Berry Cobbler

Ya'll can just start calling me by my new name...."Cobbler Queen"!  I made some for a friend at work for his birthday yesterday and I have to say - these were GOOOOOOOD!  Just a few ingredients and a whole lot of happiness will walk right out of your oven!  Use fresh berries or frozen, all one berry or mix as you please.  Just make sure that they are all similar size so they cook evenly.  This recipe will make a large cobbler (9 x13 baking dish) or two smaller dishes.

Filling
2 cups baking mix (Bisquick or Jiffy Mix)
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 brown sugar
2 t cinnamon sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
2 cups berries (any kind or mix of berries)

Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup baking mix
1/2 stick butter

Rinse your berries and let them drain completely dry (wet berries will give you a soggy cobbler).  Just lay them out on paper towels and let them sit while you prepare the baking mix.

Mix your filling ingredients together before you add your berries.  The mixture will be thick but still stir well.  Add the berries, gently fold them into the filling.  Add to a well sprayed backing dish.  Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

Mix topping ingredients in a bowl.  Add the butter by slicing it into small pats and cut in with a fork until you have a crumbly mixture.  Add to the to of the cobbler and return it to the oven for another 45 minutes or until the center is set and the top is golden.

Great served warm and French vanilla ice cream doesn't hurt either! Yummmmm

Spinach Chicken Alfredo Pizza

So, I have a new pizza love in my life!  We have a new local pizzeria that is just outstanding and I took a notion to copy this at home.  Along with some tutoring from Thing #2, I learned to make this tonight and it is a WINNER, WINNER, WINNER - even if I do say so myself!

Here's what you'll need

1 box of Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix
1 cup Alfredo Sauce (I like Classico - any brand is fine)
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 cup of Five Blend Italian Cheese
1 cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken
Two handfuls of baby spinach (rinsed and towel dried)
Seasonings - Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, Oregano, Salt, Pepper
Cooking Spray
4 cups Flour

Start making your dough according to package directions by adding 1/2 cup warm water and whip until well blended (don't judge me for using a mix - it came highly recommended, is inexpensive and I don't have time to sift after work)!  Cover your bowl of dough and let it rest 5 minutes on your cook top while the oven pre-heats to 425*.  Flip the dough out onto a clean and well floured counter top (use about 2 cups of flour).  Knead dough in flour until it starts to set up, make sure you dust your hands with flour as well - this is sticky business!  Add additional flour as needed, you don't want this to stick to your counter top.

I was told by my son, that what makes the crust so good is to cook it on an open hole baking sheet.  I don't happen to have one of those but I do have grill woks that are open hole so I just made two small pizzas and put one in each wok - worked GREAT!  As your dough comes together, just pull it into shape then put it on a well sprayed cooking sheet - or wok :).  Bake just the crust at 425* for 3-5 minutes to get the dough to set.

Remove dough from oven and start adding your ingredients.  I'd cooked my chicken yesterday and seasoned the meat with salt and pepper.  I prefer to boil chicken as opposed to baking it - keeps it more moist.  I'll use the rest of my chicken in another recipe later this week or you can freeze it easily in a zip lock freezer bag.

The first layer is Alfredo sauce (make your own if you just have to - I used a jar and there is more than enough left for another meal in there).  Keep the sauce thin, too much will make your pizza too wet and weigh it down.  Then dab small amounts of Ricotta cheese all around your crust.  Top with 1/4 of the Italian Cheese blend.  Add baby spinach leaves to cover cheese then add chopped chicken.  I added my seasonings on top of the chicken layer, I just very lightly sprinkled with garlic salt, onion powder and just pinch of oregano - no more than a pinch of each will do you well. 

Top the pizza with the remaining Mozzarella and Italian Cheese blend.  I wanted some color on top so I chopped a few more spinach leaves to garnish the top (made it really pretty and I like my food to look pretty - no one likes ugly food!

Bake at 425* for 17-20 minutes until crust is golden brown.  This was WONDERFUL!  It's an easy and quick meal for very little effort and cost.  You probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry anyway so go for it!  I think you'll be glad you did!

You can add onion, or other toppings as desired.  I think I might add shredded Parmesan to my cheese mix on the next round.