Pantry Meal #3: Portland Pie Co.'s Shipyard Pizza

My husband loves pizza. No, seriously he is obsessed. He could eat it every night if it is cooked the way he likes it; light crust,  saucy, sprinkled with oregano, garlic and not too much cheese. In our last house our neighbor would make him pies after a night out, and Dave would repeatedly tell him he missed his calling! Now that we aren't right across the street anymore the pizza cook offs have waned and the responsibility to make perfect pizza is on my shoulders.

While I love making pizza at home, my results can be hit or miss. I buy pizza dough from the grocery store or use English muffins or bagels for my base. I used to buy pizza sauce or use regular leftover marinara but recently discovered a simple, quick, and inexpensive way to make my own pizza sauce.

The hit in our house tonight was made with a very special pizza dough. The best store bought dough in my opinion is Portland Pie Co.'s Shipyard Beer pizza dough. It's not sold here in NJ, but I have a source (my big sister) near Albany who recently delivered me a frozen stash!

Once again, these pizza ideas come from my sister, a meal she prepared while I was visiting last fall. I let my dough come to room temperature and preheated the oven and pizza stone to 475 degrees. I prepared a Swiss and fig with caramelized onion spread pizza and a good ole margarita pie (pictured above) with fresh mozzarella and my easy pizza sauce (First frost already hit, no fresh basil for us). I drizzled olive oil over the crust prior to baking to create a pan style crunch.

So are you ready to never spend money on a jar of pizza sauce? The secret is to keep tomato paste on hand, your pantry ingredient for this meal. Maybe everyone else knew this, but I was shocked to discover how tasty my pizza sauce was. Combine 8 oz of water to one small can of tomato paste (costs about $0.60 per can/less if on sale) and season with herbs of your preference. I used oregano, garlic, and black pepper. Let the sauce sit so that it soaks in the flavor of the seasonings for at least ten minutes. One mixture made enough for three bar sized pizzas. So now I want to know, what will you be putting on your pizza?

Pantry Meals: Shrimp and Goat Cheesy Grits

I have a problem, my freezer is jam packed! I've challenged myself to a week of cooking meals from only ingredients on hand, mainly from my pantry or freezer. I see the benefits as two fold, budget wise: I will be in good shape in terms of groceries, and space wise: I'll make room for freezable winter dishes that I like to have on hand for cold lazy nights. So here goes nothing! The first meal I made uses frozen shrimp, an ingredient I like to have on hand for a quick appetizer or meatless entree. Next, I pulled some Bob's Red Mill southern style grits and a can of diced tomatoes from the pantry. After cooking the grits, I stirred in the tomatoes along with a creamy herb and garlic goat cheese. I sautéed the shrimp in earth balance butter and added a generous amount of black pepper. The grits were done in 5 minutes and dinner was on the table in less than 10! No chopping necessary thanks to the deliciously seasoned goat cheese. You can easily replicate this dish with any other creamy cheese such as ricotta or feta and add your favorite herbs.

Baking Turns Into Dinner...

My sister and I often send each other random links to new recipes we have tried out.  We are both pretty adventurous and we will try just about anything in terms of ingredients. More importantly we both keep a lot of the same ingredients in stock in our pantries.

Most recently, she sent me a recipe for Carrot Quinoa muffins. I know, it sounds like some health-nut dessert but its definitely not. Follow the link below to get the recipe.









I found myself shredding too much carrot and had been making some grilled chicken for my week's lunches, when I decided to throw together the extra ingredients from the muffins, into a delicious salad. The salad was comprised of the extra cooked quinoa, shredded carrot, diced apple, baby arugula, herbed goat cheese, grilled chicken, and my favorite go-to salad dressing, maple balsamic vinaigrette (another hit from my sister's collection!) This dressing is my secret weapon for dinner parties and will soon be yours as well!

The Dressing

3T balsamic

2t maple syrup

2t minced shallot

1t dijon

1/2 cup olive oil (add last, slowly while whisking)

salt and pepper

Make the Muffins: http://www.darcyeden.com/posts/2012/5/18/carrot-quinoa-muffins.html