Quick Fix: Flatbread and Pocket Pizzas and an Announcement

Pizza is one of my absolute favorite foods to eat and living where we do, delivery is not an option. That's ok though, because making homemade pizza has always been a thing in my family so I learned how to make it myself at a very young age.  My mom taught us how to make Easy Pizza's using English Muffins but over the years, I've come up with a couple of new ways to make pizza that are equally quick, easy and that really satisfy my pizza craving.

I've been making Pocket Pizzas for a really long time now - they are a favorite of Steven's and I love them because they are perfect for enjoying while watching a movie.  More recently though, with good quality flatbreads being carried at my local grocery store, I've been making pizza with those alot too.

And now for my Announcement (announcements, announcements, announcements....) I've made a video about these pizzas and I am launching on my brand-spankin'-new YouTube Channel!!!!

 I've realized that sometimes photos just aren't enough so I decided to branch out.  Every video I post will have a companion recipe posted here so you can easily locate lists of ingredients and measurements while also having the ability to really see how a particular method or technique works. I hope you'll tune in and subscribe!

Here's the video:

For these pizzas, there really isn't much recipe required, but if you'd like to try the sauce that has ruined all other pizza sauces for my husband, here it is:

Quick Pizza Sauce

1 can Tomato Paste (keep the can)

1 can of water (the empty tomato paste can)

1/2 to 1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Parsley flakes

1/4 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

Mix tomato paste and water.  Add remaining ingredients.  Taste the sauce to ensure you have the balance of flavors you like. 

This recipe will make enough sauce for 2, 12-inch pizzas or 6-8 Flatbread or Pocket Pizzas.

Flatbread Pizza 

Pizza Sauce (see above or use your own favorite)

Flatbread (I used Naan)

Pizza Toppings (use your favorite)

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese (optional - I didn't use any in the video)

Preheat oven and pizza stone, if you're using one, at 425 degrees.  

Top flatbread with a generous amount of pizza sauce, spreading it almost to the edges with the back of a spoon.  Top with thin, flat toppings first such as pepperoni, canadian bacon or mushrooms, then add bulkier ingredients such as olives or pre-cooked sausage and finishing with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese.  

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted and starting to brown in spots.

*You will be able to make 6-8 flatbread pizzas using the sauce recipe above.  We usually just make 2 at a time (1 per person) and eat them several days in a row.

Pocket Pizza

Pizza Sauce (see above recipe or use your own favorite)

Pita Bread

Pizza Toppings (use your favorite)

Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat conventional or toaster oven to 425 degrees.  You can line a baking sheet with foil for extra-easy cleanup, if you like.  

Slice pita bread in half to expose the pocket.  Spread sauce on the bottom, inside surface of the pocket bread.  Layer in your favorite toppings, starting with flat toppings such a canadian bacon or pepperoni, then adding bulkier toppings like olives or sausage, finishing with the cheese.  

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and the pita bread turns golden and crispy.  

*You will be able to make 6-8 pocket pizzas (1 pocket pizza - 2 halves of pocket bread) using the sauce recipe above.

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Chive Cobbler Topping

Living in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in March means plenty of bi-polar weather - pouring buckets one minute, sun shining the next, and high winds 10 minutes later - you just never know what you're going to get from one minute to the next.  For me, it's the final call for winter comfort foods before moving on to the fresh flavors of new spring vegetables and the lighter dishes that will lead the way into summer.

Between the pouring rain with moments of sunshine, springing forward into daylight savings and a late night, I woke up on the late side this morning with the desire to spend the day drinking tea under a cozy blanket watching cooking shows and movies... and craving Chicken Pot Pie.  Somehow I managed to let almost the entire winter pass by without making any of this fabulously comforting dish.  This recipe rectified the situation quite nicely.

Although I love to bake and do bake often, pie crust and I have never quite meshed.  I always seem to end up with too-dry pastry that fails to roll out well and cracks when placed in the pan so I tend to gravitate towards alternate solutions that vary from purchasing store bought crust or frozen puff pastry, to topping the dish with biscuits.  Today I decided I'd simply try it with the cobbler topping used in this Chicken Enchilada Cobbler recipe with just a minor addition of chives.

Let me tell you, it turned out great!  The cobbler topping had a nice, crisp crust while the interior of the cobbler was fluffy and provided the perfect balance for the creamy pot pie filling.  My husband really enjoyed the bigger pieces of chicken and it was just the ticket for a blustery, lazy day, taking less than an hour to make from start to table.  Success!

I already had 1 chicken thigh left marinading in the fridge from some dishes I had made earlier in the week so I started with that and added 1 large chicken breast to a saucepan with about 1 cup of chicken stock  (I went ahead and added the marinade to the pan as well, knowing the olive oil and seasonings would only serve to add more flavor to the overall dish.) and poached the chicken until it was just cooked through).



Meanwhile, I chopped and sauteed some carrots, onions and celery (I was out of potatoes, but feel free to include them) in a couple of tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of EVOO (the olive oil helps prevent the butter from burning), lightly seasoning the whole works with a bit of salt and pepper.  By the time the veggies were  tender, the chicken was ready so I removed it from the pan and cut it into bite-sized chunks and set it aside.  I added 3 tablespoons of flour to the veggies, stirred it in and let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding milk and the chicken stock I had poached the chicken in.  I stirred this well and let it cook for a bit to gauge the thickness of the sauce.  I ended up adding a couple more tablespoons of stock from the carton before I had the consistency I wanted (about as thick as gravy).  Once I had that dialed in, I added the chicken...



I added some parsley and thyme and just stirred everything together, then I turned off the heat and poured the whole mixture into a small casserole dish that I had already prepared with cooking spray and got to work on my cobbler topping.  Just mix 1 cup of Homemade Baking Mix with some sharp, shredded cheddar cheese and 1 tablespoon chopped chives (I used freeze dried), then mix in 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of butter, mix well and pour on top of the pot pie filling.

 

Bake it in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake it for 30 minutes.  It will come out looking like this:

... just look at how beautifully the cobbler topping rose...



Serve it with a salad on the side and your favorite beverage and you're all set!




Here's the recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Chive Cobbler Topping
serves 4 

Filling
2 boneless, skinless pieces of chicken (I used 1 thigh and 1 breast)
1 cup chicken stock
2 TBLS butter, unsalted
1 TBLS extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/2 of a medium, sweet onion
2 medium potatoes (optional)
3 TBLS flour
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp thyme
Salt & Pepper

Cobbler Topping
1 cup baking mix
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 TBLS butter, melted (*if you use storebought baking mix, omit butter)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 TBLS chopped chives (reserve a couple of pinches to sprinkle on top)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a small casserole dish with cooking spray or butter.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter and set aside to cool.

For the filling:
Place whole chicken pieces in 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces and chop onions, carrots and celery into small dice. Preheat a skillet on medium high heat.  Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet and melt butter.  If you're including potatoes, add them to the skillet first and let them cook for several minutes before adding the remaining vegetables.  Saute until all vegetables are tender.

At this point, the chicken should be ready.  Remove the chicken from the pan, reserving the stock. Set chicken aside.

Add flour to vegetables, stirring in and allowing to cook for a couple of minutes.  Stir in milk and allow it to cook briefly, until it thickens to almost to a paste.   Add all of the chicken stock you poached the chicken in.  Stir in and reduce heat to low, allowing sauce to simmer a bit, stirring occasionally while you cut the poached chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Add chicken to filling mixture in skillet.  If the sauce is too thick, you can add more chicken stock or more milk or simply use water to thin it to the desired consistency.  (You want it about as thick as a gravy.)  Pour into prepared casserole dish and set aside.

For the topping:
In a medium bowl or measuring pitcher, mix together baking mix and cheddar cheese.  Pour in milk, melted butter (which should be cool), chives, and eggs.  Mix until it's all combined.  Pour on top of filling in casserole dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean.  Allow to set for about 5 minutes prior to serving.  This goes great with a salad or some fresh fruit.

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas - AKA: What to Feed Hungry Teens

I know, I know, it's been too long! Life has been busy here with our oldest in the school production of Les Miserable (which finally ended this past weekend), weekly snowstorms, homework, baking cookies and to top it all off, I've been battling a cold for over a week now!

So this week we finally had to cross a bridge with our very soon to be 16 year old. She was asked to "hang out" by a young man who she met while working on the musical. New territory can often be hard to navigate and our cautious, somewhat conservative young lady wasn't sure how comfortable she was going to a boy's house (frankly, I KNEW I wasn't comfortable with it) so she invited him here along with a couple of her girl friends so she'd have a nice, comfortable group to keep it all on the DL.

So, at this very moment, I have a group of 6 young people aging from 12-17 in my family room loudly playing video games while I share with you.

Of course, I need to feed them. I did the June Cleaver thing and had a fresh batch of twisted chocolate chip cookies (there is only one cookie left on the plate) , still warm and melty, for them when they came in, but dinner was the big question. Or at least it was up until about 3pm as I was driving home from work and came up with what I believe to be the perfect solution. Of course I could have gone with hot dogs, burgers, spaghetti or something along those lines, but my kids are always bragging about my cooking "skills" and I thought I should make something that would please them but still be easy to make and serve so I could monitor what's going on in the family room from the relative safety of my kitchen. I kept circling around tacos, but it just wasn't workin for me. Finally, I started thinking about enchiladas and after contemplating making them with pork filling I decided to make chicken enchiladas instead since I already had chicken thighs in the freezer that I thought would work perfectly.

They're in the oven now, and they are just starting to fill the room with a lovley aroma!

Chicken Enchiladas

2.5 lbs chicken, poached and shredded
1/4 large onion, chopped
1 small can (2oz?) cohopped, green chilis
1 tbls ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cilantro (more if you use fresh)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup queso quesadilla cheese
1 cup manchego cheese

1 large can (15oz) green chili enchilada sauce
tortillas, warmed

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour about 1/4 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together chicken, onion, green chilis and spices. Add enough enchilada sauce to help it hold together and to keep mixture moist. Add 3/4 cup of each of the cheeses and mix well (Monterey Jack would be fine too). If it's a bit dry, add a bit more enchilada sauce.

Put about 2 forkfuls of filling on each tortilla, roll up tight and place seam side down in the baking dish. Continue until all filling has been used. Pour enchilada sauce over the center of the enchiladas, and pour any remaining sauce around the edges of the baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream or any other "taco" topping you like.

Makes 8-10 enchiladas depending on size of tortillas and how much filling you put in them.

Turkey Bacon Club Sandwich (aka: TurkeyMaster)

When my dearest friend, Tammy, lived in the Shoreline District of Seattle, she fell in love with a sandwich that Burger Master had on their menu.  I don't know if the name on the menu was TurkeyMaster or not, but that is what she always called it.  Any time we were in the area together, we'd swing through there and devour these delicious sandwiches.  It's so tasty with toasty, grilled-to-perfection sourdough bread, plenty of melty cheese (yes, I said melty), and the chewy bacon to impart a bit of smokey goodness, and plenty of mayo and shredded lettuce to balance out the hot ingredients with something cool and crunchy... I'm salivating just thinking about it...

But alas, I'm a rural girl and I rarely get into Seattle (and would probably get myself lost trying to find the place without Tammy), so I decided to come up with my own version and it has become a favorite in our house.  These sandwiches pack well too, for picnics and such (if you don't mind eating it cold - which we don't), just wrap them up individually in parchment, then foil and it will keep them from turning soggy on you.  When our nieces and nephew first moved in with us, we went to a lot of counseling sessions and with 4 kids we were there a couple of hours each session, so we'd pack these sammies for dinner along with some chips and drinks and we'd be all set. 

Cook your bacon first. Have you tried baking it in the oven yet? It's really the only way to go. Bake it at 425 on your broiler pan or on a wire rack set on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Your bacon will stay mostly flat, the fat will drip down onto the pan below and you can make a lot of bacon at one time. Beware though, if you bake several batches at once, each subsequent batch will take about 2 minutes less than the batch before it.

I made just one sandwich today so I could take advantage of the natural daylight for the photos and I'd had breakfast late this morning so I did use just one slice of bread and cut it in half.

Top one slice with a pile of turkey. Then top that with a pile of bacon, and a slice of cheese - I used smoked fontina today just because I've been on a fontina kick for a couple of weeks now.

You know how it goes, top it with the other slice of bread, butter the exterior of each slice generously (or you can brush them with olive oil if you prefer)and grill it in a skillet or on a griddle on low heat until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is all melty. You could certainly do this with a panini press too, if you prefer. I used my cast iron skillet since I was just making one for me. Tonight when we have them for dinner I'll use my two burner griddle so I can make several at once.

Once you remove it from the pan, griddle or whatever, pull off one slice of the bread and slather it generously with mayo and add lettuce - you can add tomato if you like at this point too. Enjoy it while it's hot, preferably with fries or good quality kettle style potato chips (I like those salt & pepper ones a bit too much).

MMmmm.... That was so good. Sorry, was I supposed to save some for you?

Turkey Bacon Club Sandwich (aka: TurkeyMaster)

8 slices sourdough bread *
1 lb deli sliced turkey
8 slices cooked bacon
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 head shredded iceberg lettuce
mayo to taste

*Often times in our area we can only get large rounds of sliced sourdough (I used cracked wheat sourdough today), resulting in bread slices that are twice the size of typical sandwich bread. In this case, 4 slices of bread will work just fine, slice them in half and proceed as per above - each "half" now constituting a "whole" sandwich.

Cooking With Girl Scouts

I have a long history with Girl Scouting.  I first joined when I was in the 4th grade and I continued to be active in scouting right up until I graduated from high school.  I always planned that if I had a daughter, I'd become a Girl Scout Leader.  When it became clear that pregnancy wasn't in the cards for me, my husband and I started looking into Foster care or adoption.  But again, something else was in the works for us and just as we finished our Foster Parent training, my husbands niece asked us if we'd take two of her children for a year.  Of course we were happy to so we moved in the two children - brother and sister during the summer.  When school started in the fall, Arynn (then 5), came home with a flyer for a Girl Scout information night and wanted to go.  I was thrilled, we went and I came home having signed up not only Arynn for Daisy Girl Scouts but, myself as a co-leader to boot!  This was the beginning of my adult journey as an Adult Girl Scout.  I have co-lead and lead troops, I have organized events, I have camped, I have trained other adults as leaders, I have hosted sleepovers...the list is fairly long, but I'm sure you get the picture.  We eventually ended up with all 4 of our niece's children moving in with us (3 girls & a young man, then 5, 8, 9 & 12) and we have had many trials and adventures since but about 2 years ago, all 3 girls decided they were done with scouting.  This left me knowing I wanted to still be involved in scouting but not sure what I wanted that to look like.  This fall I ran into a fellow leader and we chatted about her troop's long-standing interest in cooking and I offered to host a cooking workshop here at the house.  So, this past Monday, I had 6 middle-school-aged girl scouts, 2 leaders and an adult assistant here, cooking together, having fun and enjoying a delicious meal!

One thing that never fails to surprise me when I cook with a group of kids is the length of time each dish actually takes to prepare.  I never seem to plan for quite enough time - although we managed to have dinner by about 6:30 (and they had cleaned up and cleared out by 7:30).  Each dish you make will take a minimum of 3 times longer that it would take you to make it yourself.  So plan carefully.  Luckily, the lasagna was the only dish that was labor intensive, everything else was pretty simple and easy.  The key for us was to get cracking the minute the girls walked in the door. 

Have a menu, recipes and an order pre-set and printed out for the group to consult if they wish.  I printed up the menu and "order of the kitchen" on one page, then printed the recipes on separate pages & sent the recipes home with the leader to copy for any troop members that wanted them. 

We did a great job of following the order - which kept us on track and ensured that the butter was soft when we were ready to make our garlic butter and the puff pastry sheets already thawed when we needed them. 

Again, most of our recipes were pretty simple.  For the garlic bread, we made garlic butter by roasting a head of garlic in the oven (don't you just love that smell) and mixing the roasted garlic with softened butter, then spread it on a couple loaves of french bread which we put into the oven during the last 15 minutes the lasagna baked.  For the Caesar salad, we used bottled dressing & store-bought croutons so all the girls had to do was cut up a few heads of romaine, shred some Parmesan, dress the salad and toss in the croutons.  Sticking to a menu where they only have to prepare and cook a couple items is a great way to go.  I'd love to have them make their own croutons some time, but with something like lasagna to make it's probably not the best time to make your own. 

We had Minute Apple Tart for dessert - a recipe by Linda Larsen that I found a About.com.  The apples for the tart needed to be sliced paper thin, so I did have the adults did do the slicing for that.  I'm sure the girls could have done it, but the whole group was getting pretty hungry (and squirrely) by the time we were preparing them so we had to send them outside for some "wiggle time" and it was the perfect opportunity to have the adults do some power chopping.  For safety, I think that's a good time to step in anyway.

The great thing about working with Girl Scouts is they have a wonderful energy.  It's really very satisfying, on a personally level, to know you're teaching them something they can really use.  For many young people, this is the only time they will be taught to cook.  Also, Girl Scouts always clean up - one of their basic precepts is to "leave it better than when you found it" - so they do a great job and you'll likely not even be able to tell they were there, cooking in your kitchen, except for any yummy leftovers that may have been left behind!

Lasagna

Spaghetti Sauce (make the day before, if you possible):
1 lb Italian sausage, bulk or links (hamburger or ground turkey will work too)
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 20 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 20 oz can tomato sauce
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 palmfuls oregano
2 palmfuls basil
1/2 palmful parsley
salt & pepper to taste

For the layers:
Lasagna Noodles 1 8.8 oz. box, I prefer the oven-ready type
Ricotta Cheese, 16 oz
2 lb. Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz. Grated Parmesan Cheese (or less if you grate it fresh as you go)
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Distribute a thin, even layer of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.  Cover with a layer of noodles.  Spread noodles with a layer of Ricotta Cheese.  Grate a little nutmeg over the Ricotta.  Layer with mozzarella cheese & sprinkle with Parmesan.  Cover with a layer of sauce.  Repeat.  Finish with one more layer of noodles and top with sauce, then a layer a mozzarella leaving some of the sauce visible.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 30-45 minutes.  The cheese should be melted and the whole casserole bubbly.  Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes, until cheese on top is golden brown.  Allow Lasagna to sit about 5 minutes prior to cutting, this will help it to hold together for serving.  Mangia!

Note:  It is absolutely unnecessary to pre-cook lasagna noodles.  You can use any variety of lasagna noodles, they do not have to be "oven ready" - they will come out perfectly al-dente if you do not pre-cook them.