Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I just love pizza and so does my husband.  The only problem is that he is diabetic and pizza always raises his blood sugar too high.  So I decided to try to find a whole wheat pizza crust recipe that would be simple enough to do and still taste good.  I found it!  This recipe is soooo easy and makes such a delicious pizza...actually two!  I found this recipe in my Fleischmann's Yeast cookbook.  You can find other recipes on their website here.  A little tip...keep your whole wheat flour in the fridge or freezer.  Because it still has the wheat germ in it, it will go rancid quicker than regular flour.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1c whole wheat flour
2c AP flour plus a little more for rolling
1 pkg rapid rise yeast
3/4t salt
1c very warm water (120-130 degrees)
2T olive oil

In a large bowl, combine 1c of WW flour and 1c of AP flour.  Add yeast and salt.  Stir very warm water and oil into dry ingredients.  Add enough additional AP flour to make a soft dough.  Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic for about 4-6 mins.  Cover and let rest 10 mins.  Lightly oil two 12 inch pizza pans.  Divide dough in half and roll/stretch dough to cover pans.  Top pizza as desired and bake at 400 for 20-30 mins.  Baking time will depend on toppings and thickness of the crust so keep an eye on it.

Cafe de Paris

Well I visited this restaurant about 2 months ago and I'm just now blogging about it.  I've been a little behind the past couple of months but I'm hoping to get back to some steady posting.

Bill and I visited Cafe de Paris on a date night.  I had heard some good things about it and we were both pleased with our meal.  They started us off with an appetizer that was essentially cheese grits balls breaded and fried topped with a french cocktail sauce which tasted just like Zaxby's sauce.  I had the french onion soup which was just ok. 

 For my entree I had a breaded chicken cutlet with ratatouille and oven roasted potatoes.  The ratatouille was so delicious.  Bill had a pork chop with the ratatouille and sweet potato gnocchi.  The gnocchi was not good but rather very gummy.

For dessert we shared the bread pudding.  They add a little rosemary to their bread pudding which adds a little different twist but it was very good.

Overall, I like Cafe de Paris and will be back.  I would definitely like to go back and try their crepes and Sunday brunch menu.

Lentil and Sausage Soup

It has taken me a long time to try lentils and I regret that I've missed out on them for so long!  What a great staple to have in your pantry.  Although they are dried, they don't require the lengthy soak that other dried beans require.  In this recipe you just rinse the lentils (make sure you look for little pebbles!) and then cook them in the soup for 2-3 hrs.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com which is a great resource for recipes. You can find the original recipe here.  Enjoy!

Lentil and Sausage Soup

1/2 lb italian sausage
1 onion chopped
1T garlic chopped
16oz package of dried lentils, rinsed & checked for pebbles
1c chopped carrots
8c water
two 14.5oz cans of chicken broth
28oz can diced tomatoes
1T garlic powder
1T chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4t dried thyme
1/4 dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage in large pot until browned.  Add onion and garlic and saute until tender.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender about 2-3 hrs.