Restaurant Recreation: Pork Pizza with Mustard Beer Sauce

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A few weeks ago I had dinner at Salty Pig and got a pizza. It was too dark for pics but I loved every bite of it and knew instantly that I had to recreate it at home. I made a recreation of Salty Pig’s pizza “today’s pig parts” mustard and pale ale caramel. Sold! I tweaked mine a bit and it was a success!

Follow me on twitter @threebiterule to see the restaurant’s response leaving me feeling HONORED that they responded. Yay!
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Ingredients:

https://space1026.com/2024/01/bnhjmdb1 pork butt/shoulder roasted and pulled
2 tbs butter
1 large white or yellow onion
pizza dough
1 bottle beer (I used blue moon)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
1 cup fontina cheese, sliced or shredded
1 tbs garlic, chopped (optional)
2-3 tbs whole grain mustard

Directions:

Roast the pork in advance. I used a small one that went into the crock pot overnight for 6 hours.
In a large skillet, add onion slices over medium to medium low with 1 tbs butter. Cook until caramelized (about 20 minutes for just 1 onion).
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While they are cooking preheat oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400 degrees.
Empty the beer into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. This should come to a medium boil for about 10 minutes.
Put the pizza dough onto the stone (or pan) and poke a few holes into it with a fork. Cook for about 10 minutes. This is just to get it started to be cooked though so it will be crispy.
While the dough is pre-cooking pull the pork with a fork, and slice/shred the cheeses.
Turn the beer to low to keep reducing it.
When the pizza dough is partially cooked, take it out to top it with a little olive oil then with mozzarella, garlic, pork, onions, and fontina.
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Return the pizza to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
Add 1 tbs butter and mustard to the beer to make it a bit creamy. Whisk it until smooth and keep cooking on low to get it smooth.
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Take the pizza out of the oven once the cheese has all melted and the crust is crispy enough to your liking.
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Drizzle with mustard beer sauce.
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https://therepairstore.ca/38thfdi8k I loved this pizza. I sprinkled a few chives on top to add a touch of color and freshness without overpowering any of the flavors. The pork, onions, and mustard beer sauce are strong flavors but they go so nicely together.

https://mmopage.com/news/67mjqb5xko8 The pork needs to be cooked in advance. While you’re at it, caramelizing onions takes for-freaking-ever. I should have done a double batch some other time. It is a good thing to put on the stove and stir every-so-often when you’re not in a hurry. You can’t hurry a caramelized onion but they’re worth the wait.

https://www.ngoc.org.uk/uncategorized/future-events/psqbk8f Let’s talk about how cheap and easy the pork is. I put it into the crock pot (much like this pork in the crock pot) but minus the brown sugar & tomatoes since this wasn’t a bbq one. I eyeballed it adding some vinegar, veggie stock, garlic, and herbs. I discard the cooking liquid afterwards and then had super tender pork. I didn’t want to run the crockpot all day because I’m afraid it drives the pups bananas to smell delicious pork when nobody is there. I set it before bed and it was ready when I woke up.
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Mine was little and had the bone out. I think it was just a regular one cut and packaged smaller. I read the cooking instructions on it and I cost about $9. We ate it on this pizza (4 servings of pizza) then I mixed it with bbq sauce and onions for pulled pork sandwiches (2 servings) and I have another 2-3 servings I froze. They’ll likely be tacos. That’s about 8-9 times we will have eaten this tiny $9 pork butt. $1 per. serving. Even if I graciously let you count the pizza has really only having 2 servings over the whole thing that’s 6 servings, or $1.50 per serving. Stop. It.

This pizza was hands down one of my favorites. I love everything on it and think nothing overpowered anything else. Each bite was interesting and memorable.

What I Ate: Italian Subs

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https://serenityspaonline.com/0jk20qxg ‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with ya for the idea or inspiration.

https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/qkrhw69 I’ve posted a few sandwiches here but thought these Italian subs would seem special enough to be dinner. I loved having them at home, and the next day’s lunch reaped the benefit too!
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Mr. J is from Maine where they call them simply “Italians”. Growing up for pool-side parties my mum would slice a very long loaf, and fill with sandwichy things and cut it into lots of pieces. I’m now remembering that she’d toss the lettuce & tomato with Italian dressing which is a good idea for the oil/vinegar sub topping. #nexttime

Ingredients:

soft fluffy rolls, or 1 long baguette to cut into pieces
¼ pound sliced hard salami
¼ pound sliced honey ham
¼ pound sliced provolone
½ cucumber, sliced
½ green bell pepper
1 small tomato, sliced
2 cups mixed greens, or lettuce of your choosing
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup basil (optional)
mayo, mustard, or veggie oil
salt & pepper

Directions:

Cut, slice, and unwrap everything.
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Build your sandwich.

Now, this seems like a lot of ingredients, but assembling takes all of 5 minutes AND it’s all prepped for lunch the following day! Plus, leftovers of these ingredients are good things to have on hand (think panini! or bfast burrito with the peppers, ham & cheese! or skip the lettuce & cukes and use the rest to build yourself a calzone!). This would make for a good salad too, if sandwiches aren’t your thing. They’re not usually my thing if they’re going to sitting around in a packed lunch all day getting soggy. I like ‘em fresh off the press.
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I swear by the basil. That makes the sandwich for me. It is also a good use for any leftover basil you already have, before it goes bad (strawberry basil sangria would be a good use too). I threw some basil into my salad the other day and LOVED discovering the basil leaves amongst my greens at lunch. I’ve also been throwing this mustard in lots of dishes lately so these subs were no exception.

Mr. J was really jazzed about this dinner, which surprised me. It was fun to assemble our own and only have to do some slicing for dinner to be prepped. I should do this more often. And you should do it too. Lesson learned, a blast from the past or something unusual with no frills is fun.

Happy weekend! Stay tuned for next week for a pizza that was a social media frenzy!

Strawberry Basil Sangria

Life’s too short not to have sangria on hand in the summer, right? I only ever make it when I get to feed it to a million people. I just love it and figured why not make a slightly smaller amount to drink ourselves? Let’s be real. Mr. J had a glass and I had the rest…not all in one sitting.

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Welcome to #sangriasunday! It made me so happy and I need to make sangria more often.

Ingredients:

1 pint of strawberries, tops cut off
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
3 – 5 basil leaves
1 bottle of white wine
½ cup triple sec
½ cup orange juice

Directions:

(to be made at least 8 hours before serving, trust me)
In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, add the strawberries, sugar, and water.
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the strawberries break down.
Reduce heat to low and add in the basil.
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Cook for 10 minutes.
Strain the berries & basil leaves out.
Mix the strawberry syrup in a pitcher with the wine, triple sec, and orange juice.
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Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Serve with some berries or orange slices or basil. Enjoy!

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This was so good. That’s it. It was just really good. The flavors are great and not over the top. I secretly love adding the orange juice which when makes it murky and citrus-y. I like the subtle basil flavor. It keeps it from being too sweet.

Sangria is perfect with cheap fruity wine. Or adding some fun to a wine that doesn’t end up being your favorite. It makes me happy when paired with BBQ or I love it as dessert.

Thai Chicken Wraps

Thai chicken wraps came to me out of nowhere. I thought of them back day when I was meal planning for a roasty-toasty week. Thank goodness it has cooled down a bit now.

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Ingredients:

2 small chicken breasts (or 1 large)
½ cup asian salad dressing (or equal soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil)
carrot slaw
1/2 english cucumber
2 wraps
1-2 cups arugula
peanut sauce

Directions:

Marinate the chicken overnight, or for at least 3 hours. Then grill chicken to cook through.
Toss the carrot slaw with some of the same marinade (not what the chicken was in).
Slice the cucumber into thin slices or thin wedges.
Slice the chicken into pieces.
Lay the wrap down and top with carrot slaw, arugula, chicken, and cucumber.
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Drizzle some peanut sauce on top and wrap up.
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Sorry for the gloppy looking sauce. I should have made that more even/pretty.

I liked these for a change in pace. I’m not sure how I’ll use the rest of the peanut sauce, since it isn’t one of my usual ingredients. Carrot slaw is also not one of my usual items but it was pretty good and probably an easier than usual way to get myself eating carrots. #notmyfav

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These would be a good variation if you were making a few different wraps. I think the peanut sauce made me feel like I had done something really different whereas it was just assembling the wraps with pre-made sauce. Maybe some sort of peanut-sauced pizza would be good for the rest?

Grilled Bruschetta Pizza

People always tell me that pizza dough is hard to work with. I swear by my pizza stone, but I also wanted to be sure to make some pizzas with alternative crust options. I’ve made french bread pizza and Greek Pita Pizza too if pizza dough isn’t your thing.

I grabbed some ready-made crusts and think they’re a fool-proof option. I did one grilled flatbread and some naans as crust for lunch ones.
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Ingredients:

1 flatbread (or 2 naan)
1 cup tomato sauce (or my fav Kitchen Ready Pastene)
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1-2 medium tomatoes
4 oz fresh mozzarella
4 leaves fresh basil (don’t substitute)
salt & pepper

Directions:

Grill flatbread on hot grill for just a few minutes, flipping once
Top with tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella and chopped tomato.
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Gently lay slices of fresh mozzarella on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Grill for just a few minutes, until the cheese has melted.
Remove from the grill and immediately top with fresh basil.
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Let sit for about 3 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!

This pizza is ready in just a few minutes. It seriously takes less time than pre-heating the grill (or oven). I made the flatbread on the grill and made the naan in the oven to be lunch the next day.

The flatbread was chewy and got a touch crisp from the grill. The naan was thinner and I liked the slight sweetness of the wheat dough. This bruschetta pizza requires so few ingredients I strongly urge you not to skip the fresh mozzarella and the fresh basil. These two ingredients make the pizza flavorful.
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This is such an easy way to whip up pizza. The naan was perfect for individual servings and I loved something different off the grill! Who’s excited for the Bachelorette finale? I totally called last week’s action and I’m curious what this next one will be. I can’t imagine a 2 hour finale to have her pick nobody. It can’t take 2 hours to break up with 2 guys. We’ll see what shakes out with this last rose and if they announce the next Bachelor. I don’t think it’ll be Brooks. He can’t express himself. Mr. J hears it in passing and a) wants nothing to do with it and b) thinks this guy will be the next one. All this being said, I’m reading a 700-something page book right now so that my head doesn’t turn to mush with this trash & RHONJ. #guiltypleasure

Bruschetta Pizza Cost Breakdown
This breakdown is for either the flatbread or the naan. There would be enough sauce, cheeses, and basil to make both!
crust: $3.30
tomato: $0.50
shredded mozzarella: $2.50
fresh mozzarella: $2.00
fresh basil: $1.00
total = $9, serves 2 for $4.50 each

July Recap

As July comes to a close it makes me feel like the summer is zooming by. July was #hothothot and I wouldn’t mind if that was the hottest we see this summer. It definitely got me thinking of meals not requiring a ton of cooking or the oven.

July seemed to have the right amount of social festivities and downtime to hang at home and do as I please. I got my butt in gear and upped my workouts a bit. I survived just a few bootcamp sessions and I fit in some better workouts. I’m trying to pretend that I don’t hate running.

July unfortunately ended a seizure-free record streak for our pup Windsor. He hadn’t had one since Christmas and then he had a rough couple of days.

This month also involved a sad farewell to the R family pup. Piccadilly lived to 13.5 years old and was a beloved member of the family. I cooked some bacon for him because when you’re 94 in dog years, you should have anything you want.
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My tastes have been quite varied, so hopefully you all enjoyed some different posts this month.

The easiest thing I made this month was cinnamon roll waffles:
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On anything-goes dinner night I whipped up a seemingly random combo of ingredients which ended up as a chilled Shrimp and Couscous Salad that was stellar!
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I made a bevy to beat the heat. It was a pinky Passion Fruit tea and Lemonade. It was delightful.

After sooning over the idea of a trip to Paris and we made it happen! We booked an anniversary trip to Paris & Prague so I announced that with some Bacon & Leek Crepes if you’re feeling Francais.
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The most popular post this month was a quickie Italian Grilled Cheese with 2 cheeses and breaded eggplant. It was delicious and I like to pretend that the many views mean lots of readers made it themselves.
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We’ll see what August has in store. Definitely a sangria recipe I owe you and some ice cream recipes. Maybe something red for the Bachelorette finale. Any suggestions?

Bacon and Leek Crepes

PARIS & PRAGUE! Mr. J and I booked a 2nd anniversary trip to Paris and Prague in September!

I cannot contain myself. It makes me just want to skip down the streets of Paris munching on a fresh baguette. I was so fearful that it wouldn’t happen. I’ve been obsessively dreaming about going to Paris for uhh, at least a YEAR. My fall calendar was filling up and I was afraid that the idea of the trip would keep getting bumped back. It’s happening! I’m just so psyched. It’ll be a whirlwind (or as the Jersey housewives would say: world wind) but that’s just how we do.

Because I’ve been Paris obsessed, I wanted to make some French food. It was uuuuber hot here in Boston so I also was figuring out meals that didn’t require any oven action. I got this electric crepe maker back in high school. Probably around the time I went to Paris on an exchange when I stayed with a family in a suburb between Paris and Versailles. Yup, pretty awesome.

Crepe night was like a sophisticated taco-night to them. It meant there weren’t a million courses (unlike usual) and it meant that dessert was crepes too. It was the dad’s-cooking-dinner-tonight meal for the family I stayed with.
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Now, for the crepes. The batter is really simple but I don’t think it’d be as simple to actually cook it in a regular pan. The French don’t really use crepe makers like this, but it is fool-proof for me. Of course, it is an art form in France with a dramatic dowel-like-tool swooped across a hot griddle or pan. Ohh well. This is delicious enough for me.

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I figured bacon + veg + cheese + ready-made sauce would be perfect. I wanted bacon, leeks, gruyere, and bechamel sauce. I couldn’t find any gruyere, so I got gouda. I decided that I wasn’t wanting to make my own sauce, so I chose light asiago cream sauce from a jar for the win.

Ingredients:

1 large leek stalk, chopped
1 egg
⅔ cup milk
¼ cup water
½ cup flour
2 tbs melted butter + 1 tsp butter
4 slices of bacon, chopped
4 oz grated cheese (I used gouda)
1/2 cup bechamel sauce (I used Asiago Romano jarred sauce)

Directions:

If using fresh leaks: Soak leaks in water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Sift them out (without letting any sand from the bottom get back into the leeks). Repeat again until no sand/dirt comes out to the bottom of the water bath. Mine were already washed & chopped leeks in a bag from Trader Joe’s.
Whisk or blend together egg, milk, water, flour, and melted butter. Then let sit for 5 minutes.
In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium heat, until crisp.
While bacon is cooking, grate cheese and warm sauce.
Discard bacon fat but use the same pan to cook the leeks. Add one tsp of butter to deglaze the pan from the bacon, and add the leeks to cook for about 5 minutes.
While leeks are cooking, set up for the crepes.
If using an electric crepe pan, pour batter onto a plate. “Dip” the crepe maker upside down onto the crepe batter plate. Swiftly turn upright and let it cook for 1-2 minutes.
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Repeat to use all the batter.
Add the bacon back into the leeks.
Fill crepes with bacon/leek mixture, then cheese, then sauce. Roll up and serve or keep warm as you fill them.
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I loved this dinner. I served them with some salad which made it feel super easy. I enlisted Mr. J to the assembly line to fill. The crepe itself isn’t quite sweet or savory. I adore the consistency. Crepes are super thin and have the slightest egg flavor without feeling like breakfast. I love how soft and delicate they are.
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It only made me wish I had dessert fillings around. More crepes to come!

Have leftover leeks? Make Potato, Leek, & Bacon Pizza or chop it up to freeze it so you can add it into your lasagna/soup/enchiladas next time!

What I Ate: Rodeo Burgers

‘What I Ate’ is a series of posts for so-easy-this-doesn’t-need-a-recipe but I’m sharing with ya for the idea or inspiration.

Sometimes the burger is about the quality and correct cooking. This burger is all about the toppings.
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I topped these burgers with cheese, onion rings, and barbecue sauce. Ohhh wow. This is amazing. It is so fun to have bbq sauce dripping even when there isn’t a bone in sight!

Ingredients:

2 burgers (we did 1 beef for Mr. J and one ground pork for me)
½ chopped onion
1 tsp spice rub
2 burger rolls
4-6 onion rings (I used some frozen o-rings)
3-5 tbs barbecue sauce

Directions:

Finely chop the onion and mix it into the ground meat.
Form the patties and sprinkle the outside with the bbq spice rub mix.
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Grill until cooked to your liking.
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It was so good. I like the spice rub with the sweet BBQ sauce. The onion ring was the best part. I love onion rings so this was just perfect.

Enjoy the weekend! I’m looking forward to celebrating my dad’s bday with a FEAST! and the whole C family is coming so we can take the cutest nephews to a baseball game! We’ll be enjoying some lobsters and hoping for sunshine. Yay! I have a super exciting surprise for Monday so stay tuned!! 😀

Tropical Mango Smoothie

I haven’t come up with many new smoothies in a while. Back in March I was whipping up new smoothie ideas every other day. Literally. I’ve made a bunch lately, but none have been uber creative. Greek yogurt with 2 frozen fruits is delicious, but does not warrant a blog post. Some smoothie tips are here.

I need ideas folks. That’s where you come in. Comment with an idea below. Please & thank you.

This smoothie was inspired by my other-half at work. She’s into coconut milk which sounded delightful in a smoothie. Thanks for the inspiration Ms. K!

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Ingredients:

6 oz vanilla Greek yogurt
1 peach sliced & frozen (or the rough equivalent of pre-cut frozen pieces)
4 strawberries with the tops cut off
3 tbs coconut flakes
¼ – ½ cup of liquid (juice, milk, etc. I used crystal light pink lemonade)

Directions:

Assemble in a blender.
Blend & enjoy.

I loved this one! The coconut bits in there were delightful. I felt like I was on a beach, rather than getting ready for work.

Frozen fruit makes for the frostiest of smoothies. You could always use fresh fruit and ice too.  I’m the only fruit eater at home so if I’m not up to speed on my fruit I freeze it before it goes bad then it can star in a smoothie whenever I get to it.

The liquid in a smoothie is the only way it’ll be drinkable. I don’t often have juice around but a single-serve low-cal drink mix is perfect. I don’t love lots of milk in my smoothie. It can make it seem ice-creamish which is awesome, but it can also just make me feel like I’m drinking milk, which I don’t really do. Your call on that one.

Now, what are your smoothie recommendations?

Open Faced Greek Salad Pockets

It is Monday. Shall we detox on something healthy?

This meal was all over the place. I was thinking of making a Greek dip-ish. Then I was thinking Greek pizza-ish. I ended up with a sort of open-faced Greek “un”Wrap.
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Ingredients:

2 thin chicken breasts, marinated
2 wheat pita pockets
1 cup ricotta
2 thin chicken breasts, marinated in Greek/Italian dressing
2 cups of mixed greens/spinach/romaine
1 tomato
¼ cup red onion
½ cucumber
2 -3 tbs Italian Dressing/Greek Dressing/Olive Oil & Vinegar
2 tbs Creamy Greek dressing (optional)
½ cup feta cheese

Directions:

Grill the chicken.
Assemble the salad by mixing the lettuce greens, chopping the tomato, chopping the onion, chopping the cucumber.
Mix in salad dressing and feta.
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Heat a skillet over medium heat. It should be sized to fit the pita pocket.
Once hot, add 2 tbs olive oil to the pan then add the pitas one at a time, flipping once.
Spread half the ricotta onto each pita pocket.
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Top with salad mix, then feta.
Slice and top with grilled chicken.
Drizzle some additional dressing over the whole thing or the creamy Greek dressing.
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I liked the crispness of the pita… toasting them up was in my best interest, since my pitas were not exactly fresh anymore. It was a great weird mix of not a salad, not a pizza. Not a pizza topped with salad. It was tricky to eat, but that’s a challenge I was happy to accept.

This is a refreshing summer meal. I love that is has some great flavors, freshness, and uses only a few ingredients. There is only a small amount of chicken in/on this. Once again, it was a good reminder that those super skinny breast pieces are useful when cut up or one normal size chicken breast would easily serve 2-3 people this way. I had some green onions hanging around so those went on top too.

I’ve proclaimed my love for ricotta, haven’t I? It is true. I love it. Ricotta on toast + avocado = delicious. I had leftover ricotta from making personalized Pizza Dip so I figured this was definitely a different use for it. Whipped feta would be great on this too.  These would be fun on little mini pitas for an appetizer. Pita bread is a great pizza crust. I need to do that again!