BBQ Chicken Pizza

Confession: me and Corey have kind of had bbq chicken pizza the last 4 Friday nights straight.  We have this bar/restaurant, Castlers, right next to our house that we like to go grab a couple beers from every once in a while on a Friday (or lately it appears every Friday!)  We seem to always end up ordering a bbq chicken pizza, maybe even if we've already had dinner.  The crust is so thin and crispy and the bbq sauce is the best, its all in all really irresistible.  We finally decided this Friday we would try to recreate it ourselves.  We didn't do too shabby, but there are definitely some things we would improve on before next time.  I decided to make our own crust and a whole wheat one.  The crust was really good, but not thin enough.  If you go this route, don't over-estimate how thin its going to turn out like I did, just keep rolling it out thinner!  I would also have added a little more bbq sauce before the cheese.  My friend Lauren had a great idea I think here (we ended up making these pizzas simultaneously I think...great minds think alike).  She shredded her chicken and mixed it with bbq so the flavor was really through-out.  And on to the recipe!  Here is the way I made ours, but obviously feel free to mix it up!



small pizza doughs rolled out w/ bbq & a little olive oil & minced garlic



ready for the oven with diced chicken, tomatoes, red onions, green pepper, & mozzarella and parmesan



fresh out of the oven

two empty plates, out enjoying the warm weather and our patio!

back porch all lit up

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
courtesy of Jessica at How Sweet

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (half all purpose + half whole wheat)
3/4 cup warm water
1 packet dry active yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:
Combine water, yeast, olive oil and honey and mix with a spoon. Let sit for about 15 minutes until yeast becomes foamy. Add in flour and salt and mix until a ball forms. Using your hands, need dough for 1-2 minutes until it is somewhat smooth. Place in an oiled bowl (in a warm spot) and let rise for 1-2 hours.
Roll out pizzas, add toppings, and bake 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Guacamole

This is by far the easiest guacamole recipe you will probably ever find.  It comes from my friend Annie from Cleveland.  There are lots of things you could add to spruce it up if you so desired, like a little lime juice for example, but honestly it is so yummy and so simple...why mess with a good thing!  All of the ingredients are rough estimates, so please feel free to add more or less to taste, or leave out the cilantro if you don't care for it.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Method:
Slice avocados in half long ways & dispose of pit.  Scoop out both sides with a spoon.  Mix all ingredients until smooth.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Corn Spoon Bread

I had never heard of corn spoon bread until we were married.  The weekend of our wedding, Corey's mom gave me this little recipe book with a bunch of his favorite recipes in it (awesome gift).  Included was this corn spoon bread.  We looked through it together and he went on and on about how good this bread was.  Wow was I in for a surprise.  This stuff is awesome!  Its something I save for special occasions and am always reminded how yummy it is every time I make it.

Ingredients:
1 package corn bread mix (I always use the jiffy brand blue box)
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup creamed corn (purchase in canned veggie isle w/ other corn)
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar)

Method:
Mix all ingredients except cheese.  Pour into 11 x 7 casserole dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Top with shredded cheese (or forget like I did this time and just mix the cheese in at the beginning...same taste!).  Bake an additional 10 minutes.

consistency of bread (but smoother), worthy of a spoon!

Shish Kabobs

Mmmm.....  This year Corey's sis Laura had the awesome idea to grill out shish kabobs for their mom for Mother's day.  I decided to marinade them the same way I had previously made them and they turned out so tasty.  They don't really retain an overwhelmingly "asain" taste (soy sauce and teryaki) once cooked, but really have a lot of flavor!  The following recipe is just an estimate so please don't feel compelled to follow it perfectly...more of just rough guidelines or inspiration!  I chose the veggies I chose because I wanted them to be really bright and colorful, so be sure to modify based on your favorites!

before heading onto the grill

Ingredients:
Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup teryaki sauce
2 or 3 garlic cloves minced
2 green onions/scallions diced (green & white parts)
chives (I had some fresh in my fridge so I threw those in-completely optional)
Shish Kabobs:
3 or 4 small chicken breasts
grape tomatoes
zucchini
squash
bell peppers (I used green & orange for color)
mushrooms
red onion

Method:
Dice chicken and veggies into same size pieces that will fit on wooden kabobs.  Place into large resealable bag.  Pour marinade ingredients in bag & mix to coat chicken and veggies.  Marinade for at least an hour (I did for over 4 hours and the flavor was awesome.  String chicken and veggies on kabobs and discard remaining marinade.  Grill until cooked through.

yummy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This year I was trying to think up something nice to give me and Corey's moms for Mother's day (we really have the two best moms ever) other than the traditional flowers and card.  I heard a commercial on the radio for chocolate covered strawberries and I thought to myself I could make those!  I thought it would be a nice gift and who doesn't love those things?  They were SOOOO GOOD!!!  They were very easy to...I think they would make the perfect thing to make with kids.

What you'll need:
Chocolate - I used dark & semi sweet chocolate chips
Fresh Strawberries

Method:
Rinse strawberries and pat dry.  Melt chocolate in the microwave slowly.  Dip strawberries in chocolate allowing excess chocolate to drip off.  Set them on wax paper to dry.

Homemade Refried Beans

This is one of our favorite sides for mexican at home.  Its super easy and so much tastier homemade!  This recipe comes from Eat at Home.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
2 cans kidney beans
1 small onion
1-2 garlic cloves
1 can chopped green chilis
about 1 cup tomato sauce (8 oz can)

Method:
Melt the butter in a skillet.  Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until soft.  Add the beans to the skillet and mash them with a fork.  Stir in the chopped green chilis and tomato sauce.  Heat until hot and bubbly.

Watermelon Cucumber Margaritas

I had this amazing cucumber margarita with a cayenne salted rim once at a restaurant in Cleveland that stuck with me.  Then the other day food network was re-playing some "cinco de mayo" recipe idea episodes and I caught one from the show 5 Ingredient Fix.  Claire Robinson (the host) made a watermelon cucumber margarita and I knew I had to try it.  Perfect drink for me and Corey's little cinco de mayo celebration Friday night.  These were so easy and were really tasty.  I think they are a one drink only type of drink.  The cucumber taste is really fresh, but after one I was ready for something different.  You need to make these asap!

Ingredients:
4 cups seedless watermelon chunks (I used one whole small watermelon)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lime, zested, plus juice of 1/2 lime, plus wedge for rimming glasses
1/4 cup course kosher salt
1-ounce agave syrup or honey (I just used a teaspoon of sugar for the whole recipe)
3 ounces white tequila

Method:

Liquefy the watermelon and cucumber in a blender and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher.
Mix the lime zest and salt on a small plate and reserve.
Mix 1/2 cup watermelon-cucumber juice with lime juice, agave and tequila in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake well to chill. Rub the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge and dip it into the lime zest mixture. Pour the margarita into the salt-rimmed margarita glass and enjoy!