Missy Tippens I hope you're all staying well. I have to say that over the last two weeks, I've been doing much better with my eating habits. I think the secret to this change is that I've stocked up on frozen vegetables. So now I always have something healthy to go with leftovers or sandwiches or even... A simple baked potato!
I microwaved a russet potato (it took about 7 or 8 minutes, I think), then sliced it in half. I had leftover mixed veggies from the night before. I've found a mix that I absolutely love. It's Birdseye Steamfresh Gold and White Corn, Carrots and Asparagus. Some of my favorites! I also added light cheddar cheese and fat-free plain Greek yogurt. That's a big pile of yogurt! But I'm trying to eat more calcium. And the plain Greek yogurt tastes just like sour cream to me. My favorite brand is Fage. [Side note: one way I'm eating more plain Greek yogurt is by mixing it with almond butter and sometimes a bit of Truvia.] One last thing to share. It's not as healthy, but certainly VERY delicious!! My daughter and I saw this special limited time pizza offer at Your Pie the other night and ordered it for curbside pickup. I can't begin to tell you how good this was!! Peach and prosciutto with basil and a honey balsamic glaze drizzle. Came also with mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan.
If you're making pizza home sometime, I can vouch for how well these ingredients go together. (Or look for a Your Pie near you.) :) Happy cooking to all of you! Missy www.missytippens.com
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned having an excess of fresh mozzarella leftover from a banquet.
In that post, which you can find here, I mentioned a flatbread pizza. Well, I finally found the closest thing to flatbread in our little town and decided to go for it.
It wasn't as thin as I would have liked, but this was my palette.
I had a jar of marinara sauce in the pantry, so I doled out a little bit of that and spiced it up with a dash of red pepper flakes, some garlic and pizza seasoning. Then I spread a thin layer over the flatbread.
Next, I cut a few slices of the fresh mozzarella and laid them on the sauce.
Looking back, I wish I'd broken the slices into pieces and dotted the top, but I'll do that next time. This kind of looks like a googlie-eyed smiley face, doesn't it?
I topped the cheese with a little bit of jarred pesto sauce I had in the fridge.
Added a little bit of salt and pepper.
Then baked it in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
The result wasn't exactly what I was going for. I wish the sauce had been a bit zingier and the crust wasn't crisp enough for me. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized I should have cooked it on the grill. Good thing I still have two more flatbread pockets and more cheese. Practice makes perfect, right?
So that was my birthday meal. And I finally got my flan.
It was AMAZING! You have no idea how much willpower it took not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
So now this enquiring mind wants to know, if you were creating your own birthday meal, what would you make?
Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com.
I was walking by a baseball coach last night and he was explaining to his earnest eight-year-olds that the days were growing shorter...
I almost kicked him.
Does he realize how long some of us have waited for these long, sun-soaked days????
Of course he does, he was being funny, but the solstice has come and gone and I am not ready to look forward while we're still struggling to fight off bugs, rabbits, woodchucks, deer, drenching rains, broken equipment and all the mud that goes along with it!
Nope, this is the start of something BIG up here! A season of sun and Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes and beachs and Abbott's Frozen Custard.
Burgers at Bill Gray's or Schallers....
Walking the pier at the Charlotte beach where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario and joins in the dance to the ocean through the great St. Lawrence River.
Of course we're still planting right now, and the grandkids are playing Little League baseball and travel soccer and I'm having so much fun running from field to field in the evening. I could stay on the farm and help or write a bit more each night, but the best part of summer is cheering the kids on! So that's my evening routine and I love it!
And the over-abundance of rain hasn't dampened everyone's spirits, my friends! Here's Lena with a reason to dance: https://youtu.be/NaZTQURBgBA
And let's see what else we've got goin' on here today:
A walk down Memory Lane here... Cocoa Mocha and Honey-Bunny White Sox chillin' together about 18 months ago... Cocoa was hit be a car two weeks ago and Honey Bunny has been stepping in to nurse Cocoa's four babies.... and after a rough start, she's getting the hang of it. Her twins are ready for homes this week, so she's extending her mothering duties for the duration and Cocoa' s four babies are doing all right! Yay for Honey-Bunny! This is Honey with her baby boy....
I had a crew on hand today, weeding, hoeing, planting.... and homemade pizza semed like a great idea and it's not hard once you've taught yourself how to make a good solid bread dough. Or buy bread dough at your local grocery store. We have it in our "bakery" department, but I've seen it in deli sections, too!
I used my favorite bread recipe for the crust, only instead of piling everything on it, I've learned to go after it easily. It's the Betty Crocker White Bread recipe I've shared often...
But after it rises the FIRST TIME, cut it in half, shape each half into a classic round, then using knuckles, gently spread the dough out. (More on this below...)
Top with favorite topping (I made mine today, there was little choice! ))
Sauce was SIMPLE:
1 large can of Crushed Tomatoes
A generous sprinkling of Parsley, garlic and basil leaves and then about 1/3 cup Ketchup. Let simmer for a few minutes on stove. No long simmering needed for this.
I used on with little holes in the back.
Spread crust out gently. Drizzle with olive oil.... Using a fork, make tons of tiny holes to help keep crust soft. (It works!!!!) (I have two of those round pizza pans with tiny airholes, they do a great job of baking pizza.
Then a slathering of Parmesan cheese....
Bake in preheated 400 degree oven until almost cooked... then add sauce, cheese, pepperoni and finish baking for about 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven.
This keeps the crust soft and chewy, the kids love it without overdone cheese and everyone is happy.
Except they were all so hungry, I forgot to get pics of the pizzas when they were done! EEK!
It has been typical summer crazy here, but let's not focus on that... let's take a minute to thank God for little girls twirling in the rain....
Kids in trees...
Puppies....
New adventures and opportunities....
And the beautiful faith that strengthens us through adversity.
We are so blessed and it's always good to look on the bright side of life... to count those blessings.
Wishing you all a happy Thursday (and I'm finishing this Thursday morning because I was falling asleep last night! Good old outdoor physical exercise is an amazing thing!)
Multi-published, award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne is still pinching herself because she's living her dream of being a published author and like totally one of the coolest Grandmas on the face of the earth.... including the homemade pizza! You can friend Ruthy on facebook, follow her on Twitter, email her at loganherne@gmail.com and stop by her website ruthloganherne.com. She love to hear from readers and writers!
Summer is here and that means grilling season. So today I'm going to revisit one of my favorite things to grill - pizza.
Some of you are probably raising a brow right now, but just hang with me and you'll see how easy, and delicious, it really is WITHOUT heating up the kitchen.
For starters, you've got to have the right crust. Yes, you can use the pre-made store-bought crusts, but they won't satisfy the way a good homemade crust will. And if you're going to take the time to make a good crust, you may as well make extras to keep in the freezer. Then you can have pizza anytime you like.
For one batch of dough, you will need:
1 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tsp. sugar
one packet (or 2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast (I use the rapid rise)
3 cups bread flour
1 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Mix water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over the top of the water and let mixture stand until foamy, roughly 5 minutes.
While you're waiting, pulse flour and salt in food processor to mix.
Add the olive oil and yeast mixture and process 20-30 seconds, until the dough comes together in a sticky ball.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes.
Form into ball and place dough in a large, oiled bowl, turning until dough in coated.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft free area until doubled in size (about an hour).
Punch dough down and turn onto lightly floured work surface.
Using a large knife, quarter dough.
One at a time, shape dough wedge roughly into a ball. Place the dough ball on the work surface and, with your hand cupped over it, roll it on the work surface until the surface of the dough is smooth.
Place dough balls in a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate up to 48 hours. The dough will continue to rise, but this resting period is what makes the crust soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.
Let dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping, or freeze for up to two weeks, letting frozen dough sit at room temperature two hours before shaping.
On a floured work surface, press each dough ball into 9-in. round. To make mini pizzas, cut each dough ball into three or four pieces before shaping.
Now this next part varies, depending on what type of grill you have. In general, you want to use indirect heat. Oh, and if you don't have a grill, feel free to use a 400 degree oven.
Here's how to do it on the grill:
Lower the heat on one side of the grill to low. Oil the grate on that side of the grill. Move the shaped dough to the grill. Lower the edge of the dough onto the oiled grill. (Mindy says, the size of your rounds will determine how many you can comfortably fit on the grate at one time.)
Cover the grill and cook for roughly 3 minutes, until crusts begin to bubble and brown. Loosen crusts with a metal spatula, recover and cook for one more minute. Flip crusts over; cook until beginning to brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes.
Top pizzas as you please and return to grill until toppings are hot and cheese is melted. Sorry, I was so busy cooking everyone's pizzas, I forgot to take a pic of the finished product. But it sure was delicious.
This is especially fun for a party, because everyone gets to build their own pizza. Simply set up an assembly line of every pizza topping you can think of, along with plenty of grated mozzarella, maybe some parmesan... Oh and don't forget the sauce. I usually make my own by pulsing Italian style tomatoes (the ones with the basil, oregano and garlic) in the food processor, then adding a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste. Then just let your guests have at it. (Note: Have the crusts pre-baked before everyone arrives)
We've done this many times over the years and everyone loves it. Why have pizza out of a box when you can make it an event!
Now it's your turn. Do you love to grill? If so, what's your favorite thing to grill? What's the weirdest thing you've ever grilled?
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Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children, two dogs and countless cattle. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining and sometimes adventurous manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com.
I'm not sure if we've done double pizzas before, but it's football playoff time and this is a great crowd pleaser for little money... and it's the crust that makes it so perfect. I have two of these monster-sized pizza pans.... The holes allow the crust to cook evenly and "dry" the way you expect pizza crust to be.
I lightly rub the pans with olive oil then sprinkle corn meal over the corn meal... gives the crust a nice, store-bought old-fashioned texture!
So the crust... well we've tried everything under the sun over the years and in a "DUH" moment, I used my favorite chewy bread recipe and it's the best... Just absolutely the best....
It's from Betty Crocker and I use the recipe exactly as the cookbook presented it, which is a rarity for me... but this recipe is perfect.
Mix together in large bowl:
3/4 Cup warm water
2 Tablespoons Yeast (or two packets)
Mix together... Let sit for a minute or two...
Add:
2 2/3 Cups warm water (about 110 to 115 degrees)
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 Cup sugar
3 Tablespoons Crisco
5 Cups Flour (I use bread flour, higher gluten content, I love bread flour!!!!)
Mix all of this on medium speed on big mixer or with hand mixer for a couple of minutes until well-blended and smooth.
Add three more cups of flour.
Blend with dough hook until smooth and elastic and dough cleans sides of bowl.
If dough is sticky, add a little more flour and blend with dough hook.
Take dough out of bowl. Grease bowl. Put dough back in bowl. Flip dough so that all the dough is "greased" to prevent drying out. Cover loosely with towel and set aside to rise....
When dough has doubled in size, punch it down (stress reliever!!!) divide dough in half and press each half out onto pizza round.
We press it out gently, teasing it to about one inch in from the edge....
Use fork to prick surface of dough thoroughly to prevent over-rising. Rub surface of dough with olive oil (or use a brush, that's okay, too!!!)
Sprinkle surface with salt, Parmesan cheese and granulated garlic or garlic powder. (Our kids won't eat roasted garlic chunks...)
Bake for about ten minutes. Remove from oven.
See how the crust has risen some, but not too crazy... and the oil and seasoning and Parmesan protect the surface from drying out for the pre-bake. Boboli does this... other producers do, too. It gives you a solid crust base for folks who love thick-crusted pizza and I love thick crusts!
FOR RED SAUCE PIZZA:
Drizzle sauce over crust of one pizza. We use a bottled marinara sauce from Pellicano's, their Roasted Garlic Marinara....
Then cover with shredded mozzarella. Add any toppings you'd like. Italian sausage, pepperoni, peppers, onions, etc...
Bake at 400 degrees until crust is firm but not browning... Let cool slightly before cutting.
FOR WHITE PIZZA:
Follow the same directions up to baking crust with Parmesan, garlic and salt.... Remove crust after ten minutes of baking, add more Parmesan and cover with Shredded mozzarella. Finish baking until crust edge is dry to touch and cheese is melted.
The pre-baking (with that olive oil coating) is what gives this pizza its distinctive texture and taste, that 'chewability' that comes from great pizza shops.... unless they're silly New York Pizza with that cardboard thin burnt crust.
I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE LIKES THAT....
But we all differ!!!!
And here's some fun with a pup.... a very big pup: Morgan has decided that Jeter is her "spirit animal".... :)
They've become great buddies and how fun is that???? A girl and her dog. And then, check out this sunrise... This is Eastern Woodlands up here. Simply put, if you don't mow it or plant it... you get a forest. Isn't that cool???
The snow just kept coming!!!!!
I love this shot of Christina, helping with the donkeys.... Isn't it beautiful? Just like her!
This week things moderated and we got some melt-off, a real "January thaw"... but this weekend we're going to get hit again, with 1 to 2 feet of snow on Saturday... so I'll be shopping by Friday morning so no one has to venture out on Saturday!
Home. Snug. Football. Kids. Pizza.
Now that's a great family recipe! And crazy affordable!
Multi-published, bestselling author Ruthy Logan Herne is living her dream of writing beautiful stories of faith, hope and love as she burrows into her old farmhouse in Western New York... where the cookie jars are always full and the wood stove burns bright....
But when it's -20 Wind chill, the wood stove isn't quite enough! Then we're mighty glad to layer up, just like those pioneers who settled the American West.
You can find Ruthy on facebook and twitter (Ruth Logan Herne) or stop by her website ruthloganherne.com.
Last week, we needed to take something to my college daughter. While there, we took her to lunch. We love this restaurant, and I've mentioned it before when I shared a favorite salad. Today, I had to share the most unusual pizza I think I've ever had, and probably the best tasting, too. The restaurant is Slice & Pint. This amazing pie isn't on the regular menu on their website, so I'll try to do my best to remember all the ingredients.
Homemade crust Sliced fresh strawberries bacon (thick chunks like pork belly) house-made fresh mozzarella A drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar herb (I can't remember for sure but I think it was basil)
It was so pretty, even my daughter took a photo (she who always makes fun of me for photographing my food for the blog!) :) Next time you decide to make pizza at home, give these ingredients a try! And the next time I eat there, I plan to try the Southern Pie. Toppings include: fried green tomatoes, sorghum pork belly bits, and "Grandma's pimento cheese -- y'all." (quote off the website). :) And while I have your attention, maybe you can tell me what this large bush in my new yard is called. I love it! And so do the butterflies and hummingbirds.
Lately, my teenage son has taken to watching a lot of food videos on Facebook. Why he chooses to do this at school, essentially torturing himself, is beyond me. All I know is that he comes home ravenous, saying things like, "We should have XYZ for dinner."
This is one he's been begging me for, and while he might classify it as a meal, it's really more of an appetizer. Better yet, gameday food. So since Sunday was gameday...
Now, other people might not have this problem, but being the technologically-challenged blonde that I am, I could not find the recipe that went with the video. Until I went to imbed it above, then guess what showed up? That said, I do have a mind of my own, so I just decided to wing it.
Here's what you'll need:
Two cans of of large biscuits, flaky style
Pepperoni
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
Butter
Italian seasoning
First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
You'll also want to spray your bundt/tube pan really well with cooking spray.
Getting in all the little nooks and crannies insures your finished product will come right out of the pan.
Melt your butter. Since I didn't have a recipe, I started with a whole stick of butter, however, I might cut back to 4-6 tablespoons next time. Once your butter is melted, stir in 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning of your choice, perhaps a little garlic salt/powder, maybe even some red pepper flakes for a kick. Whatever sounds good and pizza-ish to you.
Time to unroll your biscuits.
Tear them in half.
Then flatten each half into a thinner version of its former self.
Place a slice of pepperoni in the center.
And top with mozzarella.
Now bring your sides together.
And pinch to make sure the dough is completely sealed.
Then just give it a quick roll between your palms to make it nice and round and toss it into your prepared pan.
This is what it looks like after one can of biscuits.
Now spoon or drizzle on half of your butter mixture over the tops and sprinkle on some Parmesan.
Continue with the second can of biscuits and top that layer off with the remaining butter and more Parmesan.
The video says to bake in a 375 oven for 15 minutes, but after 15 minutes, they didn't look anywhere near done. I ended up baking them for about 20-22 minutes.
I allowed it to sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before inverting it onto a plate.
Then I sprinkled on a little Parmesan and added the sauce.
The result.
Cheesy deliciousness.
However, there was also a little bit of this.
Some of the dough didn't cook completely, meaning I took it out of the oven too soon.
***Question for all you bakers***
Next time, should I increase the heat to 400 and keep the baking time about the same, or should I decrease it to 350 and bake it longer, say maybe 30 minutes? Which would be the best way to ensure that all of the dough is cooked?
Here's my critique: While this recipe was easy to make, it does take a little bit of time. Of course, if you have more than one person making the pizza balls, the faster it will go.
The flavor was good. I think the seasoned butter was a nice touch. There was just a little too much dough for my taste, though, so I'm wondering about cutting each biscuit into thirds next time. It would only take me one to know if it still gave me enough dough to work with.
Also, the biscuit dough, while very forgiving and moldable, it had a bit of sweetness to it. I might consider a different type of biscuit next time OR even a tube of the ready-made pizza dough, though I wonder if that would be as pliable.
I would also add a little more cheese, perhaps a mix of mozzarella and Parmesan, and one more slice of pepperoni. Of course, I might not be able to do this if I cut down on the amount of dough I use for each ball. Will have to experiment next time.
And yes, there will be a next time. My grandsons will be all over this one. It's the perfect thing to tide them over while waiting for the big meal at the holidays. Or any other time you have a houseful of hungry kiddos.
Now it's your turn. Do you like to watch those food prep videos? Have you ever tried one of those recipes?
