Sunday Steps!

This was a meal that Hubby and I had last Sunday. He was about to leave for a two week training exercise off island, so we decided to celebrate his "last day" with some homemade pizza!

I quickly whipped up my go-to pizza crust recipe HERE. I like it, it works, but I think I am ready to try some new flavors! Maybe something without the seasonings, and some cornmeal....or whole wheat...The Hubby and I both like NY style pizza, but with crust that is slightly thicker and a little doughy. Expect some experiments in the near future!

Well, once you have a dough all made, and it has risen, knock it down and roll it out. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F with a pizza stone, or pizza sheet in the oven. While the oven is preheating, make a simple tomato sauce using a small can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste. I also added some onion salt, garlic salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It was wonderful, quick, had a kick, and was just the right amount for one large pizza.

Once the oven is done preheating, remove the pizza stone or sheet, and move the rolled dough onto it. Then:

1. Add sauce and spread all the way to the edges.
3. Add your toppings of choice: we used grilled chicken.
2. Add your cheese of choice: we used mozzarella and some parmesan/romano mix. Add a dash of italian seasoning on top as well.
4. Pop it in the oven and bake for 30-45 min. Check it every now and then to make sure its not burning.

Last step: EAT EAT EAT!! ~~~~

Also, while we are on this pizza note. The Hubby and I went to a local pizza joint one night. It was good, for Japanese-style pizza. We liked the crust and there was a good variety of toppings options. There were some pre-made pizzas like pepperoni, 4-cheese, meat lovers....and, get this....they had a curry pizza. Yes, curry pizza. It had a curry seasoned sauce with bacon, corn, and cheese. I didn't try any, but Hubby did and he just said it was "interesting". Alright-y then! lol. Size wise, 1 pizza was enough for 1 hungry person, and it can easily be split and paired with a salad for a wonderful meal.

We had two pizzas. One was pepperoni, peppers, onions and mozzarella. The other was garlic, mushrooms, mozz, prosciutto, and parmesan on top. That one was by far my favorite! I would totally get it again! Oh yeah, Hubby also got his fave: some Orion beer....oh boy! *giggles*

ENJOY!!

Things I have made...

So, here are some of the things that I have baked/cooked in the past month that I actually took time to take some pictures of...due mostly to the lack of lighting in the kitchen! Note to self: in future when looking at kitchen, look at photo potential... Anywho...I have cooked so many meals for both myself and my hubby but here are some that I have photographed!

~Turkey Meatloaf~

1 lb. ground turkey

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c. italian bread crumbs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/3 c. ketchup

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl combine the turkey, onion, garlic powder, garlic salt, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly and pat into a loaf pan. Bake for 50 min. In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup and brown sugar. Coat over the meat loaf and bake for another 5 - 10 min. Enjoy!

Biscuits (Plain and Herbed)

I am busy...Call me bee...

Well HELLO THERE!!

There has been some time since my last post! I do apologize, but I have a ligetimate excuse! I am in school and it is the end of the year...and that can only equate to one answer...FINALS!! Oh yeah, guess what one of my finals is? Guess? Yeah, a gallery show! Not a solo show, it is with me and 9 other amazing artists...but its stressful to get work done! Especially if you are in another state for half of that time!

I was in North Carolina visiting the Hubby other the Thanksgiving holiday! It was wonderful! I got to cook, bake, stuff my belly, relax with hubby, and play with twin boys under 2 years old! Can life get more perfect!?!?! I think not!

With being out in NC, Hubby likes for me to cook for him....and boy did I ever! I cooked many scrumptious goodies for Turkey Day, but that will come in another post...In this one I will share with you the best that I made. (or what I took photos of!)

First off, lets start with some chicken wings...BBQ ones to be exact. Hubbs and I had just gotten done working out, and he had a craving for some finger licking goodness! (not the colonel) So, I experimented with a recipe right out of my head! It turned out wonderful and moist, just like good chicken should!

~Baked BBQ Chicken Wings~

1 pkg. whole chicken wings (about 8 pieces), thawed

1 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. seasoning salt

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 bottle BBQ sauce

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place the flour into a medium mixing bowl and add the seasoning salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Set aside. Take the chicken wings and separate the wing from the drummy by cutting at the joint. Also cut off the wing tip and discard. Coat the pieces in the flour mixture and lay into a single row in the baking dish. Cook in oven for about 15 min. then flip the wings. Bake for another 10 min. and cover with BBQ sauce. Bake for about another 30-40 min. or until the wings are tender and the juices run clear. Remove from oven, let cool for a min. and transfer to a plate and cover with remaining BBQ sauce from the baking dish. enjoy!

These turned out very yummy indeed and they were demolished. Next time I would used more spice and crisp them up a little more. (The top heating element in our oven does not work) The spice measurements are just a guideline, use whichever ones that you like and add as much or as little as you please!

Our Last meal...

~Steamed Asparagus~

1 bunch asparagus

2 thin slabs of butter

2-3 tbsp. water

Pinch of salt and pepper

Place the asparagus in a shallow bowl and pour the water into the bottom. Season with salt and pepper and place the butter on top of the asparagus. Steam for about 2-3 min. and then stir. If needed, steam for another few min. They should be green and crisp, but cooked. Season again before serving if desired.

~Greek Salad~

1 lg. tomato

1 lg. cucumber

1 pt. pitted kalamata olives

8 oz. feta cheese

1 16 oz. jar pepperoncini peppers

1 8.5 oz. jar Tuscan flavored olive oil

1 med. red onion*

1 lg. red or green pepper*

Chop up the tomato, cucumber, and green or red peppers into bite sized pieces. Place into a large bowl. Slice the red onion into thin rings and cut off the top of the pepperoncini peppers. Add them to the bowl. Add the olives and crumble the feta cheese over the top. Pour the bottle of olive oil over the entire salad. Toss to coat. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few min. to let the flavors mingle. Serve and enjoy!

*We did not use these ingredients in our salad, but they are other classic greek additions to salads. Next time I will add them!

~Seasoned Crescent Rolls~

1 pkg. reduced fat crescent rolls

garlic powder

garlic salt

italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to temp on crescent roll package. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Undo half of the crescent rolls and lay out flat on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and powder, and italian seasoning. Roll up and sprinkle with a little more of each seasoning. Repeat for the remaining rolls. Bake for 10-12 min. or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Again...these spices are just what I used because I was in a garlicky mood. Use whatever you like and enjoy! Duh!!

~Herbed Grilled Chicken~

1 pkg. boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed

1/2 c. olive oil

garlic salt

garlic powder

onion powder

dried oregano

dried basil

Slice the chicken lengthwise through the middle to get 6 thin breast pieces. In a deep tuperware container pour the olive oil and the seasionings and herbs. Use as much or as little as you like! Stir to coat the chicken and store in the fridge for at least 30 min. Take chicken out and cook over med. heat, covered, for about 3-4 min. per side. Test for doneness, if inside is not pink and juices run clear they are done. Enjoy!

~Cinnamon Biscuits~

1 2/2 c. AP flour

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 tbsp. milk

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and mix untl combined. Add more milk if needed. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 1/4 in. thick. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Make sure this mixture is a more cinnamon-y than your standard cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll the long way into a log and slice into 1 in. pieces. Place in a muffin tin and bake at 375 for about 10-15 min. or until tender and sightly browned. The frosting I made was just powdered surgar, milk and some vanilla extract.

**Updated**

On a side note...

Apparantly I make really good cheesy eggs! Hubby had some every day that I was visiting him in NC. I make them like this:

Whip some eggs together in a bowl with a fork. Add a little bit of milk (more if you have more eggs) and whip again. Pour into a heated pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Scramble the eggs. Add the cheese on top of the almost done eggs and cover with a lid for a few seconds. Uncover and mix until all the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!

Cheesy Eggs!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Busy Like a BEE...

I am truly an utterly amaized at my productivness today! I have gotten so much done, and then some! Wow, why can't I do this every day...?

Well, here are some samples of what I have been doing...

These are the same pics from the earlier entry today, but so much better! I was tooling with Photoshop and this is what I created! Enjoy them, and if you have any critiques, tips, or suggestions...please, let me know!

Hope you enjoyed the visual feast! Be back later!

Ciabbata, Sourdough, and Croissants...oh My!

FREE BREAD!!

I got a gift! There is this local baker in St. Joseph, MN who makes amazing bread and I may be working in collaboration with him to start marketing "Bread Stenciling". How fun does that sound! Very, in my opinion. SO, to make a long story short, I went to his bakery and he gave me a tour and sent me on my what with 6 loaves of bread and some croissants to sample and experiment with. It MADE my DAY!! Free, amazing bread!

This is what I got:

Spinach & Feta Croissant

Almond Croissant

Jalapeno & Cheddar

Wild Rice & Cracked Pepper Loaf

Sourdough Loaf

Mulitgrain

Rye

Cracked Wheat

Lavash Cracker Bread

Side view of the lavash. It was very, very light and sounds like a drum. I can't wait to "crack" into it!

Once I start tasting everything, I'll keep you posted on the amazing yummyness to occur!

The Quest For the BEST Banana Bread Recipe

I FINALLY found it!

You guessed it right! After 3 different recipes that I had, and 2 errors, I found, in my opinion, the best Banana Bread! So, story is like this: Hubby wants banana bread, and guess how he wants it, PLAIN! I know I know, plain is good, it is, but I like it with Chocolate Chips...bananas and chocolate are a combination made in HEAVEN! Yummy in my tummy! (licking lips)

Try #1: Banana bread Recipe 1 w/ blueberries. (I had to use them up but they had gone bad) And the bananas were to "ripe" so to speak. Recipe called for 2 bananas.

Try #2: Banana bread Recipe 2 plain and w/ chocolate chips. Again the bananas were to "ripe". They were good, but could be better. Recipie called for 2-3 bananas. But, get this! They got better the longer they sat out! I guess some properties of the bananas were still "breaking down". Cool huh?

Try #3: Banana bread Recipe 3

plain and w/ chocolate chips. All the stars had aligned themselves for this try. I have "prefect" banana bread bananas, they were browny-black and mushy...perfect. Recipe called for 3-4 bananas. They were AMAZING!

Try #3 was THE ONE!! I made it into little Banana Bread "Muffins" for lack of a bread/loaf tin. (I dont want to buy one until I go back home to MN-hubby wont use it.) And for all of you who have been wating so patiently, and for thoes who are about to explode with aticipation...here is the recipe:

~SB Bananana Bread~

3 eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

2 c. sugar

4 mashed black bananas

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

3 c. AP flour

3-4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1-2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Beat eggs in a large bowl until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar and beat together. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in another bowl and whisk together. Pour flour mixture into egg/banana mixture and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips, depending on how chocolately you like your banana bread. Spray 2 12 cup muffin tins with nonstick spray. Pour batter into tins almost all the way to the top, leave a little rim of tin. (I only had one muffin tin so I baked mine in two batches.) Bake muffins for 20-30 min. or until a knife poked in the middle comes out clean. Let sit in the muffin tin for 5-10 min. and then turn out onto a metal rack to cool. Enjoy!!

**Again, these are amazing! Plain or with chocolate chips, and I am sure that nuts would be wonderful as well! Hope that you like them as much as I did!

My Experimentations with Yeast

Here is a recipe for some foccacia that I found on the internet. I had to use up some yeast, so here is one of the 3 results:

~Garlic & Rosemary Foccacia~

1 tsp. sugar

1 pkg. instant yeast

1/3 c. warm water

2 c. AP flour

2 tbsp. oilve oil

1/4 tsp. salt

Rosemary, dried or fresh

Garlic salt

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 min.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the flour and stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tbsp. at a time, until all of the water is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 min. Place dough into a an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 475 F. Deflate dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Pat or roll into a sheet and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Make little indentations in the dough with the tips of your fingers and brush the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary and garlic salt. Bake for 10-20 min. depending on how soft or crispy you like you foccacia. Enjoy!

**This foccaia was good, well, the top was at least, with the garlic salt. My hubby said that it needed to be a bit more salty, but I think that he was eating a bottom slice that did not have the garlic salt topping on it. Maybe I should add more salt? Or add garlic salt throughout the entire dough? Who knows...but I sure will try this recipe again!

The insides of the finshed product

Dough before baking with garlic salt and rosemary

First Friday Post. Randomness...Bittersweet...What else?

Hello again!

I am really getting used to this posting stuff...I just wonder why I didn't start sooner. I guess it was because, after surfin' the web and looking at all of those wonderful food blogs out there, I was somewhat intimidated...I admit it, I was! But I figured, go for it! And here I am in all my glory! Hahaha

So, today is a somewhat special day. It is my last Friday in North Carolina. Hubby is at work and won't be home until late. I want to have fun, and I want to be with my hubby. But I can't have one of these things, so lets have some Random Friday Fun!

I just want to say that Dara Torres, the 41-year-old mother swimming in the Olympics, has an amazing body for being 41. I know that she gets this by spending lots of $$ on personal trainers and what not, but dang! That's what I want to have when I'm 40! (sweet dreams) Well, I can try can't I? **Note: I am a workout freak! Yeah, speaking of swimmers...ya know Michael Phelps? I heard on the news that the guy eats over 12,000 calories a day!! And he says that he has a "hard time" keeping weight on! Dang, his workouts must be totally intense! Phew!

Did You Know? Apple peels can have up to 87% more cancer fighting elements than the inside!

Science Bit: What's a Calorie? Scientifically, it's the amount of energy needed to raise the temp of 1 g. of water by 1 degree C. Nutritionally, it's the amount of energy in food that your body can use. Our digestion releases nutrients in the foods we eat, which our bodies then convert to glucose that it uses to fuel all of its functions. Yummy Yummy...in my tummy!

Recipes!! Finally...sorry...I have a lot of random useless knowledge in my head that sometimes just NEEDS to get out! I also do a lot of "spur of the moment" ramblings...I'm watching the Olympics right now...See! just like that! Well, anywho, yesterday I made some Kickin' Chicken and Pretzels so here are some photos and the recipes!

~Kickin' Chicken~

8 chicken drumsticks12 tbsp. Franks Sauce

4 tsp. Cholula (or Tabasco)

4 tsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. smokey paprika

Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Let marinade for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350-375 F. Pour chicken and sauce into large baking dish. Bake the chicken on the middle rack of the oven for about 35-40 min. or until it is no longer pink in the inside and there is no running blood. Turn on broiler and move rack up. Broil the chicken for 5 min., flip then broil for another 5 min. Let cool a little and serve with sauce in the pan. Serve with ranch or blue cheese for dipping

**These were pretty kickin', but not all that much, at least for my taste. I wish there had been more of a garlic flavor. I think I'll add more garlic next time and maybe some red pepper flakes or something to make it really kickin'! Mine were not very crispy either because the broiler in my oven does not work.

~Garlic, Herb & Cheese Pretzels~
Dough
2 1/2 c. AP flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 pkg. instant yeast
1 c. warm water
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
Topping
1/2 c. warm water
1 tsp. sugar
Garlic salt
Mozzarella cheese

Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve and let sit until frothy, about 5 min. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Pour yeast mixture into flour and stir together to form a ball. If dough is too wet, add more flour until it comes together. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 min. until smooth. Sprinkle with flour and place into a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 min. to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 500 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dissolve sugar in warm water and set aside. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal parts. Roll each part into a 12-24 in. rope. (smaller = more doughy, longer = more crisp) Place pretzel in hand and spoon sugar water over top and place on baking sheet and reshape. Sprinkle with cheese or garlic salt, or both. Repeat with remaining dough. Let pretzels rest for 15 min. Bake for 6 min., rotate pans, and continue baking for 6 min. more or until cheese is golden brown and dough is firm. Enjoy!

**These pretzels where very good for my first try! The herb flavor was spot on and my favorite topping was the garlic salt. Then again, I am a garlic fanatic! I was thinking that I was going to need some dip for these pretzels, and was planning on making some garlic mustard, but they were amazing just by themselves! I really enjoy bread just plain, no butter, rarely any dip, this lets you fully appreciate the flavor of the bread. These are amazing just on their own and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!

Well, today I think I am going to try my hand at some cinnamon rolls. I don't know what exact recipe I am going to use, I might morph a few together. Pray that it turns out well! I'll post the results later!

Well, Peace out for now!