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. :)

Baked Stuffed Jalapenos

I found this recipe at simplyrecipes.com.  It is a great way to use up a ton of peppers fast.
Super yummy.  I tried it with all different types of peppers ranging from mild anaheims to
spicer jalepenos--all good.  Your going to wish you grabbed more from Nanci at the Labor
Day get together.  I know I am regretting not getting more from her!

I combined the two different versions using cream cheese, bacon, and cilantro. I filled up a
baking sheet full and should have made more, they were gone quick.

Baked Stuffed Jalapeños Recipe

When working with jalapeños, it helps to wear disposable gloves. If you don't have gloves, coat your hands with some oil before working with the peppers, then once you are done, wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water. Do not touch your eyes for several hours after handling the peppers.

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling Version

• 12 jalapeño peppers*
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
• 2 ounces jack cheese, cut into 2 1/2-inch long batons

Bacon and Jack Cheese Filling Version

• 12 jalapeño peppers*
• 1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup shredded jack cheese, plus another 2 ounces of jack cheese cut into 2 1/2-inch long batons
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

* When buying jalapeños for this recipe, if you want mild peppers, look for peppers with smooth skins. Striations tend to indicate that the pepper has been stressed while growing, and that can mean a hotter pepper.

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 375°.
2 You can either slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise or you can slice off the top one-third (lengthwise) of each jalapeño to make a boat shape out of each pepper. The halved jalapeños will go further (twice as many stuffed peppers), but you can put more filling into the boat-shaped peppers. Your choice. If you choose to make the boats, you can mince the tops and add them to the filling if you want some extra heat, or save them for another recipe. Scrape out all the seeds and ribs from each jalapeño with a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works great).
3 Mix together all the filling ingredients except the jack cheese batons.
4 Pack the filling into the peppers and nestle a baton of jack cheese onto the filling of each one. Arrange the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, and the peppers are cooked.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: Makes 12-24 servings (depending on how you've cut the jalapeños).

Garlic Lime Chicken

My mom asked that I post a couple recipes to the family blog for her. So these are hers, not mine. :) And about the chicken, she said the "Garlic Lime Chicken I made for dinner last night and Dad raved and raved about it.  Everyone else liked it as well and it is super easy so I thought I would give you that."


*Note - this was updated after first posted, my mom saved the recipe under the wrong name, so the one I originally posted was not the one she meant. I changed it to the right one.


Garlic Lime Chicken

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons lime juice

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken
breasts.
In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Saute chicken until
golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Turn down the heat, remove the chicken
(keeping warm) and add the lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the
browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly.
Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.

Nutritional Information: Per Serving: 343 Calories; 11g Fat (31.1% calories from fat);
55g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 147mg Cholesterol; 612mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 7 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat.

Apricot Balsamic Chicken

I made this tonight and we (Kathryn's family) all loved it. I got the idea from a recipe online but changed to my liking. It was a quick meal with lots of flavor. The Montreal Chicken seasoning and the hint of rosemary is what made it so good to me. And of course, I love balsamic vinegar.

2 Tbs olive oil
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken
(I used chicken breast and filleted them and cut them in half so they cook faster)
Salt and pepper
Montreal Chicken seasoning
rosemary leaves, chopped
1/2 cup of apricot jam
scant 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock (I used bouillon & water)
onion powder to taste

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper and Montreal Chicken seasoning. When the oil is hot and ripples, add the chicken and brown 5 minutes, then turn and sprinkle with rosemary to your liking (I only did just a little for my family). Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
In small bowl, stir together the jam, vinegar, stock, and onion powder. Pour over chicken. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. I used homemade a light apricot jam, so it just a hint of sweet. You can use orange marmalade also.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. I served it with rice flavored with chicken bouillon, steamed asparagus, and green salad. Yummy!

Butter Chicken

Just made this tonight for my girlfriends who came out for a girl's night.  We absolutely loved it so much.  Todd raved about it as well.  Remy only had one bite though...  This is honestly one of my new favorites, and will be on the menu often!  The only hard thing was finding the spices.  I had to go to several stores to find the coriander and the cardamom.  Luckily, maybe you already have those, otherwise, you're gonna want them to make this dish over and over!  The cilantro makes this to die for.  I made butter dips with this as well (I figured we were going with the 'butter' theme right?) and they went well together.  I had a recipe for Naan (Indian flat bread) but didn't have the gumption to experiment with that.  Maybe next time.

•4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
•5 cloves Garlic, Minced
•1 teaspoon Salt
•½ teaspoon Black Pepper
•½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
•¼ teaspoon Ground Coriander
•¼ teaspoon Cumin
•¼ teaspoon Cardamom
•1 whole Lime, Juiced
•1 whole Onion, Diced
•¼ cups Butter
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
•1 pint Whipping Cream
•1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste
•2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Preparation Instructions

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (I have used light cream or half-and-half also) and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice. (or any rice you want to use)
Note: this is a little spicy, but you can cut back on the cayenne if you want.  I did 1/4 tsp of cayenne and it was a perfect little kick, but do the full 1/2 if you want a lot of kick (but not unbearable).

Image and Recipe via Tasty Kitchen

Baked Balsamic Chicken

Ok I feel inadequate posting a recipe when I'm amongst such wonderful cooks, but this is a recipe that I found once on the internet trying to find something interesting using stuff I already had on hand. As a result: I love this because it's super easy, doesn't take very long (prep is almost nothing), uses ingredients I usually have on hand anyway, and it really is pretty yummy. In mine and Carter's opinions.

Baked Balsamic Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsps dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper (obviously fresh ground is better but if I don't have any I just use regular.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange chicken in a dish, pour vinegar over them. Sprinkle evenly with oil, oregano, salt & pepper. Bake 20 minutes, baste with juices. Bake 20 minutes more. Serve with juices spooned over.

Carter and I often eat this with rice, which I kinda thought sounded weird at first (it was Carter's suggestion) but it actually goes well we think. And I can throw the rice in the rice cooker at the same time I start making this and it all gets done at the same time. But of course you could do whatever.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

This is another great crock pot recipe that our family loves. We got it from a good friend here in BV, Suzanne Garcia.

Put 2-4 chicken breasts in a crock pot. Cover with-
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbl. taco seasoning
Cook 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Just before serving, add sour cream and shredded cheese. Serve over rice. Can also serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken Diablo

This is a Hall family favorite! Probably one of my favorite foods now that I know about it. Plus it's a crock pot/rice cooker meal- BONUS! Enjoy! :)

From the kitchen of Jamie Mather via Cathy Hall via Rachel Hall

¼ cup butter

½ cup honey

¼ cup prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ - 1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 pounds chicken

Melt butter in microwave in small dish. Stir in honey, mustard, salt, curry and garlic powder. Pour over chicken in the crock pot and cook for about 4-6 until chicken is tender. You can turn/stir the chicken so it all gets coated after some cooking time.

Serve with rice. We like to pour the leftover sauce over the chicken and rice.