Fat Crust Pizza

So, I've made some great dishes lately and need to share them with you!

This past week I made my homemade fat crust pizza! Bubbly dough with a garlic crust, chunky tomato and herb sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, and of course pepperoni! (This is seriously the best homemade pizza ever!)

Here's the recipe for the crust (from Six Sisters' Stuff). 

Pizza Recipe:

(Makes 1 large, thick pizza, or 2 smaller pizzas)

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons fast rising yeast

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Seasonings as desired (garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram, etc)

Toppings: onions, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, olives, etc...

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

-In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.  Gradually add water and oil to mixture.  Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.  

-On a lightly floured surface, knead until dough is smooth and elastic.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.  

-Press out dough onto 1 (or 2) pizza pans.  I like to roll the ends to make nice thick crust, as if it were a bread stick. Poke the dough randomly with a fork.  Let rise again in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.  

-Brush crusts lightly with oil and bake them for 5 minutes.  

-Remove from oven and top as desired.  Brush crusts with olive oil and seasoning (I like to make a paste of olive oil with garlic salt to imitate breadstick crusts). Bake for 4-5 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I also decided to experiment with my own pizza sauce. I just threw a few ingredients together based on some previous recipes and remembering my mother's homemade spaghetti sauce recipe!

Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe:

(Makes sauce for 1 or 2 pizzas)

Ingredients:

1 (10.34 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 (8 oz) can of tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
    (OR 3/4 teaspoon oregano, 3/4 teaspoon basil, 1/4 teaspoon thyme)

2-4 cloves of fresh garlic

   

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan. Allow to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. 

OR combine all ingredients in your vitamix at variable speed 7 for 30-60 seconds. 

Note: You can always double this recipe and freeze half for next time! Also, we use this to dip our crust/bread sticks in!

Peach Salsa Pork

Compliments to my friend Heather Burns for giving me this recipe! It's super fast, easy, and a great crowd pleaser.

Peach Salsa Pork (or Chicken)

4 pork chops (or 4 chicken breasts), cut into bite size chunks
Taco seasoning packet
Salsa (any variety of your choice)
Peach jam or 1 can of peaches, drained and cut into bite size pieces


Coat the meat in the taco seasoning. Cook in a heated skillet until done. Add equal parts peach jam/peaches and salsa. Stir and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Optional: you could add some bell peppers or other vegetable of your choice.

Peanut Butter Corn Flake No-Bake Cookies

These are one of my husbands favorite treats! He has the recipe written on an old envelope. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but we've personalized it to become even more delicious. Super easy, super quick, and super yummy.

1 cup white sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
6 cups corn flakes

Bring the sugar and syrup to a boil.
Remove from heat and add the peanut butter and butter. Stir until melted.
Pour over the cornflakes in a large mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
Spoon a heaping scoop onto wax paper. Allow to cool.
(Or eat them after 5 minutes, once they have melded together but are still a bit warm and gooey. Yummmmm)

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

I love to find sneaky ways to add beans into our diet, because we personally don't like to eat beans as a plain-ol' side dish. This was a great way to have both black beans and red kidney beans!

Chicken and Bean Enchiladas
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 small can of diced green chilis (optional)
1/3 cup of chopped onion
1 1/4 cup of cheese (I used cheddar and a taco blend, but any kind will do!)
1/4 cup of taco seasoning (or you can use enchilada seasoning)
2 cups of salsa (OR 1 cup salsa and 1 cup enchilada/taco sauce)
6-8 tortillas (wheat)

Combine the chicken, black beans, kidney beans, cream of chicken soup, optional green chilis, onion, 1 cup of cheese, taco seasoning, and 1 cup of salsa in a large mixing bowl.

Swirl 1/2 cup of salsa (OR enchilada/taco sauce) in your 9x13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the mixture, roll up, and place in baking dish. Once all enchiladas are in dish, drizzle another 1/2 cup of salsa (OR enchilada/taco sauce) on top.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Optional: add an additional 1/4 cheese on top and place back in oven 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Tonight's Dinner: Quinoa Pizza Bites

For a New Years resolution, my husband and I decided to add more superfoods to our diet, one of them being quinoa. After some searches on Pinterest, I came across this yummy recipe: quinoa pizza bites. You see, we love pizza, so the combination of quinoa and pizza is just a lovely mix!

Here is my modification (adapted from Once A Month Mom):
Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chopped onion (chopped on the smaller side)
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 cup of chopped turkey pepperoni (which is nearly the entire 6 oz package)
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 Tbs pizza seasoning (basil, oregano, marjoram)
• Optional: pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (except for pizza sauce).
• Spray muffin tins (mini muffin tin, regular muffin tin, or bar pans all work great!)
• Fill each cup about 2/3 of the way and gently press to compact together. This is an important step so they don't fall apart when you try to remove them from the pan!
• Bake for 15-20 minutes (less for mini, more for regular)
• Allow to cool in pan before serving.

Enjoy!

Not Your Ordinary Toothbrush!

I went to visit my grandmother the other day and she is always loaded with new, unused toothbrushes! (Don't ask me where she gets them from, I have no idea!) But I usually take a few home with me for cleaning. They are the perfect size to clean those hard to reach places, or even effective to clean fabrics rather than buying a cleaning brush.

Here are a few great uses for toothbrushes, other than to clean your teeth:

• Carpets/Rugs. My carpet cleaner requires me to spray the stain, let sit for a few minutes, and then brush away. Considering most of my stains are small spots, a toothbrush is a great size.
• Sinks. Right around the faucet and drain, a bit of baking soda with a toothbrush wipe hard water buildup all away.
• Jewelry. I have a special brush just for my jewelry cleaner! (See my previous post, How To Clean Your Wedding Ring)

And for organization, I label each brush with a sharpie on the handle and store them in an old toothbrush holder in my linen closet. Note: after each use, be sure that your hand didn't wear off the sharpie writing!

Happy toothbrush cleaning!

Save Lids to Save Lives

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

I'm an alumni of Zeta Tau Alpha, who partners with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Each year we  collect pink lids, host events to raise money, and nationally sponsor the Think Pink Survivor Tent and Race for the Cure.

For every Pink Yoplait Lid donated, General Mills will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen. But, when lids are turned in through Zeta Tau Alpha, an additional 5 cents are donated to the ZTA foundation, which supports breast cancer education and awareness as a partner with Susan G. Komen.

Here is how you can participate!

1. Clip/collect pink Yoplait lids from participating products (see below).
2. Place lids in the designated boxes, by mail, or online (see below).

Participating products: Yoplait, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fiber One, Total, Ocean Spray, Chex Mix, Nature Valley, Green Giant, Hamburger Helper. Progresso, Totino’s, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and others. Visit savelidstosavelives.com for more information.

Mail to:
Save Lids to Save Lives
PO Box 44903

Atlanta, GA 30336

Submit online at https://savelidstosavelives.com/EnterCodes

Lids are due by June 30, 2013.