The Dog Ate My Blog

Hi There!

Sorry I've been MIA for the last couple of weeks. My husband and I made a major life decision and got a dog three weeks ago! This is Gus. He's a four year old Weimaraner that we adopted from the Great Lakes Weimaraner Rescue. We went into this adoption eyes wide open, but this dog has drastically changed our lives and schedules. As a result, I have not been cooking nearly as much lately and what I have cooked, I haven't had a chance to blog about. I think we're getting into more of a routine these days though, so I hope to be back to blogging regularly in no time!

Mushroom, Asparagus, and Pesto Pizza

One of the things I love most about pizza is using whatever random stuff we have in the fridge and making a pizza out of it. There are very few toppings that I don't like. For this particular pizza, I cooked some sliced up mushrooms and added some roasted asparagus and pesto. Yummy!!

Mushroom, Asparagus, and Pesto Pizza
1 pizza crust (we used TJ's herb crust this time)
1 c. pesto sauce
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
2 c. sliced button mushrooms
3 T red wine
2 T chopped, fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
2 c. roasted asparagus, cut in thirds
2 c. cheese (we used cheddar and mozzarella)
Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 500. Precook crust for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, red wine, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Spread the pesto on the bottom of the crust then top with cheese, mushrooms, asparagus, and sprinkle feta over the top.

Bake for an additional 6-7 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is browned and crisp.

CSA - Week 1

I've been looking into joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the last couple of years, and finally decided to take the plunge. We're splitting our "single" share with a good friend who lives nearby. Tonight we received our first share. We got tons of greens and a few turnips! I'm excited to try new vegetables and new recipes. Plus, what's better than using local, seasonal ingredients?! Can you believe this was only half the share?

In the haul this week: Turnips, Red Leaf Lettuce, Vitamin Greens, Dinosaur Kale, Spinach, Rainbow Chard, and Yukina Savoy.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Italian Beef Sandwiches were introduced to me when I moved to Chicago. Something about the warm beef, cheese, and Italian bread just screams Midwest. What's great about this recipe is that you make it in the crock pot. I love crock pot meals! Well, the crock pot thing still makes me nervous and I often envision coming home to a burned down apartment, but that has never actually happened. Instead I walk in to the most amazing smell ever and it takes all the will power I have to not eat dinner immediately and instead wait for my husband to get home too.

This particular recipe comes from my sister and it is awesome!

Italian Beef Sandwiches 
1 package chuck tender roast (this time we used about 3 lbs)
1 packet Good Seasons dry Italian salad dressing
1 jar sliced pepperoncinis with juice
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 12 oz can beer (I had Coors Light in the fridge)
1 package Italian rolls
Sliced provolone cheese
Giardiniera (hot or mild)

Put the first five ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. The meat should fall apart and shred easily.

I like to toast the bread with provolone cheese and then top with meat and giardiniera, but you can assemble the sandwich any way you like! This also makes a ton of leftovers.