I don’t usually make pizza, but this recipe has changed everything. It is super simple to put together and takes under 30 minutes. And it’s so delicious you’ll want to call your mom and tell her how good it is. Seriously.

Also, if you’ve never tried cooking with kale before (I know, big leafy greens can be intimidating), this is a great starter recipe. All you have to do is wash it, cut it, boil it and then put it on the pizza - finito!

Ingredients:

1 bag (10oz) chopped kale (or a bunch from the farmers’ market)

1 lb. pizza dough (Whole Foods dough is amazing - or make your own!)

1 C shredded manchego cheese

4 oz chorizo, casing removed and thinly sliced (We made a vegetarian version with a Soy Chorizo from Trader Joe’s)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven.

Bring 2 qts. water to a boil in a covered pot. Add chopped kale, cook until tender to the bite, about 2-3 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and squeeze out excess water.

Meanwhile, roll out your pizza dough on a floured work surface into a 14 circle or rectangle. Lay dough on a floured baking sheet.

Spread the manchego, chorizo, and kale over the pizza. Top off with pepper. Brush olive oil (or butter) on the outer crust of the pizza so it crisps nicely in the oven.

Slide the pizza onto the hot stone, if using, or bake on the baking sheet until browned and puffed, around 5-10 minutes. 

Take it out of the oven and wait to cool. Then eat until your heart is content. Or until you run out of pizza. Whatever comes first.

Now that the holiday rush is behind me, I had a moment to upload the yummy photos of all the sugary treats Katie and I sold at The Oaks School Holiday Bazaar. While most of the desserts wouldn’t normally make it onto the blog due to high sugar content, I wanted to share what we made, so our readers could make them too (as special treats, not every day treats!).  Without further ado…

Katie, looking adorable as usual, proudly staffing our table full of goodies!

Handmade, hand-piped deliciousness!

Our Triple Ginger Cookies were a huge hit. One of the students came back to buy another cookie and tell us it was the ‘best cookie ever’! While I’d love to, we can’t take full credit for the soft, gingery deliciousness. The recipe is straight out of the December issue of Bon Appetit. Click here for the recipe. (Coming soon: a step-by-step guide on making these cookies!)

Katie’s famous lemon bars! When I think of college, I think of her melt-in-your-mouth lemon bars: not too lemony, not too sweet - the perfect balance in a hand-held treat. (did I just rhyme?!)

That’s right - mini apple pies with organic apples from my Mom’s orchard in Twain Harte. She brought down a bag of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Black Arkansas apples at Thanksgiving and I snatched them right up! The Black Arkansas are tart, crisp apples that keep in cold storage for a long time - and they are one of the last apples ready for harvest, so they are the perfect winter apple! (look for a post on how to make these cuties - coming soon!)

You can’t have a bake sale without a chocolate chip cookie, so Katie did what any good baker would do and made a triple batch of these gems!

Another rule for bake sales - you can’t have a vanilla cupcake without a chocolate version too! We whipped up the same frosting, but with a chocolaty base for some very pleased customers… including Nicholas:

His mom sent us this photo, exclaiming, “He ate the whole thing. No crumbs were spared!”

In the end, we stayed up late and baked through the night, but the fruits of our labor turned out super yummy. We sold almost all of our baked goods and heard wonderful feedback, which was the most rewarded part of the night. It was lovely to surprise so many of the parents, since they know us only as the Office staff! Surprise - we can bake too!

THE END!

My good friend Katie and I will be selling yummy baked goods at The Oaks Holiday Bazaar this afternoon. Get ready to taste cookies, cupcakes, lemon bars, and the cutest lil’ apple pies you’ve ever seen. We hope to see you there!