Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I cannot believe it's almost the end of August. Wasn't it just yesterday I was planting seedlings, heading back outdoors to run, and dreaming up new popsicle flavors? That's the tough part of having a favorite season, it goes so fast. However, there's something that begins at the end of summer that (in my mind) is almost a consolation prize for summer being over...

FOOTBALL.

Oh yes. We love football in this house. Our fantasy football draft is on Sunday! I love me some fantasy football. We play in a small, 8-team family league that's just for fun. We are no "The League" here. We are goofy, we take kickers when want, and no team is complete with 3 defenses... I'm just kidding about the defenses, but we don't take ourselves seriously. Most girls aren't that interested in fantasy football, but I think that's a travesty. I've found I'm more into football since I started playing fantasy. It gives you a reason, a purpose to watch games and it's made me expand to watching other teams that I usually wouldn't watch, just to root on a player. Girls, I highly recommend playing. I swear, you'll want to watch some football on Sunday. With some beer and a piece of this pizza in your hand, right??

This pizza is perfect for football season. We first started making it years ago, actually a couple months after we got engaged. The hubby and I went to Whistler, BC with my brother and his girlfriend, for some much needed skiing and relaxation. We always stay in our timeshare in which every room has its own little kitchen, and it was on this fateful trip that Buffalo Chicken pizza was born. In those days, the pizza was modest. Made with a can of Pillsbury pizza dough, a chicken breast, a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, and a bottle of buffalo sauce. Simple and to the point. The recipe has definitely evolved over the years into the magnificent work of art that it is today. It's homemade dough, all the way now. By happy mistake, I left my pizza dough rising in the fridge for 3 days. It turned out to be the best dough I've made. It was perfectly elastic, yet held it's shape. All I did was put the pizza dough on my board, and used my hands to knead it into the perfect circle. Not too thin. No tears (tears, like cuts, not tears that I cried!). It was pizza dough nirvana. 

I may just let all my dough's rest for 3 days now :)

So... the draft. I'll be the first to admit I paid no attention to the offseason. None. I found the hijinks of Donald Sterling and the Clippers more newsworthy than the NFL's offseason. HA! I'm just kidding, but seriously, I don't know what's going on. No clue who my first draft pick with be, no running-back must-haves, and really, I'm not up to date on the injuries. I've got some studying to do. That probably won't happen. I say I'll study every year, only to never actually realize the goal. I fly by the seat of my pants every year, and take whoever sounds good at the moment. My strategy is bona-fide, I've even won a couple of years. It's most likely the road I will take again this year. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As far as fantasy players goes, I fall somewhere between Taco and Ruxin. I'm into it enough to care and tinker with my roster every week, not so into it I over-think everything (You "League" fans will appreciate that reference!).

There's one more awesome thing that comes with football season every year... College football! No fantasy football there, just good, old-fashioned, teeth-gritting love of the alma mater. Our first game is on Saturday, and the hubby and I can't wait. 

Make this pizza! And, GO DUCKS!

Ingredients (makes 1 large pizza):

Basic Pizza Dough

buffalo sauce

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

5 mozzarella bocconcini balls, halved

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

1. Prepare pizza dough through Step 4.

2. For Step 5 of making the Pizza Dough, spread buffalo sauce over the unbaked dough. Sprinkle the pizza with chicken and celery. Place mozzarella balls haphazardly over the pizza. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella and blue cheese evenly over the pizza. Drizzle a small amount of buffalo sauce (1-2 tbsp) over the pizza. 

3. Bake under broiler for 5-7 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and crust has begun to brown in spots. 

4. Slice and serve!

Printable Recipe

Looking for other buffalo sauce recipes? Try these!

Buffalo Shrimp with Creamy Blue Cheese Slaw

Buffalo Ranch Popcorn

Buffalo Chicken Mozzarella Melts

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

Well, guess what my lovely friends? I didn't take a single photo this weekend.

Nil.

Zero.

None.

Sob.

It was a gloomy weekend here in NE Kentucky. There was little to no sun on Saturday, and then yesterday was even worse! The sun began to peek through the clouds a smidge around 6:30 last night, but you can't take pictures at that time of night. So needless to say, I cooked a whole bunch this weekend and yet, I have no photographs. Today is supposed to be sunny, so I'm hoping to spend a couple of hours this afternoon taking pictures. Yep, hours. Here's everything I need to photograph:

Nectarine Yogurt Pops

Blueberry Jam

Thai Pickled Cabbage

Pulled Pork Taco Casserole

Cherry Pie Bars

Wowsers. I have my work cut out for me, so that sun better make an appearance!

In other news, I've demanded the hubby get me a photography light for my birthday so I'm not at the beck and call of the weather. Anyone who would like to contribute to the hubby making it a great birthday for me, contact him :)

So, where did these pictures come from you ask? I've had this recipe tucked in my back pocket for awhile. Saving it for a rainy day (ha!). And that rainy day has arrived. The hubby and I went nuts for this vegetarian pizza. While it's not the most beautiful or colorful, it's the deliciousness that counts. I made this on my homemade pizza crust, which is one of the best recipes I've ever found. There's a creamy béchamel sauce separating the crust from the glorious spinach, artichokes, and cheese. The crust is perfectly crispy. Honestly, this is one of the best homemade pizzas I've made. The hubby and I had no leftovers, we demolished a whole pie by ourselves. What piggies we are!

Did everyone have a great weekend? The hubby and I spent ours around the house. We signed up for a 7-mile run at the end of August, so we've started training for that. I think I mentioned last week that the hubby is very gung-ho on his health kick right now, which is making him very gung-ho on running. He's following a very specific training plan, which I'm going to follow and support him when I can. Meaning -> when he's at work, I'm the type of person that's going to do what she wants. Meaning -> I might do a gym day when I'm supposed to do a light run. Or a long, slow run when I'm supposed to do a short, fast one. 

I'm all for a training program, but I have to keep my personality in mind. If I'm not having fun, and something feels like work or a job, I'm 100% less prone to do it. I've got to keep it fun and light-hearted for me to keep at it. But, like I said, I'm going to support the hubby as much as I can :)

Have a great week everyone!

Ingredients (makes 1 pizza):

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz spinach, divided

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

3/4 cup almond milk

1/4 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper

6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 oz parmesan cheese, grated

6-7 canned artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare the pizza dough according to directions.

2. Preheat oven to 550º. Allow to heat for 1 hour.

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. When warm, add 3/4 of the spinach. Sauté until just wilted, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and roughly chop. Set aside.

4. While oven is heating, prepare béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small skillet. When melted, add flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes, to cook out raw flour taste. Begin adding milk in small additions, whisking constantly. Add more milk if sauce is too thick. When milk is incorporated, add onion powder. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in wilted, cooked spinach. Set aside.

5. When the oven has preheated for 1 hour, turn the oven off and turn the broiler on.

6. Roll your pizza dough out into a very thin circle. Spread the béchamel sauce over the crust. Spread the remaining spinach and chopped artichoke hearts over the sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the crust. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the crust. 

7. Broil in preheated oven 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly, and crust is beginning to get toasty brown spots. Remove from oven, slice, and serve immediately!

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy.

Looking for other spinach and/or artichoke recipes? Try these!

Orecchiette with Spinach and Roasted Peppers

Spinach and Mushroom Frittata

Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta Salad

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

Happy Friday! It was a pretty fast week here at the homestead. The hubby had the week off, and as usual, the week went too fast. There was lots of being lazy, watching numerous movies, and eating bowl after bowl of popcorn. But, like always, the hubby had to go back to work. So off I go on my normal activities, which include making Loaded Baked Potato Soup and baking Nutella-Swirled Banana Bread. It's going to be a delicious day :)

Funny story- About 2 weeks ago, I was really craving pizza. However, if you've read my pizza dough recipe, you know it takes all day. I make it early in the morning because it cold rises in the fridge for +8 hours. That was the predicament- no dough. Not such a big deal in most areas, but I was soon to discover it was in mine. I do not do Pillsbury pizza crust, it's pretty gross. I'm really not into the prepared crusts like Boboli either. In Portland, I could pick up a ball of fresh dough at any grocery store. I usually picked them up at Safeway, but they sold dough at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's as well. On top of grocery stores, you could go into any pizza place and buy a ball of their fresh dough. It makes sense. If you aren't going to buy their pizza, at least they are selling you something in the dough. I always thought that was the point of a business- you give the customer what they want so they come back. Revolutionary, I tell you.

The point of all this. On this day, when I had no dough and all I wanted was to make a pizza (not buy a pizza from the numerous greasy chains around here), I called 10 or so pizza places to see if I could buy a ball of fresh dough. The first store I called, the woman on the phone acted like she'd never heard of anyone wanting to buy dough before. Then, without asking anyone, she said, "No, I don't think we would sell our dough." Fantastic. I was annoyed, but mildly. Until I called numerous other stores to be met with the same incredulousness that someone had the gall to want to buy dough. And then refused. Then I was super annoyed. I was not buying a pizza from any of these evil people, so I went with the Pillsbury. It was, as usual, so disappointing.

The moral of this story?

When I make pizza dough, I now make 2. And freeze one. And glare at these pizza places every time I drive by. Maturity at it's best, I tell you :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients:

1 onion, roughly chopped
8 oz mushrooms, quartered
1 zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 yellow squash, quartered and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
garlic powder, salt, pepper
Pizza Dough
1/2- 3/4 cup prepared pizza sauce
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Set aside
2. In a large bowl, combine chopped vegetables with olive oil. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread vegetables into a single layer on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and browned. Set aside.
3. Turn oven up to 550º, placing pizza stone on top rack. Preheat oven 1 hour. Remove pizza dough from fridge and allow to rest on counter while oven preheats.
4. Roll pizza dough into a round. Remove pizza stone from oven, place on holder. Turn oven off, and turn broiler on. Move pizza round to the stone (carefully, the stone is beyond hot!). Brush pizza sauce onto dough. Layer vegetables over pizza sauce, then layer with mozzarella.
5. Bake in oven 5-7 minutes, or until cheese and crust are starting to get blistery. Slice, and serve immediately.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita is one of my favorite pizzas. Simple, elegant, and oh-so tasty. There's no sauce and not many toppings, so the individual ingredients really shine. Everyone needs to try this pizza, it really shakes up the American ideal of "pizza". You know, greasy, cheese-ladden, smothered with toppings, and with thick, ropey crust. Instead, this pizza gets back to pizza's roots with simplicity (something I seem to be seeking out more and more these days).

Switching topics to something non-food related- I'm really upset by this water emergency in West Virginia (you can read up what's going on here). I should also mention I live about 40 miles west of the affected area, and about 65 miles from the actual leak site. Lets not even mention the damage done to the environment by having a toxic chemical dumped in the river and released into the air, but the fact that so many people have been affected. I had to run to Sam's yesterday (my area's Costco) and I couldn't believe the chaos. Families were pushing 3-4 carts loaded down with 20+ cases of water. The area where the water was located was worse. People were arguing over cases of water. When I was checking out, someone came to tell the cashier the store was out of water. Even today as I'm watching the news, the water ban in 9 counties in West Virginia remains indefinite. I felt spoiled yesterday as I used my water to make my pizza crust. Washed dishes in the sink. Took a long, hot shower. Americans take so much of their daily lives for granted.

All right, I'll hop off my soapbox and allow everyone to get back to their weekends. The hubby and I are having double-date night tonight with one of our couple friends, so I'm excited about today's potential. And... Zumba in a couple of hours!

Tonight's gonna be a good, good night ----> A little Black Eyed Peas reference for this lovely Saturday morning :)

Ingredients:

Basic pizza dough
1 garlic clove, halved
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 large plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/3 cup basil, thinly sliced
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Prepare pizza dough according to directions. Preheat oven according to directions.
2. Once your pizza dough has been rolled into the desired shape, take the cut side of the garlic half and run it over your pizza dough. Repeat with the other half. Brush 1/2 tbsp of olive oil onto dough. Place tomatoes on pizza in a single layer. Cover with cheese. Broil in the oven 3-7 minutes, or until crust and cheese is browned and blistered. Remove from oven.
3. Sprinkle basil over pizza. Combine remaining olive oil with balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk furiously to combine. Drizzle mixture over pizza. Cut pizza into 8 slices, and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Basic Pizza Dough

I've been on a mission for the last couple of months. I've been concentrating on homemade pizza. Pizza is one of my most favorite foods. I love all kinds. I've tried every alternative for dough- making fresh, buying fresh at local pizza joint, buying canned pizza dough, buying frozen pizzas, letting the dough rise in an area that's warm, letting it rise in a slightly warm oven, etc. I could go on, as you can see. I've tried it all. This is the best recipe I've found. It's all about the simple ingredients, and the technique.

I make mine first thing in the morning, that way it can rise slowly. All day. In the fridge. That's right, I go for a cold rise.  What can I say? I've had the best results. Another way I get the best results? It's not all about the rise. Oven temperature plays a huge role as well. And that oven needs to be HOT. Caliente! I heat mine (and my pizza stone) at 550º for 1 hour. Yep, 1 hour. Might I suggest not making pizza on a hundred degree day? I let my dough rest on the counter for an hour while the oven heats. After an hour, I turn the oven off, and the broiler on. Once the pizza has been piled high with ingredients, put it under the broiler for 5-7 minutes. That's it! The result is a thin, crispy crust with all those blistered pockets that restaurant pizzas have.

Pepperoni and Green Olive Pizza

That's a good looking pizza! I highly recommend that you try making your own pizza, it's so delicious. And way healthier than standard fare, since you can control the amount of processed and preserved food your family eats. It's really not as much work as it seems (of course, I recommend preparing your sauce beforehand, since that's where most of the time consuming work will come from!). Oh, and I don't have a stand mixer, so this recipe takes a little elbow grease. If you have a mixer, by all means use it and make this recipe super simple!

Ingredients (For 1 large pizza):

3/4 cup warm water (105-110º)
1 tsp sugar
1 package yeast
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
corn meal

Directions:

1. Combine warm water and sugar in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over sugar water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Yeast should be bubbly and active after 10 minutes. If it's not, your water was too hot and your yeast died, or your yeast was too old. Either way, do not move forward. You must start over at this point. Sorry peeps, yeast is a sensitive ingredient.
2. Add flour, salt, and olive oil to bowl. Stir until just combined. Sprinkle flour over your work surface, and dump dough onto your work space. Begin to knead the dough, kneading for 10-15 minutes. Dough will take on a different texture, and begin to move as one fluid piece. Dough will be slightly tacky.
3. Sprinkle flour on a plate. Place dough on plate. Sprinkle flour over dough, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in fridge, and allow to rise for 8 hours. Remove from fridge 1 hour before you will be preparing it (preheat oven and pizza stone to 550º while your dough is resting).
4. Sprinkle flour over your work surface. Turn the dough out. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough out to desired shape.
5. Turn oven off. Turn broiler on. Remove pizza stone from oven carefully, place on holding rack. Sprinkle corn meal on stone. Place your rolled out dough onto the pizza stone. Sprinkle a little corn meal on top of dough. Add sauce and desired ingredients to pizza. Place pizza stone back in the oven, broil 5-7 minutes, or until desired doneness.
6. Slice, and serve!

*Recipe courtesy of Confections of A Foodie Bride*

Pizza Sauce

Those tomatoes just keep on comin'! A couple of days ago, the hubby's uncle brought us 3-4 lbs of tomatoes. I'd just finished up with my previous 4 lbs, what the heck was I going to do with even more? Pizza sauce, I thought, pizza sauce. The hubby hates my go-to fast and easy sauce, Ragu. It was a much better plan to make my own sauce, freeze it in little portions, and just use those when I make pizza. So that's what I did.

I ended up getting 7 (1-cup) portions of pizza sauce, which I froze in food-saver bags and then tossed in the freezer. That's a lot of pizza. It's ok, we love pizza in this house. I usually make a couple a month. Plus, we'll be getting more tomatoes. I may be back in the kitchen, pureeing up more sauce before it's all said and done.

This sauce is super-easy to make, and tastes so fresh! I was very pleased with the sauce. I simmered mine on the stove for 2 hours to let all the flavors meld together, and the house smelled delish all day. I know it's so easy to buy pizza sauce at the store, or even order a take-out pizza, but at least when it's homemade you know what's in it. And then you know exactly what you are feeding your family :)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 lbs tomatoes, deseeded and diced
1 (15 oz) can tomato paste
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large, wide-side pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, or until toasted. Add tomatoes to pan, saute 5 minutes or so. Add tomato paste and chicken broth to the pan.
2. Add kosher salt through pepper to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover pan, and lower heat. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring every half 30 minutes.
3. Taking an immersion blender to the sauce, puree until sauce is very smooth. Remove pan from heat, and allow sauce to cool before storing. Makes about 7 (1-cup) portions. Can be store fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days, covered tightly.

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

There are times I wish I had a stand mixer. Making homemade pizza dough is one of those times. If you've ever made pizza dough from scratch, you know that it has to be properly kneaded. Many a pizza dough of mine has not risen due to poor working of the dough.

Sometimes I buy the Pillsbury pizza dough (you know, the one in a can?), but other times I just flat-out refuse to pay $4 a can of pizza dough. Why pay that much when I can make one for pennies? Plus, homemade dough lacks the sodium and preservatives you find in the Pillsbury variety. Yes, please!

Thankfully, the dough released its magic glutens last night. I'm always relieved when I check the dough after an hour to see it has risen. Throw in some barbecue sauce,  leftover pulled pork, mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkle of cilantro, and you have a happy hubby when he walks through the door.

Sure, you buy a pre-made pizza crust or have a pizza delivered.  But I truly believe working with yeast is a good skill to have under your belt. You never know when you are gonna need to make bread. Or in this case, pizza dough.

Ingredients:

Basic Pizza Crust (From Cooking Light)
2 tbsp barbecue sauce
2 cups Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare pizza crust according to directions.
2. Preheat oven to 500º (I use a pizza stone, so I let the pizza stone heat for 30 minutes before use).
3. Roll the pizza dough into a 12" circle. Spread barbecue sauce onto dough. Spread pulled pork on top of the barbecue sauce. Top the pulled pork with the mozzarella.
4. Bake pizza in the oven 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and brown.
5. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cilantro, and let sit 5 minutes before slicing. Slice into 8 pieces, and serve immediately.

Currently

Flowers I chose to put in the entryway. Major spring fever over here!

Stealing a page from Jenna over at Eat, Live, Run with this post!

I'm currently...

Watching... A "Sex and The City" marathon. Whaaaat? It's Sunday, the hubby's working, and I ate too much pizza last night. Everybody needs a lazy Sunday once in awhile!

Eating... Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes, and Cilantro, tweaked minimally from this recipe over at SkinnyTaste. I don't usually cook with coconut milk, but this recipe peaked my interest when I saw it. Post on the recipe soon to follow!

Planning... My couponing haul for tomorrow, along with next week's meal plan. Meals next week include Spicy Bean and Rice Burritos, Chicken with Mushrooms and Asparagus, Asian Glazed Drumsticks, Pasta Fagoli, and more. Hmmm, getting hungry again...

Reading... Catching Fire. All right, so I'm a wee bit behind the times. Lately, it seems like I have so much other stuff to do that I don't find time for reading. I really need to work on that.

Inspired by... Pinterest. I've gotten so many ideas from Pinterest, from food to decorating ideas, fashion to makeup, cute animals to the latest manicure colors. I'm fully planning on wasting some time skulking around the site today.

Excited for... My family is coming to visit! My parents will be here in 9 days, and my aunt will be here in 10 days! I'm so excited for some great food, amazing cocktails, and (what I'm sure to be) abundant laughs.

-Headed to the great outdoors now. It's a beautiful, sunny, 72 degree day here in Kentucky, which means the dogs are constantly sitting by the door, trying to escape. Oh, fur-babies :)

Wednesday- By The Numbers

50- minutes of cardio I've done today
100- amount of crunches done today
25- reps of lunges, squats, and jumping jacks done 3 times today
60- seconds of planks done today
6- lbs I've lost since I started detox
94- the high temperature for the day
82- % the humidity is supposed to be today
21- days since we signed our construction loan with no construction having started on our home (argh!!!)
40- days we have been staying with the hubby's aunt and uncle with no construction having started on the home (double argh!!!)
3- business days after signing our construction loan that construction was supposed to start
2- cups of coffee I've had today
11- new beauty products I've tried this month
7- number of those products I would buy again
5- amount of times the dogs have gone to sit by the door to go outside
45- amount of minutes I will spend vacuuming up dog hair today
7- hours spent slow cooking a pork shoulder yesterday
20- minutes it will take to bake a pizza with yesterday's leftover pork shoulder
1- amount of days until I get my hair done!
0- amount of patience I have left with the home construction situation

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday! Once again, hoping today is that special day that construction starts. Sheesh, I'm breaking out not 1, but 2 bottles of champagne the day that someone actually shows up!

Sausage, Pepper, and Mushroom Pizza

Takeout? We don't need no stinkin' takeout!

I wanted to be bad yesterday. I was craving pizza. Rather than ordering out to Papa John's or getting some local Giovanni's, I remembered I had made an extra pizza dough and tossed it in the freezer a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday was the day to pull it out and use it.

I love making my own pizza because not only does it taste fresh, but it's not dripping in grease a la most takeout pizzas. Plus, I think the hubby always gets excited when he walks in the door and smells pizza cooking. What husband wouldn't?

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough
Smidge of olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces hot sausage
1 red pepper, thinly sliced (Again, I used a green pepper- not paying $2 for one pepper!)
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pizza sauce (I use Ragu- cheap, fast, effective)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
Thinly sliced fresh basil- for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (if using a pizza stone, heat pizza stone in oven for 30 minutes at 450 degrees).
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat (use just enough to cook your onions because you will be adding sausage to the skillet later which will provide plenty of traction for your saute).
3. Add onions, saute 3-4 minutes. Add sausage to pan, stir to crumble. Cook until sausage is browned and cooked through.
4. Add red pepper, mushrooms, and garlic to pan. Cook until tender, another 3-4 minutes. Set mixture aside.
5. On a floured cutting board, roll out your pizza dough into a 10-inch circle. Spread pizza sauce onto dough. Spread the sausage mixture over the dough. Top pizza with cheese.
6. Cook in oven until dough is golden brown and cheese is melted, 8-12 minutes.
7. Garnish pizza with thinly sliced basil (we really like fresh basil in our house! Use more or less for your taste).

Your takeout dinner at home is served!

I rounded out the meal with a nice Italian salad.

By the end of the night, I had a well-fed, happy hubby as well as leftover pizza for the hubby's lunch, so he didn't have to take a boring, plain ol' turkey sandwich for lunch. Pizza night was a success!

Best in the Tri State? Epic Fail!

I hold no illusions about the area in which I live. As a serious foodie, this area of the country is a little bit of a joke when it comes to fresh and delicious food. Ashland is chock full of the chain restaurants that serve frozen food. This is ok, but every now and then I want something amazing! Hard to find here. Well, last week I got a mini-magazine in the mail titled "Best in the Tri-State". I was skeptical but couldn't resist taking a look.

The first section of this magazine were the "winners" for restaurants in the area. I am not joking, but McDonald's was actually voted "Best Breakfast" in one county. Really?!? I should send that one in to SNL for Seth Myer's "Really?!?!" series.

Sorry, Kentucky. Photographic evidence does not lie.

The next item I was appalled by? Well, I mean other than having a buffet category! The chicken category. And who was #1 in 3 counties? KFC. Ewwww.

That Katie's Corner in Boyd county? Not a chain or fast food joint! Go Boyd County!

One more item before I throw this piece of trash out with exasperation. The pizza category. I will just post the picture and you can decide what's wrong with it :)

If Little Caesar's has the best pizza, it is indeed a sad, sad world we live in.

There you have it fellow foodies. I am sure this list does NOT inspire you to come visit the Tri-State area looking for fantastic food. I guess I will have to open my own restaurant to show people how good FRESH food tastes!