Creamy Summer Fruit Pizzas

Topped with creamy ricotta & mascarpone cheeses, juicy peaches, & sweet blackberries, these sweet & savory personal sized pizzas are perfect for summertime...

This delicious recipe was created in partnership with the ADA Mideast. As always, all thoughts & opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

"Summer, summer, summertime... Time to sit back and unwind." Okay, I know, I know. It isn't quite officially summertime yet. We are still 19 days away from that. 

But it certainly feels like summertime around here already. Temperatures have been in the balmy 80's most of this week, and my oldest's summer break from school started this past weekend. So for all intents and purposes, let's just say that summer has indeed arrived, k? ;)

Aside from the warmer weather and evenings around the fire pit, I most look forward to summertime for the flavors of the season. 

Sweet, juicy fruits and berries come into season. My basil plant overflows with bright green, fragrant leaves. And my mind starts spinning with delicious recipe ideas inspired by the sweet, fresh flavors of summer. 

These Creamy Summer Fruit Pizzas are the very embodiment of my love for perfectly ripe summer peaches and juicy blackberries. When they are paired with creamy ricotta & rich mascarpone cheeses and a little fresh basil, the end result is delicious, no fuss pizzas perfect for summertime...

No Effort Buffalo Chicken Pizza

My bread maker has been the catalyst for my absolute obsession with making homemade pizza lately.  Like at least once every single week.  Though my husband and son prefer it, I can only do so many pepperoni and cheese pizzas before I need a little change-up.  One of my first out of the ordinary pizza experiments was my seasonal and fresh Peach, Basil, and Caramelized Onion Homemade Pizza.  But now with football season upon us, I think this calls for the combination of two of everyone's favorite tailgate foods into one delicious creation- a Buffalo Chicken Pizza.  

This recipe is incredibly easy.  I let my Crock Pot and my bread maker do ALL the heavy lifting for this one.  Yes, for most of the actual cook time of this recipe I sat on my butt playing on Pinterest or chasing my daughter around the living room.  Note:  I was NOT in the kitchen. ;)

If you plan on making this for game day, I would suggest making the chicken in the Crock Pot the day before.  You can cut up the chicken the evening before game day morning, and store it in the fridge.  Or, you could go the SUPER easy route and just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store, but by making your own in the Crock Pot you can save money (and salt, and preservatives, and calories ;) ). 

For my quick recipe for "roasted" chicken in the Crock Pot, CLICK HERE.

What you will need:

For the crust-

1 cup of warm water

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of honey

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups white flour

1 cup wheat flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1-2 tbsp of cornmeal for dusting 

* I adapted my pizza dough recipe from the one found HERE.

About 1 lb (one large breast) of chicken, chopped

1 cup (maybe a bit more depending on your preference) of prepared Buffalo sauce

1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles

1 cup of shredded mozzarella

1/2 of red onion, thinly sliced (optional)

1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

After your chicken is finished roasting and as you are allowing it to cool before chopping, go ahead and start your pizza dough in your bread maker.  Add wet ingredients and then dry ingredients in the order I have them listed above.  Set your bread maker to the Dough setting and then just walk away.  My bread maker takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to mix, knead, and raise the dough.  

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Once your pizza dough is finished in the bread maker, take it out and dust it lightly with cornmeal.  Spread out the dough in a pan or on a pizza stone.  I usually lightly grease my pan to prevent any sticking.  In a small bowl, mix together your chopped chicken and Buffalo sauce.  We use an already prepared sauce that is made by a local vendor.  You can use your favorite wing sauce, or make your own.  I am using jarred because, A. This is No Effort Buffalo Chicken pizza. and B. We love this locally made wing sauce.

Spread the chicken and sauce mixture evenly over your crust.  If you have opted to add the red onions and/or jalapeno, toss those on now.  Now sprinkle on the mozzarella and blue cheese.  Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes.  I suggest that at 10 minutes you rotate the pan.  When the crust is slightly golden and the cheese is all bubbly, your pizza is probably ready to take out of the oven.  Let it cool slightly before cutting and serving.

I serve our Buffalo Chicken Pizza with a side of Ranch.  You could also serve it along side some blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.  This recipe makes six very large slices or 8 medium sized slices.

Peach, Basil, & Caramelized Onion Homemade Pizza

It is prime peach season around here.  The local farmers markets stands are starting to brim with bags and bushels of the juicy fruit.  Lately, I have had an obsession with making homemade pizza.  I blame my nifty little bread maker and how incredibly easy it has made it for me to make pizza dough from scratch at home.  I love just dumping in the ingredients and then walking away for about an hour and a half. ;)  So combine my new found love of from scratch pizza and the seasonal freshness of local peaches, and you will find my inspiration for my Peach, Basil, & Caramelized Onion Homemade Pizza.  Plus, I needed an excuse to do something fun with the peach white balsamic vinegar I got in my June Foodie Penpals package. ;)

What you will need:

For the crust-

1 cup of warm water

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of honey

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups white flour

1 cup wheat flour

2 tsp active dry yeast

1-2 tbsp of cornmeal for dusting 

* I adapted my pizza dough recipe from the one found HERE.

1/2 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp of olive oil, then 2-3 more tbsp to brush on the dough later

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp of sugar

3/4 cup peach balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic vinegar can be used as well)

1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1 large peach, pitted and sliced thinly

8 oz of fresh mozzarella, sliced

Start your dough in the bread maker about an hour before you are wanting to start putting together the toppings for your pizza.  Make sure you dump in the wet ingredients, then the dry ingredients just like in the order that I have them listed above.  Set your bread maker to the Dough setting and let it go! :)

When your bread maker has about a half hour left on it for your dough, go ahead and start the toppings for the pizza.  Heat the olive oil and butter in a small frying pan over medium heat.  Once butter is melted, add your thinly sliced onions.  Let the onions hang out, mixing and turning them occasionally.  Do not raise the heat above medium because you think it will make them cook faster.  You are wanting them to caramelize and get sweet and get brown.  But you do not want them burnt.  This should take about 15-20 minutes total to happen.  After they have cooked for about 10 minutes, add the sugar and salt to the onions and continue to cook.

While the onions are cooking down, slice your peaches.

In the end, this is what your caramelized onions should look like.  Nice color, huh? ;)

After you have sliced your peaches and while the onions are still caramelizing, start your balsamic reduction.  The reduction is pretty easy to make, but you need to make sure to stir and check it often so it doe not reduce too much and become too thick.  Just heat the vinegar over medium heat, allowing it to come to a boil and stirring often.  Keep checking it and stirring until it is reduced down to about a 1/3 of a cup.  Next slice your fresh mozzarella into about 1/4 inch slices.

Once the dough is ready, take it out of the bread maker and dust it with the cornmeal.  Work it onto a smaller baking sheet or a pizza stone or pan.  Brush the crust with the olive oil.  Then add your mozzarella, peaches, and caramelized onions.  Drizzle the whole thing with your balsamic reduction.  You will bake your pizza at 425 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.  When there is about 5 minutes left in the baking time, sprinkle your sliced basil leaves over the top and continue baking it for the last few minutes.

I really love this pizza for it's combination of sweet and savory.  It is a nice change of pace from our usual red sauce, pepperoni, and cheese.  And you cannot beat the freshness of the peaches and basil this time of year.  :)

Foodie On a Budget- Chile con Pollo (& the $5 Grocery Budget Conclusion!)

As those of you who have been following along know, my husband and I wrapped up our successful $5 Grocery Budget Challenge last Friday.  (Click here for my initial post on our grocery budget challenge, including my meal plan for the week.)  The only two things that we bought at the grocery store last week were a loaf of bread and shredded mozzarella cheese.

I had planned to make something like a white chicken chili for dinner Wednesday evening, but it evolved into something more like a Mexican chicken stew.  A Chile con Pollo! ;) 

What you will need:
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I used the half that I had leftover from my Summer Pomodoro Sauce from Sunday.)
2 tbsp of canola oil
2 tsp of Penzeys Arizona Dreaming spice blend (You could also use a combination of chili powder and cumin in lieu of this spice blend.)
2 tbsp of flour
1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken (I had some roasted chicken frozen in my freezer from when I made my Slow Cooker "Roast" Chicken a couple of weeks ago.)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup of frozen or fresh corn kernels
4 cups of chicken broth
1 tbsp of brown sugar
salt, to taste

Go ahead and chop and mince up all of those veggies.  I put the onion and garlic in one bowl and the peppers together in another bowl.  Set those aside.  In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat about 2 tbsp of canola oil over medium heat.  When oil is heated, add the onions and garlic and saute for about 1 minute.

 Next add the jalapeno pepper and red bell pepper, and saute with the onion and garlic for another 2-3 minutes.  In a small bowl, mix together the Arizona Dreaming (or your chili powder and cumin) with the flour.  Add the flour mixture to the veggies in your pot and cook for another minute.  

Now add your cooked chicken to the pot and stir with the pepper mixture for another minute or so.  

Pour in the chicken broth and then season with the black pepper.  Add the corn kernels.  Cook over medium heat for another 10-12 minutes.  Towards the end of the cooking time, add the brown sugar.  I like to add brown sugar for the slight smoky sweetness it lends to the stew.  Taste your broth.  Add salt if needed.

I served our Chili con Pollo garnished with a little shredded Mexican cheese on top and a wedge of homemade cornbread on the side.  (Click here for the recipe for the best homemade cornbread I have ever made, and the only that I will make from now on.)
For Nutritional Info on this recipe, please CLICK HERE.

Thursday evening was homemade pizza night.  We have been kind of obsessed with homemade pizza in this house since I found THIS RECIPE for making pizza dough in my bread machine.  This dough makes THE perfect pizza crust.  I topped our pizza with homemade pizza sauce I had leftover from our pizza I had made the week before and had froze, pepperoni (also leftover from the week before), jarred banana peppers, fresh basil from my garden, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Friday evening we had planned to have pancakes for dinner, but that day was also payday. And my husband had a friend in town from out of state.  So we all went out to dinner. ;) 

So you may be wondering what did we do for breakfasts and lunches?  We had plenty of cereal and frozen waffles already in the house.  Lunches were usually leftovers from dinner the night before if there were enough.  If we didn't have any leftovers, then we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or grilled cheeses.

Eating well and eating healthy are doable on almost any budget.  You just have to be resourceful, freeze-freeze-freeze (hardly nothing is thrown out in this house!), find ways to use what you have on hand, and be creative with your substitutions. 

Chile Con Pollo

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients (Serves 6)

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• 2 tsp of Penzeys Arizona Dreaming spice blend (You could also use a combination of chili powder and cumin in lieu of this spice blend.)
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup of frozen or fresh corn kernels
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• salt, to taste

Instructions

Go ahead and chop and mince up all of those veggies. I put the onion and garlic in one bowl and the peppers together in another bowl. Set those aside. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat about 2 tbsp of canola oil over medium heat. When oil is heated, add the onions and garlic and saute for about 1 minute.

Next add the jalapeno pepper and red bell pepper, and saute with the onion and garlic for another 2-3 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the Arizona Dreaming (or your chili powder and cumin) with the flour. Add the flour mixture to the veggies in your pot and cook for another minute.

Now add your cooked chicken to the pot and stir with the pepper mixture for another minute or so.

Pour in the chicken broth and then season with the black pepper. Add the corn kernels. Cook over medium heat for another 10-12 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the brown sugar. I like to add brown sugar for the slight smoky sweetness it lends to the stew. Taste your broth. Add salt if needed.

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