“What’s In Your Pantry” Challenge: Angel Hair Alfredo

I had planned to make angel hair pasta with a homemade red sauce with meatballs (No, I didn’t start eating meat… the vegetarians weren’t eating pasta tonight), and buttery garlic bread for dinner tonight. But, as is common in my house, someone grumbled about wanting Alfredo sauce instead. Of course, I scoffed and said they will eat what I make or they can make their own dinner. I know…I’m a hard ass, huh? Well, as soon as they walked away, I jumped on the internet in search of a quick and easy Alfredo recipe. And this is why I deserve the “Mom Of The Year” Award! (Actually, I’d rather have a chest to pin the award on!!) Well, I found one that was super simple and most importantly, I had all the ingredients!!! WOOHOO!

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce By Dawn Carter From AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 cups milk
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese I didn’t use 6 ounces, I used more like 3 ounces. 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper I used white pepper, because my fam doesn’t like to see black specs in their food. 

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth.
3. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps.
4. Stir in Parmesan and pepper.
5. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long.
6. Toss with hot pasta to serve. I used angel hair, because that’s what I had planned and I didn’t have fettucini. 

OK, so here’s my take on this recipe… First, it said it makes 4 servings. Uh, no! Maybe if you’re drinking it. It actually makes more like 8-10 servings. That being said, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can use a small saucepan to make this. I did, and it was so full I couldn’t even whisk properly… if I knew how to whisk properly. The pan size issue is also why I didn’t add all the parmesan cheese. But it actually tasted REALLY GOOD!!! I added some grilled chicken on top and called it Chicken Angel Hair Alfredo. Sounds like a mob nickname, huh?

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

I LOVE PITAS!!! They’re just the right amount of bread for me, not too doughy not too crusty… they’re just right. And they’re hollow. How are they hollow? It’s such a mystery to me! Maybe it’s  MAGIC!! I used to think that the baker would scoop out the middle part after baking them. HA!!!! Oh, sorry if I blew the secret for you.  I guess I should’ve given a spoiler alert!  Oh well, you’d have figured it out sooner or later.

I’ve always wanted to try baking breads, but I’ve always thought that it was a difficult process, what with the yeast that may be active or may not,  and the water that has to be exactly between 110-115ºF. UGH!! And I thought that baking pitas would be virtually impossible for a novice baker like me. But I didn’t let my fear thwart my desire. I tackled homemade rolls a few days ago and they turned out GREAT!! Check them out here. Yummy!!! So, I’m feeling empowered and and I might even dare to say invincible. GASP!! I just jinxed it, didn’t I? Oh well, here goes!!!

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets By Tammy’s Recipes

Yield: 8 whole pita pockets (or 16 halves)

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour OK so I didn’t check my flour stash and I had to substitute unbleached, enriched white flour…UGH!
• 1/3 cup gluten*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)

Alternately, if you have a bread machine, you can put the ingredients in the pan in the order listed and use the dough cycle. Skip to step 3 if using your bread machine!

2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.So I took a little nap during this stage. Highly recommend this as there’s no yeast induced stress.  

3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cutdough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.

4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! ) I actually put them on baking sheets instead of the counter. And Ididn’t let them rise the full time because they had extra rise time during my nap. 

5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.) I didn’t use a rack in the oven, I just used the cookie sheets I had them rise on. They puffed right up, on their own!! I didn’t even have to scoop them out

6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they’re baked. Allow breads to completely cool.

7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired.

8. Store pitas in a plastic zipper bag in the fridge for a few days, or place in the freezer for longer storage. To re-warm pitas, wrap them in a damp towel and then wrap in foil. Place in a warm (200-250 degree) oven for about 20 minutes.

So my fear is gone! They turned out great!! They taste so good when they’re fresh. MMMMMM, MMMMMM, MMMMMM!!!! 

I made cute little individual pizzas using the pitas as the crust. Check them out here.

Pita Pizza

I’m trying to eat clean in 2012. “What is clean?” you ask. Hmm, good question. It seems there are many different meanings and degrees of “clean eating” to choose from. Sigh.

I define clean eating as a diet full of natural whole foods. Think about eating foods that look the same on your plate as they do in nature, with little to no processing or other ingredients added. Like an apple, cucumber, tomato, etc. If I can get organic, then all the better, but I don’t always. I have to remind you that I’m a vegetarian, or rather a pescetarian (I eat fish or pesce it Italian), so I don’t have the image of a cow or chicken sitting on my plate. But if you do, then try to buy organic, grass fed, free range, or farm raised products.

I’ve been trying to come up with nutritious, filling recipes that are clean and appeal to everyone. This is tough to do in my house, with all the child eaters (yes my hubs is considered a child eater), but this one actually worked. You see, my family loves pizza (mostly) and I’ve been craving a slice of pizza pie, but I didn’t want to blow my resolution. So, I decided to make a slice that would satisfy my family, my craving and my resolution… and let me use my newly made pitas! That’s right… I made pita pockets… yes from scratch! They are soo easy and oddly rewarding when they actually puff up. Are you wondering why I don’t just buy them at the store? Well, I looked at the ingredient list on the pre-made ones and didn’t think they were clean, according to my definition. So I found a recipe and made my own. See my blog post here. Bonus: They make a GREAT thin crust for pizza!!!

Pita Pizzas By Me

• Pita Pockets (1 per person)
• 1 can organic crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
• Optional toppings: mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoni, onion, sweet peppers, banana peppers, etc.
• Oregano

1. Cut the pita along outer edge to create to thin crusts. If you like a thicker crust, skip this step.
2. For a crispier crust, broil your split pita until just slightly browned or toasted.
3. If you like smooth sauce, blend the crushed tomatoes and garlic into a smooth puree.
4. Spread sauce onto each pita crust.
5. Top with mozzarella, oregano and optional toppings.
6. Bake at 350ºF until cheese is melted.