Pizza, Chili and Chocolate Cupcakes!

I LOVE making pizza. Once you have a staple pizza crust recipe, making pizza inevitably becomes one of the easiest and most versatile dishes to whip up in very little time. I'm going to Spain and Portugal at the end of this week so I was on a mission to cook and bake with the intention of using up plenty of my fridge/freezer items. With an abundance of cheeses (ricotta, mascarpone, parmiggiano, mozzarella) and some leftover pesto, I made a simple and satisfying lunch. My favorite go-to recipe is definitely Katie's pizza crust!

Pizza con Pesto e Quattro Formaggi! I think naming it in Italian sounds so much better, don't you? ;) I was very happy to successfully use my new clay pizza stone too!

Made on 02/12/12.

Here it is, in all it's four cheese bubbly goodness.

Next up I decided to attempt chili from AmyBites which never lets me down with her awesome and healthy recipe recommendations!

Variations: I used ground beef instead of turkey, and made the dish on the stove instead of in the slow-cooker, letting it cook at low-heat for a total of 2 1/2 hours. I didn't add any chili powder or cayenne since the flavor from the stewed tomatoes (which already had spices) was delicious enough on it's own!

Chili!
Made on 02/12/12.

Top with a scoop of low-fat sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.

Last but not least, double chocolate cupcakes with mascarpone and cream cheese frosting! These were made for a special friend of mine's birthday and since her birthday is also on Valentine's Day, I topped them with some little cinnamon candy hearts! :)

Chocolate and Mascarpone Cupcakes!

Made on 02/12/12.

Chocolatey deliciousness!

Thanks to Kirbie's Cravings!