This recipe for bell pepper pizza was inspired by the Great American Family Christmas movie, “Jingle Bell Princess” starring Merritt Patterson and Trevor Donovan. Merritt plays Princess Amelia and confesses to Trevor’s character that she has never had cold pizza before, but I’m not sure she has had any pizza before! So I created this bell pepper (play on words with “jingle bell” pizza with so many facets of flavors that no princess would ever refuse!

Ingredients:

-Ready made pizza dough

-“Di Fratelli” canned tomato sauce

-Roasted red bell pepper cut into strips

-grilled onions

-sun dried tomatoes

-ricotta

-arugula

-olive oil

Directions:

On a pizza stone, spread out pizza dough into a 12 in round. Spread sauce, sprinkle (pre-grilled) bell peppers, (pre-grilled) onions, sun dried tomatoes and ricotta. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until crust is golden and ricotta is melted into the dough. Remove from oven and top with fresh arugula and drizzle with olive oil.  Enjoy!

This savory pie is inspired by the movie “South Beach Love” on Hallmark Channel starring William Levy and Taylor Cole. The dish was created when both characters combined their Cuban and Irish heritage to create this unique dish. Shepard’s pie meets ropa vieja!

Ingredients:

One to two pounds large flank steak

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

Onions

red and green bell peppers

1 tablespoon cumin

1 can tomato sauce

1 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar

6 oz tomato paste

manzanilla olives

Crust: Two pack frozen pie crust

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, sear flank steak on all sides in a bit of olive oil. Add onions and garlic. Saute for another minute. Add all other ingredients into the pot. Cover and simmer for two hours.

For Crust:

Bake one crust at 375 for 10 minutes

Scoop cooked ropa into cooked crust and cover with uncooked crust.

Crimp sides and poke vent holes with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is golden.

-½ Teaspoon salt

-1¾ Cup all-purpose flour

-¾ Cup butter (unsalted, cold)

-½ Cup sour cream

-1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

-Strawberry  jam

-¾ Cup almonds or pecans, chopped

-Powdered Sugar

Cut cold butter into tabs first, and In an electric mixer, mix together cold butter, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. There may be a few lumps. 

Next add flour and salt. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Gently knead and split into three balls of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 25 minutes. Take out one ball of dough at a time when rolling. Keep other two in the fridge  until ready to use.

On a floured surface, roll out one ball of dough into a large circle. Spread strawberry jam and sprinkle chopped nuts on top. Drizzle with a bit of honey. 

Then cut dough into 12 triangles (pizza style) and roll into a crescent shape starting from the wide side down to the corner. 

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden in color. Once they are totally cooled, roll in a small bowl of powdered sugar. Enjoy!

This delicious cookie is inspired by the Hallmark Channel movie “Made For Each Other”. Main character Rachel (Alexandra Turshen) molds “the perfect man” out of clay and wished him to life! One way to her heart was through her stomach with her favorite treat, rugelach!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter (cut into tabs)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 peach tea bag
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup drained, cubed canned peaches

First bring milk to a slow boil, turn off heat and steep tea bag for 20 minutes. Pour in heat safe bowl and place in fridge or freezer to cool completely.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon). Set aside. 

Drain peaches and add into flour mixture.

Take your tabs of butter out of the freezer and with your hands or pastry blender, mix in all the butter into flour mixture until combined and crumbly.

Next, take your cooled tea-infused milk and add that to the dry mixture. Stir or knead until a ball forms. 

Place ball of dough on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Add a touch of flour and knead a bit more, then pat down to form a 1 inch thick circle. Cut 6-8 slices into dough, depending on how big you want your slices.

Place in freezer while you preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Baste top of dough with milk and bake for about 20 minutes. 

This recipe was inspired by the Great American Family movie “The English Estate” .  The England native in this movie was very serious about teaching the “American” how to make a proper tea. She wasn’t too keen on the lack of sweetness, but what better way to sweeten up tea than with a yummy scone! Peach tea is my favorite and it was a no brainer for me to infuse it into this recipe!