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.