I've taken advantage of it the last couple days by heading out onto my deck, with my book, and a margarita while Growly Bear has been having her afternoon nap.
Yesterday, when I noticed that it had all of a sudden gone from warm to almost hot, I decided I needed a special beverage in celebration! I went and rooted through the back fridge to see what was stashed back there. I came across a bottle of pre-mixed margaritas that must be almost 2 years old! It got pushed to the back of the fridge when I was pregnant and then breast feeding seeing as tequila consumption is somewhat frowned upon when growing and then nourishing a tiny human.
Lucky for me though, I'm pretty sure tequila never goes bad, and it was as delicious as the day I opened it... whenever that was. It could have used a couple ice cubes, but I was unfortunately out of luck seeing as all my ice trays are always filled with whatever batch of baby food I happen to be making that day. So I just slammed that baby back before it had a chance to cool off, and it was all good.
Due to the lovely weather, I didn't have much interest in making a big dinner. So I made a fun little recipe I found on Pinterest instead. I of course changed it up a bit, becasue it's nearly impossible for me to follow a recipe exactly. So, I've included my version at the end of this post. It's super yummy served with Caesar salad! I hope you enjoy.
Love and Hugs!
1 3/4 cup warm water
3 tsp instant yeast
3 tblsp olive oil
4 cups flour (I used 2 cups white, 2 cups whole wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1) Mix warm water, yeast and olive oil in the bowl of the mix master, and let stand until bubbly. About 10 mins.
2) Measured flour and salt, and add to warm water. Mix at low speed, using the paddle attachment. Once the dough is formed, remove and kneed on floured surface until no longer sticky. Place in a greased bowl, cover with clean tea towel, and let rise for 2 hours.
3) Punch down and divide dough in half. Place the half that you aren't going to use in a Zip-Lock bag, and refrigerate if you are going to use it within 2 days. Place in the freezer if you plan to use at a later date.
20 slices of good quality pepperoni
20 cubes of good quality motzza cheese
For Topping
Olive Oil
Salt
Seasoning/herbs of your choice (I used Focaccia seasoning)
Grated cheddar cheese - about 1 cup
Extras
Your favorite pizza or marinara sauce for dipping
1) Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate.
2) Divide the pizza dough into 20 equal sized pieces.
3) Flatten each round of dough so that it's roughly the same size as your slices of pepperoni.
4) Wrap the cheese cube in the pepperoni, and wrap the dough around the pepperoni/cheese bundle. Pinch the edges together so there is no seam, and place in the greased baking dish. Repeat. All of the dough pieces will be touching each other in the pan. It will looked crowded, but it's suppose to be.
5) Brush the tops of the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning, and grated cheddar. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce if desired.