Pizza Crust (again)

In my search for the perfect pizza crust, I think I've finally hit gold.

This is STICKY. But oh so freakin good.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Sprinkles of the following:
Red Pepper flake
Onion Powder
Rosemary
Parsley

Directions
Dump it all in the bread machine, set to knead (or pizza if you have that setting). I tend to make this the morning of, and let it rest all day in the fridge (after first rise), you can even rest it overnight.

Preheat oven to 380.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle your baking sheet liberally with cornmeal. Place dough on pan and brush with a good olive oil, then add your choice of pizza toppings.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

My go to crust recipe now!

Tostadas. Yum. (And refried beans)

This is a 2 in 1 post. First, we're going to hit on beans.

These are regular pinto beans, easy to make into refried beans.

You just buy a bag of regular pinto beans. Take out the amount you want to make (we usually do half a 1 pound bag). Go through them, making sure there aren't any rocks. Dump them in a bowl and cover them with water. Let them soak for a good while (we usually do overnight). Once they soak up all that liquid, put them in a pot on the stove, adding some water and salt and let them simmer for several hours, adding water as needed. Presto, beans! You can also add onions/cilantro/tomatoes for easy barracho beans.

Once they are cooked, to make refried beans, drain off the extra liquid. Turn on the heat, and mash. Some people add lard/butter here, but we haven't found we needed it. The taste of the beans is good enough that you don't need to add that extra fat, but it's up to you. If they are runny, add a bit of flour and cook it good.

Here, we picked up some fresh corn tortillas from our meat market. I've not attempted to make my own, yet. Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat, and drop a tortilla in. You want a nice, crisp finish on these. Once it's done, let it drain on a paper towel.

Scoop some beans on them, and cover with cheese, and pop under your broiler for a few minutes.

Drool. Seriously good stuff, people.

We chopped up some veggies, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, jalapeno and dumped on as desired (the kids really liked this part). You can also top with taco meat, fajitas, and chicken.

I'm drooling here. And yes, that's a paper plate. For SHAME.

Meatballs

Mmmm meatballs.

Sorry.






1 lb ground beef
6 ounces ground italian sausage
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Mix of spices. I use what I have on hand, which usually includes:
onion powder, garlic powder, dehydrated onion, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes.
1 tsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
Olive oil
Garlic, baby

These are guesstimates, I usually just dump stuff in and hope for the best.

Combine the meats, egg, bread crumbs, cheese and seasoning. Heat a skillet drizzle some olive oil in there, and add the garlic. Form meatballs, and fry for a minute, to get a nice crust. Finish them off in your spaghetti sauce. We also make mini loaves of our french bread, and make meatball subs.

Bean Burritos

I threw this together last night, last minute.

I prefer home made beans, but I had been lazy all day and didn't make them. So, I used canned.

1 can refried beans
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
flour tortillas
Fixins (I used cheese, onion, and sour cream)

First I heated up the tortillas, because warm = pliable and easy to manipulate. Then, I heated the beans on the stovetop, and added the taco seasoning. Once warm and combined, I dumped them into the tortillas, topped with cheese and onions, rolled them up and dipped in sour cream. It was really good.

Pizza Crust

I am on the hunt for the perfect pizza crust. I have been for a year now. This isn't it, but it's good.

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Stir water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired sprinkle basil, thyme or other seasonings on crust. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.

I rolled it out, and stuffed it for pizza rolls. Delish!

Spaghetti Sauce

1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 6 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flake (more, if you like to sweat while eating)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp black pepper
small onion (But, I use dehydrated onion flakes, because I hate cooked onion)

I also add water, until I get the consistency I want.

First, heat the olive oil, then throw in the garlic clove (crushed). If you love garlic, add more.If you like fresh onion, add it now. Once that cooks for a bit (don't burn it! once it starts making noise, it's done), add the tomatoes. Then add all your seasoning, tasting as you go. Once you get it to the consistency and flavor you like, turn on low and let simmer at least an hour. It's really hard to screw this up. Oh and take the bay leaf out before eating!

Hamburger Helper

1 lb ground beef
Egg Noodles
1 tsp minced onion (I used the dehydrated kind, but you can use a fresh small onion)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 tsp onion powder
pinch of parsley
salt and pepper to taste
brown gravy

Brown the meat, dump in the seasonings, tasting as you go because I didn't measure anything ;)

Meanwhile, I cook the noodles, and made three packages of gravy.

When it was done, I threw it all together, serve.

Caldo De Res

1 pound beef shank
1 tomato, quartered
2 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2-3 small ears of corn
1/2 medium head cabbage, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
bunch chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ounces fresh lime juice

*you can also use beef broth instead of water

Cut up the meat a bit, I use the bone in, and season with seasoned salt. Throw everything but the lime juice in a large pot, cover with water. Simmer for a least three hours, with the last hour uncovered. Sprinkle some more cilantro on top, and add your lime juice. Serve!

Heli's London Broil

Easy Marinade for London Broil:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3lbs London Broil

Lightly score meat in a diamond pattern on both sides. Mix marinade ingredients and pour over meat in bag or container. Let marinate for 4-24hrs, rotating occasionally. Broil or grill 5-7min on each side or to desired doneness. Slice thinly against the grain to serve.

Best.Steak.Ever.

Hot Pockets

Since many requested, here's what I do. I use my own dough sometimes, sometimes I cheat and use the store pizza crust in a tube, or a premade mix that I can throw in my bread machine.

Here's my dough mix:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water

I dump it all in the breadmaker.

Once it's ready, punch down, let it rise again, then you're good to go.

I just roll it out in a square, cut into 6 pieces. Stuff with whatever you want - chicken and bacon, ham and cheese, spinach, pizza toppings, dessert stuff, breakfast stuff, whatever. I fold two sides up, and then the other two over. Flip and put on a greased baking sheet, brush the top with olive oil.

Pop in the oven at 400 degrees for around 11 minutes.

In this picture, I did rounds with a drinking glass, and stuffed with ham and cheese for a quick lunch.

 NOM!

Fried Chicken

1lb of chicken (I use boneless, skinless, but whatever you like will work)
Flour
Buttermilk
Tabasco
Seasoned Salt
Garlic Salt/Powder
Black Pepper
Oil for frying

Pour most of the buttermilk in a bowl, add a few drops of tabasco, add chicken and let soak for around 15 minutes. Mix flour, seasoned salt, pepper and garlic salt. Drizzle buttermilk into flour mix, to create little bits of seasoned flour. Heat oil. When oil is ready, dredge chicken through flour mixture, fry.

Hello, lovely.

The crust has a small bite, lots of flavor, is tender, and the little bits of the flour that the buttermilk drizzle adds is very excellent!

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy stuff)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2-3 Tbsp per pound of beef. When I added the seasoning, I added water and a pinch of flour to thicken and cooked for 15 more minutes.