Pizza Crust

This is my favorite recipe for pizza crust so far:

Makes two 12" crusts.

1 T Active Dry Yeast
1 cup Warm Water
2.5 cups white flour
2 T olive oil
1 t sugar (I use evaporated cane juice)
1 t salt

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add oil and dry ingredients. Stir dough until tough, then knead on lightly floured surface into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let dough rise until doubled. Divide dough in half and pat with floured fingers or use rolling pin to form two 12” circles. Pinch an edge around the crusts and place on cornmeal dusted baking sheets. Top as desired and bake in a preheated 450F oven for 15-20 min.

Coconut Cream Pie

Crust:
1 c rolled oats
1/4 c spelt flour
1/4 c whole unsalted almonds
2 t raw honey
3 T oil

Filling:
1/3 c coconut milk
1/2 c coconut water
1 c low fat milk
1/3 c organic evaporated cane juice
1/4 c brown rice flour
1 t pure coconut extract
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1 T unsweetened flaked coconut

Crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare crust in a food processor. Blend oats, flour, and almonds until finely ground. Add honey and oil and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly and sticks together. Turn into a 9" pie pan and press into bottom and sides of pan. Bake 10 min or until lightly browned.

Filling: Combine all filling ingredients into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Continue stirring and allow to boil for 1 min. Remove from heat and allow mixture to stand for 1 min without mixing. Pour into baked pie shell and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Pan-Roasted Corn Salsa

2 6-7 ounce mahi mahi fillets (2 servings)
4 ounces of BBQ sauce
Butter or olive oil
1/2 c finely diced onion
1/2 c finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 c finely diced green bell pepper
1 c corn (fresh or frozen)
2 t cumin
1 t salt
1 t pepper
2 t lime juice
1/4 c salsa
4 c black beans (cooked or canned)I will cut this in half next time.

Grill the fish, basting frequently in BBQ sauce. Meanwhile, saute the onions, peppers, and corn in the butter/olive oil until cooked but still a little crunchy. Season with cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Add the salsa. Toss to blend, and divide the mixture onto serving plates. Place a mound of black beans in the center of each plate and top the beans with the mahi mahi fillets.

Lemon Almond Cod/Hali

Ingredients
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 pounds Pacific cod or halibut (see Note), cut into 4 portions
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, slivered
• 1 pound baby spinach
• Lemon wedges for garnish
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine lemon zest, almonds, dill, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place fish on the prepared baking sheet and spread each portion with 1 teaspoon mustard. Divide the almond mixture among the portions, pressing it onto the mustard.
3. Bake the fish until opaque in the center, about 7 to 9 minutes, depending on thickness.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in spinach, lemon juice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is just wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. Cover to keep warm. Serve the fish with the spinach and lemon wedges, if desired.
Tips & Notes
• Note: Pacific cod, a.k.a. Alaska cod, is considered a good choice for the environment because it is sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population.
Nutrition
Per serving: 249 calories; 13 g fat (1 g sat, 8 g mono); 46 mg cholesterol; 8 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 28 g protein; 4 g fiber; 496 mg sodium; 1025 mg potassium.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

I'm sorry - I don't know what all the guidelines are for our recipes, so forgive me if this one doesn't qualify. But Ellie and I made this bread yesterday and everyone loved it! And it was a lot easier than most of the bread recipes I found. It yields 3 loaves.

:: 3 C. warm water (110 degrees)
:: 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
:: 1/3 C. honey
:: 5 C. unbleached bread flour
:: 3 T. butter, melted
:: 1/3 C. honey
:: 1 T. salt
:: 3 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
:: 2 T. butter, melted

1. In large bowl, mix warm water, yeast and 1/3 C. honey. Add 5 C. bread flour. Stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes or until big and bubbly. (Ellie and I had fun at the end watching it rise. She said it was creepy!)

2. Mix in 3 T. melted butter, 1/3 C. honey, and salt. Stir in 2 C. whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch (both kids enjoyed kneading/punching the bread!). This may take an additional 2 - 4 C. wheat flour. Place in greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place (like top of already preheated oven) until doubled.

3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9x5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch. (We did 2 loaves on baking sheet. Not pretty but it worked.)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-40 minutes. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 T. melted butter to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

Source: www.allrecipes.com

Bean Soup

1 1/2 C. dried bean mix*, soaked overnight
2 C. veggie broth
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 zucchini, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. olive oil
2+ t. cumin (or more, to taste)
2 bay leaves
2+ t. sea salt (to taste)
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
5 C. water

* I used a pre-mixed 9 bean combo I found at my local whole foods store in the bulk section. Beans that have been soaked cook faster and reduce the gassy after effects! :)

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion and celery approx. 5 minutes then add garlic and cook another 2 or so minutes.
2. Mix in beans and cover with veggie broth and water.
3. Add tomatoes, zucchini, cumin, cayenne, bay leaves and salt.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 3-4 hours or until beans are to your liking.

This makes A BUNCH! I have a two ziploc bags in the freezer as well as plenty in the fridge for the week! Even the red-meat eating chef thought it was good. Now I don't expect him to sit down and eat a bowl, but the professional did think it was flavorful.

Walnut Raisin Coleslaw

**Make the night before**

This is from my new gluten-free cookbook I got for Christmas. I discovered that I do not care for fresh cranberries so I renamed the recipe since I won't add cranberries in my next batch(original name is Cranberry Mandarin Coleslaw with Walnuts and Raisins). But I will tell you it is an awesome winter salad! Here is the original recipe and you can doctor to your tastes...

3 C. shredded red or green cabbage
2 C. shredded carrots
1 C. chopped celery (I chopped very fine since I don't care for it but has amazing health benefits)
1/2 C. chopped green onions
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C. raisins
1/2 C. raw green pumpkin seeds (pepitas - I bought roasted, unsalted but might try roasting my own next time or just getting roasted, salted)
1/2 C. fresh cranberries
1/2 C. walnut halves
6 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C. brown or natural rice vinegar
1 can (10 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained (I used fresh navel oranges and still good)

1. Combine cabbage, carrots, celery and green onions in large bowl and toss with lemon juice.
2. Toss in raisins, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and walnuts. Mix well.
3. In small bowl, whisk oil and vinegar.
4. Add to salad and toss well to coat.
5. Top with oranges and refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.