Fruit Pizza

 Fruit Pizza

This recipe is based on one that my mother, Tina Best, always made for events such as my best friend Amy (Myerscough) Schultz's parents annual 4th of July party! Mom would make the crust and fruit dip layer and I would design the fruit layer. I've improved upon the original crust(canned roll of premade sugar cookie dough) and now use an old German sugar cookie recipe that I got from my friend Tina Bourque. I use a nonstick silicone tart mold given to me by my mother-in-law Barbara Hannah, instead of a disposable pizza pan.  For really huge parties, like my kids joint birthday party last year, I made two in  jelly roll pans, made fruit salad and just dumped it evenly on top. (I'm not up to designing a huge rectangular fruit pizza lol!)  This is a time consuming recipe, because of the amount of time it takes to cut up all of the fruit into similar sized pieces and how long it takes to create the design.

Tools:

1) 11" Nonstick Silicone Tart Pan, Pizza Pan or Jelly Roll Pan

2) Mixer

3) Lots of Bowls or Tupperware to separate the fruit

4) Decorative Plate (If using a silicone tart pan)

5) Large Bowl or Container for the leftover fruit salad

 

Ingredients:

1) 1 Egg

2) 1 cup Sugar (I have used Stevia and Splenda before to cut sugar at least in the crust)

3) 2 cups Butter, softened (not melted)

4) 3 cups Flour (I've experimented with Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, White Whole Wheat Flour, Spelt Flour and even Gluten Free Flour Mix so far. Any will work, but the crust after baking varies color, texture and density wise)

*** You can substitute a canned roll of Sugar Cookie Dough for the above ingredients but it isn't anywhere near as decadent!

5) 8oz package Cream Cheese

6) 1 cup Powdered Sugar

7) 1 tsp Vanilla

8) Fruit... 1 tub Strawberries, 1 Pineapple, 8 Kiwi, 1 package red or green seedless Grapes, 2 tubs each of Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries and 2 large cans of Mandarin Oranges (Seasonal fruit availability varies, especially with the berries, so use whatever is available from this list, but I don't recommend Bananas, Apples or freshly peeled Citrus as substitutes)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F.

2) In the mixer, blend the Egg, Sugar, Butter and Flour until smooth. spread evenly into the silicone tart pan or greased pizza or jelly roll pan, bake until a toothpick pulls out clean from the center, and set aside. (If using regular flour, the crust will be mostly white with slightly golden edges and other flour will be more golden with light brown edges. DO NOT OVERBAKE!)

3) Look at the above picture to see how I prepare my fruit for the design. When I cut the Strawberries I usually get two middle slices and 2 ends(I throw the ends directly into the fruit salad bowl). I use a carrot peeler on the Kiwi, I halve the Grapes, wash all of the Berries, drain the Mandarin Oranges and try my very best to come out with identical Pineapple wedges. (Jeremy has become my fruit preparing helper, while Alex and Heidi supervise and sneak quality control samples lol!) As I prepare the fruit I separate all of the fruit into individual bowls for easy decorating!

4) If you used a silicone tart pan, you will need to place your decorative plate on top of the fruit pizza and flip very gently, trying not to break the crust.

5) In the mixer, whip together the Cream Cheese, Powdered Sugar and Vanilla to make the fruit dip and spread evenly on the cooled crust.

6) Decorating wise, I sit at the kitchen table like an artist with my multicolored palette of fruit bowls around me, and get down to work. I place one berry in the exact center, then decorate the outer edge, with alternating Kiwi, Blueberries and Mandarin Oranges. From there I work both from the inside out and the outside in, until they meet in a pleasing way. (Every fruit pizza I make has a different design, so that is why I take pictures every time I make one!)

7) In a large bowl or container, mix all of the leftover fruit together, to accompany the fruit pizza to the party! (A lot of people like to spoon more fruit onto their fruit pizza slices and everyone else enjoys such a quality fruit salad!)

8) Serve and enjoy! :)

Thoughts... This is one of my signature recipes that I make for parties! It always goes over well and some of my friends tease me when they say they only came for the fruit pizza!  If there are any leftovers, they are great with coffee for breakfast!

Comments... Originally, I used to make this in a disposable tin pizza pan so I wouldn't have to worry about remembering to bring a dish home, but I can't find them at any of the stores any more. Maybe I need to order in bulk online and just store them until I need them. My tart pan is smaller than a regular pizza pan, so the crust comes out thicker(almost 1" thick). If you want a thinner crust or to serve more people, use a pizza pan(decorate as usual) or jelly roll pan(mix all of the fruit together and spread evenly on top of the fruit dip).  This recipe can be made a day ahead of time.

Not So Pretty Penne

Not So Pretty Penne

I know this doesn't look like the most appetizing pasta dish ever, but I created it purely for nutritional reasons and looks can be deceiving.  I had a bunch of veggies from Market on the Move I wanted to use, which is why some of the quantities seem like a lot. It was actually really good and the kids asked for seconds.  It is also a time consuming recipe and requires 4 different pans.

Tools:

1) Garlic Press

2) Small Sauce Pan

3) Large Sauce Pan

4) Large Soup Pot

5) Large Skillet

6) Immersion Blender

Ingredients:

1) 1 box Whole Wheat Penne

2) 1 Jar Pasta Sauce

3) 1/4 cup Quinoa

4) 1/4 cup Lentils

5) 1/4 cup Sprouted Mung Beans

6) 1 bag frozen chopped Kale

7) 8 frozen Basil Cubes (I found at Walmart)

8) 1 head Garlic, crushed

9) 2 Zucchini, chopped

10) 1 Yellow Onion, diced

11) 2 Red Bell Peppers, diced

12) 6 Portabella Mushrooms, chopped

13) 4 packages Cherry Tomatoes (I had a lot from Market on the Move)

14) Seasonings... Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Cumin, Curry, Coriander and Tumeric

Directions:

1) In the small sauce pan, bring water to a boil, add the Quinoa, Lentils and Mung Beans, turn down heat and cook until soft, then set aside.

2) In the large sauce pan, bring water to a boil, then add the box of Whole Wheat Penne, turn down heat and cook until al dente, or however you prefer your noodles, then set aside.

3) In the soup pot, sautee in water, the Basil Cubes, Garlic and Zucchini for a few minutes then add the Kale, Pasta Sauce, 3 packages of Cherry Tomatoes, Italian Seasoning, and a pasta sauce jar of water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer until all veggies are soft, then set aside.

4) In the large skillet, sautee in water, the Onions, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms and 1 package halved Cherry Tomatoes, then season with Cumin and set aside.

5) To the soup pot, add the Quinoa, Lentil and Mung Bean medley, puree with the Immersion Blender, then season with Salt, Pepper, Curry, Coriander and Tumeric to taste.

6) To the pureed mixture, stir in the sauteed vegetables and Penne pasta.

7) Serve and Enjoy! :)

Thoughts... It may not look all that appetizing but it tasted great and packed in a ton of nutrition! The kids loved it too once they tasted it.

Comments... This is just one of my creations that I will probably never make again, only because it was based on what I had at the time!

Spinach Scrambled Eggs

Spinach Scrambled Eggs

This recipe was inspired by an idea that Laura Marchese, another preschool mom had, to make green eggs and ham for Dr Seuss week at Young Fun Preschool without using traditional food coloring. She steamed frozen spinach, pureed it, then brought it to class where I added it to the scrambled eggs before I cooked them.  The kids loved them and I thought it was a great way to not only avoid food coloring, but to also throw in an added boost of spinach nutrition!  This is the recipe that I came up with today and I used the blender to skip the steaming and pureeing step.

Tools:

1) Blender

2) Large Skillet

Ingredients:

1) Nonstick Spray (I used Olive Oil)

2) 1 dozen Eggs

3) 1 cup frozen chopped Spinach (Right out of the freezer)

4) 2 Tbsp Milk (I used Almond Milk)

5) Seasoning... Use whatever sounds good to you, but I threw in Curry, Coriander and Tumeric

Directions:

1) In the blender, puree the Eggs, Spinach, Milk and Spices.

2) Spray the skillet with oil, pour in the egg mixture and cook as usual.

3) Serve and Enjoy! :)

Thoughts... These are a big hit with my family even though they are green! 

Comments... Despite the spinach, they still taste like scrambled eggs! I served them with halved cherry tomatoes, which makes a great tasting combo!

Mini Polenta Pizzas

Mini Polenta Pizzas

I can't remember where I'd heard you could make mini pizzas with slices of polenta, but here's what I came up with for the kids!

Tools:

1) Baking sheet

Ingredients:

1) Nonstick spray (I used Olive Oil)

2) 1 Polenta log (any flavor will do)

3) 1 small can of Tomato Sauce

3) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

4) Parmesan Cheese (I used a garlic herb one from Walmart)

5) Seasonings...Garlic Powder and Italian Seasoning

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350F.

2) Spray the baking sheet with oil.

3) Slice the Polenta log into 10-12 rounds and place on the baking sheet.

4) Brush some Tomato Sauce on the rounds, sprinkle with Garlic Powder and Italian seasoning, top with Mozzarella Cheese, then dust with Parmesan Cheese.

5) Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and starts to turn golden.

6) Let sit for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy! :)

Thoughts... These were awesome! So easy, fast and delicious with very little mess! The kids loved them and asked for more than the three I originally placed on each of their plates!

Comments... I think these would make a great appetizer and for a twist would be even better with a slice of pepperoni under the cheese!

Spicy Roasted Squash Soup

Spicy Roasted Squash Soup

At Market on the Move last week I had gotten a large round squat greenish squash, that I didn't recognize.  I was trying to think of a way our family could actually consume that much squash and it occurred to me that a pureed soup might be the thing. For inspiration, I looked at a lot of recipes and most called for what I would consider all of the pumpkin pie spices along with dairy ingredients, which was not the way I wanted to go.  One of the recipes called for Jalepenos and I thought a spicy soup sounded amazing, so here's what I came up with.  I'm not adding the link to the original recipe, because other than deciding to use Jalepenos, I didn't reference the recipe at all.

Tools:

1) Large Roasting Pan with low sides

2) Large Soup Pot

2) Immersion Blender

 Ingredients:

1) 1 large Squash, rind removed and cubed or 3-4 bags frozen Butternut Squash

2) 2-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

3) 1 head crushed Garlic

4) 1 diced Yellow Onion

5) 6 diced Jalepenos

6) 2 chopped Celery Hearts

7) 6 Carrots, peeled and sliced

8) 10 Red Potatoes, peeled and cubed

9) Seasonings... Salt, Pepper, Cajun Spices, Curry, Coriander and Tumeric

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F.

2) In a bowl, toss the Squash Cubes with Olive Oil, then arrange in a single layer on the roasting pan. Sprinkle evenly with Cajun Spices, put in the oven for 1 hour or until very soft, then set aside.

3) In the soup pot, add 2 tsp Olive Oil and sautee the Garlic, Onion and Jalepenos for a few minutes, then add Celery, Carrots and Potatoes and stir.  Add enough water to cover all of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to simmer until all of the vegetables are soft.
4) Remove from heat, add the roasted Squash and use the immersion blender to puree the soup.  If it is too thick, add more water until it is the consistency you are looking for.
5) Season to taste with Salt, Pepper, Curry, Coriander and Tumeric.
6) Serve and enjoy! :)

Thoughts... I would definitely make this again!

Comments... I chose the spices I did for this recipe, because they are new to me but also seem to compliment vegetable dishes with some heat.  When looking up squash soups I saw some recipes that used Yellow Squash and/or Zucchini, which I might try the next time I am trying to use up a large quantity of them.