Pizza Dough

Making homemade pizzas as a family can be fun and productive. We've made them for parties too.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 - 3 C Flour
1 Package Yeast
1/2 t Salt
1 C Warm Water
2 T Cooking Oil or Olive Oil

Directions:
In mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 C flour, the yeast, and salt.

Add warm water and oil.

Add as much of the remaining flour as you can.

For Thin Crust Pizzas don't let it rise, for thicker crust let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes.

Separate dough into two balls, place one on floured (or oiled) surface. (I just clean my counter top really well and do it there. Oil is much easier, but flour is healthier!)

Roll out the dough into a 12-14 inch circle and place it onto a pizza pan, cookie sheet or circle pan.

Add your sauce and your toppings. The possibilities are endless!

My favorite topping combination is tomato sauce, sprinkled with Italian herbs, with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and covered in mozzarella. Another idea is my barbecue chicken recipe, located over at Arizona Mama.

Turkey and Noodles

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Chicken a la King

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Tried and Liked: Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These muffins actually come from a cake recipe, but I like muffins better!

Here's the original recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
(Adapted from Something Edible)
The usual suspects:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups grated zucchini, loosely packed
3/4 cup pecans roughly chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

The prep:
Preheat oven to 350º.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy (stand mixer, hand mixer, elbow grease…) Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating/whisking until creamy. Add salt, baking soda, and cocoa; continue whisking until incorporated. Slowly add in flour in thirds, stirring after each addition until fully incorporated. Fold in the grated zucchini. Pour into a greased 9×13″ dish and top with brown sugar, pecans and chocolate chips. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake. Keeps nicely covered at room temp for a few days.
Eat up!

I did a few things differently, I obviously put them into a muffin pan instead, and because of that I had to make more topping. I didn't really measure the topping but I would probably do about half of the recipe of topping extra. (Wow I don't know how to say that right, I'm a little tired!) I also added walnuts to my topping and it was so good!

Taken from: Whisk Flip Stir

Breakfast Cake

Most people call this a coffee cake with a struesel topping, but that name confused my children since we don’t drink coffee. So I started calling it Breakfast Cake.

Ingredients:

3 Cups flour

1 ½ Cups sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

1 ¾ Cups milk

½ Cup cooking oil

Topping:

2 Cups chopped nuts

½ Cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Stir together 3 Cups of flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Combine eggs, milk and oil in separate bowl, then add to flour mixture and mix well.

Pour into a greased 9” x 13” pan.

Combine nuts, brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean when poked in the center.

Taken from: Better Homes and Garden New Cookbook

Hershey's Best Brownies

These are my specialty! I get a lot of requests to make these brownies; I almost have the recipe memorized. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Ingredients:

1 C butter

2 C sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

¾ Cups cocoa

1 C flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 Cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13” x 9” pan. Microwave butter for 2 minutes, or until its melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add cocoa, beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until sides just pull away from pan.

Taken from: Hershey Homemade Cookbook

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken
Flour
Montreal Chicken Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Cooking Oil
Lemon

Directions:
Mix a plate of flour and your seasonings. Dip the chicken into the flour and make sure it is well coated. Heat 1/4 Cup of Cooking Oil in a frying pan, keep the heat at medium low. Set the chicken in the pan, cook for a minute on each side and then squeeze the lemon over it. Let the chicken continue cooking until thoroughly cooked, keep adding lemon as you flip it over.

Taken From: Ben Jamer

Chinese Almond Cookies

Ingredients:
2 3/4 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup shortening
1 slightly beaten egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
48 Whole almonds

Directions:
Stir flour sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal. Mix in egg, milk and almond extract. Shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Place an almond in the center of each cookie and flatten slightly.
Bake at 325 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 cookies

Taken from: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (1981)

S'mores Cookies

Ingredients:

1½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cups miniature chocolate chips

1½ cups mini marshmallows

2 Hershey bars, chopped

Directions:

In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, graham crackers, salt, and baking soda, mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for about an hour. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of a Hershey’s bar into each cookie. Return to the oven and bake an additional 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Taken from: Jennifer's Road Trip

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. milk

Directions:
In one bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract; add the dry ingredients, mix well.

Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place the balls 2-inches apart (the cookies do spread a little) on an ungreased cookie sheet. Push in the center of each ball with your thumb to make an indentation, dip your thumb in flour as needed to get a nice deep impression.

Heat chips and milk in saucepan until the chocolate is melted. Stir this mixture until smooth. Spoon the chocolate into each indentation. You’ll have enough chocolate sauce to “overfill” each indention. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies look "dry". Cool on racks. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Whopper Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 Cups softened butter
3/4 Cups packed brown sugar
3/4 Cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1 Cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 Cups Whoppers, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in chopped Whoppers.

Bake at 350 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet for 8 to 12 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Taken From: Your Homebased Mom who took it from Sprinkled with Flour.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

I make these every few weeks at our house, it's a cheaper breakfast than cereal. For you Bisquick users, get a Kitchen Aid, it is just as fast to make the batter this way! Not to mention better tasting!

The 4th of July Flags in the picture are a free printable. Click here to view.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 Cups Flour
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Egg
1 1/2 Cups Milk
3 Tbs. Vegetable Oil (or whatever you have on hand)
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients, then add the egg, milk and oil. Mix well, then add the chocolate chips. Another option to help with the chocolate chips sticking to the bowl is to coat them with flour first. I put them in a container with flour and shake it.

Set the skillet at 350 degrees if electric, or medium if it's on the stove. Pour the pancake batter onto your hot skillet and flip when bubbling. Let cook on the other side for a couple of minutes, each side should be a golden brown.

They taste great with our Maple Syrup.

Taken From: Miller, Jan, ed. Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation, 2006. Simplified by Monica.

Blender Banana Bread

I wanted to use a couple of bananas before they went bad, but the usual Banana Bread recipe I use called for more bananas then I had so I tried the recipe that came with my Blend Tec Blender. It turned out really well, but I'm sure it would still turn out being mixed without the blender.

Time: About an Hour

Ingredients:
2 Eggs Whites (I just used the whole egg)
1/2 Cup Light Olive Oil (I used Vegetable Oil)
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Bananas -Peeled and Broken in half
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg (I left this out)
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Nuts (Optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ingredients, minus the nuts, in the blender jar in the order as listed and secure the lid. Press Speed Up button until Speed 6. Let run for 30 seconds, or until well mixed. Mix nuts in and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden.

Taken From: Blendtec Lifestyles Recipe Book

Peanut Butter Cookies

Time: About an Hour

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar or 1/4 Cup Honey
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 3/4 Cups Flour

Directions:
Mix butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add baking soda and powder. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well, then add flour slowly. Mix until everything is well combined, the dough should be like play dough.

Set oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll them in granulated sugar. You can also sprinkle the sugar on top after you flatten the cookies, but the extra on the pan may burn. Flatten the cookies with the traditional criss-cross marks so that everyone knows its a peanut butter cookie. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the bottoms are light brown.

Taken From: Miller, Jan, ed. Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation, 2006. Simplified by Monica.

Pasta Pizza Bake

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground sausage, browned (We used hot Italian, it was delicious!)
1 pound rotini pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons onion flakes
2 Tablespoons flour
1 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
3/4 Cup diced pepperoni
2 Cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Heat olive oil in medium size sauce pan. Add onion flakes. Stir in flour. Add spaghetti sauce, evaporated milk, and oregano. Stir until thickened. Add sausage and pepperoni. Combine pasta and sauce in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Make-Ahead Directions:
This can be made ahead and refrigerated. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional five minutes.

Grandma's German Pancakes

AKA: Creepy Crawlers.

Time: Thirty Minutes

Ingredients:
6 Tbs Butter
6 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Flour
Powdered Sugar

Directions(In Monica's Words):
Put butter in a 9x12 pan and put it in the oven while it preheats to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, beat eggs and add milk then flour. Don't mix too much if using the kitchen aid, it should be lumpy. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve hot, with maple syrup.

Directions(In Grandma's Words):
For one 9x12 in pan whip up 6 eggs good then add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup flour. Turn on your oven to 400* and put a half of cube butter or margarine in. melt it in the oven while you are mixing the other ingredients. Bake for 20minutes, Shake on Powdered Sugar before serving. Mine turn out different every time, and they will usually slump down when you get them out of the oven at first. You can also use this recipe for making individual cream puffs to put chicken or tuna salad in for lunch.

Taken From: Grandma Roberts, Family Recipe Box