Heart-Shaped Pizza and The Meal Plan

Happy Valentine's Day!

We always spend the evening of Valentine's Day at home as a family. Usually I make a "fancy" dinner and we set the table with the crystal and china. We decorate the dining room. Sometimes we dress up. We have our own little kid-friendly, formal Valentine's dinner. I love this tradition...the loves of my life gathered around the table, celebrating our love for one another. It makes me happy.

But this particular Valentine's Monday happens to kick-off an extra-ordinarily busy week for our little family. Pure craziness this week, I'm tellin' ya!  And so, the other day, when I asked my 6 year old what she thought we should make for Valentine's dinner and she answered, "Heart Pizzas!" I could've kissed her. In fact, I did. Definitely do-able. Definitely a quick dinner. But still festive...I like the way she thinks!

Here's how I made the heart-shaped pizza:

First, I lightly sprinkled my Pampered Chef pastry mat with cornmeal. Then, I popped open a tube of refrigerated pizza dough and un-rolled it on the mat.

Next, I rolled out the dough to between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into a heart shape.

Brush a pizza pan with oil and transfer the dough.

Now, top the pizza. Tonight the kiddos voted for plain cheese. Perfect! No chopping involved!

Twist the leftover dough into breadsticks. Brush with garlic butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Bake the pizza according to the dough package directions. Put the breadsticks in there too. The breadsticks turned out really nice! I think that these went into the 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. I can't be sure.  I forgot to take notes this time.

The heart-shaped pizza was a hit! Nothing fancy this year, we ate the pizza on paper plates. No one complained...least of all, me (aka The Dishwasher).

I did have to do something a little "fancy" for the occasion. A Valentine's treat for my family.... Check out this decadent Nutella Torte that we ate for dessert!

When things slow down around here, I promise to post the step-by-step and recipe for this spectacular cake! It was loaded with chocolate-hazelnut goodness!

It was a good Valentine's night!
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Now for the belated, abbreviated meal plan. You may notice that I'm on a chicken kick this week. You can cook all of the chicken at once and use it for meals throughout the week!

Monday February 14th

Heart Pizza
Nutella Torte

Tuesday February 15th

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

Wednesday February 16th

Chicken Tortellini Salad

Thursday February 17th

Leftovers

Friday February 18th

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

Saturday February 19th

Dinner Out with Friends

Sunday February 20th

Leftovers again? Takeout? Not sure yet....
(The kiddos will be at their grandparent's overnight!)

Grocery List

Produce

Spinach
Mushrooms
Garlic
Pecans
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper
Celery
Red Onion
Onion
Jalapeno Pepper
Grape Tomatoes
Cilantro

Dairy

Sour (light) cream
Grated Parmesan
Shredded Cheddar
10 oz. fresh tortellini
Refrigerated pizza crust
8 oz. Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Meat

6 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Canned Goods

1 can cream of mushroom soup
Cider vinegar
Honey
Dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
Green Taco Sauce

Dry Goods

Lasagna noodles
Parsley
Dry Mustard
Basil


I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and have an equally wonderful week!

A Winner!

As of 12:03 am EST, I implored Random.org's Integer Generator to select the winner for the fabulous Duck Prize Pack.

And we have a winner!

DRUMROLL.......

Congratulations to Ty'sMommy!

I would have been happy to share this gift with anyone, but I'm especially excited for Beth, who just happens to be the author of a cooking blog that I love, "The Seventh Level of Boredom" ! Beth, you can finally sample duck without having to pick out the buckshot! Yay! Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Maple Leaf Farms Duck Giveaway. If you're still just dying to get your hands on that cookbook, there's still a chance!  You only need to purchase 5 items from the MLF online shopping site and they'll throw in the cookbook for free! It's a win-win!

Baked Sweet Onion Shells with Cheesy Spinach Filling

These individual savory onion bowls would be great for a starter or a side. I love how the delicious cream cheese and spinach filling is encased in it's very own edible shell. These would be the perfect accompaniment to the main course for your Valentine's Day dinner!

Let's begin with the filling:

Beat a block of cream cheese and an egg until smooth.

Add in some soft bread crumbs(I made my crumbs from stale Hawaiian bread this time. It added a nice, subtle sweetness), Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, milk, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.

Stir in a package of thawed, well drained (I squeezed mine to remove the excess moisture after draining), chopped spinach.

Grab a large, flat sweet onion. I used a Vidalia.

Peel away the paper and cut in half from top to bottom.

Separate the onion into layers and arrange in a rectangular casserole dish prepared with non-stick cooking spray.

Spoon the filling into each onion "bowl".

Then top with more bread crumbs and grated Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until the onions are soft and the filling is slightly browned or bubbly. Mine went for 40-45 minutes and then I finished them off under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get that nice, golden brown color on top.

The onions were soft enough to be enjoyable, but firm enough to hold their shape. I could have picked them up to eat them, although that would have been messy. I went with the fork and knife method instead. So good! Since I was testing and tweaking this recipe and not serving it to a crowd, this was my dinner tonight. I stopped myself at three...but I was seriously considering a fourth! 

Baked Sweet Onion Shells with Cheesy Spinach Filling

I really need to come up with a shorter name for this recipe. Any suggestions?

1 (10 oz.) package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
8 oz. light cream cheese
1 egg
1 cup soft bread crumbs (not the stuff from a can), divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large, flat sweet onion such as a Vidalia

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze excess moisture out of spinach.

Beat cream cheese and egg until smooth. Add in 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parmesan, mayonnaise, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well. Stir in spinach.

Peel onion and cut in half from top to bottom. Separate layers to form shell. Place in a baking dish. Divide spinach mixture evenly among the shells. Top with remaining bread crumbs and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the onions are soft and the filling is set. Finish under the broiler for color.

Taste tip: This would also be good with some chopped artichoke stirred into the filling before baking.

Serves: 4-6

Enjoy!

Oh, before you go....don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms.  Go to my last post to ENTER!  Just 2 days left....

Duck Fajitas and A GIVEAWAY!

Duck Fajitas! We actually prefer them to beef fajitas in this household. The meat is so tender and flavorful, yet leaner and lower in calories. These duck fajitas made for an easy, delicious weeknight dinner.

To begin, I just sliced some boneless, skinless Maple Leaf Farms duck breast filets into 1/2 inch strips. Then I tossed the meat with garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add the duck strips and stir-fry until barely pink in the center. Remove duck from the skillet and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the same skillet and add peppers and onions. Stir-fry until tender.

Return the duck to the skillet and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

I assembled a build-your-own fajita bar on my kitchen counter with cilantro, lettuce, chopped avocado, cheese, salsa, and sour cream for topping.

And that's dinner. So good!

Duck Fajitas from Maple Leaf Farms Meals to Remember cookbook

4 (6 oz) Maple Leaf Farms boneless, skinless duck breast filets
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 each red, yellow, and green bell pepper, cut into long strips
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed according to package directions
Optional toppings: salsa, sour cream, diced avocado, chopped cilantro

Cut duck crosswise into 1/2 inch thin strips; place in a medium bowl. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper; mix well.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add duck strips; stir fry until barely pink in the center, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

Heat remaining oil in the same skillet; add peppers and onion; stir-fry until tender, about 5 minutes. Return duck with any accumulated juices to skillet. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Serve in tortillas with toppings as desired.
Makes 6 servings
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And now for THE GIVEAWAY!!!!

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Maple Leaf Farms duck. You just have to read THESE POSTS  on my blog to know how much I love their products.

Some of you have commented on past posts that you also enjoy duck and some of you have written that you'd really like to try it. Well, for my fellow duck enthusiasts and for those of you who are just itching to try, this contest is for you!

The good folks at Maple Leaf Farms are sponsoring a GIVEAWAY here on Krista's Kitchen!

The prize pack includes:

4 Boneless, Skinless Duck Breast Filets

The Appetizer Sampler Pack featuring 5 pieces of each: Duck and Black Bean Quesadillas, Duck Springrolls, and Duck Potstickers. I have tried all three and loved them all! Delicious!

And finally, a copy of Maple Leaf Farms 25th Anniversary special edition cookbook Meals to Remember: A Celebration of Duck. This thematic, hard-bound cookbook valued at $35 features colorful pictures of mouth-watering appetizers, sides, salads, main dishes, AND desserts!

This is some serious duck swag!

To Enter:

Go to to the Maple Leaf Farms RECIPE PAGE and click the RECIPE pull-down in the bar at the top of the page. View the recipes; choosing from categories such as appetizers, entrees, soups, salads, (and more!) then come back here and leave a comment on this post stating which duck recipe you would most like to try.

For Additional Entries:

1. Become a fan of Maple Leaf Farms on Facebook.(1 bonus entry)

2. Follow this blog, Krista's Kitchen. (1 bonus entry)

3. Follow Maple Leaf Farms on Twitter, then comment here. (1 bonus entry)

4. Post about this contest on your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter and comment back here. (1 bonus entry for each post- limit 3)

The Rules:

* Giveaway closes on Sunday, February 13th at midnight EST.

* Open to residents of the United States only, please.

* You must leave an email address in your comment, be linked to a public profile containing your email address, or provide some way for me to contact you, in case you win. If you don't want to post your email here, you can email it to krista@kristaskitchen.com

* The winner will be announced in this post and notified by email and will have 48 hours from the time of that email to reply and claim their win before an alternate winner will be selected.

Good Luck!

This Contest is NOW CLOSED! Thank you for entering.

Stewed Garlicky Sausage and Peppers

I had a pot of this Stewed Garlicky Sausage and Peppers simmering to perfection on my countertop all afternoon before the Super Bowl yesterday. Taken from my autographed copy of The Deen Family Cookbook, this recipe is sure to please!

This one is great for a crowd or perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. To start, just chop red and green bell peppers, onions, and mix with 4 cloves of minced garlic.

Then take out 1-3/4 lbs of Italian sausage (or more if you're expecting company).

Cut the sausage up and brown in a large skillet, then stir in red pepper flakes and oregano.

Add in tomato paste and stir to combine, followed by a can of diced tomatoes and some dry white wine.

Arrange half of the onion-pepper-garlic mixture in a crockpot.

Top with the sausage mixture.

Then pour the rest of the onions and peppers over the top.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 2 hours.

You can serve this as a stew with crusty bread for dipping OR do what I did and make it a sandwich. This was pretty amazing topped with a slice of provolone!

Stewed Garlicky Sausage and Peppers from The Deen Family Cookbook

2 large onions, chopped
2 large green bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
4 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 lbs sweet or hot Italian sausage, cut into chunks
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 tsp salt

Toss vegetables and garlic in a bowl. Heat oil in a skillet and add sausages and brown them, turning occasionally. Stir in seasonings and cook for 30 minutes more. Stir in paste and cook another minute. Add diced tomatoes with their juices, wine and salt; simmer for 2 minutes.

Arrange half the onion and pepper mixture in the bottom of the crock pot. Cover with half the sausage mixture. Repeat layers and cover. Cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours. Serves 4.