Gumbo

I have made this several times and it is definitely a favorite around here. I'm not going to lie, this is a lot of prep work and has an extensive cooking time. It's not something that can really be converted to a slow cooker recipe because you must make the roux. There is just something about the cooking process on the stove that's essential to the flavor. You will not be disappointed in this recipe!

Gumbo

adapted from Southern Living

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Makes: 2.5 quarts (8-10 servings)

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I have used breasts with good results)

1 lb smoked turkey sausage

1 lb smoked ham

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup flour

2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 large green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 large celery rib, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 - 32oz boxes Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Hot cooked rice

Directions

Cut the chicken, sausage and ham into bite sized pieces. Cook over medium heat in a large dutch oven until browned. Put into a separate bowl and wipe out the dutch oven.

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Gradually whisk in the flour. Continue whisking constantly until the roux is a deep mahogany color. 

Stir in onions, celery and green peppers. Cook about 5 minutes and add in garlic. Cook another 5 minutes or until tender. Gradually add the chicken stock. Add the meats, thyme, red and black pepper. 

Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 hours. Serve over hot cooked rice. 

**You can omit the chicken and add 2 lbs medium raw shrimp (peeled and deveined) in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Enjoy!

Weekly Menu - October 31 - November 5

Another month down. I can't believe it's already November! The holidays are right around the corner which hopefully means some yummy new recipes that will be posted. I can never resist doing some holiday baking. 

Here is this coming week's menu:

Gumbo

Buffalo Chicken Fries 

Mac & Cheese Soup

Sticky Chicken

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Black Beans & Rice

Chili Mac

I probably should have checked the weather before making this. Today it was 80 degrees! At the end of October! Too hot for me at this time of year. Regardless, this dish was yummy and would be perfect on a cool fall night. I like to top mine with a little shredded sharp cheddar!

Chili Mac

adapted from multiple recipes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 1/2 TBS chili powder

1 1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Kosher salt

14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes, undrained

15 oz can of kidney beans, undrained

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste

Directions

In a separate saucepan, boil the macaroni until almost done, about 7-8 minutes.

Cook turkey over medium-high heat and drain. Add back to pan. Put in garlic, chili powder, onion powder and cumin. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients except the macaroni. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Toss in the macaroni and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

This was pretty good. I personally thought it was a little sweet and had too much clove. I was eating it right out of the jar and not putting on toast or a biscuit so that might have made a difference. My sister-in-law thought it was delicious. I would probably take the sugar down to 3 cups and reduce the clove to 1/2 tsp. I would even consider eliminating the clove all together and adding another 1/2 tsp of allspice.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

from Mommy's Kitchen

Prep Time: 1 hour 

Cook Time: 12-16 hours

Makes: 11  1/2 pints

Ingredients

50 oz jar unsweetened apple sauce

3 lbs apples (I used Granny Smith)

4 cups sugar

1 cup apple juice or cider (I used juice, but I might try cider next time)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

Directions

Peel, core and cut apples into chips. Put all the ingredients into the crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (best if done overnight). Remove cover and cook on high heat for 4-5 more hours. 

2 tests:

1. If you can stand a wooden spoon upright in the apple butter, then it's probably ready.

2. Spoon a small amount onto a plate. Look for a small rim of liquid around the edge of the butter. If it's there, cook for a little while longer. If not, it's ready!

Now you can just pop it in the fridge if you think you are going to eat all of it within a week. Otherwise, you are ready for canning. If you are unfamiliar with this process, check out Home Canning 101.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This was hearty, warming and delicious. I seriously don't think I can eat canned soup again! One tip, make sure that you start sauteing the onion and celery before the carrots. The carrots don't need as much encouragement to become soft as the celery and onion. Next time, I think I am going to cook the chicken in some stock and shred it for the soup. I'm just a big fan of shredded chicken in soup for some reason.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

adapted from multiple recipes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

2 TBS butter

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced carrots

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 - 32 oz carton Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock

16 oz carton chicken broth

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces (approx. 3 breasts)

3 cups egg noodles

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the celery and onion. Cook until soft and translucent. Add in the carrots and garlic. Cook about 3-4 more minutes. 

Pour in the chicken stock and broth. Toss in the chicken, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Throw in the uncooked egg noodles and simmer an additional 10-15 minutes, uncovered. You want the noodles to be soft, but not mushy. Add salt and pepper according to your tastes. I think I added about an 1/8 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp Kosher salt. I didn't really measure the salt, just sprinkled it in!

Enjoy!

How To... Do Home Canning

Honestly, y'all if you had told me that home canning is super simple I probably would have grimaced and laughed in your face. It seems like such a complex process. I was for sure that my cans wouldn't seal and I'd be stuck with 12 half-pints of apple butter. They "popped" within 2-3 minutes of coming out of their water bath. Amazing. I could actually hear the sound of my success. Cheesy, I know, but it made me feel pretty cool. So here is a little picture log and step-by-step so you can do your own canning.

What you need:

Pints or Half-pints

Stockpot (mine is 10 qts and fit 5-6 half-pints comfortably)

Dish towels

Jar lifter

Tongs

Ladle

Funnel

And of course, something to can!

I will say that I read several blogs and articles about this and some said to use tongs to get the jars out of the water. It scared me a little bit. Plus being who I am and always needing the "right tools" I bought a little utenstil kit. It really was worth the $6 I paid for it. Just a recommendation.

1. Place a dish cloth in the bottom of your stock pot, put your jars on top of the cloth and fill it with water. This keeps the jars from touching the bottom of the pan, but also keeps you from having to buy a canning rack!
   
   
2. Bring the water to a boil and turn the heat off. Remove the jars from the hot water and place on a dish towel. Don't set them directly on the counter as they are hot and might crack.
   
   
3. In another saucepan, put your rings and lids with water. I put these in two separate saucepans, but you can do them in the same one. Don't boil them. Just get the water warm. I set mine on medium and then when it started to simmer a little, I turned it down to medium-low.
   
   
4. Start filling your jars! I used a funnel and ladled what I was canning into the jars. I filled mine to the bottom line where the grooves start for the lid, maybe slightly above. Wipe the lid of the jars with a damp paper towel.
   
   
5. Remove the lids from the water and blot them. Place them on each jar and press down gently. Remove the rings from the water and screw them on. Don't over tighten, just make them snug.
   
   
6. Take your jar lifter and put the jars back in the stockpot on top of the towel. Make sure that at least 1 inch of water covers the top of the jars.
   
   
7. Bring the pot to a rolling boil. Cover with a lid. Your processing time starts when the water comes to a boil. It's 5 minutes for half pints and 10 minutes for pints.
   
   
8. Remove jars and place on dish towels on the counter. Let them sit overnight. You will probably hear them beginning to "pop" or seal within 2-3 minutes of taking them from the water bath. In the morning, press down on the middle of the lid. If it flexes or pops, then you will need to reprocess the jar or just stick it in the fridge. If you put it in the fridge, use the contents within a week.
   
   
9. If you were successful, your jars can go on the shelf for one year. 
   

 Filled and awaiting their water bath

Waiting for the water to boil

All done!

Chicken Tortellini Bake

Let's just say that my 3 year old niece threw down on this and said "Mommy I really like this!" It's so yummy and cheesy and delicious. Hubby went back for seconds and we almost ate an entire 9x13 pan of this! I had made this recipe once before, but wanted it to be a little saucier than the original. So this version was born.

Chicken Tortellini Bake

adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 45-50 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

19 oz package frozen cheese tortellini

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 can low fat cream of mushroom soup

8 oz container of reduced fat sour cream

1 cup chicken stock

3 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts

2 TBS flour

1 TBS canola oil

2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cool water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Toss in the chicken and green onions. Saute until chicken is almost done, 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle on flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken stock and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, garlic powder, black pepper and 1 cup of cheese. Put the chicken mixture in the bowl and stir to combine. Add the tortellini, toss until well coated. Pour into the prepped 9x13. Top with the remaining cup of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and the cheese beings to get golden brown. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

This Mommy Cooks: Giveaway

So if you haven't already, I suggest marching yourself over to my friend Amber's blog (This Mommy Cooks) to get in on this giveaway business. She's giving away a silicone baking mat. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's only the bestest thing in baking/cooking land. It will save your baking sheets and keep you from using a million miles of aluminum foil. I own two and use them all the time. Just click here to enter.

PS - Once we have 100 followers here, we will be doing a giveaway too! So don't forget to follow the blog by clicking the "Follow" button with the Google symbol to the left.

French Toast Souffle

Last time I made this it was so yummy. This time I thought it was a little bland and then I remembered that I forgot to add the cinnamon. So a word of advice, don't forget the cinnamon. This dish is pretty versatile since you can change up the type of bread to get a different flavor. I have used cinnamon bread before and it's delicious. I saw in the reviews that someone used pecan cranberry bread and I think that would be fantastic. Don't be afraid to get creative!

French Toast Souffle

adapted from MyRecipes

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus overnight

Cooking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Hearty White, 1-inch cubed (10 cups/16 slices)

1 (8 oz) block of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup fat-free half-and-half

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS powdered sugar

Directions  

Place bread cubes in a 9x13 dish coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and maple syrup. Microwave for one minute or until smooth. Pour over the bread. With a mixer, combine eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, milk and half-and-half. Pour this over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. Set dish on the counter for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 60 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Enjoy! 

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Weekly Menu October 16-22

Since it's "fall break" this week (i.e. we get Monday and Tuesday off), I'm going to try my hand at canning. This could be disastrous and I may be calling people to take apple butter off my hands should it not work.  Next weekend, I will be away for a few days since I will be going to Cincinnati for a baby shower! I am going to attempt to leave you with some new recipes. A few carryovers this week from last - we didn't get around to eating everything.

French Toast Souffle

Best. Pretzels. Ever.

Potato Casserole

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Tortellini Bake

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

And as a bonus:

Apple Butter

Creamy Chive Chicken

OMG. This was so amazingly, awesomely, wonderful. I think it might be my new favorite. Initially, when I looked at the ingredients I thought it would be too reminiscent of Chicken Stroganoff. Boy was I wrong! Personally, I think it tastes sophisticated without a lot of work. I will apologize for the picture. I didn't realize until I was more than halfway though my meal that I hadn't taken one. Hence, the reason it looks kind of weird. I promise you that you won't regret making this!!

Creamy Chive Chicken

adapted from Easy Meals for Moms

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 TBS butter

1 package dry Italian dressing mix 

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 can golden mushroom soup

1/2 an 8 oz tub of cream cheese with chives

1/2 an 8 oz bar of plain cream cheese

White rice

Directions

Cut the chicken into cubes and place in crockpot with 2 TBS butter. Sprinkle with Italian dressing mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Add cream cheese, wine and soup. Cook on high for another 30 minutes to an hour, or until cream cheese is thoroughly melted and heated through. While waiting for this to be ready, cook the rice according to the package. 

Enjoy!

Aunt Cindy's Beef BBQ

Oh yum. This was so delish. My aunt always made this one of the nights before Thanksgiving when we traveled to her house. It definitely brings back fond memories. It does take a little time, but I think it could be converted into a slow cooker meal. In fact, I think next time I make it I will try it in the slow cooker. We serve it on buns with some mac and cheese. My mom likes it with a dollop of coleslaw on top. What can I say? She's a yankee! 

Aunt Cindy's Beef BBQ

Ingredients

2 1/2 lb beef brisket

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup Worcestershire

2 TBS yellow mustard

2 tsp instant coffee granules

1 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp Tabasco

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325.

Wrap the beef brisket in heavy foil, place in a 9x13 dish and bake for one hour. Remove the brisket from the oven and cut off the fat layer. 

Combine the other ingredients, heat to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.

Place the brisket back in the pan, top with sauce and cover pan with foil. Bake for another 2 hours. Shred meat with two forks. 

Enjoy!

Apple Crowns

The filling on these was yummy, but there are a few issues. One - when you bundle them up, you get all this dough at the bottom and the filling at the top. They were much too doughy for me. Two - there wasn't enough filling to go around. To eliminate this, I would actually double the filling. (Note - I did not double the filling in the recipe below!) I think once you get the dough to filling ratio right then these will be a great fall treat!

Photo from Taste of Home

Apple Crowns 

adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2 TBS all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 package Pillsbury Grands! flaky biscuits

2 tsp butter, melted

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the apples, walnuts, 3 TBS sugar, flour, 3/4 tsp cinnamon and salt. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until almost tender.

Flatten each biscuit into a 5-in. circle. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of sugar mixture over each. Top each with 1/4 cup apple mixture. Bring up edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal.

Place seam side down in ungreased muffin cups. Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. With a sharp knife, cut an “X” in the top of each.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

 

Weekly Menu - October 9-15

I'm excited about the menu this week. We've got some new things to try! Not that we don't try something new every week. Anywho, next week I think I might try my hand at canning so I will be sure to tell you all about it!

French Toast Souffle

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

Aunt Cindy's Beef Brisket

Chicken Stroganoff

Chicken in Chive Sauce

And as a bonus:

Apple Crossover Crowns

Pan-Grilled Snapper with Orzo Pasta Salad

This was new for me all the way around. I'd never had snapper or orzo. Amazing, right? I've tried a lot of things and I'm not sure why I'd never had either of these. I must say that I now love orzo! It's such a cute little pasta. For those who've never had it, it's basically a rice shaped pasta. The snapper was delicious too. Very light fish, firm textured. I can't comment on hubby's approval rating as we didn't actually eat this for dinner. I had thawed the fish and then I was too tired to make dinner after a big test. I made it the next day for lunch instead! The pasta definitely needs a little tweeking and it would be great maybe with a little feta in it!

Pan Grilled Snapper with Orzo Pasta Salad

adapted from My Recipes

Ingredients

1 1/2  cups uncooked orzo

2-4  (6-ounce) red snapper fillets

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 TBS minced shallots

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

4 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS orange juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 1/2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Pour 1 TBS lemon juice over the fish.

Combine salt, pepper, shallots, parsley, remaining lemon juice, orange juice, and mustard in a small bowl, stirring well. Slowly add olive oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle the shallot mixture over pasta; toss well to coat.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken & Veggies

Sadly, I don't have a picture of my perfect little roasted chicken. As soon as I tried to take it out of the crockpot it fell apart. The chicken was good, but you definitely need to get the seasoning under the skin. I also put my veggies at the bottom with some chicken stock and they were tasty, but scary looking as they had turned kind of brown from the stock. Time called for me to do a crockpot meal, but next time I might just roast the darn thing.

Roasted Chicken & Veggies 

adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

2-5 lb whole chicken (I chose 5 so that we would have leftovers)

3 TBS butter, softened

Salt 

Pepper

Salt-free all purpose seasoning

Onion

Whole carrots

Celery

Potatoes

Baby carrots

Directions

Rinse the chicken off. Rub him down with a little butter all over. The butter will harden as you rub him since he is cold. In the cavity, place 2-3 tops of the celery (like the part with the leaves), 1/4-1/2 of an onion and a carrot (unpeeled is fine) that has been quartered. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning. Obviously these are just what I like, you can pick any spices you want!

In the bottom of the crockpot, put some peeled and quartered potatoes and baby carrots. If you want to leave these out to cook later, wad up three sheets of aluminum foil into 3-4" balls and place in the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top of these.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This was very good. The only thing I would complain about is that it was too "gritty". I don't think that I left it in the blender long enough. This would not be my preferred method of pureeing the soup. My suggestion would be a food processor or a immersion blender. I would also probably use just slightly less broccoli. It might have been my fault for putting too much in. Otherwise, it was delicious. Very close to Panera's, but not quite. I may need to visit for a refresher!

Photo from Food Network

Broccoli Cheese Soup

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients 

6 TBS unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups fat free half-and-half

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth 

2 bay leaves

1 tsp Kosher salt 

1/2 tsp ground pepper

4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)

1 1/2 cups chopped matchstick carrots

1 1/4 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish

Directions

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth. Add the chicken broth and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes. 

Add the broccoli and carrot to the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth; you'll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli. Return to the pot. (Or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender.) 

**To reduce cooking time, steam the broccoli and carrots ahead of time so they are tender. Toss them in the pot to warm them and then puree. 

Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with cheese.

Enjoy! 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

One of our favorites. I often make this in the fall or winter on a Sunday. Not sure why it's always Sunday, maybe because it's a comfort meal. To me Sunday = comfort meals. It's so warming and filling. Hubby loves this meal! 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb package rotini pasta

2 cans (6 oz) chunk light tuna in water, drained

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Breadcrumbs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Boil the pasta according to package directions, but take 2 minutes off the cooking time. 

In a large bowl mix together the soups, tuna, cheese, milk, garlic and pepper. Once the pasta is done incorporate it into the soup mixture and coat well. Put the pasta mix in the 9x13 pan and top with breadcrumbs. I usually use enough just to lightly cover the top of the dish. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti &Turkey Meatballs

Y'all know I love my turkey! We just don't eat a lot of red meat here and I am often switching out turkey meat instead. So here is my take on meatballs...

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 lb spaghetti noodles

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Put the turkey, egg, breadcrumbs and cheese in a medium size bowl. Push your sleeves up and start working this together with your fingers. Once everything is well mixed, form the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs. Place them on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, put on a pot of water and boil your noodles according to the package. 

**A little trick for making the spaghetti sauce taste homemade is to put a little olive oil in it while it is warming on the stove. I prefer Prego, but you can use what your family loves best.

Enjoy!

How To... Make Homemade Pizza Dough

This crust was very yummy. I definitely want to figure out what Domino's does to their crust now and incorporate it. This does take some prep time as the dough needs to sit for a few days. Although I've seen others make and use it in as little as 2 hours. The recipe makes 2 crusts (large enough for a sheet pan), but we actually used it all in one meal. We each like our own pizzas and leftovers!

Photo from The Pioneer Woman

Homemade Pizza Dough

from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 tsp Active Dry Or Instant Yeast

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1/3 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.

***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Enjoy!

Gourmet Pizza

Can I just tell y'all that I absolutely love pizza with pesto and goat cheese? Like buckets of goat cheese. Oh and artichokes. As Rachael Ray says "YUM-O!". You just can't get this from a normal pizza place. Plus the one here in town that sells something slightly similar wants $20. No thanks! That is why this recipe is just perfect. You can make this yumminess at home and not pay a premium for your sophisticated taste buds. 

Gourmet Pizza

Ingredients

Homemade Pizza Dough

14 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Baby spinach

7 oz pesto with basil sauce (I used Buitoni)

Goat cheese crumbles or slice goat cheese log

1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 475.

Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and use fingers to coat thoroughly. Remove HALF the pizza dough from the bowl. Stretch pizza dough into a large rectangle, pressing with fingers to finish forming. Dough will be very thin.

Spread about 3/4 of the container of pesto on the dough. Cover with spinach leaves. I normally use enough to put one layer on the pizza - maybe 2-3 cups?  

Drain the artichoke hearts and use a paper towel to get excess moisture from the artichokes. Evenly sprinkle over the spinach. Top with mozzarella and then goat cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Weekly Menu - October 2-7

Hello? September? Where did you go? Doesn't it just seem like the second half of the year just flies by? I feel like just yesterday I started summer school and sat by the pool. Honestly, in Tennessee it's not hard to see the summer go with it's humid temps and stifling heat. I personally this that these next 3 months are the best of the year. I'm a sucker for the upcoming holidays!

Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs

Tuna Noodle Casserole 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Slow-Cooker Roasted Chicken

Pan-Grilled Snapper & Orzo