Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Pizza

Soooooo it appears that, in addition to fries, cookies, cupcakes, donuts and all things related to fall, I’m also heavily addicted to pizza.

There could be worse things…you know, crack, meth, cigarettes, spinach. I’m considering myself lucky (but seriously though, I’m also addicted to spinach).

Especially when pizza can come in FALL flavors , loaded up with delicious butternut squash and sage and gruyere. Double addict. Oh my god it’s just so good.

And, you guys, I totally made my own pizza crust for this one. I’m not kidding. I’ll give you the recipe soon, I promise.

Seriously, this pizza is a little weird, I know, but I’m all about weird things on pizzas and the combo of butternut squash and sage is absolutely killer. I literally ate half of it on my own.

 

#pizzaaddict

Recipe

Prep time: 35 minutes | Bake time: about 15-18 minutes | Total time: about 1 hour

Yield: 2-4 servings

• 1  pizza dough- store bought is totally legit
• 2 cups butternut squash, cut in time 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• ¼ tsp ground sage
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• ¾ cups grated cheddar cheese
• ¾ cups grated Gruyere cheese
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves

Preheat oven to 425 º F. Add the squash to the baking sheet and add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, ground sage and minced garlic to the baking sheet.  Toss to coat and roast for about 25-30 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. Remove and let cool. Maintain the oven temp at 425 º F.

While the squash is roasting, caramelize the onions. Add the chopped onion and butter to a sautee pan and sautee over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes until the onions are slightly browned, soft and translucent. Your house will smell amazing. Set aside.

Lightly grease a baking sheet or pizza stone and spread dough out over pan. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the pizza. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the pizza crust. Do the same with the caramelized onions, then the squash. Then take the sage leaves, tear each of them in half and distribute them over the pizza. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until cheese is melted and edges of the pizza are slightly golden brown.  Remove from oven, cut as desired, and enjoy your perfect homemade pizza!

Roasted Garlic, Browned Butter and Sage Hummus

Roasted garlic. Browned butter. Sage. Hummus.

Four of the best things known to mankind combined in to one awesome appetizer.

This was literally gone in 5 minutes and I felt like a kitchen superstar. Seriously, the flavors and texture in this were perfect. I mixed it up in a food processor in no time and  then served it at room temp.

By the way, if you love garlic, this hummus is for you. The roasted garlic makes your house smell amaaaaazzzinnnggggg and the hummus taste even better (to anyone who is within 5 feet of me at any given time in the next few days, sorry I’m not sorry- this was totally worth it.)

Not kidding, make this ASAP. For reals.

Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes |Cook time: 45 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes

Serves 4

• 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 head of garlic, roasted (see below)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Sea salt, pepper for sprinkling
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 º F. Cut off the top of a whole head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and wrap in tin foil leaving top exposed. Roast for 40 minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove from oven and let cool.

While garlic is cooling, brown butter. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then heat until it’s bubble and then begins to brown, stirring constantly. This will take approximately 5-7 minutes and you will know it’s done by the nutty smell the browned butter gives off. Remove from heat immediately.

Remove the skins from the garlic and place in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend together until smooth. Spoon in to serving dish and eat up!

Adapted from Bake Your Day.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes

Oh, hello. I made you dinner.

Half of you out there are just like “Yessssssss”. The other half are like “What the heck, Jamie? Where’s my dessert?”. To the latter half,  don’t worry, dessert is coming. To the former, you’re welcome :).

Honestly, I find making dinner really hard sometimes. I find photographing dinner even harder (see above and below, my apologies). Everyone I know works super late and/or crazy hours so the light is never right when we sit down. And I have a really hard time making guests or family wait to eat while I weirdly take pictures of their food. And I can’t make these dinners for myself. I just can’t. Nevertheless, I made you dinner and I’m so glad I did because making dinner, despite all of my complaints, is just so awesome. There’s nothing better than a home cooked, healthy meal with fun people. Not one thing.

This Lemon Rosemary Chicken is really a classic to me. Baked chicken with bright, summer flavors over fresh arugula, served with lovely, sweet tomatoes is a hearty meal that satisfies your guests and reminds them of sitting down to dinner with their family growing up. Better yet, you basically throw the chicken in the oven and forget about it, so you can enjoy the group and not hover over the stove. Even the tomatoes take like, two seconds and require very little attention. So little attention is paid to the actual making of the dinner that I found time to take pictures before eating. Perfect.

This is a great dinner to make if you’re throwing a small get together. You get a flavorful, beautiful dish and still get to enjoy the party. And take pictures, if you’re weird like me ;).

Recipes

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Bake time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

Chicken

• 2 ½ lbs boneless chicken breasts
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, diced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• ½ dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1 large bag arugula, for serving

Tomatoes

• 2 lbs cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, diced
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken

Preheat the oven 450 º F. Arrange the chicken in a 9 x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, rosemary, grill seasoning and salt. Pour over the chicken and evenly coat. You can even let the chicken marinate in the fridge for a few hours for a little added flavor if you have time! Place the pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven and add the white wine or chicken broth. Place the chicken back in the over and let roast for 5 more minutes. Serve warm, room temp or chilled over a bed of arugula.

For the tomatoes, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add all ingredients and stir until combined. Sauté about 10 – 15 minutes until tomatoes are slightly browned and the skins are bursting. Best served immediately, but also delicious as leftovers (this is a fact).