Greek Pizza

I know, I know, I have already made this before....But it is so good and I was tired of napa cabbage. I needed a break from it, LOL! Napa Cabbage tomorrow, I promise! For the sauce, I did not have Alfredo sauce nor did I have Parmesan cheese, so I made the Bechamel Sauce recipe from Janet Is Hungry omitting the dijon mustard and sauteing one minced clove of garlic with the melted butter before adding the flour. As usual, I will be using my recipe for pizza dough made with 1 cup whole wheat flour and the rest AP. I have taken to using honey instead of the sugar called for but use your favorite (molasses, King Syrup, corn syrup, sugar....) sweetener. If you are in a hurry, feel free to use frozen and thawed pizza dough.

Swordfish with Avocado Butter

Oh Em Gee this is the best ever recipe for Swordfish. I get the Swordfish from Kroger and they get it frozen therefore it is cheaper per pound than if you bought it fresh from your fishmonger (compare $7.99 a pound to $16.99 a pound). I like the thinner cut steaks personally. I cook my fish on grill and not in the broiler. I am sure that it is better this way because to me, everything tastes better grilled. Chris loves to cook on the grill for me so he will take any chance that he can to cook on the grill. We like to use the Mesquite Briquettes, but use your favorite. The Avocado Butter goes perfectly with the Swordfish. If you are thinking about not making the Avocado Butter, please do. The fish tastes so much better with it. Make sure not to overcook your fish, or undercook it. Keep in mind that Swordfish does not flake when done, you have to go by the color of the fish to tell if it is done or not. I don't think that the meat of the fish tastes "fishy", but the skin does so you may want to remove it or give it to the cat. I usually serve this with some grilled vegetable kebabs, however today I will be serving them with leftover macaroni and cheese....I meant to get some artichokes but I didn't get around to it, I know I am a punk :P

Flax Seed Sandwich Bread

I decided to make this for sandwiches instead of getting some sandwich bread from the grocery store. I love PB and J's and I wanted a good, sturdy yet soft bread that I could cut thin and would stay soft. I based this recipe off of  this one , just subbing the tomato sauce for applesauce, and omitting the herbs. I added some milled flax seed in place of some of the flour. You can find this in the baking aisle near the wheat gluten flour, or if you cannot find it and you have whole flax seeds you can grind your own in a spice/coffee grinder. Make sure that you have a separate grinder for spices and coffee. Keep the box of ground flax seed in the fridge once opened so it doesn't go rancid. Ground flax seed plus water blended in the blender can be used as an egg replacement.

  Flax Seed Sandwich Bread 
   Ingredients:

• 1 cup applesauce
  
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup OR sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed (if you cannot find this, you can just use another 1/2 cup AP flour)
  
• 1 package active dry yeast

Mix the warm water, powdered mix, yeast and sugar OR corn syrup in a large bowl, set aside to proof for about 5 minutes.

Add oil, salt and applesauce, stir to incorporate.

Add flax seed powder and 2 cups flour, stir well to incorporate, and turn onto floured board.

Knead in the last 1/2 cup flour, adding additional flour as necessary.

Knead about 5 minutes, dough should be soft but not sticky. Cover until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down.

Oil a bread loaf pan, place your dough into it. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for about 1 1/2 more hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place bread in oven, cook 30-45 minutes or until lightly browned on top and bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool and enjoy.

Bread rising

 Baked bread, and that is my Tinkerbell Oven Glove ;)

Cheap-o Night: Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce with Penne and Tomato Basil Bread

Chris loves this bread but I have only made it once for him. The time we had it before we loved it so much we vowed to not make it again, it is that good. We kept nibbling on it all night. As a surprise and because we happen to have the ingredients on hand I made it again. I did not have dried onion flakes so I made mine with onion powder, and I used fresh basil as I did not have dried on hand. To make vegan, use powdered soy milk or go with 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp warm soy milk (leave out the water if you go with this option). I used a whole package of yeast in this recipe and hand kneaded it. That means I let it rise the first time 1 1/2 hours and 1-1 1/2 hours once it is in the bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees F until loaf is golden and sounds hollowed when tapped.

 

I think that I have mentioned this recipe for Tomato Basil Pizza Sauce and I liked it so much I decided to make it again for pasta. I used 16 ounces of tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes, also I added oregano and sugar to my recipe. I doubled the recipe to use later in the week for more pasta and pizza ;)

 

Totally cheap and homemade, with fresh ingredients....Italian Night. From scratch and you probably have all of these ingredients laying around your home and it doesn't taste "cheap". Enjoy!

Watercress Salad

I picked up some watercress on a whim over the weekend from the Asian grocer (more posts to come from that visit) and came home and found
this wonderful recipe to use some of it on. I say "some" because you get a ton of it. It comes in a small "butcher pack" and it looks like a very small amount but it was enough to fill up my Pho noodle bowl. My earliest memories of watercress was eating some wild out of my grandma's yard. It has a peppery bite to it, spicy and a little heat not unlike horseradish. This salad has romaine, watercress, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. The dressing uses Gorgonzola cheese, fresh basil, olive oil, basalmic vinegar....It is supposed to be a clone recipe from California Pizza Kitchen, however I have never been to one. This is one of the best salads I have ever had, and I think that the only thing that would make it better is to have some thinly sliced Granny Smith apple or dried cranberries added to it.

California Pizza Kitchen Romaine-Watercress Salad W/ Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette

Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette

* 8 large fresh basil leaves
* 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 lb gorgonzola, crumbled
* 3/4 cup olive oil, mild flavored

Romaine-Watercress Salad

* 1 head romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
* 1 bunch watercress, cleaned and cut bite-size
* 8 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled
* 2 cups walnuts, shelled halves

In a blender, process basil, gorgonzola and vinegar. Then, on a slower speed, blend in oil briefly. Set aside in refrigerator to chill. Later, in a large mixing bowl, combine the greens. Add dressing and toss to coat all leaves. Transfer the dressed greens to several chilled serving plates. Top each with equal amounts of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts.

Maple Wheat Rolls

Made these for the family, we are having a get together tomorrow evening, here is the recipe, but I make mine with 1/4 maple syrup and I used olive oil instead of canola and I cook them at 350 degrees F. Don't put them in a small pan, roll up and place on a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan with plenty of room to rise. They are not completely whole wheat, but they are the softest, best bread I have ever tasted and I always make these for special occasions.

Maple Wheat Rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups white flour
Oil for brushing
• Combine the water and maple syrup in a large bowl. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Cover with a towel and let sit until bubbly.
• Add the canola oil, whole wheat flour, and salt, mixing well. Knead on a well-floured surface and gradually incorporate the white flour. The dough will be slightly sticky.
• Cover with a bowl until doubled in size, about 30 to 60 minutes. Roll into 12 to 16 biscuits. Place on an oiled pan and brush the tops with oil. Let rise.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.