Upside Down Pizza

My husband requested this recipe, as he hasn't eaten this in such a long time.    His grandma Wanda made this and he always loved it whenever she made it.  She passed away shortly after we got engaged.  I found the recipe in our church cookbook, and of course his grandma submitted this recipe to that cookbook. :)    It's a quick and easy crowd-pleaser recipe.

First brown the ground beef with the onions, and while that is cooking, mix up the batter.

Drain the grease and add pizza sauce and garlic salt

Spread on bottom of greased 9x13 pan

Top with mozzarella cheese

Then pour the batter on top of the mozzarella  (don't worry if it seems thin)

My little Junebug helping shake the parmesan cheese on top

Fresh out of the oven.  Smelled yummy!

Time to eat!!!

Upside Down Pizza

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef 
• 1 med onion, chopped 
• 1 15.5 oz jar pizza sauce 
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt 
• 8 oz Mozzarella, grated 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 c. milk 
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 c flour 
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese 

Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef and onion; pour off fat. Blend in pizza sauce and garlic salt. Put mixture in greased 9x13 inch pan and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese. In small bowl, mix eggs, milk, oil, salt, and flour. pour over meat mixture and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 30 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

Optional: You can add other pizza toppings to the meat mixture (green peppers, mushrooms, olives, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, Italian sausage, etc.).

QUICK & EASY Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

I just threw it all together as I went along.  I knew I wanted to bake a pasta casserole of some kind.  I noticed I had shell pasta & mozzarella cheese on hand...as well as spaghetti sauce and pepperoni.  So this recipe was just born tonight!  I'm sure other people have come up with recipes very similar to this but this is so easy and few ingredients!


Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

2-3 cups dry shell pasta (or any pasta)
1/2 can (large can like Hunt's) spaghetti sauce, any flavor  (you could add more sauce if you want)
1 cup mozzarella cheese (or more cheese if you want)
1/2 block of cream cheese, softened (from an 8oz block, so that'd make it 4 oz cheese)
1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped pepperoni  (or you could substitute cooked italian sausage or whatever you like)


Boil pasta until al dente.  While the pasta is boiling, mix the other three ingredients in a 2 quart casserole dish, and preheat oven to 350F.  Drain pasta and mix with the other ingredients in the casserole dish.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

That's it!  So easy and so yummy.  Serve with a nice salad and garlic bread.  :)

BBQ Chicken & Mozzarella Sandwich

Today, I couldn't decide on what to fix for lunch, but I knew I wanted to do something with chicken.  I had a bag of frozen boneless chicken breasts.  I took out two and defrosted 'em in the microwave.  While the chicken was defrosting, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees.

When the chicken defrosted, I put 'em on a baking sheet.

I was in the mood to add barbecue sauce to 'em.  So I grabbed a bottle of the barbecue sauce (I had the Kraft BBQ sauce on hand).  Poured about 1/4 cup into a small bowl and got my basting brush.   I brushed the chicken breasts with the barbecue sauce pretty thickly and then baked 'em for about 25 minutes.  

Meanwhile, I got a loaf of French bread and cut it in half.  It was just gonna be for me and my husband so I put the other half away for later (probably make pizzas with that).  I cut the half into half again, then cut into half lengthwise and arranged 'em on another baking sheet.

When the chicken was done, I let it rest for a few minutes.  I got my favorite knife and sliced 'em into 1/4 inch slices and arranged 'em on the bread.  Sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken and broiled 'em until the cheese melted.

When the cheese melted, I took 'em out of the oven and put the halves together to make a sandwich.  

Very hearty and will make you full easily!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup barbecue sauce (any brand, but needs to be thick)

1/2 loaf French bread, cut into half

Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush chicken with barbecue sauce. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Let chicken rest before slicing into 1/4 inch slices.   Divide the chicken onto the 4 pieces of French bread, and sprinkle with however much mozzarella cheese you like.

Broil until cheese is melted, then put the halves together to make a sandwich.  Enjoy!  Mmmmmm....

Pizza-dillas

Pizza-dillas!

I was being lazy one night...and decided to make these for dinner.  They were pretty yummy.  A mix of pizza and quesadillas...so you get pizzadillas!  Fusion cuisine at its trashiest. :)

I didn't measure everything, but all you need are:

• tortillas (I used corn tortillas, but flour tortillas would work well)
  
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
• pepperoni (or your favorite pizza toppings)
  
• spaghetti or pizza sauce (for dipping)
  
• 
  
• Optional: nonstick spray or oil
  

I sprayed the outsides of the tortillas with the nonstick spray to make 'em crispy (you could put a little oil in the pan if you don't want to use the nonstick spray).  I used my electric griddle for the pizza-dillas.  Sprinkle the bottom tortilla with mozzarella cheese and toppings (I used pepperoni).  Top with another tortilla.  Flip when cheese melts or the bottom looks toasty.  Cook til both sides are toasty (just like grilled cheese sandwiches).  Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter, and serve with spaghetti/pizza sauce for dipping.

Tortillas cooking on the electric griddle (I had it on 350*F)

Then cut up into wedges and served with sauce...I served it on a paper plate!  That's how lazy I felt that night...didn't even want to wash dishes.

Nutty Pineapple Dip

Nutty Pineapple Cream Cheese Dip

This is a really easy dip recipe.  It's always a huge hit whenever I bring it to parties.

All you need is:

• 8oz (small) can of crushed pineapple, WELL DRAINED (IMPORTANT!)
  
• 2-8oz blocks of cream cheese
  
• 4 oz chopped pecans
  
• 1 bunch green onions
  
• (OPTIONAL) chopped ham
  

It's important you drain your pineapple very well, or it won't hold together very well.  It'll be runny, but still tasty (I learned my lesson!).  Wash the green onions and chop them up.  You can soften the cream cheese if you want, it makes it easier to mix.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with crackers (I prefer the Ritz or the Club crackers with this dip).  

I didn't make it with ham this time but enjoy the pictures!

My pretty bowl with all the ingredients...getting ready to be mixed.  This is one of my favorite mixing bowls...it's got butterflies on the inside and outside!

A beautiful close up of the ingredients...minus the ham!

Already mixed and ready to serve!  You can mold it, but I'm lazy and serve it as is, sometimes. :)

Monterey Chicken Bake

This is one of my favorite recipes. My husband often requests this one. I came across this when I was looking for something to do with my boneless skinless chicken breasts. The original recipe asked for teriyaki sauce and other additional ingredients that I didn't have on hand. I adapted it to barbecue sauce and other ingredients and it tasted really good. I passed the recipe on to friends and it was a huge hit!

MONTEREY BBQ CHICKEN BAKE

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 to 6 slices of bacon
• barbecue sauce (works better if thick)
• 8 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese
• *2 or 3 each green onion stems
• large bottle of hidden valley ranch dressing
• McCormick Grill Mates barbecue seasoning (to taste)

*optional

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Lightly spray bottom of medium to large baking dish with regular cooking spray. Chop green onion stems into shallots - as much as you desire.
• Fry bacon on stove until crispy. Lay flat on paper towels to absorb grease. After 15 minutes, crumble bacon and set to the side.
• Brush both sides of chicken breasts with barbecue sauce. Lay chicken flat in a shallow baking dish and season with the barbecue seasoning. Flip and season opposite sides.
• Let chicken set for 10 minutes. Brush each chicken breast with barbecue again. Pour Hidden Valley Ranch dressing over each chicken breast, covering thoroughly.
• Place crumbled bacon pieces over chicken in dish. Add shredded Monterey Jack cheese (make sure to completely cover the chicken with cheese) and shallots over dish.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes uncovered. Chicken is done when middle is no longer pink. Enjoy!!

I usually serve this with mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce.