Pizza Bagels

When pizza is a bagel, you can eat pizza anytime. And when you are 8 months pregnant, you truly need pizza anytime.

Pizza Bagels
Adapted from Shutterbean

• mini bagels, sliced in half
• marinara sauce
• mozzarella, shredded
• pepperoni

Lay sliced bagels on a baking sheet. Place a pepperoni over the hole. Top with marinara sauce, more pepperoni, mozzarella.  Repeat for each bagel half.  

Cover in plastic wrap and push down so the cheese and toppings stick the marinara sauce. Freeze for 2 hours.  Remove from freezer and put in freezer bags.

To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook for 14 minutes until cheese is golden.

Shrimp Bruschetta

This is a recipe to save. I am always on the look out for the perfect party recipe. It's harder than it looks and the more recipes you have like this, the easier throwing a party is. 

Qualifiers:

1. easy to make (you are stressed out enough, and I'm pretty sure that's your baby crying.)
2. can be made ahead (save all your last-minute time for everything you'll will forget about)
3. isn't cream cheese or cheese based (we have a zillion of those recipes already)

This hits all three. Make it early and keep it chilled, then put it in a bowl for people to scoop onto their crostinis. No one likes a soggy crostini.

Shrimp Bruschetta
16 pieces
Adapted from Delicious on a Dime

• 1 pound shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined, and chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 16 slices of french bread, toasted to crostinis or grilled

Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill while you make the crostinis.  Spoon shrimp mixture on crostini and consume.  For an appetizer I would recommend keeping the shrimp mixture in a bowl next to the crostinis for people to spoon on as needed so the bread doesn't get soggy.

Sunny Side Up Onion Rings

This isn't really a recipe but was cute and delicious.  The onions sizzled up nicely and added a tangy taste to the eggs.

Sunny Side Up Onion Rings

• oil
• onions, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
• eggs

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Throw on some onion rings. When slightly browned flip!

Crack an egg in the middle of each ring. Add a tablespoon of water or two to the skillet and cover. Cook until your egg is at desired done-ness.

Salmon with Yogurt Dill "dip"

My "good eater" is now refusing anything that isn't "milk with cereal" or peanut butter and jelly.  As a kid I feel like my parents made me try stuff all the time. As an adult how the heck do you make kids try things!? I don't want to cram it down his mouth... but I'm not above that either. This salmon was freakin' delicious, not that Henry will ever know even though it had a "dip".  It also is a legitimate 30 minute meal and that includes preheating the oven, not that Henry cares. Rude.

Salmon with Yogurt Dill Sauce
Adapted from Dinner: A Love Story

• 1 pound salmon filet
• 1/2 cup plain (greek) yogurt
• 2 heaping teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• squeeze of lemon
• salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper then bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. 

Serve salmon with a smear of sauce.

French Eggs

We eat a lot of eggs around here.  I'm all for a high protein breakfast but we eat a lot of eggs around here.  Steven has been trying to jazz it up lately and this is his greatest hit so far.

Provence Eggs

• Scrambled Eggs, cooked
• Fancy olive oil, drizzled
• Thyme, topped with
• Rosemary, sprinkled on
• Marjoram, just a dab
• Sage, keep going

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Shrimp

As an ignorant American I can barely point to Morocco on a map (it's right below Spain) but boy can I whip up some Moroccan shrimp in 15 minutes flat.  The one thing I was at a loss on was sides.  What do Moroccans eat with their shrimp? According to wiki, couscous. Although I don't think they would have been mad at this garlic bread either.

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Shrimp
Serves 4
Adapted from Simply Whisked

• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon gound cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili power
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• black pepper
• 1 1/2 pound of shrimp, deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all dry ingredients (everything but the shrimp and olive oil) in a small bowl.  Toss the shimp with the mixture until evenly coated.

Heat the oil in a very large skillet (or do two batches) over medium heat.

Add shrimp and fry until cooked (turns pink) flipping once.

Steamed Clams with Garlic and Chives

This was my first time cooking and eating clams. It was surprising easy. Like less than 15 minutes to make easy. And it comes with dipping wine butter, y'all. Steven loved the clams and I loved the dipping. Can you guess which one of us is the porker?  Henry loved the shells and his peanut butter sandwich.

Highly recommend you pair these with a summer day, a cool breeze, a shady patio, and a glass of the leftover wine.

Steamed Clams with Garlic and Chives

Adapted from Whats Gaby Cooking

Serves 2 for dinner, more for appetizer

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup pinot grigio (use the cheap stuff)
• 2 pounds of clams (about 2 dozen)
• 3 tablespoon chives
• 1 lemon
• toasted baguette for serving

Heat butter and olive oil in a large shallow skillet over medium-heat.  Add garlic, shallots, red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes until garlic is fragrant.

Add wine and increase heat to medium high. The wine should be simmering.

Add clams, cover, and cook for 6 minutes until clams have opened. Toss any that are closed.

Add chives and juice from the lemon. Give the pot a stir and serve in a big serving dish.  Make sure to get all the cooking liquid to dip the toasted baguettes in.

Lemon Cookies

These are definitely cheating if we go by the 'made from scratch' standard, but they are stupid-easy and crazy-delicious. 

Oh, and did I mention they take less than 20 minutes? And that 20 minutes includes having Henry "help" AND I burnt them a little bit.  You can get these done in 15 minutes flat on a good day.

Lemon Cookies

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Makes 30 tiny cookies (1 serving if you're determined)

• 1 box of lemon cake mix (I think mine was 15 ounces and it was betty crocker)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about a whole lemon's worth)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Mix all ingredients except the powdered sugar in a large bowl. 

Form dough into small balls then roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place on baking sheet.

Bake 6 to 9 minutes in the oven. They don't look done from the top, but flip one over and it should be golden brown.

next time: I'll plan ahead slightly and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before baking. Also I am just going to keep a box of lemon cake mix in the pantry for dessert emergencies. These were that easy.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Crostini

Simple, Sweet, and Seasonal!  Get your strawberries before someone else does. These are simple so the flavor of the strawberries really needs to be there. If the strawberries aren't good, this appetizer won't be either. While we will make these again at home with any lingering strawberries, I don't think it's Megan-shower worthy.  The taste was there but I'm afraid the crostinis will get soggy before anyone eats them. 

Strawberry Goat Cheese Crostini
Adapted from Shutterbean

• a french baguette's worth of crostinis
• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 8 ounces goat cheese
• kosher salt

Soak cut strawberries in balsamic vinegar in a small bowl for about 10 minutes.  Spread a layer of goat cheese on each crostini and top with strawberries.  Sprinkle salt on the crostini and serve.

Next time: add some chopped fresh basil on top and grill the crostinis instead of using the oven.

Hamburger Tomato Pizza

We always plan when we are going out to eat but never what restaurant we are going to. The un-evolving conversation of "where do you want to go" "I don't care, where do you want to go" infuriates me to no end. To the point where it ruins the experience.  It would actually be quicker to cook something, we take so long deciding. That would certainly be cheaper. 

So now instead of going out X times a week or (X-1) as we have been trying to do. We are waiting until we really crave something before we treat ourselves.  I predict this will last one week. Ha.

This homemade pizza was perfect to mark the beginning of our weekend. And it was easy because I cheated and used frozen pizza dough and store bought pizza sauce.  This is real life.

The odd thing about this pizza is the use of raw ground beef. It makes the pizza deliciously greasy. But everything was cooked through and it saved having to clean a skillet.

Hamburger Tomato Pizza
Adapted from Shutterbean
Serves 2 to 3

• Non-stick spray
• Small handful of flour for your work surface
• frozen pizza dough, thawed
• marinara sauce, store-bought
• 1 package provolone cheese
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 pound ground beef, raw
• salt and pepper
• handful of basil, sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray large baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Stretch out the dough to fit the baking sheet with either a rolling pin or your hands. Move to the baking sheet.

Spread sauce over dough. Top with provolone, tomatoes, onions, pinches of raw beef, salt, pepper, and basil.

Bake until crust is golden, beef is cooked, and cheese is melted. About 20 minutes.

Tuna Patties

Tuna patties are generally ugly. But they are quick, easy, and versatile. The only ingredients you truly need are tuna, eggs, and breadcrumbs. The rest is just frill. But sometimes frill is nice.  Our favorite add-ons are pesto and mozzarella. Kitchen sink tuna patties sound gross so lets just call them Tuna Patties and know that you can throw a lot of different food in there and they will still be good. 

We eat this once a week every week until we are sick of it. Then we eat it one more time just to be sure. It always ends up back in our rotation after a couple of months anyways. Its the perfect 'need-to-plan-one-more-meal-before-I-go-shopping' filler in our weekly meal planning routine. 

Tuna Patties

Serves 2 and a toddler

Adapted from watching my college roommate Jenn make them

• two cans white tuna in water, drained
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons pesto plus more to garnish
• 1/2 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 
• 1-2 tablespoons oil, (I use grapeseed, vegetable or canola works too)

Mix tuna, eggs, pesto, and mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl making sure to break up the tuna.  Stir in breadcrumbs slowly and let rest for a minute.  If the mixture is really runny add more breadcrumbs.  You should be able to make a solid patty without liquid running out or losing form. See picture below.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Divide mixture into 5 or 6 mini patties and cook uncovered on skillet until the bottom is crispy and brown. Then flip and cook until the other side is crispy. Remove to plate and garnish with extra cheese or pesto (or both, you deserve it).

Serve with a vegetable so you don't get fat.

Sausage and Brussels Sprouts

This is my 'I don't know what to make' meal. Its quick and easy and you only need two ingredients besides the normal pantry items. Its low carb, high vegetable, high protein and can be super delicious. It can also be quick and dirty.  Not necessarily both.

Quick and dirty: hot skillet + vegetable oil + brussels sprouts + sausage + who cares what order as long as it gets hot + throw on the lid and it will cook even faster = editable food.  I can make editable food (most of the time) but sometimes its nice to take your time and eat really good food.  Only if you want to. Quick and dirty ways shall not be judged.

Sausage and Brussels Sprouts

Serves 2 hungry adults

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bag of brussels sprouts, quartered with stems removed
• 4 links original beef sausage, sliced (flavored tastes weird in this recipe)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat vegetable oil on a large skillet with medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until it smells garlicky (wow! thats a real word!) and the onions start to get soft.

Crank the heat to medium high and add the brussels sprouts. Stir them around so they are covered in the oil and then let them sit, covered* for about 4 minutes. Don't mess with them. Don't mess with them. Don't mess with them. If you mess with them they won't get charred aka amazing.

Add the sausage and stir everything up then let it sit (covered)* for about 3 minutes or until the sausage is charred. Everything is cooked when the brussels sprouts are soft and the sausage is hot throughout.

Remove from heat, add oregano, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.  If not serving immediately then remove to paper towel lined plate so its not sitting in any leftover oil. 

*If it looks like the  brussels sprouts are cooking too fast then leave uncovered.