Supper-Time Sunday!

Homemade Ketchup

Rating: A

I have a hard time with ketchup because it almost always has high fructose corn syrup in it. Since I react badly to HFCS I usually just avoid ketchup altogether; however, I have some recipes that call for ketchup and wanted to have an option. Now I know that they make ketchup without HFCS but I wanted to try my hand at making my own. It was surprisingly easy and I had all of the ingredients on hand. It was really tasty too. I even omitted the extra tsp of sugar and just went with the agave/honey. I didn't think it made very much so I will probably double or triple the recipe next time around but I would definitely like to make it again!

LINK:  http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/06/homemade-ketchup.html

One Minute Paleo Flax Muffin

Rating: F

I'm sorry... I have made microwave flax muffins before that I liked but this one was terrible. The bread part had an awful flavor and called for WAY too much flax seed. I tried to stir it really well before baking and still had a bunch of leftover flax at the bottom of my cup. I will definitely NOT be making this recipe again. Maybe you will have better luck?

LINK: http://preppypaleo.blogspot.com/2012/08/one-minute-paleo-flax-muffin.html

Egg White Crust

Rating: A

I have made this recipe twice now in two different ways. I have no egg protein on hand so the first time I just used whole wheat flour and flax seed. I mixed it up with some garlic and italian spices and topped it with hummus, cottage cheese and a bunch of veggies. VERY delicious! The second time I used my vanilla whey protein powder in place of the egg protein and topped it with cottage cheese, mashed blueberries and peach slices. ALSO very delicious! This recipe is a keeper for sure.

LINK: http://www.oatmealafterspinning.com/2012/08/15/my-very-first-wiaw-egg-white-crust-veggie-pizza/

Healthy Homemade Graham Crackers

Rating: B-

These were fun to make but I probably wouldn't make them again. They aren't the easiest things in the world to put together and they aren't as tasty as boxed grahams. Now, I think that this can be easily fixed with a few tweaks - you can up the amount of sugar that it calls for or add other things to it like cocoa. When you cook it make sure to not overcook. I overcooked one batch and they crumbled like crazy. The second batch was much softer and tastier, especially with milk, but still lacking in something. Also, make sure you roll out the dough REALLY thin because they do rise in the oven and my second batch was more like soft cookies than crunchy grahams. Good luck if you try it!

LINK: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/healthy-homemade-graham-crackers/

Quinoa Fruit Parfait

Rating: B+

This was a tasty idea and I loved the cinnamon/vanilla/greek yogurt layer. I actually made mine with raw oatmeal and cooked oatmeal for my mom and sister. I haven't tried the quinoa but I would be willing to. It isn't the best thing that I have ever had but it was decent.

LINK: http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2011/7/20/why-you-make-extra-quinoa.html

Supper-time Sunday!

Chicken Coconut Curry

Rating: B-

We love curry around here and I was excited to try this one out; however, I didn't feel like it lived up to our curry standard as it was written. It was bland and too thin. I added 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and  about 1 1/2 more tsp curry powder and still topped my portion with Sriracha. What can I say? We like things spicy. I think that this dish has potential and my mom is going to try it with curry paste instead of ground curry powder. My husband liked it just fine and we might do it again but it definitely wasn't a favorite. 

Link: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2008/11/coconut-chicken-curry.html

Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes

Rating: C

These ones had an okay flavor but they were really dense. They had a strange texture... it was like a mix between a pancake and a cookie. Too hard. If you are looking for a protein pancake that resembles a normal pancake really closely... this is not the one for you. I won't make them again.

Link: http://www.pbfingers.com/2012/05/26/banana-vanilla-protein-pancakes/

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Pancakes (Vegan)

Rating: B

Her method for adding the bananas is CRAZY!!! They made the pancakes fall apart and they were SOOO unmanageable I was going insane. The texture is really good and very much like a normal pancake despite being vegan and the peanut butter flavor is quite strong but good if you really like peanut butter. We just topped our pancakes with bananas after they were cooked and didn't add them to the uncooked batter. I also didn't have buckwheat flour or vanilla soy milk. Instead we used all wheat flour and regular milk and just added 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder. Not vegan, but it works. :-)

Link: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/06/peanut-butter-banana-oat-pancakes.html

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Rating: A-

This is a wonderful basic recipe for pancakes. My mom didn't have baking soda on hand so we had to use baking powder and they did NOT fluff up, but we added 1/3 cup blueberries and 1 tsp lemon extract to the batter and they had an AMAZING flavor. They were my dad's favorite. I think you could add a bunch of different flavors or fruits to this one or just top them with it afterwards. We will definitely repeat this one. 

Link: http://www.everydaybelle.com/2011/06/greek-yogurt-pancakes/

Banana Chips

Rating: B-

This was a link on Pinterest that doesn't link to anything but a picture so here is the "recipe": 

Slice banana into thin chips, dip in lemon juice, and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 2 hours @ 200 degrees and flip. Bake for another 1.5-2 hours or until crisp. (They wont be totally crisp in the oven, but will harden as they cool) IMPORTANT STEP: Spray the cookie sheet with PAM

These were decent but the cooking method caramelizes the bananas and makes them really sweet. I could only eat three before they were too sweet for me. They weren't easy enough or good enough to warrant repeating for us but it is a good healthy treat.

Greek Yogurt Blueberry Banana Bread

Rating: A

Oh  my deliciousness! This one was a great one. The whole family loved it and my husband had 3 pieces after it came out of the oven. I didn't have pastry flour but so I just used normal whole wheat flour. I used agave instead of the brown sugar. And I also didn't have vanilla flavored greek yogurt so I just used my plain, nonfat yogurt and added 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder to my batter. It was just the right amount of sweet without being overly sweet.

You have to be careful about cooking it. Banana bread bakes REALLY fast on the outside and gets very dark. Mine got a little bit too dark for my liking on the outside but I was diligent about checking the inside so that it wouldn't be raw. Mine took about 55 minutes and the outside was BORDERLINE too dark. But it was still yummy and we will definitely repeat it. 

Link: http://nosugarsweetlife.com/content/greek-yogurt-blueberry-banana-bread

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal

Rating: A

This was a lovely and easy breakfast to put together for the family. We all enjoyed it and I didn't add any extras to the dish except for a little bit of cinnamon. It really doesn't require any sweetener since the banana sweetens it nicely. I didn't add the coconut oil but wouldn't be against trying it. I made mine in individual ramekins for easy serving to the family and topped with a bit of plain Greek yogurt. We will definitely repeat this one!

Link: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/03/22/banana-bread-baked-oatmeal/

Quick & Crusty Whole Wheat Baguettes

I always love the idea of quick breads. I don't often have time to wait for rolls that take hours and hours to rise and so when I come across a recipe for quick breads I am always intrigued.

This baguette recipe is supposed to come together in 30 minutes with only 5 ingredients - that is pretty amazing. Of course, I always like to make things healthier when I can so I made a few changes to get more health benefits out of this yummy recipe.

Now, you have to remember, wheat has a different texture than white bread. My baguettes came out soft and chewy and delicious. Myself and my children loved them (my husband would probably as well but he is at work...) But don't expect them to be quite as soft and airy as white bread. Wheat makes these filling and hearty and a lot better for you.

Also, using wheat will give the baguettes the classic "nutty" wheat taste. Delicious.

I state this in the recipe but I want to be extra clear - I don't think you should try to do these in just 30 minutes. The only rising step in the entire recipe is "optional" but a lot of the reviewers have cautioned against skipping it. I let mine rise for 30 minutes while I taught an early morning piano lesson. Super easy.

This recipe is adapted from The Family Kitchen. The original recipe can be found at this site here: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/21/crusty-baguettes-made-fresh-in-30-minutes/

Quick & Crusty whole wheat French Baguettes

Adapted from The Family Kitchen

Servings about 22 pieces

Nutritional Information per serving (calculated on MyFitnessPal.com): Calories 70, Carbs 15, Fat grams <0.37, Protein 3 (Calculated based on 2 tbsp honey and whole wheat flour)

• 2 cups very warm water
• 1 packet yeast (2 ¼ tsp equivalent)
• 2 tablespoons honey (I used 1 Tbsp + ½ Tbsp Stevia)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 cups flour (I ONLY used whole wheat)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven (or a warm heating pad) for ten minutes.  Stir in the salt and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough until elastic. (about 3-5 minutes)

Cut the dough into four even pieces.  Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes.  Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf.  Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf.  Transfer both onto a large baking sheet.

You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven. When you are using whole wheat flour you will NOT want to skip this step. I let my loaves rise for 30 minutes on my warm heating pad.)

Now for the SECRET: Fill a cake pan with 3-4 cups of ice.  Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then the cake pan as close as you can to the bottom heating coils.  Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. (The original recipe states that you should throw the ice directly on the bottom of your oven; however this can cause your oven to warp after a while so if you go this route be warned!)

*Hint on Whole Wheat – You might panic after the 15 minutes that your loaves are overdone because of the color. Whole wheat SHOULD be a darker brown. If you want the crusty outside make sure to watch it carefully but don’t pull it out too soon.

Serve fresh and hot with your favorite olive oil for dipping.

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I really did just say that this post is titled "Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins." And I will also tell you that they are fabulous. Moist and delicious and (according to my husband) they only taste "slightly" healthy. But guess what? They are healthy!

I had a friend ask me recently what I do about dessert. How do I manage to say no to all of the deliciousness in this world? I told her that I don't cut out dessert. But when you can find things that you can eat for dessert that leave you feeling better afterwards instead of worse, when you can find things that you can eat that are good for you and don't make you feel guilty - THAT is the kind of dessert I want! And these muffins fit into that category.

I am not sure how this girl got her muffins to look so pretty. Mine were not nearly as pretty looking as hers. But they tasted delicious. I used 1/4 cup stevia and 1 Tbsp honey as my sweetener. They tasted like a pretty rich and dark chocolate. If you used agave nectar or only honey then I think that they would taste like a lighter chocolate. I love dark chocolate and so this was right up my alley.

I would ABSOLUTELY suggest that you follow her suggestions for the chocolate chips. Don't add them all at once - they sink to the bottom of the bowl really fast. Adding them to the top later gives you an excellent distribution of the chocolate chips. What this meant for mine was that there was the infusion of the semi-sweet chocolate chips with each decadently moist bite of rich dark chocolate muffin. Yum yum yum!

I will be repeating this recipe in my house for SURE! Try it and see if you like it as well!

This recipe and picture are courtesy of some girl who posted on Tumblr from the Netherlands. :-) If you would like to see her original post you can visit this link here: http://healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com/post/6583755120/lessthan300kcal-triple-chocolate-chunk-muffin

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK MUFFIN 

Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins

From Tumblr

•  1 3/4 c oats
•  3 egg whites
•  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar) (I used the vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia (I used ¼ cup stevia and 1 Tbsp honey)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I am wondering if following these directions exactly is the reason my muffins didn't "fluff" as much as hers... I think next time I will mix together all of the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately before blending them in my blender.)

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.

Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!

Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!

Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin 

Light 100% Whole Wheat Rolls

The term "light" in this recipe title can be taken 2 ways. Firstly, they are pretty respectable on the calorie/fat gram scale as far as that goes. The original recipe lists these as 140 calories and 4.4 grams of fat a piece. You have to consider, however, that that is the original recipe which calls for half of the flour to be all purpose flour. I made these completely with freshly ground whole white wheat.

A lot of roll recipes also call for whole milk and oil in addition to the butter. This recipe has no milk, no oil and only 1/4 cup butter in the rolls and 1 egg. If you want to cut back even further, don't brush the rolls with butter.

Secondly, they can be considered "light" because they are so incredibly soft and delicious. Normally when one thinks of whole wheat breads it is automatically assumed that they are not as soft and delicious as white bread products. A lot of the times this can be the case. BUT definitely not with these rolls! If I didn't know, and if they weren't a darker brown in color, I would never have guessed that they weren't white.

Another thing I love about this recipe was that it was SOOO easy. The dough came together without any trauma and it was incredibly easy to roll out and form. I loved that.

The ONLY reason you should not make these rolls is if you don't have enough time to let them rise. They require over 2 hours to rise. Spend a Sunday afternoon working on them and your entire family will LOVE you for Sunday dinner!

This recipe is courtesy of Allrecipes.com and can be found at this site here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/light-wheat-rolls/

LIGHT 100% WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast (5 tsp equivalent)
• 1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar (or honey or other sweetener of choice)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg, beaten
• About 5 cups whole wheat flour

• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and 2 cups whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down dough, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes.
4. Grease 2 dozen muffin cups. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal portions. Roll each into a 6x14 inch rectangle, and cut rectangle into twelve 7x1 inch strips. Roll strips up into spirals, and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise uncovered in a warm place 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush again with melted butter.

____________________________________________________

Helpful hints for making rolls!

1. Visit Mel's Kitchen Cafe for a FANTASTIC tutorial on working with yeast. http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/11/tutorial-working-with-yeast.html My rolls have been SOOO much better since I watched this tutorial.

2. While letting your dough rise - if you don't have an ideal warm place for them to rise, stick your bowl on top of a heating pad set at a low heat setting. As you can see from my picture, my rolls were HUGE after doing this!

Flax Muffin in a Mug

I love finding new things to have for breakfast that are delicious, easy, and definitely healthy. I usually have "Biggest Loser" pancakes or my Greek yogurt smoothie but I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it! It was delicious. Very easy to make and filling and satisfying. Plus, this recipe is filled with heart healthy monosaturated fats - BONUS!

The recipe below is my altered recipe. For the original recipe, nutritional information and source of the picture go to this link here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=868006

*UPDATE! 4/3/12 ~ I made this again for breakfast this morning and followed the same recipe below except I added 1 Tbsp of vanilla whey protein powder. WOW! It was delicious! I think I will continue to do so. 

FLAX MUFFIN IN A MUG

Adapted from SparkRecipes

1 tsp. butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp ground flaxmeal

2 tbsp ground almonds
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 – 2 tsp Stevia or sweetener of choice

Fresh sliced fruit (optional)

Spray a mug with non-stick spray, add butter and microwave for a few seconds to melt it. Add the rest of the ingredients to the mug, stir and micowave for one minute. Be careful, if you have a 1100W microwave one minute is too long. Try 45 seconds and if it isn't done, add a few seconds at a time until it is done. (Mine took about 1:10) Every microwave is different, so you may have to "play" with the recipe.

When muffin is done, just turn it out onto a plate.

Makes 1 muffin (3 net carbs)

Banana Bread Protein Muffins

I made these twice today. The first time I followed the recipe exactly and the stevia was SOOO overwhelming. The second time I made them they were much better but I changed a lot of things about the recipe. And even now, I would still change some more things. Here is the heavily altered recipe. This recipe has potential and my baby boy loved these, but the original recipe is pretty eggy and calls for way too much stevia.

The original recipe and source of the picture are courtesy of Dashing Dish and can be found at this site here: http://www.dashingdish.com/2012/02/banana-bread-protein-muffins/

BANANA BREAD PROTEIN MUFFINS

Heavily adapted from Dashing Dish

• 1 cup ripe banana (about 2 small bananas)
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
• 1 cup oats
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• Add sweetener of choice if you wish; however, the vanilla powder makes them sweet already so use caution. I would not use more than 1 – 2 Tbsp stevia or any other alternative sweetener.
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or line with silicone or foil liners, (spray liners if using).

2. Place all of the ingredients in a blender, (or food processor), and blend until mixture is smooth.

3. Divide mixture evenly between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

(Note: be sure to use either silicone or foil liners with the paper insert removed because they will stick, as does any muffin made with oats rather than flour!)

Molly's Rolls

This is the recipe for my all-time favorite "quick" rolls. This is my go to recipe for rolls! These are so delicious I have made this recipe probably a dozen times. They are easy and come out fluffy yet chewy at the same time. I have changed up several of the ingredients in the times I have made them to make them as healthy as possible. I wish I had a wheat grinder... but until then these delicious rolls are well worth any amount of calories needed to consume them. Just try to hold yourself back better than I can and eat 1 or 2 instead of 4 or 5....  :-)

This picture and recipe are courtesy of the wonderful Real Mom Kitchen and can be found at this site here: http://realmomkitchen.com/139/mollys-rolls/

Molly’s Rolls

Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

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1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk (I just heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds and let it sit while the yeast bubbled; I recommend using whole milk because it will help your rolls to have a better consistency but if you absolutely need to cut back on fat and calories I have used skim milk before with success)
1/3 cup honey
1 package yeast(2 1/4 teaspoon)
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp applesauce
1/2 T salt
1 egg, beaten (or 2 egg whites)
flour (I ended up using around 5 cups)

In mixer combine yeast, honey, and warm water; let grow until bubbly (about 5 minutes). Add milk and mix. Mix in oil, applesauce and egg. Slowly add 2 cups flour, mix and then add salt. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until it comes away from side of bowl. Place in a greased glass or metal bowl, cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Form rolls as desired and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover again with a clean cloth and let rise an additional 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Brush hot rolls with melted butter. I made 2 dozen with this recipe.

Roasted Vegetable & Ham Pizza Roll

OH.MY.YUMMMM!!!!!!! I love love love love love this meal. We have already had this meal again since I originally made it even though it is definitely more labor intensive. But it is divine and well worth every effort. Roasted broccoli is one of my favorite things in the world and pairing it with roasted red peppers is inspirational. I wish I had step-by-step pictures for you of this one because the description can be a bit confusing but bear with me, I will explain as best as I can and if you have questions you can feel free to ask!

Oh, and don't think you have to do broccoli and red peppers. You can do whatever veggies you want on the inside of this thing. And if you want to make it meatless just add an additonal veggie and get rid of the ham.

The original inspiration for this recipe came from Mindika Moments but it has been largely adapted. If you would like to see the original post you can find it at this site here: http://www.mindikamoments.com/2009/10/ive-been-experimenting.html

Roasted vegetable & Ham pizza ROLL

Largely Adapted from Mindika Moments Veggie Bread Roll

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1 recipe for pizza dough (Jay's Signature Pizza Crust is the best)
4 oz. cream cheese (I used fat free), at room temperature
¼ C. sour cream (I used fat free)
1 t. dry ranch dressing mix powder
1 head of broccoli, trimmed to small pieces with stems mostly cut off

1 red pepper, cut into small slices
1 lb. deli honey ham slices
¼ - ½ C. grated Parmesan
 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
¼ tsp. EACH salt & pepper
1 egg white
Sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make up pizza dough to the first rising. Towards the end of your dough rising, prepare your veggies and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes. You want them to start turning dark but not to burn.
3. When pizza dough is finished rising, roll out according to recipe directions. (Mine says to deflate, roll into a tight ball, let it sit for a minute and THEN roll it out.) Spray counter with nonstick cooking spray and roll dough out to approximately 16” wide by 17” long. (This will make it the same size as a cookie sheet length wise but make it longer than the cookie sheet on the top and bottom.) Transfer to a baking sheet. The dough SHOULD hang over the sides a bit on the top and bottom. (You may need someone to help you with the transfer.)
4. Cover the dough lightly with a large cloth and let it rise for 15-20 minutes.
5. Turn up the oven to 425 degrees. (Or whatever temperature your pizza dough is supposed to bake at.)
5. While dough is rising, mix together cream cheese, sour cream and dry ranch mix in a small bowl. When the dough has finished rising, spread cream cheese mixture evenly through the middle leaving about 3 – 4 inches on each side. Top with ham slices and the roasted veggies.
6. Make small cuts in each side of the dough about 1 ½ - 2 inches wide all along the width of the pan. (This is really easy to do with normal scissors, just make sure they are clean.) Criss-cross the strips of dough over the ham and veggies, being careful not to tear your strips. It is almost like you are "braiding" the dough over the inside ingredients.
7. Beat 1 egg white in a small bowl just slightly. Brush egg white over the top of your braided pizza roll. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and parmesan cheese.

8. Bake roll in oven for 15 – 20 minutes until the crust and parmesan cheese are golden brown.

9. Serve dipped in additional ranch dressing, if you desire. (I didn’t, my husband did. J)

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust

I posted a while ago about Breadsticks and pizza dough recipe that I got from Our Best Bites that was pretty good. I have to say though, this recipe is much better. It is very tasty and bakes up beautifully. And my favorite part is that it doesn't taste so yeasty. It is so easy to make and makes 1 GIANT pizza crust. If you are interested in only 1 good sized pizza I would cut this recipe in half.

The picture is of a Roasted Vegetable & Ham Pizza Roll I made with this crust recipe. I will post about that recipe in a few days. :-)

The recipe is courtesy of Allrecipes.com and can be found at this site here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jays-signature-pizza-crust/detail.aspx

JAY’S SIGNATURE PIZZA CRUST

From Allrecipes.com

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·         2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

·         1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

·         1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         2 tablespoons olive oil (I usually use half oil, half applesauce)

·         3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1.      In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2.      Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3.      Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4.      Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5.      Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Flatbread

If you want one of the easiest side dishes in the entire world, especially good to pair with soup, this is it. All you need is some of these:

Source: here

One of these:

Source: here

And one of these:

Source: here

All you do is roll out the biscuits as thin as you can get them. Place on the griddle and heat for 30 seconds on each side. They really go fast so watch carefully. The biscuits will fluff as they cook so don't worry about rolling them really thin. You can top them with cheese, honey butter, or just serve on the side of soup. It really is that easy.

Pizza Crust

I found this fun tutorial on OurBestBites.com for pizza. I love making homemade pizza but I still want it to taste like we bought it. Little did I know that there are some secrets to making the crust that you need to remember.  Go on over to OurBestBites and check out this tutorial! The picture on this post is also from that same linked site.

What worked for me:

1. I have a pizza stone to cook my pizza on. If you don't have one, get one! They are amazing.
2. I did NOT preheat my stone. The one time I tried this my crust turned out much too crispy.
3. I did NOT roll out my dough and THEN try to move it to the stone. I rolled it right on the stone. This is hard to accomplish without someone holding the stone in place but it is so much easier to get the crust perfectly round.
4. I did prick my crust with a fork before baking and I did brush it with olive oil and I did sprinkle it with Johnny's Garlic Seasoning. I tried it once without the garlic seasoning and it made such a huge difference in the taste that I will not go without it again. (Unless I am making a dessert pizza...)
5. I did pre-cook my crust, but not for 10 minutes. Watch it carefully in the oven. As soon as it starts to turn brown take it out and put your toppings on. If you want it crispier you can leave it in longer but taking it out sooner gives it a crunchy outside with a chewy inside.
6. I used the same dough recipe as I did for the Breadsticks I made last month. It was pretty good but not fabulous. I think next time I will make Jay's Signature Pizza Crust from Allrecipes.com

Zucchini Flat Bread

I am discovering that I have a new found love for zucchini. Who would have thought I just needed to have it prepared right? FYI - boiling it in a pot of water until tender is NOT right. This Flat Bread is SOOO good that, despite the fact that it is heading towards midnight, I want to go make it RIGHT NOW! In fact, I need to pick up some of the zucchini my neighbor promised me and whip some more of this up. I made my own crust instead of spending $5 for the Boboli crust and it was FAB-U-LOUS! This is a pretty easy and straightforward recipe. Try it and you will love it!

Picture and recipe are courtesy of Real Mom Kitchen and can be found at this site here: http://realmomkitchen.com/3059/zucchini-flat-bread/

ZUCCHINI FLAT BREAD
From Real Mom Kitchen
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• 1 large Boboli® pizza crust (14 oz.)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 zucchini, sliced into 1/8 inch slices (you want about 2 dozen slices)
• 1 1/2 tsp. *Johnny’s Garlic Spread & Seasoning (You can buy it at Costco or Sam’s)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (I just eyeballed it as to what looked good)
• 1/2 of a small can sliced olives, drained

1. Place zucchini slices on a baking sheet and cook at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on these you just want to get them tender and about 1/2 the thickness they were originally. If you cook them too long they will burn.
2. Brush top of pizza crust with olive oil. Arrange cooked zucchini slices on crust.
3. Sprinkle seasoning over zucchini followed by cheese. Then top cheese with olives.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes until cheese is nice and melted.
5. Cut into wedges or squares.

*NOTE: Do you remember my post about the Breadsticks? The garlic seasoning that I listed on that recipe is the same thing as this stuff. Make your own if you don't already have it on hand!

Breadsticks

I am on a bread making mission. I try to continually improve in every aspect of my life and I love cooking so much that I am always seeking to become better at it; however, my main ambition right now is to "perfect" the art of bread products. I have already learned quite a bit about making breads but I don't plan on reaching perfection any time soon. In fact, I will probably spend my life getting a little more perfect each time.

Have you ever experienced going to a restaurant and getting breadsticks that are just to die for - so soft and heavenly that you end up consuming a half dozen or so before your waistline starts to scream in protest? Have you ever had Fazoli's breadsticks? I haven't been there in a long time but from what I remember they definitely fit into this category. I went to look up the recipe online in hopes of replicating them only to find out that they don't "homemake" their breadsticks. They are pre-frozen. Call me nerdy or crazy or whatever but I was devastated. How can I hope to attain bread making perfection when competing with machines of mass production?

So I started searching for an alternate recipe. OurBestBites.com hasn't failed me yet so I naturally turned to them. The picture of their breadsticks (seen above) looked so beautiful that I knew I had to try the recipe.

The breadsticks were great - soft and chewy on the inside and just slightly crunchy on the outside. The recipe is only for 1 dozen breadsticks and after making them I understand why. Breadsticks don't "leave over" well. They lost the slight crunch they had by the next day and were a lot more tough and undesirable. So when you make these, because you should, make enough to consume at one time.

Thanks to OurBestBites.com for the picture and recipe that can be found at this site here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/04/breadsticks-and-pizza-dough/.

I won't go so far as to say these were the best breadsticks I have ever had because the BEST ones are the pre-frozen ones that I am desperately trying to replicate from scratch - but I am continually on the hunt! If you have a tried-and-true recipe that you go ga-ga over PLEASE send it to me so I can try it out!

Breadsticks
Recipe from OurBestBites.com
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1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.

Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape over your forefinger and twist the dough. (*SEE NOTE BELOW!*) Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're close; pulling apart hot bread is one of life's greatest pleasures!

Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning (see below) or the powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt. Or you could sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.

*NOTE! I am ashamed to admit that this step really confused me in the explanation. Maybe I had a dumb blond moment or something or maybe it is confusing to you too and I don't have to feel so badly. When it says to drape it over your forefinger and twist what you are doing is putting your forefinger in the middle of the snake you just rolled so that you have two sides hanging on either side of your finger. Then take the two ends and twist them together. This will make those extra long snakes much shorter and give you the beautiful twisted look that makes these breadsticks so esthetically pleasing. I found that my dough continually stretched if I didn't leave it on the table to twist it instead of handing it in midair.

Garlic Bread Seasoning
Recipe from OurBestBites.com

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. parsley

Combine ingredients in a jar (preferably one with a sprinkle top) and shake. Sprinkle on top of breadsticks or combine 1 1/2 Tbsp. seasoning with 1/2 c. of softened real butter and spread on a loaf of French bread (cut in 1/2 lengthwise). Wrap in foil and bake at 375 until butter's melted. If you want, you could also pop it open-faced under the broiler for a few minutes so it gets brownish and crispy.