Pizza Rolls, making pizza not so boring!

Posted by admin in Baked Goods, Beef, Breads, Comfort Food, frugal

I bet I know what you are thinking… but no, it’s not a cinnamon roll. It’s pizza… Oh yes, that is cheese and herbed french bread you see before you, with hidden layers of pepperoni! Now I bet you are thinking, I want that recipe…. okay. If you insist…

2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp instant yeast

1 Tbsp dried herbs of your choice (oregano, basil, rosemary etc or cheat like I do and buy and italian herb blend seasoning )

2 tsp salt (can use garlic salt…)

2 Tbsp shortening or Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6 cups flour

Follow the directions for my french bread recipe throwing the herbs in with the yeast and don’t bake it. (This bread dough smells like heaven when its rising.)

Next you’re going to need about… 2-3 cups of mozzarella and a few handfuls of pepperoni. Divide your dough in half and roll in to one of those fancy rectangles like you would for cinnamon rolls. Put down a layer of pepperoni and then your shredded cheese. The cheese thing is pretty much by preference… roll it form the short side rather than the long. (this is the opposite form what you do with cinnamon rolls) and slice into 6-8 rolls and place them in a 13×9 inch baking dish.

Like that!

Aren’t they pretty? So you’ll want to repeat with the remaining ingredients and the cover loosely with a kitchen towel to rise. 20 or so minutes. I took the time to preheat my oven cause these babies rose FAST! I mean maybe 10 minutes and they were ready to burst free of my pyrex! Pop in a preheated 350〫F oven for 25-30 minutes.

The kids and Hubs LOVED these! I served with a pizza dipping sauce. Also super easy to make with a can of tomato paste and water (or tomato sauce, we just like ours thicker) and a pizza seasoning and a little garlic salt. (I suggest the Oregon spice company)

Turkey Meatballs for the Freezer

Posted by admin in Freezer Recipes, Turkey

3lbs ground turkey

2 tsp Mrs Dash Tomato Basil Garlic

2tsp Mrs Dash Garlic and Herb

2 tsp Mrs Dash Onion and Herb

2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp fresh ground pepper (this is a to taste situation. We like allot of pepper)

2 eggs, beaten

2-4 cups instant oatmeal

You could use bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. If you use crackers omit salt!!! Or you will wish you did! If you use bread crumbs consider unseasoned or you’ll have to adjust or omit seasonings.

Preheat your oven, toss everything into a large mixing bowl (very large!!!) and get your hands dirty! Mix throughly and use a teaspoon to scoop out about 2 inch meatballs. You could also guesstimate the size and roll them by hand. Its faster to use the spoon. I used a broiler pan cause it has that drain rack deal that makes for a neater, non greasy meatball. I baked them 25-30 minutes, then let them cool and bagged them for the freezer. Ziplock freezer bags work great, vacuum bags work better. It made somewhere between 60-80 meatballs.

Taquito! A new family favorite…

Posted by admin in Beef, Comfort Food, chicken, spur of the moment

Doesn’t that look yummy? It was super easy, just a little time consuming. Hubs and the kids loved them! I think next time I want to make a double batch and try freezing them!

So the first time I made these I made them with ground beef and steamed tortilla. The problem I was running into was the toothpicks didn’t hold in the steamed tortilla and the ground beef didn’t want to stay in the tortilla.

So how to make the tortillas a bit stronger? My first thought was “wet shirt bend bar” lol (Jackie Chan fans will get that!) SO I pre-fried my tortillas in a bit of melted shortening. (Don’t get uppity! Shortening is just solidified vegetable oil!)  So like this…

Then, ground beef is just a little too lose and rolls around a bit and whatnot… So quick and simple a bit of shredded chicken solved that problem. Then thinking about my gorgeous hunk of geek’s taste buds I thought to add shredded pepper jack cheese.

Toss it all together and load your tortillas with a thin strip of chicken and cheese. Roll up and pin shut with a toothpick. Fry in hot oil, turning to brown on all sides and drain on either a wire cooling rack or a paper towel.

Ta da! I’m thinking next time I’ll try with a shredded roast, pork or beef with either a verde or enchilada dipping sauce. Not bad for my first and second tries, huh?

Cold summer day? Hot and hearty Chili!

Posted by admin in Beans, Beef, Comfort Food, frugal, keeping warm

Okay so I don’t have an exact recipe for this… I was winging it.

First I fried up a whole red onion, 4 stalks celery and a few cloves garlic in some melted shortening. Then I tossed in about a pound of stew meat and let it get browned on the outsides. (mostly cause I’m told that this makes for good flavoring. o far I can’t argue.) The I mixed in one of those wee cans of tomato paste and let it cook a bit. Then I added a tea kettle full of water its like 8 cups I think. about 2 cups pinto beans, a can of diced tomatoes, a bit of garlic salt, about 1 tsp or so browning season ( this is found on your season or gravy isle, its a brown bottle wit a yellow label) a few dashes Tabasco, 1-2 tbsp Mrs dash extra spicy, a diced jalapeno, and some Mrs dash original. If you need more water, you’ll add it as you go. This should (does) thicken as it cooks. Cover and cook on medium low all day. I started it about 10 am-ish and it was done at dinner time 6-7 pm-ish. just check it every hour to see if it needs water and stir to keep from sticking. You could also cook it in a crackpot but I’m not too sure it will thicken as easily without a thickening agent…

Special Cinnamon Rolls

Posted by admin in Baked Goods, Breads, Breakfast, Comfort Food, Desserts, Family Recipes, spur of the moment

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110〫to 115〫F)
8 cups all purpose flour
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups warm milk (110〫to 115〫F)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (don’t use olive oil!)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the next seven ingredients; mix well (do not kneed). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; divide in half. Roll each half into a 12″x8″ rectangle; brush with butter. Combine filling ingredients; sprinkle over dough. Roll up from long side; pinch seems to seal. Slice into 12 rolls; place cut side down in two greased 13″x9″x2″ baking pans. Cover and let rise until nearly double, 45 minutes. Bake at 350〫F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over rolls. Cool in pans over wire racks, Yeild: 2 dozen.

Chicken Fajita and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Posted by admin in Comfort Food, Cookbook recipe, Gluten Free, Jamie Oliver Recipe, chicken

So I am a HUGE fan (not just in size ~_^) of Jamie Oliver. He’s one of my favorite celebrity chefs. I remember watching Jamie’s Ministry of Food on the BBC channel. I was fascinated, he seemed so determined the change the how, where and what people eat. I remember thinking it would be so cool if they did it here in America. And now HE HAS! If you haven’t been watching you should catch up.

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Okay, so I’m beyond stoked about how much I love the show, but also because my wonderfully fabulous hubs bought me the cook book! Woohoo! Happy dance!

Dig it!!!

How rockin awesome is that?! (Yes, I am aware my picture taking skills are beyond non existant)

So in the book and on the site www.jamieoliver.com you can sign the petition. Its a pass it on deal, lol, I just love it! You learn the recipes and promise to teach them to 2 people you know and get them to promise to do the same. Its like a ripple effect.

So time to share the recipe!  I doubled it for our family.

Chicken Fajita (serves 2)

1 red bell pepper (I had an orange one and it worked just as well, infact my kids thought it was carrots and were more willing to try it.)

1 mediium red onion (I had a sweet white)

2 skinless, boneless chiecken breast fillets

1 tsp smoked paprika

a small pinch ground cumin

2 limes

olive oil

sea salt (I have one of those affordable sea salt grinders you buy at the grocery) and freshly ground black pepper

4 flour tortillas

1/2 cup sour cream or natural yogurt

1 cup guacamole (I just used avacado slices)

4 oz Cheddar Cheese

For the salsa:

1/2 of one fresh chile, to your taste

15 ripe fresh grape or cherry tomatoes

a small bunch of fresh cilantro (I had a jar of freeze dried I keep for my pantry)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lime

extra virgin olive oil

Put your grill pan on high heat. (I don’t have one… YET! lol, so I used my cast iron skillet) Seed and slice bell pepper into strips, then half your onion and slice it into strips. Next you’ll want to slice your chicken breast into strips too then toss it all in a bowl with the cumin, paprika juice of half a lime, salt, pepper and a “lug” of olive oil. My guess of a lug is somewhere between 1-2 tablespoons… toss and marinade while you make the salsa.

 

Now what you want to do here is chop your chile, tomatoes, cilantro (stalks and all) and throw into a decent sized bowl and season with salt, pepper, juice of one lime, and a lug of olive oil and stir and set aside.

It says to use a pair of tongs, and I found it to be very helpful, to move the chicken and veg into the preheated pan.You’ll want to keep things moving because the pan is so hot so as not to burn the veg and chicken. The pepper and onions are high in sugar and can burn easily I’ve found. Warm your tortillas in the microwave or a warm dry frying pan. (we used corn tortillas, my family seems to prefer them)

I squeezed more lime over the chicken, sliced the left over lime into wedges for the table. My kids and hubs loved it.

This recipe was WONDERFUL! We loved it as much as his spaghetti with tomatoes.

Fry Bread and Beans A family Tradition

Posted by admin in Beans, Breads, Family Recipes, frugal, keeping warm

I remember being super excited when my Father in law was willing to tell me how to make this recipe. Though I can’t honestly say that mine tastes as good as his, I do strive to get it as close as humanly possible. My husband’s father was Native American and the recipe is from his childhood. Its a favorite at our family gatherings.

2lb red beans

1/2 lb bacon

12-16 cups water

If you don’t know how to cook beans the easiest way to go about it is to pick through the beans to make sure they are not broken, old, or have rocks in them. (You’d be amazed how many times I’ve found rocks, particularly in black beans) Next you want to soak the beans over night in lots of water. I usually just set them on the counter. My parents always put them in the fridge. I personally find that unnecessary and that it takes up valuable space. I buy allot of things like eggs, cheese, fruit, veg, and what not in bulk. Mostly because of all the baking I do. Beans just don’t take priority when there are 7 dozen eggs vying for space. And, I’m off my little tangent.

The next morning you’ll want to drain the water. I do this cause I don’t rinse the beans before putting them in there and you want want to be eating dirt, grit or dust. (There’s a mental image for you, lol) Then you’ll want to put them into the LARGE pot you have on hand. Stock pots work great!! Next throw in the bacon. No need to chop it. My FIL never chopped his so I don’t chop mine. See how that works?

Easy peasy right? Next, water.

Aren’t those beans pretty? Now cover and add heat!

Low temp don’t worry it will most definitely get hot enough. I find the the cover makes so that the water does evaporate so quickly. Let it be and cook 4-6 hours.

To be perfectly honest, the crockpot is even better cause there’s no work, watching, chances of scorching if you get busy and forget about it… that is low for 6-8 hours high for 4-6.

For those of us lucky enough to have a fabulous electric pressure cooker I usually halve the recipe, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes with natural release.

Eventually you will have this…

Now, I don’t salt these. I put a shaker on the table because everyone is different in their tastes and sodium in takes.

Now fry bread is exactly how it sounds!

Take your favorite bread dough recipe which I will post mine later. (My data base seems to be down at the moment.) You will want to use a “white flour, yeast” bread dough. Please don’t use a biscuit dough. That is not fry bread. That is a hoe cake! Now I’m not “hating” on hoe cakes. They are quite delicious and if you want one of the most melt in your mouth recipes you want to head over to Southern Plate for Christy Jordan’s recipe, but hoe cakes and fry bread are not the same.

Another thing, wheat flour recipes don’t fry and taste right. I’ve tried. Trust me. Before I forget, you might want to start heating around 2 inches of oil in your frying pan. The temp takes… adjusting. You want the oil hot, but not too hot. If the dough cooks too quick it is left raw in the middle (not good eating) and if it doesn’t cook quickly enough the dough gets saturated in the oil. (again not good eating) I usually take itsy bitsy pieces and drop them in the oil, in seconds it should start to bubble around the dough, then it will float up. If it sinks and stays there your oil isn’t hot enough.

Now, your bread dough. You want to pull off a decent handful.

About like that. Next you want to roll it flat.

And cut it into strips

And then carefully place them in the hot oil. They should bubble at the edges, float and puff up.

It should take a couple minutes. They will turn a golden brown and then you want to flip them. I use a pair of tongs.

I usually take a cookie sheet, place paper towels on it and then a cooling rack on top of that. They don’t usually get to cool. The family usually takes to them as soon as they come out of the pan. ~_^

Menu Plan Monday

Posted by admin in Menu Plan

Okay so as we are moving at the end of the month I’ve been working on keeping things simple.

We’ve been packing like crazy and it takes allot of time and half of my kitchen is in boxes so…

This week:

Sunday – Spaghetti with simple sauce (Jamie Oliver recipe)

Monday – Salmon patties, banana muffins, Rice, pears and cantaloupe

Tuesday – Pasta/rice and Veg. I haven’t really thought this out… Its Hubs has pool league on Tuesday nights so its kind of a “whatever is in the pantry” night with the kids… Maybe I’ll use the left over rice with some bratwurst and make a stir fry. Maybe homemade mac and cheese with broccoli and chicken… (Rachel Ray recipe)

Wednesday – Crockpot Pot Roast(celery, carrots, onion, garlic, tomatoes), smashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits

Thursday – Tacos (you really must try these with dill pickles ~_*)

Friday – Dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory

Saturday – Dinner at My Mother-in-Law’s house for my nieces’ birthdays

Grocery shopping will be either Friday or Saturday. I’m counting on Saturday morning. Usually on Grocery shopping day we have a simple crockpot meal or I pick up a “bake your own pizza” for about 5 dollars at my grocery.

Next week

Sunday – Crockpot Chicken I was thinking of a baked chicken in the crock. Make a foil ring to keep it off the bottom, stuff it with a lemon and some herbs, maybe some roasted veg, etc.

Monday – Leftover chicken shepherd’s pie with home made biscuits

Tuesday – Spaghetti with homemade french bread and green beans

Wednesday – Salmon Patties, Pears, rice and banana muffins (Its a family favorite)

Thursday – Crockpot Baked potato bar (this is the day of the move. I want to make sure its a simple ready made meal) for a great recipe check out recipezzar or A Year of Slow Cooking

Friday – Home made Pizza

Saturday – Crockpot Black bean Nachos

Oven Roasted Vegetables!!

Posted by admin in Uncategorized

Don’t those pics just make you want to run out a grocery shop?

So I took about 2-3 lbs small red potatoes and quartered them, then I put them in cold water while I did the rest of my prep. 

1 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped

1 orange bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deveined and chopped

about 1-2 cups frozen green beans, defrosted

1/2 a large onion chopped

1-2 tbsp minced garlic (I used the stuff in the jar this time)

2-3 tbsp olive oil

about 1 tbsp Italian herb blend

about 1-2 tsp salt

and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper (to your taste)

2-3 tomatoes cut into wedges

 

I put all my chopped veggies into a bowl with the olive oil and seasonings while the oven preheated (400°F). Lined my baking sheets with foil and popped them into the oven for 30-40 minutes. I just poked the potatoes with a fork to test for doneness. 

Though my family thinks veggies are evil (yes, even my Hubby) my missionaries just loved this. As did I.

I think next time I’d love it with some asparagus, bok choy cabbage, carrots and squash. I think I’m going t experiment allot more with oven roasted veggies. Its also a great side dish my best friend will love that just happens to be gluten free.

Baked Potatoes (IN THE CROCKPOT!!)

Posted by admin in Crockpot, Keeping Cool, Veggies

It is soooo hot here. I’m trying to save money like always and cook at home, but I’m also trying to not add extra heat to the interior of my house in the process. So looking around online I found a crockpot recipe for baked potatoes.

Unfortunately the directions say, “Wrap in foil” and  ”if you want a crispier skin, pop into the oven for 5 minutes”. My Hubby loves the skin on his potatoes to be crispy. And turning the oven on for 5 minutes defeats the purpose of “crockpot baked potatoes” so I’m thinking to myself the foil makes for a softer skin, keeps the moisture fm the potato next to the skins. Then I’m thinking if the potatoes are on the bottom of the crockpot without the foil the steam will collect on the lid (as it does in a crockpot) and it will drip down and the potatoes will be sitting in their own water (making for a soggy potato skin). The solution is still foil with the addition of a steam rack. I only had a small rack so I needed the foil too.

See the rack? And the ring of foil I used to keep the potatoes up off the bottom of the crock?

They are washed and poked (to release steam) set to high, cover with lid. Cook 4-5 hours.

 

Now we found “high” for 4 + hours to be a bit over done. Next time I’m going to try them on low and see how long it takes to cook through. But! The skins were crisp on the outside and everything was soft and delicious on the inside. We served this with a Rotisserie Chicken I made in the neat rotisserie gadget my MIL gave me, and with fresh sliced vine ripened tomatoes and quartered english cucumbers. 

Tonight I’m going to try making “roasted veggies” in the crockpot. Wish me luck!