Pizza Nachos

So, what do you do when a coworker gives you all her leftover tortilla chips and all you have is pizza-type ingredients at home? Well, you combine them, of course! I didn't measure anything, I just threw it all together. Here's the before:

The ingredients I used are: tortilla chips, Italian blend cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepperoni that's been cut into smaller pieces. Layer them just as you would any other nachos and stick them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes and they look like this:

I topped them with some chopped olives and ate them with a bowl of spaghetti sauce to dip in. They were amazing!!

The only thing I'd do differently, is put foil or parchment paper on the bottom of the sheet pan because the cheese did stick pretty badly. But flavor-wise, I wouldn't change anything!

The next time you're in the mood for nachos, but want something a little different, I highly recommend this!

Pizza Pasta

My mis-en-place. Fancy French term for "everything in its place".
Just before adding the sauce.

This was a fun meal. I used up my last two Italian sausages, added black olives, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, garlic, and tomatoes to the pot. All the best pizza toppings. A little red wine, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and some Italian seasoning added to the mix, and it made one tasty spaghetti sauce. I had some organic multi-colored corkscrew pasta that I cooked up. Before adding sauce to the cooked pasta, I topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese, then added sauce, and more cheese on top. The cheese melted and got all stringy just like with pizza. I really enjoyed this one.

Pizza Crust

Last night I tried making homemade pizza dough for the first time. It's something I've always wanted to make, but I've always been rather intimidated by yeast breads, so I tend to put off trying it.

The recipe I chose had cornmeal and whole wheat flour mixed in with the white flour, and I think it definitely added to the texture. It called for fine cornmeal, and all I found was regular, so it might have been slightly less grainy if I'd had the right kind.

I tried one for dinner last night, and one for lunch today. The one last night was ok, but the one today was a lot better, texture-wise. I think letting it sit, covered, overnight might have been good for it. It continued to rise in the fridge, so maybe that's what made it better.

As for toppings, I tried turkey pepperoni last night for the first time, and I found it too chewy, so I probably won't eat it again. But flavor-wise, it's very similar to traditional pepperoni. I used Canadian bacon today, which is always a winner. I also added an extra layer of cheese on top today and more cheese is always better!

I think I'll keep this recipe, I'd definitely make it again. I have other recipes to test too, some other time.