BBQ Chicken Pizza

For the topping:
1/2 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1/2 c. BBQ sauce (I like sweet baby rays)
2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

For the crust:
1 frozen bread dough

Making the Pizza:
Thaw bread dough.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Spray pizza pan with pam. Roll out dough and place on pizza pan.
Mix together BBQ sauce and chicken. Spread chicken mixture evenly around dough making sure that you keep the chicken mixture in the middle to a minimum otherwise it will not cook through.
Sprinkle cheese on top of chicken.
Add onions.
Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 40 minutes.

Verdict:
I hate to toot my own horn but I have never had anyone say that they did not love this. Actually I have had people tell me this is the best pizza they have ever had. So there you have it.

side note: even if you don't like onions I still recommend that you add them and then remove them before you eat the pizza. I have made it before with out onions and it just isn't as good.

Gnocchi and Garden Vegetables

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash, quartered and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package frozen gnocchi (15-16 oz.)
1/4 c. basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet.
Add zucchini and garlic season with salt and pepper.
Cook stirring occasionally, until crisp tender about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook stirring until juicy. About 2 minutes.
Boil large pot of water and cook gnocchi according to package directions.
Reserve 1/2 c. cooking liquid. Drain and add to skillet.
Toss gnocchi adding enough liquid to create sauce. Remove from heat. Add basil, Parmesan, butter, and lemon juice.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
We were suppose to have BBQ Chicken Pizza tonight for dinner but I realized that our cheese grater is packed somewhere. Lets face it...I will buy a new one instead of trying to find the old one.
I have never had gnocchi before so I was a little excited and a little nervous. I looked down all of the frozen isles at Walmart to try and find gnocchi frozen. No luck. I had seen it before with the pasta at a grocery store in Vegas so I figured it was the same here and lucky for me it was. I bought the kind that is in a plastic container and vacuumed sealed. For me this meal cooked super quick. I actually had to slow it down some so that it would be ready right when Blake got home. I thought it was good. I liked the zucchini and the sauce. I didn't have any grape tomatoes so I just used chopped plum tomatoes. I also added more Parmesan. I think both of those changes were good and if you are going to make this I would recommend adding more cheese. The gnocchi was a little heavy for my liking. At $3 dollars a package I thought it was good but if I was being frugal I would just use penne instead.

Grocery List

Produce:
red onion (1) (1)
plum tom. (3 c.)
garlic
basil (1/2 c.) (1/4 c.)
zucchini or squash (2) (1)
grape tom. (1 pint)
lemon
parsley
romaine

Refrigerated:
monterey jack cheese shredded (2 c.)
fresh mozzarella (1/2 lb.)
parmesan cheese
butter

Freezer:
frozen bread loaves

Meat:
chicken (1 lb. boneless skinless)
rotisserie chicken

Other:
bbq sauce
spinach noodles and regular noodles that are the same variety
gnocchi
lemon juice
loaf french bread

Shopping List

I think in order to make this easier I am going to make it color coded. That way you will know what ingredients to get or not get depending on what meals you have that week. So the coloring will go as follows:

Monday = red
Tuesday = orange
Wednesday = green
Thursday = blue
Friday = purple
anything in black is either a multiple item or an item where you buy one and will use it for many different meals.

Then they will be sorted into categories. Such as produce, refrigerated, freezer and regular isles.

Anything else you would like to see let me know.

Lentil Casserole

For the Casserole:
6 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. lentils, uncooked
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. brown rice, uncooked
1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 small can diced chilies

For toppings:
cheddar cheese, shredded
tomatoes, diced
olives, sliced
green onions, sliced thin
cilantro, minced

For the Casserole:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together in a oven safe dish. Cover and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours or until lentils and rice are cooked through and no liquid is left.
Place cheese and any other toppings on casserole and heat through.

Makes: a lot. Total Time: 15 minutes plus cooking time

Verdict:
When my mom first made this growing up I told her I would not eat it. It does not look good. She made us try it and I am glad I did. I enjoy it quite a bit. The nice thing about this is that you can use dried ingredients that you have in your cupboard like: onions, chicken bouillon instead of chicken broth and today I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. It was still good. We like to eat it with sour cream and salsa. Everything is better with those right?

Quick Question

Would it be helpful if I did a grocery list that you could copy and print out that included all of the ingredients for the week?

Menu

So I am back and ready to attack...well kind of. I think I am going to do a kind of recession week. All the meals will have just a few ingredients. Most of the stuff you will probably have on hand and for the select few of you that have gardens it should be even better. We also don't have our scanner out so for those of you that are expecting professional pictures, I am sorry.

Mon: Lentil Casserole

Tue: BBQ Chicken Pizza

Wed: Hay and Straw

Thur: Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Fri: Chicken and Marinated Zucchini Sandwich