Artichoke Pizza

WARNING!!! THIS IS A VERY LONG POST!!

Last night's dinner was spinach and artichoke pizza with cheesy garlic bread and marinara sauce. The recipes again came from Pinterest (insert surprised *gasp* here). I know, big surprise, right? Anywho, the recipe for the pizza originally showed on this website: http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/09/spinach-artichoke-pizza/. I, however, did not use store-bought pizza dough. I was being an over-achiever and made my own! Which I found the recipe for on, you guessed it, Pinterest! Although the recipe did originally come from here: http://www.laurenslatest.com/fail-proof-pizza-dough-and-cheesy-garlic-bread-sticks-just-like-in-restaurants/. And I have to tell you, when she says "fail-proof pizza dough," she means it! This was possibly the easiest dough I've ever made and it has the hubby's stamp of approval on it so it was delicious as well!

Fun fact for you all, the artichoke is actually from a species of thistle and the wild variety is native to the Mediterranean region. So anywho, let's get to it!

What You Need:

Pizza Dough

- 1 cup warm water

- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

- 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar*

- 2 tsp. salt

- 2 Tbsp. olive or canola oil

- 3 cups flour

Cheesy Bread Sticks

- 2 Tbsp. soft, almost melted butter

- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

- 1/4 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

Marinara Sauce

- 1 can tomato sauce

- 2 Tbsp. oregano

- 1 Tbsp. parsley

- 1 Tbsp. basil

- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder

- 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese

Pizza Toppings

- 8 oz. spinach, divided

- 2 Tbsp. butter

- 2 Tbsp. flour

- 3/4 cup milk

- 1/4 tsp. onion powder

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

- 2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

- 2 oz. parmesan cheese

- 8 artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

* I used honey and it seemed to work perfectly!

How To Do It:

Pizza Dough

- Stir yeast and honey into warm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. Pour in salt, oil, and half the flour and mix together. Once that flour is incorporated, add remaining flour in bit by bit until you get the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it, doesn't stick to your hands. Knead for exactly 6 minutes. Lightly grease a bowl and the dough and cover. Let your dough rise for 1-2 hours (mine was rising for about an hour).

Cheesy Bread Sticks

- Spread half of the pizza dough out on a pizza pan or stone in a circle. Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and spread on dough. Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a bit of salt and pepper.

Marinara Sauce

- Just mix up everything in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. 

Pizza Toppings

- Spread out the other half of the pizza dough on a pizza pan or stone in a circle. Make sure the sides of the dough are thick enough to keep all your toppings inside. 

In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil until hot then add 3/4 of the spinach and saute until wilted. Transfer to a layer of paper towels and press some of the excess liquid out. Finely chop the spinach and set aside. 

In a small saucepan, melt butter and while whisking add in flour and onion powder and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then while whisking slowly, stir in milk and increase temperature to medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture has thickened. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and stir in minced garlic and chopped spinach. Chop remaining spinach.

To assemble, spread the thickened sauce over the crust, leaving the rim uncoated. Sprinkle chopped, fresh spinach over sauce followed by mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and finally the chopped artichokes. Bake 10-13 minutes on 450° F or until crust is golden brown. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Shhhh...It's a Secret!

Hi readers! The second post today is just a picture as the recipe is a family recipe that I prefer not to post publicly. However! If you're interested in making this for yourself, please comment and I can find a way to send the recipe. Thanks for checking it out!

Pasta with Cream Sauce and Summer Vegetables

Tonight's dinner was pasta with a tomato cream sauce and zucchini and yellow squash. This was probably the most beautiful meal I've ever made. I mean, seriously. It was gorgeous.  The recipe for the sauce came from Pinterest again which means it actually came from this website: http://natashaskitchen.com/2010/01/25/spaghetti-with-shrimp-in-a-creamy-tomato-sauce/

What You Need:

- 2 medium tomatoes

- 1/2 small onion

- 1/4 tsp. red chili flakes

- 1/2 tsp. dried basil

- 1 garlic clove

- 4 Tbsp. butter

- 1/2 cup heavy cream

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 zucchini

- 1 yellow squash

- oil

- linguine or fettucine pasta

- pan and skillet

How To Do It:

First, slice your zucchini and yellow squash and season them with salt and pepper. Also, chop the tomato and onion into small cubes. In a pan, add tomatoes, onion, chili flakes, basil, garlic, and butter and heat on medium-high heat. In a skillet, put a small amount of oil and add the squash and zucchini and heat on medium-high heat. Make pasta according to box instructions. Finally, add the heavy cream to the tomato mixture and stir. When the pasta is finished, place it on a plate and top with grilled zucchini and squash and finally the tomato cream sauce. We topped our dishes off with parmesan cheese too.

Eggplant Parmesan

Last night's dinner was eggplant parmesan. Now I have made this before but I wasn't pleased with the outcome so I am simply re-doing the former post. This time, I am slicing the eggplant much thinner and drying them on a paper towel for two hours before breading them. I followed the instructions from the original recipe as well as the drying instructions from another recipe. 

What You Need:

• 1 eggplant, sliced thin
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tsp. Italian spices
• garlic salt and ground pepper to taste
• parmesan and mozzarella cheeses if desired

How to Do It:

First, preheat your oven to 400° F. Next, slice your eggplant into thin slices and lay them out on a couple layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt on both sides and allow the slices to dry out for about two hours. Mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian spices, garlic salt, and pepper; set aside. Next, beat the egg slightly and set aside. After the slices are dry, dip them in the egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture. Grease a cookie sheet and place the breaded eggplant on the sheet. Place them into the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Serve with your favorite pasta and pasta sauce. If you need a yummy sauce recipe, check out this one here. I also topped mine off with a little mozzarella cheese before putting on the sauce and then parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Original Recipe
Drying Recipe

Fajitas

Getting back to cooking tonight! Tonight's dinner is an easy, ready-in-minutes meal that is definitely a go-to for us. Some people may call it a burrito, some fajitas, some prefer tacos. Whatever you may call it, the basic ingredients are similar if not the same. Again, please remember that I'm cooking for a vegetarian so my recipe will not contain meat. However, when he did eat meat, we would usually have chicken or hamburger depending on what we had around.

What You Need:
- 1 can black beans (or refried beans)
- 1 can of corn
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 small onion
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 2 cups water
- tomatoes
- cheese
- lettuce
- sour cream
- salsa
- tortillas (soft or hard)
- salt and pepper
- Goya brand sazón (a seasoning)
- oil
- skillet
- small pot
- medium pot

How to Do It:

First you want to chop your vegetables. The peppers and onions I usually slice into thin pieces, the tomatoes I cube. In a skillet, put about 2 tablespoons of oil and add the peppers and onion with some salt and pepper to taste. Heat the skillet on medium heat and stir the vegetables occasionally. Next, put the black beans in the small pot, with the liquid in the can, and heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Finally, in the medium pot, add the rice, sazón, and water. Heat to a boil and reduce heat to keep the rice at a boil for about 14 minutes. When the rice is finished, the peppers and onions and black beans will be finished also. Assemble your tacos in any way you like  although I prefer to use soft tortilla shells.

Disclaimer: All the ingredients I used are of course optional. Some people may find it odd that I like corn on a burrito and some may not like tomatoes or onion. It is entirely up to you what you would like in your dish. Also, if you're using refried beans, do not follow my instructions for heating. Just put them in a microwaveable bowl and nuke them on high for about 2 minutes.

Happy cooking!