Here is a fast and easy pizza recepie. Prep time is about 20-30mins excluding the time you need for the dough to rise.
You need:
3 cups of flour, unbleached works best
1.25 cups WARM water
1 tblspn active dry yeast
1 teaspn olive oil
Bit of salt
Completely dissolve yeast in the warm water. Use warm water, never cold, it activates the yest better and that way your dough won't taste like yeast. After the yeast is completely dissolved, mix all ingredients together in a bowl. At first it's VERY sticky but as you keep mixing in the flour it should start to stick together and not to your hands. After the dough is formed, "grease up" a bowl with olive oil and put the dough in it. Drizzle a tiny bit of oil on the top of the dough itself just so it doesn't dry out, cover it with a cloth and let it sit for about 2hrs to let it rise. Best place for this is out of direct sunlight, about room temperature. (on top of the fridge works best for my house). After the 2 hrs, the dough should be about twice as big, maybe even a bit bigger. On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into three equal pieces. Using a rolling pin and\or your hands, shape the dough into pizza pies. You want the thickness to be about 1\4 to a 1\5 of an inch. If you make it too thick it may not cook throughly or the bottom of it will be very hard and dry when it comes out of the oven. Here is where you can get creative. Top the pizza with whatever you feel like. The "juicier" the topping the better (think fresh tomatoes, pineapples, bacon), and fresh ingredients always beat preserved\canned ones. Preheat the oven to 500F. Place the pie on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and slide it in the oven. Bake for about 20mins or until the crust gets golden brown. Enjoy!!
PS: NEVER try to eat the pie right after it comes out of the oven, let it cool for about 5mins. The tomato sauce gets VERY hot, first time I made this I burned my mouth so bad the roof of my mouth was sore for weeks!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Too Good not to Link!
Okay, I was trying to not post recipes here that aren't my own because that gives me more motivation to actually type up my archives, but these meatballs were just too good not to link!
Seriously.
It makes a big batch, but that's good since it is time-consuming and they'll keep forever in the freezer. I thawed the last of mine out for lunch the other day and ended up eating them the next day for breakfast, too! They're just so tasty! Also, since veal is pricey and harder to find: I bought the 1.5 lbs of beef at the counter, so I wouldn't have any left over. Then instead of 1.5 lbs of ground veal and 1.5 lbs of ground pork, I did 2 lbs of pork and 1 lb of veal since the packages only come in 1 lb increments. I think the flavor and texture were both pretty well maintained this way. Previously I've replaced the half pound of veal with beef, but that made the meatballs a little dry and a lot less flavorful.
A lot of the meatballs crumbled once I added them to the sauce, but it was still absolutely delicious that way! I think keeping them really small would help prevent that in the future, but you'll see that there are almost too many meatballs to fit into the sauce anyways so making it meat sauce with meatballs works out well!
Hope everyone's having a nice weekend! We're currently getting some lovely champagne powder down here, so I'm wishing I'd gone up skiing instead of working on these stupid lab reports!
Seriously.
It makes a big batch, but that's good since it is time-consuming and they'll keep forever in the freezer. I thawed the last of mine out for lunch the other day and ended up eating them the next day for breakfast, too! They're just so tasty! Also, since veal is pricey and harder to find: I bought the 1.5 lbs of beef at the counter, so I wouldn't have any left over. Then instead of 1.5 lbs of ground veal and 1.5 lbs of ground pork, I did 2 lbs of pork and 1 lb of veal since the packages only come in 1 lb increments. I think the flavor and texture were both pretty well maintained this way. Previously I've replaced the half pound of veal with beef, but that made the meatballs a little dry and a lot less flavorful.
A lot of the meatballs crumbled once I added them to the sauce, but it was still absolutely delicious that way! I think keeping them really small would help prevent that in the future, but you'll see that there are almost too many meatballs to fit into the sauce anyways so making it meat sauce with meatballs works out well!
Hope everyone's having a nice weekend! We're currently getting some lovely champagne powder down here, so I'm wishing I'd gone up skiing instead of working on these stupid lab reports!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Weird Dreams, Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding
Last night I dreamed I was at Tanya's and she had made this two-layer shortcake, strawberry jell-o and cool whip creation that tasted really funky, but it was a huge hit and she'd won some sort of gourmet prize for it.
Anyhow... I've been busy with school starting back up and riding a new horse at the rescue, so sorry about the lack of posts! The archiving is on hold while I figure out how to keep my head from exploding during cell biology lecture. But I did make a nice bread pudding yesterday, so I'll share that.
I had made some chocolate cupcakes out of a box and was disappointed by how lame they came out (and my lack of frosting). But I still wanted chocolate deliciousness so I decided to give this a try.
Breakfast of Champions
I whisked up 6 eggs and a little over a cup of heavy cream, added some almond extract (maybe 1/2 tsp) and some vanilla (about 1 tsp) and a quarter cup of sugar. Then I tore up the 16 remaining cupcakes (Mike apparently ate 2) and stirred them in along with about a cup of chocolate chips and a can of sweet cherries, drained. Not maraschinos, not pie filling, just canned cherries I found in the canned fruit section. The cupcakes pretty much completely crumbled apart, but it came out well so don't worry about it. If you don't have enough egg/cream mix to soak up all the cupcake crumbs you can stir in a little more cream (hoorah death by dairy fat!).
I greased a 9"x9" glass pan and poured in the mixture, which fit perfectly. Remember that it won't rise a whole lot and won't get runny, so it's safe to have a small mounded portion over the top of the pan. I baked this concoction at 350 for about 45 minutes, until a knife stuck in the middle came out with only a few fine crumbs stuck to it and the edges were starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
I highly recommend serving a nice warm square of this pudding with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Anyhow... I've been busy with school starting back up and riding a new horse at the rescue, so sorry about the lack of posts! The archiving is on hold while I figure out how to keep my head from exploding during cell biology lecture. But I did make a nice bread pudding yesterday, so I'll share that.
I had made some chocolate cupcakes out of a box and was disappointed by how lame they came out (and my lack of frosting). But I still wanted chocolate deliciousness so I decided to give this a try.
Breakfast of Champions
I whisked up 6 eggs and a little over a cup of heavy cream, added some almond extract (maybe 1/2 tsp) and some vanilla (about 1 tsp) and a quarter cup of sugar. Then I tore up the 16 remaining cupcakes (Mike apparently ate 2) and stirred them in along with about a cup of chocolate chips and a can of sweet cherries, drained. Not maraschinos, not pie filling, just canned cherries I found in the canned fruit section. The cupcakes pretty much completely crumbled apart, but it came out well so don't worry about it. If you don't have enough egg/cream mix to soak up all the cupcake crumbs you can stir in a little more cream (hoorah death by dairy fat!).
I greased a 9"x9" glass pan and poured in the mixture, which fit perfectly. Remember that it won't rise a whole lot and won't get runny, so it's safe to have a small mounded portion over the top of the pan. I baked this concoction at 350 for about 45 minutes, until a knife stuck in the middle came out with only a few fine crumbs stuck to it and the edges were starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
I highly recommend serving a nice warm square of this pudding with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
My Egg Scramble Fritata Thing
Hi guys, Kuba here. Here is my favorite breakfast. I posted this on MySpace three years ago. Yay for cut & paste!
Take a large onion, sliced, and a little thyme, and sauté in butter on medium-high until onion is still a little crunchy. Make room on the pan/skillet/wok/car hood/forehead and add some more butter and sliced mushrooms. Once the mushrooms let their water out add a sliced tomato, and let it cook until it turns soft and mushy. Add thinly diced garlic, soy sauce and cayenne. Add feta and three eggs. Let the eggs cook on the bottom first, then turn the mixture over to cook the other side. Salt and pepper. Great with buttered toast with yeast flakes. Or tortilla. Try adding a little cream cheese to the tomato stage.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Frozen Dinners
Tomorrow is my last day before Winter Break ends and I am forced back into the time-sink that is school. So, I would like to make one more delicious meal to freeze for those nights when Mike's talking in Python and I'm talking in the degenerate triplet code of our DNA and we need to eat without bringing our minds back to reality.
So far, I'm made big batches of veal meatballs in sauce and beef stew, both great comfort foods that don't loose much after being frozen for 3 months. I'd really like something less meaty, or at least without cow, as our third frozen meal option. Any ideas?
What are your favorite last-minute, easy dinners? How do you cope with having no time and/or no energy to make food? What is the biggest cause of this lack of time and energy? For instance, we catch up on the Pizza Hut delivery woman's daughter's latest misadventures during our finals weeks. Mac and cheese with kosher hot dogs is our main staple when I'm working a ton and Mike has some extra time to 'cook'. Normally, we're two-veggie, lean meat, whole grain people, but life doesn't always make it possible to cook such things. I'm just curious what everyone eats when they're too exhausted to do whatever we would normally do for a meal!
And again, ideas for things to freeze?
Cheers!
So far, I'm made big batches of veal meatballs in sauce and beef stew, both great comfort foods that don't loose much after being frozen for 3 months. I'd really like something less meaty, or at least without cow, as our third frozen meal option. Any ideas?
What are your favorite last-minute, easy dinners? How do you cope with having no time and/or no energy to make food? What is the biggest cause of this lack of time and energy? For instance, we catch up on the Pizza Hut delivery woman's daughter's latest misadventures during our finals weeks. Mac and cheese with kosher hot dogs is our main staple when I'm working a ton and Mike has some extra time to 'cook'. Normally, we're two-veggie, lean meat, whole grain people, but life doesn't always make it possible to cook such things. I'm just curious what everyone eats when they're too exhausted to do whatever we would normally do for a meal!
And again, ideas for things to freeze?
Cheers!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Panang Beef
This creamy Thai-style curry is my ultimate comfort food, probably because it's what my mother always made when anyone was sick. Curry is great for digestive issues, as surprising as that may seem! Try a cayenne-free version when you're a little ill and see for yourself :-)
Unfortunately, this is NOT a quick recipe- just a relatively simple one. Still, it's worth the time and it makes enough for dinner for four, plus lunches the next day for at least 2! It's from some cookbook, but I have a xerox of a xerox covered in edits and am not sure of the original source, nor the original amounts of several ingredients...
Panang Beef (Thai peanut curry)
2-4 Tbs Red Curry Paste (Thai Kitchen is my favorite brand- in the Asian food section of almost every grocery)
2 tsps ground cayenne pepper
2 Tbs Paprika
1 tsp Coriander
¼ tsp Pepper
¼ tsp Cumin
4 Tbs Sugar
3 Tbs Fish Sauce (Again, in the Asian food section of most groceries)
2 cans (28 oz) Coconut Milk (Light is fine, I usually do one Light, on Regular)
2-3 Tbs Peanut Butter (I like crunchy)
1 lb Flank Steak, thinly sliced
1 ½ C Steamed Broccoli
(Thai basil leaves)
In a large wok or pan combine the curry paste, cayenne, paprika, coriander, pepper, cumin, sugar, fish sauce, and 1 can of coconut milk and reduce over medium-high heat. It takes about 30 min to an hour to become dry and pasty, with tiny pockets of red oil on the surface. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as needed to prevent sticking and burning.
Add the remaining can of coconut milk and reduce again for about 10 minutes, until the pockets of red oil appear again. Stir in the peanut butter then add the steak and cook through, about 10-15 minutes.
Either stir in the broccoli or serve them together. Add the basil, if using.
Serve with lots of rice.
*Curry pastes vary in heat, so start with 2 Tbs and add more in the future, if you want it hotter. If you like it mild, stick with a scant 2 Tbs. You can also add some Serrano or jalapeno peppers to make it spicier or cut back on the cayenne to make it milder.
Also great with steamed spinach!!!
Unfortunately, this is NOT a quick recipe- just a relatively simple one. Still, it's worth the time and it makes enough for dinner for four, plus lunches the next day for at least 2! It's from some cookbook, but I have a xerox of a xerox covered in edits and am not sure of the original source, nor the original amounts of several ingredients...
Panang Beef (Thai peanut curry)
2-4 Tbs Red Curry Paste (Thai Kitchen is my favorite brand- in the Asian food section of almost every grocery)
2 tsps ground cayenne pepper
2 Tbs Paprika
1 tsp Coriander
¼ tsp Pepper
¼ tsp Cumin
4 Tbs Sugar
3 Tbs Fish Sauce (Again, in the Asian food section of most groceries)
2 cans (28 oz) Coconut Milk (Light is fine, I usually do one Light, on Regular)
2-3 Tbs Peanut Butter (I like crunchy)
1 lb Flank Steak, thinly sliced
1 ½ C Steamed Broccoli
(Thai basil leaves)
In a large wok or pan combine the curry paste, cayenne, paprika, coriander, pepper, cumin, sugar, fish sauce, and 1 can of coconut milk and reduce over medium-high heat. It takes about 30 min to an hour to become dry and pasty, with tiny pockets of red oil on the surface. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as needed to prevent sticking and burning.
Add the remaining can of coconut milk and reduce again for about 10 minutes, until the pockets of red oil appear again. Stir in the peanut butter then add the steak and cook through, about 10-15 minutes.
Either stir in the broccoli or serve them together. Add the basil, if using.
Serve with lots of rice.
*Curry pastes vary in heat, so start with 2 Tbs and add more in the future, if you want it hotter. If you like it mild, stick with a scant 2 Tbs. You can also add some Serrano or jalapeno peppers to make it spicier or cut back on the cayenne to make it milder.
Also great with steamed spinach!!!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
My Favorite Cookies- the first recipe!
So, let me know how the format works...
Let's all make sure to label our posts with the recipe type (cookie), main ingredients/theme (chocolate chip) and meal type (dessert) so they're easy to search for later on.
Enjoy!
Tahoe-Tested Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, at room temp.
1 Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup White Sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp. Allspice (or nutmeg, or cloves, or ½ tsp cinnamon)
2 ¼ Cups A.P. Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 ½ C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Combine Flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together (or sift). Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed (standing mixer works best, but hand-held is fine and melting the butter and using a spoon works okay for dorm situations etc. but the cookies will be a little tougher) about 3 minutes or until light and creamy looking. You may need to scrape down the bowl a few times to get it all mixed
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined (about 30 secs) and scraping down the bowl after each one. Add vanilla and spice and beat another 30 seconds, until combined.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, either by hand or with the mixer on low, scraping down as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips, then chill dough at least one hour, until firm.
Preheat Oven to 325 F.
Form dough into ~ 1” balls, don’t make them too big now, and place about an inch apart on a cookie sheet. You don’t need to grease the sheet, but I recommend using parchment paper if your sheets are older or you often have trouble with things sticking to them. Replace remaining dough in fridge.
Bake cookies about 10 minutes, until golden and set but still very soft looking. Let cool on sheet for a couple minutes, then remove them to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in a sealed container or baggy.
*I often make this, cook a half dozen, then form the rest of the dough into balls and freeze it for later! Place the balls on plates and freeze a couple hours before tossing them all into a freezer bag and sealing it tightly. This way they won’t all stick together. When you want cookies, take out as many balls of dough as you want and cook them at 350 for 12-15 minutes, they come out wonderfully and then you don’t have three dozen cookies at once, tempting you with their deliciousness ☺
Let's all make sure to label our posts with the recipe type (cookie), main ingredients/theme (chocolate chip) and meal type (dessert) so they're easy to search for later on.
Enjoy!
Tahoe-Tested Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, at room temp.
1 Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup White Sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp. Allspice (or nutmeg, or cloves, or ½ tsp cinnamon)
2 ¼ Cups A.P. Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 ½ C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Combine Flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together (or sift). Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed (standing mixer works best, but hand-held is fine and melting the butter and using a spoon works okay for dorm situations etc. but the cookies will be a little tougher) about 3 minutes or until light and creamy looking. You may need to scrape down the bowl a few times to get it all mixed
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined (about 30 secs) and scraping down the bowl after each one. Add vanilla and spice and beat another 30 seconds, until combined.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, either by hand or with the mixer on low, scraping down as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips, then chill dough at least one hour, until firm.
Preheat Oven to 325 F.
Form dough into ~ 1” balls, don’t make them too big now, and place about an inch apart on a cookie sheet. You don’t need to grease the sheet, but I recommend using parchment paper if your sheets are older or you often have trouble with things sticking to them. Replace remaining dough in fridge.
Bake cookies about 10 minutes, until golden and set but still very soft looking. Let cool on sheet for a couple minutes, then remove them to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in a sealed container or baggy.
*I often make this, cook a half dozen, then form the rest of the dough into balls and freeze it for later! Place the balls on plates and freeze a couple hours before tossing them all into a freezer bag and sealing it tightly. This way they won’t all stick together. When you want cookies, take out as many balls of dough as you want and cook them at 350 for 12-15 minutes, they come out wonderfully and then you don’t have three dozen cookies at once, tempting you with their deliciousness ☺
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to Squirrel Kabobs!
As I said before, "It seems like everyone I know wishes they ate at home more, feels like they would save a lot of money by cooking, and yet draws blanks about what to make! I, for one, have a few easy staples, some more complicated stuff for nights in, and some massive quantity recipes I make and freeze, but it's not a lot of variety! I've been thinking a lot about typing up my favorite recipes, with the changes I always make, so I can stop making hand written copies or telling people the jist over the phone. I'm also getting a kick out of answering cooking questions at midnight over the phone for a couple of you, but I think multiple answers from multiple people might be better :-) And then I might get my chem homework done more often..."
So, this is a blog to:
- post successful recipes and meal ideas
- share pantry stocking ideas/ money saving grocery tips
- ask for and give cooking tips
- food questions, such as "I have frozen beef, tequila, and some zucchini my aunt gave me- now what?"
- talk about eating preferences and how to make them work, such as, "My sister just became vegan and I'm not even sure I know what that means!" or "I'm vegan, and my sister keeps trying to serve me omelets!"
- anything else we want to use it for, given our hectic lives and desire to cook more!
If you want to be added as a team member, put it in a comment at any point and I will add you! If you just want to follow along for a while, please feel free to comment as desired. If you don't know how to get set up on blogger, leave your e-mail address and I can help you out!
Cheers!
Amy
As I said before, "It seems like everyone I know wishes they ate at home more, feels like they would save a lot of money by cooking, and yet draws blanks about what to make! I, for one, have a few easy staples, some more complicated stuff for nights in, and some massive quantity recipes I make and freeze, but it's not a lot of variety! I've been thinking a lot about typing up my favorite recipes, with the changes I always make, so I can stop making hand written copies or telling people the jist over the phone. I'm also getting a kick out of answering cooking questions at midnight over the phone for a couple of you, but I think multiple answers from multiple people might be better :-) And then I might get my chem homework done more often..."
So, this is a blog to:
- post successful recipes and meal ideas
- share pantry stocking ideas/ money saving grocery tips
- ask for and give cooking tips
- food questions, such as "I have frozen beef, tequila, and some zucchini my aunt gave me- now what?"
- talk about eating preferences and how to make them work, such as, "My sister just became vegan and I'm not even sure I know what that means!" or "I'm vegan, and my sister keeps trying to serve me omelets!"
- anything else we want to use it for, given our hectic lives and desire to cook more!
If you want to be added as a team member, put it in a comment at any point and I will add you! If you just want to follow along for a while, please feel free to comment as desired. If you don't know how to get set up on blogger, leave your e-mail address and I can help you out!
Cheers!
Amy
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