Welcome!

Welcome to Simple Fare, Fairly Simple. This is a place for me to post recipes of all kinds...along with other miscellaneous fodder from my so-called life here in the south. Who knows what you will find here. Could be anything from my husband...known as IT Guy...to my kids and beautiful grandbabies that are growing up way too fast right before my eyes. But...mostly this will be a place for food. I hope you'll see something you like and if you decide to try something from the list...leave me a comment and let me know!



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Revamped Cabinet

I have a tiny kitchen. A tiny WHITE kitchen. The walls are a soft yellow...the countertops are a brown-ish multi toned surface. But the cabinets, uppers and lowers and the appliances, are WHITE! I've done what I can in that teeny space to break up the white, but when I look in my kitchen....I see white. White. White. So...I wracked my brain trying to come up with some kind of solution to break up the white. Then one day...the light bulb went off. Well...actually the light bulb in my brain is off most of the time...but I DID come up with a good idea. And the idea was...to take two of my cabinet doors, cut out the center panels and install glass. Then inside the cabinet...either paint or wallpaper..or do something to the back of the cabinet to make it stand out. Paint and wallpaper didn't really excite me too much. Then...another light bulb moment! I have black floral fabric leftover from the curtains I had made for our family room. And the family room and kitchen are adjoining so it would all blend! Perfect!! I measured, cut, pressed and installed. Bingo! I had JUST what I wanted with NO cost! Yay, me! Now to talk IT Guy into cutting the panels. Actually...no big deal there either. He did a PERFECT job! We dropped the doors off at a glass install place and a couple of days later I had my glass doors. I chose a seeded glass. You can see through it but it's not crystal clear like a window. I cannot tell you the difference this has made in my kitchen. It broke up the white, white, white that was the bane of my existence. My white dishes stand out against the black floral background and look SO nice. And I'm SO happy!

The original cabinet doors. Boooorrrring.

Shelves removed....just a plain-Jane cabinet.

Doors removed and panels cut.

Fabric added to the back of the cabinet and the
shelves and dishes returned to their home.

Glass installed! One of the cabinet doors is open
to show the difference. Seeded glass is awesome!

Here's a long shot of the kitchen and cabinet. Purdy!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

The first time I EVER saw this on a pizza menu...which I think was at California Pizza Kitchen....I thought...EW! Who would eat THAT? Uhhh....I'd have to say ME! Someone told me how good it was and I trusted their culinary taste and went for it! Am I ever glad I did because I LOVE it! We don't have CPK here where I live....although from time to time I can find the frozen version of the BBQ chicken pizza. So I figured I'd just create my own. Not bad, I'd say....not bad at all.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza



Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2  pizza crusts. (I used the ready made dough balls from Trader Joe's. But I think you can get them at Sam's Club, too. Or even the ones in the can in the refrigerated section of the store will work.)
3 cups of cooked chicken - chunked (I used a rotisserie chicken from the deli but you can use cooked chicken breasts)
2 cups bbq sauce - I prefer a sweet-ish sauce but use whatever you like
1 red onion - thinly sliced
3 cups mozzarella cheese - shredded

Spread the dough on a pizza stone or cookie sheet. Form a rim around the edges to hold the fixin's. Spread 1 cup of sauce on both pizza crusts. Sprinkle with the cheese, sliced onion and then the chicken chunks. Bake about 20 - 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Here's the fixin's....
Roll the dough out on your pizza stone....
..or use a cookie sheet. I used both.
Spread a cup of bbq sauce on each pizza crust....sprinkle with the
cheese, red onions and the cooked chicken.
Bake until bubbly...and chow down!