No-crust Hawaiian Pizza

Recently I’ve been on a low-carb keto kick.  Problem is, as you saw in my previous post with the amazing crust, pizza is pretty much my favorite food group.  So here’s a recipe for all you Hawaiian pizza lovers out there. It couldn’t be any easier and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I didn’t miss the crust at all! Oh, and did I mention it only takes about 10 minutes from prep to mouth?

Ingredients:

6-9 piece ham or Canadian bacon

Marinara sauce

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

A can crushed or diced pineapple

Green onions

Shredded cheese

Red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Cover pizza pan with parchment paper or tin foil.  If tin foil, give it a quick shot of cooking spray.  (You can also do these in muffin tins if you prefer) Set 2-3 pieces of ham in a stack, three times.  Spread marinara on top.  Sprinkle with some garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Add pineapple and a few pieces of chopped green onion stalk on each.  Cover with cheese and a dash of red pepper flakes. 

Bake for 5 minutes. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese begins to turn golden brown.  Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and dig in.  

Pineapple Lime Grilled Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients:

 3 – Ripe Ataulfo (Yellow) Mangos. 2 larger regular mangos may also be used.

1 can crushed pineapple in juice

1 small chopped red onion

1 small bunch chopped cilantro

3 limes

1 can of chipotles in adobo sauce *

3 tablespoons of honey

Cut mangos in to small pieces and place in large bowl. Combine half can crushed pineapple to the mangos reserving juice and remaining half for chicken marinade. Add chopped red onions, half the bunch of chopped cilantro, juice of one lime, honey, one chopped chipotle pepper and teaspoon of adobo sauce.

*You can add more sauce or chilies, or omit them totally depending on your preference. Remember to always add a little at a time when using chipotles and adobo sauce for the first time. It’s easier to add a little spice then to take it out!

Refrigerate, covered, for a few hours or for best results let sit overnight.

Pineapple Lime Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

½ can crushed pineapples with juice

2 limes, juiced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp dry herbs. I like to use tarragon or an herb mixture.

 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lime zest

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

6 pieces butterflied boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 1 whole chicken cut into pieces.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the marinade ingredients. You can also use some of the juice from your salsa mixture for extra flavor. Reserve about ¼ cup of the marinade to baste the chicken with while it’s cooking. Wash chicken thoroughly; pat dry, and season breasts with salt and pepper. Place in gallon baggies or large glass dish, coat evenly with marinade, and cover. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours, best if left to marinade overnight.

If cooking on the stovetop, it is best to use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and cook 2-3 breasts at a time to avoid overcrowding. Preheat your skillet and add about a tablespoon of oil. Heat in cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, sear on both sides and reduce heat. Cover with lid and cook until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

If grilling on a bbq outdoors, clean and preheat your grill. Us a cloth or paper towel and oil to brush on grates to keep chicken from sticking. Grill the chicken over moderate heat, flipping once halfway through cooking, brushing the meat periodically with the reserved marinade. Grill until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F. Grilling times will vary based on the cut of meat and the type of grill you're using.

Let meat rest 10 minutes before serving.

Sweet heat meatballs

Ingredients:

2 lbs. frozen, pre­-cooked meatballs

½ cup molasses

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne

½ cup water

1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Over medium high heat, bring the water to a boil.  Add molasses, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, chili powder, cayenne, crushed pineapple and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine.  Add in meatballs and stir to coat evenly.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce reduces, about 10 minutes.  Skewer with bamboo sticks and serve hot with or without sauce reduction.

I made these in the crockpot for a NYE party.  After coating the meatballs with the sauce evenly, I just dumped them in the crock and set it on low for a few hours, until the party started.  The taste was smooth and all of the meatballs were gone by midnight. 

Crockpot Pineapple Moonshine

Ingredients:

1 56 oz can pineapple juice

2 c. sugar

1 bottle Everclear grain alcohol or vodka

Add pineapple juice and sugar to crock-pot.  Cook on LOW for 2 hours with lid slightly ajar.

Allow mixture to cool completely before adding in Alcohol.  Add in alcohol and mix well.

Pour mixture into 4 Quart Canning Jars or a large jug with lid. Store in a cool dry place. Serve over ice. 

I used an orange pineapple apple juice blend.  This was VERY strong! I added another bottle of the orange pineapple juice and then it was delicious. 

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

8 oz. bacon, not thick-sliced

1 can pineapple chunks

Teriyaki Baste and Glaze (I like Kikkoman or LaChoy)

Kebab skewers or toothpicks

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you'll need by how many pieces of bacon you have; you probably won't use all the bacon, but you'll need about 8 oz. or 2/3 of a standard-sized package of bacon. So count the bacon pieces and keep that in mind when cutting up your chicken.

Drain the pineapple and set up a little work station with skewers, bacon, chicken, and a 9x13 baking dish (for big skewers) or a sturdy Ziploc bag (for toothpick skewers). Wrap a piece of bacon around a chicken piece, secure with toothpick/skewer, and top with a chunk of pineapple. Repeat twice if using large skewers.

When all chicken pieces have been sufficiently staked, pour Teriyaki sauce over everything, reserving about 1/4 c., and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Preheat grill; when about 350-400 degrees, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes.  If cooking in oven, preheat oven to 400 and bake about 20 minutes, turning once, following the same basting instructions.  If you use the oven, broil the kabobs for a minute to get the bacon crispy just before serving.

I was not a pro at wrapping the chicken with the bacon. So I ended up “weaving” the bacon along with the chicken onto the skewer. It tasted just as good and didn’t take nearly as much time.  These kabobs were awesome! Packed with protein and flavor you just can’t go wrong with these sweet little nuggets of fun. Note, my husband isn’t a huge fan of pineapple so I did a few skewers without the fruit for him but he said they were equally awesome.  

Gram’s Fat Free Pineapple Cake

Review by Jami:

This recipe was my grandmother’s and I don't know how she came across it, but she made it frequently, especially after she no longer cooked much. My mother can still hear her chuckle about all the rave reviews from her card club friends.  She shared it freely and now at least half of Iowa has her secret fabulous recipe...guaranteed to get the same rave reviews.

1 box of angel food cake mix

1 can of crushed pineapple

Heat oven to 350 before mixing. Do not butter or flour the pans you are using. Place pineapple in the bowl and fold in the cake mix. Bake as directed.

Fat free frosting: 1 fat free Cool Whip mixed with 1 or 2 fat free flavor yogurt containers (I like raspberry but feel free to experiment). Top with fresh fruit if desired.

Aloha burger foil packs

Review by Lyndee

1 pound Burger

1/8 cup Bacon bits

1 can crushed or diced Pineapple

1 tbsp Garlic

1 tsp Pepper

1 tbsp Teriyaki

1 tsp Soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together burger, bacon bits and seasonings and sauces.  Form into patties.  Place on foil sprayed with non-stick spray.  Scoop on some pineapple and drizzle with a little more teriyaki.  Cook in the oven for 45 minutes. 

I was so excited for this but ended up a bit disappointed.  I cooked mine for 30 minutes per the directions I had found on a different post.  It was not done and I was getting hungry so I threw it in a pan for a few minutes until it was cooked through.  The flavor was great and I even added a piece of pepperjack cheese.  You could add more pineapple if you wanted. I didn’t use a bun but obviously that is an option or serve over a bed or rice.  Next time I would try 45 minutes or just make the same mixture and make it on the grill, adding the pineapple at the very end.  Or in a campfire.