THE pita pizza

So ... I haven't blogged in 3 1/2 months.  Sorry!  I have no real, solid excuse ... just lots of little, mini-excuses.  :)  They are, but not limited to ...

I haven't been cooking much of anything terribly interesting for the past 3 1/2 months.

Really, I haven't been cooking much of anything.

My ancient Canon point-and-shoot is pretty much dead ... the iPhone does ok, but just ok.  :)

Until we sprung the clocks ahead a bit ago, it was usually dark at dinnertime.  (Thus ... crappy photos.)

I've been busy knitting.  (And hanging with friends.  And working.  And doing yoga.  And watching "New Girl."  And other stuff.)

You know, same old, same old.  :)

Forgive me?

I figured it was about time I tried to get back into this food blogging thing again, and what better way than to introduce you to a meal I have been obsessed with for, oh, the past eight months?

THE pita pizza.

Now, we all get in food ruts, right?  Meals we eat over and over and over and over and over and over again, (ahem, 2 - 5 times a week for eight months straight,) because they are simple, because they are mostly healthy, because they are economical, because we can eat them straight out of the pot/straight off the cutting board, because we LOVE them.  Right?  We try variations on our food rut, always to be slightly disappointed, and return to our original.  The favorite.  The bestest.

This is one of those meals at my house, people.  In a bad, bad way.

But if this pita pizza is bad, I don't wanna be good.  :)

THE Pita Pizza
serves: 1

Ingredients:
1 whole-wheat pita
extra-virgin olive oil
shredded mozzarella
sliced pickled banana peppers (pepperoncini would also be excellent) - homemade if possible
sliced/diced pickled roasted red bell pepper - homemade if possible
sliced green olives
crumbled feta

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
2. Assemble pizza.
3. Bake, until the pita is crispy and the cheese is beginning to brown.
4. Allow pizza to rest for a few minutes before slicing and devouring.

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So, what food ruts have you been in?  For how long?  I challenge you, food bloggers of the world -- post about your food ruts!  It's liberating.  ;)

400-calorie dinners (v)

I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle last week for training for work -- so much fun!  I had a chance to eat at Veggie Grill three times, (it was a block away from my hotel, and well, there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try!) at Chaco Canyon with Victoria and Brent, (isn't meeting fellow bloggers you've "known" for years so much fun!), and at Chutney's Bistro with my friend Christine!  Add on the hotel breakfast daily, and a "Snowball" from Trophy Cupcakes and well, it was a tasty trip.  :)

(Victoria, what was the name of the ice cream place we went to after dinner?)

Needless to say, I wasn't counting calories while I was away.  I rarely travel, so I figured I'd give myself a vacation from that, too!  I could see how hard it would be to eat healthfully for frequent travelers, though!

Now that I'm home, I'm back at it!  Three more 400-calorie dinners for you today . . .

MORE pizza:

Half whole-wheat Artisan Bread in 5 crust, topped with olive oil, minced garlic, an entire 10-oz package of frozen spinach, dried tomatoes from last summer's garden, part-skim mozzarella, and feta.   Popeye would be jealous, vampires would run screaming.  :)  216 calories per slice!

The classic soup-n-sandwich:

Creamy Tomato-Basil Bisque, with a half grilled-cheese on the side.  332 calories as-is, (sandwich made using one slice of whole-wheat bread and an ounce of sharp cheddar, cooked in cooking spray,) or you could increase your sandwich portion to a full-size if you were looking for a larger meal.

And, my new favorite meal:

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Sausage.  I used two links of leftover homemade kielbasa instead of the suggested Italian pork sausage; super-delicious!  I had a feeling these stuffed sweets were going to be delicious, but I had no idea they would be quite so . . . incredible.  Creamy, sweet, savory, cheesy, hearty, and filling, but still a calorie bargain at 265 calories per potato half.  Add a huge side salad for a light supper, or enjoy two potato halves for a heartier supper.

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Do you try to eat healthfully when you travel, or do you indulge more?

400-calorie dinners (i)

I'm still counting calories.  (Nice to know one can stick with something for longer than a couple of weeks, isn't it?)  What have I learned so far?

400 calories, or more specifically, 400 high-quality, nutritious calories, is a LOT of food.

Here are a few 400(ish) calorie dinners we've enjoyed these past few days:

Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers.  What did this soup recipe teach me?  Sometimes soup for supper is enough.  (Especially when the soup is loaded with healthy veggies, filling sweet potatoes, pungent spices, and creamy peanut butter!)  I had a hard time finishing all 397 calories worth of this spicy, creamy goodness in one sitting!

In my opinion, there is definitely room for a slice (or two) of pizza even when you're eating healthfully!  How?  I've managed to keep my homemade pizzas around 200 calories a slice by making my own (half whole-wheat) crust, by limiting the amount of cheese I use to 8 ounces, and going heavy on the veggies as toppings.  Lately, I just cannot get enough green olives on pizza -- what's your favorite pizza topping?

The most filling 400ish calorie dinner I've made to date: Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash!    Incredibly, I enjoyed this delicious risotto almost three hours ago, and I'm still comfortably full!  John adored this dish as well, since he loves butternut squash, greens, and cheese, the three main ingredients in this recipe, and the creamy, starchy, soft and comforting texture reminded him of one of his favorite meals, mac and cheese.

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Okay, so, maybe this whole calorie-counting thing isn't as awful as I originally thought . . . I'm really enjoying the meal-planning aspect, and have been finding tons of new recipes to try!  What new recipes/techniques/ingredients have you tried recently?

The one where I make a mashed potato pizza

Don't you just love it when you take pictures of something you've made, and then a week later, realize they are still on your phone or camera?  Yeah.  Right now, I'll use the excuse that we're moving, so my mind is elsewhere.  (I haven't yet come up with a good excuse for the rest of the time this happens, though!)

Anyhow, enter, garlic mashed potato pizza:

Inspired by one of our local pizza chains that offers this "specialty" pizza on their menu, I decided to try my hand at a homemade version.  Homemade whole-wheat crust, topped with garlic mashed potatoes, green onions, diced tomato, and feta.  Carb-tastic!  (Although not the healthiest vegetable around, I do have to remind myself that potatoes are still a vegetable!)

What are your favorite pizza toppings?  Lately, I'm loving garlic-stuffed green olives.  :)

happy birthday to me!

It was a short week, with little cooking, I guess!  Perhaps we have been eating out too much lately?  :)

(I suppose that's not entirely a bad thing?)

Homemade pizza and roasted asparagus:

The front pizza is topped with olive oil, mozzarella, feta, artichokes, kalamata olives, and dried tomatoes; the back pizza is topped with caramelized onions, asiago, mozzarella, and three different kinds of mushrooms!  The mushroom pizza was definitely the hit -- I give credit to the caramelized onions.  They add an amazingness to meals, don't they?

Pancake breakfast!

I made buttermilk pancakes with half whole-wheat pastry flour, half chickpea flour.  Delicious, albeit a little "beany," (they benefited from a little extra syrup, is all.)  I need to figure out my buttermilk to flour ratio a little more, as my buttermilk pancakes tend to spread too much and be a little too tender (i.e. nearly impossible to flip in one piece.)  Ah, pancakes just aren't my specialty, I guess!  I'll stick to waffles.

My "birthday dinner!"

Yes, we had veggie dogs, coleslaw, baked beans, and veggies for my birthday dinner!  We were supposed to go camping this weekend, (hence, the veggie dogs,) but then with the nearly constant threat of severe thunderstorms, we decided to postpone.  Veggie dogs don't taste quite as good at home, but were still pretty tasty.  I used Liz's coleslaw dressing recipe, adding pepper and poppyseeds, and tossing it with shredded cabbage, carrot, and sliced green onions.  John doesn't like coleslaw!  Oh well. More for me.  :)

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I've enjoyed having the last two days off from work for "birthday fun" -- and we'll keep it up through the weekend!

Lately I've been . . .

Watching . . . 

The snow pour down outside.  Yes, it's May 1st, and it's snowing.  Let's hope to heck it doesn't stick!  Thankfully, we don't have too many plants that are "up" yet, and we covered those that are with empty milk jugs for protection.  C'mon spring, get here and stay put already!

Reading . . .

Anne of Green Gables.  You know you want to, too.

Eating . . . 

Well, basically, carbs.  :)  More specifically . . .

Whole-wheat penne, smothered in sauteed bell peppers, Field Roast Italian sausage, and homemade 5-Minute Marinara . . . awesome.  And can I just give a quick shout-out to Costco, for carrying the most delicious, organic crushed tomatoes in GLASS JARS!?!!???!?!??

Egg sandwiches on Whole-Wheat English Muffins

100% Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Pizza!

And Peanut Butter Cookies, loaded with extra peanuts, chocolate chips, and coarse sea salt

Planning . . . 

on a busy month!  We have lots of volunteering, family get-togethers, activities with friends, and birthday camping coming up!  I am looking forward to all of these events individually, but also bracing myself for the challenge of managing my long work days & commute, gardening, and home life in the midst of all this fun.

Looking forward to . . . 

Warmer temperatures and less rain next week.  Time to build some potato towers, finish seeding the spring veggies, and hopefully watch some sprouts pop up!

What have you been up to?

Lately we've been . . .

1. Watching Oliver get adjusted to his new digs:

I admit, he looks really relaxed and content in these pictures.  He has moments where he feels like that, it seems.  However, he still spends much of the day hiding, and managed to get himself locked in the linen closet for most of the day yesterday!  We finally figured out where he was late afternoon, when we heard muffled meows coming from upstairs.  :)

2. Celebrating John's birthday with Pecan Pie:

And Nutloaf, buttermilk-chive mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and Quick Gravy:

3. Starting plants for our backyard urban farm:

We are ecstatic that we saved nearly enough TP rolls to make little pots!  (Egg cartons to the rescue!)  We spent a total of $4 on cheap baking sheets from the dollar store, and a few bucks at Target on some plastic pots for herbs.

4. Eating pizza:

(It's kind of a Sunday night "thing" at our house.)

5. And still getting organized:

Spice racks went up yesterday!  Wahoo!  Our kitchen is finally organized, which is a big deal for this cook.  Very few unpacking projects remain . . . .

What have you been up to?  Anyone else chomping at the bit to get gardening?

I'm back!

 We did it!




















John and I got married!  We had beautiful weather, a small gathering of important family and friends, and a lovely, casual reception "catered" by yours truly.  :)  Since our wedding site (for both the ceremony and reception) was small and rustic, (heat and electricity, but no formal kitchen,) we kept things simple and enjoyed a buffet of homemade soups, salads, breads, cheeses, crackers, olives, and bars!  I have no pictures of the food, as I barely sat down to eat during the reception -- too many people to talk to!

As we are now home from our honeymoon and mostly unpacked, I decided it was time to really get back in my kitchen.  We've been so busy these past couple of months, I haven't been cooking much, and the things that I have made really haven't been too "blog-worthy."  So, without further ado, here are some of the first foods of my marriage:

The first thing I baked for my husband (ha!  That still sounds strange in my ears...)

Cinnamon Streusel Buttermilk Coffee Cake is new to my recipe repertoire, but has become a fast favorite.  The cake is quick to prepare, uses basic pantry staples and my favorite baking ingredient of all time, buttermilk!  Deliciously sweet, spicy, nutty, and rich, this cake encourages a lazy breakfast with a cup of coffee.

And the first dinner I cooked for my husband . . .

Homemade pizza!  Just goes to show things don't have to be too fancy or complicated to be special.  :)  Half-whole-wheat Artisan Bread in Five crust, topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, green olives, red onions, mushrooms, and a sprinkling of dried oregano.

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John and I still have plenty of busy days ahead, as we still have to move in together!  We are currently splitting our time between our respective places, and look forward to finally having one home by the end of this month.  My postings may continue to be spotty, as I'll have to pack up and move my kitchen soon enough!

With the upcoming move, I am, of course, looking at trying to use up many of the pantry staples I have on hand.  What are some of your favorite meals using pantry staples?

vacation eats

Merry Christmas!  I've had a lovely holiday week filled with eggnog, cocoa, cookies, movies, board games, reading, ice skating, snow shoeing, and lots of delicious food!

"Red Lentil Soup with Greens," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

One of my favorite quick and easy soups of all time, because it is light without being watery, nutritious yet totally delicious, making a perfect winter lunch with a side of lightly buttered naan.

Cranberry Bread:

A family recipe I've altered slightly -- here's my version!

CRANBERRY BREAD:

yield: one 9-inch loaf

Combine dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Toss with dry ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup raisins

Combine wet ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice

Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir together just until combined.  Bake at 350 for about an hour, (longer if your cranberries were frozen,) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of your loaf comes out clean.

"Black Beans with Pickled Red Onions," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers:

I ate huge quantities of this meal several days in a row this past week, and am still not sick of it.  :)  I love black beans, I love the simple seasonings on these black beans, and I love the gorgeous, tangy pickled red onions!  I love a little acidity with beans, and these pickled onions are practically perfect!

Homemade pizza #1:

Half whole-wheat homemade crust, organic pizza sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, onion, garlic, cremini mushroom, green bell pepper, and sliced black olives.  Delicious for lunch, and delicious leftover for breakfast the next morning!

Christmas Eve supper:

I was looking for something light yet substantial to serve for supper on Christmas Eve, as I had a long evening ahead of me!  (Hour-long rehearsal followed by 2 hour church service starting at 9 pm . . . !)  I settled on Basic Quiche, hasselback sweet potatoes, and Vegetarian Southern-Style Collard Greens.  A delicious, nutritious, filling, hearty, yet light meal that fueled me through a long evening of singing!

Christmas breakfast tradition growing up always included "Baby Jesus Coffee Cake:"

My mom would make this cake yearly, and stick a candle in it while we sang "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus.  I still make the cake, but skip the candle.  :)

"Baby Jesus" Coffee Cake
yield: one 8-inch pan (double to make a 9X13 pan)

Streusel ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
14 cup flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter

Dry ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Additional ingredient:
1/2 cup sour cream (I used sour cream I cultured myself!)

Directions:
1. Cut the butter into the streusel ingredients until crumbly.  Reserve.
2. Combine the dry ingredients.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and sour cream to the wet ingredients alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.  (I recommend 1/3 the flour, 1/2 the sour cream, 1/3 the flour, remaining sour cream, remaining flour.)
5. Spread half the batter in a greased 8-inch baking pan.  Sprinkle over half the streusel, then carefully spread over the remaining batter.  (I like to dollop out the batter in small spoonfuls, as it is kind of thick and hard to spread over the streusel.)  Top with the remaining streusel.
6. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool before cutting and serving!
(P.S. this freezes beautifully, if you want to make it several days in advance and pull out to thaw on Christmas Eve!)

Plated, with cheesy eggs and fruit:

Homemade pizza #2:

"Christmas pizza" this time, topped with broccoli, roasted red peppers, and more sliced olives.  

And Spanikopita for Christmas dinner, a new John & Catherine tradition:

My version, loosely based on the recipe from The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook . . . 

Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 eggs

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried dill

zest of one lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 onion, chopped, and 1 clove garlic, minced, softened in 1 tbsp olive oil

5 10-ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 pound feta, crumbled

Additional ingredients

1 pound filo, thawed

1 stick butter, melted

Directions:

1. Whisk together the cream, eggs, zest, herbs, and spices.  Stir in the onion/garlic mixture, spinach, and feta until thoroughly combined.

2. Lightly butter a 9X13 baking dish.  Begin layering sheets of filo, 4 at a time, building up a "crust" around the sides.  Butter the tops of the filo, then continue layering until you've used at least half of the filo.  (Cover the remaining filo with a damp towel while you are working.)  Add the filling, spreading evenly.  Layer the remaining filo, buttering every-other, until you get to the last 10 sheets.  Layer the remaining 10 sheets, buttering each.

3. Cut the pie into 12 pieces.  Bake at 325 for about an hour, or until the top is evenly golden brown.  Allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes before re-cutting and serving!

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Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Sunday night = pizza night

Lately, as in the last two weeks, we've managed to have homemade pizza on Sunday night.  I kind of like this tradition, actually!  It leaves something to look forward to for the tail-end of the weekend, and yields plenty of leftovers for the week, too.  :)

I was inspired to make pizza again this week, as we had everything on hand, except for a butternut squash, to make another Butternut Squash Pizza:

And as I was talking about dinner plans, John exclaimed, "you're only making ONE pizza?  That's not nearly enough."  ;)  Ok, two pizzas it is:

This second pie was loaded with olive oil, fresh spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper strips, kalamata olives, parmesan, and feta cheeses.  Earlier in the day, we made a stop at the Holy Land Deli, so I found inspiration in the beautiful and affordable ingredients I picked up!

Do you have any weekly food traditions?

photo dump!

Yeah . . . it's been a while since I've been able to sit down at the computer and get caught up posting all of the pictures of delicious foods I have stored up on my phone and camera!  Without further ado, here I go:

Instagrammed pizza #1:

Butternut Squash Pizza from Real Simple, made pretty much exactly as written, except with probably extra ricotta.  (I didn't measure.)  John and I both LOVED this, and I'll definitely be making it again and again!

Instagrammed pizza #2:

A 10-ounce package of frozen spinach mixed with 2 cups of "Italian blend" shredded cheese, with a can of well-drained diced tomatoes on top.  I have been trying to find small, subtle ways to replace fresh veggies with frozen, in my nearly constant attempt to keep the grocery bill down.  Frozen spinach works beautifully on pizza, in my opinion, as long as you squeeze it dry before using.  (Fresh spinach tends to make pizzas soggy, in my opinion!)

A simple pasta supper:

Whole-wheat rigatoni tossed with homemade marinara, white beans, and more spinach, topped with grated Asiago cheese.  I thought this was perfectly acceptable; John exclaimed he thought it was "really good" and went back for seconds.  Good news, as John hasn't been a huge fan of beans with pasta in the past!

Lunch Saturday:

I modified another Real Simple recipe this time -- I subbed sauteed mushrooms for the ham in Potato, Ham, and Spinach Frittata.  Delicious!  John and I each had a wedge with toast for lunch, saved some leftovers for work lunch for me, and then took the rest of the leftovers, cut into small triangles, to a Halloween party Saturday night.  Go eggs, go!  I love how versatile they are!   (P.S. MORE frozen spinach!  Woo!)

Sunday lunch was waiting for us in the Crock Pot when we got home from a walk:

Barley and Root Vegetable Soup transitioned effortlessly to the slow cooker, used up some barley, red lentils, carrots, and celery I had on hand, and made for a hearty, warming, and healthy lunch.  Plenty of leftovers to carry us through the week, too!

Lastly, here's my first attempt at homemade stovetop mac and cheese:

I started by using Cooking Light's Cheddar Cheese Sauce as a launching point, and folded it into some cooked whole-wheat shells and frozen broccoli.  (There I go with the frozen veggies again!  Frozen broccoli is another one I don't mind much.)  My sauce turned out runnier this time than last, which could be due to me possibly over-measuring the milk, possibly the sauce just doesn't double well.  Regardless, it was a good first try.

So, here are two questions for you . . .

1. Do you have a homemade stovetop mac and cheese recipe you love?  Do share.
2. What are some of your favorite uses for frozen veggies?

unplanned break

Well, here I am, black from a sort-of unplanned blogging break -- I guess I haven't been cooking much these past couple of weeks!  Come to think of it, I have been eating out much more than usual, using up leftovers, and eating very basic, non-photogenic meals.  :)  I did whip up a couple of nice meals this past weekend, though!

Beets, goat cheese, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette over mixed greens:

Thai Lettuce Wraps:

These were phenomenal!  Sweet, spicy, salty, rich, and packed with healthy, crunchy veggies and herbs, most from our garden.  I've been on a quest lately to find and try more recipes for tempeh, as John likes tempeh a lot, but doesn't care for tofu as much.  This was definitely a winner!  Anyone have any favorite tempeh recipes they care to suggest?

Breakfast prepared by John:

Mixed berries, croissants from the Farmer's Market, chard from the garden, and scrambled Farmer's Market eggs with local Tilsit and green onions from the garden.

 Homemade pizza:

"Olive Oil Dough," from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, topped with olive oil, caramelized onions, mozzarella, four different kinds of mushrooms (including chicken of the woods, which we found while hiking yesterday!), Shepherd's Way "Super Blue" cheese, thyme, and black pepper.  Oh, yum.

eat-a-thon

Sometimes the weekend feels like an eat-a-thon . . . or more accurately, maybe a cook-a-thon?  I do the majority of my cooking over the weekends these days, (i.e., when John's around,) and have a tendency to live off leftovers during the work week.  Does anyone else seem to follow this pattern?

Here are a few more things we made/ate this past weekend . . . 

Magic Kale Salad with Maple-Glazed Tempeh:

Fluffy Sprinkle Sugar Cookies:

Homemade pizza:

Zucchini Bread:

And breakfast -- scrambled eggs with feta and basil, courtesy of John, and whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes with strawberries:

It was a tasty weekend!