Meg's Meal Planning

Cooking with Hope

Cooking with Hope. Week 5

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I didn’t realize that the past three weeks have been Mexican themed dinners! (sorry I’m not sorry!) I love Mexican!  But this week is more classic American. We made a pork tenderloin, baked sweet potato, sauteed squash and zucchini, and a tomato salad.

The pork tenderloin was by one get one free at Stop and Shop!  I bought two unseasoned tenderloins and froze one. I like to keep my seasoning simple, just garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper.

  

Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • 1 pork tenderloin
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced thin
  • Fresh or dried rosemary
  • Salt and pepper

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  2. Cut 8-10 slits in the pork tenderloin, spread out all over. Stuff with the garlic slices and rosemary
  3. Season with salt and pepper
  4. Place on roasting rack and cook at 425 degrees until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, about 45 minutes

Because my husband was at the airport, I didn’t have my griller available. So instead, I cooked the veggies in an electric skillet (Thanks Nannie for the skillet!). I’ve never used one before, so it was a bit of an experiment. I seasoned the vegetables the same as if I was grilling them – salt, pepper, and olive oil. I cooked them on 350 degrees until they started to brown, stirring often.

The tomato salad (all from my garden) is my go-to recipe for a summer salad. It’s great to bring as a dish to a dinner party and a perfect side to add to dinner or lunch.

Tomato Salad

Ingredients

  • 6-7 plum tomatoes, sliced
  • Salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 gloves of garlic, minced
  • Handful of fresh basil, sliced thinly
  • Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Steps

  1. Place tomato slices on a platter and season with salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain any juices that collect
  2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and basil. Set aside
  3. Once you drain the tomatoes, place sliced mozzarella throughout and pour marinade on top

Since the oven was preoccupied by the pork tenderloin, we cooked the sweet potatoes in the microwave. First, Hope poked holes with a fork over each potato. Then, she placed all three potatoes on a plate and cooked for 8 minutes, turning once halfway through. The two smaller potatoes were good, 1 larger one needed to go back in for another three minutes.

It was a great dinner with my sister and BIL! Hope wasn’t too sure if she’d ever cook a pork tenderloin for herself at school, but I reminded her it’s a great, easy meal to cook once, eat twice! Click here for other ideas for tasy pork tenderloin recipes.

Veggie burrito bowls. Cooking with Hope- Week Four

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 I hope my sister is learning some new recipes and skills in the kitchen. She can get a little nervous when cooking something she is unfamiliar with, but I see her confidence growing each week! This week we made a veggie burrito bowl with peach salsa. It was so simple, yet had big flavor! 

Veggie Burrito Bowl

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • Fresh cilantro for garnish 
  • Shredded Mexican cheese
  • Fresh peach salsa- See recipe below 

Steps

  1. Cook rice according to packaged directions
  2. Meanwhile heat olive oil in skillet and add black beans with cumin, salt, pepper and cook for two minutes, stiring frequently
  3. Divide evenly the rice and black beans between three bowls, add avocado, cheese, and fresh peach salsa

This peach salsa has some heat to it!. You can tone it down or add more depending on your taste buds.  All the tomatoes as well as the jalapeno for this recipe came from my garden! This is the first recipe I’ve made with my homegrown vegtetables. I got a feeling there will be many, many more homemade salsas in my future! 

  

Peach Salsa

Ingredients 

  • 5-6 plum tomatoes, chopped into tiny pieces
  • 1 peach, chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced – I added the seeds for more heat
  • 1/4 cup white onion, minced
  • Handful fresh cilantro 
  • Salt to taste

Steps

  1. Add tomatoes to a medium size bowl, add salt and let sit for 10 mintues to collect the juices. Don’t drain! 
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until incorporated

Cooking with Hope

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Shrimp and pineapple tacos

  

This was a fun dish to cook with my sister and believe me, you will love cooking this too!  Who doesn’t love Mexican food!  The citrus from the pineapple shines through and pairs great with the cilantro and lime. Your taste buds will thank you! 

Shrimp and Pineapple Tacos

  
Ingredients

  • 10-12 shrimp, peeled and deveined 
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, more to garnish with
  • Salt
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Lime zest
  • 1/2 cup pineapple, chopped
  • 1/2 avocado, chopped
  • 4 mini flour taco shells

Steps

  1. Heat lightly sprayed skillet over medium heat, Season shrimp in medium bowl with salt, lime juice, and cilantro.  Cook until pink
  2. Meanwhile heat taco shells according to the package
  3. Lay shrimp in the center of the taco shell and top with pineapple, avocado, and lime zest

Click here to to read about Cooking with Hope- Margherita Pizza and Pesto Pizza with Spicy Chicken Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes  and Cooking with Hope- A Birthday Celebration. 

Week of August 2nd 

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Monday– Lemon chicken with rosemary potatoes and spinach salad. I grew fresh rosemary in my garden this summer and want to know how many times I’ve used it!?!? ZERO! So I decided it was finally time to make a dinner including this ingredient.  Both recipes called for rosemary but required different cooking times… ugh! But instead of baking them at separate times, I cooked them both at 400 degrees for 45 minutes!

Tuesday- Shrimp tacos with a pineapple salsa. I used the left over pineapple to give these tacos a refreshing touch! More coming soon with Cooking with Hope!

Wednesday– Spinach and feta stuffed turkey burgers. They are super easy to make and bonus, I only used 1/2 lb ground turkey, so I froze the other 1/2 lb to use in the future!

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • Handful fresh spinach, chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Two hamburger buns

Steps

  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix together with hands and form two hamburger patties
  2. Heat grill to a medium flame and cook burgers 3-4 minutes/side

Thursday– Skirt steak with grilled summer vegetables. I found this recipe in the Aug/Sept 2015 issue of Fine Cooking. It’s a perfect way to use in-season vegetables.

Skirt Steak with grilled summer vegetables

Ingredients for the steak

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme
  • Kosher salt and ground pepper
  • 1/2 lb skirt steak

Ingredients for the vegetables

  • 2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
  • 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 medium clove garlic, minced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and quartered
  • 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced on a sharp diagonal 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced on a sharp diagonal 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 ear of corn, husked
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, preferably a mix of colors, halved
STEPS

1. Combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a baking dish or zip-top bag large enough to hold the steak. Add the steak and marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature.

2. Prepare a medium-high grill fire. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine 1 Tbs. of the basil and 1 Tbs. of the oil with the vinegar, parsley, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Brush the peppers, squash, zucchini, and corn with 1 Tbs. oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until tender with nice grill marks, 10 to 15 minutes. Arrange all but the corn on a large platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette.

4. Remove the steak from the marinade, cut into manageable pieces for grilling, if you like, season generously with salt and pepper, and grill, flipping once, until grill marks form on both sides and cooked to your liking, about 3 minutes per side for medium rare (135°F). Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Cut the corn from the cob and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the tomatoes and the remaining oil and basil. Season with salt and gently toss. Spoon half of the corn and tomato mixture over the other vegetables. Slice the steak with the grain into 4- to 5-inch pieces, then slice thinly against the grain and arrange over the vegetables. Scatter the remaining corn and tomatoes over the steak. Sprinkle with the scallions and sea salt, if using, and serve.

Friday– Pasta with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella. A perfect summer meal!

Shopping List

  • Two large chicken breasts, sliced in half length-wise and pounded till flat
  • 1-2 lemons, sliced
  • 4-6 springs of fresh rosemary
  • 2-4 potatoes, depending on size
  • 10-12 Shrimp
  • 1/2 Avocado
  • 1/4 cup pineapple
  • Fresh cilantro
  • 4 mini flour taco shells
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • Fresh spinach
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • Two hamburger buns
  • Thyme, basil, parsley
  • 1 red or orange bell pepper
  • 1 yellow summer squash
  • 1 zucchini
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • 1 ear of corn

Pantry items

  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic
  • 1 box of pasta

Cooking with Hope- A birthday celebration

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For the second week of Cooking with Hope, we are celebrating a very special birthday for my twin siblings! Hope and Sean, aka Sohope as they were called growing up, turn 20 today! YAY My parents can finally take a big breath; for the first time in 17 years, they don’t have any teenagers! Click here to read about the first week of Cooking with Hope.

For their special day, Hope requested one of her favorite meals – Quinoa enchiladas from Skinny Taste. I made them once for her and she LOVED them. Also on the menu are grilled watermelon and homemade healthy ice cream! Everything turned out delicious and Hope learned how to make her favorite meal. The original recipe for the enchiladas can be found here.  The one below is the one I made; it has a few minor changes from the original. The great thing about this recipe is it makes a lot of food; we had enough for leftovers the next day, and it gives you left over black beans to make a salad or quesadilla with. That’s one dinner and two lunches! Score!


Quinoa Enchilada Bake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tsp olive oil
  • 2 gloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
  • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth – (I used chicken bouillon to make my base. See meal planning tips for more info on this)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce
  • Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
  • 1 (4oz) can diced green chiles
  • 3/4 cup canned black beans
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen thawed corn
  • Chopped fresh cilantro – the more the merrier. I used about 1/2 cup
  • 1 1/2 cups Mexican shredded cheese, divided
  • 1 medium avocado, diced
  • 2 tbsp chopped scallions

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 x 12 baking dish
  2. Cook the quinoa using 1 3/4 cups chicken broth and 1/4 cup water according to package instructions. Once done, fluff with a fork and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown. Don’t burn! Add the tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, cumin, 1/4 cup chicken broth, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer 3-4 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, green chiles, corn, black beans, and 1/2 cup cilantro. Top with the hot sauce mixture and add remaining cheese.
  5. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.
  6. Top with avocado and scallions.

I’ve been wanting to try grilled watermelon for a while, plus this made a perfect side dish to the quinoa. It tasted even better than I expected. The salty feta cheese mixed perfectly with the sweet watermelon.


Grilled Watermelon with Feta Cheese and a Balsamic Reduction Sauce

Ingredients

  • Watermelon, sliced into triangles
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • Salt
  • Olive oil

Steps

  1. Cut the watermelon in half through the center. Place the flat part on a cutting board and slice a 1 inch thick piece off, so you have a large circular piece. Slice the circle into even triangle pieces.
  2. Turn on the grill, season the watermelon with a thin layer of olive oil on both sides and grill until grill marks show on watermelon, about two minutes/side.
  3. Transfer to a platter and season with salt. Set aside.
  4. In a small sauce pan bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil and cook until thickens slightly about 5 minutes. Pour over watermelon pieces and top with feta cheese.

I have also been wanting to try this healthy ice cream for a while! Recently , I’ve been getting a chocolate craving after dinner and thought this would be perfect, except I didn’t have any frozen bananas. So this time I finally planned ahead! This recipe definitely hit my sweet tooth and I will be making it again!


Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe bananas, cut into chunks and frozen
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/8 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp honey

Steps

  1. Pulse banana pieces in blender until smooth, add all other ingredients and pulse until incorporated.
  2. Transfer to a resealable container, freeze at least 30 minutes before serving.

 

Week of July 26th

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What a week of great meals! After returning from vacation, it takes a while to get back into the swing of things. This past week helped to reestablish my routines and start eating healthy again. 

  
Monday-Chicken sausage kebobs with green pepper, cherry tomatoes, and pineapple and tomato, spinach, and basil risotto. 

Chicken Sausage Kebobs with Green Pepper, Cherry Tomatoes, and Pineapple

Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken sausage links, sliced into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
  • 1 package cherry tomatoes
  • Pineapple cut into 1 inch squares
  • 5 wooden skewer sticks, soaked for 30 minutes

Steps

  1. Prepare all your ingredients. We didn’t cook the chicken sausage ahead of time on the stove, but it would be a good idea since some pieces fell off theskewer 
  2. Place in order on the skewer – chicken sausage, pepper, tomatoe, pineapple, repeat. Don’t overcrowd them – leave a little space in between each item
  3. Grill for 10-15 minues until the veggies start to get some grill marks

Tuesday-Cobb salad. I pretty much only make this in the summer, especially on the hottest, most humid days of the summer.  It’s super easy to throw together and tastes delicious! 

Cobb Salad

Ingredients

  • 1-2 hard boiled eggs, sliced and chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced and chopped
  • 3-4 slices of bacon, cooked
  • 1 large tomato, chopped 
  • Feta cheese
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Your choice of salad dressing  

Steps

  1. Add lettuce to a large bowl 
  2. Add all other ingredients and your choice of dressing!

Wednesday–Gnocchi with zucchni ribbons and cherry tomatoes – A perfect summer meal! Calling this a light meal seems like an oxymoron since it’s gnocchi, but that’s exactly how I would describe it! Try it for yourself and see what you think!

Thursday–Lemon basil grilled pork chops with a Caprese salad! I have so much fresh basil in my garden I need to start using it up! This dinner was great since both items called for basil! 

Caprese Salad with a Balsamic Drizzle

Ingredients

  • Two large tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 ball fresh mozzarella sliced
  • Handful fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 

Steps

  1. Slice tomatoes and lay on large platter, cover, salt them and let sit 10-15 minutes, drain the juices
  2. Slice mozzarella and add to platter, tucking behind a tomato, top with fresh basil and add pepper to taste
  3. In a small mixing bowl, add olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, and salt. Stir together and pour over tomatoes

Friday-Cooking with Hope – A Birthday Celebration! Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake. My sister loves this recipe, so in honor of her birthday today, we are making her favorite meal together! Separate post coming soon! 

Shopping List

  • Servings: 2 people/meal
  • Print

  • 3-4 boneless pork chops
  • Fresh basil – 1 cup for pork chops and handful for Caprese salad
  • Five large tomatoes – 2 for Caprese salad, 2 for the risotto, 1 for the cobb salad
  • Fresh mozzarella
  • Two chicken apple sausage links
  • Cherry tomatoes – for the chicken sausage kebobs and the gnocchi pasta
  • Zucchini
  • 1 package gnocchi 
  • Fresh parsley
  • One large green bell pepper
  • Pineapple – cut into cubes for the kebobs
  • 3/4 cup Risotto
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 bag of lettuce
  • 1-2 hard boiled eggs
  • 3-4 slices of bacon, cooked
  • 2 Avocados – 1 for the cobb salad and 1 for the quinoa enchilada bake 
  • Feta cheese
  • 1 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • Fresh cilantro
  • Shredded mexican cheese 
  • Scallions

Pantry items

  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar 
  • Lemon juice 
  • Butter
  • Shallots
  • Garlic
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Quinoa
  • Tomato sauce
  • Chicken broth – for the risotto and quinoa bake 
  • Cumin
  • Chipotle en adobo sauce or hot sauce
  • Black beans
  • Fresh or frozen corn

Week of July 19th 

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What an adventurous week for megsmealplanning! I only followed 1 recipe all week! Four of the meals were created by me! Also new this week, I’m going to start including my shopping lists so you can print them out to make it even easier for you at home to try these recipes!

The shopping list will be located at the end of every weekly meal post. I’ll include every item needed for each recipe. Don’t freak if it looks like a lot of items; once you start building your pantry, you’ll find you will already have a bunch of these items. For more tips on building a pantry, click on my meal planning tips! Remember to buy things when they’re on sale. For example, I only buy pizza dough when it goes on sale for 10/$10, I’ll buy 2-3 and freeze them until needed.

Monday– Homemade pizza! Margherita and pesto pizza with spicy chicken sausage. My sister came over for dinner because she wants to learn how to cook.  For the next few weeks I’m going to be featuring a mini-series called “Cooking with Hope” featuring meals my sister and I cook together. To read more about this meal, click here!

Tuesday– Chicken legs with sweet potato and pineapple. I found this recipe in the cook book One pan, Two Plates, by Carla Snyder.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Thyme, Sweet Potatoes, and Pineapple

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp minced fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
  • 1 garlic glove, minced
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 whole chicken leg quarters or drumsticks
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup diced fresh or canned pineapple
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Combine 1 tsp of the parsley, all the thyme, garlic, and butter in a small bowl and mash it all together. Working with one chicken piece at a time, gently slide your fingers under the skin to separate it from the meat and push half of the herb butter under the skin, pressing it evenly over the surface of the meat. Sprinkle the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a 12 inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add the chicken, skin side down, and brown it on the first side, without moving it. Turn and brown the other side. Transfer to plate. (It won’t be fully cooked.)
  4. Add the shallot, sweet potatoes, 1/2 tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the oil in the hot pan and saute until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the pineapple and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and any juices, layering the chicken pieces on top of the potatoes. Transfer to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 35 minutes. *Note if not using leg quarters, the chicken will cook faster, use a meat thermometer and insert into the chicken until it reads 165 degrees).
  5. Divide the chicken and potatoes between two plates and top with remaining parsley.

Wednesday– Cheeseburgers with grilled squash and zucchini and baked beans. This is as easy as they come. Slice the veggies, season with salt, pepper, and olive oil and cook at the same time with the burgers.

Thursday– Grilled chicken salad with roasted corn, black beans, scallions, and feta cheese with a honey lime vinaigrette.  I’m very happy with this salad because I didn’t follow a recipe for the salad or the dressing!

Grilled chicken salad with black beans and roasted corn

  • Servings: 2
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 bag of spinach
  • 2 pieces of skinless, boneless chicken breast, grilled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup ofcorn
  • 3-4 scallions, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons feta cheese
  • Salt and pepper

Steps

  1. In large bowl add spinach, chicken, black beans, scallions, and feta cheese
  2. Heat small frying pan over medium heat, add corn, salt, and pepper and cook 3-4 minutes or until corn starts turning brown. Add to spinach.

Honey lime vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp orange juice
  • 2 teaspoon honey
  • Salt to taste

Steps

  1. Mix all ingredients together and pour over salad.  This will make more than enough, you can store the rest in the fridge and use on another day!

Friday– Spaghetti with pesto, artichokes, and sun dried tomatoes. Once again I didn’t follow a recipe! This was a good week for that! I had the pesto I made in advance, click here for the recipe.  Cooked pasta according to package directions, added artichokes and sun dried tomatoes.

Shopping List

  • Print
  • Two store bought pizza doughs
  • Pizza sauce
  • Fresh basil
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Pesto
  • Spicy chicken sausage
  • Artichokes
  • Sun dried tomatoes
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 whole chicken leg quarters or 4 drumsticks
  • Sweet potato
  • 1 fresh pineapple or canned pineapple
  • Hamburger patties
  • Hamburger buns
  • Zucchini
  • Squash
  • 2 Chicken breasts
  • Spinach
  • Feta cheese
  • Scallions

Please note, I didn’t include the following items because they are what I consider as pantry items aka I always have them in stock and buy when they go on sale

  • Parsley- can use dried
  • Thyme- can use dried
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Shallots
  • Butter
  • Baked beans
  • Corn
  • Black beans
  • Lime juice
  • Orange juice
  • Honey
  • Spaghetti

Cooking with Hope

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My sister, Hope, is a junior in college and will be living in a house next year with NO MEAL PLAN!  I remember being in her shoes and being so nervous thinking, “What the hell am I going to eat!?”  She has the same fears and wants to learn some easy meals to make next year.

The Cooking with Hope series will feature meals we make together over the next few weeks until she leaves for school. The first meal is homemade pizza!

We made two pizza pies – the first is your basic Margherita pizza and the second was a pesto pizza with spicy chicken sausage and sun dried tomatoes.  We experimented cooking the two pizzas by preheating one pizza stone, but not the other. And let me tell you, BIG mistake not preheating both of them. The preheated stone gave the dough a nice crispy crust! Once both pizzas were prepared, we cooked them together.

  

Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

  • Pizza dough
  • Pizza sauce
  • Sliced fresh mozzarella
  • Handful fresh basil

Steps

  1. Roll dough on cookie sheet or pizza stone
  2. Spread pizza sauce on dough, top with fresh mozzarella
  3. Bake at 475 for 15 minutes (for the Margherita pizza, we didn’t preheat the cookie sheet)
  4. Slice basil and top on pizza once it’s done cooking

Pesto Pizza with Spicy Chicken Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients

  • Pizza dough
  • Pesto, click here for recipe
  • Olive oil
  • 2 Spicy chicken sausages, sliced thin
  • Sun dried tomatoes
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and heat pizza stone for 15-30 minutes. I only preheated it for 15 minutes because I was too hungry to wait the full time, but it will make the dough even more crunchy!
  2. While the pizza stone is heating, drizzle some oil olive in a frying pan. Saute the chicken sausage until no longer pink in the middle. I used only two pieces and froze the rest.
  3. After 15-30 minutes take out the pizza stone and carefully spread your dough out. Remember it’s hot! Turn oven up to 475 degrees
  4. Spread a layer of pesto. Add your shredded cheese, then top with chicken sausage and sun dried tomatoes. Cook both pizzas together for 15 minutes or until the crust is turning brown.