Recipe: My ALDI Inspired Bavarian Pizza

*Disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.

ALDI

When friends and family drop in over the holidays a good way to make your guests feel welcome is by treating them to a homemade pizza, besides the usual dishes that you serve whether ham, turkey etc. 

Here is a piece of my Bavarian Pizza up close.

The recipe that I have for you is hardly traditional as you might guess from the name of Bavarian Pizza. Imagine what gently browned onions, sauerkraut along with slices of sausage and Mozzarella cheese with just the right combination of spices would taste about now in a freshly made pizza crust. Making the dough from scratch really doesn’t take all that long and once you top it with this unique topping, you can make their visit a memorable occasion.

All the ingredients that I used can be found at ALDI, my favorite grocery store where I do mostly all my shopping.  With their weekly specials and cheaper prices, I can buy a lot more food without sacrificing taste or quality over other larger stores with name brands.  

Kirkwood Turkey Andouille Sausage is what I used, but I have used other varieties of sausages that I found at Aldi's.

Aldi's sells both the canned and fresh variety like Frank's Kraut, which I often pick up and use half for another meal.

Their five-pound bag of all-purpose flour was just 99-cents this week!  You might want to stock up for your holiday baking.  ALDI also has great seasonal products that can help your celebrations with prepared items as well as ones to pull those holiday dishes together from those baking essentials, cheeses, holiday meat staples, appetizers to sweet treats from Europe with their delicious candies. Browsing their holiday catalog can provide the inspiration you need concerning what you might want to serve this holiday or give as gifts so do check it out! 

Try my Bavarian Pizza because it is delicious and so different.  Honestly, I think that you will love this recipe and–ALDI if you haven’t shopped there yet.  

ALDI Inspired Bavarian Pizza 

Bavarian Pizza

Pizza Dough:

1 cup of water
2-1/2 cups of Baker’s Corner all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of Carlini canola oil
1 teaspoon of dry yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar


Bavarian Topping:

1/2 bag (1 lb.) of ALDI Frank’s Quality Kraut or 1 small can (14-1/2 oz.) sauerkraut
2 sticks of ALDI Kirkwood Turkey Andouille Sausage or  1/2 lb. of your favorite sausage
1 medium red onion, finely chopped 
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon of black pepper
3/4 teaspoon of salt
8-oz. of Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup of olive oil
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes 

Here's a cut piece of  my ALDI Inspired Bavarian Pizza.

To Make the Dough:

Add half the sugar to your warm water, not hot water, stir trying to dissolve the yeast and let it sit in your mixing bowl until the yeast starts bubbling.  When it has some foaming action, you're ready to add the dry ingredients.

Add the flour along with the remaining sugar, oil, and salt a little at a time.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is no longer sticky.  You want a soft, pliable ball.

The weather can influence the feel of your dough.  Some days it may be too humid for example and you may need to add more flour or even less, depending on how sticky that ball feels on your fingers.  Don’t be afraid of adding a bit more flour or even using less if that dough no longer feels sticky.

Let your dough rest and grow, covered for at least one hour to one and one-half hours.

After that time, the dough should have grown slightly.  Take that dough and put it in your greased baking pan and stretch to fit.  (For this recipe, I used a large round 12-inch size  pizza pan).

To Prepare the Bavarian Topping:

Boil the sauerkraut for about fifteen minutes, then drain.

Chop your onions and fry in the olive oil until golden.  Add the drained sauerkraut next, along with the salt, black pepper, and sugar.

Top the pizza with the sauerkraut mixture, then add your sliced sausage, grated Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes.

 Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the bottom crust becomes slightly brown.

ENJOY!

Recipe: My Cheesy Chicken Casserole Is Tasty and a Great Way to Use Leftovers!

You can easily reinvent this casserole by changing the meat or poultry.

The recipe that I have to share with you today is not only delicious, but it is a great way to use leftover chicken, turkey, or ham.  By the time you are done, your family or guests will think you created something special.    Only you will know the real truth!

With just some curry and garlic powder along with some onion, black olives and fresh mushrooms in a delectable cheesy cream sauce,  this dish has a unique flavor that is wonderfully different.  I do hope that the next time you have any leftover poultry or ham that you will try it.  

Keep in mind that garlic powder is not the same thing as garlic salt.  Garlic powder is pure dry, pulverized garlic without salt whereas garlic salt contains salt as the first ingredient.

My Cheesy Chicken Casserole

1 -1/2 cups of cooked chicken, turkey or ham
1 cup of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1–8 oz. package of fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (10-3/4 oz.)
1 cup of milk
½ teaspoon of curry powder
½ teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder not garlic salt
1/4 cup of pitted black olives
1/4 cup of olive oil
1-lb. of cooked shells, macaroni or your favorite of pasta


In your skillet or heavy pot, brown your chopped onion in the olive oil until golden brown.

Then add the sliced mushrooms and continue until cooked before adding the soup, cheese, milk, chicken, curry powder, salt, garlic powder, and pitted olives to heat through until the cheese melts and it thickens.

Cook the pasta, drain, and then add to the sauce and blend through.


ENJOY!

Revive Your Hair With Two Homemade Conditioners I'm Nuts About!

This first one I'm sharing  is a fantastic and easy treatment to help remedy your dull and brittle hair without much effort.  The second is a deeper treatment that you can apply and wear all day when you're alone or overnight when you do not have anyone sleeping beside you.

Get a container and mix up 1/4 cup of olive oil with the juice of one whole lemon and 2 tablespoons of coarse salt.  Apply this while you take your warm shower or linger in the tub soaking with your bubbles for at least ten minutes. 

Rinse and then style your hair as you usually do.  This will give you back your manageability and shine.

The second treatment is for when your hair is brittle enough to crack when you rub the strands together.  When this happens, you need to take desperate measures with the plastic wrap and  mayonnaise treatment.  

You may laugh, but applying some healthy gobs of mayo to your freshly washed hair, then wrapping plastic wrap, followed by a scarf to wear as long as possible, does help soften and improve problem hair.  

Another interesting way to shorten up the mayo-plastic wrap treatment is to grab your blow dryer and warm up your head so that mayo penetrates the hair thoroughly.  

As I also mentioned, you can go to bed wearing your salad smelling plastic helmet wrapped head, only if you are sleeping alone.   Overnight treatment in this fashion I only recommend if hubby is away or you will risk alienating him.