Chicken Ranchero Pizza

A family favorite from our town “house of pizza” is the Chicken Ranchero. It is almost hard to order anything else from there. After 2.5 years of eating this favorite pizza, I decided to recreate it at home.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
Ingredients:
pizza dough
2 chicken breasts or chicken thighs
3 tbs ranch dressing mix
4 strips of bacon
3 tbs ranch dressing
6 oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat the oven and a pizza stone, if using one, to 400-degrees.
Pan fry the chicken until cooked through, then remove from the pan and shred. Return to the pan and reduce heat to low. Add ranch dressing mix and a drip of water.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
Roll out the pizza dough until 1/4 inch thick. Spread it onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Poke a few holes with a fork.
Bake for 5 minutes until lightly cooked.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
While the dough is cooking, chop each bacon slice into 1/4 inch strips and pan fry until crisp, but until 75% cooked (it crisps more in the oven.
Top the pizza dough with ranch dressing, then cheese, then add the chicken.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
Top with bacon, then another sprinkle of ranch mix is optional, lastly a last sprinkle of cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
Bake 10 minutes until crust is crisp and cheese melts.
The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza
This was a great one. Bacon on any pizza is a winner, but this has some great tried and true flavors that are beautifully uncomplicated. I’m glad I didn’t junk it all up trying to add too many things to it.

I used chicken thighs mostly because it was what I could find in the house, but I think it was a good choice because it didn’t get too dried out. Rotisserie chicken would also stay moist and would speed up the cooking time.

The Three Bite Rule - Chicken Ranchero Pizza

Puff Pastry Dinner Turnovers

I love grilling season, and extending grilling season into the other seasons. I do sometimes think that I need to vary it up. This was a good way to do that without turning the oven on. I popped these guys into the toaster oven!
The Three Bite Rule - Puff Pastry Turnovers

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puff pastry dough (or crescent roll dough)
1 1/2 cups (1 package) of frozen creamed spinach, defrosted and heated through
1 – 1 1/2 cups ham, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar

Directions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.
Pan fry the ham until warmed through and crisp.
Cut each puff pastry sheet into four equal squares.
Spoon some spinach into the center from two opposite corners.
The Three Bite Rule - Puff Pastry Turnovers
Add some ham, then tuck the two opposite corners over one another.
The Three Bite Rule - Puff Pastry Turnovers
Fill four puff pastry squares with spinach & ham, fill other four with ham and shredded cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Puff Pastry Turnovers
Bake 8-10 minutes until pastry is crisp and lightly tanned. (Bake less if you plan on baking them another time to use later or freeze.)
The Three Bite Rule - Puff Pastry Turnovers
These were so good and so quick. Definitely a good alternative to everyday dinner. I served them with some salad.

They were great as breakfast too. I froze a few we didn’t get to immediately and they just needed a quick defrost before toasting. I’d like them as apps if they were a bit smaller. I would pop them in muffin tins to form their own cups. I had the spinach, ham, and puff pastry in the freezer. These are a great way to use some leftovers.

Suggested adaptations: 
sliced meatballs + marinara + shredded mozzarella + puff pastry = meatball turnovers
turkey deli meat + crumbled bacon + ranch + cheddar + puff pastry = turkey bacon ranch turnovers
creamed spinach + artichoke hearts + roasted red peppers + provolone = spinach & artichoke turnovers
tapanade + feta + diced tomatoes + chopped peppers + puff pastry = Mediterranean turnovers
raspberry jam + brie + puff pastry = cheese plate turnovers
prosciutto + brie + sliced green apples/pears = Italian appetizer turnovers

Freezing

Do you freeze stuff? I freeze every.thing. I mean, every. thing. I can’t tell you how excited Mr. J and I were to get another freezer. It lives in the basement, and makes me earn dinner sometimes when I’m pawing through the regular freezer and going down/up a set of stairs to check the other auxiliary freezer.

The freezer (much like your washer/dryer) is dry-erasable. We try to keep a running list of what’s in there.

The Three Bite Rule

Most common things I freeze:

bread/english muffins/burger rolls/pizza dough/etc – with just 2 of us we never use it fast enough
raw meat/ground chicken/ground beef/chicken pieces/pork chops – I sort of look for sales, but it’s easier to move to the fridge before work.
already frozen goodies for quick dinners/dinner additions – fries, breaded eggplant, tamales, leftovers, tortellini, etc
frozen veggies – edemame, corn, broccoli, cauliflower
sauces – meat sauce, creamed spinach (I use as a sauce)
double batch, or a frozen portion of meals.

Maybe more uncommon things I freeze:

coffee into ice cube trays – helps to not water-down iced coffee
“grossness & guts” – stinky stuff that would make me take the trash out before it is full (fat trimmings, the gross soggy pad underneath chicken, bones, etc). It’s a Ziploc bag that I add to, then open up into the trash when it is going out. That same bag lives a good life for about 6 months before needing to be replaced.
fresh herbs – chopped up frozen with a little water or a little olive oil if I wouldn’t use it before they go bad.

There are pretty good lists out there of what to freeze.

http://dailysavings.allyou.com/2012/03/07/foods-storage/

Blueberry Lemonade

I bought a pretty hefty container of blueberries and decided to make a syrup with some of it. I may have been a bit over eager with the quantity I thought I could eat. I mean, a lot of little berries fit in the big package!
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs honey
1/4 cup water
lemonade
soda water

Directions:

In a small saucepan, cook blueberries, sugar, honey, and water over medium-low heat.
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
Gently mash the blueberries while stirring occasionally. Bring to a low boil.
Let cool to room temperature.
Strain through a wire sieve into a bowl. Gently press any remaining liquid out of the remaining skin.
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour until cool.
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
Fill a glass with ice and fill half way with lemonade.
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
Add another 1/4 full of soda water, then 2-3 tbs blueberry syrup.
The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
Add in a few blueberries and a straw. Voila!

It was good. The bubble addition isn’t necessary, but it did add some spunk. I used crystal light lemonade which is sweeter than tart. The Three Bite Rule - Blueberry Lemonade
suggested serving adaptations:
over pancakes
into smoothies
in sangria/cocktails
over ice cream
into yogurt
with berries on a cheese plate

Breakfast Flatbread with Everything Bagel Spices

I was still on the quest for a great breakfast pizza. This time, I decided to hard boil the egg and feature the sausage and cheese with the seasoning of an everything bagel. Bagel pizzas would actually be great for this!

The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread

I’ve made a few breakfast pizzas, but today’s might be the best. I made this one way back when with eggs dropped on top. I made this one with a hashbrown crust. I made this one with scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough
3 tbs cream cheese with chives
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
6 breakfast sausage links
3 eggs, hardboiled
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp dried onion

Directions:

Preheat the oven (and pizza stone if using one) to 400-degrees.
Pan fry the sausage links until cooked through. Drain, then slice into 3-4 pieces per link.
Roll out pizza dough with a little flour until 1/4 inch thick.
Spread cream cheese on top.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread
In a dry, flat pan, toast the spices over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread
Top with cheese, sausage, chopped hard boiled eggs, and toasted spices.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread
Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the thin crust is crisp.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread
Top with chopped chives or green onions.

I loved this one. I hadn’t done a crust this thin before but this was thanks to Mr. J to roll it out while I prepped the toppings. It was nice to have the cracker thin crunch to keep it a bit lighter. I used half the dough I normally use. Instead of sauce I used just a touch of cream cheese.

The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Flatbread