Instarecipe: Arugula and Feta Pizza

While in process of making these delicious little personal pizzas, I couldn't find my "real" camera. It was lost in the chaos that we currently call our office.

So, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped photos. And then I "instagramed" them!

It was the perfect solution for documenting a yummy, quick, and simple recipe.

Be prepared for future "instarecipes."

We recently joined in on a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and now I am getting acquainted with lot of new greens!

Like, arugula, for example.

It's a little like spinach and yet has a more mustard-like flavor. And it's very yummy on pizza!

No worries. If you don't have arugula laying around, spinach works just as grand!

I tweaked the pizza dough recipe from the Pioneer Woman a bit to make it a little healthier and heartier.

It's a fantastic recipe for making a quick and easy pizza dough.

Then, I added some of my homemade pizza sauce. I like to add a pinch of cayenne to my pizza sauce for a little spice :)

And then I sprinkled on the arugula and feta.

Let it bake for a few minutes and the personal pizzas are ready to snarf down.

Arugula and Feta Personal Pizzas:
Make 2 personal pizzas or one large pizza
{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
For the crust (adapted from The Pioneer Woman):
1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 cup of warm water
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt/powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp flax seed (optional)

For the toppings:
3/4 cup of pizza sauce (homemade or from a jar)
1.5 cups of chopped arugula (or another leafy green like spinach)
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Mix yeast and warm water together; let bubble.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, seasoning, salt, garlic, garlic salt/powder, and flax seed.
3. Slowly add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the flour mixture.
4. Add the water and yeast mixture to the bowl. Stir. The dough should still be a little sticky.
5. Shape into a ball and put into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic and place into the refrigerator for an hour or until needed.
6. When ready to make pizza, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Split dough in half and roll each half out on a floured surface. Place dough on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
7. Spoon pizza sauce onto the dough and spread evenly.
8. Add chopped arugula and feta evenly on each pizza.
9. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned when finished.

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Pancakes. For two.

There used to be a time when Josh and I would have pancakes every Sunday morning--made from a box mix and with loads of butter and syrup. We also crashed about thirty minutes into the church service. Too much sugar!

We don't have pancakes every Sunday anymore, but I do like to sneak them in for supper sometimes. Breakfast for dinner is always fun!

This time around, though, when I went looking for our handy ready-to-mix pancake mix, I came up short. I almost started digging around for something else to eat, but then I decided that I would try and make pancakes from scratch. After peeking at a few recipes, I wondered why I had never bothered venturing away from a box mix.

Oh, yeah, because I thought that all pancakes required buttermilk.

But they don't!

I wanted to make these pancakes a little kinder on the pant strings, so healthy ingredients wiggled their way into the recipe.

Of course, I couldn't help but add dashes of cinnamon and cloves. Before I knew it, I was adding a spoonful of molasses. Who knew making pancakes could be so adventures?

Suddenly, these pancakes were not your run-of-the-mill pancakes. I was a little nervous to serve them to Josh--since he is usually the pancake expert around our parts. And then he took a bite. And smiled. And then I got a, "oooh, these are so good!" and "I really like these!"

Cha-ching!

I gobbled them up right along with him and even made a second batch for breakfast today.

Lucky for me, pancakes are easy to freeze, and now I've got breakfast waiting for me!

Like any good pancake, it begins with the flour/s and the spices.

And then a little milk, egg, vanilla, and molasses.

Finally, whisk it all together and spoon it on the griddle.

Let it bubble. Flip. And eat!

So, so good. Filling, spicy, tasty, simple, and plain delicious! I think it's safe to say that premade pancake mixes have officially been retired at our house :)

Pancakes for Two:
Makes about 10 small pancakes
{printable recipe}

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup of unbleached white flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flax seed (optional)

Liquid Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp molasses
1 egg

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg. Add the remaining liquid ingredients.
3. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together (don't over mix--it may be a little lumpy).
4. Spoon 1/4 cup of mixture onto a hot griddle (on medium heat).
5. When pancake is bubbly around the edges, flip. Once other side is cooked, add to a plate and cover with a dish towel to keep warm.

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Gingerbread Banana Bread

Oh, the love sage between ginger and molasses continues...

After remembering how much I love gingerbread (and after making my first ever gingerbread cake recipe), I decided to bring ginger and molasses together for a banana bread dance.

Although I haven't had much practice with creating cake recipes, I have made many quick bread recipe alterations and felt less intimidated about whipping up a banana bread recipe with a few extra embellishments!

Butter was again left out of the story, but since chocolate is involved, I'm pretty sure no one will miss it!

\

What I liked about this recipe was the depth of flavor--I enjoyed the subtle hint of gingerbread paired with the sweetness of the chocolate. This recipe definitely has room for tweaking (for example, I'd like it to be a little less dense), but it wasn't hard to eat. In fact, it may have actually been a little too easy to gobble up :)

My favorite part of making this bread was adding the heap of morsels of chocolate to the mixing bowl. And then, of course, sneaking a few of them into my mouth!

It may have gotten a little too brown in the oven (oops!), but the recipe is definitely a keeper. I will probably make a few tweaks for improvement, but I still thoughly enjoyed this fun twist to traditional banana bread!

Gingerbread Banana Bread:
Makes one loaf
{printable recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of applesauce
1/4 cup of white or brown sugar (I used brown)
1/4 cup of molasses
1 cup of mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ginger
2 cups of flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat and 1 cup of unbleached white flour)
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bread pan.
2. Cream together applesauce, sugar, and molasses. Once well-blended, beat in eggs.
3. Add mashed bananas and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, sift/mix together flour, ginger, flour, cloves, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
5. Gradually add dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Once fully blended, mix in chocolate chips.
6. Pour into bread pan.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
8. Let cool, cut, and enjoy!


{p.s. I'm sharing this recipe at the parties over at Life in Grace and Tatertots and Jello}

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Ginger + Molasses = Pure Love

After Thanksgiving swings by, the pumpkin spice seems to be shoved to the back corner of the spice shelf and ginger and molasses get the main show.

Although I love pumpkin spice, I love gingerbread, so I can't complain!

Since this blog is reflecting my experiments in the kitchen, this recipe is my first ever not-from-a-box-or-from-someone-who-already-knows-how-to-make-a-delicious-cake recipe.

I've made lots of cakes.

From boxes.

Maybe one or two from an actual recipe.

Scribbling down recipes for main dishes and sides isn't too hard for me. Baking...well, I'm entering new territory here!

After studying a few recipes and taking bits and pieces here and there, I etched out a recipe for gingerbread cake. My goal was not that the cake would win the blue ribbon at the fair. My goal was for it to be edible! Also, I challenged myself to use no butter. I guess the jeans were feeling a little too tight today!

Although it could use a tweak here or there, I was surprised that it tasted pretty good! Not perfect, but definitely edible and yummy :)

It all begins with ginger root and backstrap molasses. And a curious dog.

And then sugar, eggs, and applesauce.

Oooh, look at all those spices partying in there!

Gooey and just asking for a lickin'!

Make some muffins if you have a little extra...

Sprinkle a little (or a lot) of powered sugar to add a touch of extra sweetness...

And then eat it up! It would taste so delightful with ice cream and caramel sauce...

Gingerbread Cake:

(makes one 9x13 cake or two 8x8 cakes)

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:

1 cup of applesauce

1/2 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup of molasses

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups of unbleached white flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp ground or freshly grated ginger

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 

2. Mix applesauce, eggs, brown sugar, and molasses together until well blended.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

4. Add flour mixture to liquid mixture. Mix well.

5. Pour cup of water into the mixture. Mix until well blended.

6. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 cake pan or into two 8x8 pans.

7. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Toothpick will come out clean when ready!

{ps. I'm sharing this recipe at the Christmas Cheer party at Life in Grace!}

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