Mini Pizza with caramelized onions, artichoke hearts, and mozzarrella
I recently completed another Skillshare class (Character Illustration from Concept to Final Artwork)! I almost didn’t take this one because I felt character development is something I’m pretty capable of doing. But it also has an Illustrator and Photoshop component, and I felt I can always learn more about creating digital art. I’m really glad I did take it, because I was introduced to some key things that I will definitely use in my work — for example, importing layers into Photoshop from Illustrator (who knew!!?). I don’t know if I will end up working exactly this way in the future, but going through the process was really valuable and a great learning experience! And I did learn things I am using now that I didn’t before.
Here is my work process for this assignment:
I first did sketches of pirates and chose a final one to take to final:
This is the one I decided to work with.
This is my pirate after I drew every shape in Illustrator. it was WAY tedious!
This is the pirate after rendering it in Photoshop — a realm I am a lot more comfortable in!
This is a full illustration incorporating the character. I will use this as a promotional piece with my artist rep. I used a lot of techniques I learned in the Skillshare class, so I’m really happy I took the class!
With these various projects going on, the slow cooker has been my friend.
My bestie!
Our favorite dish is Slow Cooker Pulled Pork. It’s so great to throw everything in the cooker and forget about it. In 6-8 hours, you’ll have tender, tasty meat.
I tend to avoid chicken in the slow cooker, unless it’s dark meat though. White meat tends to dry out.
Recently, I knew I wanted to saute some onions for easy Mini Pizzas I was planning for a quickie dinner. That morning, I had the brainstorm of throwing some sliced onions in the slow cooker and letting it cook all afternoon while I was out. That cut down on about 20 minutes of sauteing later in the evening– 20 minutes of precious time I could be working! I just used one onion and drizzled it with some olive oil. It cooked on low for 4 hours. But next time, I will buy a bag of onions and a bunch at one time. This might take closer to 6 hours to cook.
You end up with soft, sweet, meltingly tender onions. They can be store in the refrigerator and used throughout the week in omelets, fritattas, quesadillas, burritos… I’ve even put them on my salads. They are soo good!
For this batch, though, I put them on our mini pizzas for a FAST week night meal!
How about you all– what are some slow cooker recipes you can’t live without that make life easier?
Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions
Some onions, sliced vertically in to 1/4 inch slices
Drizzle of olive oil to coat
Pinch of kosher salt
1. Put sliced onions in slow cooker and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt. Stir.
2. Cook on low for about 4-6 hours.
Mini Pizzas
Mini or Regular sized whole wheat pitas
Your favorite marinara sauce (or homemade!)
Shredded cheese
Slow cooker onions
Chopped artichoke hearts
Any other topping you would like!
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (I use our toaster oven).
2. Spoon some sauce on each of the pitas. Top with toppings.
3. Cook in oven about 8-10 minutes depending on how crunchy you like it (place directly on rack).
4. Slice into wedges and eat!
