rounds.  Then press a ball of dough and form it into the rough shape of a pumpkin.  To make the stem, pull gently on the dough and pinch into the shape desired.

Top dough with pizza sauce (see recipe below), shredded mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings.

Place pizzas in the oven and set a timer for 8-10 minutes.  Check pizzas at the 8 minute mark.  Gently slide a spatula under the edge of a pizza and check the bottom of the pizzas.  They should be lightly browned.  Continue to check every minute until the bottoms are golden brown.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving to little ones.

Tip: Melt a tablespoon of butter in a microwave safe bowl and add a teaspoon of garlic salt. Brush over the edges of each pumpkin before baking.

 

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Pizza Sauce
Prep Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1 (6 oz.) Can of Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Water
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or 1/4 teaspoon each of dried Oregano & Basil)
1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
OPTION: If you are not a fan of fresh garlic, or just don't have any, then use 1-2 teaspoons of garlic salt and bypass adding any sea salt.

Directions:In small bowl, or 2 cup measuring cup, empty can of tomato paste. Add extra virgin olive oil a little at a time, mixing it in completely in between each pour. Add water a little at a time, mixing it in completely in between each pour. Depending on the consistency that is preferred, more water can be added to thin the sauce, less to thicken it. Add Italian seasoning & sea salt. Mix until well incorporated. Refrigerate any unused portion for up to 5 days.

Can also be warmed and used as a dipping sauce for breadsticks.

Easy Cheesy Stuffed Shells

One of the things that I had yet to attempt in the kitchen was stuffed pasta shells. So, I decided to turn to Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis for a recipe idea. Let's just say that she's my Italian Go-To-Gal.

I modified her recipe ever so slightly, I mean I had to. Couple this dish with some garlic bread and MmmmmMmmmmMmmmmm! Here's my take on Giada de Laurentiis' Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce.

Click below to view & print my recipe!

View complete posting: Easy Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Prosciutto Dogs

Hot dogs are great and all, but I really like mine dressed-up a bit. And Charming is always a happy man when I bring a plate of these dogs out to the table. There’s just something about meat that’s wrapped with meat…it makes men happy. While these are dressed with provolone cheese and crisped bacon, you can top the dogs with whatever you like.

So, super easy...Just for garnishing, I take 4 slices of bacon, halve them and get to sizzling in a skillet. If I don't want any bacon for garnish one night, then I just pour 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into the skillet.

While the bacon is sizzling, I start with some really good beef franks. (My family prefers Hebrew National's Beef Franks)

 

Then I carefully separate slices of prosciutto so that I have equal amounts of slices to hot dogs. You need one slice of prosciutto per frank...unless you get some of the thicker or longer franks, then two slices of prosciutto will be needed.

Prosciutto meets frank...I lay the prosciutto down and begin rolling the frank on a slight angle.

Continue rolling until the entire frank is wrapped in our lovely prosciutto. Then grab another and begin rolling again.

Remove the bacon and set it aside until later. Remove some of the rendered bacon fat allowing just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

Time to get those franks into the skillet. (I'm getting hungry)

Allow the prosciutto to crisp-up on each side...it takes only about 2-3 minutes per side. 

Keep rolling the franks onto the uncooked sides until all sides are beautifully crispy & slightly browned. Don't these just make you want to grab one right out of the skillet and take a big bite? 

 

Oh yeah....time to deal with our buns. Regular buns are fine, usually I would recommend that whole wheat buns be used...

 

but this time I'm going with some cheesy breadsticks from the bakery. I cut each breadsticks in half and then split it down the middle.

 

 

 

  

Perfect for holding our prosciutto franks! It just needs a little bit of something...like a slice of provolone cheese!

 

Place our very hot dog onto the cheese and then dress it with some mustard.

 

 

Remember that bacon I did in the beginning? Well with a quick chop job, bacon bits are ready to be the ultimate topping for this hot dog.

 

  

Now that's a dog that deserves to be admired...then devoured quickly!

Italian Chicken & Cheese Tortellini Soup

Here's a slight change to chicken noodle soup...all dressed-up Italian style.

Since the winters here in Reno bring a cold that I have not experienced since my brief stay in Tulsa, OK, I have found myself looking at ways to make soups that are a little bit different and intensely appealing. While the color is not bold in this soup, the flavors definitely are rich and comforting.
Since the winters here in Reno bring a cold that I have not experienced since my brief stay in Tulsa, OK, I have found myself looking at ways to make soups that are a little bit different and intensely appealing. While the color is not bold in this soup, the flavors definitely are rich and comforting.

Now, of course I wanted this to be a simple recipe...who wants to spend all day making a pot of soup? Not me! I like it quick and full of flavor in the end, so this homemade recipe takes only 15 minutes to prep and 45 minutes to simmer creating a soup that tastes like it simmered all day long. In approximately an hour you're ready to sit down and "comfort soup-it" all you want.

[caption id="attachment_2153" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A small list of spices for the chicken...keeping it simple."][/caption]

I start by taking a couple of chicken breasts, defrosting them (I always have some in my freezer) and placing them into a glass baking dish. You could spray the dish with cooking spray, but honestly you don't have to if you defrost the chicken in that same dish first. (Just don't drain off the juices after defrosting)

Then to keep it simple, I just sprinkle some sea salt over each breast.

Then a little bit of garlic powder over each breast. If you don't have garlic powder on hand, then substitute some garlic salt for the sea salt & garlic powder.

And finally a bit of dried Italian Seasoning mix (oregano, basil, Italian parsley) is sprinkled over the top of each breast.

Place the chicken into an oven preheated to 375°F to bake for 30-45 minutes. (depending on your oven) At the 30 minute mark, I pull out the chicken and slice it through the thickest part to see if the meat is no longer pink. If it's not quite done, then back into the oven it goes for another 5 minutes. Check in 5 minute intervals until it is done baking. (this part comes about later on)

While the chicken bakes, I take either a couple cans of chicken broth/stock or 3 cans of Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup and pour it into a large pot. In this case, I was out of chicken broth/stock so I used the condensed chicken noodle soup. Grab a colander/strainer and pour the soup through it so that the noodles and chicken pieces don't go into the pot. Do this with each can and reserve the noodles & chicken, then I throw it into the fridge to be heated for lunch the next day for my girls. (they love noodles, but aren't big fans of chicken noodle soup)

This step is ONLY for the condensed chicken noodle soup. Instead of adding a full 3 cans of water (as called for on the chicken noodle soup can), I add 2 cups of water to the pot. Turn the heat to low and allow it to begin the simmering process.

Toss in a bay leaf...they are just so good in soups. And then smash, peel and press a clove of garlic...add it right into the pot aswell.

Next a bit of Italian Seasoning gets to jump in. Give it a stir. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 25 minutes.

While the broth is simmering, I take a couple celery stalks and cut each in half.

Then those halves get diced into 1/4" thick pieces.

Next I take a cup of broccoli slaw mixed veggies. I always have this on hand...we like making spring rolls on Friday nights. (you can typically find a bag of this in the salad mix area of the produce area) They get a quick rough-chop and are ready to go.

After 25 minutes, I add the celery and broccoli slaw into the broth. Give it a stir and place the lid back on the pot.

Tortellini is one of my favorite pastas...and I love to take advantage of the pre-made bags that you can get from Bertolli in the refrigerated section. However, I'm using a wonderful Italian seven cheese blend tortellini that I got at Costco! (big savings and I easily get four meals for 4 out of it)

And since the chicken is now ready to be pulled out of the oven and shredded, I turn up the heat to medium-high and pour about 2 cups of the tortellinis into the pot.

Give them an immediate stir. The last thing I want is any sticking to the pot. Then cover and allow to cook for 8-9 minutes. (I always set my timer, just so that the pasta doesn't get over cooked)

After checking to see that the thickest part of the chicken is cooked all the way through, and not pink in any way, I take the chicken and start attacking it with two table forks. Shredding each breast into nice bite-sized pieces.

Once everything is shredded, literally 3 minutes of shredding, I pour them into the pot. Another gentle stir, I don't want to break any of the tortellini, to get the chicken distributed throughout the pot and then just allow it to simmer with the tortellini until the timer goes off.

Once that buzzer sounds, turn off the heat, grab a bowl and fill it up. Oh the aroma is just amazingly inviting, it's hard to take a moment and follow-thru with the next step. (I confess, I had to take a small spoonful first) And last but not least, I top it off with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

[caption id="attachment_2124" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Freshly grated Parmesan cheese just "makes" this completely perfect!"][/caption]

Then I just sit down and enjoy the soup of my non-labor.