Pizza Night

(cross posted at Ninja Poodles!)

I haven't gotten to the stage where this is all fun and easy like everyone says it's supposed to be, but maybe if we keep trying, huh? Maybe individual pizzas would be better, like Mir does. It's a heck of a mess to clean up, but maybe if I could get everyone involved in that, just like with making it, it would help? Yeah, I'm a genius. Someone let me know how that works, m'kay?

Pizza Night has potential, though. And I do REALLY love this recipe for pizza crust, adapted from the recipe that comes with Ricki Carroll's 30-Minute Mozzarella Kit, which I've discussed here already. This is one of those activities that has a very high "kid-friendly" rating, if you're keeping score.

Quick & Easy Pizza Dough (makes one 14" thick crust or two 12" thin crusts...or, you know, several that are smaller than that--whatever)

3-3.5 cups all purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 pkg. or 1 Tbsp. rapid-rising yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup very warm--not hot--whey (you could also use buttermilk, or even regular milk)
2Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
Cornmeal for dusting pan

Combine 2 cups flour, dry yeast and salt, then stir in warm whey, olive oil, and honey until mixture is moist throughout. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover, and let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.

If you're in a hurry, just go on ahead with the next step after the 10 minute rest--it'll turn out fine. But if you have time, let the dough rise until doubled. It rises pretty quickly, so just get it ready 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time, and you'll have plenty of time for a rise. Then punch dough down and continue.

Lightly oil pizza pan(s), sprinkle with cornmeal, and roll dough out to fit pans. At this point, you can top your pizza(s) and bake them at 400F for 20-30 minutes 'til done. OR, if you have a few extra minutes, pre-bake the crust before topping it. Just prick the crust with a fork, and bake it for 5 minutes or so, until the surface is a little toasty. Then top and bake as usual.

Again: The steps you may omit are the rising of the dough and the pre-baking of the crust.

Yum! Now, since we've conquered the crust and the cheese, if someone has a great homemade pizza SAUCE recipe, let's have it!

Easy Cheesey

You want Mozzarella Fresca. You want to make it yourself. Seriously, you do. You cannot imagine how easy and quick it is. First, just go and get this kit, since it comes with everything you need, plus recipes. It includes enough stuff to make 30 pounds of cheese. Here, watch this.

You get some milk. Your only real limitation is that it can't be "ULTRA" pasteurized. I was kind of astonished at how that limits your selection at the grocery store. If you have a cow or a goat, more power to you. Anyway, you dissolve some citric acid (included in your mozzarella kit) into a bit of distilled water, then stir that into the milk, and start gently heating it to 86 degrees F. (There is a dairy thermometer included in the kit.) The milk will curdle. This is good.

At the desired temperature, you dissolve a teensy bit of vegetable rennet into a bit of distilled water, then add that while gently stirring the milk, which has been removed from the heat. You only stir a few seconds, then just leave it alone for 5-8 minutes. When you come back, the curds should have separated from the whey. Recite "Little Miss Muffett," and then slice the curds into cubes. Optimally, they'll be fairly solid, like silken tofu, floating in clear yellow whey, so that you can ladle them out gently with a large slotted spoon, into a glass bowl.

If they're not holding together so well (these weren't), never fear. Just pour the whole mess into a giant bowl, through a large piece of butter muslin (included in the kit), and strain the whey out. What's left behind in the muslin will be your cheese curds.

In a glass bowl, zap the curds in the microwave for about a minute. (There is a microwave-free method that uses the heated whey; it's explained in the instructions that come with the kit.) Take them out and knead them like bread dough. You know, if bread dough was the consistency of ricotta. As you do this, more whey will be released from the curds, which will become firmer. Pour it off, and re-nuke the curds for about 30 seconds. Knead them again, being careful because they'll be getting hot. If you've ever made taffy, you'll be right at home. On the second or third heating, your curds will be getting melty and shiny, at least in the bowl. Knead them, and give them the stretch test.

If the cheese breaks instead of stretching, it's not quite done. Heat it again and knead some more. Start tasting the cheese, too. This is a good time to add a teaspoon or two of cheese salt (if you like--included in the kit), or any herbs or other flavor additives you might desire. Your cheese should be just about too hot to handle, and it should be getting very shiny and very stretchy!

It will also be tasting DELICIOUS. If you can get from this point to actually using the cheese in a recipe, you're showing remarkable restraint, because you're going to want to just eat it ON THE SPOT, while it's warm. No lie. My daughter tried repeatedly to convince me that "we could just eat this cheese for dinner, just like this, with nothing else, RIGHT NOW before Daddy gets home." This is a great thing to make with kids, but be sure to give them rubber gloves, since they don't have "Mom skin" on their hands.

When the cheese is shiny, smooth, and stretchable, start forming it into smallish round balls and plop the balls into a bowl of ice-water, for rapid cooling. Go ahead and make a joke about putting your balls on ice. You've earned it.

That's it! You have just made Mozzarella Fresca, and it took no more than 30 minutes, most of which were spent doing nothing but waiting. Aren't you pleased with yourself? But WAIT. That's not all. Remember all that whey you poured off the cheese? There's, like, 3/4 of a gallon of that stuff. Save it--it's liquid gold. To feel like a total superwoman (or man), go ahead and use a cup of it RIGHT NOW to make an easy, no-muss pizza dough. I'll print the recipe for that tomorrow. Tell the truth--will you not feel like something else entirely, when you serve a pizza and say that you made everything from the crust to the sauce to the CHEESE? Seriously. You are awesome. Respect.

Spoon-Tastic!

This is an easy fresh corn spoonbread that is a great dish to make with kids--it's pretty much all about measuring and stirring and pouring, which are MY kid's favorite things to do in the kitchen. The recipe is from Southern Living, and is credited to Beth Trueblood of Lanesville, Indiana.

Fresh Corn Spoonbread

Ingredients:

1 cup white cornmeal mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar (or equivalent in honey)
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 to 6 ears)
2 cups plain yogurt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together dry ingredients, set aside.

Stir together corn and all remaining ingredients.

Add corn mixture to dry mixture, stirring just until blended and moist throughout. Pour batter into a 2-quart baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until golden brown and set in the center. I may have tented some foil over the top for the last 20 minutes or so...I really can't recall. Just eyeball it, and don't let the top and edges dry out during baking.

Enjoy! It's some yummy stuff.

The Beginning Of Organization, And...Just YUM.

I've got to start posting here again, because ever since I stopped, things have really gone downhill around the house. Apparently I need some accountability. I've tried, repeatedly, to pin down the cycle of despair, to find a starting point--you know how it goes: You can't get one area, like cooking healthy meals, in order, because the kitchen is a mess, and you don't have time to clean the kitchen because the laundry is backed up, and you can't put the laundry away because the closets are a mess, and you can't deal with the closets because the bedroom is a wreck, etc. What? Oh, that's just me? Well, so be it. It ends here. Or maybe I go down in flames--we shall see what we see.

Since everything is so interconnected, I finally just bit the bullet and chose an arbitrary place to start, and that place is meal planning and preparation. I have a week's worth of dinners and lunches planned and ingredients stocked, and the next natural step is cleaning and organizing the kitchen...again, we'll see. Bella and I have tomorrow to work on that, and I WILL be posting progress here. I'll also be regularly reporting on what we're cooking/eating, and the recipes we use, starting with tonight's dinner, which was SO YUMMY.

Last night, I put out a call on Twitter for "your go-to after-work meal," and got several great responses, most of which were quick, creative one-dish meals. This one came from Jenny (who adapted it from an old cookbook) at We're Not In Kansas Any More, Toto (she totally IS in Kansas), and she calls it "Husband's Delight." I'm printing her recipe as she sent it to me, with my minor modifications in parentheses. My changes in no way made the dish any better than Jenny's version, just slightly different.

Husband's Delight Casserole:
one bag large egg noodles - 12 or 16oz. (I used "dumpling" style noodles)
2lbs ground beef (I used ground venison)
1can tomato sauce
1 tsp. sugar (I forgot this)
salt, pepper, etc.
1 can diced tomatoes, plain or Rotel-style, according to personal taste (I omitted this)
1 bunch chopped green onions--the bulb end

16oz. (2 cups) sour cream (I used reduced-fat)
8oz. (1 cup) cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel)
other end of the green onions, chopped (I whirled the chives in food processor)
shredded cheese (I used about 2 cups of RF sharp cheddar & a sprinkle of parmesan)

Boil pasta. At same time, start the ground meat and chopped onions in a skillet. Brown, drain, return to skillet, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt & pepper, and whatever else you like to season.

Separately, mix up the sour cream, cream cheese, and green onions. When the ground meat mixture is cooked and has simmered for 10 minutes or so, start layering noodles, ground meat, and then cream mixture into two casserole dishes that have been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. You can probably fit two full layers. As the final layer add the shredded cheese. Pop it into the oven at 350 or so for 15-20 min or until cheese is melted on top. Since it makes two casseroles, you can freeze one for later or give to someone else. If you freeze it, it's best to not add the cheese until read to cook.

My changes: I used ground venison because we had some on hand and it is extremely lean. I left out the diced tomatoes and just used tomato sauce instead, because everyone in my family, myself included, picks out chunks of tomatoes in any dish. I know, we're freaks. I also added garlic to the meat mixture, because venison, being so incredibly lean, does need a little "boost" in flavor.

Bella made the sour cream sauce, and pronounced it "super-delicious," which it totally was. I chose Neufchatel instead of cream cheese because it's softer even when cold, and lower in fat than cream cheese. I whirled the chives in my Magic Bullet for about 2 seconds, so that more of the chive-y goodness would be released into the sour cream sauce.

Instead of making two casseroles (which this recipe absolutely would make), I used my giant deep-dish casserole and just made one big whopping double-decker one, with a layer of shredded cheese in the middle as well as on top. I froze half of it after cooking, and saved the portion we didn't eat tonight for leftovers tomorrow. It's a LOT of food. I served it with green beans, and it was a hearty, hearty meal.

While I do like the lasagna-type presentation of layering the ingredients, it's a little fussy to assemble that way when you're pressed for time, so when I make this dish again (and I WILL make it again, because, as I said: YUM), I will probably mix everything together, including most of the shredded cheese, before putting it into the casserole dish to bake--I'll likely mix the sharp cheddar into the dish, and top it with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan.

ADDENDUM: Jenny writes to say that she has tried preparing the dish as I describe in the above paragraph, mixing it all together, and that it monkeys with the texture of the sour cream sauce. So you're probably best off making it AS DIRECTED. I'm a hardhead, so will probably try it the other way at least once, and wind up emailing Jenny to say, "Hey, remember when you said not to do that, and I did it anyway? YOU WERE RIGHT." Because that's how I roll.

Easiest Ever Broccoli-Ham Casserole

Start with this stuff--
leftover ham (or chicken, or mushrooms, or whatever)
1 cup or 2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup sharp cheddar or cheese of choice
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom (or celery, or chicken, or whatever) soup
bag of frozen broccoli
BaconSalt (or seasonings of choice)
buttered breadcrumbs:

Whomp everything except the breadcrumbs together right in the baking pan.

Top with buttered breadcrumbs.

Bake at 350 about 30 minutes, until heated through and bubbly. Tip your assistant.

The Perfect Baked Potato

OK, after this I have to shut up about the BaconSalt. But seriously--buy some.

Dinner Monday night was simple enough--steamed broccoli, and baked potatoes with Smart Balance Light, Light sour cream, a sprinkling of sharp cheddar...sounds kind of "blah," huh? Well, maybe--until you add the SECRET INGREDIENT.

With the addition of zero-calorie peppered BaconSalt to my baked potato, I think I could have eaten several of them. You gotta getcha some of this stuff. Because, as they say over at BaconSalt headquarters, "Everything should taste like bacon."

Manicotti-Stuffed Shells with Spinach (cheat version)

Friday night was another "cheater's" meal, meaning I used prepared/frozen ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box Mona's Cheese Stuffed Shells (frozen)
1 jar Prego Traditional pasta sauce
1 package organic baby spinach
Dressing of choice for spinach salad (optional)

Pour half of pasta sauce on bottom of baking dish, arrange frozen pasta shells on top of sauce.

Layer fresh spinach on top of shells, as much as you like.

Pour the rest of the sauce over everything.

Cover dish with foil, bake in 400 degree oven for about an hour. Dish up, top with Parmesan cheese, and serve with spinach salad or steamed veggies.

General Tso Chicken (Cheat Version)

Super quick and easy, uses a mix.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

1 pound chicken, white or dark, your preference, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. oil
1 packet Sun Bird General Tso chicken seasoning mix
1/2 cup water (I think--just follow the directions on the packet)
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Instant brown rice, either boil-in bag or regular
Canned chicken broth or water with chicken bouillon

Whole green beans in microwave-steaming package
OPTIONAL: splash of teriyaki sauce for green beans

Put 1/4 cup flour in quart-size Ziploc baggie, add chicken pieces. Shake until chicken is well-coated with flour. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in nonstick skillet, then place coated chicken pieces in hot oil and brown chicken on all sides.

In a small bowl, stir together packet of seasoning mix, water, soy sauce, and sugar until well-blended.

While chicken is cooking, prepare instant brown rice according to package instruction, except using chicken broth in place of water.

Add prepared seasoning blend to chicken pieces in skillet, toss until well coated, lower heat and cook down to desired consistency. NOTE: The long you simmer it, the thicker and stickier the sauce will be. Cooking time is short for this dish.

While the final simmering is going on, steam the green beans in the microwave. Once the chicken is done, empty the skillet and use it to toss the green beans with a splash of teriyaki for about two minutes, making optimal use of any General Tso sauce that might be left in the pan.

Serve it up and make everybody eat their beans! This really tasted like the General Tso chicken you might get at a Chinese restaurant, but without the heavy breading and deep-frying. I had to rinse most of the sauce from Bella's portion, because it was too spicy for her, and it cleared our sinuses! Family Rating: 6.5

Creamy Herb-Chive Chicken & Pasta

This is one of my favorite dishes to make for myself and to serve for company. It cooks quickly on the stovetop, or you can cook the sauce and then pour it over fresh raw chicken in a casserole dish and bake it, covered, in the oven for a longer time, if you'd rather just put something on and get out of the kitchen for a while.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 servings):

1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, lite butter, or Smart Balance
1/2 tub Philly Light cream cheese with chives
1 packet Italian dressing mix (like Good Seasons)
1 can low sodium cream of mushroom (or golden mushroom) soup
1/2 cup white cooking wine
1/2 box whole-wheat angel-hair pasta (Hodgson Mills makes some)*
*NOTE--if you'd rather use refined ("regular") pasta, use a whole box, as WW is more filling.

OPTIONAL, but very good additions: capers, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh asparagus

In a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, melt butter. As soon as it's melted, very quickly add the Italian dressing mix. Since the dressing mix is salty, you might want to only add half at this time, taste-testing along the way. You can always add more later. Stir until well-blended, working quickly.

Get the chicken breast tenders on to cook, searing both sides well, but as quickly as you can. They'll have plenty of time to cook through later--right now you just want to sear the outside.

Once the chicken pieces are seared, add the 1/2 cup white cooking wine.

Immediately add the can of cream of mushroom soup, and the 1/2 tub of cream cheese.

Stir to blend all ingredients until well melted and blended, then reduce heat and set chicken and sauce to simmer.

Meanwhile, be steaming veggies or making a salad to go along with your dinner, and setting a pot of water on the stove to boil for your pasta. Just about the time your side dish is ready, it should be time to put the 1/2 box of whole-wheat pasta on to cook. For my family, I have to cook whole-grain pastas well past the "al dente" stage, or my husband won't eat it, because he's spoiled to refined pasta! If you ARE using "regular" pasta instead of whole-grain, go ahead and use a whole box, because the whole-grain variety is much more filling.

Plate pasta, place chicken pieces on top, and pour sauce over all. Garnish with capers if your husband is weird and doesn't like them, preventing you from having cooked them in with the sauce. Serve with steamed vegetables or salad or sauteed asparagus.

If I were serving this for company, I'd use the oven-bake method, and chicken breast halves instead of tenders. I'd probably slice each individual breast in diagonal pieces, and fan the pieces slightly over each plate of pasta, then pouring the sauce from end to end over the middle.