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Amazing Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust
Turn pizza night into a family affair by making pizzas together at home. Start by making a simple whole-wheat crust recipe. You’ll need active dry yeast and whole-wheat flour in addition to basic pantry staples: olive oil, all-purpose flour, salt and white sugar. Allow an hour for the dough to rise and then top with fresh mozzarella, spinach and chicken, pepperoni, or ham and pineapple. It’s great family fun, while also introducing healthful flavor combinations into a dish most children love.
(Recipe courtesy of www.Allrecipes.com).
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole-wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into two pieces for two thin crusts, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well-oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings.
Bake in preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, depending on thickness, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.
The Comfort Food Diet Cookbook
From Taste of Home
Everybody has a favorite comfort food. From pizza and lasagna to macaroni-and-cheese and pulled pork, there’s something satisfying about hearty — and often heavy — foods. Taste of Home’s “Comfort Food Diet Cookbook” (Reader’s Digest Association, December 2009, $17.95) provides low-calorie recipe alternatives for traditional comfort foods families crave. Each recipe is tested by a registered dietician to ensure the nutritional value fits into a healthy lifestyle. The book also has tips on exercise, portion control, diabetic exchanges, ordering healthy when dining out, and a removable clip-and-keep calorie guide for the parent on the go.
— Michele Huggins |
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Pizza Stone
Made from terra cotta or stone slab, a pizza stone is essential to making a pizza crust that rivals brick-oven-baked pizza. Simply place the stone in the oven as it preheats, and then slide the pizza onto the hot stone to bake. By evenly distributing heat and extracting moisture, the stone helps to create a delicious, crisp crust. Sur la Table offers numerous round and rectangular stones in different sizes and price ranges. $25-$48 at www.surlatable.com.
Brown Sugar Lolli-Pops
6 cups air-popped popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp. light margarine
Butter flavored cooking spray
3 tbsp. cinnamon-sugar mixture
(2 tbsp. sugar to 1 tbsp. cinnamon)
Mini pretzel sticks
Directions: Combine sugar, honey, and water in a 2-quart saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.
Add butter and stir to mix.
Slowly pour mixture over popcorn, tossing to mix.
When popcorn has cooled slightly, spray hands with cooking spray and shape into small balls.
Insert pretzel stick to create a lollipop. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture and wrap in plastic wrap or store in zip-style bags.
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