Caprese

Quick summer snack. 

Fresh tomatoes with Buffalo mozzarella- totally worth the price & completely different than cow's milk mozzarella, a bit "zingy." Normal mozzarella is tasty too though.  Add a fresh picked basil leaf, some peppa & a tish of Maldon salt.

Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

 Man approved! 

Remove stems from any button mushroom. 

Mix an 8 oz. package of cream cheese, bacon bits & garlic powder. Your sniffer will tell you the proper amounts.

Spoon mix into un-stemmed mushrooms and place onto a pan at least one inch deep since these little guys leak. 

Bake 350*-400* until browned. 

Make a bunch since these disappear fast!

Rosemary & Garlic Rub/ Marinade

Rosemary & Garlic Rub

Rub this all over a whole chicken & set to marinate in the fridge for 2 hrs. or longer. Life changing! 

Mince up a few Garlic cloves, fresh rosemary, pepper, salt & olive oil. Toss in some chile flakes if you'd like. 

Quick, easy, memorable difference.

San Antonio-style Flour Tortillas

Makes 8 tortillas

http://www.homesicktexan.com

Ingredients:

*2 c. of all-purpose flour ( for whole wheat: 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour + 1 1/2 c. all-purp. flour)

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1 tsp. of salt

*1 Tbsp.olive oil, veg. oil or lard

*2 Tbsp. butter

*3/4 c. milk. preferably whole

Method:

Mix together the flour, baking powder & salt.

Melt butter with milk on low heat. Slowly add the warm milk & butter to flour mix.

Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed. A wooden spoon works well. 

Knead a little on a floured surface until incorporated. Dough should be firm and soft.

Place dough under a towel for an hour. Go do something else! 

After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place under the towel again for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. 

Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. 

Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about 30-40 seconds. It puffs up in various spots. Check for lovely browned or "burnt" spots. It's good & done!

Keep cooked tortillas covered under a towel or two to prevent drying out. 

These freeze well! I pop 8-10 cooled tortillas into a freezer bag. 

Perfect Kosher Dill Refrigerator Pickles

No, this sin't a pretty picture yet pickles really aren't that pretty to start with ;) 

Easy & No canning necessary!!! 

4-6 garlic cloves peeled. We're a little garlic obsessed so I go heavy. 

Fresh dill fronds. Freeze leftover dill. Frozen works awesome in the pickles as well. 

Tbsp. black peppercorns

Hot chili flakes- optional 

2-3 Bay leaves- Maintains crispness & adds flavor

1 c. vinegar 5% acidity

1 c. water

1 Tbsp. Kosher salt

Choose small sized cucumbers. Slice them as desired. Drop garlic, peppercorns, chili flakes, dill & bay leaves on the bottom. Pack cucumbers tightly into a Quart sized wide-mouth jar. Boil vinegar, water & salt. Add to jar to cover contents. Tap the jar on the counter to remove the bubbles. Add lid. Cool on counter. Refrigerate. Enjoy a few days later. That's it! 

Perfect Pickled Jalapenos

Perfect Pickled Jalapenos. 

Makes 2 pints

Ok, this is really difficult...

Slice 1 lb. jalapenos however you'd like or leave 'em whole, whatev. 

On the stove, you're going to mix 2 c. regular vinegar w/ 2 c. filtered water. 

Add in 2 Tbsp. Kosher salt. Bring to a simmer. 

In your jar, drop in 2-3 whole peeled garlic cloves, some peppercorns & I even dropped in chile flakes, why not? 

Pack your peppers into your jars really tight but not to the very top!

Stir up your hot vinegar mix & pour over those packed jalapenos to 1/2 inch of the jar. It's about the middle rung on the jar but it's way handier & cleaner if you pick yourself up a canning funnel. 

Pop in the fridge & let set for a week to set.  

Or can them for real. I used a hot water bath for 10 mins at a hard boil. 

Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce

Chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce

Adobo is a spicy sauce used as a a marinade & dipping sauce in so many Mexican/ Texan recipes. A chipotle pepper is a dry, smoked red jalapeno pepper. 

1 c. chipotle chiles, stemmed

1/4 c. cider vinegar

3 c. water

3 Tbsp. ketchup

3 Tbsp. diced white onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

Place a saucepan over med. heat & add chiles. The chiles will puff up & begin to smoke. Pour the cider vinegar, water & ketchup into the pan. Stir & bring to a simmer. Add the onion & garlic to the pan. Cover & leave to cook for 15 min. Uncover the pan & reduce heat to med. low. Continue to cook for 45 min, stirring often. 

Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container or freeze.

 I freeze this sauce in cute little 1/4 c. containers. Just pop into a meal that calls for a few chiles in adobo. Simple cooking!

The Lazy Cook's Chicken or Vegetable Broth

The lazy cook's Chicken/ Veg Broth

Alright, every time you cut up a vegetable or peel a carrot, you toss the peelings, ends & whatnot in a freezer bag. 

I use carrot ends & peels, everything that we don't use on an onion, celery ends & fronds & mushrooms. 

If you roast a chicken, clean it up & save it in a freezer bag as well. 

On broth day, you're just going to dump in all of your saved frozen veg & chicken into a pot. 

Add a couple Tbsp. peppercorns, a tish of salt, a few bay leaves- yum, yum, dried or fresh thyme, parsley, rosemary if you'd like. It really doesn't matter. 

Cover this concoction up with water nearly to the top. Bring to a boil & reduce to a simmer. One to a few hours will do. Whatever you've got time for. 

Let it cool & then add to freezer containers in two cup portions. 

Freeze up to three months. 

Whenever you need broth in a recipe, grab a container , run the bottom under water a bit to loosen up & drop in the pan. No defrosting required 

And those onion skins? They make the broth a deeper color & add nutrients not in the onion.

Artisan Bread

This book shows you how to create a multitude of fast, easy & fresh no- knead artisan breads. 

Mix dough. Let it rise in container 2 hours. 

Refrigerate up to 14 days for use. 

That's it! 

Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes or canned whole tomatoes

Fresh garlic. minced

Heat pan on medium. 

Add chopped tomatoes, fancy cutting not required. 

Cook down for about ten minutes. 

Add garlic. 

Cook a couple minutes more. Done! 

Drop some spaghetti into the sauce to coat. 

Top with fresh basil, a shred of parmigiano & a drizzle of peppery extra virgin olive oil. 

Old Fashioned Scratch Buttermilk Biscuits

Old Fashioned Scratch Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 8-10 biscuits

2 c. all-purpose flour. Stir your flour  a bit so it's not "heavy." Same as sifting the flour. 

1 Tbsp. Aluminum-free baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/3 c. lard or cold butter. Not Crisco! 

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 c. Buttermilk. I rarely can find organic buttermilk so I use powdered which I store in the fridge. Usually I mix up 4 cups to make 4 batches of biscuits in a matter of minutes. 

Pre-heat oven to 450*F 

Mix together & smash the lard/ butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until it's all crumbly looking. 

Add 3/4 c. buttermilk & mix until combined.  A strong fork works well. 

Squish & fold (kneading) 10-12 times just until incorporated and smooth. 

Roll or pat out to 1/2" thick. 

Cut w/ a drinking class or cutter. 

Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet or pre-heated baking stone until golden brown. 8-10 mins.

dry ingredients

add butter or lard

Squish with a sturdy fork or pastry blender until the fat is distributed. This doesn't have to be perfect, just crumbly looking so your biscuits are flaky delicious.

Drop in the buttermilk

Mix. A sturdy fork works well for this. 

It'll all come together & may look crumbly.

You're just going to use your hands & squish it all together to look like this messy ball of dough. 

and then, you're going to squish it with your hand and fold it over onto itself a few times. The dough softens & becomes this pretty ball of dough. 

A little flour for your rolling so nothing sticks. I hate cleaning sticky dough messes. 

Preheat the oven to 450* F with the pizza/ baking stone inside for best results. 

Or a non-preheated cookie sheet works. 

I prefer the factory assembly line method. Roll out & cut all biscuits & then bake. 

These roll out in literally a minute so you bake & roll at the same time as well. 

Magic in the oven!!! These little puppies rise while baking into gorgeous golden puffs. 

Food Love! 

Quick & Easy Scratch Pizza!

Creativity never ends with pizza! Here is a ridiculously mix & go recipe. 

No kneading or waiting around and it tastes scrumptious!

Ingredients: 

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine molasses and yeast with 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water. Hot kills the yeast. 

Stir. Set aside until totally bubbly, about 5 minutes. 

Add oil to the yeast mix and stir. 

In a separate large bowl, mix flours together.

Add yeast mixture to flour and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms.  I love using a flat wooden one. You can use the dough right away but if you let it set a bit, 30 mins. + it'll rise a nice amount. 

Grab a handful of dough & roll into ball. 

Roll out on a floured surface. This crust works well both as a thin or thick crust. 

Pre-bake for a few minutes on a pre-heated baking stone at 450* F.  Or on a non-heated cookie sheet.

I prefer using a pizza peel to transfer my pizza to and from the oven. 

Add toppings and finish baking. Your kitchen will smell like a proper Italian Pizzeria!!!

I love this gorgeous pizza peel! Ironwood Gourmet Acacia wood pizza peel

You'll find this awesome Pizza stone on Amazon. 

Terribly simple Pizza Sauce:

1 can organic tomato sauce

Dried spices: Oregano, Basil, Fennel, Garlic powder, smidge of black pepper & sea salt. Extra virgin olive oil is a nice addition. 

Unbelievable Portobello, Red Pepper & Feta w/ Vinaigrette!

Sliced portobellos, red peppers, red onion & crumbled feta or goat cheese. 

Bake up until golden & drizzle with vinaigrette fresh outta the oven. 

Vinaigrette:

1/4 c. Extra Virgin olive Oil

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves - minced

Lots of chopped fresh Thyme

Ground pepper

Magic Mushroom Pizza

Toss chopped mushrooms, 1 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary, handful chopped fresh parsley, couple cloves minced garlic & pepper.

Toss arugula with some olive oil & red wine or white wine vinegar. 

Grate mozzarella onto the crust along with some feta, top with the mushroom mix & bake 350*. 

A little pizza love!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pre-bake crust for a couple minutes to firm up but still soft.  Add a layer of your fave BBQ sauce, we love a Chipotle spiced up one.  Shredded roast chicken works awesome for this.  I bake a chicken, shred it up & pop it into a few containers for other meals. 

Top it off with chopped red onion, black olives, pepper jack, mozzarella & anything else your heart desires. 

Garlic Butter Breadsticks

Minced garlic in melted butter. Pour and spread around. Bake. Yum!

Chopped Zucchini, Red peeper, red onion, black olives, mushrooms, ground Italian sausage, mozzarella, pepper jack, chile flakes. 

Italian sausage, Red onion, Black olive.

Taco pizza w/ homemade taco sauce
Taco sauce. Shredded chicken or not. Mozzarella. Pepper jack. Black olives. 
Tomato slices. Red pepper. Jalapenos. Tortilla chips. Cheese. Anything that goes into a taco!
Bake & top with sliced lettuce, sour cream & a bit more taco sauce. 

Ginormous calzone!
Roll out a pizza crust, I like a thin one for this. Generously load up one side, pile it up. Fold over itself & bring the under edge up and over the top edge, pinching together as you go to create a seal. 
 Drizzle with olive oil. Bake it up til' golden. 

Wee wittle puffy pizza ;) 

Spinach, mushroom, basic tomato sauce, mozzarella. 

School lunch calzones!

Basic tomato sauce, chopped red onion, black olives, feta, mozzarella, chile flakes.