roasted red pepper pita pizzas.

I happened upon this awesome blog a couple of weeks ago called A Couple Cooks. Most of the recipes are vegetarian, and they cook with natural ingredients. Everything looks pretty tasty. I spent an abnormally long amount of time one night going through every single recipe (literally) and pulling my favorites for my binder of recipes that I keep in my kitchen.


With that being said, I love pizza--who doesn't? Since I've never made pizza I don't eat it that often. But when I saw the recipe for these Roasted Red Pepper Pita Pizzas on A Couple Cooks, I thought to myself, why yes, I can totally handle that. The couple behind A Couple Cooks makes their own pita bread, which is impressive. I'm not quite there yet. Baby steps.


the recipe
Makes 4 pizzas
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (with herbs, if possible)
Dried oregano
Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
4 whole grain pitas
Kosher salt


1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450 F.
2. Drain the red peppers. Remove about one-half of a red pepper and cut it into thin strips to garnish pizzas.
3. In a food processor, place the remaining red peppers, 10 sun-dried tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Puree for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth.
4. On each whole grain pita, spread 1/4 of the red pepper sauce and shredded Monterrey jack cheese. Top with sliced red peppers, dried oregano and a bit of kosher salt.
5. Place the pizzas on the pizza stone (or a baking sheet) and bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes.


substitutions
Well, to begin with, I did not buy roasted red peppers. Instead, I roasted my own. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, and totally worth it. I also used sun-dried tomatoes without the oil, and instead just added a little olive oil for step 3 when you're making the sauce. Easy enough.


great with
Pizza stands great on its own, of course, but I had mine with a salad.


the review
Make these. Your taste buds will thank you. Okay, so really, these are awesome. Pita is a great alternative to pizza dough. The pita ends up tasting like a crispy, thin crust pizza, which is delicious. Also, the sauce on this was great. Admittedly, though I do eat tomato sauce, if I'm given a choice between that and something else, I'll pick the something else. This sauce is a great alternative. I will absolutely be making these pizzas again. I also can't wait to make other pizzas on pita. Excited!

hummus.

I'm making an honest effort lately to buy and consume less processed foods. That means making a lot more things from scratch. It's extra time spent in the kitchen, yes, but I feel good about what I'm making and better then, about what I'm eating. Something that I'm basically addicted to is hummus. I have it constantly and I put it on everything. Naturally, I've always bought packaged hummus from the store, and it's delicious. But I decided that I'd make it for myself one day, just to see how it would turn out. And since the recipe came from my trusty The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook I knew I was in good hands.


the recipe
8 oz can chick peas
6 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper


1. Drain the chick peas, reserving the liquid from the can, and put them into a blender or food processor. Blend to a smooth paste, adding a small amount of the reserved liquid, if necessary.
2. Mix the garlic, lemon juice and tahini together and add to the blender or food processor. Process until smooth. With the machine running, gradually add 3 tbsp of the olive oil through the feeder tube or lid.
3. Add the cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Process to mix. Scrape the hummus into a bowl. Cover and chill.


substitutions
None! I used this recipe exactly as is.


great with
Let your imagination go wild. I love dipping crackers into it for a snack, or spreading it onto a sandwich or veggie burger. The veggie burger  might sound strange, but I had it at a restaurant once and I've been doing it ever since.


the review
Mmm...as it turns out, homemade hummus it delicious. It's ridiculously easy to make too, so there's really no excuse to not be making it yourself. The first time I made this, I was hosting some friends for the weekend, and they seemed to like it. I made it for myself a second time and added one less tablespoon of lemon juice. To me then, it tasted perfect. I know people are very specific about their hummus, so this could be a good recipe to start out with and tweak as necessary. Very easy, very delicious. And I don't think I'm ever buying hummus from the store again.

pierogies.

No, I did not make these pierogies from scratch. Please, I wish I was that talented. These were bought at a local farmer's market and trust me when I say they were delicious. They're filled with cheese and potatoes, and I sauteed them in butter with some onion and snap peas. Delicious. They were so pretty, I just had to share.

green pilau with cashews.

I was browsing through my Vegetarian: Tasty Recipes for Every Day book one day because you know, I wanted to try something new. I had passed by this recipe a couple times because the cooking time is pretty long and I'm not usually that patient. This particular day though, I did have time, so I decided to go ahead and make it.


the recipe
serves 6
200 g baby english spinach
2/3 cup cashew nuts, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


1. Preheat the oven to moderate (350 F). Shred the English spinach leaves.
2. Place the cashew nuts on a baking tray and roast for 5-10 minutes, or until golden brown--watch carefully.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the spring onion over medium for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add the rice, garlic and fennel seeds and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes, or until the rice is evenly coated. Increase the heat to high, add the lemon juice, stock and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and cook for 45 minutes without lifting the lid.
4. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the spinach and herbs. Leave, covered, for 8 minutes, then fork the spinach and herbs through the rice. Serve sprinkled with cashews.


substitutions
Okay, I had a couple for this one. I use frozen spinach instead of fresh pretty much always, including in this recipe. I can just never seem to go through fresh quickly enough. I also used regular brown rice instead of long-grain. I don't have fennel seeds, so I didn't use those. I also used dry parsley instead of fresh.


Also, this isn't really relevant to the recipe, but neither of my frying pans came with lids. I had to place one of my large dinner plates over the pan while it was simmering. Kind of funny.


great with
Morningstar Farms Chicken Pattie. I probably sound like I turn to those often. It's probably because I do. I love them.


the review
Okay, for starters, this recipe definitely involves a time commitment. That is automatically a downside, since I know I personally do not always (or ever) have an hour and a half to devote to cooking something. I think a lot of people are probably the same way. Regardless, this recipe is very good. It has an excellent flavor to it, though it was perhaps a little bit salty. I think I'll pare down on the vegetable stock next time, or maybe eliminate the teaspoon of salt. I believe that's where the problem was. Really though, this is very good and if you ever have the time, I think it's worth the time spent making it.

dusty cauliflower.

My mom's been making this recipe for many years, and it's always been one of my favorites. I'm not honestly sure where she got it. It may be from a cookbook but I wouldn't honestly know which one. Anyways, I had a taste for it recently, so I decided to make a batch of it myself. 


the recipe
4 cups cauliflower, cut into flowerets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons oat bran
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash of garlic powder


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
3. Place cauliflower in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and toss until cauliflower is evenly coated.
4. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over cauliflower. Toss until coated.
5. Spread cauliflower in prepared pan. Sprinkle with any remaining crumbs.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned.


substitutions
It's not really a substitution, I guess, but my mom and I use wheat germ for the oat bran. We've always used it, and it works well.


great with
I personally think this is a delicious side to accompany a veggie burger. That's exactly what I had this with.


the review
As I said in the beginning, this is absolutely one of my favorite recipes. I really like cauliflower, but there's no denying that it can taste a little plain at times. This is not a plain recipe. It's delicious. This is also one of the easiest things to make. Just toss everything in a bowl, stick it in the oven, and then you can concentrate on the rest of dinner. Easy and delicious.

stuffed green peppers.

One day, I had the burning desire to make stuffed green peppers. This is weird because I've never made them before, and I honestly don't remember the last time I had a stuffed pepper. Regardless, turned to Google and did a search, to happy results. The following recipe was found on allrecipes.com.


the recipe
serves 4
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and seat aside.
3. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.
4. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
5. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.


substitutions
Brown rice instead of Arborio rice, spring onions instead of green onions, dry Italian dressing powder for the Italian seasoning, and no tomato.


great with
I thought at first that this was going to be filling enough to have on it's own, but the peppers I got were pretty small, so I quickly realized that wasn't going to work. I had one stuffed pepper half with a Morningstar Farms chicken pattie.


the review
Regardless of the fact that my picture of the pepper doesn't necessarily make the pepper look very pretty, you really must believe me when I say that these were very good. Very flavorful and for the most part, healthy. I like this recipe because I think there are a lot of different things that you could do with the rice mixture, depending on what your tastes are. I certainly changed it from the originally recipe, and it was great. I've already bought another pepper, so I'm looking forward to having these again.

lemon garlic spaghetti.

I'm still continually searching for new and wonderful pasta recipes. I found this one online. It's from a blog called i nom things, which I think is hilarious. Anyways, let's move on to the recipe. It's simple and delicious.


the recipe
serves 2
4 oz dry spaghetti
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded


1. Start your garlic oil. Pour in olive oil and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low heat, until the garlic starts to brown on edges. Immediately remove from heat and reserve. While that's starting, boil pasta.
2. Chiffonade basil leaves, then take the leaves, cheese and pine nuts and add to a large bowl with the garlic and garlic oil. Squeeze in lemon juice. Add the pasta and toss until combined. Crack black pepper to taste.


substitutions
Not much. I used pasta instead of spaghetti...big deal, I know. I also just used bottled lemon juice instead of an actual squeezed lemon. And I couldn't find pine nuts at the grocery store, so no pine nuts. SAD FACE.


great with
As usual, pasta stands well on its own, but I almost always have my pasta dishes with a salad.


the review
I love pasta, but when a pasta dish is really heavy, my stomach feels like it's going to explode. So with that said, I have some good news: this is not one of those pasta dishes. This is light and summery and delicious. Very yum. I wouldn't have ever thought to put lemon on pasta, so I'm really glad that this recipe came up in my search. 


Can I also just say that it's so nice to have a recipe that is actually made for only two servings? It's so nice. Trust me. Since I'm only cooking for one person, I either end up with a ton of leftovers, or I have to cut the recipe in half, and that involves me doing math, which is a bad thing. So this was nice and simple--both the food, and the recipe.