Chicken Pesto Flatbread Pizza

Yum, yum, yum!  A delicious and easy pesto pizza.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded/sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut in half and seeded
2 cloves garlic, minced
ready-made pizza dough
sun-dried tomato pesto
4-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2-3 cups mozzarella

Directions
1. Grease and pre-heat grill to 350.  When it reaches temp, place the bell pepper and slices of onion on the grill.  Flip after 3 minutes and cook the other side.

2. When onions and pepper are done, sliced them into thin strips.



3. Roll out the pizza dough on a greased piece of tin foil.


4. Spread the pesto evenly onto the crust.  Make sure you don't have too much concentrated in the middle or it will sag a lot when you pull away the slices.


5. Sprinkle the crust with garlic and basil.



6. Top with mozzarella cheese. We usualy go with 2 cups since we like lighter cheese on the flatbread pizzas, but feel free to go for 3+ cups if you're a big cheese-lover.


7. Top with chicken, onions, and peppers. 


8. Transfer to grill to cook.  I slide the foil onto a large cutting board. I've found that's the easiest way to carry it from the counter and slide it on to the grill.  Cook for around 12 minutes.  It's done when the crust is a light golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and melted.




Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Mexican Flatbread Pizza

I've already made one kind of Mexican pizza, but we decided to give it another try last week.  This time we went more pizza and less Mexican.  But it was equally delicious.

Ingredients
Ready-made pizza dough
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
taco seasoning
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
3 cups shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)

Directions
1. Preheat grill to 325.

2.  Roll out pizza dough and place on greased foil.  (I place the foil on a large cutting board, which makes it easy to transfer the pie on to the grill.)

3. Cook the ground meat and add the taco saeasoning.  Once it's done, spread evenly on the dough.

Note: You might want to add enchilada sauce if you like a "wetter" pizza.  There's no real sauce on this recipe, and we'd probably try that next time.



4. Top pizza with tomatoes, onion and cheese.


5. Cook on the grill for about 10-12 minutes.  Pizza is done when crust is light golden brown color and cheese is bubbly.


Bon Appetit!
The Foodwhore

Jerk Chicken Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken

1 tbsp Worchestshire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 tbsp jerk seasoning (all-spice)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

sliced pinapple

Directions

1. Mix chicken, garlic, onion, jerk season, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a medium bowl and blend well.

2. In a shallow pan, combine the liquid ingredients.

3. Form the meat mix into 4 even patties and set in the liquid to marinade for 1-2 hours.

4. Preheat the grill to 350 and add the patties. Patties will need about 15 minutes to cook, flipping once. 

5. When patties are almost done, add the pineapple to the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Note: this is great served with sweet potato fries/chips and grilled onions.

 

Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

*this recipe is adapted from Good Things Catered.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza

Somehow I didn't end up with any pictures of this one.  Maybe because it was so delicious looking that I couldn't control myself long enough to find a  camera.  I just dove right in.  Trust me, this looked good.

Ingredients
pizza dough (I prefer the store-bought kind because it's easy)
your favorite BBQ sauce
1 chicken breast
1/2 red onion
1 4 oz can chiles
1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Pre-heat the grill to 350. 

2. When grill reaches temp, cook the chicken (approx 4 minutes on each side depending on thickness).  Also add slices of red onion to the grill.  These grill better if you slice them thick, like 1/4"-1/2" thick and keep the rings all together.

3. While chicken and onions are cooking, roll out the pizza dough and place it on a greased piece of foil.

4.  When chicken is done, slice or shred it.  Also dice the onions.

5.  Spread a layer of BBQ sauce on the pizza dough. I used a mix of Carolina Gold and Sonny's BBQ Sweet Sauce. 

6. Top with mix of cheeses.

7. Add your chicken, onion and chiles.

8. Cook on the grill (on the foil)  for approx 10 minutes at 350.  You'll know it's done when the crust gets light brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Bon Appetit!
The Foodwhore

Rosemary Roast Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my favorite summer time lunches. Typically, I make my chicken salad with deli chicken. But I decided to go even more home-made this time around. And I had to incorporate Rosemary because I have it growing in my yard, and home-grown is always the way to go. For this recipe, I roasted 6 chicken breasts. This made a lot of chicken salad. Probably next time around I'd only use 4 breasts.

Ingredients
6 bone-in chicken breasts
8-10 small Rosemary stalks
2 cups diced celery
1 cup dried cranberries
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup sun-flower seeds
1/2 white onion, diced
1+ cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Slide the stalks of Rosemary under the skin of the chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper.



2. Cook the chicken breasts on the grill at 250 degrees. This will take approx. 30 minutes, but use a meat thermometer to determine when they are done.



3. Allow the breasts to cool some, but while they are still warm, slide the bones out of the chicken breasts. If you do this while it's still warm, it's very easy.



4. In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the other ingredients, excluding the mayo. Mix well.



5. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, mix the mayo and chicken. I used only about a cup of mayo because I like it drier. Use as much mayo as you like, but I recommend adding it a little bit at a time. A little goes a long way, and you can't un-add it.

6. Mix in the other ingredients and stir well.



This chicken salad is great by itself, on a salad, or on a tortilla wrap with leaf lettuce!


Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Grilled Summer Vegetable Flat Bread Pizza

I am obsessed with flat bread pizzas these days. I can't seem to get enough. They are so simple and so diverse. With dozens of fresh toppings, the combinations are endless. And the best part: by grilling these, you don't have to heat up the kitchen to cook a delicious meal.

Ingredients:
store-bought pizza dough
1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 small yellow squash, sliced thinly lengthwise
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup goat cheese crumbles
3-4 basil leaves, julienned
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the grill to 350/medium heat. While grill is heating, mix squash and peppers with olive oil and salt and pepper.

2. Place the veggies on the grill. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side.

3. While veggies are grilling, prep the other veggies and cook the bacon.

4. Roll out the dough. You can use home-made dough, but on a week-day evening, I prefer store-bought ready-to-use dough. Spread the sauce thinly on the dough.

Note: I find it easiest to place the rolled out dough on tin foil. Then use a pizza stone or cutting board to transfer the pizza to the grill. Cook the pizza on the foil to prevent sticking to the grill.

5. Add the grilled veggies, onions, tomatoes, basil, bacon, and goat cheese.

6.Top with mozzarella cheese.

7. Place pizza on the grill and cook on medium heat until cheese is bubbly and melted and the edge of the crust is a light golden brown. When you lift the edge of the crust, it should hold it's shape and not feel soft/malleable.

8. Enjoy!

Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Goat Cheese and Chicken Sausage Grilled Flat Bread

We had to do something with the leftover chicken sausage and I had been craving pizza. But I didn't want a thick, heavy pizza, nor did I want to heat up the kitchen. So I whipped up this light flatbread pizza that can be cooked on the grill.

Ingredients
Pizza dough
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 white onion, sliced thin
3/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
2 chicken sausage, quartered and chopped
2-3 cups grated mozzarella
5-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced thin

Directions

1. The last time I made pizza dough, it didn't rise. Bad yeast, I suppose. So this time, I bought ready-made dough at Publix. Either way, prepare the dough and roll out into a thin layer on a greased large piece of tin foil. It doesn't have to be a circle. We opted for an oddly shaped rectangle of sorts.



2. Spread on a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Leave just a thin edge of crust, and make sure you don't put to much in the middle. That will make it hard to hold a slice if the middle is too heavy.



3. Sprinkle on tomatoes and onions.



4. Add your goat cheese and sausage.



5. Top with mozzarella and fresh basil.



6. Cook on a grill pre-heated to 350. I used a large cutting board to transport the whole thing out to the grill. You'll cook the flatbread still on the foil, so just slide the whole thing onto a cutting board, take it to the grill and slide the whole thing on to the grill.

7. It will take about 15-20 minutes to cook. Check periodically. You're looking for the crust to darken and the cheese to bubble up. Lift a corner of the crust to see if the bottom is getting crispy and light brown. That's a sign that it's done.



Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Chicken Sausage, 2 Ways (Part 1)

Last week, I gave Mr. Foodwhore the task of grocery shopping. He came home with chicken sausage. His idea was to grill up sausage dogs, but we also stretched the sausage leftovers to make two delicious dishes. The best thing about both of these meals was that neither required us to heat up the kitchen. We took the cooking outside and used our grill, which kept our house nice and cool.

Here's our first meal.

Grilled Chicken Sausage Dogs

Ingredients
chicken sausage
1/2 green bell pepper sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced
hoagie buns
spicy mustard
1 large potato sliced thin

Directions
1. If your grill has a side burner, preheat a large sautee pan and cook down the onions and green peppers. The onions should be transparent, but it's best to add the peppers a minute or so after the onions so they retain some crispiness.



2. Once the onions and peppers are done, set aside and cover so they stay warm. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan and heat to medium high. Add the potatoes and pan fry.



3. Heat the grill to 350 and add the chicken sausage. Chicken sausage usually comes pre-cooked, so basically you're just heating it up. Make sure the kind you get is cooked.

4. Make sure to turn the potatoes often to get them crispy on all sides. Also, make sure to turn the sausage frequently to get grill marks on all sides.

5. When the sausages are "done," remove from the heat. Add mustard, peppers and onions to the bun and top off with sausage.

6. Salt and pepper your fries and enjoy!



Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Grilled Jerk Shrimp with Jamaican Beans & Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
all-spice seasoning
chipotle powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups rice (uncooked)
1 can coconut milk
1 can red beans
1 package fresh asparagus
4 skewers/kabobs

Directions:
1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and begin to cook your rice.

2. While rice is cooking, begin to put the shrimp on the skewers. Once they are all on, season with Jamaican All-Spice, chipotle powder (just sprinkle a pinch), and salt and pepper.


3. Pre-heat grill to 350/medium and coat with non-stick cooking spray. When grill is to temp, add your asparagus.



4. After approx. 4 minutes, roll the asparagus to cook the other side. It should take about another 4-6 minutes.

5. Once your asparagus have been on the grill for 2-3 minutes, add your shrimp skewers. Flip shrimp at the same time as the asparagus. They should be done at the same time. Shrimp have a built-in thermometer. When they turn pink, they are done.



6. When rice is done, mix in about 2/3 of the can of coconut milk. You want the rice to have a sticky consistency, but not be watery from the milk.

7. Open the can of beans and rinse them to get off the "juice." Add the beans to the rice and stir well to mix.

8. The shrimp and asparagus should be done by now. Pull them off the grill and enjoy your dinner!

Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

Grilled Swordfish with Summer Squash

Growing up, my family did not eat red meat. Instead, we consumed a lot of poultry and seafood. Swordfish steaks were a staple of my family's diet. Swordfish can be kind of expensive, but for an occasional treat, it is amazing.

And to my readers who claim to not like seafood, I'd be willing to bet that you just haven't had really good seafood before. Frozen fishsticks and popcorn shrimp do not count. This is an easy recipe...so why not give seafood one more try.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs swordfish (since we're grilling, it's important that the steaks be the same thickness throughout)
1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 lemon juice

4 basil leaves, chopped

1/2 tsp tobasco

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

chipotle powder (optional)

3-4 medium sized squash

Directions:

1. Prepare the marinade by combining the olive oil, lemon juice, liquid smoke, tobasco, basil, paprika, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir well.

2. We got one steak that was 1 1/2 lbs, so I cut it in half to shorten the cooking time. Make sure each piece is the same thickness throughout for even cooking. If you tell the seafood dept guy that you are grilling, he can help you pick out good steaks.

3. Cut the squash into thin slices vertically. In a large bowl, toss the squash with a couple tbsps of olive oil, salt and pepper, and chipotle powder (just a dash for flavor). Set aside.

4. Preheat the grill to 350/medium heat. Be sure to spray the grill with non-stick spray first to ensure easy flipping.

5. Put the swordfish steaks on the grill and baste generously with the marinade. You can brush it on if you have a brush or just spoon it on top. The steaks will need to grill for 8-10 minutes per side depending on thickness. Ours were about 1 1/2" thick and required 9 minutes on each side. Don't forget to spoon on more marinade when you flip the steaks.

6. After 5 minutes, add the squash to the grill. Cook the squash. The squash needs to grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

7. Squash is done when tender, typically 4-5 minutes on each side. Swordfish will flake off with a fork when done.

*Note: 1 1/2 lbs of swordfish yielded 4 servings for us.

Bon Appetit!

The FoodWhore