Pizza

Over the past couple of years, I've tried hard to eat better -- less sweets, and sadly, less pizza.  I remember the days when pizza was delivered and on the menu at least once a week. 

This week I was grocery shopping and saw some Hannaford’s wheat pizza crust in the refrigerator section.  I grabbed a package and decided to try it out. Well, it’s football season and bad food is all around us.  How much cheese can we actually stuff into a pizza crust anyway?

Tonight I decided to give it a try.  I had some artichoke hearts in the fridge, and took out some homemade chorizo sausage from the freezer this morning.  I always have dried porcini mushrooms on hand and a red onion completed the ingredients.

The end result is amazing – crispy crust and the perfect combination of toppings equals pizza bliss!!

1 pkg refrigerated wheat pizza crust

½ cup porcini mushrooms

    (I used dried mushrooms and soaked them in warm water)

¾ cup artichoke hearts broken into pieces

¾ cup chorizo or other spicy Italian sausage, cooked
¾ cup red onion, thinly sliced

Mixture of cheeses – you can include sharp cheddar, Parmesan, Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheeses

Take the pizza dough out of the package and cover both sides with flour.  Stretch out the dough on the pan you’ll be cooking it on (I use a pizza stone and lightly rubbed olive oil on the stone first).  Spread the dough with some sauce (I used Bove’s Mushroom and Wine Sauce) and then layered the onions, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sausage.  I topped it off with a mixture of cheeses – basically what I had on hand but my main recommendations would be mozzarella and some Parmesan. 

Bake it at 450 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is crisp and the cheese melted.  

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

My mom made the most amazing macaroni and cheese.  It's one of those great, timeless recipes that takes you back to a very homey, comforting time in your life.   Heather reminded me of that this week.  I haven't made it for a long time because it's loaded with butter, flour, cheese and pasta (don't even try wheat pasta -- that wouldn't make it with this dish).  

I cut out the ham and the Ritz crackers but sprinkled it with some paprika.  I used Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar and added some parmesan cheese to the mix so it's slightly different from Mom's original recipe.

It was beyond amazing and there's even some heading to the fridge.  Thanks, Mom!!!

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

2  tbsp dijon mustard

3 cups macaroni

1 cup chopped ham

2 ½ cups milk

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

¼ cups Ritz crackers, crumbled

Cook the macaroni and set aside.  Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour and mustard.  Whisk until blended and then add the milk and heat until slightly thickened.  Add the cheddar and parmesan cheeses and mix until smooth and thick.  Add the ham and macaroni.  Place into a baking dish, sprinkle with cracker crumbs and cook at 375 for approximately 30 minutes.

Pesto Lasagna

Christmas dinner in our household was a difficult task when Eric and Sam became vegetarian.  We used to do the traditional turkey dinner but we needed to switch gears so that everyone had something they enjoyed.   The best part is that making Christmas dinner has become a much more pleasurable and relaxing experience.  Lasagna is one of those wonderful meals that you can make ahead and slide it into the oven while everyone is exchanging gifts and catching up.  Serve it with a salad and garlic bread and the meal is complete.

This lasagna recipe came from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook.  I’ve written it pretty much as it is in the cookbook, but I have a tendency to be a little heavy handed on the pesto, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.  This year I made the cheese mixture the day before and left it in the refrigerator overnight.   I waited until I put the lasagna together to add in the pine nuts so they stayed firm.

Making lasagna is not necessarily a pasta experience, it’s much more of a cheese experience and those that know me understand my love affair with cheese.   

 

16 lasagna noodles

1 lb fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped

2 lbs ricotta cheese

1 cup pesto

4 large cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated

Wash and dry the spinach.  Remove and discard the stems and finely mince the leaves. 

Place ricotta cheese in a large bowl, and stir in spinach, pesto, garlic, pine nuts and ½ cup of parmesan cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Boil the noodles.  Drain and lay them flat on a tray.

Put some olive oil in the bottom of a 9 x 13 in pan.  Place a layer of noodles, spread about 1/3 of the filling over the noodles and sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella on top.  Follow with another layer of noodles, 1/3 of the filling and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Repeat one more time with everything and top with a final noodle layer.  Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of parmesan cheese on top of the noodles. 

Bake for 50 minutes at 350.  If the noodles on top brown too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.

Mexican Casserole

This recipe has been in the rotation for a long time.  I found it in the Parade Magazine from Sunday’s issue of the Boston Globe, where it was appropriately named one of “The Best Casseroles in the U.S.A.” 

I love it!!  It’s simplistic, yet totally satisfying.  Here are my personal notes.   I don’t use the tortilla chips if we’re going to have leftovers.  They’re great for the first meal but  get soggy and don’t heat up well.  I also HATE cilantro – tastes like soap to me so I always pass when I can. 

1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips

1 pound shredded chicken (I use a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can corn kernels, drained (I use frozen corn kernels)

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1 cup prepared salsa

1 cup red onion, diced

1 cup sweet peppers, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz monterey jack shredded cheese

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Scatter crushed tortilla chips on the bottom of the pan. 

Combine chicken, beans, corn, tomato sauce, salsa, sweet pepper, cilantro, garlic and salt and pepper in a bowl. 

Place half of the mixture in the baking dish.  Cover with one half of the cheese and repeat with the mixture.  Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top and bake for 35 minutes.  Serve with the toppings of your choice (sour cream, cilantro, diced tomatoes). 

Marinara Sauce

Today I knew I wasn’t going to want to go through a big production for dinner since we moved the clocks back an hour.  When it starts getting dark out at 4:30, it’s time to ease things up in the kitchen at the end of the day – especially for a week or so. 

I put together a marinara sauce in the slow cooker this morning and it turned out great.  I love recipes that afford you the creativity of putting in a pinch of this and a pinch of that and seasoning to taste.  Here’s the recipe I made but feel free to adjustments as desired or inspired!!  I would have tried adding black olives but Ian wouldn’t have heard of that so maybe I can work on that addition next time.

3 large cans of Muir Glen diced tomatoes

1 large can of Muir Glen chunky tomato sauce

1 can artichokes, quartered

3 tbsp capers

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup sauterne wine (I find it at Price Chopper)

1 cup Porcini mushrooms (I heat up some water and add dry mushrooms, then add to the sauce)

Place everything in the slow cooker and set to low for 7 to 8 hours.  Serve with your favorite pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

The other day, my sister-in-law, Jen, sent me the link to a food blog she found – www.joythebaker.com.  Thanks, Jen!

This is an amazing website which is fun to read, has tons of great recipes and great photography.  Right now I have a list of recipes I want to try but yesterday I happened to have some ripe bananas that needed to be used up and I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Bread!  Who doesn’t love the combination of peanut butter and bananas?  I just had to try it and it ended up being one of the best banana breads I’ve ever had.  It was a nice twist with the peanut butter and sometimes I love to bake when I don't have to use a mixer -- just a couple bowls and a little arm power.  I didn’t happen to have the allspice on hand so I just left that out and I substituted chunky peanut butter because I didn’t have any dry roasted peanuts.  

I just had a slice toasted for breakfast – time to hit the treadmill!!

1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup plain or vanilla fat free yogurt

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tbsp butter, melted

2 large eggs

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed meal

¾ cup baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground allspice

¼ cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, flaxseed meal, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and melted butter.  Whisk in eggs and sugar.  Blend mixture well.

Pour the wet mixture into the larger bowl with the dry ingredients.  Fold together with a spatula until everything is blended.  Fold in the chopped nuts.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 20 minutes.  Run a knife along the edges of the pan and invert the loaf onto a wire rack to cool. 

White Bean and Kielbasa Stew

I’d have to say that our All-Clad Slow Cooker is the best kitchen investment we’ve ever made.  I’m a morning person so taking the time to prepare the ingredients first thing is easy for me.   Come dinner time I’m usually ready to crash and the slow cooker allows me the opportunity to enjoy an incredible meal without the late-day fuss.

This is a recipe I found recently in the Real Simple magazine.  I tried it once and enjoyed it but wanted to tweek it a bit.  I made it again today with some adjustments (that’s what I love about cooking, is you can always add your personal touch to a recipe). 

Here are the ingredients I used today which would make a double batch.  I made extra because I plan on bringing some to my dad tomorrow for lunch (depending on whether we get any substantial snow) and extra for him to put in the freezer.   The problems I ran into were that the beans didn’t seem to cook as fast as I would have hoped and absorb as much moisture as I would have liked. After 4.5 hours, they were still pretty hard.  I usually cook on low heat, but turned it up to high for about 2.5 hours and the beans cooked (finally).  I’ll have to admit that I have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking with dried beans.  I usually take the easy way out and use canned beans, but hope to learn more about cooking with dried beans.  This came out absolutely fabulous.  I taste tested more than my share and know it will be a big hit with my dad!

2 pounds dried white beans (Great Northern or Navy – I used Navy)

2 pkgs kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced to ½ in thick (I used one turkey kielbasa and one regular)

4 large carrots, diced

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried rosemary

10 oz baby spinach (12 cups)

Soak the beans in cold water overnight.  

In the morning, rinse the beans and add to the slow cooker with the kielbasa, carrots, broth, tomatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary.  Make sure the beans are covered with liquid.   Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours but keep an eye out as dried beans can be tricky.  If they don’t look like they’re cooking after 4 hours, turn them to high for a while.  Add the spinach at the end and serve.