Cherry Tomato Summer Pizza

If you're like me,

you planted one too many cherry tomato plants!

We eat, and eat, and eat-

but still,

there's no catching up!

Here's where pizza comes in.

It's a huge surface area of delicious dough just

begging for toppings!

Using your favorite made-it-yourself dough-or courtesy of the store,
cover with gobs of tomatoes, shredded parm, fresh chives,
minced garlic, a crackling of black pepper,
and a drizzle of your best olive oil!

Done!

And all ready to pop into the oven!

425 degrees & 18 minutes later...

Bubbly,

Cheesy,

Crispy,

Crusty,

Crunchy,

Sweet goodness.

...

Now that's summer!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Zucchini is one of my all-time favorites, and a classic preparation that never fails is fat slices sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper and served with a generous sprinkle of mozzerella cheese!  Sigh.  Heaven! 

But an experiementer I am, and as I've never tried my hand at zucchini bread before, it was my time.  Since I'm a little bit of health nut, the use of vegetable oil, which seemed to be a common demoninator in most recipes, wasn't at all appealing to me.  So I did what I enjoy best, which is to tweak things until it's to my liking!

I hope you enjoy it too!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes 36 mini-muffins

Nutritional Info (3 muffins):
211 calories; 5.5 fat grams

Ingredients

1 c plus 2 tbs, sugar
2 large eggs

1/4 c plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 c applesauce

2 tb unsalted butter, softened

2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbs dutch processed cocoa powder

2 medium zucchini, shredded and strained of excess moisture

1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pam Cooking Spray

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini-muffin tray generously with Pam Cooking Spray.

Trim the squash on both ends and grate in it's entirety.  Place the zucchini in a fine mesh sieve and squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can.  Toss the squash with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and place in the strainer over a bowl for 15-20 minutes to draw out any additional liquid.  Squeeze the zucchini once more and then set aside. 

 In a mixer and usig the paddle, set to low and cream the sugar, eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together and then slowly incorporate into the wet ingredients.

Add the zucchini and the chocolate chips and mix on medium for several minutes.

{Resist the urge to lick!  But I don't always!}

And place approximately two tablespoons of batter into the mini-muffin tins, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately nine minutes.

Enjoy!

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I love chocolate!
And this recipe, tweaked from Cooking Light, pairs bananas and chocolate in an irresistible way!

Here's a quick tip for you: 
Make a double or triple batch and freeze the finished product in your freezer.  After a quick defrost, this bread is piping hot and just as fresh as when it popped out the oven! 

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Nutritional Info (one slice):

Calories: 183; Fat: 4.7 g 

Makes one loaf, 18-20 muffins, or 32 mini-muffins.

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c sugar

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c ripe bananas, mashed (about three whole bananas)

1 large egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute*

1/2 c plain low-fat or fat free yogurt*

1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

*I use a whole large egg and fat-free yogurt
(non-fat vanilla yogurt is excellent too!).

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place the sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about one minute).  Then add the banana, egg, and yogurt and beat until blended.  Add the flour mixture and beat at a low speed just until moist.

Place the chocolate chips in a a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Add one cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

{Loaf Pan}

Spoon the chocolate batter alternately with the plain batter into a 8 1/2 x 4/1/2 inch loaf pan coated with the cooking spray.  Swirl the batters together using a knife and bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out just clean.   Be careful not to over bake!

{Muffins}

If making muffins, gently fold the chocolate mixture back into the plain batter, and use a knife to swirl the batters together.  Then, spoon the batter into a muffin pan sprayed liberally with Pam, and bake as directed above for approximately half of the cooking time.  Note:  The mini-muffins will cook even faster, at approximately 12-15 minutes (oven times will vary).

Cool the loaf for ten minutes in the pan on a wire rack, and then remove from  the pan.  For the muffins, cool for just a few minutes in the pan before removing (I find that they stick if you leave them in longer).  Once on the rack, cool slightly longer and then serve!

Enjoy!

Heart-shaped Three Cheese Pizzas

These beauties are a hit with kids, and are perfect for Valentines Day, or really any day you want to share the love!  If your looking to spend some quality time with the kiddies too, nothing beats letting them help "shape" or "top" their pizzas!

Heart-shaped Three Cheese Pizzas 
Prepares:
Six personal pizzas

Ingredients

 1 lb. Pizza Dough

3/4 c. warm water

1 Tb. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. yeast

Note: The dough can easily be doubled in size!

Pizza Toppings

Zesty Marinara Sauce, prepared

2% Shredded Mozzerella

2% Finely Shredded Italian or Mexican Blend

Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1 Tb. corn meal

Directions

Using a bread machine, add all ingredients for the pizza dough into the bread pan and set on the "dough-only" cycle.  This should run for approximately 90 minutes.

When finished, place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into equal portions.  Using your hands, stretch and mold the dough into individual heart-shaped pizzas.

Place the pizzas on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal and top with sauce and your blend of cheeses.

Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes in a 425 degree oven and
bask in the cheers from your happy children!

Greek Pita Bread

I can't describe how delicious these are! 

Aside from cutting them in triangles and serving them alongside traditional Greek fare,

my favorite way to use them is as a basis for mini-pizzas. 

400 degrees for 4-6 minutes and...

perfection!

Greek Pita Bread 

Serves 6 
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients 

1 envelope of dry yeast
2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups white all-purpose white flour

1 1/2 cups water

 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions 

Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of the warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes to proof and ferment it.

Dissolve the salt in the remaining warm water.

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, making a well in the middle and put the dissolved yeast and salt water into it.

With your hands, blend it into a dough.

You may need a bit more or less water depending on your flour.

Knead the dough in the bowl with your fists for 10-15 minutes or until it is smooth.

Pour the oil over the dough and knead it again until the oil is absorbed.

Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel and set it in a draft free area to rise to double it's bulk (1-2 hours), then punch it down and knead it again for a few minutes.

[Note:  If you're short on time, set dough-as prepared above-in a 200 degree oven with the door propped open for 15-20 minutes.  The dough should rise quickly, allowing you to proceed with the recipe.]

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cut pieces of dough, egg size or larger, depending on the size of the pita desired, shape them into balls with your hands and roll them out over a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to 1/4 inch thickness.  Try not to overwork the dough.

Set 2 or 3 pitas on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake on the lower rack for 2 to 3 minutes each side. 

Pitas should be white and soft with several toasted spots.

Wrap the baked pitas in a clean towel until they are cool, then store them in plastic bags to prevent them from drying out.  

When you are ready to use them, re-heat for 30-seconds in the microwave.  For crispy pitas, spray PAM into a shallow skillet and toast for a minute or so on each side, until golden brown.

Serve immediately to prevent them from drying out.

Nutrition Facts (1 pita): 

334 calories; 3.1 fat grams  

 

 

Yeast: The Bane of my Existence...or is it?

I have always been intimidated by yeast. No matter what the recipe, if it involved yeast one of two things would happen: 1) I would try the recipe and it would go horribly wrong, or 2) I would opt to avoid trying it all together!

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, Samuel's mom makes incredible homemade rolls using...what else? Yeast! And if it weren't for the fact that these rolls are AMAZING, I would have given up long ago.

Well, it's been approximately 8 years now, and finally, finally I can declare:

The Yeast...

has...

RISEN!

Mom's Famous Rolls

6-8 cups of flour

6 tbs sugar

3 packages of instant yeast (approx. 2 1/4 tsp. per pack)

3 tsp salt

3 tbs vegetable oil

3 cups hot water

Mix dry ingredients in a mixer using the bread hook, reserving 1-2 cups of flour.

Incorporate wet ingredients slowly.

Resulting mix should be a soft not sticky dough. Add additional 1-2 cups of flour as necessary.

Place dough in a bowl and allow to rise until it's double in size.

Punch down and divide into equal pieces and place in a buttered or oiled 13" x 9" pan, and allow to rise a second time.

Place in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Oven time may vary.

Butter tops immediately after coming out of the oven.

Remove from pan, separate rolls when cool enough to handle, and place on a cookie sheet.

Best if served immediately.

Store leftovers in a air-tight container.