Pizza Twists

The latest King Arthur Flour catalog came and these were featured in the catalog.  Honestly if you don't get this catalog you need to sign up for it not only do they have neat stuff to buy that there are usually several recipes included.  I've never made anything from King Arthur that hasn't turned out good.  I decided however that I wanted to serve these as a meal so I added some ingredients.  I chopped up pepperoni into small chunks and microwaved them for a minute to cut out some of the fat.  I also chopped up mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.  Overall the flavor was amazing.  So without making you wait any longer here is the recipe with my changes, click on the link to see the original recipe.

Pizza Twists
King Arthur Flour

3/4 cup lukewarm water (about 110°F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Filling

1/4 cup shredded blend of cheese, I used asiago and parmesan
1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or the dried herbs of your choice
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella or pizza-blend cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil or garlic oil
about 4 ounces of pepperoni chopped into chunks
2 medium size white mushrooms chopped
1/4 of a green pepper, chopped
about 1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped

1) Mix, then knead the dough ingredients to make a smooth, elastic dough, about 5 to 10 minutes.

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise until it's doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

3) Make the filling by stirring together the cheese powder, Pizza Seasoning, melted butter, and water.

4) Grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

5) Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Pat, then roll it into a 20" x 10" rectangle.

6) Spread the dough with the filling, leaving 1/2" free of filling along the long edges. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.

7) Fold the dough in half so the long sides (free of filling) meet. Press together by rolling over the dough with a rolling pin. Cut into twenty 1" slices.

8) Place the slices about 1" apart on the prepared pan, twisting them as you lay them down. Brush with olive oil or garlic oil.

9) Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, or until puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.

10) Bake the twists for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm with pizza sauce or marinara, if desired.

Yield: 20 twists.

Ham Salad

So you made the Dr. Pepper ham from yesterday's post and you have leftovers.  Well here is a very easy recipe to use up the leftover ham.  It took about 8 minutes from start to finish to make this dish and it served dh and I lunch for three days.  The salad isn't loaded with mayo and it has a nice combination of flavors.  Add some spinach or arguala to your roll or bread and it makes a fairly nice lunch that you can tote with you or have on a Saturday afternoon.  If your like me and not really a fan of ham salad, having only had the mayo heavy ones at the deli or those really gross canned ones in the past, you really need to give this ham salad a try.  Trust me you won't be disappointed.

 Ham Salad
Cook's Country April/May 2010 magazine

1 1/2 cups diced ham, rind removed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pulse ham in bowl of food processor until coarsely chopped, about ten one second pulses.

Combine mayonnaise, relish, mustard, and pepper in a medium bowl.  Add ham and mix.  Serve chilled.

Dr. Pepper Glazed Ham

This ham is amongst the best I've ever made.  I love cooking the ham in the oven bag as it keeps it moist and it doesn't get all dried out.  The glaze is really easy to make and put together plus it tastes loads better than the sugary glaze that comes with the ham.  The Dr. Pepper provides a fruit taste but the orange juice and mustard keep it from being overly fruity and sweet.  A great recipe to try at Christmas or Easter and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Dr. Pepper Glazed Ham
Cook's County Best Lost Suppers Cookbook

1 7-10 pound spiral sliced bone in half ham, preferably shank end
1 plastic oven bag
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup dr. pepper
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Bring Dr. Pepper, sugar, orange juice and mustard to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture is syrupy and measures 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes and let cool.

Remove Ham from packaging and discard plastic disk that covers bone. Place ham in plastic oven bag (or foil), tie bag shut, and trim excess plastic. Set ham cut side down in 13x9 inch baking dish. Cut 4 slits in top of oven bag if used. If using foil, place ham cut side down in baking dish and wrap tightly. Let stand at room temp for 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lowest possible position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Bake ham until center registers about 100 degrees on instant read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on weight of ham.

Remove ham from oven and roll back sides of bag to expose ham. Brush ham liberally with glaze and return to oven briefly until glaze becomes sticky, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, brush entire ham again with glaze, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 30 to 40 minutes before carving.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

I was first treated to this delightful treats at a friend's wedding reception back in the 1990's. It wasn't a typical Utah wedding reception and an another friend ate the whole tray before the guests showed up. I couldn't get over the delicious taste of these little appetizers. I finally, a few years ago, asked at the local restaurant who catered her reception all those years ago about the recipe. Well they wouldn't give it to me but did tell me there were only five ingredients in the dish. I played with it for years until I finally noticed a recipe in a Taste of Home Treasury of Christmas Recipes book. I was able to tweak that recipe into the taste I remember from years ago. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. The flavor is hard to describe but it's sort of a sweet salty picture with a crunch. You need the good thick bacon from the butcher area of the store to make these taste right. If you use the bacon from cello packs it won't work as well. Oh and low fat or fat free mayo will not work, nor will Miracle Whip.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
adapted from Taste of Home Treasury of Christmas

1 1/2 pounds thick sliced bacon
3 cans (8 oz each) whole water chestnuts, drained and halved (or leave them whole and just use a big slice of bacon)
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup Chili Sauce (near the ketchup in the grocery stores)
3/4 cup mayo

Cut bacon strips into thirds. Wrap each strip around a water chestnut and secure with a toothpick. Place in a pan, I use a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, it may take longer and it may take less time, watch for the bacon to get crispy all over. Turning at least once. Drain the grease once fully done.

Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the water chestnuts. Bake another 6-8 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Beefy Nacho Soup

I'll be honest here I usually snub any recipes I find on websites that are the makers of processed foods. The goal in my house is to not eat much, if any, processed food. However I was "gifted" a can of nacho cheese soup and since we were running really low on grocery money last month I googled looking for decent recipes calling for the nacho cheese soup. I ended up choosing this one and to be honest we loved it. It was a perfect blend of flavors. I topped the soup with some cubed avocado, green onions, and fresh tomatoes. This would have been even better with some freshly made tortilla strips. Overall this was a winner in our family and I guess I'll be buying more of the nacho cheese soup in the future. This was a very simple and really quick to make dish. Perfect for those nights when time is low and yet money is too tight for take out. Also I should point out this barely fed 3 adults with no extras. Two of the adults complained about needing more. You would need to double or triple this recipe for large families.

Beefy Nacho Soup
Pillsbury.com

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (from 1 oz package) or make your own like I do
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed nacho cheese soup
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (1 oz)

In 2-quart saucepan, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in remaining ingredients except shredded cheese. Cook 8 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Top individual servings with shredded cheese.

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce

This turned out to be a really yummy tasting pie. It was simple to make and since it uses refrigerator dough it easy for even those who haven't made a pie before. My streusel had a few problems relating to three little boys who were helping so trust me there is streusel on the pie you just can't see much in the picture. Also I used two eight inch frozen pie shells so my pie wasn't as thick as the recipe calls for. I used the frozen cause it was what I had on hand. Overall everyone who tasted the pie loved it. It's a nice change from the typical pumpkin or apple pie that dominates the holiday season. It's also perfect when you have oodles of pears on hand like I did when I made this pie.

Pear Pie with Streusel Topping and Caramel Sauce
Cooking Light Magazine Nov. 2008

Pie
3 ounces all purpose flour, divided (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 medium firm pears, peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1/2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
cooking spray
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To prepare pie, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 ounces (about 1/3 cup) flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a larger bowl. Add juice, and pears to flour mixture; toss gently to coat. Roll dough into an 11 inch circle; fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under and flute. Arrange pear mixture in an even layer in prepared crust.
Combine remaining 1 1/2 ounce (about 1/3 cup) flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons cold butter to brown sugar mixture; cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle butter mixture evenly over pears. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes.
To prepare sauce, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, cream, and 2 tablespoons softened butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook one minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in 2 teaspoons water. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed with pie.

Yield 12 servings, serving size 1 wedge pie and about 1 1/2 teaspoon sauce. 287 calories in a slice, 11 grams of fat (sat. 5.5 g, mono 1.7 g., poly 0.35 g.), carb. 47.5 g.

I am still alive

I should be back the week after Thanksgiving with new recipes to share. Life has been crazy. Sickness, getting use to homeschooling three kids, water main break, sewer problems, cutting down two huge trees from our property that resulted in days of pain, google not letting me do much of anything on my blogs, and just plain life getting in the way. I really haven't done much cooking with new recipes for awhile just because of all the craziness. Knock on wood hopefully nothing else will go wrong until next year.

Banana Bread

What do you do when you realize you have 21 bananas that are past their prime? I made all kinds of different dishes with them. One being this bread recipe. It's a simple recipe that calls for ingredients you should have on hand. I say it took me about 5 minutes to mix this up and it took about 1 1/2 hours to cook. Not sure why my time was longer than the recipe but I did have to cook it quite a bit longer. My favorite bananas to use when making banana bread are ones that are almost completely black. They are sweeter tasting and really easy to mash. I hope you like this recipe as much as I did.

Banana Bread
King Arthur All Purpose Cookbook

2 large eggs
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana (2 to 3 very ripe, large bananas about 7 to 9 ounces)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 2/3 cups (11 3/8 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup (8 ounces) yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream (I used 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup sour cream)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and oil. Blend in the mashed banana and vanilla. Whisk together and then sift the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Add all at once to the banana mixture. Mix quickly but thoroughly, then stir in the yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream, mixing until just combined.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Bake the bread for about 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bread begins to brown quickly tent it with aluminum foil after 40 minutes in the oven.

When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and place on a rack for 15 minutes; after 15 minutes, remove the bread from its pan and place on the rack to finish cooling completely.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This is my favorite time of year for food. Why you ask? Because I love pumpkin treats. As you can see I've been posting several different recipes for pumpkins cause I've been making all kinds of pumpkin treats. These were a hit with all the adults while the kids just liked them. I think my kids ate one maybe two of these but my husband ate about 8 of them in one setting. I'm not a fan of the original whoopie pie but I can't wait to make these again.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie
King Arthur Flour website


Cake

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin
2 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or 100% White Whole Wheat Flour

Filling

8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons soft butter
2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1) To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

2) Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

3) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy.

4) Stir in the pumpkin.

5) Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition.

6) Use a muffin scoop to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2" around each mound.

7) Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 16 to 18 minutes.

8) Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

9) To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.

10) Beat in the sugar in two additions.

11) Add the vanilla. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.

12) Stir in the crystallized ginger.

13) To assemble: Sandwich two cookies around 2 tablespoons of filling. For best storage, wrap each pie in plastic wrap.

Yield: 1 dozen 4" whoopie pies.

Emmy's Pumpkin Bread

I made this bread a few weeks ago much to the delight of the family. No lie the two loaves of bread didn't last the night. Very simple recipe for a bread that tastes so great. Reminds me of a local bakery called Great Harvest who makes bread very similar to this. I wish I had made the glaze to go on top but I was out of powdered sugar and the bread didn't last long enough for me to go to the store to buy some.

Emmy's Pumpkin Bread
King Arthur Flour

2/3 cup shortening or 1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups (or one can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening or oil and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, pumpkin and water. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, stirring to blend, then mix in the chips and nuts.

Spoon the batter into two lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack. When it's completely cool, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and store it overnight before serving.

If desired, just before serving, drizzle with an icing made of 1 cup confectioners' or glazing sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 tablespoon milk.