When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

It's true. When I am hungry I definitely go back for seconds. However, my seconds happen to be prepackaged meals or snacks that literally take four seconds to cook.  So when its time for me to cook for myself, I am too lazy, or too busy to prepare my meals. However, I am determined to change that and become a seasoned chef!

After class on Saturday, I was inspired by my new blog to try out my very first recipe. When I  got home I found myself falling back into the routine of looking for a lean cuisine or seeing what new mixture of cereals I could create for myself. As I looked into the freezer I saw one of my go-to lean cuisine meals... the wood fire style roasted garlic chicken pizza.

Suddenly I was inspired for my first meal... a homemade pizza! I thought why start with something challenging, this I surely could handle!

Luckily the fridge and cabinets were stocked with everything
a girl would need to make a pizza, I had no time to be grocery shopping because the Blackhawks were starting in less than an hour.  I began assembling all the ingredients I thought would be good to add to a pizza : Cheese, cheese, and more cheese, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and of course garlic. What I was really enjoyed about the homemade pizza is that you could make it your own. As I laid out the pizza crust and began spreading the sauce, flashbacks to elementary school lunchables were popping into my head. You know? The ones where you had to use that little red sticks to spread the sauce onto the crust and add cheese.Classic. As you can see, even in my early years, I was not into making lunches.  I thought to myself " You got this! Lunchables were your thing" That's when it dawned on me, a homemade pizza was like the adult version of a Lunchable!!

Remember these!?

I suddenly felt at ease with my first task of making a homemade pizza.

Recipe ( As interpreted by me) 

1. Pre Heat Oven to 425 

2. Use store bought pizza dough and spread tomato sauce evenly among dough.  

3. Chop up vegetables, garlic, chicken, steak, tofu, bacon, etc. of your choice. 

4. Saute toppings in pan with olive oil ( 1/4 cup) 

5. Sprinkle cheese of your choice onto pizza dough. 

6. Spread vegetables, chicken, toppings etc. onto the pizza. 

7. Spread more cheese on top.

8. Place in oven and cook for 12-14 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Spotlight on the Chef 

As I was preparing my meal there were a few first that I experienced. One was using the garlic press for the first time! Who knew there was such a tool??  Love it. 

Makes chopping garlic much easier!

 The second thing I learned was sauteing. Of course I have heard this term before, but what did it actually mean? Needless to say.. I googled it and found this very handy step by step directions to teach what exactly sauteing was. Want to learn your yourself check out this link... Sauteing for Beginners. 

Overall, I had a wonderful experience in the Kitchen and it makes me excited to try out more recipes!! Here are a few photos from the dinner and  my guest of honor even thought it was delicious too!  Of course, he is my boyfriend and has to tell me its good either way... :)

             

          

 


 Looking for inspiration for my next recipe! I want to try something on the grill!  Let me know your favorite summer grill recipe.. and I just might try it out!


      Chef Lindsay