Severed Finger Cookies

My four year old loved making these cookies with me! We brought dinner to our friends house tonight and she wore a glove with a few of the fingers retracted in the glove so it looked like fingers were missing. We told our friends kids that we hoped they enjoyed the cookies but we had an accident while making them and Emerson (my 4 year old) lost a few fingers.
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Raspberry jam

Directions:
1.In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

2.Preheat the oven to 325°. Using your hands and working quickly, roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a finger shape. Place the fingers about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Stick a sliced almond on 1 end of each for the fingernails. Use a table knife to make three crosswise knuckle marks in the middle of each cookie. Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

3.Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook the jam over low heat until it reaches a saucy consistency. Once liquefied, remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl; dip the “severed” end of each cookie into the sauce.

(This recipe is from EveryDay with Rachel Ray, October 2011)

Pierogi Casserole

Pierogi's are polish dumplings usually filled with potato or other meats. I have some friends who were going through a hard time this week and happen to love Polish food. I wanted to make them some comfort food to help them feel better. I made this Pierogi casserole and BBQed glazed kielbasa (I'll share that recipe next).It's pretty economical but not low in fat, comfort food isn't supposed to be. It can't sufficiently warm your soul if it's not ladden with fat, right?!

1 cup mashed potatoes (instant or leftovers is fine)
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup butter
2 -3 medium onions, diced
9 -12 lasagna noodles


Directions:

1.) Cook noodles as directed on package to al dente.

2.) Saute onions in 1 stick of butter (may use more if desired).

3.) Butter 13x9 inch pan with remaining 1/2 stick butter.

4.) Mix sauteed onions with mashed potatoes.

5.) Layer noodles, then potatoes, then cheese, and repeat, ending with cheese.

6.) Cover with foil and bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

(top with sour cream and garnish with chives/green onion)

I found this recipe here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/pierogi-casserole-42850#ixzz1YnVJR7wF

Tropical Butternut Squash Salad

I found this recipe when I was searching for a BBQ summer side dish at Cara's Cravings.It's refreshing and super healthy because there is no mayo involved, just fresh ingredients.Even though fall is approaching butternut squash seems fallish to me and might go perfectly with your Thanksging dinner.



3lbs peeled, diced butternut squash
1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup sliced scallions (white and light green parts)
20oz can pineapple tidbits, drained, juice reserved
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened flaked coconut

4oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt ( I used twice this amount)
4 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice
juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the squash in an even layer. Spray the squash with more cooking spray. Roast for 40-50 minutes, turning occasionally with a spatula, until the squash is fork-tender and caramelized in spots. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, place the coconut in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, and cook for about 5 minute, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant. Immediately remove from heat and allow to cool.

Transfer the squash to a large bowl and add the pepper, scallions, pineapple tidbits, and toasted coconut.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the yogurt, pineapple juice, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour over the squash mixture in the large bowl and gently stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in the cilantro, and chill until ready to serve.

Jessamy's Delish Guacamole

(i need to work on my presentation... no shmeary bowls allowed.)

i know, i'm horrible. start a food blog, never post anything. i really do try new recipes weekly, and take pictures... i just obviously can't follow through.

well, here is a quick one from my friend jess (for those of you who don't know her... they are second year dental students, and she has kind of saved me in my last year surviving with kiddos in the barren wasteland of boston. and she is a good cook with a grill... win win.Ü)

guac is kind of one of those "throw it together" dishes... so these are approximate amounts, and can of course be adapted after tasting.

1 lg avocado
1/4 c diced tomatoes (let the tomato juices drain off first)
1/4-1/2 small onion, finely diced (use whatever onion you have on hand, it's good with all kinds even sweet)
juice of 1/2 small lime
1 1/2 T finely chopped cilantro (i didn't have this on hand, but it was still good without)
1 t garlic powder (you can use real garlic too but it takes a while for the guac to absorb the flavor of the garlic)
1 t salt

mash avacado with fork and mix in additional ingredients. so yummy. we had this with mexican rice/black beans/sour cream/cheese in a tortilla... aka "burrito form." it was so good. new fav.

Curry in a Pumpkin

A twist on dinner in a pumpkin that my minis gobbled like little turkeys :)

1 medium pumpkin

3/4 lb ground beef

3 celery stalks

1/2 onion minced

a couple handfuls of craisins

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a dash or two of soy sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1. cut and clean pumpkin just as you would a jack-o-lantern.  Go ahead and draw (or let you toddler draw) a face w/ a Sharpie!  rub inside with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake on a foiled, greased cookie sheet for 40 min. at 350.
2. while pumpkin bakes, brown beef.  Add minced onion and celery, saute until tender.  I add a little splash of apple cider plus the craisins to sweeten the deal here.  Add in sugar, curry powder, ginger, cinnamon, soy sauce and cream of chicken soup.  Mix and remove from heat, then add in rice.
3. after 40 min. remove pumpkin but keep your oven going.  fill pumpkin with beef and rice and put back in for another 30 min or until pumpkin is fork tender. 
4. Enjoy!

What's on the Menu?

Whenever I know there's going to be a party, I may ask the who, where and when immediately like I should but the first thing I really want to know is what are we eating?  Two weeks plus a couple and I know we're all sitting down to a huge old spread like this one.  And I wanna know, of course;  What are we eating, girls?

My family is pretty into food (may be where I get it?!), so with the clan heading to our place, I'm in obsessive planning mode.  We have a proposed menu that I've sent out for debate and approval to my foodie fam.  Here's the menu we've got in mind:

Appetizers

Cut Fruit Arrangement

Pumpkin Soup w/ Balsamic Apple and Onion Chutney

Butternut Squash Risotto

Main Course

Turkey

the Stuffing

Rolls

Potatoes and Gravy

Pan Roasted Veggies

Marshmallow Yams

Cranberry Sauce

Desserts

Pie (fruit or cream)

Chocolate Berry Trifle

Pumpkin Cheesecake

What are you all working up?  And really, someday, can the stars align sometime so we can have a big ol' feast together just for the fun of it please?  All in favor, say "AYE!"

a-ward winning chili.

this recipe won my ward's halloween chili cook-off on saturday night. must be good, right?! thanks to my other sister-in-law, liz for the recipe. it's definitely a keeper.

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sausage
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 C celery, diced
2 cans kidney beans, drained
16 oz can diced tomatoes
2 16 oz cans tomato sauce
2 T chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 T salt
1/2 T sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t celery salt

Brown ground beef and sausage. Toss in a crockpot or pot along with all remaining ingredients. Cook high 3-4 hours or low 6-7 hours.

santa rosa chicken and wild rice salad

this comes out of my family cookbook. thanks to two of my sisters-in-law, camie and katie, for this recipe. oh, and just because it's a salad doesn't mean it can't be used as a main dish. it totally is. and, of course, so good!

Dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T prepared Dijon
1/2 t salt
1/4 t sugar
1/4 t pepper
1/3 c seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 to 1 lemon, juiced
1/3 c oil

Salad:
2 pkg. Uncle Ben's long wild rice, cooked and cooled
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
4 green onions, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
3 oz fresh pea pods, steamed
2 avocados
1 c chopped, roasted pecans

Blend and refrigerate the dressing for 2-4 hours in advance. Mix all other ingredients, except the avocados and pecans. Add avocados and pecans just before serving.

got crab?

i guess i've been ambitious lately because i've been cooking a lot and trying out new recipes, too. anyone else have the cooking bug? one of our hygienists at the office caught some crab over the weekend and gave us 3 crabs! so i had a lot of fresh crab to make something but no recipes! i went searching on the internet and found this crab imperial recipe. we all liked it but thought it was probably more of a side or appetizer rather than a main dish. BUT calvin and miles both had 3rd's! it would definitely be faster to make this with canned crab meat but i kind of enjoyed hacking away at the crab shell to get to the meat. any pent-up aggression? find a crab. so i guess you know what i'll be making next time i get my hands on some fresh crab...

crab imperial

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 slice bread, torn
• 1 pound crab meat

Melt butter; stir in flour. Add 1/2 cup milk gradually, stirring. Add salt, mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce; cook until thickened. Cool. Add mayonnaise to sauce. Moisten crumbs with remaining milk; add to crab. Mix crab mixture with sauce mixture. Spoon into 8 ramekins. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
Serves 8.

**i didn't have any ramekins (fyi, i didn't even know what ramekins were until i saw this recipe and had to look it up on wikipedia) so i just put it all in an 8 inch pie plate and cooked it for about 25 minutes. i also cooked it at 400 degrees which gave it a nice crispy edge and top.

stacks of chili

thanks to my cute cousin michelle and her blog i found a great, QUICK and delicious dinner for tonight. i think i will definitely add it to my staples right along with sloppy joes, pizza and shepherd's pie. although it ended in an hour long stand-off with miles to eat 2 more bites, the boys really did love it. and so did we.

Using a baking Sheet layer the following...

1 large tortilla

1/2 can of chili ( I love the stagg chili brand)

1/2 can kidney beans, drained **i used black beans because that's all i had. still good.

1/2 can of corn, drained

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Sliced Olives

Repeat those layers.

Loosely cover with Foil and Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with Salsa and Sour Cream.

mrs. revi's sugar cookies

oh look, kristen's sharing another cookie recipe. i don't know mrs. revi, but she would probably be proud that her cookie recipe has been passed on and on and on. when my mom was a little girl she used to go to sunday school every week and get a giant sugar cookie from mrs. revi. they are amazingly easy, and stay soft and delicious. a good staple for the holidays. (or any day at our house).

3 c flour
1 c butter
2 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbs. milk (almost 1/2 c)
1 tsp. vanilla

mix flour and butter with a pastry blender. beat eggs in a separate bowl and then add sugar, soda, milk, and vanilla. mix dry & wet together with a spoon (i actually do it in my bosch and it turns out fine).
let cool in fridge for 1 hour.
roll out, (i use a lot of flour when rolling it out, just keep kneading in flour until it no longer sticks to the counter), cut out, lay on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 min. the trick to having them soft is to take them out before you can just barely see the brown coming to the edges. cool and frost! i usually freeze half so i can take them out and eat them whenever i want. shhh.

and the buttercream frosting i use with them. please don't even think about buying that fake kind in a container, or ruin them with royal icing. personal preference. your life will be better with this. i promise.

4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c butter
5 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla

cream powdered sugar and butter until smooth. mix in vanilla, and gradually add milk until desired consistancy. mix for a few minutes until smooth and stiff.

cheddar and herb biscuits

ummm... we made these twice last week. that should tell you how good they are... or how obsessed i am with any kind of cheesy bread.

cheddar and herb biscuits
adapted from here (along with picture above)

Biscuits:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold (or room temp works too)
1 cup buttermilk (i never have buttermilk so i use 1 c milk and 1 1/2 tsp vinegar... let them sit together until little bubbles appear on the top, about ten min.)
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (i pretty much do 2 cups)

Buttery Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (not necessary... just pretty)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok - the biscuits will be tough if they are overmixed). Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet (i use my cookie scooper). Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine butter, parsley, garlic powder and salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

crockpot barbecue chicken

liz texted me this morning for a good crockpot recipe so i decided to share the wealth on here. i recently read this, this, and this and it pretty much changed the way i think about a crockpot now. i love all of her ideas... you better check out the second link if any.

then i found A Year of Slow Cooking blog and it looks pretty good too. i have two crockpots so i have no more excuses!

crockpot barbecue chicken
adapted from here

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. you pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!? and please eat it with these.

homemade vanilla granola

so i just realized that if i didn't post a recipe IMMEDIATELY it would be the first month in the history of stick a fork in it to have NO posts. sad day. can't let that happen. where's the devotion people?

i've actually been trying a bunch of new recipes lately, i've just been too lazy to share. most of which come from this amazing lady. her stuff is just good. i promise.

this recipe however is not from mel. i've been wanting to make my own granola for awhile now. don't call me a hippy. it comes from favorite family recipes. (notice how i just linked you to the recipe, but for the sake of liz will basically just copy it onto our blog. lovely.)

this stuff is amazing. i don't think i will ever buy storebought granola again. landen downed the container (along with both girls) faster than i could blink. it's wholesome and yummy and has lots of vanilla. perfect with milk for breakfast or in a baggy on the go.

HOMEMADE VANILLA GRANOLA

*i halved this recipe, and it made the perfect amount for a week at our house

8 c. oats
2 c. sliced almonds (i sliced up my own so i had some yummy chunks)
1 c. wheat germ (refrigerate after opening... i found out LATER)
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon (yeah right... i used like a pinch and it was fine)
craisins or raisins, to taste (we love lots of raisins at our house... and they were the perfect sweet bit for me)
3/4 c. canola oil
1 c. honey
3 Tbsp. vanilla (use the real stuff if you have it-- it tastes much better)

Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients (dry ingredients) in a large bowl. In a saucepan combine oil, honey, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute then pour over oat mixture. (i seriously thought my vanilla had burned at this point. it left a funny smell and even after i baked the granola it smelled funny. hang in there... it doesn't taste funny). Mix until all ingredients are moistened. Divide and spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets (i covered with parchment) and bake at 300-degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on pans until the granola hardens (it may be a little chewy and that's ok.. if you prefer it not to be chewy at all, allow to dry completely). Break up granola and store in large Ziploc bags or containers. Serve plan, with yogurt, or with milk.

Lemon-Lime Raspberry Bars

I got this recipe from Tasty Kitchen.com . There was a comment about the recipe where someone said they'd try lime zest next time they made it. I substituted 1 teaspoon lemon zest for lime zest in the filling and 1/4 cup of lime juice 1/4 lemon juice rather than just 1/2 cup lemon. This made it taste like key lime pie, yum. These are a little tart, but so good and easy. Another sum-sum-summer time recipe favorite!

•FOR THE CRUST:
•1-½ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
•6 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Melted
•¼ cups Sugar
•1 whole Lemon Zested
•_____
•FOR THE FILLING:
•2 whole Egg Yolks
•1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 Oz.
•½ cups Fresh Lemon Juice ( or 1/4 lemon & 1/4 lime)
•1 teaspoon Lemon Zest (or lime)
•6 ounces, weight Fresh Raspberries
Preparation Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don’t break the raspberries.

Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Note: use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling, or you will have pink bars.

Serves 16.

Shish-Kabob Pasta

Nothing screams summer like shish kabobs on the grill. The other night we had them and made sure to cook up enough for leftovers the next day. This tasted really good and was easy, so I had to share. Please toss this together next time you're-a-grillin' up some 'bobs". I don't have an exact recipe, so be creative.

4-5 6 inch skewers grilled veggies (grape tomato, purple onion, potato, green peppers, summer squash)
2-3 skewers marinated chicken and steak
1 lb. Penne pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small tomato, diced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta, reserving a half cup of starchy water. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and cook the diced tomato and minced garlic in there with red pepper flakes, about 3 minutes over medium heat. Add all the grilled leftover veggies and cut the chicken and steak into bite size pieces. Add pasta, reserved water, fresh parmesean and toss reserving some olive oil and parmesean for topping in each bowl.

free martha cookbook download

just thought i would spread the word. you can download this free cookbook here. enjoy your summer grilling!

choconutmeal chip cookies

oh yes i did just sit here and make up that word. how do you combine chocolate chip, coconut, oatmeal cookies? choconutmeal chip. oh man. these are hardcore good chewy cookies. usually i would just say oats make anything better... or coconut makes anything better... or chocolate chips make anything better. but combine all three? bam baby. if you like some "meat" in your cookies like i do, you will love these. and i think i ate 5 cookies worth of dough in the process. usually i'm not a dough eater.

originally from here. (love her and her pictures). i just did a substitution of flour for oats.


2 sticks of butter (1c), at room temp
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c all purpose flour

1 c rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/5 c semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks

Cream the butter and the sugars until light (seriously... did you know you're supposed to beat for like 2-5 minutes? as long as it takes until it changes color). Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl (i never do this... i just add it all in with the butter mixture). With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix.
With a spatula fold in the chocolate chips, coconut, and oats. (i also just dump it into the bosch and turn it on for a second until it's combined... call me lazy but it works).
Drop by spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheet. (parchment really is key folks)
Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes (mine only took 10 minutes because i take them out the second i start to see any brown). They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

oh my.

ps... i just noticed that 5 of the 9 cookie entries are mine. do i have a problem?

the perfect pizza dough

i'm on a quest each week to find the perfect pizza crust. and so far this is the winner. you see... we have "pizza friday" every friday night. yes, when you have little kids it's something to look forward to. sophie *loves* to help me make pizza, all day: "i help make a pizza!" and i love trying to per-fect my pizza crust, and landen? well he just loves eating it. so it's a win-win-win.

i think i'm finally getting the hang of it thanks to this website. the trick to the perfectly crispy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside crust happens to be using a pizza stone. sure you can still use this recipe on a good old cookie sheet (i've done it and it's still yummy), but if you're looking for that perfect restaurant crisp than use the stone! my definition of the perfect crust is one that i'm not overly noticing, it just blends into the yummy sauce and toppings. here we go.

ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
4 tsp sugar (about 1/8 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

directions: (i usually start the whole process at 3pm to let rise in time for dinner)
in a glass measuring cup filled with the sugar & water (water should feel very warm against wrist but not hot) i let my yeast activate for 5-10 minutes until bubbly on top. then i mix the oil in with a spoon. while yeast is activating i add the dry ingredients together in my mixer for about 15 seconds (flour & salt). while the mixer is running, pour the yeast mixture in slowly and process the dough for about 60 seconds, a dough ball should begin forming. if the dough is sticky, add flour one tablespoon at a time to dry the dough and allow a ball to form. if the dough is dry, add water one tablespoon at a time to moisten the dough. you want the dough slightly sticky and soft. you don't want to overprocess the dough, you just want to combine the ingredients to form a loose ball. the dough will be soft to the touch and there will be a small amount of residual dough left along the bottom and sides of the bowl.

once finished, place the ball on a floured surface and knead by hand for several minutes. (this is how i take my aggression out after a week of dealing with kids). use flour on your hands to prevent sticking. the dough should feel smooth and silky when ready for use. (you might be able to let your mixer do all the work, but i love kneading dough and i like how i do it better.)

shape dough into a ball and place in a bowl coated with olive oil. brush a light coating of oil on the top of the dough ball as well so it doesn't dry out. cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and then with a kitchen towel. i warm my oven up to 300 or so while i'm kneading, and then turn it off and place the bowl on top of the oven so it's nice and warm for rising. the volume should double depending on the warmth of the kitchen but usually takes 45-90 minutes.

after the dough has doubled, punch it down. turn out onto your board and knead it for a minute or two to get rid of any bubbles. let it rest in the bowl for another 45-90 minutes. i know this seems like a lot of rising, but i have noticed my doughs are much softer and easier to form if i do a double rise.

rolling out your dough:
place the dough ball on a lightly floured work surface. using your fingertips push down on the center of the dough applying outward pressure. you want to flatten out the dough ball and increase the diameter, once you have your intial shape, use a rolling pin to continue flattening the dough. roll in one direction, rotate 90 degrees and roll in the same direction. continue until you achieve your desired thickness and dimaeter.

i need a wooden paddle, but for now i just put my rolled out dough on some parchment on the backside of a cookie sheet so i can easily slide it onto my stone. you want to heat your stone for at least 45-60 minutes before you place your pizza on it. heat oven to 450 degrees (i think i change it every time). decorate your pizza and slide onto stone. i remove the parchment after it's cooked for about 5-10 minutes so it won't stick. cook until crust is just turning crispy golden and cheese is bubbly. about 15 minutes i think? just watch it.

easy sauce:
1 can of tomato sauce
mrs. dash "italian medly"

mix in a bowl until it tastes right! super easy and yummy.

Burger and Fries Casserole

I have to admit I haven't tried this one yet but its on the menu for this week, so I thought I would share. Cause really who doesn't like burger and fires?

(I think this makes a lot so i would probably cut it in half)

2 pound lean ground beef

1 10 ounce can condensed golden mushroom soup

1 10 ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 20 ounce package frozen french fried crinkle cut fries

1 teaspoon season salt

any toppings like pickles tomatoes, ketchup or mustard

preheat oven to 350degrees. In a large skillet cook beef and drain fat. transfer beef into a baking dish (casserole dish). in a medium bowl combine mushroom and cheese soups then spread over beef. top with the frozen potatoes and sprinkle with season salt.

bake for 45 minutes to 55 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. if you want put your toppings on and eat! SO EASY

( so i got this from a meals on a budget recipe book it says this meal should only cost you 12$ to make and if you don't make it as big it should be less. We will find out good experiment though!)