Every night should be pizza night!

I love pizza, and before we started make it at home I’m sure that we had spent a small fortune on pizza delivery. When we first got to Oklahoma it was hard to get by on one income. We were used to my paycheck. I was offered  a job back in November but once we calculated the pros and cons it just wasn’t worth it financially. My whole pay check would go straight to daycare for our three kids. So I made staying at home my job. One of my many responsibilities is to manage the finances. We used to eat out at least three times a week and you know what? I do not miss it at all. Once I found out how much money we were spending going out I could’ve hit myself. Plus I learned that there was more than just the benefit of saving money, the food tastes so much better when you make it at home. Yes it might take a little bit more time and effort but it’s totally worth it when I know that I made a delicious home cooked meal for my family and have a little extra cash in our pockets. One of the many things that I probably wont order out for again is Pizza.

The key to a good pizza is a pizza stone. A few months ago I found a pizza stone at Ross for $40. It’s one of my favorite things in my kitchen (one of my other favorites is my KitchenAid mixer that I got for Christmas from my husband, no more kneading pizza dough by hand). Before we got the stone I was baking our pizza on a round metal pizza pan with cornmeal as a pizza peel. The pizza was good but OH MY GOODNESS once I made Pizza on the stone we were hooked. We have pizza night at least once a week. I ask my husband and the kids if they are tired of pizza yet but they insist that I should make it more often.

I did try a couple of pizza dough and sauce recipes before I found the perfect ones.

 

Pizza Dough

Yield: enough dough for 2 pizzas

Ingredients:

½ cup warm water

2¼ tsp. instant yeast

4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1½ tsp. salt

1¼ cup water, at room temperature

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture.  With the mixer on low-speed, pour in the yeast-water mixture as well as the olive oil.  Mix until a cohesive dough is formed.  Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low-speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball.  (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.)  Cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes.  Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal*.  Shape the dough with lightly floured hands.  Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil.  Top as desired.  Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

* I place a piece of parchment paper on my counter and shape the pizza on there. No need for cornmeal, just slide the parchment onto a pizza peel and transfer the whole thing to your warm pizza stone.

** If you don’t plan to use the dough right away, divide dough into 2 equal portions after it has risen. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and place each wrapped dough in a freezer safe bag. The day that you need to use the dough, remove it from the freezer and place it on the counter for a couple of hours or place in the refrigerator the morning of the day you plan to use it. It tastes just as good as the fresh dough.

Source: Baking Illustrated

Pizza Sauce:

1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

combine all ingredients in a food processor.  Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate until ready to use.

I use a couple of big spoonfuls per pizza. There is plenty of sauce leftover, I put extra sauce in Ball freezer cups and place them in the freezer for future pizzas. We don’t like a very saucy pizza so we end up having enough sauce for at least 5 freezer cups.

 

 

Pozole

I know I’m nuts…the weather here is not soup weather but sometimes you just get a hankering for a good soup. I love pozole! It has been a tradition in my family that on Christmas we make tamales and on New Years my grandma makes Pozole. So in keeping with the tradition I have carried it over to my little family. I don’t have my Grandmas original “recipe” she just adds a little of this and a little of that and a lot of love. So I have come up with my own. We like it, but when I go home for the holidays I request my Grandma’s. I also needed an excuse to use my new fancy pot that my sister sent me for my “Mother’s Day/Early Birthday” gift. It’s a Princess Heritage Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 6 OT. stir pan with lid. Head over to her blog, she loves cooking and sell Princess House items. So far so good I love this pan. When I added my pork to the pan, which heats up so nice and evenly, my pork browned perfectly. It cleans well too. Can’t wait to use it again. Not enough cupboard space in this house but that’s okay because it sits nicely on my stove top, kind of like kitchen jewelry like my Sister would say. And it truly is a pretty pot. Anyway back to the recipe, Pozole is a soup kind of tastes like menudo without using the tripe. Instead you use pork or pork loin. Don’t get me wrong I like menudo but I will leave the preparations for that to the professionals. It seems complicated….maybe not but I just don’t want to touch the raw tripe 🙂

Pozole 

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2″ pieces

2 c. chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 TBS. chili powder

1 (14oz) can chicken broth, or more for more broth

1 (15.5oz) can hominy, drained

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp salt

Garnish

onion, diced

fresh cilantro

lemon wedges

cabbage, sliced thinly

Directions:

In a large pot over medium-high heat, put some oil in and add pork to pot cooking for 4-5 min and brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

In same pot, over medium-high heat add a little oil saute onions for 2-3 minutes add garlic, chili powder and cook for 15 seconds. Add pork back to the pot and chicken broth stir and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add drained hominy, cumin and salt(if needed). Simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes. Serve in a bowl with a squirt of lemon, cabbage, raw onion, an cilantro; or any variation of the garnishes. Enjoy on a cold day or just cause you have a hankering for a good soup.

Easter Goodies

Hope that everybody enjoyed their Easter Sunday. My little family and I enjoyed a day of relaxation and good food. We also made some cute crafts this weekend. First up food, for Easter dinner we had bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, fried spinach and crash hot potatoes.

Roast Pork Loin with Bacon and Brown Sugar Glaze:

Source: The Comfort of Cooking

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

2 slices bacon

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Glaze:

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Directions:

Heat oven to 350° F. Place pork loin in a roasting pan or deep casserole dish lined with aluminum foil. Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub over the pork. Cut each strip of bacon in half and lay strips over the pork loin. Roast for about 40 minutes.
Combine the brown sugar, flour, cider vinegar, and dry mustard in a saucepan. Simmer for 1 minute. Spoon over the pork and return to the oven. Roast for about 15 minutes longer, or until pork registers 160°. Let sit for 2 minutes after removing from oven. Slice and serve.

Pan Fried Spinach:

Source: the Pioneer Woman Cooks, Food from my frontier

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 lrg bunch of spinach, cleaned and stems removed

salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and quickly stir it around to avoid burning. Throw in Spinach, using tongs to move it around the skillet. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper. Continue to cook just until wilted. Plate and enjoy

Crash Hot Potatoes:

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Food from my frontier

Ingredients:

12 whole new potatoes (or other small round potatoes)

Kosher salt, to taste

3 TBS olive oil

black pepper to taste

Minced Rosemary (or other herb of your choice)

Directions:

In Pot over medium high heat, boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 450° F. Place the potatoes o a baking sheet. Using a potato masher, gently press down to mash each one. Rotate the masher 90 degrees, then mash again. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and rosemary. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

And for a sweet treat we had Italian Easter Bread. So yummy.

 

Italian Easter Bread:

Source: The Italian Dish

makes 6 breads

Ingredients:

• 1 package Rapid Rise (instant) yeast, about 2-1/4 teaspoons
• 1.25 cups milk
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3.5 cups flour (approximate)
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
• 6 dyed Easter eggs *
• sprinkles or pearl sugar

Instructions:

* tip:  the Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled.  They cook when the bread bakes.  I usually just dye the eggs uncooked, without hardboiling them.  Saves time.  Just be careful they don’t crack!

In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter together, just till butter melts.    In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, salt, eggs and sugar.  Add the warm (not hot – it will kill the yeast) milk and butter. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook.   Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough.  Don’t worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is not sticky anymore.  Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a “braid”, pinching the ends,  and loop into a circle.

Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpats.  Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again.  Brush each  bread with beaten egg wash.  Put on the sprinkles or sugar.   In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden – about 20 minutes.  Cool on rack.

And super easy spring crafts made by the kids. Super easy, super fun, super fast and super cute.

Coffee filter flowers and Foam bunnies and a chick in disguise.

See how my boys had to make these cute little guys more boyish. The duck and brown bunnies are football players with black under their eyes and a carrot football. They had fun making these. Have a good week and I am going to try to post again this week. Thanks for reading and happy Spring!

 

 

 

 

Irish Beef Stew

I know I’m a little behind on the updating for St. Patrick’s day. I didn’t seem to get around to spending any time on the computer this last week. My in-laws were here spending the week with us. Good times were had by all and lots of cooking that I will update you on soon.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons flour 1lb beef stew meat or diced beef

1 small onion (chopped)

2 large potatoes (peeled and diced)

4 carrots (peeled and sliced)

2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

6 garlic cloves (minced)

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

1 (12 ounce) bottle Irish stout beer

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

¼ cup fresh parsley (minced)

Directions:

In a large pot heat oil. Coat beef cubes with flour and fry in oil until browned on all sides. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. Add mushrooms and onions to the pan. Cook onions until tender.  Add the beef back to the pot. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, beef broth and beer. Add potatoes and carrots. Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour. In a measuring cup mix together 1 table spoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Pour into the stew and stir. Simmer until the sauce has thickened. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Source: blogchef.net

 

Chilaquilles

After a long talk with my grandma the other day we got on the subject of food. Come to find out Chilaquilles are my grandma’s favorite. I have never had chilaquilles before but tortilla chips mixed with salsa is always a hit with me. I plan my meal plan for every two weeks. Since I had already planned on making nachos for thursday night dinner it wasn’t a stretch to change it to Chilaquilles. There are many ways to make chilaquilles. I found out that it’s usually served for breakfast with overeasy eggs and beans. You could really eat them anytime. This recipe would be great with leftover chicken added to the mix.

Chilaquiles

Ingredients: For Salsa Verde

1lb Tomatillos, husk removed and washed

2 Jalepenos, adjust for desired heat

1 Serrano chili, adjust for desired heat

vegtable oil

Kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, smashted

1/4 c chicken broth or water, can be adjusted depending on how thick you want sauce

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, reserve a little for garnish

Ingredients: Main dish

Tortilla chips or Corn Tortillas (not fresh is better)

oil, if using tortillas

Monterey cheese, or any cheese you like

red onion, for garnish

reserved cilantro, for garnish

Directions: Preheat oven to 450°. Line baking sheet with foil. Place jalapeno, serranos and husked tomatillos on baking sheet. Toss them in oil and season with kosher salt. Roast for 15 minutes turning halfway through roast, making sure to brown skins evenly. Once roasted remove from oven and put tomatillos in a blender. Allow chilis to cool so that you can handle them. Place cilantro, smashed garlic and 1/4 cup chicken broth. Once chilis are cooled remove outer skins, tops and cut down middle lengthwise to scrape out seeds. Place them in blender with other ingredients. Cover blender and blend till smooth green sauce is formed. Add more chicken broth or water as needed.

If you are using corn tortillas, cut into triangles and fry in a bit of oil. Allow to drain on paper towel.

If you are using chips then you are ready to assemble Chilaquilles. Place chips in large pot over med/low heat. Pour Salsa Verde on top, covering all chips. Allow to warm and serve top with monterey jack cheese, diced red onions and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

Orange Chicken

Trying to save a bit of money lately by not going out so much but one of the things my husband misses about going out, or ordering in I should say, is Orange Chicken. So I went to one of my favorite blogs to see if Annie has made any orange chicken. Yup she has. I can always rely on her blog if I need a good recipe. Anyway, I made it last night and it was so good. I never get orange chicken when we eat Chinese food but like I said it’s one of my husbands must-haves. Since I don’t have any reference point I can’t say that it’s better than the one at a fast food joint but I’m betting it probably is 🙂

 

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

For the marinade and sauce:

¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth

¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1½ tsp. finely grated orange zest

6 tbsp. white vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar (dark or light)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1½ lbs. boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. cold water

8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For the coating and frying:

3 large egg whites

1 cup cornstarch

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

3 cups peanut or canola oil

Directions:

To make the marinade and sauce, combine the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan; whisk to blend well.  Measure out ¾ cup of the mixture and transfer it to a large zipper lock plastic bag.  Add the chicken pieces to the bag, pressing out the excess air and sealing well.  Refrigerate and let marinate 30-60 minutes, but no longer.  Place the saucepan with the remaining mixture on the stove and heat over medium-high heat.  Bring to a simmer.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth.  Add the mixture to the saucepan with the sauce.  Continue simmering until the sauce is thick and translucent, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and stir in the strips of orange peel, if using.

To prepare the coating, place the egg whites in a pie plate and whisk until frothy.  In a second pie plate combine the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne pepper; whisk to blend.  Drain the chicken of the marinade in a colander or large strainer; pat dry with paper towels.  Place half of the chicken pieces in the egg whites and turn to coat.  Transfer the pieces to the cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly, shaking off the excess.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

To fry the chicken, heat the oil in a 11- or 12-inch round Dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan until the oil reaches 350˚ F.  Carefully place half of the chicken pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through cooking.  Remove from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.  Return the oil to 350˚ F and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Reheat the sauce if necessary and toss with the cooked chicken pieces.  Serve over rice, if desired.

**My notes:

I used 1/2 cup fresh orange juice because I only had 2 oranges, I used 1 cup chicken broth to make up for not having enough orange juice. I omitted the orange zest because my husband doesn’t really like that in his orange chicken.

You could double the sauce recipe if you like a little extra sauce to drizzle over you rice. This recipe makes just enough for 3 chicken breast.

Source: Annie-Eats

 

Hot Dog rolls

A twist on the plain ol hotdog. I have made these 3 times in the last month. They are a hit with everyone in the family and really easy to make. I can get 8-9 hot dog rolls out of this recipe.

Serve with a salad and some baked beans…mmmm….our favorite. Enjoy.

Hot Dog Rolls

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup water

Hot dogs

• 6 large hot dogs
• 2 green onions
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix the water, yeast and sugar together and let it sit for about 10 minutes until it starts bubbling.
2. In another larger bowl, mix the flour with the salt.
3. In a small bowl melt the butter and add the egg and whisk it well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour, including the yeast mixture and mix. You can use your mixer here, but I just kneaded the dough by hand. Add more flour as needed, I used 2 cups of flour, but if you need more, just add some more. Place the dough in an oiled bowl.
5. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rest until it doubles in size.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
7. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Roll out each piece into a small rectangle and place a hot dog in the middle of the dough, then just wrap the dough around the hot dog, covering it well.
8. Cut each covered hot dog, into 1/2 inch pieces, cut the hot dog all the way through, but stop as you reach the dough. Take each piece and roll it out and shape it into a flower as in the picture below.
9. Repeat with remaining hot dogs. Place rolls on a baking lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Brush each roll with egg wash and top with cheddar cheese, parsley and green onions.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Source: Jo Cooks