Jambalaya Pizza from Yes, It's Me!

What can I say about my absence other than I can't even believe how long it's been. Time flies. To be brief, my plate at work has been more than full lately with a huge acquisition that took place. So in turn, the plates here have been pretty empty. I have been so burnt out that getting on the computer from home was the last thing I wanted to do, even though I have missed coming around to see everyone.

So, please, drop me a quick line letting me know if anything big has gone on with you & I will be by! For now, enjoy some Jambalaya Pizza. I made this way back on Mother's Day when we enjoyed a buffet of appetizers. Any ingredient can be easily substituted. I just LOVED the idea of the cheesy rice crust for this.

JAMBALAYA PIZZA

 

{ Printable Recipe Here }

3 cups cooked long grain rice, cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup finely shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1/4 cup each chopped celery, onion & green sweet pepper
1 tblsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup each thinly sliced smoked cooked sausage, diced cooked ham, & coarsely chopped cooked shrimp
1 16-oz. jar chunky salsa, drained
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 oz.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In large combine rice, eggs & pepper jack cheese. Lightly coat a 12-inch pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread rice mixture evenly in pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.

For topping, in large skillet cook celery, onion & green pepper in hot butter over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic, cayenne, sausage, ham & shrimp. Heat through.

Spread drained salsa over rice crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread vegetable-meat mixture over salsa. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through & cheese is melted. Cut into square pieces to serve.

{ Food for Thought }

As always, I suggest increasing the garlic to 2 cloves & use olive oil instead of butter when cooking the veggies. I also recommend decreasing your cooking time on the rice crust the 1st time around. Maybe 12-15 minutes when it’s cooking by itself and 10 minutes when it’s covered with all the goodies. If you try to cut this into pizza slices it will be messy & fall apart. Cut into squares for best results.

White Pizza with Clams

I have over 60 recipes waiting to try, some have been waiting for over 6 months. Not this one though. When I clipped it from a magazine I knew it had to be made right away. After all, I grew up on linguine with white clam sauce & love it to this day!

This was amazing ! I modified it quite a bit to make it even easier & healthier so please look at my notes for my modified version. This has definitely become my go to dish for when I am in the mood for a gourmet type of pizza. You prep it all in the time it takes for the oven to heat up & it’s done in 12 minutes. If you don't like clams I can totally see it with shrimp as well.

WHITE PIZZA WITH CLAMS

{Printable Recipe}

2 tblsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (6.5oz) chopped clams, drained
1 prepared 10 oz pizza crust
1 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 tblsp parlsey

Heat oven to 400. Heat oil in skillet over medium high. Add garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in clams & cook for 2 minutes.

Place pizza crust on a baking sheet. Spoon clams over top. Scatter mozzarella & Asiago cheese evenly over clams. Dollop heaping teaspoonfuls of ricotta cheese over top.

Bake pizza for 12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool slightly, sprinkle with parsley.

{Food for Thought}

I modified this recipe quite a bit. Instead of using mozzarella & Asiago which I don’t always have on hand I just used freshly grated parmesan cheese. I also added basil, oregano & crushed red pepper to my ricotta. Instead of Boboli I used Naan which is a whole grain flatbread.

I halved this recipe to make a personal pizza on one piece of Naan. I only used 1 tsp of oil, 2 garlic cloves & one can of clams along with 1/3 cup of parmesan & ¼ cup ricotta mixed with the basil, oregano & crushed red pepper. Instead of garnishing with parsley, I used a little extra crushed red pepper.

{ This is what my dinner looked like last night as I was solo. Right on a cutting board with a glass of wine in front of the TV watching episodes of Criminal Minds }

{{ Linking deliciously to Friday Food with MomTrends }}

I Love You, Naan!

Get it?

Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is one of the most popular varieties of South Asian breads & is finding its way into supermarkets here. I started using it a month ago & have not stopped. Whether for lunch, dinner or even breakfast, I throw on some toppings, bake for a few minutes & I am good to go. And it's quick since there is no rolling out & healthy with its whole grain variety.

There are 2 pieces to a package so it's easy to personalize for different people in the fam!

BREAKFAST PIZZA ON NAAN

Printable Recipe

1-2 tblsp Alouette Garlic & Herb Spreadable Cheese (optional)
1 piece of Naan
2 large eggs
1 cup of fresh baby spinach
Shredded cheese
Salt & Pepper
Hot sauce (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Spread piece of Naan with garlic & herb cheese. Whisk eggs in bowl. Cook in pan with cooking spray. Once set, toss in spinach & scramble until eggs are cooked through & spinach is wilted. Spread on top of garlic & herb cheese. Top with 1/3 cup of shredded cheese. Bake Naan for 8 minutes directly on oven rack then turn oven to broil until edges of Naan are nice & golden. Season with salt, pepper & hot sauce. Cut into wedges.

{Food for Thought}

I had leftover garlic & herb cheese I wanted to use up. You could omit it or you can even scramble it in with your eggs & spinach.

For less work, I leave the oven rack in the middle of the oven, even when I turn setting to broil. This way, I don’t have to worry about the pizza burning badly from being too close to heat source. It still gets nice & brown while being heated through.

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RICOTTA TOMATO PIZZA ON NAAN

Printable Recipe

¼ - ½ cup ricotta
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Dash of nutmeg
Dash cinnamon
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 piece of Naan
Tomato, sliced thinly




Mix ricotta cheese with oregano, basil, pepper flakes, nutmeg & cinnamon. Set aside. Saute spinach with some freshly minced garlic for a few minutes until slightly wilted & fragrant. Spread spinach on top of Naan. Place tomato slices on top. Then dollop ricotta mixture by the tablespoon across the top. Bake for 10 minutes directly on oven rack then turn oven to broil until edges of Naan are nice & golden.

{Food for Thought}

My mom has always put nutmeg & cinnamon in her ricotta when making stuffed shells. I started doing it & I just think it brings out a little sweetness in the cheese. You definitely don’t want more than a dash.

For less work, I leave the oven rack in the middle of the oven, even when I turn setting to broil. This way, I don’t have to worry about the pizza burning badly from being too close to heat source. It still gets nice & brown while being heated through.

Or how 'bout some...

turkey pepperoni, olives, green pepper, onions & mozzarella cheese...

Hold the pepperoni on mine please!

Go Visit Lisa at Blessed with Grace for More TMTT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yo Vinny, lemme get a slice over heeere!!!!

Ah, pizza. The word conjures up memories of my childhood growing up in the Bronx & Yonkers where there were mom & pop's & joey & vinny bag-o-donuts pizza places around every other corner. There IS something about NY pizza. A few down here in FL come close so I don't feel like I am missing out much, except for the friends I shared those old memories with.

Pizza at home may not come close but that's ok, it's just plain ol' fun as is the endless possibilities of toppings! The 1st recipe is from Publix. My girlfriend Tam came over with some she made & we devoured it. We made it the next night, that's how good it is!!

The 2nd is somewhat of a creation, although I got the idea of the diced tomatoes from a magazine. Less sugar & fat than jarred sauce. I loved it as much & by lunchtime the next day it was even better slightly warmed up!

BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA

1 lb fresh pizza dough
¼ cup flour
2 tblsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
¾ cup Buffalo hot wing sauce plus 4 tblsp
¾ cups Chunky blue cheese dressing
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

As the package says, let pizza dough rest for about an hour at room temp. Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle flour over work surface. Roll dough into a large circle to fit your pizza pan or baking sheet. Brush top lightly with olive oil. Bake for about 10 minutes until slightly golden.

Meanwhile, combine chicken & wing sauce. Spread remaining wing sauce evenly over crust. Cover with half of the mozzarella cheese then top with the chicken mixture. Spoon or drizzle small amounts of the blue cheese dressing over the top of pizza. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake about 10 minutes or until cheese melts & crust is crisp.

{Food for Thought}

This recipe came from Publix & was intended for 2 pizzas, each being an 8x10 oval with different toppings. Instead, I wanted one big Buffalo Chicken pizza so I almost doubled the ingredients above & used the entire 1lb dough for the one pie. So, feel free to use a little more or less than what is listed, depending on your own preference. The recipe also called for grilling the crust first for about 4-5 minutes. I didn’t want to deal with that so I pre-baked the dough in the oven for just 10 minutes.

{Click Here to Print Recipe}


SPINACH & CHICKEN SAUSAGE PIZZA

1 tblsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
6oz spinach
1 lb fresh pizza dough
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained well
2 fully cooked chicken sausage links, sliced thin
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese.

Saute onion in pan for a few minutes. Add garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add spinach & cook until wilted. Set aside. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 400 & bake pizza crust until slightly golden, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle tomatoes over crust. Top with spinach mixture. Add chicken sausage & then shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake about 10 minutes or until cheese melts & crust is crisp.


{Food for Thought}

I made this for my parents this week for dinner so just to make something simple a little special I bought fresh mozzarella & shredded it myself. It was delish & worth the extra cost. The chicken sausage was packaged & Italian style.

I haven't made much pizza in the past & have just gotten on a roll so if you make pizza differently where you don't pre-bake the crust then that's great. I just did it because it seems the crust doesn't get crispy enough for me & then while it's cooking I can prep the other ingredients.

{Click Here to Print Recipe}

Coming Soon to This Pizzeria: mediterranean style roasted vegetables with feta and perhaps a Shrimp & Spinach in a white bianca sauce.

{Have a great weekend everyone.

I will be posting soon about a lot of goodness going on here lately}