I ultimately decided on Focaccia with Italian seasoning on top. I brought in some olive oil and seasoning for dipping. Judging by an almost empty container before noon, I think it was a hit. I forgot to take a picture last night after it came out of the oven, but fear not! I know I will be making it again soon. I think next time I going to try some sliced black olives on it. 

My favorite pizza is from Aurelios from the old oven. The sauce and crust really makes the pizza. When I moved out of my parent’s house I started my quest to replicate the sweet but slightly bitter red gold that haunted my dreams. I tried different stages of tomatoes (crushed, whole, sauce, puree) and lots of sugar. After trying every spice I could think of, I was ready to give up until I stumbled upon a forum thread talking about the famous sauce. The secret ingredient (debatable) is malt extract or beer. I really didn’t believe it, but I’m always willing to try new things. After some trial and error on how much beer to add. I am proud to report that I came up with a very close clone.

I ended up making a run to Trader Joe’s last night with a friend (who is awesome!) and stumbled upon dough balls. I was intrigued by the concept and I bought a ball to try it. It seemed really sticky in the bag so more flour will be needed when it is time to prepare the crust.

I followed the instructions for the pizza dough and used the sauce I made. I was going to add black olives, but in the interest of fairness, I decided to hold off on them… this time Pizza Sauce recipe to follow.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

• (1) Bottle of Beer, Your favorite brand (I went with what I had in the fridge)
• (1) 28oz-29oz can of Tomato Puree
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Basil
• 1 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 2 Tbsp Sugar

1. Combine all ingredients into a medium sauce pan and blend with a whisk.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat. Let simmer for 1 hour to reduce.

One thing that I have learned is that in order to become a better cook, you have to expand what you can make. It may seem like a challenging task, but once you learn how to make a dish, it can be expanded. Ingredients can be swapped out and something new can be created.

This is a pretty simple dish to make. The ingredients are easy to obtain, but they can be swapped out. I ended up using Italian sausage instead of ground beef and a vodka sauce instead of just plain tomato sauce. The filling was enough for 4 peppers, but after giving 2 to my parents to try, i was told i may need to double it when i make it again. The recipe is after the jump

Stuffed Peppers

Makes 4

Ingredients:

4 Green Peppers (you can use any color)

1 Lb. Bulk Italian Sausage

16 oz. Creamy Vodka Sauce

1/2 c Brown Rice

1 c water for the rice

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

Mozzarella cheese is optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Prepare rice according to the package.
Remove the tops and seeds from the peppers and rinse in cold water.

Brown your ground beef or sausage in a pan and break into small crumbles. Drain excess grease from the meat.

In a medium bowl add meat, rice, 8 oz of sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix thoroughly until well coated.

Add a little water to the bottom of the baking dish. The water will help the peppers steam and get a little soft. Place the peppers into the baking dish and spoon the mixture into the peppers. Be sure to place an even amount in each pepper.

Add a spoonful of sauce to the top of each pepper and cover with foil.
Bake in the oven for one hour. With five minutes remaining remove the foil and add a pinch of cheese to the top of each pepper and place back in the oven for the remaining 5 minutes.

Remove and let the peppers sit to cool just a bit.

Serve and enjoy!

See that wasn’t so bad after all!