Pizza Chicken. Not to be confused with Chicken Pizza

Yesterday while pulling out some chicken from the freezer for dinner, I saw the package of turkey pepperoni that I had bought for pizza a week and a half ago and a thought crossed my mind. Why don't I make a Pizza Chicken? Now I don't normally buu turkey pepperoni, because it contains sulfites, but, I made a farewell dinner for one of my husband's friends and co-workers who was being sent to another site and that's what he likes. He even bought me a rolling pin so I could make it for him a few weeks earlier. If I could find turkey pepperoni without sulfites I would be ecstatic, but, for now I want to use up what I still have left. I whisked an egg and rolled the chicken in the egg, then coated it with some crushed rice chips. I love this technique so much I usually don't have any leftover crumbs left. I then cooked the chicken for 20 minutes on 350, then took it out and spooned some of the leftover pizza sauce on top of it. Next I topped it with the pepperoni and some red and green peppers and grated some mozzarella cheese on it. It went back in the oven and cooked for 10 more minutes. My husband asked me if I used a recipe or made it up. He should know better! I made it up of course. He said "You should sell this." Another success story!!!

Chicken Stroganoff

I love Beef Stroganoff. But I'm trying to go wheat free, and I had to revise it somewhat. So two nights ago I made my own version. I replaced the egg noodles with brown rice noodles, and instead of using flour I used potato starch to make the roux. Roux? Now there's a great word for Words With Friends. I didn't have any beef, but had a package of organic chicken in the freezer so I decided to make it a chicken stroganoff. I also didn't have Worcester sauce, so I just used some red wine vinegar and added some spices. I used a little garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, ginger, and paprika. It turned out perfect. I had some noodles leftover so last night I made Chicken Parmesan with Fettuccine Alfredo. I never throw away the crumbs from the bottom of the chip bag (I never throw anything away.) I save them and use them to throw in Chicken Tortilla Soup, Taco Salads, or Chili. Last night I crushed them up and dunked the chicken in an egg mixture and then rolled it in a combination of crushed chips, oregano, salt, and pepper. Then I baked the chicken for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I then spread some pizza sauce, leftover from last weeks pizza that I had put in the freezer and then defrosted, sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on the top and put back in the oven for a few minutes till the cheese melted and browned just a little. While this was cooking I made a "Fettuccine Alfredo" sort of. I took the leftover noodles and cooked them with some heavy cream I had bought the other day at the Dairy Farm, grated mozzarella cheese (I didn't have parmesan), nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. That's it. I served everything with a side salad made with spinach, tomatoes, nitrite-free bacon, walnuts from the bottom of the bag I had bought to make banana bread, and some homemade Italian dressing. Deliciousness!

Going Wheat Free

Recently it has been brought to my attention that wheat is not as good for you as it once was. The wheat that is grown now is a result of cross-breeding and hybridization. What was once 4 and a half foot tall "amber waves of grain" is now a 2 feet tall genetic disaster. Here is an exerpt from the article available on http://www.mhlas.com/na-online-articles/natural-awakenings/franken-wheat: "This new wheat may be at the heart of 55 diseases as specified in The New England Journal of Medicine—such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, gall bladder disease, acid reflux, autism and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, autoimmune diseases are the number three cause of death in this country and caused by central nervous system inflammatory effects of wheat components." Another article http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2012/11/07/is-frankenwheat-haunting-your-diet/ states: "According to Dr. Hyman, a leader in Functional Medicine and a four-time New York Times bestselling author of such books as The Blood Sugar Solution, this new wheat is a triple threat: It contains twice the number of chromosomes. This means it codes for a much larger variety of gluten proteins, or “super gluten,” as Dr. Hyman likes to say. It contains high levels of a “super starch” amylopectin A, which excels at making both Cinnabons and bellies swell. And it’s full of wheat polypeptides called gluteomorphins, which trigger an opiate-like response in the brain, so guess what? You’ll want more Frankenwheat." I don't know about you, but that concerns me. My goal when I eat is to put something in my body that prevents these conditions, not cause it. So I've decided to go wheat free and see what results I get. Now is the perfect time since my husband is working about 80 hours a week and I have a lot of time on my hands to experiment with new wheat-free recipes. This morning I made my first revisions on one of my favorite breakfast items. I LOVE hash browns with my eggs. Now I'm going to share my secret to make them perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and yummy on the inside. In my old recipe I heat some coconut oil in a pan, then I put about a Tablespoon of flour in a bowl with a lid and mixed with a little cayenne, salt, and pepper. Then I would cut up one small potato in small pieces, put them in the bowl with the flour, put the lid on and shake enough to coat the potatoes. Then put them in the oil to fry. Don't turn too much. I add some sauteed onion and serve. These go great as a side or on my favorite breakfast burritos. My revised version is to use potato starch instead of flour. I also added some turmeric, which has a light flavor and has tons of benefits (http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html.)I add it to as many dishes as I can now. I served this with one egg fried in coconut oil, some cut up cantaloupe and this wheat free bread you can make in a mug in the microwave: (http://shecookshecleans.net/2011/09/05/oh-baby-its-a-sandwich/.) I made this then took it out of the mug, cut it in half threw it in a pan and grilled it, then cut that in half and put butter and the Huckleberry-Rasberry jam I picked up the other day on it. It was a super delicious breakfast. I think I can do this.

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Dilemma

This past Thanksgiving my husband requested canned Cranberry Sauce. So against my better judgment I went ahead and bought some to please him. So now I have half a can leftover. Not to mention the can we didn't even open. So last night I decided to experiment with it. I mixed it with some spicy mustard I had in the fridge added some garlic powder, onion powder, and Cayenne Pepper, and made a sauce out of it. This recipe was inspired by an appetizer my Mother always made when we were going to holiday gatherings. She would mix mustard and jelly together in a crock pot and throw in some redneck cocktail weenies, aka cut up hot dogs. I know, it sounds gross, but it is soooo good. When I was an adult I asked for the recipe and when she told me I exclaimed “Is THAT all!!?” Its so simple, yet so good. Let me tell you, Cranberry Sauce is a lot sweeter than that jelly. I was surprised since I don't eat cranberry sauce. I never liked the flavor. I baked some chicken breasts in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and then spread a thin layer of my sauce and baked another 10 minutes. Even though the sauce was initially a little sweet, the chicken turned out pretty good. Another leftover success!

Gypsy Diva's Famous Disappearing Pizza

Last night my husband brought home a couple of his co-workers for dinner. I served them my awesome homemade pizza. I bought enough ingredients to make 3 large pizzas, and made a large salad and I spent half of what we would have paid for 2 large pizzas at Pizza Hut when you figure in the tax, delivery fee, and tip. Mine is a lot healthier, too. I did not get a chance to get a picture, because the guys devoured it as soon as it came out of the oven. It was all gone in less than 10 minutes. Here is the recipe I used so you, too, can enjoy the awesomeness. Just some warning it does takes some prep time. I'm fortunate enough to have plenty of time to do this. You can make the dough and freeze it. Which I've done before. You want to start with the dough, because it will need time to rise. I make the dough, then go workout while I'm waiting for it to rise. Whole wheat pizza dough with flax seed Ingredients: 1.5 cup warm water 2 cup whole wheat flour 1.5 cup white flour 6 Tbsp. ground flaxseed 1.5 tsp salt 1 Tbsp. yeast Mix the water and yeast together and let sit for about 10 minutes. Add the salt and stir. Add the flaxseed and then remaining ingredients a cup at a time. Sometimes I add some garlic powder, oregano, and basil. It gives it a nice flavor. When ingredients are mixed transfer onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or if you are fortunate enough to have a Kitchenaid Mixer use the dough hook utensil to form into a ball. Put dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a wet dish towel, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. I heat a cup of water in the microwave for about 2 minutes then set the bowl in the microwave to rise. After it has risen, punch dough down and roll it out and place onto a pizza pan, cookie sheet, or stone baking pan. Some people put corn meal on the pan first, but I don't use anything with corn unless its organic. I just spread a little coconut oil on the pan before I put the dough on it. I let it sit for about 30 minutes, punch a few holes in the dough with a fork and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. I like to cook the dough first before you put the ingredients on. It makes a crispier crust. If you don't punch the holes it will rise up in a big dome, so don't forget to do that. Then I add the tomato sauce, any toppings I want on it, and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Then watch it disappear as soon as you set it down. Here is how I made my pizza sauce: I don't usually measure the ingredients. I just add the spices till it tastes right. 1 can tomato paste tomato sauce (I saved the sauce from the can of whole tomatoes I used to make salsa. I put it in a Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer for later use. Never throw anything away.) Oregano (dried) Basil (dried) Fresh Garlic Onion Powder Salt Pepper Red Wine Vinegar 2-4 Tablespoons Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to make sure all the spices release their flavor. Spread over the pizza crust you just took out of the oven. Add your favorite toppings. I used Ground Turkey, Turkey pepperoni, Caramelized onions (I can't stand raw onions, even after you've baked them on a pizza in the oven) Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers, Jalapenos, Mushrooms, and Kalamata Olives (I had some leftover from a recipe I made last week.) Here is how I cooked the Ground Turkey before I put it on the pizza: Ground Turkey Juice of one lemon White Wine Oregano (dried) Basil (dried) Garlic Powder Onion Powder Salt Pepper Turmeric After I cooked the ground turkey in a skillet, I de-glazed the pan with some white wine someone gave me a hostess gift on Thanksgiving (Pinot Grigio.) then I added the juice of one lemon, and added the rest of the spices to what flavor pleased my palette. I cooked a few minutes letting the spices take hold and then spooned onto the pizzas.

Gypsy Diva Hair

When you travel as much as we do, you want to carry as little as possible. A while back we were sent someplace in Oklahoma for 3 weeks and I attempted a no-product trial with my hair. I didn't use any product at all on my hair except shampoo and conditioner. I only blew it dry with a blow dryer, which most places provide, and attempted to style it the best I could with my round brush which was the only hair styling item I took with me to this particular place. When I got my hair done before we arrived I asked for style that was easy to take care of and required little effort to style. I'm here to announce that it was a complete and utter failure. Unfortunately I was born with boring, super straight, lifeless hair that refuses to hold a style without being forced to stay in place with an armory of gravity defying products. Thanks Mom and Dad. So unless I grow my hair out and just pull it back in a ponytail everyday my poor hubby is stuck with me and my styling spray, thermal protector, leave-in conditioner, powder root boost, hair spray, big round brush, and blow dryer. I did recently find a great product that combines a leave in conditioner and styling elixir called 2 Chic by Giovanni. You get it at the health food store. I love 2 in 1 products, when they work, because they give me the benefits of two products in one convenient container. Conditioning shampoos are not on this list. I can't even get a comb through my hair if I don't use a separate conditioner. I also cannot live without my powder root boost. That is the best stuff ever invented for fine hair. I usually stock up on it when I can find a Sally's. And my hairspray is also pretty much a must or it just falls flat as soon as I walk out the door. So its hopeless for me to ditch the hair products, which I keep in a collapsible cloth box I got at the dollar store. I haven't been traveling with a blow dryer because most places provide one. The place we are renting now doesn't, so I was forced to go out and purchase a "travel dryer". Yeah right, travel dryer, ha! The handle folds down. Big deal. It still takes up as much room as a regular dryer. But, I can't live without one and be seen in public. It's a necessary evil. It's so hard to be a Gypsy Diva.

I gave up nail polish

That's right. I gave up nail polish. I grew weary of carrying around a bag of various color nail polish, base coat, top coat, crackle coat, cuticle oil, nail polish remover, cotton balls, cotton swabs. By ditching these items, I saved several square inches of space, and I'm sure, a few pounds of weight from my luggage. Keeping up with your nail polish can be a hassle. I can't sit still long enough for it to dry, so I always inevitably smudged my fresh polish. I would have to change the color depending on what I was wearing. I certainly couldn't leave the house if I had a chip in my nails. The horror!!!! So, of course, I would have to re-do the whole thing before going out, much to my husband's dismay. Well, I decided to stop wearing nail polish altogether and I haven't regretted it. Now I just massage some coconut oil on my cuticles and nails everyday. It make them look attractive, and gives them a nice shine. In fact, I've noticed my nails are so much healthier. They're longer, stronger, and thicker than they've ever been. I recently took a trip to Jamaica and I debated on making them pretty just for the trip. But then I remembered the trip we took to Cabo. I somehow scraped my toes on the bottom of the pool and scratched my polish at the tip and it stressed me out the whole trip. So I decided this trip to forgo the polish, and I'm glad I did. I got to focus on having fun and not on how bad that chip in my polish on my big toe looks. I know a lot people will find this impossible, but I feel liberated.

Hotel Room Cuisine

I’ve been addicted to watching shows like Rachael Ray and The Chew. This is somewhat frustrating due to the fact we have been living in hotels for the last few months and I have no kitchen. The closest thing I have is a microwave and refrigerator. I love to cook and I want to make all those delicious meals I see them creating on their shows. Although cooking meals in a hotel can be challenging, it is not impossible. Nutrition is available without eating out every meal, which can get expensicve or having to eat every morning at the hotel provided carb-laden breakfast, which can get fattening and boring. Believe it or not, you can make scrambled eggs in the microwave. I simply scramble two eggs add a little milk or water, and sometimes a little grated cheese, and pour into a ceramic coffee cup (which I got at Dollar Tree.) You should spray the cup with some cooking spray, or I just add a little olive oil and brush around with a pastry brush. Don’t forget to cover with a paper towel. Cook in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, cook another 30 seconds, stir, and cook for a final 30 seconds. Microwave times vary, so you have to experiment with times. Sometimes we add some veggies such as green or red peppers, mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, etc, and I will add a few more seconds to each microwave cooking time. You can also mix all the ingredients and pour into a microwave steamer bag available near where you would find zip loc baggies at the grocery store. You just cook them in the microwave for a minute or two and you have an omelet. Never use a regular zip loc baggie to do this. Tortillas are one of my favorite staples to keep on hand as you will soon learn. You can wrap the scrambled eggs in a tortilla and add salsa. We have a portable, electric, non-stick grill I picked up at a second hand store for $6.50 that I use to grill meats on. It also works perfect for toasting bread, English muffins, or thin hamburger buns. We enjoy it with just jelly or add egg, cheese and turkey bacon. Another way to cook egg for a breakfast sandwich is to put a some ham or turkey on the bottom or a ceramic coffee cup or bowl, crack an egg on top, cook for a minute in the microwave, add cheese, cook for another minute and slide out onto toasted bread. I like to get fresh cut fruit, or fresh berries, and add to the side of my eggs, turkey bacon, and toast, and you have a nice healthy breakfast, and for a lot cheaper than what you would pay at Denny’s. Not that we don’t like to splurge on Denny’s occasionally. Other easy breakfast ideas are: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, turkey rolled in a tortilla, Greek yogurt and fruit, and oatmeal. Dinners are another challenge. Fortunately, as I mentioned before, I managed to pick up a non-stick, electric grill at a resale store. It is absolutely my favorite purchase so far. My second favorite is my hand held mixer I got at Goodwill for $4. I use it to make my salsa, because I don’t like store bought salsa. But, let’s get back to the grill. I use it to grill chicken breasts, salmon, steaks, hamburgers, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, squash, asparagus, pineapple, and toast. I only have two spices that I carry with me at the moment, and they are not salt and pepper. Weber makes some delicious spices for grilling meats. My two favorites are Kick’n Chicken, and Garlic and Herb. They taste great on any type of meat whether is says for chicken are not. I love when I find a grocery or health food store that carries bulk spices. I can buy as much or as little as I want. So if I just need enough curry spice for one meal, that’s all I have to buy. I don’t have to buy a whole container. I like to use garlic and onion powder a lot, but hate to carry around a bunch of bulky containers. I just get small amount and keep it in the baggies that are provided. They barely take up any room. You can also sometimes find bagged spices in the produce section and they are a lot cheaper than buying the ones in the spice aisle. You just need to re-bag them in a zip loc baggie, because they’re not re-sealable. Another of my favorite ideas for dinner is to pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and serve it with a side or some tomatoes and avocados. I like to get the cherry tomatoes, because they don’t require refrigeration. But I will buy the larger ones if I am going to cut the whole thing up and eat at dinner. Uncle Ben makes some delicious brown rice side sold in a steamer bag that goes straight into the microwave. Santa Fe flavor is our favorite, but I’m having a hard time finding it at Wal-Mart lately. There are also several frozen vegetables now sold in steamer bags as well. We like the broccoli and cheese. I put whatever is left of the rotisserie chicken in a zip loc baggie (how would I ever live without these things!) and serve it the next night on a tortilla with cheese, veggies, and salsa. We sometimes give in and get microwave TV dinners, but not often, because they’re loaded with sodium and controversial ingredients. Healthy Choice makes a frozen dinner line called Café Steamers. My favorite is the Chicken Margherita. Here’s a little secret: You can save the steamer bowl that comes with this meal and use it as a colander to rinse berries and canned beans. It works perfect and its compact. There goes my frugal side. We also like to occasionally get the lasagna dinners for two, but since we don’t get them very often I couldn’t tell you what brand we like. We’ve recently discovered that we love Campbell’s 100% Natural Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla Soup. Sprinkle some crumbs from the bottom of a bag of tortilla chips on top. Delicious! Hotel room dining isn’t as boring as I once conceived. With a little imagination and ingenuity it can be pretty tasty.

RV Life

I haven’t been writing in a while, and I apologize. We didn’t have internet access about 75% of the time last year and I just got out of the habit of writing. I’m making an effort to get back into it. Last year we bought an RV. A 36 foot fifth wheel. I loved it. It was like taking your home with you when you moved. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to pack everything up in a suitcase and boxes every time we had to move. It has an island kitchen with plenty of storage and plenty of room to cook full meals. I even baked bread and made desserts. It boasts a large living area, a dining area, and a bedroom with a queen size bed, a vanity dresser, a clothing closet and a utility closet. It also featured a decent sized shower, sink, and separate toilet. This came in handy on a few occasions travelling down the road and couldn’t find a gas station or McDonald’s. We even had a satellite system with an automatic search. We did not however have our own internet access. Some RV parks do offer free wi-fi, but most of them you have to be in range of the modem. At one RV Park in Indiana we had to walk all the way up to the office, and sit in the rec center to get access. I usually did this on days I did laundry. When we first purchased the RV my husband was working in Oklahoma and we stayed at the State Park. They don’t offer wi-fi. Of course they don’t! You should be out enjoying yourself. I liked staying here, because we woke up to deer walking around every morning. They had a nice pool that offered water aerobics in the evening and several hiking trails I would go walk on in the mornings. I would also ride my bicycle a lot without worrying about getting run over. One of the drawbacks to staying at the State Park is you are only allowed to stay for up to 14 days. Then you have to leave for 24 hours before you can come back. Unless you get an extension, like we did. We were there for almost 3 weeks. But I went to the Park Ranger and explained to him that my husband was waiting on word to go to the next project site and we would need a few more days and he gave us an extension for another week. Next we were sent to Cheyenne, WY, right during Frontier Days. Which was an exciting experience, but most of the RV spots were reserved up to a year in advance. So we had to stay in an electric only area. So we weren’t hooked up to water or sewer. They would, however, fill up our water tanks, and empty our sewer water on a regular basis. But the electric was slowed way down by too many people on the system. So I would have to turn everything off to run the microwave or it would overload. We were not in range of the internet. So once again I was deprived of online socializing. But we did have plenty of entertainment. I had the opportunity to meet people who came from all over. I even met a gentleman from France, who was backpacking in the States. They have some amazing concerts during Frontier Days. We saw Mark Chestnutt and Jason Aldean one weekend, and Eric Church and Toby Keith the next. Cheyenne has a shuttle service that runs during Frontier Days and stops at all the hotels and campgrounds, and its only $2 to ride. If you decide to take a cab instead, I think its $8 to go anywhere in town. Cheyenne also has an awesome Farmer’s Market that runs most of the year on Tuesdays and during the summer on Saturdays. It’s a great way to get some local, organically grown fruit and vegetables. There are a couple of women who sell goat cheese and a gentleman who sells fresh farm eggs, but get there early, because he sells out quick. If you like organic meats, there are some people who sell grass-fed, organic, hormone free beef and chicken. However a whole chicken is about $12 and they don’t sell just chicken breasts, or thighs. If the Amish women are there selling their jam, be sure to try the Traffic Jam. It’s made with different fruit and tomatoes, and it is amazing. Again, get there early. It’s the first one to sell out. After a couple of months we headed to Indiana and we stayed at a place in Monticello, near an amusement park called Indiana Beach. If you arrive during the summer, it might be a fun place. We got there the week after Labor Day and everything pretty much closes down for the winter. There was one place called Jake’s Beach House we stopped at that was still open. It has a patio that overlooked the lake and we stopped in a couple of times and had a pizza and a beer. But, it closed the week after we got there. We stayed at a small RV park that leases out seasonal spots. They charge a small fee for the whole season, which runs from about April to the end of October. After that all you pay for is the electricity. We met a lot of people that live here the entire season, and then go south for the winter. I think this is the perfect retirement plan. We also met people that live within a few hours and just come on the weekends. It was a neat little place other than the fact I had to walk to the office to get internet, and do laundry. I wasn’t pleased with the water there, either. It was very hard. I was only there a few days when it already started staining my sinks and toilet. We had to change our filter on our hose about every week. Usually it should get changed once a month. Other than that, we enjoyed it there. They have several social events, and they had a big Halloween party and a hayride when we were there. We met a great group of people that entertained pretty much every weekend who received us into their group and made us feel welcome.

Having the RV has been my favorite experience being on the road. I met a lot of nice people, and had some great times and I always felt like I was at home. One of the drawbacks we found was that most RV parks, esp in the Northern part of the country, close at the end of October. So unfortunately we had to put it in storage for the winter, and its still there, due to the fact we need a little work done on it and haven’t been home long enough to take care of it. We are hoping to be able to retrieve it soon.