Cheney's homemade pizza

So times are hard and money is tight.  I've been creative in thinking of ways I can hold on to the money I have and ways to make it with the money I don't have.  I figured what better way to incorporate my recent desire to want to cook more with cost saving measures to replace eating out.  Drum roll please........HOMEMADE PIZZA!

Anyone who knows me, knows that my favorite foods are 1. pizza and 2.  seafood.  Since being in New York City, I have yet to find any pizza that compares to the pizza of Chicago.  Mostly, New York's pizza is just large slices of paper thin crust with barely any cheese on it.  Not satisfied with the New York pizza and tired of buy Diorgano's pizza (they don't sell homerun inn frozen pizza here), I decided to make my own.  I never really thought of doing so before until I was talking to a neighbor (thanks, Jennifer) and decided to give it a try.  So here it is, Cheney's homemade cheese and spinach pizza. 

 

 Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

The ingredients are quite simple and can be purchased from any local grocery or convenient store.
1.  mozzarella cheese - purchased at Duane Reade
2.  ragu pizza sauce - purchased at Duane Reade
3.  organic baby spinach - purchased at Whole Foods
4.  pizza crust - purchased at Whole Foods

 Used a small amount of extra virgin olive oil, heated in a small skillet to saute the spinach.  It doesn't need to be fully cooked.  2-3 minutes in the skillet will do. 

 Now I like a lot of sauce on my pizza so I used 3 and 1/2 tablespoons of pizza sauce. 

 Next.  I added the mozzarella cheese, followed by the spinach

- Place pizza crust in the center of the oven on a pizza pan or flat cookie sheet.  Since I don't have either, a piece of aluminum foil worked just as good. 
- let pizza bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese melts and crust browns.  I like my cheese brown so I leave it in the oven a little longer.  
*if you like a crispy crust, leave the pizza pan, cookie sheet or aluminum foil in the oven while it is pre-heating.  By doing so, you will place the pizza crust on a surface that is already hot.

let sit for 2-3 minutes as sauce and cheese will be hot. 

Taste better than any frozen pizza I've ever purchased in the store. 

It's game time, or is it?

source: bet.com

There have been so many blogs, comments, conversations, etc. about the return of The Game, that I wasn't really sure if I was going to write anything about it. However (taking a deep breath), after Tuesday's episode, I couldn't resist.

Now, I'm one of those people that would have recreated the March on Washington in support of The Game. I thought it was ridiculous that the CW cancelled it because it was such a good show. I did, however, do a 50 cent eye brow raise when I heard that BET was picking it up, but was also ecstatic about its return. Now here we are 5 episodes in and, well, the verdict is still out. At least for me it is. Watching the episodes from seasons 1 -3, it’s clear that the new episodes are different and lack some of the flavor that was present in seasons 1-3.

Overall, the show is just not funny! I miss the comedy. I miss holding my stomach and bending over laughing because of something funny that Derwin or Tasha said, or watching Malik’s facial expression followed by something stupid coming out of his mouth. If there’s no studio audience, then they need to use a laugh track. I understand some parts of the show being serious, but The Game is not a drama or night time soap opera so some needs to be incorporated into the show.

Here’s what I think of the characters since they’ve returned for season 4:

MELANIE - she’s still her same complaining self. But that’s what I liked about Melanie because you always knew what to expect from her. What I miss though is wise cracking Girl Melanie. Malik gave her that name for a reason and I wish that Melanie would resurrect Girl Melanie and bring the funny back.

DERWIN- Although Derwin is supposed to be this superstar football player, that doesn’t mean he has to be boring! Each week since January 11th, I eagerly await this “new” Derwin to be remixed with a little bit of the old, funny, dancing, joke cracking, Melanie teasing, Derwin.

*when are Derwin and Melanie going to be happy? Geesh, it’s been 2 years and they’re still having problems. It’s depressing to watch them be so miserable. Derwin needs to check Janay, get this thing with his son together and move on. Outside of there being talk of Janay, there is really no reason for that character to be a regular on the show. I just don’t understand all that going back and forth between Derwin, Melanie and Janay. That is old news that’s already been dealt with in season 3. I almost threw up listening to Janay cry to Derwin about them being a family.

TASHA - “Once you go Mack, you never go back.” I love Tasha! I want to be just like her when I grow up. Aside from that episode when she was acting scared of Kellie, she’s her same crazy, in a good way self. I’m glad the new writers remained consistent with her character (and her wardrobe is still off the chain too). There’s still a little something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I still enjoy watching Tasha. Not real crazy about the cougar thing with Donate, but since it’s in line with something her character would do it’s cool, though I’m hoping that might change after that phone call from Rick Fox. Oh and FYI, having Tasha smoke a black and mild, on a bench was not cool!

MALIK – Who the hell is that? So I’m still trying to figure out what is happening with Malik. I suppose he’s playing the “I’m not the super star anymore, but I can still do what I wanna do ‘cause I’m doped up on drugs and alcohol” role. And he has the nerve to ask nasty towards Titi. Until Malik does right by Titi everything Malik does will fail.

JASON – Like Tasha, the writers have stayed consistent with Jason. The “Dip & Pitts” was the funniest thing ever. Jason knocks it out of the park (or should I say scores a touchdown) every week. He’s still cheap (look at the car) and the things that come out of his mouth are, well, Jason.

KELLI – Don’t like this new Kelli. I wish they’d do something else with her. A reality show? Really? Right now it doesn’t seem like the writers know which direction they want to take this character. Surely there’s a little bit of the old Kellie left, even if she isn’t with Jason. The verdict is still out on this one. After seeing the first five episodes, I think it’s safe to say that Kelli didn’t necessarily need to return to the show. But, maybe they have other plans for her….crickets in the background.

TiTi – WTF? I want the funny TiTi back. He can still be a chicken wing entrepreneur and be funny! That’s all I have to say about that. I need to get back to making my picket signs in protest of the “not funny” TiTi.

On a side note, I do love Juvon. He is even funnier than before.

So while I am happy the game as returned, I think BET needs to bring back a little of The Game that fans were fighting to return back. Most of what I’d like to see is it become funny again, Derwin and Melanie have some happy times, bring back the funny Titi and for them to stop trying to tell so many stories in a 30 minute episode. I will continue to watch, because I want to support the show. I think the actors are at the top of their game (pun intended) and are doing the best with the scripts that are being given to them. The writers and producers need to have a team building workshop that includes watching seasons 1-3 and figure out where they are going wrong. I really do hope The Game gets better because pretty soon I won’t be flipping back and forth between The Game and Southland because my TV will be permanantly fixed to Southland.