Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni & Sausage)

I got a hankering for pizza last week and rather than spend money at Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy’s or Marco’s, I decided to make my own. Since I’ve been working with sourdough starter, I found this recipe for a sourdough crust. By using bread flour, it made a nice, thin crust that was crisp and crunchy. All purpose flour would made a softer crust. 

Next, I opened a can of tomato paste and an 8 oz can of sauce. I seasoned with some frozen onions buzzed fine in the food processor and added fresh oregano, basil, and parsley from my garden along with some dried thyme and a pinch of cayenne. I added some water to the sauce to thin it a bit and spread half on the crust, freezing the rest for next time.

Ordinarily, I use an Italian shredded cheese blend but since I already had some Colby Jack on hand, I used that, putting down a layer of cheese, then some green pepper and onions, then a second layer of cheese. Lastly, I added the pepperoni and some fried Italian sausage. It made for a heavy pie!

But boy, was it good! And since so many of the ingredients were already in the kitchen, it cost a fraction of a delivery pizza!

Brazilian Chicken Curry

My friend in Florida, Val, writes:

I know you are always looking for interesting things to do with chicken. Here's one I tried once and it's spicy but not hot. It calls for the crockpot - don't know if you cook with one. I assume you could simmer on the stovetop for an hour or two and get the same results. BTW: The sauce was a bit thin, so I'm still working on this one... also, curry scent is tricky to get off of hands - try lemon juice rinse, then soap & water.

- V.

Original source: Women's Day 2010

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Coconut Milk (found in Asian food aisle. If you like a sweeter taste, I used "Crema de Coconut")
• 2 TBS Tomato Paste
• 1 TBS Minced Garlic (I use fresh)
• 1 TBS Minced Ginger (I use pre-packaged jar)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Fresh ground Pepper
• 1 Medium Vidalia [or sweet] Onion; thinly sliced
  (Can't say this enough - get a mandolin for chores like this!)
• 2 Medium Green Peppers; cut into 1 inch strips & halved crosswise
• 3/4 Cup Yukon Gold [or yellow] Potatoes; cut into 1 inch pieces
  (I upped these to a full cup)
• 1/4 tsp Curry Powder
  (more, if you like more spice)
• 8 (2+ Lbs) Chicken drumsticks [or 4 leg quarters]; skin removed
  (I used a whole, cutup fryer, minus the wings and back pieces.)

Preparation
Mix coconut milk, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, salt & pepper in a slow cooker. Add onions, green peppers, and potatoes. Mix well until veggies are evenly coated.

Rub curry powder all over chicken. Place chicken on top of veggies in the slow cooker. (I found that simply sprinkling the small amount of curry over the chicken parts was sufficient.

Cover and cook on high 4- 5 hours/ low 6 - 8 hours, until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.

PS - As I mentioned above, try and get a mandolin if you are serious about your cooking. My knife skills aren't perfect, and I have a lovely chunk off of my left forefinger to show for it. Ginsu knives are great, but they are hella sharp!!!