Single Lady Pizza

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Okay, so I want pizza at least five out of seven nights a week. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s covered in cheesy goodness. Which in my book = the best thing ever.

However, as a lady who currently lives alone and frequently eats dinner with me, myself and I, it would be totally inappropriate of me to be ordering myself pizza every night. Inappropriate in the sense that me being alone with a large cheese pizza could be very dangerous; like cheese-coma dangerous.

And as much as I love homemade pizza, I don’t love enough to make it for myself. Because I’m kinda sorta okay very, very lazy. Especially around 6:30 when I’m starving and in that I-must-eat-right-now phase. The truth is, when I’m cooking for other people, I love it. It’s exciting and fun; but when my only company is me and my pandora station, I just want something easy, fast but still very delicious…enter single lady pizza.

I’m not lying when I say that I’ve had this for dinner three times this week. It’s addictive and might possibly be an obsession. I have a bad habit of not getting around to cooking dinner until I’m on the brink of starvation; this pizza solves that problem as it only takes about 15 minutes (and I can snack on some cheese while prepping). The secret to this single lady pizza isn’t really that much of a secret; pita bread. Seriously, pitas make the perfect make-shift pizza crust ever!

Single Lady Pizza
serves 1

1 six-inch pita (preferably 100-110 calories)
2 tbsp. part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tbsp. tomato sauce
1/4 c. baby spinach, chopped
1/4 c. butternut squash, frozen
1/4 c. onion, diced
1/4 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spoon the ricotta cheese onto the flattest side of the pita and spread evenly. Top with tomato sauce,cover pita evenly leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges for the “crust”. Sprinkle the top of the pita with spinach, squash (cooked in microwave according to package instructions), onion and cheese.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and the pita is crisp. Remove from oven and eat!

I like to call this pita pizza. But when you say it, it has to be like PITAPIZZA!!! I don’t know why I have so much fun saying it and trying to make it one word…I’m weird. The good thing though is that I made this around 11:00 in the morning which means dinner is already done for tonight! Unless, I eat it for lunch…which definitely could happen.

Rice Pudding

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Let’s talk comfort food. You know, the food that you eat when you’re happy, sad, stressed…when you just want to sit on the couch with the entire bowl of rice pudding and spoon it into you mouth with one of those beach shovels.

Well, that’s where I have been recently. No, I have no actually been sitting on my couch shoveling in massive amounts of pudding with a child’s play shovel…but that does not mean that I haven’t been thinking about it.

I have two weeks left in my collegiate undergraduate career. I cannot wait for it to be over. I mean, I can wait for the whole job-searching thing to start and I can wait for the whole packing up the past year of my life and moving it back home; but I’m still excited. But all this excitement and anxiousness has me craving some serious comfort foods. Last week, I could not get enough cheese.

This week, I’m all about rice pudding and tapioca. If I had the patience, I would be making some right now. But I wouldn’t trust myself with an entire batch. I fear that I would find myself tucked away in the kitchen, watching either Titanic or The Little Mermaid and I will consume the entire thing. Which, with the amount of cheese I have been consuming, probably would not be that great of an idea. But hey, at least I’m getting my calcium, right?

And you know, if I do make this rice pudding, it requires a lot of stirring which equals a really great arm workout. I’ll make sure to switch arms halfway through so it’s even :)

Rice Pudding

1/2 gallon milk
1 c. rice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 can evaporated milk

Combine the milk and the rice; cook, stirring constantly in a pot on medium heat. Continue to cook until the rice has absorbed milk and is thick. Take off the heat and add sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; stir well. If you want the pudding sweeter, you can add 3/4 sugar and if you dislike cinnamon, feel free to omit it! Lastly, stir in the can of evaporated milk.

I like to sneak a few bites while hot but it is a dish usually served cold.

On writing a book and eating cookies.

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This week marks the ending of a very important journey of my college life; my senior thesis has been completed. Or better yet, it will be completed when I get around to writing the ten page paper that goes along with it all. That’s not due until the week of May 8th, so I’m giving myself a few days to recover from the roller coaster of this past month because man, I deserve it. I’ve pretty much been inches away from a breakdown but who knew that bouncing from stressed, happy, relieved, pissed, angry, hungry, anxious, nervous and nauseous that by the end of it I would just feel kind numb.

The big news: I wrote a book. Yup, a 109-page cookbook with full photographs of each and every recipe.  I would like to share some key things about this phenomenon, my process and some things that I’ve learned. I almost feel like running a marathon would have been easier.

I made and photographed all of the recipes; about ninety percent were cooked and photographed in my dorm room. On a coffee table no bigger than 2 ft by 2ft. With pillowcases and scarves as my cool tablecloths and props. A girl has got to improvise. And make frequent trips to Target to see if there are any new kitchen decor items on clearance.

I was able to use this book as an excuse to spend hours at the grocery store and Trader Joe’s every week. To say that I spent, on average, three hours a week grocery shopping would be pretty close to the truth. No matter how many times I felt like I had gotten everything on my list for the week, I always, without a doubt, forgot something.

It also made it perfectly acceptable to have dozens of cookies in my freezer at any given time and to then, in fact, have cookies for breakfast when short on time. From eating cookies for breakfast, I learned the important of a balanced diet. Meaning, if I accidentally ate cookies for breakfast, then I should try to eat more greens for dinner; because in the end, it all totally balances out. Trust me, because I’ve eaten quite my fair share of cookies this semester. I’ve also run my fair share of miles as well.

I was scared to use a tripod in the shooting of these photographs and therefore spent a lot of time leaping from chairs to couch in order to get the picture that I wanted; I only fell twice. Once on my dog, she got mad at me. I fed her peanut butter and all was forgiven.

I’ve learned that I’m capable of doing anything when I set my mind to it. When I first started this project, it was so daunting and I had no idea where to begin. Now that I’m finished, I’ve surprised myself with how well everything worked out and how rewarding it is to say that I’ve written and designed every single inch of something. Everything in this book is me; I put my heart and soul into it.

As happy as I am for this book to have finally been completed, it’s also bittersweet. I never felt so in control and driven to complete something. This has truly been an experience that I will always remember and hold on to. I thank anyone that has been with me from the beginning of this; especially my family. And don’t worry, I’m still going to be here on Must Come Hungry. I’ve fallen in love with this experience and I’m not ready to give it up! I’m ready to re-devote myself to this blog and share my kitchen adventures :)

Overnight French Toast

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I have a serious breakfast addiction. And some serious writer’s block.

Although, I’m not sure if writer’s block is the correct term; it’s more of a lack of inspiration. Hence the reason why I have defaulted back to breakfast posts, they’re kind of my comfort zone. Hopefully I’ll break out of this rut soon.

If your stuck in any sort of rut, I think you should make this french toast. Why? Because it takes your breakfast to a whole other level; like the kind of breakfast you would enjoy at an outdoor cafe in garden. I’m stuck in a breakfast rut as I find myself eating breakfast foods for practically every meal of the day. This is what happens when my life becomes exhausting; I eat oatmeal for at least two out of three meals a day…and I would love to curl up on the couch with this entire pan of french toast right now.

I’m also incredibly jealous now that I’m looking at these pictures. Look at all that sunlight! It has been non-stop raining here today and it’s really putting a damper on my mood. I’m so ready for summer, for flip-flops and sundresses…I’ve already got my first sun-burn of the year yesterday and now the weather is doing a complete 180 and is back at a chilling forty degrees. Can we just move permanently to summer now? Okay, thanks!

I’ll just put away all my winter clothes for good now and live in shorts, tanks and dresses until the end of September. I will also plan a fancy brunch party and make this french toast, in which I can wear a pretty sundress and one of those big floppy sun hats. Or I could nix the brunch party and just enjoy this brunch pool-side in some sunglasses and shorts with my feet dipped in the water. Yes, that sounds perfect. Is anyone else as anxious as I am for summer to get here?

Overnight French Toast

1 baguette french bread, cut into 1″ slices
6 large eggs (I used half whole and half whites)
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. lite cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 tbsp. light corn syrup

In a buttered or greased baking pan, layer the bottom with the bread slices, covering it completely. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and spices; mix well. Pour this mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight (the bread will absorb the liquid).

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine butter, sugars, nuts and corn syrup; mix well and spread over the bread. Bake for 40 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. Serve warm and with maple syrup.

It’s like cinnamon bun and french toast had a very delicious child.

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

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I’m not even going to lie here; I kinda fell off the face of the earth for a few weeks. Real life really caught up with me pretty darn fast.

Between my upcoming thesis and some new job opportunities, I have been swamped. Do you ever realize that when you’re incredibly busy so many other things start happening that you also have to deal with? It’s like these things have been waiting in the wings for their shining moment to drop on you at the most inopportune moment. That’s been my life for this past two weeks; I knew I had enough when I had three straight days of headaches and migraines. That’s when I threw in the towel, collapsed on the couch and ate massive amounts of cheese.

When I think about the things in life that I could not live without, I think that cheese would have to be at the top of that list. Followed closely by peanut butter, ice cream, and oh yeah, my family; in no particular order, of course :) When I was younger, my dad would make pizza pretty much every Friday and I liked to help by shredding the cheese. It was the best part because I could sneak handfuls of the cheese when no one was looking.

I want cheese. And I want it all the time. Let’s be honest here…whether melted, sliced, shredded, cubed, on a cracker, in a sandwich…cheese makes everything better. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing my ramblings on cheese but I love these enchiladas for two very important reasons. One, they’re filled with plenty of cheesy goodness. Two, I can eat plentiful handfuls of cheese in prep! It’s like sampling several spoonfuls of cookie dough before you pop it into the oven. Any dish that I can nibble on while I’m making it, is a definite plus.

I also love spicy foods. Any food that will make my eyes water is perfect. These enchiladas are not that spicy, so don’t worry. The spice can also be easily adjusted by using more milder sauces or even you’re adventurous, even more spicy. It’s not often that we get to have spicy food in my household because my younger sisters don’t have a taste for it.

I’m still trying to regain some semblance of my life prior to these past few stressful weeks. I think that in order to fully recover, I’m going to have to do some serious retail therapy followed by even more serious cheese and wine therapy. I’m not sure if it should be more wine or more cheese…I am pretty sure, though, that my family is reading this and thinking that there better only be cheese involved; but I cannot make any promises :)

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas
makes 12 enchiladas

1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 c. red enchilada sauce
1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded
(or 15 oz. can chicken chunks in water, drained)
1 c. part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 tortillas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large frying pan, simmer onion, green peppers and chiles in the chicken broth and 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce; simmer for about five minutes. Add in the chili powder, pepper, garlic and chicken; mix and cover for five more minutes. Place the tortillas on top of the chicken mixture in the pan and cover again for about a minute (to soften them).

Remove chicken mixture from heat and remove the tortillas. In a baking pan, line the bottom of the pan by pouring about 1/2 c. enchilada sauce on the bottom. Place about 1/3 c. of the chicken mixture in each tortilla, spread lengthwise; roll the tortilla and place it seam down in the baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Once the pan is filled with the enchiladas, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over top and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and the tortillas are golden.

All this talk of cheese has me craving mac and cheese.