Name: Caramelized Onion and Apple Pizza
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4-8 servings
Ingredients: 2 slices bacon, diced (optional) or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 large yellow or sweet onion, thinly sliced; 1 large apple, cored and thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 recipe pizza dough, your favorite; olive oil; 4 ounces mozzarella or other cheese, grated; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Caramelized Onion and Apple Pizza

June 5, 2015

Though unconventional, caramelized onion and apple pizza is delicious and makes your homemade pizza a little more special than the standard cheese and pepperoni (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) using ingredients that you probably already have in your house!

I know that apple pizza might sound a little bizarre but hear me out on this. You guys know that I would never lead you astray.

You might think that as a food blogger I never suffer from bouts of just not wanting to cook. Sometimes it’s about actually not wanting to cook and other times it’s about a craving…usually Mexican but sometimes something more lowbrow like (gasp!) fast food. When the “don’t wannas” strike it’s good to have some back-ups that feel like fast food but aren’t.

Like tacos, or risotto, or pizza. Pizza is one of those foods that you can just throw anything on and dang, it’s good. Pizza is a receptacle for the leftovers in my fridge and the items in my pantry that I probably won’t use for anything else.

Sometimes a pizza craving strikes and we’ll grab Domino’s or Pizza Hut but usually when a pizza craving strikes I can talk myself out of it because when you can make pizza at home with little to no effort why would you spend extra money to eat pizza that you usually end up deciding isn’t as good as what you’d make yourself? Wow, that was a major run-on sentence. Anyway…that’s how this caramelized onion and apple pizza came about. I was actually going to rephotograph my baked potato pizza, but then I remembered that (a) I was almost out of sour cream; and (b) I had a green apple in my fruit drawer that needed to be used.

So there you go. Caramelized onion and apple pizza. I used a yellow storage onion because it’s what I had, but bonus points if you have a sweet onion (like a Vidalia, which of course is what I would use). And a Granny Smith apple, but again…use what you have. Smoked mozzarella was delicious here, but regular mozzarella would be great as would Gouda…and if I had some blue cheese it would have worked marvelously here. Oh, and I used bacon, because when you have Benton’s bacon in the house you’ll find any reason to use it….but it would be great without too. Just use some butter to cook the apples and onions instead. The flavors of those apples and onions cooked down until practically syrupy was a perfect compliment for the salty cheese.

Caramelized onion and apple pizza for the win!

Yield: 4-8 servings

Caramelized Onion and Apple Pizza

15 minPrep Time:

30 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

2 slices bacon, diced (optional) or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow or sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 large apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 recipe pizza dough, your favorite
olive oil
4 ounces mozzarella or other cheese, grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Sauté the bacon until crisp then remove to a paper towel lined plate. If not using the bacon, skip this step and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet instead.
Add the apples, onions, and salt to the pan and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cooked down and caramelized. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees (I preheat my stoneware pizza pan but you can also use a baking sheet) with the rack at the highest level.
Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface or a large sheet of parchment paper. Spray or brush with olive oil. Distribute the onions and apples over the pizza dough and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Top with the bacon, if using, then finish with the Parmesan.
Bake the pizza for 10 minutes or until the cheese has lightly browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Notes

Placing the rack at the top level of the oven allows the heat to bounce off the roof of the oven, which will cook the top of the pizza more efficiently.

https://chattavore.com/caramelized-onion-and-apple-pizza/

Click here to print the recipe for caramelized onion and apple pizza!

Apples on pizza may sound strange but I wouldn't lead you astray. This caramelized onion and apple pizza will change your perspective! | chattavore.com

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Lemon Glaze

June 3, 2015

Blueberry oatmeal muffins are every bit as delicious as the “cake for breakfast” variety of blueberry muffins, but oatmeal healths them up!

I once read that muffins are basically an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. I’d never really thought of it like that, but once I read that I couldn’t stop thinking about that statement and how, well, true it was. Not that I’m saying I don’t eat the occasional muffin for breakfast, but when I do I try to make sure that they have a lot of healthy stuff in them-stuff I wouldn’t generally put in cake. You know, whole wheat and the like.

I really start thinking about blueberry muffins a lot this time of year because we have two adorable little blueberry bushes in our front yard and we get pretty excited to see the berries starting to ripen. They aren’t quite there yet, but they’re getting close so I thought it was time to start upping my blueberry muffin game. Like with these blueberry oatmeal muffins.

Blueberry oatmeal muffins are every bit as delicious as the “cake for breakfast” variety of blueberry muffins. I won’t lie, they aren’t lacking in sugar but they’re full of oatmeal (blended into oat flour) which makes them healthy, right? And the good news is that the blueberries in these blueberry oatmeal muffins are indeed blueberries from my front yard, just frozen from last year (frozen blueberries work best in muffins anyway).

Topped with a syrupy, lemony glaze, these blueberry muffins are tangy and bright and full of flavor. Be careful, though…don’t overcook the glaze. I did and it was more like candy than glaze. I took pictures anyway because the muffins were so good and I didn’t want to make them again.

These blueberry oatmeal muffins were delicious anyway, so you should definitely make them!

Yield: 12 muffins

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Lemon Glaze

15 minPrep Time:

45 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups (6 ounces) old-fashioned/rolled oats
1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cup (9 1/3 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

For the glaze

1/2 cup granulated sugar
juice and zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter and set aside. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the oats and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until they smell nutty and turn golden brown. Place in a food processor or blender and blend until the oats are pulverized into a fine flour, about 30 seconds (a less powerful blender may take a little longer).
Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the oats. Pulse several times to thoroughly combine.
In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and butter until well combined. Add the butter and the eggs and whisk until well combined. Carefully use the whisk to fold in half of the oat mixture, tapping the whisk against the side of the bowl to remove any dry bits that get caught in the whisk. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients.
Add the blueberries and use a rubber spatula to fold the blueberries into the batter. Divide among the muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack (loosen with a knife or spatula if needed) and completely to warm before serving.
To make the glaze, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a small saucepan. Cook and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has reduced slightly. Be careful not to overcook as this will cause the glaze to harden when you put it on the muffins.
While the glaze is still warm, drizzle it over the muffins. Store the muffins in an airtight container for 2-4 days (because they are so moist they will mold quickly).

Notes

This recipe was adapted from America's Test Kitchen .

Cook time includes time to bake the muffins as well as toasting the oats and making the glaze.

https://chattavore.com/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins-with-lemon-glaze/

Click here to print the recipe for blueberry oatmeal muffins!

Vegetarian Taco Salad (Quick & Easy!)

June 1, 2015

This vegetarian taco salad is so quick and easy. It’s perfect to put in a Mason jar, and it’s great for lunch or for dinner!

I mentioned a while back that we’ve been eating salads pretty much every day for lunch lately…the Asian chicken salad and this vegetarian taco salad have emerged as my favorites. I know that it seems kind of obvious for me to tell you how to make a taco salad. Um, duh. Lettuce, meat and/or beans, cheese, toppings, chips….taco salad. The thing is, though, that if it hadn’t been for my aunt making this vegetarian taco salad when she was visiting a couple of summers ago, I probably wouldn’t have thought of it. Again, really? After I had it I felt really dopey. The difference between this and the taco salads that I was used to is that this is more salad and less chip, whereas the taco “salads” I’d always eaten were more about the chips (or the fried bowl) than about anything that one would otherwise recognize as a salad.

There are a lot of great things about this vegetarian taco salad. First of all, since there’s no meat, you can pack it all (besides the chips) up in a Mason jar for an easy lunch, no microwave or assembly required. Second, you can leave out the cheese and the sour cream or ranch dressing (or use cashew cream) for a vegan version. Third, um, this salad just tastes goooood. And it’s super easy…you can cook your own beans like I do because I’m cheap like that, or you can open a can and do 0 cooking to get this salad.

If you need a break from your standard lunch (or dinner, really), make my vegetarian taco salad (and I won’t even get upset if you add meat….)!

Yield: 1 salad

Vegetarian Taco Salad

10 minPrep Time:

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Ingredients

2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 5-6 leaves or half a romaine heart)
1/2 cup cooked black beans, well drained
1 ounce cheddar cheese, shredded or cut into cubes (omit for vegan version)
1/4 avocado, diced
1 tablespoon salsa
1 tablespoon ranch dressing, sour cream, or cashew cream (or omit and use 2 tablespoons of salsa)
5 or 6 tortilla chips
other taco toppings, optional

Instructions

For a plated salad, place the lettuce on a plate and top with the black beans, cheese, avocado, and any other desired toppings. Stir together the salsa and dressing/sour cream/cashew cream and drizzle over the salad. Top with crumbled chips and serve immediately.
To assemble into a Mason jar salad: stir together the salsa and dressing/sour cream/cashew cream in the bottom of a 1-quart wide-mouthed Mason jar. Add the avocado, then the cheese, then the black beans. Add the lettuce last and top with the lids. Refrigerate or pack in a lunchbox with an icepack until ready to serve. Pack chips separately. If you want to add other toppings, you can put them in the jar as well, just be sure that you place "wet" ingredients under the beans and away from the lettuce.

https://chattavore.com/vegetarian-taco-salad/

Click here to print the recipe for vegetarian taco salad!

Vegetarian taco salad is a delicious option for lunch or for dinner and it's great packed in a Mason jar! | Chattavore

Zarzour’s Café (Downtown Chattanooga)

May 30, 2015

Zarzour’s Café is a Chattanooga classic. It’s been around since 1918 and serves delicious burgers plus meat and three and desserts!

I have been meaning to go to Zarzour’s Café since I wrote my first burger list in 2013 and a commenter declared my list invalid since I had not tried Zarzour’s, which is the oldest restaurant in Chattanooga, having opened in 1918. The problem is, they are not open on the weekend and they are only open 11-3 on weekdays. Plus, I wasn’t sure if they took credit cards (they do not) and I never have cash so I knew that visiting would take some planning ahead so I wouldn’t get caught without a way to pay. Since I’m off from work right now (woohoo summer break!) this gave me the perfect opportunity to plan ahead. We grabbed some cash and headed downtown.

We got there around 12:45 or 1 and were able to easily find parking on the street (there is a small lot next to the restaurant as well). The place is small (and smells like burgers-that is, glorious-and it was fairly crowded but there were still several tables open. We seated ourselves and perused the menu that was on the table, even though we really didn’t need to. There are a handful of items that are on the menu all the time-burgers and fries and a couple of salads-plus rotating daily specials and desserts. The specials come with two vegetables and tea or you can add a soda for an additional charge.

A server took our drink order then when she returned with our waters she took our order-two cheeseburgers, one all the way and one with no onions, plus fries. A lady (who turned out to be the owner, Shannon) was manning the flat-top griddle and the fryer behind the counter while joking around with customers and dropping a few curse words (so beware-and maybe sit in the back room-if you have ears that are sensitive to that sort of thing…I do not), and it appeared that the two servers were getting the other items from a stove in a small room in the back. Most of the people that came in while we were there ordered burgers but a few did get specials. There were several people that left while we were there who were obviously regulars and were on a first name basis with the staff. I also saw a server helping a man with a cane carry an order to his car. That’s service, guys.

Our orders came out fairly quickly, especially considering that one person was preparing all the burgers and fries. I’ll get the fries out of the way first…they were standard frozen crinkle-cut fries. Pretty good but nothing special as fries go. It doesn’t matter, though, because it’s all about the burger here. One bite and I was hooked….the meat had that crispy quality to it from being browned on the griddle, but the inside was juicy and the whole thing was perfectly seasoned…I’ll give the meat a 4 since it was cooked perfectly but I assume that it is just regular, nothing special about it ground beef. The bread gets a 5…it was a Niedlov’s bun and GAH. It was cooked to a perfect crisp on the flat-top. Toppings are a 3.5 …just the right amount of condiments (mayonnaise and mustard) so it was not dripping and the pickles, lettuce, and tomato were fine. Cheese also a 4-American cheese is just the best for melting but others contribute more to the flavor. As for structural integrity, I’ve got to give it a 5…it was darn greasy but it held together perfectly all the way to the last bite. Size is also a 5…it was not huge and I didn’t feel stuffed after eating it but I was not hungry for several hours after. Overall, this burger gets a 4.4. I feel like it needs a bonus, though, and I’m going to hold onto that for later because this burger was just so darn good (and that crispy bread tho!) that even though a lot of its components were nothing special everything together just worked so perfectly.

So I can’t tell you much about Zarzour’s other than that it’s a popular place with a salty-mouthed owner manning the griddle (which I found hilarious). And it serves amazing burgers.

I’ll have to go back to try out the specials and the desserts because those desserts sounded pretty delicious. But I know that restaurants don’t stick around for nearly 100 years if they aren’t fantastic, so they are definitely doing something right. By the way, our total was $18 even pre-tip (you put your tip in a jar on the counter). So go there!

Zarzour’s Café is located at 1627 Rossville Avenue (not Rossville Blvd.), Chattanooga, TN 37408. They are open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. You can call them at (423) 266-0424. They do not have a website, but you can like Zarzour’s Café on Facebook.

Amaretto & Irish Creme Iced Coffee

May 28, 2015

In the summer, drinking coffee during the daytime can be a bit problematic, but that problem is easily solved with this amaretto & Irish creme iced coffee!

I was a very disorganized child. A Type A overachiever, yes, but one who managed to be a Type A overachiever while papers fell out of my Trapper Keeper and flooded my book bag. It’s a miracle that I ever got homework turned in or got papers signed, though the one time I remember ever getting in trouble at school for something more serious than talking when we were supposed to be silent was for forging my mom’s signature on a quiz I’d forgotten to have her sign. I got a 100 but had terrible handwriting (which might be a shock to anyone who’s seen my handwriting in the last 25 years) and my teacher immediately knew that I had signed it myself. I had to stand “on the line” at recess for five minutes. I was mortified.

I was actually pretty disorganized well into adulthood (thank God I have a good memory) but about five years ago something clicked and I became über-organized. I love to organize files at work (don’t show me a file you don’t want organized) and I have a collection of paper clips and binder clips. Office Depot is like Shangri-la to me. Now, my house is kind of messy, but I like order and routine. I think this comes from years of teaching special education, where schedules are paramount and you don’t make changes without warning if you can avoid it. I got used to it too and now I’m hooked.

At home we’re relaxed but we definitely have a loose routine. It’s not like things have to happen around here at the exact same time every night, but they happen in the same order, anyway, and if that order gets disrupted we definitely feel out of sorts. One of our favorite routines is afternoon coffee, which we do every Saturday and Sunday. In the summertime, though, afternoon coffee can be a little problematic since, you know, if gets pretty darn hot around here.

So, iced coffee it is. Iced coffee is best when it’s made from cold brew, which is so simple that you are out of your mind if you don’t try this-just stir it up, let it sit for a while, then strain it. Mix it with whatever milk and flavorings you like (we used almond milk, Irish creme, and amaretto for this one but I’m just as likely to just use regular milk and no flavoring, or some simple syrup) and you have a perfect iced coffee for way cheaper than you can get in any coffee shop. I’m big on that-how much can I make something for versus buying it in a restaurant-so having iced coffee that costs me next to nothing is a pretty big deal to me.

How do you like your iced coffee?

Yield: 2 servings

Amaretto & Irish Creme Iced Coffee

12 hr, 5 Prep Time:

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Ingredients

For the cold brewed coffee (recipe from Smitten Kitchen )

1/3 cup ground coffee
1 1/2 cups water

For the iced coffees

1 recipe cold brew coffee
2 tablespoons amaretto (or 1 tablespoon amaretto-flavored coffee syrup)
2 tablespoons Irish creme (or 1 tablespoon Irish creme flavored coffee syrup)
1 cup regular, almond, or soy milk
ice

Instructions

To make the cold brew, combine the ground coffee and the water in a jar and allow to sit for 12 hours or overnight. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Divide the cold brew between two 16-ounce glasses. Add 1/2 cup milk to each glass.
Divide the flavorings between the glasses. Stir and fill each glass to the top with ice. Serve immediately.

https://chattavore.com/amaretto-irish-creme-iced-coffee/

Click here to print the recipe for amaretto & irish creme iced coffee!

In the summer, drinking coffee during the daytime can be a bit problematic, but that problem is easily solved with this amaretto & Irish creme iced coffee! | recipe from Chattavore.com

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