Pesto Pizza Pinwheels

Hubbs and I both love pizza.  I mean, who doesn't?  We definitely love the convenience of buying out, and when we lived in Brooklyn, we bought pizza out a lot.  Most of the pizza places we frequented were just small local stores using homemade, good ingredients, so we didn't have to worry about it. I know there are places here in Michigan, but they are not as convenient to get to as we would like.  We have to get in our car and drive to get the pizza (we just walked there on the way to our house from getting off the subway in Brooklyn), and we might as well just make it ourselves - control the ingredients and use exactly what we want.  

We end up making pizza about once every week to week and a half.  This time when I made it, I decided to try something different and fun - pinwheels.  I've seen them for years, but have never made them before.  I had some extra pesto in the freezer from last summer when we had our bountiful basil crop, so decided to use that.  These turned out really good!  We dipped them in hot marinara sauce.  Yum!  My little brother came over when I was making them and hinted that they looked great.  I gave him several of them, which he promptly dipped in ranch!  He literally puts ranch on everything - even in the sauce when he makes his lasagna.  Funny kid!  These could work with any combination.  They would also be great for a party or a get together.  

 

 

 

Freshly baked pesto pizza rolls

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough (I use this recipe.  Use half for these rolls and freeze the remaining half for later.)

Pesto Sauce
Vegan Cheese

Toppings:
 - Green Peppers
 - Onions
 - Baby Spinach
 - Kalamata Olives
 - Pickled or fresh Jalapeno Peppers
 - Pignolis

Filtered water to seal the dough. 


1.  Prepare the dough according to the attached instructions. 
2.  After the dough has risen, punch it down.  Place the half you are not using in a freezer bag, label and freeze for later use. 
3.  Roll the pizza dough out into a large rectangle-ish shape on a floured surface. 

4.  Liberally spread pesto over the surface of the dough - leaving about an inch of space at the top bare.

5.  Sprinkle the vegan cheese over the surface of the pesto, followed by the veggies and other toppings, as desired.

6.  Top with baby spinach.

7.  Slowly roll the pizza into a cigar shape.  Sprinkle a little water onto the top of the pizza to help the dough seal together. 

8.  Use a sharp non-serrated knife to slice the pizza into rounds.

9.  Place the pizza rounds onto an oiled sheet tray.  At this point, you can decide to place a towel over the prepared rolls, place in a warm place and allow them to rise some more, then bake them.  Or you can put them in the oven right away at 375 degrees for about 15-22 minutes - which is what I did.

10.  Let them cool just until you are able to handle them safely.  Dip into warm marinara sauce or whatever else you like to eat with your pizza.  Depending on my mood, I may drizzle some sriracha over the top.  Yum!


Enjoy!

Koko

A Passing in the Family & a Simple Vegan Meatball Sub

Today my Grandma on my father's side passed away rather suddenly.  She had been living in a nursing home for probably the last 3-4 years and my mother was taking care of her for two years before that.  She has not been in good health for many years, but did not seem to be doing too badly.  Very much a shock.  I'm very sorry to say that we were not close.  None of my siblings and I were too close with her.  I saw her about four years ago, then probably not for ten years before that.  I feel terribly for my dad and feel sad for the relationship we never were able to have with her.  My dad was able to take off three days from work for bereavement to take care of all the details - he is the oldest sibling and in charge of the details. 

 

I felt an overall sadness today, not really inspired to do too much.  I had a lot of things I should have been doing, but really never got around to them.  I spent most of the time with my dad and other siblings that stopped by to support him.  When he left to look into my Grandmother's affairs, I realized it was midway through the day and that I should eat something.  I decided on the quickest thing I could think of: a sub.  I had just bought some nice, fresh bread with the hubbs and had a package of Gimme Lean Ground Beef in the freezer for a couple months that I bought on discount at the local food coop.  I also had some homemade marinara sauce hanging out in the freezer so I knew a meatball sub would come together nicely.  Super easy and satisfying. 

 

 



Easy and delicious - before being toasted

1/2 package Gimme Lean Ground Beef, rolled into balls
olive oil

Fresh Rolls/Baguette
Marinara sauce
Vegan Sliced Cheese
Vegan Cashew Parmesan Cheese

Toppings:
Sliced Green Peppers
Sliced Onions
Fresh or Pickled Jalapeno Peppers
Sliced Dill Pickles
Kalamata or Black Olives

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Cook the meatballs in a small amount of olive oil until crispy and heated through.
3.  Slice the roll/baguette in half, spoon some marinara sauce on top, followed by the meatballs, the vegan cheese(s) and the toppings.
4.  Place the loaded sub on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the bread is toasty and the cheese is nice and melty.
5.  Cut in half and serve with additional marinara sauce on the side for dipping.


Koko

Green Dinner: Gluten Free Pesto Pasta, Garlic Broccoli & Simple Green Salad

Finally went shopping.  Yay fresh veggies!  Hubby was helping me bring in the groceries and hung out with me while I was putting everything away.  He had insisted we purchase some beer and went to put it in the freezer  to chill it down quickly.  Imagine his surprise when he couldn't fit even one bottle in the freezer.  Oops!  I am a huge proponent of not throwing things away, so when I make a big batch of soup of a big batch of some other kind of meal, I don't like to throw any of it away, so I put it in a deli container, label it and freeze it.  It makes for some really easy, quick meals down the road too.  So he asked me to try to use up a couple things so his cervezas could chill.  Out came the last couple packages of pesto I made with the basil from our garden last summer.  It turned out great, because then I knew exactly what I was making for dinner.  Yummy pesto pasta!  I have been craving broccoli for a while so I decided to make that and a super simple green salad.  It was a nice tasty meal, not too heavy, and Hubbs was happy about his nice, cold cervezas!

 

 

 

Tasty GF Pesto Pasta and Fresh Veggies!

 

 

 

 

Serves: 2, with a little extra for leftovers

 

 

8 oz. desired pasta - I used Trader Joe's GF Brown Rice Penne Pasta

 

Pesto:

 

Yields: 2 1/2 cups (use what you need and freeze the rest)

 

1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz. basil, rinsed and spun very well

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling

 

Garlic Broccoli

1 bunch broccoli, separated into florets, stems peeled and diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

1.  Prepare the pesto sauce.   Toast the walnuts and allow to cool.  Place in the bowl of a food processor along with the following: olive oil, garlic, miso, sea salt and black pepper.  Blend until relatively smooth.  Add in the basil and blend until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.  Set aside until ready to use.

2.  Prepare the pasta.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain the pasta, but keep the water in the pot.

3.  Briefly blanch the broccoli until it is tender-crisp. 

4.  Saute the garlic in the olive oil until crispy.  Toss with the cooked broccoli.  Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.  Mix well. 

5.  Toss desired amount of pesto with the pasta.  Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.  Serve with the broccoli and a simple green salad.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Koko

 

Potatoes and Broccoli in a Creamy Sauce

This is a recipe I made using up the last of the ingredients I had in the fridge to tide us over until we were able to schedule a time to go shopping.  I just took what I had and came up with a simple, hearty, comforting dish and it came out really tasty.  Reminds me of the peas and potatoes my mom used to make for us when we were kids, that her mother used to make for her children as a way to make an inexpensive meal stretch out to feed many.  It always makes me happy to be eating meals similar to those my grandmother served her children during those difficult times.  Shopping sometime soon and then more creative and fun meals coming up!

 

Hearty and Comforting

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, small diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons superfine brown rice flour 

4 cups unsweetened almond milk

4 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets, stems peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, medium diced. or other vegetable

 

1.  Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water.  Cook until the potatoes are just tender.  Add the broccoli and red bell pepper into the same pot and cook for about a minute, or until tender-crisp.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot.  Add the onion and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.  Add the brown rice flour.  Continue cooking for several minutes.

3.  Lower the heat to medium.  Add the almond milk, stirring immediately so it does not clump.   Stir until the mixture has thickened.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.
4.  Add the cooked potatoes, broccoli and red peppers.  Season to taste.

I always top this with lots of sriracha.  Yum!


Enjoy!

Koko

Vegetable Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo and Mesclen Greens Salad

For the last two weeks I have been trying to follow the idea of writing down all of the dinners I am going to prepare for the week on a white board I have on my refrigerator.  So far I have followed 4 out of the 5 items for the two weeks I have done it.  The other three days of the week I either didn't make a big "meal" for the Hubbs and I or I ate leftovers, and one of the days we ate out (Valentine's!).  I think it is definitely a good idea and something I can manage to stick to if I don't get too crazy and rigid about it.  This was not one of the meal ideas for the week, but after looking through my fridge, I realized I had tons of miscellaneous items that needed using up (half used onions and bell peppers - thanks to the Hubby for doing that) as well as some spicy vegan chorizo I made for breakfast, but didn't finish up.  So was thinking of making a pot pie, but was feeling too lazy to make a crust.  I have been testing tons of recipes the last couple days, and the last thing I feel like doing is following another recipe to make the crust.  I decided on a Shepherd's Pie - easy and very tasty to make.  I was able to clean up the fridge and make room for preparing the rest of the dishes on the white board.

 

 

 

Delicious Shepherd's Pie with Spicy Vegan Chorizo

Shepherd's Pie:

Potato Topping:
4-6 medium red skinned potatoes, washed well and diced
3 tablespoons earth balance
unsweetened soy or almond milk
sea salt and black pepper to taste
granulated garlic or a couple cloves of roasted garlic

Filling:
1 cup veggie protein - I used spicy vegan chorizo, but could use seasoned tofu, seitan, etc.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, small diced
1/2 bell pepper - or whatever vegetables you need to use in the fridge
2 cloves garlic, minced
Nutritional Yeast Gravy
handful organic frozen corn or peas
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.  Cook till just tender.  Drain.  Put back in pot - add earth balance, desired amount of nondairy milk, sea salt, black pepper and granulated garlic or roasted garlic.  Mash till desired consistency.  Season to taste.
2.  Prepare the filling: have the gravy ready and set aside.
3.  In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow to become hot.  Add the veggies: the carrot, onion, celery and bell pepper.  Cook for several minutes until the veggies begin to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes. 
4.  Place the veggies in a large bowl.  Add the veggie protein and enough gravy to cover the mixture.  Stir in frozen peas or corn if desired.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.
5.  Oil a glass pie plate or baking dish.  Place the veggie-gravy mix into dish and smooth out with a spatula.  Top with the mashed potatoes and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden and the filling is bubbly.


Enjoy!

Koko

 

Millet with Kale, Mushroom Gravy and Beet Salad

I love the website Oh She Glows.  I follow it quite religiously and am always so impressed how Angela Liddon makes all of the food just look so amazing and healthy.  Pretty much every picture I see, I say to myself "I am so going to make this!"  The reality, of course is that I have so many recipes that I just have to make, and trying as of this point to keep to a budget, but still eat healthfully, is challenging, and I can't make every dish if I don't have the ingredients at home.  I think most of the ingredients in this dish people with a well stocked fridge and pantry should pretty much have on hand at all times.  This is one that seemed pretty easy to make, healthy, but also very much a "comfort food" item.  Sometimes the hubby can be finicky about creamy sauces and gravies, but I thought this would be great.  He ended up loving it, but didn't want to take it to lunch the next day, because in his words it was too light for a hardworking, strong man like him.  Insert good-humerdly crossing of the eyes here.  It ended up being a bonus for me because I ended up taking it for my lunch and was very satisfied!  Try making it and go over and take a look at what Angela ended up doing for the same dish over at Oh She Glows.  I didn't follow her recipe exactly, but used it as a guideline to make my own dish.

Super Comfort-Foody and Delicious!

Gravy:

Yields: 2 1/2 cups

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, small diced
4 oz. criminis, small diced
4 tablespoons unbleached flour
2 cups filtered water
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with the fingers
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon unchicken boullion

Garlic Kale:
12 cups kale, blanched
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
sea salt and black pepper

Millet:
1 1/2 cups millet, rinsed
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups filtered water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1.  Cook the millet in the oil until toasted and most of the water has evaporated.  Add the filtered water and sea salt.  Bring the millet to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook till the water has absorbed and the millet is fluffy,
2.  Prepare the gravy:Add the oil over medium heat.  Once it is hot, add the onion, criminis and garlic, stirring frequently until they begin to color.  Add the unbleached flour and stir well to coat. 
3.  Allow the flour to cook for a couple minutes so that the raw flour taste goes away.  Add the water all at once, whisking immediately so the gravy does not clump.
4.  Add the remaining in gredients to the gravy: the sea salt, black pepper, thyme, nutritional yeast, tamari and unchicken boullion.  Whisk well to combine all the ingredients.  Continue cooking till the gravy has thickened to your liking.  Season to taste.
5.  Prepare the garlic kale:  blanch the kale just until it turns a bright green color - about 30 seconds.  Drain.
6.  In a small pan over medium heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil until it becomes golden and cooked through.  Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
7.  To serve, place a mound of the millet on the plate, followed by a generous serving of kale, then top it all off with gravy.  Healthy comfort food at its best!

The millet mixed with the garlic kale.



The plate before adding the gravy.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Koko

Pasta Veggie Saute with Cherry Tomatoes

I am always on the hunt for a deal.  Even when I am shopping and not necessarily intending to purchase something.  Our local coop here in Michigan - Oryana - is great!  They have this really cool thing where when a product is close-dated or maybe a little bruised, they slap a half-off sticker on it and you get something healthy and organic (most of the time!) for a great deal.  Recently I have scored several fake meat items that I just stick in the freezer for a time when I don't really feel like cooking. 

 

The last time I was there, there was a bunch of stuff from the produce department that had half off stickers on them (all being organic): cauliflower, mixed greens, a couple packages of beautiful cherry tomatoes, a bag of apples and a bag of carrots that was ripped open.  Great score!  So I had a couple packages of cherry tomatoes sitting in the fridge for a couple days and decided to make a simple pasta dish  that came together quickly.  It also came out looking beautiful.  Hubby had two giant plates of it, which he of course immediatley sprinkled with cheese.  I ended up roasting the cauliflower with winter squash, juicing the apples and some of the carrots (then making muffins from the pulp), making a giant mixed green tossed salad with the greens and a pasta salad with the rest of the cherry tomatoes.  So good!

The pasta and veggies after cooking.



 

Pasta Veggie Saute:

8 oz. spiral pasta

8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1/2 red bell pepper, julienned

1/2 red onion, julienned

6 pieces tempeh bacon, cooked and chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetarian mock chicken boullion powder

1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper



Some nice veggie cheese to melt on top.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Koko