Its time for pizza to make another appearance on this good old blog today. This time in a flavorful bacon and brussel sprout pizza. This pizza has a lovely crunchy and creaminess from the cheese. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

Ingredients: (makes dough for 2 pizzas) 
1 envelope yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil 
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Add your yeast, sugar, salt, water, and olive oil in your mixing bowl and stir. Using your dough hook, add your flour slowly and beat on medium until a ball of dough forms. Cover your dough ball with olive oil and leave in bowl covered with plastic wrap in a warm spot until it has doubled in size. Divide it into pieces and knead it lightly and let it sit for about 10 minutes before forming into pizza circles. 

Pizza Toppings: 
8 brussel sprouts
16 ounce package of bacon
1 garlic clove
3 ounces goat cheese
1/3 cup feta cheese
Olive oil for brushing
Black pepper
Balsamic glaze

Cook your bacon in a pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove from pan and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the excess oil. Trim your brussel sprouts into small shavings. Add them to the remaining bacon grease in the pan and cook until wilted. Add 1 minced garlic clove and cook for 1 additional minute. Cut your bacon into small pieces. Brush your pizza crust with olive oil. Cover with brussel sprouts, bacon, goat cheese, and feta cheese. Crack some black pepper over your pizza. Drizzle your pizza with your balsamic glaze. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and crust is golden. 

You are in for a treat today! Chicken and Dumplings is such a family favorite around here! Its a real treat and something we often make for special birthday meals. This recipe hails all the back to the 80's. So grab a turtle neck and curl your bangs, and lets get to it! 

Ingredients: 

1 Roast Chicken
1 pkg cream cheese (room temperature) 
2 pkgs pillsbury crescent roll dough
1 cup butter (room temperature) 
1 cup pepperidge farm herbed season bread crumb stuffing
1 cup crushed walnuts 

The night before prep:The stock is the part that makes a good dumpling a delicious one.  Rinse you chicken under cool running water.  Put in a large stock pot and cover with water.  Add salt, peppercorns, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, thyme, sage and whatever else you have. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is cooked.  One way I tell if it is cooked, is if I can pull the leg off the chicken.  Remove your chicken from the liquid and refrigerate both separately over night. 

The next day all the fat will have risen to the top of your liquid, skim that off. You will use this liquid to create a gravy. Drain the stock of all veggies.To make the gravy, take a couple of cups of stock and add 2 chicken bullion cubes.  Mix about 2 tbs. of cornstarch with a bit of water add to stock, stirring well, and bring to a boil.  You can make it as thick or as thin depending on the amount of cornstarch

Remove the chicken from the carcass (debone it) and shred. Mix the chicken with the 1 cube of butter and cream cheese. 

Take the crescent roll dough out and pat out each triangle to make it a little larger. Place spoonful of the chicken mixture in the middle of the dough and fold the sides over so the mixture is completely covered by the dough. 

Melt your other cube of butter in a bowl. Pat your chicken rolls flat then dip in the butter. Then dip in the breadcrumbs and walnuts and place them all on a cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve over rice and top with the gravy you have made from your chicken drippings. 

This is seriously such a wonderful family favorite of ours. Its something you'll be certain to love as well. 

I usually feel like I am shirking my home maker duties when I serve quesadillas for dinner. They are simple, boring, and easy. Well this quesadilla recipe is none of those things. When my husband tasted this, his reaction was like "wow, this is a keeper!" and I totally agree. The onions in these quesadillas are packed full with this deep rich flavor. You get the subtle bite of the arugula, the thick herby mushrooms, the melty cheese. It's even vegetarian! So so good, you won't believe your mouth. 

The downside? You'll need to dirty 2 pans, and caramelized onions aren't quick. But these babies are worth it. Total cook time is about 20 minutes.  
Serves 2 adults + 1 toddler :) 

Ingredients: 

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 pkg baby portabellos, thinly sliced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh stripped thyme
salt & pepper
10 corn tortillas
1 cup melty white cheese
2 cups arugula 

In one pan, some heat some olive oil and begin to caramelize your onions on medium heat. (Don't forget to add salt and pepper to your onions.) 

In another pan, melt your butter and a bit of olive oil and begin to cook your mushrooms. (Don't forget to salt and pepper your mushrooms.) 

Stir both pans occasionally, let everything reduce and get golden. 

To your onions add your sugar and vinegar. Let the liquid reduce down and get absorbed by the onions. Remove from pan. 

To your mushrooms add your garlic and thyme. When the garlic is fragrant and a bit soft, remove the mushrooms from the pan. 

Make sure both your pans still have a good coating of oil. Place your tortillas down, cover with a layer of onions, mushrooms, cheese, arugula, and another layer of tortilla. Cook until the tortilla is golden and crispy, then flip and do the same on the other side. 

Cut into quarters and serve immediately. You will seriously be blown away by the amazing unforgettable flavors of these quesadillas! I am already dreaming of what I can whip up with these flavorful onions next!

When scrolling through Pinterest, I am a sucker for a beautiful food photo. This one  from Pinch of Yum of course caught my eye because anything you can do to jazz up everyday ordinary chicken, I'm game for. I made a few small tweaks to the inspiration recipe, but the result was delicious. Its savory, and the sauce was drinkable. 

Ingredients: 
2 large chicken breasts, cut in half width wise (to make 4 thin slices) 
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons Lavender Apple herbs de provence 
1/2 an onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine 
1 cup chicken stock
few springs of fresh parsley 
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat your la cruse pot over medium heat. Cut your bacon into tiny pieces and crisp it up. While that cooks, mix your flour and herbs de provence together. 

Pat your chicken dry and coat both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge your chicken in the flour mixture. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Turn up your heat to medium high. Cook your chicken in the bacon drippings until its golden on each side. Don't worry about it being all the way cooked through at this point. Remove the chicken and set aside. Saute your onions in your olive oil until golden and caramelized. Add the wine and make sure you scrape off all the delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add your stock and let everything reduce and thicken for about 5 minutes. Add your chicken and bacon back into your pan, then cook for 10 minutes in the oven. Spoon and pour the sauce over the top of the chicken at the 10 minute mark. Then cook for another 10 minutes and again, spoon the sauce drippings over the top of the chicken. Check for doneness in your chicken and remove it from the oven as soon as its cooked through. Sprinkle with fresh parsley when done and serve immediately with sauce over the top.