Fruit Pizza

Just in time for summer! This fruit pizza is very basic and super easy to make but very yummy. Great for a healthy snack.

The one thing I do differently with my fruit pizza is use crescent dough instead of the sugar cookie dough that all the other recipes call for. I think the cookie dough is just too sweet. The sweetness of the cream cheese in this recipe is plenty in my opinion, so I prefer the crescent dough. I have also used pizza dough which works fine as well.

Unroll your crescent dough onto a baking sheet. They do make seamless dough which is better, but you are going to cut the pizza anyway so it doesn't matter if you can't find it. I used the regular crescent dough this time and just mushed the seams together. It doesn't have to be pretty, as evidenced by mine. I couldn't get it to stretch very nicely because I had just brought this home from the grocery store and it had started to warm up. This is best just out of the fridge.

Cook at 350 for about 10 minutes until light brown. Let cool. While your dough is cooking and cooling, let 1 package of cream cheese warm to room temperature. Mix cream cheese with 1 tsp vanilla and powdered sugar to your liking. I prefer powdered sugar to granular, as sometimes the granular doesn't dissolve very well and you get gritty cream cheese.

When the dough is cool, spread on your cream cheese mixture. After, this would be a good time to cut your pizza. You don't have to, but it is easier to cut before putting on your fruit.

Now just put on fruits of your liking! I used slices of kiwi, strawberry and blueberries. FYI: Strawberries are now in season! Great time to get your fruit FRESH!

Creole Shrimp and Grits

I discovered the joy of shrimp and grits during a trip to North Carolina a few years ago and am soooo glad I figured out how to make this.

In a large saute pan, cook a few pieces of bacon

When the bacon is nice and crispy, take it out of the pan and put it on a paper towel

In that same pan, saute green peppers, red pepper and onion. For this particular batch I probably used 1 cup of green pepper, about half a cup of red pepper and 1 cup of onion (or however much you want, I love onion)

After you start the peppers and onion, start your grits. Do not use quick grits, it's not the same. Prepare the grits per package directions but use milk instead of water.

Saute peppers and onions until cooked down and darker in color

At this point you could make a roux, adding a couple spoons of flour, stirring and cooking until the flour is dark. I did not do this (hence no pictures) and regretted it later. I ended up putting in the flour later and just had to stir well to make sure the flour didn't clump. Turned out fine this way as well.

Now, add your shrimp. I used about a pound of Carolina shrimp.

Now it's time for seasonings! I used a good dose of Goya (couple tablespoons), a dash of cayenne pepper, black pepper, about 1 Tbs of smoked paprika, and a good dose of Creole seasoning. I also used 3 cloves of garlic. Now remember, this dish is supposed to punch you in the mouth with flavor. It is a very robust dish and should be pretty dark.

After a few minutes the shrimp should be just about cooked. At this point, turn off the heat and add in your half and half or heavy cream (I used half and half). You should put in almost enough to not quite cover your shrimp. The sauce is the best part so if you want to put in more, feel free. Now turn the heat back on low and let the sauce just meld together for a few minutes while the grits are finishing.

Now that your grits are cooked, add in your cheese. I made about three cups of grits and put in a 5 oz container of parmesan and romano cheese. You may need to add a little more milk to your grits at this point. You want them to be about the consistency of porridge, nice and creamy.

Just before serving, throw the bacon you cooked earlier in the sauce (cut up of course). Now spoon out your grits and pour your shrimp and sauce on top. Top with some green onions and enjoy!!

This dish holds up perfectly fine on its own, but if you must pair it with something, I suggest a light salad with a vinaigrette for a good contrast to the boldness of the shrimp and grits. We had a fresh salad with cucumbers, goat cheese, croutons and raspberry vinaigrette.

Enjoy!!

Before you cook....

Before I start posting recipes here I need to include a little disclaimer.....

Unless I am baking, I DO NOT MEASURE ANYTHING. My philosophy in cooking is to add stuff until it tastes good. Therefore, these posts will be more like basic guidelines instead of full recipes. The expectation for you is to be able to follow my ingredient list and instructions, but add your own twist and amount of seasonings until it is to your liking.

Also, I discovered tonight that taking pictures of food is completely different than taking pictures of anything else. So I apologize for my crappy pictures, hopefully they will improve with each post.

Ok, let's get cooking!

Erica

Welcome!

Welcome to my food blog! I grew up in a family that did a lot of cooking. My parents were great at preparing meals and dinner time was always the best part of the day. I was raised on venison and will always prefer that to beef. Being active in 4-H we also had the joy of raising our own food. Don't even get me started on why having fresh eggs and your own meat chickens is better than store bought. We also had a huge garden with lots of fresh veggies. I grew up really being able to appreciate fresh food and homegrown things. After we moved and lost our garden, I started working at Aufdenkampe Family Farm so I could continue to have those lovely fresh veggies. Because of all of this and my deep love for food (not to mention watching way too much Food Network)I started experimenting with recipes and must say I can crank out some good food. People always ask me for recipes and new ideas for exotic veggies grown on the farm, so I decided to start a food blog! To come will be some family traditions and new creations that I hope everyone can enjoy! Erica