Pancakes!

Here is the recipe for the pancakes. I would have taken pictures, but you saw them!

2 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1) Pre-heart griddle to 350 degrees.
2) Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
3) Add wet ingredients into dry; whisk 10 seconds. Don’t overmix.
4) Grease (or spray with non-stick spray) griddle or skillet.
5) Pour on 1/3 cup batter per pancake.

Voila!

Horray!

Caroline says, " Horray for pizza!" She loved it of course.

Pizza!

I made pizza last night and it was SOOO yummy. Much better than any delivery pizza and just a little more difficult than dialing to order one! You'll be able to tell by the pictures, they're pretty funny. The great thing about it is, you can put anything you want on it! I can't wait to experiment some more. Enjoy!

Crust:

1 package dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 salt

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon oil (I used vegetable but you could use evoo, I was just out)

2 1/4 cups flour

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine yeast and water in a bowl and stir.

2) Add the next 4 ingredients, beating the egg until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

3) Add flour and stir until it forms into a dough ball, then knead. It's probably going to be a little dry so you can add a few splashes of milk until it's wet enough.

4) Cover and let sit for 45 mins - 1 hour. *Note: the longer you let it sit, the thicker the crust will be. Also, if you sit it on top of your stove as it's pre-heating, it helps it rise.*

5) After it's finished rising, get it out of the bowl to prepare to roll it out. If it's too sticky as you're getting it out of the bowl, sprinkle some flour on it to make it more manageable. Dust cookie sheet/pizza stone that you're using with flour. Roll out into the desired size.

6) Add toppings:

*Best sauce ever

*Anything you want! I used:

* Sauteed green pepper and red onion

*Pepperoni (Turkey pepperoni is just as good as the real thing!)

*Mozzerella cheese

7) Bake at 450 until cheese is melted and crust is done, anywhere from 20-45 minutes, depending on the crust.

Easy Cheesy Tuna Casserole

I know it's not all that glamorous (flossy, flossy! Ha!), but it's one of my favorite recipes. I remember eating this as a kid and my kids will do the same.

2 cans tuna

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 onion, diced

Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder to taste

3 cups rice, cooked

Cheddar cheese

In a casserole dish, combine first four ingredients. Use as much seasoning as you like. Fortunately, all the components of this dish are already cooked so you can taste test to make the seasoning as you like. **Note: if you have any celery salt, it's a great substitution for regular salt. Just a different flavor, but really yummy.**

The stir in rice until well combined. Top with cheese and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and a little brown on top. Enjoy!

Chicken & Summer Veggies over Rice

I made this Monday night for dinner and it was yummy! And good for you too! There are a ton of different ways to make this. The warmer (and drier!) it gets, you could grill all of this, excluding the rice of course.

Chicken

I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder & Italian seasoning and I cooked it on medium low in 2T of EVOO (If you're using a non-stick sklliet then you can leave that out) until it was no longer pink inside.

*Tip* If you're having to cook more than one batch of chicken at a time, put the cooked pieces on a plate and cover it with foil. It will keep it warm, but it will also keep all the juices in!

Veggies

1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Red Onion

I marinated the veggies in same thing I used on the chicken:

2-3T EVOO (depending on how big your veggies are)

1 tablespoon minced garlc or garlic powder would work too

Italian Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Cut the zucchini and squash into coins and then cut those in half, so you have half moon shapes.

Cut up bell pepper & onion to sort of match the shape of the zucchini & squash so that they'll all cook at the same time.

Toss all these in a bowl with the marinade. I let them sit in a bowl while I was letting the chicken defrost and preparing the rice. It doesn't have to sit long.

Then just toss them into a non-stick skillet and cook until the veggies are tender. Yummmm.

*Tip* Feel free to use any seasonings for this. Creole seasoning, Montreal Seasonings, whatever!

Rice

I know rice is not rocket science so this is more of a tip. I cook my rice in chicken broth instead of water. It gives it just a little bit more flavor.

Enjoy girls!

Skillet Lasagna

I can't really take credit for this recipe. I got it from one of my favorite shows, America's Test Kitchen. It is amazing! Tastes JUST like lasagna without near as much time or effort.

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
Water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion , minced
Salt to taste
3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound groud beef (I have used beef and ground turkey and they are both great)
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles , broken into 2-inch lengths
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus 2 additional tablespoons
Ground black pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1. Pour tomatoes with their juices into 1-quart liquid measuring cup. Add water until mixture measures 1 quart (4 cups).

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering (Note: I used a non-stick skillet and it worked fine, I just added little bit more oil so the noodles wouldn't stick). Add onion and a dash of salt and cook until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground meat and cook, breaking apart meat, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

3. Scatter pasta over meat but do not stir. Pour diced tomatoes with juices and tomato sauce over pasta. Cover and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally to break of the noodles, until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons of ricotta, cover, and let stand off heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Yum-o! Enjoy!!!

My Recipe Blog!!

Hello friends! This is all for you!

You all know how much I love...adore...am obsessed with food/cooking and so I thought it might be fun to keep track of my recipes that you occasionally ask for, so you can have access to them whenever you want them! I hope to maybe even takes pictures of them as I make them, just like an actual cookbook! :o) I hope you all enjoy these!

Love you girls!

P.S. If you guys have any that you can think of that you want on here, just let me know k!