Pizza dough

We eat pizza on about a weekly rotation. We all love bread and cheese and tomato sauce, so it definitely gets a presence in our diet. Our daughter even requested to eat pizza for her 2nd birthday!

This is my go-to pizza dough recipe over the last year or so (found originally at Chef In Training). It's pretty straightforward and works well for me. If I find a better recipe I'm not opposed to updating, but I'm not actively searching for one. When I make pizza, I often make a couple batches of dough so I can make pizzas to freeze as well. Here's where I originally learned the process for freezing pizzas.

Pizza Dough
yield: dough for 2 pizzas

2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup oil
5 cups flour

1. Proof yeast in warm water for a few minutes. Add salt and oil; stir to mix.
2. Add flour and stir well to combine. When it begins to form a sticky dough, pour out onto well-floured surface and knead until smooth, adding flour as needed to keep it more toward smooth than sticky.
3. Return to bowl; cover and let sit for 10-20 minutes.
4. Divide in two. Roll out each ball into a flat circle to fit your pizza pan. If rolled very thin it is possible to make a stuffed crust by placing cheese near the edges and folding in on itself (highly recommended!).
5. Place rolled-out dough onto baking pan (either directly or you can sprinkle some cornmeal onto the pan and place the dough on top).
6. If making to freeze, follow instructions below*
7. If making pizza to eat, generously apply preferred sauce (I just use jarred pasta sauce... easy!) and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle favorite toppings and bake about 10 minutes at 500°F, or until toppings are bubbly and crust is beginning to brown.

*To prepare pizzas to freeze and cook at a later date:

1. After rolling out the dough and placing it on pizza pan (and stuffing crust, if desired), bake for about 6 minutes at 500°F.
2. Let cool, and if needed, transfer to a surface suitable for freezing. Then generously apply preferred sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle favorite toppings now or before cooking at a later date.
3. Place in freezer and allow to freeze solid, at least several hours. Transfer to a large ziplock bag or other (preferably air-tight) packaging. 
4. To cook from frozen, simply remove pizza from packaging, place on pizza pan, and bake at 500°F for 12-18 minutes, or until toppings are bubbly and crust is beginning to brown.

Ideas for pizza toppings

mozzarella cheese

pepperoni

sausage

ham

canadian bacon

bell peppers

tomatoes

onions

artichoke hearts

olives

mushrooms

spinach

pineapple

salami

chicken

eggplant

zucchini

pepperoncinis

alfredo sauce

Horchata Mix

Have you ever had horchata, the sweet Mexican rice drink? I think it's delicious. It seems like most people either love it or hate it.

I tried to make horchata from scratch several years ago and it was horrible. Just disgusting.

But fortunately, a few months ago, Thomas tracked down a recipe for horchata mix, which actually makes a yummy horchata. Real horchata does not have milk in it, but this is so good that I do not care that it is less than genuine :) We made a big batch last night for when we hosted our ward's weekly (during the summer) lemonade social.

You can either mix it with water right away, or make the dry mix and store it until your next fiesta.

Also, a note on rice flour: you can buy this product at your grocery store, but if you cannot find it or if you do not want to purchase it in the quantity available, you can take some (dry, uncooked) rice and stick it in your blender. It will make a terrible sound, and you will probably have varying sizes of rice granules in the end, but if you are ok with that it works just fine for horchata.

Horchata
yields one gallon

6 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk

1/4 cup rice flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp.+ cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla 
1 gallon water

1. Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly.
2. Add vanilla.
3. Mix into one gallon of water.
4. Chill for at least an hour for optimal flavor.
5. Serve cold, with ice if desired.

Pumpkin Soup

According to the calendar, it is mid June, but the weather we're having today sure doesn't feel like it! With a high of 60°F, this hot harvest-time recipe is sure sounding yummy...

I found this recipe for pumpkin soup a few months ago on a blog called A Little Tipsy. You can see the original recipe and some fun Halloween ideas here. I altered the original recipe just a bit to match the ingredients I had on hand and make it a touch less fattening. This soup is not sweet as pumpkin recipes tend to be; it uses the vegetable more like the squash it is!

Pumpkin Soup
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
~1/3 cup flour
1 medium onion, grated or diced
4 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes (or the equivalent in bouillon powder, to make 4 c broth)
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 2/3 cups milk

1. In a large pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter/margarine. Stir in flour, making it almost doughy.
2. Add onion, bouillon, and water.
3. Stir mixture until smooth and thick - you will need to mash up your doughy flour-butter mixture to combine it with the other ingredients.
4. Add pumpkin, salt, lemon juice, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine - try to break up the pumpkin so your soup has a smooth consistency.
5. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
6. Let simmer 15 minutes.
7. Add milk and heat through but not to boiling.
8. Serve hot! A Little Tipsy has a recipe for pumpkin-shaped bread bowls that would be oh-so-cute as a "dish" for this soup.

"French" bread

Thomas pointed out that this bread is not really French bread when I made it recently, because it does not get stale as quickly. Well, I do not mind that fact!

I do not know who to credit with this recipe, but I believe my mother came upon it at church several years ago. It comes out soft and is great for sandwiches or as an addition to a meal.

"French" bread (makes 2 loaves)
2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 Tbsp sugar

2 cups hot water
1 Tbsp salt
5 Tbsp oil
3 cups flour + 3 cups flour (you will need 6 cups total)

1. Dissolve yeast using yeast, warm water, and sugar. You don't want your water to be hot, or it will kill the yeast. You will know that (a) your yeast is active and (b) your water was the right temperature if, after a few minutes, this concoction is foaming/bubbling and begins to grow in its container (make sure it does not overflow!).
2. Combine hot water, salt, oil, and 3 cups flour and mix.
3. Add yeast mixture, mix.
4. Add remaining 3 cups flour, mix.
5. Let dough rest 5-10 minutes.
6. Knead for 30 seconds. Repeat the rest/knead process 5 times. If dough gets too sticky, add flour.
7. Preheat oven to 375°F.
8. Split dough in half. Roll dough into two large rectangles. Roll each into a loaf shape, pinching seam together underneath. 
9. Place on greased cookie sheets (probably best to put each loaf onto its own cookie sheet).
10. Score each loaf (take a knife and make 3 shallow diagonal slashes along the length of each loaf).
11. Let rise 20 minutes. 
12. Bake 25-30 minutes. Brush with butter while warm.

The foamy yeast is on the left.

Simple Mexican crowd-pleasers

 Several months ago we had the privilege of having dinner at Thomas' cousin Ryan's home. His lovely wife Amanda prepared a Mexican food feast that was muy bueno. Earlier this week, we tried out the main dish from this party, "New Mexico Style Carnitas," at our own dinner party with some friends - our dinner contest winners, in fact. It was pretty simple to put together and tasted fantastic.

Carnitas
2.5 lbs carnitas (pork shoulder) cut into bite-sized pieces
5 roasted/peeled anaheim chiles, or 1 can green chiles in a pinch
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
salt to taste
1 c water
2 tbsp cooking oil
**I altered this a little and added about 1/3 a medium-sized yellow onion. The package of meat we got was a little larger than this recipe called for, so I added more garlic (close to a full "head" of garlic).

1. Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add garlic (and onions if you choose to do so) and salt; then add pork and sauté until pork is cooked (about 7 min). 
2. Transfer to a crock pot and add chile and water. Stir together and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 
3. Transfer to oven safe dish and finish at 400°F in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

We served our carnitas on warm corn tortillas with guacamole (also homemade - mash up an avocado or two, add sour cream, salt, pepper, and some chili powder) and salsa. We had this Mexican rice as a side.

Mexican rice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup (or more) chopped onion
a few cloves minced garlic OR garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

1. Heat oil in saucepan large enough to cook rice. Add onion, garlic, salt, and cumin; sauté until transparent. Add uncooked rice and coat with oil.
2. After a few minutes, stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
3. Turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Let us know what you think!
oxox

Indian Fry Bread

I made this for the first time in a cooking class in high school. I made it for the second time recently at home. Thomas likes to eat these with honey on them.

Indian Fry Bread
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp powdered milk
3/4 cup water
vegetable oil for frying

1. Combine dry ingredients. Add water and knead.
2. Divide dough into about 4 equal parts. Flatten into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
3. Heat oil to approx. 375°F in a pan for deep-frying.
4. Place one round in oil at a time; fry on both sides until golden brown.
5. Drain oil and serve.

oxox

Grandma Lee's Chicken & Dumplings

While living at home, it was not uncommon (especially for my younger sister's birthday) for my mother to put a chicken in the slow cooker and make dumplings for dinner. She used a recipe that her mother, my grandmother Lillie Lee, used.

My grandparents were originally from Missouri. They moved to California in the 1940s and that is where my mother was born. My grandparents stuck to their southern cooking styles - fried chicken was one of my grandma's favorite foods, and my grandpa loved beans.

We enjoyed this yummy meal with some friends recently. We hope you like it, too!

Grigsbys & Bradshaws

Chicken...
1 whole chicken
1 slow-cooker/crockpot
spices : sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper
enough water to cover the chicken in your crockpot

1. Thaw chicken, if it is frozen (preferably in the fridge for about 2 days). Remove it from its packaging and rinse it. You will probably have to remove the neck and giblets from the breast hollow.
2. Place chicken in slow-cooker. Season with a lot of sage, then with rosemary and thyme to taste. Add some salt and pepper. (You can add quite a bit of salt, because you will add a lot of water)
3. Add water until chicken is covered or nearly covered.
4. Slow-cook until done; it took about 5-6 hours for ours.
5. Once cooked, remove most/all of the broth, placing broth in a pot that can be placed on the stovetop. You can take your chicken apart at this point, for ease in serving.

chicken

spices

cooked chicken

...& Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
water
flour for rolling out dough

1. Combine ingredients.
2. Add water "'til it looks right" - you will want to end up with a thick, sticky dough.
3. Pour dough out onto a flat, floured surface. You will want quite a bit of flour. Roll out your dough to about 1/4" thickness.
4. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into strips and then into squares about 2" * 2".
5. Boil chicken broth on the stove, and once at a rolling boil, add dumplings a few at a time. If you add too many, they will clump together.
6. They will all be ready for you to eat after a few minutes of cooking.

We usually used a slotted spoon to remove the dumplings from the broth and served them up with the chicken. The broth does not keep very well, as a lot of the flour from the dumplings is left inside.

removing broth from original location (crockpot)

dry ingredients

adding water

this is about the right consistency

dough, amply floured and ready to roll out

cutting dumplings into squares

dropping dumplings into boiling broth

cooked dumplings

My family's favorite side dish with this meal is something Thomas has recently termed "carrotized honey." It is cooked carrots, with honey added to make them even sweeter.

Carrots with Honey
fresh carrots, we used 4
a pad of butter (approx. 1 Tbsp)
about 2 Tbsp honey

1. Cut carrots into bite-sized pieces and boil until tender.
2. Drain water from carrots.
3. Add butter and honey to carrots and serve.

carrots with honey

 oxox

American Chinese Food : Part II

Earlier this summer when we were under the weather, Thomas made a yummy egg-drop-style soup for dinner one night. Recently, he decided to re-create it with some tips from a recipe he found online. We took photos so we could share it with you!

Egg Drop Soup

about 3 cups of chicken broth (we used water with bouillon cubes)
2 eggs
ginger
rosemary
cornstarch
frozen vegetables (or fresh, of your choice)

1. Bring broth to a boil.
2. Scramble eggs. Add them to boiling broth, while stirring. The eggs will begin to coagulate, and the stirring will ensure they break apart. Turn down the temperature so your soup is simmering.
3. Add spices to your liking. Ginger will add a Chinese-food taste. Thomas has also added rosemary. We like rosemary a lot. I like the flavor it adds to this. You can also add a small bit of soy sauce, and perhaps some garlic powder.
4. Stir in a few teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken soup.
5. Add vegetables. We just added some frozen mixed vegetables - the kind with corn, carrots, green beans, and peas. Cook till these are no longer frozen/fresh vegetables are tender.
6. Serve and enjoy!

We ate ours with some chicken & veggie stir-fry on rice.

oxox

Camp Cuisine

After a weekend of camping, we thought we'd share our thoughts on the camp food we brought. It's that time of year, so if you haven't yet, get outside and enjoy the wilderness!!

Although we only actually built one campfire over the course of our trip, here's a photo of the campfire ring we improved at our campsite:

The two rocks that stick out awkwardly (at the bottom and right of this photo) are flat on top - perfect to use as "counter space" when cooking outdoors. We put these to use even when we cooked on our camp stove. Following are meal ideas and a few recipes we really used this weekend.

Breakfast

For breakfast on the first morning, we brought a couple flour tortillas, some pre-cooked turkey sausage, a few tomatoes, and some eggs to assemble into breakfast burritos.

The eggs were somewhat challenging to bring in, but they were tasty nonetheless. We neglected to put any sort of oil or grease in the pan, which made for an... interesting... cleanup process, so if you try this one out, please be more wise than we were.

The other mornings, we kept it simple with instant oatmeal. At Walmart, we picked up a box of the generic brand flavored stuff. We chose the "fruit and cream" variety box. It worked out pretty well.

Unfortunately, the gas for our camp stove ran out about halfway through the trip, and the second canister we'd brought along was not the correct size. This meant that the oatmeal we ate, we ate cold. However, we did not find this to be too big of a problem.

Lunch

We only ate two lunches out in the woods. The first day we dined on Maruchan Instant Lunch - the ones in the foam cups. They're inexpensive at 28 cents each, but I think they work out pretty well! I chose the shrimp flavored one and Thomas had the hot & spicy chicken one (and let me tell you - they don't lie about it being hot and spicy!).

The second day we had Uncle Ben's packaged rice thingies. These were ok, but we wouldn't recommend them. We were consoled in that we got them for cheap - Thomas got a coupon for one for free and another coupon for some amount off so we picked up two. All in all, the flavor was peculiar and we actually ended up tossing some of it.

Dinner

Dinner number one was a campfire favorite: foil dinners! Due to some hiking troubles we got in late and were unable to build a campfire, so we cooked ours on the camp stove.

Foil dinners are great because you put everything together and then just let it all cook. You almost can't mess them up! We used cut-up potatoes, baby carrots, and Italian sausage in ours and wrapped it all up in foil. I added some salt, pepper, rosemary, and Worcestershire sauce and they turned out pretty well. One thing I didn't do that I wish I had is to put the ready-to-cook meals in their own Ziploc bags. Instead, I put them into a grocery sack... and they ended up leaking liquid.

On the second night, we built a campfire in which to cook foil-wrapped potatoes. We supplemented them with a can of chili we heated on our camp stove. For a simple and fast dinner, it was pretty tasty and quite filling.

Dinner number three was fabulous: Thomas has sold me on Mountain House meals. They are freeze-dried and delicious! Because by this point we were unable to use the stove (as mentioned above), we tried a new method for heating our filtered water: we filled up our kettle and let it sit in the tent during the afternoon. This actually worked pretty well!

We'd purchased the Lasagna with Meat Sauce entree for 2 - and preparation consisted of pouring water into the bag, sealing it, and letting it sit for a few minutes. It was really tasty! These pouches tend to be a little pricey, but they're worth every penny. We ended up using both pouches because, well, we were hungry and it was so good.

Dessert

We didn't have time (or light) for dessert the first night, so we ate what we'd brought for that night on the second night. I first made these orange-peel chocolate muffins at Girls' Camp when I was 14 or 15, and I think they're cool - and yummy.

All you do is put chocolate muffin mix (prepared according to the recipe or box instructions) into half an orange peel. We used Jiffy Chocolate Muffin mix, which I believe called for an egg and water. We brought half of what was in the box and added an egg and some water in a Ziploc bag. After slicing 2 oranges in half and scraping out the fruit flesh (which we then ate), we cut a corner of the Ziploc to facilitate squeezing the batter into the orange halves. Then we wrapped them in foil and cooked them in the campfire. They cooked pretty quickly. I love these because the muffins pick up some of the flavor of the oranges!

Our final camping dessert was Instant Jello Pudding. This requires just cold milk - which is fine, unless you're (tent) camping, right? Well, we solved that last little issue by adding some powdered milk to the pudding mix. Due to some unclear conversion information on the milk package, we added a bit too much water.... but it tasted fine anyway.

Do any of our readers have favorite camping recipes?? Feel free to comment!!

oxox

Quiche Lorraine

A slightly modified submission to the blog by Thomas' mom, this came from his dad's (her husband's) mother. A few quotes and tips that came with the submission:

• "It is the best American recipe I have ever had, and is a good as many- (better than the poor quality) french ones."
• Use a deep dish pie pan. You can use a regular pie plate, but you will have too much liquid.
• It will actually taste even better one day after. (Maybe you should double it for leftovers.)
• "Bon appetit!"

Quiche Lorraine

Pie Shell
1.5 C flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 C shortening
4-5 T cold water

1. Mix flour and salt.
2. Cut in shortening.
3. Mix water in slowly until all is moistened.
4. Form into a ball, and roll to about 1/8" thick.
5. Transfer the shell to a greased pie pan and crimp the edges.

Innards
1/2 lb bacon
1 onion
1/4 lb mushrooms
1 lb guyère (or 1/2 lb swiss and 1/2 lb monterey jack)
4 eggs
1 C sour cream
1 C milk
salt and pepper

(**UPDATE 3/13/2011: we used slightly less cheese and only 1/2 c milk today and our quiche was much less liquidy**)

1. Preheat the oven at 375°.
2. Fry the bacon.
3. Chop the onion and sauté it in the bacon grease.
4. Slice the mushrooms and sauté them with the onion.
5. Mix the bacon back in and sprinkle into the pie shell.
6. Add cheese over the bacon.
7. Mix the eggs, milk, and sour cream together and pour into the pie shell.
8. Add salt and pepper. The pepper dots add to the look, so put lots in.
9. Bake until it passes the toothpick test. Let sit to set 15-30 minutes.
10. Cut, serve, and eat.