Showing posts with label Pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pizza. Show all posts

Bean Salad for Days!

I have been eating bean salad every day for 2 weeks straight. I'm not kidding. Every day. I make a big batch to have in the fridge, and then it is SO easy to throw together a quick and healthy lunch or snack each day. This bean salad is an example of something very easy to play with and serve in many different ways, and it is SO inexpensive! Having delicious and healthy options ready in the fridge makes it a lot easier to eat a proper meal when the days are busy.

1 can chickpeas
1 can white kidney beans
1 can lentils
1 1/2 C hot salsa (I use Pioneer Woman's recipe)
Chopped peppers and/or green onion (optional)

Drain and rinse all canned beans. Stir all ingredients to combine in a large food storage container. Store in the fridge.

Alter this recipe to suit your tastes or what you have in the pantry. Add more vegetables or change the type of beans as desired. If you add an additional can of beans, add an additional 1/2 C of salsa. (I occasionally add a can of black beans to stretch this salad a little further)


This bean salad can be used in so any ways! Here's how I've enjoyed it this week:

Bean Salad



Twice Baked Bean-y Sweet Potato 

Piece sweet potato all over with a knife. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, turn over, and mircrowave 6 minutes more. Once cool enough to touch, cut in half  and scoop out the flesh. Mash flesh and mix with some bean salad. Refill the potato skins. Top with shredded cheese, if desired. Bake at 375` for 15 minutes or until hot.



Speedy Bean Soup

Combine 3/4 C stock or broth with some bean salad to make a super quick and hearty soup. Season as desired.



Three-Bean Quesadilla

Spoon some bean salad on one half of a tortilla. Top with shredded cheese. Fold over tortilla and place in a hot frying pan for several minutes until browned, turning to brown both sides.



Spinach and Bean Pizza

Using naan or pita bread as your crust, top with bean salad, baby spinach, and cheese. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Turn on the broiler for 1 minute to cause the cheese to bubble.



Three-Bean Nachos

Place tortilla chips on a single layer on a baking sheet. Top with bean salad and shredded cheese. Bake at 3751 for 10 minutes. Turn on broiler for 1 minute to bubble cheese and brown a few chips.




What are your favourite tricks to renew your leftovers? What do you keep prepared or on-hand to  help meals come together in a hurry? I'd love to hear your favourite strategies, or your feedback if you try this bean salad!

Spinach Pizza Dough

Friday night is "Pizza Night" at our house. We all know I like to sneak extra veggies in wherever I can, so I usually puree all kinds of extra vegetables into my tomato sauce to get a little more into the kids when they eat their favourite cheese pizza. When I saw this recipe for spinach pizza dough, I knew it would be the ultimate way to take their cheese pizza from good to great. 
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
1/4 C warm water
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed but not drained
2 Tblsp olive oil
3 C flour
1 tsp salt

Combine yeast and sugar in warm water. Allow to rest for 5 minutes or until yeast is active and foamy. Meanwhile, using an immersion blender or food processor, puree spinach (in liquid from package). In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Once yeast is foamy, add yeast mixture, spinach, and olive oil to flour. Stir to combine into a rough dough. Knead until the mixture is elastic. (A stand mixer with the dough hook is excellent for this!) Cover dough, and let rise for 20 minutes. Divide dough in half to give you enough for two 12-inch pizzas. Stretch pizza dough and top as desired. Bake at 400` for 15-20 minutes.

I chose to make one 12-inch pizza immediately, and to bake the 2nd crust as a plain shell. It is waiting in the freezer for a quick last-minute meal some day soon! Alternatively, you could stretch the entire batch to make a large pizza on a baking sheet.




Here's a close-up to show you the colour of the cooked crust. It has a greenish hue and small flecks of spinach, though you really can't taste them or detect anything different in the texture. The kids gobbled it up without a second glance!


Thai Vegetable Pizza

This is another great way to avoid waste and serve leftovers renewed! Using some of the leftover spicy peanut sauce from the pork satays I posted yesterday, this Thai Vegetable Pizza comes together in a snap. If you don't have leftover peanut sauce, a store-bought version would be fine...or whip up a new batch and find more places to use it! (Like these Thai-style Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes)

The sauce is stretched, thickened, and given added flavour with the addition of sweet potato. Thai Chicken Pizza is everywhere now, but there are so many vegetables that taste great with peanut sauce...so why not let them take centre stage?

1/3 C peanut sauce
1/3 C mashed sweet potato
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Pinch of salt
---
My favourite thin crust pizza dough (or a quick alternative could a store-bought pizza shell or pita bread)
----
Chopped red/green/yellow peppers
Chopped green onion (whites and greens separated)
Bean sprouts
Grated carrots

Combine peanut sauce, sweet potato, currry, cumin and salt. Stir to combine. Spread over your pizza crust. Top with peppers, whites of green onion, bean sprouts, and grated carrot. Bake accordingly: about 10 minutes at 500` for my favourite thin crust pizza, or 375` for 10-15 minutes for pre-baked shells. Garnish with greens of green onions before serving.




Turkey and Balsamic Onion Flatbread

This is it! We have reached the end of our Thanksgiving turkey! Can I get a "yippee" for not wasting any of our leftover Thanksgiving feast? My motto is "waste not, want not" and I love when that works out deliciously, as it has this week.

My husband LOVED this flatbread. Amazing things happen to vegetables when they are roasted, and onions are no exception. Combine those naturally released flavours with balsamic vinegar and molasses, and you can't beat it. 

2 yellow onions, sliced thinly
2 C chopped turkey
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1 T oil
1 T molasses (our local Crosby's, of course!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 C sharp white cheddar, grated

In a large bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, oil, molasses, and salt & pepper. Stir to combine, then toss with onions until well coated. Spread in a single-layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast at 375` for about 15 minutes, or until onions are very soft. Remove from onion. Return all onions and sauce to the bowl. I find it easiest to do this by picking up the foil and almost pouring it all back into the bowl. Add turkey and stir to coat well. Spread onion and turkey mixture over flatbread (or tortilla, pita, pizza dough, etc) on a baking sheet, and top with cheese. Return to 375` oven for about 10 minutes.




(The previously posted recipes using Thanksgiving leftovers were  Stuffing Frittata Curry Vegetable Soup Thai Turkey SaladTurkey, Bacon, Avocado Tortilla Roll-Ups, and Sweet Potato Biscuits For other ideas about using leftovers any time, view all my recipes categorized under " Leftovers Renewed .") 

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Chicken fajitas are a regular weeknight meal in our house. We recently had some leftover fajita mixture in the fridge on a night that I was going out and making pizzas to leave for my husband and kids. Chicken fajita leftovers can easily be renewed into a delicious pizza using a simple crust and topped with a little cheese. If you are a dork like me, you can shape the crust into a heart. (Using my favourite thin crust recipe, of course.) 
Just another easy way to use leftovers!




Kale Recipe Round-Up

National Kale Day is coming! I was excited to be asked to be a Kale Hero in honour of National Kale Day because I lovelovelove kale! I am having fun working on a few recipes with kale to celebrate the occasion on October 2nd 2013.

Everyone loves an infographic so here's one on kale, found on BodyMindGreen.


Kale is incredibly versatile, and easy to find locally-grown. And with all that iron, calcium, vitamin C, folic acid...how can you NOT put it in your grocery cart?

Still wondering how to serve this superfood to your family? Here's a round-up of some of my favourite kale recipes that I've posted over the last couple of years.




Tuscan Soup (Similar to Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana)






I'd love to hear what your favourite uses are for kale. 
Please comment and share your recipes or ideas with me!

Quick and Easy Fajitas

I love a versatile meal that can be made quickly on a whim. Throwing together these easy fajitas is faster than going to pick up a pizza, and can use just about anything you have on hand! From the moment I say "fajitas tonight?" until the plates hit the table is about 12 minutes. Everyone can assemble their own, which makes it meal popular with my kids. (We do the same with rice bowl, personal sized pizzas etc)

I often slice and freeze peppers when they are on sale, which makes it easy to throw a handful into this mix, and I always have corn and chicken breasts in the freezer. Otherwise, I use whatever is in the fridge in my fajitas. Other frequent additions are black beans, mushrooms, and cooked cubed sweet potato. 

1 chicken breast
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 C sliced peppers
1/3 C frozen corn
2 C baby spinach (or chopped kale/swiss chard)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne (if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
Salsa, sour cream, guacamole (if desired)
Tortillas

In a hot pan with a little olive oil, saute onions until soft. Add garlic, and stir in to coat onions. Add sliced chicken breast, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook through. Add peppers (add mushrooms here, if using) and cook until slightly softened. Add cumin and cayenne, if using. Stir in corn and baby spinach (add black beans and cooked sweet potato here, if using.). Cook until spinach wilts. Serve on tortillas with cheese and toppings, as desired.





We find this to be the easiest way to fold the tortillas for the least amount of spilling. Fold the bottom over the filling...

Then fold one side over the centre...

Then fold the other side over the centre for an easy-to-handle pocket.


Kale Pizza with Carmelized Onions and Bacon

This pizza was made to use up some ingredients in the fridge, but it turned out to be a fantastic combination that I'll repeat. The flavour created by combining 3 kinds of onions is really what made this pizza unique and delicious. Also, I think I just realized that kale and bacon are best friends. I see a lot more kale and bacon playdates in my kitchen's future.

1 batch of my favourite thin crust pizza (or your substitute your favourite pizza dough/shells and adusting cooking time and temperature accordingly)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
10-12 ribs of kale, leaves only
3 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
1/4-1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese (I feel like smoked gouda would also be amazing on this!)

Combine shallots, yellow onion, and Spanish onion in a large frying pan with a little olive oil. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little salt, until softened, browning, and carmelized. Add kale, and cook for 3-4 minutes until wilted and slightly softened.

Stretch pizza crust on pan (or a floured cutting board to be transferred to a heated pizza stone, which is my favourite method). Top with onion and kale mixture. Top kale mixture with chopped bacon, and a little mozzarella cheese. (Don't go overboard on the cheese. Going overboard on cheese ruins great pizza if you ask me, and I'm a cheese lover. ) Bake at 500` for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and crust is desired colour.

Oh, how I wish there were leftovers!


See how lovely, crisp, and thin this crust is? 

All But Gluten


All But Gluten is a great new brand of bakery products. This exciting new line of products is from non other than longstanding Weston Bakeries Limited, and can be found in the fresh bakery section of the grocery store...not frozen, as so many health-foods so often are sold.

I have been reading fantastic reviews for All But Gluten products, including this one from Woman In Real Life who writes: "it's actually good. Not just 'good for gluten-free,' but  good ." That is just what I like to hear! When I cook for friends and family with dietary restrictions, I don't want it to be "good for vegan" or "good for peanut-free"...I just want it to be good food!

So often, products that are "free" from something are often lacking in other areas of nutrition. Safety, taste and nutrition are the three pillars of the All But Gluten™ brand. The breads, focaccias, pizza shells and muffins are a source of fibre, and are enriched with vitamins and minerals. This is an important feature of All But Gluten™ because many gluten-free products on the market are not enriched and often lower in iron, B vitamins and fibre.



The line includes Whole Grain Loaf, Cinnamon Raisin Loaf, Sliced White Loaf, Roasted Onion Focaccia, Rosemary Focaccia, Plain Pizza Shells, Carrot Raisin Morning Muffins, Mini Brownies and Coconut Macaroons.

I am excited to be working on some great new recipes to share with you, featuring All But Gluten products. Look forward to seeing some yummy and easy ways to use these products! In the meantime, you can find out more about All But Gluten on their website, on Facebook, on Pinterest, or on Twitter

This sponsorship is brought to you by The Gluten Free Agency who we have partnered with for this promotion.





*This is a sponsored posts. I have received free product and/or compensation for this post. The opinions featured here are always honest and my own.*

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

We love pizza around here, and I make it almost every week. (Check out some of the pizzas I've blogged about here) For ages, I used the whole-wheat pizza dough recipe that was in the manual for our breadmaker, but that took some advance planning. Several months ago when I wanted to make pizza on a whim, I did a quick Google search and found this recipe. It's fast to make, easy to work with, and cooks up well. It's the only crust I've made since the day I've found it.  I can't wait until BBQ season to throw some pizza on the grill...one of my favourite things!

3/4 C warm water
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 3/4 flour (This recipe works best with white flour)
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 500` (Yes, I know. Crazy hot. Trust me on this one!)  I use a Pampered Chef baking stone, and I place it in the oven as it preheats.

Combine water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to rest for 6-8 minutes until foamy. Combine flour and salt. Stir wet and dry ingredients together until a shaggy dough forms (I do this by hand), then knead until a soft dough forms (I do this in my KitchenAid with the dough hook).

Stretch your dough and roll thin on a well-floured cutting board, if using a pizza stone. (If using a pizza pan, stretch your dough directly on to the greased pan) Top with sauce and toppings as desired. Once oven is to temperature, slide pizza from cutting board to hot baking stone using a large spatula. (Or, obviously, just put your pan with pizza on it in to the oven)

Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, until crust is crisp and the cheese is bubbling. You can use a spatula to check the colour on the bottom. Watch it closely, as a minute or two means a lot at 500`!

See how thin it is?


And crisp. So lovely and crisp!



(PS: Yeast is one of those things that is way cheaper at Bulk Barn than at the grocery store. Buy it there, then store it in a glass jar in the fridge)

Hummus & grilled vegetable pizza

I saved this recipe a few weeks ago, and was excited to try it this weekend. It did not disappoint! I will definitely be making grilled vegetable pizza again, and look forward to trying hummus as a sauce on a pizza with chicken and cilantro too. Mmmmm!

1 small zucchini
1 red pepper
1 portobello mushroom cap
1/2 small red onion
1/2 batch of hummus

Slice the zucchini lengthwise, seed the red pepper, and slice a couple of 1/2 inch slices of onion. Toss all vegetables with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook on the grill until tender - about 5 minutes. Cool and slice.

Prepare the crust, and stretch on to a well-floured cutting board. Spread a layer of hummus on to the entire crust. Top with grilled vegetables. Cook according to my fave grilled pizza instructions, or put it on a baking sheet in a 500` oven for about 10-12 minutes.

I was forgot to take a picture of the finished pizza, but the roasted veggies look gorgeous on their own.

This is the photo from Budget Bytes, where I originally found this recipe. Doesn't Beth take great photos?

Butternut Squash Flatbread

I spotted this recipe in Real Simple magazine a couple of months ago. I was flipping through magazine while sitting in the salon getting ready for a beautiful wedding (want see some of Melissa and Toby's amazing photos?). I forgot all about this recipe until I saw butternut squash for $0.39/Lb, and it flashed into my mind. A quick google search and I was ready to make it. I altered it slightly my omitting the pine nuts from the original recipe and adding mushrooms.

We really enjoyed it as a unique savoury alternative to having bruschetta or the like as a side dish. (I don't have a photo because it was too dark to take a decent one last night, and Josh took the leftovers to work before I got a chance to take a shot this morning.)

12-inch pizza crust (I used this recipe)
1lb butternut squash, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6 white mushrooms, sliced
1 Tblsp fresh thyme leaves
2 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Grated cheddar cheese


In a large bowl, toss the squash, onion, mushrooms, thyme, oil, salt, and pepper. Scatter over the stretched dough and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 425` for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

(Photo from Real Simple. Just imagine some mushrooms on there!)

Leftovers Renewed: Chicken Tangine Pizza

One of my favourite ways to makeover leftovers is to have them on a pizza. This was simply pita bread, some leftover Chicken Tangine, and a little mozzarella cheese to help it all stick together. Pop it in the oven at 375` for 10-15 minutes, and then turn the broiler on for a moment to brown the cheese.

Quick, easy, delicious...and also loved by one of two toddlers. (You know mister-picky-3-year-old rarely approves of anything other than pasta and peas.)

Yet another grilled pizza. I can't stop! How does this combination sound?

Beet greens sauteed with green onions
Thinly sliced ham
Jalapenos monterrey jack cheese

It was delicious!

We were too crunched for time for making my usual dough in the bread machine, so I used this recipe (halved for one 12-inch pizza). I rubbed olive oil (just what was left in the bowl from the dough rising) all over the crust before adding the toppings. It kept it simple and really allowed the other flavours to come through and not be over-powered by sauce. Great results, and I'll definitely use that recipe again for my crusts. If you want to be coached through grilling a pizza, click here for my how-to!


Coconut Curry that Keeps on Going

On a hunt for a bok choy recipe that wasn't centred around soy sauce or sesame,a friend suggested this recipe. I used it as a starting point with a bunch of ingredients I had on-hand. Once the first recipe was made, I tweaked it twice to make two more meals which I'll share below.

2 of Dave's giant green onions (or a bunch of regular size)
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
4 cups bok choy, chopped

Chop whites of the onions finely, and greens into larger pieces to serve as garnish.

Combine coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, and ginger in a large pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, red pepper, and whites of green onions. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil and bok choy. Add remaining soy sauce and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Serve over rice and garnish with green onion.

(This photo doesn't show how saucy the dish really is)
Because I skipped the chile paste from the original recipe, we found this recipe very mild. Next time, I'll add curry paste in its place...which is exactly what I did with the leftovers.

For our second night of this curry, I softened some curry paste in a pot with a tiny bit of olive oil before adding the mixture to reheat (you could add a little milk or stock if too thick). As it came to a boil, I added some chopped Swiss chard, covered the pot, and simmered until it was softened - about 5 minutes. We had it over noodles the second night.

For our third night of this curry (can you tell I like to stretch a meal?), I sauteed chopped beet greens until soft, and then added the leftover mixture to combine. I stretched pizza dough, lightly brushed the outer edges with olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, topped with the curry mixture and grated mozzarella cheese, and cooked on the grill. (See here for my how-to on grilling pizza)

I think the third meal was my favourite, but I've got a thing for pizza!



Grilled Pizza with Greens

This pizza just made my whole week!

I have made grilled pizza 3 ways. This recipe will explain my favourite, but I'll post the other methods after the picture of the finished product.

1 batch of your favourite pizza dough (I use the recipe from my bread machine manual with whole-wheat flour)
1 full bulb of garlic
Olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
Brown sugar
8-9 cups of mixed greens (we had swiss chard, arugula, spinach, and beet greens)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (approx)

Cut the top off of the bulb of garlic so that there is a slice off of each clove. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap with tinfoil, and bake at 400' for 35 minutes. BAM! You just made heavenly roasted garlic. Scoop out all the soft garlicy goodness, and place in a small ramekin. With a fork and a little olive oil, work the garlic into a paste. Set aside.

Saute onions in a little olive oil until softening. Gradually add brown sugar (approx 1 Tblsp) to help the onions caramelize. Set aside.

Wash and trim greens (be generous - it cooks down SO much). In a wire strainer over boiling water, steam greens in batches. Set aside.

Light your BBQ and place a pizza/baking stone on the cold grill, so it can warm up gradually.

On a well-floured cutting board, place your stretched pizza dough. Spread your roasted garlic paste over the crust. Top with carmelized onions, steamed greens, and mozzarella cheese.

Lower BBQ temperature to medium. Loosen pizza from cutting board with a spatula, and slip onto the hot baking stone. Cover BBQ, and allow to cook for approximately 10 minutes. With a spatula, lift and check the underside of pizza until desired crispness is achieved. (It can change quickly, so check it every 2-3 minutes after the 10 minute mark.)

Just looking at this picture makes me wish there were leftovers to snack on now, but it was a hit with the whole family!

If you don't have a baking stone, there are two other easy options for grilling pizza:

1. Buy pre-made/baked pizza crusts from the bakery section of the grocery store. Build your pizza, and grill it directly on the rack.

2. Use your own pizza dough recipe. Stretch the dough, and place over medium heat directly on an oiled grill for 5-7 minutes, until partially cooked and stiffening. Carefully remove from grill and place cooked-side-up on a cutting board. Build your pizza and return to the grill, cooking directly on the rack.