Roasted chicken, kale, and mushroom white pizza- #unprocessed October food challenge

White Pizza

Did you read my pledge to eat only unprocessed foods this month? A few friends of mine are taking the challenge as well, and it’s exciting to see what everyone’s coming up with as far as meal plans.

Last night I made a roasted chicken, kale, and mushroom white pizza.

Dough:

For the dough, I used my bread maker on its dough setting. I’m so glad someone gave that to me as a wedding present! We don’t eat a lot of bread, but the machine has been indispensable for when we do and also when I want to make pizza dough. I can make pasta sheets with it too, but I haven’t tried that yet.

Sauce:

For the sauce, I sauteed a small chopped onion, then tossed in two gloves of chopped garlic. After they were translucent, I turned the heat down, let the pan cool a bit, then poured in a cup of heavy cream and two tablespoons of olive oil. I brought the mixture to a rolling boil, then whisked in a teaspoon of flour.

Next, I turned the stove top down to low heat and let the mixture simmer until it thickened. After that I turned it off, let it cool, and refrigerated the sauce until I was ready for it.

Toppings:

I roasted some chicken breast with salt and pepper in the oven. Once it was cool, I just chopped and shredded it into the size I wanted. I also washed and sliced some onions and kale. For the cheese I used pepper jack. Mozzarella probably would’ve made more sense, but pepper jack is what I had.

Future changes:

I’d use less dough. The majority of the calories in this pizza are in the dough. Next time, I’ll freeze half the dough and then use the rest to make a thinner crust. Hubby also would like me to add more garlic to the sauce, so I will. I also thought it could use a little more sauce, so I may double the recipe.

All in all…it was really tasty, and I was pleased with how it turned out!

Do you make your own pizza? What are your favorite toppings?
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Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

We’re well into Autumn, and with all the pumpkin pancakes, bread, cookies, and other recipes I’ve seen on the Internet, I decided it was time I got on board. I made pumpkin bars (it was really like a pumpkin cake) with cream cheese frosting. My oven isn’t great, since it doesn’t stay hot very well, so baking doesn’t always go as planned. But they turned out! I had lots of compliments from Hubby and friends.

 Ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1-2/3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

I substituted vegetable oil for canola oil, since that’s all I had. I also used 3 teaspoons of baking powder total, since I was out of baking soda. It worked! I’m not sure how it changed the texture of the bars, since I’ve never made them before, but they were delicious.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and oil together.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and oil together.

Add in the dry ingredients and mix together.

I used extra baking powder, since I was out of baking soda.

Pour the mixture in a greased baking pan and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check to make sure the middle is set before removing. My oven takes longer to bake things, so it was over an hour before the bars were set!

After removing from the oven, let cool, then cover with frosting. I still haven’t bought a hand mixer, so I just used store-bought cream cheese frosting. I covered the pan with plastic wrap to serve later.

These bars tasted great fresh and even the next day!

They were very easy to make, and a big hit, so I’ll be making them again soon! You can view the original recipe here along with a cream cheese frosting recipe.

What’s your favorite pumpkin food to make?
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