Roasted Vegetable & Ricotta Pizza

From Cooking Light
Makes 1 large pizza, about 6 servings

1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2 C sliced cremini mushrooms
1 C zucchini, sliced to 1/4 inch
1/4 t black pepper
1 medium yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 medium red onion, cut into thick slices
5 1/2 t olive oil, divided
1 T yellow cornmeal
1/3 C tomato sauce
1 C (4 oz) shredded part-skim mozarella cheese
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/3 C part-skim ricotta cheese
2 T small fresh basil leaves

Position an oven rack in the lowest setting; place a pizza stone on rack. Preheat oven to 500°.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, for 30 minutes.

Combine mushrooms and next 4 ingredients (through onion) in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Toss. Arrange vegetables on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 15 minutes.

Punch dough down. Sprinkle a lightly floured baking sheet with cornmeal; roll dough out to 15-inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Brush dough with 1 teaspoon oil. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella over sauce; top with vegetables. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and red pepper over zucchini mixture. Dollop with ricotta. Slide pizza onto preheated pizza stone. Bake at 500° for 11 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle with basil.

**Notes from Em**
- I added an eggplant, and some halved cherry tomatoes, they were super tasty on this pizza.
- My crust ended up going really soggy in the middle because of how moist all of these veggies were. Next time I think I'll roast them a little bit longer, then cook the pizza without them, just throwing them on for the last few minutes.

Three Envelope Pot Roast

From Real Mom Kitchen via Steph's Kitchen

3 pound beef roast (such as chuck roast)
1 envelope of dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope of dry brown gravy mix
2 cups water

Put the water in a measuring cup that is larger then the amount of water you are using. Now add and mix all three envelopes of dry salad dressings to the water. Mix until blended completely. Brown the roast (if desired). Add the meat to your cooker. Pour the water, salad dressing mixture over the roast. In the slow cooker cook it on high for about 4 hours on low about 8 hours. Remember to make gravy from the drippings in the crock pot by adding water, beef bullion and thickening using water and cornstarch! It's the best gravy I have ever had and I love love love gravy!

**Notes From Em**
For some reason I really struggled to get a good, moist, crock-pot pot roast, until I found this recipe. It's AMAZING every time, and so ridiculously simple. If you want to add potatoes, carrots and onion to your pot roast, and I recommend you do, just cut them up into fairly large pieces, and toss them in about 2 hours before you are ready to eat. You can use a turkey baster to get some of the gravy on your veggies when you put them in. It's impractical to try and 'stir' a pot roast.

Chicken and Chayote Casserole

From Basket Recipes 4 You
Serves 6-8

1 pound chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound potatoes, chopped
3 chayotes squashes, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 t salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t ground black pepper
1/4 C oil
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, add in onion, pepper, garlic, salt an dblack pepper. Saute 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in chicken. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Add in potatoes and squash. Stir together and cover. Reduce heat to medium. Stir occasionally until potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in parsley and tomatoes. Cook another 2-3 minutes until tomatoes are heated through.

**Notes from Em**
I ended up cooking this with halibut instead of chicken and it was actually really good. It would also be really good vegetarian, or with some tofu. I also threw in some freshly grated parmesan, maybe about 1/4 cup, added a nice subtle flavor. You could throw just about any vegetable in with this and it would be good. Nice way to use up those extra veggies that never seem to get eaten.

Frosted Key Lime Pie (Protein smoothie)

12 oz cold water
1 serving vanilla protein powder
3 T frozen limeade concentrate
6 ice cubes

Pour cold water in blender, then add protein powder and blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add frozen limeade concentrate; blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy.

Sparkling Orange (Protein Smoothie)

From Eating for Life
Makes 1 smoothie

12/ oz diet orange soda
6 oz light, fat-free orange-flavored yogurt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 orange, peeled
6 ice cubes

Pour orange soda in blender. Then add yogurt and protein powder; blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add peeled orange and blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy.

Pina Colada (Protein Shake)

From Eating for Life
Makes 1 smoothie

12 oz cold water
1 serving vanilla protein powder
1/2 C unsweetened pineapple chunks
1/4 t coconut extract
6 ice cubes

Pour cold water in blender. Then add protein powder and blend on medium speed for 15 seconds.

Add pineapple chunks and coconut extract; blend for 30 more seconds. Add ice cubes and blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 more seconds.

Pour into a tall glass, serve and enjoy!

Pao de Queijo

These are like the little bread/cheese roll things that you can find at the Brazilian restaurants in the area like Tucanos and Rodizio Grill. They're amazing, and once you start eating them, you'll keep eating!

From Our Best Bites
Makes 22-24 mini muffin sized

1 large egg
1/2 C milk
1/4 C canola oil
1 C tapioca flour (no substitutions!!!)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender an dblend until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse 2 times. The batter will be VERY runny. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin, filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm as they do not reheat well.
**Notes from Em**
Tapioca flour was kind of a pain for me to find. I looked at all the grocery stores, and eventually found it at a natural foods type store. (Good Earth for those in the area) You CANNOT use any other kind of flour. It won't turn out right at all.