Deep Fried Green Beans

Tis the season for getting great food from the Farmers' Market while you're waiting for the stuff in your own garden to get ripe. Around here, it's sweet corn that's the talk of the town, but anyone who knows me knows I love me some green beans. Now I do really love them just parboiled in a little water and then sprinkled with some salt, dotted with some butter, and if I'm feelin' fancy, tossed around with a little lemon pepper. That to me is a perfectly satisfactory dinner. However, I wanted to do something a little different with the fresh green beans I got from the Farmers' Market (Farmer Fred's to be exact--got to go to a place called Farmer Fred's!) since the salt/lemon pepper/butter trick works fine on frozen green beans. I recalled that while in a TGI Fridays I once ordered a fried green bean appetizer that was served with a wasabi ranch. I decided if TGIF's could do it, so then could I. I hit the internet and found greenbeansnmore.com and was intrigued by Fried Green Beans (that uses only 2 TBSP oil and 2 cups fresh green beans so you know it's not deep fried). I may still try that one, but I was determined and kept looking and found the recipe for Deep Fried Green Beans. I made them and found them to be super easy (which is a lot coming from me since I'm not much of a deep frying kind of gal) and served them at dinner with some plain ranch (I'm not a huge wasabi fan). If you're looking for something a little different to do with your green beans, I'd say try this out!

Deep Fried Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed to preferred length.
1 cup buttermilk (I just soured some milk with lemon juice, which also works)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP salt
1/2 TBSP pepper
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
Oil for deep frying

Pat your beans dry.  Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.  Dip your beans in the buttermilk and then roll them in the flour mixture.  Deep fry these until they are golden brown and then drain on paper towels. 

Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce.

For the oil, I used a combo of shortening and vegetable oil, but the recipe just said "oil for deep frying" so use whatever you think works best.  I'd say something with neutral flavor (vegetable, canola, shortening) and a high smoke point.  I don't have a fryer so I used a 2 quart saucepan and maybe (maybe) a pint of oil.  I didn't fry a lot at a time, but I got it done.  They are better sooner than they are later.

And 1/2 TBSP?  That's 1 and 1/2 tsp.  I have to look that up every time because I can never seem to remember if it's 3 or 4 tsp/TBSP.  It's 3.  If you've got a 1/2 TBSP measuring spoon, use it, but if you're like me and have to make due with eyeballing the TBSP or figuring out the tsp conversion, go with the 1 1/2 tsp.  You're welcome! :)

Butter-Braised Kohlrabi

Our kohlrabi did GREAT in the garden this year. Maybe it was a little too great: we had quite a few of the little buggars and it's hard to know what to do with them. I understand you can serve them raw with dip (which does sound tasty) and I know from experience that you can cut it up and parboil it with carrots, but there are only so many meals you can serve carrots & kohlrabi before it gets old. Because of that, I decided to trawl the internet to see if there were any other ideas and viola!: I found Butter-Braised Kohlrabi. Easy and delicious! Thank you saveur.com for this recipe!

Butter-Braised Kohlrabi

2 lbs kohlrabi, trimmed but unpeeled and cut into 1" cubes (I trimmed and peeled mine--I had let them get a little big)
1 cup chicken stock
4 TBSP butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (another thing doing well in my garden, gratefully)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the kohlrabi, stock, 2 TBSP butter, and thyme into a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Season with S&P and cover with parchment-paper circle cut to fit inside rim of skillet. (I did not do this: I used a splatter guard because I didn't feel like digging out the parchment, but your choice.)

Cook, stirring occasionally, until kohlrabi is tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, remove pan from heat, and add the remaining 2 TBSP butter, swirling skillet until butter melts. Serve warm.

The slight carmelization I got on the kohlrabi (I didn't stir it enough) really was delicious and provided a nice counterpoint to the salt and papper vegetable-ness of the dish. If you're wondering what to do with a kohlrabi, this is it!

Spanikopita

Last night for dinner we had Spanikopita. Since I couldn't find a recipe in my cookbooks, I did some online research. I found two, one from Rachel Ray on foodnetwork.com and one from SnappySpoons on Allrecipes.com. Each had about half of what I wanted, so I combined them into one recipe. It came out pretty good, but in future I think I will omit the mozzarella cheese. Much as I love mozzarella, I thought it gave the filling a slightly rubbery texture. Here's my cobbled-together spanikopita recipe:

4 sheets phyllo dough
melted butter
1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach
1 egg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (again, I think I'd omit this next time)
1/2 cup gratred Parmesan
1 clove garlic, minched
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 TBSP olive oil

In the olive oil, saute the garlic and onion until soft. Thaw and squeeze the spinach. Then mix the cheeses, sauteed veggies, and spinach together with the spices. Beat the egg separately and then stir that in.

Paint melted butter onto half of your sheet of phyllo, paying special attention to the borders. Fold it in half. Put 1/4 of the spinach mixture in a log shape on one end of the phyllo, leaving about 2" from the top and sides. Fold this over and then roll the spanikopita up like an egg roll. Paint the seam and ends with more melted butter and place seam-side down on a baking sheet (no need to grease). Repeat with remaining 3 sheets of phyllo and spinach mixture.

Bake in (preheated) 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden all over and serve warm.

Cilantro Mojo

Today, while digging through some recipes looking for my apple butter guidelines (I should probably consolidate those into a single written-down formula at some point, but today is not that day), I came across a recipe I wrote down last year with the intention of trying...and promptly forgot I had it. Fortunately, being able to read came to the rescue and today I got to try Cilantro Mojo and can therefore recommend it to you! Right now mine is sitting in the fridge, but soon it will be served over tortilla chips and queso fresco for a nice easy dinner on a warm day. I may also serve it to myself with crackers and cream cheese. It really is a beautiful sauce and I think I may need to begin finding uses for it. I suspect it would be delectable on chicken too. Hmmm....possibilities!

The recipe comes from Cool Kitchen: No Oven, No Stove, No Sweat! 125 Delicious, No-Work Recipes for Summertime or Anytime by Lauren Chattman. There are some good recipes in that book and I would recommend looking through it to anyone who has the fortune to happen upon it. As always, enjoy! - D

Cilantro Mojo
"This garlicky, emerald-green sauce is a favorite condiment in Spain. It's good, simple party food, scooped onto chips instead of, or along with, tomato salsa. It invigorates plain grilled chicken or fish and can also be served with goat cheese. (I drizzle it on bread spread with cheese.)"

4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into a few pieces
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves (one bunch yielded a cup of leaves)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBSP lemon juice

Place all the ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor. (Actually, I used a Magic Bullet since I wanted to try out one of the wedding gifts. It works well I'm happy to report.) Proces suntil smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. The sauce, covered in plastic, can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours before serving.

Grilled Chicken with Tangerine Honey and Chipotle Glaze

This recipe comes from http://www.californiaoliveranch.com/recipes/Entrees-Main-Dishes/Grilled-Chicken-Breast-Tangerine-Honey-and-Chipotl.aspx. There are many good looking recipes at the California Olive Ranch website. I would suggest chcking it out.

For the glaze:
2 cups fresh tangerine juice
5 TBSP honey
2 TBSP finely-grated tangerine peel or Mandarin orange peel
2 TBSP minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

For the Chicken:
1 cup fresh tangerine juice or orange juice
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP finely-grated Mandarine orange or tangerine peel
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
4 6-oz boneless Chicken breasts

For the Glaze:
Combine the juice and honey in a heavy medium saucepan and simmer until reduced to 2/3 cup. Mix in the grated peel and the chipotle chiles.

For the Chicken:
Combine the juice, herbs, garlic, oil, and orange peel in a bowl and blend. Add chicken and coat with marmalade. Cover and chill at least 4 hours and up to 1 day, turning occasionally as necessary.
Prepare teh barbecue grill to medium heat. Remove the chicken from the arinade and discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt. Grill until cooked through, turning and repositioning chicken occasionally for even cooking (about 15-18 minutes). Brush chicken all over with glaze, grill 2 minutes more on each side.

Serve with glaze.

Toothache Tomato Soup

I recently had a wisdom tooth removed and thus have found myself on a liquid diet (it hurts too much to open my jaw). Not a huge fan of the canned soup options and not wanting to take my puffy face to the store, I concocted some soup out of ingredients on hand. If you're looking for something with a little zing, this may be for you.

Toothache Tomato Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil (3-4 TBSP)
one quart canned tomatoes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry marjoram
1/2 tsp dry basil

Cook the onion in the olive oil until it just begins to take on a little bit of brown. Remove the pan from heat and spoon the onion out of the pan and into your blender. Put the dry spices in the warm oil left in the pan and go puree the onions. If it doesn't move around enough, pour in some of the tomatoes to give it some liquid. Put the onion puree back into the pan. Puree the remaining tomatoes until smooth and return to the pan. Stir everything together and warm until it's the temperature you prefer. Serve.

I will say that I think this would be lovely with some fresh sauteed garlic (didn't have any fresh: hence, the powdered) and that fresh spices would be superior goes without saying. If I had some cream onhand I might have tried some of that as well. This would be good with a loaf of crusty bread turned into a cheesy garlic toast or garnished with some toasted pinenuts too I suspect, but if you can't open your jaw for the pain, the plain version above was good and the leftovers kept really well in the fridge.

Apple Dip

Happy New Year Gang!

At work we had a potluck, and one of my coworkers brought this. Her description was, "it's like crack." After hearing what was in it, I was anxious to try it, and once I had, understood the analogy because it was so addicting. My advice is try this BEFORE starting the new year diet because it is hard to quit. I am not sure I agree that Granny Smiths are bitter: I do think they're more tart, but not necessarily bitter. This will probably work with any apple (or spoon) you choose to employ, but I would say it's particularly suited to a more tart apple as this is sweet enough to make your teeth fall right out of your head (but you'll enjoy every minute of it). Enjoy - Devon


Apple Dip

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 container of caramel apple dip (in produce section, by apples)
3 Heath bars, crushed (Skor bars are more dense and don’t crumble as easily)
6-8 Granny Smith apples, sliced (it may be easier to buy the pre-sliced in the bag so they don’t brown)

Mix together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and ¼ of the container of apple dip. Put in a shallow pan and put in the fridge to firm up. (Can do this the night before.) Use the rest of the apple dip to make a layer on top of the cream cheese layer. Top with crushed Heath Bars. Serve with apple slices. Use the Granny Smith apples because they are bitter and make a good combo for the sweet dip. After cutting the apple slices, soak them in an uncola (like Sprite or 7-Up for a minute or two so they will not get brown.

Praline Syrup

This is another recipe I recently found that is decadently delicious. Like the Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper of another post, it comes from that Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (buy this book!). I am certain that if you are not a canner you could make this up and freeze it (well, provided you had the freezer space) if you didn't decide to eat it all up right away on everything from oatmeal to ice cream. I have made it with both dark and light syrups, and the light is luscious. The dark is sinful. Angels weep. It's good stuff.

Praline Syrup

Makes about four 8-ounce jars

2 cups dark corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla

Step 1: Prepare your canner, jars, and lids.
Step 2: In a stainless steel saucepan, combine corn syrup, water, and sugar. Heat this over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 full minute. Reduce heat and stir in pecans and vanilla. Boil gently, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Ladle hot syrup into jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar and screw the band on tight.
Step 4: Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, remove the jars, and then cool and store.

Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper

I've been doing a lot of canning lately, some to use up a bountiful harvest, some to try new things. This find was absolutely divine. I made it with boysenberries instead of raspberries since that's what I had on hand, but whoever you are, you need to try this recipe. It's on the thick side (don't expect Hershey's in a squeezy bottle type topping) which only makes it that much better since you can put it between layers of cake, put it into truffles, eat it right off the spoon...

This recipe comes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in putting up any kind of preserved foodstuff.

Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper

Makes about six 8-ounce jars

1/2 cup sifted, unsweetened cocoa powder
1 package regular powdered fruit pectin
4 1/2 cups crushed red raspberries
4 TBSP lemon juice
6 3/4 cups granulated sugar

Step 1: Prepare your canner, jars, and lids.
Step 2: In a medium glass bowl, combine your cocoa powder and pectin, stirring until it is evenly blended and then set aside. (Why it must be glass I don't know, but that's what it says.)
Step 3: In a large, stainless steel saucepan, place your crushed berries and juice. Whisk in the pectin-cocoa mixture until it is dissolved. Bring this to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Once it boils, dump all your sugar in at once and then return it to a full, rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly, and then remove it from the heat and skim the foam.
Step 4: Ladle hot topper into your prepared jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Remove the air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary by adding more topper. Wipe the rim, center the lid on the jar, screw the band until you get resistance and then tighten it up.
Step 5: Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove the canner lid, wait 5 minutes (this will prevent the jars from siphoning), then remove the jars, cool, and store.

The PERFECT Way to Enjoy Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Dressing

An onion kaiser.

A big grilled burger done to medium-well.

Tomato from Grandpa Cluff's garden. (Hi Fred!)

Red onion wheel.

Fried onion straws.

Put these together in one giant, luscious stack. Smother in Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Dressing and then drizzle with Tabasco sauce.

Seriously. Yum.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Living with my grandfather, I am getting to know a lot about how my grandmother cooked. The other day, he mentioned the Blue Cheese Salad Dressing she used to make that he liked. Taking the hint, I pawed through her recipe boxes and followed her instructions to produce it for him. Blue Cheese is not my favorite dressing, but this was edible. More than that, it was a way to remember my grandmother.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
1 clove garlic
3 TBSP chopped onion
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use light mayo)
1/2 to 1 cup Blue Cheese

Mix in blender. Thin with additional lemon juice if desired. Add chunks of Blue Cheese.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups.

********
I couldn't find the blender base or the food processing cup, so I just minced the garlic and onion really fine with a chef's knife, but I can see how the use of electric kitchen helps would have sped the process up. Still, it's nice to know the old-fangled ways still work sometimes.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

From July 2009 Bon Apetit Magazine.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

One 7-8 oz package feta cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced shallot (green onions are a good substitution)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (fresh basil is also good)
1 pound large cherry tomatoes (the larger the easier)
12 pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Toss the cheese, oil, shallot, and oregano in a bowl and add a little salt & pepper to taste.

Cut your tomatoes in half (on the equator) and scoop out the pulp. (I saved the pulp and put it in cottage cheese at my house, in salsa when Gazpacho and I made this at her house, but you do what you think is best with the tomato innards.) Put the hollowed halves on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Stuff the hollows with the cheese mixture and slide the olive in alongside the cheese. If you wish, you can drizzle with additional olive oil. Cover and chill.

Bon Apetit says you can make these 6 hours ahead of when you plan to serve them.

Raspberry Citrus Bars

Thanks for the recipe Gazpacho!

Raspberry Citrus Bars

1 cup butter (no substitutions says the recipe)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour

Cream the butter until soft, and then add your dry ingredients in. (This is easier if you do it in batches: otherwise flour kind of explodes everywhere.) When this is thoroughly combined, press it into a greased 13x9x2" pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes (it will look slightly golden brown). While that's baking, continue with the rest of the recipe.

4 eggs
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 TBSP orange peel (I used lemon for this since I was squeezing the lemon for the juice anyhow)
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Combine the above ingredients thoroughly so that this custard is ready to pour over the top of the crust you're baking.

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, washed (I used boysenberries since that is what is growing outside, and when Heather and I made it we used a frozen berry blend from the store that contained raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Use whatever berries you have and like and I'm sure it'll work out great.)

When the crust has finished baking, remove it from the oven and distribute the berries evenly over it. Then pour the custard over the berries and return the pan to the 350 oven for another 30 to 35 minutes (done when the middle is set).

Cool in the pan set on a wire rack. If desired sprinkle with additional powdered sugar when serving.

Scratcheroni and Cheese

Several years ago, Gazpacho gave me the brilliant idea of adding sour cream to a cheese sauce when making macaroni and cheese. This recipe takes a remarkably short amount of time to whip up, but is worth it when you really want macaoni & cheese but don't want to face one more boxed dinner. Unfortunately...or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the recipe is highly imprecise, which means that you can alter it for any amount of persons you want.

Scratcheroni & Cheese

Macaroni (or other pasta shape if you prefer)

Cook this until al dente and drain it thoroughly. While you're cooking this, create a white sauce. I like mine thick, so it's usually equal proportions of flour and butter and about 1/3 cup milk for every 2 TBSP butter, but you can thin it however you want. Once your white sauce is nice & thick, add in SHARP (or Extra-Sharp) Cheddar cheese, a heaping dollop of sour cream, and cook/stir until the cheese is melted. Stir this all over into your pasta, add salt & pepper (and more sour cream if you want) and enjoy!

The sour cream makes it creamier, holds the cheese in suspension better so that leftovers aren't all greezy and separating, and it adds a piquancy that the mac-from-a-box just can't achieve (though you can stir in some sour cream and a little dill weed if you want to better up your box lunch).

Iced Citrus Wafers

This recipe comes from the Monster Cookies cookbook which I'm not even sure my mom still has, but in there it's called "Iced Lemon Wafers." I personally like to make these with lime juice/peel (and substitute vanilla for almond extract) better, and Bonitinha has experimented with other citrus fruits and found (if I recall correctly) that orange doesn't yield a nice icing: too much water in fresh squeezed juice I guess. Still, you could concentrate that down if you're just dying for some orange frosted cookies. I believe Gazpacho once experimented with a Lime Rickey variation that involved some cherries in the lime wafer version. Whatever you decide, enjoy!

Iced Lemon Wafers
1/2 cup margarine (this actually works best with margarine, not butter. Go figure!)
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP finely grated lemon peel
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 TBSP cornstarch

Lemon Juice
Powdered Sugar

Thoroughly combine all ingredients (dough will be dry), shape into a cylinder and wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour. (I actually just refrigerate the dough in the bowl: I don't like having to cut my wafers and prefer to roll them into balls and then flatten them with the bottom of a cup, but you do what's easiest.) Cut your wafers into 1/8" slices and bake on a cookie sheet (greasing not necessary) at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack and then ice with a combination of lemon juice and powdered sugar thinned to either a drizzling consistency or thick enough to spread (whatever your choice).

Funeral Potatoes

Don't you hate it when you have a recipe you know you like but every darn time you want to make it you have to go back and find the recipe somewhere in your collections of books or call people to get it or run a google search (now that that's an option)? Yeah: this is one I keep losing, so I'm putting it in this ONE place along with some others I know I like and never can quite put my fingers on. I'm sure it has a better name than funeral potatoes, but what it is, I'm sure I don't know.

Funeral Potatoes
6 cups diced, peeled potatoes (~6-8) (or 2 lbs frozen hash browns)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can of milk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
salt & pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes (or thaw) until tender and put in 2-3 qt casserole (9x13" pan). Combine soup, milk, sour cream, cheese, and onion with salt & pepper to taste. Mix that goop up and spread it on the potatoes. At this point, if you want a crispy topping, crush enough corn flakes to yield 3/4 cup crumbs and mix them up with 3 TBSP melted butter and put this all over the top.
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes (hot/bubbly throughout).

FCG: Grandma's Christmas Punch

Grandma's Christmas Punch

Boil for 10 minutes:
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 quart water
Add:
12 whole cloves
4 sticks cinnamon
4 whole allspice berries
Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
Add:
3 cups orange juice
2 cups lemonade
2 quarts apple cider

Heat through and serve warm.

Kolachki

I like to think of them as "healthy" cookies. They're not really, but there's no sugar in the dough itself, so I can pretend. :) And I suppose eating the entire batch in one sitting also makes them not healthy, but still.

Kolachki

1 stick butter
6 oz cream cheese
2 c flour
jam of your choice (I like apricot or cherry)

Let butter and cream cheese soften, then combine thoroughly. Add in flour and work it into a dough (you may need to use your hands). Wrap in plastic and chill overnight. Roll dough out very thin and cut into squares. Spoon a small amount of jam diagonally across each square, then fold 2 other corners over (like wrapping a baby in a blanket). Use a little water to keep corners stuck, and pinch them so they don't unwrap. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Yum! (Gazpacho made the inspired suggestion that a little drizzle of powdered sugar frosting wouldn't be amiss. I don't know how that would fit in with my healthy theme for these guys, but I'm not saying it wouldn't be divine!)

Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Pizza

Today's recipe comes from Sunday lunch at my mom's house: something she made for us that was really quite good I thought. The recipe must have come from a Bread Machine Cookbook because the dough is created in that, but you could easily make your favorite pizza dough, with or without a bread machine and substitute it in this recipe. She also altered the recipe by putting some pepperoni in it (and by doubling the recipe and leaving the mushrooms out of one because some crazy people don't eat mushrooms), which was mighty tasty. I imagine you could substitute just about any pizza topping in this recipe, though if you want sausage, I'd probably say to cook it through first, just to be on the safe side. I'm thinking of making a combination of spinach and feta with some artichokes for a filling. Throw in some diced tomatoes and a bunch of garlic and I think it'd be quite tasty. Use your imagination, and as always, enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Pizza

In the breadmaker, use the dough cycle to combine the following:
1 cup water
4 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling:
3 cups quartered mushrooms
2 slized zucchini
2 red peppers, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, quartered
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups grated mozarella cheese
1 TBSP milk

Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and bake at 450 F for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir them into the pasta sauce and prepare the crust.

Grease a 9" springform pan (Mom used a cakepan without springform sides: worked fine.) and divide the dough into quarters. Take three of the quarters and roll it into a ball and then roll that flat and place it in the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan, taking care to extend it over the edges. Sprinkle half the cheese in the bottom. Distribute the vegetable/sauce mixture evenly over the cheese, and then top this with the remaining cheese. Roll the remaining 1/4 of the dough flat and place on the top of the dish and press lightly to insure a good seal. Brush the top of the pie with milk and cut slits in the top crust for steam to escape.

Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes. Cool the pie for 20 minutes and then cut in wedges to serve.

Citrus Splash Steak Tips

Many thanks to Gazpacho and Bonitinha for this excellent recipe! In G's own words:

Citrus Splash Steak Tips
1/4 cup orange juice (like you drink - not concentrate but actual, drinkable orange juice)
1/8 cup lime juice
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic (or if you are like me triple that :) )
1/2-1 lb of beef cut into bite size chunks or strips

Marinate your beef in the citrus combination for several hours (or until you are starving) then heat a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a skillet and then cook your meat. Serve your Citrus Splash Steak Tips with rice and sauteed mushrooms and onions.