Pizza roll-ups

Pizza roll-ups. Why didn't I think of this before?? That's what my husband and I both said after eating one and that's what you will say when you try this. I made one the other day as a quick side to go with a soup for lunch (potato leek with lentils) and they are already a favourite. The quality of ingredients go a long way, a dry-cured salami and good cheese make this so much more than folded up Greco.
No offence Greco.
I imagine you could add more ingredients to this recipe, like mushrooms or peppers or any other favourite topping, but it would probably be harder to eat and you'd likely lose more ingredients out the back end of the roll. Messy. But hey it's pizza - feel free to play around and mess up!

Pizza Roll-ups

Ingredients:
Makes 2
2 whole wheat tortilla wraps
4 tbsp prepared tomato sauce
A few ounces of dry-cured salami
Grated cheese to taste

 We get our salami at Costco and it is head and shoulders above any sliced stuff I've tried. It reminds me of the French "saucisson", which I've never found here in SJ. The emmental pictured here is worth trying, but cheddar or mozzarella work too.

Directions:

Lay out two wraps and spread 2 tbsp of sauce on each. You don't want too much or else you roll will slip around and drip as you try to eat it.

Next, slice up the salami and cut into small chunks. Doesn't this stuff look good??

Sprinkle evenly on your sauced-up tortillas. This is where I could picture adding more ingredients...

Grate your cheese and spread it out evenly.

This next step is not pictured but I'm sure you can handle it. Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and then slide under the broiler for just 1 or 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Keep a close eye, that broiler is a hot sucker!

Then take them out and slide onto the counter for rolling. Roll them like... well like you would roll anything. Eat them while standing at the counter because they're just so good. Alternatively you can sit down and have them with another side dish such as salad or soup. Enjoy!

My husband loved this so much he tried coming up with exciting names like Pizza Bomb, but I thought that sounded too messy.

You can also slice the pizza roll-up into inch-thick rounds. We call this one Pizzushi. 

Everything salad

This is one of my favourite go-to lunches. It's big, it's beautiful and as delicious as it is filling. I make it with whatever I have in the fridge, everything but the kitchen sink, as they say, so it ends up being different every time. Throw together some greens, veggies, a protein, herbs and dress this baby up in your favourite salad dressing and dig in! I try to include some kind of protein or else I end up feeling hungry no matter how many lovely veggies are in it. You can pick and choose the ingredients you want and make a new version any day based on what is in your fridge. The beauty of this salad is that it's hard to go wrong and it's so quick! Fresh herbs aren't always easy to find but the amazing flavour makes them well worth another trip around the produce section.

Today's salad featured spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles, feta, chickpeas and parsley with my balsamic vinaigrette. So good.

*Note* To all you moms out there, for Sophie I slice up extra veggies and cheese, add some toast or wrap to make a nice picnic lunch. No need to make a separate meal!

Everything Salad

Ingredients: (choose one of each of the following categories for a nicely balanced salad)

I've included approximate quantities for one large portion of salad - multiply accordingly!

Greens - 2 handfuls

Any lettuce torn up, baby greens or baby spinach

Veggies - 1 to 1 1/12 cup 

Any combination of the following

- tomatoes

- cucumbers

- peppers

- pickles

- mushrooms

- grated carrot

- grated zucchini

Protein - 1/4 to 1/2 cup  

Choose one or combine two (bacon and eggs! hehe)

- chicken

- bacon
- tuna

- chickpeas

- hardboiled eggs

- feta
- quinoa
- nuts (walnuts, peanuts, almonds)
- seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)

Herbs - 2 tbsp

Optional for when you can find them

- basil

- parsley

- mint

- oregano

Vinaigrette - 2 tbsp

Use storebought or make your own

Bailey's Pots de Crème

It's the dessert you've all been waiting for. It is the most creamily decadent chocolate dessert to ever grace your taste buds, and it is mind-numbingly easy. You make it in a blender for goodness' sake. I first heard of this type of dessert over at Pioneer Woman, and have made it dozens of times with success each time. I make it often enough that I have memorized the recipe. It's that good. If we have last-minute guests coming over, I throw this in the blender, pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours and voilà, a dessert worthy of the fanciest tables in the fanciest restaurants in, like, Paris or something. I've adapted Pioneer Woman's recipe a bit, substituted hot chocolate for the hot coffee and settled on Bailey's as my liqueur of choice. Honey whiskey is a flavour well worth trying though. 

Bailey's Pots de Crème

Ingredients:

Makes 4 generous portions, and doubles easily if you have a crowd coming over.

3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

1/2 tbsp Bailey's liqueur

pinch of salt

1/2 cup boiling water

1 heaping tbsp hot chocolate powder

Directions: 

Start your kettle boiling to have the water ready for a few minutes from now. Throw the chocolate chips, eggs, Bailey's and salt into the blender and blend well. 

Blend it real well. 

Mix together the hot chocolate powder with the just-boiled water. You want it to be really hot! When the mixture in the blender is as smooth as it will go, while it's still blending take the little round thing out of the top of the blender and slowly pour in the super hot chocolate.

The mixture will emulsify, slightly cooking the egg and giving the chocolate an amazingly smooth texture much like ganache. It's essentially chocolate mousse without the whipped cream. Delicious

Pour individual portions in ramekins or any other dish of your choice (check out Pioneer Woman, linked above, she had some good ideas). Sometimes I just pour it into a big dish for scooping or dipping things into. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours until firm, then serve with whipped cream.

My husband wanted me to take this picture and give it this caption - "This is what your bowl will look like 8 seconds after take your first bite."

For an even more decadent dessert (because that's what we all want) take those mini cream puffs from Costco and top with the chocolate stuff and whipped cream if you like. I think this may just be my favourite dessert of all time. I kid you not.

Oh good Lord. This honestly tastes like Heaven. Easiest make-ahead dessert you will ever make, and everyone will ask you for the recipe. :)