mushroom pizza with arugula

So I've been a little absent these last couple weeks.  Our fam was in AZ visiting friends.. and eating lots of good food.  I didn't snap pics of most of it (I think I'm always too excited to just dig in - forget the camera!)... but did take this one of some delicious sea bass pad thai tacos at Sapporo (which were super delicious):

Another great place to eat in the Phoenix, AZ area is Postino's, should you ever be out that direction.  It has all different kinds of bruschetta... a big hit for a couple pregnant ladies! :)  (yes, both myself and the friend I was visiting are preggo... and due on the same day!)

So back to mushroom pizza, perhaps my very favorite kind... as long as it includes parmesan cheese.  My other favorite way to eat pizza is with a little lightly dressed arugula or mixed greens on the top - it freshens up the pizza and helps you get another serving of those oh so important veggies.

mushroom pizza with arugula salad

Ingredients
1 whole wheat pizza crust (find my homemade pizza recipe here)
1 package sliced portobello mushrooms
1/2 c. parmesan cheese (or more)
1/4 c. feta cheese (or more)
2-3 cups arugula
olive oil
freshly squeezed lemon
balsamic vinegar
pine nuts (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.  Roll out pizza dough into desired thickness.  Brush with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes,  or until it starts to turn golden brown.
While the crust bakes, saute mushrooms in 1-2 tsp olive oil and a little salt & pepper until they are tender.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar (about 1 T).  Set aside.
Once crust is finished, top with mushrooms and feta.  Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until crust is desired crispness.
To make the arugula salad, simply drizzle the arugula with a little olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and toss until combined.  Go a little light on everything, as you can always add more.
Serve pizza with arugula salad and sprinkle with a few pine nuts, if desired (I did eat mine with pine nuts, but added them after the picture was snapped and I'd already devoured about 1/2 of it :)).

lentil soup

I love soup.  Making it.  Eating it.  And I rarely get sick of leftover soup... it tastes so good for several days after you make it.

Soup is a way to be creative... all food is, really.  But taking what you have on hand and putting it into a pot and having a tasty outcome... that's just satisfying.

Any kind of lentil, bean, pea soup is my absolute favorite.  So when I remembered I had some lentils in the pantry for lentil soup, I was excited.

And it did not disappoint.  I had it for lunch today and wished I could have ate three bowls (the only downfall of soup... it fills you up fast!).  I've said this before, but I love eating bean and lentil soups with hot sauce and vinegar.  Yes vinegar, plain white vinegar.  Odd huh?  But for some reason it is so good.  That's just how I ate mine, and it was delicious.

lentil soup

Ingredients
2 c. + chicken broth
1 c. dried lentils (I just used the regular brownish looking ones)
1 can (11.5 oz) v8 tomato juice
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped (or about 10 baby carrots)
2-3 bay leaves
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp celery salt
pepper

Instructions
Saute carrots, onion, and spices in olive oil for a few minutes until the veggies are just starting to get tender.  Add the lentils, 2 c. chicken broth, tomato juice, and bay leaves.  Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender, adding more broth as needed.  I ended up simmering mine for 45 minutes - hour.  Add the tomato and simmer a few more minutes until it is tender.

Serves 3-4.

sweet potatoes... and a really good sauce

I found a recipe online for a yummy looking sauce to go with sweet potatoes.  Aftter a few modifications, we enjoyed it with roasted sweet potatoes for dinner.  The sauce is spicy and tangy, a fun contrast to the starchy sweet potatoes.
I have put the leftover sauce in a quesadilla and drizzled it over tortilla soup - both were delicious.  Eating it with fish tacos or even as a dressing on a salad would be good too.  There are many, many options for using up the sauce.

roasted sweet potatoes with cilantro.jalapeno.yogurt sauce

Ingredients
Potatoes
sweet potatoes
olive oil
garlic salt
paprika
pepper

Yogurt Sauce
1 c. plain greek yogurt
1 c. cilantro, roughly chopped (used both the stems and leaves)
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (this made it pretty spicy - would want to use 1 pepper or less if you don't like very spicy food)
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.  Wash sweet potatoes and cut into cubes.  I didn't peel mine because the skin was thin, but if the skin is thick I would peel them.  Put potato cubes on a pan, drizzle generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with seasonings.  Stir until potatoes are evenly coated with oil and seasonings.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until they are fork tender, stirring once after 10-15 minutes.  If the potatoes seem too dry or stuck to the pan when stirring, add more olive oil.  Sprinkle with more salt & pepper if needed after baking.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  If too spicy, add more yogurt (or you could sub some sour cream).

sushi bowls

Sushi bowls.  The cheaper and faster way to satisfy your craving for sushi.  I've been wanting to make these for a while and finally got around to it.  They really are easy, the main time committment is just chopping the veggies and making sure you start the rice early enough for it to cool to room temp.

I had shrimp on hand, so that's what we used, but these would be great with any meat that's used in sushi - raw or cooked.  And the veggie options are endless.  Even a little mango would be good in them.  Be creative! 


I used these little square roasted seaweed sheets for the salad (got mind at Costco, but I've seen them at TJ's as well).  I cut them in half and then snipped them into little strips.

    

all the toppings just waiting for their rice and shrimp - seaweed strips, carrots (cut into strips with a peeler), cilantro/green onion/jalapeno, shitake mushrooms, cucumbers, avocado



 

sushi bowl

 Ingredients
sushi rice
meat - crab, shrimp, raw tuna or salmon, etc.
veggies
seaweed wrappers
sesame seeds
soy sauce
ginger (the kind you get with your sushi at a restaurant)

Instructions
To make sushi rice, rinse your sushi rice with water (sometimes I forget this step and it's still fine.. just a little stickier) and combine equal parts sushi rice to water (i.e. 1 c. rice, 1 c. water... although sometimes I need to add a little more water) in a large saucepan and stir with a spatula.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, stir again with a spatula and cover with foil.  Cook for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is cooked (check after about 10 - 15 minutes and see if it needs more water).  Remove from heat and add seasoned rice vinegar (usually it will say on the bottle how much vinegar you need, if it doesn't then add 1-2 T. for every cup of dry rice).  Let rice cool to room temp.

To build your bowl, simply layer rice, sushi meat, veggies, seaweed strips in a bowl.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with soy sauce.  I also ate mine with some pieces of ginger.  Light and delicious!

apples

The other day (or week) a couple friends and I took our kiddos to an orchard to pick apples, followed by making applesauce at my friend's house... a great fall experience!  We also got apples for apple butter, which was something new for me to make.

Overall making both applesauce and apple butter is very easy.  I made my applesauce chunky and cooked it over the stove.  The apple butter I made in a crockpot.  I decided to freeze both, so I didn't need to can anything (which seems like a complicated process to me).

the little guy helping me pick apples :)

applesauce and apple butter

 Applesauce:
1 large soup pot full apples
several cups of water (or sub some water with apple cider)
cinnamon

Instructions:
Peel, core, and cut up apples into chunks.  You can use whatever kind of apples you'd like.  I used mostly Golden Delicious with some Jonathan, a more tart apple, and it was sweet enough that I didn't need to add any sugar.  If you like sweeter applesauce, or use mostly tart apples, you might need to add some sugar.
Put apples in a large pot and add a cup or two of water or juice.  Cover and cook over medium low, stirring often and adding more water/juice as needed, depending on the consistency you want.  Cook until the applesauce is as smooth as you would like it.  If you have a big pot, it may take an hour or two to cook, but a smaller pot may only take 30 minutes to an hour.  Stir in some cinnamon until you like the flavor.
Put in quart ziploc bags, or freezer safe containers, to freeze.


Apple butter:
1 large crockpot of tart apples (I used Ida Red)
1/2 c. water or apple cidar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. honey
sprinkle of cinnamon
a little nutmeg and ginger
1 tsp vanilla
lemon or orange zest (optional)

Instructions:
Peel, core, and cut up apples into chunks.  Place in crock pot and add liquid, sugar, and spices (you can always go light on the sugar and spices and add more at end).  The apple butter needs to cook on low overnight.  I started mine on high for a couple hours (making sure to stir it so the apples on the bottom don't stick), and then turned it down to low before I went to bed.  When I got up I cooked the apple butter for a little longer without the lid, and it was done cooking.  If you only cook it on low, I think it will need more like 10-12 hours on low, instead of 8-9.
Once the apples are cooked down, you can either leave it a chunky consistency, or puree it.  I opted to puree it with my hand blender.  Before pureeing, add the vanilla and zest.  Puree until smooth.  Taste and add more sugar/spices if needed.
Put in jars to freeze.