Pizzadillas (Pizza Quesadilla!)

   

Don't you just love my creative little name?  Half pizza + half quesadilla = PIZZADILLA! This is such a quick and yummy dinner/lunch/snack/appetizer that you can whip up in no time at all. The next time your family is having an argument about whether they want pizza or Mexican food for dinner, why not get a little creative in the kitchen and find a way to blend the two?  This recipe is so versatile. Whatever you want to add to your pizzadilla, it will always turn out awesome.  So experiment!  Use different types of cheeses, pizza sauces (or no sauce, if you want...for a white pizza), vegetables, and meats!  Be sure not to use too much sauce (no more than a tablespoon and a half) or else it will ooze out and be very messy (I made this mistake once and found myself eating a plain tortilla, while a hot, cheesy, marinara mound was sitting on my plate after falling out).  Sprinkling cheese on the tortilla before and after adding the toppings assures a "seal" - since cheese is sticky...it acts like glue - so the toppings won't fall out of the tortilla.  Now your family won't have to argue between pizza or Mexican food...you can thank me later.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 16 ounces cheese (your choice of type(s))
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 4 ounces sliced pepperoni, sausage, vegetables, or other desired toppings

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Spread margarine (about 1 teaspoon) over one side of a tortilla, and place it margarine-side down in the skillet. Spoon a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of the tortilla. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over the sauce, top with desired toppings, and sprinkle another 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over the toppings. Fold the clean half of the tortilla over the filling, and cook until golden on each side. Repeat with remaining tortillas.  Serve with your choice of sauce (garlic, marinara, etc.) if desired.

Pepper Honey Cedar Plank Salmon Pizza

            Salmon pizza?  Yeah, it’s a little unusual, but it’s good.  It’s really good. The secret is the sauce and the cedar planks. The sauce makes a delicious marinade for any grilled fish or chicken, especially salmon.  If you taste the sauce before it’s placed on the fish, it may taste pretty peppery from the cayenne, but the finished product is not too peppery.  It’s perfectly spiced.  This is my all time favorite salmon marinade and I really enjoyed it on these pizzas.  The cedar plank gives the salmon a huge load of smoky flavor…way better than just broiling it in the oven.  One thing I like about these pizzas is they’re very balanced between the salmon and the pizza crust.  Salmon is definitely a more heavy, rich, filling fish.  And these pizzas are less filling than normal pizza because they’re made on tortillas.  I’ve made tortilla pizzas in the oven many times, and I love it because it’s so easy and you can add whatever ingredients you want.

Yield: 6 personal pizzas

Ingredients:

2 (12 inch) untreated cedar planks

For the sauce:

¼ inch cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

¾ cup honey

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

For the pizzas:

6 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless salmon fillets

1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1.5 cups shredded parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

6 whole wheat flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. Soak cedar planks in warm water 1-2 hours
2. Bring first 6 sauce ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in remaining sauce ingredients.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 15 minutes.  Set sauce aside.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.  Place planks on the grate.  They’re ready to cook when they start to smoke and crackle just a little.
4. Season the salmon with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Place the fillets onto the smoking cedar planks and baste each fillet with a light coating of sauce.  Close lid of grill and cook salmon until just done in the center (about 15 minutes), basting about halfway through.  Remove salmon from grill.  Shred and pull it apart into bite-sized pieces.
5. In a small skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in oil until tender, about 6 minutes.  Place tortillas onto ungreased baking sheets.  Top with onion mixture, salmon, and cheeses.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
6. While pizza is cooking, return remaining sauce to a simmer to return to its liquid state.  Drizzle sauce over pizzas when done, cut into wedges, and serve.