Meatballs! (A Pin a Day #5)

My family loves meat. We are 100% total meat eaters and you would be hard pressed to find another family who loves meat as much as we do. Half of us also love fruits and veggies, so I think it evens it out. In fact! Charlie can not even fathom a meal without meat, he even puts bacon on his grilled cheese (which is really good BTW). I am always on the look out for different ways to prepare the same old chub'o'burger that I buy at the store and always have on hand in the freezer at a moments notice (that reminds me, add chub'o'burger to my shopping list...)

I came across this meal while trying to figure out what I would make for dinner for the #5 blog post. These meatballs looked too delicious to pass up, and trust me, I looked through A LOT of meatball pins...

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So if you live in Southern California, perhaps you've heard of Oggi's Pizza. If not, you're missing out on a great little pizza and brewery with a delicious menu. Since Abbey's been born we don't get out as much as we used to, but our cravings for our favorite goods hasn't really subsided, so I've gotten pretty decent at copycatting recipes that we can enjoy at home for less money and less calories! Enter Oggi's Slam Dunk Buffalo Chicken Pizza! My version is less like Oggi's and more Charlie friendly, but it's still a pretty amazing substitute. Feel free to add or subtract toppings as you wish, but please, give this a try sometime this summer. It goes great with blue cheese or ranch.

Semi-Homemade Sundried & Roasted Garlic Chicken Alfredo

The other night Charlie was craving Alfredo. I don't usually make it because it makes me feel like a stuffed pig for about 23.5 hours, but I had everything I needed at home, and honestly wasn't feeling the grocery store in this rainy weather, so I obliged him.

Now if you know me, or read this blog regularly, you know I can't just leave well alone and I always have to one up every meal I make. In other words, I'm not ok with putting jarred sauce on some noodles and calling it a day. I decided to fix up my alfredo with a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, some homemade sun-dried tomatoes my mom made, fresh parsley and some faux roasted garlic.

You will need;
* 1 jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce. I used the Roasted Garlic flavor from Classico
* 1 head of garlic
* 1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts
* 1 jar sun dried tomatoes ( or make your own!)
* 1 tsp sugar
* 1 tbsp butter
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* Italian flat leaf parsley
* shredded parmesan cheese
* 2 chicken breasts
* Italian seasonings
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* pasta noodles of your choice

Start by faux roasting your garlic by separating the head, peeling, and rough dicing the garlic. Add the sugar and butter into a small pan and melt over medium heat. Add garlic and sautee until straw colored.

Clean and season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. In a medium to large frying pan add olive oil over medium heat and cook chicken breasts until golden brown and juices run clear.

Boil water in a large pot and cook pasta until al dente. Drain.

In a large saucepan, combine Alfredo sauce and heavy cream, whisk together until mixed and smooth. Dice sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and parsley and add to sauce. Add roasted garlic. Add parmesan cheese.

Serve by placing a serving of pasta on a plate. Top with sliced chicken breast, pour sauce over the top and garnish with additional cheese and parsley. Viola!

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Mediterraneo in Alpine

Just recently, I was privileged to get to go to Mediterraneo in Alpine for dinner and drinks. I had never been, but I had heard it was delicious and raved about so I was ready.

We started off with some drinks. I got one of the special martinis of the week, and Charlie got a Cranberry Grey Goose.

We started off with some Bruchetta, with toasted crustinis and shaved Parmesan cheese.

I ordered their Free Range Chicken, which was amazing and came topped on a bed of mashed potatoes with Chinese long beans with a wine reduction. Did you expect any less?

Charlie got this delicious pasta with chicken and cream sauce that was pretty much to die for.

A Taste of Italy

I started out this morning with an Acai Smoothie and a Bowl of Oatmeal. I changed the oatmeal up a bit by adding in some raw almonds while it cooks, gotta love those MUFAs.


Then later on, Kristi and I met up later at Starbucks for some Passion Iced Tea and we decided to try the place next door, A Taste of Italy. For what you get its pretty pricey, but the food is very good. This isn't just your average run of the mill Italian restaurant, they charge close to $16 for a Chicken Caesar Salad, which I think in economic times like this, is pretty ballsy. They do however have decent lunch deals and a GREAT takeout special for a large pizza with 2 toppings that will run you about $14, and it is DELICIOUS!!!


We opted for the Pepperoni and Garlic for our two toppings, but they have loads of really great choices like artichoke hearts, pineapple, basil, zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes and even breaded eggplant. The cheese was gooey and delicious, and the crust was soft, yet held up its end of the deal to not dump hot food in your lap. Honestly the next time I want pizza, I will probably go there, I just wish they sold it by the slice. Hey Taste of Italy, I hope you read my blog!