Oven Pizza

No recipe here… just a reminder for me how to make pizza this way because it was SO GOOD.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a pizza stone in it.

Roll out pizza dough into the shape you want your pizza.

When the pizza stone is heated, pull it out and transfer the dough to the stone.  Brush with olive oil if you’d like.

Place the dough and stone back in the oven and wait for about 2-3 minutes.  Pop any bubbles that form with a fork.

Pull out when the dough is half-way cooked. Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees, and leave the stone in the oven.

Add sauce, cheese and any toppings to the dough.

Place back in the oven on the stone and cook until the cheese has browned.

Home Made Wheat Tortillas

From Rak’s Kitchen

1 cup all purpose flour, or 1/2 cup all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for whole wheat tortillas.
3 Tbsp oil 
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
warm water, as needed

In a bowl mix together the salt, baking powder and flour.

Mix in the olive oil, really well.

Add the warm water until you reach the right consistency – not too sticky but well incorporated.

Let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes.

Divide into 6 balls for small tortillas, 4 balls for large tortillas.

Flatten the balls on a floured surface so that they are thin circles.

In a preheated, oil-less skillet,  cook each tortilla for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until each side bubbles.

**When making the whole wheat tortillas, make sure not to overcook them as they will become more hard and less pliable** 

I love these filled with melted cheese or crushed garbanzo beans, and topped with black bean sauce with tons of toppings!

Greek “Pizza”

This pizza is a pre-baked bread crust, smeared with hummus and topped with Greek toppings like cucumbers, red onion, olives, oregano and feta cheese.  The recipe for the crust would be perfect for focaccia and can also be used as a thicker version of pizza crust.

Recipe adapted from Foodie with Family

For the crust:

3 cups warm (but not hot) milk (I used Almond Milk)
3-1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons  salt
7 cups all-purpose flour (can substitute 3 or 4 cups for whole wheat flour)
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Place the warm milk in a  large  bowl and add the yeast and sugar.

Mix quickly and let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir until a cohesive dough forms.

Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Grease a baking sheet (or three if yo have them because this makes three batches) with oil.

Wet your hands and divide the dough into three equal portions.

Transfer one of the portions to the sheet and allow it to rest for five more minutes.

Wet your hands again, and work into the shape you’d like (I did a standard circle).

Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with powdered garlic and a little salt.

Bake each portion for 8 minutes (for a partially baked crust to be used and baked again later) or 12 minutes for a completed crust.

To finish the pizza:

Spread the cooled crust with store-bought or homemade hummus.

Top with sliced cucumbers, feta, red onion, black olives, oregano and salt and pepper.  Slice it up and eat it up : )

Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust

Basic recipe for pizza dough that is crispy, full of bubbles, and 50% whole wheat.

In a bread machine add in
1 cup warm water
2 tsp bread machine yeast
1 Tbsp sugar

Let sit 10 minutes.

Then add
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil

Set to the “dough” setting.

When ready, preheat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone in it.

In the meantime split the dough in half and roll out the dough to the shape of the pizza stone (or smaller).

(I like to freeze the remaining half of the dough for later use).

When hot, remove the pizza stone and dust with cornmeal.  Place your dough on it and top with a little olive oil and salt.

Bake for about 5 minutes.  If too big of bubbles form, open the oven and pop them down.

Remove the crust, add on your sauce and toppings, and bake until done.

Lentil Flatbread

Looking for a dinner that is cheap, vegetarian/vegan, healthy, but also filling?  And cheap?  And did I mention healthy?

This was so good I could have eaten the whole pot of lentils myself.  But I didn’t.  Because I’m pretty sure that arriving at the place I volunteer at with red sauce all over my shirt and face would look a bit suspicious.

For the flatbread:

Use the dough recipe for Toasty Crackers, but add some chopped onion and garlic and knead to incorporate thoroughly.  Then roll it out and grill in a grill pan.

For the lentils:

I didn’t measure out the ingredients but they are pretty easy to throw together just by eyeballing it:

lentils, cooked and drained
can of crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce
chopped garlic
chopped onion
cumin
salt and pepper
chili powder
Tablespoon of sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, or cream to add creaminess (optional)

In a large pot, saute the onions and garlic.

Add in the lentils and tomatoes/sauce.

Add the spices.

Let simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes (while flatbread is grilling).

When ready, remove from heat and stir in cream/cheese/yogurt.

Spread lentil mixture on flatbread, top with chopped onion and a little sour cream (optional).

Devour (and don’t feel bad about it).