Deep Dish Pizza

Uno's Style Deep Dish Pizza:

i won't lie- this doesn't even compare to UNO'S pizza- the crust isn't as buttery & delicious & the cheese & sauce isn't quite the same, but it's not bad!!

You Will Need:

---CRUST---
1 cup warm tap water
1 tsp active dry yeast
3 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

--FILLING--
1 lb mozzarella, sliced
1 lb sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled
1 can whole tomatos, drained and coarsely crushed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tsp dried oregano,
5 fresh basil leaves minced
4 tb freshly grated parmesan cheese

*i use my mixer & dough hook- but if you don't have one, you can tough it out with your hands*

Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast with a fork. Add 1 cup of flour,all of the cornmeal, salt, and, and vegetable oil. Mix well with a spoon. Continue stirring in the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Flour your hands and the work surface and kneed the ball of dough until itis no longer sticky. Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl, sealed with plastic wrap, for 45 to 60 minutes in a warm place, until it is doubled in bulk. Punch it down and kneed it briefly. Press it into an oiled 15-inch deep dish pizza pan (or springform pan), until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom of the pan. Let the dough rise 15-20 minutes before filling.

Preheat the oven to 500°

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Cook the crumbled sausage until it is no longer pink, drain it of it's excess fat. Drain and chop the tomatos. When the dough has finished its second rising, lay the cheese over the dough shell. Then distribute the sausage and garlic over the cheese. Top with the tomatos. Sprinkle on the seasonings and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 500° then lower thetemperature to 400° and bake for 25 to 35minutes longer. Lift up a section of the crust from time to time with a spatula to check on its color. The crust will be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.

YUM! PIZZA! God Bless!

sweet & sour kielbasa

we had sweet & sour kielbasa with rice last night:

What You Need:
1 cup grape jelly
1 cup chili sauce
onion & garlic powder
1lb kielbasa- cut up
rice



go ahead & make a pot of rice: while that is cooking-

mix the jelly & chili sauce together in a saucepan & cook until jelly is melted- add some onion & garlic powder to taste







add the cut up kielbasa to the pan & turn the heat down low- let is simmer for about 10 min (stirring often)

serve over the rice & enjoy

God Bless

Pesto, Mozzerella & Chicken Pizza

we had Pesto pizza last night:

What You Need:
1 package of Naan Bread
1/2 jar of Classico Pesto
1 container of mini mozzerella balls
1/2 feta
1 cup cut up cooked chicken

Heat the oven to 400°
line a pan with foil & lay the Naan Bread onto either side
spread the pesto onto both pieces of Naan Bread
cut up the mini mozz. balls & sprinkle on the bread, also sprinkle on the feta & then sprinkle the chicken on top

cook for about 10 min & then set the oven to broil- place the pan on the rack closest to the top & broil for about 3 min.


Enjoy!!!!
gosh, i love pizza!
God Bless

Hot Pastrami Sandwich

i love hot pastrami sadwiches:














What You Need:
2 slices of bread
4-5 slices of pastrami
1 slice of american cheese
mustard
butter for frying

heat up the pan & melt some butter: fry up the pastrami on both side- spread mustard on both slices of bread- lay about 2-3 slices on one piece of bread then add the slice of cheese, over the top of that add the other 2-3 slices of pastrami. heat up a little more butter in the pan and fry the sandwich on either side (like grilled cheese). pop the sandwich on a plate & enjoy!














Yumm!!!! God Bless

Stuffed Chicken Breast w/egg noodles & corn

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Corn & Egg Noodles:

Tonight we had stuffed chicken breasts w/corn & egg noodles:

What You Need for Stuffed Chicken:
Approx:
1lb chicken breasts
1/2 15 oz container of ricotta
1/2 cup feta cheese
4-5 tblsp cup italian salad dressing
1 egg (if desired- holds things together but totally not needed)
few splashes of dry vermouth
garlic, basil, salt & pepper, paprika & etc etc (to taste)

pre-heat over to 400°

cut the fat off the chicken & cut each chicken breast in half. cut a pocket into each chicken breast. after mixing the above ingredients, stuff each chicken breast.
in a baking dish- cover the bottom w/italian dressing & some white wine- lay the chicken into the dish & top w/extra seasonings (see above picture)

cook the chicken for about 20-25 minutes (until done)

What You Need for the Pasta & Corn:

Approx:

1/2lb egg noodles

1/2 italian dressing

1/8 dry vermouth

seasonings to taste

1 can corn

while the chicken is cooking, cook the pasta & corn & drain both. using the same pot for the noodles- mix together about 1/2 cup italian dressing & 1/8 cup vermouth plus seasonings to taste. toss the corn & noodles with the dressing mix.

Serve the chicken on a bed of the noodles & corn. enjoy!

God Bless

oreo truffles

so tonight i made Oreo Truffles: they were pretty simple- but a little tedius.

What You Need:

1 package oreos
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
16 oz semi sweet or milk chocolate
sugar or crushed cookies for decorating

*i doubled this recipe & used 1 package double stuffed regular oreos for one batch& 1 package of double stuff mint creme oreos for the other- yummo!

What You Need To Do:

in a bowl, crush the oreos & mix in the cream cheese until mixed together- using an ice-cream scoop- scoop 1in balls onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper:



pop these into the freezer for about 45 min to an hour (until firm)
while these are hardening- go ahead & melt the chocolate in a large bowl- once the truffles are firm enough- pull them out and dip them into the chocolate & place onto another cookie sheet with wax paper-if you are using sugar or cookies for the topping- make sure you get it ont he truffle before the chocolate hardens: if you are decorating with white chocolate, you can go ahead and just do that after all the truffles are dipped:



put these back in the fridge for at least another hour & let them harden- store them in an airtight container in the fridge & enjoy!!



God Bless

pizza

the most simple dinner in the world:

frozen pizza- how i love thee!! my pizza's of choice are usually Freschetta or Digiorno- pop it in the oven & 25 min later- heaven!!!
God Bless

kielbasa & potatoes

Kielbasa & Potatoes:

1 package kielbasa
2-3 medium potatoes
butter & spices

peel & boil the potatoes. while the potatoes are cooking, go ahead & slice up the kielbasa. in a medium pan, melt about 1- 2 tblsp butter- throw in some garlic & spices (i use some hot sauce, paprika, garlic, basil, & pepper) bring that up to medium heat & throw in the keilbasa- brown it up on both sides- turn the heat down to low and go ahead & drain the potatoes. toss the potatoes with the keilbasa & cook them for about 5 min.




enjoy! it's simple & tasty!!! it's not exactely the healthiest meal in the world, but there are worse things! i throw this together when i'm in a hurry or i simply don't feel like "really" cooking!










aaaaand then, we indulged in a simple hoodsie cup! i just LOVE these things- they're also the perfect amount- not too much, not too little- perfect!!

God Bless

French Toast

this morning i felt like french toast:

French Toast for 2:

4 slices of white bread

1 egg

1/2- 3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

butter for frying

cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

mix the egg & milk together in a shallow pan- add the vanilla & stir. then, whisk in the cinnamon & nutmeg

heat up the pan on medium heat- melt some butter into the pan.

dip the bread (one at time) into the mixture (i don't like it mushy so i only dip it enough to just wet either side- then drop it into the pan (i cook 2 at a time) fry on either side until golden brown- serve with maple syrup & a large glass of milk!

nom nom nom!

God Bless

Shepard's Pie

So tonight we had Shepard's Pie:



you will need:

1 lb ground beef
2- 2 1/2 lbs potatoes
1 can corn
seasonings to taste (garlic, pepper, cumin, etc)

directions:

set oven to 350°
peel & boil the potatoes: while they are cooking: season & cook ground beef- drain.
while the beef is draining go ahead & heat up the corn in the same pan with some garlic.
in a medium sized casserole dish, layer first the ground beef & then the corn- set aside

to make the potatoes:

in order to make your mashed potatoes super silky & awesome, i suggest using a ricer instead of a mixer or masher. once your potatoes are boiled- go ahead & drain them. in the same pot, go ahead & heat up about 1/2 stick unsalted butter & about 3/4 a pint of heavy or whipping cream (you may need more or less depending on how many potatoes you cook or how you like them) - bring this to a low simmer & stir in about 1-2 tsp of white pepper. turn off heat.

while the mixture is still hot, start ricing your potatoes right into the pan with the cream & butter mix:


one all of the potaoes are riced, go ahead & fold the potatoes & cream/butter mixture together- these will be the most awesome potatoes EVER! there will be NO lumps & no nasty skins by mistake- just silky, buttery, peppery potatoes.



once these are done, go ahead & spread them over the beef & corn layers in our casserole dish. sprinkle the top w/some pepper & paprika & pop it in the over, uncovered, for about 25-30 min. the top crusts up really nicely and everything else stays moist & yummy!


Enjoy!!!
God Bless