Kitchen Redo

So I know that I have been woefully ignoring my food blog. I am well aware that summer is over. So I offer up this excuse. I have been painting my kitchen. Most of you who look at this blog have already seen the pictures but go here for the whole story.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

So there is my excuse. I have been busy painting. And we have been eating lots of microwaved corn dogs. In a few days Shawn and I are heading to Mexico for a week. But I promise some new posts after we get back for our trip. Have a good week, friends!

Summer Break

So, I have to admit that my heart has not been into food blogging lately. For this reason, (and because of camps, swimming lessons, vacations, reunions, etc.) I am going to take the summer off from posting. Other contributors, please feel free to post if you want to. I will take a few months off and come back in the fall recharged and ready to blog like crazy. If you need a foodie fix, look at my sidebar for some really good food blogs. And if you care to know what I am up to this summer you can check out my family blog where I will continue to post.
Hope you all have a great summer!

Homemade Pizza

Oh man, I feel bad for the lack of posting lately. My life has been taken over by soccer games and sick babies. But life is looking up: Baby is feeling better and only one more week of soccer. I love watching the girls play soccer but the time commitment is intense! I owe a thanks to my mom for running me all over the place to play soccer. Thanks mom!
So, homemade pizza. I love to make this. It is one of those meals that brings back great memories of cooking with my mom. She would pan out the dough while I grated the cheese. Then we would help mom top the pizzas. I don't think I even knew about Little Caesars until I was in middle school. I thought homemade was the only way to do it. This recipe does take some planning ahead of time. I like to do it on the weekend when I have time to enjoy cooking. With school getting out soon, maybe we will have a pizza party.


Homemade Pizza Dough

1 c. warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 1/2 c. flour
Sprinkle yeast and sugar into warm water measured into a large mixing bowl. Stir until dissolved. Let set until yeast starts to raise, about 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, 2 c. flour, and mix thoroughly. Add additional 1 1/2 c. flour, Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let raise until double, about 45 minutes.
Punch down dough and divide into 2 balls. Place in a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet and press to fit. Half the dough will made a 12-inch pizza, or a small cookie sheet. On each pizza spread with half of pizza sauce.


Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat in a small saucepan until warm.

Top pizza's with mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. Place pizza in a 400 degree oven and bake until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Topping Ideas:

pepperoni
Canadian bacon
mushrooms
olives
onions
green peppers
pineapple
tomatoes
chicken
You can really use anything you have lying around. Be creative!

Ashley's Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes to you courtesy of my sis-in-law Ashley. These cookies are very yummy and the recipe is super easy. The secret ingredient is instant pudding. It makes these cookies very moist and chewy, which is just what I like in a chocolate chipper. You can also use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla and have yourself some chocolate, chocolate chip cookies.
Also this recipe makes a reasonable 3 dozen cookies, unlike my mom's recipe which makes 6-7 dozen. This recipe will not take you all afternoon to whip up.
Thanks Ash!


Ashley's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 pkg. 3.4-oz. instant vanilla pudding2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour1 tsp. soda
2 c. chocolate chips
Cream butter, sugar, pudding. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and soda. Gradually add. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Eat and enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti in Galic Oil

Another fantastic recipe from Everyday Food. It is suppose to be a lighter version of regular chicken Parmesan. Love it! This meal came together really quite fast and was super tasty. The kids loved it too. Claire kept saying "More meat, Mommy?"Note: I had never made my own bread crumbs before. But I found it super-easy. Just break the bread up into smallish pieces and pulse it in a blender. They were really good!

Chicken Parmesan

2 slices bread, broken into smallish pieces
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper2 Tbs. flour
1 egg white4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
prepared spaghetti sauce
1 garlic clove

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil; set aside. In a food processor, place bread, Parmesan, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse processor until coarse crumbs form; transfer to a small bowl. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Place egg white in a third shallow bowl and beat until frothy.Dip top side of chicken in flour, and shake off excess. Dip the same side of the chicken in the egg white, letting the excess drip off. Then dip chicken in breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere. Bread only one side of chicken. Transfer chicken to the prepared cookie sheet with breaded side up. Bake until breadcrumbs are crisp and browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until chicken is opaque throughout and cheese is lightly browned, 6-8 more minutes.Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat up the spaghetti sauce. Simmer until warm. Serve chicken with a generous amount of sauce. Place sauce on the plate them place chicken on top of sauce.


Spaghetti with Garlic Oil


salt
8 ounces spaghetti
2 tsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. onion, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley leaves

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 1/4 c. pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside.
In the pasta pot, heat oil, garlic, and onion over medium heat until garlic and onions begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, then spaghetti and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Serve with chicken and enjoy!

"Fried" Ice Cream

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posting. I have been very obsessed with sewing lately so I have been ignoring this poor little blog. Come over and I will show you what I have been up to! But for today, I have banned myself from the sewing machine to get caught up on a few things. A new post is one of those things.
A while back, my mom-in-law, Julie, was home for the weekend so the family go together for dinner at my house. We had Smoky Beef Tacos. We also had a easy and fabulous dessert: This dessert reminds me of the ice cream we used to get at that mexican restaurant in Teton Village. I can't remember the name right now. Come on Robyn, help me out. What is that place called? Update: I remembered. It is called Vista Grande. Very good food.

"Fried" Ice Cream

2 quarts vanilla ice cream
2 c. shredded, sweetened coconut
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
honey for topping

Tightly wrap a cookie sheet with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will not be touching the bottom of the cookie sheet. Scoop ice cream into balls and place individual balls on plastic wrap. When the cookie sheet is full place in freezer and let ice cream freeze well.


Meanwhile, mix coconut and cinnamon together. Spread on a cookie sheet and toast in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes, stirring about every 5-7 minutes. Let cool.
Take ice cream balls from freezer and rool them in the coconut mixture until well coated. Place back in freezer until they are good and frozen. All of this can be done ahead of time.


To serve, place a couple of ice cream balls on a plate and drizzle with honey. So yummy! Try the honey. Trust me, you will like it. It goes remarkably well with the ice cream.
Hope you enjoy.
Jon, this post is dedicated to you. Sorry it took so long my friend!

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know there are a ton of chocolate chip cookies out there. I have made lots of different recipes but the recipe my mom made when we were kids continues to be my favorite. I could literally eat 2 dozen of these babies without even blinking. Maybe that is why I bake them, then immediately bag them up and throw them in the freezer. But that might also explain why I have such a fondness for frozen cookies. Hmmm. . .



Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. butter
2 c. white sugar
2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
6 1/2 c. flour
1 bag chocolate chips


Cream shortening and butter together. Add sugars to butter mixture and combine well, scrapping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each. Add vanilla, salt, and soda. Combine well. Add flour, 2 cups at a time. Mix well between each addition. Add chocolate chips, and stir to combine. This time I added a bag a M&M's to make them Valentine festive.
Place rounded Tbs. of dough on greased cookie sheets. I like to roll the dough into balls so the cookies turn out very uniform looking. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. I bake mine for 9 minutes. I like my cookies very soft in the middle. If you like yours more crispy, bake them a couple minutes longer. Cool on a rack, but be sure to eat a couple hot.


This recipe make a ton of cookies, about 6-7 dozen. I always figured if you're going to make cookies, make cookies! But this recipe cam easily be halved. These cookies freeze very well, as noted above. Hope you enjoy! And happy Valentine's Day.