Deep Dish Pizza

I got this recipe from:
http://annies-eats.com/2010/01/21/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/


Deep Dish Pizza

1 1/2 cups + 2 TBS All purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (I used white because that is what I had)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/8 tsp instant yeast
1/2 cup + 2 TBS room temperature water
1 1/2 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp olive oil
2 TBS unsalted butter, softened

For toppings I used
Sauce - recipe here
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Pepperoni
Bacon bits

Mix all dry ingredients, add water and melted butter. Mix on low until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Knead until glossy and smooth (on medium/low speed for 4-5 minutes) Coat a medium bowl with the olive oil. Let it rise in the bowl tightly covered with plastic wrap for 45-60 minutes.

To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry workspace, toll into 8 by 6 inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula (I just used a butter knife) spread the softened butter over the surface leaving 1/2 inch around the edges. starting with the sort end toll into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9x2 inch rectangle. Gold into thirds, like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise in the fridge until nearly doubled 40-50 minutes.




Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat a round 9 inch cake pan with 2 TBS olive oil.
Transfer the dough ball to dry counter and roll into a 13 inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough into pan, lightly press into the pan, working it into the corners and one inch up the sides. Put the toppings on and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes, let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Empanadas

Ok so these were good, because of the filling, but the dough was NOT good!! I got the recipe off of about.com and it was just really hard and didn't taste good. So I wont give you that recipe.

My husband went to Argentina for his mission and he had empanadas and he loves them so I tried to make them, but I'll have to get a different recipe for the dough (anyone have a good one?)

Empanada Filling

2 lbs ground beef ( I used shredded beef from the roast I made the other day YUM!)

2 small potatoes, diced and boiled until soft

onion salt

garlic powder

1 cup beef broth

1 tsp oil

Dice the potatoes and put them in a small saucepan cover with water and boil until soft (about 8 minutes) Cook the meat and add all other ingredient except the potatoes. Let it cook until the liquid is almost gone. Fold in the potatoes. Fill the empanadas and fry them in oil or bake them (I did half baked and half fried)

Biscuits and Gravy (with Bacon!)

yes, that is my BACON SANDWICH in the corner YUM!

I LOVE bacon... I could literally eat a whole pound by myself... disgusting I know but I can't help it, it is just so yummy! ANYWAYS.... I made some bacon then used the grease to make gravy.

Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and mix together. Cut the shortening in with a pastry blender. Pour in the milk and mix with a fork or your hands... it is pretty messy with your hands but that is just how I do it for some reason. you can roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to make into circles but I just shape them with my hands... don't have to be perfect :) Then bake at 450 degrees for about 10 mins, until they are golden brown on the bottom.

Gravy

4 TBS shorting (I used the bacon grease instead)

4 TBS flour

Milk

salt

pepper

Melt the shortening in a hot skillet. Add the flour until it is thickened, but still a little runny. Add the salt and pepper and cook until it is a little browned. Add the milk gradually, this will have to be quick though so it doesn't clump up, stir it constantly with a whisk while adding milk, until it is thick (a gravy consistency) I added bits of bacon into it too

Bread Sticks

My mom has been making these for as long as I can remember and they are SSOOOO good!!!!



Bread Sticks

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 TBS yeast
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour

6 TBS butter on the pan
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese


Mix the water, yeast, sugar, and salt and let them foam. Get a large baking sheet with 6 TBS butter cut up on it and put it into the preheating oven so the butter will melt (watch it, don't let the butter burn!)

butter on the pan

Add the flour to the yeast mixture, mix and knead it until it is smooth and not sticky. Let it rise for 10-15 minutes. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is... I've never measured but I'd say like 10x 15 or so, so the dough is still like an inch thick. Get a pizza cutter and cut the dough in half lengthwise and then cut into strips.

Take each strip and coat each side with the butter on the pan, and twist it up.

Then sprinkle it with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes (check the bottom it should be a golden brown)

Glazed Mini Meatloaves

I got this recipe from

http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/04/glazed-mini-meatloaves.html

Glazed Mini Meatloaves

17-20 saltine crackers, crushed fine (2/3 cup)

1/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

3 TBS worcestershire sauce

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 lbs ground meat

2 tsp oil

Glaze:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tsp cider vinegar ( I somehow forgot this... and didn't realize until right now, but it was still good)

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes

Stir all of the ingredients together, except the meat and oil. Then add the meat to the mixture. Heat the oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until rippling. Shape the meat into 5-6 small loaves and brown them on each side in the oil. (2 or so minutes, then flip) Mix the glaze until smooth. Transfer the loaves onto a foil lined baking sheet and spoon the glaze over each loaf. Bake until center of the loaf reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer (I don't have one, so I just cut it open to make sure it was done)

Cheddar garlic biscuits

My mom makes these and they are sooo yummy!!!

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 tsp garlic salt (estimated)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Put 1/4 cup butter on a baking sheet with some garlic powder and melt it in the preheating oven... it will melt quickly so don't forget it!!

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. Add milk and mix with your hands... caution can get quite messy... handle it as least as possible! Mix the cheese in and just make your biscuits as big as you want them on the baking sheet, roll in the butter on sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they start to get golden brown.

Melt rest of butter with garlic salt and brush onto the biscuits when they come out of the oven.

Baked Potato Soup

There is this restaurant, O'Charley's that we found here in SC that has delicious baked potato soup and I tried to replicate it... it was not to shabby if I do say so myself!! Now if I can learn how to make their yummy rolls!!! :)

This recipe is adapted from: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/524/OCharleys_Baked_Potato_Soup35418.shtml

Baked Potato Soup

3 lbs red potatoes

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup flour... I'd use a little less next time it was a little too thick, just add it to margarine until it is smooth

8 cups half and half

16 oz Velveeta cheese, melted

white pepper to taste ( I just used black because we don't have white pepper!)

garlic powder to taste

1/2 lb bacon, fried crisply

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Cut unpeeled potatoes into strips and place in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook it for 10 minutes or until they are 3/4 of the way done. in a separate pot, combine melted margarine and add flour until it is smooth (like you would when making a white sauce) over low heat, then gradually add half and half constantly stirring until smooth and it begins to thicken.

Add the Velveeta cheese (cut into small cubes so it will melt easily) Drain the potatoes and add them to the cream mixture. Stir in the pepper and garlic powder. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Place in individual bowls and top with bacon (I just used real bacon bits, but I bet it would be SO yummy if you did make fresh bacon!! I LOVE bacon by the way) and cheese.

Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

Not gonna lie, I didn't love this but I probably left too many of the ingredients out... mainly the mushrooms, I thought about putting them in for flavor then taking them out, I have never used mushrooms before though and I didn't end up buying them so.... yeah. But it was still good enough to put on here :)

http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/04/ultimate-beef-stroganoff.html

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff

2-3 lbs Stew meat (I actually just cooked a big roast and used half of the meat from it)
1 tsp salt
a dash of pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 TBS ketchup
1/3 cup flour
5-6 TBS apple juice ( i just used water and i put a pinch of brown sugar :) we didn't have juice)
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook the meat in the crock pot for 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high with the salt, pepper, and onion powder. Mix the flour and apple juice to make a thick (but pourable) mixture and whisk into the crock pot. (this is where you add 4oz of mushrooms that I'm thinking are probably somewhat necessary, considering this is stroganoff) Mix the garlic salt, worcestershire sauce, beef broth and ketchup in a bowl, then pour over the meat. Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and serve over pasta.

Creamy White Chili

I got this recipe from:

http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/09/creamy-white-chili.html

Creamy White Chili

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

1 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 TBS oil

2 cans (15.5 oz) Great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 regular size can white hominy

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth

1 can green chili enchilada sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

I added a can of navy beans

And I know it is supposed to be white chili but I also added a can of black beans

I had some shredded chicken in the freezer that I used and it was really good with that. So you can cook and shred the chicken, or you can put the oil in a large sauce pan, cut the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and saute it with the onion and garlic powder until it is no longer pink.
Add the beans, broth, chili sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the sour cream and whipping cream. If you'd like you can garnish with fresh cilantro, I put cheese on mine! My husband of course seasoned his with lots of cayenne pepper! He loves the stuff! :)

Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls were really good! It has been a long time since I've made cinnamon rolls, but my friend Maricela and I made them for a play group we had and everyone seemed to love them!

mykitchencafe.blogspot.com is great! I've been trying a lot of the recipes and there are definitely some keepers! You should check it out! I got this recipe from : http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/09/vanilla-pudding-cinnamon-rolls-with.html

Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins

Rolls:
1/2 cup water
2 TBS active dry yeast
2 TBS sugar
3 1/2 ounce package instant vanilla pudding (prepared)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
6+ cups flour

Filling:
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar ;))
2-3 TBS milk

In a small bowl combine water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved set aside. In a large bowl make the pudding mix as directed on the package, add butter, eggs and salt mix well, then add yeast mixture blend gradually add flour. Knead until smooth. Do not over flour the dough!! it should be very soft a but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl and cover. Raise until doubled in size. roll on floured surface to 34 x 21 inches take one cup of butter and spread over the dough. Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle over the top. Roll up tightly put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. cut with thread and place on a greased baking sheet one inch apart. cover and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 degrees until they start to turn golden brown (15-20 mins)

Frost the warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting; mix the butter and cream cheese and mix well, add the vanilla and sugar, mix again. add milk until you get the desired consistency.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Definitely one of my favorites that I've tried this month!!! I would definitely recommend you try this one out!! I got this recipe from http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/09/crispy-southwest-chicken-wraps.html


Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

1 cup cooked rice
1 cup cooked chicken
1 cup black beans drained and rinsed
1/8 cup fresh cilantro, Chopped
Juice of one Lime
1/2 TBS chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
Shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
sour cream
6 Burrito sized tortillas
I also added a little bit of cayenne pepper for a little more spice




Cook your rice while your cooking your chicken so it is all ready to throw together at the same time.
Cook and Shred Chicken, I cook it in a pressure cooker then put it into my kitchen aid, while it is still hot, with the whisk attachment on high for a minute and it is all shredded! (Thanks mom for that tip... I forget who told you, but thank you to that person too!!)

I put it all into a skillet so it was easier to mix even tho I didn't do it over heat (the rice was still hot though) Mix the rice with the chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, onion powder. Add the remaining ingredients except for the cheese and sour cream, I actually added the sour cream here, just a few spoonfuls. Sprinkle the cheese over the tortillas, leaving 1/2 inch around the edges, then dot with sour cream (if you didn't already mix it in like I did) put the rice and chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Roll the stuffed tortillas leaving the edges open. Spray with cooking spray and put into hot skillet (medium heat) seam side down (spray it all over) cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides (2-3 mins on both sides- it may cook fast if your skillet is really hot though so watch it!)

Simple and Meaty Skillet Lasagna

Recipe adapted from: http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/07/simple-and-meaty-skillet-lasagna.html


YUM!!! This was SO good! I have never really liked lasagna, truth be told I'm not really a fan of ground beef and I usually don't like sauce because it always has onions and little "things" in it. But with the sauce made from scratch I ate it all up, even the ground beef!



Simple and Meaty Skillet Lasagna


3 14.5 cans of whole tomatoes (I used 1 big can that was 1 lb 12oz, then added some water)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder ( sometimes I cook the onion with it in big rings then take them out but I didn't buy an onion)
Salt
3 Garlic cloves (cooked with then taken out, or if you want to keep it in minced)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBS dried basil
1/2 TBS dried oregano
1 lb ground beef
12 curly edged lasagna noodles (broken into 1 inch pieces)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (do not use fat free)


Pulse the tomatoes in a blender, you can leave chunks if you like but i made them smooth.

Heat the oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add salt, stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for about 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and cook for 5-6 minutes until there is no pink. (pick out chunks of garlic if you want) Scatter the broken lasagna noodles over the cooked meat, then pour in the sauce and ground tomatoes. Stir in basil and oregano. Cover and increase the heat to medium high and cook stirring often, adjust the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer for about 20 minutes or until pasta is tender, if it is too dry add water. Take it off the heat and stir in half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan cheese. Dot with heaping tablespoons of the ricotta cheese then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover off the heat and let the cheese melt then SERVE!!

Homemade BAGELS!!!

http://bakingbites.com/2007/06/homemade-bagels/#more-783


So my favorite thing in the whole world is bread!!! pretty much any kind of bread, and that includes bagels!! I was so excited to find this recipe and I had to try it out right away!

so here they are... not the prettiest things but I didn't feel like making them perfect :)

*There are more pics on how to shape them if you click on the link above!*



Bagels



1 TBS yeast

1 TBS sugar

1 3/4 cups water (100-110 F)

4 cups bread flour (NOT all purpose)

1 TBS salt (I thought it was a little much, next time I'll try 3/4 TBS and see if it is too bland... I'll let you know!)

1 egg, for egg wash



In a large bowl or mixer combine yeast, water and sugar, let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and salt. Mix dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add an additional TBS of water or flour if you need to. Knead dough for about 10 minutes until it is elastic and smooth. (If you knead in your mixer- low speed for abt 8 mins, I always like to hand knead it) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let it rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.



Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil (and preheat your oven now)



Turn dough out on a slightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (I did mine bigger so I only made 8) Shape into a ball and let the dough rise for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel.

Then poke a hole through the middle with your finger. Make the hole bigger than you want your end result, because the hole will shrink as it cooks. Let the rings of dough sit for 10 more minutes.

Drop the bagels into the boiling water and let them boil for 2 minutes on one side then flip and boil them for one minute on the other side. transfer them onto a clean towel to drain for a minute. Then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I didn't have parchment paper so the bottoms of my bagels were a little crunchy but they were still good!) Brush the boiled bagels with the lightly beaten egg.



Cook at 400 degrees for 20-24 mins (until golden brown)

Slice and toast to served!

Homemade Pizza with Homemade sauce

I didn't take any pics :( darn, it was so pretty!

Pizza With Homemade Sauce

Quick and Easy Pizza dough found here:
http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/01/ode-to-pizza.html

3 cups flour
1 heaping TBS honey
1 heaping TBS oil
1 cup warm water
1 TBS yeast
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix all ingredients except the flour. Add the flour and knead for a few minutes. spread it out on a pizza pan. (I made one deep dish and put 2 TBS olive oil in the bottom of a deep dishpizza pan)

For toppings I used
Homemade sauce
Pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese
6 cheese Italian mix
Ham
Olives
Put your favorite toppings on!

Homemade Pizza sauce (also found at link above)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 TBS sugar
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Crushed red pepper (optional, we like it spicy so i put quite a bit and I think I'll add a little more next time it was a little too tomato-y for me still)

Combine all ingredients in blender until desired consistency, I don't like any chunks of tomato so I Pureed it :P

Bake at 475 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Makes one large Pizza

Tacos Supreme

This recipe I got from http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/04/tacos-supreme.html

That is a picture of the meat cooking. I cooked the garlic with it so it would flavor the meat some and then I just added a bit of garlic powder also. I picked the garlic out before serving.

Tacos Supreme

1 pound ground beef

1-3 cloves of garlic (cooked with meat then taken out) sprinkle a little garlic powder in there too

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 TBS chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

salt to taste

If you like heat like we do add some cayenne pepper only about 1/2 tsp or so, I didn't measure

1 8oz can tomato sauce

Cook the ground beef in a medium sized skillet until cooked through. Add all of the spices and garlic clove cook stirring for about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, cook stirring occasionally over low heat for about 10 mins (if it looks dry add some water to keep it moist) Serve in taco shells hard or soft with your choice of toppings!

My plain boring tacos don't look very cool so I had to put a pic of Mike's with his overflowing lettuce and tomatoes.

Pepperoni Macaroni

This recipe is adapted from "The Taste of Home Cookbook"

Pepperoni Macaroni

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound bulk Italian Sausage (I put it in for my hubby but this was the only part I didn't like much)
1 15oz can of pizza sauce
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 package (3 1/2 ounces)sliced pepperoni, halved
1/2 jar sliced ripe olives, drained... calls for whole can but I just did half
1 cup (4 ounces)shredded mozzerella cheese

Cook the macaroni. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until it's no longer pink;Drain. Drain macaroni. In a large bowl, combine the pizza sauce, tomato sauce and milk. Stir in sausage, macaroni,pepperoni, and olives. Transfer to greased 9x13 pan. cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins, uncover, sprinkle cheese, bake for 10-15 mins longer or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Welcome to my Blog!

I would like to share, with anyone who wants to know, my favorite recipes and new recipes I'm trying! "My Way" is the picky way :) I don't like all of the extras people put into recipes, but I still like to keep it flavorful and YUMMY! Maybe someday I'll acquire a taste for onions, peppers, and celery... but today is definitely not that day. Biting into those things just ruin the dish for me so I leave them out and replace them with something with a texture I can stomach! I have come a long way since I was young and lived off of bread, toast, and burritos. Its kinda funny that I love to cook even though I am so picky, but I think keeping it simple is still delicious!