Pizza Quesadilla

At school, my son likes hot lunches. The problem comes when they serve hot dogs since my husband has a chocking phobia. My son usually has to bring his lunch on those days. Well, we had just arrived home from being out of town so I hadn't realized the lunch menu for the day. Afterwards, I asked my son what he had for lunch that day. He told me that he picked pizza quesadillas over the hot dog. I asked him what was in the quesadilla but it sounded like cheddar cheese with pizza sauce. I figured I would make my own version. It came out great plus the best part about the recipe was no oven since it was already a hot day. My family loved it especially my husband. He didn't realize the extra vegetables I had added to the recipe.

Pizza Quesadilla
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage.
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup spinach
1 cup pizza sauce
12 tortillas about 8 inches
6 fresh large basil leaves
2 cups of cheese, grated (I used a blend of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, and Cheddar).
vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the sausage for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the onion with the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms with the spinach and saute for about 3 minutes.
4. Mix in the pizza sauce and coat the sausage mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.
5. Lay a tortilla on a plate then cover with about 2 Tbsp of sausage sauce but leave about 1 inch border from the edge with no sauce.
6. Top the sausage sauce with 1 basil leaf and then with the grated cheese.
7. Cover the grated cheese with another tortilla to form a sandwich. 
8. In another skillet, heat over medium heat for about 1 minute.
9. Carefully, add the quesadilla to the skillet and squish down.
10. Cook for a minute or two before carefully flipping over. 
11. Cook the quesadilla for another minute or until golden brown.
12. Serve hot with additional toppings of cheese or pizza sauce.

Recipe created by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago.........................I made Seven Cheese Bread.

Did you already know...........
-Over 50% of asphyxiations (choking) are caused by food.
-Hot dogs cause 17% of food related asphyxiations.
-According to AAP, children under 4 years old should not have hot dogs, whole grapes, popcorn to name a few items.

Lasagna French Bread Pizza

Alright, I promised you an easy recipe to use up the filling from the lasagna roll ups. I know it seemed like a lot of work for the lasagna rolls ups but this pizza is simple. What wasn't so simple was figuring out if French bread should be capitalized or not. 

Lasagna French Bread Pizza
Lasagna Filling (See Lasagna Roll Ups recipe)
6 slices of mozzarella cheese
A loaf of French bread

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the French bread in half.
3. Scoop out a little of the bread in the center of the French bread to make a well. 
4. Add the lasagna filling in the center of the French bread.
5. Cover the lasagna filling with the slices of mozzarella cheese. 
6. Cook the pizza uncovered for about 20 minutes and the filling has been heated through. 

*To make ahead, cook the pizza for 10 minutes after preparing the lasagna roll ups. Allow to cool and wrap well. Store in the refrigerator the next day or freeze. 
Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago............................I made Bourbon Cookies.

Did you already know...............
-Food names should be capitalized if they are a proper adjective or proper noun unless used with a specific meaning. (Confused yet?)
-From the Merriam Webster dictionary, Capitalize the following: French bread, Swiss cheese, Boston baked beans.
-Lower case examples: brussel sprouts, french fries, graham cracker.
-French fry is not capitalized since it refers to a type of cut and not a location.

Pizza Sauce

My husband has been doing a dangerous thing lately. He has been doing some grocery shopping. Since he is hungry, he has been buying the frozen french bread pizzas. So, I caught him eating them. I asked him what he was doing. He claims he was hungry and needed something. Since he is a smart man, he said he knows mine do taste a lot better but I didn't have any in the freezer ready to eat.

To make your own frozen french bread pizza is easy. I take a french bread and cut it close to the edge. I also cut the other side closer to the edge if I'm going to freeze it. The middle section my children eat but you could make croutons. On each inside of the bread, I slather on the pizza sauce and toppings. Then I just wrap it tightly and freeze. I have sometimes cooked the pizza half way through before the cheese becomes bubbly and allow to cool before freezing. When ready to eat, I place it on a baking sheet. I preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and cook the pizza for about 20 minutes or until the pizza is cooked through.

Pizza Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato puree
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf 
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and heat for a minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients.
4. Cover and bring the sauce to a boil.
5. Uncover and lower the heat to simmer.
6. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence.

Doesn't this look better than store bought?

Did you already know...
-Stouffer's started in 1922 by Abraham and Mahala Stouffer.
-They started with a dairy stand and later opened restaurants.
-In 1950s, they expanded their business to include frozen meals.
-Stouffer's is now owned by Nestle USA with sales over $1 billion.