Merrica!!

Nothing says America better than the dinner Scott and I created Thursday night: pizza, beer and chicken wings! For a minute, cast aside all you know about apple pie, baseball, and big, juicy hamburgers, because our meal screamed red, white and blue! Scott liked dinner so much that he turned to me that night and said. "We should just dedicate Thursday nights to different types of pizza each week." What a great way to reach my goal weight of 500 pounds...not!! Anyway, if you're craving a good ole' Americana meal like we were, here's our tricks to whipping it up in like Rachel Ray would say, "under 30 minutes." 

All the ingredients in these recipes are open to your interpretation. Scott and I use what we like from Publix, so you can use any variation of these ingredients from any vendor you prefer. Have fun with it!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• 1 pkg Pillsbury pizza dough (the scary kind that you have to crack on the counter for it to pop open)
• BBQ sauce of your choice, we used Bullseye Original (about half the bottle)
• 1 pkg chicken breasts (3-4)
• bacon (about 3 or 4 slices...or however much you like! Bacon makes everything better!)
• 1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
• 1/4 cup red onion (chopped)
• 1 pkg mozzarella cheese

Spread out the pizza dough on a baking sheet. It usually forms a rectangle, but you can always get creative and make what ever shapes you want. I bet it would be cool to even make a couple of individual pizzas! Then, just follow the cooking instructions on the package. While you're cooking the pizza dough, in a medium sauce pan, start sauteing the chicken breast. Don't forget to season them with salt, pepper, and anything else you like to season your chicken with.  Also, fry up the bacon, either in a skillet or throw it in the microwave. Once the chicken is cooked, dice it up. The pizza dough should definitely be done cooking by now, so you can start assembling...Yeah, the fun part! Spread out the BBQ sauce, mushrooms, onions, bacon, and chicken on the dough. Finish by sprinkling on the cheese and bake until the cheese is golden brown (everything else is already cooked, so it shouldn't take long at all). When it's all finished you'll have a baking sheet full of bubbly, golden, cheesy deliciousness!

Buffalo Wings

• 1 pkg frozen chicken wings
• buffalo sauce, we used Ken's, but again, use whatever you like (about 1/2 bottle)

In a large sauce pot, bring water to a boil. When the water is at a rolling boil, dump the bag of chicken wings in and cook about 10-15 minutes. The chicken wings will start to float to the top when they are done cooking. Drain the wings and put them in a baking dish and coat them with the hot sauce. The wings are already cooked, so you are just throwing them in the oven for another 10 minutes, so the sauce sticks to the wings. I found that if you broil them for the last 2 minutes of cooking, it will crisp the wings up a bit. And there you have it, friends! Next time, I try out chicken wings, I'm not cutting any corners, I'm going to fry them. When we baked them straight after boiling, the wings weren't as crispy as I preferred. If you all have any great wing recipes, I would love for you to share them with me!

Last but not least, I have a new love...and it is blueberry beer, especially Wild Blue. It capped off the meal perfectly. If you are a fan of fruity-ish beers, I highly recommend you try it!