Pineapple and Ham Pizza

Confession I have a tortilla pizza problem. It's out in the open now, maybe I can get some help. Yes, I keep tortillas, pizza sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni around most of the time. I make all kinds of tortilla pizzas when I need a quick meal. Well today as I prepared a list to go to the store; I put this little pizza together. I used leftover ham and pineapple pico. It was so pretty and delicious I had to share right away. In the process I guess I outed myself. Oh well, it was totally worth it to introduce you to the quick and delicious technique of making tortilla pizzas. I hope you enjoy the idea but don't develop a problem of your own.

Pineapple and Ham Pizza

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 - 6" flour tortilla

2 Tbsp. pizza sauce

4 Tbsp. Italian cheese blend

1 mini yellow sweet pepper, sliced 

Leftover Baked Ham, sliced or diced
3 Tbsp. Pineapple Pico de Gallo

Directions

Place a sheet pan upside down on the middle rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place tortillas on a piece of aluminum foil. Spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each. Top with 2 tbsp. or more of Italian cheese blend, pepper slices, ham and pineapple pico. Place your tortilla and foil on the sheet pan in the center of the oven and bake for 9 minutes. Remove from the foil and enjoy!

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie

This year in a quest to make Easter dinner a little healthier we opted for a Yogurt Pie for dessert instead of the Coconut Baba I made last year. I still wanted to do something special or different. But I could not get the families' cherry version of the pie out of my head. Of course cherries are not in season, so I could not find them in the produce department. It was Mom that suggested using frozen cherries. Then it occurred to me, what about adding chocolate to the cherry yogurt pie? Do you like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt? I DO! So I went to search the baking and candy aisles for chocolate covered cherries to add to the mix. I found a bag made by Dove. It turned out really good! Everyone enjoyed it. Dear sister liked it a lot but suggested we try using one cherry and one vanilla yogurt next time. Then she recanted saying she did not want to lose any of the cherry flavor. I think I might add a little pure vanilla next time just to see if it adds anything. I am on the fence about whether or not to chop up the chocolate covered cherries next time. They freeze a little on the hard side, so if you encounter one when you are cutting the pie it is difficult to get through. I think with a few tweaks this pie might just keep me out of the ice cream case in the future.

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light cherry Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries, thawed
6 oz. bag chocolate covered cherries
8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared Oreo cookie pie crust

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold cherries and chocolate covered cherries (reserve 7 for garnish) into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with the remaining whipped topping, and garnish with reserved chocolate covered cherries.

Note: I usually remove the pie from the freezer when we sit down to dinner. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert.

Want more ice cream inspired treats?

Check out this Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Linking to:

Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday

Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes

Happy Easter!

The Potato Salad is made already. There is also a new version of Yogurt Pie in the freezer, but I will post that later. I am going over to Mom and Dad's to make the Baked Ham and Green Vegetable Medley. I just want to wish you and yours a very Happy Easter! I hope you enjoy a day of fun, food and family. 

God Bless!

Chicken a la King Soup

Growing up Mom only made Turkey a la King maybe 2 or 3 times. It was what she made with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. See we always spent the holiday in south Louisiana except for the 2 or 3 times we had to say home in the north. Usually is was because one of us was sick. I remember the dish fondly. It was something different and deliciously creamy. I hadn't thought about it in years. But one day I came across a video on YouTube from Linda's Pantry. She was canning a Chicken a la King Soup. It looked amazing! So it prompted me to ask Mom for her recipe. It turns out it was a Betty Crocker recipe from one of her really old cookbooks. Now armed with her recipe I set out to make my own Chicken a la King Soup. Now this soup is not light. I think the butter and half and half are important flavors in this dish. I tried using a combination olive oil and butter, but it did not have that iconic "a la King" flavor. Another thing I discovered, this soup is even better made with poached chicken and the light broth reserved from the process. I made it with leftover grilled chicken and stock in a box, it was great but the other was so much better. The grill chicken and the dark chicken stock dominated the buttery flavors. So use a light chicken broth and delicately seasoned chicken to let those creamy, buttery ingredients shine. This is such a comforting silky bowl of chicken, veggies and broth. I love the mushrooms, peppers and pimentos. It definitely takes me back to childhood. This one is dear sister and Mom approved too. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Chicken a la King Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp. flour
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 oz. jar pimentos, undrained
2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed
1 cup half and half
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper sauté until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms and season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. When mushrooms begin to soften add flour, stir until well combined and you do not smell flour. Slowly add broth stirring to pick up any browned flour from bottom of the pot. Add pimentos and chicken, bring to a simmer. Add half and half reduce heat to low. Cook on low for 10 minutes to blend flavors. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary and serve!

Bonus Recipe

Linking to:

Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky

Joy Love Food: What's You Do This Weekend?
Creative K Kids: Bloggers Brags Weekly Pinterest Party
Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday
Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Soup

Piri Piri Mushroom Burgers

Ever since I made Piri Piri Mushrooms I have wanted to use them on a Mushroom Cheese Burger. They are deliciously smoky and just a little spicy. So one night last week I made beef burgers with a little Piri Piri Sauce inside and Piri Piri Seasoning on the outside. It was delicious topped with swiss cheese and the mushrooms. Ask dear sister, she really liked it. She also enjoyed the grilled squash with Piri Piri Seasoning. We had a great dinner. It is amazing how much smoke flavor the Piri Piri adds to a traditional mushroom cheese burger. It was not too spicy just a tasty smoky twist on an original. Try it! It will just set your burgers apart from all the others. People will wonder what you know that they don't. It can be our little secret . . . Or, tell them where they can find more Piri Piri flavor. I appreciate all you reading and sharing!

Piri Piri Mushroom Burgers

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

16 oz. ground beef (93% lean)

1 Tbsp. Piri Piri Sauce

Piri Piri Seasoning, to taste

6 slices Swiss cheese

Piri Piri Mushrooms

3 Hamburger Buns

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Combine first 3 ingredients gently. Shape mixture into 3 patties, making the patties thinner in the middle then the edge. Season both side with Piri Piri Seasoning.

Grill, covered with grill lid, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip burger and grill covered for another 2 minutes. Place 2 slices of cheese on each burger, grill another 2 minutes. Place hamburger buns on the top rack of the grill to toast while cheese melts. Remove from grill and serve on hamburger buns with Piri Piri Mushrooms.

Piri Piri Squash

Yellow Squash, sliced + Olive Oil Spray + Piri Piri Seasoning

Grill over medium-high heat 4 minutes each side.

Linking to:

Joy Love Food: What's You Do This Weekend?

Creative K Kids: Bloggers Brags Weekly Pinterest Party

Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist

Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Piri Piri Turkey Burger

I have been experimenting with different Piri Piri Condiments. Recently I made Piri Piri Turkey Burgers. I used my new condiments, Pineapple Pico de Gallo, lemon zest and Piri Piri Seasoning. Do you think I left anything out? I tried to pack as much flavor in there as possible. I used Piri Piri Mayo inside the burger with the zest of one lemon. Then I seasoned the outside with the Piri Piri Seasoning. They were moist and well seasoned. I loved the rusty red color the seasoning gave them. They were also wonderfully smoky. I tried the Piri Piri Mayo and Pineapple Pico first. It was delicious but the winning condiment was the Piri Piri Ketchup. It was AMAZING! By far my favorite condiment I tried on the burgers. It complimented the Pineapple Pico de Gallo and for some reason it highlights the red pepper flavor in the Piri Piri Sauce. Delicious! It has that sweet and spicy thing going for it. I can't wait to try it out on the family. I think making sliders so everyone can try each version might be a good idea. I will be sure to share that experiment with you too.

Piri Piri Turkey Burgers

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

20 oz. ground turkey (93% lean)

Zest of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. Piri Piri Mayo

Piri Piri Seasoning, to taste

Olive oil

Piri Piri Ketchup

Pineapple Pico de Gallo

4 Hamburger Buns

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Combine first 3 ingredients gently. Shape mixture into 4 patties, making the patties thinner in the middle then the edge. Coat hands in a little olive oil and rub on the outside of each patty. Season both side with Piri Piri Seasoning.

Grill, covered with grill lid, 6 to 7 minutes. Flip burger and grill covered for another 6 minutes. Place hamburger buns on the top rack of the grill to toast (optional). Serve on hamburger buns with Piri Piri Ketchup and Pineapple Pico de Gallo.

Shown above with Piri Piri Mayo

Linking to:

The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites

Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Ms. en Place: See Ya in the Gumbo

Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?

Anyonita Nibbles: #tastytuesdays

Back to the Basics: Tuesdays with a Twist

Dizzy, Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Creative K Kids: The Ultimate Party on Google+

Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Pineapple

Piri Piri Condiments

I have been experimenting with different Piri Piri Condiments. Piri Piri Mayo, Piri Piri Ketchup and even Piri Piri Barbecue Sauce. I started the experiment by mixing equal parts Piri Piri Sauce and the other condiments. All are delicious in their own way. Such an easy way to spice things up or replace your standard spread or sauce in all kinds of meals.

The Piri Piri Mayo is creamy and spicy. It was delicious on some fish tacos I made from leftover fried catfish from the church Men's Club Fish Fry. I made a simple cilantro slaw with honey, soy and rice vinegar. The tacos were a very tasty use of leftovers.

Pir Piri Mayo

1 Part Piri Piri Sauce + 1 Part Mayonnaise

The Piri Piri Ketchup is sweet and spicy. It was great with hashbrown potatoes. But it was by far my favorite condiment I tried on my Piri Piri Turkey Burgers. It complimented the Pineapple Pico de Gallo and for some reason it highlights the red pepper flavor in the Piri Piri Sauce. Delicious! Click here for more about the burger recipe.

Piri Piri Ketchup

1 Part Piri Piri Sauce + 1 Part Ketchup

Finally the Piri Piri Barbecue sauce is both smoky and spicy. I loved it with grilled chicken. I can't wait to try it on a beef burger seasoned with Piri Piri Seasoning. Do you think one can over use the words Piri Piri in a post? I think I can! I hope you will try a few of the new condiments. Let me know your favorite uses for each.

Piri Piri Barbecue Sauce

1 Part Piri Piri Sauce + 1 Part Hickory Barbecue Sauce

Linking to:

Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends