Thursday, July 21, 2011

Fabulous, Amazing Pizza Dough

I've been trying to bake new things and trying different recipes. So today I wanted to make BBQ Chicken Pizza. Uh...yum! And since my husband won't touch anything with whole wheat, I have two recipes for pizza crust that I thought we really great. The first is for regular pizza crust.

1 pkg. of active dry yeast (2 1/4 t.)
2 t. honey
1 c. warm water (I just did the hottest that would come out of my faucet)
2 1/2 c. bread flour (I used all-purpose white flour and it turned out just fine)
2 T. olive oil
1 t. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Mix until smooth, I kneaded it a bit with some extra flour. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Bake for 3 minutes. Then spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.


The second was my favorite but that is because I love whole wheat! So this recipe is for a quick whole wheat pizza crust.

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 t.)
3/4 t. salt
1 c. hot tap water
1 T. olive oil
1 T. honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt. Blend water, oil and honey. Stir by hand vigorously until all ingredients are well mixed, about 3 minutes. I also kneaded the dough with a little extra flour. Cover and let rise to desired size.

Roll/form dough to the size of pizza you want. Bake for 3 minutes to get a crispier crust. And desired toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are done.

I'm not kidding, I loved this crust and can't wait to eat it for lunch tomorrow.

For the BBQ Chicken part, we cooked some chicken in BBQ sauce, sliced some pineapple and some red and green onions. Used just a bit of regular tomato sauce on the bottom to balance out the BBQ sauce. Then added cheese, chicken, pineapple, and onions. Topped that off with some BBQ sauce then baked. It was pretty good.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Healthy Cookies

Healthy cookies - is there such a thing?  That's debatable.  But with that said, these are pretty healthy.  It's not exactly love at first bite, but they grow on you.  I really liked them and didn't feel so blah after eating 3 at a time.  They are a fun, healthy snack and would be great for after school.  I got the recipe from Trainer Momma.


Healthy Cookies

1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cup rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together.  Spoon onto cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Other mix-in options:  raisins, craisins, flax seed, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, walnuts, anything really.

This batch made 53 cookies.  That makes it 88 calories each.

I tried copying the pictures for these posts, but i can't:( sorry! It's been a couple of years since anyone has posted recipes on here & since I am copying recipes on a daily basis I thought that I would share some with you guys!!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pudding Cookies

2 sticks softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
10 oz bag peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or line with a silpat liner.
2.  In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
3.  Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, mixing to combine.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate pudding mix, peanut butter chips and marshmallows.  Mix until just combined.  With a medium cookie scoop, place onto baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cooked through.  Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring.
Makes 3 dozen cookies

I haven't made these, but they sound AMAZING!!!