Thursday, January 26, 2017

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough


Like a good chunk of people, I'm also trying to be healthier in the new year. And yeah, I know pizza isn't that healthy. But baby steps, people. So, here we are with whole wheat pizza crust.

I started with proofing the yeast.

Then added the olive oil, honey, and salt.

And then added the whole wheat flour and let the dough rise. I needed a bit more flour than the recipe calls for, but the dough turned out to be not as sticky as I anticipated.


After it got freaking huge, I punched it down and divided the dough in half. The recipe makes enough for two pizzas, so I stuck one dough ball in the freezer and let the other one hang out while I prepared the toppings.

Then I shaped it on a pizza stone that I had sprinkled with cornmeal.

I decided to just make a simple pepperoni pizza to let the crust shine.

To be honest, I expected a noticeably different flavor. But there really wasn't one. That being said, the crust turned out fluffy and soft, and not at all dense like some whole wheat recipes can be. I probably could have left it in the oven a minute longer, just to get a bit more of a crispy crust. But all in all I'm pretty pleased with this recipe. The dough wasn't a super sticky mess like some recipes I've tried. And although there wasn't a huge flavor difference, I can feel slightly better about eating pizza with this recipe. 3 stars.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Salsa Verde Pepper Jack Macaroni and Cheese


Hi, I'm Lindsay and I'm addicted to mac and cheese. (Hi Lindsay.) While I already have a kick a** skillet mac and cheese recipe that I make fairly often, I was curious about this one-mainly for its use of salsa verde. (I linked to the recipe I normally use here. I also don't bother with the bacon because I'm lazy and it's still fab without it.)

This was pretty simple. I boiled the noodles while I worked on the sauce.


After the sauce thickened and I added the cheese, it looked like this:

Then I drained the pasta and added it to the sauce.

This recipe doesn't require any time in the oven, so at this point it was done and ready to eat. It was a bit saucy, as you can see in the above picture. This was a bit spicier than I anticipated, but nothing overwhelming. My regular recipe is still my favorite, but this was a nice shake up. I'm giving it 3 stars.

(And a note on salsa verde. It's taken a bit to find a store bought salsa verde that I like. For this recipe, I used Herdez and enjoyed the results. I'm also out of Hannibal cooking tricks. Sigh...)

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken


Yes, I know it isn't barbecue season. It's snowed pretty much all day here. But, it is crock pot season, so enter this recipe! Plus my version of barbecue chicken is usually just shredding chicken and heating it up with bottled sauce.

So, I made my own sauce.

And put the chicken in the crock pot.

And threw it all together.


After cooking, I shredded it up and served it in sandwiches. I'd say this is a keeper and will shine again come summer time. It's super easy, and really good. 4 stars.


And, because I can, here's another Hannibal cooking trick:


(Fun fact: Mads did this in one take. From Bryan Fuller, the show's creator, lest you think I'm making this up: "So I called my Japanese food guy and asked for a Benihana chef to bring in for a potential hand double. The next morning, there were two Japanese guys, me, six dozen eggs, and Mads wanders on to the set and asks 'Ok, What are we doing?' ... I tell him we're doing the Benihana egg trick today, but don't worry because we have these chefs from the Sushi shop, and we're gonna handle it. So Mads asks what he has to do, and I tell him - you throw the egg up in the air, you stick the spatula out, it breaks slightly, you twist your wrist, then the egg falls down into the pan. He says, OK, let me try it....he goes on set, and he actually did it. I accused him of practicing, but that's when he told me he used to be a juggler.")

Friday, January 6, 2017

Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Well, the first recipe of the year was a fail. Great start. So much so that I don't have a picture of the end result. I got the recipe here. It wasn't hard to make, but it did remind me how much of a pain breading can be.


When I tried to cook the chicken, the breading did not stick to the meat. I thought it was just a fluke with the first piece, but the same thing happened with the second piece of chicken.

Side note: look at my pretty new pans!! I'm in love.


That's basically what the end result looked like. Breading stuck to the pan, with random bits still on the chicken. Husband thinks I should still keep the recipe to play with it and make it work, but I'm not so sure. I suppose this will get 1 star since Husband wants me to keep it, even though in my mind it's a total flop.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

I'm baaaack!

Hey internet, I'm back! I don't even remember why I originally decided to take a break from this blog, but with the start of the new year I plan to get back on here. I didn't stop trying recipes, I just wasn't posting them. Some of the things I tried and deemed successful were:











For Christmas I got a new set of really nice pots and pans and I'm so excited to be using them. They make cooking a thousand times easier! I'm excited to get back to this blog and continue my cooking adventures. Maybe eventually I'll be able to do this:

(Source: NBC's tragically cancelled show, Hannibal. I enjoy it way more than I should, but I guess that's what happens when you're a psychology nerd who loves villains.) Anyway, stay tuned for my first recipe of the year!