The Life of Pizza John

Ok, so the title is a lie. I bake the crust, but the actual cheesecake is not baked.  When I was a kid, we got to choose the dessert we wanted on our birthday and this is what I always picked.  Now as an adult I can make it whenever I want!!!  Ok, so now I make it even less than once a year since I like to watch what I eat. Either way, here goes! Crust: 1.5 cups crushed graham crackers (I use a food processor) 3 TBS sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/3 cup melted butter Mix the graham crackers, sugar and cinnamon well. Then add the butter and combine.  Use your hands (or whatever else you have around) to form the crust into a glass pie dish.  Stick in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  Take out and let cool before proceeding.  If you are really lazy you can buy a pre-made crust, but it does not taste as well. Filling: 8oz Cream Cheese (softened at room temperature) 1 can sweet and condensed milk 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup lemon juice In a mixer, combin...

My mom made these treats growing up and I'm not 100% sure, but they may be the reason I am so addicted to sugary treats today.  Most people would take one bite and say "hey, these are REALLY sweet" and save the rest for later.  Not me!  I've been known to polish off a whole pan of these in one sitting.  Now, I limit myself to making these once a year and I will usually take them to a Christmas party so I don't eat the whole pan myself. 3/4 cup better 1.5 cups crushed graham crackers 1 can sweet and condensed milk 1 cup chopped walnuts (small, but not too small) 1.5 cups chocolate chips 3/4 cup coconut 1 cup butterscotch chips -Put butter in 13x9" glass dish and put in oven while it is heating to 350 degrees. -While the butter is melting, finely crush graham crackers (I prefer using a food processor). -Once the butter is melted, take the pan out and sprinkle the graham crackers evenly in the dish. -Pour sweet and condensed milk over the crust as ...

As usual, not a ton of great places locally for 'foreign' types of food so I get to create my own!  I originally learned about Pho when working at Sorenson in SLC with Ryan, Mike and Miranda and it has stuck.  Definitely one of my favorite meals. Soak Pho Noodles in water for at least 30 minutes.  Use as much as you want since they will not be added to the whole mixture below and can be used for days. Fill a medium sized pot with about 6-8 cups of chicken stock.  I use water and 'Better Than Bouillon' because it is easy and tasty.  Then add the following: 1 inch minced ginger 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons fish sauce 5 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 2 tablespoons minced garlic Once that has sat for a while (anywhere from 10 minutes to many, many hours), take 3 chicken breasts cubed and add to the mix and cook till done. To serve this, you can put noodles in a bowl, then pour the hot soup over them.  Let sit a few minutes before eat...

While I don't buy into the whole Paleo thing, these are delicious and gluten free! Mix the following in a big bowl, I start with the wet ingredients, then add the dry at the end. 4 bananas (either ripe or brown) 4 eggs 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter (I usually use a mix of both) 4 TBS coconut oil 2 TBS honey 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 C coconut flour 3/4 C oats 1 TBS cinnamon 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt Line muffin pan with muffin liners and divide the mix in 12.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

10 small flour tortillas 20oz Green Chile Enchilada sauce 3 chicken breasts 8oz sour cream salt, pepper, cumin  16 oz cheese (I prefer half Colby and half Jack) Boil chicken until cooked through, then cool and shred. Turn oven to broil and put the tortillas on the top shelf. Once the top side browns, flip and take out once the other side it slightly browned. Then rip them in quarters. Grab a 9x11 glass baking dish. Divide the tortillas, chicken, sour cream, and cheese in thirds. Proceed with the first third of ingredients: Dip the pieces of tortilla into the enchilada sauce and line the bottom of the dish (more sauce is better) Place chicken on top, evenly spaced Spread out Sour Cream as much as possible Sprinkle with cheese Scatter with salt, pepper and cumin Repeat twice. If you have any enchilada sauce left, drizzle it all over the top. Bake at 425 on middle rack for 35 minutes or until top is slightly brown and crispy.

I've been really enjoying biscuits in the morning and I have gone through all kinds of recipes and this is the one I enjoy the most. I usually half the recipe which makes about 6 small biscuits. 2 Cups Flour 1 TBS Baking Powder (not expired) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 Cup butter 3/4 Cup milk (higher percentage = better biscuits) Mix flour, baking powder and salt.  Then cut the butter into small pieces and mash it into the dry ingredients.  Once the mix is evenly chunky, add the milk and just mix until combined. Put a little flour on the counter and smash the mixture until it's about 1/2 inch thick. Fold in half and use a flour coated cup to shape/cut the biscuits. Mush the leftovers together and repeat until you have no dough left. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes. Yum, Yum!

After messing around with this recipe a lot, I have finally figured out how I like it.  This makes a big portion and feeds probably about 6 people (or lots of leftovers).  I like the end result to be smooth(ish), so that is how I make it. (whole process takes about 120-150 minutes) First, marinade the protein for at least a couple hours or overnight. Mix the following together, then add protein. 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp salt 3 TBS olive oil --24oz Paneer OR 6 Chicken Breasts (cut into bite size pieces) In a food processor, blend the following until it is a semi smooth mixture, then set aside: 2 white onions 2 serrano chilies with only the stems chopped off (about 6 inches long) 3 inches ginger, peeled 4 TBS garlic Then in the food processor (I don't bother cleaning it in between), blend 30oz chopped spinach with 1 C water and blend until smooth. In a small cup, make the following spice mix: 10 tsp coriander 10 tsp garam masala 5 tsp cumin ...

I make this in a big pot and it turns out like a stew. 3 TBS Olive Oil 2 White Onion, Diced 2 inch Ginger, minced 8 Cloves Garlic, minced Small bag of colorful potatoes, chopped in quarters 8 Carrots, Cubed 2 Jalapeno, minced 6 TBS unsalted cashews, ground 8 oz tomato sauce 4 tsp salt 3 TBS Curry Powder 2 cups frozen peas 1 Green Pepper, chopped 1 Red Pepper, chopped 2 Cans Coconut Milk Heat oil in pot over medium. Stir in onion, cook till tender. Mix in garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Mix in potatoes, Jalapenos, carrots, cashews, tomato sauce, salt and curry powder and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes can be stabbed.  Add peas, peppers and coconut milk and simmer for a bit.

4 Eggs 3/4 C Olive Oil 1/2 C Plain Applesauce 1 C White Sugar 1 C Brown Sugar 3 tsp Vanilla Extract 2 C Flour 2 tsp Baking Soda 2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Salt 3 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 3 C Grated Carrots 1 C Chopped Pecans (in food processor) 8 oz Can of Crushed Pineapple, drained Grease a big glass pan and heat oven to 350. In big bowl, beat eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, BS, BP, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in carrots, Fold in Walnuts. Fold in pineapple. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool before adding the below frosting. Frosting: 1/2 C Butter Softened 8 Oz Cream Cheese Softened 3 1/2 C Powdered Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Beat all together in a mixer and add to top of cake! Sometimes I'll make the whole recipe, then freeze half of the batter and save it for later.  If you do this, use a 9in square pan and cook for 30 minutes.

1 Bag Frozen Broccoli from Costco, chopped in food processor (thawed) 1 Cup Raisins 1 Red Onion, chopped in food processor 1 Cup Sliced Almonds (or chopped in food processor) 1 Cup Veganaise 3 TBS White Wine Vinegar Mix first block in big bowl, then mix second block in small bowl. Add the liquid to the big bowl and mix a little more!  

4 Avocados Juice of 1 Lime I Jalapeno diced 2 Cloves Garlic minced Half Purple Onion (dices in food processor) Salt to taste Cumin to taste Red Pepper to taste 2 Roma Tomatoes, without seeds and juice Mix it in the order above and don't smash the tomatoes!  

While traveling in Thailand, Jordan and I took a Thai cooking class so I got to perfect some of my Thai cooking!  I know lots of these instructions are lacking and confusing, but they make sense to me :-)  I like to cook all three of these at the same time and have a feast! Pad Thai: Serves 3 5 T olive oil 4 T chopped garlic 3 chicken breasts (cut into cubes) 60g extra firm tofu cut into small cubes (will fill about 3/4 cup) 2 handfuls of bean sprouts 1 carrot (sliced into thin pieces) Handful of chopped green onions (about 4cm long) Half package of Pad Thai noodles (about 8oz), I break them up so it is easier to mix later 2 eggs 4 T oyster sauce 3 T fish sauce 2 T sugar 3 T rice wine vinegar 3 t chili powder 1/4 c peanuts (chopped in the food processor) -Soak noodles in water -Mix oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar vinegar and chili powder in bowl and set aside for later -Put oil in wok and heat on medium heat -Add tofu and fry till golden brown -Add the...

This recipe feeds about 4 people with a little bit of leftovers. Cube 5 chicken breasts into small pieces and soak in the following marinade for as short as 2 hours and as long as 2 days. Marinade: 1 C Plain Nonfat Yogurt 2 TBS Lemon Juice 2 t Ground Cumin 2 t Ground Red Pepper 2 t Black Pepper 1 t Cinnamon 1 t Salt 1 inch Minced Ginger Start cooking 3 cups brown rice.  I use a rice cooker so no thinking is involved. In a big sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. Once melted add garlic and jalapeno.  Cook for about two minutes, but no longer. Mix all seasonings together in a cup, then add to the pan and cook for one minute. Add tomato sauce and cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. While sauce is cooking, in a separate pan, cook chicken and marinade.  Cook until the chicken is not pink in the center.  Continue to stir the chicken and move it from side to side so it cooks evenly. Stir whipping cream into sauce mixture and cook for anothe...

I keep writing down recipes I like then losing them.  Solution: Put them online where I can find them again! These make a delicious snack to satisfy my sugar cravings.  All my recipes are health and exercise friendly.  For this one in particular, I added turmeric to these treats to help reduce inflammation. 1 1/2 cups oats 1/2 cup ground flax seed 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/4 cup chia seeds 1 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix dry ingredients in bowl.  Then mix in wet ingredients.  I start off mixing with a fork, then finish them off with my hands.  Roll into balls and refrigerate.