Easy Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast

1-½ cup Warm Water

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

⅓ cups Olive Oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Light Whole Wheat Baguette

This isn't my photo but I promise mine looked and turned out just like this. My boys demolished one before I could take a picture. I have tried and failed many times finding a good recipe for a crunchy chewy baguette. These reminded me of the good ones we would get in Europe. The whole wheat makes them healthier. And it was really easy. Just make sure you start them in the early afternoon if you want it in time for dinner!

Makes 2 baguettes

1 1/2 C. warm water (110 degrees)

3/4 T. yeast

3/4 T. kosher salt

1 1/4 C. fresh ground whole wheat flour

2 C. all purpose flour

Combine the water, yeast and salt in a large bowl with a lid till salt and yeast dissolves. Mix the flours together and then pour them into the liquid mix. Stir until well blended. Dough should be sticky. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to get it all mixed together. Don't knead it, but if stirring gets too hard just use your hands to mix together.

Cover the bowl with lid but don't seal it. Let the dough sit for 2-5 hours at room temperature. It will begin to flatten and fill the bowl. (you can refrigerate the dough until the next day if you don't have time to bake it)

Preheat the oven to 450. Place a baking stone on the middle rack and put a metal pan on the bottom rack. Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll the dough into two balls. Shape into two loaves- long and skinny about 2"x12". I placed mine on a floured cutting board. Let the shaped dough rest for 20 minutes.

Use a basting brush and water and paint the surface with water, then use a sharp knife and score diagonal lines across the baguettes. Slide the loaves carefully onto the hot stone in the oven. (this was kind of tricky, they kind of stretch out when you move them but just plop them on the stone as quickly as you can). Pour water in the metal pan on the bottom rack, about an inch deep. Bake for 25 minutes until deep brown and firm to the touch.

Southwest White Chicken Chili

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 large onion, chopped (I used 1 tbsp of onion powder)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
3/4 c. water
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 cans white kidney beans rinsed and drained (I used cannelinni beans)
2 tbsp. shredded cheese (optional)

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, onion, and pepper and cook until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, stirring often.
2. Stir stir soup, water, corn, and beans in saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 min., stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

We had it with cornbread. Mmmm. Payton loved it and had three bowls. Elly would only eat the beans. :)

Shishkabobs

Not really a recipe, but very easy to make.

1 lb any sort of steak you want, cubed
1 lb chicken breast, cubed
1 bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
Pack of skewers
Cut up veggies:
Any color peppers (we usually do red or green)
Mushrooms
Squash/Zuccinni
Or anything else you like: onions, pineapple, potatoes, etc.

*Marinate cubed meat for 2 hours or more - I usually put it in around noon and I do it in seperate baggies, but you can combine them.
*Skewer veggies and meat onto sticks
NOTE: I like my veggies tender, so I usually saute them in a pan until they are tender, let them cool, then skewer them. If you like them crisp and just barely cooked, then you don't need that step.
*Bake in oven at 350 degrees 16 min per side for medium, 20 min per side for well done, turning halfway
*Turn on broiler and broil them for about 2 minutes - this adds a little crispiness. You can also grill these, and they are much better, but this oven recipe tastes good too.

Asian Vegetable Pasta (aka Thai Chicken Pasta)

One of my favorite places to eat is The Cheesecake Factory and the dish I got every time was the Thai Chicken Pasta. It just so happened I stumbled onto a recipe that is easy and very close to the dish I always ordered. When I set out to make this I had no idea what it was. It just sounded good. But it ended up being just like one of my favorite dishes. Lucky me! I am so happy to have this. Now I have to find a yummy recipe for the vanilla bean cheesecake that ALWAYS came after.

1 pkg. Linguine

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-in. pieces

1 c. julienned carrots

1/3 c. peanut butter

6 Tbsp.rice vinegar

6 Tbsp. soy sauce

4 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 -1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 c. unsalted peanuts

Boil water. Add pasta. When almost tender add asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in carrots, cook for 1 minute or until pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and keep warm.

Sauce: In a small saucepan bring vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper flakes to a boil. Add peanut butter. Take off heat and stir until smooth. Add sauce to warm pasta. Sprinkle peanuts.

Note: You can also add cooked chicken, bean sprouts or whatever else sounds good to you.