Thin Crust Pizza

First of all, please excuse my horrendous picture! We seldom eat dinner much before 6 or 7pm and by that point, the lighting is AWFUL! This pizza, however, was anything but "awful"--talk about a huge hit at my house! The kids both said that they preferred it to any pizza they had tried out--of course part of that could have been that they were involved in the whole process :) The recipe was a little unusual for me, because the dough was actually made in my food processor--as opposed to my mixer. It was so very easy to make the dough and for that matter, the actual pizza making process was simple, as well! The downside: you have to make the dough ahead of time and then wait at least 24 hours (but preferably 48-72 hrs) to make your pizza, so the dough sits in your refrigerator taunting you for a while! Trust me, it was well worth the wait and honestly-speaking, it was much easier in the long-run to divide the work. I contemplated making this recipe back in March when we had our kids' pizza-making birthday party, but didn't realize that the recipe required allowing the dough to sit for at least 24 hours...oops! We really enjoyed the dough that we used for the party, but this was equally as delicious! I made the homemade sauce that I made for their party, which is SUPER simple to throw together and freezes well if you have excess. The single recipe makes (2) 13-inch pizzas and it seemed much more filling than take-out pizza. We did struggle a little to get it as thin as we wanted and I'm wondering if it wouldn't have been easier, had we allowed the dough to sit in the refrigerator an extra day??? (I believe the dough was in there for approximately 30 hours). While the recipe calls only for cheese, we added some pepperoni and I would definitely do that again! Our pizzas were done in about 10 minutes and I served them with salad. We had about 3/4 of a pizza left, after the four of us ate, and trust me when I tell you...we're all good eaters!

Thin Crust Pizza

Yield: 2 13-inch pizzas

Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 cups (16½ oz.) bread flour
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. instant yeast
1 1/3 cups ice water
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ tsp. salt

For the sauce:
1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar (I was all out, so I used Balsamic vinegar)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. ground black pepper

For topping:
Olive oil, for brushing
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a food processor* fitted with the metal blade. Pulse just to combine. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and process just until the dough is combined and all dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Add the oil and salt to the dough. Process until the dough forms a smooth, tacky ball that clears the sides of the bowl, about 30-60 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead briefly on a lightly oiled work surface, about 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. (After the period of refrigeration, the dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for later use.)

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate until ready to use.

One hour before baking the pizza, adjust an oven rack to the second highest position and place a baking stone on the rack to preheat. Preheat the oven to 500˚ F. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and divide in half. (If you plan to freeze a portion of the dough, this is the time to wrap in plastic, place in a freezer bag and freeze for later use.) Form each half into a ball and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Spray the dough balls lightly with cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

To assemble the pizza, transfer a dough ball to a well floured work surface. Flatten into an 8-inch disk, leaving a slightly thicker edge around the rim. Using your hands, gently stretch the dough to a 12-inch circle. (We used a rolling pin, per Annie's suggestion, to get the crust thin enough.) Transfer the dough to a well floured pizza peel and stretch to a 13-inch circle. (We don't have a pizza peel, nor do I know what one is, so I left Marcus in charge of stretching the pizza out as best as he could!) Lightly brush the thicker edge of the disk with olive oil. Spread ½ cup of the pizza sauce over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the grated Parmesan and the shredded mozzarella. Carefully transfer the pizza to the preheated baking stone. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

*This dough can also be made in a stand mixer or by hand. Keep in mind, the idea is to avoid warming the dough, so a food processor or mixer is optimal.

Source: Annie's Eats

Homemade Pizza Crust and Simple Pizza Sauce

My husband and I had been trying so hard to come up with the perfect menu for our kids' combined birthday party this past weekend. I'm not exactly sure what prompted my initial thought, but I started thinking that it might be fun to set up a "make-your-own-pizza" table and allow for a more interactive party, also giving each person the opportunity to have exactly what they wanted! Ordering pizzas was one of our initial considerations, but I always worry that someone may not like what I choose to order or we may run out of a particular variety of pizza that is more of a "hit", forcing people to eat what's left. One of my biggest concerns was selecting a pizza crust. I've never made homemade pizza dough as an adult, so my natural inclination was to purchase something like Boboli (or something of that sort). Then, at just the perfect time, I saw a recipe posted on Macaroni and Cheesecake for a thin crust pizza and easy homemade pizza sauce, originally taken from Annie's Eats. I was all set to make this particular pizza crust recipe, but knew the week of the party was going to be chaotic and was concerned that I wouldn't have enough time to make the dough ahead of time to try it out (primarily to familiarize ourselves with what we were working with so we didn't have a disaster on our hands the day of the party!). I linked directly to Annie's Eats and found another pizza dough recipe that she spoke very highly of and it just so happened that this recipe could be made within a few hours...as opposed to having to make it and allow it to sit in the fridge for at least 24 hrs. We tried this recipe a few days before the party and were amazed at how easy it was to make the dough and even more so by how great the pizza tasted! While I did greatly enjoy this recipe and would recommend it/make it again, I am kind of anxious to try the initial thin crust recipe that I saw on Macaroni and Cheesecake. This definitely is a more substantial dough--much more like a hand-tossed. The recipe, as written, makes (2) medium pizzas or (4) calzones. We made (4) individual sized pizzas from each recipe, but they were PLENTY filling...most everyone had some left! The sauce recipe was incredibly easy, as well, but if you don't want to mess with making your own, you could always use your own store-bought sauce. It seriously is SO easy, though and takes all of maybe 5 minutes to prepare! All in all, I think the pizza idea was a huge success...the only problem was that I desperately needed a double oven, but everyone patiently waited and made their pizzas in shifts :) Definitely consider trying this recipe out, instead of buying store-bought crust next time!





Homemade Pizza Crust and Simple Pizza Sauce

½ cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.) Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

For the sauce:

1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Source: Annie's Eats

Oven Fried Pork Chops and Parmesan Knots

Am I the only person on the face of the Earth who has not tried breaded pork chops?!? I saw this recipe on Donna (My Tasty Treasure's) blog and thought they looked fantastic! I generally throw out meal ideas to my husband, to see if he "bites", because after all, he is VERY picky and I don't care to waste my energy if he's going to refuse to eat what I make for dinner. He was so excited when I mentioned these pork chops, because he said that he had only eaten them breaded before he met me, as that was how his Mom made them.

We have all still been battling this nasty virus going around, so I kind of threw together last night's dinner at the last moment and decided to also add this Parmesan Knots recipe from my latest Taste of Home Cooking Magazine. This is a great way to "doctor up" the refrigerated buttermilk biscuits you can buy--especially if you need something quick when you have guests coming over! My rolls turned out a little smaller than I anticipated, but they were very cute and tasted great!

Oven Fried Pork Chops

4 (3/4 inch thick) bone-in pork chops
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 garlic powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Combine egg, pineapple juice and soy sauce in a small bowl and whisk gently. Combine breadcrumbs and next three ingredients. Dip chops in egg mixture and then dredge in breadcrumbs.

Place chops on a rack in a greased roasting pan. Drizzle butter over chops. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes; turn and bake approximately 25 minutes longer or until done.


Parmesan Knots

1 tube (12 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

Cut each biscuit into thirds. (I didn't cut mine...they seemed smaller than usual, to start!) Roll each piece into a 3-inch rope and tie into a knot; tuck ends under. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; add the warm knots and gently toss to coat.

Source: My Tasty Treasures and Taste of Home August/September 2009

Best Ever Zucchini Bread

I noticed this recipe on Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi a little while back and immediately knew that I was going to try it! Coincidentally, my sister was planning to make zucchini bread the very same day, so she was going to make my Grandma's recipe and I figured I'd try out Heidi's recipe and then we'd determine which we preferred. Needless to say, with our crazy schedules, we never got to sample one another's, but I will say that I absolutely love my Grandma's and Heidi's was every bit as good! My husband had never tried zucchini bread, but he literally ate it for about a week straight...he took a slice to work for breakfast EVERY day! I would definitely make this recipe again and actually plan to, as soon as I get back home! I already have my zucchini ready and waiting :)

The Best Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 capful black walnut extract (or 1 cup walnuts), optional
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP butter

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, walnut extract and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle each loaf with 1 TBSP of sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Source: Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi

Chicken Parmesan and Cheesy Garlic Bread

This version of Chicken Parmesan was phenomenal, but I did do some MAJOR adjusting in terms of the ingredient proportions as they seemed way off to me! I know a lot of people are on a budget and it kind of sickened me to have to throw away so much of the breadcrumb/Parmesan cheese mixture--especially since the way the recipe was originally written, it called for an entire container of Parmesan cheese--actually more than that, because his recipe was for two boneless-skinless chicken breasts and I used five and only doubled everything else! When I initially started to measure out my ingredients, my gut was telling me that it seemed like way too much, but I tend to always follow recipes exactly as they are written the first time around and then adjust them to suit my family. Again, the chicken was wonderful...I would just highly suggest following my revisions to avoid wasting!

I chose to serve this Chicken Parmesan with homemade garlic bread--when I say "homemade", I'm not referring to making the actual bread...I cheated and had my husband pick up a loaf of Italian bread. It, too, was delicious, but then again, how can you go wrong with something that calls for 1/2 pound of butter?!? I will definitely be making both of these recipes again!

Chicken Parmesan

5-6 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten)
3/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 jars marinara sauce (or your favorite spaghetti sauce) ***depending on how much sauce you like***
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb box spaghetti (you may even want to make a little extra!)

Directions:

Place chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper and pound the chicken until it's about ½ inch thick throughout. In a pie plate combine breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese. Crack an egg into a bowl and slightly beat. Take a separate plate and pour flour on it. Dredge your chicken breasts first in flour, then in egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture.

Put your chicken breasts in a pan and sauté until browned on both sides. (only cook until browned, do not cook all the way through)

Place chicken into a greased, oven safe dishes and top chicken with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Place chicken into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve on spaghetti topped with the remaining marinara sauce.

Source: Adapted from recipe originally posted by Blog Chef

Cheesy Garlic Bread

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and mix with garlic powder and dried parsley.

Place Italian bread on a medium baking sheet. Using a basting brush, brush generously with the butter mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven approximately 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and any remaining butter mixture. Return to oven approximately 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bread is lightly browned.

Source: Allrecipes

***Here's a picture of the breadcrumb/Parmesan cheese mixture I had left...it was an ungodly amount!***


NOTE: This reheated really well...the chicken remained as moist as the first time around!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

I've had several people express interest in this recipe and I'm SO sorry for the delay in posting! It seems like ordinarily, I buy bananas and they are black within days, but of course when I'm anxiously awaiting for them to ripen, they take their sweet time. My sister gave me a little tip that she learned from my aunt and I couldn't believe how quickly this worked! If you need ripe bananas for a recipe, stick them in the freezer for 24 hours, thaw and they're ready to use :) Another suggestion that I read about was to put bananas in a brown paper bag with an apple--apparently the apple releases a gas that speeds up the ripening process. I was so glad that I was finally able to make this last night and it very much was worth the wait! (Again, please excuse my picture...it was already pitch black outside, by the time I got around to taking it!)

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa (I prefer dutch process)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom of 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Beat sugar, eggs, and oil in large bowl at medium speed until combined. Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed. Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda in medium bowl; beat into banana mixture at low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

***No, you're not losing your mind...I did switch pictures! I couldn't get very good light last night, so I took another picture just now :)

Source: The Sister's Cafe

Best Ever Banana Bread

My son has his FIRST soccer game this morning and seeing as how I knew we'd be running around, frantically trying to get ready, I opted to make this bread which would serve as a quick breakfast to eat while having a much needed cup of coffee! I've experimented with countless banana bread recipes over the years and actually toyed with the idea of making one from my sister's blog, but in the end, I decided to try a new one! This is the actual recipe name, although I would have to say...it honestly is the BEST banana bread I have ever had! I tried a little piece last night before bed and it was so unbelievably moist and flavorful--I would highly suggest you try it the next time you have overly ripe bananas!!!

Best Ever Banana Bread

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups Domino® or C&H® Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk (see below, if you don't have buttermilk!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (we omitted the nuts!)

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, bananas, oil, buttermilk and vanilla; add to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in nuts.

Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

A note to less experienced cooks, as myself: To make one cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar plus enough milk to measure one cup. Thank goodness for the "ingredient substitution" section in my Taste of Home Cookbook!

I'm now off to eat a slice with my cup of coffee :)

Source: Taste of Home