Spinach and Ricotta Pizza

Until recently, I was not the largest fan of ricotta cheese. I would avoid recipes that called for this cheese, use it sparingly, or if it was in something that I was served, I would scrape it away from what ever it accompanied. However, I have had a change of heart. A few months ago, I made chicken breasts stuffed with ricotta and last week I made enchiladas with ricotta and loved each dish. Tonight's pizza was no different. The ricotta added a nice texture to the pizza. Perhaps the trick is to not use too much.

This was a great work night dinner since I made the dough and the sauce last night. Tonight, all I had to do was essentially gather the remaining ingredients. The biggest time component was taking the dough out of the refrigerator, bringing it to room temperature, and rolling out the dough. Lucky for me, the husband got home before I did and took the dough when he got home from work. Doubly lucky for me, he picked me up at the gym after yoga and I didn't have to take the bus home. How lucky am I?

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine
1 portion pizza dough
cooking spray
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1. Removed dough from refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 500F.
3. Coat a 12 inch pizza stone with cooking spray.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared pan, shaking off excess flour. Brush dough evenly with oil. Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Sprinkle with Parmesan, top evenly with spinach and garlic. Sprinkle mozzarella over spinach. Spoon teaspoonfuls of ricotta over mozzarella. Bake at 500F for 12-15 minutes or until mozzarella melts and crust browns. Let stand 5 minutes and top with tomato slices. Cut into 6 wedges.

Yield: 6 servings

Grilled Pepper, Onion, and Sausage Calzones

I am beginning to think that calzones are quickly become my new favorite food. They are warm, compact, pockets of meat, cheese, and vegetables. Making calzones frequently gives me the opportunity to practice my least favorite thing to do, rolling out dough. This time it wasn't too bad,the pizza dough didn't break apart and I rolled the dough to the correct size.

This dinner was a two person effort. I started to make the dough as soon as I got back from another unsuccessful day of house hunting. The husband was put in charge of the grilling. I refuse to say that there are men's jobs and women's jobs, but I always have him do the grill. I don't like to be near the open flame and he seems to like it. Though, I think in this case, he would have relished the chance to relax on the couch.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I made the dough for the calzones. Normally, I would just buy the pre-made store dough. However, in the interest of being slightly more economical and having more control over what goes in the dough, I wanted to try it myself. I was quite pleased with the result and think that it tasted better than the store bought kind. I also finally used the dough attachment for my stand mixer. It only took six years for me to use it.

All recipes listed are from Cooking Light Magazine

Pizza Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (100-110F)
1 1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Combine with 1 1/4 cups cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
2. Combine flour (5 1/4 cup), yeast mixture, and cold water mixture in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low 8 minutes or until dough begins to form. Let rest 2 minutes; mix on low 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
   
3. Divide the dough in half and place each portion in a large zip-top bag coated with cooking spray. Seal and chill overnight or up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
   

Yield: 2 pizza crusts, 14 servings. Can also use half the dough to make four calzones.
The dough can be freezed in heavy-duty, freezer safe zip -top bags for up to 2 months. Thaw dough overnight in the refrigerator.

Pizza Sauce
This was so easy to make and is quite tasty.
7 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups.

Calzones
1 portion of pizza dough
1 Vidalia onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1 red pepper, quartered
1 yellow pepper, quartered
1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage links
1 1/4 cups pizza sauce
1 1/3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Let pizza dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
   
3. Coat onion slices and pepper slices with cooking spray. Place vegetables and sausages on grill rack. Grill veggies 4 minutes on each side or until browned; grill sausages 8 minutes or until done, turning occasionally to brown on all sides. Remove veggies and sausage from grill; cool slightly. Cut onion slices in half; cut peppers into 1/2 inch strips. Cut sausages diagonally into thin slices.
   
4. Pre-heat oven to 5o0F.
   
5. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 9x5 inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup evenly over each rectangle, leaving 1/4 inch border. Arrange sausage evenly over half of each rectangle; top evenly with onion and peppers. Sprinkle each calzone with 1/3 cup cheese. Fold other half of dough over filling; press edges together with a fork to seal.
   
6. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat calzone with cooking spray. Bake at 500F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each calzone in half.

Yield: 8 servings

Tex-Mex and Bean Casserole

After vacation I took a look at my photos and decided to go on Weight Watchers immediately. It gives me structure and forces me to eat in normal portions. The only problem I have with WW is that I use so many more dishes as I now measure everything out that I cook. For example, in the past, I would just go by what looked like a half a cup of cheese. If this works, I will be so happy. Then the husband and I will need to take another vacation to celebrate!

This was a great easy and meat free dish. It was filling which can be hard with these small portion sizes. I love recipes where I can still eat cheese. I love cheese.

1 cup canned yellow corn, drained
15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked brown rice
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican-style cheese
3/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp scallions
2 tbsp reduced fate Mexican cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine corn, beans, rice, 3/4 cup cheese, sour cream, chili powder, salt, and pepper; stir in scallions.
3. Spoon mixture into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts and casserole is slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes more. Let stand for 5 minutes to firm up before slicing into 6 pieces.
   

Yield: 6 servings
4 Weight Watchers points

Rojo and Mambo

During the second part of vacation we stayed at the beach. We were off to Ambergris Caye and stayed at Mata Chica. This place was also beautiful. During our stay on Ambergris Caye we had a few more food options to chose from. We didn't eat in the town of San Pedro because the boat schedule from our hotel during the day we chose to go to town was not conducive to a lunch schedule.

The manager of Chan Chich recommended Rojo to us. We chose to eat there on our first night. The food at Rojo was quite tasty, though a bit expensive even after doing the math of converting Belize currency. Rojo is a tapas style restaurant, but a bigger size dish. I can't remember all that we ordered, but it was great. One day we also had lunch there. I had the nachos and they were probably the best nachos I have ever had. If my Fairfield girls are reading this, these nachos were better than Sidetracks. Want to do a road trip?

We ate a lot of our meals at the restaurant on-site at Mata Chica, Mambo. This was also another great place to eat, though slightly pricey. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. I think that the lunch was my favorite menu they had. Because vacation memories fade far too quickly, I can't remember all that I had. My favorite was the seafood burrito.

Ahhh, vacation.

Chan Chich Lodge

Normally, when I discuss travels I focus simply on the restaurants that we ate in. This time I am focusing a little bit on where we stayed. This is two part, there was only one food option to eat during part of our vacation, and secondly I loved the place that we stayed in and would highly encourage everyone to stay there.

A few months ago, the husband and I were undecided as to where to go on vacation this summer. We were talked with the neighbors next door who raved about the trip they took to Belize last year. After doing some online research, we also chose Belize. We did chose a different trip than they took, we opted to spend four days in the jungle and four days at the beach.

Then the hard part came, where should we stay. I had my heart set on staying at the Chan Chich Lodge near Gallon Jug. You may ask why? I love checklists of sorts and love the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. I read the description of Chan Chich and knew that we had to stay there.

As I alluded to previously, there was no other choice of restaurants to eat in while we stayed there as Chan Chich is in the middle of the jungle. I think that the nearest village was about an hour away over very bumpy roads. We got to the lodge on a three seat airplane that landed on a dirt air strip on a farm. It was quite the experience.



One may ask how the food was in a place that was so remote. The food was fantastic! We chose to do the meal plan since there was no other food option around and that gave us the option of an appetizer, meal, and dessert for every meal. The only complaint I could have over the menu is that it didn't have a lot of local dishes on it.

The breakfast choices were likely the most authentic local food. They were delicious. My favorite was eggs on tortillas with plantains, black beans, and salsa. I also really liked the fried jacks that I topped with mango jam. I am getting so hungry just thinking of it now.

The black bean soup on the lunch menu was perfect. The stewed chicken was another local dish on the menu. The meat was so tender that it practically fell off the bone. One day, we had a cheeseburger for lunch after a long, hot, and sweaty hike. It hit the spot.

For dinner, I had the beef tenderloin a few times. In my last post, I mentioned that I fell off the "no red meat wagon". When I fall, I fall hard. This beef was so great and tender. The fish dishes on the menu were also great. One night for dessert, they served creme brulee. It was unlike any other creme brulee I have ever had before. It was amazing and I am salivating while reminiscing about it.

I would strongly recommend a visit to this hotel. The staff was so friendly. I was getting teary when we left them. They really made us feel like we were part of their family. This was true for the woman who worked at the front desk, Lettie, the various waitresses, and the guides that we had on hikes and drives. We met the manager on our last day there as he was travelling during the first part of our stay. He too was incredibly nice. After staying at Chan Chich, it will take a lot to impress us.

Grilled Pork with Blackberry Sage Sauce

I actually made this dish quite some time ago. It took me so long to post since we went on vacation a few days after this meal was made. The husband and I shared this dinner with our lovely downstairs neighbor, Amy. Amy and her husband shared a delicious dinner of cheeseburgers (I fell off the no eating red meat wagon, more about that in another post to follow). In our effort of sharing back, we invited Amy up for dinner the following evening (her husband had a work dinner). This was a first attempt at this dish. The husband took care of the grilling part and I did the inside work.

We were all quite happy with the outcome of the dinner. I do need some work on plating food so that it looks nice in pictures, but right now I am concentrating on making good food. I will worry about nice plating later on. I feel like the pork worked with a side of rice. I pulled some jasmine rice that we bought at BJ's out of the freezer and liked the way the carbs complimented the protein.

2 tablespoons minced shallots
3 cups blackberries (about a pound)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
14 ounce chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (1.5) pound trimmed pork tenderloin

1. Prepare grill to medium heat.
2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add blackberries, sage, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until blackberries break down. Press blackberry mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return liquid to pan. Stir in vinegar and sugar; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 9 minutes); remove from heat. Stir in butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring until butter melts. Keep warm.
3. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper over pork. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155F, turning pork occasionally. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Serve with blackberry sauce; garnish with sage sprigs.
   

6 servings