Best Gluten-free Pizza Crust Yet

This is more like a light foccacia bread, but it's super tasty, and I really liked using it for pizza.  It was a moderately-adventurous experiment, as I substituted a flour mix for the original ingredients called for in the recipe, and it turned out fabulous.  So, here is my version:

Foccacia-inspired Pizza Crust

2 c. Bob's Red Mill Biscuit & Baking Mix
1 1/3 c. milk (I use plain Rice Dream)
4 eggs (~1 1/3 cup--this is useful because I get ungraded farm eggs, and they can really vary in size)
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic salt
2 T italian seasoning (or pizza seasoning)

Mix gently, don't over-beat.  Batter will be lumpy and more like thick cake batter than bread dough.  Scrape into a greased cookie sheet (the kind with sides) and spread as evenly as possible.  Bake for about 15 minutes in a 400-425F oven (my oven runs hot, so 400 it is for me).

Take it out, top with your favorite things, (make sure any meats are pre-cooked), and put it back in until the cheese is melted.  We had marinara, mozzarella, olives, sliced fresh tomatoes and kippered herring.  (All natural, Bar Harbor kippered herring--it's really yummy.)  Another good one is pesto (I like Costco's), olives, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and smoked salmon.  Or, the kids' favorite, sauce of any kind, cheese, olives & pineapple tidbits.

This disappeared so fast that I didn't get a photo.  I'll try to snap one the next time I make it--which will probably be soon!

Best Vegan Mac & Cheese in the World (Seriously)

Best Vegan Mac & Cheese in the World
(Original recipe found here.)

Servings:

This recipe fed my family of seven (who eat a TON) for a dinner and lunch, with a bowl left over for me to snack on.  

Sauce Ingredients

1 1/2 c plain almond milk
1/3 c Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 1/2 c nutritional yeast
1 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
1 t Real Salt or Real Salt's yummy seasoned salt (opt)
1 T Salt-free seasoning (I like Costco's, but Vege-Sal works too.)
1/4 block firm Tofu (not silken!)
1 C Safflower oil (could easily be cut by half)
1 dollop mustard
(1/2 c. water, if making oven version with brown rice pasta.  If using wheat pasta, use 1 c. water.)

Mix all ingredients in a blender and buzz until very well-combined.

Pasta

2 lbs Tinkyada brown rice pasta (or 1 1/2 lbs regular), cooked according to package directions.

Pour sauce over drained pasta, mix gently and serve right away.

Oven version:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Add 1 c. water to the blender with sauce ingredients.  Place cooked pasta in large pan (a big pyrex works well, or a casserole dish--but you want something shallow and wide rather than smaller and deep, as you want as much lightly crisped crust on top as possible), and pour sauce over the top.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until top is crispy.  (According to the original: " . . . but not too crispy because that is gross." lol)

Variations:

You can add all manner of yummy things to this . . . carmelized onions and sauteed green beans, green peas and pearl onions, etc.  There are pages and pages of comments at the link above, if you want to see what others have done.

Opinion & Mods:

Now, this doesn't taste like Kraft . . . but do you really want it to? ;o)  This is a more complex, more "grown up's cheese" flavor . . . and it's awesome comfort food.  The sauce could easily be tweaked to smooth out the flavor and make it a little more Kraft-like.


The next time I make it, I'm going to cut back a bit on the nutritional yeast, and maybe on the Paprika.  I'll taste the sauce as I go and see what I think.

Sorry there's no photo . . . it was so yummy I entirely forgot!  Next time . . . next time . . . 

Another White Bean Chicken Chili

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken pieces, cut into 1" chunks (or you can cut it after it's cooked)
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 c. carrots, sliced 1/4" thick (I use baby carrots--ready to chop, and no lengthwise slicing needed for the kids)
  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 6 cans Great Northern Beans (or Navy Beans)
• 1 can mild roasted green chiles
• 2 t. each oregano and ground cumin
• 4 c. chicken or veggie broth
  
• Garlic salt to taste

1. Saute onion, carrots & chicken together until chicken is done. (I cut the chicken into chunks by spearing the pieces with a fork and snipping at them with my kitchen shears.)


2. Add Great Northern Beans, broth, chiles, cumin & garlic salt.


3. Simmer until well-combined and serve with crackers & cheese (as in the photo above--Triscuits and smoked guyere), or salad.

This was about 15 or 20 minutes from start to finish. Perfect for lunchtime, or dinner on a busy winter day.

Comfort Soup: Italian Sausage & Veggie

• 2 ~14oz bags frozen Normandy veggies
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 oz. Shelton's Italian turkey sausage (no chemicals, awesome taste, get it in the health food store, or health food section)
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 1 16 oz. Southern Style hash brown potatoes (Mr. Dell's is the choice around here--no chemicals)
• 1/2 small bag frozen peas
• 1/2 small bag frozen corn
• 2 quarts water
• sufficient bullion cubes to make 2 cups broth

1. Thaw frozen veggies under hot running water in a colander. Warm some olive oil in your soup pot and sauté the thawed veggies until they're looking partly cooked and flavorful. Remove to a bowl for a little later.


2. Toss onion and sausage into the hot pot, along with enough water to cover the bottom of the pot 1/4", and cook until sausage is done. Cut into small pieces, if you have sausage links instead of bulk ground sausage.


3. Add frozen potatoes and cook, covered & stirring occasionally, until they're well-softened on the outside.


4. Add the reserved veggies, peas & corn, 2 quarts water & bullion.


5. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until it has thickened and looks so good you can't wait any longer to eat it.

You can easily convert this recipe for fresh veggies--just be sure you have about two pounds total of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and about 8-10 oz each peas & corn. This was just something I came up with about 40 minutes before dinner was due, and I hadn't planned anything for dinner that day. (I know, I know. At least in my case, when necessity is the mother of invention, you get to see what I came up with. ;o)