One of the Many things I love about being on Maternity Leave

I love to cook. I love to make up my own recipes for things too. Well, not really recipes because I hardly ever really measure unless I'm baking. This week, I had two very successful dinner inventions that I'd like to share with you. Keep in mind that these are all approximate measurements, so feel free to adjust!

Monday Night
Balsamic Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms and Arugula
Ingredients
1 store bought pizza dough ball, prepared per package directions
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks and marinated in Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 medium onion, cut in half, then sliced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
8oz Provolone cheese
Baby arugula to top with
Olive Oil for sauteing
Salt & Pepper


Marinate the chicken in a Balsamic Vinaigrette. I made my own by combining Balsamic Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt & pepper. While that marinates, put the slices of onion in a small saucepan on a low flame with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Stir regularly, and cook until soft and golden in color. Mine took almost half an hour. 
Roll out the dough and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. I docked it with a fork, brushed it with Extra Virgin olive oil, and sprinkled the top with salt. In a skillet, saute the marinated chicken until just cooked so it doesn't dry out when you bake the whole thing. In the same skillet, saute your mushroom slices until browned. Add the minced garlic, and saute until the garlic is done. 
Layer the pizza crust with the onions, mushrooms and chicken, top with the cheese and bake until the cheese is melted to your liking. 
Slice and serve topped with a few arugula leaves on top.


Tuesday Night:
Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Veggies in a Roasted Garlic and Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce
2 quarts Cherry, Grape or other little Tomatoes, halved
8 cloves of garlic (more or less, according to your tastes)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 300, and combine the ingredients together. Spread out on a cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment so they don't stick) and slowly roast until garlic is tender, about 30 minutes. Puree in a blender or food processor, leaving it slightly chunky.
For the Sausage and Veggies (and Pasta)
1 lb Italian Chicken Sausage (or any sausage you prefer)
1 large zucchini
1 medium onion
1lb mushrooms
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 lb cooked and drained pasta
In a large skillet, crumble and cook the sausage until browned. Remove from the pan, and add the veggies. Saute until tender with some browning on the zucchini and mushrooms. Add the sauce, and sausage. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes for the flavors to combine. Add the basil, and serve over pasta.

So with all this creativity going into my dinners, and a bunch of arugula sitting in the fridge, I decided to amp up my lunch today.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese?

Fancy Schmancy Grilled Cheese
Whole wheat bread
Butter
Ham - sliced
Cheese (I used provolone)
Arugula
Honey or Maple Mustard (that's the sauce on the plate with the spoon)


I melt some butter in a frying pan, then assemble the cheese and ham on the bread and drop it in (bread side down, of course) and let the bread start to get crisp. I covered it with a lid to let the cheese melt too. Once the ham was heated through and the cheese was nice and melty, I piled a bit of arugula on one side and flipped the other up on top of it. Then I took a piece of foil and put it over the sandwich, and took a pot with handles and used it to press the sandwich. I flipped it over and did the same on the other side, so it came out nice and crispy. Then I took it out, cut it, and dipped it in the mustard (I used Maple Mustard) and it was so yummy!

I hope if you try any of these "recipes", that you'll write a comment to let me know how it turned out for you, and what you did differently that worked.

Thanks for reading!