- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place warm water in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast over and stir just to moisten. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir quickly to mix thoroughly. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead about 10 times. Divide dough in half and place each half in the center of a lightly-greased 12-inch pizza pan. Press or roll the dough to the edges. (A lightly-floured pizza roller makes this a cinch!).
- Top your pizza as desired and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are brown and the cheese and sauce are bubbling.
Welcome to Carb Diva's Kitchen! I'm Linda, also known as Carb Diva, and I'm a lover of food, food history, cats, quilting and gardening - basically anything that is pretty and delicious. Join me on my blogging journey as I share my favourite recipes and stories of my life along the way.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Easy (and Quick) Pizza Crust
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
How to Build Your Perfect Pasta Salad, and How to Plan a Picnic
This first link will guide you in building your own pasta salad. Pick your pasta shape, and then I'll give you ideas for the fruits or veggies, protein, special add-ins, and even several dressing options.
Next, how to plan a picnic, menu ideas, recipes, and even some packing tips.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Chicken salad -- healthy doesn't have to be boring
How Do You Make It Memorable?
- Use white-meat chicken (dark meat isn't pretty and the flavor is a bit too rich for a delicate salad.)
- Use crisp celery and dice it finely.
- A bit of chives adds some zip.
- Dried cranberries provide a sweetness that contrasts with the other savory flavors.
- Rosemary is an aromatic herb that will surprise (and please). Most people won't recognize it, but they'll ask "what is that interesting flavor in the salad?"
- Mayonnaise is good, but the tang of Greek yogurt makes this salad even better and reduces the total amount of fat.
- Still not sure? I have lots of suggestions at the end of this recipe for substitutions and other ingredients you can add.
Carb Diva's Best Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, diced (I think white meat is best in this recipe)
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise, (I used non-fat)
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover and chill at least one hour to allow flavors to blend. Spread on the bread of your choice. My personal favorite is honey oatmeal.
Here Are Some Suggested Changes
- use fresh minced tarragon in place of the rosemary
- sliced seedless grapes
- diced apple
- chopped fresh pitted cherries
- pumpkin seeds
- chopped smoked almonds
- crumbled bacon
- shredded Cheddar
- shredded Swiss cheese
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Chinese 5-Spice Burger
Chinese 5-Spice Burger
Several years ago I entered a Sunset Magazine cooking contest for "Best Burger". The only requirement was that oneEquipment Needed
- 8 or 10-inch nonstick frying pan
- medium-size bowl
- charcoal or gas grill
thermometerinstant-read
- 1 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 green onions (including tops), finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons Chinese plum sauce
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons Merlot wine
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp. Chinese 5-spice
powder - 1 tsp.
sesame oildark - 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack
- 4 large sesame seed buns, split
- red lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Pour oil into an 8- to 10-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat; when hot, add mushrooms and stir until lightly browned about 4 minutes. Stir in the green onions and plum sauce and remove from heat.
- In a bowl, gently mix ground beef with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, Chinese five-spice, and ginger. Shape the beef mixture into four equal patties, each about 1/2 inch thick.
- Lay patties on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level for only 3 to 4 seconds); close the lid on the
grill. Cook patties until no longer pink in the center (cut to test) or a thermometer inserted in the center reaches 160°, 6 to 8 minutes total, turning once to brown evenly. After 5 minutes, lay bun halves, cut side down, on the grill, and toast lightly, 1 to 2 minutes.gas
To assemble
- On the bottom half of each roll, layer the lettuce, burger, and
mushroom mixture. Cover with the roll tops.sautéed
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
A healthy breakfast sausage
I can forgo the fried potatoes (although unwillingly). And actually, eggs are not a bad dietary choice. But what about the "meat"? OK, bacon is out. We occasionally cook "turkey bacon", but honestly, it's not even CLOSE to being bacon, is it?
So what about sausage? Full of fat and guilt. But I think we can change that.
Here is a recipe for homemade Turkey Breakfast Sausage that has found a place in our diets, and we hope that you will like it too:
Turkey Breakfast Sausage
Ingredients- 1 cup quick oats
- 3/4 cup spicy V-8 (or you could use Bloody Mary mix)
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Soak oats in juice for 15 minutes in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix until very well blended. Form the mixture into a 12-inch log. Wrap and freeze until firm enough to slice, about 1.5 to 2 hours. (Do NOT freeze solid).
- Cut into 32 slices (about 3/8 inch thick). Place on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and store in a zip-lock bag for up to 3 months.
- To cook, pan fry for 8-10 minutes--no need to thaw.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Yukon Gold Potato Pizza
Do you surf the internet? What are your favorite sites? One of my daughters loves Pinterest and
- 1/2 of a 17.3-oz.
pkg Pepperidge Farm Puff PastrySheets, (1 sheet), thawed - 3 medium (about 1 lb.) Yukon Gold (waxy)
potatoes - 2
teaspoon olive oil - 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2
teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced - 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 jar Alfredo pasta sauce
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-
Reggiano , shaved (about 1/3 cup) - 1 cup fresh arugula
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14x12-inch rectangle. Place the pastry onto a baking sheet. Brush the edges of the pastry with water. Fold over the
edges 1/2 inch on all sides, crimping with a fork to form a rim. Prick the center of the pastry thoroughly with a fork. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. - While the pastry is chilling, prepare the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Fill a large pot with the potato slices. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add two teaspoons of salt to the water and place the pot over a high flame. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium and cover. Check the potatoes after about 5 minutes
-- you want them to be crisp-tender because they will cook on top of the pizza. - Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat; sauté the onions until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rosemary. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
- Spoon the onion mixture
onto the pastry. Cover it with the potato slices, then drizzle with the Alfredo sauce. - Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and top with the shaved Parmigiano-
Reggiano cheese. Let the pastry cool onthe
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Copycat Recipes - Olive Garden's Cheese-Filled Soffatelli
Such is the case with a 2011 television commercial for Olive Garden's cheese-filled soffatelli. I have no problem with the folks who operate Olive Garden. I've eaten there many times and have enjoyed every meal. But..... I also enjoy cooking, enjoy finding ways of making new things, and enjoy Italian food. So, why not try to replicate a recipe from a place I hold dear in my heart?
Well, I never tasted the
Ingredients
- 1 17.3 oz package
puff pastry sheet, thawed - 1 package Stouffer's Spinach
Souffle (see note below) - cooking spray
- One 8-oz packageSargento Fancy Shredded 6 Cheese Italian
Cheese - 2 whole fresh lemons
- 1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2
teaspoons minced garlic - 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Puff pastry sheets are typically found in the frozen food section at your grocers. Unwrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to thaw. There are two sheets in each package. Unfold them, and cut each into 4 pieces, to make 8 squares total.- Remove the spinach souffle from its package. Lift one corner of the plastic wrap to vent; cook on full power in the microwave for 5 minutes. Remove, stir and return to the microwave. Cook for another 2 minutes. The mixture will be almost firm but not fully cooked. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
- Divide the spinach souffle mixture into 8 equal pieces. Place one piece on each puff pastry square. Top each spinach souffle mound with 1 tablespoon of Italian cheese.
- Bring the corners of each puff pastry up to the center—pinch together and seal the sides to form square "envelopes".
- Lightly coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place spinach/cheese-filled puff pastry envelopes on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes, or until well-browned and puffed.
- While the puffs are baking, prepare the sauce.
- Using a zester, remove the yellow portion only of the lemon rind (don't cut into the white pith
-- it's bitter) and set aside. Mince the parsley until you have about 3/4 cup. - Heat the butter and olive oil over low heat. Add the minced garlic and lemon rind; cook until the garlic and lemon are fragrant and then remove from heat. Stir in the minced parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide the sauce among 8 serving plates and place one baked
soffatelli on top of each.
Substitution for Stouffers Spinach Souffle
- 9 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
Wash spinach leaves. Place in a large (5-6 quart) pan. Cover and cook, stirring several times, until leaves are wilted. Pour leaves into a colander set in a bowl; let drain. When cool to the touch, squeeze excess liquid from the spinach with your hands. Reserve liquid.
In a food processor or blender, puree spinach with 3 tablespoons of the reserved liquid, eggs, flour, garlic, and lemon peel. Add salt to taste.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Retro Recipe to Remember Mom
I'm thinking about my mom today, born in 1908 in rural Montana. She was the youngest of six, a first-generation American. She and her family were sugarbeet sharecroppers and lived in a railroad boxcar. Humble beginnings.
Mom started baking these sweet rolls when they appeared in a Pillsbury bake-off cookbook as a 1955 Grand Prize Winner. Pillsbury has updated the recipe, and the link for that is here. However, I
- 2 packets of active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3/4 cup hot scalded milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 unbeaten eggs
- 4
to 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour nut filling (below)
Soften the yeast in warm water; set aside.- Combine the butter and scalded milk in a
large mixing bowl. Cool to lukewarm. - Add the yeast/water, sugar, salt, and eggs.
- Stir in the flour to form a stiff dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the
nut filling. - Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 22x12-inch rectangle. Cover half of the dough, along the long side, with the filling. Fold the remaining dough over the filling.
- Cut crosswise into 1-inch strips. Twist each strip 4 or 5 times. Then hold one end down on a greased baking sheet and begin to wind into a spiral. Tuck the end under. Repeat with the remaining strips.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Saturday, May 16, 2020
How to Make Herb-Infused Oil
- Some recipes cry out for huge handfuls of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. But other times, we need something
a bit less assertive. Something more subtle and nuanced. - Then again, sometimes we find ourselves with a dearth of fresh herbs to use up (before they perish), and what to do?
Herb-Infused Oil
- Slow cooker (
crockpot ) - Small mixing bowl
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Funnel
- Clean bottles or jars with air-tight lids
- 1 cup mild olive oil
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup packed chopped fresh herbs (reduce to 1/4 cup if infusing rosemary)
- Turn off the heat and allow the oil and herbs to cool for about 1/2 hour.
- Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
- Allow to cool completely and then decant into bottles using the funnel to avoid drips and spills.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to one week. (Note that olive oil becomes cloudy under refrigeration but will be clear again once at room temperature).
- A dip for crusty French or Italian bread
- Drizzled over fresh tomatoes
- The oil in which to sauté bread cubed for croutons
- The oil in which to prepare an omelet
- Drizzled over cooked, roasted asparagus or cooked carrots
- Used to garnish fresh pea soup
- Stirred into chicken salad
- Used to sauté fish fillets
- Make an omelet
Sauté bread cubes for croutons- Garnish soups
- Brush on any grilled meat or fish
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Is Spinach Quiche an Oxymoron?
A 'traditional' male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater or Sensitive Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner to demonstrate his empathy with the Women's Movement. And then he would wash the dishes.
The antithesis of "quiche-eater"? Well, it's Popeye, of course. Long before Superman, Batman, or even Captain Marvel there was Popeye--a squint-eyed cartoon-character sailor with enormous forearms. Despite his grumpy-looking exterior, he was kind of heart and engaged in fighting only when forced into righting a wrong. And, he gained his super strength from eating spinach.
So, is spinach quiche an oxymoron?
Speedy Spinach Quiche
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained well
- 1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle both cheeses over the bottom of the unbaked pastry shell. Top with spinach mixture. Beat eggs, cottage cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl to blend. Pour over spinach. Bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.
French Onion Chicken and Pasta
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