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Happy Sunday! I am quickly learning there are no weekends or vacation days when you work for yourself. Which isn’t really that different than working in the corporate world, you just get to do it on your own schedule and in your pajamas.

The theme for this week is simple, healthy foods. Friday night we did a massive grocery haul at Market Basket. It was awesome to have that big task checked off before the weekend even began.

I have had a craving for homemade pizza for awhile but have had no desire to mess with dough. I just don’t have it in me to have another pizza disaster.

So I went the very easy route, Boboli whole wheat pizza crust for our lunch pizza yesterday.

Boboli pizza crust

You know what? I really liked it. Like I said, I am just in the mood for simple food these days. I don’t care that it wasn’t a hand-tossed dough or made in a pizza oven or on a special stone.

Instead of a red sauce, I decided to use my winter pesto, also known as “poor girl pesto” as the base. Winter pesto because it utilizes spinach instead of basil, and “poor girl pesto” because it uses walnuts, which are cheaper than pine nuts, and there is no parmesan cheese. To tell the truth, I love it just as much as traditional pesto.

Start by adding a bunch of baby spinach leaves to the processer.

baby spinach

Top with a handful of walnuts, 4-6 cloves of garlic, a grind of sea salt, and enough oil to cover the top. Because my pizza was cheese-less, I added a little extra oil to my pesto to make sure it was not a dry sauce.

walnuts

Voila! I always make enough pesto so that I can eat a spoonful or two right out of the bowl. It’s garlicky goodness never fails.

spinach pesto

Next up, I chopped a head of broccoli into florets. We certainly got our greens in at lunch!

broccoli florets

I didn’t get a photo of the process, but I smothered the Boboli pizza crust in pesto and a little basil oil, topped it with broccoli, and popped it into the oven at 420 degrees for about 10 minutes.

While the pizza was baking, I quickly stir fried bits of chicken breast with some olive oil and garlic.

chicken and garlic

When the pizza came out of the oven, the chicken was perfectly cooked and ready to join the rest of the ingredients.

pesto broccoli chicken pizza

Yum!

pesto broccoli chicken pizza

This was an awesome lunch that didn’t take more than 20 minutes to make. In the middle of a busy weekend, it was nice to stop for a healthy meal with all sorts of flavors.

pesto broccoli chicken pizza

This would definitely be something you could easily wrap up in foil and bring into the office for a lunch you would look forward to.

I am going to dinner at Beacon Hill Bistro tonight for a friend’s birthday. Do you have any fun Sunday plans? Do you have tomorrow off?

Tags: Boboli pizza crust, chicken, cooking, cooking at home, dinner, easy pizza, garlic, greens, health, healthy recipe, healthy recipes, Lunch, pesto, pizza, spinach, spinach pesto

Chicago

Oh, how I loved Chicago! I traveled to the Windy City back in November to attend a wedding, and was able to take in some of the sights while there. The weekend went by quickly, but my fiance and I definitely made the most of it.

We stayed with a friend for the 2 nights before the weekend’s wedding, so were lucky enough to have a “tour guide” of sorts – as well as an awesome hostess for our stay.

The only one place that my fiance just HAD to make it to was Piece Brewery & Pizzeria (http://www.piecechicago.com/flash/index.html) in Wicker Park. He’d heard great things about their pizza (and the beer too), and neither disappointed. They have a quite non-Chicagoan style of pizza – thin, crispy, and loaded with unique topping combinations. Delicious to say the least! They offer traditional red sauce pizzas, white pizza (olive oil, garlic & cheese), and you can even get a BBQ sauce substitution. It sounds odd, but is SO good. They also have a wide range of beers for any taste – but you won’t find a Miller Lite here. They brew all their own, including American-style Pale Ale, German-style Hefeweizen, and Bock.

pizza in Chicago

Photo Credit: Tammy Green (http://www.flickr.com/photos/zesmerelda/)

The night before the wedding, we were able to attend a Welcome Cocktail gathering at Gibson’s Steakhouse (http://www.gibsonssteakhouse.com/) in the Gold Coast section of town. (If you watch The League, that’s the pseudo-setting of the bar they frequent!) The passed appetizers we had were AMAZING – gourmet sliders on buttery buns, mini-quesadillas, and many more. We liked it so much that we made it our last meal in the city before heading back to the airport. We sat downstairs at the bar and enjoyed a few beers while splitting (yet another) burger. It was a great atmosphere in the bar there — you saw everyone from the casual guy catching the game, to more dressed-up patrons taking a break from the exclusive shopping the area offers. Would definitely go back!

Gibson's Chicago

Photo Credit: jimmy_karlsson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimmy_karlsson/)

The other restaurant we visited that really stands out in my mind is Hot Chocolate, (http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com/) back again in Wicker Park. If you are in Chicago, you NEED to go here! The atmosphere is fairly casual, yet with a definite hint at upscale, with a unique modern decor. When you walk in you’re greeted by a dessert counter of sorts, featuring some of their homemade brownies & hot chocolate mixes for purchase. (I really wish we had bought some…luckily you can find it online!)

I feel like all I’ve talked about in this post is burgers, but all of them that we had were amazing! Our friend ended up getting a great combo of creamy soup & a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. The two of us ended up with their famous burger, featuring house-ground beef, organic bacon, Widmer 4-year aged cheddar, and house-made pickles on a garlic-toasted bun. My fiance got his with a fried egg on top – genius! And if you do find yourself at Hot Chocolate, please try a dessert. Any dessert. They are all beautifully plated and sure to please.

Hot Chocolate Chicago

Photo Credit: mpieracci (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpieracci/)

Luckily, before heading back to Boston, we had a bit of time for sightseeing. On an unseasonably warm Sunday, we took the Architectural River Cruise. (http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com/rivercruise.php) So much fun! You got a view unlike any other, coasting down the Chicago River and looking up at the massive buildings. You also learn a bit of history along the way from quirky & quite knowledgeable tour guides.

Chicago

Chicago

Photo Credits: Amie Fedora (http://www.amiefedoradesign.com)

Thanks, Amie from Amie Fedora Design for this guest post! I have not been to Chicago since before I started blogging, but it is a beautiful city with a lot of great food to be found!

If you get a chance and want to see more beautiful photography, make sure to check out Amie’s link above! She does weddings!

Tags: burgers, Chicago, Food, Guest Blogger, pizza, Travel

Hi everyone! I am currently in Northern Ireland. Please welcome Emily from A Cambridge Story as today’s wonderful guest poster!

Good things come in small packages and, as we near Superbowl weekend, I have been brainstorming ways to shrink game-time favorites into tiny, bite-sized snacks. Since pizza is a routine crowd pleaser, I thought mini pizza bites were a good place to start.

mini pizza bites

I made two varieties:tomato, pepperoni with parmesan cheese and balsamic glazed caramelized onions with goat cheese.

To start, cut a ball of whole-wheat pizza dough in quarters and let the dough sit until you have four, round balls. With the aim of mini-pizzas, I found working with smaller batches of dough much more manageable.

pizza dough

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and begin caramelizing 1 medium onion (15 minutes or until brown and sweet).

Roll each ball of dough until thin (perhaps slightly thinner than you would for a regular pizza). You will want to cut small circles of dough to fit a min-muffin pan. A 3″ diameter drinking glass served as a great stencil.

making mini pizzas

Place dough circles in greased muffin tin.

pizza dough

At this point, begin assembling. For the tomato-pepperoni pizzas, simply layer 1/2 tsp of pepperoni-flavored pesto (purchased at Whole Foods), a thin slice of a cherry tomato and a pinch of parmesan cheese.

mini pizza

For the other pizzas, layer 1/2 tsp of caramelized onions and a crumble of goat cheese. The balsamic glaze will be added once pizzas are cooked.

mini pizza bites

Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes until crusts are baked and cheese is melted/browned. Five minutes before the pizzas are done cooking, reduce 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar on the stovetop until thick and sweet. Dollop the glaze on top of the goat cheese pizzas (or both, if you’re so inclined!).

The topping possibilities are endless, though I really enjoyed the basic pepperoni variety, which was strangely reminiscent of Elio’s pizza. (Wait, is that a good or a bad thing?)

mini pizza bite

Perhaps a bit higher up on the sophistication ladder, the caramelized onion, goat cheese and balsamic glaze pizzas offered a great balance of sweet and tart. Fresh rosemary would be perfect with them!

mini pizza bite

Whatever flavors you desire, these little nuggets of pizza-y goodness can be easily popped in your mouth and consumed while screaming at Tom Brady to cut his hair rooting for your favorite team. Or, perhaps more realistically, while you are gabbing about anything other than football as the game blares in the background.

Superbowl snacks

Are you planning on watching the Super Bowl? What snacks will you be making?

Tags: Food, mini pizza, pizza, pizza bites, pizza dough, snacks, Superbowl

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