3 ways with pizza dough

You know those cravings that won't leave you. The ones that creep up at in appropriate times. Cravings that whisper in your ear "that just doesn't taste right" when you eat something that isn't what you crave. Fill your mind to the point where not even your favourite series, your child's laughter or your husband's loving words can penetrate the thoughts of making or eating that which you crave? 

I see you nodding and so you will understand when I tell you about my pizza dough craving. It wasn't about what was on top, that didn't matter. It was the flavour and texture of what makes a pizza a pizza that took residence in my head and would not leave. 


So I paused Lost Girl, got up and made the dough. I had no idea WHAT I was going to put on it but the dough was made. Next I went foraging in the fridge, freezer and cupboards for something to use. No, going to the shop was not an option....because...stop it! No! aaaaanyway. In the freezer I found a beautiful piece of beef fillet which I had trimmed off a larger piece I made a few weeks back, some roasted red pepper and tomato soup and a couple of sausages. In the fridge a tiny bit of cheese and in the cupboards onion and spices.

So I went about creating these 3 tasty snacks for us, never having to leave the house or dress in anything but slippers and PJs (see why the shop was not an option). I turned the sausages into cows in blankets (beef sausage see), the meat I fried up with some onions, caramelising it a little then made balls of meaty goodness. The roasted red pepper and tomato soup was cooked down and thickened and made a beautifully rich base for the pizzas I made with cheese and some onion and the rest of the dough was mixed in some caramelised onions to make little dinner rolls (that never made it to dinner)

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
1 sachet activated dry yeast
2 + 1 cup 00 flour (or half white bread flour half cake flour)
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt


Put the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of flour and allow it to bloom. Mix it in with the 2 cups of flour and knead adding the 3rd cup as you knead the dough. Kneed in the olive oil and salt. Place ina oiled bowl and cover and allow to rise. 
Once the dough has risen, knead it to knock out or the air bubbles and divide it into the number of portions you need. (If you are freezing the dough this is when you do it)

Spinach and Mushroom parcels - Meat Free Monday

The last 2 weeks have been rather tedious. I was helping my dad out answering phones while his receptionist was away on annual leave. I spent many an hour playing facebook games and wishing I had uploaded some images for blogging. I was not on my own computer so had no pictures with me and so you didn't get any new recipes to try. Sorry :(

However you did get a new look and feel, like a new space to visit. They say a change is as good as a holiday :)

So it is Monday again and with it comes the dulcet sounds of my family moaning at me that they don't understand how 1 day a week can make a difference. With it also comes me ignoring them. Some weeks I just quietly make my own little meal to eat, others I make a dish with several components so those who choose to can eat Meat-free and other days I make something so delicious, they don't care if there is meat or not.

Such was the case with these little phyllo parcels. With the meatiness of the wild mushrooms and the creaminess of the spinach, these edible presents ticked every box in the house.

What you need:

3 bags baby spinach

1 box mixed wild mushrooms

1 tub fat free smooth cottage cheese

1 onion

1 medium potato

½ fairview single salad serving feta (or 1 wheel)

garlic

smoked paprika

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Phyllo pastry

What to do:

Wash the spinach very well (rule of thumb is at least 7 times, no one likes sandy spinach)

Chop half the onion finely, do the same with the potato (the pieces should all be roughly the same size and very small). Heat up some olive oil in a wok or large pan. Saute the onions and potatoes then add the spinach and mix till wilted (depending on the size of your wok/pan you made need to add the spinach in stages). When all the spinach has wilted add the garlic ad stir well. Then add the cottage cheese and crumble in the feta. Turn off the heat and stir well. Slice the other half of the onion into slivers. In another pan toss the onion and the smoked paprika in some heated olive oil, then add the mushrooms and fry until browned. Add the mushrooms to the spinach mixture, mix well then season to taste.

Cut your phyllo into long strips (I use scissors). Brush one piece with olive oil and stick another piece on top of it. Spoon some filling into it and fold as you wish, using a little more olive oil to seal it. Heat up the oven nice and hot and turn on the grill  and grill until golden brown and crispy (you filling is cooked and should be warm, if the filling has cooled then place the parcels into the oven at 180°c for a few minutes and then pop them under the grill)

You can serve them steaming hot, or even instead of sandwiches for school or work the next day

Chicken casserole

The other day polkadotcupcake blogged about a quick and easy meal she had made. The picture in her post was haunting me for weeks before I finally gave in and found a time to make it. My mom wasn't keen on having dishes for the Saturday and they were planning on getting fish and chips from Ocean Basket. Horrified at the thought of having Ocean Basket for Friday night supper I offered to cook something that didn't take a lot of dishes. Hence the chicken casserole was brought to the front lines.

Now I can't follow recipes, especially not when it comes to cooking. I am better with the baking, that being said I have even started messing with those recipes with some great results. So my chicken dish ended up being something completely different.

Firstly my mom doesn't really like food cooked with wine so I needed to find a substitute. I had heard so much good stuff about the new NoMu Fonds so I had to pop that in there as my liquid. Also once I was in the shop I let the ingredients available lead me and ended up buying a combo of thyme, parsley and rosemary as my herbs.

The dish was very well recieved, so much so that it's our contribution (with beef instead of chicken, though) to tonight's New Year's feast.

What you need:

1 tray thigh and drumstick mix

1 sweet potato

1 bag pickling onion

1 bag baby new potatoes

1 punnet mushrooms 

1 red onion

4 green garlic

Thyme

Parsley

Rosemary

1 litre Vegetable stock (NoMu fonds)

flour

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp crushed garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Mix the flour, spices and seasoning. Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour. Chop up all the vegetables roughly except the green garlic( just separate the stem from the bulb), the pickling onions and the baby new potatoes. Heat up some olive oil in your casserole dish on the stove. Fry the chicken pieces until golden and remove from the dish. Put down a layer of veg, then the chicken then more veg. Pop on the herbs and then add the veg stock. The stock should come up just under the veg and not cover. Pop the lid on and place in the oven at 180°C for about 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft. 

Serve with some crusty bread to mop up the juices.

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Disclaimer: I was not given any products or paid to endorse any products in this post