BBQ chicken pizza and pizza crust

Shhhhh... This is a big secret. This is the easiest pizza I have ever made and it got a 5 star rating from everyone who ate it. All three of my boys like it and they want it for breakfast tomorrow. I did the crust in the bread machine and I loved how easy it was to work into the shape I needed. This is a total crowd pleaser! I will make it again and again.


Pizza Crust

7/8 cup warm water
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients into bread machine in this order and select dough. When finished remove and roll out on floured surface into desired shape.


BBQ Chicken Pizza

1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 chicken breast grilled and diced
1/2 bell pepper sliced (any color)
1/2 red onion sliced
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese

Spread BBQ sauce over pizza dough. Sprinkle with some of the cheese. Add all of your toppings and then the rest of the cheese. Bake @ 400 for 15 minutes!

Banana Bread

This is my favorite banana bread recipe. I received it first as a gift from my friend at Christmas time when we lived near Sacramento. I called her and just had to get her recipe and it has been my favorite since that time. If you have bananas on your counter top turning many shades of brown this is a great way to use them.

2/3 cup Shortening
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 2/3 cups Sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/4 mashed Bananas
2/3 cup Buttermilk (I use sour milk)
2 eggs
2/3 cup chopped Nuts

Combine:
Shortening, sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Add mild and mashed bananas. Mix well and pour into 2 loaf pans or 1 9x13 or 2 8" round pans.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Lemon Cake

My daughter had a birthday last week and asked for a lemon cake.  I had never made a lemon cake from scratch before so I tweaked a recipe I found online at allrecipes.com.  It turned out amazing, especially with the cream cheese frosting.  Excuse the picture.  I just snapped a shot of the cake before I covered it with fondant so it is not the most attractive thing in the world but I will include a picture of the final result of the cake just for fun.

3 C. Flour
1 T. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1 C. Butter
2 C. Sugar
3 Eggs
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1 1/4 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract
Zest from 1 large lemon
Juice from 1 large lemon + enough milk to make 1 C.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and lemon extract.   Add flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest.  Mix well with an electric mixer.  Add milk/lemon juice mixture gradually while mixing until you have added it all.  Grease and flour 2 8" cake pans or whatever pan(s) you want to use. Divide batter between cake pans and bake for 60-70 minutes or until cake tester poked into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs.  Allow cakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.  When cakes are completely cooled, frost as desired. 

Corn Chowder

I love this soup.  It has really great flavor with the bacon in it and it doesn't take long to prepare.  I know most corn chowders don't have carrots and celery in them but I like to add more vegetables to mine.  The result is a healthy, filling, delicious soup your family will rave about.

8 Slices Bacon, cooked and crumbed
2 Cans Creamed Corn
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Onion, chopped
2 C. Potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 Carrots, peeled and sliced
3 Stalks Celery, sliced
3 Cubes Chicken Bouillon
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 C. Cheddar Cheese


Put potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and bouillon into a large pot and cover with water.  Boil on medium high until vegetables are almost completely cooked.  Add milk to the pot and additional water if you want your soup to be thinner.  Add all other ingredients except cheese.  Simmer for 15 minutes then remove from heat, add cheese and serve. 

Fresh Strawberry Pie

While strawberries are in season and still pretty cheap I thought I better post this completely delicious recipe for all of you to wow your friends and family with.  Oh, this one is good.  It is the perfect dessert for this much anticipated spring weather.

1 pie crust, baked
1 T. Butter
1 C. Sugar
3 T. Corn Starch
2 Baskets Strawberries
3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 8 oz. Container Cool Whip

Chop up 1 1/2 C. strawberries pretty small and mix with sugar and corn starch in a small sauce pan.  Cook stirring constantly until mixture is thick and clearish.  Add margarine and stir until melted.  Set aside and allow to cool.  Spread the softened cream cheese into the bottom of your cooked and completely cool pie crust.  Slice the remainder of your strawberries in half and place over top of the cream cheese.  Pour cooled strawberry filling over top of strawberries.  Top with cool whip and refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.

Granola treats

Just a spin on your typical rice crispy treats. They are more like granola bars. My kids ate them right up.



1/4 cup butter
4 cups marshmallows
5 cups your favorite granola ( I bought it in bulk)

Melt butter in a large pan. Add marshmallows and stir constantly. When there are no lumps on marshmallow mixture and granola and mix well. Press into a greased 9x13 inch dish. Let cool and serve.

Philly Cheese Steak

I had this steak in the freezer that someone gave to me. They were HUGE. Well I got the itch to make something totally different. After a little searching on line I decided to make up my own recipe for these sandwiches. I really liked them. I ended up chopping up the left overs really small and making burritos out of them. Just something a little different.


2-3 TBS olive oil
2 steaks (I don't really know my steaks so get what you like)
1 onion (sliced)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (I like to add a little more)
Provolone cheese slices
Mayo
Hard rolls


Slice steak VERY thin. Pour oil in a cast iron skillet. Saute vegetables with garlic for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the steak and add spices. Cook steak with onion and pepper until meat is cooked through. Do not over cook your meat or it will be tough and you will need to chew like a cow to eat it! Place cheese slices all over the top and put a lid on to melt it. Cut rolls in half and spread mayo on each side. Fill with meat/cheese mixture. Enjoy!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I made strawberry freezer jam today.  If you have ever used the pectin freezer jam recipe you know how completely unhealthy it is with 2 C. of fruit and 4 C. of sugar, yuck!  So last year I was on a mission to find an alternative to that recipe that my family would still like.  I found the best recipe ever!  I am not kidding, you are going to love this recipe.  If you haven't ever used Clear Jel before it is available at Blue Chip Group and at Allison's Pantry (probably other places too but those two places I know carry it).  It is cheap- about $5 for 2 lbs, which would last you a really long time since you use it in pretty small amounts.  It is a thickening agent so it is a great thing to have in your pantry.  You can use it for cooked jams, freezer jams, gravies, pie fillings, etc.

5 C. Chopped Strawberries (I use my food processor)
2 1/2 C. Sugar
5 T. + 1 tsp. Instant Clear Jel

Mix sugar and clear jel together.  Measure fruit into a large mixing bowl.  Add sugar mixture all at once and mix for 2-3 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved.  If you don't mix it long enough the clear jel will clump up into balls.  I use my kitchen aid mixer on level 2 and just let it mix for 2 1/2 minutes.  Once it is mixed, pour into freezer safe containers and let jam sit for 10 minutes to set up before storing in your freezer.