Cast Iron Veggie Pizza

It's no secret that I love pizza. One of my first cooking memories was making pizza with my mom when I was about 7 years old. In high school I worked at Fuzzy's Pizza where I worked my way up to assistant manager! Wow! When I was single and teaching, I used to make a big veggie pizza on Sunday and take it for lunch throughout the week. I have tried about a million pizza dough recipes, both regular and whole wheat. They were all just ok but I had yet to find one that reminded me of the dough at Dolce Vita. My friend Susan mentioned that this one was amazing...she was right! I think we have a winner!

I have always baked my pizzas in the oven but grilling pizza sounded very interesting. We don't have a grill available to us so I decided to get creative and use my cast iron skillet.

I really like to pile on the veggies but Peter hates broccoli on pizza so I left it out this time. I kept it simple with some tomatoes, green bell pepper, garlic and mushrooms. I don't like sauce on my pizza but you could certainly add your favorite sauce and it would still be yummy!

Vegetable Pizza
1 medium ball of pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 thin slices tomato- enough to almost cover the dough's surface
5 thin slices of green bell pepper
1 cup button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded


Generously coat cast iron skillet with non-stick spray and place over medium heat. Coat your hands in olive oil and press the dough into a circle covering the bottom of the skillet. Watch the dough carefully and use a spatula to check occasionally. When the dough starts to firm up but before it begins to brown, add the pizza toppings to the dough. Continue to check the dough approximately every 45 seconds. When it has reached desired doneness, remove from the skillet.

I placed my pizza under the broiler for about a minute just to fully melt the cheese.

Spinach Lasagna

Recently we realized that we eat out way too much, especially on the weekends. We have gotten into this bad habit of eating out Friday through Sunday. While it has been fun, it's not exactly figure friendly. In an effort to eat in more on the weekends, I have decided to make one freezer meal every other Monday so we can eat leftovers on Sundays. I have been wanting to try a spinach lasagna for a while. When I was single, I would often stop at Central Market to pick up dinner. They had an amazing spinach lasagna in the prepared foods case. It was amazing!

I found this recipe from a simple Google search and while not exactly like the Central Market version, it was pretty close! I think next time I will substitute a white sauce for the tomato sauce just to try something new!



Spinach Lasagna

20 lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups fresh spinach

3 cups ricotta cheese

2/3 cup grated Romano cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 cups tomato pasta sauce

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach.

Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Lay 5 lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 416 | Total Fat: 16.5g | Cholesterol: 63mg

Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Balls and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

One of the side effects of cooking for the blog is that my kitchen in now full of random food. I have tried so many new things that I am left with the remnants of meals gone by. I decided that this week I would only cook from what I already have. It will be nice to make space again in the pantry plus it forces me to be creative!

I found half a bag of whole wheat penne pasta, some sun dried tomatoes and half a log of goat cheese. I still have some basil leftover from last week so I figured I could come up with something yummy! The roasted cherry tomatoes were an afterthought but I felt like the pasta needed something on it besides the goat cheese. Once again, I purchased nothing new for this meal! Peter really liked this dish and requested that I add it to the regular dinner rotation!

Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Balls
1/2 log goat cheese
1 ounce sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil


Add the sun dried tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes in a small food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a shallow bowl and mix with the breadcrumbs. In another bowl, beat the egg and add a tablespoon of water to form an egg wash.

Form the goat cheese into approximately 20 balls, about 1/4 inch in diameter. Dip each ball in the egg wash, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Coat a non-stick pan in 1/2 inch of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the goat cheese balls for two minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel covered plate until ready to serve.



Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
pepper

Wash the tomatoes and set aside. Coat a non-stick skillet in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for three to five minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, forming one layer over the bottom. Season with salt and pepper. After about five minutes the tomatoes will begin to pop so you may want to cover the skillet. After all of the tomatoes have popped, remove from the skillet and serve warm.

Penne a la Vodka

Last Friday Peter and I finally ate at Carmine's on Penn. He had been going on and on about this restaurant for so long that my expectations were very high. I did not leave disappointed! They serve family style portions so we definitely ate too much but it was so worth it. My favorite dish we ordered was the ravioli a la vodka. This reminded me of all those dinners with Susan at Grotto in Houston so I decided to try my own vodka sauce.

I did a little variation on this back in December so I only had to make a few adjustments for the vodka sauce. It turned out really well and Peter's only complaint was that it was a little runny. So, I made a few changes to the original recipe which will hopefully keep it from being too runny.

Maybe for my next pasta entry I will try to recreate the delicious ravioli di mare from Grotto...

Penne a la Vodka
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, drained, half the liquid reserved
1 pound penne pasta
1/2 large yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped basil
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Boil the pasta according to the cooking directions, set aside.

Puree half the tomatoes until smooth. Dice remaining tomatoes and combine with the reserved liquid. Heat oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste and onion. Saute for about two minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for one minute. Stir in the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Remove from heat, add vodka, return to heat and simmer for ten minutes. Slowly add the cream and basil, stirring continuously.

Combine with the pasta, top with fresh parmesan if desired and serve!

Product Review: Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders

Once upon a time, I was a vegetarian and I loved it. Then I met and married a man who MUST have meat at every meal. I abandoned my vegetarian ways and began eating meat again. I do love a rare steak but recently I have thought about going veggie again. I won't do it one hundred percent until I have this baby, so in the meantime I am easing my way back into the vegetarian lifestyle I used to love.

I recently noticed the Gardein brand at Whole Foods and on the menu at The Yard House. I decided to give them a whirl, having been disappointed with other faux meat brands in the past. Peter was out for a business dinner tonight so I used this as an opportunity to try these plant based tenders.

The result? OMG, I'm in love. They tasted amazing and were super easy to prepare, just twenty minutes in the oven. I honestly could not tell the difference between these and your traditional chicken strips. I will definitely buy them again and perhaps slip them into the rotation and see if Peter notices a difference!

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Marinara

Thanks to Mike and Cindy, I am the proud new owner of a new pasta maker! I decided to try it out but I had a hard time deciding which type of pasta to make. I have done the goat cheese thing and I hate marscapone, so I settled on ricotta. I searched for a yummy recipe but in the end I went with what I like. I kind of just made this up as I went along and it turned out great! I also had a new, smaller ravioli stamp. Now I don't always have to make the GIANT raviolis!

I know I have posted a pasta sauce recipe before, but I wanted to try something different. The other one is still very good but also very time consuming to make. This one only takes about thirty minutes from start to finish and is just as delicious! Peter said he still likes the other one better but he's not the one spending hours in front of the stove so sometimes he will have to deal with the easier version!

For the pasta dough recipe, please see this post.

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli
1 1/2 cups chopped spinach, thawed, patted dry
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Just before it begins to smoke, add the mushrooms and saute for ten minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook for three minutes.

Move the mushroom and spinach mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until course. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms and spinach with the ricotta and parmesan reggiano. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly.


Homemade Marinara Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

In a medium stockpot, heat the olive oil, add the onions and simmer until translucent, five to ten minutes. Add garlic and simmer for one minute. Add wine on high heat and cook until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, parsley and salt and pepper for three minutes. Simmer fifteen minutes.

On one half of the pasta dough, drop a teaspoon of the filling, 2 inches apart. Fold over the other half of the dough, like a blanket. Press air out of the pockets. Use knife, or ravioli stamp, to cut into squares. Crimp edges with fork, unless you have used a stamp. Brush ravioli with egg wash. Dust ravioli and sheet pan with cornmeal, lay out to dry.

Bring 3 quarts of salted and oiled water to boil in a large pasta pot. Add three or four ravioli at a time, as not to crowd them, and cook for two or three minutes. Remove, plate and cover in a foil tent until you have finished cooking all of the ravioli.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

I LOVE tomato soup. My favorite store bought soup is the Pacific brand. I like to add a dash of red pepper flakes and a sliced clove of garlic. It's the perfect lunch!

A few months ago I decided to try making my own tomato soup. I did a lot of research, tried a few recipes and finally settled on this version. It is easy to make and perfect on a cold night!


Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
1 1/2 pounds roma tomatoes
1 can (14 ounces) peeled tomatoes, whole
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 quart chicken stock (I like the Pacific low-sodium kind)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss roma tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread in one layer on baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes.

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute onions, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, butter and red pepper flakes until onions begin to brown. Add canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. Add roasted tomatoes with liquid and bring to boil. Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Use an emulsion blender to blend the remaining tomato chunks. Garnish with fresh basil.

Goat Cheese, Arugula and Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Pasta Sauce

For the longest time if you asked Peter what his favorite dinner was he would have chosen avocado quesadillas. About a month ago I tried making ravioli and pasta sauce from scratch and the rest was history. After one bite Peter declared that the avocado quesadillas (while still very yummy) were no longer his favorite dish. We had a new champion.

I won't fool you, this is a very time consuming dinner to prepare. You need a few hours to spare in the afternoon in order to get everything done. Once I have my new authentic Italian pasta press (thanks to Mike and Cindy) the process will be much faster. For now, I am still rolling the pasta dough by hand. It's not bad exercise for your arms! I'll be buff in no time!

A big plus about this dish, beside the fact that it's delicious, is that it is very budget friendly. I have most of the ingredients on hand at all times. So, you spend more time making dinner but spend less money. It's a trade-off, I guess.

I like to stuff my ravioli with goat cheese, arugula and mushrooms but you can certainly experiment and try something new. I cut rather large ravioli so this recipe makes 8 large raviolis, 4 per person.

Goat Cheese, Arugula and Mushroom Ravioli
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, plus 1 for wash
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cornmeal, for dusting
1 log goat cheese, softened
1 cup arugula, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped

Combine flour and salt on work surface and shape into a mound. Make a well in the center and add eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Beat with fork. Gradually draw flour in circular motion and continue until ball forms. Cut ball in half, cover. Roll until paper thin, about 1/8 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut into a rectangle. Brush egg wash (1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, beaten) over the entire pasta rectangle.

In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, arugula and mushrooms. Mix thouroughly.

On one half of the pasta dough, drop a teaspoon of the filling, 2 inches apart. Fold over the other half of the dough, like a blanket. Press air out of the pockets. Use knife, or large ravioli stamp, to cut into squares. Crimp edges with fork, unless you have used a stamp. Brush ravioli with egg wash. Dust ravioli and sheet pan with cornmeal, lay out to dry.

Add the ravioli to pot of boiling water. Cook until al dente, about 4 minutes, or until the pasta floats and is pale in color.

Top with pasta sauce and remaining filling. Serve warm.

Pasta Sauce

1 large can (28 ounces) peeled whole plum tomatoes, San Marzano style, drained and chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 tablespoons chicken broth

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 sprig thyme

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

salt

black pepper

In a large pot (I use this one) over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and yellow onion until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and thyme. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and let simmer, 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomato paste. Boil, reduce 1/3 volume. Add cream and cook until thick. Add butter, remove thyme sprig and keep warm until ready to serve.

Green Eggs

I'm not going to lie...I don't like most breakfast food but I am married to someone who LOVES breakfast. This is a take on one of P's favorite dishes from our old haunt in Houston, Baby Barnaby's. We are still looking for our favorite breakfast spot here in Denver so in the meantime P will continue to enjoy my version of his beloved Green Eggs!





Green Eggs
serves one

2 large eggs, beaten with fork
1/2 cup jarred artichoke hearts, chopped
1 handful spinach
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

In nonstick skillet melt butter over medium heat. Saute the jalapeno for about one minute. Drop handful of spinach on top and wait until it begins to wilt. Add the artichokes and mix for about a 30 seconds. Add the eggs and scramble. When eggs are thouroughly scrambled and mixed with the jalapeno, spinach and artichoke hearts remove from heat. Sprinkle with the monterey jack cheese and serve warm.