Pull Apart Pizza Bread: Father's Day Treat or Potluck Special

This recipe is an oldie but a goodie! We made it for our large Christmas family pot-luck last year, and have made it at home a few times too when we want something a little more fun than making regular pizzas. This is a definite pot-luck winner because it's so easy to make, and who doesn't love pizza? This would also be a great meal to make for Dad for Father's Day--and it's one the whole family will love! The boy-o was about 18 months when he tried it out and that's where his love of dipping foods was born. (Fair warning! heh)

Pull Apart Pizza Bread:

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of Pizza Dough
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons of a really good Italian seasoning
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 – 8 oz package of pepperoni
• 1 cup Parmesean cheese
• Optional: Add a ½ teaspoon of fresh garlic or garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay out the pizza dough, and using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, slice up the pizza dough into approx 2" squares/pieces. (It's all getting piled into the bowl together, so don't stress about how big the pieces end up!)
3. Cut the pepperoni into quarters.
4. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and toss so that the oil is spread evenly on each piece of dough.
5. Transfer dough mixture to a greased bundt pan
6. Bake for about 30 minutes (or until the top is brown and the center is thoroughly cooked) 
7. TIP: Be sure to check it in the middle before you pull it out. If the middle is still not cooked thoroughly be sure to leave it in another 5 minutes at a time until it’s done.
8. Flip over on to a plate while it’s still hot.
9. Serve with a side of pizza sauce and enjoy!

Once your pizza pull apart bread is all cooked simply add a side of your favourite pizza sauce for dipping and you're all set! To make it easier to eat you might want to pre-cut the pizza bread into sections, especially if you have a lot of guests who will want to make sure they get to try it--because once you've had a piece, it's hard to resists grabbing another chunk!!

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Crock Pot Butter Chicken

Since I'm trying to cook with more spices which I talked about when I posted the Basil Curry Chicken recipe before, I decided to try making my own Butter Chicken--and even better, it's a crockpot recipe, so no need to heat up the whole house slaving over the stove top!

Crockpot Butter Chicken--Ready to Eat!

The recipe was super simple, and basically amounts to simply throwing everything in the crockpot and letting it cook! I served mine over some white rice with a piece of naan. It was delicious and made an even better lunch the next day!

Crockpot Butter Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size chunks
• 1/2 onion, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons curry paste
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (use less if you are not a spicy person)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk, regular or lite
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup half and half or heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a large glass measuring cup or bowl mix together the coconut milk, greek yogurt and cream. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, ginger and all the spices. Mix well.

2. Sprinkle the onion over the bottom of the crockpot. Add the chicken and then pour the coconut milk mixture over the chicken so the chicken is completely covered. 

3. Add the butter and place the lid on the crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. 

Once the curry is done cooking, serve it hot over rice and with some naan for scooping and dipping (my favourite part!) This meal was Toddler Approved which is always a nice bonus! For the boy-o I mixed some of the butter chicken up with some of the rice, and put into a tortilla shell with some cheese and gave it a quick grill to make it into a burrito of sorts. He gobbled it right up and I was super happy to have leftovers for lunch the next day because it was delicious!