13

Apr

Presto Pantry Pizza

I’m not great with dough. It gets gooey and sticky, and I get impatient when yeast is involved. But this dough is too easy and quick.

Matt & I were watching a Travel Network show on The Best Pizza in the USA. Beautiful cheesy pies were luring us in on the screen, and we both had instant cravings for pizza. He had work in 90 minutes and I decided to whip up a pizza. Or try desperately.

Using this yeast-free pizza dough as inspiration, here we go. Oh yeah, and we had very little food in the house that meshed with pizza. No tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, bacon, pepperoni, even bell peppers. Nothing! But we had spinach, fresh garlic, spices and “shakey cheese” (the stuff in the canister, I know, I know). This pizza is for nights when you can’t bear to go to the grocery store…or get greasy delivery. This pizza is for curling up with a blanket, trying not to burn your mouth on the fresh dough that you just made from scratch(!), and for filling up your growling stomach quickly. While this is probably safe to make with 1 cup wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, I have yet to test that theory. So, for now, we’ll indulge with all white flour…

It’s not the prettiest, but it’s completely delicious.

Presto Pantry Pizza
Makes 8-10 filing slices
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 TB olive oil
1 cup water

Mix: Preheat oven to 400. Mix the dry ingredients together. Then add water and oil and work with your hands until dough is blended.



Knead: Form a ball and knead for a few minutes, dusting with extra flour if needed. Form into a round shape with hands. Dust a baking pan with cornmeal flour and place dough in center of pan. Spread out as thin as you prefer and fold up edges to form a crust.

Season: This is where you can get creative. This is what I added to the entire pizza:

  • Dash of crushed red pepper
  • Generous dashes of garlic powder
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Generous dashes of Italian seasoning
  • Dash of dried rosemary
  • 1/3 cup parmesan
  • Light drizzle of olive oil, including over the crust
  • 2 cups of fresh spinach, steamed with fresh garlic, sea salt, and black pepper, then drained and “dalloped” all over pizza
  • For my hubby: 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese sprinkled over half of the pizza
If you have anything like these, I would add them:

  • Most any cheese (mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, asiago, feta, goat, fontega, jack, provolone, munster, swiss)
  • Can of mushrooms, drained
  • Pineapple
  • Lunchmeat/pepperoni/salami/bacon
  • Olives, banana peppers, pepperoncinis
  • Sauce/sliced tomatoes
  • Hummus
  • Broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, onions, kale, etc.

And after!
Bake: Bake the pizza for 20–25 minutes at 400. Let cool for a few minutes. Slice and devour, with a glass of orange juice on ice–my favorite pairing with pizza. Yes, I know it’s sorta weird. 🙂
Before…

Happy Friday night eating!
Laurel

~Laurel~

14 years ago Short URL

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04

Oct

Banana bread muffins

One of my favorite things to do is take a healthy, flavorful bread recipe and turn it into a muffin…especially a mini muffin!

With the semester back in full swing, I’ve started baking a “batch” of mini muffins (about 24) and storing the cooled muffins in sandwich bags with 3 in each. Then I freeze them and can grab them on the go. I’ll keep them frozen in my lunchbag but, for breakfast and immediate eating, I microwave them for 30 seconds…perfection! It’s way better tasting than frozen waffles, as well as much better for you.

Like most people who like to spend time in the kitchen, I’ve made more than a few different banana bread recipes but this is probably a combo of several because-today-I walked into the kitchen and threw a few things together. (Sorry, not sure who to give credit to…mom? Michael Jackson? My agent? 🙂 ) Hope this is tasty and fun to make.

Banana Bread Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins or 10-12 regular sized muffies

DRY:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg (optional)

WET:
2 TB agave nectar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 ripe, soft bananas–peeled and “smooshed” with the back of a spoon
1/4 cup orange juice

TOPPING:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TB margarine/butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts (whichever you like)
1/4 cup of raspberries, slightly frozen (put in freezer for 30 min) 

WHIP IT UP:
1. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Put topping ingredients in a small bowl, stir together, and microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
3. Pour dry into wet ingredients and gently fold with a wooden spoon, until all is moistened and gooey. (Don’t over stir.)
4. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray (or whatever your routine is) and gently pour 1 to 1 1/2 TB of batter in each tin. Top with either 1) half a raspberry or 2) 1 t. drizzle of topping mix.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes, or until they’ve risen and browned a bit.

Voila! Baby bits of happiness. Leave them in the pan for 2 minutes before putting them on a plate/cooling rack to get to room temp. Try not to eat all of them while they’re cooling. HAPPY TUESDAY!

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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