Gourmet pizza

I used to think I hated pizza. But what I hated, I discovered later, was cheap sausage, pepperoni, and greasy cheese thrown onto some crust. I now know (especially after visiting Rome and getting pizza al taglio) that I love pizza, and love the endless possibilities.

I saw a lot of unexpected combinations in Rome, like sausage, potato, and olives, or zucchini flower and anchovies. Today as I was sitting hungry in class, I stumbled upon Martha Stewart's collection of pizza recipes. Martha Stewart's pizzas have provided that same pleasant surprise for me as I found discovered these new flavors that I plan to add to my pizza repertoire.

1. Roasted Vegetable and Wild Mushroom with Pesto

 2. Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

 3. Three Cheese Pizza

 4. Pesto Pizza

 5. Sausage and Olive Pizza

 6. Roasted Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza

 7. Fontina and Arugala Pizza

 8. Clam Pizza 

 9. Asparagus and Sun Dried Tomato Pizza

 10. Pizza Margherita

 11. Beer Lover's Pizza

 12. Pizza Sandwiches (Are you kidding me?)

 13. Fig Pizza

 14. Red Pepper and Spinach Pizza

Aren't they positively mouthwatering? Check out all 43 pizza recipes here.

P.S. I got a pizza stone for my wedding and will never make my homemade pizza on anything else!

tj's freezer meals

Tuesdays are very busy days for me. After a long day of school, the last thing I feel like doing is slaving over a hot stove only to finally eat dinner at 11pm. Lately, I have been trying out many of Trader Joe's wonderful freezer dishes. This has been a big step for me, as I am usually reluctant to place anything on the table that I cannot take complete credit for. However, since the most I've had to do for this type of meal is prepare some rice, I have decided to let go of my pride in exchange for a relaxing night at home.

So easy, and so good. And healthier than other freezer meals. Trader Joe's uses many organic ingredients, and is conscious of the sodium that is so common in freezer meals. An additional bonus is that I don't have to worry about ingredients spoiling if I don't have time to get to cooking a particular meal.

Here are some that I have tried and loved. I have heard that they can be hit or miss, and I am glad to say that these have all been hits in my house!

1. Mandarin Orange Chicken

 2. Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

 3. Pesto Pizza

via

4. Tarte D'Alsace

Do you have a Trader Joe's by you? I hope so! Stocking up on some of their freezer goods can really help you out. Let me know your favorites!

Breakfast Burrito Bar

This week, I went back to school to start the Spring semester. I decided to kick it off with some delicious breakfast burritos for my class. Here in California, breakfast burritos are very popular and can easily be made at home.

It has become a sort of tradition in my class to have everyone bring an ingredient or two to make breakfast burritos after our 8 A.M. class. A few of my friends and I prepare everything (i.e. scrambling the eggs, cooking the meat, frying the tater tots) and everything up in our lounge, then put it all on the table to allow everyone to build their own breakfast burrito. To finish it up, each person throws theirs in a panini press for added warmth and crispiness, and we enjoy our burritos together.

                                   

      

Popular combinations include:

• Chorizo, bacon, cheddar and basically all of the fillings
• Blue or goat cheese, bacon, avocado and tater tots
• Ham, cheddar, and tater tots

Even though there are a lot of ingredients, they are all fairly easy to prepare. This is a great option for serving big groups like my class, or for guests that stay at your house for a fun, filling breakfast. Toppings are easily customizable, and can be spiced up by making fillings like grilled onion, or by replacing meat with crumbled veggie burgers. 

'shrooms

ever since i have been little, i just haven't liked meat that much. sure, i have cravings now and then, but i just tire of it quickly and can never seem to finish it. whenever we went out to a restaurant when i was a small child, i would order a grilled cheese, which in retrospect must have been very frustrating for my mom who could have made that at home for me for 25 cents.

whenever i am not in the meat kind of mood, i turn to mushrooms, which can make a savory meat replacement that doesn't leave me wanting more.
mushroom crêpe cake
mushroom pie

 mushroom walnut burger

spicy mushroom miso ramen

mushroom and poblano tart

mushroom moussaka

wild mushroom tartlets

mushroom tikka masala

spinach&artichoke stuffed portabellos

mushroom turnovers

sweet onion & mushroom braid