Gourmet Vegetarian (w/ optional chicken and bacon) Pizza

Papa Murphy's Gourmet Vegetarian pizza is one of my all-time favourite things to eat. There's not many things that I like so much that I'd care to keep eating it even when I'm full, but their pizza is one of those things. I first started making it myself when I was living back home in Canada (because we obviously didn't have Papa Murphy's there). I've started adding chicken to it for Christopher and usually just put it on 1/2-2/3rds of the pizza for him! And just trust me about the lemon juice because it really brings out the flavours!

* Note: Chris just recently started adding bacon to his half as well and now he can't eat it without the chicken and bacon.

Gourmet Vegetarian (w/ optional chicken and bacon) Pizza

Pizza Dough:

use your favourite or see our pizza dough recipe

Creamy Garlic Sauce:

1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1 round tbsp minced garlic

This makes enough to cover 2 pizza's.

We use the Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing mix, following the directions to make 8 oz, then add the 1 tbsp garlic.

Toppings:

spinach, fresh is ideal, but frozen (and thawed) works as well

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

mushrooms *optional (Chris hates mushrooms so sadly we don't add them very often)

artichoke hearts, cut in half (I buy the marinated hearts from Costco in the large jar, then rinse and drain as many as I want to use)

1 large tomato, diced (or 2 Roma tomatoes)

1/2 large red onion, diced

2-3 chicken tenders (I usually poach the chicken and then cut them into bite sized pieces), *optional
bacon, cooked and broken in to bite sized pieces *optional

lots of shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, etc)
parmesan cheese

Hand press or roll pizza dough onto large round pizza stoneware sprinkled with corn meal. You can also use a regular pizza pan.

Liberally spread the creamy garlic sauce on the dough. Then cover the dough with a layer of spinach, then a layer of zucchini, followed by a layer of mushrooms, then the artichoke hearts, then the tomato and red onion. If you're adding chicken and/or bacon, I'd suggest putting on here. Top with as much cheese as you'd like, but I suggest lots. You can also add a layer of cheese under all the veggies if you like a lot of cheese on your pizza.

Bake at 425 degrees on the bottom rack for 18-20 minutes, or according to your dough recipe, though please note it will take a little longer to cook due to all the veggies (wet ingredients).

After the pizza comes out of the oven let it sit for a couple minutes before cutting and serving it.

And here's the trick, sprinkle lemon juice and salt on the pizza!

Enjoy!

Masman Curry - Chris's favourite meal!

I was first introduced to Thai food while I was in Thailand with our Wave of Hope project in 2005. I absolutely fell in love with it, especially Pad Thai and Masman curry! Chris took me to a Thai Restaurant on our first date after we got back together (a few weeks after I got back from Thailand) and he also fell in love with Thai food, and Masman curry in particular. I found a little Thai market near where we lived and I've been making Masman curry ever since. If you live in Utah Valley, send me an email and I'll let you know where the market is;)

Masman Curry
100 grams (1/4 of a container of the MAE PLOY Masman curry paste - it works out to be a little less than 1/2 cup)
3 cans of coconut milk, 400 ml each (approximately 5 cups)
1 cup water
5-7 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup corn, approximately
2 chicken breasts or 4-5 chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces (*optional, you can add tofu or possibly even beef if you'd like, though we've never used beef)
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar

Stir fry curry paste with 1 can of the coconut milk, once mixed through add the rest of the coconut milk and heat until boiling.

Add the uncooked pieces of chicken and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.

As the chicken is almost done cooking (probably 10-15 mins depending on the size of the pieces) add the potatoes, carrotts, onions and peanuts. Add 1 cup water (you can add more depending on desired consistency) and continue cooking until the vegetables are cooked through.

Add 1 tbsp lemon juice and sugar, and 1 cup of frozen corn. Cook for another 5 minutes and serve over rice! Be sure to taste before seasoning with salt or pepper!

* Note: This is not a really spicy curry (Jacob, who's 13 months old likes it if that tells you anything), however you will want to taste it before serving so you can adjust the flavour if you'd like. For a milder curry, you can add more coconut milk OR if you know you want a milder curry you can use a little less of the curry paste.

* Note: You can use any brand of Masman curry paste, but the one I use is MAE PLOY and it's a product of Thailand! I haven't been able to find Masman curry paste in a regular grocery store here in Utah Valley, but depending on where you live, you might be able to find it. Just know that if you try to use red, green or yellow curry paste it will be a totally different flavour!

Makes approximately 12 generous servings (includes second servings for those like Chris who like seconds).
Enjoy!

The Bomb Brownies

I'm not the biggest fan of brownies, but for some reason I've been in the mood for them lately and started looking for a good recipe online. The name of these intrigued me so I read the reviews and then decided they were the ones to make! I made two small changes and used milk chocolate chips as they're the only kind we use in our house and just mixed the dry ingredients together instead of sifting them! I also changed the name slightly... As I said I'm not the biggest fan of brownies, but these are very very very yummy!

The Bomb Brownies

1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray PAM in a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

Gradually add the flour mixture into the larger bowl and stir until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread the batter evenly with a spatula/bowl scraper.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean*. Cool on wire rack before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce.

*Note: I set the timer for 35 minutes and checked them, then cooked them an additional 5 minutes. Clean is a relative term because the toothpick won't come out clean like it would from a cake, but will be a little gooey still as we all know brownies are best a little gooey!

Enjoy!

Crepes

I used to love having crepes, but for some reason with all the other breakfast foods we make we've never made crepes...until this morning when I decided to make them while Chris was still sleeping! I don't remember where this recipe is from exactly, except that it's in my recipe book from when I was a teenager, so it's definitely old school! The nice thing about crepes is the possibilities for filling them are endless. Chris gave me a bite of one of his creations (powdered / icing sugar and a little lime juice sprinkled on top) and it was yummy! But my favourite was a little peanut butter and sliced bananas and then drizzled (as you can see) with some homemade syrup! Wow...although I was full I sure wanted more! I think the only thing I might have liked more was some nutella instead;)

Crepes

4 eggs

1 1/3 cup milk

2 tbsp oil, or melted butter/margarine

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt (*optional)

Beat eggs slightly, then add remaining ingredients and beat until batter is smooth. Heat crepe pan or non-stick skillet over medium high heat (approximately 375 degrees). Spray PAM to cover the pan. Using a ladle, pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and tip to spread the batter to the edges, making a nice round crepe. You can also use the bottom of the ladel to help swirl the batter outward into a large circle. Once you start to notice some small bubbles on the top and the edges are dry and have turned a light brown flip the crepe over and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Fill crepes with your favourite topping or combination of toppings and serve.

As I said, the possibilities are endless, but here's a few to get you started:
-strawberries, blueberries, peaches, bananas
-peanut butter
-Nutella
-yogurt

-strawberry freezer jam
-sprinke with powdered/icing sugar
-drizzle with caramel, homemade syrup, lime or lemon juice

Makes approximately 8-10 crepes, depending on how big and thick you make them.

*Note: To keep crepes soft and warm until you're ready to serve them, place cooked crepes in a baking dish with a lid or a tortilla warmer inside a 200 degree oven.

*Note: Crepes are supposed to be thin, but if you want them a little thicker, just use a little more batter!

Enjoy!

Æbleskivers

I'd never even heard of Æbleskivers until Chris and I got married. Whenever we go visit his parents in Cali or have family breakfasts together up here his mum knows she needs to make them. They're one of Chris's favourite breakfast foods (he couldn't commit to them being his favourite because let's face it he loves a lot of breakfast foods) and as they take a little longer to make than other breakfast foods we don't make them as often.

If you're wondering what they are, they're basically a Danish pancake in the shape of a sphere. Wikipedia noted that they are a cross between American pancakes and a popover. Chris's mum used to have to get her Æbleskiver pans from Solvang (a city in California that is known for it's Danish bakeries, restaurants, merchants and architecture), but lucky for you, you can get them pretty much anywhere now.

Æbleskivers
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups buttermilk *
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp melted butter

Stir dry ingredients together. Add the buttermilk, egg yolks, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Beat the egg whites separately and fold into the batter along with the melted butter.

Heat the Æbleskiver pan over medium high heat and pour a small amount of oil into the bottom of each rounded cavity. Once the oil is hot pour a small amount of batter into each cavity (almost filling each cavity). Use a skewer or fork to flip it over once the bottom is cooked and then cook the other side.

You can also drop little bits of banana, apple, or berries in the middle of each as well while you're cooking them!

They are traditionally served with jam and powdered/icing sugar, however we also serve them with fruit and homemade syrup (as pictured above).

Makes approximately 42 Æbleskivers (6 batches).

*Note: To make 2 cups of buttermilk, pour 2 tbsp lemon juice (or white vinegar) into a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2 cups. Let it for 5 mins.

*Note: To keep Æbleskivers warm until you're ready to serve them, place them in a baking dish with a lid or a tortilla warmer inside a 200 degree oven.

Enjoy!