Return and Report on Resolution #3....and a yummy pizza.

I have had lots of women asking me how the "Brazilian Butt lift" is going and my resolution #3 so I thought it was time to do a little reporting. It has been almost a month.


First off, I am proud to report that my plan of 1 hour per day, 6 days a week for personal upkeep has happened. Let me tell you, it isn't easy. It seems impossible most of the time and if I weren't absolutely , 100% committed, I probably would have only made it work about 1/2 the time. I already have to get up at 5 am for the day so getting up an hour early isn't going to happen. That means that it is usually after 9 before I get to start my workout. That usually means I really would rather not. However, I made a promise to myself and I deserve to keep that promise. I won't let myself get out of it. 


We all have 24 hours in the day and no matter how much money we have, we can't buy more. Everyone is busy. We are all tired. I know I have used that excuse many times to relax at night instead of get the exercise I need or to read my scriptures but the deal is that I can't go back in time and take that hour of day back to improve myself. For heavens sake, my oldest turned 18 today. How can I have an adult for a child? Ugh. If I don't stick to my guns by taking that one hour per day just for me; even if it means it is late at night and I would rather use that hour to lounge, I am loosing ground. I am going to age faster. I am going to feel older. 


The Brazilian workout is working. The jeans are looser. My stomach is flat. I am doing it for health and energy. The loose jeans are just a bonus. I am not getting on the scale. I didn't measure my hips. Our motivation should be for our longevity and quality of life. The result of looking good should just be a byproduct. I highly recommend these videos, for those of you asking. 


My kids have all been inspired too. They are hitting the gym and doing workouts with me. As moms, we are the leaders. They look to us for inspiration. We need to teach them that being healthy and fit is important. These are lessons that will stay with them for life. 


We don't need to be size 0 supermodels. Size is not the issue. But, we need to take care of ourselves. If we don't, we won't be able to take care of others.


There is my report. Month two, here I come! 


If you need a little dinner suggestion, here is what we had last night:

Rosemary Potato Pizza.


Pizza dough of choice. 
Thinly slice Yukon potatoes in 1/8th inch slices. Soak in salted water for an hour then drain and dry. Toss in olive oil with rosemary and onion slices. Place on dough and salt and pepper to taste. Brush dough with oil. Bake at 500 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and put back into oven until melted and golden.

 
Serve with a Balsamic reduction sauce and Arugula. To make the sauce, take one cup of Balsamic Vingegar and 1 T. of honey. Bring to a boil while stirring then simmer for 30 minutes or so until reduced by half. Drizzle over pizza. 

Mexican Pizza in 15 minutes flat.

     It was 2pm on Saturday and kids were hungry. I have no bread, tortillas, crackers. Nothing. Nothing that would constitute a quick lunch. I did have some leftover refried beans and corn in the fridge and I always have salsa and trimmings. So, in 15 minutes from start to finish, we had these great slices of Mexican pizza. My kids told me, "Why don't you make these ALL the time?" I don't know but I will now. So easy and you could do almost anything with it.

     All you need to do is make the super quick, 5 minute dough and then throw on whatever you want. It is an unleavened dough so it will be thin and crispy, somewhat like a fat tortilla. Mexican toppings are probably the best option to go with.

    I also did not have any fresh flour ground so I did mine in all white flour (gasp...I know) but I would next time do 1/2 and 1/2. No more than that. You are getting very little dough to topping ratio so I am not too worried. We added lettuce for the ruffage.  Here you go, try this out on the ninos.

Unleavened Pizza Dough

2 Cups flour

1 tsp. sea salt

2 T. olive oil

2/3 cup water

Mix flour and salt and add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix until all together with a spoon and add more water/flour if needed. Dough is fairly stiff.

Knead by hand on surface for about 2-3 minutes. Divide into two balls and let sit a couple minutes, covered, while you get your toppings together.

Roll out balls into about 13 inch circles. Cover with whatever toppings you want and cook in a 500 degree oven on the bottom rack until lightly golden on edges and the bottom is done. It took me around 8 minutes. This would be great on a pizza stone as well.

Top with lettuce, avocado, salsa, etc. when done.

This would be great with enchilada sauce as the base sauce. I did refried beans mixed with fresh salsa, sprinkled on the corn and cheese. Baked and then added my cilantro, lettuce, salsa and avocado. Yum.

Waste Not...leftover hamburger buns.

I hate to waste food. Really hate it. To me, not only is it a waste of my money, it is showing ingratitude for the food I was blessed with. I try hard to use the "scraps" in other creations when at all possible. Saturday we had some friends over for a BBQ and you are always left with the hamburger buns that you over bought. Now, there is no way I am going to use them for any other dish since they were store bought, tasteless buns except for.....

Croutons. Croutons are a great way to use up the leftover buns and french bread. It is so easy and they store great. If you have lots, you can put them in mason jars and use a food saver vacuum lid if you have one. 

To make your own, simply cut the bread into squares or be real cute and make shapes. 

Then, drizzle with olive oil or spray with an oil sprayer. Sprinkle with herbs of choice, garlic powder and sea salt. I love the Herbs de Provence myself. 

Bake in the oven on 300 , tossing now and then until they are crisp. You don't want them brown, just dried out. 

Now, if you need something to serve along side your salad topped with homemade croutons, you can try these cute little pinwheels out.....

Also super easy but oh so appetizing. It is a great way to use the leftovers in the fridge.

To make these, make your favorite pizza dough or you can borrow my recipe here:

Pizza Dough

4 cups all purpose flour, or half whole grain

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water

1 T. Olive oil

Mix yeast in measuring cup with 1/4 cups warm water. Let yeast get foamy. Put 3 cups of flour in bowl with salt. Mix and stir in 1 1/2 cups warm water, oil and yeast mixture. Mix with spoon until sticky. Add more flour until the dough is only slightly sticky. Let rest for 8 minutes. Knead again until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise for 4 hours. 

 I let the dough rise for about an hour for this recipe. I used half whole grain, half white flour. All whole grain would be a little heavy. 

Roll out dough to about 1/3 inch thick. Sprinkle with about 2 cups mozzarella or more if desired. Top with whatever you desire. I used thin prosciutto, chopped onions, chopped spinach and a little crumbled bacon. The total amount of meat I used was 4 oz. and this fed 6 hungry people for dinner and two of us for lunch.

After the toppings are on, roll up the dough like a cinnamon roll, long side first. Pinch seams and edges. Place seam side down on a jelly roll pan. I put mine on parchment and had to put the roll up diagonally on the pan to make it fit.

Brush the entire top with olive oil and bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until golden. The top will be crispy.

Let cool a few minutes and serve alongside some marinara sauce for dipping. Yummy. 

Sweet Potato Love

Sweet potatoes were on my "yuck" list since I was little. It probably had to do with the fact that the only sweet potatoes that I was exposed to as a child were the mashed up, baby food looking sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving topped with marshmallows. It triggered that little gag reflex kids are so good at producing.

That was pretty much where I left it until a couple years ago. I learned that sweet potatoes, when cooked under the right circumstances, are little pieces of manna. I simply cannot get enough. I ALWAYS have one in my potato bin to use at my every whim. They go in enchiladas, soups, stir fries, etc. There are no rules. No one ever told me that. THEY said they were only for Thanksgiving. How sad that I have been living under that lie for so many years. I truly missed out on something so wonderful. I crave them all the time. In fact, I had my husband take me out to the beyond wonderful restaurant, Liberty Market in Gilbert so that I could order one thing; a cup full of cold sweet potato salad. TO DIE FOR. My friend Kara Bagley recreated this recipe perfectly so go check her out to get that recipe here. Divine.

Anyways, the other night I needed a quick, fresh, summer meal. I had some leftover Naan bread I made the night before for our Greek pitas and some garden veggies I needed to use. The combination I came up with was so delicious that I can't stop thinking about how much I loved it. I served it to my kids and after taking a bite, a couple said, "wow, this is actually good." Which meant, "this looked like it would be really bad but after trying a bite, it really isn't so horrible." They ate it all up. It's all in the spice, baby.

I will call this a Jamaican Jerk Veggie Pizza, grilled.So easy.

I stir fried some sweet onions and 1/2 inch chunks of sweet potatoes in some olive oil until just about fork tender. Then, I added some different colored bell peppers, chunks of zucchini, chopped fennel and fresh white corn from the cob. I stir fried it a little longer while pouring on a generous amount of Jamaican Jerk seasoning from The Spice Hunter until the flavor was exploding. (Got it at Sprouts, save and order it from Amazon on my side bar) It is a perfect seasoning. I added a little salt to finish it off. I sauteed it until all veggies were barely fork tender but not mushy in the slightest. When they are just about tender, I turn up the heat to caramelize them a bit for a little texture. Be careful not to burn.

Then, it was time to grill. I took the Naan bread and put olive oil lightly on one side. I put that downside on the grill. I then sprinkled a little mozzarella on the top and put a generous layer of the veggie mixture over the cheese. I closed the lid on the grill and let it melt. Keep the heat low so the bottoms don't char. Watch carefully.

When the cheese has melted and the bottom side of the pizza's are lightly golden, it is time to eat.

We had a delicious salad and some fresh fruit to go with it. The sweet corn, sweet onions and sweet potatoes were more than my mouth could handle. Jamaican seasoning should be a holiday food by itself.

Sweet potatoes are so healthy for you and taste even better than carrots when eaten raw. I just got hungry again. Good thing I started running.

Red, Yellow, Orange and Green

The fruit of my labors have paid off today. The tilling, the weeding, the watering; all worth it. I had a delicious dinner of Chicken with a roasted Poblano Cream Sauce made with a Poblano straight from my garden ( recipe in my now favorite Martha Stewart cook book) , roasted yellow and green squash with onions, all from my garden and fresh peaches right from my tree. Boy how good food tastes when picked and eaten fresh. Delicious. I have been patiently watching my tomatoes turn from green to red, tomorrow is the big day, I just know it. I have the dinner all planned around those 5 tomatoes that should be just perfect for picking. I just love the summer garden.

I have planted an extra amount of pepper plants this summer. I had never been a huge bell pepper person but then I realized that I just had never really eaten them in the right venue. First off, they are simply beautiful. They are a perfect shade of each color; red, yellow, orange and green. If you haven't noticed, the real foods with the most vibrant colors are the healthiest for us.Peppers are perfectly crisp. They are absolutely nutrient rich. Check these stats out: Red Bells are higher in Vitamin C than oranges and loaded with Beta Carotene. They are rich in lycopene and beta-cryptoxathin which help prevent and fight cancer. All the bells contain high amounts of A and C and fiber. They also contain some Vitamin K which is great for bone health.

I have been adding these little gems to many different recipes lately. At first the munchkins would pick them out and question my reasoning for putting these veggies in their dinner. Now, they are used to seeing them in various dishes and have no qualms about digesting them. I can now say that I am a pepper lover. You can use them in so many dishes; salads, pizza's , omelets, salsa, etc. Try them out. If you need a recipe to experiment on, try out this lovely little pizza we made last week. They were all sure it sounded gross but ALL ate and loved it. Sorry , my daughter deleted the photo so just try to imagine it. Of course, this one will make it in my recipe collection.

Spanish Omelet Pizza

1/2 lb red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, about 1 cup

3/4 C chopped bell peppers, various colors

1 T olive oil

1/4 C. chopped onion

1 tsp chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

1 large ball of whole wheat pizza dough (I bought mine from Fresh & Easy)

6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese

2 T. chopped cilantro

In a small pan, boil the cubed potatoes until barely tender. Drain. In a small omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat, saute the bell peppers and onion in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the reserved potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chipotle peppers and stir to combine. Add the eggs and stir and cook until the eggs are no longer runny. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 minutes. Spread on rolled out pizza crust. Top with grated cheese. Bake in 500 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro when done.

**Recipe adapted from The Ultimate Pizza book

Garden Talk and Too much Brocolli.....

As I look out upon my beautiful garden, I can't help but reminisce about the old Saturday Night Live skit "Choppin' Broccoli". It may have something to do with the fact that I have 16 heads of broccoli all matured at the same time. Broccoli flowers if not picked quickly and doesn't save too well, so, it is broccoli everything for the next two weeks. My kids can't wait! Here is today's harvest alone:
I have to get a bit creative in using all of this broccoli as steamed broccoli can only be taken in so much quantity. It is time to pull out the recipe's and disguise it 14 different ways. If you are in the same boat I am in, here is last nights yummy little dish that 5 out of 6 consumers really loved.

No, this is not baby food or guacamole, broccoli style, it is Broccoli pesto, just right for a pizza. I make several batches and freeze it for pasta, dips and pizza sauces. It is so easy and so nutritious. You really would never know that it is broccoli.

The finished product. Not such a great picture but definitely great taste. I cheated and used the multi grain crust from fresh and easy, delicious and healthy all for a low price of $1.24. I had some pre-grilled chicken in the freezer, chopped some red peppers, added some mozzarella and feta and delish! If you are so bold as to try this recipe out , here you go. Quick and Easy! And.... just a little note.... for those of you who do NOT have a garden, planting season is coming up, end of February so get with it! I have planted in small pots, grow boxes and anywhere I had space. We need to be self reliant and grow something for ourselves. It tastes great and is so much better for you, especially when you don't let the pest control company spray. There, enough said. Enjoy!

Broccoli Pesto
(I believe this is from Chef Brad?)

1 stalk steamed fresh broccoli
1 /2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Process all ingredients except oil in blender or food processor. Add oil slowly until well blended and absorbed.

* I usually leave mine a little bit more chunky but my broccoli in this batch was steamed way too much, still great taste just more pureed.

Beyond Little Ceasars.....

I have to admit that we do on occasion visit the local Little Caesars but it is merely a way to fill the belly, not feed the taste buds. I am a pizza connoisseur and am always on a quest to find a new topping or new sauce. The pizza dough itself is simply a caveat for an artistic food masterpiece. There is so much you can do with the pizza itself that reaches far beyond the red sauce, cheese and pepperoni ,yet so many of us get stuck in that mentality. As a young couple we visited Pizzaria Bianco in downtown Phoenix and I had my first experience with a gourmet pizza. It was a brick oven, hand stretched little gem with roasted pistachios , grilled onions and who knows what else but it woke up my taste buds! I had no idea you could do that with a pizza. We have visited many other gourmet pizza restaurants since then and the combinations I have discovered have been delicious! I then discovered grilling pizza at home and have tried some great combinations with much success and family approval. It is quite easy, quick and fun for all. Pay attention and I will give you my little secrets.

First: The dough. Check out my recipe for Pizza dough under my recipe blog from my brother Kevin who is the pro. He has his own brick oven in his back yard and is the bomb when it comes to firing those puppies up. His recipe is my favorite. Plan ahead because you need to let it rise for a good 4 hours. I have skimped and used it after 2 but it is better the full 4.

Second: The grilling. Get your grill good and hot then turn it down to medium low. You need some parchment paper. Roll the dough out thin on the parchment, about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle to top of the dough with olive oil and brush all over. You then want to flip the pizza, oil side down on the grill and peel off the parchment to be reused again.If the dough sticks to the parchment, spray a light dusting of pam next go round. Brush the top side with oil. When the bottom is a light golden brown, remove from the grill and flip over so that the undone side is down on a plate or pan.

Third: The toppings. Go nuts. You don't need a red sauce all the time or even any sauce at all. You can do anything with a pizza. Pick your ingredients and put them on the grilled side. The pizza is then placed back on the grill with the undone side down. Close the lid and let it finish up. Check to make sure that your grill is not too hot. You may want to put it on low or even move the pizza to the top rack if the bottom is done but the cheese needs to melt. Once you get the temp just right, the other pizzas go quite fast. Just have all ingredients ready so you can have an assembly line going.

I tried a delicious combination the other night that I stole from Sauce in Gilbert. I brushed the dough with olive oil, sprinkled some garlic powder, Layed some thin Prosciutto from Fresh and Easy with no Nitrites, sliced some fresh mozzarella and grilled it. When it was done, I shaved some thin slices of cantaloupe with my potato peeler and topped it on the pizza in ribbon like curls. Sounds weird but it was delicious! I have done peanut Thai pizzas, Salad pizzas, fruit pizzas, enchilada pizzas, etc. I could eat them nightly. Try them out! Use all different kinds of cheese or no cheese at all. Any sauce works, BBQ, pesto, salsa, chutneys, etc. Any meats, any veggies. It all works. Just anything that you would eat together can go on a crust. I am hungry now.

An afternoon with the little chefs.....

Today was the first little future homemakers cooking class and I had a great time! I hope the girls had as good of a time as I did and went home and made their pizza's for their family. I was really impressed how well they did and how well they listened. They were all so sweet and fun to be with! Our little girls are capable of so much more than we let them do in the kitchen. I am learning this with experience with my daughter. Once they learn how to read a recipe and learn some safety tips, they can make about anything. That is my goal with these classes and more importantly that they learn that cooking is fun! This is what all new brides to know. What a great thing to bring to a marriage! Thanks for letting me hang out with your girls! Here are a few of our pictures from our Pizza making day. Our only problem is that we needed more time, we didn't get the manners portion in; I don't think the girls minded much! The recipe for the dough is below that I stole from my pizza making brother, Kevin. Thanks.

Pizza Dough

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water

1 T. Olive oil

Mix yeast in measuring cup with 1/4 cups warm water. Let yeast get foamy. Put 3 cups of flour in bowl with salt. Mix and stir in 1 1/2 cups warm water, oil and yeast mixture. Mix with spoon until sticky. Add more flour until the dough is only slightly sticky. Let rest for 8 minutes. Knead again until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise for 4 hours. Bake on pizza pan on 425 until lightly golden or cook on grill.

The girls favorite was the BBQ chicken pizza. We just put BBQ sauce on the dough, grated Colby Jack and shredded chicken. It is also great with onions and cilantro.

I am thinking about having a weekly class in the fall for ages 7-12. I am not sure if my schedule will permit but let me know if any of you are interested. I loved teaching this class!