HULA PIZZA

so there are a few great debates when it comes to cooking...and one of them is definitely about cilantro. people either like it or hate it with a burning passion. i personally am a fan of it so if you are not this might not be the recipe for you...but then again i guess you can just leave that part off. so anyway, i got this recipe out of a "biggest loser" cookbook. i know it doesn't look like a lot of cheese but it's actually really filling!

each pizza consists of:

whole wheat flour tortilla
2 tbsp. barbecue sauce
3 tbsp. goat cheese crumbles
2-3 tbsp. drained, canned pineapple, chopped into bite sized pieces
1-2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro

preheat the oven to 400.

place tortilla on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for about 2 minutes per side. If air bubbles form flatten them down with a spatula to let the air out.

remove from oven and top with all ingredients. bake 3-5 minutes longer.

that's it! :)

TOMATO-BASIL BITES

this dish consists of three of my favorite things....tomatoes...cheese...and basil. it can do no wrong. it takes a little bit of prep work but it's worth it!

1 pkg cherry tomatoes
fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
6-8 basil leaves, julienned

cut a bit off of the top of each tomato and squeeze out the seeds and juice (i save this all in a separate bowl and use it later mixed in with pasta sauce). as well as taking the top off of each tomato, cut a little sliver off the bottom as well so each tomato will sit upright on a plate. Once each tomato is hollowed out, fill with a small cube of cheese.

Drizzle oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and top with basil.

the end :)

CROWN JEWEL CHICKEN PITA SANDWICHES

when i saw the recipe for this i thought "this will either be really good or really gross"....luckily for me it was the former :) the original recipe calls for raisins which i didn't add and it uses mango chutney instead of the peaches...you are welcome to do whatever you want. also, instead of mayonnaise i use a product called "nayonaise." as you can probably deduce....it is like mayonnaise but vegan. it is really good and i recommend trying it! i buy it at kroger but i'm sure it can be found in other places too :)

1 pkg veggie chicken (i prefer quorn or morningstar brand), cooked, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 green apple, seeded, diced
2 tbsp. mayonnaise (or in my case nayonaise)
1 can of peaches in light syrup (you will use some of the peaches as well as some of the syrup)
2 tbsp curry powder
pita bread

cook the chicken in olive oil according to package directions. When chicken is almost done cooking, add about 1-2 tbsp of the syrup from the can of peaches and cook another minute, mixing to combine.

In a separate bowl add the apple, salt, pepper, mayo, curry powder, diced chicken, and about 2 tbsp. of peaches from the can, diced. Mix this all together until everything is coated in the sauce and put into the pita bread.

that's it! it's really good and really easy!

SPICY ARABIAN BUTTERNUT SOUP

2 medium butternut squash
2 large onions, chopped
1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 can coconut milk
1 heaped tsp. turmeric
1 heaped tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
few dried chili flakes
1 heaped tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. kosher salt

peel the butternuts, dice them, and boil them until they are soft. Then, pour out about half of the water you used.

peel and dice onions and saute in a separate pan until browned. add spices and a little water to deglaze pan. mix, add coconut milk, and let simmer a little.

add this mixture to pot of squash and blend it, adding water if it's too thick, until you reach a consistency you like. add chili flakes.

serve with bread or croutons.

MINESTRONE SOUP

just wanted to mention before you start this that this recipe makes a LOT of soup so make sure to use a HUGE pot!

1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 c. shredded green cabbage
5 c. vegetable stock
1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp. italian seasoning
2 zucchini, diced
1-15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 lb. small shell pasta
1-10 oz. pkg frozen green beans
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent. Add cabbage and cook for 1 minute.

Add vegetable stock, tomatoes, parsley, and italian seasoning and bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Add the zucchini, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

While soup simmers, bring a separate pot of water to boil and cook the past until al dente, drain, and set aside. ( I like to kill two birds with one stone so once the pasta has cooked for a few minutes, I throw the green beans in there to cook with the pasta until both are done).

Add pasta and green beans to the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 3 minutes.

serve hot.

SALAD SHIRAZI

so i was thinking about it....and i haven't put any persian dishes up here yet! haha. tisk tisk. so anyway, this is my favorite salad ever and i usually hate raw onions! if you do too i would advise trying it anyway because surprisingly it is awesome. In the picture above I used a yellow onion but my favorite kind to use with this salad is actually a red onion. Any kind will work though..you can even use green onions. ok...anyway...back to the recipe:

2 cucumbers, diced
5 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 to 1/2 red onion, diced (just depends on how much onion you want in there...if it was my dad he would probably stick 2 in there! lol)
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 tbsp. dried mint leaves

chop, combine, mix...done!