We saw a segment on 190 North, a Chicago alternative-news program, about Pizza Beer, brewed in St. Charles, IL with oregano, basil and tomatoes, and were curious. When the people who made it were at our local Binny’s Liquor Store, we had to try some. It’s actually quite good, and was rumoured to be excellent for making beer bread. So I decided to try it with our gloomy-day dinner of slow-cooker pot roast.

While there’s a great recipe on Mamma Mia’s Pizza Beer site, I used a trusted favorite, Tastefully Simple Bountiful Beer Bread Mix and ended up with an amazing bread, full of that delicious beer bread tang and accompanied by the hints of oregano and tomato in the beer. It was outstanding!!

As for the pizza beer, we’ll probably buy a four-pack for the next time we order a pizza. It’s really yummy stuff!!

Homemade Naan? That’s right, I made this from scratch!

I can’t take all the credit; my husband was kind enough to start the bread machine going to make the dough before I got home from work. We used this recipe but modified it based on some of the reviewers’ feedback. We used only 3.5 cups of flour instead of the 4.5 recommended, and we proofed the yeast. Next time we’re using bread flour instead of all-purpose because this made kind of a tough dough, but delicious nonetheless.

Was it worth it? Well, it was fun, and we’ve got enough dough leftover in the freezer for the next time. It’s a LOT of work for something that costs $2.50 from the grocery store, but I would like to try it with the bread flour.

I used Patak’s Mango Chicken sauce, some red pepper and a small head of cauliflower. The sauce was far milder than I anticipated, and definitely not my favorite. I spooned it over some yummy basmati rice and stirred in chunks of fresh, ripe mango which turned out to be the winning touch, sweetening the sauce and adding just enough flavor.

After nearly 6 months I finally decided it was time to step up. Oh, some yummy Garam Masala and pakistani peppers from Penzey’s helped a lot. So I put the curry paste together with some diced tomatoes, chicken, onion, baby carrots and sweet potatoes and *POOF!*

I’m no longer scared of curry paste. Well, maybe a little, but this was outstanding.

Even better, I served this with bread made from my favorite bread machine mix, Classic Hearth Brand Hawaiian Royal Sweet Bread Mix. The sweetness of the bread paired perfectly with the spiciness of the curry. An accidentally brilliant combination for sure!