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    Well, I've been having so much fun on this Fun Friday that the blog is going up a little late, but hey, you can still have fun all weekend long! 
    Yesterday I posted about the fresh pesto that I made without pine nuts out of the basil in my garden and I promised you a recipe to use it in.  So, today I am showing you a variety of recipes that you can make for a family pizza night, one of which is a Pesto-Goat Cheese Chicken Pizza! That is the great thing about DIY pizza, you can put whatever toppings on them that you want and personalize them to fit your taste.  
​     We like to use our favorite pizza dough recipe that I shared on this post long ago.  Or, if you are worried about gluten or anything like that, you can make or purchase a cauliflower crust.  Lindsey shared a recipe on this post. 

Pizza Pans and Stones:

    We have a few choices at our house.  

• We have a round metal pizza pan like this one, which works just fine. I usually spray it with cooking spray and sprinkle a little corn meal on the bottom. 
• I have the Pampered Chef rectangular stone.  I love it.  Pampered Chef also carries a round stone, in various sizes. 
• I have a couple of that I don't remember where I got them, but here are some similar ones. 
• We have had birthday parties where everyone was able to make their own personal pizza.  We used pie pans or cookie sheets as well.

Lots of Topping Choices:

    I know that some people just hate the idea of pineapple on pizza, but I love a good Canadian Bacon pizza with pineapple on it.  Here are some other topping ideas, apart from the normal pepperoni and cheese! 

• I got the Chicken-Pesto-Goat Cheese PIzza idea from Everyday Reading.  I just used my own crust and way of doing the toppings. 

   First, I prepared my dough and let it rest and rise while I cooked the chicken and prepared my toppings. 

​   I used my grill pan to prepare the chicken. I used olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried basil and garlic to season it.  I used chicken tenders that cooked quickly.  When they were all cooked, I chopped the chicken into bite-sized pieces. 

   As toppings, I prepared cheese, shredded carrots, broccoli, chopped tomatoes...You get the idea, you can use as many toppings as you would like.  For the Chicken-Pesto-Goat Cheese PIzza, I did the following:

• Pull, push or roll your dough out on your prepared pizza pan.  
• Mix together 5 ozs. of goat cheese with 2 T. of pesto.  (or according to your taste.)
• Spread the Pesto-Goat Cheese mixture on the crust. 
• Sprinkle good Parmesan Cheese over the Pesto mixture.
• Sprinkle on Mozzerella Cheese.
• Top with chopped tomatoes, a few shredded carrots and the chicken. 
• Bake at 450 degrees F. for 15-20 minutes. 

    I also made Maddy a vegan personal pizza.  

• My crust is vegan, so I used it. 
• I spread some vegan ranch dressing over the crust. 
• I topped it with carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and onions. 
• I sprinkled on nutritional yeast to take the place of cheese. 
• Bake it in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 min. 

    If you want to use a traditional red tomato pizza sauce, you can use themarinara recipe I posted here.  You can use an immersion blender to make it smooth if you like. 
     Cooking is more fun for me when I am making things that I grew or created myself.  We made the dough from scratch, I made the pesto, I grew the basil and the tomatoes!  It all tastes so good!  Next, I am going to try making my own mozzarella! What are your favorite pizza toppings? Do you like pineapple on your pizza?  I'd love to hear! 

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     *If you are unfamiliar with spaghetti squash, you will probably be even less familiar with orangetti squash.  I got my hands on some a couple of years ago and my family really enjoyed it.  I posted this orangetti squash with chicken recipe then and it has become one of our most searched for posts! Since I was able to get a spaghetti squash the other day, it reminded me of this recipe which the spaghetti squash would totally work with.  So here is a re-post of how to cook orangetti squash! 

        A few posts ago, I told you about Market on the Move and how I was able to get a ton of squash, as well as other vegetables for $10. In this post, I gave you a recipe for a Carrot/Squash Loaf using the yellow squash I got a ton of.  Another type of squash that I was able to get, I was less familiar with.  It is called Orangetti Squash.  

          At our house, we have some people who are less keen on beef and would prefer chicken. We have Maddy who is trying to eat a little more vegan.  Then, we have my husband and I who just like to eat! In order to accommodate every one, I decided to make a deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore, using the orangetti squash as a replacement for the pasta!  Madalynn left out the chicken and simply ate the orangetti with the sauce. Either way, the result was delicious.  Here is how I cooked orangetti squash:

          I placed the halves of the orangetti squash on a foil lined pan.  I drizzled a little olive oil on the squash and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.  Then, I put it in a 350 degree F. oven and baked it until tender.  (About 45 min. I think, just stab it with a fork to test it.)  While it was baking, I started my chicken.

             Now you are ready to serve!  This is a great one dish meal! 

Orangetti Squash vs. Spaghetti Squash

         I think I enjoyed the taste of orangetti squash a little more than spaghetti squash.  It has a sweet mild flavor that blended so well with the sauce. As I mentioned before, the orangetti squash is also slightly smaller than spaghetti sauce.  I ate more for lunch the next day. (When I put it away, I went ahead and mixed it all together!)  

            If you find Orangetti Squash in the grocery store, don't be afraid to give it a try! 

        If you need recipe cards, recipe boxes, bowls or cutting boards, or anything, check out Etsy for some cute ideas! Don't forget our Etsy shop where you can find some sweet printables to help your life. 

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own. ​

Happy Halloween! I hope it's an awesome day for all of you.

Today I want to share the last recipe that my family makes often, chicken and waffles! To be honest, I have never had traditional chicken and waffles. One day I would like to try these in the south. But I really love our version, which is really more like a sandwich. I hope you will enjoy them too!

You may be wondering why there's no waffles in my picture of chicken and waffles, this is something I will explain later.

This isn't as involved as you might think if you have the right tools. It also isn't the fastest dinner. But it is a satisfying and delicious dinner. And it's something the whole family loves.

​The waffles we make are always from scratch and they are so delicious. You can use box mix if you prefer but the recipe we use isn't difficult and is so flavorful. It uses sour milk or buttermilk if you have it. To make sour milk add 1 TBS white vinegar or lemon juice per cup of milk you need. In this recipe you need 2 cups of milk, so I add 2 TBS of vinegar and then fill the remaining volume with milk.This works best because then you won't have too much liquid. Allow the milk to sit for at least 5 minutes. I usually prepare the sour milk very first thing and then get everything out that I need and mix together the dry ingredients. Another tip for the waffles is that you'll want the batter to be slightly lumpy, don't let your batter get too smooth, your waffles will be sad.. If you can put it in the fridge before you make the waffles for at least 20 minutes, it really improves the texture and taste of the waffles. 

For making the chicken I have these tall food containers with lids that make breading the chicken so easy. In one container I have beaten egg. In another I have a mixture of flour and spices (taste a pinch of the flour mixture to make sure you like the flavor, I've done my best to approximate the amounts of spices but you can adjust according to taste). I put a few pieces of chicken in the egg container first and use a fork to make sure everything is covered with egg. Then I move the pieces to the flour container, out the lid on and shake. I've never had an issue with my chicken not being completely covered this way. It always turns out great, so I highly recommend these containers. They're also great for holding leftovers in the fridge, because they are taller, they utilize the fridge space better than low flat containers. I also recommend a pair of silicone tipped tongs. They make handling the hot chicken so much easier than a fork like I used to use. The chicken comes out so delicious and crispy. The last tool I am loving is my meat thermometer. I used to have an analog one but it broke, so I bought this new digital one and it has made checking the temperature so much easier. This way I don't have to break open my chicken to make sure it's cooked and I don't over cook my chicken. I love it!

I did run into some trouble when I was making this the other night. After I made my waffle batter, I plugged in my waffle iron and it didn't work! It never heated up. RIP my waffle maker, you served me well for the last 6 years. Therefore, you will notice a distinct lack of waffles in my pictures. I used my batter to make them into pancakes. It's what circumstances permitted. Waffles are better, but these worked ok. 

Chicken And Waffles

Let me know if you try these out! I love them, I hope you will too!