Hungry Man Meals

Remember when I said I've been an emotional wreck and I have the best husband in the world who loves me despite it??  Well I felt like I had some making up to do.  And the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach right!?

That would be the result of a recipe I found on Pinterest.  A recipe for copy-cat Chick-fil-A Sandwiches.

Before we moved here Jordan stocked up on all of the sauces he could get his hands on through our many stops at Chick-fil-A.  He's been waiting to use them, not wanting to let a single packet go to waste or be spoiled on something undeserving.  And then I came across the recipe, and he couldn't wait to try it.  To see if it held up to all the glory that is his favorite chicken sandwich.  We followed each step (minus the fact that I only had seeded buns) and the creation was assembled in sheer perfection.  He was in heaven.  Maybe it's because it's been more than 7 months since he had the sandwich, but he said it was a magnificent substitute.  We've all had to give up things living in a foreign country, but I was pretty pleased to know I could pull this recipe out when Jordan needed an extra pick me up and a taste of home.

But the spoiling wasn't done yet.  Currently it's rainy season here in the Philippines.  As typhoons rip across the ocean, we've seen quite the downpour and felt some pretty dramatic winds.  Today was a day for canceling classes and hunkering down inside to avoid the chaos we currently find ourselves in.  It was quite reminiscent of a snow day back home and I welcomed the company as Jordan worked from home.  I figured a special lunch was in store, so I got busy in the kitchen and made quite possibly the best pizza I have ever made in my life!  I kid you not.

I can't lay claim to everything that makes up this pizza.  The crust was from a pizza magazine we picked up a while back and I just followed their recipe for a deep dish pizza crust, but varied the assemblage of it.

When my dough was ready I preheated my oven at 500 for 25 minutes with the pizza stone on the bottom rack.  I then rolled out my dough to over-lap my cast iron skillet and set it in place.  I layed down mozzarella on Jordan's side and some vegan mozzarella on my side.  Packed in a generous helping of spinach leaves, and then dotted his side with pepperoni.  Next I rolled out a thin circle of dough to lay on top of our toppings to protect it from being over saturated by the sauce.  I pinched the edges together with my former dough and poked some holes in it to allow steam to pass through.  Then rolled the edges over and down.  And lastly came the sauce.  We laid it on thick.  I turned the oven down to 450 and it was time to go in.  I placed the skillet directly on the stone and baked it for 35 minutes.

Man was it tough to wait for it to cool down.  It smelled so intoxicating!  We were both ready for lunch!  We hit the couch and popped in some Lost as the perfect side dish to chowin down on pizza.

The perfect spinach pie!  I'm usually a "give me all the vegetables you can" kind of gal, but when we experienced Giordano's (twice) in Chicago...I came to love the simplicity of this dish.  Just spinach, cheese, sauce, and crust!  YUM!
       
So here's the recipes I did tweak:

Quick Stir Chunky Tomato Sauce : (adapted from here)
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 jar tomato paste
1/4 cup vegan parmesan
2 TBS. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. oregano
a handful of fresh basil, shredded
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 TBS. minced garlic

In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients until well incorporated.

Vegan Mozzarella : (adapted from here)
1/2 cup soft tofu
1/2 cup soy milk
1 package soft tofu
1/2 TBS. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp rice vinegar
4 tsp agar powder

Place 1/2 cup tofu + soy milk in food processor and blend until rich and creamy.  Next add the rest of your ingredients except for the agar and blend for several minutes, scrapping down the sides, until well blended and smooth.  Place the contents in a medium saucepan and stir in the agar powder and let sit for 5 minutes.  Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Cook on stovetop for about 5 minutes.  Pour into a baking dish and set in the refrigerator to firm up.  At least 1 hour.

That pizza never stood a chance.  We killed it.  I can't wait to have the leftovers tomorrow.  I guess I should admit this one was just as much for me as it was for him...

What's your favorite style of pizza?