Month: September 2011

All Purpose Pizza Dough

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As you can see, we didn’t use this dough for pizza this time. We used it for Stromboli, but this is the best recipe I’ve found for recipes needing a fairly easy, rising dough. We usually use this dough recipe for Pizza, Stromboli, and Scones.
1 C Warm Water
1 Tbsp (or 1 package) Yeast
1 Tbsp Sugar
1.5 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Oil
2 3/4 – 3 1/4 C Flour
1. In a mixer (or bowl) combine your water, yeast, and sugar. Wait five minutes and allow yeast to activate (get foamy).
2. Add remaining ingredients, adding flour a little at a time until you have a moderately-sticky dough.
3. Knead dough (adding flour as needed–no pun intended!) for about 200 turns. I let my KitchenAide run for between 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Make your pizza!
For Pizza Crust:
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. On a slightly floured board, roll dough out to fit your pan(s). Place dough in/on your pan(s).
3. Bake for 6 minutes. Prick any big bubbles with a fork.
4. Bake 6 minutes more. Add pizza toppings and bake until the cheese is melted and toppings are hot.
This is enough dough for 1 big 15 x 11 pan, or two 12″ pans.
Source: From My House To Yours: Big Piney-Marbleton Communities 1995 Cookbook
~Kara

“Most Delicious” Baked Macaroni and Cheese

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In our home there has been a quest for the “most delicious” Macaroni and Cheese. One of our daughters has looked through and tried many recipes. This recipe has been created using many things gleaned from this search and is one of her favorite things to make and eat. It is yummy anytime of the year.

If you don’t have time to bake it; you can eat it after the cheesy sauce has been stirred in and sprinkle extra shredded cheddar on top.

This also freezes well – up to 6 weeks. Do not “bake” before freezing .

Ingredients:
2 cups dry macaroni noodles cooked and drained (cooking 1 less minute than required if baking it).
1.5 – 2 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Non-Stick Spray

Cheesy Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup shredded (not powdered) Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp ground pepper

The Cheesy Sauce can be made in the Microwave or on the stove top. The method is the same.

1. Melt butter in 8 cup microwavable bowl.
2. Stir in flour with a wire whisk until smooth.
3. Very gradually add milk, stirring smooth with each addition.
4. Microwave for 1 minute.
5. Add Cheeses until blended, Microwave for 1.5 minutes, and Stir
6. Microwave 30 seconds at a time stirring well after each time until sauce is slightly thick and bubbly.
7. Add pepper, stir until incorporated.
8. Assemble

Assemble:
1. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray, place a layer of cooked macaroni in dish.
2. Pour white sauce over to cover.
3. Sprinkle with grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese.
4. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until it bubbles at the edges.

Source: Created from many ideas – by Angela

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

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The “sniffles” and “coughs” have had a party at my house this past week. So, its obvious that we need chicken stew, even if it is 90+ degrees outside. This is really good stuff! My family loves it! Especially the dumplings!

Stew:
2-1/2 to 3 lbs. chicken thighs, or chicken breast
5 c. water
4 new red potatoes (or whatever you have)
3-4 carrots
2-3 stalks celery
1 med. onion
10 oz. pkg. frozen peas
salt
pepper

Dumplings:
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

In Dutch, or pot, place chicken; cover with wter. Cover and cook over med heat until fork tender. Meanwhile chopped veggies. If using the red potatoes, leave the peel on! (I didn’t have any the afternoon when I made this pot.)
When chicken is done, remove from broth; skim fat.

Remove chicken from bones; return to broth. Add remaining stew ingredients. Cover and cook over med. heat until veggies are fork tender (15 – 20 min). In large bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk and parsley. Drop dumplings by rounded tablespoonfuls into hot stew. Cook, uncovered, 10 min.

Cover and continue cooking until dumplings are tender (8-10 min). Delicous!


(I did add one can of creamed corn to this pot and it was yummy. But that is not something I always do.)
recipe adapted from Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes

Red Velvet Cake Balls

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I know that red velvet probably looks prettier bathed in white chocolate or white cream cheese frosting but these sweet little addictions taste better robed in darker shades of chocolate. You can find a scratch recipe at www.velveteenbaker.com (a girl with a little bit of passion and a lot of red food dye) if you prefer homemade ingredients. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 9×13 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 0z.)

*1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

Directions:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix

together, but be warned it will get messy).

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make around 45-50.

You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper but sometimes I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in

chocolate and then tap off extra.)

*I use real chocolate as opposed to chocolate flavored bark. It’s just a matter of taste. I also only melt a small amount of chocolate at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Source: www.bakerella.com

Pumpkin/Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Okay, I’m going to go ahead & forewarn you that these are soooo good, just not so good for a diet. You’ll see why in a second. This makes a decent sized batch and they freeze and warm up well (if you haven’t figured out by now I love something I can make more of now to freeze for later-if you’re already making a mess, just go ahead and get it over with for a while and only have to clean up once).

Beat together:

4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 16 oz can pumpkin or 16 oz (that’s 2 cups) pureed sweet potato (for instructions on making sweet potato puree see this post)
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. oil
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour (I’ve used both red & white wheat & they both work well-don’t forget to spoon it into the measuring cup!)
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

1-Beat liquid ingredients together.
2-In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients.
3-Combine the two and mix until just combined.
4-Fold in chocolate chips (I use one bag per recipe).
5-Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes for regular sized muffins, 8-13 minutes for mini muffins.

This recipe was found over at the frugal girl

Lime Chicken Tacos

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Dust your crock pot off, and try this super simple recipe that will satisfy your craving for Mexican food!



6 Chicken Breasts (thawed or frozen, it doesn’t matter)

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
1 15oz can chicken broth
1 C. salsa of your choice
2 limes sliced into wedges
Hard taco shells
Taco Fixin’s (e.g. chopped tomato, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, etc.)


1. Pour chicken broth into a crock pot and stir in taco seasoning.
2. Add salsa and mix well.
3. Place the chicken in the crock pot with the liquid and cover with lid.
4. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours or until the chicken can be shredded.
5. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot, shred the chicken with a fork and place back in the pot with the juices.
6. Serve in hard taco shells with lime slices to drizzle over the meat.


Source: Janet Brown


Heinzen Rigatoni

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When I was still in Primary, the Priests and Laurels had a cook-off as one of their mutual activities. The girls cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu, the boys (my oldest brother, Ammon, included) cooked this. The verdict? The Priests won!

This is a delicious “lite” version of your regular rigatoni. If you prefer a heavier, creamier sauce, this may not be for you.

Ingredients:
1 1 lb. package of Rigatoni (I used Penne because that’s what I had on hand.)

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. Lite Jimmy Dean Sausage (33% less fat)

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
2-3 garlic cloves pressed
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
Ground Black Pepper to taste

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (use fresh parmesan if you can!)

1. Cook rigatoni in boiling water til aldente.

2. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat 1 Tbls. olive oil and brown the sausage. (Jimmy Dean Lite sausage has almost no fat so you’ll definitely need a little olive oil. As a result, you won’t need to drain the sausage after you brown it). When sausage is cooked through, remove and set aside in a bowl.

3. Heat 1 Tbls. olive oil in the same pot you cooked the sausage. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic. Saute until onion is transparent and mushrooms are tender but not mushy. Once vegetables are cooked, add sausage back to the pot and add 1 Tbls. Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

4. Drain pasta. Return it to the pot and add the meat mixture, heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Mix well and keep warm.

*If you desire a creamier sauce, just add more cream.

*To make this recipe even lighter, use whole wheat rigatoni and half n’ half in place of the cream.

Source: My mother, Alexandria Heinzen

Egg Sandwich–To Go, Please

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I’m sure many families have their own version of an egg sandwich, and we have more than one. This particular version is more truly a sandwich. I adapted it a bit from our English muffin version with an egg over easy so it could be eaten “on the go.” It can be made in less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 slice American cheese
2 slices bread (I use Arnold whole wheat)
Butter, to taste (we love Brummel and Brown)
1. Spray small skillet with cooking spray, even if it’s a non-stick skillet. Crack eggs into skillet (they should touch) and begin cooking between medium & medium-high heat (the higher the heat the closer you will need to watch to avoid burning). Add salt and pepper.
2. When you notice some bubbling in the egg whites and browning around the edge, add cooking spray to the top of the eggs and see if your non-draining spatula will allow you to CAREFULLY flip the eggs over, picking up the skillet and tipping it a bit so the yolks don’t have as far to “flop” and are less likely to break. (If the egg’s not ready, try again in a bit.)
3. Add salt and pepper to this side. Put the slice of cheese on top (eventually melting it).
4. Put the bread slices in the toaster. (My toaster toasts plenty on its lowest setting; you may need to adjust the time at which you toast according to how toasty you like your bread.)
5. Break the egg yolks so that you don’t have to worry about them dripping while you’re eating on the go (they will get a chance to cook just long enough during the next step…). Why bother not breaking them until now? –I guess I prefer the slightly different taste, so I avoid “overcooking” the yolk.
6. Add butter to one side of each bread slice (butter sides in once the sandwich is made so you don’t get it on your hands).
7. Add the eggs and cheese (maybe doubled over to fit the bread) to one bread slice, flip the other bread slice on top, and voila! Grab a paper towel and go! [I mean, enjoy your lovely protein-packed sandwich?… 😉 ]
Source: adapted from joint effort by the hubs and me (Ok, mostly the hubs. And then I adapted it to make this version.)

Cookbook Nook: Worldwide Ward Cookbook

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I had been eyeing this cookbook for quite a while when I finally broke down and bought it this summer.  I figured, “Hey, I started a recipe blog so I ‘need’ this for ‘research’!”  <ahem>  Yeah, anyway, one of the reasons I really like it is because it’s a compilation of favorite recipes from LDS sisters around the world.  I always love getting people’s favorite recipes–you know they’re tried and true.  I also like that with some of the recipes there are little personal tidbits from the recipe contributor, along with occasional personal photos.  Somehow it really does seem like it IS your world’s ward cookbook.

I love the colors and decor of this book….so spring-like, vibrant, alive.

Inside cover shows the fun colors.  Table of Contents (notice a category just for Prophets….favorite dishes from some of our latter-day prophets.)

Above, an example of one of the recipe category divider pages and a full page recipe photo.  Mmmmm…..brownies.  And speaking of drool……

I am a Carrot Cake Fanatic (and snob) so I am definitely trying this recipe to see if it  REALLY is the best Carrot Cake ever (cuz if it is, that’s one more item off my bucket list)

I’m a sucker for Cinnamon Rolls!
This book is 327 pages of mouth-watering recipes (well, maybe not the Hot Dog Casserole but we’ll see since I’m trying that for lunch today….figured it might be a kid-pleaser).  I paid full price for mine with no regrets, but you can get them on Amazon used for as low as $14.95 (as of this posting).

I’ll be sharing several recipe out of this book in the coming weeks and months, so be on the lookout!