Recipe #298: Mediterranean Beef Wraps

A recipe I found in a Real Simple magazine, you can also find it here. This meal would be really fast, but I made  the pita bread and hummus so it took a little longer!

You need:
1 lb ground beef
1 1/2 tsp oregano
kosher salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
pita bread
hummus
mint leaves
lemon

• Make 12 small patties with the ground beef
• season with oregano, salt and pepper
• cook in a fry pan until done (about 5-10 minutes)
• spread hummus on the pita bread
• put two patties on each pita and drizzle some olive oil and torn mint leaves.
• Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze on top.

Recipe #297: Pita Bread

Another easy recipe from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

that we have already used in a couple of recipes!

You need:

about a grape fruit size portion of pizza dough

a little olive oil

• preheat oven to 500 with baking stone in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes
• just before you are ready to bake divide the dough into four small balls
• dust one ball with some flour and roll into a small circle
• slide pita on to stone and bake for about 5-7 minutes. i can fit about 2 on my stone so I roll one out, put it in the oven then do the other one really quickly.
• it should be puffy and lightly browned. 
• I followed their greek style the first time and brushed the dough with a little olive oil and then punched it down because I wanted to use it to wrap, not really stick stuff in it.
• let them cool wrapped in a cotton towel, on a cooling rack 

Great with Mediterranean Beef Wraps or Turkish Stuffed Pita Boats

Recipe #296: Hummus Take 2

Happy Spring Break to me! The house is clean, the fridge is stocked with groceries, and now it is time to catch up on blogging! I have several recipes to share, so we will see how far I get tonight!

So I was trying out another recipe from the fabulous Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day and decided to try their hummus recipe. I have made another one a while back but am still searching for a recipe that I like the best.

This one was pretty delicious, i think because of the lemon zest which was definitely better then just lemon juice.

You need:
1 can of chick peas, drained
juice and zest from one lemon
2 garlic coves, chopped
1/2 cup tahini paste
1/2 tsp kosher salt
paprika
olive oil

• add chick peas, lemon juice and zest, garlic, tahini and salt to a food processor and start mixing until smooth. (if you are using a small one like me I would recommend doing it in two batches...I should have done that!) you may need to add a little water to help produce a smooth dip. 
• spoon into a serving bowl, sprinkle paprika on top and drizzle with olive oil. 

A delicious way to enjoy your veggies or Mediterranean Beef Wraps!

Recipe #295: Three Cheese Pizza

You need:
ricotta
mozzarella, shredded
parmesan, shredded
pizza dough
tomato sauce

• preheat oven to 500 and allow stone to heat for 30 minutes
• just before preheat is down, take a orange sized piece of dough
• roll it out and top with sauce
• dollop some ricotta on top and then add other cheeses around.
• bake for 8-10 minutes
• cut in squares for an interesting way to eat your pizza! :)

Recipe #294: Focaccia

A great recipe from none other than Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day! I love the fact that with one recipe you can make so many different things (be on the lookout for more delicious flatbreads!)

You need:
1 small grapefruit size of pizza dough
1/4 onion, sauteed
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
olive oil

• heat oven to 450
• spread olive oil on the bottom of a pie pan
• roll out the dough into a circle that it the size of your pan
• place dough in pan, flip to cover both sides with the oil.
• indent the dough with your finger to keep it from puffing up so much.
• add onion and rosemary 
• let it rest for about 20 minutes
• push down into dough so rosemary and onion doesn't slide off when baking.
• bake for 15 minutes or until done
• remove from pie tin and allow to cool 
• then eat!

Recipe #292 and #293: Spinach and Beef pizza on homemade crust

If you have been reading my blog at all you may know of how our bread eating was revolutionized by Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

We have been making that bread all year. 

I haven't eaten store bought bread in ages! :) 

We had been using the bread dough to make pizza, but finally got this book from the library:

 Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day

and...

our lives are changed again! :) This made the best crust ever! And of course, it was SO easy!

This recipe makes 8 pizzas and last for 2 weeks in the fridge. You can also freeze it, but I haven't read all the details on that yet! Isn't that marvelous. This recipe can be used for many other flatbread recipes as well! I can't wait to try some different things!

You need:

3 cups lukewarm water (100 degrees or below)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp kosher salt

7 1/2 white flour

• mix water, oil, yeast, and salt using a dough hook on your mixer
• add in flour and mix well
• put into a large container and allow to rise for 2 hours.
• at this point you can either pull some dough out to make a pizza or put in fridge

for pizza:

you need:

orange size ball of dough

pasta sauce

cooked ground beef

 6-7 spinach leaves

mozzarella

• preheat oven as high as it will go (mine was 500) with stone inside
• when oven is almost preheated, take dough out
• shape dough into a small ball
• roll out on a flour covered pizza peel
• over with sauce, beef, spinach, and mozzarella
• slide on to stone and bake for 8-10 minutes!

enjoy! be ready for lots of pizza/flatbread recipes in the next weeks! :)

Did I happen to mention that book found its way into my amazon shopping cart and is now in the mail! :) After looking at all the recipes I knew that there was no way I was going to get my fill in the time I had the book checked out! 

Recipe #291: Asian Beef Salad

Another Real Simple idea, except they did it with ground turkey, also some other ingredients I didn't have! :)

You need:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
romaine lettuce
cucumbers
matchstick carrots
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 pack browned ramen (see directions here. it was because I didn't have peanuts but wanted something crunchy)

• brown beef, drain oil
• add water, fish sauce, and brown sugar. stir until liquid is almost gone.
• toss lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots with lime juice.
• top with beef and serve!