Pepperoni and Bacon Pizza

Sooo sick of cardboard frozen pizzas with tomato paste sauce, yet can't afford Pizza Hut!  Time to make my own pizza... This was made for Valentines dinner, it just took me THAT long to post. Awesome dedication to my blog, I know.

You will need:
1 packet quick rise-dry yeast
1 cup water
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
4 slices thick-cut bacon
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 package large pepperoni

1. Combine dry ingredients: salt, sugar, flour, and yeast in a medium bowl.

2. Heat water to 130 F, immediately add water (once heated) and oil.  Stir until thick.

3. Turn dough onto floured surface, kneading for 5 minutes.

4. Return dough to bowl and cover with kitchen towel, let sit for 5 minutes.

5. Roll out dough, keeping in mind it will rise to nearly twice its height (I prefer thick-crust).

7. Grease pan and place pizza crust in center.

8. Use fork to poke holes in dough.

9. Cover with kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 F.

10. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 10 minutes.  Be sure to have toppings ready.  In this case, I strained some pizza sauce to remove onion bits, grated the mozzarella cheese, and sliced up the bacon.

11. Remove pizza crusts from oven, and cover with toppings.

12. Replace in oven, generally 5-10 minutes, or until cheese has melted or slightly browned.

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Tips for Picky Eaters! - Sauces

 

 Photo by Ladybug Carnage flickr

I love sauces.  I have a small collection that takes up far too much space in our fridge. Now when I say 'collection' I am not actually kidding. 

List of sauces currently in my flat:
Ketchup
American-Style Mustard
Sweet n Sour Sauce
Soy Sauce
Marinara Sauce
Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
Honey-Chili Sauce
Honey
BBQ Sauce
Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Mayonnaise
Piri Piri Mayonnaise
Worcestershire Sauce
Sweet Chili and Ginger Relish
Salsa
Nacho cheese
French Dressing (American style)
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
and various gravys can be whipped up at a moment's notice

Sometimes when you're a picky eater like myself, you end up eating the same thing over and over and over again in order to avoid aversive tastes.  Especially if you are unable to spend time cooking a grand dinner. Sometimes it IS better to just stick with what you know, especially if you have one food you like that is actually healthy for you.  Sauces are one of the best ways of changing things up.  My love affair with sauces started after sampling the array of british and indian sauces at my boyfriend's parent's house while eating chip shop chips.
But let us take lean chicken breast as an example.  I have invented many different ways of jazzing this up.  One of my favorites is by making Orange Chicken.  I'm also a fan of Sweet n Sour Lime Chicken.

It may also be useful to peruse the sauce isle(s) of your own supermarket and try something new.  

If you're in America, I'm aware that many large supermarkets offer a huge array of BBQ sauces and chinese/japanese cooking sauces. YUM.

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Sweet Potato (American) Biscuits

 

These biscuits are soft and savory.  I found them to taste great with butter (and maybe sprinkled with a bit of sugar!) or with honey.  They are also ideal for sneaking sweet potato into your diet!

You will need:
1 large sweet potato
2 cups flour
5 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
2/4 cup milk




1. Wash and cook sweet potato (either bake or microwave for 6-7 minutes, poke with fork to vent)

2. Allow potato to cool and scoop out and mash insides.  Measure out about 3/4 cup.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl.

4. Using a pastry blender (or two knives/forks), cut butter into dry mixture.

5. Mix in sweet potato and milk, careful not to overmix.

6. Roll dough out to about 1 inch height and cut out shapes using cookie cutters.  The tops of glasses work well for this if you don't have any cookie cutters!

7. Bake at 400°F/200°C on a non-stick surface, greasing if necessary for around 10-12 minutes.

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