Chicken and Pear Pizza

After my first attempt at making a Pizza was decent but nothing special, I decided to come back for a second try with a couple additional ingredients.

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat pre-made Pizza dough from Trader Joe's

• 1 Anjou Pear
• 4 Pieces of turkey bacon
• 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
• Small block Monterrey Jack cheese
• 2 tbsp goat cheese crumbles
• 2 tbsp Litehouse Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Start by cutting up the chicken breast. I cut it into about 3 dozen pieces that were 1-2" long by 1/4" thick.
2. Put the breast pieces into a skillet preheated on medium. Season with salt and pepper to taste
   
3. Saute until the chicken is cooked through
4. Set aside
   
5. In a second skillet fry bacon until crispy but not burnt
   
6. Set aside
7. Pull out the dough and prepare as directed on the back of the package
8. Grate 2 cups of Monterrey jack cheese from the block
9. Set aside
10. Pre-Heat oven to 450 degrees
    
11. Cut up the pear into small thin slices and put them in the same skillet that the chicken cooked in
12. Saute on low for 5 minutes with a small amount of salt and pepper
13. Roll out the pizza dough that has been sitting out for 20 minutes into a circle with a 12-14" diameter.
14. Top with cheese, then chicken, then bacon, then pears
15. Put the pizza in the oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese starts to bubble and brown
16. Remove the pizza, sprinkle with goat cheese crumbles and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette
17. enjoy!

Notes: The first time I tried this I did it without the bacon and the goat cheese. This made for a noticeable lack of saltiness in the pizza. With the goat cheese and bacon, the balance was just right!

Apri-Loin

Tonight I made Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Apricot Salad, recipe courtesy of EatingWell magazine. Click here for recipe.

This is a really easy and tasty recipe. I decided to leave out the shallots and substituted a baby arugula mix in for the watercress and enjoyed the results.

For somebody trying this recipe out for the first time, make sure that the apricots you get are ripe but not soft. Mine were firm but weren't quite ripe enough yet and their tangy taste emphasized the vinegar in the dressing more than it should have. Sweeter, riper apricots would have complimented the dressing better. After brushing the tenderloin with the apricot preserves I turned up the heat a little bit to finish the meat and carmelize the outside with the sugar from the fruit.

If you are looking for a good wine to pair with this, I would choose a semi-sweet Reisling that will compliment the apricot flavor of the pork.

Welcome

I'm going to try this blogging thing. My goal here is to share some of my thoughts on life, cooking, and whatever else I fancy at the time. I am a novice chef but my meals usually turn out pretty good and they are healthy to boot. Hopefully I can motivate some other people to enjoy a healthy diet full of tasty food.