Pesto Pizza with Pine Nuts and Feta

THIS.IS.AMAZING.PIZZA! Oh man, Chris was so skeptical when I told him what was for dinner, and mind you, he LOVES him some PIZZA! But now, after tasting, and consuming 2/3 of the pizza, he LOVES this! I was in heaven. I had to restrain myself not to eat the entire thing. Really good and filling. Oh man, I cannot wait to make this again and again and again!

Ingredients:
1 batch pizza dough
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken (I used the Lemon Garlic Chicken*, recipe follows)
Pesto
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 red onion, cut in slivers
1-2 large tomatoes sliced (I used grape tomatoes cut in half)
Shredded mozzarella (to your liking)
Toasted pine nuts (to your liking)

Preheat pizza stone (I preheat my oven and pizza stone at 475 degrees for at least 45 minutes before baking the pizza so the stone is nice and hot). Roll out prepared pizza dough and place on pizza peel (or on pizza pan if you aren’t baking it on a pizza stone). Top pizza dough with the pesto, spreading liberally to outer edges of dough. Layer on additional toppings to your liking (I like to reserve some of the toppings and put them on top of the final layer of cheese) and bake for 8-10 minutes until nicely browned.

*Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken

Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound chicken breasts (I use chicken breast tenderloins)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe

( Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

Often, I will double the marinade and chicken and grill it all up and freeze the extras to use later.

Decadent Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse Pie

Again from Kitchen Cafe, this pie is pure bliss! Chocolate and peanut butter are definately my favorite sweet combo, give me a reese peanut butter cup and I am in heaven. Well, this pie is like eating a huge reeses with a graham cracker crust! It is awesome! It is very rich though so a little piece goes a long way. I had to use so much self control to only eat a little piece, though. Oh, my I cannot wait to make this again. So So good.


Graham Cracker Crust:
12 to 14 whole graham crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups crumbs)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Dark Chocolate Layer:
¾ cup heavy cream
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Peanut Butter Mousse Filling:
½ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

Topping and Decoration:
Sweetened whipped cream
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter, stir until well blended. Using the palm of your hand, press the moistened crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Bake in the center of the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the crust turns lightly golden. Set the pie crust on a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the chocolate layer: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust, smoothing it over the bottom and slightly up the sides. Freeze for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chocolate layer is firm.

Prepare the mousse: In a heavy medium-size saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add ½ cup milk and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining milk and the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until the custard comes to a boil. Still whisking, boil for 1 minute until very thick. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and peanut butter. Pour the mousse into the baked pie crust. Chill for 1 hour, or until firm. Before serving, decorate the pie with whipped cream and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and mini chocolate chips, if desired.

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

Okay, so I did not actually eat this pie myself, but it got rave reviews. I made it yesterday for my hubby, who has been kind of complaining about my "diet" food and also for neighbors. My neighbor came over like one hour after giving it to him and he said, "Oh my gosh, Heidi. I don't even like pie but this was amazing! I died and gone to heaven." Those were direct quotes. My husband, whom this is his favorite pie, said it was BETTER than MARIE CALLENDARS. It could have been because he has been dieting with me for a month and this is the first dessert to touch his lips in a month or he could have been sincere. Anyways, I have heard it is amazing! It was also so simple to make, totally worth it.

*Makes one 10-inch pie. (My pie plate was 9 inches and it was fine)

1 can coconut milk (can be found in the Asian foods section)
Half-and-half or heavy cream (enough to add to the coconut milk to make 3 cups)
3 egg yolks
¾ cup white sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 recipe graham cracker crust (below)
Fresh Whipped Cream, lightly sweetened

In a medium saucepan, combine half and half, coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will become very thick. Remove from heat, and stir in ¾ cup of the toasted coconut, coconut extract and the vanilla extract. Pour into baked and cooled pie shell and chill 2-4 hours or until firm. Top with whipped cream and the remaining ¼ cup of toasted coconut.

*To toast coconut, spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake at 325 degrees, tossing often, until lightly toasted, about 12-15 minutes.

Graham Cracker Crust
12 whole rectangular graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Finely crush graham crackers in a food processor or in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Pour crumbs into a bowl and add sugar, stirring to combine. Drizzle butter over the top and mix with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

Press the crumbs evenly in the bottom and up the sides of a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the crust is just barely beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.