Homemade J Dawgs Sauce

This post is for my fellow Utah Valley J Dawgs addicts... no actually, it is definitely for the rest of you who haven't been to Utah of late and therefore have no idea what you are missing in your hot dog eating life.  J Dawgs are all the rage around here.  Started by a BYU student in 2004 (sadly after my BYU days), these dawgs hit the ground running.  The secret is in the sauce, of course.  It is sweet and tangy.  And quite frankly, I can't get enough of it.  I've never thought of myself as a hot dog person, but these are just amazing.  I also think their signature criss cross cutting of the hot dogs to maximize surface area for the sauce is brilliant.  I have not actually taste tested the homemade variety at the same time as the real stuff at the restaurant, but I think the homemade J Dawg sauce is a pretty darn good imitation of the real deal.  We had these as a family on the 4th of July, and I made them for girls' camp this year, too.  A huge hit both times and super easy.  They are awesome with beef or polish dogs, too.  I like mine topped with pickles, onions, banana peppers, and sauerkraut.  Hope you like them, too!

Homemade J Dawgs Sauce

Author: Mindy

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup ketchup


• 3/4 cup brown sugar


• 1/4 cup honey


• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar


• 1 teaspoon soy sauce


• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until almost boiling.  Remove from heat, cool, and serve on grilled hot dogs.  Make sure to buy good quality buns - none of this wonder bread stuff.  And absolutely don't forget to make criss cross X's all down the dog before grilling to make sure you have plenty of surface area for the sauce!


2. Serve with toppings:


3. Pickles, onions, jalapeños, banana peppers, sauerkraut, yellow mustard.  (The restaurant also offers ketchup, celery salt, mayo, relish, and spicy brown mustard at special request)

3.2.2802

Hearty Meat Sauce for the Freezer

How is your holiday season going?  We hope you a very Merry Christmas!  My family had a wonderful day and now we are enjoying the slow and easy days of no school!  It is so nice to have no where to go  and just be able to enjoy my family in our cozy home.   I am finding some extra time to stock up my freezer a bit.  I made some hearty meat sauce the other day.  I love to have this on hand for a  quick dinner over pasta, to cut out a step in lasagna or add some taco seasoning and make beef enchiladas in a breeze.  This meat sauce is very versatile and always so yummy!  I know I will appreciate this sauce when school and sports start back up and life is busy again.  I love to find shortcuts for my dinners on nights like that:)

 Hearty Meat Sauce for the Freezer

submitted by Melanie~www.thesisterscafe.com

3 medium onions, chopped
3 pounds 90% lean ground beef  (you could use half ground pork if desired)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
3 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice, undrained
3 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1. Chop onions. Heat skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onions, ground beef and garlic. Cook 15-18 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles; drain.

2. Transfer meat mixture to a 8qt stockpot.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 40-45 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

3. Place about 5 cups of sauce in separate freezer containers. Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Yield: 15 cups

Recipe Source: Pampered Chef

Classic Cheese Sauce

I don't know about you, but I think just about every vegetable is better drizzled with cheese sauce:)  My children must agree because they will eat double the amount of broccoli if I make this sauce!  I don't make it often, since I realize it is not the healthiest way to eat our veggies, but when I do, it is VERY appreciated!  This sauce is super easy and versatile.  Try different cheeses--such as Gouda, Swiss, Fontina, Monterey Jack, Havarti, and more! Serve this wonderful sauce on toasted bread and you have the old  'Welsh Rabbit" dish in minutes!  I'm sure you will find many uses for this wonderful classic cheese sauce!  Enjoy!

We started back to school today here in Chattanooga.  I can hardly believe it.  We are having our annual Back to School Dinner tonight.  If you need some fun and free back to school printables click here.  Now that school has started I have a goal to use a Menu Planner every week and post my menus again here.  It is time to get back on track:)

Classic Cheese Sauce
submitted by Melanie~The Sisters Cafe

2 TB butter
2 TB flour
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over low heat.  Stir in flour, mustar, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Gradually stir in milk. return pan to to boil, stirring constantly.  Boil one minute and then stir in cheese until melted.

*to create a thinner sauce, decrease butter and flour by one tablespoon.
Recipe Source: Betty Crocker

Thai Peanut Sauce

Amazing.  Seriously amazing.  This is the easiest and most incredible peanut sauce you will ever eat.  I could drink the stuff!  The first time we made it, I told my husband that I would rather have this sauce than dessert.  It's that good.  "So what do you eat it with?" you might ask.  Just about anything.  We've eaten it with Satay (marinated, skewered and grilled meat), on salads and sandwiches, but most often we eat it on rice with stir fry veggies and sliced grilled chicken.  I am a big fan of make ahead meals, and this one has become one of our favorites.  This sauce freezes well.  It does get a lot thicker when it thaws out than fresh, but it still tastes awesome.  In fact, the sauce thickens considerably even after refrigeration.  I just add a little water to thin it out if I need to.  Freezing in ice cube trays, then storing the cubes in a freezer ziploc make using the frozen sauce more convenient.  When chicken goes on sale, I'll buy a bunch and marinate and freeze half, then we grill the rest, slice it and put it in the freezer.  We always keep a bag of stir fry veggies in the freezer (Costco's are my favorite), and all you have to do is make rice and pull the premade chicken, sauce, and veggies out of the freezer for a quick dinner.  Don't you just love that?  What are your favorite make ahead meals?

Thai Peanut Sauce
Submitted by Mindy~ The Sisters Cafe

One 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
2 ounces (approx 1/4 cup) of Thai red curry paste
3/4 cup unsweetened (natural) peanut butter -- the kind that has a layer of oil on the top.  I use Adam's.
1/2 Tablespoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not use any other type of vinegar, including rice vinegar)
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.  Reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes, again whisking constantly. Be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.  Remove from heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature or slightly warmer before serving.

Recipe Source: Adapted from SheSimmers

Authentic Italian Red Sauce

 

This recipe is from my dear friend Karen, who comes from a big Italian family with fantastic recipes.  Another one of their recipes is 'Mama Filoso's Chicken Rice Soup'.  Anyway, Karen gave this recipe to me a long time ago, but unfortunately it got lost in my big recipe binder and I never made it until last weekend.  WOW it was INCREDIBLE--the best marinara sauce I have ever made.  This comes together quick and tastes amazing!  This is very similar to the  5 Minute Marinara Sauce  recipe, but I think better!

According to Karen, this sauce is good on everything from sauteed vegetables like zucchini, or thinly sliced cabbage to any pasta. I am thinking it would be good as a pizza base or to dip your Stromboli  or Calzone into.  I even thinned the leftover sauce with chicken broth( a little cream would have been good too:) for a quick tomato soup to dip grilled cheese into for lunch.  It was great--let me tell you-YUM!

Thank you Karen for another great recipe!

Authentic Italian Red Sauce
submitted by Melanie~The Sisters Cafe

3-4 TBsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-8 fresh garlic cloves (Karen says she uses 8 or more- I used 6)

1 (29oz) can of tomatoes (for a milder sauce add more)

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup fresh basil, or as much as you like (I left this out because I didn't have any)

1 tsp Better than Bouillon, beef flavor, or 1 bouillon cube

Mild cayenne pepper (optional)

Blend up tomatoes until fairly smooth.  Put olive oil in the pan with the minced garlic, just until the garlic starts to really sizzle.  Do not over cook the garlic.  Add tomatoes to the garlic and oil  and bring to a simmer.  Add tomato paste, bouillon, fresh basil, and cayenne.  Bring to a simmer.  Let cook a minute or two.  This does not need a long time to cook.  It will actually lose it's pungent flavor if you do.

ENJOY!!

Chicken Wraps with Creamy Asian Peanut Sauce

I hope you all had a wonderful President's Day yesterday! My husband made plans for us to go ice fishing, which would have been a very new experience for me:) But unfortunately our plans fell through and we ended up salvaging the holiday by getting a big group of friends together to go see the movie Tangled with our kids at the dollar theaters. Have you all seen it already? If not, GO! It is so so adorable. My boys were glued to the screen and I must admit, so was I. So now that you've heard my plug for Tangled...let's talk Chicken Wraps! These chicken wraps are yummy but this creamy asian peanut sauce is amazing! Definitely the highlight of this meal. You can even make it 24 hrs in advance, refrigerate, and serve at room temperature. Anything to make preparing a meal easier is a plus in my book. This wrap is fresh, fun, and different. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Chicken Wraps with Creamy Asian Peanut Sauce

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from Foster Farms

WRAPS:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 leaves Napa cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups packed)
2 cups packed baby spinach (or romaine)
1 medium carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
3 medium radishes, sliced (about 1/3 cup)
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. canola oil
1 package 10-inch spinach wraps (6)

PEANUT SAUCE:
2 T. canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock, or water, or more as needed
1 T. sugar, or more to taste
2 T. soy sauce, or more to taste
1 t. Malaysian chili sauce, sambal oelek or other Asian chili paste
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Cook chicken breasts using your preferred method. A fast and easy way is to cook the chicken is in the microwave on 50% power until fully cooked through. You should flip the chicken a few times as it is cooking.

In a medium bowl mix cabbage, spinach, carrot and radishes. In a small bowl, stir together rice vinegar, soy sauce and canola oil. Pour over cabbage mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes.

To prepare the peanut sauce, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger; cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, stirring well. Whisk in peanut butter, coconut milk, chicken stock or water, sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and pepper. Let the sauce simmer until it is thick and richly flavored, about 5 minutes, stirring well. Add more chicken stock as needed-the sauce should be thick but pourable. Taste for seasoning, add more sugar, soy sauce and chili sauce as necessary. Serve at room temperature.

Lay spinach wraps on a clean flat surface. Divide the cabbage mixture evenly over the wraps. Top with chicken. Drizzle peanut sauce over the chicken, about 2 T. for each wrap, or as much or little as desired. Fold in the edges, wrap tightly and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Triple Berry Sauce

My handsome hubby loves loves loves cheesecake! So for his birthday every year I indulge him (and me)! Can I just say that this cheesecake is so good that words just cannot describe it?! Hubs just about melted into his chair with the first bite last night (meanwhile I was doing my little success boogie dance because, if you know my laid back guy, he doesn't tend to express much reaction for anything... but that is another story. haha!) It is DIVINE!!!! You must try. While I was taking the pictures this morning both my toddler and my husband were hanging over my shoulder begging for a bite... it was 8am and we hadn't even had breakfast! Perhaps that was the problem. When a bite was finally snitched, it was declared even better the next day!

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
submitted by Brittany ~ The Sisterscafe

3/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (such as chocolate teddy grahams or chocolate grahams crackers)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp sugar
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (about 1 cup), melted
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
4 extra large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the cookie and graham cracker crumbs with butter and tablespoon of sugar. Mix well and press into the bottom and slightly up sides of 10-inch springform pan. Bake until crust is set - about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave on 50% power. Stir until smooth and let cool slightly. (not too much or chocolate will harden)
3. In bowl of electric mixer, whip the cream cheese. Add cup of sugar, sour cream, and vanilla extract and beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after the addition of each and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
4. Place 1/3 of batter in a medium bowl and fold in the chocolate, mixing until smooth.
5. Pour half of plain cheesecake mixture into crust then alternate large dollops of chocolate mixture with plain cheesecake mixture. Using a thin knife, gently and slowly swirl the two mixtures together to create a marbleized effect. (don't overdo it!)
6. Create a water bath for the cheesecake by pouring 1 inch of water in a large enough baking pan to fit cheesecake pan. Wrap bottom of springform pan with tin foil to prevent water leaking in. (Baking a cheesecake in a water bath keeps the cake moist while baking and helps prevent cracking.)
7. Bake cheesecake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Decrease oven temp to 250 degrees and continue baking for 1 hour. Gently remove cheesecake from waterbath. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside oven for 1 hour. Run a sharp, warm knife around the edge to remove the rim. Wrap cheesecake tightly and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours) before serving.
8. To serve, slice with a long, sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between slices. Serve with triple berry sauce and sweetened whipped cream, if desired.


Triple Berry Sauce

3 cups frozen berries (I use the Costco mix of raspberries, blueberries and marionberries

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp water

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup frozen or fresh berries

Place 3 cups of berries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until frozen berries are soft and sugar is melted (you don't need to add water). Puree berry mixture with a blender; replace in saucepan. Mix together water and cornstarch and stir into berry mixture. Add 1/2 cup of frozen berries and boil over medium heat until thick. Chill to serve.

5 Minute Marinara Sauce

This is my favorite marinara sauce. It is incredibly flavorful and delicious and amazingly comes together in only 5 minutes!! It is perfect over pasta and sauteed veggies or leftover grilled chicken for a quick dinner. It is also perfect for dunking calzones, or pizza rolls or stromboli in. We love this easy and delicious sauce. Hope you do too!

PS

Need some FOOD for THOUGHT? I got so many sweet emails (thank you!) requesting the notes from the class I taught about the importance of family dinner and how to make them as stress-free as possible--that I promised to share. Well, I finally got it posted. If you are interested go here.

5 Minute Marinara

Submitted by Melanie ~ The Sisters Cafe

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I use less)
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (crush in palm before throwing them in to release flavor)
1TB tomato paste (I usually leave this out, and it still works great)
1 32-ounce can chunky-style crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Italian dried seasoning
1 handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped (I normally don't have this)

Add the olive oil to a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed pepper. When the pepper snaps and the garlic sizzles, add the tomato paste, cook for a minute, then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley.

Recipe Source: Rachel Ray--I wrote it down years ago from a 30 minute meals episode and have LOVED it ever since!

Fresh Pizza Sauce

I didn't have any tomato paste to make pizza sauce a few weeks ago, and I thought.... Man! I have all these garden tomatoes... there has to be a good fresh recipe out there. So I googled it and settled on one I found on allrecipes.com I've made it a couple of times now, and turned out fabulous every time. It is a thin, kind of watery pizza sauce, but it packs a lot of flavor so you don't miss the thickness of traditional sauce. I was wary of the cinnamon the first time, so I only put a small pinch in.... it turned out awesome! Not overpowering, but added another subtle layer of flavor that was fun. The second time I added a couple of shakes of the cinnamon shaker. It was still good, but the cinnamon came through a little bolder and I liked it better as a faint background flavor. So the moral of the story: don't be afraid of the cinnamon, but only one small shake (or pinch). :) Hope you enjoy!

Fresh Pizza Sauce
Submitted by Mindy ~ The Sisters Cafe

2 ripe tomatoes (I highly suggest fresh garden tomatoes if you can get them)
1 clove garlic
1 packed tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 pinch cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (I used dried parsley, as well, and it works great)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients: the tomatoes, garlic, basil, cinnamon, salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, oil, and parsley. Blend without liquifying. It should remain a little chunky.

Adapted from Aligorn at Allrecipes.com

Chocolate Truffle Sauce

My dear friend Laura L. who LOVES anything chocolate gave me this amazing sauce one year for Christmas. It is seriously good--a huge step up from regular chocolate sauce. It really does taste like you have poured a fine chocolate truffle over your icecream. All of a sudden a simple treat has turned into a decadent, rich , 1st class dessert. This is something you could serve to impress and yet it is so easy to make! I have to admit that although it is wonderful heated up and poured over a bowl of vanilla bean icecream, it is equally delicious to enjoy a cold spoonful straight from the jar:) This is dangerous stuff to have around if you are on a diet!

This sauce makes a perfect gift too!

Chocolate Truffle Sauce
submitted by Melanie
Printable recipe here

3/4 cup whipping cream
2 Tb butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 t vanilla

Put butter and cream in a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until cream is hot. Do NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let it melt then whisk until smooth and add vanilla. You may also make this in microwave--although I never have.

Parmesan Alfredo Sauce

Fettuccini Alfredo was always one of my very favorite dishes growing up. I can remember eating so much my stomach hurt on many more occasions than I'd like to admit:) Then I learned how many calories were in it! No wonder my stomach was hurting so bad. I still love alfredo sauce but with this recipe I can enjoy a long time favorite with slightly less guilt! Below is the extremely easy original recipe as well as the few substitutes I now make to it. I really like the parmesan cheese in it. And did I mention how easy it is?? I doubled the recipe here and added shredded chicken this time but think I would have preferred chunks of chicken. This would also be a very yummy dipping sauce for breadsticks!

Parmesan Alfredo Sauce

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Printable Recipe Here

1/2 c. butter (I use Smart Balance light)
1/2 c. heavy cream (I use evaporated milk)
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. salt (I don't think it needs this but you might)
Dash of pepper

Heat butter and evaporated milk on low heat in a sauce pan until butter is melted. Stir in cheese, salt, and pepper. Continue stirring until thickened. Serve over 8 oz fettuccini or another of your favorite noodles.

Kneaders Raspberry Bread Pudding with Vanilla Cream Sauce

Kneaders is a great bakery, cafe in Utah. Is it nationwide?? I am not sure. Anyway, they are famous around here for their baked goods, soups and desserts. Everything that I have ever had from Kneaders is wonderful. I got this recipe from my friend Sheri. I am not sure if it is the REAL Kneaders recipe--but it was fantastic! My hubby requested it this year for his birthday, instead of cake. Mmmmm--
**Tips** I did not use cream--that just seemed to rich for my tastes. I used half and half whenever it said cream in the recipe. I baked this in my Le Cresuet 9x13 deep dish baker. I had to keep it in the oven an extra 20 minutes. Next time I will use my roasting pan, it is bigger than a 9x13.

Kneaders Raspberry Bread Pudding
submitted by Melanie

Cream Mix

1 1/2 loaves aged, white bread

1 quart heavy cream

3 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

In large bowl combine cream, sugar, egg and vanilla. Cut bread into 1 1/2" cubes and add to cream mixture, coating bread well. Let stand 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes to allow cream to absorb completely.

Fruit Filling
5 cups frozen raspberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple juice

Combine raspberries, sugar and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Layer a 9x13 dark baking dish 3/4 full with bread mixture, pour fruit filling over bread mixture, spreading evenly, top with remaining bread. Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm. Top with vanilla sauce.

Vanilla Sauce
1 1/3 cup butter

5 tablespoons flour

3 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

Over medium heat melt butter, and add flour stir 10 minutes until it has a nutty aroma, do not brown. Add cream and sugar and boil till mixture is thick, remove from heat adding vanilla. Serve this wonderful sauce cold.

Pesto Chicken Pizza with Pinenuts and Feta

My husband and I used to go to the Rusted Sun Pizzeria in downtown Salt Lake City. I LOVED their chicken & pine nut pizza. So I made up this recipe one day in a burst of inspiration... I think it comes pretty close! This is our ALL-TIME favorite pizza ever. It's so yummy.

It might seem complicated because of all the recipes that go into preparing this pizza. But it's really not difficult at all. The day before, make pesto and marinate the chicken. The day-of, cook chicken and make the pizza dough. Then assemble the pizza at dinner time. It's a snap.

 

Pesto Pizza with Pine Nuts and Feta
Submitted by Erin

 

 

Preheat Pizza Stone in 400° oven. Roll out prepared pizza dough and place on preheated pizza stone. Top pizza dough with the following ingredients in order: 

1) Pesto (LIBERALLY spread pesto over the pizza, so you can’t see the dough through it, and up on top the edges so the crusts will have pesto on them as well.)
2) Feta cheese (about 4 oz)
3) Red onion slivers (about 1/3 onion -I like lots of red onion and tomatoes)
4) Chicken pieces (about 1 1/2 Grilled Lemon marinated breasts, diced and cooked)
5) Tomato slices (1-2 tomatoes, bite-sized slices)
6) Mozzarella cheese (to your liking)
7) Pine nuts (sprinkle over top)

Bake in 400° oven for 18-20 minutes.

 

 

Pesto
This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa – she is a professional chef who has great cookbooks. I make multiple batches of pesto during the summer with basil from my garden. I use it for lots of recipes, and then the remaining pesto I freeze to use later in the winter and spring. I freeze it in icecube trays and then empty the frozen pesto cubes into freezer bags.

I love this recipe. I think it has a tendency to be too oily, though, so I usually only add 1 1/4 c. olive oil. Test it out and see what you prefer.  

¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pignolis
3 T. diced garlic (9 cloves)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ c. good olive oil
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups.

 

White Pizza Dough
I've posted this pizza dough before, but I'll put it here again for convenience. This Pesto Chicken Pizza is much better on a white pizza crust than a whole wheat pizza crust. Save the whole wheat for a tomato based sauce; the flavors in this pizza are best complimented with a white dough.

 

1 c warm water, divided
1 tsp sugar
1/4 oz package active dry yeast
3 Tbsp oil (olive oil or vegetable)
2 ½ c flour
1 tsp salt 

Put warm water in bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast and let proof for 1o minutes. Stir in rest
of ingredients. Mix until a ball, knead 10 minutes. Put additional oil in bowl and let rise in oil bowl for 1 ½ hours.


Lemon Grilled Chicken
Melanie introduced me to this recipe. It's already been posted on this blog. It's very very versatile and DELICIOUS. Use it on pizza, in salads, or serve it straight from the grill.

Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic (~ 2 medium-large cloves)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate chicken overnight. If I'm using this for a pizza or salad, I dice the raw chicken and marinate it that way. If it's diced it has more surface area to marinate and then you can get away with only marinating it for 8 or so hours. You can grill this indoors or outdoors, or you may use a skillet.