Goat Cheese, Pear, and Arugula Pizza!

GOURMET PIZZA, anyone??!!  We went to 'Fireside Pies' years back and fell in love with a pizza, very much like the one I've made !  I tried to reproduce it, as my whole family said they LOVED it, and that says a lot coming from teen boys!  This pizza would be GREAT for a ladies luncheon, or cut into small squares and used as an appetizer!

                                               Goat Cheese, Pear, and Arugula Pizza!

Lookin' good!

1 Tube Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
Garlic Powder- to coat
Cracked black pepper- to coat
Italian seasoning- to coat
Parmesan cheese from shake bottle- to coat
Red pepper flakes- several shakes, all around (look to pic below)
Olive oil- sprinklings of
Shredded mozzarella cheese- (about 8 oz) put on nice and thick everywhere~
About half a pear- cut in thin slices
4-5 Oz crumbled goat cheese
Paprika to sprinkle top

2-3 oz. baby arugula_chilled
1 Tbsp blue cheese dressing
2 Tbsp cooking sherry

Roll out dough onto large cookie sheet. Sprinkle with all the seasonings and parmesan cheese, then sprinkle with olive oil.

Top that with mozzarella cheese, then slices of pear~

Put on the goat cheese, and sprinkle with paprika, fresh cracked pepper, and more olive oil~

Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 13 minutes~

While pizza is in the oven, put arugula in a bowl, and mix the arugula with 1 Tbsp blue cheese dressing, and 2 Tbsp cooking sherry, mix well~ Place this on top of pizza when it comes OUT of oven, and has been cut into pieces, like in the first picture, above.  The arugula should be chilled~

Make sure you serve each piece with a good amount of arugula!  It's TOO yummy, and you want some with every bite!  Hope you enjoy!  It's an EASY, crowd pleaser!! :)

Cajun Stuffed Pork Chops!

My husband used to make these GREAT stuffed pork chops for me when we were first married!  It was such a treat! They were succulent, sweet, and spicy and I couldn't get enough of them!  We still make them together, for special occasions, or for a nice Sunday Supper!  We felt like cooking them up last night, and boy, were they AMAZING!  The house smelled incredible!  This is a recipe of Louisiana Chef, Paul Prudhomme!  He knows his stuff! I did alter recipe, just a bit, to make things easier and cut the cooking time, because the cooking time on his recipe made the chops too dry. I'll tell you the time he says, and the time we used to get them more juicy!

                                                       Cajun Stuffed Pork Chops!

The stuffing gets nice and crisp!  Tastes amazing!

6  1 3/4 inch thick Pork Chops with bone-in

For stuffing~

1 pound ground pork
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 large green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies and their juice
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 cup chicken stock
1 bunch green onions, chopped fine
1 Tbsp minced garlic 
7 Tbsp unsalted butter-divided 3 and 4
2 apples, cored, unpeeled, and chopped fine
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp seasoning mix-recipe below

For seasoning mix~
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Make up seasoning mix first. Mix well~

Cut pockets in pork chops all the way to the bone to hold stuffing.  Take out 2 Tbsp of seasoning mix, and put aside to put into stuffing.  Use the rest of seasoning to put onto and into chops.  We couldn't get 1 3/4 inch thick chops this time, because it was last minute, so I had to cut cooking time. These were about 1 1/4 inch thick.  Try to get the bigger ones~

Start making up the stuffing in large skillet. Brown ground pork with 3 Tbsp butter over high heat for about 3 minutes, then add onions, bell peppers, garlic, and the 2 Tbsp of seasoning mix. Stir well, and cook about 5 minutes, scraping up bottom of pan.  Stir in green chilies and continue to cook up until well browned!

See how nice and brown it gets?  So many flavors caramelizing up together! YUM!  Now add the apples, and chicken stock~let it cook while stirring, for about 3-5 minutes, then add the remaining 4 Tbsp butter, your 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 3 Tbsp brown sugar.  Mix well, and when butter is melted, add the bread crumbs.  Keep cooking for a couple more minutes, scraping up pan bottom!  All the flavor is on the pan bottom, you want all that! :)

Stuff each chop with about 1/4 cup or more with stuffing.  Place them into 13X9 inch pan, pocket side up!  Save the remaining stuffing to bake up with the pork chops for last 15-20 minutes.  Put chops into a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Chef Prudhomme's recipe says to cook it for an hour and 10 minutes.  We cut the time to 50 minutes and we could have cooked them even less. We did have smaller chops, but I would highly recommend checking them around 40 minutes in!  Don't forget to bake up extra stuffing for last 15 minutes before chops are fully cooked! Serve the stuffed chops over a bit of the extra stuffing!  IT'S AMAZING!  Your taste buds will thank you!!

...ALL this yummy food was being cooked up under this beautiful rainbow!  Simply a great Sunday night with my awesome family!   

Texas Meatloaf, with Candied Jalapeno Glaze!

Texans LOVE beef!  Meatloaf is a staple in this house, as it is very affordable, and can feed a crew til they are STUFFED!  My Great Grandma had a wonderful recipe for meatloaf, and we have put our 'Texas spin' on it by using Candied Jalapenos into the tasty ketchup-brown sugar glaze! Just enough of a hint of spice to wake up your taste buds!!  Nothing more comforting, and simple as this meatloaf!


                                       Texas Meatloaf, with Candied Jalapeno Glaze!

All cooked up, sliced and ready to serve!

3 pounds ground beef- 80/20 lean best
1 1/2 Italian bread crumbs
1 LARGE onion- minced
4-6 eggs, I used 5 (they say 2 eggs per pound of meat, but I think 6 would be too much and they were large eggs)
3 tsp black pepper
3 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp allspice- this makes it good!
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp worcestershire
3 Tbsp ketchup
2 tsp mustard
3 Tbsp brown sugar

FOR GLAZE~ play with it!
1/2 to 3/4 cup ketchup-to taste
1/8 to 1/4 cup mustard-to taste
3 Tbsp brown sugar-or to taste, like I said, this was great gram's recipe and they didn't measure much~ LOL!
1-2 Tbsp candied jalapenos out of jar, THEN you chop them, if you want more spice-chop up some more!  Make the glaze your own! :)

Put everything for meatloaf into a big bowl and mix well!

Form into 1 big, oblong shape and put onto big cookie sheet lined with foil.  Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes~

See the jar of candied Jalapenos?  They are in most stores now,  but different brands.  These are Texas Pepper Works Candy-Krisp Jalapenos!

Chop up the candied jalapenos, and mix it all up! If you don't want candied jalapenos, you can use pickle relish instead! :)

After 50 minutes of cooking, take meatloaf out of oven and pour glaze onto meatloaf, and spread it all over the top.  Put the meatloaf back into the oven for the remaining 30 minutes~ (make sure you have a full 30 minutes and the timer wasn't still going while you took the time to put the glaze on :) 

All cooked up, looking DELICIOUS!  My boys and hubby dove in, and LOVED it, as usual!   We are a family of 6, 5 being big 'boys'!  They ate 3/4 of this, with mashed potatoes.  If you have a smaller family cut the recipe by 3rds and reduce cooking time.   Leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches are always GREAT, however!  Try it, it's a great recipe!

'Tuna and Peas' Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette!

I have been making this incredibly EASY, yet YUMMY pasta salad since I was a new mom!  My boys love it, and ask for it every week!  (no joke!)  It's made with ingredients that most have on hand, so it's a great go to recipe when you need to make something good for unexpected guests or when your kids are looking for something 'different' for lunch than 'corn dogs'!  :)  If you like pasta salads, I bet you'll like this one!


                             'Tuna and Peas' Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette!

Makes me want to eat some, just looking at it!  :)

Make up the vinaigrette~  3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup cooking sherry,  1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard, 1 tsp sugar,  3/4 tsp salt,  fresh pepper, 1/2 tsp minced garlic~  stir well to emulsify! 

Cook 1 pound of noodles til al-dende (we like to make this with these 'cork screw' noodles, or shells)   strain in strainer and rinse with cold water to cool down noodles as well as you can.

!

Take a pound of frozen PETITE peas, and pour the bag on top of the cooled down noodles in strainer~

Rinse with cold water til peas are thawed.  The frozen peas help cool down the noodles even more!  No need to cook the peas!  

Transfer all to a big bowl, or into cooled down pot!  Add 2 or 3 cans of drained tuna, and all of the vinaigrette you prepared!

Stir well, and serve in bowls!  EASY, EASY, EASY!!   Hope your family loves it as much as mine does!