Tortilla Pizzas à la Q

Assembled (pre-cooking) view of Tortilla Pizzas à la Q

In trying to share with my recently teen aged son some quick and easy food to make in the kitchen (without burning down the place), I used a dish that Elektra Q-Tion exposed me to. Using basic ingredients in the microwave for an easy and quick meal or even snack. Thank you Q!

Ingredients

• 6" tortillas
• pizza or spaghetti sauce
• shredded cheese
• pepperoni slices/toppings

Directions

• spread 3 TBSP sauce per tortilla (leave 3/8" edge as the "crust" area)
• spread several pinches of cheese (as much as you want)
• place 8 pieces of pepperoni (in 4 stacks of 2 like the image above)
• place on a microwave plate and cook in the microwave (on HIGH) for 30 seconds
• cut with a butter knife or pizza cutter into 4 pieces

Suggestions

• 3/8" edge because the cheese will melt and spread into those areas, keeping it on the tortilla instead of the plate
• Laying the pepperoni that way, makes for easier cutting between them without causing a mess
• 30 seconds to melt the cheese and heat it all up, but the plate isn't too hot for bare hands to handle
• Cut into 4 pieces, fold them over on themselves to use a fork or simply use fingers

Observations

• We all have items in our pantry or fridge that can be thrown on the pie. Modify this by what you have. Use the last few TBSP of salsa, tomato soup, or even ketchup in the fridge, and the last 2 or 3 slices of cheese.
• Quick sauce for 5 or 6 of the pies explained above: 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, Italian mix herbs, simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Make larger pies by using the 10" or 12" tortillas. Add several more seconds to cooking time and enough ingredients to evenly cover the crust.
• Smaller sized tortillas are easier for younger teens to handle. The easier to handle, the less mess made on the counter top.
• Use more toppings (browned ground sausage, cooked ham cubes, hot dogs, crisp bacon, tomatoes, cooked veggies, etc.) but play with the cooking time to determine what works.
• Flour tortillas (white or wheat) but not corn ones because they don't tend to cook "right" for me.
• Use a plate as the only "key" dish so there are less things requiring washing. Teens DON'T wash dishes.

Easy & quick to make, less expensive than getting frozen pizza snacks, and your teen helps you get rid of the food that would get thrown away. Especially during the late night kitchen raids they mysteriously perform.

Recipe Research

I am always searching for new ways to prepare meals. Normally I start searching at All Recipes.com (yes, I do have an account there and have stuffed my recipe box), but I also do random searches to find things that catch my attention. This time, I started with a simple search but discovered some AWESOME ideas that I just had to share... so here goes...

Bob Evans Sausage Gravy

Of all of the meals of the day, I LOVE breakfast foods most of all, followed by Italian dinners... Ask a roller derby friend of mine, Elektra Q-Tion about going to Perkins, Eat N Park, or a hole-in-the-wall diner for breakfast with me. One breakfast item that I particularly crave, is sausage gravy. So, I did a search for a decent recipe for it, and discovered some great things shared on the Bob Evans website, including their recipe for sausage gravy. Okay, yes, I'm sharing the Bob Evans Sausage Gravy recipe, with some minor personal edits in green, but please scroll down to read what else I have to say about their website.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Bob Evans Sausage Roll (whatever flavor in the pantry or that you desire)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (unbleached white works best)
• 2 cups milk (whole, 2%, and 1% work best, keep your eye on skim)
• Salt & black pepper to taste (or whatever other herbs you want to add, I suggest Old Bay)

Directions:

• Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned. 
• Stir in flour until dissolved (a small fork or whisk works better than a spoon). 
• Gradually stir in milk (whole, 2%, and 1% work best, keep your eye on skim). 
• Cook gravy until thick and bubbly (medium setting, any higher would set off the smoke alarm). 
• Season with salt and pepper (or whatever other herbs you want to add, I suggest Old Bay). 
• Serve hot over biscuits (or whatever you want to put it over). 
• Refrigerate leftovers (if you happen to HAVE any, LOL).

Personal Recommendations:

• Use ground turkey and the sausage gravy over stuffing at Thanksgiving
• Use the sausage gravy over tortillas wrapping scrambled eggs & bacon
• Use it as sauce over ANY pasta
• Make a pizza using this recipe as the sauce
• Check out all of the Bob Evans recipes
• Check out the 20 Recipes under $2 (per serving) recipes

Roller Derby Valentine's Day

If you are looking for some roller derby related Valentines, click over to REM DESIGNS DeviantArt site and order some... I was working on this entry this morning, but she got hers done first, so I copied and pasted it below. Elektra Q-Tion's blog entries about roller derby can be found by clicking HERE or via a link in my list over to the right.

Roller Derby VD

I was inspired to create some roller derby Valentines.  They are free to download at this site.  Please give me credit for them if you post them anywhere.

Couple skate

For the girls we love and hate.

For the penalty box peeps.

For your lady, refs.

Inside line blue

Inside line Red

Stinky Gear

Booty block

Cheatin' on your derby wife.

Artful Decorations

I am single and live in an apartment but am no longer a teenager, so I no longer use heavy metal band posters to adorn my walls. I am also blessed in life to have a very close friend that is an art & graphic designer. Her site is REM Designs (yeah, click on it, I triple dog dare you). She has a lot of prints available, does commissions, writes her own blog, and is an awesome, amazing person... just drop her an email or message, and she'll work with you to get you what your soul and eyes desire. Her prints are available in various sizes, and she has a LOT more on her site. The most striking series is her drawing of the zodiac signs. I use her art for Cancer as my avatar icon on Facebook.

I've used the following images from her website as prints to be the inspiration, color, decorations, and art in my apartment.

Toaster Oven vs. Crock Pot vs. Stove

Being single and living in an apartment can sure change your perspective about appliances. At first it was because I am only cooking for 1, but doing some simple research showed that it can help reduce my utility costs. And now I'm going to share my findings with you.

A lot of my entries have been about cooking and that I typically use a crock pot or the toaster oven instead of the full stove/oven. Part of the reason I started using them was because it kept my apartment cooler during the summer months, and by not using the stove meant my air conditioner would run less. But in doing some more research, I found the information on the Consumer Energy Center site. This confirmed to me that even the cost of cooking was reduced by using a crock pot or toaster oven, but also contributed to my air conditioner running less, so even more savings were achieved. I occasionally use a microwave oven (thank you Elektra Q-Tion for giving it to me). Unfortunately, my apartment doesn't have a gas stove/oven, it is electric. I wish I had my old gas stove still.

Cost of Cooking

This table from the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings compares the cost of cooking a casserole in several ways. It assumes the cost of gas is $.60 a therm, and electricity is $.08 a kWh.

Appliance	Temperature	Time	Energy	Cost
Electric Oven	350	1 hour	2.0 kWh	$.16
Electric Convection Oven	325	45 minutes	1.39 kWh	$.11
Gas Oven	350	1 hour	.112 therm	$.07
Electric Frying Pan	420	1 hour	.9 kWh	$.07
Toaster Oven	425	50 minutes	.95 kWh	$.08
Electric Crockpot	200	7 hour	.7 kWh	$.06
Microwave Oven	"High"	15 minutes	.36 kWh	$.03

So, my point is that you should consider using the crock pot and toaster oven more during the summer to keep your place cooler, use less energy, and save yourself a little bit each time you do. Add up the cents you saved, and that means you can stop at Dunkin Donuts for a cup of coffee... saving cents makes sense, IMHO.

Easy Peasy Soup

3 ingredients, 3 steps, 3 tips... similar to Easy Peasy Casserole for 3 because it has "PEAS" in it...

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup macaroni noodles (all I had left in the pantry)
• 1 boiled chicken breast cut to bite size cubes (from the fridge)
• 1 cup frozen peas

 Directions:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil, including a vegetable bouillon cube
2. Add chicken breast and peas to simmer for 20 minutes
3. Add macaroni to simmer for another 15 minutes

 Tips:
      ✔ If you pre-boil several chicken breasts (for 20 minutes), refer to these other recipes too: 
          Homemade Chicken Helper Casserole 
          Scrabble Soup
          Mish-Mash Casserole (thank you Elektra Q-Tion for the name)
          Apartment Style Chicken Breast.
      ✔ Gently stir the mixture once or twice during the simmering
      ✔ Serves 3 if you provide a side of fruit, a beverage, and dessert

Headlights When Driving

I live south of Cleveland, Ohio and since we are in the winter season, there is a lot of snow and ice. My point is related to the entry about Night Driving and lights, in particular; headlights. Why don't people turn their lights on when they should? Just because you can see everyone else while you are driving, doesn't mean that we can see YOU if your lights are off. Especially if it is raining, snowing or is at dusk and you are in a white/silver/grey (2011 Color Popularity Report) vehicle coming up behind us, passing us, or coming the other way.


Most vehicles now come with Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) which makes you more visible to others. I actually keep my low beam headlights on ALL the time. I want to be as visible as possible to everyone. Regardless of the time of day, weather, conditions, etc. Part of that comes from learning to drive from my grandfather & he told me I should always do it, but also from getting the motorcycle endorsement on my license and learning why motorcycles are required by law in nearly all states. VISIBILITY

Sunset

Speaking of "laws," I did some research on my state laws on headlights, and the Ohio Code 4513.03 (summarized HERE and detailed HERE) clearly says that headlights must be on from sunset to sunrise & any time that windshield wipers are being used due to precipitation on the windshield. How many people are driving home from work or the mall, just before dinner, but don't have their lights on? Remember, in winter the daytime light is the shortest.

According to the law today (1/2/12) and Wunderground.com, I must have my headlights on from 5:09 PM until 7:53 AM. How many people do you pass that are on their way to work or home from work, that don't have their lights on? And what about how bad the weather is? A white vehicle, in the morning/evening during a snow storm is severely dangerous to encounter.

Please folks, look up your state laws, learn them, know them, and think about everyone else out there on the road...driving is now defensive not offensive... Safe driving.

Homemade "Chicken Helper" Casserole

I posted a recipe for Mish-Mash Casserole (thank you Elektra Q-Tion for the name) and had 1 extra chicken breast in the fridge, so I decided to make a homemade version of Chicken Helper. This is related to my post about Homemade "Hamburger Helper" Casserole. The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 cooked chicken breast
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 can Campbell's Condensed Creme of Chicken soup
• 1 can veggies (sweet peas, corn, or mixed), drained and rinsed.
• 4 oz. of a package of shredded cheese (your choice of flavor)
• Old Bay Seasoning (your choice of amount)
• Tortillas (see comments at the very bottom)

Directions:

1. Boil the water, and make the macaroni according to the instructions on the box.
2. If the chicken breast needs cooked, boil it for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the toaster oven to 375 F and oil an 8x6x2 Pyrex casserole dish.
4. While draining the macaroni in a colander, pour the soup into the stockpot you used.
5. Sprinkle as much Old Bay seasoning into the soup for the taste you want.
6. Return the macaroni to the stockpot with soup.
7. Cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces, and put it into the stockpot too.
8. Add the can of selected veggies.
9. Stir well.
10. Pour that mixture into the 8x6x2 Pyrex casserole dish and even it out.
11. Place that in the toaster oven for 20 mins.
12. Slide the dish out (using oven mitts) and cover it evenly with the shredded cheese.
13. Return it to the toaster oven, and bake for another 8 minutes.

You would have enough to serve at least 5 people with this, but that also means you have enough leftovers if it is just you. It is easy to make, and tastes great. You could use any other seasonings/herbs based on your choice, but this is AWESOME! Another suggestion is to put a few leaves of lettuce on a tortilla, scoop the mixture onto it, roll it up, and ENJOY.

Mish-Mash Casserole

Raided my pantry after watching a cooking session on the local news, to see what I had and could modify to fill my belly. And got the name from a very close Companion of mine, Elektra Q-Tion. Thank you for the name suggestion, it was PERFECT for this dish.

Okay, to cut it to the bottom line for this recipe.

Ingredients:  

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Vegetable broth bouillon cube
• 1 can (10.5 oz) Creme of Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 can (from soup) of milk
• 3 slices of Muenster cheese
• 4 hash brown patties

Directions: 

1. Boil the chicken breasts for 25 minutes in the vegetable broth, to make sure they are cooked.
2. Use an 8x6x2 Pyrex casserole dish, by oiling the inner surface to prevent sticking
3. Mix the creme of mushroom soup and milk in a bowl.
4. Preheat the toaster oven to 400 F.
5. When chicken is done boiling, cut it into bite size pieces, using a knife similar to the one in the picture at the right.
6. Place them in the casserole dish.
7. Cover with soup/milk mixture
8. Place the cheese over this.
9. Lay the hash brown patties over it.
10. Bake in the toaster oven for 15 minutes.
11. Turn patties over, and bake for another 10 minutes.
12. Enjoy!!!

Use a flat spatula or tongs to flip over the hash browns, and use the spatula to "cut them up" when you place it all on the plate. You could add a can of drained peas to the soup/milk mixture to make it more of a casserole, or serve them on the side. It is VERY filling and yummy. Add Tabasco or fresh ground black pepper to enhance the flavor.