B.L.T. Pizza

This picture just doesn't do it justice. This is my favorite pizza to make and it's so easy. I always use the pre cooked Bobolli pizza crusts. Have you tried them? They're surprisingly good. I don't really have measurements since I just throw it all on there so just eye ball it and go with what looks right. I guessed the best I could.


B.L.T. Pizza

Bobolli Pizza Crust (or your favorite pizza crust)
1/4 cup Alfredo sauce (Clasico is my favorite brand)
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (divided)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 Tbls ranch dressing

Spread alfredo sauce over pre-cooked pizza crust. Sprinkle bacon, 1/4 cup tomatoes and cheese on top of sauce. Bake at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes. In small bowl mix remaining tomatoes, lettuce and ranch dressing. Spoon over top of cooked pizza slices. So good!

Peanut Butter Bars

This recipe is from the Sisters Cafe

Peanut Butter Bars

3/4 C butter

3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
3/4 peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 C oats

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix the oats until firm dough is made. Press batter into a jelly roll pan (a little smaller than a standard cookie sheet--I use the pampered chef stoneware bar sheet) Bake at 325 for 12 -15 minutes, depending on your oven. Do not over bake! The bars should be BARELY golden. If you over cook them they are dry and not very good, in my opinion. Allow to cool while you make your frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

(this is the best frosting ever!)

1 cup sugar
5 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Place the sugar, butter and milk in the small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook stirring constantly, until the mixture come s to a boil. Boil stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat, add the chocolate chips and stir until melted, then add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Spread onto mostly cool bars.

I just barely made these and had a minute to post about it while I waited for some vinyl to get cut.  They are so yummy...and the frosting really is the best (and easiest) frosting I have ever made.

Fried Rice

We have always liked rice, but I never used to make it until about a year ago when we found minute rice (now looking back I think this is what Mom always used, but when I was little I didn't like rice so I didn't pay much attention).  Well we love fried rice too, but we haven't ever tried to make it with minute rice. 

I found a recipe yesterday and gave it a try and it was so quick and really good. 

Modified the recipe from the Minute Rice website

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 pkg. (16 ounces) frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed  ---we didn't have any of these, so I just cut up some celery and about a 1/4 of an onion instead, and I think that is how we will always make it. 
2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 cups MINUTE White Rice, uncooked

1 cube of chicken bullion

Directions:

ADD broth, vegetables and soy sauce to skillet; bring to a boil. Stir in rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook eggs; scramble until done.  Add to rice mixture after it has sat for 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Potato Bundles

You all know how much I love potatoes (unless Mom puts them in Sheppards Pie).  Well I have been craving meat and potatoes lately and I have been looking for some new potato recipes.  I made these last night with Turkey Roast and we invited some friends over for dinner and we all loved these pototoes.  They were quick to throw together and so yummy.

I found the recipe from a new cooking website I found "The Pioneer Woman Cooks".  They have lots of other great recipe ideas -- click here for all recipes organized by pictures...which I love that idea.  The annoying thing about this website is they have a picture for every step of the recipe, but if you scroll down to the bottom (before the comments) then they have a printable recipe.

Ingredients

6 whole Russet Potatoes
½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
1 stick Butter
½ cups Heavy Cream
Kosher Salt To Taste
Paprika To Taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley

Preparation Instructions

Pile potatoes and onions on a square of foil. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Splash on cream. Then sprinkle on salt, paprika, and black pepper. Sprinkle minced parsley over the top.

Wrap bundles tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until extremely tender.

Serve bundles right on the dinner plate. Serves 8.

I think these will be fun to make camping too.  You can just take it all mixed together and wrapped in tin foil and then cook it when you get there. 

Chewy Soft Preztels

Recipes is from My Kitchen Cafe

You can tell they were good...Macie couldn't wait two more seconds to have another one. 

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse salt (optional)

3 tablespoons butter, melted



Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (to see pictures click on the "My Kitchen Cafe" link at the top of the post).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Enchiladas

I have been making these enchiladas for a couple of years.  I made up the recipe on night when I didn't know what to cook and didn't have much food on hand, because I hated going to the grocery store with (back then) 3 kids.  Now we tote 4 kids along with us every Saturday and manage just fine...live and learn I guess.

1 pkg soften cream cheese
1 can refried beans
1-2 cups cubed chicken (I sometimes use the canned chicken if I am in a big hurry)
1/2 cup rice (I don't always put this in, I only use it if I have left overs from the night before)
2 cans enchillada sauce
1 cup grated cheese
Flour tortillas

Mix together cream cheese, refried beans, chicken and rice.  Spoon the mixture into flour tortillas then roll them up.  I usually have enough chicken mixture to make about 10-12 tortilla rolls.  Place them all seam down in a 9x13 pan.  Pour enchillada sauce on top (I usually only use about 1 1/2 cans, but if Bridger is helping he insists we pour it all on...either way it turns out just fine).  Then top with grated cheese and bake in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.
This freezes well too, you just have to increase your baking time.   Don't put the grated cheese on if you are freezing it, I would just pull it out of the oven about 15 minutes before it was done and sprinkle with cheese and then put back in the oven.  Sorry I don't remember how long to bake it if you freeze it.

They are really quick to make (especially if you don't have to cook the chicken).

This is Bridger's favorite dinner, and everyone else must like it too, because we rarely have leftovers--but if we do they are so yummy the next day.

Spiced Apple Pancakes

I love breakfast. I tell myself I eat it becasue it's the most important meal of the day, but the truth is, it's just my favorite. But I don't like the bacon or sausage or eggs. I love my carbs! Muffins, waffles, pancakes....bring 'em on! I got this recipe from a friend of mine, Lindsey. I was so excited to try them, and even more excited when they were better than I had imagined. And the syrup? Don't even get me started. It was AMAZING. I ate seven pancakes.....SEVEN!! And I plan on making more as soon as I can get over to the grocery store for more apples.

And as proof as to how good these really are, here's a picture of the pickiest of picky eaters loving them.

Spiced Apple Pancakes:

makes approx. 18-4 inch pancakes

2 C. bisquick

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg

1 2/3 C. milk

3/4 C. grated apple (about 2)

Mix bisquick, cinnamon, eggand milk until smooth. Add apple. Cook on greased griddle. Turn when bubbles appear, but before they break.

Cider Syrup:

1 C. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 C. apple juice

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 C. butter

Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in saucepan. Stir in juice and lemon. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Blend in butter. Serve warm.