Pumpkin Week: Pumpkin Bread

I got this pumpkin bread recipe from a friend, and I love it! Plus it makes a lot which is even better right? My favorite is to add mini chocolate chips to the batter. Everything is better with a little chocolate right?

Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs well beaten
1 29 oz can pumpkin
2/3 c water
3 1/4 c flour
1 c oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3 c sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

Add everything and beat well. Bake at 350 for 1 hr 20 min. Makes Two loaves. If baking one loaf at a time, bake 1 hr 15 min.

Pumpkin Week: Pumpkin Waffles with Cranberry Syrup

Welcome to pumpkin week! We may as well start with the waffles right? And these are so good, but really you could put pumpkin in anything and I would eat it. However, my kids love them too so that means they must be good! Honestly I have never attempted the cranberry syrup, but I will include it just in case you want to! We find them delicious just with maple syrup, whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top!

Pumpkin Waffles with Cranberry Syrup

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/ 12 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites

Heat oven to 250. Place a large baking sheet in the oven.
Combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Make a well in the center of the ingredients and set aside.
Combine buttermilk, canned pumpkin, egg, oil, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
Add the buttermilk mixture and 1/3 cup water to flour mixture. Stir until moist batter forms. Let rest.
Beat egg whites in a medium sized bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain.
Cook on heated waffle iron using about 1/3 cup batter for each 4 inch waffle. Keep warm in oven until serving.

Cranberry Syrup:
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries

Bring honey and cranberry juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of the cranberries and cook 5 minutes or until cranberries pop. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cranberries. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 cup.

Creole Chicken Wraps

These were delicious! I this recipe in my all time favorite Food Network magazine, and created one of my favorite food networks stars, Guy Fieri. These were very easy to make, and I was able to make them kid friend too! We all loved them and I think we need to have them again soon.

Creole Chicken Wraps

For the Rub:

    * 2 tablespoons paprika
    * 2 teaspoons garlic powder
    * 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    * 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    * 1 teaspoon chili powder
    * 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    * Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Wraps:

    * 1 cup mayonnaise
    * 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
    * Vegetable oil, for the grill
    * 4 pieces flatbread    
    * 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
    * 4 plum tomatoes, sliced
    * 1 Maui onion, thinly sliced
    * 1 small red onion, sliced
    * 8 romaine lettuce leaves

Make the rub: Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.

Prepare the wraps: Whisk the mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of the rub in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Toss the chicken with 3 tablespoons rub. Oil the grill; grill the chicken until marked, about 6 minutes. Turn and grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.

Wipe the grill clean and brush with more oil. Lay the bread on the grill, then brush with the spiced mayonnaise and top with mozzarella. Grill until the bottom is marked, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.

Cube the chicken and arrange down the center of each piece of bread. Top with the tomatoes, onions and lettuce. Roll up and wrap with parchment paper or foil to seal.

Halloween Treats: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Halloween and fall are all about the pumpkin right? This makes a great Halloween or fall treat. This is also a preview to my "pumpkin week" I will be doing in November!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/2 c water
3 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c (or more) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Garden Week: Zucchini Bread

Great basic Zucchini Bread recipe from my mother-in-law! I Tried changing it up once, attempting to make it more healthy. However, I have realized that the original is the best way to go! One thing I have realized with zucchini bread (or banana bread) the smaller loaf pans seem to work better. They are a little more moist and they stay moist because you eat them faster!

Zucchini Bread

1 c cooking oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 c zucchini
2 c sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Grease and flour or cooking spray on pans. Blend all ingredients. Bake in 2 large loaf pans for 45 min at 350 (or smaller pans for20-30 min).

Classic Banana Bread

 We are banana eaters in our house, so it is very rare when our bananas go bad. However, when it does happen we are all excited because that mean banana bread! I was starting to get tired of my banana bread recipes, so I went in search of a new basic banana bread recipe. My "go to" sites for basics are either foodnetwork.com or Our Best Bites. I happened to find the perfect recipe on Our Best Bites and it turned out

 fantastic! My favorite part is the sprinkled brown sugar on top, it was the perfect sweet addition!

 

 

 

Classic Banana Bread

from Our Best Bites

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I used sour cream and it worked great)

1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Perfect French Toast

A great recipe from my Food Network magazine. A whole section on different types of french toast! This time I just made the original french toast, and it was amazing! I bought a loaf of thick sliced french bread at Costco, and it was perfect! Great recipe and very simple, this will definitely stay on my "breakfast for dinner" rotation.

Perfect French Toast 
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt 
1/2 tablespoon butter
6 thick slices white bread, challah or brioche 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, dip 6 thick slices white bread, challah or brioche in the egg mixture and cook in the skillet until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side, adding more butter as needed. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until puffed, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in the same skillet until browned, about 5 minutes. Drizzle the French toast with the browned butter and maple syrup.

Tiki Masala and Flat Bread

 I love Indian food, but sadly this is my only Indian food recipe. I do not even know how authentic it is, but is is very good, and can be very spicy if you want. For the flat bread, I have tried a few different recipes and have not liked the results. This one I tried for the first time and is now my new favorite. It is not a traditional flat bread you would normally get at an Indian restaurant, but it is very good, and goes well with this dish!

Tiki Masala

Marinade
1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground red pepper (for less heat, use less)
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

Sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds for less heat)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup whipping cream
1 can of chopped tomatos, drained
¼ c shredded carrots
½ cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For marinade, combine sour cream, lemon juice, cumin, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, salt and ginger in a medium bowl or food-safe plastic bag; stir in chicken, marinate in refrigerator 1 hour.
 For sauce, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add garlic and jalapeno; cook 1 minute.
Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt.
Stir in tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, carrots and peas. Simmer 15 minutes, stir in cream; simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat pan to medium-high.
Remove chicken from refrigerator.
 Cook chicken either in the oven or in a frying pan over medium heat, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Add chicken to sauce
Simmer 5 minutes. Add cilantro.
Serve with rice.
*Garam masala is sold in Indian markets and some specialty stores. I found it at the regular grocery store in McCormick's brand.

Flat Bread
from Our Best Bites

1 c. warm water
2 packets or 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/4-2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. Kosher salt, divided

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes or until bubbly.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, combine 2 c. flour, olive oil, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Add in yeast mixture and mix until combined. Add in another 1/4-1/2 c. of flour or until a very soft dough is formed. Cover with a clean towel and allow to stand about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
Spray a baking sheet and then your hands with cooking spray. Punch dough down and then remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a ball. Place on prepared baking sheet and spread into a circle about 1/2" thick and 11-12"-ish inches in diameter. Cover and allow to rise another 30 minutes.
While dough is rising, preheat oven to 400. When dough has risen, use your fingers to make indentations in the dough. Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining Kosher salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread is a hit at our house. Last summer we had two out of control zucchini plants, so we used a lot of zucchini. To make it fun, I tried out a lot of different recipes. The oatmeal zucchini bread is one of my favorites, mostly because I feel better eating it since it has oatmeal in it, oh and it tastes good too!

I made these in my new mini loaf pan! I love it because I can freeze them, and pull one loaf out a day for us to eat!

Oatmeal Cinnamon Zucchini Bread
(I apologize, but I cannot remember which site I found this recipe on, so thank you who ever you are!)

3 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/3 cup white sugar
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup cinnamon chips (optional)

Grease and flour 2 8x 4 inch pans (or use mini loaf pans). Preheat oven to 325. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, Beat in eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini and cinnamon until well combined. Pour batter in to prepared pans. Bake for 40-60 minutes (more towards the 40 minute for the mini pans). Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove.

Blueberry Muffins

We decided to have a relaxing Easter this year, and did not do any big meals. I did make some very delicious blueberry muffins, found on foodnetwork.com from Alton Brown. These were awesome, and very easy to make. I did over cook them a tiny bit, but they will still soft and fluffy on the inside. I used muffin cups instead of greasing and flouring the pan, which was a big time saver.

Blueberry Muffins

    * 12 1/2 ounces cake flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 2 teaspoons baking powder
    * Heavy pinch salt
    * 1 cup sugar
    * 1/2 cup vegetable oil
    * 1 egg
    * 1 cup yogurt (I used vanilla flavored)
    * 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
    * Vegetable spray, for the muffin tins

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients reserving 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss with the blueberries. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Add 1 cup blueberries to mixture and stir 3 more times. Reserve the 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Using a #20 ice cream scoop, add the mixture to greased muffin pans. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Ham and Cheese Turnovers

So sorry for the lack of posts! My parents came into town last week, so I stacked my posts to publish each day, but unfortunately I ran out of posts by Thursday. I am just now getting back to blogging (and cooking for that matter).

For dinner tonight we had ham and cheese turnovers. I have made these before, but I had forgotten how much I liked them. I did not feel like defrosting the ham lunch meat we have in the freezer, so I used turkey instead and it was very good. For the dough I used the leftover dough from this, but you could also use this dough recipe too. You could go the easy route and use Pillsbury crescent rolls, but I highly recommended you avoid that.

Ham and Cheese Turnovers

• 1 1-pound package refrigerated pizza dough
• 8 ounces deli ham, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, cut into thin rings

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Roll the pizza dough into a 14-inch circle and cut into 8 triangles.
2. Stack a piece of the ham, cheese, and onion on the bottom of each triangle and roll the dough up around the filling. (Some of the filling will stick out the ends.)
3. Transfer the rolls to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Almost Famous Cheddar Biscuits

The next few recipes I will be posting will be from our Valentines Day fancy dinner, which ended up being brown heart attack food. It was so good though, and that is all that matters.

This recipe comes from the October issue of my very favorite magazine, The Food Network magazine. Every month there is a Copy That section that gives a recipe for a dish from a popular restaurant. The October issue had a recipe for the melt-in-your-mouth cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster.

I was a little worried while I was making this because it says several times "do not over work" or the biscuits will become hard. When I pulled them out of the oven, they looked hard as a rock. However, when I bit into them, they were soft and fluffy. I was very happy, and they really do taste a lot like the biscuits from Red Lobster!

Almost Famous Cheddar Biscuits

For the biscuits:

• Cooking spray
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 ounces grated yellow cheddar cheese (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 3/4 cup whole milk

For the garlic butter:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Lightly mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Make the biscuits: Pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and pulse until combined. Add the butter; pulse 4 or 5 times, or until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Add the cheese and pulse 2 or 3 times. Pour in the milk and pulse just until the mixture is moistened and forms a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and gently knead until the dough comes together. Do not overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheet in scant 1/4-cup portions, 2 inches apart, and bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the garlic butter: Melt the butter with the garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Brush the biscuits with the garlic butter and serve warm.

Themed Food: Heart Shaped Pizza

Why buy a heart shaped pizza when you can make one! My husband and I went on our traditional valentine's date to chuck-a-rama (local buffet), so we left the babysitter and the kids with a heart shaped pizza. Of course I used my dough recipe, and shaping it into a heart was super easy!

Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Cilantro Chicken Salad with Homemade Hamburger Buns

I love to find new ways to use our leftover Costco rotisserie chicken. This is by far one of my favorite meals to do this. I love chicken salad a lot. My husband is not a big fan, mainly because most chicken salad recipes have too much fruit for his liking. When I found this recipe i was really excited, it has no fruit in it! Even better, my husband loves it. I also made some homemade hamburger buns to go with it. These turned out great. Both of these recipes are from The Sisters Dish

Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Cilantro Chicken Salad from The Sisters Dish

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion (1 large)
• 2 cups Shredded Chicken
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion (2)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• Salt and ground black pepper (optional)

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion. Cook, covered, for 13 to 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover; cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes more or until golden.

2. In a large bowl, combine onion, chicken, walnuts, and green onion. Add mayonnaise, cilantro, and lime juice; toss to coat. If desired, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Homemade Hamburger Buns from The Sisters Dish

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, creamed
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Castor sugar (very fine sugar, I just used regular sugar and it seemed to work fine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg yolk (+1 tbsp water)
• sesame seeds (optional)

Sprinkle the yeast into the water and leave for 5-10 minutes, until frothy. Stir to dissolve. Add remaining ingredients and mix well (I did this in my kitchen-aid). I let this knead in my Kitchen-Aid for ~10 minutes, until it is a soft, smooth dough. You could knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. I leave it in my mixer bowl, cover and let rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hour, until doubled in size. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape into a flattened ball (the flattening part is important, or they end up really tall). Place the buns on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise again for 30-40 minutes until puffy and doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Glaze the buns with egg yolk and water mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake the buns for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.

Food Tip: The Best Cornbread

I mentioned in an earlier post that my favorite recipe for corn bread is my mother-in-laws "recipe". Well here it is in all it's glory.

I know you can buy Marie Callender's cornbread mix at Costco and Sam's Club. It is so simple, you just add water and throw it into the oven. The packaging has directions on how to make it in a 8x8, 9x13, cookie sheet, muffin tins, and bread pans. It is fairly inexpensive, and it lasts a long time.

The corn bread comes out perfectly cooked, moist, and fluffy. We love to top ours with honey and butter or use it in our chicken and cornbread meal.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

When I was in high school in Georgia, I went to a early morning church class everyday. Every month or so, we would do a big breakfast, and our teacher would make the best sausage gravy and biscuits. She was as southern as you can get, and she made the best food. Now I wish I would have got some recipes from her.

I did make some sausage gravy and biscuits the other day, while they were not as good as the true southern kind, they still hit the spot.The biscuit recipe I got is from Alton Brown, who lives not too far from where I lived in Georgia, so I figured this would probably be the closest I could get to the real thing.

Southern Biscuits


2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp shortening
1 c buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

And the gravy...

Sausage Gravy

2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cup chicken broth
bay leaf
black pepper
ground breakfast sausage

Heat butter over med-high heat. When melted whisk in flour. Reduce heat to low and continue whisking. Cook until you smell a toasty aroma and mixture begins to turn brown, and then whisk for 2 more minutes. Take off heat and set aside.

In a separate pan, cook sausage at medium heat. When sausage is cooked, turn heat up to high and deglaze the pan with the chicken broth (pour in chicken broth while scraping the bottom of the pan). Once pan is deglazed add bay leaf and pepper and cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and whisk the butter and flour mixture (also called a roux). Return to a simmer and whisk until smooth and desired thickness.

Pizza Dough

This pizza dough recipe is my baby. I found it long ago when I was first married, and I have loved it, nurtured it, changed it, experimented with it and now it is right where I want to be. The best part about pizza dough, is you can top with whatever you want, be creative or be predictable, it will still taste good.

Sausage and Pepperoni

Clam Chowder

Pizza Dough
* this can be easily doubled!

1 package or 2 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast
1 c luke warm water
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS honey
2 1/2 c flour
whatever seasonings you want, and how much you want: garlic powder, garlic salt, rosemary, oregano, basil....

Preheat oven to 450. Mix yeast and water in a glass bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Add all ingredients together, including the yeast mixture and mix until it forms a dough. Now this is important: You do not have to let the dough rise if you do not want to. If you don't, the dough may be a little harder to roll out, and you will get a more flat crispy crust. If you like bigger fluffy crust, then let it rise until double in size, punch down, and roll it out.

This is what I do. I make two pizza out of this one recipe. Both are decent sized, but it makes the dough thin crust style, which we really like. I also do not let it rise either because I usually don't have time to!

So, roll your dough out on a floured surface. If you are having trouble getting it the size you want, roll it out about halfway, then let it rest for about 10 minutes, then roll it out the rest of the way. Next, place rolled out dough on an olive oil greased  pizza pan. Brush top of dough with olive oil, and stick it in the oven for 5 minutes. When it is done pre-cooking, layer it up with your toppings and throw it back in the oven for about 10 more minutes. Watch it though, you do not want to ruin your masterpiece by burning it!

Some topping ideas:

Veggie pizza. For the sauce you mix ranch dressing with some garlic salt, then top with cut up artichoke hearts, green onion, tomato, and chopped zucchini, top with Parmesan cheese. 

BBQ pizza: Use your favorite BBQ sauce for the sauce of the pizza, top with shredded chicken or pork, green onion, and cheddar cheese. My husband makes amazing homemade bbq sauce, and it makes the pizza even better.

This is my new one: Clam Chowder Pizza: Boil cubed potato until soft. Make a white sauce by mixing 2 1/2 tsp flour and 3 TBS butter. Let butter melt at medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and continue whisking until sauce turns a golden brown color, then add 1 c heavy cream, cook until thickend. Top pizza dough with white sauce, cubed potatoes, chopped onion, old bay seasoning, celery salt, canned clams, and Parmesan cheese. This will taste exactly like you are eating bread that has been dipped in clam chowder. Also, try topping with cooked crumbled bacon or hot sauce!

Food Tip: My Favorite Sandwich Bread

We are big bread people at our house. If we have really good bread available, my kids will even pick a slice of bread over a treat! Since we are bread people, we cannot just eat any old sandwich bread, we have to have the best! In my opinion Judy's Gourmet Whole Wheat bread is the best. not only is it good for you (whole wheat is the main ingredient) it is also delicious. The bread is thick, chewy and soft, but not too thick to over power the sandwich, and not to soft to get soggy. It tastes like really well made homemade bread. Do you want to hear the best part? It is only $1.50 to no more than $1.99 a loaf. I often see it on sale for $.99.

Judy's Gourmet is located in Orem, Utah, so the further away from Orem you get, the harder it is to find. Macey's Grocery chain in Utah county carries it, as well as Walmart. Whenever I am at either of those stores I tend to buy 3-4 loaves and freeze them (which is why the deep freezer has come in handy). Judy's Gourmet also has white bread that is really good, as well has excellent tasting hamburger buns and the famous Judy's Gourmet dinner rolls.

Oh, and if you live in Salt lake County, I have found the Dunford bread is very similar to Judy's Gourmet (and Dunford makes excelent doughnuts too)!

Chicken and Cornbread

This was one of those random accidentle recipes. I really don't have a better name for it other then Chicken and Cornbread, but I am open to suggestions!

The Chicken Part
*The chicken recipe is adapted from a recipe by Rachel Ray for Ginger-Soy Chicken


3 TBSP vegtable oil
1 1/4 lbs of chicken breast cutlest cut into one inch pieces
black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
6 large galirc cloves, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you like spicy)
6 green oinions chopped
1/2 c tamari (this is like soy sauce, but better. You can find it right next to the soy sauce. We don't even use soy sauce anymore. Tamari has a richer, deeper flavor)
6 tbsp honey

Heat skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil and let is smoke up a bit. Add chicken and season with black pepper (do not add salt, with the tamari sauce it will be salty enough). Stir fry for 1 minute. Add ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for two minutes. Add the green onions, cook for 1 minute, then add tamari and honey to form a sauce. Let cook for about 3 minutes to let sauce thicken a little. Now this is where you may get a little skeptical. You serve the chicken and the sauce over the cornbread. It is so delicious, the saltiness of the chicken and ginger soy sauce mixes so well with the sweetness of the cornbread. I know you will love it.

And the corn bread...

 I love my mother-in-laws corn bread recipe, and so I asked for the recipe. I just got a laugh and she showed me the bag of Marie Calendars corn bread mix. You can find it at Costco and it is a good price. It is so good, there is no point in making it from scratch. However, I did make it from scratch tonight. It was easy and tasted just about as good as the Marie Calendars mix. Unfortunately, I failed to do the toothpick test after it was done baking, and the whole middle was uncooked... like runny uncooked. Luckily the edges were cooked perfectly so we just ate the edges and they were really good. It is hard to be in a high altitude sometimes because it really does mess with baking temperatures and times.

Cornbread from My Kitchen Cafe

½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup milk

Add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center.  Stir until just mixed.  Bake in an 8” square pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Butterhorn Rolls

I am so hesitant to post this recipe. I do not know why, but I feel like it is some kind of secret family recipe, but it isn't! I know, I asked.  I guess maybe because it is one of those recipes you have to see someone make to really "get it". Or maybe because they are served at all the important family events. Well, this is another great one from my mother-in-law. This is the best recipe ever, because you can use this recipe to make just regular dinner rolls, orange rolls, cinnamon rolls, or pull apart bread too!

Butterhorn Rolls

1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp. yeast (or 1 pkg. but not quick rising)

Dissolve yeast in water with 1 tsp. sugar, (set aside until foamy)

Combine the following in a large bowl:

1cup lukewarm milk

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

3 eggs, well beaten

3/4 tsp. salt

Add the yeast mixture. Then add approximately 4 3/4 cup flour (or more) to form a sticky dough. Let rise for 3 hours before rolling out. When ready to use the dough, sprinkle the surface and knead the dough, dividing in two portions. Roll into large circle and brush with melted butter. Cut like pie (12-16 sections) and roll from big end to small end. Place on greased baking sheet with the tip on bottom.  Let raise covered with a cloth. (about 1-2 hours). Bake at 350 degrees  for 12-15 min. until browned.  Yield 32 rolls.

Dough may me made the night before, covered with plastic wrap and kept in refrigerator.  Remove from fridge and let warm before rolling out.

Variations: **For orange rolls, roll dough as for small cinnamon rolls in rectangular shape. Spread with melted butter and mixture of sugar and grated orange rind. (Finely grate rind from 2-3 oranges and combine with 2 cups of sugar and stir until blended). Cut as for cinnamon rolls and place dough in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 min. until browned. While still warm, remove rolls from muffin tin and set on cookie sheet and drizzle with frosting. For frosting, combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 cup orange juice

For cinnamon pull-aparts, thoroughly grease an angel food cake pan or bundt pan. Break off dough in walnut sized pieces. Roll in melted butter, then in sugar and cinnamon combined. Place pieces of dough in pan one on top of the other and let raise. Bake at 350 degrees approx. 20-25 min.

For regular dinner rolls: after dough has risen for 3 hours pull off equal amounts of dough, roll into a balls and let rise for 1-2 hours more hours. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Brush with butter while still hot.