Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

I started making this when we couldn't get whole wheat crusts from the local pizzeria's, we now have a couple who do a whole wheat crust that is very good.  However this is so easy to make and I like being able to add to the crust different spices, grains or sometimes grated Parmesan.  I will make homemade sauce if I have time but have found some jarred sauces that are pretty good if I don't ...... if I am making homemade sauce it has to be able to simmer for a long time.

Pizza

Makes one very large pizza or 2 med.  I did a large and made small rolls out of the extra dough.

Crust:
 2 c whole wheat flour  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/
1 1/2 c white flour (haven't tried the whole grain white flour yet but am anxious to)
1 tsp salt
1 pkg rapid rise yeast
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 c warm water about 110degrees
corn meal (to prepare pan)

Put dry ingredients in food processor including yeast and pulse a couple times, I put olive oil in water and drizzle through processor tube while running do not use all of the water watch it start to form a ball and you know you are done.  Remove from processor and knead dough to form smooth ball, place in bowl that has light coating of olive oil sit in warm spot for about 10 -15  min.  If it is winter I warm the oven and then turn it off leave the door ajar and set the bowl in there, the rest of the year I feel the house is warm enough.

Sprinkle pan with corn meal.  Stretch dough to fit pan, roll if that helps you.  I usually stretch it to the desired shape and then roll out to get the exact fit.  I sprinkle pan with corn meal, then place dough on top.  Sprinkle dough with a small amount of grated cheese, then spread on sauce and add toppings.

-----my favorite brand never realized it makes a difference
until I tried this brand, it is available in our local stores

cover dough and let rise about 15 min

For a different taste I saute the onions and mushrooms till slightly  browned before putting on the pizza.  

Tonight I served it with salad and a Blue Moon.  As with a lot of homemade meals sometimes it just comes out better than others, or maybe we were just in the mood for it but tonight's was great.

  

Chicken Pot Pie with whole wheat crust

This is one of those recipes I switch to as soon as the weather starts to cool and when we are deep into the cold winter as we are now I still haven't tired of it.  It is the time of year where I try to have a soup meal as often as possible.  I have switched whenever possible to using whole wheat or whole grain flours and this is so tasty with the King Arthur Whole Wheat flour, you can definitely taste the difference with their products.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/  Some day I plan to go there and take one of their education classes, what a treat that would be.

Chicken Pot Pie


Saute in olive oil:  1 large onion chopped
                            3 med-large carrots chopped
                            1 bunch of celery chopped
                            ------till vegies are translucent, I actually like the onions to begin to carmelize.  Add black pepper, thyme, red pepper flakes to taste.  When vegies are ready add about a tablespoon of flour and stir for about 1 minute to slightly cook flour blending with the vegies.  Pour in chicken broth to cover and allow to simmer so flavors will meld together, add more chicken broth if needed keeping vegies covered.

Meanwhile:  you will need cooked chicken any will do but I prefer to sear chicken breasts (I used 3 in this recipe) in olive oil, black pepper, and thyme and then place in oven till cooked.  Cut up chicken into bite size pieces and add to broth vegetable mixture.  Allow this to simmer until you are ready to use.
                          

Crust top:

1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1/2 c cold butter
pinch salt
5-6 T milk
(I like to add a couple Tablespoons of ground flax seed if you like a little crunch, grainier consistancy and it ups the fiber content)

I mix in food processor pulse the flours & salt with the butter till crumble forms then add milk through tube till moist crumble and then form into ball.

Roll out dough to form crust for top.  This is a very delicate crust and will break up easily, but does cook up nicely.
Ladle soup mixture into heat proof ramekins, a large is fine but individual dishes work best.  I place them on a cookie sheet for easy handling and bake till crust is cooked about 15 min at 350. Top of crust is sprinkled with parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of the same spices.  I did not have my dish full with soup mixture so crust sunk into dish.......smaller dishes would have helped the crust stay up higher.  These were from a regular weeknight dinner so I didn't go all out making them pretty.  It is fun to make the crust pretty especially if it is a holiday and you put some cut outs to decorate the top.

on cookie sheet for easy handling

Happy New Year

For 18 years we have celebrated New Years Eve with 2 other families and as the years pass we sometimes have some offspring around but not as often as we would like.  When they were little it was a big night for them too, there was a meal for them, a meal for us and sometimes a sleepover.  Now we might have one show up for awhile but we still have a good meal and lots of laughs.  We take turns at each house and this year was our turn.  I've been battling a bad back (which is also why this  blog was not updated regularly and has some post dated entries) so between the back and post Christmas fatigue I went for easy comfort food and did Coq Au Vin, salad, Tiramisu and a Berry crumble for dessert.  Easy can sometimes be just as good as involved menus and this was the case, it was a great evening with good friends and good food.  Once again I didn't get the recipes and photos together so will have to post those recipes the next time I make them.  The crumble recipe has already been blogged.

Berry Crumble on right side

We had appetizers that were made from puff pastry cut into triangles to make a turnover with a bit of boursin cheese and salmon baked till pastry puffed......simple and turned out very good.  Also some cheese, nuts and fruit.

For the ringing in of the New Year we drank Prosecco that was poured over a melon ball size of raspberry sorbet, tasted great and made a nice presentation with a pretty pink color.

Yes, I wrote on those glasses with a sharpie pen.......a Martha Stewart idea....she's the best!http://www.marthastewart.com/    It washes off with dish soap and water but it does take a little rubbing with a soft sponge but not bad clean up.

Cinnamon Chip Coffee Cake

Always looking for things to make ahead thought I'd try this recipe to have a coffee cake ready for breakfast the next day.  I had never noticed Cinnamon Chips in the baking aisle before so was curious to try them.  Moist cake, I made it in a 13 x 9 pan but it would make a nicer presentation in the tube/bundt pan.

I got this recipe from the Hershey site:  http://www.hersheys.com/recipes.aspx  living in Pennsylvania Hershey is a part of everyday life so maybe I am a bit biased but Hershey products have always been good, reliable, and easy to use.


Cinnamon Chip Coffee Cake

1 c butter--softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c applesauce
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 c cinnamon chips (I found Hershey brand)
1 c pecans

glaze:

3/4 c powdered sugar
 a drizzle of water
1/8 tsp vanilla

heat oven to 350
prepare pan with crisco
beat sugar and butter till creamy, add eggs one at a time, vanilla, then mix in applesauce.

combine flour, soda, salt and add to wet mixture, blend well

stir in chips and pecans spread into pan
bake 30-35 min for 13 x 9 pan cool

mix powdered sugar with vanilla very slowly drizzle in water until desired consistency then drizzle over cake.

with my new "Mary Poppins" mug!
"Practically perfect in every way"

Crab Chowder

       I had planned to blog all my holiday recipes, days of delicious meals but I got so busy cooking most didn't get pictures and some recipes now escape me.  I will have to plan ahead next year if I want them blogged.  We enjoy our many heritages highlighting them in different ways throughout the year but especially at the holidays when so much of what we do is about family.  Christmas Eve we have a big meal of seafood, while we don't do the traditional Italian 7 fishes we do a few seafood dishes we enjoy.  The Italian heritage comes from my husbands side his mom is half Italian, so through the years I have learned of their traditions.  Her other half is English, German, & American Indian.  My husbands father is 100% Irish and my family is Irish, Welsh, English, German, and American Indian.  So our traditions come from many different backgrounds but we enjoy them all and passing them on to the next generation.

This chowder is quite easy and I will make it throughout the year, but it definitely gets made for Christmas Eve.

Crab Chowder

bacon
carrots
onion        >vegies all chopped to similar size
celery
potatoes
corn--optional
pepper
old bay
broth (fish stock, chic broth, veg broth whatever you prefer)
1/2 & 1/2
crabmeat ( I don't make this often so when I do I splurge on jumbo lump)

Saute bacon in large pot, remove when browned leaving drippings, saute carrots, onion, celery when onions have started to brown add broth, spices to taste and potatoes.  Let this simmer for a while (an hour or more) to get all the flavors to merge together you can add more broth if it starts cooking down.

When you are ready to serve add corn (if you like it in your chowder) add the 1/2 & 1/2  till you like the consistency, then gently fold in crab so as not to break up the lumps to much.  Serve & enjoy.

      *Spices I would taste to my liking while broth is still simmering they need to be blended in before adding cream and crab.

{I don't have measurements here because it is really to taste, I add broth to cover vegies completely and if I am making this for just the 2 of us i would probably use 1 large onion, 2 med carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 large potato and about 1/2 lb crab, in which case the rest of the crab could be used for the meal either crabcake, on top of steak, chic or fish, or in a pasta dish.}

I had served this with  broiled seafood, cheese tortellini with red sauce, and a spinach casserole.

Spinach Casserole 

Finished Spinach casserole with a crunchy onion edge.

Cheese Tortellini with Red Sauce.

Holiday Treat

We get a very generous gift each year of homemade chocolate goodies.  It has candies but is mostly everyday favorites dipped in chocolate such as pretzels, marshmellows, nut clusters, etc.  While it is all wonderful (what dipped in chocolate wouldn't be?) but the favorite is the Oreo's dipped in chocolate.  I know you can buy Oreo's covered in chocolate but for some reason these are above and beyond the store bought.  So when the always beautiful tray arrives I try to keep it in tact until everyone arrives home, usually the first home has been carefully reaching around the wrappings taking out an Oreo so there is always a "shortage".  Well not this year I decided when that happened I would have a box ready to pull out that I had dipped........big hit with everyone. The only issue is not eating to many so this will be limited to holidays or special occasions. I think they become so rich one is about all I can handle, but with a cup of tea or coffee it is so satisfying.

Dipped Oreo's

Pkg of good dipping chocolate

Oreo's

you could buy a pkg of white dipping chocolate also if you'd like to decorate them it is very easy and adds a lot to the look.

Melt your chocolate over a double boiler, dip the cookies in I used a fork and tongs to remove them and then lay them on sheets of parchment to dry.  Store in air tight container.
Easy, quick and delish!