Homemade Pop-Tarts

I thought homemade Pop-Tarts would be a delicious way to finish up the pie dough I had left over from making quiche. They were very simple to make to, just roll out two equal-ish sized rectangles of dough, cut into pop tart shapes, put a tablespoon of filling, and top with a another pop tart shape. And maybe spend a little more time using a fork to make pop tart like indentations than I did, they have potential to be very pretty. I used my favorite real fruit berry/grape jam but I suspect anything would be great like peanut butter, nutella, thin sliced apples, or cinnamon sugar.

How did they compare to store bought Pop-Tarts? They tasted much better, especially the filling, and the flakiness was definitely superior. They also contain no high fructose corn syrup or weird artificial flavors. They were also delicious out of the oven but I'm not sure they would hold up in a toaster.  And while 1 single blueberry pop tart has 200 calories these homemade ones had 320. I did use whole wheat pastry flour to make them but pie dough has lots of butter in it. I think maybe next time I'll try using less butter or maybe subbing peanut butter for some, although I'm not sure that would work. Another option would be to just make the smaller, they were a little bigger than real Pop-Tarts.

Whole Wheat Pizza II

I have been making my own whole wheat pizza dough for a few months now and I think this new recipe is the best yet. I use more cornmeal in this new recipe than the previous pizza dough recipe I posted. The larger amount of cornmeal results in a more pizza like texture and less earthy taste. However, it's a little more difficult to handle this dough because its more crumbly and prone to tearing. I'm not totally sure why but my guess is because cornmeal does not contain gluten. Gluten, the protein formed by combing wheat flour and water, is responsible for the elasticity (stretchiness) of dough. Crumbly dough aside, the higher amount of cornmeal produces the crunch expected of pizza and should definitely be included. I have also been incorporating dried herbs and spices into the dough which makes it more flavorful. I use garlic powder and oregano but you can use anything such as basil, rosemary, or an Italian seasoning blend.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough II

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 warm water
1T olive oil
1t honey
1-2C whole wheat pastry flour
3 heaping tablespoons yellow corn meal
1t salt
1t garlic powder

1 scant teaspoon oregano

Directions
1. Stir the yeast in a bowl with the water and honey. It should foam up in 5 minutes or so.
2. Stir in the olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until a ball forms. Add enough flour so that the dough is still sticky.
3. Knead the dough ball for 8-10 minutes then cover with plastic and let it rise for 1-2 hours.
4. Punch out the air and roll out the dough to fit the pan you are using.

Whole Wheat Corn Bread

flavorful and  slightly crunchy

Makes dinner feel like dessert! Corn bread is quick and easy and makes a great accompaniment to chili, soup, stew, or whatevers for dinner tonight. While there are plenty of just add water mixes available in the grocery store making your own is totally worth the extra 10 minutes of measuring wholesome ingredients. Here are 5 reasons to make it all by yourself,

1. Some packaged brands, such as Jiffy, contain lard (EW!)

2. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your panty

3. Its much cheaper to make from scratch

4. It taste amazing!!

5. No scary shelf stabilizers

I don't like boxed mixes of any kind. Sure they are quick, fail proof, and can even taste great, but its not really baking. I think baking takes time for a reason. Most people don't have time to cream butter and sugar everyday but thats ok because we shouldn't be eating fudge brownies and funfetti cake everyday. Real baked goods take time and aren't meant to be eaten daily. They are reserved for special occasions or as a weekend treat to share with friends.

Whole Wheat Cornbread 

adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients

1 1/5C corn meal

1/2C whole wheat pastry flour

1.5tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2T stevia (or any sweetener)

1 1/4C buttermilk

2-3T butter or oil 

1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare 8x8in baking pan.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.

3. Mix the wet into the dry and stir to fully combine adding more buttermilk if the batter is dry.

4. Pour into the pan and bang it on the counter to smooth it out. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Notes

1. Whole wheat pastry flour makes for a better tasting bread but regular whole wheat flour can also works.

2. If you don't have buttermilk you can use regular milk, keifer, plain yogurt, or google make your own buttermilk.

3. I usually do a combination of butter and cannola oil but obviously butter will produce a lighter crumb and richer flavor.

4. This is just a basic recipe, you can mix in whatever your heart desires, corn, cheese, jalepano, spice combos, endless possibilities. Just fold your mixers in at the end like you would chocolate chips in a cookie. 

Pizza

Pizza is one of my favorite foods and its super easy to make a healthier version at home. I just started making my own dough because I wanted to make a whole wheat crust but I had never worked with yeast and thought it was super complicated and time consuming.  And while making your own dough and sauce is a bit more work than microwaving some frozen Digiorno, its definitely worth the extra work. And what I've been happy to learn is all you have to do when using active dry yeast is to mix everything together and then knead it for about 10 minutes, and it comes together really easily. The corn meal isn't necessary but it really gives the crust a crisper texture.

the dough will double in size

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 warm water
1T olive oil
1t honey
1-2C whole wheat pastry flour
1-2T yellow corn meal
1t salt

Directions
1. Stir the yeast in a bowl with the water and honey. It should foam up in 5 minutes or so.
2. Stir in the olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until a ball forms. Add enough flour so that the dough is still sticky.
3. Knead the dough ball for 8-10 minutes then cover with plastic and let it rise for 1-2 hours.
4. Punch out the air and roll out the dough to fit the pan you are using.

half mushroom and half pepperoni for Sparky
be sure to cook toppings before putting them on pizza

5. Top with whatever you like and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.

Crisp Crust!

I can't remember where I heard this quote but it was a few years ago and its one of those life lessons thats just always stuck with me so I thought I would share it, "Pizza is like sex, when its good its really good and when its bad its still pretty good."