Pizza On A Bun!

Last night I decided to use up some food from our stockpile and decided to make mini pizza's on the leftover hamburger buns we had from grilling out Sunday night. We had some mild Italian sausage, pizza marinara, pepperoni's, etc. so I put it all together and VIOLA! we have mini pizzas on hamburger buns! You can use whatever your favorite ingredients are but here is what we did and it was DELIGHTFUL!

Pizza On A Bun

2-3 hamburger buns (cut in half so you will have 4-6 mini pizza's)

2 links mild Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup green bell pepper, cut into small strips

pepperoni

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2-1 cup Ragu Pizza Sauce

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Take a baking sheet and spray lightly with oil. Then place the bun halves on baking sheet with the white side up. Next take a medium skillet coat with cooking spray or olive oil then heat to medium-high. place sausage (casings removed) in skillet and cook until through. (I use a flat spatula to break up the sausage like you would when you do ground beef.) Drain the sausage after cooked and put to the side. Using the same skillet on medium heat saute the onions and bell pepper. Saute until the onion is clear and the peppers are soft, (I also added minced garlic here, oregano, basil, & Italian seasoning) then put aside. Now take a spoon and spoon out the pizza sauce on the buns. You can use as much as you like. Then place the sausage on the buns, following the peppers and onions. Then add your cheese and pepperoni. After you are done putting on your toppings place in the oven for 10 minutes or until buns are your desired crispiness.

Enjoy!!

Italian Meatball Burgers and Macaroni Salad

These were really good! They did not take very long either which is always a plus! I served it with a Macaroni Salad but you could also serve it with roasted red potatoes as well. ENJOY!!!

Makes 6 servings, 1 burger is serving size

Ingredients
8 ounces sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed, I did
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground sirloin
Cooking spray
2 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
6 (2-ounce) Italian bread rolls, split, I could not find these so I just used original dinner rolls cut in half from Publix & they were GREAT!
3/4 cup fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce, I found a light version by Ragu

Directions
Prepare grill.

Remove casings from sausage. Combine sausage, oregano, basil, salt, fennel seeds, garlic powder, and ground sirloin. Divide beef mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes. Turn patties over; grill 2 minutes. Divide fresh mozzarella cheese evenly over patties, and grill an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with 2 tablespoons sauce and top half of roll.

Nutritional Information
Calories:375 (33% from fat)
Fat:13.9g (sat 5.3g,mono 4.4g,poly 1.7g)
Protein:28.1g
Carbohydrate:32.7g
Fiber:1.8g
Cholesterol:80mg
Iron:4.5mg
Sodium:894mg
Calcium:130mg

-Compliments of Cooking Light


Macaroni Salad with Bacon, Peas, & Creamy Dijon Dressing

I made this the night before we ate it and I definitely recomment doing that. I always love a pasta salad that has sat in the refridgerator the night before better because it has time to sit and mix all the ingredients better. I really enjoyed this pasta salad and so did my mother and grandmother (Meme). Justin did not enjoy it because he does not like "cold things for dinner" or any pasta salad really. :) But, if you are looking for a great summer pasta salad this is my recommendation!

Makes 8 servings, 1 cup of pasta salad and 1 teaspoon of bacon

Ingredients
Dressing:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise, I used the new olive oil mayo by kraft
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Salad:
8 ounces uncooked large elbow macaroni, I used reg size because I could not find lg
2/3 cup fresh green peas
2/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper
2/3 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 lower-sodium bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Directions
To prepare dressing, combine first 9 ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Cover and chill.

To prepare salad, cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; add peas during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain. Combine pasta mixture, bell pepper, and next 4 ingredients (through rind) in a large bowl. Toss pasta mixture with half of dressing. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Toss salad with remaining dressing, and sprinkle with crumbled bacon; serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:208 (30% from fat)
Fat:7g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.2g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:8.6g
Carbohydrate:29.1g
Fiber:2.3g
Cholesterol:16mg
Iron:1.5mg
Sodium:454mg
Calcium:44mg

-Compliments of Cooking Light

Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Pizza

This delicous recipe was our Monday night dinner. Thanks to Justin he got this cooked for us! So all the credit goes to him! They turned out great! I brought my left overs for lunch and I can not wait to eat it! He said it was very easy and did not take him long at all . Serve with a small mixed green salad. Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings (1 piece each)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 cup green bell pepper strips
2 (4-ounce) links turkey Italian sausage, I only had pork Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) loaf French bread, cut in half horizontally
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion and green bell pepper strips, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender.

Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan, and cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Add crushed red pepper and diced tomatoes, and cook 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Spread sausage mixture evenly over cut sides of bread, and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place bread halves on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut each pizza in half.

Nutritional Information
Calories:375 (29% from fat)
Fat:12g (sat 5.1g,mono 4.2g,poly 2.2g)
Protein:24.6g
Carbohydrate:42g
Fiber:4.9g
Cholesterol:63mg
Iron:2.7mg
Sodium:967mg
Calcium:280mg

-Compliments of Cooking Light, www.myrecipes.com

Rachel's Special Occasion Lasagna

I finally made, for my first time by the way, a homemade lasagna. I love lasagna, even though Justin isn't bonkers over it, and have been wanting to make it for a while. I first found out about homemade lasagna in high school when over it a good friends house. Her mom cooked all there meals from scratch and made this for us one night and I could not believe it. My family had always just cooked the Stoufer's frozen version, which I love also. So I asked her all about it and thought I could do that. So after all this time I finally did it! I thought it turned out great and Justin said it was good, but I had to ask him! He is not a fan of ricotta cheese, which he would ahve never known was in here, but he asked and I told him the truth. So he had his nose turned up before it was on his plate! I split the recipe in two and made then in two seperate smaller baking dishes. We still had left overs in just our dish and Justin went back for seconds. I took the other one to our friends house because they had just returned from there honeymoon and I knew they wouldn't want to cook. We ate a small side salad with ours. If you are looking for a simple healthy salad recipe that is always good with any Italian dish then buy mixed greens ( I use organic), grape tomatoes, croutons, parmesan, and balsamic vinaigrette. Follow the serving size for the dressing and with balsamic you will get plenty of flavor in just that small serving size. Just sprinkle a little bit of parmesan to top of the salad. Sometimes I will add chopped cucumbers to mine as well.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles (about 9 noodles, used 10 noodles
1 1/3 cups (6 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup (6 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free pasta sauce, divided, used reg. pasta sauce
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

**I added a few shakes each of the following spices: oregano, basil, italian seasoning, garlic powder into the cheese mixture, then stir well to blend.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, and ricotta cheese in a large bowl; stir to blend well. Stir in Parmesan and next 8 ingredients (through egg).

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture and one third of remaining pasta sauce. Repeat layers once, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories:284 (28% from fat)
Fat:8.8g (sat 5.2g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:15.7g
Carbohydrate:34.2g
Fiber:3.3g
Cholesterol:53mg
Iron:0.9mg
Sodium:657mg
Calcium:179mg

-Compliments of Cooking Light, www.myrecipes.com