Sausage n Broccoli Pita Pizza

Love making pita pizzas... so simple, so quick and extremely delicious !

I recently had my first attempt at homemade sausages ( Garlic n Onion ) and just happened to have a couple leftover ...  So .. I just had to try them on a pizza .

Ingredients : ( Per Serving )

1 Whole Wheat Pita 
 1 Cooked Garlic Onion Sausage ( Sliced ) 

1/4 of a Red Pepper ( diced ) 1/3 head of broccoli ( small florets ) 

1 cup of cheese , blend of mozzarella, and 5yr old cheddar ( sliced of shredded ) 4 cremini mushrooms ( sliced )
Splash of EVOO
Salt n Pepper to taste 

Crisp up the pita in the oven , 3 or 4 minutes per side at 350f 
Arrange the sliced sausage, broccoli, mushrooms and red pepper, 
sprinkle with a little salt n pepper 
Cover with the cheeses , and back into the oven on an oven safe plate 
about 15 minutes at 350F , or 3 minutes under the broiler ... 
and you are ready to eat !  

I usually leave mine in for a few more minutes as I prefer it extra crispy , however ... I was too hungry ! 

Simple, Good Food .. and the best part is its inexpensive and you can use whatever you happen to have in the fridge .

Peace , Love and Good Food
Rich 

Roasted Chicken Pasta Bake

Love making comfort foods,  not only are they delicious , but they are usually very simple and cheap .... not that I overly like the word cheap ... preferring frugal , but it seems to fit !   I even named a recipe series after it .. Good Food , Cheap !  Hahaha This one certainly fits the bill with a total cost of under $10 ... and 6 to 8 servings :))   $1.25 a plate sound good for a balanced meal ?

Ingredients : 

One Pound of Pasta ( Rotini ) 

One Pound of Roasted Chicken ( leftovers )

One Jar of Stewed Tomatoes ( homemade )  

One head of Broccoli  (small florets )
One Red Pepper ( sliced )
A Handful of Cremini Mushrooms (sliced )
A Couple of Onions  (sliced )
A Couple cloves of garlic ( minced ) 

A 1/4lb of Mozzarella ( shredded )
A 1/8lb of Aged Cheddar ( shredded )
A 1/16lb of buffalo parmesan ( fine shred ) 

 

Prepare the pasta as per the packages instructions ... cutting short the cook time by a minute or two helps with the finished dish I find :)  Assemble all your ingredients ,  and start building dinner ... pasta in first ( I use my lasagna dish )  then add the chicken, onion , mushrooms & stewed tomatoes ...   season at this point , S&P , Italian Herbs ... diced garlic :) mix it up well, and pop into a 350F oven for about 20 minutes .

After twenty minutes ..  and the cheeses and broccoli , and back into the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes .  

Ta....  Da !!!   Dinner is served :)  Just let the pan rest for a couple of minutes , before digging in ...  

Portion it out , add some garlic bread or a caesar salad if you like and enjoy !  

There you have it ...  My Three cheese Pasta bake ...   you can easily substitute any .. or all of the ingredients and make it your own dish :)   I hope you enjoy !  

Peace, Love and Good Food
Rich

Crispy Paprika Pork Skillet Pizza

Just love my latest creation ....  Mashed Potato Skillet Pizzas :)) 

So good, so easy , and I must say ..just a tad addictive ! 

It has gotten to the point where I'm making mashed potatoes just to make this,hahaha

Ingredients :

2 Cups Garlic Mashed Potato
1 cup Crispy Paprika Pork
1/3 Red Pepper , Sliced
4 Cremini Mushrooms, Sliced 

1/2 Yellow Onion , Sliced
1/2 Cup Aged Cheddar,  Sliced & Crumbled
1/2 Cup grated Mozzarella 

( Crispy Pork..   Sliced up Pork Loin .. caramelized in a pan with hot smoked paprika, butter and S&P .. simply pan fry it on low for an hour or so , stirring occasionally ) 

Preheat oven to 350F , pan can be preheated too if you like.  
Drizzle the pan with a bit of EVOO 
Use a fork to smush the mashed potato in the pan 
Start adding the toppings...   Crispy Pork, Peppers, Mushrooms ...

If your Mashed is cold, you will want to put the pan  (w/ mashed ) into the oven for 15 minutes or so to warm up .. before adding your toppings :) 

Add the Pork, Mushrooms, Peppers & Onions ... 

Top with your cheeses ..  and pop it into a 350F oven

Check it after 20 minutes ... if you like the looks of it, dig in ...   I usually leave mine in for about 30 minutes 

Thats it.. grab a towel , and take your skillet to your seat at the table or couch ! Enjoy :)) 

This recipe is part of my Creative Leftover series , any feedback would be greatly appreciated .

Peace , Love and Good Food !
Rich

Bangers n Mash

I love Bangers n Mash, not only was it one of my favourites growing up , but it always reminds me of home ( England ) , and is still one of my favourite meals today .  Now, mind you .. my Bangers n Mash dish , is not my Mums , which while delicious! Would be lacking in garlic and spice ... my two favourites :)  Hahaha  For those of you that have never had this , or don't even know what it  is ...     You are going to love it :)    Bangers are sausages , typically an English Banger is a short fat little sausage seasoned with herbs and spices, containing ground pork and bread .. but that can vary widely from region to region , fennel was quite popular when I was younger.  The name Banger , mostly got its name from WWII when rationing was in full effect and the sausages were likely to have a higher water content , causing them to explode if not cooked carefully :))
   Mash , well.. quite simply its Mashed Potatoes :) Either simple or spruced up with some garlic and herbs .. I much prefer the later ! I like to use Yukon or Russets , however any type will work , the ones shown here were white.

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 

Homemade Crusty Bread

Okay ....   Enough already , Ill write the recipe !!  hahahaha I must have had 20 requests for this bread recipe :)   So here it is :)  

I must add this has become my favourite bread of all time ...   nothing Ive made or had can beat the crunchy crust with the chewy soft interior , and as a bonus its a very flexible recipe , can be made with or without a blender with equal success.

This post outlines , my first attempt at making this , almost a year ago now ...  since then I have made well over 50 loaves , using a wide variety of flours and flavours :)

Ingredients for a double batch :)

12 Cups of Flour , can be a variety of combinations for this one it was 10 cups AP, 2 cups 12 Whole Grains  , if using Whole Wheat I use 8 AP , 4 WW
2 Teaspoons Dry Yeast
7 Teaspoons Sea Salt
6 Cups Warm Water

The rest is optional ...  for this batch I used

4 Cloves of garlic, Minced
1 Large pinch of dried basil
2 dutch onions , minced

Mix all the dry ingredients first 

Stir in water

I did this batch by hand , using two wooden spatulas , took about 5 minutes ...   A stand mixer will do the same, in about the same time ...  should be a sticky mess

Cover with plastic wrap , and leave on counter for 18 - 24 hours 

Should at least double in size over night  - At this point you will want to put your dutch ovens into a oven , preheat t 450F ( about 20 minutes or so )  

On a well floured surface , divide into whatever sized loaves you like ..  this will require a bit of effort ...  you do not want them sticky ..  

Drop the dough into the HOT dutch ovens ...  no oil required, just a hot pot!  

Cover and into the 450F oven for 30 minutes...   Just for fun I tried one in a silicone bread pan , with tin foil as a lid , remove the lids after 30 minutes , and continue cooking for another 15 minutes 

After 45 minutes ... you will have something like this !!!  Mmmmmm

This is my 6.5 Q dutch oven, makes a really nice big oval bread !  

The silicone pan worked out just fine 

Thats it ... let them cool on a rack , as long as you can , and then grab some butter and dig in ! 

Nice bonus, if done right ...  no clean up!!  Just a quick wipe of the pot!  

I hope you try this out, and come to love it as much as I do ...

Peace, Love and Good Food!

Sausage n Mushroom Frittata

I love making frittata's !  They are such a simple and easy way to use up leftovers, you can make a personal sized one  or  a quick meal for 4 or 6 people .   As for ingredients the options are endless..  for me ,  Cheese and Eggs are the only must have .. well maybe garlic too!   

This season, we have a new vendor at the Farmers Market , CrosswindFarms :) A local goat farm , that specializes in goat cheeses ..  and even sell some of the meat.  I ended up with some of their sausages... and what better way to use up the extras than to make a frittata! ! 

You will need an oven safe frying pan for this dish :)

Start off by prepping your veggies ..  Mushrooms, Onions,  Peppers, Broccoli, Grape Tomatoes ..  

Start off with the mushrooms and onions, a nice pat of butter will help out here , just long enough to get some colour on them . 

Finish chopping everything while that is happening . Bite sized is best . The Goats sausage was very good, nice texture and very meaty !
Throw whatever you like for seasoning in with the veggies, I went with chili powder and basil  :) 

Less Words, More Food 15

Love this series..    as I don't have to write up recipes for my dishes .  Which are almost always just created , never following a recipe.  Just an idea, and a pantry full of goodies.

Red, yellow and dutch onions from my pantry , garlic from my garden. Helped keep me eating locally during the harshest two months of the year !  

Love this combination , caramelized onions, garlic, butter and peas! Mmmmm

Cheese on Toast :))  Ciabatta bread with 6 year old cheddar . 

Bangers and mash, with a nice pan gravy !  

Roast Pork Sirloin , with peas in a mustard butter , and roast potatoes :) 

I was hooked on cheese on toast for a few days last week !   This time with a little prosciutto salami , and 6 year old cheddar .  

So there you have it :)) What did you think ?
Peace, Love and Good Food to all

Gardening In June

First off.  I must apologize for being so far behind on my blogging , I just can not seem to get my writing mood working properly .   Now lets get caught up :))
June is an exciting month to be gardening ... everything is starting to takeoff, and if you planned it well, you can even have a few salads , and some tasty early crops.   Radishes , lettuces, spring onions, even peas ...  plus of course the herbs.  MmmmMmmm so exciting to watch, kinda painful to have to wait for it all though !

My 1st 3 sisters plot is doing well., I should have waited a few more weeks before planting the beans though , they ended up going a little wild without a nice corn stalk to grow up . 

1st week of June,  everything is safe from frost now , cold frames have been removed... its time to grow!! 

The peas needed a little help climbing the chair.  

The maple sticks were plenty strong enough to support the peas, but for future reference , make sure they are dried!!  Hahaha they started sprouting on me.  

June is great for lettuces.. not too hot . Mmmm fresh garden salad!   I'm not very good at thinning , but am getting better .. esp. now that I just eat the thinnings. 

Basil :)) My favourite herb.   This year I'm growing most of it in containers, and only one test patch in the ground.   

By mid June ..  the peas were flowering!!  

Mid June again , my first full salad from the garden .. lettuces, radishes, onions, and a few herbs. 

I cut a large bunch of my oregano, and hung it in a breezy sunny spot to dry out.  Funny, i don't like fresh oregano, only dried. 

TOMATOES!!!  Yeah !  I will have to wait at least another month to eat them ... but I'm so very happy.   Proper spacing of my tomato plants this year , has made a huge impact on how many tomatoes per plant I'm getting .  Don't crowd them, it does not get you more tomatoes.  

June is full of flowers!!  These are Scarlet Runner Beans.  

Radishes are a great early crop,  in less than a month you are eating them!  

By the 3rd week of June , things are really starting to pick up!  The squash is starting to sprawl out :)) 

Same with the peas, by the 3rd week ... I'm eating them on every trip to the garden . 

My Bright Lights Swiss Shard is doing amazing , and tastes just as good! 

This radish was growing for  about 35 days !  It was huge :)) 

The peas finally climbed the chair :))  Will be drilling a few holes in the seat for next season ...  to let a little more water underneath . 

By the end of June , the onions I left in the ground last fall have gone to seed.  Time to clip the heads and try and save some.  

That brings us up to July !  Ill be doing a two part post for that as there is so much going on !!   I have a garden journal , so If I have skipped something , or not explained it fully .. please just leave a comment below , and Ill happily fill in any blanks!!   Either that or jump over to my Facebook page , and check out the daily goings on there.

Happy Gardening !!