Sunday 8.12.12

Dead camera battery, thank goodness for smart phones!

Check out these gorgeous organic pink lady apples I picked up today. I’m so glad apple season is here, this was perfectly sweet and tart, with the right crunch.

Pizza Fusion… so good!

Come back this week for the Salted Almond Butter Sunflower Seed Butter recipe I whipped up. You will need almonds, sunflower seeds, olive oil, cinnamon and sea salt (optional).

I’d say this was a successful Sunday once again. Morning spin class check, Pizza check, movies check, almond butter check, super full check!
Fallon

The Secret Recipe Club: Polenta Pizzas

It feels so good to be back and participating in The Secret Recipe Club. I missed a few months and couldn’t wait to start at it again. I can’t believe how many people are part of this club now. It is truly amazing.

For this month I was given the blog Penny Pinching Provisions. Robin has found a way to save money and not depend on using coupons. Thank you! I don’t get how the coupon people can get 5,000 bottles of mustard for free and if that is even necessary. I’m always looking for ways to save money at the grocery store but making sure it is healthy and fits with my dietary guidelines. I’m slowly easing into a gluten free diet and saw these cute polenta pizzas on Robin’s blog. She actually found the recipe through Trader Joe’s (my favorite store!). It is perfect to make after a long day of work. I can make these easily thanks to the premade polenta, that is sliced, top with sauce, cheese and in 20 minutes I have a healthy meal. I pair it with a side salad, glass of red wine and dinner is enjoyed. I added a little goat gouda and mushrooms for a different twist. Very versatile recipe and great to serve as appetizers as well!

Polenta Pizzas
Adapted from Penny Pinching Provisions

Ingredients:
1 package organic polenta
Favorite marinara sauce
Ricotta cheese
Goat gouda
Sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Slice polenta into 1/2 inch thick rounds, 12 slices total. Top with a tablespoon of sauce and ricotta cheese. Place 1 sliced mushroom on each pizza and sprinkle goat gouda on top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn broiler on for another 3-4 minutes.

The polenta rounds will crisp up and the cheese will be golden brown. Serve with a simple green salad and balsamic dressing.

Always,
Fallon

Venetian Rolled Pizza

If you’ve been a Fallon’s Cucina reader since I started almost 2 years ago, then you might remember the Venetian Rolled Pizza I made for a Saturday night UFC event at my best friend’s house. This is a Giada De Laurentiis recipe I found on Food Network. You could easily add any ingredients to the rolled up pizza but I love the simplicity of spinach, prosciutto and mozzarella. I was actually rummaging through my book of recipes I have and I saw this recipe. I’ve been in the mood for pizza and it is a whole lot cheaper to make it at home! You just need REALLY good pizza dough. Luckily I’ve heard Publix makes a killer Italian pizza dough, so I picked a few up while shopping the other day. Delicious, delicious, delicious. I wish they had whole wheat pizza dough but I will settle for this. I would of made my own dough but I don’t have one of those nifty counter mixers anymore!

The Venetian Rolled Pizza tastes like something you would order in a restaurant. My boyfriend really like it but wanted a red sauce to dip his slices in. Which wouldn’t be a bad idea. So here is to making an old recipe once again and probably better photos this time around too! I’m going to go ahead and type it up but you can also view it over HERE as well.

Venetian Rolled Pizza
From Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
Flour, for dusting
1 pound pizza dough
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
7 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
1 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) torn baby spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt, for seasoning

Directions
Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza to a 12 to 14-inch diameter circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella over the dough. Arrange the prosciutto over the cheese in a single layer. Sprinkle with the spinach.

Top with the remaining cheese. Take 1 end of the circle and roll the dough up into a thin cylinder, gently folding in the ends. Brush the dough with olive oil and season with salt. Place the dough, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Allow the pizza to cool for 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the pizza into 3/4-inch pieces and served.

       

After dinner we had 2 slices left. Oops ;) I only was able to get 10 slices out of it, probably because I didn’t have a rolling pin, so I couldn’t stretch it out enough!

Enjoy,

Fallon

Pizza for breakfast!

I'll make this one short and sweet. Delicious too. It all started when a good friend of mine randomly announced she was moving to Washington! So my best friend and I were all kind of surprised, sad, but excited for her. We all go through times when we can't decide what to do in life because everything keeps failing, so finding something different to do and explore is always a great option. So as soon as she announced she was leaving, say in a week I was so thrown off. I haven't really seen her in a while, so I thought it be nice to get together and have a farewell breakfast or lunch. Time just seems to fly by. It ended up being breakfast at the place she works at. Which is awesome because they make some really delicious cheese pizza.

Check out how huge it is!

The night before I was wondering what would be good at Double Play. I asked my best friend and she mentioned breakfast pizza! I was intrigued. I was going to order a veggie omelet, you know something "boring." I asked her more about this pizza and she said it was on regular pizza dough with eggs, cheese, hash browns, with a choice of bacon or sausage. I'm not a huge pork person, but bacon every blue moon is a treat for me! Luckily my best friend wanted bacon too! Perfect! I'm so glad we ended up splitting the pizza because it was a LARGE! HUGE! It was only us 3 ladies and we can only tackle so much pizza. I requested to have veggies on my side which included onion, green pepper and spinach. It was a great addition to the pizza. So how did the pizza taste? AHHMAZING! Probably the greatest invention ever. It wasn't overly eggy, or cheesey, or hash browney. Like my word choice? LOL. It was all evenly and perfectly distributed throughout the pizza. The crust was strong, crunchy, not greasy, and a great chew. I can't stand a greasy pizza. It is all you'd ever want in a perfect pizza for breakfast. It was so good I had to have 2 huge pieces. I admit I did go for a run early that morning and waited afterward for this breakfast! So it was well deserved. ;)

Pure deliciousness! I of course needed a little ketchup to dip my pizza in.

I can't wait to have this pizza again! It was so good. I may try to recreate this at home because I could eat this all the time. Just need to tackle a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe. ;) SO after all this was said and done our friend ended up with not moving to Washington! She decided after 5 years of going back and forth to finally join the Air Force. I wish her the best of luck and I'll be here to support her! Check out this handsome cutie!

My best friend's son! He just woke up about an hour ago. ;) I don't think he liked the camera. LOL

Have a great day, Fallon

National Wear Red Day®

Logo is from NHLBI website.

February 5th is National Wear Red Day® hosted by The National Lung and Blood Institute. It is to encourage women to understand how to take care of themselves, be heart healthy, take control of the risk factors, and to decrease heart disease. It is time to get healthy and it all begins by taking care of yourself. Being stressed out, smoking, drinking, lack of sleep, poor diet are factors that lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and can increase the chance of heart disease. One of my favorite blogs, Big Red Kitchen is making an event for this special day for women to make a heart-healthy meal and to share with other bloggers! Right away I knew I had to be part of this because I thrive to make heart-healthy meals and to live a healthy lifestyle by working out, having a clean diet, less stress and just being happy! Who loves pizza? It probably one of the best meals because it an easy meal made up of bread, cheese and sauce! It may be easy but not the most healthiest option. Some pizzas are loaded up with grease, too much cheese, fatty meats that all adds up to a whole lot of calories and unhealthy fats. Definitely all leading to an unhealthy lifestyle and can increase the changes of heart disease. I'm a huge fan of pizza but I had to find a way that would satisfy my pizza craving but without all the fat and calories. 


I bring to you, Pita Pizza! I came up with this pizza 3 years ago when I started losing weight and was watching my calories. Mind you I don't count calories anymore but it is always good to be aware of calories being consumed in some meals. This pizza helped with my craving the saucy and cheesy goodness. Not only that but the healthy benefits were even better. This was also when I started to realize counting calories didn't mean what I was eating can be considered healthy. I started learning more about nutrients in foods and how to stay satisfy by using healthy fats lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. It started with using whole wheat pita bread. I got my fiber and benefits of using whole grains. I used tomato paste as my "sauce" and gave me amazing flavor and extra lycopene when heated up in the oven! I used part-skim mozzarella which was lower in fat and good source of protein. To bulk it up I would add vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, red bell pepper etc. If I had some lean turkey sausage or grilled up chicken breast, I'd add that to my pizza as well. To enhance the flavor and get that Italian pizza taste I use seasonings like garlic powder, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. I would serve this with a green salad and it was my perfect go to meal. My Pita Pizzas would range from 250-300 calories with a side salad, making for a very satisfying meal.

It gets even better. People are usually always in a "rush" so ordering pizza would be an easier alternative. Well pita pizza is great for when you don't have much time and need a quick meal. It comes together very quickly and it is healthy at the same time! I have taken photos of the steps to constructing a pita pizza, so next time you are in a rush this can be your go to meal! It also be great way to get children involved in the kitchen because they can learn about healthy ingredients and they can build their own pita pizzas!  

Pita Pizza By Fallon  
Ingredients
100% Whole wheat pita bread
Tomato paste
Cheese (I use part-skim mozzarella or goat cheese)
Pizza toppings (vegetables, fruit, and/or lean protein, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, olives etc.)
Seasonings (Salt, pepper, dried basil and oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes)

First preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with tin foil and spray with a little olive oil so pita pizza doesn't stick, just in case! 1. Take a 100% whole wheat pita and lightly pat with water. This helps create moisture and forms a perfect crust for the pizza.

This is the brand I use. I've only seen it at Wholefoods in the 
refrigerated section with the other breads and wraps.
 

Love the nutritional stats!100 calories and has 4g of fiber and 7g of protein. 
Ingredients like fresh carrots, barley flour, millet flour, lentil flour and 
spelt flour that you can't find in other 100% whole wheat pitas!
 

2. Take a tablespoon of tomato paste and spread around. Season with garlic powder and basil.

3. Next take your toppings of choice and pile on top. I used spinach and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

This great big tub of organic spinach came from 
Sam's Club and only cost around $3.00.
 

4. Top with cheese of choice, I used mozzarella. I then decided to add sun dried tomatoes and sprinkle the top with oregano and red pepper flakes.

They are packed in olive oil and you can simply just pat the oil off 
on a paper towel. Just a few will add a lot of flavor!
 

5. Place into preheated oven and let cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes set the oven to broil and let the pizza form a nice bubbly, brown top for 1-2 minutes. Next, cut into 4 sections and ENJOY!

The perfect serving, a whole pita pizza for oneself!
  Look at the deliciousness from the broil! 

I couldn't just stop there. Since pita pizza is a meal I consume about 2-3 times a week I thought I'd also share a quick dessert I consume often as well. I usually keep a granny smith apple cut up in a plastic baggie in the fridge that has been sprinkled with cinnamon. Great for quick nibble or snack for work since it all ready to go!
I also have many jars of nut butters opened and my choice for this dessert was Nuttzo! A great source of Omega- 3 which are healthy fats and are very good for you! Just one serving gives you 50% of your daily needs. This particular nut butter is a mixture of Valencia peanuts, flaxseed ground and whole, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds. Plus everything is 100% organic! To learn more about the nutrition in Nuttzo check out this page on their website.

Sadly my last jar!
 

Granny Smith apple with cinnamon + nut butter= pure satisfaction!

Thank you to Robin Sue at Big Red Kitchen for coming up with this exciting event. This post has shown a different side to my blog and kind of lets you know my healthy lifestyle I do live. I hope this meal is heart-healthy enough for the The National Lung and Blood Institute. I also hope that you've enjoyed this post and try Pita Pizza as soon as possible! You won't be disappointed!!

Have a heart healthy day!!
Fallon

UFC 100!

I'm a girl who loves the UFC. I grew up watching "fake" wrestling like WCW or WWF. Now it called WWE? Yeah UFC is way better and way better then boxing, in my opinion! When it is just a cage and a ring, it's a real fight and when there is blood that is even better. Tonight my favorite fighter Georges St. Pierre is competing against Thiago Alves. We have to cheer on GSP to win!!! (I started writing this blog entry Saturday morning, I'm proud to say GSP WON! GSP WON! as of last night!)
 

 

 Just a little eye candy, but don't let my boyfriend know! =P

Well UFC is more then the fights, it's about the food lately! My best friend, Lyssa and I like to make food for the fights. We call them UFC parties. It is cheaper to order the PPV, get a big group together, and have good food! None of those $8 draft beers or nachos with fake cheese! Lately it seems every big UFC fight we make something. I guess the guys are starting to get spoiled. I say we start charging or put a tip cup out! ;) Well the menu for UFC 100 will be nice. I'm making Venetian Rolled Pizza and a caesar salad that is egg and anchovy free. My best friend is on the desserts this time. She is making original rice krispy treats, Peanut Butter Marshmallow Krispy Brownies from The Cooking Photographer, and then some pretzels with white chocolate and a M&M melted on top. The pizza recipe I had printed out a long time ago. It sounded delicious and so easy to make! I really wanted to get my pizza dough from The Great Bun's bakery, but I had no time. I ended up picking all my ingredients from Trader Joe's including the pizza dough. I use to make my own dough with my father, but we never had luck with the rise. Yeast is always a challenge, and for the event I figured it be easier to find pizza dough already made up. This recipe was very easy to make and I'd make it again. 2 things happened:

1. It allows for a 25 minute cook time. It looked done, so I let it rest for 10 minutes. I started to cut slices and the dough still didn't looked cook. So I put it back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes.
2. The recipe says it makes 18-20 servings. Well I was only able to cut 10.25 servings. We had 14 people at this party. It was first come first serve. Luckily some people didn't like spinach, kosher salt on top, or they just didn't want it. So more for the people who enjoyed it!!

I thought it was delicious. The saltiness from the prosciutto wasn't overpowering. The Trader Joe's dough wasn't bad at all! I would buy it again. Next time I make this, I'll make 2 of them so then there will be enough. I may even change it up, use fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and roma tomatoes. That be delicious!

It been forever since I used my pizza stone. 
Make sure to heat it in the oven before placing your pizza on it.

   
It looked beautiful when I sliced it. See the mozzarella, 
spinach and prosciutto perfectly rolled.
 

Click HERE for Venetian Rolled Pizza recipe.

As for the Caesar salad, real simple. I just chop up a bunch of romaine lettuce, and toss in the caesar dressing from Trader Joe's. It is in the refrigerator section of the store where the lettuces' are. This is my favorite caesar dressing because it is egg free and anchovy free. Then I finish it with fresh Parmesan cheese. My caesar salad had several compliments. It is probably the most simplest thing I make because the dressing is already made, plus romaine and parmigiana. Easy, delicious and simple. It went perfect with the pizza rolls.

 
Here is the bottle of dressing, in case you want to pick it up!
 

 
Fresh and Delicious.
 

NEXT!! Dessert. We had original rice krispy treats with either blue or pink sprinkles. My best friend is pregnant with a boy and her friend is pregnant with a girl! I forgot to take a picture of them, but you all know what rice krispy treats look like! My best friend kept talking about these round pretzels. She had to order them special online because she can't find them in stores. She filled them with either white or milk chocolate. She was suppose to top each one with an M&M, but she forgot to pick them up. Either way they were a great snack!

I liked the white ones best!

The best for last, The Peanut Butter Marshmallow Rice Krispy Brownies. These were DELICIOUS! They were creamy, gooey, crunchy, and melted in your mouth. I love the marshmallow layer. Actually, I loved it all that I had to eat two! I think the next time these are made, I would use nutella in place of peanut butter. I love nutella! Click HERE for Peanut Butter Marshmallow Rice Krispy Brownies recipe. 

 
The chocolate started melting when she tried to cut them, 
so the layers aren't as clean but still tastes delicious! Look at all the 
marshmallow on the corner! Yes, this was mine!
 

 
Look at that marshmallow!
 

Wow this was a long post, but well worth it. I wanted to make sure I touch on everything we made for the party! August 8th is the next one, but I'll be in California on vacation. :(

Have a great Sunday,
Fallon