mexican pizza.

So let me say first that I absolutely love Mexican food. Aside from the taste itself, Mexican food reminds me of college. At least every other Friday, my best friends and I would go to the Mexican restaurant in our college town, order margaritas and food and stay there for hours. It was heaven. Mexican food will always remind me of those times. And also, honestly, I just love the way it tastes. So I came across this recipe for Mexican pizza on A Couple Cooks and I knew I had to try it.


the recipe
Makes 2 10-inch pizzas
2 crusts pizza dough
1 can no-fat refried black beans (makes enough for around 4 pizzas)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 small red onion
1 tomato
1 jalapeno pepper
2 handfuls fresh cilantro
2 handfuls frozen corn
Mexican cheese blend
Kosher salt


1. Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the refried black beans with a bit of water to thin the consistency so that it is easily spreadable. Mix with 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.
3. Seed and dice the tomato. Finely chop the red onion. Chop the cilantro. Seed and dice the jalapeno.
4. When the toppings and oven are ready, shape the dough into a 10-inch round. Place the dough on a floured pizza peel or pull the pizza stone out of the oven and carefully place the dough on it.
5. Quickly assemble the pizza. Spread the bean mixture in a thin layer over the dough, sprinkle on as much cheese as you like, and add the red onion, tomato, jalapeno, corn, and cilantro. Sprinkle with kosher salt. If desired, brush a little olive oil on the crust to help it brown.
6. Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.


substitutions
I had a couple for this one. Instead of pizza dough, I used pita bread. It works perfectly for a single sized pizza. I didn't have refried black beans so I just pureed whole black beans in a food processor. Worked fine. I did not use the jalapeno but I added green onions because I wanted to use them up. Instead of an actual Mexican cheese blend, I just mixed some cheddar and mozzarella together.


great with
This is a filling pizza, I think, so it stands well on its own.


the review
This is so yum. Seriously, I can't wait to make this again. It's easy to make and the combination of flavors was awesome. I love how this uses black beans as the "sauce" and I think the inclusion of the red onions gave it the perfect little kick without being overwhelming. Make this pizza, especially if you have a weird nostalgia thing with Mexican food, like I do. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

roasted broccoli with garlic.

First of all, I've been super lazy about posting lazy. However, school started recently and for several weeks I was spending lots of time preparing for my students. I was preparing food also; I just wasn't posting it on here. However, I have lots of good recipes to share now.

Anyways, this is another delicious recipe from A Couple Cooks. I love a simple recipe like this one for roasted broccoli with garlic. It's not hard to make, it goes with almost anything, and it's delicious.

the recipe

Serves 4-6 as a side

3 heads broccoli

8 cloves garlic

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

2. Wash and dry the broccoli. Cut each garlic clove into quarters. Cut the broccoli into large florets.

3. Arrange the broccoli and garlic on a baking sheet and toss with a bit of olive oil. Add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

4. Roast the broccoli for about 20 minutes, until the tips are just browned.

5. In a bowl, add 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

substitutions

Just regular salt instead of kosher salt. I feel like I should maybe get some of this kosher salt. It keeps popping up in recipes.

great with

I believe I've had this as a side for veggie burgers, pizza and pasta, amongst other things. This will go with pretty much anything.

the review

When I was a little girl, maybe six years old, when asked I would say that my favorite food was garlic. I still love garlic, so needless to say I enjoyed this recipe very much. It's easy to make, it's delicious and of course it's good for you too. I have found that, in general, I do not need to roast the broccoli for 20 minutes, as the recipe suggests. Honestly, mine's closer to about 12 minutes probably. Anyways, this is a highly recommended recipe. Easy to make and very delicious.

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.