Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

The quest for the perfect pizza crust is over! I found this recipe and used it the last 4 times we've had pizza. It has turned out great every time.


1tsp. sugar (I use honey or agava)
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 cup wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour

Mix the water, oil and sweetener together in a bowl. In another bowl mix yeast, flour and salt together.
Add dry ingredients to the wet.
The dough is going to be a little wet so you will need to knead in another 3/4 cup of wheat flour. The original recipe used white but I substituted wheat.
After you knead in enough flour so the dough is no longer sticky place in a bowl and allow to rise until doubled.
You can either divide the dough and make 2 thin crusts or 1 thick.
Also, remember to par-bake your crust before you add your toppings so you don't get a soggy crust.

Babaganoush & Tuscan Pasta

We have a dishwasher at work that is from Baghdad. He and his family moved here sometime last year. On Thursday he brought in Babaganoush for everyone and dates stuffed with walnuts. I saved my ganoush for Friday night. I made pita bread to go with it using this recipe.


When Nathan got home from work he made this amazing Tuscan pasta dish. As soon as I can find the recipe I'll post it. It was really yummy.

My First Love...

...would have been 80 yesterday. Many swoon over Johnny Depp, George Clooney or Brad Pitt but Steve McQueen has been at the top of my list since the first movie I remember seeing him in (The Great Escape).








So Happy Birthday you handsome, racing man!


Also what triggered my memory of his birthday was that my sister Stephanie has the same birthday! So jealous...

Accident Prone?

I used to not think so but...

Burn & scratch from work

Burned my leg on Garrett's new bike pipes

And yesterday I got a little carried away with the mandolin

...Nathan says "that's what happens when you're a badass". I'm thinking I'm just clumsy.

Success

So last week I found a new place the mouse has been hanging out; the top shelf of the bookcase in the spare bedroom. I guess he's been checking out the latest edition of Cooking Light. Anyway, I guess he came back for a new recipe because....



...he is no more. I know that where there are 1 there are many but at least 1 down!!

Beer Braised Beef with Onion, Carrot & Turnips

I made this a couple weeks ago for the second time. Last time I used potatoes because I didn't have turnips. It's great either way! Make sure you have some crusty bread to soak up that yummy juice.

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1(1-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup beef broth
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1(12-ounce) dark beer
1bay leaf
3 carrots, peeled & cut diagonally into 1/2 inch-thick slices
9 ounces small turnips, peeled and cut into wedges
1 medium onion, peeled & cut into wedges

1. Preheat oven to 300
2. Place flour in shallow dish. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Sprinkle beef evenly on all sides with 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper; dredge in flour. Add beef to pan; cook 10 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Add broth & next 3 ingredients, scraping pan to remove browned bits; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 300 for 1 1/2 hours.

Going into the oven!

Turnips are so cute.

Add carrots; cover and cook 25 minutes.

Add remaining 1/2 tsp salt, turnips, and onion; cover and cook an additional 1 hour.

3. Remove beef & vegetables from pan; discard bay leaf. Cover beef mixture. Let cooking liquid stand for 10 minutes. Place a zip-lock plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour cooking liquid into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner. Drain Cooking liquid into a medium bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Serve with beef and vegetables.

Finished product! Yum!

Breakfast

One of the major things I miss about Statesboro is Saturday morning at the bakery. Every Saturday at 9 AM friends and I met for breakfast. I have ALOT of great memories at the bakery and I usually lament a couple times at the week that I don't have it here in Charlotte.

Because there isn't a bakery close (less than 20 minutes) we've been cooking breakfast at the house. I really enjoy it but nothing beats the Sugar Magnolia.

17 Days Until...

SPRING!!!



We're tired of cold, snowy, rainy weather. Bring on the warmth!!

Days Long Ago

Nathan and I went antiquing last Saturday. I found some fun ovens...






Nathan got his hat...he was a little out of place walking down the sidewalk.

Only Death Will Do

We've know for a while that we have a mouse in the house. Nathan has seen it once and I've had the pleasure of seeing it twice. We purchased mouse traps when I moved it but have not caught anything yet. Last week I made fish taco's for dinner and somehow forgot to close and put the tortillas away. The next day I notice them on the counter and when to close them and put them away (if they were not dried out) and I saw this.



Apparently the little bugger made a hole in the plastic stuck it's head through and ate as much as he could reach.


Nathan wanted to get the humane mouse traps when we moved in but they don't seem to work very well. I'm all about the the ones that snap shut and cause almost instant death. Sorry to be morbid but the thought of a mouse on my counter is disgusting.

(Please ignore the dust behind the refrigerator)