Margherita Pizza

My basil was tempting me!!! I had to use the basil from my herb garden. So pizza is what Aaron wanted. Here's the recipe I used (with modifications following).

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound roma tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 inch uncooked NY style dough crust
extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
6 leaves fresh basil, julienned

Combine 2 Tbls. olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and salt in bowl. Allow to marinate while making dough. Brush dough crust lightly with olive oil. Top with cheese, then tomato mixture. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in 500ºF oven on a pizza stone for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and top with parmesan cheese, then basil. Cool on a wire rack for 2-3 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

I don't have a pizza stone so I used my regular pizza dough recipe and a 16 inch pizza pan. I bake the crust at 450 for about 6 minutes, then top as directed. I also used about 3 T. of Parmesan instead of 1/4 c. The marinated tomatoes were delicious!!!!

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Leslie's Award Winning Pie. I used it for our "baked goods" contest at our ward Pioneer Day Activity yesterday and it won "Best Overall"!!!

 Ingredients

• 1 (9-inch) pastry crust 
• 3 T. cornstarch, divided
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 T. unsweetened cocoa
• Dash of salt
• 1 1/3 c. milk, divided
• 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
• ½ c. sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 T. butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ c. (2 ounces) block style cream cheese, softened
• 2 c. sliced perfectly ripe bananas (about 2 large)
• 1 ½ c. whipped topping.
• Chocolate curls (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare and bake pastry crust.
2. Combine 1 T. cornstarch, 2 t. sugar, cocoa, and dash of salt in a small heavy sauce pan; gradually add 1/3 c. milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 2 minutes over med-low heat. Stir in chocolate; bring to a boil over medium neat. Reduce heat to low; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spread chocolate mixture into bottom of prepared crust.
3. Combine 2 T. cornstarch, 1 c. milk, ½ c. sugar, ¼ tsp. salt, eggs, and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook 30 seconds or until thick. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Beat cream cheese; beat until light (about 30 second). Add ¼ c. hot custard to cream cheese; beat until just blended. Stir in remaining custard.
4. Arrange banana slices over chocolate layer; spoon custard over bananas. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard; chill 2-4 hours. Remove plastic wrap. Spread whipped topping evenly over custard. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired. (I had some mini Hershey bars that I chopped up and sprinkled over top) Chill until ready to serve.

Pastry for single-crust pie

Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

This is the crust I used for my award winning pie.

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

1/3 c. shortening

4-5 T. cold water

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (I used a fork), cut in shortening till pieces are pea-size.
2. Sprinkle 1T. of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening dough, using 1 T. of water at a time, till all the dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball.
3. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry.
5. Trim pastry to ½ inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges as desired.

If you are baking it first prick the bottom and sides. Prick all around where sides and bottom meet. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil (or one layer of heavy duty) aluminum foil. Bake in a 450° F oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5-6 minutes more or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Shepard’s Pie

I have tried many different recipes and Saturday I made this one combined from many that I have used.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can beans, drained
• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
  
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish (2 qt).
2. Place the beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Season with rosemary and basil. Cook until beef is evenly brown; drain grease. Mix in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and beans. Cook and stir until vegetables are heated through. Transfer to the baking dish.
3. Make mashed potatoes - just add water to instant potatoes (or mash some boiled potatoes) and the following ingredients: butter, cheeses, garlic, salt, oregano, and milk. Top beef and vegetables with the mashed potatoes.
4. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
   

To be honest Aaron didn't care for the rosemary. I like the flavor but not picking out the rosemary, and I don't want to eat them because I feel like I'm eating pine needles! so next time I'll leave it out. And I forgot to drain the tomatoes and it was runny and bubbled over the side (I had a 1 1/2 qt dish), so next time I'll remember to drain it. I usually use tomato soup, but I didn't have any, that's when I came up with this combination.

Clam Chowder

This is a favorite, and very easy! Aaron made it for me on our first date! And you can always omit or substitute ingredients that you don’t have or use. It also keeps well in a slow cooker, but you have to complete the whole recipe first.

Ingredients:
6 ½ cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 tsp. salt
2 cans (6.5 oz. ea.) minced clams, undrained
¾ cup margarine
¾ cup flour
1 quart half and half (or 4 cups milk)
1 tsp sugar
1½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Directions: Combine vegetables in pan. Drain clam juice over vegetables. Add enough water to barely cover them. Cook with 1 tsp. salt covered until tender (15 minutes). Add clams. In another pan melt butter; stir in flour. Remove from heat. Stir in cream or milk. Put on heat and cook and stir with wire whip until thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper and sugar. Pour into pan with vegetables and stir. Heat through and serve.

This is easy to half and you can leave out the clams if you don’t like them. We usually make bread bowls by using a white bread recipe and putting the dough in miniature loaf pans. Cut off the tops and hollow out the middle, save the bread to dip! This time I had bought a day old sourdough loaf and it was delicious! Or you can always dip some bread you already have.

Chickpea Salad

I based yesterday's dinner around this salad. It sounded so good. I think it could have used a little more salt. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but used a chopped roma tomato instead and I used 1 c. of dried chickpeas (soaked and cooked) so I think that's more than on 15 oz can, but I don't know. It went really well with the Greek Chicken and the Garlic Parmesan Orzo.

Chickpea Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, toss together chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley flakes, dried basil, and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and season to taste with salt. Toss until well combined, and adjust seasoning as needed. Cover and refrigerate at least 45 minutes before serving. Serve chilled.

Garlic Parmesan Orzo

This was a very easy and delicious side dish. The only change I made was to slightly decrease the amount I used. I had 1 1/2 c. of Orzo so I scaled most things back accordingly. I used 1 tsp. dried parsley and still used 1/4 c milk and 1/4 tsp. pepper. It went well with the other dishes I made yesterday.

Garlic Parmesan Orzo

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. In a large skillet, saute garlic in butter until tender. Add the orzo, Parmesan cheese milk, parsley salt and pepper. Cook and stir until heated through.

Greek Chicken

This recipe comes from recipezaar.com I don't use it quite as often, but it does have a lot more ethic and international recipes on it. So when I had a Greek salad prepared I looked for a Greek main dish with ingredients I had on hand. I didn't marinated it that long and it was still good. Probably better if I had done it longer. I didn't have a fresh lemon so 3 Tbsp of lemon juice was fine. I also used chicken thighs and drumsticks instead of breasts. And 2 cloves of garlic. I don't have a rack for a roasting pan or a broiling pan, so I put aluminum foil on a small cookie sheet and it worked fine.

Greek Chicken

4 chicken breasts
2 lemons, the juice of
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper

1. Place chicken in shallow pan.
2. Combine other ingredients and pour over chicken.
3. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to overnight.
4. Place the chicken on a broiler pan, or on a rack in a baking pan in a 450 degree oven.
5. cook for 35 minutes (or until done)

Yummy Slush

I almost forgot to post this. On our really hot day this past week we had to cool down with something other than ice cream (we had that too). Here's one I found from my Wymount ward cookbook. From Cari H*.

1 pkg Kool-Aid (any flavor)
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 tray of ice
Blend together in a blender and serve immediately.
It was good. But very sweet and flavorful.

Easy Polenta with Tomato Sauce

Aaron made this on Sunday. He used less Parmesan and melted shredded cheese on the top. And made his own spaghetti sauce.

Easy Polenta with Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce, or your favorite recipe

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch square baking dish.
2. In a large pot, combine the milk and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it is at a rolling boil, gradually whisk in the cornmeal, making sure there are no lumps. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
3. Pour the polenta into the prepared baking dish, and spread spaghetti sauce over the top.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until sauce is bubbling.

No Bake Cookies

This recipe comes from Missy from my Wymount ward. They were delicious!

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. milk
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1/8 tsp. salt
Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute

Add: 3 c. oats
1 c. coconut
1 tsp. vanilla

Scoop out big chunks and cool on waxed paper. Wait until they are hard to eat. Or eat them when their soft and warm.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

This was really quick and easy. I cut up the chicken and then rubbed the fajita seasoning on it and then stir fried it. I also was out of black beans so I used kidney beans. I used romaine lettuce as well. Mexican style corn??? I just used a standard 14.5 oz can of whole kernal.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (1.27 ounce) packet dry fajita seasoning, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 (10 ounce) package mixed salad greens
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Rub chicken evenly with 1/2 the fajita seasoning. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken 8 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, mix beans, corn, salsa and other 1/2 of fajita seasoning. Heat over medium heat until warm.
3. Prepare the salad by tossing the greens, onion and tomato. Top salad with chicken and dress with the bean and corn mixture.

Cold Tuna Macaroni Salad

I made this tonight and the kids loved it. After a while they picked out the celery and tomatoes. I only used two stalks of celery and one tomato (it's all I had or I would have used more). Oh and I just chopped it. I didn't need to peel or seed it. I also used less mayo (but it was light). It needed some salt though and about 2 Tbsp. Italian dressing.

Cold Tuna Macaroni Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 ounce) package macaroni
• 3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and diced
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) can tuna
• 1 1/2 cups light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Italian-style salad dressing
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, celery and tuna.
3. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, salad dressing, sugar and pepper. Add to pasta salad, mix together, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Asian Ground Beef and Pepper Saute

This was really good. I used some yellow pepper as well. The parsley and ginger were not fresh. And I didn't use any chile paste. I did add some chili powder though.

Asian Ground Beef and Pepper Saute

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup dry jasmine rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon chile paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the ground beef until evenly browned. Drain, and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, parsley, garlic and ginger. Season with red pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until tender.
4. Return the beef to the skillet. Mix in the beef stock, soy sauce, chile paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir until thickened and heated through. Serve over the cooked rice.

This was really good. I used some yellow pepper as well. the parsley and ginger were not fresh. And I didn't use any chile paste. I did add some chili powder though.

Pretzel Salad

What's the 4th of July without pretzel salad? Well I did without it the first 22 years of my life. But it always makes me think of July 4th because Aaron's sister brought it to a July 4th picnic while we were engaged. I always tease Aaron because he swears it's a salad, and I say it's a dessert. Really, anything that has cream cheese sugar and whipped topping is a dessert! But if he calls it a salad and that means I can have dessert too, by all means call it a salad!
This is the recipe that I use, although I've seen many variations on it. You can do raspberry gelatin and frozen raspberries, or use fresh berries. Yesterday I used 12 oz. of mixed berries -strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
I have had a hard time getting the layering right. You have to have a good seal with the cream cheese layer or the gelatin will seep down into the bottom. You also have to make sure the gelatin is starting to congeal, but not too much, or it will be lumpy. I still haven't gotten it perfect yet!

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (6 ounce) packages strawberry flavored gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.
4. In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.
5. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still frozen strawberries until partially set. Pour and spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set about 3-4 hours.

Orzo and Rice

This was really simple and easy to add to. It's like a homemade rice-a-roni! I added a little more chicken bouillon and some chopped onion and parsley. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top after it was served. It went well with some grilled chicken (marinated in Italian dressing). I ate the leftovers for lunch today!

I hadn't bought orzo pasta before because every where I found it was too expensive. But I found it for $1 for 16 oz. which isn't too bad. Not as cheap as other pastas, but still good.

Orzo and Rice

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 2 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add orzo and brown until golden.
2. Add rice, bouillon, and water; bring to a boil, cover and lower heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until all water is absorbed; serve.

Quick Beef stroganoff

You may already have a recipe for this but here is mine.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. sour cream
Hot cooked noodles (I used 8 oz. wide egg noodles)

In a large skillet brown, onion, and garlic. Drain off fat. Add mushrooms stir until tender. Add flour and stir in. Add milk slowly until it's thick and bubbly. Just before serving add sour cream. Serve over warm noodles.

You can always use a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of the mushrooms and white sauce. So just do the ground beef, onions, garlic add 2 Tbsp flour the can of soup and 3/4 c. milk. Enjoy!

Loma Saltado

Aaron made this on Sunday. It is one of my favorites. It is a Peruvian dish that he learned how to make while in Argentina. As with most of his recipes he doesn't write down quantities but I'll try to remember how much he used.

1 lb beef, sliced thin for stir frying
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
French fries
rice

It's really easy. Stir fry the onions, garlic, beef and tomato together until beef is cooked and onions are tender. Add salt and pepper and oregano. Serve with rice on bottom, then French fries and the the beef mixture.
You can use frozen fries or slice up a couple of potatoes for frying or baking. Only make as many fries as you will eat that night, they don't keep well.

We served this with a traditional Argentine salad of lettuce, lots of onions slices and a sliced tomato with a simple oil and vinegar dressing.

Italian Baked Chicken

I used chicken tenders because that's what I had. So I didn't need to cook them as long. I didn't need as much bread mixture either and used only 2 eggs. The flax seed meal adds a nutty flavor. If you don't have flax seed it will have a slightly different flavor, but it will be fine. You have to grind the flax seed jut before you use it, otherwise the flavor gets a little bitter. And I also had Parmesan cheese instead of Romano cheese. And I had regular bread crumbs so I added a little parsley, oregano, and basil (all dried of course) and garlic salt. If I had onion powder I would have used that too. Oh, and I just sprayed the pan with non-stick cooking spray instead of using the butter. Wow, I really didn't follow this recipe much did I???

Italian Baked Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a medium baking dish with the butter.
2. In a shallow dish, mix the bread crumbs, flax seed, Romano cheese, and parsley. Place the beaten eggs and flour in 2 separate shallow bowls. Dredge chicken in the flour, dip in eggs, and press into the bread crumb mixture to coat. Arrange coated chicken in the prepared baking dish.
3. Cover, and bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken juices run clear. Turn on the oven broiler. Remove cover, and broil chicken 5 minutes, until coating is lightly browned.