Garbanzo Bean Pizza Crust (On a Make Your Own Grilled Pizza Night)

I recently grabbed some garbanzo bean flour to make some flat bread. I figured I would incorporate it into our crust on pizza night to up the nutrient content!

It was amazing, and the kids (we had an extra child for the week who piled her goodies on!) loved it.

The Topping choices were:
sauce
shredded mozzarella
smoked diced mozzarella
grape tomatoes
baby spinach
maple roasted butternut squash
sauteed mushrooms
caramelized onions
mini pepperoni
bacon!!!!
Canadian bacon

My version was sauce, both cheeses, tomatoes, spinach, squash, mushrooms, onions and bacon. It was seriously the best pizza I have ever put into my mouth. YUM!


Garbanzo Pizza Crust

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup garbanzo flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or grill like we do!)
• Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes (or grill!) 


The Kids' Pizzas!! 

Making Use Of Leftovers! Crostata with Mushrooms and Pancetta

Every few weeks we do homemade pizza. We don't aways make our own dough (didn't this week), but we sometimes do. The kids made their own crazy pizzas, and my husband and I sauteed some things we had sitting in the fridge. Shallots, mushrooms, garlic. Then added on random toppings that sounded great at the time. Then we sliced up a ball of mozzarella and he grilled the pizzas. (We have a Big Green Egg). I tell you what, grilled pizzas are so much better than baked pizzas. Doing so makes DiGiorno taste like the bomb on those lazy nights! Ok....so the pizza was great. But we had left over veggies. Hmmmm...what to do? (ahem, scroll down)

After watching Food Network, I was inspired by the oh so lovely (okay....okay...smokin HOT) Giada! So I picked up some pancetta (and a couple of other things needed for the crust) and went to town on Crostata w/Mushrooms and Pancetta. Oh my. The crust was TO DIE FOR. It was awesome. Like really really good. Since my kids don't dig the mushrooms, I think next time roasted root veggies would be very nice. So if you make this, don't hold strong to the mushroom idea. Add in any roasted or sauteed veggies. But don't leave out the pancetta. It made the dish! Enjoy!

P.S. I plan on trying the other recipes from that episode. They looked yum.

Smokey Turkey and Grilled Apple Paninis

I got this recipe from Rachel Ray, with a few minor changes.

I used my George Foreman but you can use a grill pan. The only difference was that I used ciabatta bread and added green onions for some more crunch.

It was pretty tasty and the kids totally loved it. Next time I may try smoked cheddar instead, I like the sharper flavors. :)

Three Cheese Veggie Pizza

This is another Cooking Light recipe and it was good. I think next time I will omit the capers (although I like capers, just not for this recipe) and maybe add some cubed chicken. It was a great start though, the mushrooms UNDER the cheese was kind of cool and tricky. Haha.
Also, I patted dry any wet ingredients to keep the pizza from getting soggy. :)

Use this recipe as a template, and vary the cheeses and vegetables to make your own creations. Allow the pizza to stand five minutes before slicing to allow any liquid on top time to be reabsorbed into the toppings so the crust won't get soggy.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 cup marinara sauce1 (1-pound)
Italian cheese-flavored pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup sliced bottled roasted red bell peppers
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
4 drained canned artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 500°.
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add black pepper, minced garlic, and mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and most of liquid evaporates.
Spread sauce over the pizza crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and top with mushroom mixture. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella, fontina, and Parmesan cheeses. Top with roasted red bell peppers, 1 tablespoon capers, and artichokes. Bake at 500° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown. Let pizza stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken with Panko-Garlic-Parmesan Crust, Carrot Orzo, Peppery Parmesan Crisps and a Salad

Parmesan was the theme. Haha.

My 6 year old son helped with the parmesan crisps. For a version he could do, I pulled out a muffin pan and sprayed it with nonstick spray. I gave him grated parmesan and a spoon. A teaspoon went into each tin and then he used the peppergrinder to dust a little pepper on. He then used to other side of the pepper grinder to flatten the mixture. Those were baked at 350 for about 6-8 minutes. Done.

My carrot orzo I got from here. It was a huge hit. Thanks Joe!

The chicken recipe I got from here but subbed tenders for breasts and panko for breadcrumbs.

Then Chad mixed together a nice balsamic vinegar dressing and every was happy. :)

Rockin Morning Meal

After taking both kiddos to their schools and returning to my son's school to drop off meds, I came home to a quiet house. First time in a week that I have not had a child with me. I was starving and wanted to use some of the left over french bread that we had sitting around. And since we always have a plethora of cheese in our fridge, I decided to grab that.

Pretty much you don't need a recipe...I used Wisconsin sharp cheddar, thick cut bacon from Costco, one egg, a couple slices of tomato and voila. The panini grill made it come together.