The Basics: Pizza Crust to Build Flavors On!

I want to take a minute and apologize for not posting recently. I’m a teacher by trade, and with summer vacation comes the search for summer work, which then leads to my working over an hour away from home.

On top of working, my Mister and I have been trying to squeeze in small vacations here and there, enjoying a little bit of the summer.  With that impact on my time and schedule, it’s really hard to cook frequently, much less have time to post. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been missing you all. Really, I have.

So to make it up to all of you, I’m going to post a favorite staple at the Estrada home – pizza dough. This isn’t the first pizza dough I’ve put on this blog, but it is a rising crust recipe that can be developed and tailored to your preferences.

I like my dough simple, while Matt likes his with a stuffed crust and butter/garlic coating before he bakes it. Whatever your preference is, start with this basic recipe, and build it to your personal enjoyment. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Beautifully Basic Pizza Dough

1 packet dry yeast

1 cup warm water (it should feel warm enough to bathe in)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups flour

• Pour your water into a medium sized bowl, then sprinkle the yeast onto the water.

• Pour in the sugar and give the mixture a small stir. You’ll notice the yeast will start to bloom after a few minutes. Allow it to stand for about 5 minutes, then add the salt.

• Stir in one of the cups of flour, making sure the mixture is completely smooth. Add your remaining flour in small increments, until all of the flour is absorbed. 

• If you are using a mixer, 6 minutes on medium speed with your dough hook should do it. If you are using your hands, wash them with cold water and knead for about 10 minutes, or until you do not feel lumps.

• Roll your dough into a ball, cover with a clean towel and allow it to sit for 30-40 minutes in your warm kitchen.

 

Nice neat ball, before. 

Beautiful dough, nearly 40 minutes later.

• Divide your dough into two even portions (each portion is enough for a medium-sized pizza). If you are going to only use one of the portions, tightly wrap one of the dough balls and place in the fridge. What you do use can be flattened into traditional pizza sizes at this point. 

• Now it's time to build your pizza to your preference! Use your favorite toppings, sauces and crust ideas.

We made barbecue chicken pizza. It's SUPPOSED to be a dark sauce, I promise. 

• Bake 450 degrees for 15-17 minutes, based on how crispy you want your crust.  (Note: If you have put a lot of toppings on your pizza, you will need to add time to your baking.)

Fancy Dinner Night: Stuffed Pasta Shells

Every once in a while, I get a wild hair to cook a ‘fancy’ meal. I love the idea of having an elaborate, multiple course meal that Matt and I can dine on while wearing cocktail attire.

But let’s be real; fine dining attire is not going to happen around here. I’m excited when we eat a meal at our table. However, I still try to make a fanciful meal that could be served at a fine dining event, and eat it while watching TV while wearing my pajamas. Don’t judge me; I’m perfectly fine pretending that I’m super fancy.

This stuffed shells recipe looks beautiful, but doesn’t require a lot of work. The only thing to watch for is salt – I found it very easy to over-season the cheese/meat mixture in the stuffed shells. To achieve ultimate flavor, slowly mix seasonings a tablespoon at a time, then taste. Add the eggs at the end, once everything tastes the way you like.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.   

Super Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (18 to 20 shells)
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 pound ground beef
1 ½ cups fresh spinach, chopped
15 ounces ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

Pepper to taste

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon oregano, dried

½ teaspoon thyme, dried

Red tomato sauce of your choice

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells, and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled spoon to prevent the shells from sticking together. Drain and rinse under cold running water.

• In a medium skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and stir them as they cook. Continue until they are very soft, which will take approximately 6 to 7 minutes. 

• Add the ground beef and cook, stirring, until cooked and browned. Add the spinach then stir the mixture. Allow the mixture to wilt, which will take about for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the meat and spinach mixture, dried herbs, remaining salt, the basil, oregano, and pepper, and stir to combine thoroughly. Taste the mixture, and if it’s to taste, add the eggs.

•  Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the spinach-ricotta filling into each cooked pasta shell. Place the filled shells in the prepared dish.

• Pour the tomato sauce over the filled shells and top with the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes. 

• Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

• Sneak seconds and hope your husband doesn't catch you. 

Super Simple Cast Iron Flat Bread

This week has been crazily busy for us. We have been trying to adjust to the summer schedule, which includes my driving an hour and a half every morning and afternoon, on top of preparing for summer school students. Matt still has his nightly schedule, and has to deal with odd hours. Needless to say, it's been exhausting, and I still need to feed us.

This weekend, I really didn't feel like cooking at all, but still wanted to eat something delicious. When I was single, I'd go to a gastropub called the Flying Pig nearby that makes a wonderful grilled flatbread with tons of toppings, including prosciutto, salami, ricotta, tomato sauce, and garlic confit.

Matt had never had anything like the sort (surprise), so I wanted to create a home version. I found a great flatbread recipe online to be my base. I don't have a grill on hand, so I decided to use the next best thing: a cast iron grill. 

Once the dough is ready to cook, it really isn't too much longer before you're wolfing down a great, but simple to make, meal. Bon appetit!

Super Simple Cast Iron Flat Bread

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 7 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream (feel free to use greek yogurt)
• Vegetable oil (for cooking)

Instructions

• Dissolve yeast in 3 cups warm water in a large bowl. 

• Add the all-purpose flour to the bowl one cup at a time, and mix with your fingertips until a shaggy dough forms. 

• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle the two tablespoons of salt over the dough, then add sour cream. 

• Knead in the salt and sour cream until it is incorporated. You will know when the dough is well mixed because the dough will pull away from sides of bowl and holds together in a loose, wet ball. To mix the dough without it sticking to your hands, make sure they are nice and moist. 

• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Knead dough an additional 4–5 times to remove the bubbles. If you have prepared the dough before you need it, it can keep in the fridge for for up to 2 days. The dough will develop in flavor and continue to rise slowly in refrigerator.
• If you are planning to use the dough immediately, let the dough stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, which will take anywhere from 3–4 hours. To make the cooking process easier, chill for one hour before cooking.

• Divide your dough into 8 equal portions. Press out the dough with your hands until it is 1/4-inch-thick. It doesn't have to be perfectly round.
• Preheat a dry cast iron or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place the flatbread in the hot pan and spread it out as much as you can. Allow it to cook for one minute, or until small air bubbles appear. 

• Flip over and cook for another minute, and then finish by flipping over one last time for another minute. During the third minute the bread may puff up, and small charred spots will form on the surface. Those parts taste the best.

Remove to cool slightly. Once all are finished, the flatbread is ready to eat. If you’re like me, you’ll want to eat the bread with that mixture of garlic confit, arugula, spicy tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and prosciutto combo I was talking about at the beginning. Enjoy! 

Chicken Fra Diavolo... Something Spicy this Way Comes

It’s hot out. Summer is definitely on its way, and with that, a lot of light, cool dishes are flooding the Internet.

This is not one of those dishes. While light, chicken fra diavolo has a kick that leaves your brow beaded in the best way. Don’t think this needs that much heat? Cut the amount of pepper flakes of by half. This is a fun, fast and easy way to spice up dinner tonight. 

I took this recipe and modified it for chicken broth and used dry spices. As nice as fresh herbs are, I don’t have a green thumb, and cannot always keep them on hand. Dry spices are easier to work with at times. Of course, if you have the fresh stuff, by all means, triple the amount of herbs this recipe calls for and enjoy.

Chicken fra Diavolo

8 ounces pasta of your choice (I used farfalle)
½ medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons cooking oil of your choice, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons
 3 garlic cloves, minced (I opted to leave my garlic whole) 
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (this can be reduced or increased by halves, depending on your preference)
1 lb boneless chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional as needed
1 cup chicken broth
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
¼ teaspoon dried Italian parsley
¼ teaspoon dried basil

Instructions

• Begin with your pasta. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
• As your pasta cooks, sauté the onions in two tablespoons of olive oil for approximately 3-4 minutes. Do so in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, as this will be your main cooking platter for use. 

• Stir in your garlic and pepper flakes. Allow the mixture to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the onions become translucent. Make sure your kitchen is well circulated; it will become spicy!  Once the mix has cooked, set it aside, leaving as much oil as possible in the skillet.

• Add the chicken pieces to the pan, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Allow the chicken to sauté until it is no longer pink. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

• Add the chicken broth to the skillet and make sure to scrape the bottom of your skillet.
• Add the onion mixture back to the skillet, and add the tomatoes with their juices.  Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

• Add your dried herbs. Season with more salt, if necessary.
• Finally, combine the drained pasta to the tomato mixture. Stir well and cook for another minute or two to bring the pasta up to temperature and serve.

An Easy Tomato Cream Pasta with only 10 Ingredients

Creamy tomato sauces are a weakness of mine. I love the silkiness that comes from the cheese and cream, and indulge in the slight acidity that comes from the tomatoes. As I’ve already admitted, my husband loves himself some great saucy noodles, so when I found this recipe, I had to give it a shot.

There’s no way a recipe for something so good should be so easy, right?

Wrong.

I have to say: this is a simple, fast, delicious recipe that can be made in the middle of the week, and leave you plenty of time for relaxing and patting your full belly. My adaptation allows for large pieces of tomato to mix in with the sauce, allowing for extra bursts of flavor throughout the meal. I hope you like it as much as we did.

Easy Tomato Cream Pasta

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil of your choice

2 tablespoons butter

½ medium onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans (15 ounce each) crushed or cubed tomatoes

 Salt and pepper, to taste

 Dash of sugar

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1-1/2 pound pasta of your choice

Instructions

• Cook the pasta of your choice according to package directions. Drain the noodles, but make sure that you reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for later. 

• In a large pan, heat your butter and oil over a medium heat.

• Once the butter has begun to melt, add the diced onions and garlic. Sautee them for a minute or so, letting them become translucent they will be very aromatic.

 

Watch to keep your garlic from overcooking and burning.

• Pour in the tomatoes and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir the ingredients every few minutes or so to keep them from sticking.

 

I chose diced tomatoes.

• Lower the heat to lowest setting and stir in cream.

• Add the Parmesan cheese, and check the seasonings to make sure the flavor is still where you want it. If you feel the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved water.

 

If you don't like too much cheese, you can always hold off. I couldn't. 

• Stir in pasta and and serve immediately. We chose to serve ours with a piece of grilled chicken breast and my garlic knots. It was a feast. 

Garlic knots in under 30 minutes

My husband is a pasta fiend. He is perfectly happy eating spaghetti, lasagna, and ravioli every meal of every day. With that said, I happily indulge him. I’m all for a good plate of carbs.

Of course, nothing completes a plate of pasta like a delicious garlic bread on the side. Normally I just run to the grocery store to buy bread and throw it in the oven to toast it, but this time, I tried to make my own garlic butter knots.

The recipe, which I adapted to my own tastes, makes a batch of delicious rolls that pairs with pastas in red, white and blush sauces. If you’re like me, and are only just starting to make bread with yeast, this is the way to start. Enjoy!

Garlic knots

1/4 cups butter

1 cup milk

2 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

3 – 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• Preheat your oven to 400 F, then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

• In a small saucepan, melt your butter. 

• When the butter is nearly melted, stir in the milk. You’ll want to stir the mixture until it reaches just above body temperature.

• Add yeast and honey to a large mixing bowl. 

• Once the milk mixture is at the right temperature, add it to the yeast and honey. Stir the mixture completely, and allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy.

• Add the salt and egg to your batter, and stir until combined.

• Start adding your flour by adding an initial 2 ½ cups of flour to the mix.

• Slowly add your remaining flour until dough cleans the sides of the bowl.

• Knead your dough for about 5 minutes.

• Lay out your dough, and shape your dough into a long rectangle, slicing the dough into 12 strips.

Try to keep the strips as even as possible for uniformity.

• With lightly floured hands, shape each dough strip into a knot, and place the dough on prepared baking sheet.

• Cover the knots and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

• Bake for about 9-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

As you wait for your knots to bake, it’s time to make your garlic butter.

Garlic Butter for topping

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

• Stir together your ingredients for garlic butter.

• After removing the rolls from the oven, brush each knot with your garlic butter, and enjoy.