Home made pizzas

So... last month I experimented with pizza crust.... trying to make food more interesting, even if there's some different ways to prepare the same thing-just helps change it up.

I made 2 different pizzas in the same night.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken pizza, and a BBQ pizza

both turned out interesting-but not as good as left overs

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Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pizza

1 12in batch of pizza crust (so many recipes/ready mixes find the one you like best)

1 large chicken breast-cut into fairly small pieces

ranch dressing

hand full of blue cheese crumbles

2 carrots

1 piece of celery

couple hand fulls of mozzarella (or Monterrey jack)

wing sauce (the most popular is franks-mmm)

if you have a 'magic bullet' this comes in handy while mixing ranch dressing with blue cheese crumbles-it gives you an evenly blended paste like sauce perfect for spreading on pizza crust

if not, use a mixer, or do it by hand.

-mix blue cheese and ranch evenly together, then

let chill in the fridge while your doing the next steps

-prepare your dough-cover with a cloth towel that is lightly floured so it doesn't stick

-dice your chicken into

small pieces and place into a skillet and add the franks-be generous.

cover with a lid and cook on a low medium (cooking chicken too high will make it rubbery)

-wash hands and work with dough. stretching it onto your pan. (don't forget to remove your rings too... dough can be pesky)

-spread sauce liberally but evenly

-add cheese-and once chicken is done cooking,

add chicken

-on the very top add your veggies and bake for 12-15m until crust is golden brown (or other wise directed on your crust directions)

beer serves well as an addition to the pizza (wings....pizza.....beer...) so pick the beer you like best to go with wings or pizza!!

**for a vegetarian twist you may be able to use finely cut tofu... or use a chicken substitute just make sure to toss it in franks sauce**

BBQ pizza

bbq sauce (use your fave!)

fresh corn-2 cobs-corn cut from cob

cheddar cheese

mozzarella cheese

prepare crust

cook chicken on low medium-you can actually grill this chicken-yum!!

and follow the previous directions to put this pizza together.

I'm not quite sure what would be a yummy vegetarian twist for the bbq pizza-so if you have one, please let me know and ill update this!

Like i said, these pizzas were yummy fresh out of the oven-but not the next day. so make sure your hungry!!!

Playing Catch up... Condensed to include multiple recipes!

Hello again. Its been a while since i have been able to catch up on my Domestic-ness. I have many new things to address. I have made more new yummy food, started cleaning my house 'more' than i was able to before, set up my down stairs living area to be much more livable, and cozy for every one, this also includes my little 'Hair-Ty Studios' salon in my large laundry room.

i have taken my mommy role to another level as well, by getting creative to save and make money! there will be a post (or two) about how i am going about doin this as well!

over the next few days ill get these new blog posts up to satisfy your curiosity and blow your mind-or not... either way, ill be caught up hopefully by this weeks end!

love

Ty

Yummy spring dessert--you can't beat the yummy

My mom used to make this for pretty much every occasion-because its that good.

so now i make it when ever i see strawberries on sale... because lets face it.... its worth every bite

1 sour cream angel food style cake (or plain angel food cake... )

1 lb strawberries-greens removed-cut into quarters (or halves depending on the size of the berry)

8oz carton of heavy whipping cream

1tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1tsp vanilla (optional)

in a bowl mash strawberries and granulated sugar together-mix thoroughly leave some of the leave some larger pieces of berries

poor the whipping cream and confectioners sugar into a blender, use a mixer or a hand mixer, and blend till fluffy and firm,

cut the cake into pieces (i like to cut it into smaller pieces

top with strawberries and whipped cream

get creative build it how you see fit

and most of all enjoy

7 cheese lasagna

I made this dinner about a week ago, we have not been financially able for me to splurge on new recipes (seeing how my hubby didnt like a few of the dinners, we were needing to make sure that he would like dinner enough to take it for lunch the next couple days to work as well) i have been trying to venture out of the box within my budget.

This recipe was assisted by my hubby, and it ended up being great! a new twist on a timeless recipe

ingredients

2 eggs

16oz ricotta cheese

2tbsp blue cheese crumbles

2tbsp feta

2 cups mozzarella (plus a handful for the top)

1 cup sharp cheddar (plus a little for the top)

1 cup Monterrey jack (plus a little for the top)

4tbsp fresh Parmesan

1lb box lasagna noodles

1lb hamburger

1/2 lb Italian sausage (spicy sausage would make for a tasty addition)

(or for my veggie friends, some steamed spinach would be perfect! and throw a little tofu in with the ricotta blend for the spread)

2 cups red (or white)

sauce (we like Prego because its finely blended and mild)

first thing i did was blend feta, blue cheese and ricotta together, and then i let it cool for 30 minutes (i have a magic bullet so i just lidded it and put it in the fridge

then i started the pot to boil with salt and a little olive oil.

cook burger and sausage together in a pan, and once cooked-drain excess fat and add sauce (eye ball it) season to taste

Once i added the noodles to the pot i mixed together all the cheeses and 2 eggs

after the noodles are done (little softer than AL Dente) i drained the water, and began to build my lasagna.

put a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the pan before you make your pasta layer. and depending on the size of your pan (13x9 is best for this recipe) use 3 or 4 strips.

layer as follows

pasta

cheese mix

meat sauce mix (or sauce then spinach)

for the top layer add fresh cheese and Italian seasonings

little to no money, means little to no blogs....sigh

I have not written in a week or so. New trials of the domestic life have taken its toll.

However, i have tried to continue cooking from scratch where i can.

i have made home made pizzas (crust included)

and strawberry shortcake!mmm

I have gotten all of my school stuff in line, and i am ready to start school in the fall! i sign up for classes on monday (at midnight sigh) and i am semi scared because im diving into full time and 90% all online classes through the school!

things have been hectic around here, but i will start updating my dinners very soon!

A day late and a dollar short

I have been in crunch mode trying to study and learn a semester (or two) of Algebra in a week, before my Accuplacer Tests I am taking on Monday. But, i am still cooking for the family.

Two nights ago (yea, slackin on the writin biz too because of the ol nose to book) I decided i was going to make Pizza rolls with some fresh dough, Pepperoni, Mozzarella cheese, Ricotta cheese, and some sauce.

Yet another inspired Italian type recipe. Again from the appetizer menu at Old Chicago.

The recipe

-1lb or a 12in pan equivalent home made pizza dough.( I used a recipe off of the back of the "Pizza Yeast" packet from the baking Aisle. Now that i have made it a couple times, i may try to make some dough from complete scratch-not with quick yeast.)

-a hand full of your favorite pizza toppings, but not too many as these get a little tricky

-1/4 c red pizza Sauce

-Ricotta cheese

Make the pizza dough, and let it rest for a few mins under a cloth

Roll it out till its 1/8in thick

cut the dough into triangles with the base about 2-2.5in wide and about 5 in length (about the size of your hand)

at the big end of the triangle put some sauce and a few of your fave toppings on the dough, and make sure to add your mozzarella! roll the dough up fairly tight and stand it up right on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat this step for all of the bites.

bake for about 15 mins or until the crust is at a nice golden brown

My ultimate goal is to add more nutritional value to my cooking, but i am taking it one step at a time to get my creative juices going. Not to mention some days... i just don't want to cook.

Wednesday and Thursday were cop out meal days. Wednesday was Pork Steaks with Stuffing, rice, and green beans. (fresh grilled pork steaks, but everything else was from a box or can... so nothing too awesome) and Thursday was chicken sandwiches and fries.

I may not have many too exciting meals this week, but i will still try to be creative in serving my family yummy food.

Lime trees had a bad season

So, Lime trees had a bad season this year. I heard this about a month ago when my husband and I went out to eat Pho for dinner, and they gave us lemons instead of limes. I wasn't sure i believed this, because we had just recently bought limes and had them in our cervesas!

Well, I guess this is true, because Saturday I purchased 6 limes from Sunflower Market to make my yummy fajita marinade. It took all 6 to get the amount of juice I would typically get from one. Lucky for me, I keep a bottle of lime juice in the fridge for such an emergency.

On the menu for saturday-as i had stated above, was Chicken and Steak Fajitas

the marinade was made from individual spices... not a mix (yay me) I researched a few recipes and concocted my own.

The Recipe

1 lb your favorite Beef steak (i used London broil this time)

1lb of chicken (breasts are best for this)

(this would also make for an amazing shrimp fajitas for my friends whom do not eat beef or chicken)

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

(or however you would like)

(I also think one package of mushrooms would be tasty in this mix

as well-but this idea came after i made everything)

Step 1.

The Marinade:

3oz of tequila

1/2 cup lime juice

a splash of sweet and sour (like 2Tbsp)

(or, you can just use original margarita mix)

2TB chili powder

1/2TB salt

1TB paprika

1TB sugar

1TB onion powder

1/2TB garlic powder

1/2TB cayenne powder

1/2TB red pepper flakes (you may add more if u like it spicy)

1 1/2tsp cumin

mix all of the marinade ingredients together well. split into two parts and set aside

Using a fork, poke multiple holes into both sides of the beef to make sure the marinade gets good and in there. Put the meat into a gallon size Zip-lock bag, and poor one of the two marinades in the bag with the beef.

Repeat these steps with chicken

Put both bags of meat in the fridge and let them marinate for at least 3 hours

Sear the Beef on the grill till both sides are nice and brown (about 5 mins on each side)

Grill chicken about 5m on each side as well

Cut the veggies into thin strips

Preheat a Medium Iron Skillet, and start to saute the veggies with about a Tbsp of butter

Remove meat from grill and cut into thin strips (do this while you are cooking your veggies)

Add the meat to your skillet and cook for about 5 more minutes constantly stirring with a pair of tongs

I originally was going to make homemade tortillas... but that did not go over too well. (bad shortening) so i just went with the traditional-store bought 10in tortillas

Serve with:

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Mexican cheese blend(or even just sharp cheddar)

Lettuce

beans

spanish rice

and for those who like tomatoes... you will need some of those too (maybe even make a nice pico sauce for this-my family does not care for pico)

After this wonderful tasty dinner, I served everyone an Ice cream cake from Dairy queen. In celebration of my husbands 28th year.

I got through this dinner with the help of Dez, and my hubby Brian. and i am very impressed with the tasty results, and left overs we had for lunch Sunday.