Now all I need is a Vita-Mix

My CrockPot and my food processor are my two best friends right now. They are always there when I need them, and they never disappoint. So when I decided to use them both today for two separate meals, I knew I needed to give them props.

I decided to make a Black Bean soup in my CrockPot so I can have some healthy lunches during the week. Good thing I’m not a vegetarian because I wasn’t paying attention and used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. I realized as I was pouring it in that I grabbed the wrong one…oops! Oh well, no biggie for me. Since it’s still cooking, I’ll be sure to give you a full recap on the soup later.

On to the food processor.

I wasn’t feeling great this morning so Dennis used this as an opportunity to order Pizza Hut since he knows I don’t like it. No worries, I’ll make something else when I’m feeling better. After making a trip to Target to stock up on anti-bacterial stuff to take to work with me (and a trip to Trader Joe’s) I finally felt like eating. My amazing oats did me well, so at around 3 I decided to go for a run. A nice 5 miler with a trip to the gym in between…but my stupid Garmin keeps starting and stopping so my mile 3 to 4 was WAY off since it clicked back on while I was lifting and I didn’t notice it until something like 4 minutes had passed. Oh well. The rest of the run went well, and I’m noticing that my miles are getting quicker. I started out averaging at around a 10 minute mile a year and a half ago, and now my miles are averaging much closer to 9 minutes, which I see as a great improvement. (I have to send my Garmin back to the Garmin store so they can replace it but they said it could take up to 4 weeks before I get it back. GRR! However, it does need to be replaced since it’s only 2 months old and already screwing up on me. Sigh.)

When I got back I was wishing I ordered pizza. So I made my own.

In my trusty food processor with the dough adaptor went:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1.5 tsp. quick rise dry yeast
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1.5 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (about 105*)

I adapted this recipe from here and I halved it, knowing the pizza would be just for me.

Then I rolled it in a ball and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I’m not sure it did any good or not, since the dough did not rise at all.

Then I spread it out on my pizza stone with some flour and added my toppings:

• baby Bella mushrooms
• chopped onions
• fresh garlic
• goat cheese

Then I baked it for about 27 minutes at 375*. I say about because I first put it in for 20 and had to add another 7 minutes or so, but I can’t remember if it was exactly 27 minutes or not.

It came out very very thin, but not bad for a quick homemade crust.

As you can see, this halved recipe didn’t make quite enough to fit on my pizza stone. I ate half of the pizza and I’m still not full yet. Seriously, the dough was thin like a wrap. I think next time I’ll make the full recipe and see how that comes out. Still a good recipe though.

Now I’m off to finish laundry and getting everything together for the week. I don’t know about you but I spend half of my Sunday prepping for my week ahead. And every night I have to make sure my breakfast is prepped, my lunch is made and my clothes are laid out. Yes, just like my mom did for me when I was a child. Hey, some things don’t change!