Hey Good Lookin' Whatcha Got Cookin'

Growing up, our family would have homemade pizza and movie night on Fridays. My mom would line her stove with ceramic tiles, we'd each make our own individual pizza and we'd get to use wooden paddles to shovel our pizzas in and out of the stove. I loved it! This recipe reminded me of those Friday nights. The recipe isn't quite the same as Mom's but it's pretty darn easy to use. Randy and I finally busted out the pizza stone we got for our wedding (3 1/2 years ago) and we've been putting this recipe to good use ever since.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough

 Courtesy of Everyday Food Magazine via Jane

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups warm (115º) water

2 packets (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for bowl

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading

2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

1. Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.
2. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.
4. Either freeze dough according to the options below or shape each dough into pizza rounds, add toppings, and bake at 450º for 18-20 minutes or until crusts are golden.

 

Freeze option 1

      Set balls on a plate (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Then freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

Freeze option 2

      Divide each ball of dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, stretch each piece into a 5-inch disk (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Freeze shells on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Stack frozen shells between layers of parchment paper. Freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Bake individual pizzas from frozen at 450º  (or temperature indicated on pizza stone) for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden. 

Note: I’ve used the second option above for freezing and it can’t be easier! The best way to cook the pizza is on a pizza stone; makes for a nice and crispy crust. 

 

 A good friend of ours made these for us when they had us over for Christmas Eve brunch. They are delicious! 

Apple Pancakes

 

Courtesy of Angela

Ingredients:

Scant 1 ½  cups self rising flour (or 1 ½ cups regular flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt)

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

scant 1 cup milk

2 apples, peeled and grated 

1. Mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon and make a well in the center.
2. Beat egg, and milk and pour into the well.
3. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix wet and dry ingredients until well combined, then stir in the grated apple.

  

Note: I shared this recipe to my sister Jane and she just added cinnamon and grated apples to pancake mix that she already had. She also added chopped nuts.

Enjoy!