Fall as a Pizza: Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Gruyere

If you are looking for a fall pizza recipe to change things up, then look no further then this beauty.  This pizza uses homemade dough (or you can use whatever store bought you'd like), roasted butternut squash with roasted garlic and onions and gruyere cheese.  There is no sauce and it is not needed.  The roasted squash gets creamy and sweet and the gruyere balances that sweetness perfectly.  I like to use applewood smoked gruyere, because that is all I can find and it adds such enormous flavor to the pizza.  Give this pizza a try for Halloween!

Fall Pizza
1 Butternut squash diced (you can peel if you'd like, but I don't like to do that)
1 head of garlic
1 onion sliced
8 oz applewood smoked gruyere cheese
Salt to taste
Olive Oil
1 lb pizza dough (homemade or store bought)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Put garlic in aluminum foil and drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over it.  Put the package in the oven and let it cook for about an hour, until the garlic is soft, set aside

While the garlic is in the oven, combine the diced squash and slice onions in a bowl.  Drizzle with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous amount of salt. Spread the mixture onto a foil lined pan (sprayed with cooking spray for extra insurance) and place in oven to cook for 35 minutes.

After the garlic and onions and squash are cooked and tender, turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the onions and squash into a large bowl.  Add the grated gruyere and squeeze out the garlic cloves and combine everything together.

Spread your pizza dough onto a well oiled pan.  Top the dough with the squash and gruyere mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, let cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

Another Double Chocolate Muffin Recipe

I love chocolate muffins and honestly, who doesn't?  I was inspired to make some chocolate muffins after seeing that my son's snack time had them at school and so this recipe is dedicated to him!  These muffins are moist and flavorful, but not too sweet and are perfect with a cup of black coffee for the adults, or with cottage cheese if you're a toddler.  These come together quickly and are a perfect after-school snack. Let me know what you think!

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (I used stevia)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan

Mix together the wet ingredients

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients

Scoop into the muffin pan 

Bake for 18 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

Black Bean Protein Brownies

I ran out of my homemade protein chewy bars so I thought it would be time to make a new recipe and to experiment a little.  I decided that it might be time to be adventurous and try the infamous "black bean brownies". I needed to put my own spin on such an idea so I decided that I would have to add protein powder to the mix and so I did.  I happen to have gluten-free and vegan protein powder and so that is what I used in my brownies, but you could use whatever you have on hand.

Believe me, I was extremely skeptical in making this, but these do indeed taste like brownies and it's great to know you're getting lots of protein in these guys.  The protein powder gives them a distinct taste, but that's what protein powder does when baked.  If you don't like protein powder baked, then don't add it, but they are fudgy and rich, but without being heavy.  These are a great compromise for the buttery version!  They don't taste like coffee, but taste very chocolatey!

Black Bean-Protein Brownies
1 15oz can black beans
3 tbsp honey
6 dates
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
3 eggs
2 tbsp coffee
2 tsp espresso powder
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp flax seed
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Combine black beans, coffee, honey, dates, coconut oil, eggs in a blender and blend until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

Meanwhile, place the espresso powder, protein powder, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl and pour the liquid over that.  Stir to combine and add the chocolate chips.  You can add some extra on top to make the brownies look more decadent

Bake for 23 minutes and dig in!

Buns experiment- Gluten Free and Whole Wheat

So what happens when you take the perfect recipe for buns and then decide to change it using gluten free flour, whole wheat flour and then finally go back to the original?  The below photo is what happens!

For the gluten free version I took my favorite recipe and make a few changes

Favorite Buns

Ingredients

1 tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)

1/6 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups Gluten Free Flour

1 tbsp Flax Seed mixed into 3 tbsp boiling water

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 

minutes.  Add the egg, salt, flax seed and enough flour to form a soft dough. 

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 4 pieces (about 5 oz each); shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets and flatten the ball so they look like discs

Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For the completely whole wheat version, I just used whole wheat flour and didn't have the flax seed.

In sum, be careful when baking.  In this case, halving the recipe, may not have been a smart idea.  Gluten Free flour is still hard to work with!  Stay tuned to see if I make gluten free buns again!

Gluten Free Bread: Experiment 2 and 3

This post is a picture story of experiments 2 and 3 in gluten free testing.  I used one recipe and made it two different ways.  I think the pictures will speak for themselves on how the experiments turned out.  

Gluten Free Experiments 2 and 3 were quite interesting.  I used a different recipe and a different flour blend.  This time I used the Gluten Free Flour from Trader Joe's a touch of coconut flour.  I used flaxseed instead of xanthan gum because, who really wants to pay $12 for xanthan gum, and I already have the flaxseed.  

For Experiment 2 I used whole milk and For Experiment 3 i used almond milk.  I don't think this made too much of a difference and that's a good thing!   In experiment 2 i used flaxseed dry and experiment 3 I used flaxseed mixed with twice the amount of water and then microwaved for 30 seconds to create a gel.  I don't know if this made a huge difference in the overall structure of the bread, but maybe it did.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

Courtesy: King Arthur

3 cups Gluten Free Flour (I used Trader Joes)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (or 1 1/4 tsp flaxseed with 3 1/2 tsp water mixed and heated to form a gel)

1 cup warm milk (110F)

4 tablespoons softened butter

3 large eggs

Place the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and flax seed (or xanthan gum) in a bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer.  Mix until combined.

Using an electric mixer, drizzle in the milk, beating all the time.  The texture will be crumbly, but it does come together.  Add the butter and beat until blended.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.  The dough will be very smooth and thick. It reminds me of a thick brownie batter.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the batter rise for 1 hour.  Grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan (or a 9"x5" if you're scared it'll overproof)

Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, gently deflating the dough in the process.

Scoop the dough into the pan. Press it level, using a spatula or your wet fingers.

Cover with greased plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until the loaf barely comes to the rip of the pan.  This should take about 45-60 minutes.  Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 38 to 42 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cool on a rack.  Enjoy! (hopefully)

Ingredient List for Experiment 2.  Just change out the Whole Milk for Almond Milk for #3.

Here's what the dough looks like after mixing

Here it is after rising!

I put the bread in the oven and after 8 minutes I smelled something burning.  I rushed to see what had happened and the bread exploded; or it vomited in the oven.  I did not have it on the cookie sheet, so the bottom of my oven was a mess!  Luckily the dough isn't sticky and cleaned up very well.

Here it is after baking and after an emergency transfer to a bigger pan.  It did not rise again and resulted in a very short loaf.  This will eventually turn into bread pudding.  

Experiment 3

Dough made with flaxseed gel and almond milk

I think this is after the rise... either way, it's not a good picture.

Here it is in the pan ready to rise!

Here it is ready after the rise, ready to go in the oven!

Baked! This one came out a lot taller than the other and has usable slices for sandwiches! Yay

Gluten Free Experimenting

I've started reading "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis and while I haven't gotten very far into it, it's been interesting so far.  I've decided that this Saturday should be a day for Gluten Free Experimenting!

I went to Trader Joe's to search for gluten free flours and stopped by Big Lots first, just for fun.  Much to my surprise, I learned that they had a huge selection of products from Bob's Red Mill! I stocked up on quite a selection of products and got a gluten free flour mix from Trader Joe's too.

Here's the selection!

For my first experiment in Gluten Free Baking I decided to start off easy with the mix that specifically said it was for making a "wonderful" homemade bread.

Does it make a good loaf?!

I followed the directions exactly this time and decided to use ingredients as close to my normal loaf as possible.  I used whole milk and butter instead of using almond milk or coconut oil, which was my second choice.

Here's what it looks like after everything is all mixed up!  It does not smell like normal bread and the dough looks like thick cake batter.

I let it rise and bake according to the directions and here's what it looks like!

Looks pretty good! It tastes pretty good too!

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins

I've read that Oat Bran is a super delicious and nutritious food to try and I saw some Oat Bran recipes and I knew I wanted to join in all the fun.

I found a recipe to try on a bodybuilding.com forum, but I decided to really change it up a bit.  What I ended up with was a blueberry and chocolate chip muffin.  The muffins are pretty tasty and if you like oatmeal, you will like these muffins.  Fair warning: DO NOT EAT MORE THAN ONE!

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins
2 1/4 cup oat bran
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup egg whites
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp flax seed
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425F.  Spray a muffin tin with Pam

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.

Divide the batter equally in the muffin tin. (For me, it was about 2tbsp per muffin)

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and eat!

All lined up!

Close up!

Whole Wheat Naan

If you're looking for a healthier version of Naan then try this version made with whole wheat flour!  Same concept as the "Naan in less than an House" but with whole wheat flour and yogurt.  Give it a try!

Whole Wheat Naan in Less Than an Hour

Fullbellies Naan

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp water

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add 4 tbsp yogurt and 2 tbsp water if needed.

Knead in the bowl until smooth and cover for 30 minutes.

Preheat the heavy skillet or griddle on medium high heat. Divide your dough in two and roll into balls.

Roll on a lightly floured surface to approximately 1/4" thick. Dust off any excess flour and place on the hot skillet.  

Brush the top side with butter and toss onto the hot griddle.  Brush the now top side with butter.

When bubbles begin to form (10 to 20 seconds), flip it and brush the 2nd side. Leave it on for about a minute and take it off the heat. Enjoy!

For a yummy dessert dip the naan in greek yogurt and honey! Delicious!

Blitz Bread- for Meatloaf Sandwiches or anything!

Lunch and dinner for this week is meatloaf! I thought it would be good to break up the monotony by having lunch as meatloaf sandwiches. What would be the best bread to go with such a hearty dish? Why this quick and easy bread from King Arthur flour! I chose this bread because it was made to go with their recipe for meatloaf. Perfect!

This bread came out decently and I would make some changes next time. The main change I would make it to not put olive oil in the pan, but rather to just spray the pan with cooking spray. The dough is very sticky and it also stuck to the bottom of my pan once it finished baking! It was not fun. The other change would be to pay attention to the bread more during rising. I think my loaf rose for 45 minutes before it overproofed and collapsed. It tastes just fine and I did make this as a whole wheat version, just because. Give it a try though! This bread is super easy!

Blitz Bread

• From King Arthur
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F to 120°F)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• *Substitute 1 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour for 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, if desired.

To make the bread: Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and spray with cooking spray all around.
Combine all of the bread ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.  Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes, until it becomes puffy. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.  

Bake the bread until it's golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Uh oh! Bread Dough EXPLODED! (for the record, I just keep my loaves in the microwave to rise.)

Sliced Up

Whole Loaf

Banana Bread!

I've had some bananas sitting out for awhile that were starting to turn overripe.  When that happens, it means banana bread is going to happen!

I've had my go-to banana bread recipe for awhile and it's delicious.  It's dense and packed full of bananas.  If you want a banana bread that tastes like bananas, give this one a try!

"In Your Face Banana Bread"
From Recipe Girl

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed over-ripe bananas (about 5 bananas)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 9×5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.

4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60- 65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

6. Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 1 loaf

Naan- Long Version

If you have extra time and wish to make a super fluffy naan, then go ahead and try this delicious version from the Food Network.  I started this dough in the morning before work in about 15 minutes and let it sit in the fridge all day.  This dough was very easy to work with after such a long rest and the naan were delicious.  Give it a try!

Naan- Long Version
Adapted from Food Network

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Melted butter for slathering on the naans (minced garlic added to the butter if you want garlic naan.

Directions
In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and add the kalonji and fennel seeds, if using, and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours (or in the fridge while you're at work all day)

When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

*I found that after a long fridge rest, the dough was not extremely sticky and I did not need the separate water bowl.

Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.

*I just rolled them into circles.

Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

*I brushed melted butter on them before placing in the skillet and then once in the skillet, I brushed butter on the other side.

After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don't worry - that's typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Remove the naan from the skillet.  Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

Buns- For Meatball Sandwiches, or Saucy Sandwiches

In my quest to avoid store- bought bread, I needed to find a bread recipe that was quick to make and perfect for saucy sandwiches.  I wanted a crusty baguette-type bread, but that took forever to make.  After a google search I found a recipe that would have bread ready in less than an hour.  Perfect!  This bread came out pretty good, with a good hearty crust. I made them with a mixture of bread flour whole wheat flour and all purpose flour and I made them into buns instead of loaves.  Overall this was successful and I would make them again!

Quick French Bread

adapted from Keep Home Simple

2 1/2 Cups Warm Water

2 tbsp Yeast

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

3 tbsp Oil

5 1/2 -6 Cups Flour (2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup of bread flour, 1 1/2 cups AP flour)

Add yeast and then sprinkle the sugar over the 2 1/2 cups of water.  Let it sit for about five minutes until you see the yeast get all bubbly on top.

Stir in the salt, oil, and flour.

Then:  Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth.  Cover your bowl with a warm wet towel and let the dough sit for about 15 minutes.

**Tip - put a bowl of water in your microwave and turn your microwave on for two minutes.  Then take the bowl of water out and set your bowl of bread dough in the warm microwave for the 15 minutes.  This moist, warm environment makes the bread rise a lot faster.

I formed the dough into 4 buns, but I really should have done about 6 or 8 because they were way too big! Allow the loaves to sit for a few minutes while you preheat your oven to 375. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  My buns stuck to the pan, so sprinkle the pan with cornmeal or make sure the buns have enough flour. Maybe grease the pan too. Other than the sticking, they were pretty good! Check out my recipe for meatballs to go with them!

 Cross Section

Hamburger Buns- Round 2

Another one of the buns recipes I tried is one I found at King Arthur Flour's website.  I thought it would be a reliable recipe because it had a lot of great reviews.  Well, they were good, but very heavy and dense. This was basically bread in bun form; not what I'm looking for.

Here's the recipe and here are the photos!  

Beautiful Burger Buns

From King Arthur Flour

• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• *For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.
• topping
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.

4) Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.

5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.

6) Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns.

They were easy to make, but just did not give me the results I was looking for. I don't think I'd try this recipe again, because it takes so much longer than my new favorite recipe. 

Glamour shots!

Hamburger Buns- Perfection at Long Last

After trying my hand at hamburger buns a few times using a few different recipes, I think I know which recipe is the winner and it's this super easy and quick recipe from Taste of Home.  The buns, when made with a few modifications, produce a bun that is fluffy and full of flavor.  Once you have a homemade bun you realize that store bought ones really have zero flavor!  You might think that they do, but they really don't.  Once you realize how easy it is to make buns at home, you may never go back! 

Hamburger Buns
modified from Taste of Home

Ingredients
2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup bread flour*

2 1/2- 3 cups All Purpose Flour (or whole wheat if you so desire)

DirectionsIn a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 6 pieces (about 5 oz each); shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets and flatten the ball so they look like discs
Cover and let rest for **30 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

*I went with a mix of bread flour and AP flour to get more gluten development.  I'm still learning why I'd want more gluten development, but I read that somewhere it's important and so, I decided to mix the flours.
**The original recipe is to allow to rest for 10 minutes.  There are many comments in the review section that advise rising for 30 minutes and it makes a world of difference.  A 30 minute rest produced a fluffier, softer and airy roll like those of store bought.  The 10 minute "rest" produced a bun that was very dense. It made for a good breakfast sandwich the next day, but does not make for a good bun for burgers, sloppy joes, etc.

These buns rested for only 10 minutes.  They split on top (not sure why), but were dense and took about twice as long to bake.

These bottom two photos are the buns that rested for 30 minutes (I think I had the oven at 450 instead of 425 and that's why they're so brown). They did not split and I think you can tell that they look softer and more airy than the 10 minute rest.

This photo looks like a flower!

These buns are the most beautiful yet!