Nola's Pizza

 There are a few food items that I have a hard time matching here in FL to that of the same items in NY. Chinese food (or any Asian foods), pizza, bagels, etc. don't taste the same...and FYI, putting 'NY style' on your sign doesn't help the quality of the food. But I continue to try and make little mental notes about particular places and what I ordered there, and sometimes try to give a place the benefit of the doubt and order different items.

Awhile back I went to this pizza place called Nola's Pizza, they let you order by the slice or the whole pie (or pizza if you aren't from NY). It's not the cheapest option and if you really don't care about it being NY style, just go somewhere else like a Pizza Hut where it's probably almost half the price. But as they say, curiosity killed the cat, and I placed an order for an X-Large pepperoni, cheese, and fresh garlic pizza. An X-Large comes with 12 slices and normally you wouldn't think this was a problem, but when the pizza came the slices were very uneven in terms of how they were sliced, some were large (normal size) and some were 1/3 of a normal slice. The garlic was okay but honestly you would probably (actually I know) be more satisfied making the drive to a local Grimaldi's and ordering there, their fresh garlic and fresh cheese is FRESH and they don't skimp on the garlic.

But taking into consideration my laziness that day I went with the easier option. On a scale of 1-10, I would probably give it a 6.7-7 which isn't too bad. I could fold the slices, at least some of them, and there was a little grease to it, and the sauce had decent flavor. Once the price came into it and if you are a real pizza snob, you may want to order elsewhere. But give it a try, I can't say I was disappointed, just not super happy.

 http://www.nolaspizza.com/

Best I've Ever Had...Sloppy Joes that is.

Because I eat a good amount of meat at work, I like to cook a decent amount of vegetarian style dishes at home on my off days (if I have them). Last week I decided I wanted sloppy joes but with no beef, pork, or anything of a meat nature but I still wanted that meaty component. So I chose to add meatless crumbles and of course beans and mushrooms, which are a vegetarians best friend.

Below is an ingredient list:
- 1 pkg. of meatless crumbles (I like the Morningstar because they are usually semi or all the way unfrozen and that just leads to a more even thawing process)
- Rainbow carrots (if you live in Florida, Publix has finally had a genius moment and introduced smaller portions of various veggies/cheeses and has these guys in that section)
- Sweet Onion (yellow onion)
- Garlic
- 1 Scotch Bonnet
- 1 can of small red beans
- Bok Choy (I personally don't care for celery because it's stringy and breaks down too easily, bok choy holds itself very well and I like the leaves too, that is of course if you use them)
- 1 pkg. Bella mushrooms
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 large can of Dei Fratelli tomato sauce (I do enjoy San Marzano but they aren't always available at certain stores or affordable for some people)
- Tomato paste (if you are lazy and don't use it often then get the can, but the tube works great and you can put in whatever amount you like and put the rest in the fridge)
-Ketchup (I only use Heinz)
-Worcestershire Sauce
- Sriracha
- Various spices (pepper, flakes, cumin, chili powder, whatever fits your fancy). You can use salt if you like, but I only used a pinch when I was sweating the onions and mushrooms.

I cooked the "meat" and then put it on a paper towel to dry. I then took the onions and sweated them a little bit and then added the garlic and mushrooms and the peppers. After this, I then added the liquids and the beans and threw the "meat" back in. I just let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until everything was incorporated and then served over a whole wheat bun.

As with anything, I, like most people, read a bunch of people's recipes and make my own making substitutions here and there. But these are the ingredients I used and the method I used to cook.

Homemade Cod and spicy tomato soup.

Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, diced
3 cups of water
Spices
1 garlic clove
Splash of white vinegar
Dash of honey
Boil and cook for 30 minutes and serve.
Cook Cod to your own preference and place at bottom of bowl and pour soup over.

Stuffed Green Peppers.

Stuffed Peppers (Kimmie style) with Quinoa, Meatless Crumbles, Habaneros, Onions, and Garlic...topped with a Ketchup, Sriracha, Water, and Worcestershire Sauce. Take that Food Network.

Omelette, Kimmie Style.

Made an egg white omelette this morning. I cooked up some meatless crumbles, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and ricotta cheese and added it to the omelette. Yum! Oh, and I love sauce so I threw on some sauce on top...delicious.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza.

So during one of my frequent daydreaming sessions, I came up with the idea for spaghetti squash pizza. I didn't want to make it on dough or use my typical whole wheat pita bread so I wanted to use the squash as a substitute.

It was truly a labor of love and almost 2.5 hrs, a few re-starts, and a few glasses of white wine...we had our (almost there) desired result.

To recap, we cooked the squash like normal, flattened it out on a plate and after many attempts at drying it out, we put it in the freezer to make it hold its shape. We then added egg and some breadcrumbs in and put it into the skillet...cooked it on both sides and put it on the stone. (This is where I would, for the next time, cook it a 3rd time for awhile)...but we added the toppings on and baked it like a regular pizza.

For toppings we added: peperoncini, onions, green Spanish olives, black olives, meatless crumbles, mushrooms, cheese, sauce, cherry bomb peppers, and serrano peppers.

Overall, it was amazing and will take less time once the recipe gets perfected.