Bratwurst Pizza

Sounds weird, right? Welp, don't judge it until you try it, it's flippin' delicious!

You will need::

Pizza Dough. I used whole wheat dough.

Pasta Sauce, and one can of beer.

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Mozzarella Cheese

Bratwurst

Poblano pepper, sliced [Or any pepper you like]

Onion, sliced

Mmkay, You're going to start by preheating your oven, and pizza stone, if you have one, to 450 degrees. [If you don't have a pizza stone, I suggest preheating a cookie sheet/sheet pan.] Then, coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil, and throw the bratwursts in. Slowly poor in the can of beer, and turn the heat on medium-high to high heat. Let the liquid come to a boil, and completely evaporate. It takes around 8-10 minutes. And looks kinda like this...

 

Once all the liquid is gone, start browning the brats on each side, and add the onions and peppers to one side of the pan, like this...

 

<-After evaporation

         V After adding onions and peppers

 After the brats have browned on each side, take them out, and set aside to rest. This also gives the onions and peppers more room to groove. Oh, and P.S. You wanna make sure that once the liquid has evaporated, to turn the heat down to medium. While those are working, You'll want to roll out your pizza dough. I use my hands at first to stretch it out a bit, and then flour my counter to prevent sticking, and roll it out to the size I want it with a rolling pin.

Now, it's just a matter of building your pizza, which is pretty self explanatory, but for those of you who need a step by step guide.. Continue reading...

Cut your bratwursts into bite-sized pieces. Carefully remove the pizza stone [or sheet pan] from the oven, and put on your stove top. Place the pizza dough flat onto the stone/sheet. Start building your pizza with as much or as little sauce as you like.Then start placing the brats onto the dough, after that, add the onions and peppers, and finally the cheese...

AAAAAANNNNDDD, the final product looks something liiiiike THIS...

 

 

 

Yummy!

 

And here's a cute baby enjoying the hell outta some bratwurst pizza.

 

And, dudes, remember my rules. If you don't like brats, use Italian sausage, or hot dogs for all I care. If you don't want to use a tomato based sauce, you could use an alfredo, or a pesto would be awesome... If you don't like onions or peppers, try whatever you want. Broccoli, asparagus, WHATEVER! Make it your own, and have fun doing it!

 

Happy Cooking! :]

What Do I Do Now?

So, I'm starting a blog. Mostly about food, 'cause I love cooking. But, I'm pretty random, so, it probably wont just be all recipes and food photos.  Here are some basics about me and the stuff I like, food-wise and other-wise....
                                                       

Me trying to be cute

Firstly, I'm Ellie. [Duh.]
I have four bellies [other than my own] to feed, sometimes more. I have kind of a sailor mouth at times. [Sorry about that...] Bread is my favorite, I can't get enough. I love veggies, and my kids do, too. They're not so hot on fruit. [I know how weird that sounds.]
I come from a big family. My extended family is huge. I have three siblings myself, and dinner was always eaten together, as a family- EVERY night. We do the same for our kids, too. When I hear of people that have kids and "don't know how to cook" besides something like Spaghetti-O's, I honestly ponder that information for a second and think ".....Really?! How is it possible? What do your kids EAT??" Have no fear! I am now here for all of you non-cooking folk. My recipes are kid approved, and not necessarily MY recipes, but that's okay. Most of the time I get inspiration from TV or magazines or cook books, like normal people. But there are some key things you need to remember...

• Adjust according to YOUR taste

If you're watching the TV and Rachael Ray is on with her 30 Minute Meals, and you think to yourself, "Dang, those breaded chicken cutlets look fucking awesome! I'm going to make those!" But, then you get discouraged because she pours a mushroom gravy on top and you're all like, "Ew, I hate mushrooms!" ...Guess what? You don't have to make mushroom gravy to go on those delicious chicken cutlets! Rachael Ray isn't going to come and find you and kick your ass for not wanting to use her recipe by it's exact specifications.

•  Pretty isn't always better

If it's burnt, don't worry about it. Burt [in my opinion, depending how bad] isn't always bad.
If it's slopped out all over the place, don't stress it. We're not writing a cook book, you're family doesn't care what it looks like [though, might be impressed if you DO make something pretty.] Some of the ugliest things I've plopped on a plate were the most delicious... And, you'll probably see as we continue on this journey, that my stuff is not always visually appealing. I don't care. It tastes good, and my family eats it. My job is done.

• Don't have it? Use something else

So many times, I have set out to make something, started cooking the main ingredients, to then find out that I'm out of an ingredient. For example: An Asparagus Pizza recipe I was making the other day called for Fontina Cheese. But, if you can't find Fontina, or don't want to spend the money on Fontina, or just don't LIKE Fontina... Don't flippin' use Fontina! Use Mozzarella or cheddar, or heck sliced American for all I care. [I wouldn't use sliced American...] But if that's what you like, USE it! If you have kids and you know they're going to like it, USE IT!

• Kids learn from their parents

Whenever I share photos of my food on my Facebook page, so many other parents ask me what the secret is to getting my kids to eat vegetables.... Sorry to disappoint, but there is no secret. I make them what I make them, they have two choices. They can either eat it, or not. But they don't get anything else. It may sound cruel to someone who hasn't tried it, but I have a house with three boys who eat all kinds of greens. Also, Don't make it an option. This is not mom's short order cook session. Don't make 3 different meals for 4 people. Don't make vegetables for you, but not put any on your kids plate because they "won't eat it". Just something to think about...

So, now that the boring, awkward intro bit is over, I guess we'll start with the recipes and stuff.

Happy Cooking! :]