Read Your Recipe!
A friend was due over with her kids for lunch. What was my problem, then, that I didn’t remember that I had to make lunch until about 11 am? Take out is always an option, but baby girl was sleeping. THIS, friends, is why it’s SO IMPORTANT to always have puff pastry in your freezer. It can bail you out of any forgotten meal.
I really really really love my pizza dough, seen here, but now that my husband and I have a kid and adore Friday nights “in”, sometimes I just want one big ol’ pizza for the two of us. If I’m going to eat half a pizza, let’s make it whole wheat so I feel a little better about myself. I’ve made this a bunch of times now and am always shocked at the ease and tastiness – definitely not as chewy and yeasty as my normal pizza dough, but close. Do you want a big ol’ less-guilt-but-still-delicious pizza this Friday night? Read on…
I’m always on the lookout for new recipes, new ideas. I have yet to pick up a Parenting magazine at the gym, as there’s usually some cooking magazine I’d rather peruse (sorry, Tessa). There are several recipes I’ve made, however, that cease my search for that particular food. Case and point, this pizza dough. I’ve been making it for years, to the point that I no longer use a recipe; it’s taken up permanent lodging in my head. It makes 4 pizzas so it’s best for entertaining – though the dough freezes well (I’ll tell you at what point to freeze). This recipe has been on my site for over a year, but the pictures were terrible and it was hard to follow. Hopefully this new and easier to use recipe will inspire a pizza party at your house in the near future.
I make pizza more times than not when entertaining, so I’m always looking for a new type to make. Cut to my husband and I sitting on the floor in the kitchen, me reading out the list of pizzas on California Pizza Kitchen’s menu. I saw Thai and read out the toppings – he wasn’t feeling it. He wanted meat lovers. Natch. Sometimes its worth it to be the one who cooks in the couple; you don’t have to compromise because if you don’t cook, no one eats. Plus a Cliff bar pizza wouldn’t be very good.
I love to make homemade pizza.. true story. Usually this endeavor includes making homemade dough. HOWEVER, week night dinner? Just say no. Trader Joes sells whole wheat pizza dough for 99 cents!
On Saturday my camera broke. It was a pretty old camera and I actually hated it and had asked for a new one for Christmas. Well Merry Christmas to me, I went out yesterday and bought myself a new shiny red one to match my shiny red standing mixer. Saturday afternoon, however, I had to use a super old stupid dumb camera that I think was the first digital camera ever made. It took terrible pictures. Who cares, really, except that I made my FAVORITE PIZZA EVER on Saturday and can’t share pretty pictures with you. MAKE THIS PIZZA. It tastes like chicken alfredo but it’s from Cooking Light so it’s not going to break the calorie bank. It’s AMAzing.
Hurricane Party! I was REALLY craving some homemade pizza. Like, it was almost all I could think about. Saturday night turned into a hurricane pizza party with the imminent arrival of Irene. I was going to make one “plain” since we had a toddler coming, one eggplant, one jalapeno, and one fun “white” pizza. I heart sweet and salty on pizza, and I’d read about a bacon and leek version before— plus I had some bacon in the freezer—done!
So grilling pizzas was something I hadn’t done yet; I love pizza with a crispy crust, so I thought it was about time.
I took a BIG risk today. In my second level class we do yeast as an entire UNIT, so when we make our bbq chicken pizza the kids are well-versed in kneading and water temps.
Props to Pioneer woman for this one. A class a while back, due to scheduling, was only 25 minutes. We’d already had our notes day for the week and I wanted to make something quick but life changing that I KNEW they’d love and replicate. Pioneer Woman’s cheesy garlic bread! Using no fresh herbs or spices, this is simple to make from ingredients you’d likely have around. It’s VERY garlicky, so if you’re not a fan, then skip the fresh garlic clove and just use the garlic powder. This has become the only garlic bread I will make when I entertain…it’s flawless!
Do you know how microwaves cook food?
The magnetron converts electricity to electromagnetic energy. The stirrer disperses the microwaves which are then attracted to the fat, water, and sugar molecules in food. The waves penetrate the food about 1 inch, causing the molecules to vibrate a billion times a second. The vibrating molecules create friction, which causes heat! The rest of the food cooks by heat induction.
You are now almost as smart as my high school students, who today are taking their microwave test!
Since we didn’t cook this morning, I thought I would throw up some pics I took this weekend. Sunday night my friend Kristen hosted a “make your own calzone” night. There were six of us plus two little boys. I brought the dough, Kristen made the fillings. It was FAB and delish.
This is my FAVE pizza dough out there. I searched long and hard to find this, and now that I’ve found it, I will share it with you! It is a chewy, crunchy, delicious tasting crust. I’ve made pizzas, calzones, and stromboli with it and it’s not failed me yet!