Bread

We ran out of sandwich bread, so I decided to try making it in the machine (which may or may not be broken). I found this recipe, and gave it a whirl.

I used 1/2 c of whole wheat flour, and olive oil instead of vegetable. I think I forgot to add salt.

It's still cooking, but it looks great and smells really good too!! Pictures and an update soon!

Stuffed Pizza Pie

I saw this on Lauren's blog the other day, and as I was browsing for something to make for dinner today, this is what struck my fancy.

I went to the store and looked at the pizza dough, but it looked icky. Making the dough in the bread machine is so EASY, it was worth having dinner a little on the late side.

I used one bag of spinach, but it seemed like a LOT, so I didn't end up using it all. Next time, I'll save it and make spinach and strawberry salad as a side. I did toss some garlic in with them as I sauteed 'em.

Also, I forgot about the tomatoes, which are probably very necessary. I think I would have liked this a LOT more with them in there. It was a little confusing because the recipe didn't mention them but DID mention roasted red peppers. Luckily, though, I didn't start chopping them so they didn't just go to waste.



And, like Lauren's son, mine went nuts for this. Since we ate so late, we chose to eat *gasp, shock, Bad Mommy Role Model Alert* on the couch in front of the tv and The Boy. Which makes for easy begging for The Boy. I couldn't believe that he ate up the broccoli and the spinach, but he seemed to love it, as well as the dough. KEEPER!!

Pictures coming soon.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz whole wheat or white pizza dough
• 1 Cup ricotta cheese
• ¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (dried or fresh)
• 2 Cups fresh broccoli florets, steamed until fork tender, about 3 minutes in boiling water
• Pinch of salt
• ½ Cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 ½ Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Spread and press one piece of dough into the bottom and sides of a 9-9 ½ inch round baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta and parmesan cheese until well combined. Spread into pressed pizza dough.


2. Place olive oil into a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute spinach until wilted down, about 3 minutes. Place evenly over ricotta cheese layer, and sprinkle garlic on top. Place steamed broccoli florets over spinach and season with a pinch or two of kosher salt. Layer roasted red peppers, then mozzarella cheese over top. Press out remaining piece of dough and place over filling, tucking edges inside of pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cooked through.

3. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan or cutting into wedges.

Whole wheat pizza, AGAIN.

I made my recipe for whole wheat pizza last night. We ended up not having it then, so I Saran Wrapped and then left it in the fridge over night.

I usually only use half the dough, but this time I figured I'd use the whole thing because it usually tears on me.

SUCH A GOOD DECISION. It was the perfect size to fill my pan and the crust was just perfect. It looked and tasted like a DiGiornio... certainly not as good as a takeout, but cheaper than a frozen.

I just raided my fridge for some veggies and toppings and used yellow peppers, canned mushrooms, and a tomato. YUM!!

Sally Lunn

Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook...coming soon.

This was a really rich and buttery bread. It reminded us of croissants in that respect. I don't know what this bread would be good for as a result, unless it was eaten for breakfast with some jam. I made it to go along with the broccoli soup, and it just wasn't a great pairing.

The man wanted to eat it with some butter, though. I told him that there wasn't almost a whole stick of butter in the bread, so that was probably not a great idea.


In short, it was good enough, but not something I will probably make again.

Parmesan Sun Dried-Tomato Bread

From Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook

1 c plus 2T water
3c Bread Flour
1/2c shredded Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 cloves crushed garlic
2T sugar
1t salt
1-1/2t dried oregano
2t quick active dry yeast
1/3 c sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil), drained and coarsely chopped

1. Measure carefully, placing all ingredients except tomatoes in bread machine pan. Add tomatoes at the Raisin/Nut signal.
2. Select Basic/White cycle. Use medium or light crust color. Do not use delay cycles. Remove baked bread from pan, cool on wire rack.

This was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. I completely missed the raisin/nut signal, so the tomatoes didn't get added. Next time I make this, I will probably use the light crust setting--the crust was a bit hard for my liking.

Otherwise, it wasn't bad for my very first bread. I'm also happy to be giving the bread machine some use.

Whole Wheat Pizza

Original recipe here

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Breadman TR2828 Instruction Manual

¾ cup water, 80 degrees
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ¾ cups bread flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp active dry yeast

Makes 2 (12-inch) crusts

Use Dough mode and 3 Pizza Menu

1. Divide dough into 2 parts. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat dough into a 12-inch circle. Place on a greased pizza pan.
2. Spread/sprinkle with favorite pizza toppings. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes or until toppings are bubbling and/or melted.

My husband decided when we were creating our bridal registry that a bread machine was a necessity. I disagreed and saw no reason for it, but he wanted it, so on the registry it went. Lo and behold, one of his relatives gave it to us as a gift! Two years later, and I think four or maybe five loaves have been made. So when I saw a recipe on one of my favorite blogs for bread machine pizza dough AND it was made with whole wheat, I figured I'd give it a go.

It turned out to be pretty darn tasty! I would rate it as better than a Boboli, but not as good as pizza shop. MH said it was on par with a Digiornio, but I think it was much better than that.

I brushed some olive oil on the dough, then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. I then used 3 cheese marinara sauce (I think it was Francesco Rinaldi) and mozzarella cheese. I then sprinkled with garlic powder and Italian seasoning then topped with canned mushrooms.

I put the other half of the dough in the freezer, so hopefully it will still be good.