recipe

KNR, p. 244 “Vegetable Pesto Pizza”

 

We love to make pizza at home and with more vegetarian friends than ever coming to our football gatherings, Sheila tackled a recipe that’s a mostly veggie version. Nobody keeled over when we served it last week, so this one is a keeper.

 

Ingredients

2  12” pizza crusts (Mama Mary’s has thin crisp crusts)

2/3  cup tomato basil pesto

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

6 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced, about 2 cups

2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced, about 2 cups

2 cups Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons garlic powder

4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preparation

Blend pesto with olive oil. Split in half and brush evenly over each crust, leaving 1/2” bare at the edge.

Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over each crust.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning over each crust.

Divide tomatoes in half and arrange evenly on top of the Italian seasoning on each pizza.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of onion powder evenly on top of the tomatoes on each pizza.

Arrange 1 cup sliced squash each, evenly on each pizza.

Arrange 1 cup sliced zucchini each, evenly on each pizza.

Arrange 1 cup sliced Portobellos each, evenly on each pizza.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of garlic powder evenly on top of the mushrooms on each pizza.

Evenly top each pizza with the rest of the mozzarella.

Cover lowest oven rack with aluminum foil (to catch dripping cheese or veggies).

 

Bake uncovered at 350 for 10 minutes.

Turn pizza half way in oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese begins to bubble and/or brown.

The veggies will be crisp tender.

 

Cut each pizza into 6 pieces and serve while warm.

Enjoy! 

 

*Note: Can’t find tomato basil pesto in the grocery store? Look in the produce section for Bella Sun Luci’s Bruschetta with Italian Basil. Sis says it has sun-dried tomatoes in it and works just fine.

 

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KNR, p. 242 “The Kerrians’ Greek Salad”

 

It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s time for salads.  🙂

 

There are many delicious Greek dishes, but a Greek salad can be tossed together easily and in our house, it’s a tasty partner to sandwiches. Make the salad big enough, with a lot of feta cheese on top, and it could be a meal all on its own as the temperature climbs above 90 degrees.

 

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"The Kerrians' Greek Salad"
Author: 
Recipe type: Greek
Cuisine: Salad
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 1 5 oz. bag of mixed greens or baby spinach
  • 2-3 medium tomatoes, diced, about 1.5 cups
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled, diced, about 1.5 cups
  • 1 cup sliced black olives, drained
  • 4 oz. tomato-basil (or plain) feta cheese, crumbled
  • 3/4 cups olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. basil leaves
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Place greens, diced tomato, diced cucumber, sliced olives, and feta cheese into large serving bowl.
  2. Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, basil, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a separate bowl and whisk until well blended.
  3. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat evenly.

Serve with a frosty beverage and enjoy!

 

 

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KNR, p. 236 “Almond Cherry Chocolate Torte”

 

We like chocolate cake and we also like brownies because of the denser consistency. But, if we wanted to have a gluten-free chocolate dessert, neither one of Sheila’s go-to recipes would quite work. Sheila played around with some ingredients for the flavor she wanted, and then we both taste-tested the results.

 

After we poured the cherry juice over the cherries on top of the chilled torte, the dessert was a lot like a mousse in texture. We ate it with and without the juice, with and without the foam, with and without the ice cream. We taste-tested our way through the entire dessert while the photos were taken. My tummy liked it all.

 

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"Almond Cherry Chocolate Torte"
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine (grease cake pan)
  • 2 Tablespoons chocolate powder (unsweetened) (dust pan)
  • 12 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, broken into sections
  • 1/2 cup whipped butter
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons brewed dark roast coffee
  • 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 5 egg whites
  • 3/4 cup fine almond flour
  • 4 cups frozen cherries, pitted
  • 1/4 cup water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Lightly grease sides and bottom of a springform cake pan with butter or margarine and dust with cocoa powder.
  3. Place 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate and whipped butter in the top of a double boiler, melt, and whisk together by hand until thoroughly mixed together. Remove from heat.
  4. Using large bowl, an electric mixer, and whisk attachment, whip egg yolks, 1 cup of the sugar, coffee, 1.5 teaspoons of the almond extract, and sea salt until thick and creamy.
  5. Add chocolate/butter mixture and continue to mix until blended.
  6. In a separate bowl and with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until fluffy, about a minute. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and beat for another two minutes or until peaks form. (Should be stiff enough that a spoonful of the mixture will stay in the spoon when held upside down)
  7. Fold the almond flour into the egg whites, then carefully fold that mixture into the entire chocolate mix.
  8. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pan. There may be lots of bubbles in the mixture. If so, gently, but firmly bounce the pan on the counter once or twice to break up most of them.
  9. Place the pan on a cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and bake until the center puffs and cake edges pull away from the pan, about 40-45 minutes.
  10. Remove pan from oven, place on cooling rack for 40 minutes. As it cools, the center of the torte will collapse a little, creating a depression in which to put the cherries later.
  11. Place the pan on a flat cake plate/stand and remove the sides.
  12. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
  13. Place cherries, water, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar into a sauce pan and heat on medium heat until sugar melts – about two minutes. Stir.
  14. Place cherries and the resulting juice in a covered container in the refrigerator to soak and chill for two hours.
  15. When chilled, strain the cherries and save the juice.
  16. Spread the cherries evenly in the depression on the top of the torte.
  17. Lovely with ice cream and the cherry juice poured on top.

Cherry Foam: 

If you’d like to make the foam shown in the photo below, use the electric mixer and the whisk attachment. Whisk the well-chilled cherry juice until foamy, about two minutes. This only works while the juice is cold, so work quickly.  Skim off the foam, about two tablespoons for each slice, and use as a light flavorful topping to the dessert. Or just pour the juice on top of the cherries. The flavor will be the same.


Enjoy!  🙂

Photos: by Patti Phillips

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