Chill, Take It Easy, Relax...

Part of what I love most about summer is the ability to just slow down. There is no set agenda. It doesn't matter if we eat dinner at 7, 8, or 9:30 p.m. There is not a schedule for the day. We get up, we swim, we try new recipes, we decide to do something fun. The kids have really embraced this mentality this summer and I have been very grateful. We make plans, but we also scratch plans for better ones, like staying in our pjs all day. It's been nice.

We have spent lots of time in the pool. It took several tries and I don't think that we ever did get the perfect jump picture. These make me laugh anyway.

 Because everything is so green and beautiful, we have had quite a few of these days too. No complaints. Movie, anyone?

I love to try new recipes in the summer. 

This is a potato leek pizza from the Pioneer Woman. I've eyed it several times and finally decided to make it. When I first tried it, I wasn't too sure that I liked it, but it grew on me. It is definitely not Italian in any way, shape, or form (except for the pizza crust.) It's olive oil, bacon, thinly sliced potatoes (I nearly sliced off my finger with my vegetable mandolin. Read the safety precautions!), leeks, and several different cheeses. It's pretty tasty.

Potato-Leek Pizza

Yield: 1 pizza

Ingredients

1/2 recipe for Pizza Crust (recipe to follow)
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 leeks, rinsed well to remove grit and thinly sliced
5 small red or Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced paper thin
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the pizza crust by drizzling lightly with olive oil and sprinkling lightly with salt.

In a skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until cooked but not crisp, then remove and set aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the skillet. Return it to the stove and, over medium-low heat, saute the leeks until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove the leeks from the heat and set aside.

Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the potatoes very thin. Be careful not to allow them enough time to oxidize. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer all over the crust, slightly overlapping the edges. Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt, then lay the mozzarella slices in a single layer on top of the potatoes. Place the leeks on top of the cheese, then sprinkle the fried bacon pieces over the top. Add a generous dose of crumbled goat cheese, grated Parmesan, and a sprinkle of pepper.

In an oven preheated to 500 degrees F, bake the pie for 8-11 minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Slice it into wedges or squares and serve immediately.

Pizza Crust

1-1/2 cups warm water

2-1/2 tsp. yeast

1 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups flour (approx.)

Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl. (I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook attachment.) Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add salt, oil, and flour. Mix until the dough begins to pull from the sides of the bowl into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour until it reaches the desired consistency. Once mixed, leave it in the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in size. Then punch down, and put out on floured surface, knead, and divide into 3 equal balls. Take one ball and roll a circle using a rolling pin.  Makes 3 pizza crusts.

I'm enjoying every last bit of summer!