Pizza night!!

Last night it was family pizza making night and everyone joined in. It was really good fun with flour puffing happily throughout my kitchen!! My family has diverse tastes and I often have to cook more than one type of dinner as I myself am the only vegetarian in the house, my youngest is super fussy and can't stand onions, peppers, mushrooms or anything spicy. My eldest luckily eats most things and my daughter doesn't like pizza. So our epic pizza making night ended up with a whole variety of dinners served, but as everyone was helping it didn't really make a lot of difference. 

The recipe for the pizza dough comes from Jamie Oliver's website, I use it whenever I make pizza or calzone, it never fails! And plus I love Jamie's recipes, he's super cool and I would love to invite him and his wife to a dinner party one day!! Better practise my cooking skills a bit more then!! 
Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough Recipe

I have written the recipe for Pizza and Calzone as this is what we made last night, Calzone is a folded pizza, follow which ever recipe you prefer! Feel free to add/change your own toppings that's what I love about making pizza as it's each to their own. 

Pizza and Calzone Recipe
Follow the instructions for making the pizza dough on Jamie Oliver's website, use this link to take you there.

Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough Recipe




Tomato Sauce Base

• 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
• tomato puree
• 1 red onion
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• dried basil and oregano
• olive oil

Chop your onion and fry in a small saucepan in the olive oil. When the onions are almost turning golden, add your sliced garlic clove. Stir around until the garlic is mixed well with the onions, add your can of chopped tomatoes. Squeeze your tomato puree in and mix in the dried herbs, a teaspoon of each. Add black pepper to taste. Let the tomato sauce come to the boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for approx 15 mins. Keep stirring the sauce while it is cooking as you do not want it to stick. Once the sauce has simmered for 15 mins take off the heat and let cool down. Once the sauce is cool, use a hand blender to whizz the sauce to make a smooth puree. 

Keeping stirring the tomato sauce

I used a hand blender 
to puree the
cooled tomato sauce

Toppings
These toppings are to make a Spicy Chicken & Chorizo Calzone (or Pizza)

• mozzarella
• cheddar cheese
• black olives
• easy chopped chilis
• peppers cut into thin strips
• onions, sliced
• pesto
• leftover roast chicken
• chorizo
• olive oil to drizzle

Assembling the Pizza

Grease some baking trays using a drizzle of olive oil, set aside. When the pizza dough is ready, roll out onto a clean board. Use a ladle to spoon the tomato sauce onto the pizza, now you are ready to add your toppings!!

My son added his 
own toppings for his pizza,
 ham and sweetcorn. 

Assembling your Calzone

Roll out your dough as if you are making a pizza, try to get the dough as thin as you can. Use the ladle to add your tomato sauce, using the back of the ladle to spread the sauce over HALF of the pizza base. Using a teaspoon, drizzle some of the easy chopped chilli over your base, depending on how hot you like you calzone you can choose how much chilli to add. Next add your sliced chorizo, scatter over the base, then your cooked chicken. Add your peppers, olives and onions. Place your mozzarella slices evenly across your base, then finally add your cheddar cheese. 

Take hold of the side of the pizza base that has not been decorated and fold over the top of your half pizza. Starting at one end of the calzone, press the two edges together and twist the dough into the inside of your calzone. Keep going until you have created a frilly edge all the way around your calzone. Place onto your baking tray and then drizzle with olive oil. 

Vegetarian Alternative

I omit the chicken and chorizo and add extra veggies, mushrooms taste great. I Personally prefer to add pesto to my calzone rather that chilli and just dot this on the tomato sauce base before adding the vegetables and the cheese. 

Cooking Times

The calzones will take 15-20mins in a hot oven (200 degrees) and the pizzas 12-15 mins. 

What to do with left-over dough? 

Make dough-balls!! Roll the dough into bite size pieces, place on a baking tray drizzle with olive oil, these take 8-10 mins. Serve with garlic butter or alioli, yum!!!



There's nothing else to do except, chill out with a nice glass of red wine and enjoy your time with your family!!

Our family feast!! 

The Spicy Chicken and 
Chorizo Calzone

My eldest son choose to 
have his spicy chicken 
and chorizo toppings 
on a pizza

My Little superstar!

My Little Superstar!!
A massive well done to my little man who got an A* in science for his first GCSE, he's just finished year 10 so next year he will sit his main GCSEs. We are very proud of him and his hard work this year! 

What's Cooking Today?

It's that time of the week when I am running low with food and I'm trying really hard to make do until Saturday when I do my weekly food shop. However hard I try to get my shopping list ready I still seem run out of stuff come Thursday, especially during the school holidays when our children are trying their hardest it seems, to eat us out of house and home!! 

I have been shopping at Aldi and this has had a massive impact on the weekly food bill, it is so much cheaper! Plus my kids don't like going there as there are no toys, games, clothes or CDs to look at. So leaving them at home with Dad again saves me money. I try to cook everything fresh and I very rarely buy processed foods. 

So today, what to cook when my cupboards are almost bare? I still have yet to cook my whole chicken so I'm going to base tonight's meals around that! I only have to cook for 4 as my eldest is out at his friends for dinner. 

I'm going to show you how to make Chinese style Chicken Fried Rice! A really simple family friendly recipe that is great for using leftover chicken, you can substitute the chicken for prawns, pork, beef or vegetables but my family likes the chicken version the best. The recipe below shows the ingredients for a serving for 2 people. 





What do I need?

• 150g Basmati rice (N.b this is the dry weight value for the rice) cooked
• 2 eggs
• half a cup of frozen peas (I prefer petit pois)
• 1 breast cooked chicken
• vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
• sliced spring onion to serve

I precook the rice in my rice cooker, this is my saving grace of cooking as I always seem to mess up cooking rice! The rice then stays warm whilst I am preparing the other ingredients. I would highly recommend investing in a rice cooker, they dont have to be expensive but they are a brilliant kitchen gadget to own. 

This rice cooker is only £12.49 from Argos! Bargain!

Follow this link to Argos

What do I do?
Precook your rice using a rice cooker, or alternatively cook your rice according to the packet instructions. Do not allow your rice to completely cool or be at room temperature before frying it as this can cause all kinds of problems, see link:Can reheating rice cause food poisoning? 

While your rice is cooking, beat the eggs in a cup or bowl, add some of the vegetable oil to your wok. When the oil is hot add the eggs and stir quickly using a wooden spoon. You want the eggs to become like scrambled eggs, be careful not to overdo them. Tip the eggs into a bowl and set aside. 

Cook your peas according to the packet instructions, I cook mine in the microwave for easiness. Try to leave them a little al dente then set aside. 


Next, you need to add the cooked chicken to the wok, add more oil if you need to. Add your cooked rice and stir quickly, then tip in your cooked eggs and peas. Add your soy sauce if using. Stir through everything, making sure everything is piping hot! 






That's it! Serve onto warmed plates and enjoy! 

Easy Chicken Fried Rice