Pizza Dough Sans Yeast.

I've been wanting to make calzones for awhile now, but didn't want to deal with yeast or go to the store for pre-made dough. I checked out a bunch of recipes online for pizza dough without yeast and finally settled on this one from Recipe Zaar. The majority of the reviews were favorable, though I was a tiny bit concerned about how the calzones would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency of the dough and thought it made perfect dough for calzones - not too doughy. Obviously a yeast dough would have tasted better, but in a pinch this dough is a great substitute.

I apologize for the poor picture quality, now that it gets darker so much earlier I really need to get some new light bulbs.

Tostada Pizza.

What do you get when you cross the ubiquitous taco dip with a pizza - why the tostada pizza of course! This is a pretty simple and flexible recipe which I made for dinner, but think it's more of an appetizer than an entree. Just about any mashed bean would work as a base for this pizza. Additionally, ground turkey or chicken could work in place of the beef or just skip the meat all together.


Tostada Pizza

1 pound lean ground beef
1 4-oz. can diced green chile peppers, drained
1/2 of a 1.5 oz. envelope taco seasoning mix (about 2 Tbs.)
1 tsp. chili pepper
1 Tbs. cornmeal
1 10 oz. package refrigerated pizza dough
1 15 oz. can pinto beans with jalapeno peppers, rinsed and drained
1 c. shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions (about 4)
Bottled taco sauce

1. In a large skillet cook meat until brown. Drain off fat. Stir in 3/4 cup water, chile peppers, taco seasoning mix and chili powder. Bring to a boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.

2. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cornmeal. Pat pizza dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle on the baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

3. In a bowl mash beans with a fork; spread over partially baked dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Spoon meat mixture over beans. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more until crust is golden. Sprinkle with cheese cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes more or until cheese melts. Top with lettuce, tomato, and onions. If desired, serve with taco sauce.

Yield: 6 servings
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information: 384 cal., 17 g. total fat (7 g. sat. fat), 67 mg. chol., 882 mg. sodium, 34 g. carbo., 5 g. fiber, 27 g. pro.

What I did: Pinto beans with jalapenos do not exist at my grocery store, I had sliced jalapeno' but forgot to add them. The added heat would have been greatly welcome.

Platinum Chef Challenge - Round 2

Cara, at Cara's Cravings, started this great idea called the Platinum Chef Challenge. Whoever is hosting the challenge picks five ingredients and people submit two dishes using a combination of these ingredients (for the exact rules see Cara's blog). For Round 2 the ingredients were: blueberries, corn, any citrus, any cheese and any hot pepper. I enjoyed playing around with ideas and trying to come up with something delicious.

For my first entry I decided to make a bbq style pizza, using three of the key ingredients - corn, hot pepper & cheese. Essentially I just made up this recipe, adding what I thought sounded good and trying to use some ingredients I already had. Which also means, I didn't really measure anything out either. You can see from the picture, pre-cheese, how much of everything I added. You could definitely play around with this recipe to suit it to your own tastes.

BBQ Style Pizza

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

cilantro, chopped

garlic chives, chopped

approx. 1/4 c. white corn

smoked turkey, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped

Monterey Jack cheese

Cheddar cheese

cumin

onion powder

paprika

Homemade or pre-made pizza crust

1. I used a regular Boboli prepared crust and sprinkled cumin, onion powder and paprika on the crust. Top with 1/2 c. barbecue sauce, chopped cilantro and chives, corn, jalapeno, turkey and cheese.

2. Bake following instructions -or until done. Let pizza rest, slice & enjoy.

What I did: The addition of the spices gave the sauce a much stronger & hotter taste. The white corn did bring out some of the sweetness of the barbecue sauce, which added a nice depth of flavor. I used canned white corn and Montgomery Inn barbecue sauce, but again you could use fresh or yellow corn and your favorite sauce. The smoked turkey was leftover from the last time the husband smoked a turkey - any meat would work if you don't have access to a smoker. The husband suggested cooking the corn the next time, which I think would be a good idea. If you used some onions, I'd throw them in to saute with the corn. Lastly, I added just a little bit of each of the cheeses. I didn't want this to be a cheesy pizza and overshadow the rest of the ingredients.