Veggie Pizza Recipe

This is one of our favorite recipes...esp. in the summer when I have all the veggies from my garden.  I like we can change it depending on what we have on hand.  My kids like to help make it and it's pretty easy :)

Pizza Crust:
2 1/4 tsp. (1 pkg.) dry active yeast
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 1/3 cups flour

-Dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in water and let it rest for 10 minutes.
-Stir in salt and oil, then mix in the flour.
-Knead the dough until no longer sticky, then let it rise for an hour
-After an hour, punch the dough down and roll it out into 2 pizza crusts.
-This recipe also works well for calzones

Sauce:
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

Once you roll the crust out, put some sauce on it.  Then just top it with whatever veggies you want.  We used spinach, mushrooms, bell pepper, and olives.  Then I sprinkled it with fresh mozzarella and freshly grated Romano.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Valentine's Day Cupckes

I got this amazing new Wendy Paul cupcake cookbook from Brittany for Christmas.

It has tons of yummy, unique flavors, and the best part is...

they can all be made in 10 minutes.

Everything I've made so far has been a HUGE success!!!

As I was browsing through the recipes trying to get some inspiration for Valentine's Day, I stumbled up  

Twilight Themed Cupcakes.

Perfect!!!

To my non-Twilight-loving-neighbors, it will look like Red Velvet Cake and Dark Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes.

However, my Twilight-loving-neighbors will recognize their Valentine's Cupcakes as:

Team Edward, and Team Jacob Cupcakes.

TEAM EDWARD CUPCAKES (via)

AKA: Valentine's Day Red Velvet Cake

I altered her recipe a little bit, and this is what I did:

Easy Red Velvet Cake
1 box of Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix
3 large eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

-mix together, scoop into cupcake liners, and bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

TEAM JACOB CUPCAKES (via)

AKA: Dark Chocolate Valentine's Day cupcakes with chocolate ganache

Once again, I changed the recipe a little, and this is what I did:

Easy Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:
1 box of Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract

-mix together, scoop into cupcake liners, and bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

Easy Chocolate Ganache:
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream


-melt together and dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes in it.  Then sprinkle with dark chocolate shavings.

Happy Baking

and

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Chicken Bundles Recipe

I have a really yummy winter recipe for you today:

Chicken Bundles

This is another one from a girl I used to work with.  She is an amazing cook!  Her recipe book is my favorite one that I own.

These are warm, and yummy, and even my kids loved them!

Chicken Bundles

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup diced celery

1 small onion diced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 pkg. crescent rolls

1 can cream of chicken soup

milk

bread crumbs

Mix the cream cheese, celery, onion, seasonings, and shredded chicken together in a bowl.  Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate it.  Put a scoop of chicken mixture into one of the dough triangles and pinch it up around the sides to create a little ball.  Then roll it in bread crumbs and place it on a baking sheet.  Continue until you have used all of the mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  While it's cooking, make a gravy out of cream of chicken soup and half a can of milk.  

*you can also make them vegetarian by adding small pieces of steamed broccoli instead of chicken.  Or you can add it with the chicken :)

I think this meal is best served with a fresh veggie or salad on the side.  Bridger LOVES broccoli (I know...weird for a 3 year old...) so we made it with steamed broccoli.

These can be a little time consuming to make because you have to cook the chicken first, cut the veggies, make the mixture, and then still stuff and roll them in the dough.  But, it is well worth the extra work!  They are so so good.

Moroccan Chicken and Couscous

Monday night for dinner I pulled out one of my favorite new cookbooks...the free-with-subscription-parents-magazine-cookbook.  I ordered a subscription just because I wanted the cookbook.  I was a little disappointed when it came in the mail though.  It looked more like a mini-magazine than a cookbook.  But, I decided to try it out anyway, and I found some really wonderful, easy, recipes.

Here's one of my favorites:

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous and Baby Spinach

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pkg. tomato-lentil couscous

1 pkg. fresh baby spinach

Stir together seasoning  and sprinkle over chicken.  Heat oil in a large skillet and cook chicken for 8-10 minutes on each side turning over only once.

Prepare couscous according to directions.

When chicken is done, transfer to another dish and add the baby spinach to the skillet and let it cook until it wilts (about 1-2 minutes).  Mix the cooked spinach into the cooked couscous.

Serve chicken with couscous-spinach on the side.

My kids actually LOVE this recipe.  The chicken is juicy and has a TON of flavor.  The spinach is hidden in the couscous so my kids hardly notice it as they eat it.  

I've been checking out the Parents recipe website for other fun new recipes for families since I have loved their little mini-cookbook so much!

Happy New Year's Weekend

Happy New Year's Weekend!!!

I thought I'd leave you with a really yummy recipe to try while you're watching the Rose Parade on Sunday morning:

I have recently been introduced to

Kneaders Cinnamon French Toast.

It is amazing...beyond amazing...I dreamed about it after my first time trying it.

I googled it to see if I could find a good copycat recipes, and what do you know...Kneaders revealed their recipe on Good Things Utah in 2009.

ABC4 was nice enough to post it so everyone can give it a try.

Now...the best part of this recipe is the actual Kneaders Cinnamon Bread...but any bakery Cinnamon Bread would probably be good as well.

You can find the recipe with images from The Sister's Cafe HERE and ABC's post HERE.

Ingredients:
Kneader’s Over-Night French Toast
1 loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut in 8 slices 
8 eggs
3 c. milk
1 T. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 T. vanilla
2 T. butter 
Preparation:
Butter a glass baking dish generously (9" x 13").  Place the bread flat in the baking dish.  Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into pieces and dot over the top. Refrigerate over night or at least 1 hour.   Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serves 8
Kneader's Carmel Syrup
1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Creme
1 c. Light Karo Syrup
Blend together and heat on stovetop until sugar is smooth.
Serve warm.

See you next year :)