Basic Pizza Dough

A long while ago I found this pizza dough recipe on a website and it had very detailed instructions to how to prep it once it was mixed. Here is a link to the site for more detailed instructions on how to mix and prep it: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/46/17753

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)
2 T yeast (2 tablespoons, I like my dough a little yeasty. You can use less)
2 T honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Feel free to add ingredients to the dough to make it more interesting.

You can mix it in a bread machine, kitchen mixer/food processor, or by hand (detailed instructions at the link above). After mixing, roll it out (instructions below)

Rolling out the dough:

One mistake most people make when working with dough is not using enough muscle. Dough fights back. You push it, it pushes back. Don't be afraid of the dough. It won't bite you and you can't really damage it, either. When working with dough, use plenty of flour, but don't let it get too dry. It should be fun to work with, not too sticky and not too crumbly.

Form it into a flat ball about six to eight inches wide.

Using both hands, one on top of the other, press from the center outwards on it to start stretching it out, turning the dough a bit on each push. You can also pick up the dough and squeeze the edges of it while turning it like a steering wheel. This allows the weight of the dough to stretch it.

Once the dough is about 1/2" thick all the way around, use a rolling pin to flatten it out to about 1/4" thick. I usually run the pin over once or twice, flip the dough over and give it a quarter turn and roll it again to make it even.

Take a fork and put puncture holes all over the dough. This keeps it from bubbling up while cooking and it also helps to hold the sauce on as well.

Transfer dough to pizza peal sprinkled corn meal or place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Top with sauce, cheese and/or toppings and bake in a 400° F. oven until the crust is light brown. Bake on either baking stones or on the cookie sheet or a pizza pan.

This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before using.

Also, sometimes I (Mindy) bake the dough for a while (half time) before topping it with sauce and toppings - there is nothing worse than making a magnificent pizza only to find the dough in the middle uncooked.

Squash Soups

Butternut Squash Soup (from Cindy Miller)

1 small onion

1/2- 3/4 stick butter

1 med/large butternut squash (peeled and cut into cubes)

4c water

4 cubes chicken bouillon

1 tsp dried marjoram ( you will find it

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese ( I use fat free and it still tastes great)

1 tsp vanilla

* saute onions and butter until soft. Add cubed/peeled squash, water,chicken bouillon, marjoram and black pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Once squash is tender (not mushy) pull the squash out of the soup and add to blender and puree with cream cheese. Return to soup mixture, the soup should be creamy not chunky when finished. Add Vanilla but do not allow to boil at this point. Serve with French bread and Enjoy!

Tips for peeling squash: you either can cut squash in half across the equator & then countinue cutting in 1-2 ring sections. Once in rings, they are easier to peel. (that is how Melanie peeled hers) I cut the squash in half long ways then cut into sections kinda like a carrot, then peeled it with a potatoe or carrot peeler which I found easier than in circles. This soup is really GOOD...hope you all enjoy it!

SQUASH SOUP (From Allison Olson)

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 lb peeled and sliced squash (butternut or buttercup is good)

2 medium potatoes

2 large carrots

1 small onion

2 stalks celery

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp thyme

1 Tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup half and half (or milk)

Cut all the vegetable in small pieces. In large saucepan, melt butter and saute squash, potatoes, celery, carrots, and onion for 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, thyme, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer till vegetables are tender, at least 30 minutes. Add half & half. Puree in blender. Heat and garnish with parsley.

Skillet Beef and Potatoes

This has been one of our favorites for a while. We love it with some rolls and salad.

3 medium potatoes halved and then sliced
1/3 c water
1/2 tsp sale
1 lb, beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
2 tsp garlic pepper seasoning
1/2 c chopped onion
3 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Place potatoes, water and salt in microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 6-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain water. Season beef with pepper seasoning. In a large skillet, stir-fry beef and onion in 2 Tblsp of the olive oil until beef is no longer pink.
In another skillet, stir-fry potatoes in remaining oil for 5 min or until slightly browned. Stir in beef mixture and sprinkle with rosemary.

Bow Tie Beef Skillet

So this is nice and healthy and really yummy. I browned the hamburger and cut up the vegetables beforehand, so it was super quick for dinner.
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
2 medium tomatoes (diced)
1 1/3 cups beef broth
1 can tomato sauce
2 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
3 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
3/4 c. chopped green pepper
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, brown ground beef then drain juices. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the pasta, tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
Add squash and green pepper. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add 1/2 c of the cheese and mix in until melted. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Super Easy Apricot Chicken

4 chicken breast halves
2 Tblsp butter
1 can apricot halves
3 tsp cornstarch
1/4 C. apricot jam
2 Tblsp white wine vinegar
4 green onions, chopped

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes turning occasionally. Cover and cook 5 minutes longer or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken breasts and keep warm.
Drain apricots, reserving juice. Cut apricots into slices and set aside. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and juice from apricots until smooth. Stir in the jam and vinegar until combined and then combine with juices from chicken in the skillet. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes more until a thick sauce is formed. Add apricots and chicken and heat for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle green onions on top. Serve on top of rice.

Herb Focaccia Bread

I'm not very good at breads yet but this was easy and really, really good.
2 pkg (4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 C. warm water
3 C. all-purpose flour
1/4 C. finely chopped onion
3 Tblsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp salt
Herb Glaze (see below)

1. Mix yeast, sugar and water in small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes
2. Blend flour, onion, oil and salt in large bowl; stir in yeast mixture to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl; cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
3. Grease baking sheet. Punch down dough; divide evenly into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into 5-inch circles and place on baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 400*. Brush top of each bread with glaze. Bake 15-18 minutes.

Herb Glaze
1 egg beaten
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme

Sweet Potato Burritos

In an effort to actually eat more of the veggies we get from the farmer's market I found this recipe for sweet potato burritos. I thought they were good, and my husband, who's not typically a sweet potato fan, didn't mind eating them.

1 med onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans kidney beans, drained
1 C water (more or less, depending on your preference)
3 T chili powder
2tsp cumin
some mustard
a pinch of cayenne pepper
2T soy sauce
3-4C cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
12 tortillas (10in)... made about fifteen for me, but I'm no burrito-wrapping expert
8+ ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté onion and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Stir in beans and mash it all up. Gradually stir in water and heat until warm. Remove from heat. Stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne, and soy sauce. Divide beans and sweet potatoes into tortillas, top with cheese, and fold burrito-style. Bake on baking sheet 12-15minutes. Serve with sour cream and/or salsa. Yum.

I wrapped the extras in foil, put 'em in storage bags and froze them. Hopefully they'll be just as good reheated.

Homemade Italian Salad Dressing

I was looking for a good homemade dressing and decided to give this one a try. I used half apple cider vinegar and half regular vinegar because that sounded good. I don't generally love the oil and vinegar dressings but this was really good. Even my husband, who has been strictly a creamy poppyseed dressing man for some time decided to try it and he really liked it. I also sprinkled some of the dry mix on chicken while it was cooking and it was very tasty.

Italian Dressing

1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
3 Tablespoons salt
dash garlic powder

Combine all dry ingredients.

Mix 2 Tablespoons of dry mix with:
1/4 cup vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons water

Mix well.

Multigrain Bread

This is a good bread recipe I made the other day. It is super easy and smells and tastes really good.

Multigrain Bread

7 cups assorted flour (any combination— Suggestion 3 cups white, 3 cups whole wheat, and 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal)
2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 packets yeast
4 egg whites

Mix, knead well, and let rise for one hour. Punch down. Form into breads (makes 2-3 large loaves) or rolls. Let rise for 1/2 hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Green Smoothie

This healthy smoothie is delicious and nutritious and the spinach isn't overpowering.

1 banana, cut in chunks
1 cup grapes
1 (6 ounce) tub vanilla yogurt
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

Place the banana, grapes, yogurt, apple and spinach into a blender. Cover, and blend until smooth, stopping frequently to push down anything stuck to the sides. Pour into glasses and serve.

Spanish Rice

This is my very favorite version of Spanish Rice. I actually don't like any other Spanish Rice recipe that I can recall ever trying, including packaged mixes. This is also very easy to make; the process is a lot like making Rice-a-Roni. The leftovers are great too!

Spanish Rice

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup uncooked rice

1 onion, chopped

1/2-1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (10-14 oz) can diced tomatoes (with diced chilies or jalapeños optional)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 can diced green chilies/ jalapeños optional)

2 cups water or chicken broth

Heat oil in deep skillet over medium heat. Sauté rice, onion, green bell pepper and garlic until rice is browned and onions are tender. Stir in water, tomatoes (undrained), chili powder, and salt. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

Nature Bread

This is a recipe that Grandma Briscoe uses a lot. It is really good and moist as well as being nutritions. She uses a variety of seeds in hers (sunflower, flax, poppy, etc. She also leaves out the raisins.)

2 packages active dry yeast

2 1/4 cups lukewarm (105-115 degree) water

3/4 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup shredded carrots

2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk

1/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup oil

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

melted butter

Dissolve yeast in water in large bowl. Stir in raisins, wheat germ, carrots, dry milk, molasses, oil, sugar, salt, whole wheat flour and 1 cup flour. beat vigorously with wooden spoon 1 minute. Stir in about 1 1/2 cups flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out on floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, working in additional flour, about 10 minutes. Place in well-buttered bowl, brush top with butter. Cover; let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down; divide in half. Roll each portion into 8x12 inch rectangle. Roll up, starting at short end. Tuck ends under and seal. Place in two buttered loaf dishes. Cover; let rise until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 degree oven or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans, cool on wire racks. Brush tops with butter while still hot, if desired.

Hamiltons Whipped Sweet Potato

This is really yummy but not so good if you are watching your sugar or calorie intake.

3 large sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into pieces and boiled till tender)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

1/3 cup melted butter

1/3 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine and whip first five ingredients. Layer mix into a baking pan. Top mixture with melted butter. Mix the four topping ingredients and coat sweet potato mixture evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Snack!

I haven't cooked anything spectacular lately, but i've been taking time to appreciate some of my childhood snacks. Specifically, ritz crackers with hotdogs, cheese, and ketsup. (Did we ever have a real name for those?) They have been my meal of the day on more than several occasions (what can i say, i'm in college!)

This can also be done in the oven on broil, but since i like things done quick, i use the microwave.

Arrange ritz crackers so as many as possible can fit on your plate.

Put cheese (grated or sliced) on cracker.

Put hot dog slices on cheese.

Heat in microwave until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Put a dab of ketsup on each hotdog.

ENJOY!

(I really do love these amazingly)

Yummy Bok Choy Salad

In our Farmer's Market Co-op this week, we got some baby bok choy. I had to search online looking at pictures of leafy green vegetables before I could identify it by picture. I decided to go for it and made this salad. It was very good!

Yummy Bok Choy Salad

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches baby bok choy, cleaned and sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/8 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 (6 ounce) package chow mein noodles

1. In a glass jar with a lid, mix together olive oil, white vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Close the lid, and shake until well mixed.
2. Combine the bok choy, green onions, almonds, and chow mein noodles in a salad bowl. Toss with dressing, and serve.

I'm not sure how you're supposed to cut up bok choy so I just broke the leaves off at the base and cut them into bite sized pieces, including the white lower leaf, which tasted fine so I figured you were supposed to eat that part too. I didn't have chow mein noodles so I substituted fried onions and it was pretty good. Also, the dressing makes like 10 times too much so I made a Chinese chicken/cabbage salad and put the rest on that and it was enough dressing for the entire med/small head of cabbage.

Supreme Scalloped Potatoes

We had these potatoes the other night, along with some barbecue chicken. It was very tasty, although I wish it didn't involve pre-cooking the potatoes.

8 medium potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven or large kettle, cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Cool completely; shred and place in a large bowl. Add 1 cup cheese and onion. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over potato mixture.
Transfer to a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

Zuppa Tuscano Soup

I've been meaning to share this recipe for a while, and I found the magazine while cleaning my room today, so here it is. I made it for soup night a while ago, and it was a big hit! Since I was making large quantities, I fudged and added some more of stuff, but this is the basic:

12 oz. Jimmy Dean hot pork sausage

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tsp. garlic, minced

2 c. collard greens

1 49 oz. can and 1 14 oz. can chicken broth

4 russet potatoes, chopped with skins on

2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. Italian seasonings

1 point heavy cream (can use milk)

salt & pepper to taste

Heat wok or large soup pot. Add sausage, onion, and garlic. Fry until sausage is cooked through and onions are tender. Break sausage into small pieces as it is cooking. Add chopped collard greens and saute 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, potatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce head and let simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in cream and warm through. Adjust seasonings and serve. Serves 6-8

This is delicious, and easy to tweak according to needs. I would probably drain the fat from the sausage sauteing, but it doesn't matter too much.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Really fast, easy, and super good.
Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups assorted cut up vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, onions, red and green bell peppers)
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup sweet and sour sauce (use store bought or see recipe below)
Rice

Heat wok over high heat. Once hot add oil and coat sides of wok. Add chicken and stir-fry about 3 minutes or until no longer pink. add vegetables and stir-fry about 2 minutes or until carrots are crisp but tender. Stir in pineapple and sweet and sour sauce. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more. Serve over rice.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
4 T soy sauce
2/3 cup vinegar

Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

Mexican Lasagna

This was really really good and not too hard to make. It required about 30 minutes of prep time and then 30 minutes bake time.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped green pepper
2 1/2 c chunky salsa
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
12 corn tortillas
1 container cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can sliced olives, drained

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet brown the beef and drain. Add onions and peppers and cook until they are crisp-tender. Add salsa, corn, beans, and seasonings and mix well. In a 13x9 baking dish, layer one third of the meat mixture then half of the tortillas. Put a layer of cottage cheese and then another layer of meat and tortillas. Finish up with a final layer of cottage cheese and the last of the meat. Cover with shredded cheese and olives. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.
This also tastes great as leftovers.

Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

from Kraft Foods

I love the flavor in this easy slow cooker meal. The recipe calls for it to be eaten over rice but I love it wrapped in tortillas too, especially lightly fried corn tortillas.

Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
2 Tbsp. (1/2 of 1 ¼ oz. pkg) Taco Seasoning Mix
2 Tbsp. flour
1 each green and red pepper, cut into 1” wide strips
1 cup frozen corn or 1 can corn
1-1/2 cups Salsa
1 cup Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese

TOSS chicken with seasoning and flour in slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients except the shredded cheese; cover with lid.

COOK on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours).

STIR just before serving. Top with the shredded cheese. Serve over hot cooked rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Makes 4 servings

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup

4 cups chicken broth
½ (10.75 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup chopped onion ++
1/4 cup chopped celery ++
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ pinch ground white pepper
1 cup milk
2 T + 2 t cornstarch (or inst. potatoes)
2 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups fresh broccoli florets, cooked
¾ cup shredded American cheese
¾ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In large saucepan, combine broth, cream of mushroom soup, onion, celery and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (If not cooked already, start your broccoli cooking.)

After 20 minutes, add milk to the cream mixture and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until cornstarch is completely dissolved.
Gradually add mixture to soup, stirring constantly. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add broccoli and cheeses, mixing until melted.

If you want, you can add extras like shredded carrots, chopped potatoes, etc. or substitute some for the celery.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

from McCormick Spices

This cheesecake was so easy to make and was very tasty. And, as you can see, it is pretty! As not a super big fan of chocolate, I might try it with a regular graham cracker crust next time, but it was still good with the chocolate crust.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 eggs
2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon Red Food Color
1 prepared chocolate crumb crust (6 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed just until blended.
2. Measure 1 cup batter into medium bowl. Stir in melted chocolate and food color. Pour into crust. Top with remaining (plain) cheesecake batter.
3. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Can drizzle with chocolate before serving.