No Rise Pizza Dough

Pizza is one of my family's favourite foods. Of course, that's not really saying anything crazy, most people love pizza! Although my son refused to eat it for years – we would always feel a little ridiculous telling him he should try it.

It's pizza. Not really the healthiest of mealtime options. And here we are trying to convince our kid to try it. And like it. Because we all like it, so he should too, right?!

All of our coercing to get him to like pizza as much as the rest of us finally paid off this year and he tried pizza for the first time. And now he wants it basically ALL of the time. That may have backfired on us. Possibly.

Now my kid that was perfectly happy ignoring the "we felt too lazy to cook so we got takeout" meal is requesting the takeout meal incessantly. It's like he's trying to make up for lost time.

Can't really blame him though. Pizza IS fantastic. There's a reason we all enjoy it!

Even though we love to order pizza as much as the next family, we also love to make it. Pizza night is pretty fun, stretching the dough, putting on whatever toppings you like best, making individual personal pizzas if you want. Throw on a movie and it's a perfect Friday night!

My favourite pizza dough recipe is this cold rise pizza dough. It makes a thin crust, fantastic pizza. But….it requires planning ahead. You have to let it rise in the refrigerator at least overnight. I don't know about you, but I quite often do not plan a whole day ahead when it comes to pizza. Pizza is a spur of the moment decision around here more often then not. And on those nights, this no rise pizza dough is perfect.

Easy to make, it's ready to roll out and spread on your toppings in the amount of time it takes to heat up the oven. It makes a thin and crispy crust, and if you have 20 minutes to let it puff up a bit after rolling it out, it will rise just enough to be a bit thicker and chewier. Either way it's delicious and the perfect answer to the "can we have pizza tonight?" question, that I'm sure is asked often in more houses than just mine!

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No Rise Pizza Dough Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone, put it in the oven to heat up as well. If you don't have a stone, an upside down cookie sheet works quite well instead.
2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the 1 cup of water, flour, yeast, olive oil, honey and salt. Pulse the mixture (or stir with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand) until it comes together into a ball. Knead for 5 minutes by machine, 10 by hand until the dough is smooth.
3. If the dough is still looking dry and really shaggy after a couple minutes of kneading, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. If it is really sticky and not coming together into a smooth ball, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time.
4. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Divide it into two pieces and roll each out into a 10" circle. Top with whatever toppings you like and then bake for 9-11 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling. I like to roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper and then just slide the parchment paper with the ready to bake pizza onto the hot stone in the oven. 

Notes

• This dough actually also works well if you let it rise. I've used it both ways. As a no rise pizza dough it makes a thin, crispy crust. You can also let it rise until doubled (about 2 hours) after mixing, then roll it out and use it and you'll end up with a thicker, chewier crust. If you want it slightly puffy, you could also roll it out immediately and then just let it rise slightly for 10 or 15 minutes just to puff up a bit before adding your toppings and baking.

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Source: Adapted from How Sweet It Is.

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Dog Cupcakes

Each November in our home there is a whirlwind of birthday party festivities. Two of my three lovely daughters have birthdays in November that are only a mere two weeks apart. There are class parties for each, the actual day of each of their births, and smack in the middle there's a big party to properly celebrate each of their birthdays with their friends.

Each of these events must be properly celebrated and clearly, there's only one way to correctly do that. Cake! Cupcakes, full-size cakes, my life in November is all about cake.

Just a few days after their birthday excitement has started to die down, another birthday is upon us. Our yellow lab, Murphy, turns 3 this year! Not to be forgotten, we always like to celebrate his birthday in style as well, and what better way to do that than to celebrate with "pup-cakes!"

If your dog is anything like mine, they are going to go crazy for this Apple Cheddar Dog Cupcake recipe.

These 'pup-cakes" are a delightful treat for your pooch whether you're celebrating a momentous occasion or you just want to do something special for your four-legged friend. A double dose of apples from both applesauce and grated apples mean these are naturally sweetened and ultra-moist. And these dog cupcakes are filled with one of the birthday boy's very favorite things, cheese!

Cheddar cheese pairs beautifully with apples so it seemed like a natural choice to add a little something special. Truth be told, these "pup-cakes" are tasty enough for anyone to try which means you could even celebrate as a family if you really wanted to.

No matter if you're celebrating a birthday or that your dog was well behaved at the vet, these apple cheddar dog cupcakes are going to be gobbled up in no time by your happy hound!

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Dog Cupcakes Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated apple
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray with nonstick baking spray.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a second bowl, whisk together applesauce, vegetable oil, honey and eggs.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until evenly moistened. Gently fold in the apple and cheddar cheese.
5. Evenly divide the batter between the cups of the prepared muffin tin. They should be almost full. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

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How to Freeze Spinach

If you've ever been wondering how to freeze spinach, or why you might want to do that, look no further! I often buy those extra large tubs of fresh baby spinach because they're usually the same price as the smaller containers but we don't always eat through the whole container fast enough. Pretty quickly I learned about freezing spinach so I could benefit from the better price without ending up with wasted food.

Using any of these 4 methods you can freeze spinach for later use – I'll give you some recipe examples to go along with each method as well. Note: Just like most frozen vegetables, the vegetable is changed in the freezing process. Don't expect to freeze spinach and be able to thaw it for a fresh salad. The best ways to use frozen spinach later on involve using it in recipes where it is cooked or blended so the consistency and texture doesn't matter.

1. Make freezer smoothies

Frozen spinach works great for freezer smoothies. You don't have to worry about the post-freezing texture when it is blended with other ingredients.

What is a freezer smoothie? It is basically a pre-assembled baggie that contains all of the necessary ingredients for your favorite smoothie recipe.

Place your favorite fruits and veggies in individual sized freezer baggies. Label the bag the contents, date, and then freeze it.

Next time you want a smoothie, open the bag and transfer the contents to the blender along with any liquids or protein powders and blend.

For more detailed freeze smoothie preparation instructions visit this post full of freezer smoothie how-to tips and smoothie recipe ideas.

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2. Freeze pureed spinach in ice cube trays.

For this method, I like to puree 3 – 4 cups of packed spinach with 1 cup of water. I find that the "juice" cycle on my blender works best. After pureeing, I pour the juice into ice cube trays and then freeze the spinach cubes.

After the cubes are frozen, pop them out of the tray and into a freezer bag. Label the bag with contents and date before stashing it in your freezer.

This method is perfect when you just want to add small amounts of spinach puree to smooth, chunk-free recipes like smoothies, soups or sauces.  Add frozen, pureed spinach into your favorite spaghetti sauce recipe for an extra boost of vegetables.

3. Freeze chopped spinach in baggies.

Freeze pre-portioned of chopped spinach in small freezer baggies. You'll want to think about what amount and size you typically would use in a recipe. Really it will depend on how you want to use the spinach and what recipes you make most frequently. I like amounts ranging from 1/2 – 1 cup best.

This option is great for anything you would want to add pre-chopped spinach to.

If the recipe is something that is already pretty liquid (like soups) and thus won't be affected by adding a little extra moisture to the recipe, you can pretty safely just add the spinach directly to the recipe according to the recipe's instructions.

If you're making something where extra moisture won't go unnoticed, like a spinach lasagna, you'd want to thaw the spinach and squeeze it dry.

I think the easiest way is to place thawed spinach inside a paper towel and squeeze that over the sink. Sautéing the spinach for a minute or two will also dry them out a little more.

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4. Freeze spinach in a baggie - minus the chopping.

Freezing whole spinach leaves is ideal when you know you'd like to add spinach to various smoothies, but you don't want to be boxed into anything in particular the way you would if you pre-assemble smoothie bags. Or if, like me, you're feeling a little too lazy to do any extra prep work.

I've been known to stick a full tub of baby spinach directly into the freezer, but it is probably best to transfer it to something a little more air-tight, like a gallon sized freezer bag.

You can then pull out a handful or two of spinach as you need it.

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Baked Fish and Chips

If there is one meal my family can agree on, it would be fish and chips. Everyone loves it, even my picky teenage son. While this may be a favorite family dinner, I do not like to fry anything. So I came up with a healthier version of this meal and there is no pan of oil required.

Pieces of cod are coated with egg and a mixture of seasoning, panko bread crumbs and crushed crispy rice cereal. Thin sliced potatoes are drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The whole meal is baked in less than 30 minutes.

It can be served with a side of garlic butter broccoli and carrots or a shopska salad for a complete meal. Since it's light and healthy, I don't feel guilty splurging on a dessert such as slow cooker chocolate lava cake or Swedish apple pie.

The panko bread crumbs and crushed cereal give the fish lots of crispiness. I use a Cajun seasoning so there is a slight kick in the flavoring. Make sure to cook the fish on a wire rack so the fish is crispy on the bottom and top. I like to use this cod in my fish stick tacos recipe also. Frozen boxed fish sticks are great in a pinch, but the tacos are even better when you make your own crispy fish.

To make sure both your fish and potatoes cook evenly, they must be cut in uniform size. The thinner the potatoes are cut, the quicker they will cook and the crispier they will get. I cut them extra thin because my family likes really crispy fries.

The next time you need a quick and easy dinner, make these fish and chips. You'll be happy when your family then requests this healthy meal every month.

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Baked Fish and Chips Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Chips:

• 3-4 medium white potatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds, washed and scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra if necessary

For the Fish:

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal, finely crushed
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 1/2 pounds cod fillet, cut into 2 inch by 4 inch pieces
• 2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water added
• cooking spray

For Serving:

• lemon slices
• tartar sauce
• ketchup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch sticks. Toss with olive oil sprinkle with sea salt. Place on a big baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in oven on top rack for 15 minutes.
2. While potatoes are baking, mix together bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, cereal and dried parsley in a medium sized bowl.
3. Dip cod pieces in egg then coat them with crumb mixture while lightly pressing crumbs on the fish so that its well coated.
4. Place a wire rack on top of a large baking pan. Spray the rack with cooking spray. Place the fish on top of the rack.
5. After the potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes turn them so the other side will get crispy.
6. Place the pan of fish on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until fish is cooked and both fish and fries are crispy.
7. Season with extra salt if necessary. Serve with lemon, tartar sauce and ketchup if desired. 

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Chocolate Whiskey Marshmallows

In general, I only need a few things to get me through a long cold winter without complaining too much. As long as I have cozy sweaters, a warm pug, a bottle of bourbon and plenty of hot chocolate, I can make it through the season.

Just like extreme heat, I can't take the cold either. Let's face it, I'm a weather wimp, but seasonal comforts keep me from becoming a grouch for half the year. If I do need to venture outside on a blustery day, nothing cheers me up more so than a piping hot mug of rich hot chocolate. Even better if it's topped with a house-made marshmallow!

You know those big, pillow-soft marshmallows I'm talking about that fancy shops makes – so large it doesn't even fit on your mug. What if I told you that you don't need those fancy spots to make marshmallows?

That's right, as fun as it is to get some big puffy marshmallows on top of your hot chocolate; it's even more fun to make them at home. Even better, our homemade versions are spiked with whiskey and loaded up with some chocolate flavor.

Why go through the trouble of making marshmallows when it's so easy to just pick up a bag at the store? I'll tell you – it's because you can control everything that goes into them. These marshmallows contain no corn syrup; every single ingredient is one that you have in your pantry (and err bar)!

Marshmallow making is probably one of the easiest candies to make at home. All you need on hand is a trusty candy thermometer, a good saucepan and a stand mixer. A few pieces of advice I can give you when making your marshmallows are:

1. Don't walk away, your sugar syrup will go from the correct temperature to burnt in an instant.
2. Don't be afraid of pouring the hot syrup into a running stand mixer, it won't splatter back at you.
3. Even if you think the mixture won't whip up into a glossy meringue, it will eventually. Your stand mixer takes a beating for 15 minutes but in the end, you'll have glossy marshmallows ready to be poured into a mold and set overnight.

I think you'll love these chocolate whiskey marshmallows enough to be making them all year long, but they're especially nice when it's chilly, and perfect for your next cup of hot cocoa.

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Chocolate Whiskey Marshmallows Recipe

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Ingredients

• 3 unflavored gelatin envelopes, 1/4 ounce packets
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, divided, plus extra for dusting
• 2 ounces whiskey
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the 3 packs of unflavored gelatin and ½ cup water, whisk to combine. Stir in the cocoa powder and whiskey. Set aside.
2. In a heavy duty, medium saucepan over medium heat combine the remaining 1/2 cup water and 2 cups of sugar.
3. Attach the candy thermometer to the interior of the pan and cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 240°F. and remove from the heat.
4. Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and start mixing the chocolate gelatin mix on low.
5. Very slowly and carefully pour in the sugar syrup, with the mixer running, trying to aim towards the center of the bowl. You want to avoid pouring the sugar down the sides of the mixing bowl.
6. Once all the sugar syrup has been added, increase the speed to medium high and whip for about 10-15 minutes or until you have stiff, glossy peaks. In the last minute, whip in the vanilla extract.
7. Prepare a 9X9 square baking pan by dusting it with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder mixed with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch.
8. Pour the marshmallow into the prepared baking pan, smooth the top and just the top with remaining cocoa powder mix.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 6 hours or overnight to set. You know the marshmallows are set when you press on them and it springs back at you.
10. Flip over the pan to remove the marshmallow square and cut into your desired size using a pizza wheel or kitchen shears.
11. Toss in some cocoa powder to keep the marshmallows from sticking and store in an airtight container for about 1 week. 

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