dinner

Every once in a while you stumble upon a recipe, make it and then say “Where have you been all my life?” This was that recipe for me. Based on a recipe by Robin Miller, I adapted it to my tastes and am so glad it’s now a regular on my dinner rotation. I am also so glad to share it with you.

Robin Miller used to be a chef on The Food Network. Back in the day when it was a fledgling network, the shows were more about how to cook versus all of the competition shows they have on now. Originally I remember thinking who, in their right mind, would watch someone cook on tv. But I started to watch and got hooked. Plus, as you can tell by the theme of this blog, I was never a cook in my early years and always felt that I’d never become one. But as I got older I got more interested and those cooking shows provided so much basic knowledge and started me on my culinary journey. All of a sudden I began thinking, “I can do this!” and as I started getting more adept I developed not only a deep interest but also a knack for creating successes in the kitchen. Robin Miller was one of the chefs that I credit teaching me basics and I, for one, am sad she no longer has a show on The Food Network. But I follow her on Facebook and am privy on a daily basis to some of her great recipe ideas.

Her recipe for flatbread pizza struck my fancy and I amended it to include some of the ingredients I especially like on a pizza. What I also like is this recipe is meatless. Not to say you couldn’t add some cooked sausage, or bacon, or pancetta on top, but I like to limit my intake of red meat and to find something this flavorful and meatless is always a plus for me.

LESSONS LEARNED MAKING THIS RECIPE:

I used Stonefire Artisan Flatbread. I prefer this because it basically serves as a blank canvas. You can try to use others, this is simply the one I prefer for this recipe.
Be creative with your toppings. When I order a “regular” pizza, I like mushrooms and green peppers on it. For this particular recipe I just added green pepper (make sure you chop it into small pieces). But I plan on trying it with mushrooms and probably onions as well.
Use sun dried tomatoes packed in oil. I found drizzling a little oil over the pizza once all the toppings are on and it’s ready to go into the oven adds more depth of flavor.
Don’t overload the flatbread with pesto. All you need is a light spread over the bread. If you add too much it tends to overpower all the other ingredients.
The measurements in the recipe are guidelines: I find it hard to put measurements into a recipe like this because so much is done by sight and taste. If you want more cheese on your flatbreads than put it on. The same goes for the tomatoes, and green pepper. With the capers, I would err on the lighter side as they give a nice briny taste to the pizza but could overpower the other ingredients if there are too many. Just my opinion.
Each flatbread makes 2 servings. The package contains two flatbreads. To serve use both.

Ready To Go Into The Oven

Fresh Out Of The Oven

Flatbread Pizza

Servings: 4
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

2 Flatbreads

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced plus 2 TB oil from the jar

1 TB capers, drained

1/4 cup green pepper, diced small

1 tsp Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Arrange the flatbreads on the prepared pan. Spread the pesto over the flatbreads to about 1/2 inch from the edges. Spread the cheese on top of the pesto. Arrange the sliced sun dried tomatoes, capers and diced green pepper on top. Drizzle the oil from the sun dried tomatoes over the flatbreads. Sprinkle with the Italian seasoning.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and the edges of the flatbread are slightly crispy.

Cut into slices and serve.

I’m always looking to make something different but sometimes it needs to be different and fast. For those wanting that too, this recipe is for you. I was actually amazed how flavorful this was given the simplicity of the recipe. This recipe accompanied by a small salad and some crusty bread can be just what the doctor ordered.

There is nothing particularly fancy about this recipe. Probably the most unique thing about it is it contains both potatoes and rice. Surprisingly enough, the rice gives the dish a creamy texture and the potatoes, carrots and onions give it depth and bulk. There’s not even a lot of prep work involved and once everything is combined you just simmer everything for thirty minutes and voila, dinner is served!

So let’s talk hearty one skillet dinner…

Lesson Learned 1 – It’s important to cut the carrots and potatoes into small pieces: You want to make sure that the carrots and potatoes cook through and so they need to be diced a little smaller than usual. With the carrots I peeled them, cut them in half lengthwise and then each piece in half lengthwise again. Then I diced the carrots into about 1/4 inch size pieces.

With the potatoes I also tried to cut them into 1/4 inch sized chunks. It’s not necessary to drag out the ruler to make sure you have the correct size. Just know that you want the pieces small but not too small that they disintegrate during the cooking process.

Lesson Learned 2 – Check on the dish for moisture during the simmering process: You want to make sure that the beef stock reduces completely when you’re done but not so quickly as it causes the rice not to cook through and the rest of the mixture to stick to the bottom of the pan. Check on the liquid during the simmering process. If the beef stock has completely reduced and you still have more time to cook add some more stock. The amount of additional stock you add will depend on where you are in the 30 minute simmer process. I would start with a couple of tablespoons to a quarter cup and go from there. The main point is you don’t want the dish to dry out during the simmering process nor do you want to be left with soup after 30 minutes.

Lesson Learned 3 – If you want to shorten the overall time for this recipe prep most of the ingredients ahead of time: You can prep the onions, garlic, and carrots ahead of time – even the night before. Keep them in air tight containers or covered tightly in plastic wrap. I would wait until you begin cooking the meal to chop up the potato. The only way to keep the potato from oxidizing once it is cut is to put it in cold water. I’m not sure you’re going to want to have your potato sitting in water overnight or all day. Prepping ahead of time will take a good 15 minutes from the total time to make this dish.

Not only is this dish delightful the first time around but it is also great reheated. Try this one the next time you are short on time but still want something good. I think it just might become one of your go to favorites.

Hearty One Skillet Dinner…

Servings: 6
Time: 45 Minutes Including Prep
Difficulty: Easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, preferably 93% lean

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup chopped carrots

1 medium russet potato, diced

1 cup reduced sodium beef stock

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. olive oil (I used garlic infused olive oil)

salt and pepper to taste

flat leaf parsley, chopped for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Add the olive oil to a large preheated skillet. Saute the onions until they are slightly translucent. Salt and pepper the onions while they are cooking. Once the onions are translucent, use a wooden spoon to push them to the side of the pan and add the ground beef, separating the beef with the spoon. Spoon the onions over the ground beef while it is cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the ground beef is no longer pink drain any excess fat, if necessary. Stir the garlic into the beef and onions. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant – approximately one minute. Stir in the carrots, potatoes and rice. Pour the beef stock over the mixture and stir to combine.

Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender. (Make sure to check the level of moisture and add a little extra beef stock if it has completely reduced before the end of the cooking process). Stir in the soy sauce. Taste. Add any additional salt or pepper as needed.