"Flat Bread Pizzas"

Unfortunately for you, my camera didn't do the best job capturing these lovely pizza-type concoctions. However, I will still share the recipe here. The title is in quotes because if you are in the mood for ooey gooey cheesy pizza, this is not for you. But, if you are in the mood for a piece of flatbread topped with anything and everything, then get cooking.

At the place I currently work, there is a cafe, and they serve up individual flatbread pizzas daily. I adjusted this recipe by using store-bought lavash wraps (you can experiment with other unleavened bread of your choice) and whatever was in my fridge.

To start, take one lavash wrap and cut it in half so you have two long strips. In an oven pre-heated to 375 degrees (don't you hate when I tell you to pre-heat during the recipe. Ha ha.), bake the un-topped lavash for 5-10 minutes so they get brown and crisp (but not crispy).

Remove from oven and top with anything you like. For this recipe, I used tomatoes, corn, black beans, and cheddar jack cheese. Put the topped flat breads back in the oven and bake until cheese is melty and bubbly and brown on top.

Since I love avocados and this was definitely a very southwest dish... I topped my pizza with fresh avocado. Enjoy.

Thai-style Mango Curry

So.... I have been having computer memory issues that prevented me from blogging. Normally when that happens, I would use my work computer after hours to post and upload photos. My schedule these past few months was a little busy so I just never got around it. My apologies.

Moving on, I have become a vegetarian for the past few months and have some recipes to prove it. I am going to keep these short and simple so I can post them rapid fire while I have a second.

This first recipe is one of my favorite things to make. For starters, it is incredibly easy. Anyone can make this if you have the right ingredients and the ingrediants vary depending on what you like and what you don't like. For those of you who eat meat, you can easily add cooked chicken to this dish.

This is a Thai-style curry because it uses coconut milk and fresh veggies, however I used Indian Red Curry paste for the flavoring. When making curries, you can use curry powders or pastes. I prefer the ready-made paste you can buy in the international aisle of your grocery store. If you opt for the powder, you might need to put a few tablespoons extra in, as well as other spices. Play around with it.

The prep for this dish is really easy. Slice up onions and the red/yellow/orange peppers (your choice which colors you use). In a shallow saucepan or sautee pan, add some veggie oil and cook the onions. I like to leave the onions in big pieces for this dish, that way if your friends don't like onions they can pick them out. While the onions are cooking, cut up your mango (or if you are using frozen mango cubes, remove from freezer), and get the rest of your veggies ready to go (cut up broccoli, rinse snow or snap peas, half the cherry tomatoes).

Once the onions are starting to get translucent, add in the peppers and a tablespoon or two of the curry paste. Mix it all up so the curry paste is coating all of the peppers and onions and cooks. Add more curry paste if your veggies aren't coated. .

Then, pour in a 14oz can of coconut milk (lite coconut milk works fine, too). If you are going to add chicken, now would be the time to add cubed, browned chicken (it doesn't need to be fully cooked because it will cook up the rest of the way in the curry sauce) .

Let the coconut milk come to a boil and then add in the rest of your veggies and the mango (if frozen). If using fresh mango, wait a minute or two before adding it in. Let the veggies cook up so they are tender, but the green veggies should still be green. Serve over rice.

Tuscan Sausage Soup with Zucchini, White Beans, and Spinach

My Aunt Sharon sent around a recipe the other day for a turkey sausage soup that sounded delicious. That recipe reminded me of how much I love sausage in soups... then I thought about how I love Ribollita (a hearty Tuscan veggie soup boiled twice), which made me think of Tortellini soup (who knows why), which made me want a soup that had all of the above: tasty veggies, sausage, and tortellini. I made it happen in the recipe I am going to share with you now.I call this Tuscan because if you have ever experienced the slightly more Northern Italian cuisine you will have noticed they go easy on the red sauce. Instead, their bases are hearty broths complimented by white beans and other vegetables, or meat. This soup reminds me of that kind of cooking.

If you are a vedge, and you want to forego the meat, that will work out perfectly in this dish. It can easily stand on its own many veggies. I would suggest however that you pick up some italian sausage seasonings, as the purpose for adding the sausage is to add a little bit of kick to the dish. Or, just add some red pepper flakes.

The first thing I did was brown the sausage (meat removed from casing) with shallots in a dutch oven. I chose shallots instead of onions because I hear they are cousins of garlic and onions and I pretty much avoid garlic at all costs but like onions. This seemed like a compromise. Kind of like those two-in-one shampoos plus conditioner. Meanwhile, I chopped up some baby carrots. Why the babies? Because they are already peeled. Because I always have them on hand as a healthy snack. Because they cook faster and I love tender carrots in soup. Because I don't need a reason to use baby carrots instead of the big ugly ones. They are cute, okay? I like cute things. Once chopped up, I threw the carrots into the pan and seasoned with some Italian seasonings. Next, I cubed two zucchini. The fastest way to cube a couple of zukes is to cut it in half lengthwise, then cut each half into strips. Line them up and chop them crosswise. Done. I added them to the pot, stirred, etc. Then I took one can of diced tomatoes and threw them in along with one can of white beans (your choice). Rinse can beans before using them-- no one needs the extra starch and it could make things gloppy. [Actually, it probably won't ruin it, I just always think 'glop glop' and then the idea of soup is ruined by the idea of gloppiness.] Then I stirred it all up and poured 32 oz of stock in to make it a soup. I chose chicken stock, you can choose veggie or beef, whatever, it will all taste good. Except maybe fish stock. I think that might be gross.After leaving the soup simmer for as long as I could stand it (about 45 minutes... I kept myself occupied with other things to keep my mind off what I couldn't yet have), in a seperate pot I got some salted water boiling. Once that was on a roll, I tossed in my tri-colored tri-cheese tortellini. At the very same moment (yes, one hand was throwing tortellini into one pan while the other hand was dealing with the soup), I added the final flourish to the simmering zuppa... fresh baby spinach. The spinach and the tortellini cooked up in about the same time, so it was perfection. I threw some torts in a bowl, ladled the soup atop, and dusted the bowl of goodness (or if you were Rachey Ray you'd call this a stoup) with parmesan cheese and pepper (I usually go easy on the salt and pepper during the cooking process, especially with soups. Everyone has their own preference and those seasonings are easier to do bowl by bowl by bowl by bowl).I know what you are thinking. Jenn, why are you making these tasty things in such large quantity? Isn't this supposed to be cooking for the one and only? And yes, friends, it is. However, in the winter, I'm going to be honest. Cooking for one isn't about sacrificing the homey dishes that families get to make. Cooking for one means stocking your freezer with lots of tasty soups, stews, chilis, pastas, sauces, etc. Because there is nothing better than a big pot of soup cooking on your stove promising you meals in days to come. And come on, we are all busy here. Cook once, serve 5 times. If that's not a saying it should be. I promise come springtime when fresh vegetables are aplenty, there will be more singular sensations and I might even hop back on the vegetarian bandwagon... so look out Spring! Here I come.

Chili Chili Chili

OR Not the Prettiest Recipe But Still Worth Eating... Everyday For a Week and Then Two Months Later When You Find Even More Leftovers in the Freezer

With superbowl around the corner (when I made this chili anyway, I realize this post is going to come up after the superbowl), I was in the mood for chili. Also, Boston has been seeing some really cold nights and what better way to warm up than with a nice steamy bowl of chili, topped with cheese, sour cream, and guacamole, and served with tortilla chips.

Chili is simple to make and perfection when you live alone. This recipe definitely makes a ton of chili, don't get me wrong. But if you live by yourself you are constantly inviting yourself to others houses. What better way to secure an invitation to a Superbowl party (or Real Housewives of NYC premiere party, whatever floats your boat) than by saying: "I'll bring the chili dip and chips." Usually that statement is followed by an "Mmmm... come over at 6." And for me, chili dip is simply the chili you made two nights ago mixed with cheese, melted, and topped with sour cream. Of course, you could always add a layer of cream cheese to the bottom of a baking dish, top it with chili and a layer of cheese, and do a 3 layer dip. Whatever. Chili plus anything equals delicious when it comes to party fare.

To make my chili, I use ground turkey. I brown that in a large saucepan (the biggest one you have, a dutch oven sized monstrosity with two handles most likely, because you want to cook your entire dish in this pot) with chopped up onions. I cried a lot when I cut these ovens and it was kind of embarrassing, but fortunately I was alone. Once the turkey was cooked through and crumbly, I added in a packet of chili seasonings. If you are a purist and don't believe in those packets a combo of chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, and whatever else you want will do the trick. I just do the packets because I haven't stocked up my spice cab yet.

Then, add in the following ingredients: 1 can of mixed chili beans (or multiple cans of the beans of your choice), 1 can of your favorite bean (I used a red bean), 1 can of diced tomatoes (if you get ones that have chilis or jalapenos then you can add some kick in this way), a squirt or 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 small can of mild green chilis, 1 can of corn (drained). Mix all of these together with the seasonings and let it simmer for as long as you can stand it. Scoop some into a bowl over rice, or top it with guacamole and sour cream. Or, make an avocado/ corn/ lime/ red onion/ cilantro salsa and top your chili with that.

Some of you may wonder what you will do with the remaining chili after you've eaten your dinner and gone to your superbowl party. Well, I always like to freeze a container or two. There is nothing better than finding a serving of chili in your freezer. I also like to make chili scrambled eggs topped with fresh avocado and sour cream for breakfast. Sometimes, I make about 1 muffins worth of corn muffin batter, top a glass dish of chili, bake, and have a chili bake. Really, there are so many things you can do with chili, I can't even list them all here. If I do any of the above, I will be sure to post more recipes.

Simple Pomodoro & Basil Sauce

Whenever I roast vegetables in such a large quantity, I never plan on eating them that night. I am sure that sounds silly, but I get hungry and I need food sooner than the 45 plus minutes it will take to cook the vegetables and then use them to make something.

So, I turn to one of my favorite dishes, pasta with tomato, basil, and mozzarella.I have dreams of making big batches of tomato sauce and freezing mini containers of them to be defrosted as needed. However, I never seem to find the time to devote an afternoon or evening to do such a thing. One day it will happen and I will mesmerize you with my creative technique of freezing them in an ice cube tray and popping the cubes into ziplock bags to be defrosted as needed, but today is not that day.

Instead, I will be using a Giada recipe. If I could find the link to her original instructions I would but I am not feeling like doing that research at this time. In the amount of time it takes you to boil water, and the amount of time it takes me to find her recipe, you will be able to fully complete this sauce. It's that easy and quick.

First, cut cherry tomatoes in half. Do you want a number of how many? I don't know. Just cut as many as you have. I used 15. That's a lie, I have no idea how many tomatoes I had. I just cut them up and was done with it. I am not good at counting. (But please only cut the tomatoes in half, not quarters or thirds or eighths. Lengthwise, crosswidth, what have you. It's a tomato, it's round, it doesn't matter).Then, turn a sauté pan with oil. In this case, I am going to recommend olive oil. I use extra virgin, you can use whatever kind you like. Just be aware, olive oil does burn, so pay attention to what you are doing. If you want garlic, this is where you'd add it in. A clove or two finely chopped should do it. (I skipped it because at an early age I was trained garlic is bad despite my Italian heritage). Then, add in the halved tomatoes and cook them until they are cooked. You will know they are cooked because you will be impatient and you will prod and poke them with a wooden spoon. This is okay, because that's exactly what you want to do. As they get mushy, smoosh the tomatoes down with a wooden spoon to make the sauce.Take a break from tending to the tomatoes (it's okay) and prepare the basil. You want to chiffonade them, which is a fancy shmancy term for stacking the basil leaves up, rolling them into a neat package, and then chopping them to make long strips. Cut as much basil in this way as you'd like. Leave it in a pile on your cutting board because it is pretty.By this point, your water is boiling. Add some salt in there because you forgot to salt it earlier. Drop a handful of capellini (angel hair) into the water. I use whole wheat. I find a serving size is the amount you can pick up in one hand, without being greedy. I am not sure what I mean by that, but experiment. If you make too much it isn't a huge deal because you cut up all of your tomatoes so you have plenty of sauce.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water. To the mushed, cooked tomatoes add the basil (the basil is a last minute addition) and the pasta. Toss the pasta with the tomatoes and basil and breathe in the sweet smell of your dinner. Pour the whole lot into a bowl. For a finishing touch, rip up a ball of buffalo mozzarella and swirl it in there as well. You won't regret it unless you add the cheese to the pan. That won't work. I've done it- it makes hot string cheese that wraps around your fork like a boa constrictor. Fighting with stringy cheese ruins a meal. Take my word for it.

Eat it like this to keep it sweet, or add grated parmesan to add some saltiness. I usually eat half sweet, then add parmesan in for the second portion. Mangia!*The beauty of this sauce is that there are all kinds of variations. You could add some creamy goat cheese directly to the cooked tomatoes to give it a different kind of tang, and substitute the basil for spinach. You could take out the basil, and add in lots of parmesan and black olives. Basically, the world is your oyster, even oysters would probably taste good in there. Play around with tomatoes as well. I've used both grape and strawberry tomatoes, and they also work. I use this sauce whenever I am in a pinch, and it comes out perfectly every time.*