Pizza Crust

Again, Nanci's.

Pizza Crust 

3 TBS yeast
3 cups hot/warm water (95-100 degrees)
3 TBS oil
9 C flour
3 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBS oregano
1 TBS garlic salt

This makes enough for 3 pizzas. 

In a large bowl mix, yeast, water, and oil.  Wait 5 minutes for the yeast to activate (turn frothy on top) In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, oregano, and garlic salt.  Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and add small amouonts of water if dough feels dry.  Mix or knead for 8-10 minutes.  Dough should be elastic.  (You can freeze dough at this point.  Cut into 3 pieces and place in a large freezer tip-top bag. Label and freeze for up to 6 months. To use, defrost in the microwave on high 20 seconds then roll out for pizza, or calzones.) 

Lightly oil your countertop and roll out each pizza with a rolling pin.  Fold over edges and press down to form a crust.  Poke pizza dough all over with a fork to cut down on bubbles in the crust. Place pizza dough on pans by folding over half of the dough on your forearm and then lift dough onto pizza pan.  Bake 4 minutes at 500 degrees.  (At this point you could also cool and freeze if you don't want to freeze at the dough point.  Just wrap with plastic really well.) 

Pull out hot crust and top with 1/2 C cheese first. This will keep the pizza dough from getting soggy.

Prepare pizza sauce and pour on top of cheese.  Pile on toppings of your choice.  Top again with cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes at 500 degrees or until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

This is the sauce recipe that came with the crust:

Pizza sauce:
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 TBSP oregano
1 tsp minced garlic
Open can and pour oregano and garlic right into the sauce. Stir carefully so it doesn't spill and pour onto pizza dough. (I think that only half a can is plenty of sauce but that is just me.)

Annie actually used a sauce she found on the internet because we hadn't seen this recipe at first. She also added some fresh basil from the garden and I am sure you could do that with this one as well. I think that the sauce should just barely cover and not be that thick but that is a personal thing. Maybe it doesn't matter if you bake the crust a little first. I had never done that and my pizza was always too soggy which is why I stopped making homemade pizza years ago. This recipe has made me re-think that decision. Or maybe I'll just hand it over to Annie. :)

Squash Bars

These are from Nanci; Lauren just put them on the blog. So the comments etc. are from Nanci.

Squash Bars

4 well beaten eggs

2 C sugar

2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/3 C oil (scant)

2 C flour

1 1/2C cooked mashed zucchini (you can use pumpkin or butternut or any other squash you think would be good)   I usually put the cooked squash into my food processer and puree it that way.  It is much faster than mashing by hand.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 11 x 15 jelly roll pan. Mix well all ingredients except squash. Then add the squash into the mixture and beat to mix in well.  Bake in 11 x 15 pan for 20 minutes.  Frost with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 TBSP butter or margarine

1 / 2 tsp vanilla

1 8 oz package cream cheese

2 C powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients well.

OK, I have to admit I have never actually made this frosting recipe. It came with the squash bars recipe and I usually just use frosting from the store, so I can’t verify the goodness of this recipe.But how different can it be?

Zucchini Bread

It is zucchini time and I love this classic recipe for zucchini bread from Betty Crocker!

3 cups shredded zucchini
1 2/3 cups sugar (can use Agave - half of the amount of sugar)
2/3 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
3 cups flour (can use whole wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Move oven rack to low position so that the tops of pans will be in center of oven.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans.

Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into pans.

Bake 8 inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 ten minutes in pans on wire rack.  Loosen side of leaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack.  Cool completely before slicing.  Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

This recipe has become our family's favorite go-to pancake recipe. It's healthy and I love that it makes a huge batch and will last us several meals. I make mine using all whole wheat (white) flour and adding in some ground flaxseed. I also put my oats in a blender or food processor to pulverize before adding them into the mix. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, My Kitchen Cafe.

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup buttermilk (a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk will also work), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around!

*1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4-inch pancakes.

Aunt Mary Ann’s Pasta, chicken, & broccoli pesto toss

Recipe sent to me from Jane.  Thought I'd share on here!

This is soooooooo good!  I used almonds instead of pine nuts.

Aunt Mary Ann’s Pasta, chicken, & broccoli pesto toss

4 ounces (about 2 cups) of uncooked vegetable spiral pasta

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken or turkey breast meat (2 breasts)

2 cups small broccoli florets, cooked crisp-tender, cooled

1-½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese

2/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1-cup mayonnaise

1 TBSP lemon juice

½  tsp salt

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/s cup pine nuts or coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Cook pasta according to package, drain and cool.

Combine pasta, chicken, broccoli and mozzarella cheese in large bowl.  Process basil and garlic in covered blender or food processor until finely chopped.  Add mayo, lemon juice and salt.  Process to combine thoroughly.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.  Add to pasta mixture; toss to coat well.  Stir in pine nuts.  Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.  For maximum flavor, remove from fridge and toss gently 30 minutes before serving. 

Makes 8 servings

Easy way to make some delicious candied nuts. We love ours on steel cut oatmeal with fresh blueberries and strawberries. Would be great on salads too.

Candied Pecans

1 egg white

1 T Water

1 Lb Pecans

1 C white sugar

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven 250. Mix water and egg, Mix in pecans.

Mix sugar, salt and cinnamon in large ziplock bag.

Pour wet pecans into bag and shake well. Spread on

cookie sheet and Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 min.

Thai Lentil Chili

 This soup is so good!  Jane made it and shared some with me.  She didn't use red lentils, so any lentils will do.

Olive oil (1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, however much you feel like using)
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes cut into ¾ inch chunks
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups vegetable broth
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 15 oz can lowfat coconut milk
28 oz can diced tomatoes
½ cup fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Limes for garnish (optional)
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute onions and pepper in oil with a pinch of salt, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more.
Add chili powder, sweet potatoes, lentils, salt and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender, add the remaining ingredients and heat through.
Taste for salt and seasoning, top with cilantro and lime and serve!