Turkey, Bacon and Spinach Pizza with Old Bay

Have you ever tried food seasoned with Old Bay? If you have, you've probably tried it with seafood. And it was probably delicious. But I say...ignore the conventional, add this to your pizza! I don't remember specifically the last time I had any food seasoned with Old Bay, but I will remember this turkey, bacon and spinach za forever.

Does the picture have you convinced at all? I know you can't taste it through the screen, and even if you try really hard you probably won't be able to smell it either. But if I might just fill in those blanks for you, the taste is like no pizza you've ever experienced. This is one for the top 10 list for sure. A quote after the husbands first bite: "Wow. I think you did it again." That was a proud moment for me. And the smell is just outta control. Like whoa. Old Bay has got a savory, spicy, earthy aroma that you'd most likely encounter in restaurants around the Gulf Coast. But bring it into your kitchen, and oh my! And did I mention that there's bacon in it? That alone should get your tasters and smellers in gear.

So, gather your ingredients for the za toppings:

• 1-2 cups pizza sauce
• 6-8 slices of bacon
• 1/2 chopped onion
• About 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1-2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
• About 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Get cooking, good looking!

• Place your pizza stone into a cold oven. Turn the temperature to 500. 
• Fire up the stove with a skillet on one burner. I love my cast iron skillet, but if you don't have one you can still cook these foods in a normal sort of pan. While the skillet is heating, chop your bacon into small pieces - smaller than bite-sized. Place those pieces in the hot skillet and begin to cook these, but don't cook them all the way through just yet. Maybe keep them on there for about 2 minutes.
• While the bacon is in the pan, chop up your onion. Add those pieces to the pan and cook with the bacon until the onion pieces are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. 

Bacon + Onions = Divine smelling kitchen

• Add the ground turkey to the pan and keep breaking it up so you don't have any large chunks. 

Use about 1/3 of a package of ground turkey

• Now add the magic. (Cue to add the Old Bay.) You don't need a ton of this - really less than a tablespoon would be fine. I didn't measure mine specifically - just sprinkled a smattering on there until it was fragrant!

Oh, hello back there, Old Bay.

• When your turkey is cooked through, turn off the heat. Add the chopped spinach to the mix and stir it around until it wilts. You may have to do this in batches, as raw spinach tends to occupy a lot of volume. 
• Now get your stone out of the oven and place it on your work surface. Place prepared pizza dough on top of the hot stone, followed by the sauce. Spread the sauce evenly on the dough working it as far to the edges as you can. 
• Top that with the bacon/onion/turkey/spinach mixture, evenly topping the pizza. Sprinkle the mozzarella on next, followed by the chopped parsley. 
• Place it back into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. I did a bit of a thinner crust with this one, so mine cooked in under 10 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and you'll know it's done when the crust and the cheese on top turn golden. 

Yummy yum-ness. You'd better come with your appetite and your pizza party hat on. You've just made a real masterpiece, friend. You really don't understand the magic and wonders Old Bay can bring until you've tried this pizza. During the eating of this pizza I constantly asked myself...what is this sorcery? But all I can figure out is that I will need to stock my kitchen with some new Old Bay very soon if this za making continues. 

Za and beers for two, thank you!

Deluxe Greek Pizza

If you're thinking this za looks familiar, then you're probably remembering my recent Mini Greek Pizza. No need to be confused and no need to be alarmed. I am not a pizza repeater. The Mini was a grand and tasty thing, but this Deluxe truly lives up to that title.

This pizza is loaded down with tangy flavors and fresher than fresh toppings. It was one of those so-good-out-of-the-oven-you-burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth tasty ones. It's a pizza I've been wanting to make for quite some time now but never seemed to have all of the ingredients at home all at once. But suddenly that all changed and the Deluxe Greek became a very delicious reality.

Pizza toppings:

• 1-2 cups pizza sauce
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• About 1 cup chicken breast meat, chopped
• Handful of Kalamata olives, sliced in half
• Handful of marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• About 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• Half avocado, diced
• Half cucumber, diced

There are really two "sets" of toppings for this pizza: the ones that go on before the pizza goes into the oven, and the ones that go on after the pizza comes out of the oven, just before it is served.

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 500 with a pizza stone inside.
• Prepare your crust - roll it out on a lightly floured surface and cut it into a circle that is the same size or just smaller than your pizza stone. Let it sit there while the oven preheats and you prepare the rest of your toppings.
• The rest of the prep work is really nothing more than just chopping up ingredients. I used some leftover oven-baked chicken seasoned with tomato basil pesto as a topping, but if you don't have that on hand already like I did, that's the only cooking prep you'll really have to do. (Spread the pesto over the chicken and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.)
• Chop the chicken, tomato, artichoke hearts, and olives into bite-sized pieces and set them aside. (These are the toppings that go on first.)
• Chop the cucumber and avocado and set those aside separately. (These are the post-bake toppings.)

• When the stone is completely hot, take it out of the oven and place it on your work surface. Place the prepared dough for the crust on top of that.
• Spread your desired amount of pizza sauce on the crust, and spread it out evenly, going as close to the edges as you can. Then add on the first set of toppings, sprinkling them around evenly to the edges (chicken, tomatoes, olives, and artichokes).
• Top it off with your two cheeses (mozzarella and then feta on top) and carefully place it back in the oven. Bake it for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden on the edges and the cheese is melted on top.
• Take it out of the oven and place it back on your work surface. Immediately sprinkle the last two toppings on it - the cucumber and avocado pieces. Let it sit and cool for a few minutes before slicing. 

One thing I wish I'd used more of on this pizza were the Kalamata olives. These are not the puny, pathetic little black olives that you typically see atop the pizzas from major major pizza chains and subs from franchised sub shops. These are different. They are larger, full of flavor and downright excellent. And they just want to share all that flavor with you and your taste buds. Sadly, I only had about half a jar of these in my fridge. I suppose they were just so tasty I never even noticed how quickly they had been disappearing! 

Another thing I'd recommend is red pepper flakes. Sprinkle them all around! Spice is good. I actually sprinkled a bit over the whole za as soon as it came out of the oven, and then more onto my individual slices. It really brings all the flavor flaves together - salty feta, tangy olives, creamy avocados, fresh and crunchy cucumbers, savory pesto chicken and artichokes, and then there ya go with that spice. 

The 12's Workout and a Long Run

Maybe it was all the pasta I've been eating this week, but I had a LOT of energy yesterday and frankly, felt like I could conquer the world. When I realized that was an unrealistic goal, I decided to just do a really long workout instead.

So this is a workout in which a few circuit-style exercises are embedded into a long run. I am always a fan of that. The entire run was a loop (not just out and back) for a total of 6 miles. It's a run I've done before, but I have never stopped in the middle of it to do another workout.

The first run segment was 2.2 miles. I did this in my best time yet - 17:35 for a 7:59 pace. Woop!

At my pit stop, it was time for the circuit workout.  Since my favorite number of all time is 12, I decided that I would do 12 reps of everything. Not an incredibly hard workout, but with 3.8 miles still ahead of me, I didn't want to collapse when I was done with it all. 

And here's your motivational text image to get you through it:

Push-ups: you can modify these if you need to, of course.

For the step-ups with a leg lift, I was lucky enough to have picnic tables under a pavilion where I did this workout. If you don't have that, you  can just do alternating lunges. Basically just take a long step forward, bend both knees to about 90 degrees (but don't let your back knee touch the ground) and then come back to standing with both feet together. Switch your lead leg and repeat. 

If you want a little extra sumpin-sumpin' to work your booty, you can do a step-back lunge with a leg lift. For that, start standing with feet together, take a long step backwards, and bend both knees to 90 degrees (just don't let your knee touch the ground). When you come back to standing, lift your back leg as far up behind you as you can, hold it there for a "one-one thousand" count, then carefully return to your starting position. That's basically what I did, except I was stepping up onto the bench of a picnic table and lifting legs up and behind. Count each rep as one, so that will be a total of six per side.

Burpees, oh burpees. They are hated by some, despised by many. But burpees and I have come to terms with each other. I can think of few other exercises that work so many muscle groups so well. Burpees cover your shoulders, arms, quads, hamstrings, core, and of course your heart because they will get that heart rate up. Do what you have to do - grit it out, sing a song, yell and scream, breathe - but just do them.

Now for the part where you see "bicycle crunches"...I didn't do those for all three rounds, but if you can't think of any other abdominal/core exercises then bicycle crunches are a good choice. Other ones I did to switch it up: v-crunches and v-bicycles. Other options for you:
1-minute plank
12 toe-touches
12 cruches with feet up, knees bent to 90 degrees
1 minute flutter kicks

Wasn't that fun? Okay, running again. Just picked up where I left off and finished the loop!

So I slowed down a little bit. 9:08 pace. Can I blame the burpees maybe? I think I'll do that. But that's the thing when you go run a loop. It's not like an out-and-back where you know you can just turn around whenever. When you run a loop you get to the point of no return: the halfway point. You could turn back, but it would make no difference. If you go any further there would be no point in turning back because then you would just be adding distance. And no matter what you do, you have to get back to where you started, preferably before the sun goes down.

I've known runners to ask friends to drive them out to a certain point, maybe 6 or 7 miles from home, and then leave them there to run back. (Remember when I said that runners were a little bit crazy? Yeah, that's what I was talking about.) That is dedication, and that is discipline. Not to mention, it takes confidence and courage to train that way. You have no choice but to get it done!

So if you do this workout, or even just an abbreviated version of it (I'll admit, that is a lot of running), set your mind to start and keep going until you arrive at the finish line. Don't cut out any parts halfway through. You may suffer a little bit, but you will gain a lot physically and mentally.

If you're a Pinterest regular like myself, or if you've even seen examples of seemingly "crazy" workouts (you know, the kind where you're doing hundreds of reps, or even thousands, of a huge variety of complex exercises?) you probably think that sort of workout is simply absurd and never going to happen. Like it's for someone else and not for you. While it's true that "those" workouts are not for everyone, it does not mean they are for no one. And I guarantee that the people that lead those workouts once thought the exact same thing and they did not start exercising like that overnight either. And also, they are still learning.

I'll save my own tale of the unlikely way I became a fitness instructor for another day. But what I can say - and what I do say - to those in the classes I teach is, "Push through it. Don't stop. You can slow down and catch your breath or modify the exercise, but don't stop."

Pizz-adventures

Well a weekend has passed and I just found myself too busy to make a pizza! It's kind of a sadness when a weekend goes by and I have not eaten the delightful combination of bread, tomato sauce, and cheese. But life goes on - I'm not starving. Hence I bring you, travels and pizza. After all, my own za making would be nothing if it were not for nearby pizzas that inspire me. 

• First, The Buffalo.

I probably would not have thought to make a buffalo chicken pizza on my own had it not been for The Bufflo at CJ's Pizza in Columbus, MS. This lovely za is covered in wing sauce, chicken, onions, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and a spiral of ranch dressing. 

Not too shabby. 

Not to mention, CJ's was apparently voted "Best Pizza" for 3 consecutive years. I don't know who voted (I know that I didn't), but I would definitely say that CJ's does have the best pizza in town. Given of course, I live in a very small town (we're talking about a population of less than 30,000) and the only other pizza joints are Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut. So not to say that they don't deserve that award, but I don't think anyone else could really compete with them. 

 

I do have to hand it to them - for a little pizza shop in a strip mall, they are a force to be reckoned with. Their large pizza is huge. Really, it could feed four hungry people and there would still be leftovers. And it's fresh. You can see back into the kitchen where they do all the prep and that dough is being tossed by hand. My other recommendations from their menu: the Pesto Gourmet (pesto sauce, ham artichoke hearts, onion, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese) and the Chicken Florentina (ricotta cheese, chicken, spinach, mushrooms, fresh garlic and olive oil). The Rock & Roll is also a good, but that's something I would call "man food": pepperoni, onion, green pepper, jalapeños, ham, sausage, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. 

Although the buffalo chicken pizza was tasty and satisfying during this particular eating adventure, it was just a bit greasy. In the past it has not been quite so greasy, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they may have just been a bit too heavy on the bacon this time around. Too heavy on the bacon? Impossible! You must think I'm insane for saying that. But yes, the bacon bits themselves were very large - more like small pieces of ham instead of tiny bits of bacon. But like I said, that was unusual for this place as we have ordered that pizza at least 6 times before and have never had it turn out that way.

• Second, Pizza Rustica.

You're probably looking at that picture and thinking, the heck is a salad doing on that pizza? Hear me out. That is arugula, which is a close sibling of our friend spinach, which is by no means uncommon on a pizza or any other dish for that matter. 

Yes, I know this pizza looks a little bit, well, different. But my goodness, once you tasted it you would not care if it looked like roadkill. 

This is from the restaurant La Famiglia which we visited while on vacation in Destin, FL earlier this year. This Italian restaurant serves more than just pizza, but since we hadn't filled our weekly pizza quota prior to this restaurant visit we just knew that za was what we were ordering. This one is topped with mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses, tomatoes, ham, grilled chicken, and of course, arugula. What made this pizza so memorable was the crispy thin crust and the gorgonzola, which I never would have thought to use on a pizza as that is one cheese I've never really cooked with. And the fresh crunch of a little arugula on top was just the perfect thing to finish it out. 

Pizza lovers, gather round the table at La Famiglia when you have the chance. Our waiter that evening told us that the place was started up by three "very Italian" sisters. He didn't say they were somewhat Italian, or even half Italian. He said very. So it made sense that the food was so enjoyable...I guess those three really knew the cuisine of their motherland!