Pizza Dough

Pizza is a weekly meal at our home, typically on Friday nights. My hubby, daughter and I all have different tastes for pizza, so I make individual pizzas we can add our own toppings to. My daughter is partial to pepperoni and cheese pizza, my hubby loves barbeque chicken pizza, and I love veggie pizza. Below is my recipe for an easy, basic pizza dough. All you need to do is add sauce, cheese and your choice of toppings.

Basic Pizza Dough

--1 cup warm water
--1 package active dry yeast
--2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
--2 TBSP olive oil
--1/2 tsp salt

Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour. With large spoon mix the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the last half gradually.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (I'm a lazy baker, so I mix my dough in a large bowl and then knead directly in the bowl, eliminating the need for a kneading surface.) If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2-quart bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

When the dough has risen, divide it into two or more parts and roll them into balls. Cover them with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped, topped and cooked, or it can be stored in the refrigerator for later use.


My hubby's barbeque chicken pizza before cooking. All our pizzas are cooked on a pizza stone in a 425 degree oven.

Easy Mac and Cheese

My daughter LOVES macaroni and cheese, although I don't fix it very often due to the calorie count. However, here is my easy Mac and Cheese recipe:


Easy Mac and Cheese

--8 oz. dry macaroni
--2 TBSP butter
--2 TBSP flour
--2 cups milk
--2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of choice)
--Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare macaroni per directions on box.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and stir to remove all lumps. Then add the milk and cook until thick, stirring continuously. Add salt and pepper to taste and then cheese. Cook over low heat until melted.

Stir cheese mixture into drained macaroni and spread into a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes then enjoy!

Oven Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

One of my family's comfort foods is roast chicken. I've perfected the recipe, so I want to share it with you.



OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES

--Chicken, your choice (I normally use a whole chicken or bone-in chicken breast, but thighs and legs work just as well)
--4 or 5 medium potatoes, skins on, cut into cubes
--Handful of carrots (or any other veggie you may want to use)
--1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Scrub potatoes well then cut into cubes (I cut in half and then in half again). Coat potatoes with half the onion soup mix and then place in the bottom of a baking dish. Add carrots or other veggies you may be using. Then coat the chicken with the remaining soup mix and place on top of veggies. Cover dish and bake for 45 minutes. Then uncover dish and cook an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and chicken reaches 170 degrees on a meat themometer.

Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Stir-Fry

Here's a quick and easy supper when you're in a hurry:



Sweet Pork Stir-Fry

--12 oz. boneless pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat
--1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice
--2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
--1 TBSP cornstarch
--1/2 tsp salt to taste
--1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper to taste
--1 Tbsp canola or peanut oil, divided
--2 cups shredded bok choy
--1 cup fresh snow peas
--1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
--1 medium onion, cut vertically into 1/2-inch slices
--1 can bean spourts (or fresh, if you grow them)
--1 garlic clove, chopped
--1 tsp minced fresh ginger

Pork is easier to slice if it is slightly frozen, so if you are thawing a frozen loin, don't unthaw completely. Cut pork into 1/4-inch strips and set aside.

Drain juice from pineapple into a small bowl, reserving pineapple. Add Worcestershire sauce and cornstarch to juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside.

In wok, heat 2 teaspoons oil over high heat. Add pork and stir-fry until white. Add bok choy, snow peas, carrots, onions, and reserved pineapple. Stir-fry until bok choy and carrots are brightly colored, about 2 minutes. Transfer to plate. Set aside.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to wok. Add garlic and ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds, taking care not to burn them. Stir in pineapple juice mixture. Return meat mixture to wok and add bean sprouts. Stir-fry until liquid has thickened and meat is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Last Chance for Book Give-Away

Just a reminder to all those interested, tonight at midnight is the deadline for entering my contest to win a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. To be eligible, click here and leave a comment. Good luck to everyone!

Christine's Favorite Yeast Rolls

My youngest daughter and my mother both share the love of yeast rolls and we typically try to have them every holiday. For years, we have bought yeast rolls from our local bakery. However, this year we have discovered a yeast roll recipe that everyone loves, so guess who's supplying the yeast rolls for Christmas this year?

Christine's Favorite Yeast Rolls

--2 pkgs yeast
--4 cups milk, lukewarm
--1/2 cup sugar
--2 tsp salt
--4 whole eggs
--8+ cups flour (works equally as well with all-purpose or whole wheat flour)
--2 sticks butter or margarine, melted

In a small mixing bowl, mix 1/3 cup warm water with yeast and sprinkle with a small amount of the sugar. In a larger bowl, beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter and milk. Add yeast and enough flour to make a soft dough. Oil a clean bowl and turn dough so it is oiled on top. Cover and let rise until doubled.

To make the yeast rolls, I use paper muffin liners and fill each 1/2 full. I let the muffins rise again until double. (Note: if you fill the muffin tin too full, the dough will rise above the pan.) Bake at 350 degrees and bake until lightly brown, approximately 13-15 minutes.

This recipe is also good for bread: fill loaf pan 1/2 full of dough and let rise again until double. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size of loaf.

You can also roll out the dough to make donuts or cinnamon rolls. I don't have photos of these, but I will post them soon.

Blog Award

Deanna from Deanna's Corner Cooking has nominated me for an "I HEART YOUR BLOG" award! This is thrilling for me, especially since my recipe blog is fairly new. Thanks Deanna!




The rules of the award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

I’m off to leave comments for my favorite recipe bloggers - and here they are:

Chubbie Chica

Kaysville Momma

Live.Love.Eat

Dinner's Ready

What's For Dinner

Angela's Page