Wilbur Beans

Michael and I don't go out to eat very often. It is just not an expense we can justify. Our big splurge usually is getting take out Chinese which is a lot of food for $10. But a few weeks ago we went to an art exhibit opening and after were starving so we decided to check out the new BBQ place....Famous Dave's BBQ. It is a national chain that I have eaten at when visiting my parents in Minnesota. It is kind of funny because the place they built it was a BBQ before it but went out of business. Anyway we had dinner there and it was very good. Both of us really liked their Wilbur Beans.

I was digging around in the freezer last week and saw we had some ribs so I put that on the menu. I then of course thought of the beans we had at Famous Dave's and decided I wanted to make something similar to them as they would be so good with ribs. I scoured the web for recipes. I had a can of Bush's baked beans that I just wanted to doctor. I didn't really follow a recipe but got some ideas.

I took 1 can of Bushes baked beans, 2 cans of pinto beans - rinsed and drained, a small can of diced green chilies, brown sugar, BBQ sauce, mustard, garlic, chopped onion and some smoked sausage as I didn't have any bacon. I threw it all in the crock to cook for a couple hours. It turned out so well that I am sure I will be making them again.

Pizza Stone

One of my very good friends had an extra pizza stone and read I was wanting one so she gave me her extra. Yes she is a wonderful friend!

This week I got around to making pizza on the stone and it was fantastic! It makes me think about making pizza every week but I am sure we would get sick of it....or would we? I top our pizza Chicago style even though the dough is a thinner crust instead of a thick crust like most Chicago style pizza's. I made 2 pizzas one veggie and the other with meat. It was nice to eat left over pizza for lunch.





Whole Wheat Herb Pizza Dough
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in order used by machine. Run on dough cycle.

Removing the dough from the machine form the dough into a ball and place into a bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap coated lightly with cooking spray or a dish towel and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight rise.

Remove the bowl from the refrigerator about one hour prior to making the pizza. Set the bottom oven rack to its lowest position and preheat the oven to 400° F for at least 30 minutes before baking. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 balls of dough for 2 smaller/thinner crust or leave whole to make one large/thick crust. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin. Since this is whole wheat it sometimes wants to snap back instead of rolling out. Let it rest for a bit and then try it again. 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 pan or pizza stone and add desired toppings.

From crust up I layer: cheese usually a combination of mozzarella, ramono and parmesan cheese, then meats and veggies, crushed tomatoes, herbs and a light sprinkle of cheese again.

Here is a good link about Pizza Stone's since I had never used one I thought I better read up on them.

Easy Italian Stew

It is getting cold and fall is here so soups and stews sound delicious. Sometimes I just want something easy not a lot of chopping and prep time and this recipe is just the answer. It has great flavor.

Browned and crumbled 2 Mild Italian Sausages (if you want it more meaty add more sausage but there is so many good things in this I didn't need more then 2 sausages)
1 can (14-15 oz)chicken broth
1 can (15 oz) white beans - drained and rinsed
1 can (14-15 oz)diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 package of stir fry peppers and onions
1/2 package of frozen green beans
basil to taste
1 cup cooked elbow noodles

I threw everything except the elbow noodles into the crock and cooked on low for 6 hours. The last 5 minutes I added the cooked elbow noodles and then served in bowls with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

This could easily be done on the stovetop too but I love my crockpot.

Stromboli

Michael's family has what they call a Bake-off - it isn't a competition as the name sounds like but really just everyone brings something they made and everyone pigs out! His sister-in-law makes something that looks just like Stromboli but she calls it something different. Michael loves it though and asked me if I could try to make it sometime. I haven't been brave enough to ask for her recipe so just came up with something that seemed similar. I have tried a few times now and it tastes so good. It is a good alternative to pizza. This is good for dinner with a big salad. Or served as an appetizer for a party. I haven't tried it with homemade bread dough yet but hope to at some point. I just wanted to try to get the flavors down before I messed with getting a homemade dough to go with it.

1 loaf frozen bread dough - cut in half
2 to 3 Mild Italian Sausages (sausage removed from casing)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups mozzarella


In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the onions, and red bell peppers and cook, stirring, until very soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to a large rectangle, about 10 by 14 inches. Spread half of the cooled sausage mixture across the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with cheese. Using a pastry brush, paint the border of 1 long edge with egg wash. Starting at the opposite long end without egg wash, roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Do the same with the other half of the dough. Let the dough rise, 20 to 30 minutes. Brush the top of each Stromboli with egg wash. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes

Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve.

Calzones

I made calzones tonight for dinner...
A whole wheat crust stuffed with ricotta cheese, roasted chopped peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, ground sweet Italian turkey sausage, mozzarella cheese. Topped with some tomato sauce.


Oh yes...I have a bread machine and I love it and use it often. This recipe I use the bread machine on the dough setting.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in order used by machine. Run on dough cycle.

Calzones

When done, divide dough into 4/6 balls depending how big of calzones you want to make. All to rise for 10 to 20 minutes. Roll out dough balls on a lightly floured surface to 6 to 9 inch circles (depending on the size you want for your calzones).

Layer your favorite pizza ingredients on half of each dough round. Fold dough over filling and pinch edges of dough firmly together to seal. Move dough to baking sheets and pierce in several places. Bake calzones 15 at 350 degrees and then turn and bake another 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

For the above calzones I used roasted mixed peppers, sundried tomatoes, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and browned ground Italian turkey sausage. Topping each calzone with tomato sauce after they are baked.