Happy Fourth of July, Amazing Pizza and WIAW

Happy Fourth of July! 

I thought I was rather clever by having a red, white and blue breakfast. Hehe, I am still smitten with myself on this one.  Besides the fruit hidden under there are two frozen waffles topped with cinnamon raisin peanut butter.

'Tis the season for watermelon and we have been having a ton of it lately. There are times when my husband completely surprises me.  Watermelon is one of those times. I thought it would be fun to have for a BBQ we went to not too long along. He loved it and loved it.  So much so I got another one.

Glad little things make him happy.  Easy to please.  I am also so impressed with his cutting abilities.  Perfection.  I buy the watermelon; he cuts it up.

We have never been ambitious enough to tackle a whole CSA for the summer. We always come close but then never go all the way through.  We travel so much I would hate to have it go bad or miss out more often than not.

Lucky for us we have plenty of friends who support the local farm store with their CSA program. They go on vacation and we get the goods. This past week was full of greens.  Lettuce.  Spinach.  Beet greens.  Swiss chard. 

Mr. J came up with the great idea of making a big pot of greens with bacon fat.  I said yes knowing full well I would have to make it a bit more healthy and appetizing for my tastes. I don't love bacon. I know, I know. I eat it but I don't love the stuff.  One slice once every few months and I am good to go. 

Pre-cooked.

Baked.

The healthy version is cooking the greens in olive oil.  No bacon fat.

Whole wheat pizza dough.

6 slices of bacon spread throughout the pizza gives enough flavor. I cooked all of the fat out of those suckers before they ever touched the dough.  Not really but man those strips were crispy.  Patted down of course.

I never make a recipe that I think will be gross. This is obvious to me but sometimes I think Mr. J questions my motives. Anyway, this pizza I thought would be good but never, ever did I think it would be as excellent as it came out.  It was so good. 

Bacon and Greens Pizza

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

6027992

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 1 lb pizza dough
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded or fresh
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch beet greens
• 1 bunch Swiss chard
• 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• salt and pepper
• grated Parmesan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While oven is heating, heat olive oil in pan with garlic. Add greens and saute. Once the pan is hot you can add a bit of water (1-2 Tbsp) to steam the greens. Cook down for about 15-20 minutes.

When done, remove greens from pan and cook bacon until crispy. Remove from heat. Break bacon slices into pieces once cool.

Roll out pizza dough to fit pan. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on crust. Use salt and pepper to taste.

Use 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese to top crust.

Add greens evenly on top of cheese layer. Then distribute bacon pieces. Use remaining mozzarella cheese for top of pizza.

Bake pizza for 15 minutes on the bottom rack of oven.

Serve with Parmesan cheese.

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Dinner was by myself as Mr. J was out and about on the golf course.  Eating dinner alone can be a blessing...whatever I want, limited dishes, little clean up.  Tonight was all about the nachos. I have an everlasting love affair with nachos.  Tonight was simple, chips with cheese topped with lettuce and tomatoes. Green salsa. 

Eaten right off the pan.

July is all about the fitness.  I go to gym every day.  It relaxes me.  Ask Mr. J.  Today was a more relaxed day.  No rushing.  No fighting for the weights.  

60 minutes on the eliptical

15 minutes weight session - a little arms, a little legs. 

20 minutes walking 4.0 on treadmill