Steal of the Week: Chicken with Pepperoni Marinara Sauce

Every once in a while I come across a dish that is not only company worthy but SHARE-worthy. After I made Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce I told anyone I came across (including my no-carb mother) about it. It was delicious and I cannot wait to make it again! Thanks to Cooking Light for another awesome recipe. It was so simple and made practically with ingredients most of us have on hand.

Here is part of my mise en place:

I used turkey pepperoni because that's what we always have on hand and the jarred minced garlic because, well I was in a hurry! This is already one of Cooking Light's 20-minute super fast suppers and I shortened the time even further!

Jarred sauce obviously is the trick to a super fast meal and again is a home staple. I used the olive oil and garlic flavor for this go round.

Using chicken cutlets like the recipe calls for is another huge time saver. I purchased a package specifically for this recipe but usually I make my own.

The finish in the oven really makes the dish, allowing the cheese to melt and brown. I only use 2% mozzarella and with no pasta, this is a pretty carb friendly dish.I had no fresh basil on hand but used the fresh parsley I had left over form another recipe. It really came out beautiful and the response from my husband was overwhelmingly positive. It is already on next month's menu!

I am looking forward to trying different sauces as we continue to tweak the dish and the basil will definitely be on hand next time!

Friday Night Bites: Easy Homemade Pizza

Some nights, especially Fridays I purposely plan for an easy meal using a mix of pre-made and fresh ingredients. One particular Friday, it was just me and the 4 year-old at home because my husband was out and I had "homemade pizza" on the menu (not to be confused with when I put "pizza" on the menu meaning we are hitting our favorite local pizzeria!). My son, like most little kids does love pizza, but it's all cheese or nothing at this point in his preschooler existence. So what's a mom to do? Do what they do at the pizzeria...make it a partial pizza!

I had some store bought tomato sauce on hand as well as pizza dough from my grocer's deli section. I also had al fresco chicken sausages on hand (as I do a lot I suppose), this time the roasted pepper and asiago flavor. the great thing for me with those sausages is that they are precooked and super easy to slice. I also had some grape tomatoes on hand and finished everything with some sprinkled Italian seasoning:

Notice I left about a quarter of the pizza "plain" just for my little guy! Topped with cheese and baked int he oven at 475 degrees for 10-15 minutes and the result:

I have always used the wheat pizza dough and really like the taste and texture. The only change it really needs is the use of a pizza stone or pan. I try and mitigate the soft bottom crust issue by baking my pizza first on my cookie sheet and then removing it and finish baking it directly on the oven rack. Then the next logical step is for me to start making my own dough....which is something I am working up to and can't wait to share!

Quick Meal: Chicken Sausage Fajitas

I have mentioned Al Fresco chicken sausages before in this blog and I continue to be impressed by their quality and taste. I also enjoy the different flavor options and the other day I picked up a package of their jalapenos and roasted peppers variety. Originally, I was going to make a play on an Italian sausage sub using Mexican flavors, but conveniently on the sausage package was a recipe for quick fajitas (and sadly I had used all of my red bell peppers for snacks for my kids. Not sad that they eat them, mind you, just sad I had used them all and not replaced them!)

I did have some leftover jarred roasted red peppers and decided to go ahead and incorporate them, along with the Vidalia onions I had on hand. I also had some limes and planned to add some lime juice while everything was cooking. Here is my prep:

This was also an excellent opportunity to use some more of the chipotle infused EVOO from Savor the Olive! (Seriously, their oils are AMAZING and I can’t wait to get more!) into the pan went all of the ingredients and after a few minutes I squeezed half a lime over the top:

Very, very simple. Scooped onto a flour tortilla and garnished with Mexican blend cheese, lettuce and sour cream:

The flavor was fantastic and had just the right amount of heat. Thanks al fresco for again helping make an easy and tasty meal!