This pizza bake caught my attention because I thought it would be easy and I already had all the ingredients.  It was on my monthly menu for tonight’s dinner but I did not leave work until 5:45.  I already had the meat ready from my once a month cooking marathon so I was a little ahead as I had, surprisingly, remembered to take the package of cooked Italian style ground beef out of the freezer before I left for work.  I started the pizza dough at 6:15 and we were eating at 7:10.  Not bad and soooo good.  My family actually said they can’t wait for leftovers.

First: Pizza Dough

• 3 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 pkg instant yeast, or 1 tbls yeast
• 1 cup very warm water
• 2 tbls oil
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Add yeast and sugar to the water.  Let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast grows.  Add salt and oil.  If using a bread machine to knead (which I recommend) pour all liquid into bread machine pan and add flour, stirring after each cup added.  Knead until smooth about 5 in the bread machine, about 10 minutes if by hand.  Place dough ball in a greased bowl lightly covered and let rise for 10-15 minutes.  While bread is rising-

Second:  Pizza Stuffing

• 1 lb. cooked and drained ground beef cooked with 1 small diced onion
• 1 tbls Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp ground oregano
• 1/2 tsp of thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp minced or powdered garlic
• 1 tsp sweet basil
• 1 tbls garlic salt
• 1-2 tsp pepper
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 3 tbls flour
• 1 cup or more of mozzarella cheese
• pepperonis
• small amount of milk to brush on top and sesame seed to sprinkle over the top

Cook the beef and all the above ingredients EXCEPT the cheese and pepperonis.  Let cool.  Can do this fast by putting in a large baking dish and putting in the freezer.  Not that I did this, not me, I have all the time in the world.

Third:  Roll out the pizza dough into a 14x11 inch rectangle.  Lay dough on a greased cookie sheet.  Place meat mixture down the center third of the dough, leaving 2 inches on each end and cover with the cheese and pepperonis. 

Cut the sides of the pizza dough diagonally 2 inches apart.  I used my kitchen shears which I really hope were clean.

Fold the ends up and then fold the sides over.

Brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place in a preheated 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Yum!!  Just like the picture except that I used homemade pizza dough instead of pre-packaged pizza dough and so mine was HUGE.  I though that it might spread out over the pan while it was cooking. 

Good thing everyone wants leftovers because this could feed an army.

I think this might be good with some sort of chicken bake.  I have all sorts of ideas.  My husband loved how light the crust was and not heavy at all. 

This is the second time I have made this whole wheat bread. It turned out so perfect the first time I was actually nervous I wouldn't be able to get the same results when I made it again. I was wrong, it turned out just as good. I found the recipe in an old recipe book called Multi-Grains. Tony's mom had it in her collection of old cookbooks that he got after she passed away.

The Ingredients:

• 1 Tbl brown sugar
• 1 1/2 pks of Instant Dry Yeast, or 1 and 1/2 Tbl of Instant Yeast
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup Reg White flour, All-Purpose or Bread flour (I use high gluten white flour)
• 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbl salt
• 1/3 cup powdered milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg slightly beaten

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 c. warm water, 1 tbl brown sugar, and the yeast. This will double in size by the time you add it to the dough.

In a small pan mix 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of water and place on the stove on medium to low heat. Stir constantly. This mixture will be lumpy at first and will stick to the pan but keep stirring.

This was an old recipe from Tony's mother's collection, and even though I am not a huge fan of hamburger meat dishes, I thought this seemed very good. Because it was so good and became an instant hit in my house, preserving its spot in our dinner rotation, I thought I would share. It only takes 10 minutes of prep and 20 minutes to bake. Perfect timing for a non-crockpot recipe and a home by 5:30pm mom. Plus I love crescent rolls, yum.

1 lb hamburger meat
1 small diced onion
1 can of crescent rolls (8 count)
1 8oz can of tomato paste
1 packet of taco seasoning
2 cups of shredded mozzerella
1/2 cup of shredded parmesean

Preheat oven to 400.
In a skillet, brown hamburger meat with the diced onion.
Pull apart the crescent rolls and place in a 9" pie pan. Flatten the triangles so that they join together to form a crust and leave about a half an inch hanging over the pie pan.
Once meat is thoroughly browned and the onions are stir in tomato paste and taco seasoning.
Sprinkle the crescent roll crust with parmesean cheese
Place half of the meat mixture in the pie pan and cover with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and then repeat one more time.
Take the excess crescent rolls and fold over the meat mixture to make a crust similar to a crostata.
Bake for 20 minutes.

I put some salsa and sour cream on mine but no one else did and they loved it. Anna wanted some for lunch until I asked if she was sure. She decided that leftover taco soup was a safer choice.

I have moved this Apple/Potato Peeler from South Carolina to Oklahoma and then to Chicago, where it never came up from the storage locker in the basement of my apartment. I repacked it into another box when I moved to California and was charged $25/box by the moving company. (I threw away my lampshades on that move because I thought I was saving money, completely unaware of how much lampshades actually cost when I went to replace them.)

I left California and moved to Oklahoma, where this peeler remained unopened in three, count them, three different kitchens. But now in its fourth kitchen, and almost fifteen years later, I have broken the seal, removed the plastic, and used this incredibly efficient and time saving device. So thank you Mom, thank you for this wonderful housewarming gift you gave me when I moved into my first apartment. You knew it would come in handy one day just like the antique steamer trunk you gave me for my sixteenth birthday, every 16 year old's dream present, an antique steamer trunk!

When I saw this Apple Cake recipe on Smitten Kitchen yesterday I was compelled to make it, immediately. After work I sent Tony and Anna to the store to get the apples and more eggs. While they were gone I hunted for my never used, brand new, fifteen year old apple peeler. What a time saver! Before we sat down for dinner I had this cake in the oven. It takes quite a while to cook, mine took almost an hour and fifty minutes. During the last half hour our dog was going over to the oven and licking the side of it.

What a perfect breakfast! My mom makes a pretty awesome apple cake but I really think that this recipe is even better. Due to the fantastic turnout of this cake my Apple/Potato Peeler has a permanent home, smack dab on the counter. At least until I find a more convenient and accesible place for the best housewarming gift a twenty-three year old could ever have.

I am not a huge bread eater. You know, the type of person that must have cannot survive without a bread product at the dinner table. I thank my mother for that because if I was I swear I would be enormous. I once dated a guy that had to have a loaf of bread on the table for every meal, Wonder or Roman Meal, it didn't matter just some sort of bread-dammit, Now go fix me a Turkey Pot Pie.

At our house we tend to limit the bread with a meal in order to get everyone to eat the actual meal and not just the dinner roll. But I never did get on that bandwagon of a burger with no bun or a wrap with a huge piece of lettuce instead of a tortilla. (Unless it is Lettuce wraps from PF Changs then I am all over the no carb craze)

But times....they are a'changin:

Homemade Whole Wheat sandwich bread. Delicious! I made this on Saturday and my house still smells like a bakery.

(Did you know that I almost rented an apartment right above a Great Harvest Bread Company when I moved to Chicago? My roommate and I both were estactic over the aroma wafting up through the hardwood floor but we were not thrilled with the tub rigged with a shower smack dab in the middle of the kitchen......uh no.)

I used this recipe and it was super simple but makes a TON. I am all thinking "my Kitchen Aid mixer is bigger than yours" (sing-song voice) to the comments but no, the dough rose over and beyond the dough hook attachment. That was probably the only difficult part, that and the waiting and wanting. It made 3 large loafs and 1 smaller one that in a normal size bread pan would have been fine. I decided to try cinnamon swirl bread with the puny loaf.

I added flax seed meal to boost the nutrients and I used 1/3 honey and 1/3 brown sugar instead of just brown. (those that know me know I mock the organic but my next post will explain why I might have to hand it to the tree huggers)

I also experimented with slashing down the middle trying to be the Split Top Mama. That failed. I have no idea when in the process you are suppose to make the split? Before the second rise, after the rise and before the oven? Who knows.

Being the Hannah Homemaker that I am *cough*cough* I cut all of these loafs for sandwich style bread. I then bagged 2 loaves and froze them. Seriously, I am getting scared of my future. I am thinking it will either involve buying a Jim Giles Safe Room and installing it under the cover of night and filling it full of food for when the market collapses OR I will be entertaining folks in a pioneer outfit and apron at Silver Dollar City.

These quick breakfast biscuits are easy and travel great while driving to work or school. During the work week I am constantly running out the door at break neck speed yelling, "Get your lunch! Grab your backpack! Did you brush your teeth? Wait, didn't you just wear that yesterday?" Yea, the epitome of the frenzied working mother.

Except this is all my fault, I am like this because I perpetually sleep in. Most mornings I lay in bed rationalizing what I can forgo on the appearance front. Breakfast does not enter my mind on the mornings I have convinced myself that I don't really have to wash my hair because I can pull it back. And if I don't have any meetings I can just wear jeans and some shirt. And the most pathetic - I can just put my makeup on at work. Needless to say at 6:30 in the morning the lazy slug in me wins out over the nurturing mother part of me.

I am not much better on the weekends but they have a much better chance of me at least getting the milk out for them--during a commercial while watching Landscaper's Challenge.

Anyway, I have perfected my rationalizing of sleeping in to include a ready made breakfast for my family. Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Biscuits. Not only are they great for quick run-out-the-door breakfasts they also make perfect meal gifts for new moms. The husbands really love them from the feedback I have gotten at work and church.

After cooking them I wrap each one in wax paper, stick them into a freezer bag and nuke in the microwave 1 min. 40 secs before running out the door.

The list of ingredients is simple:

• tube of breakfast sausage, thoroughly browned (my family likes the HOT sausage)
• Block of Mexican Velveeta, can be the small block that way you won't have leftovers but you will have to watch what you cut.
  
• dozen eggs
• half and half (or milk)
• LAYER refrigerator biscuits pulled apart in either 2 pieces or 3 layers, sometimes getting 3 is not easy it depends on the brand you buy. But you must use the layered kind, regular will not work-I have tried it.
• Salt and Pepper for egg mixture. Any season you would normally add to scrambled eggs or omelets. I really like to use cumin or taco seasoning too.
  

After you have pulled apart the biscuits and have determined how many you will have place each into a greased/oil sprayed muffin tin. Then cut your cheese so that each biscuit has a piece. More or less it is your preference.

Place the cheese and cooked crumbled sausage on top of each biscuit. Break the eggs and add 1/2 and 1/2 or milk and seasonings. Whip the egg mixture until all combined and then pour a small amount onto each biscuit.

This is where it takes trial and error. Too much and the egg will come right out of the muffin tin, too little and then it will be what egg? I pour until it is all lightly covered but not at the top.

Cook for 10-15 minutes at 350. Until the tops are lightly browned and the biscuit has risen and cooked through.

Now take each one and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cool, cut up enough wax paper and call some helpers. Wrap each one individually and freeze. I normally leave about 8-10 out and keep in the fridge.

The thawed ones cook in 40 seconds my microwave (old old old moved it from Chicago to California to Oklahoma)

Frozen needs just a little over 1 minute 30 seconds. This is sooooo easy and so very good. Plus it can be adjusted to individual tastes.

Now feel free to sleep in they can fend for themselves. :)

A little boy in Anna's first grade class threw up today. In empathy Anna threw up too, twice. I was called to come get her at school just before noon. She is lying on the couch watching Dr. Doolittle IIXVII and I am in the kitchen. With Dina.

Teacher Appreciation Week is going on at Anna's school. On Monday I made the Pillsbury million dollar prize winning recipe, Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookie, and Anna brought a dozen to her teacher with a note that said her teacher was worth $1,000,000 but since we don't have it maybe a $1,000,000 cookie would do. Such cleverness.....

Thursday is a teacher breakfast. I volunteered to make The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls. This will be about the tenth time I have made these and each time is better than the first. Well definitely the first because I was in complete denial that anything outside of a Paula Deen recipe would take that much butter. I was wrong, and thank you Tresh for setting me straight and making me follow a recipe. But I have ended up deleting the Maple extract from the icing and now even I think these are the best cinnamon rolls ever. The first 36 teachers through the teacher's lounge door are going to love these cinnamon rolls.

I have the dough for the cinnamon rolls rising right next to the dough for Suzanne's Grandmother Bread. This smells so good and it hasn't even baked yet. My neighbor across the street has been sick and I think she might really enjoy a loaf. If not I know I will. The whole loaf. To myself. With butter. In the guest bedroom where no one will see me.

I am also making breakfast biscuits to freeze. These are the perfect running out the door we are going to be late breakfast. They are easy to make too, refrigerator flaky layer biscuits, sausage, velveeta cheese, and egg mixture. I will post the recipe when I finish making them.

Oh! For dinner we are having the Mac and Cheese from Ree's site. I think I am craving carbs.

I figure if I do all the things that I would love to do everyday as a Stay at Home Mom I will just automagically become one someday.

This corn casserole is so delicious. It is easy to make and a great side dish that kids love and is perfect to serve if you have company for dinner.

• 1 can of cream corn
• 1 can of sweet whole corn, drained
• 1 large onion, chopped fine, even grated to hide from picky kids
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup of cracker crumbs. I used Town House Toppers Garlic & Herb-these are great!
• 1 cup of grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Place the butter, onion, and red pepper in a sauce pan. Melt butter and soften the onion and pepper. In a bowl combine the corn and sugar and add the buttery mixture. stir in the cracker crumbs (reserve some for topping) and grated cheese (reserve some for topping). Add the beaten egg, stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.

Pour corn mixture into a buttered (I used butter spray) 9x9 casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour. Ten minutes before time is up sprinkle reserved cheese and top with the remaining cracker crumbs, this is optional.

After cooking let casserole set up for 5-10 minutes and serve. This serves 8. Yum!!

This is a delicious creamy tart, very quiche like and would be wonderful if bacon was added, either crumbled on top or inside. Would the addition of bacon make it a quiche then? I have no idea but I do know this is delicious and was a favorite when I made it for a girl's weekend one afternoon without kids.

The smell of the onions and butter cooking is awesome! And the great thing is the filling can be made the night before and poured into a pie-crust right before cooking.

Don't the onions look beautiful? Man, I am hungry. I knew I should have snuck a leftover piece of this tart after I had my required bowl of oatmeal. I say "snuck" because this is definitely not Weight Watchers approved, no way, well maybe half a bite.

Without further adieu, the ingredients:

• 1 Vidalia onion, sliced into thin strips (Sweet onions were not available so I add more sugar)
• 2 Shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 Leek, thinly sliced (I wash really good by soaking and then I just slice across and separate the rings)
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 2/3 cup Whipping Cream
• 3 large Eggs
• 4 oz softened Cream Cheese, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup grated Swiss Cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar Jack cheese with Jalapeno peppers
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp ground Nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Pie-Crust for a 9" glass pie pan (if it is glass is it really still a pan?) Bring to room temperature while preparing filling.

Preheat oven to 375. In a 12" saute pan, melt the butter and add all the onions, nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Cook until slightly translucent but not browned/burned. Turn the heat down and slowly add the cheese, starting with the cream cheese. Stir until all the cheeses and the onions are combined.

In a large bowl gently beat eggs and then add the whipping cream. Stir until combined. Slowly add in the cheese and onion mixture a little bit at a time, stirring to incorporate and make smooth.

Prepare pie-crust according to instructions. Using a fork, poke some holes along the sides and the bottom. Pour in filling. Cook at 375 for 40 minutes or until top and crust is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm.

Isn't it beautiful? I love Naan. I have existed on Naan alone at times in my life. Like the time we drove five hours from New Delhi to Jaipur and stopped on the 'highway' to get something to eat, I waited until I knew I could get Naan. The time when the lunch menu in the tent city convention hall was suspect, I would look for the Naan vendor. Naan, I love it. However, I need practice, much practice. The lady at Spices of India, an ethnic grocery store in Tulsa-yes, I said Tulsa, said that cooking Indian food Easy. Baking Indian bread Not Easy.

I am currently working on a traditional Indian dish that will be perfect to cook in my Crock Pot. I made the dish, on the stove, last night and my family loved it. However, it is a little time consuming and I think it would be even better if the chicken could cook all day in the spices. Wow!! If you could have smelled my kitchen last night, Amazing, and in a good way. Just a hint I used these ingredients and ground them up in my coffee grinder.

The smell, the fragrance, it was perfect. It reminded me of all the good things about India. I loved the food, I liked the Le Meridian in New Delhi, I loved the Turkish Steam Baths that are available in the hotels. I also liked many of the vendors I dealt with and I liked Indian design.

However, the smell of India, the country, is something I am not too fond of, which is too bad because it is impossible to get the smell off of anything you take to India for a very.long.time. even a book. The only way I have to describe it is to imagine burning trash or a smoldering landfill with cooking smells and fuel exhaust mixed in. Lovely huh?

The best was checking into my hotel room in Jaipur around Midnight, opening the door and immediately thinking the toilet had backed up. I set my bags down and looked out the window. I found the source of the smell. My room was a corner room that overlooked the tash lot. Cows, dogs, and people were rummaging about, YUM! I remember that night because I actually broke down and cried because I still had SEVENTEEN more days to go before I flew back to the states. I called my friend LouAnn and cried to her, telling her I could not go on, I was not going to make it. Oh, the dramatics of jet lag!

I never did go to tourist areas since I was there to visit factories and potential vendors. Maybe that is why the smells were so strong, I was where the people of India actually lived and worked.

I got to go to a leather tanning factory where they made high end design leather products for Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Stetson, etc. The offices were nice but touring the factory? I would give anything to have taken pictures but I think I was a little freaked out. We had gotten stuck on a small street just before arriving to this leather tanning factory due to a festival float going down the same street. We were unable to turn around because we were boxed in by large container trucks. It was my Black Hawk Down moment. Let's just say they were not happy we were there.

My trips to India were wonderful experiences for me. It broadened my outlook on cultures, food, customs, and product design. I always looked forward to the Indian food and at the same time was anxious to get to China for the more structured environment. But how many people can say they fed a monkey that was sitting on the Ancient Red Wall in New Delhi, India?

He spit at me by the way....but it could have been worse.

Last Saturday each of our girls had a friend spend the night. This was the first time TD's daughter had invited any of her friends over to our house and both of our girls were excited. They all played great together! It is amazing how different girls act with each other when there is more than three. Just from past experience three is a very bad number for girls. Someone will always end up with hurt feelings. I wonder if there has been a study done on this topic, "The Devasting Dynamic of Three Little Girls"?

Two weekends ago both girls had been very successful with making their own loaves of bread. They did everything: activate the yeast, stir in the flour, knead the dough, watch the dough rise, and their favorite part-the punch down. The only help they got from me was helping them stir the flour in and transporting the loaves to the baking sheet for the final bake.

I cannot sing the praises of Suzanne McMinn and her homemade bread technique enough. I have made some form of her bread every week. So simple and I have yet to have a problem.

After their friends were invited and confirmed, I told the girls that we could make homemade pizza dough and each person could make their own pizzas. They thought it was a great idea so when their friends came over at 4:30 we got started. I used the French Bread Recipe and adjusted it per the pizza dough instructions.

The girls made three batches of pizza dough. They also helped cook the sausage and shred the mozzarella cheese. TD bought pepperoni slices and Boboli Pizza Sauce.

Anna and her friend rolling out their dough. Anna's friend really liked making hers into a smooth ball.


TD's daughter made "bones" for her crust by rolling up the edges.

This is what it looked like before all the toppings were put on. It smelled so good!!

I made two more batches and this time I didn't let it rise for the full hour. We wanted a thinner crust and it worked perfectly. Our friends came over later and we made adult pizzas. We used fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, sauted red onion and red peppers (soooo good), roma tomatoes, sausage, and pepperoni. My pizza was so good and delicious I didn't take the time to get a picture of my masterpiece. So here is Anna and her friend chowing down.

I found this recipe today while looking through TD's mother's recipe books. She collected old recipe books some from the 1800's. She passed away when TD was a Junior in college so I have never met her but I have heard about what a great cook she was.

The hole that is left in my husband's heart from his mother passing away is...deep...that is the only word I have to describe his acute sense of loss. When I come across her writing on a particular recipe I ask TD if he liked that dish or if he remembers it. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't. This recipe for Italian cookies sounded familar to him but he was not sure.


I decided to make it. I had no idea what the cookies would look like, how they are suppose to taste, and as you can see from her notes I wasn't sure how much flour it would take until tacky, how big they were suppose to be, drop on the sheet? cut with a cookie cutter? how long do they cook? This did not deter me and Anna from trying this recipe. I made some notes on the recipe so that I can make these cookies again.

I had to add quite a bit of flour to get this tacky. 5-8 cups (I lost count) but add a little at a time. Once the batter is more of the consistency of bread dough form into a ball on a lightly floured surface. Roll flat to about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 3" biscuit/cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. They come out looking like this:

They remind me of tea biscuits. TD's family is from Modena, Italy so I assume this is a legitimate Italian family recipe. They are pretty, have good form, slightly sweet, and would be GREAT with a light icing. I am going to work with this recipe more adding honey, macadamian nuts, brown sugar....I don't know, but it is such a great platform to start with. Try it and give me more ideas.

After looking for more info on these cookies I found a link Paris Breakfasts and these might actually be an Italian version of a Macaron cookie??? Look and you tell me. I think Chocolate icing would be perfect. Maybe roll thinner put some jam in the center top with another cookie?? So good.