Pizza Crust Recipes

Two 12-14 inch pizzas:

5-6 cups King Arthur White Whole-wheat flour
or 3 C. King Arthur White Whole Wheat and 3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

5- 6 1/2 teaspoons of rapid rise or bread machine yeast - such as Fleischmann's RapidRise ( use the lesser amount if you do the 1/2 wheat and half all purpose recipe)
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons unbleached organic sugar
2 C. Warm water
4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil (cold pressed)

I use a food processor or my Kitchen Aid Mixer for this part: (I have used this recipe in my bread maker by doing half at one time). Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix or use mixer. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup and gradually pour in enough of the warm liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead ( if using the food processor).

Place the dough in a greased bowl in a warm place and cover to let it rise until double ( about 30 mins - 1 hour depending on the humidity) Or let it rise in the bread machine if you have one ( use the dough setting for the whole process and then just shape it or roll it after taking it out)

Preheat oven to 400°F Roll out the dough ( I like a mixture of corn meal and all purpose flour to roll the dough on) and top the pizza however you like.

Bake the pizza 15 minutes @ 400 degrees.

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Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

100% Whole Wheat Dough

1 packet dry active yeast

3/4 cup warm water

~2 cups 100% whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil + more to rub on bowl

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix yeast and warm water and let sit until foamy. In a separate bowl, mix flour and salt together. Once yeast is foamy, add in olive oil and honey and stir. Mix into flour and kneed to create a dough. You may need to add a bit more flour if dough is too sticky.

Place in an olive oil-rubbed bowl and cover. Let rise for 2-3 hours.

Recipes

My kids are off to AWANAS so I have a few minutes to

A. Clean my dirty house
B. Lesson plan
C. Menu plan
D. Take a nap
or
E. Blog

So, I choose E. The house is all quiet, I am listening to Glenn Beck, and catching up on my posting.


Green Smoothie Recipe

1-2 cups water
1/2 of the blender I fill with baby spinach, kale, avocado, or any greens
I blend this and then add more until I get the blender to be 1/ 2 full of green goodness
1 cup Stoneyfield Yogurt (Whole or Lowfat)
1- carrot
1 banana
6-10 strawberries
1 cup blueberries/ raspberries
1 cup peaches
1/2 - 1 apple
( I also throw in grapes, cantaloupe, or any other fruit I have lying around)

the color of the smoothie depends on how much blueberries/raspberries/strawberries
Mine have been real green if I have little reds in it, or purple or brown with lots of red fruits.

* I also add
5 tbsp flax seed oil or 5 tbsp hemp seed oil or raw coconut oil
hemp seed protein
To get Ethan excited about smoothies, he gets to help make them every morning. He even gets the spinach out of the fridge and puts them in the blender. He loves to push the buttons!
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Tortellini Vegetable Soup

This is Tiffany's recipe and my family loves it. I double or triple my soup recipes to freeze for lunches. I freeze portions in quart freezer bags.

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

1 small zucchini, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

5 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. dried basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp. salt

8-9 oz. tortellini--cheese or meat filled

Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the onion, zucchini, and carrot. Saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft. Add the broth, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, and salt to the pot. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini and bring back to a boil, cook for two minutes and then reduce the hear and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes longer.

Makes about 5 servings.

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Carrot Soup

My kids are still unsure about this soup, but it was double YUM! This is Tiffany's recipe.

4 Tbsp. butter, 1 onion chopped

4 carrots sliced

2 medium potatoes, diced

5 cups chicken broth

2 tsp. sherry

1 cup cream (or milk)

Melt butter into a pot. Add onion and carrots. Cook for 15 minutes. Stir in potato dices. Pour in chicken broth and sherry. Cook, partially covered until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Puree the mixture. Pour the soup back into the pot and stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat without boiling.

I served this with crusty bread!
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Cuban Congri

2 cans black beans
2 cups Minute Rice
1/2 cup water
2 yellow onions
1 med. bell pepper
3 tsp. garlic powder or fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste

Chop onions and bell pepper and saute in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano and saute for 2 to 3 more minutes. Pour the water in a med. size pot and bring to a boil, add the rice, beans, and sauteed onions and peppers and salt to taste. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

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White Chicken Chili (I would recommend doubling this because you will want more )

Steph C's recipe

16 oz. can white beans
1 bag frozen corn
2 onions, chopped
1 stick of butter (that's why it's so good)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half (I didn't say it was lowfat)
1 tsp. tabasco (I omitted this)
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 4-oz. cans of chopped green chilies
about 2 lbs. of chicken, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. sour cream

Melt the butter and saute the onions in the butter until soft. Add the flour and whisk to mix. Slowly add the chicken broth and half and half while stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the sour cream and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the sour cream and serve.

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Tostadas-

Tiffany's recipe

3-4 cups of dried pinto beans

corn tortillas

toppings--cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, and anything else you like on a taco

Cook your beans until soft. I do this in a crock pot but you can do it over the stove. You can soak the beans overnight but it isn't necessary. Let them cook on low all day or all night or all day and all night--beans cannot be overcooked. Add plenty of salt.

First thing you'll do to start dinner is fry the tortillas. I put a stone or just a pan in the oven at about 180 degrees to keep the tortillas hot after you fry them and before you serve them. Fry the corn tortillas in about a 1/2 inch of oil until brown and crisp--not overly brown. That would be almost burnt. Yuck! Fry as many as you think your family will eat. I usually fry 12-15 at a time. After you are done frying the tortillas and they are in the oven staying warm. Add some more oil to the pan and drain your beans and put them into the oil. Use a potato masher to mash them while they are in the hot oil. Mash until they are the consistency of refried beans. Check for saltiness and add more if needed. When the whole mass moves in the pan as a whole (when you pick up the skillet and shake it) they are done. After making refried beans from scratch you will never go back to canned--they do not even compare.

Get out your hot tortillas. To serve--spread a tortilla with beans, add cheese and whatever other toppings you like.

*If your family can't imagine a meal without meat you can always top the beans and cheese with any shredded meat or ground beef.

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White Pizza

Favorite Pizza dough recipe * I have not found one yet that I love. I wish we had a Trader Joes near us. They have an awesome herb dough!

Top pizza with thin sliced tomatoes, and red onion. Top with mozzarella and fresh parmesan.

Cook for 20 minutes at 400

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ENJOY!

Green in 2010

Am I the only one who doesn't know how wonderful the green smoothie is?

You can hide ANYTHING in one of these babies!

kale, spinach, avocado, banana, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, flax seed oil and the list goes on and on...

I swear I have made Ethan 3 of these and he begs for more.. Half of the shake is kale & Spinach then I add 1 banana, a handful of strawberries, an apple, some peach slices and voila a full days worth of veggies in a glass.

Alien Slime Waffles

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
3 eggs beaten
1/4 cup butter melted
2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp green food dye

disclaimer unless you are a kid, skip this meal! The green food color is not so good on older GI systems...and their will be a fun science project for the kids to discuss come the next morning in the potty!! Cool lime green poo!!
Pam for the waffle iron(if you don't use it they will not stay green)

In a bowl mix dry ingredients, in a seperate bowl mix together wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, allow to rest for 5 minutes. Heat the waffle iron and start making waffles.

And of course the last one I made just the way my mom like it!

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

You know it is fall in our house when we make Pumpkin Pie Playdough. It smells so yummy and nothing beats homemade playdough..



Pumkin Pie Playdough

5 1/2 cups flour

2 cups salt

8 tsp Cream of Tartar

3/4 cup oil

4 cups water

1 container of pumpkin pie spice (2-3 oz)

Combine all in a big pan on the stove and heat and stir until it becomes dough consistency. Then turn out on the a lightly floured counter and knead until smooth. Store in a ziploc bag.

Crispy Chicken Costoletta (The Cheescake Factory) from mudpiegourmet

4 chicken breasts, cut horizontally, and pounded to about 1/4 inch thick or chicken cutlets
2 lemons, zest of
1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
2 eggs, whisked with
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon Sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup chicken stock
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter


Directions

1. For the chicken:.
2. Preheat oven to 200°F.
3. Zest two lemons. Bake zest for about 5 minutes until dry.
4. On one paper plate combine flour, pepper and salt. On another paper plate combine eggs and water, whisk until combined. On another paper plate combine dry lemon zest, bread crumbs and cheese.
5. Place pounded chicken in the flour, coating well, followed by the egg mixture and the bread crumbs.
6. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
7. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side about 5 minutes until middle is no longer pink. You will need to work in batches, adding more oil and butter as needed.
8. Keep chicken warm in oven at 250°F.
9. For the lemon sauce:.
10. Over medium heat in a fairly large saucepan heat canola oil. Add minced garlic and sauté about 3 minutes.
11 . Add whipping cream and boil until reduced by one-third.
12. Add Dijon, lemon juice, chicken stock and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 5 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
14. Serve chicken with lemon sauce and mashed garlic potatoes.

Toffee Apple Dip

Apple Toffe Dip
1 - 8 oz. block softened cream cheese
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 pkg of a 8 oz. bag of Toffee Bits (you find this beside the choc. chips)
6-9 Granny Smith Apples cut into wedges for dipping
Mix together with until smooth - cream cheese, sugars and vanilla. Fold in toffee bits and refridgerate for at least 2 hours, the longer the better the flavors meld. I cut the apples just before serving to prevent them turning brown and coat them in lemon juice.

photo courtesy of yourhomebasedmom.com

Cracker Barrel at Home

We had a Cracker Barrel night at home. I found this awesome recipe from the Southern Plate for their grilled tenderloins. It was a hit at my house so here is the recipe.

Cracker Barrel Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into tenderloins
1 cup Zesty Italian dressing
2 tsp lime juice
3 tsp honey

I doubled the recipe. Combine ingredients and pour in a ziploc bag, add chicken and let marinate at least an hour. Overnight would probably be the best.

Pour mixture and chicken in a deep skillet and let reduce down to a glaze on medium heat. This will take 40-50 minutes.

and then I had to make Peach Cobbler, just because I wanted to.

Peach Cobbler- the easy way!

1 box golden cake mix (with a coupon it was recently on sale for .60)
2 cans peaches in syrup
3-4 tbsp cinnamon, sugar and dash of nutmeg mixture
1-2 tbsp butter cut into tiny tiny pieces

In a 13x9 pan butter it, dump in peaches, top with cake mix (make sure the juice soaks into mix so it doesn't come out powdery. You may have to press it into the juices) Top with the cinnamon/sugar mixture until top of cobbler is covered. ( I just kept adding until it looked right.) And then add little pieces of butter on top all over. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until crust is brown and crunchy.

Serve with ice cream, yum-yum!

Yummiest Soup EVER!

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrot

1/2 stick butter to sautee onion and carrot in

diced chicken if wanted

1 cup vermicelli broken up

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I used 1 tsp )

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 carton of College Inn Thai coconut curry broth

1. Cook onions, carrots, ginger, curry, red pepper in a deep skillet in butter. Add noodles, broth and lime juice once veggies sauteed.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in coconut milk and heat through.

Recipe is on the back of the College Inn broth box.

This took 20 minutes to make and was AMAZING!!!!

Happy Hearts Day

Recipe

5 1/2 cups flour
4 cups water
3/4 cup oil
8 tsp cream of tarter
2 cups salt
food coloring or scent of choice

Mix water, oil, tarter, salt in a big pot on a cold stove. I then add the flour and stir until well blended. Then turn on heat to medium and add coloring. Stir and stir until mixture forms a doughy consistency of play-doh. This takes some muscles! Then turn it out on waxed paper and work it until smooth. Play and have fun!!

From Thai to Tacos by way of Intercourse

Ok, so the title was a bit titillating, and naughty, and tricky! But I am not sorry, I must convey my culinary experiences that have been ongoing since I cracked my eyeballs open this morning.


And for all of you dirty minds, Intercourse is a sweet Amish town in the heart of Amish country, Pennsylvania! With that said I have been mushing and burping a ziploc bag for 10 days. I was promised that it was a remnant from some sweet pious Amish woman's kitchen and to not babysit, feed, and multiply this gift, why it's sacrilege I tell you!! And my middle child LOVES this treat. So once again when I cracked open my eyeballs I remembered, today is the day! Liv wants Amish bread for breakfast, I must mix the 15+ ingredients and get it into the oven... Well in order to bypass all the extra bags I had the genius idea to bake them all, except one because I told you it's sacrilege to break this chain!! So 6 loaves of bread later as in 2pm....


During this bake fest I made some bread, that is not rising like it should. This is twice this week that I have not had a successful bread outcome. Is it too cold to bake? hmmmm....

So in the midst, I decided that I had all the ingredients to make Chicken Curry. My friend said this was a fave amongst her family and that she had to double the recipe, that it was just that popular. Well my crew, not so much! I loved it, and though I tried every propaganda tool in my arsenal, they were not eating it. Well beside the 2 mandatory bites, where there was gagging, choking, eyes watering... Even Mike betrayed me, although he choked down half his plate before letting me know it was not to his standards. i.e. it wasn't fried, fried, or fried... Maybe I could fry some chicken curry, I will have to think on that! Oh, and I LOVED it, so I froze the rest for my lunch at a later date.

And for tonight it is TACO night, with a side of Pepcid AC. So now you know we have journeyed around the world inside my kitchen. By the way I have just finished cleaning from this bakeapolooza and it is 4:00.


Amish Friendship Starter
1 cup flour
1 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast
place in a ziploc bag and mush & burp the bag each morning for the first 5 days

Day 6- add 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1 cup of sugar and mush

Day 7-9 mush and burp

Day 10 Pour starter in a non metallic bowl and
add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and one cup milk

Mix well and then pour 1 cup of batter into 4 ziploc bags which are your next starter bags.

Then use 1 cup for the foloowing recipe

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe
1 cup starter
2 cup flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1- (3-4oz) box instant vanilla pudding
3 lg eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Spray 2 loaf pans sprinkle with cinnamon sugar on the bottom of pan, fill pans top batter with cinnamon sugar and bake at 325 for 1 hour.


Chicken Curry
Saute:
4tbsp butter
1 apple chopped
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 large carrot chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
ADD
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp curry poweder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
when tender pour this into blender and puree, then pour back into skillet
ADD
1 tbsp flour tp thicken
ADD
2-3 cups of chicken
and serve over white rice...

A Cold Front In Geo Town

Well we have gone from fans, bathingsuits and pool breaks to this.........

Yes, we are styling the capris, with ankle socks, mittens and a scarf!




So with such lovely weather school is back to the back porch. And Ethan is studying city planning and design. As you can see he is excelling in his field. He's a genius, ya know!!!



And on the home front Maddy is earning her cooking badge. She made waffles for Sunday breakfast. And then as a thrifty young woman, she doubled the batch to freeze for the upcoming week..

Waffle Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

3 eggs beaten

1/4 cup butter melted

2 cups buttermilk

Pam for the waffle iron

in a bowl mix dry ingredients, in a seperate bowl mix together wet ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, allow to rest for 5 minutes. Heat the waffle iron and start making waffles.

Double the batch and lay each waffle individually on wax paper in the freezer for 2 hours then store together in a ziploc freezer bag.

Thrifty Thursday on Friday

Homemade Laundry Soap


ingredients
1 bar of laundry soap (Fels Naptha) or your favorite soap of choice (Ivory, homemade)
3/4 cup of Washing Soda
3/4 cup of Borax
*all of these items can be found at Publix on the laundry aisle

step 1- grate your bar of soap into a pot, then add six cups of water and heat until all of soap is dissolved.


step 2- when soap is completely melted add 3/4 cup of Borax and Washing Soda

step 3- stir the mixture over heat until completely dissolved, during that time, add 4 cups of hot water to your bucket or jar. when the soap is all dissolved pour mixture into the glass jar with the water.

step 4- add a gallon and a half of cold water into the bucket/jar and stir to mix well. It is in a liquid form. Cover and it will set into a gel form. Use 1/2 - 1 cup of detergent per laundry load.

You can add a essential oil scent at the same time you add the borax and washing soda.

I will let you know how it compares to commercial detergent. I am a diehard Gain fan, so the standard is high.

This made about 3 gallons of detergent for about 1.50 for the whole batch!

Mexican Soup Recipe

This soup is totally yummy! recipe compliments of the Queen B


Mexican Cheese Soup

1 pound Velveeta cubed
1 pound ground beef, cooked & drained
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 jalapeno, seeded & diced (I left this out)
1 can rotel
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package taco seasoning

Combine in crockpot. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 3 hours.
Serve with corn chips or tortilla chips. And maybe sour cream. And maybe a little cheese...

Candy Apples

Boil 3 cups sugar, 1/2 cup white corn syrup, and 1 cup water until it reaches 300 degrees

Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of food coloring of your choice.

Dip apples carefully and cool on wax paper

Red food dye

Individually wrap in wax paper and tie with a string or ribbon. They last about a day before becoming gooey.

Crockpotalooza

Boo Mama is requesting soupy crock pot recipes, so here is one of our favorites.

Cheesy Meatball Soup

***meatballs***
1lb ground beef
1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
1 large egg
dash of salt
dash of pepper
dash of garlic powder
dash of hot sauce if you like
(I have even used frozen meatballs before in a pinch)

***soup***
2 cups water
1 cup whole kernel frozen corn
1 cup potatoes chopped
1 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 beef bullion cubes
16 oz velveeta shredded
dash of tobasco sauce


1. Combine meatball ingredients and form into meatballs

2.Place meatballs in crock pot with the rest of the ingredients except cheese. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Then add cheese, cook 15 minutes stir, and serve.

3. Eat!


Serves 6

Chicken Parmesean

I just made the best dinner ever. I made The Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Parmesan. It turned out so easy and a favorite at our house, now.

Recipe
3 eggs
All purpose flour
Italian bread crumbs
salt & Pepper
water
Chicken breast pounded to 1/2 inch thin
favorite oil for frying in the pan. I used grapeseed oil.

Pound out chicken, dip in the flour, salt and pepper, then dredge through the beaten eggs and a tablespoon of water. Then dip in the breadcrumbs. Then into the hot oil 1/2 inch thick in pan. Cook til done and crispy brown on the outside.

I added Prego sauce, spaghetti noodles, and garlic bread... Yummy

Bacon...Yum

I am making bacon wrapped meatloaf on top of vidalia onions for dinner with gourmet rolls, potatoes and baby peas. Yum

Recipe courtesy of Williams Sonoma