Category Archives: Appetizer

Superlative: Most Delicious

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Entree, Fish, Italian, Moderate Recipes, Vegetarian

I met my two best friends in the 6th grade. I will never forget our first interaction together. Jenny and Kelly had already been friends since they were itty bitty, and I came later. I can honestly say that we had almost nothing in common, but we managed to hit it off right away…well not right away. Kelly and I met through our families who happened to share a mutual friend and vacationed together. We were also both cheerleaders. Kelly because she looked hot in those teeny skirts and me because I could lift 100 pounds above my head without a sweat.

Let me paint a little picture of the three six graders we were.

I was a jock. I cut my own bangs on a weekly basis until I literally had a buzz in the bang area. I typically wore short-sleeved, button-down, collared shirts, unbuttoned to show my even looser white Fruit of the Loom undershirt or a T-shirt with some silly sayings on it. I always rolled up sleeves like James Dean minus the biceps and cigarettes, and I wore school-appropriate hemmed jean shorts and some kind of athletic sandal with ample amounts of unnecessary Velcro. Thank Heavens I was funny otherwise I would have had zero friends. Superlative: Most Humorous

Jenny, who I knew very little about at the time, was cute. She had dimples, a plump and naturally pouty bottom lip, fine blonde hair, long skinny legs, and big feet in comparison to her tiny little body. She always kept us guessing on her clothing. One day she wore sunny yellow shorts and a sassy white tank with Birkenstock sandals, and the next she busted out a partially spandex blue plaid sundress and tennis shoes and socks. She was not afraid! Superlative: Nicest

Then there was Kelly (insert in music from the scene of a movie where the hot girl comes walking down the hallway holding her books and all the boys stop in their track to look at her). She came right out of the elementary gates with a gorgeous, developed body, long, bouncy hair that she never had to “do” and always fell directly where it would had someone placed it while doing a photo shoot. She looked all too much like Alicia Silverstone during the release of Clueless. I mean she could bat her eyes are the hottest guy in school, and he was hers. Superlative: Most Attractive

Recess at our middle school was going into the bus lot and socializing. I remember looking up the hill everyday and seeing Jenny sitting alone on the curb just waiting for the subpar recess to end so she could get back into being Teacher’s Pet. One day Kelly and I were hanging out, and I asked “What’s up with your friend Jenny up there?” We decided to go and chat with her. She was wearing tight little skinny jeans in 1993 and an American flag hoodie. I do not mean one with an American flag on the front. The entire thing was printed like one giant American flag. Instantly Jenny was defensive. I can imagine questions like “Why is hot friend hanging out with aggressive jock? Why is aggressive jock pretending to be nice to me? What the heck is the deal with aggressive jocks bangs? Can’t hot friend explain to aggressive jock that buzzed bangs are just plain creepy?”

Needless to say, I grew on her; she has been by my side for every major event in my life. There is a bond between the three of us that nothing can break. To this day, we are all completely different people, in different places in our lives, with different believes but with one thing in common. We all three love each other unconditionally.

The best way for us to have expressed this love was via our high school rings. Well, I can think of a dozen more practical, less expensive, more fashionable ways not but in 1999, this was our way! We were all three about to go to separate colleges. Kelly got into UGA (brat! She was hot and smart), Jenny decided on West Georgia and I opted for University of Tennessee (Go Vols!). We knew we could stay connected with our high school rings, and we would wear them FOREVER or at least until the middle of the summer after our graduation. For me, this was actually an accessory upgrade. Jenny, Kelly and I decided to have “JKM” engraved on the inside of all of our rings. The cool thing about these rings is how personal they could be.

Just the other day, I found my nerdy husband’s class ring in my parent’s basement (yes- you are not crazy…that IS a weird place to find your husband’s class ring). I was excited to bring it home to him to put into his memory box. When I got it home, we both pulled out our rings and looked at them. Mine had the Norcross Blue Devil on one side and a golf emblem on the other since I was proudly a member of the Varsity golf team for four years (flashback to shaved bangs, hemmed knee length jean shorts and Velcro sandals). The golf team didn’t do a lot to increase my non-jock, feminine stance. Ugh…once a jock, always a jock. I showed Blake the “JKM” on the inside. Then we looked at his. His had the same Norcross Blue Devil on one side and wait for it….Yosemite Sam on the other side. “Blake, why Yosemite Sam?” I just knew there had to be a good story to back this up, and I was dying to hear it. “Everyone had to get Yosemite Sam on one side,” he told me. “Um, baby, why would anyone, much less everyone be entitled to having Yosemite Sam on their high school class ring?” The room went silent. I looked at Blake trying to figure out what in the world would lead him to this horrible and random decision. “I don’t know babe, I just don’t know.” It was one of those times that the conversation simply had to end with no explanation. Superlative: Most Likely to be Talked about Behind Class Ring Saleman’s Back (“Dude, I totally just convinced that guy to get Yosemite Sam on his ring- hahahaha.”

Anyway, the whole point of this story was to lead into this delicious recipe that Kelly’s mom introduced to us. Jenny and I call Kelly, Fankee (long story-whole different blog post). Her mom made this pasta for us one night when Kelly was visiting from NYC. Jenny and I absolutely fell in love with it. Her version is vegetarian, yet another example of our extreme differences (Exhibit F- Beef section of the blog). I like to add chicken or shrimp. It can be pricey so here are my tricks to bring down the price.

– Get the pine nuts from Costco. You will have a ton of them but they are so good to add into pasta, quinoa, salad, casseroles, etc.

– Get 10oz of spinach from the grocery store ‘price by weight’ salad bar. It is light and is about half the price as the spinach in the salad section.

– Grow your own tomatoes. 🙂

– Since you use the entire container of feta, get the ones that are marked for quick sale. They normally do that when they have three days before sell by date and you will use it all that night.

Swanky Fankee Pasta

Serves 6

Swanky Fankee Pasta

Ingredients:

  •  10 oz. spinach
  • 1 tbs. butter
  • 6 tbs. olive oil
  • 4-5 tbs. pine nuts
  • 7 cloves minced garlic
  • 12 oz. crumbled feta cheese
  • 6 large plum/roma tomatoes sliced
  • 1 lb. penne pasta

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta while sautéing other ingredients so noodles are hot when you mix
  2. Melt butter with 2 tbs. olive oil in a large sauté pan
  3. Sauté pine nuts and garlic for 5-8 minutes or until pine nuts are slightly toasted
  4. Add spinach and tomatoes , sauté until spinach is completely wilted and tomatoes are very soft
  5. Pour mixture over drained pasta
  6. Immediately Add crumbled feta and 4 tbs. olive oil
  7. Stir thoroughly and add some salt and pepper
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Take Corn?

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Other, Vegetarian and tagged with , , , ,
Blake and I are very thankful that we have limited allergies. Neither one of us can have Penicillin, but that really doesn’t bother us as my “doc in a box” will fire a Cortisone shot in my tail and dish me out a Penicillin-free Z-pack if I walk in the door with a sniffle.
 
My sweet niece, Caroline, on the other hand has some serious allergies. Her whole face gets swollen when we cook any shellfish in the house, and peanuts will close her breathing passage ways right up. That being said, we have all become very conscience of being around her when we have peanuts or shellfish.
 
For the past three years, my family has gone on a week long family vacation to Carolina Beach. The first year, I had a one year old, the next year I was pregnant and had a two year old, and this year I had a three year old and a three month old. Needless to say, I have had limited time with my toes in the sand. I haven’t even had time to snap a picture of them to post on Facebook to make all of my friends jealous. When I see the cliche “toes in the sand” photo on any method of social media, I immediately think of a terrified toddler who needs two adult hands when a wave is in sight and trying to anchor down an umbrella, which is guaranteed to blow a half mile down the shoreline, to cover up my infant who won’t nap on the beach anyway. Then I picture myself packing up the chair, the umbrella, the bag of sand toys, the towels and whatever infant sleeping tent I got ripped off on that summer and making my way back to the house where I look forward to a 3 minute shower and a moist towel that has clearly dried in humidity. I know, better beach years are to come….in about four years.
 
It is normally Thursday that everyone is dying for a break from the sand and pool, and we need something else to do. We always opt for the local zoo with ample shade, a decently price gift shop and mediocre fencing for thier fierce and deadly animals such as crocodiles and tigers. I mean, we literally are one foot from the mouth of a crocodile behind a thin and wobbly chain linked fence, but on ‘Family Beach Vacation Thursday’, we will do whatever it takes to use our time and keep the kiddos happy.
 
If there was an award ceremony for the trip to this zoo, Caroline would earn “Most Easy Going” every time. When you purchase your ticket, you can buy corn and peanuts to feed the animals. Remember what I told you about the proximity to deadly animals? Well, this simply decreases said proximity. This is not just a petting zoo with the likes of a few goats, a friendly pig and a turkey or two. This is a full on zoo. “Here, here, here crocodile, have some peanuts…Oh tiger, come here… I have come peanuts for you.”
 
As noted earlier, Caroline can’t even touch peanuts. For the first half mile of this zoo, every animal only eats peanuts. At each cage, we would remind Caroline that the animal couldn’t have corn. She patiently held her full bag of corn while everyone else was firing peanuts at every animal in sight. She kept a good attitude for awhile, but soon she began to get sad. She just wanted to feed an animal. We all got enthralled at a monkey that would catch our peanuts and throw it right back at us, hard. I mean he would peg us with the peanuts, not hungry I guess. In the distance, we looked over and saw Caroline standing by the goat named Jack. She yelled across the zoo, “Daddy, does this one ‘take corn’?”

 
Of course the goats ‘took corn’, and being a goat is synonymous with being bad at something in our family, we really took on this term. “Did you play well or did you ‘take corn’?” When you lose at anything you will get heckled by goat sounds coming from the mouths of every original Smith.  With all of the negative stigma flowing in the direction of goats and corn, we have to stop and pay respects to the delicious cuisine that corn can be the foundation of.  This corn salad is always a hit, and it is super simple!  Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
 
Mom’s Corn Salad

Image

Ingredients
– 4 drained cans of white shoepeg niblet corn (this is important not to alter)
– 1 bunch of green onion, chopped
– 1 container of grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
– 1 tsp mayo (if you want, not necessary)
– salt and pepper to taste
 
Directions
1. Combine above ingredients.
2. Refrigerate.
3. Enjoy!

Pasta Salad Goes Bowl-Less

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Italian, Random Tips, Vegetarian

Pasta salad is just an easy, versatile and well-liked food. Personally, I like the oil based pasta salads over those that are based in mayonnaise. Pasta salad would be such a fun thing to make for party, but the delivery of it is such a hassle. You either need a bowl or a plate and a fork. You basically have to be sitting at a table or the pressure of the fork on the plate while its being supported by only one had can end up in a disaster on the entertainer’s floor.

As I was shopping at Costco, I found another “must share” deal: Three pounds of dry cheese tortellini for $5.99!!!

What a steal!

I knew I had to have it. Lottie eats it for dinner with butter and parmesan, and I love it in a salad. After buying this great deal, I was determined to find a way to make tortellini pasta salad easy and accessible for a party or a tennis match.

I decided to go with Antipasto Salad Kebabs; easy to eat, simple to prepare, inexpensive to make and taste wonderful! Happy Eating!

Antipasto Salad Kebabs

Makes: 30 kebabs

Antipasto Salad Kebabs

Ingredients

-½ lb uncooked cheese tortellini

– 30 large green and/or black olives

– 1 block of your choice of cheese, cubed

– 1 cup of your favorite Italian salad dressing

– 1 package of hard salami cut into fourths and folded in half

Directions

  1. Cook pasta as recommended on package.
  2. Add ingredient in any order to the bamboo skewer
  3. Coat in Italian dressing for 30 minutes
  4. Chill in refrigerator and serve

If You Roll It, They Will Eat

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Asian, Easy Recipes, Other, Random Tips, Vegetarian

Lottie ate anything I put in front of her until the day she turned two. I think a lot of it is her developing the cognitive skills she needs to make a decision based on taste. She will still eat some broccoli and she is ok with beans, but that is about it as far as healthy goes. We do make her mac ‘n cheese home-made with wheat pasta and parmesan, but I am still not putting that in the healthy category.

My best friend’s nieces are the cutest things in the world. Their mama, Janice Hudgins, is always making them these wholesome, food pyramid meals that they actually eat. Every time Lottie plays with them, she scores one of these meals, and she does eat them.  The one component of the meal that I loved was Janice’s rice balls.

Rice is a healthy grain, and Lottie really likes it. Here is the problem: My OCD and rice don’t mix. It sticks to everything and when Lottie ate it, she was covered head to toe in it. Then I discovered…the rice ball. Now I like to add a few fun and healthy surprises in her rice balls, and we are good to go. Making them into small balls makes them fun to eat and mess free!

Rice Balls

Serves one toddler for 5 meals

Rice that Kids Love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

–          1 cup of rice

–          1 cup of water

–          1 tsp salt

–          1 tsp soy sauce (optional)

–          Anything you want to add to the balls

Directions

  1. Cook rice in rice cooker as directed (sushi rice works best)
  2. Make a bowl of warm salt water.
  3. Dip hands in warm salt water.
  4. Grab a little rice, roll it into a ball.
  5. Put on plate and top with soy sauce and anything else you want to try.

 

Money Saving Tip: Buy rice in bulk. It lasts forever. Go to an Asian market and get a big bag so you always have it!

 

Grill Envy

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Entree, Italian, Random Tips

Jones Bridge pool is one of my favorite places within the Georgia state lines.  I became a member when I was a baby, and spent approximately 50 hours there a week until I was 16. Last year, Blake and I were looking for a community pool to join so that we could establish some new friends with kids for Lottie as she was getting a little bored of watching Blake play video games and grocery shopping with me. I knew that Jones Bridge was going to be place we were going to join. From the second I made the decision, it was as if my Barracuda fins instantly grew back in.

The coolest thing about this pool is that you don’t know a stranger there. Everyone talks to everyone whether they have been introduced or not. In fact, I have met several friends there that I was never introduced to…we just started talking. It just feels like home when I walk into the gate.

This summer Blake and I have been grilling out a lot. The other night we decided to grill at the pool. We ran through our options…steak, chicken, fish, veggies…. I was simply bored with the choices. Blake decided that pizzas would be fun. Instantly, I thought pizza stone, rolling dough, expensive, hassle….

Blake proved me wrong. He headed out to Ingles where he found Naan, an Indian flat bread, on sale for about a dollar each. He picked up six of them and we were ready to go. We pulled out all of the cheeses and toppings we could find in the fridge, and created an awesome meal that was quite impressive. Of course, we made enough to share with our friends at the pool and a little more for those we hadn’t yet met.

Grilled Pizzas

-Naan, Indian bread

-Olive oil

-Pizza sauce

-Cheese (be creative)

– Toppings (be creative)

Directions

1. Brush a bit of olive oil on the Naan bread.

2. Top with pizza sauce of choice, olive oil, pesto, or whatever sounds good.

3. Apply toppings and cheese of choice.  These can be made ahead of time and wrapped in aluminum foil to make at a later time or assembled right at the grill.

4. Preheat grill to medium-low heat

5. Place pizzas on grill and leave on until crust is at desired crispness and the  cheese is melted/browned. (about 8-12 minutes)

6. Leave lid down as much as possible.

Pizza Ideas

-Bacon, ham, jalapeno, pineapple, mozzerella cheese and pizza sauce

-Caramelized onion, goat cheese and Gruyere, arugula, and olive oil (Thanks Jenny!)

-Buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, tomatoes with olive oil

-Grilled onion, mushroom, red and green pepper (slice them up really small) and Gruyere or mozzarella

-Traditional sausage and pepperoni

– Pulled pork, cole slaw, BBQ sauce

– Hot sausage, Granny Smith apples, reduced Balsamic vinegar, blue cheese, mozzarella and olive oil

– Shrimp with buffalo sauce, diced celery, blue cheese, mozzarella cheese

– The list keeps going on and on….. this is an amazing meal to get rid of leftovers or have fun with whatever is in the fridge.

Why Do You Build Me Up, Butternut?

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Entree, Vegetarian

In the past, I would choose a pre-salad over pre-soup on any given day at any given restaurant. Since having Lottie, my taste buds and food cravings have changed tremendously. Now, when given the opportunity, I will always choose soup over salad.

In the winter, I typically have a pot of butternut squash soup in my fridge at all times. I love making shrimp to put in the soup to add texture and Enoki mushrooms provide a unique twist. Lottie loves it as well as a pasta sauce over whole wheat Rotini.

For awhile I stopped making this soup because cutting and peeling the whole squash was too hard for me (and my knives). Once again, Costco came through for me. Get this: They have fresh, precut and peeled butternut squash in the veggie section for $4.99/2lbs. Not only is it cheaper, but it is so easy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves- 8

Total Price (no shrimp)- $8.24

Total Price per Person- $1.03

Average Retail Price- $14.98

Total Savings- $6.74

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

-2 lbs (one large or two small) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed- seeds removed

-1 small sweet onion

– 2 medium sized carrots

– 1 stalk of celery

– 1 sweet potato (optional)

– 3-5 cans chicken of vegetable stock

– Sauteed or grilled shrimp (optional)

– Enoki mushrooms (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Cut celery and carrots into small pieces.

2. Diced onion.

3. Put celery, carrots and onions into large pot and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Add a little salt and pepper.

4. Add all cubed butternut squash.

5. Cover with chicken stock until all vegetables are just barely covered.

6. Boil until squash is fork tender.

7. Turn off heat and allow everything to cool.

8. Blend until smooth (add water or stock if you like it thinner).

9. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

10. Serve and Enjoy!

 

Sales used in this Recipe:

2 lbs. Butternut Squash- Costco- $4.99

 

A Pleasant SOUPrise

Posted by meredithfoster in Appetizer, Beef, Easy Recipes, Entree, Spanish

I love to pack a hearty lunch in my lunch box everyday. The OCD in me has a hard time when my lunch box has too much empty space in it. A bowl of taco soup, a small sandwich, a fruit and a perfectly folded napkin fill it up ideally.  This recipe makes enough soup for about 10-12 servings leaving a family of four with lunch the next day.

So we all have those nights where we don’t want to spend a lot of time making dinner or doing the dishes. This soup is one of those dishes that allows you to have a quick and delicious home made meal that leaves little to no mess.  Taco soup is a something that I grew up eating. I am not sure where my mom got the recipe, but we cook it a few times a month in the winter. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

Serves 10-12

Total Amount- $13.01

Total price per person- $1.09

Average Retail price- $22.88

Total Savings- $9.87


 

–          2 lbs of ground beef, turkey or bison

–          1 onion, chopped

–          3 cans pinto beans

–          3 cans corn

–          2 cans diced tomatoes

–          1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies

–          2-3 cans of low sodium chicken broth

–          1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning

–          1 packet of taco seasoning

–          1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

–          1 tsp garlic salt

–          2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  1. Brown 2 lbs ground beef and 1 chopped onion in pot with a little olive oil
  2. Season beef with Lawry seasoning salt, garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce and packet of taco seasoning.
  3. Add 3 cans Pinto beans (slightly drained)
  4. Add 3 cans corn (slightly drained)
  5. Add 2 cans of diced tomatoes
  6. Add 1 can rotel tomatoes with chilies
  7. Add 2-3 cans chicken broth
  8. Add dry hidden ranch dressing packet
  9. Cook until warm (medium heat for 30 minutes)
  10. Top with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, olives, ect.

Sometimes I adjust flavor with more tomatoes or chicken broth….depends on your taste!

Sales used in this recipe:

Patton’s Meat Market- 5lb package of lean ground beef $11.99

Kroger BOGO –  Delmonte Diced Tomatoes

Kroger BOGO – Rotel Tomatoes

Costco $2.25 off Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Catering to the Everything-Free Eaters

Posted by meredithfoster in Appetizer, Asian, Chicken, Entree, Moderate Recipes, Vegetarian

One of the things that my mom and her sisters share in common is that they all have very nurturing and catering personalities. I think these are such neat character traits to have. My aunt Sue posted on her Facebook that she is looking for gluten-free, sugar- free recipes and would love to have some that are vegan friendly. She wants to entertain her loved ones by catering to all of their specific diets.

The dinner we had last night was Thai Chicken Noodle Soup that can easily be made vegan by either substituting the chicken with tofu or leaving it out altogether. It was quite delicious and had just the right amount of spice.

Thai Chicken or Tofu Noodle Soup

*We got this idea from Food Network Magazine this month*

Serves 6

–          1 tbsp vegetable oil

–          1 onion, thinly sliced

–          2 cloves of garlic minced

–          2 tbsp green curry paste

–          6 cups low sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegans)

–          15-ounce can coconut milk

–          1-2 tbsp fish sauce

–          2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

–          4 oz thin rice noodles, broken into pieces

–          2 small skinless chicken breast thinly sliced or 2 cups of tofu

–          1 tbsp fresh lime juice

–          1 cup chopped cilantro

  1. Heat oil over medium high heat.
  2. Add onion and cook, stir occasionally about 5-7 minutes
  3. Add garlic and curry paste and cook, stirring 1-2 minutes
  4. Add chicken broth, coconut milk and fish sauce and bring to a boil.
  5. Add bell peppers and noodles and simmer uncovered until the noodles are al dente (3 minutes)
  6. Add chicken or tofu and simmer until cooked through (3 more minutes)
  7. Stir in lime juice and cilantro and serve hot!

    8. Savings in this meal:

Chicken- $1.48/lb at Kroger

Coconut milk- BOGO at Super H

Crazy for Cauliflower

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Random Tips, Vegetarian

I am so glad that cauliflower has received the recent spotlight in several cooking magazines lately. As long as I can remember, I have loved cauliflower more than most people. I think it is key to any salad and also adds a unique flavor to any assortment of roasted vegetables. The thing I love the most about it is the ability to transform it. It packs flavor, but it’s flavor can be transformed in any way. One of my favorite snacks is raw cauliflower dipped in yellow mustard. I was eating it the other day at school when one of my students came to my desk and greeted me with a simple, “gross”.

In 2007, when I was on an disgustingly limited diet to prepare for my wedding, I ate only vegetables. After a few weeks, the raw and roasted stuff was becoming boring, and I needed a new twist. Blake made mashed cauliflower, and I fell in love with it. We replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower all the time now. Last month, Blake had a brilliant idea. He wanted to make a mashed cauliflower souffle. BEST.IDEA.EVER.

The pictures will never do this side justice. For two reasons, it is basically a colorless dish, and I am horrible at taking pictures. Trust me, this one is worth making.

Asiago Cauliflower Souffles

Serves 4

Total Price- $2.63

Total Price per serving- $0.66

Average Retail Price- $4.39

Total Savings– $1.76

(You will need 4 equal size baking ramekins)

Ingredients

– 1 head of cauliflower

-1 tbsp butter

-1tbsp sour cream

-1/4 milk

-3/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese

Directions

1. Break the cauliflower into large heads

2. Boil until fork tender

3. Strain and cool for 5-10 minutes

4. Blend with butter, sour cream, milk and salt and pepper (adjust seasonings and ingredients to your liking.)

5. After blending, the mashed cauliflower should be the consistency of grits.

6. Pour mashed cauliflower into baking ramekins.

7. Top with shredded Asiago (just enough cheese to cover the top)

8. Bake 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.

9. If you want to make these the day before or the morning of, compose them, place them in the refrigerator and bake from cold at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Savings in this side dish

Cauliflower $1.38/head at Super H Mart

Asiago cheese $2.99/lb at Costco

Peter Piper Picked a Piece of Pizza

Posted by meredithfoster in American, Appetizer, Easy Recipes, Entree, Italian

Friday Night in the Foster home has become pizza night. Blake and I both make our own pizza, so we have a lot of variety. I never liked pizza until after I had Lottie. Now, I love it.

Every time they have the pizza at school, I partake. There is just something I love about the overwhelming dry flour taste that accompanies the school cafeteria pizza. One of my students always makes fun of me because I hate cheese on my pizza. I always scrape it off into the trashcan. Then I replace the toppings and chow down.

My very favorite pizza that I have made thus far is Granny Smith apple and hot Italian sausage pizza. It is to die for!

Apple Sausage Pizza

-1 premade pizza crust (We like Mama Mias from Ingles the best)

-1 cup of shredded mozzerella

-3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

-2 HOT Italian sausage links- browned

-1 Granny Smith apple sliced thin

-1 cup Balsamic vinegar (reduced to 1/4 original amount)

– 2tbsp olive oil

We like to buy the precooked crust and just add the toppings. Mama Mias from Ingles is similar to the school cafeteria crust.

1. Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in the pan.

2. Reduce 1 cup of Balsamic vinegar by 75% until syrupy and sweet.

3. Slice apples thin for topping pizza

4. Spread a thin layer of olive oil to pizza crust

5. Top with mozzarella cheese

6. Evenly spread cooked sausage, apples and crumbled blue cheese on pizza

7. Cook as directed on crust package

8. After cooked, drizzle Balsamic reduction on top of pizza and enjoy!