Pizza Bites!

So I made these a few weeks ago because one of my roommate's favorite foods to eat while drinking are frozen pizza bites and I knew I could make homemade ones about a million times better (Sorry Totinos).

The pizza bites are fun and easy to make and are perfect for appetizers for party or for a football game.  They can be made to be really fancy or as simple as can be (you could use anything from cheese and pepperoni, to spinach and tomatoes, or sauteed mushrooms, or even truffles).  The crust recipe is enough for 2 batches (about 40-50 bites).  The recipe I listed is with pepperoni and mozzarella.

These are also perfect for dipping in my pizza sauce (just warm it up so it's nice and hot); if you do that my only recommendation would be to melt some cheese in the sauce and they will be perfect.  Enjoy this Just Good Food!

Recipe:

Crust: (1/2 batch)

½ cup water warm (110)

1 instant yeast pack

1¼ cup water (room temp)

2 tbsp evoo

4 cups bread flour

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

11/2 tsp salt

1 pepperoni for each bite (40-50)

1/2 cup-2/3 cup cheese

parmesan cheese

Directions:

This dough recipe is not the one I usually use but one I actually found from "Annie's Recipes".  Follow the instructions, I make the full batch of dough and either save it for a pizza or bites later in the week or make 2 batches.  However, the only difference I made in the recipe is the addition of the honey (I got that idea from a place on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," and the spices always add to the crust flavor.

Once you let the crust rise for an hour or so take it out and flour a counter top and role out the crust to about 1/4 inch thick.  Then cut into squares about 2 inches by 2 inches.  Brush a little bit of olive oil on the crust then place a pepperoni on each piece then a good finger full of cheese.  

To fold the pieces, simply take the four corners and pinch them together and roll into a ball making sure there is no spaces for cheese to come out.  Sprinkle some cheese on top with oregano and cook for about 15-20 minutes (you want the tops crispy).

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for my sister Abbie's Birthday a few weekends ago.  I had never made a cake before and was a little nervous because when I bake I tend to mess up (I always forget that food continues to cook even after taking it out of the oven, and I sometimes over bake cookies, etc).
That is why I decided on a flour-less cake as you only need a few ingredients and it is a good starting point with baking cakes.

The cake was delicious, I followed the recipe except added some peppermint schnapps for a little extra something (don't be afraid to add the listed amount otherwise you won't taste it).
The chocolate ganache' (ok that is a fancy word for frosting) is so easy because it uses 2 ingredients (how easy is that).
Have fun with this, make it for a celebration or just simply for some friends that you want to showoff for because they'll think you spent 2 hours on this cake.  Enjoy this Just Good Food!

Cake Recipe:

1 stick cold butter
4 ounces good bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ounces peppermint schnapps (optional)
nonstick cooking spray

Ganache Recipe:

1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray and 8 or 9 inch cake pan with the non-stick spray (another good trick is to lay parchment down inside after spraying the pan to easily take out the cake).
Get a pot of water boiling and place the chocolate, butter, and schnapps in a bowl over the water and stir continuously until fully melted and incorporated (about 3-5 minutes).
Immediately put on ice to cool the chocolate mixture (this is very important, if you do not cool you will cook the eggs when you add them making scrambled chocolate egg cake).  Wait a few minutes at least 10 until the chocolate is cool then go onto the next step!
Next mix in the sugar and sifted cocoa powder (sift it because you do not want a big chunk of chocolate).
Beat the 3 eggs and mix into the mixture until everything is fully incorporated (should have a dark chocolate look).
Pour the mixture into the sheet pan and bake for around 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it though, it also may look like it id done but don't take out too soon otherwise the middle will sink.  Otherwise this is a very easy cake to make.

Now for the ganache!

Take the boiled water and another bowl and put the heavy cream and chopped chocolate into the bowl.  Melt the chocolate and stir continuously with the heavy cream until they are fully incorporated.
This is good and easy to do before and let sit in a fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
The only mistake you can make is pour the ganache over the cake while still hot.
If you make the ganache at the same time as the cake just wait to put it on the cake a few hours (make sure to put the frosting in the fridge to cool).

 

Sweet Mashed Potatoes

These are the potatoes I made with the pork loin, another first time recipe that was inspired from Rachel Ray's recipe.  Sweet potatoes are really healthy for you, great tasting, and an orange vegetable which are sometimes difficult to find.  The ingredients I used here are very homey fall flavors that can be used for Thanksgiving dinner or a healthy substitute for gratin potatoes or fried potatoes you might make with your protein.
The best part about these potatoes is of course THE BACON!  The rule with bacon is you must save the grease (bacon grease can go with anything, but my favorite use is with pancakes).  I actually just poured the grease into the potatoes for more flavor and I didn't want to make the potatoes too healthy.
This week is Homecoming and tomorrow some friends are having dinner!  But what should I cook???  Enjoy this Just Good Food!


Recipe: (Serves 4)

3 lbs of sweet potatoes
4 slices of bacon
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Orange juiced and zested
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
few dashes of hot sauce
pinch of nutmeg
bacon grease


Directions:

Rinse, peel and cube the potatoes (inch pieces) and place them in a pot of salted boiling water. Cover the potatoes and cook until tender (20 minutes).
When finished, drain the potatoes and return to the pot and leave on low heat.  Use a fork to smash the potatoes until smooth, add the stock to make this easier, flavor the potatoes and smooth them out.
Get a skillet out and fry up the bacon, when done break into small pieces and add to the potatoes along with the seasonings, orange juice and zest.
Add s and p to taste along with hot sauce.

Serve immediately and blow people's minds!

Pork Loin with Finger Lickin' Good Gravy!

We had out first family meal last week, took a while but I put my heart and soul into this meal and the guys absolutely loved it (I could tell because we were all concentrating on eating and enjoying every bite)!
I decided to try something new and go big with a pork loin with a sweet and savory gravy and sweet mashed potatoes.
The pork was not too difficult at all just good piece of meat and spices to bring it all together for the perfect meal.
I had 2 small pork loins (totaling 1.5 lbs so it cooked quickly, the meal fed 5 of us fine, but for a bigger meal you might need more).
This is also a great holiday or fall dinner with friends or family.  Also leftovers can be used for an unbelievable sandwich the next day.
The sauce I was originally following a recipe but I didn't like the consistency so I put it on a sauce pan, added some butter, and reduced it to thicken it up and add more flavor.  My roommates were scrapping up the sauce with bread it was so good!
Also, guys if you're looking for the "first-date" meal to make this might be the one!  Share around, again do not be afraid to make this (I am not a baker at all and made my first cake tonight and it turned out to be a success), you can do it and Enjoy this Just Good Food!


Recipe: (Serves 4-5)

1.5 lbs of pork loin (fat trimmed off)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper
(that's it!)

Recipe for Sauce:

1 whole Roasted garlic bulb (surprise kicker)
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp beef broth
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tbsp water


Directions:

First you want to roast the garlic since this takes about 45 minutes.  Take the entire cloves of garlic and cut in half, drizzle with olive oil salt and pepper wrap it in foil and put it in a toaster oven at 475.  It's done when the cloves should slip out and nearly fall apart.
For the pork preheat the oven to 375, trim the fat off the pork and place in a cooking pan.  Rub the loin with olive oil and season the entire body with salt/pepper, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
Cook the pork for about 25-30 minutes, just keep an eye on it but make sure it remains tender.

For the gravy, get out a blender and once the garlic is done mix it in the blender with the balsamic, beef broth and chopped parsley.
Blend together until incorporated, start slowly blending in the oil and add the sugar, water, salt/pepper until mixed throughout (should be a lighter brown color).
Pour into a saute pan on a medium low heat and add the butter (cut into small cubes).  Continue to stir the gravy and let reduce to thicken (about 15 minutes).

Once the loin is done slice into 1/4 inch servings and pour some of the gravy over the loin.  Serve with extra gravy in small bowls for everyone individually (so nobody is fighting over it).

Homemade Pizza Sauce

This is so awesome and literally takes 5-10 minutes, so no excuses for not making this your own.
Many people mistake how to make a pizza sauce but really the only tomato source you need is tomato paste.  Another plus is you do not need any heat source for the sauce (just a bowl for mixing!)
This sauce can be used for the pizza recipes from the blog or with the meatballs or simple grilled pizza on a tortilla.
This weekend is Tommie Johnnie weekend at UST (biggest D3 rivalry around!), can someone say kegs and eggs!!!  Enjoy this Just Good Food and Go Tommies!!!


Recipe:

1 6oz can of tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp cayenne
hot sauce
salt and pepper


Directions:

Get out a large bowl and mix in the tomato paste with the water and olive oil.  Mix it very well and add additional water if needed (depending on what kind of consistency you like).  You want to mix it really well because when you put it in the fridge the olive oil will separate from the tomato base so mix it really well.
Mince the garlic (no need to cook it) and mix it in along with all the others spices and hot sauce.
The longer you let the flavors sit and mesh together the better it will taste, however you can use this right away if you don't make it ahead of time.
That is literally it (told you 5 minutes!), no excuses and your friends will be impressed if you tell them you made an entirely homemade pizza!