Taco pizza

I was craving taco pizza from Happy Joe's in Iowa City. Yeah, I don't live there anymore, but it is quite amazing. So I did what any resourceful cook would do- I made it myself...but a bit healthier and faster than waiting for dough to rise.

First I made a no yeast wheat crust.

1 1/2 cups regular whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and knead by hand in bowl for about 2 minutes.

Place onto baking sheet and press out into desired shape (thinner crust works better for this recipe).

Bake for 5-10 minutes (depending on how thick it is).

While this was baking I made the taco meat- 1 lb of really lean ground beef with taco seasoning.

Take it out, add sauce and toppings, then bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until toppings are cooked and edges of crust are lightly browned.

For the sauce I used 3/4 of a jar of pizza sauce, then 3/4 of the cooked meat an then 3/4 of a bag of Mexican cheese.

After baking, I put crunched tortilla chips, shredded lettuce, Jacks med hot salsa, diced Roma tomato, and a splash of cheese for the final touch.

Mmmmmm.

The crust is not crispy, but softer. Still delicious!

The Spice of Life

Talk about a must have!

These are my three main spice areas. I also have a spice rack on the counter. (and leftovers from an old spice rack!)

Spoiled with spices? Yes, please! I have 3 on my list to replace!

Chili

I have only made chili one time via a recipe on allrecipes.com. I wanted to make my own chili for the super bowl... So here is what I did:
1lb beef, 1 lb pork, 29 oz tomato sauce, 1 can kidney beans with juice, 1 can diced tomatoes with green Chilies and juice, 1 can chili beans with juice, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 2 browned onions, 2 jalepenos peppers with some seeds, 1 c water.
3T chili powder, 1T oregano,1T red pepper flakes, 1T ground cumin, 1 T ground coriander, 1 tsp paprika, 1 T salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper. 3 T minced garlic.

First in 1T of oil brown onions about ten minutes. Add garlic. Brown both meats. Add tomato sauce, water, kidney beans and chili beans.
Pour into crock pot. Add all spices and vegetables and cook on low 6-8 hours.

To spice it up add Louisiana hot sauce! Serve with sliced green onion, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips!

Cookbook addict

John and I went shopping on New Years Day. Went to Office Max... Got some new pens, highlighters, and a plastic mat for my chair.

The highlight of the trip was a Bargain Book! There was this bin of books. All marked down.

I found a cook book from a restaurant called Union Street Cafe in New York. I was thrilled! It said $7.99 on the tag.

We were checking out and it rang up for $2. Seriously!

I've already made two delicious salads.. Can't wait to try more recipes!

Ripe bananas?

Do your bananas always get extra brown/ripe and you don't know what to do with them? I had this situation this morning and the hubby said- make something with them! :)

So, here is a quick breakfast recipe for delicious banana pancakes! And, they are only 180 calories per pancake!

ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar and 1 tsp
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Quick hint- put the bananas in a ziplock bag and mash in there and add to the wet mixture.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. The mixture will be lumpy.

Heat a pan with some vegetable oil over med-high heat. Use 1/4 C for each pancake. This recipe should make 6-8 pancakes. Enjoy!

New Years Eve Dinner

Happy 2012!

I got a Carrabbas's Italian Grill cookbook for Christmas, so I decided to try it out and make some Chicken Marsala and spaghetti with a tomato sauce for NYE dinner. The process took about 3 hours, but I made everything from scratch and it was delicious!

First you have to make a grill seasoning and grill baste. (both you can use later for future dinners!)

Next, start the tomato sauce and the Marsala sauce.


Last, cook the noodles and chicken and bring the whole meal together, yummmmmmm.

Julia Child

Well, John & I saw the movie, Julie & Julia, in December... after watching that movie, I HAD to have the cookbooks.. it was a nice Christmas present! :) Got volume I and volume II! YAY!

So... we needed to use up some cabbage... John and I have been eating a lot more vegetables and I didn't want the cabbage to go to waste.. SO I made my first Julia recipe.. that's right on SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

For a quick appetizer we had a Cheddar Ball, courtesy of our local Kingma's Market..www.kingmas.com. Then I made a Chipotle like guacamole! YUM YUM! I just did a search in google for "Chipotle Guacamole" it was yummy! Go to www.chipotle.com if you want more information.

Anyway, here is what I made and the soup is delicious!
Soupe Aux Choux-Garbure (Main-course Cabbage soup)

3 1/2 quarts water
3-4 cups peeled, quartered "boiling" potatoes
A 1 1/2 pound chunk of lean salt pork, lean bacon, or smoked, unprocessed ham (I USED BACON)

Place the water, potatoes and meat in the kettle and bring to a boil.

2 lbs of roughly sliced cabbage
8 crushed peppercorns or a big pinch of ground chili peppers (I used chili powder)
Salt as necessary, near the end
6 parsley sprig tied with 1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp thyme
4 cloves mashed garlic
2 medium onions studded with 2 cloves
2 peeled, quartered carrots.

Optional additions: 2-4 peeled, quartered turnips
2-3 celery stalks (*I used this!)
1-2 cups fresh white beans, or half-cooked navy beans, or add canned white or red beans to soup 10 to 15 minutes before end of simmering.

After the water, potatoes and soup were to a boil. Add the cabbage and all other ingredients. Simmer partially covered for 1 1/2 hours- 2 hours or until the meat is tender/ Discard parsley bundle. Remove the meat, slive it into serving pieces and return it to the kettle. Correct seasoning. Skim off accumulated fat.

* If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered. Reheat to simmer before serving.

Serve in soup plates with hard-toasted French bread.

DELICIOUS! :)