I had some extra flat bread on hand and was looking to put it to good use. I came across a recipe for chicken pesto pizza and thought I would give it a try. I really like the thin crust and the crispiness of the baked flat bread, it’s perfect for pizza. Basically this pizza is topped with a pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, chicken and cheese. If you don’t want to use chicken, I would recommend trying shrimp. This recipe uses a pretty basic basil pesto consisting of ingredients such as basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil. There is nothing hard about this pizza recipe and if you are using pre-cooked chicken, it can be served within 30 minutes. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 flatbread pizza crust
2 cups chicken breast strips (cooked)
1 (6 ounce) jar artichoke hearts (drained)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Basil Pesto Sauce-
1 cup fresh basil leaves (packed)
1 garlic cloves
1/8 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make basil pesto- Combine basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/3 cup of oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese and set aside.
Step 2: preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread pesto sauce over the pizza crust evenly. Arrange chicken pieces and artichoke hearts over the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.
Step 3: Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and flatbread is browned and crispy.
(Makes 6 servings)

I haven’t posted a lot of Greek cuisine onto this website and this Greek salad is perfect to start things off. Greek salad is a delicious summer salad consisting of ingredients such as romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and red onion. Like almost any salad, it’s all about the dressing. The dressing in this recipe is truly some of the best ever. It is important to allow the dressing to chill for at least 2 hours so the flavors can blend. There is a little prep work involved but in the end, it’s well worth the effort. If you want to add a little protein, sliced grilled chicken would go great in this salad. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
dressing-
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 teaspoon fresh garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
salad-
1 head romaine lettuce (torn, with outer leaves removed)
2 large Roma tomatoes (chopped)
1 cucumber (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
1 medium red onion (sliced)
1 green bell pepper (seeded, and chopped)
½ lb crumbled feta cheese
1 cup Kalamata olives

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make the dressing- in a blender add olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, basil, garlic, salt, black pepper, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Pour into a dressing bottle and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, feta cheese, and olives. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
(Makes 6 servings)

Those who love a little spice are sure to enjoy this grilled jerk shrimp recipe. It’s perfect for summer and outdoor grilling. This is shrimp coated with a jerk spice mixture and then grilled. The seasoning is a combination of sweet and spicy. Grilling shrimp is one of my favorite cooking methods for it; I just love the flavor that is produced from the grill. This is a Caribbean dish that is very easy to prepare and takes little effort. Serving with fresh mango salsa is a must. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Spray grill grates with cooking spray and heat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl combine sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, and allspice. In a large bowl combine shrimp and olive oil tossing well to coat. Sprinkle shrimp on both sides with the spice mixture and toss to coat. Thread shrimp onto skewers.
Step 2: Place skewers onto the grill and cook shrimp for 6 minutes or until fully cooked turning once.
(Makes 4 Servings)

This drink really needs no introduction, it is popular almost everywhere. Lemonade is the perfect summer drink. There is nothing better on these hot summer days than an ice cold glass of lemonade. Best of all, it’s very easy to make. It’s as simple as lemon juice, water, and sugar. Of course, a lot of ice and a couple lemon slices don’t hurt either. Using freshly squeezed lemon juice is almost necessary for that great flavor, and I can’t recommend using the bottled lemon juice. If you like this, maybe even give pink lemonade a try. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups white sugar
8 cups water (divided)
1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a small saucepan combine sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, and cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Step 2: Squeeze lemon juice from fresh lemons and remove the seeds from the juice (leaving the pulp). In a pitcher stir together syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water. Add ice and lemon slices and serve cold.
(Makes 12 Servings)

Fondues were really popular in the 70s but seemed to fade away after a while. During the 70s you never went to a party that didn’t have some type of Fondue. I can remember everyone standing around the Fondue pot talking, laughing and enjoying themselves between mouthfuls of warm cheese and bread and warm chocolate and fruit. Well, we still have parties and family gatherings throughout the year so why not bring them back.

Fondues are ideal for any gathering that includes food. They are simple to make, easy to serve and come in all flavors. In their days, most pots were heated with either a candle or Sterno. A little later came the electric pots. But did you know that you don’t have to have a real “Fondue Pot?” A small crock pot and even small electric simmer pots work well too. The main thing to remember no matter what type of pot you use is to keep the fondue well stirred to prevent burning.

Most Fondue Pots will include 6 and sometimes 8 forks. What do you do if you need more? Most wooden skewers will work just as well in place of the forks. The skewers also make clean-up easier… you can just throw them away.

Now for one of my favorites. This is a cheese fondue that is so simple, easy and delicious that there is no way to mess it up.

1 loaf of French bread cut into cubes
1 can Ro-Tel
1 lb. Velveeta cheese cut into chunks

Place cheese and Ro-Tel in your pot, heat until melted and smooth. Serve with cheese cubes. This is a delicious fondue that you can adjust the taste heat by your choice of Ro-Tel.

I tried my hand today at making egg rolls for the 1st time. I believe they turned out pretty good but haven’t heard back from my food testers so the results aren’t in yet.

I did end up with extra egg roll wraps and didn’t know what to do with them. I really didn’t think they would freeze very well and as usual I don’t like to throw food away. This is what I ended up doing.

I cut each wrapper into 1/4s. In the center of each I added about 1/2 tsp of cream cheese and either a small slice of pineapple or a cherry, rolled them up to create mini egg rolls and fried in small batches for about 1 min on each side. Now these I do know turned out great! They make perfect appetizers or just nice snacks. For the fruit, add just about any kind. Just remember it has to be kept small so it will fit the mini-rolls. Use blueberries, strawberry slices, peach slices, use your imagination.

1. Plan, plan, plan. “If a family or head of household can take an hour to plan a week’s worth of meals and make a grocery shopping list and another hour to grocery shop, then the family can be good for a week,” says Shelley A. Rael, RD, a registered dietitian and health education consultant at the University of New Mexico’s Employee Health Promotion Program in Albuquerque. This is a win-win situation as food prepared at home is generally healthy and less expensive.
2. Buy in bulk. Whether it’s choosing a “family size” pack of skinless chicken breasts and freezing what you don’t use right away or one large container of nonfat yogurt instead of individual servings, buying big can equal big savings.
3. Cut those coupons. “Clipping coupons and shopping sales will never go out of style, especially when there are many mouths to feed,” says Amy Berns, RD, a registered dietitian with Medical Network One’s Michigan Institute for Health Enhancement in Trenton. Coupons are everywhere these days, from local flyers to the Internet. Check individual food companies’ Web sites for discounts, rebates, and coupons you can print yourself.
4. Shop the perimeter of the store. Most stores are organized with packaged foods in the middle. As much as possible, stick to the outer areas where you can find the healthier fruits and vegetables, meat, and dairy. Also, while these foods may seem expensive, be sure to consider actual serving sizes and how many meals you can get from one purchase. “Produce may appear expensive at the outset,” says Rael, “but it can be part of a meal or a snack. Many people see ‘$3.99 per pound,’ but don’t think about how that pound could potentially be spread across several meals or people.”
5. Try some substitutions. Instead of expensive and less healthy beef, buy more chicken and pork. Beans are another good source of protein and are usually much cheaper than meat. Fish can be bought frozen or canned to cut down on cost as well.
6. Try the “IKEA” style of eating. That means “some assembly required,” says Ashley Koff, RD, a registered dietitian in private practice in Los Angeles. “Rather than buying the salad already made, buy the pieces and assemble it yourself. Instead of the ready-to-eat pasta dish, buy the sauce, the cheese, the meatballs, and some organic frozen vegetables.” Not only is it less expensive to purchase items individually, but you will also be avoiding the preservatives used to increase a packaged food’s shelf life.
7. Skip the snack foods. Products like chips, cookies, and soda are unhealthy and represent an unnecessary expense for shoppers looking to save money. Popcorn, dried fruits, and nuts are good, nutritious substitutions for chips.
8. Go local and buy in-season. “Look for fresh local and in-season produce as this is usually more affordable than choosing imported produce,” says Erin Palinski, RD, a registered dietitian in private practice in northern New Jersey. “If fresh produce seems too expensive, try choosing frozen or canned. It is more affordable and has a longer shelf life. To cut down on the sodium content of canned vegetables, try rinsing them before cooking and serving.”
9. Be creative. Whether it’s trying a new recipe with ingredients bought using coupons or putting a new twist on an old favorite, shopping and preparing different foods can be fun.

Here’s an easy way to make pop cycles that they will love but control the sugar at the same time.

You will need plastic spoons, sugar-free cool aide and small (3 oz.) plastic cups. Make the cool aide according to the instructions on the package, pour into the cups and place in the freezer. When the mixture gets mushy, insert a plastic spoon in the center. Continue to freeze until frozen solid.

A lot of the drink packages now come in individual size so you can mix up several packs using different flavors instead of using the 2 qt. size and give the kids a choice of flavor.

A couple of nights ago I made baked chicken breasts. I’ve never bought chicken breasts with so much meat, ever! The end results left me with a bit of left over meat. I don’t like to waste so I chopped it up and decided to make something quick and simple with the leftover meat. This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever find for chicken. I boiled 1 cup of rice, mixed in the leftover chicken (about 1 a cup), added a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, mixed well and poured into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. I thickly topped the dish with shredded cheese and topped that with French fried onion rings. Then into a preheated 350 degree oven it went for about 15 minutes or until the dish was hot and the cheese was melted. This dish was Wonderful! I had drop-in company for dinner and from the raves I got you would have thought I served steak. I told no one how easy it was to make nor that it was made with leftovers. Try this the next time you have left over chicken. You won’t regret it.

After having a gathering of friends I found myself with leftover sliced cheese. All kinds of cheese.. Swiss, Cheddar, etc. With the economy as it is there was no way I would just throw it away and there was also no way I could eat it all before it went bad. So what do you do with leftover cheese? I did 2 things. First I cut it up into small pieces. I measured out 1 1/2 cups and made pimiento cheese. I did this by mixing 1/2 of an 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 heaping tablespoons of chopped pimiento and pepper. The different cheeses gave it a great taste. This made a delicious spread. Second, I took what was left over, put it into a freezer bag and put it into the freezer to use with dishes I make that call for cheese. Frozen cheese, after thawing, won’t work very well for sandwiches but it works great in cooking. So the next time you’re stuck with leftover sliced cheese, give either or both of these suggestions a try.