Pizza Dough with Quinoa

I received this recipe from a friend and it is GREAT! I made it for two pizzas and it turned into 6 medium pizzas. So I froze 4 of them. I rolled them out on parchment paper then I baked them for 2 minutes. Once out of the oven, I cooled them, then put them in the freezer on the parchment paper. Once they were mostly frozen, I took them off the parchment paper and put them in freezer bags and then back in the freezer until we have another pizza night. Just remember to not make the crust too big or it won't fit.

Here is the recipe for 2 pizzas:

In a bread mixer( mixer with a dough hook)
2 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tblsp. Honey or sugar(I used agave nectar)
1 1/2 cups cooked cracked grain ( kamut, oat groat, wheat, whole millet, whole quinoa)
3 cups flour ( high gluten preferred)
2 Tbsp. yeast
Mix well. It will be a little runny. Let it sit and 'sponge' for 10-15 minutes. Then pulse to release air.

Add:
4 Tblsp. Olive oil
1 cup flour
On top of flour add:
2 tsp. salt
Mix/knead. Add flour a little at a time while mixermis kneading until the dough pulls away and cleans sides and bottom of mixing bowl. Then knead. 10-15 minutes.

Separate pizza dough into 1 3/4 lb-2 lb. balls. (I guessed). Oil outside of ball if you want. Let it relax 5-10 minutes. ( pizza will roll out easier if you don't knead it after it has relaxed.). Roll out to desired size and thickness. Place it on a piece of parchment paper. Oil if you want. Let it rise a bit. Put toppings on top. Bake at 450-500 degrees for 5-9 minutes.

Fish Tacos

We loves fish tacos but we are picky about our fish tacos.  This is the best recipe that I have found so far.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup beer ( I completely skip this step and just dip the fish in the egg and flour and somtimes totally omit this step.)
•  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 lime, juiced
• ( I usually omit the jalapeno) 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced capers
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• (I usually omit this too) 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• (I love this sauce)
•  
• 1 quart oil for frying ( I like to just pan fry my fish with olive oil)
• 1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
• 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Directions

1. To make beer batter: In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).
2. To make white sauce: In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne.
3. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Lightly fry tortillas; not too crisp. To serve, place fried fish in a tortilla, and top with shredded cabbage, and white sauce.

It is also great with sliced avocado, tomato and lime.  We can't get enough of it!  

Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Muffins

My dear friend Debbie posted this on her blog recently and so I gave it a try to give my boys a healthy yummy treat!  It turned out wonderful and smelled amazing!  Here is the link to her blog RN Mommy Blog.

Here is the yummy recipe:
Dry Ingredients:
GF Mix: 1 cup sorghum flour
               1 cup tapioca starch
            1/2 cup almond meal ( my husband has an almond allergy so I just blended up some pecans)
*When possible I try to make my own "meal" or flour. It keeps the cost low. example, buy your almonds or brown rice, and grind them up. It helps that I have a dry blade container for my Vita-mix. There are lots of contraptions you can find to grind your goods.
**I make extra of this mix and keep it in a large mason jar. I use it for pancakes and waffles too.**

6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

WET INGREDIENTS:
4 large ripe bananas (the more specks the sweeter)
1/2 cup honey ( I used agave nectar)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 large organic eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together. Pour batter in tiny muffin tins. Bake for about 30 min. (here in Utah I only cooked it for 12 minutes and it was all done) Stick a toothpick in the middle to make sure it is done. Keep in longer if need be.  Let cool for about 15 min and pop them out. They did really well in the fridge for a week. You can also put them in the freezer and eat them later.  ( I also did some in a regular muffin pan and it still turned out great)  My camera cord is still missing so this is my friends pic.:))  



Thanks Deb for the great recipe.  This is the first time that I have used Sorghum Flour and it really was yummy.  My five year old whom we like to call A-A loved them!  Next time I think I might even had some chopped walnuts and some coconut!:)

Quinoa Pizza Bites

My good friend Bekah sent me this recipe to try and it was very yummy. Here is the link to the site Gluten Free Quinoa Pizza Bites

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tablespoons dried)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, diced (the original recipe called for pepperoni so that is another option)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pizza sauce for dipping

Directions

1. Place the quinoa and two cups of water in a covered pot. Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix together all ingredients, except pizza sauce, in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (one heaping tablespoon each), and press down gently to compact.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm with sauce for dipping.

Makes 24 mini muffin bites.

My hubby loved them and my 5 year old also enjoyed them.  We had them for lunch but they would be a great snack!  Enjoy!

Granola

I have been a little under this weather this week so I have not been keeping up the way I would like but here is a great recipe for granola that I made today. I am on the lookout for other great granola or granola bar recipes so send them my way if you have any. I found this recipe at 16 and Me Blog.


Combine in large bowl:
4 cups of oatmeal  (Old Fashioned is the best)
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup of nuts (Optional)(I used peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds and pureed them so my 21 month old wouldn't choke on them)
1/4 to 1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 to 1/2 cup flax seed
1/4 cup chia seed (Optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix separately, then heat in microwave until very warm and easy to pour:
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup oil (I used coconut oil)
2 tsp. vanilla
Mix thoroughtly, spread on large cookie sheet which has been lined with cookie liners or a silicone silpat(I lined mine with parchment paper).  Bake on 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  About half way through your cooking process turn all the granola, so that it does not get to brown on one side. If it seems to be to soft remember it hardens after you take it out of the oven.  Add 1-2 cups of any dried fruit. (Appples, raisins apricots, etc.) ( I added raisins and dried apples) When it come out of the oven I like to push it to one side and mush it together so that when it cools it ends up in bigger chunks. Note: Everyone of the grains in this recipe can be eliminated or changed for another seed.  My children like it with just the oatmeal and the coconut without the seeds.  It is really good anyway you make it. (I also really enjoyed it as cereal and my son loved it in his yogurt)

ENJOY!!

A Flop

So my dinner last night Turkery meatballs with Asian Style Noodles sadly failed.  I don't think it was because of the recipe but because it was too involved when you are trying to make dinner with 3 little boys running around and cranky because dinner is not ready yet.  I learned my lesson...simple is better or give my self plenty of time to prepare it!  

Tonight is date night with the hubs.  Cafe Rio it is and I am really looking forward to it!! Have a great weekend!

What's for dinner tonight?

I am trying a new recipe tonight Turkey Meatballs with Asian Noodles. What are you having for dinner?

Northern Bean Soup

I found this recipe on 16 And Me Blog I made it last night and it turned out very tasty even though I would change just a couple of things. Here is the recipe:


Ingredients:
¼ cup butter (I used olive oil)
2 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
1 large onion 
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 breasts of diced chicken
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cans of great northern beans (Undrained) (Or try cooking your own raw beans, just follow the directions on the back of the bag.)
4 tomatos

Directions
Pre-cook chicken cut into bit sized pieces. Melt butter in sauce pan with the onion and the garlic then add to the chicken. Put all remaining ingredients together except tomato. Heat to boil, then reduce to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Tomato is to be added to each individual bowl of soup. You can also break up the cilantro and add to the individual bowls of soup as well.

Next time I will add a little jalapeno and some lime juice and my husband would prefer rice instead of beans. It is also great with some avocado on top too. My friend joined us for lunch today and she really enjoyed the soup too. My five year old said "Mmmmm mommy this soup is really good."

Homemade Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I am still missing my camera cord so no pictures yet.  But two night ago I made homemade Barbecue Chicken Pizza.  Here is a dough recipe that I have used several times and really like:

Jay's Signature Pizza Crust (found at allrecipes.com)

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar ( I have also used honey in place of the brown sugar and it works well)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

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.

I plan to try a gluten free pizza crust this month and I recently found another recipe which uses amaranth which is very yummy.  Let me know if you are interested in the recipes.  So after I made the dough I rolled it out on a piece of parchment paper and then spread barbecue sauce on top of the dough then cheese, cooked shredded chicken, chopped red onion,  chopped cilantro and I also really like pinneaple  with it too.  I then transferred the pizza and the parchment onto a pizza stone that had been heating in the oven and I cooked it at 425 for 20 minutes.  It was very yummy!!  The one thing that you have to remember when making pizza dough is to give yourself plenty of time for the rising of the dough.  You can even make the dough in the morning, let it rise and then put it in the fridge until you are ready to roll out the dough.  I also found out recently that you can make several pizza crust, roll them all out, precook the dough just a little then freeze the crust as is til you are ready to use it.  This is a great way to have homemade pizza anytime you want.:)