Sunday Dinner - Trying out a new pizza dough

We had big plans for the Sunday of the Labour Day Long Weekend (how is it September already.....) that involved a visit to the Fall Fair in Barriere, and the first of two Back To School Dinners. 

The Boy was up first for his choosing of the Back To School Dinner - The Girl gets the next Sunday which makes sense because of the loooooong gradual entry into Kindergarten, and also she couldn't care less about choosing a dinner, because she exists on air and baby corn. 

He chose homemade pizza and brownies for dessert. 

 I wasn't sure what to do about the pizza dough - should I make it in the morning and hope it didn't over proof? Or should I chance that we would be home early enough from the fair to make the dough right before dinner? 

I decided I better not leave the dough to chance and that I should make it in the morning, and I turned to the internet to find a slow rising dough that could wait all day for us. 

Introducing a new favorite here - the Now or Later Pizza Crust!

 

This is a super simple dough that you mix, let sit on the counter to rise for 45 minutes, then pop it in the fridge for up to a day and a half.  

The recipe, from King Arthur Bread, had an optional ingredient of "Pizza Dough Flavor" so I tossed in some mixed Italian spice and some extra basil and oregano.  It added a nice flavor and a pretty design to the crust.

We made a ham and pineapple - The Boys current favorite pizza, and a salami, green pepper and black olive.

They were delicious and the crust was crispy - pretty darn crispy - so if you aren't a fan of super crispy, watch your baking time.

The dough was a hit and I'll be keeping this recipe close for an easy weeknight dinner.

Pizza Ring

I found this recipe for Easy Sausage Pesto Ring in a magazine called Fall Baking.  

I switched it up with pasta sauce and pepperoni for The Boy.  He loved it.  

Here's what I did.

1 TB butter

2 pk pillsbury biscuits

pepperoni

cheese

pasta sauce or pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 350'.  Grease a bundt pan with the butter.

Open the biscuits and lay them out on a cutting board.  Gently flatten them slightly.  

Cut the pepperoni into roughly the same size as the biscuits.  

Top each biscuit with a spoon of sauce, some pepperoni, and some grated cheese.  

Stack the biscuits in groups of 3 or 4.  Turn each stack on its side and place 

in the pan, forming a ring.   

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, sprinkle with some additional 

cheese, and bake 5 more minutes.  

Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before eating.

Mountain High Pizza

One of my favorite things about a trip to Sun Peaks is pizza at Mountain High Pizza. 

SO good!

I love to get the pizza to go and eat outside and people watch.

I've been lucky enough to have made 3 day trips to Sun Peaks this summer already, and 2 of those visits included  pizza.

The Bryndian (pepperoni, bacon, garlic, olives, mushrooms, OMG YUM) (below) is delicious.  

My current favorite.

Visit them here: Mountain High Pizza

Chicken, brie and spinach pizza

Deep Dish Pizza

For years now we've wanted to try deep dish pizza. From what we'd seen from magazines and tv this kind of pizza was nothing like we'd had before. A sturdy, deep (of course) crust with the toppings put on in an unusual order - meat first, on the bare dough, followed by the cheese and then the tomato sauce, but lots and lots of it, not a thin layer. It sounded interesting and delicious. I found a recipe that was simple and we gave it a try.

Don't let these terrible photos deter you, this is  good pizza!  I used my new favorite pizza dough recipe from Canadian Living and we were very happy with the results. If you want to try deep dish pizza and aren't on a diet, this is the recipe to start with.

4 Mexican(ish) Meatless Recipes and a Meme.

I give to you a combination of 4 unfinished posts all about Mexican Food rolled into one super fantastic post. And, they are all meat-free! You're welcome!

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This sandwich easily could have fit in to Sandwich Week!, but it's too late. So it will have to stand on it's own. And it does, very well.

I am a sucker for anything remotely Mexican. I've combined 3 of my favorite Mexican ingredients - guacamole (homemade), salsa (nice and chunky and homemade) and refried beans - into a easy, fast and delicious sandwich.

Cut some nice soft buns in half and pull out some of the soft insides to make a hollow space. Heat up some refried beans (to nice and warm, not screaming hot!) and season them with hot sauce if you want. Spread some of the beans on one side of each bun. Smear some guacamole and salsa on the buns too, close up and enjoy.

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Veggie Burritos

I am still pining away over Maui Taco, and still stewing over the fact I didn't buy their cookbook. So to cheer myself up we made some burritos that were in the end, nothing like the burritos from Maui Taco.


1 cup corn kernels, thawed if using frozen
1 can beans (pinto, kidney, black) rinsed and drained
1 small can chopped green chiles
salsa
rice (cooked with tomato paste and hot sauce added to the water for color and flavor)
sour cream
cheese
flour tortillas


Mix together the corn, beans and chiles. To assemble your burrito, lay some rice down the middle of the burrito. Top with the veggies, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Roll up your burrito. Don't know how? Here, go watch this video. Fast forward to 2:30 for instructions.


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A couple of months ago my office mates and I went out for lunch. One of the specials was a Mexican Pizza topped with beans, ground beef, cheese, salsa and sour cream. I asked for the pizza without meat. When they brought it to the table they had also left off the salsa and sour cream. I didn't say anything; it was delicious with just the beans and cheese. I told Scott about it and soon after we made our own version.

Mexican Pizza

It's hard to give amounts for something like this, but here is what we did. We spread refried beans on a pre-made whole wheat pizza crust. Use as much or as little as you like. Spread chopped tomatos, green onions and shredded cheese over the top and bake as per the crusts instructions.


When the pizza is done and out of the oven, drizzle it with sour cream and salsa. Serve straight away. (We knew we were not going to eat the whole pizza, so we drizzled the slices individually.)




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This one is tied with the Mexican Pizza for my favorite recipe right now. This recipe is based on a recipe that my Mom gave me a couple of years ago. It's ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning baked with potatos and salsa. I wanted something similar, but without meat. So I came up with this, and frankly I like it wayyyyyy better than the one with meat!

Mexi-Beany Spuds

1 lb new potatos, washed and cut in half
2 tb oil
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
3 tsp taco seasoning
1 small can chopped green chiles
1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Toss the potatos with the oil and taco seasoning. Pour into an 8x8 dish and bake at 400' for 20-30 minutes or until the potatos are tender.



Mix the beans and second amount of taco seasoning together. When the potatos are done spread the beans over the potatos. Top the beans with a layer of chiles, then the cheese.



Bake for another 20 minutes until heated thru and the cheese had melted.


So damn good.

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Boy I sure do seem to like refried beans.

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And Emmy from Vegan Diva has tagged me with this Meme - 7 Random Things About Me. 2 memes so close together! Oh why not.

1. I have lived in 2 provinces in Canada; British Columbia and Alberta.

2. I have never been out of North America. I have been to 4 provinces in Canada and 8 states in the U.S.

3. Surely not a sign that I am immature or anything, but I had the chicken pox when I was 19, my appendix out when I was 22 and the mumps when I was 28.

4. I like chocolate. I like cake. I do not like chocolate cake.

5. I love Old Dutch Ketchup potato chips but I hate that they stain my fingers red, so I rarely eat them.

6. I am an only child.

7. I do not have the lobes of my ears pierced. I do have a tragus piercing and a helix orbital piercing.

And now 7 people to tag!

1 Mary, The Sour Dough
2 Lis, La Mia Cucina
3 Mike, Mel's Diner
4 Patricia, Technicolor Kitchen
5 Tanna, My Kitchen in Half Cups
6 Ruth, Once Upon a Feast
7 Anyone else who'd like to take part.

Have a great day!

Stuffed Crust Pizza

You know how some groups say that fast food and junk food commercials are targeted at children? Add husbands to that group.

For the past few weeks Pizza Hut has been running tons of commercials for their Stuffed Crust Pizza. And Scott has been watching and drooling.

"I've never had a stuffed crust pizza before." He said sadly the other night.

Well for the love of all things stuffed I thought we'd better change that!

So last night we made our very own stuffed crust pizza. And it turned out pretty darn good.

I used our bread maker's recipe for pizza dough and then patted the dough out into a larger pizza than usual. I cut sticks of mozzarella and placed them all around the edge of the crust.
I rolled the dough over the cheese twice to (hopefully) keep all the melty cheese on the inside. Then we plopped it in the pan.
We covered the dough with deliciously garlicky pizza sauce, ham, pineapple, tomatos and mushrooms, some more mozza, and then into the oven it went at 425' for 25 minutes. And when it came out?
It was very tasty. One section of the crust un-rolled during cooking and let some cheese out, but for the most part it worked very well. The picture's not the greatest, but if you squint, you can see the cheese in the crust.

I'm sure we'll be having this again and again if Scott gets his way, and really it wasn't much more work than making a regular pizza. I wonder how different cheeses would be in the crust? Maybe some Gouda, or Goats cheese? Yum.

Flatbread with Mint, Tomato and Halloum Cheese with too much information.

Two Saturdays ago I was in a funk. (This is the too much information part.) I spent the morning laying facedown on the couch, blocking out everything in the world but the sounds of The Food Channel. (I know! I think I was more depressed than I realized.) I resisted all of Scotts efforts to cheer me up or even to get me to move off the couch until Nigella came on. I perked right up when she made her Halloumi and Tomato Flatbread.

That's what I want for dinner, I announced. And so it was.According to my "The Complete Encyclopedia of Cheese" Halloum (the books version on the spelling) is a very popular cheese from South-East Europe. It is fairly firm in texture with a taste similar to feta which means salty. My book says it is not a cheese to be eaten on it's own, but is best for broiled or oven baked dishes.

Nigella grilled hers on the barbecue; her recipe is in her Forever Summer Cookbook.

This is my version. I don't think you need a recipe, just guidelines.

Flatbread with Mint Tomato and Halloum Cheese

For each flatbread you'll need

about 1 medium tomato, diced
2 or 3 pinches of dried mint
handful of halloum cheese, crumbled
flatbread of your choice.

Preheat your broiler. Place the flatbread on a baking sheet. Spread the tomato over the flatbread and sprinkle with the mint. Top with cheese and broil until the flatbread and cheese start to lightly brown. The cheese will not melt.
Serve straight away.

White Bean Pizza

This may well be the best pizza I've ever tasted. You won't recognize the beans, they are transformed into a wonderful creamy garlicy spread. This is a beautiful looking and tasty pizza not loaded down with fatty meats and greasy cheese. It is absolutly amazing, and good for you too, not that that should ALWAYS matter.

White Bean Pizza
1/2 can of any sort of white bean, rinsed and drained
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 1/2 tb water
1 tb olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tsp rosemary crushed fine
2 or 3 tomatos
thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1 tube of goat cheese
pizza dough

I have made this with both homemade dough and store bought. Both are good. I usually parbake the crust for 6 or 7 minutes first. The last time I made it I used a Pillsbury dough and followed the instructions for baking. If you make your own dough, Cook at 450' or so.

Preheat oven.
Put beans, garlic, water and oil in a food processor. Blitz until fairly smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Place the dough on your baking sheet and spread the bean mixture on as you would pizza sauce. Sprinkle with the rosemary and top with the tomatos, onion and cheese.


Bake for 10 or 12 minutes, until crust is brown and crisp and the top is hot and the cheese has melted (goat cheese doesn't always melt and spread out).

Gouda Tomato and Basil Pizza

A few weeks ago at Millarville Farmers Market we had a food sample from a stall that sells frozen pizza. It was pretty good, and Scott wanted to buy one for dinner. We decided on a Gouda cheese and basil pizza that had a whole wheat crust. It wasn't cheap, but it sounded good. When we cooked it that night we threw some chopped tomatoes on it, and it was a really good pizza.

Fast forward to Friday - pulled a whole wheat pizza shell out of the freezer. Topped it with sauce, basil, tomatoes and gouda. So good, and so much better tasting (and better for you!) than a pizza from a delivery place.