Sausage n Broccoli Pita Pizza

Love making pita pizzas... so simple, so quick and extremely delicious !

I recently had my first attempt at homemade sausages ( Garlic n Onion ) and just happened to have a couple leftover ...  So .. I just had to try them on a pizza .

Ingredients : ( Per Serving )

1 Whole Wheat Pita 
 1 Cooked Garlic Onion Sausage ( Sliced ) 

1/4 of a Red Pepper ( diced ) 1/3 head of broccoli ( small florets ) 

1 cup of cheese , blend of mozzarella, and 5yr old cheddar ( sliced of shredded ) 4 cremini mushrooms ( sliced )
Splash of EVOO
Salt n Pepper to taste 

Crisp up the pita in the oven , 3 or 4 minutes per side at 350f 
Arrange the sliced sausage, broccoli, mushrooms and red pepper, 
sprinkle with a little salt n pepper 
Cover with the cheeses , and back into the oven on an oven safe plate 
about 15 minutes at 350F , or 3 minutes under the broiler ... 
and you are ready to eat !  

I usually leave mine in for a few more minutes as I prefer it extra crispy , however ... I was too hungry ! 

Simple, Good Food .. and the best part is its inexpensive and you can use whatever you happen to have in the fridge .

Peace , Love and Good Food
Rich 

Roasted Chicken Pasta Bake

Love making comfort foods,  not only are they delicious , but they are usually very simple and cheap .... not that I overly like the word cheap ... preferring frugal , but it seems to fit !   I even named a recipe series after it .. Good Food , Cheap !  Hahaha This one certainly fits the bill with a total cost of under $10 ... and 6 to 8 servings :))   $1.25 a plate sound good for a balanced meal ?

Ingredients : 

One Pound of Pasta ( Rotini ) 

One Pound of Roasted Chicken ( leftovers )

One Jar of Stewed Tomatoes ( homemade )  

One head of Broccoli  (small florets )
One Red Pepper ( sliced )
A Handful of Cremini Mushrooms (sliced )
A Couple of Onions  (sliced )
A Couple cloves of garlic ( minced ) 

A 1/4lb of Mozzarella ( shredded )
A 1/8lb of Aged Cheddar ( shredded )
A 1/16lb of buffalo parmesan ( fine shred ) 

 

Prepare the pasta as per the packages instructions ... cutting short the cook time by a minute or two helps with the finished dish I find :)  Assemble all your ingredients ,  and start building dinner ... pasta in first ( I use my lasagna dish )  then add the chicken, onion , mushrooms & stewed tomatoes ...   season at this point , S&P , Italian Herbs ... diced garlic :) mix it up well, and pop into a 350F oven for about 20 minutes .

After twenty minutes ..  and the cheeses and broccoli , and back into the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes .  

Ta....  Da !!!   Dinner is served :)  Just let the pan rest for a couple of minutes , before digging in ...  

Portion it out , add some garlic bread or a caesar salad if you like and enjoy !  

There you have it ...  My Three cheese Pasta bake ...   you can easily substitute any .. or all of the ingredients and make it your own dish :)   I hope you enjoy !  

Peace, Love and Good Food
Rich

Bacon n Eggs Skillet Pizza

Happy New Year !!  Thank you all for a wonderful 2013  I appreciated all the comments , chats , likes and critiques ...    

After a late night, and more than a few ales :) I needed something hearty to start the day off , and one of my newest creations .. Mashed Potato Pizza came to mind , with a breakfast twist . 

Ingredients :

Mashed Potato
2 strips of bacon - rough chopped 
2 Cremini Mushrooms - Sliced1 Tablespoon Pepper Jelly 
Aged Cheddar - Grated
1/4 Red Pepper - Diced
1/2 Red Onion - Sliced
4 Grape Tomatoes
2 Eggs

Preheat your oven to 350F
Using a fork , create a 1" thick base of mashed potato in your skillet , lightly pressed
Drizzle the pepper jelly on top if your in the mood for a bit of sweet heat .
Arrange Bacon , Mushrooms , Onion and Red Pepper


Side note : This recipe is Gluten Free

 

Pop into the oven for about 20 minutes, the bacon should just starting to get crispy

 

Remove from oven , Sprinkle on the Cheddar
Crack your eggs on top
and return to the oven for 12 minutes

 

Remember...  cast iron gets HOT!!

 

Its that easy ...  after 12 minutes the eggs should be nice and runny
 Grab a tray or a trivet , and dig in , right from the skillet :)

Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous 2014 !!
Rich

Sausage n Pepper Pita Pizza :)

Very similar to my last post of Chili n Cheese Pita Pizza ,but with a few extras ...

Ingredients :

1 Whole Wheat Pita
1 Tablespoon Salsa verde
1 Cooked Sausage ( Salt n Pepper )
1/2 a Red Pepper
1 cup of cheese , blend of mozzarella, gouda and 5yr old cheddar
Splash of EVOO
Salt n Pepper to taste



 

 

 

Crisp up the pita in the oven , 3 or 4 minutes per side at 350f
Spread the salsa verde on , and arrange the sliced sausage and peppers,
sprinkle with a little salt n pepper
Cover with the cheeses , and back into the oven on an oven safe plate
about 15 minutes at 350F , or 3 minutes under the broiler ...
and your ready to eat ! 

Simple, Good Food .. and the best part is its inexpensive and you can use whatever you happen to have in the fridge . 

7 Pepper Birthday Chili

Whats your favourite Birthday meal ??   Mine is a nice juicy steak, with a jacket potato ... but this year for the first time in ages , birthday dinner with Mum ( We share the same Bday ) was a few days early ...  leaving me with a big question ... What to have on my Birthday !!   It didnt take long to realize Id been craving chili all month .. so Chili it was !!    Simple, Good Food !

Basic Ingredients ( I dont cook with a recipe , or even write anything down hahaha )

2 lbs of Ground Beef from local butcher
2 large mexican sausages from local butcher
1 lb of braising steak , Crossrib - Flour for dusting
4 tins of Beans ( Unico , 3 Red Kidney , 1 Romano ) - I prefer dried , but am using up old stock
2 large sweet red peppers
2 large chili peppers
2 cayenne chili peppers
6 long green chili peppers
3 small dried red chili peppers ( Very hot ! )
8 medium onions
1 head of garlic
1/2 tin of chipolte peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 pint of dark ale
1 pint roasted tomato sauce ( Homemade )
1 quart of stewed tomatoes ( homemade )

Chili Powder, L&P, Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Start by sauteing the onions ...  transfer to slow cooker when done 

Next step, the beef , best to add flavour here , chili powder, S&P, L&P, and half the can of beer 

 In the meantime,  I rinsed and boiled the tinned beans ... rinsed again and added to the slow cooker

While the beef is browning ... add in the beans, stewed tomatoes , and roasted tomato sauce 

Once the ground beef has finished, add the sausages , and cubed and flour dusted steak ..   just need to brown these , then add to the slow cooker 

Once done with frying ...  use the other half of the beer to deglaze the pan , add to the slow cooker, this is some amazing flavour here !  

Its starting to look like chili :))   Let simmer for 2 hours 

Once the base chili has simmered , its time to add the peppers in for the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking 

All sliced and diced, and ready for the pot!! 

Five hours after slicing the onions ...  CHILI!    Mmmm its time to eat ! 

The leftovers....  usually i portion this out and freeze it up for easy meals later , this time I decided to pressure can it ...   a future post maybe ??

MmmmMmmm  I do hope you enjoy my spicy chili , this one was quite the sweat inducing bowl of goodness !!  I wouldnt change a thing .. but if your not a big fan of spicy, i would cut back considerable of the hot peppers and add more sweet :)

Don;t forget , you can always follow the daily fun over at https://www.facebook.com/RichsGoodFood

Peace, Love and Good Food to everyone !
Rich

Sausage n Mushroom Frittata

I love making frittata's !  They are such a simple and easy way to use up leftovers, you can make a personal sized one  or  a quick meal for 4 or 6 people .   As for ingredients the options are endless..  for me ,  Cheese and Eggs are the only must have .. well maybe garlic too!   

This season, we have a new vendor at the Farmers Market , CrosswindFarms :) A local goat farm , that specializes in goat cheeses ..  and even sell some of the meat.  I ended up with some of their sausages... and what better way to use up the extras than to make a frittata! ! 

You will need an oven safe frying pan for this dish :)

Start off by prepping your veggies ..  Mushrooms, Onions,  Peppers, Broccoli, Grape Tomatoes ..  

Start off with the mushrooms and onions, a nice pat of butter will help out here , just long enough to get some colour on them . 

Finish chopping everything while that is happening . Bite sized is best . The Goats sausage was very good, nice texture and very meaty !
Throw whatever you like for seasoning in with the veggies, I went with chili powder and basil  :) 

Less Words, More Food 16

Okay , so Im WAY behind on posting again ... only 2 months this time , and not 6 ! Hahahaha
I think I need to come up with a new way to share with you all here...  maybe more frequent, smaller posts ?  Anyways...  enough talking! This is Less Words, More Food time :)

Mmmm Cheese on Toast :)  

After two months of eating only veggies from my pantry , this was a welcome change ! 

Three of my favourite things.. Butter, Mushrooms and Peppers :) 

Mustard chili steak.. ready for stir fry !  

Mmm fresh veggies!!  

Chili Mustard Steak, and Mixed Vegetable Stir fry :) 

That didnt take too long ...  maybe we just need more rainy days to keep me inside ?

and just because its Earth Day ...  

 Happy Earth Day everyone ! 

Be Good to the Planet ! Its the Only one we have :))
Rich

Eating Local,even in Winter

While working in the fields of a local organic farm last summer,  I had a lot of time to think ... One of the many bonuses to working outside with your hands :)  During harvest season life was great , fresh local veggies everyday , just picked 10 minutes before heading home :)   But what about winter ?  When I can't just simple pick something fresh, either from the field or from the grocery store.   I decided this year , I was going to challenge myself to continue to eat local thru the worst two months for fresh, local food here.  January and February ...   So i started stocking up ,  between a few farms and my own garden I managed to pack away a few hundred pounds of veggies...  lots to see me thru the two months I promised myself.    Quick numbers are 150 lbs of potatoes , 75lbs of acorn and butternut squash, 100lbs of tomatoes, jarred and frozen as a garden sauce,  50lbs of red peppers mostly all roasted and frozen , along with onion and garlic ( quick flavour adders ) ,100lbs of onions and 50 head of garlic .   I did have ambitions to put away more, but simply ran out of time and freezer space ...  It didnt help that the 20lbs of carrots went bad on me lol ..   Looks like I wont have a huge variety to choose from , but it should be fun , and best of all LOCAL :))  I'm already thinking ahead to next year ...   more frozen soups or puree's for sure , and more root vegetables carrots, parsnips, turnips etc...  More variety in canning , not just tomatoes :)

Four weeks in ,  Im really craving a nice big Caesar salad lol .... but its been fun,  Here are a few of my creations so far :)

Roasted Red Pepper n Garlic Hummus :) 

Roasted Red Pepper n Garlic Hummus, garden tomato sauce, red onions, garlic ,  ground beef , and roasted red peppers...  all local :)) Making  homemade hamburger helper :)   

Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake - Good Food Cheap

Lets try this again !  I typed this post up a week ago , only to have the whole thing disappear on me just as I was finished up . For someone that has a hard time writing , that was a major bummer....  so I took a week , and figured I would try it again . This time Ill be typing it up on Word , and will copy and paste to blogger.   I just love this series , Good Food Cheap !  What could be better ? Besides free! Hahaha that and its a one pan dinner... which is great as there is not as much clean up .   So ... here we go , first recipe post in 7 weeks for me ... where does the time go ??

You will need :

Meatballs :

3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Small Red Onions
1/2 a Large Red Bell Pepper
2 dried chili's
1lb of  ground beef
1 egg and ...
a touch too much bread crumbs ( kinda knocked the jar over .. ooops :)
To Taste : 
My chili powder
Basil
Smoked paprika
Sea salt
Black pepper,
L&P

Note : Normally I would have added mushrooms too .

Pasta Bake :

1 Pint Jar of Tomatoes, juice and all
1lb of cheese tortellini
2/3 cup of beef stock
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
90Gm of Mozzarella

Total Cost :    Just under $10 for dinner for four!

  Start by chopping the veggies for the meatballs :)

Add the veggies to the  beef and the spices , Mix well with your hands , and let rest for at least 30 minutes for flavour developing time :)

Roll them into balls, I decided to go with small ones this time . This made about 36 little ones.

I pan fried them in a spoonful of sunflower oil , for about 5 minutes each ( in two batches ) just long enough to get some colour on the outside of them. Preheat your oven right about now to 350F

Meatballs are browned up and, ready for the oven

 Now its oven time, the tomatoes were added juice and all , the pound of cheese tortellini and the beef stock . set the timer for 15 minutes at 350F 

 At the 15 minute mark , give it all a good stir , and set it for 15 more. Add the chopped broccoli & mozzarella at the 30 minutes in mark , and leave it for 10 more minutes.

 Total oven time 40 minutes :)) Mmm smells good!!

 My finished plate :)) Spicy Red Pepper/Onion Meatballs, with garlic tomatoes, cheese tortellini , broccoli and mozzarella . 

Well there you have one of my favourite one pot cooking meals !  Simple, easy and cheap!  Hahaha what could be better ??   Besides having someone make it for you ?  

This is the first Good Food Cheap post where I didnt break all the costs down ?  Does this work for you ? Or would you prefer a more itemized price list like i have done in the past ?

I hope you have enjoyed my Spicy Meatball Pasta Bake :)) Happy Cooking