Fail-Proof Pizza Dough

We love making homemade pizza; we used to make it almost every week when we were engaged/dating/in Rexburg.  We don't make it as often now, but it's always fun.  We have almost always used Zak's mom's recipe (they have a Pizza Friday tradition since forever), which is awesome and we love.  But I saw this recipe online and thought I'd like to give it a try.  The gal talked about how the crust was chewier, thinner and like restaurant pizza, and the only major difference was using bread flour vs. regular flour.  Zak was in charge of the dough and when I came home for work, we made two pizzas: one just cheese, and one with pineapple, tomatoes and basil.  It was delicious.  I really liked this recipe, the crust was awesome!  Zak liked it too, but he naturally loves his mom's recipe.  So I think we'll use this one from time to time, depending on our stock of bread or regular flour.  

Crust
1 c. warm water
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbl. honey (or sugar)
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. olive or canola oil
3 c. bread flour

Sauce
6 oz. tomato sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. minced onion


~4 c. cheese
toppings

1.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together yeast and honey (or sugar) into warm water.  Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam.
2.  Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix on low.
3.  Once that flour is incorporated, start adding rest of flour slowly until dough is slightly tacky, but doesn't stick to hands when you touch it.
4.  Turn the mixer to medium - high to high speed, set a timer for 6 minutes and walk away.
5.  Lightly grease bowl and dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1 - 2 hours.
6.  Once dough has doubled in size, punch down, separate into two pieces and roll into circle.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
7.  Mix sauce ingredients, adding other spices to taste.
8.  Add sauce, cheese and toppings to pizza.
9.  Cook pizza about 8 - 10 minutes, until crust has turned a beautiful golden brown color.

at first, I was skeptic of pineapple w/basil & tomatoes, but it was so yummy!

beautiful and delicious

Slow Cooker Thai Red Curry Chicken

We love curry, but don't have it often enough.  But I've found a few recipes to try for the next month or two.  This one was really good, and I'm sure we'll make it again.  The chicken thighs were so good and moist, and I loved the coconut milk with the red curry, yum!  It just needed some salt & pepper, and that's it.  We omitted the mushrooms, and personally, I'd like twice the amount of bamboo shoots, because they were awesome.  Delicious!

1/4 c. Thai red curry paste
2 - 2 1/2 lbs. chicken thigh fillets, trimmed & cut in slightly bigger than bite-sized pieces
1 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. oil
1 c. sliced bamboo shoots
1/2 c. fresh shiitake mushrooms, halved (we omitted them)
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 (14 oz.) coconut milk (we used lite coconut milk)
1/3 c. basil leaves

1.  Heat some oil in a large frying pan on medium high heat.  Cut the chicken up and cook them in batches for 1 - 3 minutes, until sides turn golden.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker.
2.  Turn heat to low and add rest of cooking oil.  Add curry paste and stir for 2 - 3 minutes until it releases a sweet aroma.  Add the chicken broth and stir with the curry until it's all dissolved.  Add mushrooms and bamboo shoots, pour over chicken and stir until well mixed.
3.  Cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR low for 7 - 8 hours.
4.  Combine coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir into cooked mixture and cover.  Cook for 30 more minutes on high.
5.  Stir in basil and serve over rice.

yum!

picture w/flash

Spinach & Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Marinara Sauce

I got this craving for a stuffed pasta dish, so I hunted all over the internet for a recipe I liked. I found one that looked easy (enough) and delicious, so I thought I'd try it on my next day off. The gal who submitted the recipe also had a recipe for the sauce, so I tried that as well. And although I bought manicotti, I was not confident enough that I could stuff them properly, so I chose to cook the giant shell pasta. Our friends came over and we devoured 95% of it! Anyways, it was yummy, and I'll make it again, with a few minor tweaks, I'm sure.

First up, the marinara sauce.
3 - 4 Tbl. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 - 6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbl. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (can use two for thicker, richer sauce)
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained and broken up with a fork before cooking
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt (I used more)
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add in onions, garlic, dried red pepper flakes, basil and oregano; saute for 3 - 4 minutes.
3. Add in tomato paste and stir for 2 - 3 minutes.
4. Add in the tomatoes with their juice; simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
(for a thinner sauce, add in some water)

stuffed pasta

3 Tbl. oil
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (can use a bit more)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese (can use a bit more)
1 tsp. italian seasoning
salt to taste
1/2 - 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach (cooked according to package directions, then hand-squeezed dry to remove excess moisture)
10 manicotti (or 3/4 box large shells), cooked and drained
4 - 6 c. marinara sauce (see above)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.
3. In a skillet, saute onion in oil for about 4 minutes or until softened (add in garlic the last 2 minutes).
4. In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, 6 Tbl. parmesan cheese, italian seasoning; beat until smooth and well combined.
5. Stir in onion mixture and spinach, season and mix well to combine.
6. Spoon into cooked and cooled shells.
7. Pour half of the pasta sauce into the baking dish.
8. Arrange shells over sauce, top with remaining sauce.
9. Sprinkle about 1/4 c. parmesan cheese (or less) over the sauce.
10. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
11. Uncover and top with mozzarella cheese, bake 5 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.
12. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Spaghetti

This recipe comes from my family cookbook, courtesy of my Aunt Karri. I just modified it a little to our tastes and it was delicious! I grew up having Prego (which I love and is great, don't get me wrong), but I wanted to try my hand at making a more traditional sauce. Zak loved it (always a good sign), and I will probably make this more often in the future. Enjoy with garlic bread and salad, which is what we did!

1/2 lb. ground beef (the original recipe calls for 1 lb., but I figured we didn't need that much meat)
3/4 onion (original recipe calls for 2, but I used a pretty large onion), diced
1 large can stewed tomatoes (I used Italian style)
1 can tomato paste + 1 can water
1/2 tsp. basil (I used two large leaves from our plant)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. sugar
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Brown meat with diced onions.
2. Add all other ingredients.
3. Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.

simple & delicious, yum!

Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

I first made this in December, after looking through my Bridal edition of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It looked delicious, and since I was craving some kind of coconut curry dish, decided to make it.  Zak and I have made it a few more times; we even made it for his family over the winter holidays. It's a little time-consuming but oh, so worth it. Below is our slightly altered version.

2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I also kind of approximate the amount)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 of a large red (or white) onion, diced
1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped (the recipe originally calls for 2 jalapeño peppers, but we didn't want to use those)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 13.5- or 14-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbl. cornstarch
5-6 Tbl. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbl. snipped fresh basil (about 4 leaves)
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
rice to serve over (maybe 3 cups?)

1. In a medium bowl combine curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, and chili powder. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add to spices, toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 - 2 hours to allow spices to sink in.

2. Pour oil into large skillet or wok (we use our wok, which we love!); heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic; cook and stir for about 8 minutes (until crisp-tender), then remove from wok. Add half of the chicken and cook for about 4 - 6 minutes (until no longer pink); remove from wok, repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Stir together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and 1/4 tsp. salt until smooth. Add to wok, carefully. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes, serve over hot rice. *We usually add rice to the wok to mix it all together, it is a good way to soak up the sauce.

Cooked chicken

Chicken and onion mixture

All done!

Ready to be enjoyed :)

Pizza! (+ dessert pizza)

If you were around me and Zak last year before we were engaged, you'd know about our fabulous Pizza Fridays. The dough recipe is Zak's mother's recipe (he grew up having Pizza Fridays); the sauce recipe comes from my family's huge cookbook...Although we have tweaked it, per usual.

Dough
5 c. flour (the last time I made the dough, I did about 3 c. white flour, 2 c. whole wheat..it worked alright, but I think I shouldn't have added so much wheat dough--I need to work on it)
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. yeast (1 packet is a little less than 1 Tbl.)
2 c. water
5 Tbl. olive oil
*sometimes we add a few Tbls. of honey

Sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato sauce (most are 8 oz.)
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
*this is the base, we usually add all or any of the following, until it tastes perfect:
-minced garlic (fresh or other)
-garlic salt (instead of normal salt)
-onion salt (ditto)
-black pepper
-garlic powder

All you have to do is mix the dough ingredients together and let it rise in a warm place, about 45 - 60 minutes, or until it looks like it's doubled. Punch it down and then roll it on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. This recipe makes 2 - 3 pizzas, depending on how big your pizza pans are. We have a HUGE pan, so we usually make one huge pizza and a normal 9" one.

Then mix up the sauce until it tastes perfect to you. Some toppings we use include:

-pineapple
-red onion (good on our BBQ chicken pizza)
-black olives
-tomato slices
-red pepper
-green pepper
-ham
-bacon
-pepperoni
-onion
-sausage
-chicken marinated in BBQ sauce

We use a pizza three-blend of cheese, which we've found works better than just straight up mozzarella. Make the pizzas with whatever combination you see fit and bake at 550 or 500 degrees (however high your oven will go) for about 8 minutes. The important thing is to make sure the crust is a golden brown and that it's cooked underneath. With our huge pan, that's hard to determine; we've taken it out of the oven and cut it up, only to discover it wasn't as cooked as we would have liked.

Some other fun hints: if you want to make a stuffed-crust pizza, buy 4 or 5 string cheese sticks and quarter them. Make the dough a little bigger than the pan, place the cheese around the edge and fold the crust over. It works so much better than shredded cheese.

Also, running a stream of honey around the edges makes the crust very tasty. We have done that with our BBQ chicken pizza, yum!

our first time making pizza, the crust was huge

our BBQ chicken pizza we made when my best friends visited

the way I like Hawaiian pizza: with LOTS of pineapple and the ham barely visible 

 

pepperoni, black olives and chopped onion

Dessert Pizza

Crumb topping

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. quick oats

1/2 c. firm butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Vanilla glaze

2 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbl. milk

1 Tbl. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can apple, cherry, or blueberry pie filling.

1. Using a portion of the dough (since it makes 2 - 3 pizzas), roll it out.

2. Spread pie filling over it.

3. Mix crumb topping well and spoon over filling.

4. Bake 10 - 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown (at 550-degrees, it was about 5 minutes)

5. Once removed out of oven, drizzle with glaze.