Monday, June 2, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
How to choose the best Watermelon
If you're like me, it's not officially summer for you until you can enjoy a nice, sweet, juicy slice of watermelon in the hot summer heat. I ran across this post on Facebook and thought it would be worth a share.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
Tonight, my husband wanted to make his awesome homemade pizza for dinner. It really impresses me how well he can cook some things. Pizza just happens to be one of my favs when it comes to things that he makes. He knows I love a thin, crispy crust and I don't care for a huge amount of sauce so his pizza is perfect!
I decided to try a new breadstick recipe that I found on Pinterest today, but like always, I tweak the recipes I find/use to make them into my own.
Dough Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup...depending on the heat & humidity}
Breadstick Ingredients:
1 batch of dough {from above}
3 tablespoons softened salted butter {room temperature}
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}
I decided to try a new breadstick recipe that I found on Pinterest today, but like always, I tweak the recipes I find/use to make them into my own.
Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
Yield: 2-12 inch pizza crusts; about 1 lb. of dough
Dough Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup...depending on the heat & humidity}
Breadstick Ingredients:
1 batch of dough {from above}
3 tablespoons softened salted butter {room temperature}
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}
Directions:
For the pizza dough--
In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.
Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes.
Dough should be smooth and easy to work with and shouldn't stick to the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Use as desired.
For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks-
Preheat oven to highest temperature that you oven will reach. You want to preheat with pizza stone inside the oven also, so that the stone will be nice and hot. {If you don't have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet.}
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and sprinkle on cheese. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired.
Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Your dough should also bubble up nicely too!
Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing into strips.
Serve with marinara or butter garlic sauce.
I did a butter garlic sauce by melting a little butter and adding garlic powder to the desired taste.
Enjoy!!
In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.
Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes.
Dough should be smooth and easy to work with and shouldn't stick to the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Use as desired.
For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks-
Preheat oven to highest temperature that you oven will reach. You want to preheat with pizza stone inside the oven also, so that the stone will be nice and hot. {If you don't have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet.}
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and sprinkle on cheese. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired.
Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Your dough should also bubble up nicely too!
Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing into strips.
Serve with marinara or butter garlic sauce.
I did a butter garlic sauce by melting a little butter and adding garlic powder to the desired taste.
Enjoy!!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Bacon Ranch Cheeseball
2 {8oz} package of cream cheese, room temp
1/2c shredded cheddar
1/4c green pepper, finely chopped
3 green onion, finely chopped
1c bacon crumbles, divided (I use a whole package of real bacon bits)
1 pkg of hidden valley ranch dip mix
Place cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until both blocks are combined. Add in ranch dip mix and mix well. Mix in shredded cheddar, green onion, green pepper and 1/2 of the bacon crumbles.
Once mixed, using your hands, form into a ball. Roll the ball into the remaining 1/2 of bacon crumbles. Wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers.
1/2c shredded cheddar
1/4c green pepper, finely chopped
3 green onion, finely chopped
1c bacon crumbles, divided (I use a whole package of real bacon bits)
1 pkg of hidden valley ranch dip mix
Place cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until both blocks are combined. Add in ranch dip mix and mix well. Mix in shredded cheddar, green onion, green pepper and 1/2 of the bacon crumbles.
Once mixed, using your hands, form into a ball. Roll the ball into the remaining 1/2 of bacon crumbles. Wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers.
Pineapple Crunch Cheeseball
Ingredients
2 {8 oz.} packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 {15.25 oz.} can crushed pineapple, drained
2 tsp. Seasoned salt
3 green onions, finely chopped {or more depending on your taste}
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
Chopped pecans or walnut for coating
Directions
Mix cream cheese and pineapple together until blended well. Add seasoned salt, green pepper, cheese and green onions until well mixed. Form mixture into a ball and coat outside with chopped nuts. You can refrigerate for a while until the mix is a little more firm before you form into a ball if you are having trouble or the mixture is a little too runny. Once formed into ball, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until you serve with crackers.
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
Chopped pecans or walnut for coating
Directions
Mix cream cheese and pineapple together until blended well. Add seasoned salt, green pepper, cheese and green onions until well mixed. Form mixture into a ball and coat outside with chopped nuts. You can refrigerate for a while until the mix is a little more firm before you form into a ball if you are having trouble or the mixture is a little too runny. Once formed into ball, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until you serve with crackers.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.
Cream Cheese Filling
1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 - 16 oz. package of powdered sugar
about a capful of vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon (to taste)
Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.
Enjoy right away or chill overnight.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Giovanni's Red Dressing
So yummy! I always ask for a little extra when I get an antipasto salad(equally delicious!!) at Giovanni's. I am glad I ran across the recipe. Enjoy!
2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Pinch of garlic
I throw all of the ingredients in a mixer and blend for a couple of minutes until completely smooth and then refrigerate. This recipe yields 4 cups of dressing.
2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Pinch of garlic
I throw all of the ingredients in a mixer and blend for a couple of minutes until completely smooth and then refrigerate. This recipe yields 4 cups of dressing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)