Friday, November 18, 2011

Creative meals when the cupboards are bare.

It is amazing how creative one can get when the cupboards are bare. It is time for me to go grocery shopping, but it was so cold and wet outside I didn't want to go to town. Let alone face the grocery store with three kids. So into the kitchen I went to see what kind or healthy and tasty meal I could come up with. The options were pretty slim but what I came up with must have been a hit because the plates are empty and little tummy's are full. I ended up making swiss card and venison pizza. I had some left over spaghetti sauce with venison. I sauted some swiss card in butter with garlic and a splash of wine. I made my own pizza dough (recipe follows) and topped it with the spaghetti sauce, added fresh garlic, added the swiss chard, and topped it off with an Italian cheese blend. Then added some more garlic, because roasted garlic makes everything better. I baked it at 375* for 20-25 minutes. I have a great pizza dough recipe I use. It is a soft chew dough. 2 cups warm water 2 1/4 tsp yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp salt 3 TBS olive oil 4-6 cups flour Mix warm water sugar and yeast. Add oil, salt, and 4 cups of flour. Mix well and add about another cup of flour. Turn out on a floured surface and kneading for 5-7 minutes adding a little flour if needed. Form the dough into a ball and put into an oiled bowl. Then cover and let rest for ten minutes. Divide the dough and roll out to 13" pizza crust and place on pizza pans. Bake at 375* for about ten minutes. Then remove from the oven and use your favorite toppings. (Or in my case whatever you have on hand.) Then bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.