Two Recipes

As usual, I haven't stuck to a plan...which is to post recipes on my blog. I really don't have time to cook like I used to so lately it's been really quick, simple meals. But, here are two new favorites I have recently made:

"Di Fara" Pizza
(This is my super fast and cheap version of a great pizza we had in Brooklyn from Di Fara)
1 can Pillsbury Thin Crust pizza dough (oddly enough, they don't have it on their website)
1/2 cup olive oil (I didn't measure this...so probably not that much...just grab the bottle)
1 1/2 cup pizza sauce (my favorite is Prego Traditional)
1 cup Italian cheese (I get the cheapest bag of shredded at the store)
1 small bunch of fresh basil
Other toppings of your choice but use sparingly! I personally just eat it with cheese only.
Scissors
Large cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread out the dough in the cookie sheet. Pour pizza sauce and spread out. Top with cheese and other toppings. Tip: I use a litte more sauce than cheese, but not a lot of either. Drizzle entire pizza with olive oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes. When pizza is hot out of the oven, snip fresh basil over the top to your taste. I use quite a bit. Drizzle with more olive oil over the entire pizza. Enjoy!

Now here are the obvious major differences. Mr. DeMarco only uses fresh ingredients from Italy. All of them. He uses fresh mozzerella and does add a couple of handfuls of shredded fresh mozzerella on top when it comes out of the oven. But, I'm not a huge cheese lover so I skip that part.

Here's the second recipe from my best friend. Her oldest son's father is Lebanese and while he doesn't see that side of the family any more, he does still ask for some of the traditional food that his grandma made. This is my take on what she told me...a lot different.

Lebanese Rice (I don't know what it's called)
1 1/2 cups wild rice
3 1/2 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 T. Chinese 5 spice (she uses the traditional Arabic 7 spice, but I was at Target shopping)
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bag of fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms
1 lemon
Olive oil to taste

Bring the water to a boil and let the bouillon cube dissolve. Add 5 spice, garlic cloves and rice to water. Turn heat down and simmer for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and rice isn't crunchy (it's really hard to cook wild/brown rice!). Add in mushrooms. Add in 3/4 of the bag of fresh baby spinach and stir to wilt (easier to add some spinach, let it wilt, add more and so on). When all the liquid is absorbed, plate however much you would like. Squeeze a little lemon juice and top with a drizzle of olive oil.

This would be a great side dish, but I ate it as a full on meal! It was lacking something that I'm sure the Arabic 7 spice has in it. But, I can't place my finger on it. I think it needed a little heat. Enjoy!