chocolate and spinach

This night I was drinking "chocolate milk," it was a mixture Ben got for our growlers from Engine 15. It was SO DELICIOUS! After a couple of those glasses I am usually dehydrated in the morning and crave smoothies. Here is a delicious one:

A green smoothie! Ben will not drink these, by the way. I think it scares him, but I promise you CANNOT taste the "green" at all.

ingredients:
2 1/2 cups spinach
2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 frozen banana (slice them before you put them in the freezer)
2 teaspoons natural peanut butter
couple of sprinkles of cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup almond milk (I used original)

BLEND AND ENJOY! Great and yummy way to get nutrients, especially after a night of drinking!

no delivery here

Pizza. Oh, how I love thee. There's just something about bread, melty cheese, and endless varieties of toppings that just make me happy. Now I LOVE bread (you know those people who eat raw cookie dough when making cookies, when I make bread I eat the raw bread dough... seriously), but I am not a fan of deep dish pizzas. too.much.crust. In fact, they irk me. Pizza to me is all about the cheese and toppings. I started making my own pizza at home a couple of years ago, you know, buying the pre-made crust, the pre-made sauce, add the toppings and cheese, and viola pizza is served. Now I prefer to make my own crust and sauce. Even though it's all about the cheese and toppings, you need to have an awesome base to start with. That's like a beautiful woman or a handsome man having no personality or being an idiot or being a bitch, if your crust sucks than your cheese and toppings aren't going to get you far in life (unless someone just wants to use you for your cheese and toppings... I digress...). I promise it is really easy too. You need to have iron skillets or oven proof skillets.

Dough (makes 2 individual pizzas or 1 big one):
ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons highly active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups flour

directions:

combine the sugar, yeast, and water in a bowl. not going to lie, I don't take the temperature of the "warm" water, I go by how it feels. you don't want the water to be too hot or the water will kill the yeast, but you don't want the water to be too cold or the yeast will not be activated (yeast is alive). mix and let it sit for about 10 minutes, it will be nice and foamy at the top. add in the salt and olive oil. add the flour a little at a time (1/2 cup or so) and mix. once I get to about 1 cup mixed in, I dump the mixture onto a lightly floured surface (my countertop) and mix the rest by hand. knead for 8 minutes. oil the countertop and the top of the dough and place a damp towel over it, let rise for 2 hours. after 2 hours punch the dough down, split it in half, cover, and let rise another 2 hours.

Sauce:

the sauce is super easy to make! all you need is good quality crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano), salt, red pepper flakes, basil, and garlic powder. the tomatoes you use is important because the better quality, the less you have to do to it. I take out as much sauce as I think I will be using and mix in the unmeasured spices. I say you can never have too much basil or red pepper flakes.

directions:

place your skillet in the oven and preheat it on high broiler. roll out your dough to the desired thickness and size (remember it needs to fit in your skillet). roll the outer edge over. take the skillet out and place the dough in it. top with sauce, toppings (this time I used onions and green bell peppers), and cheese (I used mozzarella pearls and asiago). place on the middle rack in the oven and cook for 6 - 7 minutes on high broil. take out and turn the stove-top on between medium and high and cook the pizza for 2 - 3 minutes. watch very carefully so the pizza doesn't burn on the bottom. this way, to me, gets a perfect crust on top and bottom, but still is chewy.
It is the perfect portion for my selfish self (I guess I'm not that selfish, I made Ben his own too).

ready, set, go!

One thing I love to do, is make dinner (any food, for that matter) at home. This saves money, although it takes time planning and searching, and you know all the ingredients going into your bod, even if it is 1 stick of butter, thank you Paula Deen, "HEY Y'ALL!"

I present to you black bean chili topped with avacado and sharp cheddar and homemade biscuits with sharp cheddar. Cheddar is so yummy, no?

black bean chili (makes 6 servings):
ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
half of an onion (I used a red one because that's what I had on hand)
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
2.5 cups of dried black beans soaked and drained
3.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1.5 - 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (depends on your level of hotness)
salt and pepper  to taste
1.5 - 2.5 cups of organic chicken stock (I eyeballed this)
1/2 cup of frozen corn

toppings (optional):
avocado
sour cream or greek yogurt
your choice of shredded cheese
cilantro

directions:
heat oil in stockpot on medium heat. add onion and carrots and saute for about 4 minutes then add garlic. pour in stewed tomatoes, black beans, and seasonings. add in enough stock so the chili is not too runny (unless you want soup?). lastly, add in corn. let this all cook together for an hour or longer.

cheddar biscuits adapted from Paula Deen (makes 10 - 13):
ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter or 8 tablespoons, cubed
1.5 - 2 cups sharp cheddar
3/4 cup milk

directions:
preheat your oven to 410 degrees. mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. add in the cubed butter and mix until it resembles cornmeal then add in sharp cheddar. slowly incorporate the milk into the dough. put dough on a floured surface and roll out to a 1 inch thickness.

grab a biscuit/cookie cutter or a small (wine) glass and cut out pieces, be sure to place down hard enough that you do not have to twist the cutter. place the biscuits on a greased pan and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. turn the oven up to 425 degrees and bake for another 3-5 minutes.