Japanese pizza or pancake, marinated and roasted lotus root slices,grapes and strawberries

Japanese pancake (okonomiyaki) : This is a savory pancake - a vegetarian version closer to japanese pancake or pizza. This is clean the fridge recipe...can be made with many vegetables.

3 cups cabbage thinly cut into strings, grated carrots 1/2 cup, sliced mushrooms, 2 tablespoon while wheat flour, 1/3 cup grated raw nagaimo root [optional or potato/taro root can be used], 2 teaspoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, salt. Mix it all together without any water. With few drops of oil make mini pancakes on the nonstick pan. Cook from both sides.

It already has ketchup but kids can eat enormous ketchup. This is a very good picnic food...lunchbox item.

Marinated and roasted lotus root slices : lotus root slices marinated in soy sauce + salt + sesame oil + rice vinegar and roasted on the pan.

Lotus root being a starchy root doesn't have much nutritional value...its different taste makes it a fun food to eat. Fresh lotus root is available at any supermarkets. Asian stores like Uwajimaya carry it in frozen sections too.

grapes and strawberries.

Pepperoni Pizza Bread

Pepperoni pizza but in small bites.  Yeah, I wish I could take credit for this but I am not that smart LOL

When I came across this recipe at Confessions of a Foodie Bride I thought "why didn't I think of that?".  It's so easy but such a great snack you will wonderful why you didn't think of it either.

Needless to say, I made it for lunch today and within 10 minutes there was only 2 small pieces left which, by the way, have now been eaten by the kids, so there is nothing but crumbs.....and the thought that I need to make it again.

I took a shortcut and used biscuits instead of the pizza dough, next time I'll make my own pizza dough and I think it will be just as good.

You can take the long route and make your favorite pizza dough and marinara sauce, or the short route and pick up your favorite pizza dough and red sauce from the store.

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread

Credit:  Confessions of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 lbs pizza dough (I used refrigerated biscuits)
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (I used  mozzarella sticks)
• 48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
• 2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.
2. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.
3. Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.

4. Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.
5. Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).
6. Repeat until all of the dough is used.
7. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.
8. Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
10. Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Notes

Yields: 48 pieces

Best Pizza courtesy of Skype

I want to show you the best pizza you could ever prepare for your family.

I mean, they will be shocked at the end result and will no doubt leave them with mouths hanging open, amazed and speechless.

This pizza...............Ohhhhhh this pizza is amazing.

Pepperoni, cooked nice and crisp.....a nice golden brown crust......YUM.MY!

 

Best thing about this pizza is that it's multi-functional too..........you can use it at the park as a substitute Frisbee

 

Ahhhhh, bet you're dying to know how to prepare such a beauty, aren't you?

Well, it's pretty easy actually....you pull it out of the box, you warm up the oven to 400 degrees, then you pop in the pizza and go get on Skype with your family in South Africa.

Just talk and talk and laugh and joke and talk some more and then proceed to take them around your whole house with the laptop in hand so they can see everything you're doing.....all while this delicious pizza is cooking.

Then come back into the kitchen an hour later and say "Oh pizza is done".

That's it!   Easy huh???????

I will NEVER live this down.  This is my FIRST time ever burning anything that I've cooked.  HA!

Note:  Don't try this at home.