Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

I have been reading other food blogs and noticed

all these people who have been making home-made pizza.

It always looks so good but sounds like so much work.

I actually own a wonderful Pampered Chef Stone which gets

little use as I am not a big baker.

Anyway I convinced myself last night that if

all of you can make pizza than I can too!

Here is my attempt at a

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

First for the crust:

Recipe from All Recipes.com
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl,
dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.

Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth.

Let rest for 5 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface

and pat or roll into a round.

Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan.

Spread with desired toppings and bake

in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Toppings:

1 1/2 yellow onion , sliced and caramelized

Mushrooms, sliced

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

3/4 cup Goat Cheese

1/2 or more of tomato sauce

I have to say that the pizza turned out pretty fantastic!

You really can't go wrong with caramelized onions and

Goat Cheese!!!

This wonderful pizza is going to be submitted to

Kayln's Weekend Herb Event hosted by

Claudia from Fool for Food.

Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

I made Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

a recipe that I read on the 28 Cooks Blog.

Thanks for sharing this recipe with all

of your readers!

I have ordered this type of item as an appetizer at

thai restaurants before but I have

never ventured out and made this dish at home.

I like the recipe and the wraps were very tasty!

The only problem we had is that they were a little messy to eat.

I think the next time I may use Iceberg lettuce because I think it will

be easier to keep all the good stuff in!

Yummy!

Lemon Squares

So often when I make desserts the first

thing that comes to my mind is chocolate!

For some reason, a few days ago I was thinking

along the lines of something sweet or tart.

Ahhh, our friend the lemon is just what

I was in the mood for.

There are so many options for desserts with lemon.

Lemon Ginger Cookies, Lemon Bars, Lemon Almond Cake

and of course Lemon Squares.

Lemon Squares

1 cup flour

1 /4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sifted powdered sugar

Combine the 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup powdered sugar,

cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture

resembles coarse meal.

Press mixture evenly into a 9 inch

square baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Combine eggs, 1 cup sugar, lemon rind

and juice in a medium mixing bowl; beat well.

Combine 2 tablespoons flour and baking powder.

Add to egg mixture and mix well.

Pour mixture into baked crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 more minutes.

Let cook, and cut into squares.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Absolutely delightful, especially with a cup of tea!

Spicy Pork and Chili Pepper Goulash

I love it when my husband cooks dinner!

He does have this knack of selected the most

difficult recipes, that usually involve

cooking for two days but his dinners

always turn out GREAT!

The challenge he took on this time

is a recipe by Jamie Oliver for

Spicy Pork and Chili Pepper Goulash

that a friend at work shared with him.

He prepared the dinner on Saturday

and cooked it for the 3 hours on Sunday

for a wonderful Sunday meal!

Spicy Pork and Chili-Pepper Goulash

by Jamie Oliver
4 1/4 pounds pork shoulder off the bone,

in 1 piece, skin off, fat left on

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced

2 fresh red chiles, seeded and finely chopped

2 generous heaping tablespoons mild smoked paprika,

plus a little extra for serving

2 teaspoons ground caraway seeds

Small bunch fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked

5 bell peppers (use a mixture of colors), sliced

1 (10-ounce) jar grilled peppers, drained, peeled and chopped

1 (14-ounce) can good quality plum tomatoes
2 cans or 1 box low sodium chicken stock

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

14 ounces basmati or long-grain rice, washed

Topping:

2/3 cup sour cream

1 lemon, zested S

mall bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a deep, ovenproof stew pot with a lid on the stove.

Score the fat on the pork in a criss-cross pattern

all the way through to the meat, then season generously with salt and pepper.

Pour a good slug of olive oil into the pot and add the pork, fat side down.

Cook for about 10 minutes on a medium heat, to render out the fat,

then remove the pork from the pot and put it aside.

Add the onions, chili, paprika, caraway seeds, marjoram

or oregano and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pot.

Turn the heat down and gently cook the onions for 10 minutes,

then add the sliced peppers, the grilled peppers and the tomatoes.

Put the pork back into the pot, give everything a little shake,

then pour in enough water or stock to just cover the meat.

Add the vinegar - this will give it a nice little tang.

Bring to the boil, put the lid on top, and then place

in the preheated oven for 3 hours.

You'll know when the meat is cooked as it will be

tender and sticky, and it will break up easily when

pulled apart with 2 forks.

When the meat is nearly ready, cook the rice in salted water.

Topping for the meat:

Stir the sour cream, lemon zest and most

of the parsley together in a little bowl.

When the meat is done,

take the pot out of the oven and taste the goulash.

You're after a balance of sweetness from the peppers

and spiciness from the caraway seeds.

Tear or break the meat up and serve the goulash in a big dish or bowl,

with steaming rice and your flavored sour cream.

Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped parsley.

This is an amazing dish!!!

There are so many great flavors and

the meat falls right off the bone!

Thanks for cooking!

Chocolate Bark

Thanks to Jaden at the Steamy Kitchen for the

Dark Chocolate & Toffee Macadamia Bark and to

C at Mele Cotte for another variation of this recipe.

I am trying out this recipe this weekend.

If it turns out good I will be sharing it with my colleagues.

It is going to be a busy week and I thought I would try to

make something for the wonderful people I work with.

You really can't go wrong with chocolate!

Chocolate Bark

1/2 box of graham crackers

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 lb. butter ( 2 sticks)

3 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Line baking sheet with foil.

2. Arrange a single layer of graham crackers in pan without

overlapping.

3. In small sauce pan, melt butter and add the sugars.

4. Whisk to disolve . Let boil for a minute then simmer 5 minutes.

5. Pour mixture over graham crackers, using spatula to even out.

6. Bake 10 minutes

7. Remove from oven and spread chocolate chips over .

8. Leave for 5 minutes then spread the melted chocolate evenly.

9. Top with chopped nuts.

10. Let cool. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

11. Break into pieces.

YUM! You have got to give this recipe a try!

* There are many variations.

For the chocolate chips you can use any type you like

or even your favorite candy bar broken into small pieces.

Also, you can decide what type of topping you want.

I made a pan with almonds on top and a pan with cashews on top.

Pasta with Spinach and White Beans

When I crave comfort food I usually look to

pasta to satisfy my desire.

This is a great pasta dish.

It has spinach and white beans with

a wonderful white sauce.

Spinach and White Bean Pasta

pasta of your choice

8 cups baby spinach

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 19-ounce can of whitebeans, rinsed

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally.

Stir in spinach during the last 2 to 3 minutes.

Drain pasta and spinach.

2. Whisk broth and flour in a small bowl until smooth.

Heat oil in the pot over medium-high heat.

Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds.

Add the broth mixture and bring to a simmer,

whisking constantly, until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add beans, vinegar, salt and pepper, pasta and spinach.

Cook, stirring, until the mixture is heated through,

about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat; add cheese, stirring until it melts.

Then serve.

MMM, pasta with warm cheese !

I am going to enter this dish in Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights.

Is That Snow I See?

Are you kidding me?

I just looked out my window and

you will not believe what I see:

SNOW!!!!

I apologize for the bad photo but I had to find something dark

so that you would be able to see the snow.

YIPEE, now if it would just snow all night!