This is the first time in a long time that Joe and i have shared a uniformly topped pizza. Typically, my half has a lot of sauteed/ semi fancy toppings, and his looks a bit like what you might find on a dominos menu. I decided to give his style of pizza a try tonight and really enjoyed the simplicity of sweet peppers (Italian and red), onions, and grape tomatoes. It was especially tasty with some red pepper flakes on top… sweet and spicy.
I used the same crust recipe as usual, but left it on the sticky side while kneading. This proved to be a good thing and made it softer than usual on the inside. After proofing for two hours, dividing into thirds, and shaping one into a disc, i drizzled it with olive oil, covered it with aluminum foil (so it wouldn’t stick) and let it sit an extra hour or so before baking (as the oven preheated).
The sauce was delicious and homemade and contained:
- 6 halved and seeded cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 t garlic powder
- 1/4 t onion powder
- 1 t dried basil
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t sugar
- mix it all with an immersion blender till the tomatoes are completely crushed. Yum.
I know my plating skills leave something to be desire, but these enchiladas are undoubtedly better than last time. more vegetables and less cooking time. I made these with a side of guacamole and homemade chips, while joe prepared the dark and stormies.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion
- 1 1/2 C plain yogurt
- 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 small green pepper, chopped
- 1 C black beans
- 1/2 C frozen corn kernels
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 t oregano
- 1 t black pepper
- 1 t garlic powder
- 1 t onion powder
- 1 t chili powder
- 1 can enchilada sauce
- 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Cook trimmed chicken breasts in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. remove from skillet, shread, and return to skillet with onion, yogurt, and 1/2 C of cheese.
- stir over medium-low heat until cheese is melted. then add green pepper, spices, canned tomato, black beans, and corn. simmer for 5-8 minutes.
- Scoop a portion of the filling into a flour tortilla in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Roll the tortilla over so that the seam side is down, or on the side. Repeat with as many tortillas will fit in the pan. I always have leftover filling, but it is good by itself.
- cover the rolled tortillas with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with last 1/2 C of cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven.
Click here for Guacamole recipe.
before starting this blog, joe typically ate twice as fast as me. now that i photograph my plate nearly every night for posterity, he is nearly finished by the time i’m digging in. we first had these fajitas after a long day at the zoo in Mendoza, Argentina. The zoo was so spectacular, that even though it was 4:00 and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, it was hard to pull ourselves away. It worked out well, because by eating lunch so late, we ate dinner at a culturally acceptable hour… 10 PM!
CORN TORTILLAS:
- 2 C corn meal (i used some extra fine stuff from a Hispanic grocery store)
- 1 C + 3 T warm water
- mix water and corn meal in a medium sized bowl, first with a fork and then use your fingers. the resulting dough should stick more to itself than to your fingers.
- press the dough into approx 2 T balls.
- to flatten, place a ball between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll into a 1/16″ disk with a rolling pin (or wine bottle).
- heat a skillet over medium-low heat until a drop of water sizzles in it (not smoking, or it’s too hot). gently flip the dough disk onto the skillet and cook 1 minute on each side.
FAJITAS:
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 small head of red cabbage, 1.5 lbs., cut in half and then into thin slices
- 1 medium red onion, julienne cut
- 1 small green pepper, sliced
- S + P
- heat oil in a large skillet (same one as the tortillas) and cook garlic until fragrant.
- add cabbage and onion. saute 4-5 min then add green pepper.
- continue cooking about 15-20 minutes until all the veggies are soft. serve with black beans, cheddar cheese and salsa.
this was originally intended to be an omnivorous dish, with pepperoni, but i left think it was very tasty without. The way i made the recipe it should yield 1 (big) dinner and two lunches for two active people. It took a little while to cook, but there is so little prep time that i got in 20 miles on the trainer while making dinner!
ingredients:
- 1/2 package of gigantoni (or ziti)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small green pepper, chopped
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced
- 1 24 oz. jar pasta sauce
- 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- dash of red pepper (probably 1 t)
- 18 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
- 1 C mozzarella cheese
directions:
- combine sauce, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and pepper in medium saucepan and simmer for 1 hour.
- cook pasta al dente according to directions, drain, and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
- preheat oven to 350° and combine cooked pasta with ricotta cheese, 1/2 C mozzarella, and 1/2 of sauce in a baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.
- bake for 30 min. and let cool for 10 (perfect time to make side salad).
two skinny jenkins 