Thursday 23 December 2010

guess what- chicken butt. i don't have a recipe for that. yes it's been awhile. i've been busy doing the art thing. still cooking up a storm i just don't have time to post all the treats. right now i'm off to eat some cheesecake and then back to house work. will try to post more in the new year. promise

Monday 22 November 2010

yes, it's been awhile i know. things are busy over here. i have like 2 online shops and 4 different blogs plus a 3year old to take care of. eventually i'll post here more, probably after christmas. i have been cooking up a storm as always. my new thing is making jam. i've made pineapple lime and strawberry/lime/mint recently. they were awesome. i had a request for chili so here you go.
i've used this recipe to make a good sweet potato chili
it needs some adjustments that i don't have time to post right now. you also don't need a crock pot, i just do mine in a pot on the stove.

beef chili
-----------------
ground beef- two fists full
1 small onion chopped
1/2 pepper(any color) chopped
1 can chopped tomato
1 can kidney beans
beef stock cube
chili powder
garlic powder/onion powder
tomato paste

--------------------------------------
list of optional things
ground cumin
chipotle flakes
lime juice- splash
cayenne pepper
can of beer
fresh chopped garlic
cilantro flakes
--------------------------------
medium heat your pot with a little oil, add the beef, onions and peppers, stir around. you want to brown the meat. when the meat is about half way cooked, add all your spices/seasonings. when the meat is good and brown add the beans, tomato paste and tomatoes. now you can either add a tomato can worth of water or a tomato can worth of beer. turn the heat down to low and let simmer on the stove for a few hours. when it's nice and thick, eat. make a box of jiffy corn bread to go with it.
-------------
with  your spices you want about a tablespoon of the chili powder and 1/2 teaspoons of the other stuff. go easy on the cayenne pepper, just a super tiny amount if you don't like spicy food.
i usually get 4 servings, freezes great

Sunday 17 October 2010

i'm on vacation, back in novemberish

Wednesday 22 September 2010

yes i'm still here and yes i'm cooking like crazy. today's adventure was making brownies from scratch. i think i cooked them a bit too long but the end result is edible. i got a basic recipe off of allrecipes and then modded it.
brownies
the recipe i went with is
1/2 cup sugar
1cup flour
1/3cup coco powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup veg oil
2 eggs
1 tablespoon golden syrup(corn syrup/karo syrup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

i mixed the dry and in a different bowl i mixed the wet. then i dumped the wet into the dry and mixed them together. i dumped the batter into my 9X9 greased baking dish. cook at 350degreeF(180degreeC) for 25min

stupidly easy and will fix that chocolate craving.

Thursday 26 August 2010

i did a mexican night a few weeks ago when we had quests over. i finally found a white sauce like the kind we get at the local mexican place. it's super easy and delicious. good with plain old corn chips
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mexican-White-Sauce/Detail.aspx
i also did some spanish rice to go in the burritos. i used 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water, this was more than enough for 4 adults

1 cup of rice
2 cups of water
1 green bell pepper diced up
1 small onion diced up
cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, tomato paste, black pepper
i put everything in a sauce pan with a little oil except the water and tomato paste
i saute the stuff until the veg starts to soften up. then i add the water and the tomato paste. bring to boil and then turn down to low, simmer off the water like cooking regular rice.
raw sauce. i am intruged by this recipe. someone posted it up on the bored housewife forum the other day. i think i will make this weekend
raw sauce (tomatoes, green peppers, squash, onions, basil and sea salt, all blended into a chunky sauce) with a sprinkle of feta.)
i have all of those things. you serve it over pasta i guess.
today i am making ratatouille. i'll do jon a chicken breast(marinated in balsamic salad dressing, wrapped in foil and baked in the oven)
the ham hash brown quiche the other night was a big hit.

Tuesday 24 August 2010

i made this today
ham hash brown quiche
recipe mod: i made my own hash browns since this is england and the frozen hash browns here just aren't right. plus there are none in my freezer and i wasn't going all the way to the store when i have a load of potatoes already. so i got 3 medium sized potatoes, peeled them and grated them with my cheese grater. easy. i browned them up in my stainless steel frying pan. i also used red peppers instead of green and skipped the mushrooms- we're all out. i think that's it, i pretty much followed the recipe. oh i left out salt. i figured the ham was salty enough. husband should be home shortly to eat it. i have no clue what i am having for dinner. i think maybe french fries and curry sauce.
there's a lot of food in my fridge. my fridge is unhappy. things are not being eaten. i had a big container of plums on my counter for like 2 weeks, no one was eating them. i cut them up and made plum sauce. i'll put that in the freezer and thaw as needed. it mixes nicely with yogurt. i am also making a batch of strawberry sauce.
how do you make fruit sauce? a refresher for those who are new
fruit sauce: plum
cut your plums in half, remove the stone, cut the halves into smaller chunks. place fruit chunks in a sauce pan with a little bit of water. turn the burner on medium, bring the pan to a boil. reduce the heat to low. cook long enough that all the fruit is soft. remove from heat and let cool. blend with your stickblender. stir into plain yogurt and eat. you can also make all fruit popsicles.
fruit sauce: strawberries
wash and hull your strawberries. put in a sauce pan with a little water. turn the heat on to medium, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. let cool, blend with the stick blender. super easy, just like the plum sauce.

Monday 23 August 2010

ok, i know updates have been sparse lately. i've got lots of different things going on but mostly i'm just lazy. it's way more fun to eat the food than take pictures of it and write about it. i have been cooking up some awesome stuff lately though.

Sunday 22 August 2010

indian night

we're having guests over and it's my husband's birthday. for his special meal he requested indian food. i don't cook much indian so i dug around on the internet for some recipes.
indian style ice cream
if you've never had kulfi you are missing out. it's super rich and damn tasty. best of all it's stupidly simple to make. i poured mine into popsicle moulds. when it was time to serve the ice cream i plunged the moulds into boiling water for a few second and then used a fork to fish the ice cream out.
mods i made to the original recipe- skipped the nuts and used whole cardamom pods instead of powder. you can skip the pods too, they don't really add much.
pilau rice
the husband really likes pilau rice so i dug up a recipe and made him some. mods to the recipe: i used 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon because i couldn't be bothered to buy sticks. i didn't bother crushing the cumin seeds and i used 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme. tasted great.
samosas stupidly easy to make just very labor intensive. lots of rolling and folding and stuffing. i made these up the night before, deep fried them and kept them in the fridge. when it was time to eat i put them on a baking tray in the oven for 10min. mods to the recipe: i used frozen mixed veg instead of lamb. i cooked some onion and finely diced potato in a pan for about 10min, add 2 cups frozen mixed veg and followed the rest of the recipe. these turned out awesome.
i also did a couple dips for the apps.

sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 red chili
1 green chili

add the water and sugar to a sauce pan, stir and heat on medium. let the mixture boil away, it will gradually reduce and thicken. when the mixture coats a spoon and has the consistency of cough syrup, take off the heat to cool. deseed the peppers and thinly slice. add slices to the sauce just after you remove it from the heat.
ok notes about this sauce. it can be dangerous to make. boiling hot sugar water will burn the crap out of you if it gets on your skin. chili peppers are hot, use gloves or pay the price. make sure you wash your hands very well after touching them or you will be sorry. if you screw up and over cook the sauce like i did, don't worry. i let the sauce sit on the counter over night and it separated out. the chilies and some clear liquid floated to the top while the granulated sugar sunk to the bottom. i just poured off the chilies and liquid and it tasted fine.

-----------------------------------
cucumber raita
1 cup of yogurt(i used greek)
1/2 small onion- as finely diced as you can
about 1.5 inches of cucumber finely diced like the onion
salt, pepper, mint, cumin, chili powder, lime juice
(i do all my seasoning my taste and sight.) mix the onion, cucumber with the yogurt. add the rest of the stuff until it tastes nice. start off with like  a tablespoon of mint and 1/4 teaspoon of the cumin and chili powder
------------------
raita is good with samosas or as a veggie dip

Saturday 21 August 2010

stuffed chicken breast
ok, pretty easy stuff. i took a chicken breast and butterflied it. that's when you slice it in half but don't cut all the way through. the chicken breast looks like a book. i happened to have some left over sausage stuffing in the fridge so i piled that up on one side and then closed it up. i used a tooth pick to make sure the breast staid shut. i put a little oil, salt and pepper on the breast before i put it in a hot frying pan. i cooked the breast for a few minutes on each side just to get some color before putting it on a tray and sticking it in the oven for 15min to finish cooking. i cut it into slices before i served it to make sure the chicken was cooked.
the orange stuff in the middle is a mixture of sweet potato and regular white potato cooked up and mashed(butter, milk, salt/papper.)

Friday 20 August 2010

spinach roll. i didn't take a picture of this dish, i just freaken inhailed it. soooo damn good. this thing is totally half assed. basically i needed to use up the spinach and couldn't be bothered to concentrate so i threw this together. you get two servings

1/4 bag of spinach cleaned(washed and i remove the stems)whatever you have leftover in the fridge looking sad and wilted
handful of feta cheese
phyllo dough( i use the premade stuff from the grocery store.)
sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, basil, garlic paste
chopped onion, chopped bell pepper
------------------
saute the onions, garlic paste and bell pepper for about 10 min. add the spinach. spinach cooks quick
the phyllo dough comes rolled up, there are like 15 sheets. i unrolled the dough counted 5 sheets and then cut the 5 sheets in half. i rolled up the dough i wasn't using and stuck it in the freezer. so i had a square of dough 5 sheets thick. i brushed some oil on a baking tray and laid the dough down. in the center for the dough i placed my spinach mixture. i sprinkled some garlic powder and basil over top along with some sea salt and black pepper. i crumbled a bunch of feta on last. now for the tricky part. basically i rolled this thing up like a barrito. i folded up the top and bottom then i rolled it from left to right. with the roll coming to rest on the seam. since the tray was brushed with oil this got on the dough, saving me the trouble of having to brush it again before baking. i put this thing in the oven at 200degrees C and baked until the top got crispy and brown. 1/2hr or so? i wasn't paying attention.
note be careful with the sea salt. you just need a tiny bit if any. the feta is salty on it's own. i don't use salt much in my cooking so this was almost too salty for me.

Saturday 24 July 2010

oatmeal squares
2 3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup butter type substance
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 mashed banana
1 teaspoon cinnamon

grease an 8x12inch baking dish, preheat oven to 350

melt the butter in a sauce pan, mix in the brown sugar.
in a medium sized bowl mix the oats with the raisins, cinnamon. when the butter is melted pour the butter/sugar mixture over the oats. add the mashed banana and stir everything together. dump the mix into your greased baking dish. press everything down and bake for like 20min. take out from oven, cut into squares and eat. store in airtight container.
i made these this afternoon. pretty good. i'm going to see if i can get my toddler to eat them for breakfast since he no longer eats regular oatmeal.
yes, yes updates i know. right now i'm busy making and eating food.

Friday 16 July 2010

all the stuff i made yesterday was a huge hit. the pulled pork in bbq sauce turned out awesome. the homemade coleslaw was excellent. today was more cooking, trying recipes off allrecipes.com
my son has turned 3 and become a picky eater, total nightmare. today i bought some quinoa to see if that would work for breakfast. i made a sweet version, looks a little like tapioca when done. he didn't like it so i ended up eating it. did a batch of my granola bars, he devoured a bunch of those so at least i have something i know he will eat. did a sausage and tomato sauce for husband's dinner and a batch of homemade granola cereal. will post up links tomorrow

Thursday 15 July 2010

slowly getting back into the swing of things here. restarting the $75 a week food budget on saturday. (this week i've been restocking supplies to normal levels. i haven't been keeping track but i'm probably at around $100.) my son got back from his vacation yesterday. i've been doing some cooking this week, trying out a few new things.
since my inlaws are here i decided to pull out the large chunk of pork i've had in my freezer for awhile. it kind of looks like an unsmoked piece of ham with a thick fat cap. i don't know what pig part it's supposed to be. anyway i'm doing pulled pork bbq sandwiches for dinner with coleslaw and i guess french fries. i've got my starter recipes off allrecipes.com and modified them.
pork: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southern-Pulled-Pork/Detail.aspx
bbq sauce: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Nanas-Barbeque-Sauce/Detail.aspx
now i guess the traditional way is to cook the pork separate and then add to the bbq sauce just before serving. we'll see how it goes. i have made the bbq sauce before- with my own additions and it turns out really nice and lasts ages in the fridge.
going to go with this slaw recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Coleslaw/Detail.aspx
i've got an ass load of cooking still to do and don't feel like bullshitting around with fancy slaw.
also doing a batch of granola bars today.

Sunday 11 July 2010

katsu curry from cook yourself thin

For the curry sauce:

  • 1 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 600ml chicken stock
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Salt and pepper
---------------------------------------

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrot pieces and cook slowly for 10 minutes, with the lid on, giving the odd stir occasionally. You want to sweat the vegetables until softened and starting to caramelise.
2. Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook them for a minute. Slowly pour in the chicken stock bit by bit until combined (do it slowly to avoid getting lumps). Add the honey, soy and bay leaf then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes. The sauce will have thickened and taken on all of the flavours, although you still need it to have a pouring consistency. Add the garam masala, salt and pepper, then pass the sauce through a sieve. (if you like a chunky sauce so feel free not to strain it.)

Friday 30 April 2010

lots going on. working on trying to make some money. reopened my etsy shop and started up a new one to sell vintage photo downloads. as soon as i get some drawing done i've got a 3rd shop lined up for those. it would be nice to get some cash to cover the trip i'm making in a few weeks. so food blog will take a back seat probably until after i get back from my trip.

Monday 26 April 2010

just wanted to let everyone know the super talented beth over at hero design studio has launched her own cooking blog. she does a load of gluten free cooking. her food looks fantastic. so go check out tasty yummies

yes, yes, updates i know. i have been cooking and saving my receipts. lots of other stuff going on. in the past few days i have made: chicken finger, mozzarella sticks, BBQ pork chops, nachos and meat lasagna.

Thursday 22 April 2010

the inlaws are leaving this evening. i don't have to worry about cooking anything for them. i did make them a banana bread to take home with them, and a few others to give the rest of the family which live down the street: my brotherinlaw and aunty pat.(that's 3 banana breads) for my husband tonight i will make a chicken and veg stir fry served over noodles. quick and easy. not sure what i will have for dinner. i need to make a pot of veg soup but right now there is no room in our fridge or freezer to put anything.
went shopping today. i needed to get more walnuts for banana bread. i was very unhappy to see my local branch of julian graves is closing down to become a GNC. (gnc are their parent company, they also own the health food store holland and barret.) ugh. julian graves has the best prices on nuts, dried fruit and spices/seasoning. i am sooo annoyed. so i had to go to holland and barret to buy walnuts as graves was sold out of them. freaken £1 more expensive. i did stock up on a few things from graves since everything was 1/2 off and the guy gave me an additional 20% discount since he knows me. i bought a few things at tesco today too, baking stuff.
making a batch of granola bars later. first- nap.

Wednesday 21 April 2010

no cooking today. we're having curry for dinner. we happen to live right across the street from one of the best curry restaurants in town. they make amazing food.

Tuesday 20 April 2010

the guys are eating steaks at the pub. tonight i made a veggie lasagna for me and the motherinlaw. if you need instruction on how to do that check the tag labels that run down the side and click the lasagna one. it turned out awesome. i make good lasagna.

Monday 19 April 2010

roast leg of lamb. i cooked this just like i cook every other big slab of roasting meat. i cranked the oven up to 210degreesC. i plopped the joint in my roasting tray and sprinkled montreal steak seasoning all over it. i then banged it in the oven for 20min. after 20min i took the roast out and put some water in the bottom of the pan. i turned the heat down to 150degreesC and put the thing back in the oven. i let it cook for 2 1/2hrs before taking it out. i cut the meat off the bone and let the meat sit covered in foil in the roasting pan until the men came home to eat it. by all accounts the lamb was delicious. there were no leftovers.
i checked the lamb once during cooking to make sure there was still water, it was looking a little dry so i added more water.
super busy day. my son is coming home from a 2 week break at my inlaws. that means my inlaws are coming for a visit. i've got about 3 loads of laundry to get done. on the plans for today: banana bread. roast leg of lamb with all the fixings(whatever they are) a pot of veg soup would be a good idea. to kick things off this morning i made a batch of homemade deodorant. quick and easy, so far i'm smelling pretty good and not sweaty. it appears to work.
make your own deodorant
busy busy. have i mentioned how much i hate cooking lamb. gah. banana bread first.

Sunday 18 April 2010

made apple fritters a few minutes ago. super easy and damn tasty. i used this recipe: apple fritters
i cut the recipe in half. i had two apples that i bought yesterday with big bruises. i used those. i cut them up in little cubes instead of slices. i then used the oil i had left over from yesterday's corn fritter project. i think i might strain the oil and save it for another project next week. i am thinking about making my own cheese sticks. yeah, that could be a good project.

Saturday 17 April 2010

dinner got a thumbs up from husband man. the BBQ sauce was voted tasty. corn fritters were a hit.
made this recipe:BBQ sauce
i did a little adding, it's still slightly sweet but has a kick at the end. i hope a few days in the fridge will really bring the flavors out. i'm going to use it later in the week to cook this huge hunk of ham i got for cheap last week. more about that when the time comes. i used a bit of the sauce for husband's dinner tonight- BBQ chicken breast. will let you know what he thinks.
i also made this:corn fritters

i actually didn't change the recipe at all. they turned out great. i ate a sneaky one. they're being served at dinner which is awhile off. i'll warm them in the oven when it's time to eat. i let the batter sit on the counter for like half an hour while i slowly heated up my frying oil. what a tasty way to use up the can of corn that's been sitting in my fridge for most of the week.

Friday 16 April 2010

not a big cooking day today. husband wants a meatball sub for dinner. so i made meatballs this afternoon. super easy.

took a bit of ground beef, added onions and chopped garlic to it, along with some bread crumbs and assorted seasonings: salt/pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, basil and oregano. mixed it all together and divided it up into 5 lumps.

formed the lumps into balls and popped the balls in the oven for about 25min. all cooked. when it's time for subs i'll put the meatballs in some pasta sauce and let them simmer until nice and hot. slap them on a sub roll and away you go.
for myself i made a stuffed focaccia. so damn good. i had some vegetarian meat balls and pasta for my dinner.

Thursday 15 April 2010

tonight is another round of leftovers. husband will be eating some beef and beer while i will have a bowl of soup. i did manage to make my first batch of homemade ice cream today. results are surprisingly tasty.
my ice cream maker

yup, that's it. a toy ice cream maker bought for 50p, that's like 75cents. i buy toy cameras all the time and use those, why not try out some toy food production equipment?
i read this post and followed some of the tips.
i let my insert freeze for over 24hrs. i went out this morning and bought some cream since that's the only ingredient i didn't have. i put the cream in the freezer for about an hour. i put some milk in a pot with half of a vanilla pod- split and the seeds scraped and brought it up to a boil. i then turned down the heat and let it simmer for 5min before turning the heat totally off and letting the milk cool in the pan. when the milk was cool i strained it into a plastic container and put that in the freezer for about 20min. i took the insert out and put it in my little machine. i put the cream and milk into the insert and started cranking. the whole cranking part took about 5min. because the cream was so cold to begin with things quickly set up to form ice cream. when the mix looked pretty solid i scraped it out into a plastic container, covered it with some plastic wrap and pressed it down to get any air bubble out, put a lid on and popped it in the freezer.
this is what it looks like a few hours after going in the freezer. it's pretty solidly frozen. it tastes good and has a decent texture. i didn't add sugar to this batch, pretty much just because i didn't think to until it was too late. i should have put sugar in the milk when it was boiling so it would dissolve.
i scored some cheap strawberries today and i'm going to turn them into strawberry sauce. that will taste great over the ice cream. some of the sauce will also go into my next batch of ice cream which i will do in a few days.
what's in my ice cream?
  • 125ml of single cream
  • 125ml of whole milk
  • 1/2 a vanilla pod
shopping for today

Wednesday 14 April 2010

so last night was mexican leftover night. tonight is italian leftover night. i might make another stuffed focaccia. we'll see how things go. today's big project is cleaning my cabinets. everything has to be taken out, the shelves wiped down and then everything goes back in. i am a total food horder, so this could take time.( not a nutcase horder like the ones on tv, i just like to keep my house very well stocked. i could go into my kitchen and cook pretty much any recipe from any country kind of stocked.)
 step 1 take everything out
step2 wipe down the shelves and cram everything back in
continue until all cabinets are cleaned
i have a ridiculous amount of pasta. good thing summer is coming: all pasta salad, all the time

Tuesday 13 April 2010

today i bought an ice cream maker. i'm not a huge ice cream fan so why would i buy such a thing? it's aimed at little kids. it's plastic and you crank the handle. the paddles go around and stir the mix. ice cream is eventually produced. i have a toddler who looooves to spin things, crank things, watch things go around. he also loves ice cream. i figure this could be a fun thing to do this summer. best of all it was only 50p. yup, that's right. 50p bought me a like new ice cream maker in the box. it really doesn't look like it's ever been used. i washed all the parts. i'm thinking if i can get the drum in the freezer tonight, i can make banana splits tomorrow. you know, test it out and see how it works, plus use up the bananas i have sitting around.
tonight is leftovers.

Monday 12 April 2010

i made a southwest chicken stew kind of thing in the crockpot today. i just tossed in
2 chicken breasts
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 can chop tomato
some black beans i soaked over night
1/2 can kidney beans
1/2 can corn
1/3 cup of rice
1 onion diced

assorted mexican style seasoning- chili powder, chili flakes, cumin, cilantro flakes, s/p little bit of this, little bit of that
i let that stuff sit in the crock pot for like 5hrs. it made 3 good sized servings. husband man is eating it now and says- very tasty, needs more seasoning though. doh! because i'm vegetarian it's hard to check that things have the right flavors. i put a ton of chili powder and cumin in there but i guess it wasn't enough.

for guacamole i just do: 1 avocado with some finely chopped red onion, smokey salt, cilantro flakes and lime juice all mashed together.(put the avocado stone in the guac and cover the mix tightly, this helps keep it green instead of brown.)put in the fridge for a few hours. that usually gives enough for the 2 of us

for pico de gallo: 1 medium size tomato chopped, some finely chopped red onion, smokey salt, cilantro flakes, chili flakes and lime juice. mix together and let sit in the fridge for a few hours. again enough for 2
ranch sour cream: mix sour cream with ranch powder. how much? who knows. keep adding until it tastes ranchy. let sit in the fridge for a few hours. keep in mind the flavor will intensify as it sits in the fridge.

Sunday 11 April 2010

today's first use of the crockpot and a bit of a half asses attempt at that. husband decided to clean our oven as part of our big spring clean project. he had already planned on having beef and beer for dinner and pulled the stuff out last night. so now we have no oven for 24hrs and a meal plan that requires beef to slow cook for like 3hrs. what to do? crock it!
i'm just going to copy the recipe out of the book and how it should be made in the oven. if you want to crock it, do your own thing.
----------------
beef and beer from delia smith
2lbs chuck steak cut into cubes(we use whatever cheap beef we have)
3/4lb onions peeled, chopped and separated into layers
1 fat garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 well-heaped tablespoon of flour
1/2pt pale ale
salt/pepper

pre-heat oven to 275degreeF(140degreeC)
on the stove top heat your casserole dish- medium high, add some oil and brown your meat chunks in small batches. remove meat when browned and set aside. add the onions to the casserole dish and stir them around until the edges are browned. return the beef to the casserole dish(and any meat juices) add the flour and turn the heat down to low. get the onions and beef nicely coated in flour. gradually stir in the sale. while everything slowly comes up to a simmer add the thyme, garlic, s/p.
as soon as things start to simmer, give a good stir cover and put in the oven for 2 1/2hrs.
this dish cooks for 2 1/2hrs and does not require stirring or looking at. just cover it, put it in and leave it alone. you get a really nice thick sauce and the meat just falls apart in your mouth. good with rice or mashed potatoes. serves 4.
freezes well, so if you're cooking for 1 you can eat a serving and freeze the rest for later use. only the husband eats this dish so i usually just make it with half the amount of beef but keep the rest of the ingredients the same. he gets a dinner and then lunch later in the week.

Saturday 10 April 2010

i bought a crockpot, or slow cooker if you will. i've wanted one for ages. now i could very easily go to the store and buy a brand new one but i'm not that kind of shopper. there are very few things that i buy brand new. i try to buy as much as possible used. in england the best place to find usable pre-owned goods are charity shops.(thrift stores) used electrical goods must by law be tested before being sold in a charity shop. so while out on my daily walk around town i stopped in at a one day charity sale for the cats protection group. they're like a no kill shelter for homeless cats, very good cause. they didn't have much on offer but this huge crockpot caught my eye. my god it's huge. but it's only £5 and i really want one. oh what the hell. so i bought it.
also did the usual saturday morning shopping with the husband and the car. i kept the receipts. i'm waiting on my new printer/scanner to show up this week. once it gets here entering receipts will be so much easier. 
total spend for saturday is £33.08
including £5.16 on a bottle of vodka. now why would a person who doesn't drink need a bottle of vodka? for my homemade vanilla extract project of course. i used a 35cl bottle(the smallest one i could find in the grocery store and 2 vanilla pods split in half length wise.
vanilla extract

Friday 9 April 2010

gluten free chocolate cake, hell yeah! damn that stuff is so darn good.

1 100g bar of cheap dark chocolate
1/2 cup butter room temp
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup coco powder
3 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

break up the chocolate bar and melt in a double boiler( pot of simmering water with a large mixing bowl set over it) the steam comes up from the pan and slowly melts the chocolate. when the chocolate is melted add the butter and mix together
in a separate bowl mix the other ingredients together. add to the melted chocolate/butter bowl and stir everything together. put in a oven proof dish and bake at 150degreeC(300degreeF) for half an hour. eat it up, yum

for dinner i heated up some of the veg puffs i made a few weeks ago and stuck in the freezer. i brushed a little olive oil on them and banged them in the oven until they were golden brown. very tasty.

Thursday 8 April 2010

brussel sprouts
last week i scored a huge bag of brussel sprouts for 50p. the veg lady was selling them cheap because they were old. and then we had to go away for easter. so i've had 2lbs of old brussel sprouts sitting in my fridge, looking pathetic. the husband has been hacking and gagging every time he opens the fridge. i went through the bag today and took care of the problem. all things consider the sprouts are not in bad shape. cleaning 2lbs of sprouts is a real pain in the ass. i cooked them up and they look great. i even ate a couple, taste just fine. i'm going to freeze most of them for easy use later. cooking sprouts: you need the water to be boiling hard. add some salt and some baking soda to the water- cook away. the baking soda helps keep the green color. cook until tender. before mine went in the water they were this sad yellow color. after cooking, they are a pale green. one batch i'm going to mash up in some potatoes for a good side dish.
i really need to do the dishes. tonight's dinner is nachos or as my son calls them- sticky chips. i pulled out chili from the freezer for last night's dinner but my husband opted for pizza instead. so the chili will now go over some corn chips with some grated cheddar cheese for a tasty dinner. i need to make up a quick pico de gallo
guacamole and ranch sour cream.
what am i having for dinner? who knows. maybe nachos without the chili. i could do some refried beans with kidney beans.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

back from my break. going to ease into the cooking week. i pulled some chili from the freezer for my husband's dinner. i'm going to have a plate full of baked beans, chips(french fries) and cheese- english comfort food. i'm totally PMSing and on a mega carb binge. screw the diet.

Sunday 4 April 2010

on a short break. got a couple food mags. sitting on a couch watching shows about food and reading about food. i also eat food. food food food.

Thursday 1 April 2010

i know this week is rather haphazard. i'm trying to use up stuff in the fridge and freezer before easter. i might do some baking later. i'm thinking cinnamon rolls to use up the 1/2 a block of cream cheese i have in the fridge. tonight is pasta to use up the jar of sauce in there too.

Tuesday 30 March 2010

gah what to make for dinner tonight? the menu has been pretty beef heavy the past few days. i've got a recipe i want to try out that is beef based but i'm going to give it a shot with chicken instead. i found this recipe in a local food magazine.
beef(or chicken in this case) beer masala with onion bhaji dumplings.serves 4
  • lean beef cubes 450g
  •  1 onion chopped
  •  2 tablespoons curry paste
  • cauliflower 150g, cut up small
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  •  beer 300ml
  •  2 cloves crushed garlic
  • spinach 75g
dumplings
  • 1 onion sliced
  •  self raising flour 175g
  • butter/margarine 75g
1 in a large casserole dish place the beef cubes, onion, garlic, curry paste, cauliflower, spinach and ketchup
2 pour over the beer and mix well. cover and place in a preheated oven at 170degreeC for 2 hours, stirring half way through.
3 make the dumplings. cook the onion slices in a bit of oil for 10min until softened and golden brown. allow to cool a few minutes
4 in a bowl place the self raising flour and rub the butter in. you get a mix looking like bread crumbs. add the cooked onions. add 3 or 4 tablespoons of water and mix well. should make a smooth dough. form into balls(the easiest way to do this is just to keep dividing the dough in half until you get balls the size of quarters.  lump of dough, divide in half. 2 lumps of dough divide both in half, 4 lumps divide each in half and so on.)
put the dumplings in for the last 20min of the cooking time, leave uncovered for the remaining cooking time.
---------------------------------------------
so that's the recipe in the magazine. i tweaked it up a bit. i cut up 3 chicken breasts. i didn't use spinach since we don't have any in the house. i added 2 small potatoes and some broccoli that needed using up.  i also added some water(150ml or so) to the casserole since the ingredients were bulked up, i didn't want it to end up dry.
i cooked the dish up and fed it to my husband for his dinner. he said it was ok. he liked it but didn't love it. he said he wouldn't be sad if i lost the recipe. he liked the dumplings but felt they lacked flavor. if i do those dumplings again i would totally add a few things: a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of mild curry powder and some coriander flake would be a good start.
if you use beef the article says: braising cubes, chuck, blade or stewing cubes are all good. it's supposed to be good for cheap cuts that need a long cooking time. the beer works to soften the meat up while it slow cooks.

Monday 29 March 2010

tesco
  • plain chocolate X2 .27
  •  sour cream .78
  •  frozen chips(french fries) £1.12
  •  potato chips £1.16
 £3.60
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i splashed out on some potato chips. i thought for lunch i would do a cheese sub, potato chips make a cheese sub taste that much more awesome.
cheese subs are super easy. bake a partbaked baguette. chop up what you want to go inside- let, tom, onion, grated cheese.
spread out the length of the bread. i sprinkle a little smokey salt and black pepper over the cheese. i don't use mayo, but like a light spreading of butter on my bread. put the roll over the filling.
pinch firmly, i put my hands on either end and spread the fingers out so most of the roll is pinched closed and roll the sub over. most of the filling should be safely inside the roll. pick up whatever got left behind and stuff it in on top.
i have made more than my fair share of subs and this is one of the quickest, easiest ways to fill one. if you press the filling down with the back of your knife and then cut, it compacts things a little and the filling is less likely to spill out while you eat.
made a load of stuff today: chili, corn bread, banana bread(with chocolate chips). the chili is for nachos, so i had to do sides for the nachos: ranch sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.
----------------------------
banana bread
1 1/2cups flour
1 teaspoon each of baking soda/salt
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas- mashed
3/4cup brown sugar packed
1/3cup each veg oil/milk
1/2cup chopped nuts

1] heat oven to 350degreeF(185degreeC)
stir together floor, baking soda and salt in small bowl, set aside
2] stir together eggs, banana, brown sugar, oil, and milk in medium bowl until well blended.
add dry ingredients and nuts to banana mixture. stir to combine
3] pour into greased and floured(or paper lined) loaf pan. bake until wooden pick comes out clean- about 1hr
---------------
tip: use wooden spoon to mix things, no electric mixer needed
---------------------------------------------------

corn bread
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1/3cup veg oil
heat oven to 200degree C
combine dry, add wet, bake 20min or until golden brown.(i've got an electric fan oven, things cook faster)
yes, yes, updates i know. the past few days have been ridiculous. today i am making chili and cornbread.

Sunday 28 March 2010

tesco
  • .75% milk .65
  •  fromage frais .80
  •  loaf of bread .68
£2.13
----------------------------

didn't really cook much today but i sure as hell ate a lot. the past two days i've been so freaken hungry.

Saturday 27 March 2010

saturday shopping. for a week in where we didn't need to buy anything, we sure spent a lot of  money
aldi
  • diapersX3 £5.49
  • pull ups X2 £3.59
  • shave gel .99
  •  granulated sugar .75
  •  plain flour .33
  •  after shave £1.29
  •  mackerel fillets .59
  •  ravioli .35
  •  apples .59
  •  plums .59
  •  chocolate chips X2 .59
  •  tomato puree .33
total spend £30.64
---------------------------------------------
sainsbury's
  • diet coke 6pack X4 £2.85
  •  ella pouch X2 .59
  •  fruit puree X2 .95
  •  fruit puree .93
  • onion powder £1.05
  •  IPA(beer) £1.34
  •  curry sauce £1.89
  •  butt wipes X2 £2.58
  •  rusks X2 .85
  •  oaties X2 .85
  •  mini rusk X2 .79
  • basic corn chips .50
  • kid cheese crackers X2 £1.14
  • frozen pizza X5 £1.29
 total spend £33.95(£5.70 off the diet coke purchase)
----------------------------------
tesco
  • toilet paper(16 for the price of 12) £4.98
  • loaf of bread .68
total spend £5.66
---------------------------------------
that's £70.25, oooof. why did i spend to much money? diapers and baby supplies. we're headed to the inlaws in a few days and i wanted to stock up. my son will be spending close to 2 weeks there, he should have plenty of diapers and wipes now. most of our sainsbury's purchase was things for him. they are running a 1/3 off all baby things. whenever that deal comes on i stock up on snack treats for him.
husband wanted burgers for tonight's dinner. fine by me. he pulled out some ground beef from the freezer. when the meat was thawed i jazzed it up with some onion powder, garlic powder, barbecue seasoning, dried chili flakes. i formed the meat into patties and stuck them in the fridge. husband came home and cooked them up. he declared them tasty.

Thursday 25 March 2010

CHEESECAKE!
who doesn't love cheesecake? it's seriously awesome. that being said i have never actually made a cheesecake before. shocking i know but i come from a long line of cheesecake making masters. why make one when i can eat my mom's. well my mom isn't around any more. don't worry, she's not dead. she's living on a boat anchored off some far flung island. if i want yummy cheesecake it's up to me to make it. i found a kid's cookbook a few weeks ago. inside was a pretty straightforward cheesecake recipe. today i decided to try it out. of course i made some modifications. following directions, exactly is just not my style. i'll put down the directions from the book and then what i did, that way you can have 2 cheesecake recipes for 1 entry.
cheesecake
need a 8inch springform pan(but not really, other suggestions at the end)
  • 175g(6oz) digestive biscuits, that's the english version of a gram cracker
  • 85g(3oz) butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 340g(12oz) cream cheese: at room temp
  • 85g(3oz) sugar
  •  150ml(1/4pint) double cream (heavy cream)
  •  juice of 1 lemon
  •  1 tablespoon cornflour
oven temp 150degreeC(300degreeF)
crunch up the biscuits to fine crumbs. food processor? shove in a bag and beat with a rolling pin? whatever does the job
melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. when melted add the biscuit crumbs, stir together. pour into the bottom of your cooking pan and press firmly down.
bake the base for 20min

separate the eggs into 2 different bowls. in a medium sized bowl i put the eggwhite. in my largest bowl i put the yokes.
beat the egg whites to stiff peak stage. i used my electric handmixer.
in the large bowl with the yokes add the cream cheese. beat the two together. beat in the sugar, cream, lemon juice and corn flour. mix really well.
add the egg whites to the cheese mix. i did a small scoop  of whites to loosen up the cheese mix. then i added half of the remaining egg whites, stirred just enough to they were mixed in and then finally added the last half of the whites, again stirring just enough that everything was evenly mixed.
pour the mix onto the biscuit base and bake in your oven  for an hour. a knife inserted in should come out clean. turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven.(this supposedly stops it from cracking.)
ok that's the book recipe.
what i did:
instead of using cream i used fromage frais
fromage frais has like no fat, so that reduced the calorie count of my treat instantly. instead of lemon i used 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavor.
when i baked the cake i put a small dish of water on the bottom shelf. this helps keep things nice and moist. i didn't let the cake cool in the oven, cracks don't bother me. i made it to be tasty, not pretty.
ok, so you don't have a spring form pan. no big deal. i used one of those loose bottom pans. what do you do if don't have either of those? oh no, no cheesecake treats for you. or how about you double the amount of butter and biscuit crumbs and then press them out into a 9X13inch baking sheet. make the same amount of cheesecake mixture and pour over the crust. the cooking time should be shorter. when done cut into bars.
making cheesecake today. i have a recipe from a kid's cookbook. i'm going to make some alterations. will let you know how it turns out.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

so was going to make an orange custard cake with cream cheese frosting. while getting my ingredients assembled i failed to find the custard powder. someone used it all and never told me. great. no custard powder, no cake.  the baked treat choice was put to a vote and tomorrow i will make cheesecake instead.
husband's dinner was meat and ricotta manicotti and stuffed focaccia. i am loving the focaccia. i had a slice with my veggie soup.
working on potty training my almost 3year old. i think i have managed to convince him dried apricots qualify as a special treat reward for using the potty. we do a combination of rewards. usually it's stars on the chart, get 10 stars get a new car. or you can trade your star for a instant snack treat. most of the time he goes for stars, today it's all treats. i don't have much in the kitchen for early morning special potty treats. thankfully he accepted the apricots and keeps peeing and asking for more.

focaccia bread
dough

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
pre-heat oven to 430degreesF/ 220degreeC(i turned the oven on while i was rolling out the dough)

stuffing: whatever you feel like really. anything you eat on a pizza would be good
i cooked some fresh garlic, onions and peppers in a bit of olive oil. once soft i let them cool. i cut up some black olives and sundried tomatoes, added that to the onion/peppers. i had some ricotta in the fridge so that went in too.
in a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and 1/8cup of warm water(from your 1/2cup, just pour a little out into the yeast to activate it.) set aside for 10min. yeast should be frothy and bubbling up/growing in size. if after 10min your yeast looks exactly like it did when you started, throw it away and try again, the yeast is dead and your bread will not turn out right. usually it's just because the water was too hot.
in a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder. add in the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. mix together well. i used a kitchen fork, works just fine for mixing.
knead for 8-10min. the book says: on a floured surface. well i live in a small apartment, floured surfaces are hard to come by. i just kneaded the dough right in the bowl, no added flour. after kneading i lifted the dough up and brush some oil around the bowl and put the dough back in. i then covered it with a piece of oiled plastic wrap. put the covered dough in a warm place for 45min or until doubled in size.
45min the dough is puffed up, give it a good punch. take it out of the bowl, put it on a lightly floured surface(i use one of those flexi cutting matts, with some flour sprinkled on it.) and give it a quick knead. divide the dough into two equally sized balls.
roll out one of the balls till you have a 10inch disk. place that on a well oiled baking sheet. on top of the disk put down your stuffing. leave a border around the edge so you can seal your bread. i spread the ricotta and then just dumped the other stuff right on top. i sprinkled over some dried oregano and basil.
roll out your other dough ball to similar size, 10inches maybe a little larger if you have a thick filling that needs covering. lightly wet the border of the bottom disk with some water. cover with the top disk and press around the border. this should seal in your stuffing.
brush the top with olive oil. i sprinkled on some more dried basil and oregano and a bit of sea salt. that's optional though. bake in the oven 30min or until the top is golden brown.
you can see the with pictures entry here
go here for manicotti instructions, scroll down

Tuesday 23 March 2010

making some ricotta/veggie puffs in a bit. they will probably end up in the freezer. the husband wants left over lasagna for dinner. now do i make garlic bread or do i whip up another stuffed focaccia? tough decisions. stuffed focaccia might win.
picked up a cookbook aimed at kids today. there are a couple things in there i want to try. i think the first one will be a custard orange cake. i just need some cream cheese.
shopping for today
vegstand bag of mushrooms .50
tesco
  • plain chocolate 2 .27
  • oven chips £1.12
  • ricotta cheese .98
£2.64+.50  £3.14 spend today
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puff pastry veggie ricotta puffs.
first i cooked up some veggie. i used a bunch of stuff i had in the fridge
  • 1/2 red onion chopped
  • 1/2 eggplant chopped
  • 1/2 zucchini chopped
  • 1/4 green pepper chopped
  • 5 small white button mushrooms sliced
i tossed the veggies is my frying pan with a bit of olive oil and cooked them up. i sprinkled on some dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder
when the veggies were soft i turned the heat off and let them cool for an hour or so
i took the half a block of pastry i had left over from yesterday's cooking adventure and rolled it out to the size of my flexi cutting matt and then cut it into 6 sections
i put some ricotta cheese in the middle of each section and spread it around a bit- a rounded tablespoon worth. i sprinkled on some sundried tomato pieces and then about 1 1/2 to 2
tablespoons worth of the cooked veggies
to seal the puffs up i brushed some water around the border and just folded the edges in towards the center
when the puffs were all closed up i flipped them over so the seems were on the bottom(this helps keep them sealed)
i put my puffs in the freezer because i didn't want to eat them tonight. but if you're going to cook them right away i'd say, put them in a pre heated oven at 220degreesC
i would brush them with a little oil so they crisp up and brown nicely.
how long do you cook them? as long as it takes. keep in mind that the side with the seems is going to need a bit longer because the dough overlaps and is thicker
--------------------------------------------
i ended up making slacker garlic bread for my husband's dinner. i had a bit with my veggie soup. good stuff. for my son i made him a mix of beef lasagna, veggies i cooked for the puffs and some of the veggie soup. i blended it all together and the kid ate it up with a side of buttered toast

Monday 22 March 2010

today has been absolutely exhausting. toddler gave me the run around all day long. still managed to do some cooking. did my puff pastry tart and a batch of chicken fingers for the freezer.
tesco
  • tiramisu £1.98
  • chicken fillets(reduced) £2.79
  • .75% milk .65
  • pears .76
  • gelatin leaves £1.22
total spend £7.40. i didn't really need tiramisu but i want the tray it comes in for my new veg peeling scrap tray. being that it's tasty is just an extra bonus.

so puff pastry tart thing. i pulled a block of frozen puff pastry out of the freezer. i let it thaw and cut it in half. i put one half on a lightly floured surface and put the other half in the fridge for use tomorrow.

i rolled out the hunk of pastry to roughly 9x13inches and put it on my baking tray. i poked it with a fork all over and put it in a preheated oven at 220degreesC for 10min.

while the pastry was cooking i chopped up some red onion, courgette(zucchini), eggplant(aubergine), green pepper, and half the goat cheese roll i got yesterday for cheap. i put the veggies in a bowl and mixed them together with a splash of olive oil, some cracked black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a bit of thyme.

i took the tray out and the pastry had shrunk a bit- little surprising. i've never used this brand before. not a big deal though. i spread the veggie over the pastry and then placed the goat cheese slices around.

i put the tray back in oven and cooked at 220degreeC for 15min or so. i turned down the heat to about 180degreeC and cooked for another 10min. i then turned the oven off and left the tray in there. i checked on it from time to time while it was cooking to make sure it wasn't burning, no trouble.


chicken tender, fingers, nuggets
i make my own. they taste waaaaay better than pre made stuff you can buy in the store. basically you need some fresh chicken breast, pieces, mini fillets. i use basic corn flakes (basic is the english word for generic, cheapest of the cheap. i get a huge box for 49p, that's like $1.) crunch the corn flakes up to fine crumbs. i use my huge stainless steal ladle. mix some milk and a beaten egg together. lastly i get some flour and mix in some random seasoning. ok. dip the chicken in the milk mixture.

dip into the flour mixture and then dip into the milk mixture again. finally put in the crushed cornflakes, cover well and press down firmly so the cornflakes really stick. i use my fist. get all the chicken done like that and pop in your freezer. done.

take out as needed. i usually let the tenders thaw for a few hours and then shallow fry. i finish cooking them off  with about 5-8min in the oven. they make really great, good god i have no idea what to feed my husband dinners.
will get pictures up eventually. doing a puff pastry tart thing shortly. looks like my folks just popped up on skype so i'm going to chat with them while they sit on a boat in the middle of the ocean. what a world.

Sunday 21 March 2010

hit sainsbury's. i really only needed milk
  • basic peppers (600g) £1.27
  • whole milk .86
  • basic dark chocolate
  • white bread .70
total spend £3.10
i didn't really need need peppers, i have 1 1/2 in my fridge but it's getting harder and harder to find a 4or more pack of peppers that are mostly green(our preferred color) it's just that time of year. most of the bags only have 3 peppers and they are yellow/orange.
husband decided to have thai curry with fish for his dinner. husband makes good curry but i am super sensitive to the smell of fish. i spent most of the day trying not to puke my guts out. he decided the kind of fish he used didn't work with the curry flavors and the whole batch ended up in the trash. fine with me. i couldn't get that stuff out of the house fast enough. a can of air freshener later and i feel like eating again. i just had some baked beans on toast with cheese. sound weird to americans but it's a staple meal in england. when you don't know what else to eat, beans on toast with cheese is always a winner.

Saturday 20 March 2010

picked up a few things at tesco. i really only needed eggs
  • basic eggs(15) £1.46
  • natural yogurt (1kilo) £1.50
  • pasta sauce £1
  • goat cheese reduced .75
  • nestle crunch X2 .51
so that's £5.73. the goat cheese was half price because it's close to out of date. i stuck it in the freezer and will use it to make tarts next week.
epic cooking day. made mango sauce, red lentil soup, lemon bars and stuffed focaccia.
lemon bars
i used this recipe i found on allrecipes.com they turned out nice enough. next time i will cook my crust a little longer and use 1 cup of sugar in the lemon mix. it's a kind of involved recipe but actually pretty easy. the worst part was pushing the crust out to cover the pan.

stuffed focaccia bread recipe comes from the krishna cookbook i picked up the other day. i changed it a little bit so i'll just note down the recipe i made

focaccia bread
dough
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
pre-heat oven to 430degreesF/ 220degreeC(i turned the oven on while i was rolling out the dough)

stuffing: whatever you feel like really. anything you eat on a pizza would be good
i cooked some fresh garlic, onions and peppers in a bit of olive oil. once soft i let them cool. i cut up some black olives and sundried tomatoes, added that to the onion/peppers. i had a little ricotta and mozzarella left over from when i made lasagna the other day so i used that too.

in a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar and 1/8cup of warm water(from your 1/2cup, just pour a little out into the yeast to activate it.) set aside for 10min. yeast should be frothy and bubbling up/growing in size. if after 10min your yeast looks exactly like it did when you started, throw it away and try again, the yeast is dead and your bread will not turn out right. usually it's just because the water was too hot.
in a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder. add in the yeast mixture, olive oil and remaining water. mix together well. i used a kitchen fork, works just fine for mixing.
knead for 8-10min. the book says: on a floured surface. well i live in a small apartment, floured surfaces are hard to come by. i just kneaded the dough right in the bowl, no added flour. after kneading i lifted the dough up and brush some oil around the bowl and put the dough back in. i then covered it with a piece of oiled plastic wrap. put the covered dough in a warm place for 45min or until doubled in size.
45min the dough is puffed up, give it a good punch. take it out of the bowl, put it on a lightly floured surface(i use one of those flexi cutting matts, with some flour sprinkled on it.) and give it a quick knead. divide the dough into two equally sized balls.
roll out one of the balls till you have a 10inch disk. place that on a well oiled baking sheet. on top of the disk put down your stuffing. leave a border around the edge so you can seal your bread. i spread the ricotta and then just dumped the other stuff right on top. i sprinkled over some dried oregano and basil.

roll out your other dough ball to similar size, 10inches maybe a little larger if you have a thick filling that needs covering. lightly wet the border of the bottom disk with some water. cover with the top disk and press around the border. this should seal in your stuffing.

brush the top with olive oil. i sprinkled on some more dried basil and oregano and a bit of sea salt. that's optional though. bake in the oven 30min or until the top is golden brown.

take out of the oven, let cool a few minutes and then slice into wedges- eat up.

since it has cheese in it, the left overs i put on a plate, covered in plastic wrap and stuck in the fridge