Lemon Parsley Hummus and Pita Chips

Thursday night I was having some people over, and once again, I wanted to make a snack. Well, you should know now, a week into our relationship, that I am partial to dips. Especially to cheesy dips, with spinach and artichoke preferably. Yum!! But… it is the New Year, and people have had their share of cheesy indulgences over the past month or so. PLUS, one of my friends coming over can’t have dairy, and I always feel so bad when I make something she can’t eat.

So, I was looking around for some different recipes. I came across one on www.dinnerwithjulie.com. A word, first on the author of this blog, Julie VanRosendaal. Julie is a cookbook author, turned blogger, still writing cookbooks as well. When I was in university, I worked at the Starbucks in Safeway for 8 months or so. Well, from our kiosk (which was rarely busy) I could see the small turn around stand of cookbooks that Safeway sold. On the top shelf, they got in this one cookbook called Grazing. I would go over and peek at it occasionally, and pine for it. (A university student working part-time at Starbucks in Safeway cannot afford cookbooks whenever they want them!) I am a snacker at heart! Put a bowl of something salty in front of me, and I will eat, and eat, and probably eat some more. My mom calls me a grazer. So, obviously a book like Grazing is something that called out to me. For Christmas that year, my grandma gave me $20! PERFECT! So, I bought the cookbook, and thus began my relationship with it.

This book is falling apart, written in, and recently placed in a puddle on my counter, and water damaged. BUT, I love it. It has soooooo many good recipes in it, I can’t even begin to describe it. I have read it so many times it is practically memorized. You must check it out! I looked on Amazon and there is an updated version. I emailed Julie to ask her about it, I can keep you posted.

Julie has also written 2 other cookbooks that I have, One Smart Cookie and Starting Out. Starting Out is a wonderful cookbook that I give to all new brides, or people who are learning how to cook. Seriously, great. Ok, I could go on for a long time about my admiration of Julie, but I’ll stop now.

So, on www.dinnerwithjulie.com I came across a recipe for Lemon Parsley Hummus. I made it and it was amazing!

I also made homemade pita chips. There is a local chef in the Fraser Valley, Chef Dez, who gave the recipe for the pita chips at one of his cooking classes at Limbert Mountain Farms in Agassiz. Go, if you can. You get dinner, wine, dessert and a cooking demonstration. Seriously fun!

Lemon Parsley Hummus
recipe from Dinner with Julie

1 small bunch parsley, chopped (no stems!)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 19 oz can chickpeas, drained
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic
2-3 tsp sesame oil
pinch salt

Put parsley and olive oil in food processor. Pulse until parsley is finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients, and process until as smooth as you like it. Taste and adjust seasoning. I added quite a bit more salt after tasting it. You can serve it right away, but it tastes way better a day or two later! The garlic also gets a bit more pronounced over time, so be careful adding too much at once. And yes, use fresh garlic. I don’t think garlic powder will cut it here. Serve with pita chips (recipe below).

Pita Chips
(recipe from Chef Dez)

Buy a package of pitas from the grocery store. Make sure that they are the pita pocket kind, not the thick Greek kind. Now, there are two ways to make them into chips, both work, and I don’t have a preference. The first way– take out a pita, and cut it into eighths. Separate each eighth into two chips by ripping at the seam. The second way– take your knife and cut around the outside of the pita, so you will separate it into two halves horizontally. Then, cut those rounds into eighths. Put the chips on a baking sheet, smooth side up. Brush the chips with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in a 450° oven for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown. Watch these carefully, they burn FAST (I learned that the hard way!). Serve and enjoy!

Off to make dinner!
The Hungry Teacher

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Jan 8

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Dinner tonight. It’s Friday, which has more often than not been pizza night at our house. One of our all time favourite pizzas is BBQ Chicken Pizza! It’s a nice change from your average tomato based sauce, and it is so easy to make.

Tonight, I went to the grocery store and picked up a rotisserie chicken to use. I cut/shredded the meat to put on the pizza. I always save my chicken carcasses to make stock out of later. It tastes so good, and it always makes me feel good to use ALL of my chicken! Grandma would be so proud! I came home and I had some mushrooms that were a little… sad. I cut them up anyways and threw them on the pizza.

I use a Pampered Chef Large Round Stone to make my pizzas on. Pampered Chef stoneware is incredible. If you don’t have any, you need to get some! It cooks food evenly, without burning it! You don’t need to turn your pan if your oven heats a little bit uneven. I use mine for cookies, fries, cinnamon buns, pizza, bread, etc. I use a 9X13 size roasting stoneware the most, with my flat rectangle stone coming in a close second.

I have made this pizza many times before and it usually turns out good. It lacked something tonight though, and I’m not sure what. I think next time I will buy a spicy BBQ sauce (I used Steakhouse this time). We like food with a bit of a kick. I sliced the onions and threw them on raw, but next time I’m going to saute them in a bit of olive oil first. I kept thinking tonight that a little feta crumbled over top would have made a delicious addition. I think it would have added a little bit of saltiness and tang, which would have contrasted nicely with the smokey sweetness of the BBQ sauce.

I used some bread dough that I had made and frozen for my crust. It was disappointing, but I’m not sure why it didn’t turn out the way it should have. It was bland and really tough. I have frozen dough before, but… this one just didn’t work. It happens:( I’ll do some more research before I freeze dough again. Maybe I’ll be able to figure it out. If you have any suggestions or ideas, let me know! I do have a couple of amazing recipes for pizza dough that I’ll share at a later date. So, here’s the recipe.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Makes 1-9″ or 10″ pizza

Enough dough for one pizza crust
Cornmeal, to sprinkle on baking sheet or pizza stone.
1-2 cups of chopped, cooked chicken
1-1/4 cup BBQ sauce, divided
1/2 cup of onions, sliced
4 mushrooms, sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Sprinkle baking sheet or stone with cornmeal. Roll or stretch dough onto the sheet.

2. Mix 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce with the chicken. Spread remaining BBQ sauce on pizza dough.

3. Top with chicken, onions, mushrooms and cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and beautiful. Enjoy!

The Hungry Teacher

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Jan 6

Chicken Parmigiana and Five Minute Tomato Sauce

So, I left for work this morning, not knowing what I was going to have for dinner. I hate that feeling. Really, wheneverI get a moment throughout the day, I think about what I’m going to have for dinner. I was paging through 3 or 4 cookbooks when I ate breakfast, and saw the recipe for Chicken Parmigiana. I thought to myself, “well, maybe”. But in typical Hungry Teacher fashion, I was indecisive. Well, sometime after school, I made up my mind and stopped at the grocery store on the way home.

By the way, in case you were wondering, the picture at the top of the page (the header) is one that I took myself in Florence. When we were strolling the little curving streets, taking in the sights and sounds of an Italian city, we stumbled upon this small market. It was truly an amazing sight! Sigh. I love Italy and can’t wait to go back.

This recipe is so good! It tastes amazing, and is not too much work. You must try making the homemade tomato sauce. It is sooo delicious and honestly takes 5 minutes to cook.

Chicken Parmigiana
(from Great Food Fast)
Serves 4

3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 chicken cutlets or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, halved horizontally (about 1-1/2 lbs)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups of 5 Minute Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices

Heat the broiler. Combine the breadcrumbs and the Parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.

Spread the tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10×15 inch baking dish (I used a 9×13 pan, but the chicken really has to be crammed in). Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 4 chicken cutlets in the skillet; cook until golden (1-2 minutes on each side). Transfer the browned chicken cutlets to the baking dish, placing them on top of the sauce. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken cutlets.

Top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella. Broil about 4 inches under the heat until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Leftovers are great heated up for lunch the next day. Yum!

David Rocco’s Mom’s Five-Minute Tomato Sauce
I adapted this recipe from David Rocco’s Dolce Vita. This is a wonderful, Italian-Canadian cookbook. The book is simply gorgeous and David’s writing is interesting and fantastic.

Makes about 4 cups, enough for 4 servings of pasta

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Chili pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomato puree or plum tomatoes ( I used diced tomatoes today. If you crush them up with a spoon a bit as you are making this recipe, it turns out just fine!)
Salt, to taste

Heat up olive oil and brown the garlic a bit. Add some chili flakes if you want a little extra heat (a delicious option in my opinion). Add tomato puree and some salt and let simmer for 5 minutes. If you have fresh basil (sigh, I cannot wait until summer!), tear some up and throw it in.

By the way, if you use this sauce for the Chicken Parmigiana, you will have 2 cups of sauce left over. You can freeze it (for around 4 months) or refrigerate it (for 4-5 days) and use it for something else. I had some extra tomato puree in my freezer and I threw it into the sauce. It turned out great!

Enjoy!
The Hungry Teacher

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Jan 6

Blueberry Coffee Cake

So, last night I had some company coming over for a meeting. It is always nice to serve treats when company is coming over. But, what to make when you get home from work at 5:00 and don’t really want to go to the grocery store again?

The answer to that question is Blueberry Coffee Cake. I got this recipe from my mom. Now, to tell you the truth, I have no idea where she got it from. My first memory of this coffee cake is when we had photographers to our house to come take our family portrait. I think it was in 1995 or 1996. All of us (mom, dad, sister, brother and me) wore denim. Yes, denim. It’s quite the portrait. My parents still have it in their family room. So, my mom made this coffee cake to serve the photographers, and allowed us kids to try a piece (it was a big deal to have an adult dessert back then). I fell in love, and I was not certain if I had ever tried a sweet treat that was so delicious. By the way Mom, this is a true story. And thank you so much for this dessert recipe!

This coffee cake is a wonderful snack to serve with coffee or tea in the evening. It is also great with a recess coffee (I know that there are people out there that have coffee breaks, but in elementary school, we have recess).

The only thing about this recipe is that it is messy to eat. The cinnamon sugar topping crumbles a bit and makes a mess. BUT, I think that the mess is totally worth making and eating this cake. Try it. You won’t regret it.

Blueberry Coffee Cake
recipe from my mom, Kathy Tolmie

Makes an 8×8 pan (at least 12 pieces)

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup blueberries- fresh or frozen
Topping
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in eggs and vanilla until they are combined. Mix in milk, flour and baking powder just until combined. Fold in blueberries. Pour mixture into 8×8 pan and spread out evenly. Mix topping and sprinkle on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Note: this took closer to 45-50 minutes to cook in my oven). Let cool and enjoy!

XOXO,
The Hungry Teacher

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Jan 5

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Yum. Is there anything better coming home to a house smelling of a delicious dinner already cooked? Well, it depends on who you are, but I don’t really think so.

Last night, while my dinner was in the oven, I made Slow Cooker Taco Soup and put it in the removable crock from my crockpot and put it in the fridge over night. A lot of cookbooks I read say to quickly throw the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning before work. What time do these people start work? Probably not 7:45am (plus a half hour drive away). I value my sleep too much for sacrificing 15 minutes for dinner. I make the majority of my slow cooker meals the night before, and they always turn out just fine. I’m not sure if it matters, but I usually take it out of the fridge when I’m making my coffee, so it can warm up a bit before I turn the slow cooker on.

This recipe made a FULL crock of soup. We had 9 containers portioned out to go in the freezer for lunches. Yes, it freezes and reheats in the microwave very well!

So, here’s the recipe.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup
(Adapted from www.allrecipes.com)

Serves 8-10

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, with liquid

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

1 (12 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes (I used tomatoes with onions, celery and spices in them)

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

Sour cream, optional

Cheddar cheese, optional

1. Brown the ground beef in a medium skillet. Drain and set aside.

2. Combine all remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Mix to blend. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours.

3. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream and cheese, if desired. Enjoy!

XOXO,

The Hungry Teacher

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Jan 3

Here I Am!

Is the world ready for yet another cooking blog? I hope so, because The Hungry Teacher is bursting onto the scene! I’ve been wanting to start a blog for quite a while, however, I couldn’t think up a witty name that wasn’t taken! Well, today was the day! My husband and I were walking in the rain along the beach (of Harrison Lake), and discussing this very matter. By putting our brains together, we came up with The Hungry Teacher.

How did I decide on The Hungry Teacher for a name? It’s quite simple, really. 1. I am an elementary school teacher, hence the teacher part. 2. I love to eat the food I cook. I love to cook, but I also love to eat. So, there you have it. The Hungry Teacher. My favourite things to cook are probably appetizers and dinner. I enjoy baking, but I would much rather eat salty snacks than sweet baking.

I am slightly obsessed with cookbooks, and I own over 75. I love to peruse recipe books and websites.

The Hungry Teacher will document my cooking adventures, hopefully quite regularly. I will soon post a recipe or two, but a birthday party for a friend beckons me tonight, so some cooking adventures will have to wait.

Until later,
The Hungry Teacher

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