Homemade Pizza

Last night, I busted out the good old KitchenAid and endeavoured homemade pizza crust.  This is normally my husbands domain, but I thought I would give it a try.

I used the recipe from the KitchenAid mixer recipe book.  Although anything involving yeast scares me, this was actually super easy and turned out really well.  I only took a "before" baking photo, but I can assure you it was all cheesy and bubbly and amazing after baking.

Instead of typing out the whole recipe and instructions, I thought I would just post the link and then tell you how I modified it and what I used for toppings.

CRUST RECIPE

Modifications:

• I used an equal mix of white and whole wheat flour.
• I baked it on the pizza stone.  I heated the stone up, spread cornmeal all over the stone and then spread the dough on the stone.
• I baked just the crust on the stone for 7-10 minutes, then added the toppings and baked for an additional 10 minutes.

Toppings:

I was going for sort of a tuscany vibe, but whilst still cleaning out the fridge a bit in the process.

• Homemade pizza sauce
• 1 tiny can of tomato paste
• 1 medium can of tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• Costco Tuscan Seasoning
• Red onion, sliced
• Red pepper, sliced
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Pastrami, diced
• Tomato slices
• Fresh basil
• Fresh mozza, sliced
• Fresh parm

What's cookin'?! (April 28-May 1)

I am heading out of town early Wednesday morning, so this is a rather abbreviated meal plan.

Saturday:  baked brie, steak, hot potato salad, salad and cupcakes, OH MY
Sunday:  Homemade pizza with fresh mozza, basil, pastrami, red pepper and red onion
Monday:  Honey garlic sausage and salad
Tuesday:  Pasta bake

Real Food Connections Kitchen Basket

Milk, bread, eggs, sun dried tomato and basil raw-milk Gouda

Frozen raspberries, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, pea shoots, sprouted beans, apples and a cilantro plant

Saturday Night Steaks

It doesn't get much better then this:

Wolf Blass cab sauv for me and Miller Chill for the husband
Baked brie topped with this super fantastic amazing and local Wild Blueberry Lime Salsa
Steak, hot potato salad and green salad
Cupcakes

Why would we ever bother with restaurants?!

Skinny Taste: Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Run, don't walk, to Skinny Taste and try this recipe out.

I never make recipes exactly as they are written, but in this case I did.  It was the right decision.

Slow Cooker Sweet Barbacoa Pork

Last night, I had it in a tortilla with shredded lettuce, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, salsa and sour cream.  Today for lunch, I am having it over salad.  I am soooo excited for lunch.

Tuscan Breakfast Skillet

We make variations of this breakfast skillet almost every weekend.  I usually roast fresh potatoes (or use leftovers from the night before), but frozen hashbrowns would work too.  I use whatever vegetables and meat we have on hand.  You can give it a mexican, tuscan or canadian feel, depending on the vegetable and meat combination.  Bacon, prosciutto, back bacon or pastrami... the meat options are endless!

The recipe is a bit time consuming for a weekday breakfast, but it can be prepared the night before and reheated.  It definitely makes for a great brunch, fresh!!

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 eggs (and a little milk)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 lbs mushrooms, halved
• 3 slices of pastrami
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp Kirkland tuscan seasoning
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I used a combo of gouda and cheddar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Chop potatoes and toss them in EVOO and tuscan seasoning.  Roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.
2. Get a large bowl out, and as you complete the next few steps, just add keep adding the various components.
3. While the potatoes are roasting, soften the pepper, onion and mushroom in a skillet.  Add the garlic near the end.
4. Sear the pastrami and chop it up.
5. Scramble the eggs in the same skillet.
6. At this point, the potatoes should be done roasting.  Add them to the bowl and combine with the veggies, meat, eggs and half of the cheese.
7. Spray a shallow casserole dish and fill with the contents of the bowl.  Top with the remaining cheese.
8. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes, until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is melted.
9. Serve and enjoy!  I top with ketchup, but the husband adds hot sauce.

What's cookin'? (April 21-26)

Saturday:  BBQ steak, roasted green beans, salad
Sunday:  Baked beans, hotdogs
Monday:  Cabbage roll casserole
Tuesday:  Pork carnitas
Wednesday:  BBQ honey garlic sausages, salad
Thursday:  Soup and grilled sandwiches

Real Food Connections Kitchen Basket

Milk, eggs, whole wheat bread, raw-milk edame

Broccoli sprouts, sprouted beans, mushrooms, potatoes, frozen blueberries, cabbage, basil plant

BBQ Steak Sandwich

We had some random pieces of steak left from the farm beef my cousin and her husband gave us and I wasn't sure what to do with it. The husband asked for steak sandwiches, which made for a perfect weeknight dinner!

Spinach salad = spinach, shallot, strawberries, mushrooms, feta, poppy seed dressing

Green beans = Tossed in EVOO and tuscan seasoning, roasted

Steak sandwich = steak, red pepper, mushroom, onion tossed in BBQ sauce, on a bun, topped with cajun gouda

Whatcha got cookin'? (April 13-19)

Friday: Honey soy glazed pork, wild rice, roasted red pepper, mushroom and onion
Saturday: Honey soy glazed salmon, wild rice, roasted green beans, red pepper and mushrooms
Sunday: Boar sausage on a bun topped with caramelized onion and mushroom, spinach salad (spinach, red onion, mushroom, strawberries and feta)
Monday: Steak sandwiches and salad
Tuesday: Sweet potato carrot soup, grilled pastrami sandwiches
Wednesday: Pulled pork, coleslaw
Thursday: Omelette's and toast

I am kind of writing this post mid-stream, but that's OK because it means I get to post some photos too!
The honey soy glaze recipe I tried out was really good and I had enough to use it again on Saturday for the salmon. It is a really versatile sauce that would go well on almost any meat. And, I used the leftover salmon for a brunch omelette on Sunday morning!

Honey-Soy Glaze

• 2 tbsp soy sauce


• 1 tbsp honey


• 2 tbsp Asian sesame salad dressing


• 1 tbsp fresh crushed garlic


• 1 tsp ginger


• S&P

I doubled this badboy, because I did the pork in the crock-pot, then used the remained for the salmon.

Real Food Connections Kitchen Basket

Milk, eggs, bread, raw-milk Cajun Gouda
Broccoli sprouts, sprouted beans, mushrooms, onions, shallots, cabbage, granola, frozen strawberries, apples

Shepherd's Pie

I love shepherd's pie! I didn't really grow up eating it, but my husband did, so I set out to find a good recipe when we started dating. I try to avoid cream-of-whatever soups, but it really does make the recipe. If you make this up and bake it all at once, it is a bit time consuming. I prefer to make it the night before and just bake it when I get home. This makes a great post-baby delivery or potluck contribution.

Adding a good quantity of onion and mushroom to the meat layer really adds some bulk to the meat layer, without adding calories. You don't even really taste the mushrooms. Finely chopped, they blend in texture wise and take on the flavour of the meat.

Ingredients:

Meat layer:

• 1lb of ground meat (I used lamb this time and it was AMAZING! But beef or turkey would do)


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 1 tbsp crushed garlic


• 1lb of mushrooms, chopped


• 1 can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup


• 1/3 c. ketchup (I used the Heinz spicey for a little extra kick!)


• 1 tsp thyme


• s&p

Veg Layer:

• I used fresh carrots (steamed) and canned peas, but you can use what ever fresh or frozen veg mix you like

Potato Layer:

• Potatoes


• Milk


• Butter (or low fat sour cream or greek yogurt)


• s&p


• Low fat shredded cheddar


• Paprika

Directions:

1. Spray a large, deep rectangular baking dish. Preheat over at 350 F.


2. Put potatoes on to boil while you do step 3.


3. In a skillet, soften the chopped onion and mushrooms. Add ground meat and brown. Once the meat is cooked, stir in the remaining ingredients for the meat layer. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.


4. Layer mixed vegetables.


5. By now, the potatoes are done cooking. Mash them and add whatever ingredients you add to your very best mashed pots. I like to add a little bit of extra liquid, so the baking doesn't dry them out. Spread the potatoes over the veg mixture.


6. Top with a little grated cheese and sprinkle with paprika.


7. Bake at 350 F for 30 mins. Let is sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. I can never wait that long, so it just ends up looking a mess on my plate!

Mango-Mustard Glazed Tilapia

Photo from Kraft.com

When I got home last night, I decided it would be a good idea to make not only the tilapia on the menu, but supper for tonight, at the same time. This resulted in a ravenous Sarah when dinner was served, who totally forgot to take a photo. My fish looked pretty much the same as the kraft version, maybe just a little saucy-er (I love sauce!) I served it over wild rice with a side of roasted broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and onion.

The best part about it was that it was QUICK and so, so easy.

Ingredients:

• 5 Tilapia fillets


• 1/4 c. mango chutney


• 2 tbsp grainy mustard (Gray Poupon or other spicey mustard)


• s&p

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. If you roasting veggies, they take about 20-25 minutes. The fish will only take 12. So, put the veggies in as soon as the oven is heated.


2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it.


3. Mix the mango chutney and mustard.


4. Place the tilapia on the baking sheet and smear a spoonful of the mustard-chutney on the tilapia.


5. Bake for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with a little green onion or cilantro and serve!
   

The Bare-Cupboards Menu Planning Challenge

We just got home for a 4-day weekend visiting family and the cupboards (along with our pocket books) are fairly bare. I decided to challenge myself to avoid groceries until Thursday, when we get our kitchen box and I can make a better plan.

So, here is the mini-meal plan for the week!

Tuesday: Mustard-mango glazed tilapia, wild rice, roasted broccoli
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie, made with locally raised grass-fed organic ground lamb
Thursday: Honey-soy glazed pork tenderloin, wild rice and a veggie of some kind

The tilapia and the pork are new recipes. Look out for a post if they are as good as the sound!

Heeey good lookin', whatcha got cookin'?

I am often asked what a week of healthy eating looks like in our house, so I thought I would start posting our weekly meal plan, along with a list of the contents of our Kitchen Box from Real Food Connections.

APRIL 1-7

Sunday: Brown sugar and balsamic pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes and broccoli
Monday: Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwich, tomato vegetable soup
Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas, roasted broccoli
Wednesday: Curried lamb burgers topped with goat cheese, red pepper, red onion and buckwheat shoots and raosted broccoli
Thuesday: Leftovers

And then we are off visiting family for Easter!

Can you tell we got a giant bag of broccoli at Costco this week?!

Real Food Connections Kitchen Box

Whole wheat bread, eggs, milk, raw milk dill and havarti
Potatoes prepped for roasting (washed cut, tossed in sunflower oil and herbs)
Buckwheat shoots, mushrooms, sprouted beans, onions, garlic, fresh italian herb mix

Grillled BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwich

I have messed around with this photo (taken cellphone style) for the last 20 minutes and I can't get it to post properly, so here it is, in all its' sideways glory. The sandwich was to ooeygooey delicious not to photograph!

The Cuisinart Griddler has changed our lives. We have a new weekly tradition of having soup and a grilled sandwich once a week, because the Griddler rocks so hard. My husband loves soup and sandwich night more than anything and I have made it my personal vendetta to never serve the same combo.

I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco on the weekend for quesadillas and the sandwiches, so this was seriously EASY. The bread comes in our kitchen box from Real Food Connections and it is The. Best. I usually try to incorporate other things from the kitchen box into both the soup and sammy. This week, the peashoot greens were especially good on the sandwich!

Makes: 4 sandwiches or wraps.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a rotisserie chicken, chopped


• 3 stalks of celery, minced


• 1 red pepper, minced


• 1/2 small red onion, minced


• 1/4 c. light or fat free mayo


• 1/4 c. BBQ sauce


• S&P


• 4 slices of cheddar


• Bread or wraps


• Shredded lettuce (I used pea shoots from our kitchen box!)

Directions:

1. Chop chicken and mince veggies. Combine with BBQ sauce, mayo and s&p.


2. Divide chicken into 4 and put on a sandwich or wrap with a slice of cheddar.


3. Grill sandwich or wrap until the outside is crispy and the cheese is melty.


4. Remove from grill and add greens. I had slimy wilted greens, so I add them after cooking.


5. Enjoy :)
   

*I was going to post the recipe for the soup, but I didn't measure a single thing when I made it! Ooops.

Pork Tenderloin with a Balsamic Brown Sugar Glaze

I have a tonne of recipes posted to my Pinterest boards. I think around 100 between the "Recipes" and "Food Porn" additions. I have vowed to start cooking at least of these recipes a week. Otherwise, I fear pinterest will turn into a "stuff I like but am too lazy to ever do" compilation.

It's Sunday, so thought I would make something a bit special. But, it turns out this is easy enough for a week night! I served it with roasted potatoes and broccoli. The glaze was
yummy on both.

Inspired by: www.candcmarriagefactory.com/2011/01/brown-sugar-and-balsamic-glazed-pork.html

Ingredients:

• Pork tenderloin
• Prosciutto (around 6 slices)
• Rub: salt, pepper, sage, garlic
• Water

Glaze

• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch

Directions:

1. Rub the tenderloin with the, you guessed it, RUB.
2. Wrap in prosciutto. The prosciutto is optional and was something I added from the original recipe, but totally worth it!
3. Put a little water in the crockpot and cook the tenderloin on low for 6-8 hours.
4. About an hour before the tenderloin is done, make the glaze. Mix up the glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
5. Glaze the tenderloin a few times through the last hour of cooking.
6. Slice the tenderloin and drizzle with remaining glaze. (Save a little for your sides, it is delish!!)

Sundried Tomato Tilapia in a Bag

Photo (and inspiration) from redlobster.com

Ingredients:

• 4 large or 8 small Tilapia filets
• 8 c. spinach
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• S&P
• 4 tbsp italian salad dressing
• 1/2 c. sundried tomatoes
• 8 pieces of parchment paper

Directions:

1. Spray 4 pieces of parchment paper. Layer 2 c. spinach, 1/4 of the onion and 1/4 of the red pepper on each piece of paper. Place tilapia on top and season with s&p and 1 tbsp italian dressing. Top with sundried tomato.
2. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of each piece of tilapia and seal the packet.
3. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 F for 15-20 mins.

Comments:

I don't know how many times I can say that recipes are amazing, but I guess I wouldn't post them if they sucked, would I? This was fast, delicious and fresh. I served it with a side of wild rice and some broccoli, but there are enough vegetables included for a serving. I think you could make it on the grill too. This will be a regular in the rotation!