semi-homemade
Sauce-less Zaatar Cheese Pizza
I just noticed that it has been 20 days (!) since I’ve posted. I have not dropped off the face of the earth or lost interest in my little blog. Everyone in the family has been under the weather. Coughing, sore throat, pretty much your basic winter cold. That meant that we ate things like chicken broth with noodles, or apple sauce, or simple things like that.
I’m back now, and we are back to eating ‘real’ food, but still of the super easy to prepare variety. The more complicated stuff will wait.
My son wanted to make pizza, so we got some frozen supermarket pizza dough – the kind that comes in a small ball that you have to roll out.
This probably sounds like my previously posted Manakeesh – Zaatar Pizzas. Manakeesh is different in that in it, the zaatar and olive oil are the stars of the show.
This one is more of a sauce-less pizza, where the zaatar is an accent to the cheese. I used my Misto to spray on a very light layer of olive oil. Okay, that is not quite true. My son loves playing with the Misto, so he pumped it, and then sprayed the olive oil. The Misto holds about 1/3 cup of olive oil, and we didn’t even use half of it to cover the entire round of pizza dough.
You can use whichever cheese(s) you like. We combined cheddar, mozzarella, and about a 1/3 cup of feta, for a total of 2 cups of cheese.
My toddler has recently discovered that she ADORES Kalamata olives. So much so that when I get to the supermarket olive bar, I have to make sure to get a few large pitted olives that I can easily slice for her to eat while the rest of us eat regular olives with seeds still in them. She is the reason I decided to slice some olives and throw them on there, but the olives can certainly be omitted.
Sauce-less Zaatar Cheese Pizza
1 whole wheat pizza dough
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of shredded and/or crumbled cheese
2 tablespoons zaatar
5-6 kalamata olives, sliced or chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out pizza dough to about a 16 inch round. Prick with tines of a fork.
Spray or brush on olive oil.
Mix cheeses and zaatar in a bowl
Dot with olive pieces.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Super Quick Tuna Curry
This is one of those pantry recipes that are good to have on hand for those super busy midweek evenings. The whole thing comes together in less than 20 minutes. It is even better if you already have leftover rice, because it almost takes longer to make rice than to make this. You could leave out the cilantro, but I really like the flavor and color it adds.
I used one can of solid albacore tuna and one can of chunk tuna, but you could use whatever you have on hand. Canned tuna is a great pantry item to have on hand, as it is a good source of protein and omega 3 fats.
We had this with rice and steamed vegetables.
Curried Tuna
1 small onion
¼ green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
3 teaspoons madras curry powder
2 cloves (optional)
1 cardamom pod (optional)
2 cans tuna
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions, pepper, and garlic. Saute about 2 minutes. Add curry powder, cloves, and cardamom. Saute over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, till onions start to soften. Add tomato paste and water. Stir and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until it bubbles and thickens slightly.
Add tuna and cilantro, stir gently over medium heat just to heat tuna through. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and stir gently to incorporate.
Since this was last night’s dinner, and it was a Tuesday, I am also adding it to the Tasty Tuesdays #Tastytuesdays roundup.
Manakeesh – Zaatar Pizzas
One of the tastiest things to eat is warm manakeesh with some hot tea. Trust me on this. Make some nice, strong tea and sweeten generously. Enjoy it with this tangy/savory bread.
I tagged this as semi-homemade, because the dough is typically home-made, but when you are short on time, frozen supermarket pizza dough is a good substitute.
I always pick up a couple of package of supermarket frozen pizza dough during my weekly shopping trips- the kind that comes in a small ball. I usually also have one or two as backup in the freezer. We try to do one pizza night per week, varying toppings. It is fast and easy to prepare, and my son loves to help make pizza. Tonight he helped by mixing the oil and zaatar, and spreading it on the dough.
Manakeesh will usually be a little less puffy than this one when it made with the home-made dough. I will feature the home-made dough in a future post.
We have this on weekend mornings or for dinner. There were a few pieces leftover after dinner, and my husband promptly put them away to have for breakfast tomorrow.
Note – you can completely omit the cheese.
To make it a complete meal, put out several of the following small plates: lightly salted sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, Akkawi/Feta/Halloumi cheese, olives, labneh, fried or boiled eggs.
Manakeesh – Zaatar Pizzas
1 lb package frozen whole wheat pizza dough, defrosted and brought to room temperature
4 tablespoons zaatar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or feta or a blend of the two
1/2 – 1 teaspoon sumac (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cut dough into two rounds. Roll each one out to about a 10 inch round. Prick with tines of a fork.
Pour olive oil into a bowl. Add zaatar and stir to incorporate completely.
On first round, pour out half the zaatar oil mixture. Spread evenly.
On second round, pour out the rest of the zaatar oil mixture, and spread. Sprinkle cheese on top. Sprinkle with sumac, if using.
Bake 12-15 minutes until dough is done.
Cheesy Baked Zucchini, Mushroom, Spinach and Rice
This dish falls under the heading of “semi-homemade”. While I consider it very important to have a wide variety of from-scratch meals, it is also necessary to have a repertoire of dishes that are easy to put together for a busy weeknight. The “semi” part comes in the form of a spiced rice packet, and jarred marinara sauce.
It is inspired by Eat. Drink.Smile . Eggplant, Mozzarella and Saffron Rice Bake.
I have made her recipe many times, and it is fantastic. I wanted to make it again, but the eggplant at the supermarket was not looking great, so I modified the recipe to use up some of the veggies I do have.
Baked Zucchini, Mushroom, Spinach and Rice
Vigo yellow rice, 5 oz package (low salt)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
5 oz sliced mushrooms
handful of baby spinach
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 cups jarred marinara sauce
1 cup shredded cheese (I only put cheese on half the tray, double it for the whole tray)
Make rice according to package instructions.
Heat up olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, and add zucchini and mushrooms. Saute a few minutes until mushrooms soften and zucchini gets light golden. Add half a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic and spinach, saute a couple more minutes, until spinach wilts.
Pour about a cup of marinara in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Layer rice on top. Add another cup of marinara, then spread the veggies on top, finishing with another cup of marinara sauce.
Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Cover and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, till cheese is golden.
