Prosciutto Mushroom & Jalapeno Pan Pizza

Just love making pizza at home, even the worst one is usually twice as good as take out :)
Finally , after being stuck on pita pizzas for about 2 years , so easy , so quick, and the price was right at 6 loaves for $1 ...   However my real passion is for from scratch pizza , there is something rewarding about making everything yourself.

So I bought myself some pizza yeast , and dove back into it .

Ingredients : Makes (1) 12 x17 Pan Pizza

Crust - 2 cups of flour - 6 Tbsp EVOO - 1 1/3 Cup Hot Water- 4.5 Tsp Pizza Yeast - 1.5 Tsp Sea Salt - 1 Tsp Dehydrated Garlic & Basil - 1 Tbsp Sugar  ( In large bowl , mix dry ingredients well, add the wet and using two wooden spoons , mix and knead for about 6 minutes , spread out using your fingers into an oiled baking tray )
Pizza - 3 Tbsp Sauce , I used my Spicy Smoky Sweet Ketchup ( SSS )
- Two Cups of grated cheese ( I blended mozzarella and 5yr old cheddar )
One Red Onion , Slivered
6 Cremini Mushrooms , Sliced
1 Jalapeno, Sliced
10 Slices of Prosciutto Salami, cut into thirds



 

After pressing the dough into the pan , cover lightly with whatever sauce your using .
Preheat Oven to 415F

Sprinkle 1/3 the cheese
Start adding the toppings , keeping in mind the proscuitto needs to be on top to get crispy .

 

Once the toppings are on , its time for the rest of the cheese :)



Straight into the preheated oven for about 12 minutes , reduce the temperature to 350 and continue baking for 8 more minutes .  ( I should note , this is for a slightly well done pizza ) You can skip the last step and just bake for 15 minutes if you prefer a normal doneness ( Is that a word ??? Hahaha ) 

 

That is it , remove from the oven , and grab a plastic or wooden spoon to avoid scratching your pan .

 

You can stop admiring your handy work now , and slice and serve !

 

MmmmMmmm Good !

 

That's it ... this should feed 4 people for dinner , and is ready in just under 30 minutes :)
Topping options are endless , This was a particularly good combination for just 5 toppings .

Peace, Love and Good Food :)
Rich

Jalapeno, Garlic & Onion Quick Pickle

My whole life I avoided pickles... but slowly over the past year , i have been warming up to 

them , never store bought , and to date just mushrooms and hot peppers were all I was 

able to manage .. so I decided to try making my own .. turns out it was mostly the dill I 

couldn't handle , and something in the commercial spiced ones :)  

This is my second attempt at pickles ... 

Ingredients 

8 to 10 Jalapenos 

1 Large White Onion  

4 Cloves of Garlic 

1 TBS Sea Salt 

2 TBS Honey ( I used local, unpasteurized )

1 cup water 

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup cider vinegar 

2 Sterilized Mason Jars 500ml 

Step 1:  Get all your ingredients out ,  slice the jalapeno ( I left seeds in ) , onion and garlic 

Step Two : Bring Water/ Vinegar/ Salt & Honey to boil in stainless pot , add the chopped goodies .. bring back to a boil, remove from heat

Step Three : Hot Pack into sterilized jars , seal and place in the fridge for at least a couple days, a couple weeks is better :)

Step Four :  Enjoy!!!  

So simple, so GOOD!!   Over the summer I will continue my experiments ..  different combinations & textures .. and also a shelf safe version .  Stay tuned !!

Peace, Love and Happy Pickles !!  

Rich 

Spicy Shepherds Pie

I grew up eating Shepherds Pie,  and its always been a favourite of mine .   So you can imagine my surprise a couple of years ago when I found out it wasn't really Shepherds pie , but was in fact a Cottage Pie.  The difference you ask ?  Is really just the meat.   A Shepherds Pie is made with lamb or mutton, while a Cottage pie is made with beef, which is what I grew up with.  After reading that, I was determined to try a real one.  It actually took me a month just to find ground lamb at a reasonable price..  but I did and made my first real Shepherds Pie :) It was awesome !! Since then I make sure to call them by their correct names . You can make them as fancy as you like or just keep them plain and simple.   This one has a few extras , but turned out really well.  

For a basic pie, you will need :

1lb of ground lamb

2 medium onions

2 large or 4 medium potatoes 

2 large carrots 

2 cups of brown gravy ( http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/12/who-doesnt-love-gravy.html ) 

1 cup of peas

Everything else is a bonus :)  The extras 

2 chili peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

3 cloves of garlic 

2 parsnips

jar of stewed tomatoes

baby corn 

Chili Powder

Mozzarella, and cheddar 

Most of the ingredients :)  Everything is local, and half of it was organic .  

Slice and dice all the veggies into small bite sized pieces,  and give them a quick saute. They do not need to be cooked thru as it will be going into the oven.  Pour into the bottom of a lasagna pan.  

Creative Leftovers - Turkey Tacos, Jacket Potato and More

Hello everyone, Its taken a week but I'm back!! I had a bit of a disaster on boxing day , and lost my big hard drive ... and ALOT of photos, including my next 4 blog posts :(   The crazy thing is I had asked for a back up system for Christmas as my lap top is starting to die,  so I had amalgamated all my photos and music to my big drive on my desk top....  which failed while I was unwrapping the back up system :( Murphy must just LOVE me!!!  I managed to salvage 600 of about 5000 shots that were not backed up properly.   So lesson learned ,  make sure you back up weekly , not quarterly like I had been doing.

So since its Christmas time, and I'm sure your bored silly of Turkey by now, I thought I'd show you a couple of interesting way to use up the extras :)  Grab your leftovers , and lets begin ! 

You can use whatever you have on hand,   I went for my favourites .  Peppers, onions, mushroom, and a little sun dried tomato and garlic minced up together,

I like a medium chop :) 1:1  veggie to turkey ratio .

Click the link below to see the rest :)

Meat Lovers Sirloin & Sausage Pizza - Pizza from scratch 3 of 3

Pizza!!  Such a wonderful, versatile food!!
If you have been following along , you can skip the next two pictures.   If your just finding this link or page,  this is part 3 of 3 , this is a quick photo recipe of how to make pizza from scratch. 

Red Pepper and Garlic Pizza Sauce

Click here for a photo how to : http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-favourite-sauce-making-pizza-from.html

12 Grain Whole Wheat Pizza Crust ( Rolling pin optional :)

Click here for a photo how to : http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/11/crisp-12-grain-pizza-crust-making-pizza.html

Assemble your ingredients.

 For the pizza toppings I used , this made enough meat for two pizzas, so if you only making one , or don't want extra .. divide the meat quantity by two. 

• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 Mexican sausage ( approx 1/4 lb )
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 red chili pepper
• 5 or 6 mushrooms ( Use your favourite, white ones were on sale :)
• 1/2 Anaheim pepper
• 1/2 poblano pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 roasted red peppers
• 1 cup of your favourite cheese - I used Mozzarella and 6 yr old cheddar

Slice everything, except the red chili and garlic, these should be minced. 

I start the pan with a  a small hand full of onion, and a pinch of the garlic,  then add the meat.  Breaking it up with a spatula.  Cook on medium heat until lightly browned.

Save a small portion of the roasted red peppers and red onion for later.

Add all your veggies to the pan, I like to add a little S&P , and L&P at this point. Maybe a sprinkle of chili powder if your in the mood for it.

 Now is a good time to get the oven warming.  I cook slow and low, so 360F it is,  don't forget to preheat your pizza stone if using one.  Your pizza will cook more evenly. 

I like to sizzle this until the peppers are half way cooked, 5 minutes maybe . 

While the pan is on , you can grate your cheese.  I made the mistake of letting the Mozzarella  come to room temperature... made for difficult grating. 



Spread the pizza sauce over the crust, add a sprinkle of cheese , and move to the pizza stone.



Next  It's time for the good stuff,  Today I choose to pile it high!!  Try to spread it out evenly/

Once your happy with the meat and veggies, sprinkle the remaining cheese,  red onion and the roasted peppers over the pizza.  This was a meat lovers, but if you wanted to add some more cheese, it could easily become a cheesy meat lovers:)

 And into the middle of  the hot oven , for about 15 minutes. 

I like to let my pizzas sit for a few minutes before slicing. Seems to help when cutting a stacked pizza.  Leaving it on the stone will ensure its still nice and hot.

Nothing left to do now but , grab a slice and enjoy!!

Well, I hope you've found my 3 parts series on making a pizza from scratch helpful.I'm sure Ive missed a few steps in there somewhere. I was having a hard time putting thoughts to keyboard this week. So please fire away if you have any questions or comments. 
My favourite thing about pizza , is you have SO many options and styles to choose from... and almost any combination of goodies will work.  Just remember to have fun with it !  Enjoy!

Happy Cooking
Rich


Baking

Easy Chili Chicken Flat Bread - Creative Leftovers

Lost for a dinner idea?  Or just tired and not in the mood to prepare something large ? All you need some extra roasted or BBQ'd chicken ( a half a breast per person ,  or a leg or thigh each )  A few of your favourite veggies, some flat bread and cheese.  , and you can be eating great in 20 minutes :)  A little longer if you want to make your own flat bread first , but that's a post for another day ! 

Since this is about keeping it simple and easy , Ill keep the banter to a minimum and just show you how its done... 

Rough chop your favourites I chose Portobello & White Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Onion, and Jalapeno Peppers ( These you might want to chop a little finer ) there is also a clove of garlic minced in there somewhere.   

I prefer to slice the chicken , but any method will work fine.  This was a honey/chili roasted breast.

Roasted Double Stuffed Pork Tenderloins, with Roasted Carrots, Portabellos, Turnip, Red Pepper & Onion, Broccoli and Potatoes all in about an hour :)

Do roast dinners intimidate you ?  Too many pots , pans and ovens to keep track of? How would you like to be able to do everything , in the oven ?  All you need is 2 or three oven safe baking trays, lasagne pans or preferably some cast iron cookware and about 20 minutes of prep time.  The rest is simply timing.  This is something I came up with out of laziness :) For those long days , when you dont really want to cook, but know you should eat something good.  Besides,  who doesnt like a good roast dinner!  Especially without all the fuss and dishes !

The ingredients, I buy my potatoes and carrots from a local farm, so i simply scrub and do not peel them, the rest is just wash and slice:)

A little sunflower oil and chili powder for the roast potatoes :)

Next is the stuffing , I used fresh rosemary, sage , red onion, garlic,  jalapeno, chili pepper , and sea salt . 

Take your pork tenderloin , and slice almost 3/4 the way thru length wise, wash and pat dry. 



Add your minced goodness to the pockets in the pork, unfortunately I missed the next photo somehow .  But I folded the two tenderloins together . < > Over lapping each other to create 4 layers.  If you have kitchen twine or silicone straps, now would be a good time to truss it up . I couldn't find mine and just let them sit :)  Into a preheated oven @ 350F , set the timer for 30 minutes.   





 Add a drizzle of sunflower oil, honey , Lea & Perrin's , and a couple of cracks of sea salt and black pepper add them to the oven, and set the timer for 15 minutes.  While your adding the veggies, check on your pork and potatoes...



At the 30 minute mark, while adding the veggies. Check on the roast and rotate the potatoes for ultimate crispiness! 



After the 15 minute timer goes off (total cook time 45 minutes) add the mushrooms and broccoli, a little S&P, and sunflower oil.  I also lightly rubbed the broccoli tops in the pork drippings for a little extra flavour:) Set the timer for 10 minutes. 

Total cook time 55 minutes , (if your unsure of it being fully cooked, please check with a thermometer) remove the pork to a warm plate and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Check the veggies, if they are done, just leave them in the oven , but turn it off..  I tend to like them a little extra roasted , so i left it on. 

I transferred all the veggies to the pork pan, to soak up some extra flavour. Set the timer for 10 minutes and back into the oven.  On or off your choice at this point. 

After ten minutes of resting, move the pork to your cutting board.  If you like warm plates, like I do,  now would be a good time to put them in the oven.

I don't normally start by cutting it in half, but I knew I had forgotten the assembled raw pic and wanted to show the layers .  They came a part a little as I didn't tie it , but Ive got to say it worked great anyways!  Slice as you like it , I prefer large piece, and will cut on my plate. 



All that's left is to take the veggies from the oven , and arrange on a warm plate! Grab a knife and fork and a glass of red wine and Enjoy ! 

Ive got to add, the reason for the one small turnip is , Ive never liked them .. but have recently found that organic veggies are changing my previously disliked foods. So far this makes, Beets, Turnips, Parsnips and yes even Brussel Sprouts that I have enjoyed in the last month , all organic and delicious.  

I hope you enjoyed my : Roasted Double Stuffed Pork Tenderloins, with Roasted Carrots, Portabello Mushrooms, Turnip, Red Pepper & Onion, Broccoli and Potatoes. 

Happy Cooking :)

Rich

Roasting