Pizza

I discovered pizza stones this week... they are amazing! I was looking on a friend's blog (By the way Nathalie has her own food blog http://smellthedaisiez.blogspot.com/) and she had recently made barbecue chicken pizza. When I looked at the crust recipe she used I realized it would be really easy to make my own. I have never thought of bread as being an easy thing to just whip up, but if you don't even have to let it rise, why not give it a try.

I was telling my upstairs neighbor that I wanted to make pizza, and she told me she had a pizza stone, and she made pizza all the time. So we borrowed their pizza stone and tried it. It was so easy and so good that we bought our own pizza stone today, and did it again.

If you are in the market for a pizza stone they have round 14 3/4" pizza stones with the metal rack to help lift it out of the oven at Bed Bath and Beyond for $14.99 and Bed Bath and Beyond just sent out $5 coupons in their curricular. Most of the other places I looked at were between 20 and 30 dollars for a basic pizza stone, I saw prices up to $115.

I'm not sure if this is the same recipe Nathalie uses, Erin sent her recipe with the pizza stone.

1 Tbsp Yeast
1 Cup Warm Water
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Tsp Salt
2 1/2 to 3 Cups Flour


Place yeast, warm water, and sugar in a bowl until dissolved. Add vegetable oil, salt and flour. Knead for 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll flat. Add sauce and favorite toppings. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. 


We topped with onions, green peppers (on Steve's half), mushrooms, and pepperoni. 

Clam Chowder

This is one of Steve's favorite entrées, and since it is starting to snap into cold weather in Utah we decided it was time to pull the recipe out again. I didn't take any pictures this week. I didn't even think about taking them until we had already eaten the food. I'll try to be better at that.

Thinking it would be cheaper and healthier I attempted to reduce the cream in the recipe this time. I used half a pint of cream, and half a pint of milk (or 1 cup of each to equal 1/2 quart... oh dear English conversions!) The rue (flour/cream/butter mixture) was much too thin, so I thickened it with additional flour and corn starch. The resulting soup was acceptable, but I much prefer the original. I probably won't do it that way again. 


"Original" (my mother's variation on a recipe she found) Recipe: 

   Ingredients:

4 cans clam 1/2 c finely chopped onion 1 c sliced celery 2 c diced potatoes  3/4 c butter 3/4 c flour (less then all add 1/4 c at a time) 1/2 -3/4 quart cream Milk to thin salt and pepper to taste  Preparation: Chop vegetables. Place in saucepan drain clam juice into vegetables (add water if not over the vegetables). Set clams to the side. Boil vegetables. Melt butter (don't let it bubble) add cream, heat until all melted together. Constantly stirring add flour a quarter cup at a time. Add flour until very thick. Dump cooked vegetables (with liquid) into the cream mixture. Add milk to thin (if needed).  P.S. Watch your vegetables very closely. I have only cooked this recipe ONCE without boiling the vegetables over (and it was this week).

"Fancy" Macaroni and Cheese

this meal is the most requested meal by my husband. seriously, every time i ask him what we should have for dinner, he always says, "fancy mac?". it's not called fancy mac because it's fancy, but because it's macaroni and cheese from a box, but dressed up.

"Fancy" Mac

ingredients

2 boxes mac and cheese, any variety. we use the cheap-o kind that comes to about $0.39 per box.

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

2 stalks of broccoli (more-or-less), cut into florets and small pieces of stem

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about one pound), diced. if you don't want to dice and cook your own chicken breasts, you can use pre-cooked chicken breasts, or some of a rotisserie chicken.

spices for your chicken. i like garlic, paprika, a little ground red pepper, salt, and pepper.

instructions

in a large pot, boil enough water for the noodles and broccoli. usually i use a big saucepan or a stock pot.

in the mean time, dice the chicken breasts and cook them over medium in a frying pan with a little olive oil. season and cook through.

while the chicken cooks, add the noodles and broccoli.

cook for 7-ish minutes--just long enough for the noodles to cook.

drain the pasta and broccoli and return to pot.

add butter and milk, along with cheese sauce packet.

when chicken is done, incorporate into the noodle/broccoli/cheese sauce mixture.

serve!

cheddar broccoli soup

I searched and searched for a good recipe for cheddar broccoli soup. This is because 1. i have a lot of broccoli, and 2. it just sounded so delicious. this is the one i settled on. Also, i've never been to Panera, so i can't speak to if this is a good copycat or not. sorry!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

source: www.food.com

ingredients:

1 T butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half-and-half (1 pint)

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 lb fresh broccoli

1 cup carrots, julienned

1/4 tsp nutmeg

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (personally, i like to grate my own cheese because i think it has a better melt, but i'm sure pre-grated cheese would work great if you're on a time crunch or hate cheese graters)

salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. saute onion in 1 T butter. set aside

2. melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat in a large sauce pan or stock pot. when melted, add flour and whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. continue whisking and add half-and-half.

3. add chicken stock. simmer for 20 minutes.

4. in the mean-time, cut up your veggies and grate your cheese

5. add the broccoli, carrots, and onions. cook over low heat 20-25 minutes. this step is to cook the veggies, so cook it to your liking! i really like my veggies pretty crisp, so i kept it on the shorter side.

6. you can puree it in batches in a blender now, if you want. i don't have a blender, and i like it chunky, so i left it.

7. add cheese and melt over low heat. stir in nutmeg.

i wasn't sure if i'd like the nutmeg, but it's subtle, and i think it's a great addition!

also, forgive my lack of picture, i was so hungry that i dug into my bowl without a thought of a picture!

Fajitas

I love fajitas for dinner! They're filling, and give a healthful amount of veggies. They're also fun and colorful. yum.

Fajitas

ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or sirloin steak (way more expensive)

2 or 3 bell peppers. I like green, red, yellow, purple, whatever. sliced.

1 medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup water

1 packet McCormick fajita seasoning

small tortillas

sour cream

cheese

directions:

slice up your peppers and onion. set aside in a mixing bowl.

slice the chicken/steak into thin slices about 2-3 inches long, and 1 inch wide.

fire up the non-stick skillet at about medium; add some olive oil and heat that up (just a few seconds).

cook the chicken till it's no longer pink on the outside. set aside.

add a little more olive oil, and add the peppers and onions into the pan.

cook the peppers and onions for about 5 minutes.

add back the chicken, 1/4 cup of water, and the seasoning. simmer briefly.

serve on small tortillas with cheese and sour cream.

Turkey (or Chicken) Noodle Soup

On Sunday my mother-in-law, Denise, roasted a turkey.  She sent us home with some, so I decided to make turkey noodle soup. This is very much a little of this little of that kind of recipe and a great way to use up leftover poultry.  I am just going to guess at about how much of each item I put into the soup.  The great thing about soup is you can pretty much see from the beginning if you have “enough” of each ingredient.

Turkey Noodle Soup:

2 cups cooked turkey

3 cups raw carrots

2 ½ cups raw celery

One small-medium sized onion

Half a bag of dry egg noodles (I usually use American Beauty)

1 handful of frozen corn

3 handfuls of frozen peas

Enough chicken broth to cover (I usually mix the chicken broth with some water so it isn’t quite as salty)

Put turkey, carrots, celery, onion and egg noodles in a large stock pot with enough chicken broth/water to cover. Boil until carrots are tender. Add frozen ingredients mix and serve.  I would add more corn next time. I had never added it before, and I didn’t have much of it in my freezer.

Wingers Freakin' Amazing Sauce and Chicken Fingers

I LOVE copycat recipes...It's like eating out just cheaper. I found this one at favfamilyrecipes.com

A favorite at our house and it is quick. I used to buy the Freakin' Amazing Sauce at Wingers all the time but now I just make my own and I seriously can't believe I spent money to make something that is so easy!

For the sauce:
**Covers about 8 sticky fingers
3 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce... no other sauce will taste as good)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves (we actually doubled the recipe and it was the perfect amount for the chicken and for dipping).
That's IT for the sauce! Isn't that easy?? We like to dip popcorn in it :) Mix it with a little bit of ranch to make their creamy amazing dressing.The possibilities are ENDLESS with this sauce!

For the Sticky Fingers:
1 c. oil
1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken fingers

In a frying pan, heat oil and cook chicken fingers until crispy and warm. Pour sauce over (or put them in a Tupperware with some of the sauce and shake it up until the chicken is completely covered in sauce). Serve with ranch (we like to make the Hidden Valley Packet Ranch prepared with buttermilk instead of milk) or blue cheese dressing.

Taco Soup

This is an easy, fast meal for a chilly night like tonight! It also makes a TON of soup, so you can freeze some for later or have leftovers for the whole week.

Taco Soup

ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion

3 12.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can refried beans

1 can green beans

2 cans dark red kidney beans

1 package taco seasoning (or add seasoning yourself: chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt)

directions:

Chop onion. Brown ground beef in a large sauce pan (stock pot) with onion. While this is cooking, open up all of your cans and drain/rinse your veggies and kidney beans.

When ground beef is brown and onion is tender, add the remaining ingredients. Stir and heat through.

Serve with Fritos and cheese for a delicious dinner!

(p.s. we didn't use Fritos because they're too expensive; instead, we opted for Archer Farms multigrain tortilla chips. yum.)

Very Easy Cafe Rio Evening

A while ago I made Cafe Rio Pork. On the day I made the pork I also made Cilantro Ranch Dressing, and Lime Cilantro Rice. I have actually done this a few times, and find that every time I make the dressing I end up with WAY too much... I still have a full container in my refrigerator from last time. This would be great, but when the expiration date on the buttermilk is up I am to chicken to use it. I have also found that the rice is good, but it tastes almost the same as regular rice with the cilantro ranch dressing on top of it. I have never tried making the black bean recipe since I prefer pinto beans. For whatever reason I can't find a Cafe Rio pinto bean recipe on the internet.

Tonight, I decided that I would just buy the dressing straight from Cafe Rio rather than buying all of the ingredients and making a mess in my kitchen. Steve looked up the prices for me, and on a whim I asked him how much side orders of beans were... $.95.

I still had cafe rio pork in my freezer from the last time I made it (I just divided the leftovers into ziplock freezer bags. I actually just more than doubled the recipe since pork loin was on sale at Smith's.) I also had rice in my refrigerator from making rice bowls a few days ago.  So, $4.09 later we had Cafe Rio for dinner, no real cooking necessary.

All the recipes come from favfamilyrecipes.com, and were found by my sister-in-law Stacey.

Cafe Rio Pork

Ingredients

2 pounds pork (we like to use boneless pork ribs) 3 cans coke (not diet) 1/4 c brown sugar dash garlic salt 1/4 c water 1 can sliced green chilies  3/4 can red enchilada sauce ( Old El Paso, medium spiciness) 1 c brown sugar

Preparation

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c brown sugar. Marinade a few hours or overnight. Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get too dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about 1/2 cup, you can add a little more to taste). If it looks to thick, add more coke little by little. Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low 2 hours. That's it!

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Ingredients	1 Packet Traditional Hidden Valley Ranch Mix (not Buttermilk) 1 C mayo 1 C buttermilk 2 Tomatillos, remove husk, diced 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro 1 clove garlic juice of 1 lime 1 jalapeno (we like it spicy so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)
Preparation	Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it.

Lime Cilantro Rice

Ingredients	1 cup uncooked rice 1 tsp butter or margarine 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth 1 cup water 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice 2 tsp sugar 3 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Preparation	In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime juice, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. in a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Black Beans

Ingredients	2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic , minced 1 tsp ground cumin 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 1/3 c tomato juice 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Preparation	In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this)

Pork Chops and Rice

Pork chops and rice is an old family favorite of mine. It's simple, and requires very little prep time--especially if you skip searing the pork chops! We ate ours with a green salad. It's also amenable to green beans.

Pork Chops and Rice

Ingredients:

1 ¹⁄₂ cups rice (I prefer short-grain white rice, but any variety will do)

3 cups water

1 lb pork chops

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

milk

garlic salt

pepper

Instructions:

Season the pork chops generously on both sides with garlic salt and pepper.

(optional)Heat a non-stick skillet to medium-high. Heat some extra-virgin olive oil in the pan. Sear both sides of each pork chop by cooking on each side for about 1-2 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and a little bit of milk (maybe 1 can's worth). Season the sauce with garlic salt and pepper--I'd recommend a generous amount of seasoning, since the rice doesn't have any and will even things out.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Spread the rice on the bottom of a 9"x13" dish.

Pour the water on top.

Add the pork chops.

Pour the soup mixture on top.

Cover tightly with foil. This is essential for the rice to cook!

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, or as long as you like for the desired thickness of the gravy. I like my gravy really thick, so I baked mine uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.

Simple

This blog is inspired by many a chat about new food ideas, or "what's for dinner". The goal is for this blog to be simple! If you want to post about your amazing grilled cheese sandwich recipe, then post about your amazing grilled cheese sandwich recipe.

Desserts, breads, appetizers, anything you wouldn't classify as an entrée is definitely welcome as well.

Post what you wish, and have fun! If you would like permission to be an author please let me know. The more the merrier!