Garlic Bruschetta Pizza

After all the baking and partying (such as it was) of the new year, time for something a bit different. My fellow foodies theme this month is “Veganuary,” meaning vegetarian dishes with no eggs or dairy products.  I’ve been wanting to make this garlic bruschetta pizza for a while anyway, and it happens to fit the theme too.

It’s downsized for one person, so there’s either enough for one large pizza or two medium ones (one dinner or two lunches, depending on how hungry you are).

All you need are a few simple ingredients that come together for a pretty impressive result. I’ve included the recipe for the dough, but if you don’t want to make the dough yourself (I find the kneading therapeutic right now), you can always just buy it ready-made in your supermarket or even ask at a local pizza place.

And, if you don’t want to be vegan, it’s just fine to add some shredded mozzarella or parmesan on top.




garlic bruschetta pizza cut up

Garlic Bruschetta Pizza Substitutions and Variations

  • add some fresh chopped tomatoes
  • ditch the “vegan” and try it with grated parmesan or shredded mozzarella
  • use fresh basil (add it right at the end of the cooking period)
  • top with sautéed onions and/or mushrooms

More Pizza Recipes

goat cheese caramelized onion pizzaGoat Cheese Onion Pizza

Mellowed sweet onions, slow-cooked onions, earthy goat cheese, leafy spinach, and crispy bell pepper are a fresh change from the usual cheese and tomato.

 

white pizza without ricottaWhite Pizza Recipe Without Ricotta

If you like white pizza, but would rather skip the ricotta (I’m not a big fan either), try this recipe instead. No ricotta in sight.

 

rosemary potato roasted garlic pizzaRosemary Potato Roasted Garlic Pizza

Think of this as potato chip pizza.  I, personally, am always in favor of extra starch.  You get hot pizza, a light dusting of melty cheese, and a crispy crunch.

 

 




Stir Fry Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Why go out for chicken stir fry when you can make it easily at home?  This Thai-inspired stir fry chicken with peanut sauce recipe is ready in about 20 minutes. You get chicken, crisp-fried veggies, and a creamy peanut sauce over it all. 

It’s just enough for one person. I made it with rice stick noodles, but you can use plain rice or brown rice if you prefer.  I first tried a completely different recipe, from a usually reliable source, but I found it just lacked flavor. 

This one has peanuts (naturally), honey, hoisin sauce, and a generous squirt of lime.  The lime brightens up the flavor, and the honey adds a hint of sweetness.

I used freshly ground peanut butter (the sort of peanut butter they sell at health food stores), but the kind in the jar is fine too.  If you use the freshly-ground peanut butter you may need to add more oil. That will make it easier to mix the ingredients together. It should spread easily and you should be able to toss it over the cooked chicken and the vegetables.




Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, such as:  bell pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, or onions.  You can mix and match to suit your own taste.  Whatever you use, you’ll need about 1 1/2  cups.

If you’re making regular rice, start that first.  The rice stick noodles cook like pasta, just faster.  Bring the water to a boil and then cook the noodles about three minutes.

For the rest of the recipe, make the sauce first.  Then cook the chicken.  Once the chicken is done, set that aside and cook the vegetables.  Put the chicken back in the pan, and then add the sauce. Don’t let the sauce cook too much, just enough to heat everything up.

You can speed up the process by using mixed frozen veggies (not the bell peppers though, they tend to get soggy). That way, you save time cooking and chopping.

There is one “problem” though with this recipe. The kitchen still smells so good after you finish dinner that you want to eat it again.

Substitutions and Variations for Stir Fry Chicken with Peanut Sauce

  • Add some slivers of garlic and fresh ginger to the chicken when you cook it.
  • Make it spicier with sriracha or cayenne flakes.
  • Let the chicken cool, toss fresh, raw veggies in a bowl (use double the amount),  and eat it cold as a salad.
  • Skip the chicken, and just make it with the sauce, veggies, and rice stick noodles

More Chicken Recipes for One

sichuan chinese chicken and eggplant with garlic sauceSichuan Chinese Chicken and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

If you can’t get takeout, make this Sichuan chicken right at home.  It’s faster (and tastier too).

 


chicken mango stir fryQuick Chicken Mango Stir Fry Recipe

An Asian-inspired stir-fry that’s ready quickly.  Meaty chicken thighs with crispy-tender veggies and sweet mango. It’s both colorful and delicious.

 

chili garlic chicken thighChili Garlic Chicken

Clear your head and delight your taste buds with this spicy chicken. Think wings, but easier.

 

easy singapore noodles with chicken

Singapore Noodles

A simple chicken stir fry all mixed up with noodles and vibrant veggies.  It’s easy and flexible too. Use the veggies listed or swap them for your favorites.

 




Goat Cheese Caramelized Onion Pizza

Sometimes, meals are carefully planned. Other times, it’s pure serendipity. I spotted goat cheese on sale at the market and grabbed some. When I got home, I remembered I had some leftover pizza dough in the fridge. I decided to put them together and make a goat cheese caramelized onion pizza.

You can approach this recipe two different ways.  If you make the crust yourself (not hard, but it does take time), it’s a weekend meal. Buy the crust pre-made (you can get it at grocery stores or even your local pizzeria), and it’s a 30 minute meal. So, dinner in half an hour!

I made my own crust (following Smitten Kitchen’s easy recipe), but if you’re in a rush, you don’t have to. By the way, she says to roll out the crust, but I find it works better if I just place it on the baking sheet and gently press outward from the center with my fingers. 

If you do make the dough, it makes enough for one generous dinner serving, or two lunch servings.  It will keep in the fridge for several days, so you don’t have to eat it all at once.  Take it out and let the dough come to room temperature before you start working with it.

Cooking, of course,  is often a process of taking what you already know about food and flavors, doing a bit of research (in cookbooks or online) and combining bits of ideas and techniques.  I often find myself taking bits and pieces from two or three recipes and putting them back together in different ways.

In this case, I started with the pizza crust recipe I already had. Then I added the goat cheese. I took the caramelized onions and the bell pepper from one recipe, the spinach from a second, and the garlic oil from a third.   You can always mix and match to suit your own taste, or the ingredients you have on hand (see more in the Substitutions and Variations section).

Also, I don’t normally post “in progress” photos, but the pizza looked so good I couldn’t resist!

goat cheese caramelized onion pizza_1

 




Substitutions and Variations for Goat Cheese Caramelized Onion Pizza

  • Use roasted red peppers instead of fresh
  • Try a splash of balsamic vinegar
  • Add sliced mushrooms and basil
  • Substitute arugula for the spinach
  • Toss in some sun-dried tomatoes

 

More Pizza Recipes

white pizza without ricottaWhite Pizza Recipe Without Ricotta

Like white pizza, but not a ricotta fan? This recipe has no ricotta at all.

 

tortilla pizza for oneHomemade Tortilla Crust Pizza

A pizza shortcut! Topped with bell peppers and sausage. Quick and delicious.

 

rosemary potato roasted garlic pizzaRosemary Potato Roasted Garlic Pizza

I like to call this “potato chip pizza.” A whole different take on the usual pizza. No tomato sauce, and easy on the cheese. The potatoes end up golden brown and crisp.

 

Garlic Bruschetta Pizzagarlic bruschetta pizza

Pizza made super easy and without heavy tomato sauce. Make the dough (or even just buy it) sprinkle on a few ingredients, and bake. Done!

 




Asian Chicken Salad with Cabbage

As colorful as it is tasty, this Asian chicken salad with cabbage proved to be an inspired invention. I was sick and didn’t feel like cooking much, plus I could hardly taste anything.

The crispy, vibrant salad even helped improve my appetite. It looked pretty (with the cabbage, peppers, and carrots), and I could taste it! It was also a good way to keep using up the giant cabbage I got from FreshDirect.

Asian chicken salad with cabbage is pretty easy to make, and you can make the dressing in advance if you like.

Before I got sick I had defrosted a chicken thigh that I had to use up, so I just seasoned that with ginger, garlic, a bit of soy sauce, and some sriracha. Then all I had to do was pop it in the oven.  Easy! The recipe would also work just fine with leftover rotisserie chicken, or even some leftover Chinese pork.

If you don’t want meat, you could add crispy Chinese noodles, hard boiled egg, or extra veggies.

The dressing is straight from a recipe I found online in The New York Times recipe section.  I don’t like a lot of dressing, so this made about 4 servings of dressing for me. Your mileage may vary.





I had a big bag of mini mixed bell peppers, so I used those (they also helped make the food look more appealing) and a seedless cucumber, so that’s what I used.

You could use regular bell peppers, add snow peas, mushrooms, or regular cucumbers too.  Food should be flexible, and unless it’s baking, you should adjust recipes to fit what you have or what you prefer to eat.

Ingredients and Tools for This Recipe

Black and Decker food chopper

Black and Decker mini food chopper

I use this all the time. It’s so much easier than dragging out a big food processor. And, with space at a premium, it’s a lot easier to store it too. Use it for the dressing, to chop garlic or onions, cut up potatoes, and make pesto without making a big mess.

huy fong sriracha

This stuff has become so popular it’s almost a cliché, but it’s also versatile enough to use in eggs, salads, meatballs, or on chicken. Just a little bit adds a big punch of flavor, without being too spicy or too sweet.

 

More Asian Recipes with Chicken or Cabbage

chinese chicken noodle cabbage soupChinese Chicken Noodle Cabbage Soup for One Person

Fragrant with garlic, spicy chili, mellowed cabbage, and a touch of sweetness from honey, this Chinese chicken noodle cabbage soup tastes great and clears stuffy heads too.

 

bibimbap rice bowl

Bibimbap Rice Bowl with Meat and Vegetables

Both a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, this dish is enriched with a spicy, garlicky sauce, sweet carrots, and lots of vibrant veggies.

 

honey sticky garlic chickenHoney Sticky Garlic Chicken

Pantry-friendly and hunger-friendly too. This is ready quickly and uses ingredients you already have around. But, it tastes like it came from a restaurant.

 

sichuan chinese chicken and eggplant with garlic sauceSichuan Chinese Chicken and Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

Speaking of takeout, this is a takeout standard that you can easily make at home.  It’s spicy, tender, and absolutely delicious. No need to get takeout.

 




Easy Singapore Noodles with Chicken for One Person

Nobody knows exactly where Singapore noodles came from.  They’re not really native to Singapore, and the curry is more South Asian than North Asian.  I suspect they are no more “Singaporean” than fortune cookies are Cantonese.  In any case, easy Singapore noodles with chicken is a quick, weeknight dinner that’s a great way to “clean out your fridge.”

They don’t work too well as leftovers (especially if you use rice noodles, which tend to clump when they sit), so a recipe for a single serving is essential.  Since it makes just enough for one person, you won’t have leftovers to fill up the fridge again!

I used regular pasta here, because that’s what I had and rice noodles may not be readily available everywhere.  If you do use the rice noodles, get the vermicelli kind.  Soak them in hot water for thirty seconds to soften them and then add them to the vegetables and chicken once they’re cooked.

The recipe is flexible, so you can use chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp if you have that handy, or if you prefer it.

The vegetables are just suggestions too.  I used broccoli, onions, mushrooms, and two kinds of bell peppers (red and green). More suggestions (and variations) at the bottom of the post.




Easy Singapore Noodles with Chicken Substitutions and Variations

  • Use leftover roast pork or raw shrimp (or both) instead of chicken
  • Use a mixture of frozen Chinese veggies, such as Trader Joe’s stir fry, or harvest hodgepodge. Seapoint Farms Oriental Blend is also good; this will also speed up the cooking time
  • Mix and match the vegetables in the dish. Add snow peas, water chestnuts, or sprouts. Use different kinds of peppers.
  • Throw in a hot pepper or two (depending on your tolerance for heat)
  • Add an egg and scramble it

More Asian Noodle Recipes

spicy beef noodle soupSpicy Beef Noodle Soup for One

A quick, and healthy soup, packed with noodles, cabbage, and chili garlic sauce. All right from your fridge and pantry.

 

spicy sesame noodlesSpicy Sesame Noodles Recipe for One Person

Slightly sweet, a little spicy, and refreshing too. This takeout standard is easy to make at home. Add cucumbers for crunchy cool.

 

szechuan chili noodlesSzechuan Chili Noodles Recipe

A streamlined home version of Dan Dan noodles. Add meat (or not).  All you need is noodles, make your own chili oil for heat, sesame seeds for crunch, and bok choy (or cabbage) for color and a little crunch.

chinese chicken noodle cabbage soupChinese Chicken Noodle Cabbage Soup for One Person

The aroma alone is enough to make you hungry. Breathe in the garlic, spicy chili, and honey, and then slurp it all down.