Cheesy Margarita Pizza

It has been a long time since my last post, and I blame that on a previous recipe I tried last week. I had been looking at this recipe for a Peach Smoothie for weeks and finally decided to try it. The sun was out and it was finally warm. A good day for a smoothie. Never again will I try that recipe. Lets just say it included cottage cheese. As much as I love cottage cheese, and I really do, this is one way to never EVER eat it!!! 

After that fiasco, I found this delicious recipe! I even went out to buy a pizza stone. Now, I do not like the texture of tomatoes so I only bought one and put it on half of the pizza. For my half, I put on a few slices of turkey pepperoni (yummy and healthy)! 

I forgot to take a picture before I rolled out the dough. It is from Trader Joe's and is, of course, wheat! The first time I used this dough it took me almost 20m just to get to this shape. This time I looked up videos online about shaping dough and it helped! Plus, this dough always comes out soft and yummy!

Cheesy Margherita Pizza

Cooking Light - June 2010 Issue

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) refrigerated fresh pizza crust dough

2 plum tomatoes, each cut into 8 slices

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup (2 oz) grated fresh Romano cheese

12 basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Roll dough into a 16-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on a 16-inch pizza pan or baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover loosely; let stand in a warm place (85') for 15 minutes. * 
2. Drain tomatoes on paper towel.
3. Preheat oven to 425'. 
4. Sprinkle dough with 1/2 cup mozzarella; arrange tomato slices in a single layer over mozzarella. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella and Romano cheese evenly over tomatoes. 
5. Bake at 425' for 20 minutes or until crust and cheese are browned.
6. Cut pizza into 8 wedges, sprinkle evenly with basil

*The pizza stone was only 12 inches so I relaxed a little when I got to the cheese. Also, I followed the directions on the package for the dough. I think that is better if it is store bought.*

Make 4 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

Nutrition: Calories 442; Fat 17.1g; Protein 24g; Carb 54.2g; Fiber 2.7g; Chol 38mg; Sodium 777mg

Low-Fat Granola Bars

Again, I have been working non-stop and finally had a moment to cook. This time I wanted something that I could grab and go. It helps for lunches at work, or as I'm leaving and just want to munch. I have always wanted to make granola bars and I was nervous that I would mess up, but everything turned out pretty good!

This week I ended up in a bookstore a couple of times looking for a gift for someone, and I found myself in the cooking section looking at cookbooks. Hi, my name is Syleanna and I'm addicted to cookbooks! I even had one in my hand to buy, but I put it back. I know a certain someone would tease me for buying a new cookbook, especially when I'm doing this blog because I have so many. I just love looking through cookbooks and seeing yummy recipes! I do have will power!!

The recipe calls for low-fat granola and dried fruits, so I went for one that had both. 

Portions. That's what this cookbook is all about. Small portions. 

When I tried to separate the eggs I tried to do it the awesome way, by hand. The first two eggs went beautifully, but of course the third egg fell apart in my hand and yolk landed in the bowl. So I had to use my egg separator, thankfully I had three more eggs in the fridge. 

Parchment paper, a very helpful tool. :)

I cut these into squares instead of bars, I felt the portion size would suit better.

Low-fat Granola Bars

Cook Yourself Thin "Faster"

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

3 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups low-fat granola

1/4 cups currant (you can use raisins too if you have them; if granola has dried fruit omit)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325'F. Lightly spray a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add granola and currants, and mix well. Lightly spray the bottom of a 1/3 cup measure with cooking spray and firmly press the measuring cup to flatten granola into the prepared pan. 
3. Bake until lightly browned, 20-22 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely in the pan for at least one hour. Use an offset spatula to trace around the outer edge and remove. 

(Tip: This is a chewy granola bar. Omit the egg whites for a crunchy bar.)

Makes 8 bars.

Nutrition: Per bar. Calories 115-135; Fat 1-2.5g; Sodium 30mg; Sugars 14g

16 squares: Calories 69; Fat <1g; Sodium ~15mg; Sugars ~7g  

Homemade Spinach Ravioli

I have been working almost non-stop this past week, and will be for the next few days. Sure it keeps me busy, but after seven days in a row, I am like a zombie. Because of that I haven't had a lot of time to get into the kitchen. So I took the one day I knew I had time to get cooking!

I wanted to do this challenge a certain way, but I broke that already. For the first chunk of recipes, I wanted to go through all of my Food Network Magazines, then Cooking Light, then get into my cook books. Well, for some reason I couldn't find something I wanted to make at the moment in my magazines, so I dove into the books. I have had this cook book for at least 2 years, and I can't remember making one thing from it. That has changed!

Wonton wrappers, great for "homemade" ravioli. :)

There is a whole section in this cook book about smart grocery shopping. Very helpful.

Before I get into the recipe, I just wanted to share the things I would have done differently next time I make these. First, I would have read the directions carefully and added a teaspoon of dried basil (not a tablespoon like I did), it didn't taste any different, but still. I would have also bought more wonton wrappers. I used 42 and I still had a ridiculous amount of filling left over. The left overs have been put in the freezer for now. Lastly, I would have used a plate for the ravioli, not a bowl. Now, don't do what I did!!

The cheese mixture before and after. Of course I snuck in a bit of crushed red peppers!

 There are different ways to moisten the wrappers. I found the brush to work better. 

You don't have to use a cutter if you don't want to, but I happened to have one so I decided to use it!

A plate would have been a lot easier to eat these with, but delicious either way!

Homemade Spinach Ravioli
Cooking for le$$ Pasta

Ingredients:

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

36 wonton wrappers

1 jar (est. 26 oz) marinara or other pasta sauce

Directions:

1. For filling, combine spinach, cheeses, egg, basil, salt, pepper and nutmeg in medium bowl.
2. Place 2 wontons on lightly floured surface, keeping remaining wrappers covered. Place 1 heaping teaspoonful filling in center of each wrapper. 
3. Moisten edges around filling (you can use water, or egg wash) and place another wrapper on top. Press edges gently around filling to remove air bubbles and seal. (If using square wrappers, cut with a 1 1/2-inch round or scalloped cookie cutter to make circle, if desired).
4. Repeat with remaining wrappers. (Any left over filling may be frozen for later use.)
5. Bring large saucepan of salted water to a boil.
6. Meanwhile, heat marinara sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat.
7. Add half of ravioli to boiling water; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook 3 minutes or until ravioli rise to top. Remove ravioli with slotted spoon and keep warm. Repeat with remaining ravioli. 
8. Serve with marinara sauce.

Makes 4 servings