Homemade Pizza

I love doing English Muffin Pizzas but Trevor is not a huge fan. I have always been terrified of making my own pizza-too time consuming/too hard! I recently used a recipe that I quickly fell in love with! Super delicious and so easy I can even handle it. We have found this saves us a lot of money when we are craving delicious cheesy pizza from our local pizzeria. Best part--if you double the dough recipe you can freeze it and have enough for another meal! Win!

Now the sauce i just do to taste so i really don't know measurements so i'll guess and you can judge after that. PIZZA SAUCE 15 oz can tomato sauce 3or4 cloves of garlic pressed 1 tablespoons onion i usually do dried onion or onion powder 2 tablespoons oregano 1 tablespoon basil dash of cayenne pepper or some sort of spicy seasoning salt and pepper to taste. just mix it all up. And if you really want the flavors to meld together you can let it boil for 5 or 10 minutes but i usually don't think that far in advance. This will make enough sauce for about 3 pizzas. You can freeze this too! PIZZA DOUGH-I double this and it gives us two good sized pizzas. I make one and freeze the rest of the dough.

2 1/2-3 cups flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 package yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 3tablespoons oil 1 cup very warm water In larger liquid measuring cup combine water, sugar, oil, and yeast. Let sit until somewhat bubbly about 5 minutes. In bowl combine 2 cups flour and salt. Add yeast mixture to flour and stir together. Knead in remaining dough until elastic. Let rest 10-30 minutes (the longer the better) shape into pizza and garnish as desired. Don't forget to use cornmeal on the bottom of your pizza pan so the dough does not stick. Bake at 425-450 about 10 to 15 minutes.

To freeze dough complete steps above. Form into a ball and place in a WELL GREASED gallon sized freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and stick in the freezer. To thaw simply place the frozen dough in the fridge the night before you plan on using the dough. Works great-still tastes delicious.

English Muffin Pizzas

One of our FAVORITE meals around here, because Luc LOVES to help cook and it's so simple he can make his own! Plus it is a really fast meal for nights when you don't have much time.

You'll need:
-English muffins
-pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce (whatever your preference)
-shredded cheese (again, your preference. we like mozzarella)
-toppings like pepperoni, olives, chopped ham, pineapple, green peppers, bacon, etc. Whatever you like on your pizzas!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice English muffins in half, and place on  your baking sheet.
Spoon the sauce on to each muffin and then top with the cheese and desired toppings. Toddlers love making their own, so let them go crazy!

Bake for ten minutes, or until edges are brown and cheese is melted. I toss a salad and call it a good meal!

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

These are divine and SO easy to make!

Image taken from tofw.com

For Brownies
2 Cups Margarine (I use butter)
2 Cups Sugar
1/3 Cup Cocoa
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cup flour
Mini Marshmallows

Instructions-Mix sugar & Margarine until smooth, add cocoa and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour. Bake on a large greased cookie sheet for 25 min at 350 degrees.  Immediately add mini marshmallows on top and cook for an additional 3 minuets. Let cool.

For frosting
1/2 Cup butter
1/4 Cup Cocoa
1/3 Cup Sweet and Condensed Milk
Powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients and add powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Spread frosting on top of cooled brownies/marshmallows and Enjoy!

Corn Salad/Salsa

Thanks Amy for introducing us to this amazing stuff!

Corn Salad 

Recipe by Our Best Bites 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 ounces queso fresco or cotija cheese***
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped***
1/2 recipe (about 6 ounces) Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette (click the link to find the recipe!)
1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions:

Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large stock pot. When the water boils, add the corn and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse and then add to a large bowl. Toss together the corn, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeño pepper, and crumbled cheese. Toss with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette. Chill until ready to serve. Right before serving, gently toss in the avocado and season with salt. It's AMAZING with tortilla chips! Serves 10-12.

***i used feta cheese and a green bell pepper instead of queso fresco and a jalapeño AND i threw in a diced tomato and it was still madly delicious!

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Recipe from my mom!

You'll need:
4 cans chicken broth
2-3 chicken breasts
Noodles- you can use any kind you want. I like regular fettucini noodles, my mom likes to use the bowtie kind- whatever you like will work! Also, I never measure these, I just eyeball them.  I do about 4-5 cups cooked.
Carrots- I use 3/4 bag of baby carrots
1 small onion
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper

Pour in your crockpot the cans of chicken broth and 1 can of water. Chop the carrots and onion and add to the broth. Boil chicken, dice, and add to the broth. Simmer on low for 4 hours or until carrots and onions are soft.

Boil the noodles until they are ALMOST done but not quite. Drain and add to your crockpot. Turn crockpot to high and let cook for 1 hour or until noodles are soft and done- i left mine cooking for over two hours last time and they were way too mushy. So check them periodically, stirring and testing softness.

At the very end, right before you're ready to serve it, salt and pepper to taste {not much salt needed} and stir in the sour cream. You can't add it earlier or it separates as it cooks. This add a bit of creaminess without making it heavy and it's so good!

Serve hot, and it's best with warm rolls of course. Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

I was in a baking mood and had some extra fruit lying around the house so I made these little beauties. Not healthy in any way shape or form but oh my are they delicious! Especially with that tangy glaze on top!

Enjoy!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk * I did one cup of regular milk and 1 Tbs of white vinegar-let it sit for 5-10 min before adding to the recipe

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/4 cups raspberries *I used fresh and cut them in half since they were large

1 cup confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lemon zest. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until moistened. Fold in raspberries. Fill 18 muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice. If glaze is too thick, add another tablespoon of lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and allow to harden slightly, about 5 minutes. 

NO BAKE CHEESECAKE

This is a SUPER fluffy, delicious cheesecake recipe, and it's so easy. Luc and I make it in 20 minutes!

You'll need:
1 graham cracker pie crust (i always buy mine. feel free to make your own if you know how!)
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup white sugar
any fruit sauce or topping you desire

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese (if it's cold, it's very hard to get a creamy texture) and lemon juice until soft. Add the whipping cream and beat until batter becomes thick and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (This takes a few minutes. Also, I always taste it right about now and make sure it's sweet enough. I usually have to add a pinch more sugar)

When your mixture is very thick and fluffy, spoon it into your graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Chill several hours or overnight (THIS IS IMPORTANT. It melts fast if you don't chill it. Overnight is best.)

Just before serving, top with whatever fruit or sauce you desire!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

This is a Thanksgiving classic, but it's so delicious, we like to eat it year round!

You'll need:

about 30-36 oz frozen whole green beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk
1 container French's onions
Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw your green beans in a strainer under hot water. Let them sit to dry.

In a large bowl, mix your two cans of cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, and heavy cream or milk. (NOTE: I've made this recipe with either one and it always turns out yummy. Milk is, of course, the healthier of the two options so I use it most often.) Mix these together until you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Add salt and pepper generously, and stir some more.

When your beans are dry and thawed, stir them into your sauce until they are all covered. Then dump them into a 9x13 glass dish and cover with tinfoil.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 min or until bubbly.

Remove from the oven and generously sprinkle French's onions on top, covering the entire dish. Leave the tinfoil off and bake for an additional 5-10 min or until onions are crispy and browning in places. Remove and EAT!


P.S. This is a really easy recipe to make smaller or bigger:
For every bag of frozen green beans, it's 1 can of soup, 1 TBSP of soy sauce, and 3/4 cup milk.

30 Minute Rolls

I found this recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen  and I am in love! Making any sort of bread (besides banana bread) terrifies me. I refuse to even attempt it half the time because I don't like failing.

Last Sunday I found this recipe and decided to brave it. Let me tell you, it is the easiest recipe ever! I didn't need to knead it, it only had to rise for 15 min, there was no rolling it out and cutting it, and I had fresh delicious dinner rolls in about 30 min.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://realmomkitchen.com/20/30-minute-rolls/

The only thing I would do differently is to let the rolls cook a bit longer. They were still delicious but I'll let mine brown a bit more next time.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

We have an obsession with this soup at our house, we eat it at least twice a month during the winter. It is delicious, and extremely easy to make.

I'm posting two recipes because they are both delicious. The first is amazing but I don't always have all the ingredients on hand (I never have half and half,Velveeta, or fresh broccoli) so I have simplified the recipe so I can make it whenever we want.

Here is the link to the first recipe:

http://southerncolor.blogspot.com/2011/11/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup.html


Simplified Recipe:

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1/4 c Butter
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 flour
2 c chicken stock or broth
2-3 c Milk (depends on how much you're making)
1/2- 1 lb frozen broccoli
1/2 c chopped carrot (optional)
2 c cheddar cheese (or more if you like it extra cheesy)
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper

In a small saute pan cook onions and carrots in a little butter until tender.

In large pot: Melt 1/4 c butter. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Continue stirring and cooking flour and butter for a few min. Don't brown the flour.

Add chicken stock and milk to the butter/flour mixture. Add seasoning. Cook for about 5-10 min.

While base is cooking, de-frost broccoli in microwave or under warm water. If desire break broccoli pieces up into small bite size pieces.

Add onions, carrots, and broccoli to pot and cook for about 20 min.

Add cheese and stir until incorporated.

Taste, add more cheese and seasoning if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is easily adjustable to your taste buds. Add other seasonings if you want, add more cheese, add more milk to make it thinner. Play around with it and figure out what your family like! :) 

HOLIDAY HAM

Tis the season! You cannot mess this one up!

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with brown sugar. 
Place ham on top of the brown sugar and add pineapple tidbits with the juice. 
Cover that ham with the whole can of pineapple and juice! 
Sprinkle a few whole cloves in the crockpot too. 
Sprinkle ham with more brown sugar. Be generous!
Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

Voila!

Queso Blanco Dip

via meg

I got this recipe from a BYU friend and we LOVE it! 

You can make it spicy or mild, and it's delicious either way.

Queso Blanco Dip

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup diced white onion (about half a small onion)
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
{i say leave all the seeds in, you'll need em for flavor unless you are using pepper jack.}
3/4 cup half and half {or milk, if you don't have it}
1 pound (16 oz.) white American cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
4 oz. Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt & white pepper to taste
{i like white pepper for things like this cause it's not harsh like black, and for the obvious reason of black specs in my pretty white dip...uncool}.

what to do:
heat up the oil in a large sauce pan on med-hi heat. add onion and jalapeno.  cook until pretty soft, and even a little carmelizedish. add half-n-half and reduce heat to low. layer your strips or shredded cheese gradually and keep it moving until all of the cheese is melted. add spinach, cilantro, and salt & white pepper to taste.  if you need more heat, add crushed red pepper, or even a few hits of tapatio.

Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate & a treat!

Cassie shared this recipe from Super Saturday on Facebook and I thought i'd put the link here so it's easy to find. This stuff was heavenly!

Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

Also, i made this treat Sunday and we devoured them, they're so easy and addicting!

Pretzel Hugs

ORANGE BERRY SMOOTHIE

I know summer is on it's way out, but it's still blasted hot and this is a delicious and healthy way to cool off!

Blend:

2 peeled {and take out seeds if any} oranges, cut into chunks
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries


Optional:
1/2 cup apple juice, if it's too thick
1 container of any flavor yogurt to make it a breakfast smoothie

So easy and it's one of my favorites!

Mexican Noodle Soup

Ximena's Favorite!

Ingredients: 

         *1 cup"LA MORENA" Mexican Pasta (you can can get this at a mexican store or even at walmart in the mexican seccion) 

         * 1/2 a cup of onion
         * Olive oil (I use Extra virgin, but you can use regular too)

         * One roman tomato 

         * 1/2 a bouillon cube (available at a mexican store or at walmart)

         * 3 cups of water
         * half a clove of garlic 

Direction: 

First you chop a Tbs of the onion. Then, in the blender you add the garlic, tomato, bouillon, the rest of the onion, and water. Blend until liquidly. Next, in a pot you put a small amount of olive oil, the chopped onion, and the mexican pasta. Toasted on the stuff on medium low for about 3 minutes and mix it while in fire (do not let it burn :)). Finally, you add the blend covering the pot, reduce the fire and let it boil for about 10 minutes (you can be checking if the pasta is ready by taking out a little bit of the pot).
ENJOY!!

HOMEMADE MAPLE SYRUP

I loved Heather's pancake recipe, and thought this was the perfect chance to share the easiest homemade maple syrup recipe ever. It's so heavenly, we don't buy it at the store anymore!

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
{you can make as much or as little of this as you want, just keep everything in equal parts}

Stir water and sugars in a sauce pan on medium high heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes. Then add to your boiling mixture:

2 tsp maple flavoring
4 tsp vanilla

Stir well and allow to boil for another 2 minutes or so. Promptly remove from heat and pour syrup into a bowl, bottle, or container {if you leave it in the hot pan, it caramelizes and gets too thick} and it's done! Enjoy over waffles, french toast, pancakes, etc.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

My husband is a breakfast traditionalist (it is his favorite meal after all) and when he found out I was going to make these pancakes instead of the store bought pre-packaged stuff he was EXTREMELY hesitant. He begged me not to do it.

I did it anyways.

Now he begs for these. The pre-packaged stuff is now a last resort when I'm too lazy to cook and he has to do it himself.

I HIGHLY recommend these.

Ingredients:
1 C flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
2 T & 2tsp milk
1 egg
1 T and 2 1/4 tsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1) In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt

2) In a seperate bowl beat buttermilk, milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted better. (**Make sure the melted butter is cooled a bit. If not the buttermilk will clump and you risk cooking the egg.)

Keep mixtures separate until you are ready to cook the pancakes. Combine and cook on a griddle.

Enjoy!

Helpful Tip:
Did you know you can freeze buttermilk? Poor 1 tablespoon portions of buttermilk into an ice cube tray and freeze. Now, whenever you need buttermilk for a recipe just pull out the right amount of cubes.  No more wasting buttermilk!

Baked Potato Soup

This recipe was given to me by Cassie Goodman who received it from Cami Miller.

(The recipe is HUGE but I make the whole thing and freeze the leftovers).

8 baking potatoes
1 1/3 cup of butter
1 1/3 cup of flour
12 cups of milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
8 green onions
24 slices of bacon
2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
16 oz sour cream
2 Tbs chicken base

Wash/scrub and poke potatoes. Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut into cubes (as small as possible without falling apart--think bit size). Leave skins on.
Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually add milk. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly (takes about 20-30 minutes to get thick). Add potato cubes, salt, pepper, green onions, crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and chicken base. Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream. Add extra milk if necessary for desired thickness. Garnish with addition bacon, cheese and green onions.

It is a little time consuming but so worth it! Great for a chilly fall day. Yum!

BROWN SUGAR GARLIC CHICKEN

Another easy crock-pot dinner that is delicious! This dish can be as spicy or mild as you wish. It's tangy and sweet all at the same time. It's a staple in our house.

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts
1 C brown sugar
2/3 C vinegar
1/4 C Lemon Lime Soda
2-3 T minced garlic
2 T soy sauce
1 t pepper
2 T cornstarch
2 T water

Rice or noodles cooked
Red pepper flakes

Instructions:
1) Spray slow cooker with cooking spray, place chicken breasts inside

2) Mix brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, pepper together and pour over chicken.

3) Cook low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

4) Take chicken out, poor sauce into saucepan

5) Add cornstarch to water (mix well), add to sauce and bring to boil. Cook until a glaze. Shred chicken if desired. Serve over rice or noodles (we always do rice). Add red pepper flakes on top if desired. 

**My husband and I like our food spicy so I always add about 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes to step 2, and let it cook with everything else.

Enjoy!


This recipe originally came from Six Sister's Stuff. They have lots of delicious recipes, check them out! 

SMASHED POTATOES

picture via the pioneer woman

YOU GUYS!

I made these for the Elders last week and they seriously licked their plates. They were SO GOOD!

Find detailed instructions HERE

You'll need:

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste {I used a garlic herb mix I had on hand}

Instructions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.