Easy Wheat Pizza Dough

If you've been following my blog a while, you have probably put together that I like pizza.  I make it almost every week.  Never the same pizza either.  I love to experiment with sauces, toppings, crusts... pizza can be anything you want it to be.

However, one thing I haven't done until now is make my own crust.  I always just use a store bought package.  This is certainly not because I like store bought mixes.  Every kind we have made is never crispy enough, but the reason I keep buying them is because pizza is one of those go-to quick and easy meals.  If you make your own crust it's no longer quick because you have to let it rise.  This means planning ahead, which is not something I do when I am making pizza...

But it just so happened that I was craving pizza on a weekend, so I had plenty of time to make up some dough.  I really liked this dough because it is made with whole wheat flour, it turned out crispy, and the recipe makes two pizzas worth of dough so you can freeze the second batch and have something ready for any weeknight.

Wheat Pizza Dough
Start to finish: 90 minutes
Makes 2 pizza crusts

1 tsp sugar
1.5 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour

In a medium bowl (or oversized measuring cup), dissolve the sugar into the warm water.  Mix the yeast into the water until dissolved.  Let this stand until it starts to foam, about 5 minutes.  Then stir in the oil and salt into the yeast mixture.  In another bowl, mix together the flours.

Pour the yeast mixture into your mixer bowl.  Turn the mixer on with the dough hook attachment and start incorporating the flour.

Once the dough is well mixed, turn your mixer on the 2 setting and knead for a couple minutes, or until the dough forms a ball.

Oil your hands and coat the dough ball on both sides before covering the bowl with a towel and letting it rise for an hour.

The dough should have doubled in size after an hour.

Punch the dough down and cut it into 2 equal pieces.  Freeze one of the pieces for future use and get ready to make a crush from the other piece.

For this pizza I oiled a small cookie sheet and spread the dough with my fingers until it covered the bottom.  Start from the middle and work your way out.

Let the dough rest while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Pre-bake the crust for 10-12 minutes before taking it out and loading it with toppings.

Bake the pizza for 7-10 more minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted.

Making your own crust takes a little more time, but it's way better than anything you can buy at the store.  What's your favorite kind of pizza?

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

 I have been eating a lot of muffins for breakfast lately.  They are easy to make, they're portable, and if you microwave them for 10-15 seconds they taste freshly baked every time.  They also go really well with my morning coffee!

Recently while roaming the baking aisle at the grocery store, I stumbled upon cinnamon chips.  Immediately my mind went to muffins.  So, I augmented my favorite apple muffin recipe and out came these delicious Apple Cinnamon Muffins.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Start to finish: 45 minutes
Makes 18 muffins

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup 1% milk
1 golden delicious apple, chopped into tiny pieces
1/2 bag Cinnamon Chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prep your muffin tins with non-stick spray.  Whisk together the sugar and oil.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the applesauce and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Then incorporate the dry mix into the wet mix.

Last, pour in the milk.

Peel and chop the golden delicious apple into tiny pieces.

Then fold the apples and cinnamon chips into the batter with a wooden spoon.

Fill your muffin cups almost all the way to the top.

Then bake them 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool them on a wire rack but make sure and taste test one while it is still warm :-)

 I personally think these muffins are best when reheated in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.  It remelts the cinnamon chips and makes them gooey and delicious.  If you're not sure how you're going to eat 18 muffins, don't worry, they refrigerate and freeze well.

Chicken Tetrazzini

 I loved chicken tetrazzini growing up.  But the chicken tetrazzini we used to have...came from a box.  Sad to say my grown up tastes do not allow for many pasta dishes from a box, except the occasional macaroni n cheese.  Hence why I haven't had chicken tetrazzini in years.

It must have been fate when I watched Giada DeLaurentis make the ultimate chicken tetrazzini from scratch.  Her version, however, included lots of butter, whole milk, even cream.  I decided I would try to lighten it up just a bit.

Chicken Tetrazzini
Start to finish: 70 minutes
Makes 9-12 servings

16 oz shredded chicken
8 ounces whole wheat linguine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cup 1% milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps so I find it less stressful if I pull them all out at the beginning and do any prep work ahead of time.  This means chopping the onions, garlic and parsley; measuring the pasta, chicken, liquids, cheese, and peas.... you get the picture.  Also preheat the oven to 450 and spray your casserole dish with olive oil spray.  Trust me, if you get everything ready, this casserole will come together in a snap.

Start by bringing a pot of water to boil and cooking your linguine just short of al dente.  If you slightly undercook the pasta it will keep cooking in the oven and soak up some of the sauce.

While that's working, saute the onions, garlic and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of thyme in one tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.

Once the onions are translucent, add the wine and simmer until it reduces down to almost nothing.

Transfer the onion mixture to your casserole dish.  Add the chicken and peas at this point.

In the same pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the flour, allowing it to cook off for a minute.

Then whisk in the broth, milk, remaining thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  Add more salt if you want.

Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, bring the heat down to a simmer and whisk until the sauce thickens, like this:
Don't let the sauce thicken too much, because it will thicken up more in the oven.

Add the linguine to the sauce and combine the two.

Then add the pasta to the casserole dish along with the parsley.  Mix it all together and distribute it evenly along the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle this mixture over the entire casserole.  Spray the top of the casserole with olive oil spray to help with browning.

Bake about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

 I sprinkled some chives over the top, which you can see burned.  If you want to make the dish pretty with some chives, wait until after you cook it :-)

Depending on how hungry you are, divide this casserole into either 9 or 12 servings.  Serve with a nice salad.