Homemade Pizza

A few months ago David and I had a chef come to the house for cooking lessons. During the lessons he taught us how to make homemade pizza dough and pasta. Since our lesson we have had some leftover dough in the freezer and decided this week would be a perfect time to use it. 

David rolling out the dough

We also decided to make a sauce using a tomato puree and adding our own seasoning. We began by cooking some garlic in olive oil and then added the puree. We then seasoned to taste using Italian seasoning, oregano, and salt. 

Roasting the garlic in olive oil

Adding the puree and herbs

Once we completed the sauce we moved the rolled out pizza dough onto a pizza stone that has been preheated to 450 degrees. We quickly added the sauce, cheese, and toppings we had prepared earlier. 

Our healthy toppings

Adding the sauce

Cooking the pizza

We cooked the pizza at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese and edges were a golden brown. 

Our delicious pizza straight out of the oven

Our pizza turned out fantastic. Although this isn't one of the healthiest recipes it is a fun splurge every once in a while. And with a whole wheat crust, veggies, and low-fat cheese it isn't the worst meal ever! So enjoy! 

Tomato and Olive Penne

I have been looking for a quick but healthy meal and came across this tomato and olive penne on Martha Stewart's website. It was very fast and super delicious. 

Ingredients:

Salt and Pepper

1 pound penne pasta

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 cups (2/3 pound) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook penne according to package instructions. 

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring until just golden, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to low, cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes. 

3. Add penne, olives, parsley, and Parmesan to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired. 

This would also be a great base for additional vegetables or a meat. David even said this can replace our quick spaghetti meals where we use the jarred sauce. Bye bye additional preservatives and hello fresh veggies! 

What would you do if you couldn't fail?

Growing up I spent the majority of my free time in the gym. I spent 4-5 days a week perfecting my gymnastic routines and learning the power of discipline. I believe this is one reason my current gym routine is such an important part of my life and for that I am thankful. Gymnastics also taught me I am an extremely cautious person and this was often to the detriment of my own development. Fear has always been something I have fought with so when I walked into our Lululemon store and the banner said, "What would you do if you couldn't fail?" it made me think. What are the times in my life I have been brave enough to fail? What are the times in my life I should have pushed harder?

Love is More Powerful Than Fear

Thinking back on my bravest moments I find they are not in my physical activities but my emotional ones. I found the courage to leave a serious relationship when things were comfortable but I wanted more. I also found the courage to love and trust again after being hurt so deeply. I found the courage to leave a job and my home to pursue a new career in a new city. I am proud that over the last few years I have come to realize that love is more powerful than fear.

Fear Will Not Control my Physical Destiny

Now it is time for me find the courage to continue to push my body. I tried skiing once and was terrified so this year I am going to start all over and try snowboarding. I will get lessons, learn the basics, and learn to enjoy falling and not fear speed. This summer I will try wake boarding. With David having a lake house this is something I want to be able to enjoy doing together. Fear will not control my physical destiny.

Be Kind and Gentle with Yourself

I will find the courage to not care what other people think. As a perfectionist I feel I should look and perform perfectly all the time. So when I fall skiing or am not immediately successful at a new skill I believe people are judging me. I worry about it at the gym, at work, even while walking the dog. I never compliment my body and find myself only sending negative messages. This year I will be kinder to myself and my body.

Fresh Salsa

This past weekend we were blessed with a 60 degree Saturday in January. To take advantage of the beautiful weather we decided to have a cookout. One of my favorite summer appetizers is a homemade salsa. Below is my simple, delicious, and healthy salsa. 

Ingredients:

1/2 bushel cilantro

1 lime

1/2 jalapeno

1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

1 can whole tomatoes

Directions:

1. Remove leaves from cilantro and place in food processor. Add half the jalapeno, with seeds for extra heat, and the clove of garlic. Cover with juice from the lime. Chop in the food processor. 

2. Add the whole tomatoes without adding the juice. Chop in food processor. Add salt to taste. 

And that is it! You can add less lime if you would like your salsa thicker or add fresh tomatoes when they are in season. It is a super simple recipe but seems to be the hit of every party! Here is hoping for more warm winter days! 

Back to Quilting!

With the holidays over it is time to start quilting again. I am currently quilting two quilts, the first is a gift and the second is for me or to donate. Since I can't blog about the gift I will be blogging about my other quilt. I was inspired by the mod sampler quilt on oh fransson and will be creating a bright version of her quilt. Here are the fabrics I will be working with.

I like the bright colors against the white and think it will be a perfect quilt to get my through winter and into summer! Plus one of my good friends, Amber, has decided to start quilting so hopefully I will have someone to quilt with this winter!

Oven Roasted Broccoli

I am not a huge veggie fan but I am really trying to learn to love them. This past summer I visited my cousin Laurie who cooked us delicious oven roasted broccoli. It was the first time I have ever wanted to eat broccoli! Below is the recipe I found on the Food Network Website that is very similar to Laurie's.

Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Spread the panko in a 13"x9" metal cake pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. 

4. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine.

5. Return the mixture to the cake pan, place in the oven, and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss in the cheese. Serve immediately.

This is a really easy and delicious recipe that makes a great side to a lot of dishes!

Hoisin Chicken with Cucumber Salad

To start the New Year out right David and I decided we would use his new cookbook and cook some low calorie health meals. We decided to start the year with Hoisin Chicken and Cucumber Salad from the Food Network Great Easy Meals Cookbook.

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

3/4 cup hoisin sauce

3 scallions, coarsely chopped

5 cloves garlic

1 2-in piece fresh ginger, sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and halved (remove seeds for less heat)

Zest and juice of two limes, plus lime wedges for serving

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 pounds skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks

For the Salad:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Kosher salt

1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Prepare the chicken: Preheat grill to medium on one side. Combine the hoisin sauce, scallions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, lime zest and juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a mini food processor. Process until almost smooth. Season the chicken with salt; toss with the hoisin mixture in a large bowl. NOTE: We did not have gas for the grill instead we preheated the over to 425 degrees and cooked it for 25 minutes.

Zesting the lime

2 inch ginger root

Ingredients before the food processor

Sauce after being processed

Chicken glazed and being put in the oven

2. Make the salad: Bring the vinegar, sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup ice cubes until melted. Toss the cucumber and red onion in a serving bowl with the vinegar mixture; chill.

3. Grill the chicken over direct heat until the skin is crisp, 5 minutes per side, basting with extra marinade. Transfer to the cooler side of the grill; cover and grill until cooked through, 10-15 more minutes. Serve with the cucumber salad and lime wedges. NOTE: After the 25 minutes we at 425 degrees we reapplied the marinade and cooked for another 20 minutes.

The meal turned out well although I think it would be much better grilled. The sauce was good and since we liked lime we really enjoyed it. However, there is a strong lime flavor which may turn some off. We also left the seeds in the jalapenos so we had a nice hotness to balance the lime flavor.