Test Kitchen Tuesday

I really don’t miss bread.

That says a lot coming from someone who practically existed on solely on grains for most of the middle ‘90s. Bagels, bread, cereals, pasta…you name it, I lived on it.  (Remember the low fat craze? Total bunk!)

As I have taken on a gluten free diet, I have found it fairly easy for myself. I  had been weaning off bread for a while just somewhat naturally, so I haven’t really been looking to replace gluten foods. Truth be told, I really haven’t eaten that many in ages – a healthy diet full of whole fruits and vegetables pretty much has killed my refined carb cravings. I crave kale, avocados, mangos, and sweet potatoes (truly, I do). But, I am not just me. I also have 2Chili to consider, and I can’t ask him to give up gluten. I can ask him to do a lot of things, but, going gluten free is most definitely a no-go for 2ChiliBreadBowl.

We don’t have a kitchen right now, so there isn’t much concern for the present. I have been on an unintentional raw foods diet. I generally pack a lunch/dinner, and join him where ever he wishes do dine (usually, Subway). But, there will be a day in our future where we’ll have a kitchen again and I’m thinking about how to address some of our old favorite meals with a gluten free lens.

While on vacation at a rental house in Bend, I went a little crazy. I hadn’t cooked in months (months!) and it was time to create. After the green juice made in the Ninja Mega, I tackled a gluten free quesadilla with the ingredients we had on hand. I went to the store and bought a random assortment of things with no real purpose, and this was the result.

Wait, let’s take a step back, shall we? I should use a disclaimer here. I’m using the term quesadilla, but the ingredients are not what you might find in a typical quesadilla – this is more of a Mediterranean spin on a quesadilla, I guess you could say. It’s sort of a crepe, sort of a quesadilla. Mediterranean fusion, I’m going to label this. <sarcastic font>

Whatever it is, it is delicious, easy, and packed with nutrition. That is winning no matter your position on gluten, now isn’t it?

Mediterranean Inspired Gluten Free Quesadilla

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

I used all organic, but that is not required.

• 1 tablespoon butter (you could also use olive or coconut oil. I happened to have organic grass fed butter, so that is what I used)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/2 cup sliced white or cremini mushrooms
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 oz Mediterranean-spiced feta cheese (I found this at Trader Joe’s)
• 1 gluten-free tortilla
• Note: I had store-bought oat tortillas, but you can make these tortillas with gluten free oat flour and water – here is a recipe, just omit the taco seasoning and add about a tablespoon of sugar instead

Method:

This all comes together in the time it takes to cook the sweet potato

• Wash and pat dry all your produce
• Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork to allow for venting, and cook in the microwave on high for 5-6 minutes
• Mean time, heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet until melted and add mushrooms and peppers and sauté until they start to soften up
• Add spinach and sauté until wilted
• Remove mixture from the skillet (put in a small bowl – just briefly) and add the flat tortilla to the pan and then place the mixture on top of one half of the tortilla
• Scoop the insides out of the sweet potato and add to the mixture (it will be somewhat clumpy – don’t stir, just drop in)
• Sprinkle mixture with feta cheese and fold over the half of the tortilla with no mixture on it
• Remove from the skillet with a wide spatula (a pancake flipper would be good), as gluten free tortillas can tend to tear easily
• You may have more mixture than space on your tortilla – this is okay! Just add it to the side and go about your day.

Nutrition:

You could go any number of ways with the tortilla on this one, but this calculation includes a gluten free tortilla that is 130 calories. Just use this as a guidepost. Click to enlarge.

Something about summer makes me lazy in the kitchen. The idea of dirtying multiple dishes is unappealing – I just want to be done as fast as possible!

Enter: Burritos and burrito bowls. 2Chili favors burritos, whereas I really just like the filling with some brown rice or bulgur. I threw this recipe together the other night from ingredients we had on hand, and it met both of our requirements! 15 minutes start-to-finish, and delish!

Black Bean Burrito/Burrito Bowl Filling

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Serves: 4

Time Required: 5 minutes to chop veggies, 10 minutes to cook

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil (I used coconut)
• 2 small zucchini, chopped into quarters
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup sweet corn
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup salsa
• Optional: Top with your favorite cheese

Method:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat
• Add zucchini, onion, bell pepper and sauté until onion softens up, about 3 minutes
• Add corn, beans, and seasonings, and sauté until cooked through, about 3-4 more minutes
• Add salsa and sauté 2-3 minutes
• Serve with brown rice or bulgur, or roll into a burrito for a portable meal

Nutritional Info:

Based on 4 servings without cheese.

Who says a wrap has to come on a tortilla or tortilla-like implement? If you are watching calories – as I am presently doing right now – bread products suddenly become off-limits because they are fairly calorie dense.

Never fear!

Mother Nature has provided us with wonderful, nutritious and super low-cal options for your lunch wrap. Swiss Chard makes a fantastic wrap. It is very durable and at the same time, pliable. To top that, its dark leafy-ness is just a nutrition powerhouse: it’s packed with vitamins C, K, A, as well as the B-complex vitamins, and a variety of minerals, including the ever-important iron. Bonus!

I made a tuna/hummus/scallion kind of mixture for this wrap, but you could really use any filling of your choice. The best part is one recipe nets out at less than 200 calories and is highly packable into your lunch bag. Pair it with some nice seasonal fruit, and you have a light, on-the-go lunch!

Swiss Chard Tuna Wraps

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Serves: 1

Time Required: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Two-three large Swiss Chard leaves
• One can of dolphin-safe tuna packed in water, drained
• Two tablespoons hummus (I used roasted red pepper)
• Scallions, chopped, to your taste

Method:

• Wash chard leaves and pat dry. Remove the thickest part of the vein – you’ll likely end up with only most of the top of the leaf. I only cut out the really thick part
• Mix tuna, hummus, and scallions in a small bowl
• Spoon into Chard leaves and roll tightly

Nutrition:

Serendipity is a funny thing.

Last week, I was alone in Bend with no car, a significant snow/rainstorm, and little desire to hoof it to the store as I ran low on supplies. The store is only a mile away – an easy walk or three minute bike ride – but in a slushy mucky conditions, that is just not appealing. While I am not at all trained like someone who attended one of the California culinary schools, I do like to try new things and come up with different flavor combinations, so there was no time like the present!

As lunch drew near, a craving for pizza led to flatbread pizza which led to, “I don’t have any sauce or materials to make sauce.” But, I had some frozen lavash bread, thawed sun dried tomato hummus, plenty of spinach, and a bell pepper.  I had 30 minutes before a conference call that was going to handcuff me to my desk for two hours, so the whole thing had to come together quickly.

The ingredients turned into a flatbread wrap, and let me tell yoos something.. It was a good combination! As in, I will be making this again combination!

This is also a lesson in why the freezer is your friend!

I freeze most all bread products that we buy because we can’t eat them fast enough before they go bad, and then just use them as needed without worrying about spoilage. And, before trips back to Seattle for long periods, I freeze most everything that we don’t consume instead of throwing it out, and then take it back out of the freezer two days before I think I might need it. That thawed hummus saved my lunch!

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus Wraps

Serves: 1

Time Required: 5 minutes prep, 12 minutes to bake

Ingredients:

• 1 full whole wheat lavash bread (like Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Lavash)
• 1/3-1/2 cup sun dried tomato hummus (I used Lily’s brand, which you can get at Whole Foods)
• 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1/2 a bell pepper
• Also good to add: mushrooms, onion, olives
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4-1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Saute spinanch, peppers, and any other add-ins in the coconut oil until the spinach begins to wilt
• Spread hummus evenly over lavash bread, top with spinach and other toppings and sprinkle with cheese
• Bake for 12-14 minutes until the cheese is melted
• Cut in half and roll into wraps

Nutrition:

Based on 1/3 cup hummus and 1/4 tablespoon coconut oil.

Oh how I love the big green fiesta-ware looking plastic bowls at Whole Foods Market. But, much to my dismay, not every Whole Foods has them. I have learned the hard way – anticipation of filling a green bowl with goodies at a location away from home – only to find the green bowl is not a given: They’re green at my local Bellevue and Redmond, Washington locations. They don’t exist in Reno, and they are instead just to-go containers. They’re plates in Salt Lake City. Sigh. The {lack of} real problems in my life!

Vessel aside, I love what goes in the bowls/plates/cardboard carriers at the Whole Foods hot bar most. I somehow manage to keep the cost in check, even though the per-pound price adds up fast when you put anything in the bowl! It’s imperative to not buy items that are really heavy, so of course, veggie selections fare well.

If you’ve been with me for awhile around these parts, you may remember that I am a mixer. I will throw a bunch of random stuff together and chow down. There’s the big ‘ol salad. The many, many smoothies. And, then, there’s this green bowl, which houses a random mix of goodies.

For those with a knowledge of German, you may know a term called “gemischtes,” or, basically “mixed stuff.” I could live on mixed stuff. What am I talking about?! I do live on mixed stuff. And it drives a certain 2ChiliBreadBowl nutty. I have seriously thought about buying him one of those plates meant for children that has the little divided sections in it so he can keep order amongst his dinner. I guess that’s what you get from someone who draws houses for a living – he needs order and I am fine with chaos!

A couple weeks ago I mentioned I had a bit of a mix up with a zucchini and ended up with a mixed bowl for my dinner made of a garbanzo bean burger, some roasted sweet potatoes, and short grain bulgur. It was good! So, I made it again to take a picture and share.

Basically, this was an assembly of a bunch of leftovers, but, here’s what’s in it:

• 1 cup of short grain bulgur prepared with homemade veggie broth
• 1/2 a roasted sweet potato, skin on
• Sautéed white mushrooms and onion, and a handful of braised kale
• 1 garbanzo bean burger patty

You know what would be good on this mixture? Some of Mama Pea’s Mmmm-Sauce!

The thing about big bowls of random mixed stuff is you get to use up little bits of leftovers from your fridge. I love cleaning out and using up! Not wasting food is a great way to save money.

To make a good bowl of random stuff, there are really no rules, but consider:

• A grain as the base – brown rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa, etc.
• A protein source – bean/veggie burger patties work great here, but if you eat meat, a nice lean chicken breast or maybe lean steak strips
• Colorful veggies – broccoli, kale, spinach – or whatever veggies you happen to have on hand
• Some good starch – I love a sweet potato any day of the week, so, I always have them on hand, and they go so great in this mixture. Yukons or russets would work too – whatever you have!
• Sauce if you want it

For the bowl above, here is what I did, albeit on different days!

For the kale:

• Sautee some onions, mushrooms and kale until the kale starts to wilt and the onions are translucent

To roast the potatoes:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F
• Cut a sweet potato into chunks
• Place into a casserole dish and spritz with olive oil, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of brown sugar, and a little salt if you please (I skip the salt)
• Bake for 20 minutes and then stir the potatoes
• Bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned and soft

For the Garbanzo Bean Burger

I thought I’d share with you my “recipe” for a garbanzo bean patty. I use the term recipe loosely, because this emerged from a “little bit of this, little bit of that” blending session one day, but I think I have remembered everything. I have found the key to a good bean burger patty so that it holds together is blending it up in the food processor to a coarse consistency.

• 1 cup of drained chickpeas
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1 carrot, cut into chunks
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 egg
• Handful of Swiss chard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Preheat the broiler
• Pulse everything together in the food processor until you get a coarsely blended mixture.
• Form into patties, and brown in a nonstick skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side
• Place in a sprayed casserole dish and put under the broiler for 3 minutes on each side

Then, I just dumped everything on top of a bowl of warmed bulgur. Funny it took so many words to share such a simple concept!

What are your favorite mixes of random ingredients?

First order of business – have you updated your RSS feed to follow my Feedburner feed? I am 99% sure I’m changing host servers on Friday night, so I want to make sure not to lose you! And, thanks to everyone that has updated their feed. You make me happy!

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Oftentimes, simple is best. I am learning that the best recipes – and most successful Test Kitchen Tuesdays – are those that revolve around very simple ideas and flavor combinations.

So, when I stumbled upon this idea for Teriyaki Chickpeas over at The Happy Herbivore, I had a good feeling it would go over well with 2Chili. He likes chickpeas, and he loves teriyaki – there wasn’t much room to go wrong!

I ended up using the idea of the original recipe and modifying it quite a bit to take advantage of a few random veggies laying around from our produce box. Okay, the only thing the same is that it uses chickpeas, but, the idea was brilliant! 2Chili’s main concern when he asked about the creation of the dinner and I told him I had sort of free-styled based on an idea was quite literally:

“Oh no! Will you remember how to make it again?!”

Yeah, I’d say this was a hit.

Teriyaki Pineapple Chickpeas

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Original Recipe Inspiration: The Happy Herbivore

Serves: 4

Time Required: 15 minutes, start-to-finish, assuming you’re using canned beans and quick rice. I used dried beans and long grain rice I made over the weekend.

Skill Level (out of 5): 1

2Chili’s Taster Rating (out of 5): 5

It is rare for 2Chili to take seconds of dinner – he’s conscientious about calories like me – but he had a full second serving of this dinner with brown rice. And he doesn’t “like” brown rice.

The Cook’s Taster Rating (out of 5): 5

This was awesome, plain and simple. And, took 15 minutes. Can’t beat that!

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, or 2 shy cups if prepared from dried – drained and rinsed, ¼ cup bean water reserved to use in sauce
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 1 small can diced pineapple and 2 tablespoons juice reserved to use in sauce
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 4-5 scallions, diced
• 1 tablespoon corn starch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Method:

• Add all ingredients except the corn starch to a large pan and let sit and marinate for 5-10 minutes (this includes the bean water and pineapple juice)
• Heat over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly
• For the last minute, add the dissolved cornstarch and bring to a low boil until the sauce reaches your desired consistency and most of the liquid has absorbed
• Serve with brown rice or quinoa

Nutrition:

For ¼ of recipe, without rice.

The Verdict: Oh yeah, this will be in our rotation. Easy and tasty, and a 2Chili pleaser to boot!

I love Thai food. 2Chili, notsomuch.

But, as we’ve discussed in the past, I’m pigheaded, and, I make what I want – within reason – especially for our test meal on Tuesdays. There are so many “not approved” foods that I would never have anything I want if I abided by all of them!

This week’s Test Kitchen Tuesday comes from Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger on the Food Network. Ever since Lifetime stopped showing Frasier re-runs during the 6 a.m.-7 a.m. hour (my coffee/breakfast/prepare-for-the-day time), I have been watching the Food Network to start my day (like right now…) It’s kind of weird to watch shows that are usually focused on dinner during your breakfast, but, it does give me some ideas for trial dinners! I saw this on Monday morning and thought it would be a good meal to try out.

We don’t eat a lot of meat, poultry, or fish – so I thought a halibut dinner would be something different. One thing I realized right away is wow, fish is expensive! One 8 oz fillet of wild caught Pacific Halibut was $12.49. The recipe calls for serving this with brown rice, but I used Quinoa because I didn’t have any already made and didn’t want to wait 50 minutes. It also calls for steamed spinach, but I had snap peas in my CSA box that worked fine…
 

Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth

Original Recipe: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Skill Level (Out of 5):

Time Required: 30 minutes, start-to-finish

2Chili’s Taster Rating (Out of 5):

2Chili liked the way the fish was cooked (it was moist and flaky) but he didn’t like the cliantro. That’s a 2Chili issue, not a problem with the recipe. It should be noted he doesn’t really like Pico de Gallo for the same cilantro issue…

The Cook’s Taster Rating (Out of 5):

This was so easy and tasty. I didn’t give it a 5 because it is different from what you’d get in a Thai restaurant, so it was not quite what I was expecting. It wasn’t quite as rich as something like a red curry dish – but also doesn’t come with the same calories! I really liked the cilantro.

Nutrition:

As directed in the recipe, without the rice. 46g of protein if you go with 6 oz fillets as prescribed – that’s pretty incredible!

The Verdict: In general, this was an easy and fast recipe. I think this was the best at home fish we have ever had. I couldn’t get the sauce as thick as I thought it should be, so there was a lot of sauce left over. I would probably add some diluted corn starch at the very end next time to thicken up the sauce. 2Chili said he’d eat it again without the cilantro, but we probably won’t have it too often because of the cost of fish, and, we just don’t eat “meat” products that much. But overall, we liked it!

Wow, that was a long title!

First and foremost, let’s get to the winner of the Café Flora Cookbook. As I mentioned, the odds in this contest were very, very good. In all, there were five comments (entries), but one was from my mom, who graciously opted herself out of the contest.

So the winner is…drumroll please…Joanna, who was the 2nd commenter! Congratulations! I have already connected with Joanna and her cookbook is on its way from my buds over at Amazon.com.

Now, to the dinner. This week’s Test Kitchen Tuesday was a one-fer, as 2Chili is off participating in adventures unknown. Truth be told, I have been kind of looking forward to this one, as I have had a recipe on the brain for a while that I have put off making until a time when it would just be for me.

Veggie Yakisoba is one of my favorite things to order at our local catch-all Thai-Japanese-Chinese restaurant. 2Chili prefers chicken teriyaki and not much else from the Asian cuisine, so I knew this one would be pushing it for him. After I saw Mark Bittman make this on TV, I realized this is a pretty easy, fast, and customizable dish for one.

Veggie Yakisoba

Original Recipe: Yakisoba with Pork and Cabbage, The Minimalist (New York Times)

I used what I had on hand: broccolini, carrots, mushrooms and buckwheat yakisoba noodles.

Time Required: 10 minutes (seriously)

Skill Level (out of 5):

The Cook’s Taster Rating (out of 5):

Nutrition:

There are so many ways you could make this. I’m providing the nutrition on my version, with the broccolini, carrots, mushrooms, and buckwheat noodles based on 2 oz of dry pasta. I used low sodium soy sauce, and you’ll notice, the sodium is still pretty high! That pesky soy sauce…too bad it’s so good!

The Verdict:

This was so easy it was ridiculous! It was very tasty as well, though I probably  won’t make it often due to the unavoidable sodium content – it’ll more as a treat every now and then.

Friends, as my father-in-law likes to say, it’s dank in the Northwest these days. I mean, yes, I live in Seattle. It rains here. But lately, 2Chili and I have been feeling especially water-logged. We have received more rain already in March than in the entire month of February!

On a positive note, rainy weekends are a great time to hit the bookstore! Last Sunday, that’s exactly what we did. I made a couple purchases, one of which was the Café Flora Cookbook. (The other, in case you care, is a Total Immersion swimming book See? Water on the brain!)

I think Seattle is broadly known for a handful of items:

• The aforementioned rain
• The Space Needle
• Pike Place Market
• Microsoft
• Coffee (Starbucks, natch, but Tully’s is wayyyy better)
• Airplanes
• And, on a smaller scale in veggie circles, Café Flora

Just mention Café Flora to foodie-types and they begin to drool. It has a reputation for being that good.

I was excited to pick up their cookbook and knew this week’s Test Kitchen would have to come from it. After perusing its pages looking for recipes that 1) didn’t contain a majority of things 2Chili doesn’t like and 2) consisted of ingredients I already had on hand, I settled on the Oaxaca Tacos and Black Bean Stew.

The main ingredients are russet potatoes (in the CSA box this week), corn tortillas (had in the freezer), red bell pepper (check), and black beans (in the pantry), plus some spices. It was a risk because 2Chili doesn’t like black beans, and mashed potato tacos sounded a little odd, but, I had the ingredients, so I gave it a shot! And, it was incredibly good. Incredibly.

Before we get to that, let’s talk giveaway! I enjoyed reading this cookbook so much that I reckoned my readers probably would too. So, I’m going to give away a copy as a token of my appreciation to you guys. Because you rock. And, because I am constantly amazed that people I don’t know read what I have to say and have something to say back. It’s pretty awesome.

The Details

The details are simple: Leave a comment below saying whatever you want. It can be why you want this cookbook, but it doesn’t have to be. I would appreciate it, of course, if your comment is nice. But that is entirely up to you. I just need a way to know you are throwing your hat into the ring, so to speak.

If you wish to tweet or Facebook a link to this page, let me know that you have done so in your comment, and I’ll give you an extra entry for each method of “socializing.” Or, as we like to say in my techy marketing world, “amplifying.”

To keep things simple, I will do a random drawing using random.org next Tuesday night and announce the winner in next week’s Test Kitchen Tuesday post on Wednesday morning. Oh, I guess it is important to note that no one has donated the book, and I don’t receive any revenue from this blog. I am funding this drawing out of pocket, for no other reason than because I want to!

In an ideal world, I would love whoever wins the cookbook to write a guest post – their own “Test Kitchen Tuesday,” if you will – of their experience trying out one of the recipes in the cookbook. That’s optional, but I would love if it the winner wanted to do it.

Now…On To The Food

Café Flora Oaxaca Tacos and Black Bean Stew

From: Café Flora Cookbook, pages 132-134; Also printed in The Seattle Times

Time Required:

• 30 minutes, if potatoes and beans are already cooked, longer if you need to cook beans and potatoes.
• Note: While I work from home most days, I have client meetings on Tuesdays so am always in a pinch for time. To speed up the process, I boiled and mashed the potatoes in the morning so they were ready to go when I got home from work, and used rinsed low sodium black beans from a can.

Skill Level (out of 5):

2Chili’s Taster Rating (out of 5):
2Chili really, really liked this. He even noted he quite enjoyed the beans, and he doesn’t even “like” black beans.

The Cook’s Taster Rating (out of 5):
I think this is the most surprising TKT we have had yet. It sounds a little odd when you’re putting it all together, but is amazingly delicious.

Nutrition:

Black Bean Stew (per 1/2 cup)

Oaxaca Tacos (2)

The Verdict: YUM! Really, I wondered the whole time I was putting this together how well it would go over, but it was honestly so good. I am surprised at how tasty the tacos were based on what is in them and could seen using the black bean “stew” as a salsa or dip.

I should note that I didn’t make the tangy chard because we didn’t have any, which is odd, because we’ve had chard in our CSA box the last couple of times. 2Chili broke it down for me like this, in his very 2Chili way, “I could eat this again.” That’s about the best feedback I can get, so, I’ll take it!

Good luck in the drawing! (Enter it! Your chances are good – trust me!)

We like our pizza around these parts. During both our remodels, the Papa John’s deliver car visited our house at least once a week (and usually on Saturday after a super long day of hard labor). While convenient, take out pizza is expensive and questionable in nutritional value. And we could never resist whatever dessert pizza was offered alongside our dinner for free. Not the best. 

Today I have a recipe for a pizza dough that is every bit as good as take out, comes together in your bread machine, and can be frozen. It’s sort of an amalgamation of a few recipes I’ve used over the years, and I finally have one we like time and time again. We all know beer and pizza are natural companions, and this recipe uses the beer in the dough.

You’ll have to forgive the lighting in this photo. The dreary and wet days make it hard to get enough natural light for nice photos!

Beer Base Pizza Dough

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Skill Level (out of 5):

2Chili’s Taster Rating (out of 5):

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flat beer (doesn’t matter what kind, but I go with something light or amber because the flavor does come through)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (or sugar in the raw)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour (or bread flour)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Method:

• Put all ingredients in your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting, and press Start.
• When cycle is complete, remove and roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, using more flour when needed if dough becomes sticky. I usually toss it in the air a few times, which really helps even out the thickness – but be careful!
• Place onto a prepared pizza pan or cookie sheet, pressing down the middle and leaving about one inch of crust around the edges.
• Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
• Meantime, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Prick dough all around where the toppings will go with a fork.
• Spread desired sauce and toppings on top of dough. We use 1/2 cup low sodium pasta sauce, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, one sautéed red pepper, and chopped pineapple.
• Bake until crust is lightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 24 minutes.

Tips:

• Set out the beer in a measuring cup on the counter and cover with a paper towel in the morning the day you wish to make the dough to let it get flat over the course of the day.
• Once the dough has risen in the machine, you can take it out, punch it down, place into a Ziploc bag and store it in the freezer for later. The morning of the day you’re ready to make the pizza, simply take it out of the bag, place it in a bowl sprayed with olive oil or nonstick spray, cover with a clean dishtowel and place it into the refrigerator. It will be thawed out, will have re-risen, and will be ready to bake by evening.
• I know I say it a lot, but it’s because I care. It would be wise to use low sodium pasta sauce here, because jarred tomato products are the highest offenders of excessive and unnecessary salt. Since the dough requires salt to really work, a low sodium sauce helps balance everything out.

Nutrition:

Based on 8 servings of pizza with 1/2 cup low sodium pasta sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of pineapple, and 1 red bell pepper.