Cheater Pizza

I was thinking "easy meals" as I browsed the aisles of Costco a while back when I spied a 4 pack of frozen Kirkland brand cheese pizzas for about 10 dollars. Hmm, $2.50 per pizza? I was willing to try them. I brought them home and when I got one out to cook it, I decided to fancy it up a bit before I put it in the oven.
Everyone loved it and it was so easy! I just served it with a green salad and Marilyn kept saying it was the best pizza she ever had. I may never make my own pizza dough again.

Here is the box of pizzas

Ready to cook

I topped this one with pepperoni on half, pre cooked frozen chicken pieces, 1 slice of precooked bacon cut into small pieces, sliced zucchini, bell pepper, and a few cherry tomatoes cut in half.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

From Brian and Sarah Matthews

Serves about 4

2 cups dry pasta (I used garden delight Penne)

1 lb. cherry tomatoes (about 30)

1 tsp. olive oil

½ cup chopped fresh basil

½ tsp granulated garlic (or fresh)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella (Ciliegine is in little balls and I like it best)

½ tsp. garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, chop the tomatoes in half. In fry pan heat olive oil and add 15 halved tomatoes and garlic. (Save the rest of the tomatoes to add later.) Heat for about 5 minutes and smash the tomatoes a little. This makes a sort of sauce.

When pasta is finished cooking, drain, put in serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients stirring in the cooked tomatoes last. This melts the cheese a tiny bit. Serve hot.

Saute half the tomatoes

Fresh basil from the garden

Save half the tomatoes to add fresh

I first had this at Brian and Sarah's and I'm not sure if I make it the same as them. It was a while before I tried it on my own.

We had it last night and everyone loved it. Marilyn and McKay don't usually like cooked tomatoes, but they really like this pasta.

It is a wonderful light summer dish.

Soft Pretzels

I served these for dinner a couple of weeks ago. We had watermelon and green salad for sides. Everyone loved them.

Makes 8 pretzels

1 cup warm water

1 Tbs instant yeast

Dissolve yeast in water, then add:

1 Tbs sugar or honey

1 tsp. salt

3 cups flour (I used half white, half wheat)

Knead for 5 minutes in Bosch or Kitchenaid machine. Let rest for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each one into a 14” – 16” inch “snake”. Form into pretzels and bake at 375° for 20 – 25 minutes. 

You can also do a twist right here

After they are baked, top with the following:

For Parmesan pretzels:

Melt 1 tsp. butter for each pretzel. Brush on hot pretzel and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Serve with marinara or Alfredo sauce.

For cinnamon sugar pretzels:

Melt 1 tsp. butter for each pretzel. Brush on hot pretzel and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. 

This one has a twist in it

Playdough

From Mrs. Dowdle (Cascade Elem. Art Teacher)

½ cup cornstarch

1 cup baking soda

¾ cup COLD water

food coloring optional

Mix together cornstarch and baking soda in a medium pan. Add cold water all at one time and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches the consistency of slightly dry mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Spoon out and knead. Store in an airtight container. This makes a very smooth white easy to handle dough. Objects may be dried at room temperature and painted or you may add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture.


Note:
I made this the other day and forgot to take pictures. I only had 1/2 cup soda, so I substituted 1/2 cup salt for the rest of the soda. It turned out fine.

Peach and Tomato Salsa

From Adele Matthews and Janice Brady

6 large onions (peel and chop)(wear swim goggles to prevent tears)

6 bell peppers (any color)

8 jalapeno peppers (use rubber gloves to chop)

6  quarts peeled and chopped tomatoes (Roma seem to be best)

2 quarts peeled and chopped peaches

1 bunch cilantro (finely chopped)

1 ½ tsp garlic salt

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin           

3 tsp red pepper (cayenne)

¼ cup salt

1 cup sugar (mix with clear jel before adding)

1 cup clear jel (mix with sugar before adding)

3 cups red wine vinegar

Mix above ingredients in a very large bowl. Heat until simmering in large pots.

Fill quart jars until ½ “ from top, then clean off top of jar and hand tighten new lids and rings onto jar. Process quarts in pressure canner for 20 minutes at 10 lbs pressure. This is the amount of time and pressure for 5,000 feet altitude.

Makes 12 to 13 quarts. Let cool and enjoy.

Note: I often make a half batch as my tomatoes ripen. It is still a big batch.

Also: if you don’t have peaches you can substitute more tomatoes or mangoes. You can also use frozen peaches. Both are good, but peach is my family’s favorite.

One more thing: Use a pressure canner! There are enough vegetables in this salsa that it is risky to use a water bath.

Blackberry Cobbler

My blackberries are ripening so we had our first taste this week.

Filling:

¾ Cup sugar

3 Tbs. flour

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

Dash of cloves

2 – 3 Cups blackberries (fresh or frozen)

Combine above ingredients in 8 or 9 inch pan.

Topping:

1 Cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ C. buttermilk or sour milk (just add a little lemon juice to ½ C milk)

3 Tbs. butter, melted

Stir together and place large spoonfuls on filling. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon.

Bake at 375 for 30 – 35 min.

Orange Juice Drink

Grandpa Bert Whitney served this often because so many people did not like the water and you really needed to drink a lot to stay hydrated in the desert. I think either Kenn or Jill introduced it to Dad.

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Put ingredients in a gallon jar and fill with water and ice. Stir until mixed.

Cornmeal Mush (or pudding)

This is more like pudding than a typical mush. When I eat this I really miss my dad. It takes me back to the kitchen table in Logandale, the sun is streaming in the windows and dad is moving about the kitchen getting toast and pomegranate jelly to go with the mush. The orange juice drink was generally served with this.

From Grandpa Bert Whitney

Serves about 3

2 cups cold water

½ tsp salt

½ cup cornmeal (I store my cornmeal in the freezer to keep it fresh)

2 egg whites

½ tsp vanilla

Pour water and salt into saucepan. Sprinkle cornmeal a little at a time into water and salt stirring in each addition until smooth. Cook on medium high heat stirring constantly until mush thickens and boils. Turn off the heat and cover, leaving it on the burner to keep it hot.

The consistency is pretty thick after cooking

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Add hot mush a spoonful at a time, mixing after each addition. The hot mush cooks the egg whites as it is stirred in. Stir in the vanilla and serve hot with canned milk and sugar (white or brown).

Add cooked mush to egg whites

Ready to serve

Corn off the Cob

When there is left over corn on the cob, just cut it off the cob and serve it for a side the next day.

Here is one way to do it:
Cut the corn off the cob, slice a zucchini, chop 1/2 bell pepper and 1/4 an onion.
Heat 1/2 tsp butter in a fry pan and add the vegetables. Stir on medium high heat for 4 - 5 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste. It only takes a little butter for lots of really good flavor.

Taco Salad

This is one of those meals that just pleases everyone, even the pickiest eater, because they can put what ever they want into their salad. I have some eaters that just skip the lettuce completely.

I serve each ingredient in a separate bowl:
Lettuce
Grated cheese
Salsa
Sour cream (or plain yogurt)
Tortilla chips
Kidney beans or black beans (15 oz can drained and rinsed)
Bell pepper (chopped)
Corn
Avocado
Fresh Cilantro

If you don't have all the ingredients, just leave some out. I might not have a ripe avocado or some cilantro on hand, but it doesn't stop me from serving taco salad.

This is an idea that I served yesterday along with the above ingredients (it replaced the pepper and beans) and it was well received.
In a fry pan heat 1 tsp olive oil. Add 1/2 chopped green pepper, 1/4 chopped onion and 1 can red beans (drained and rinsed). Add a dash of cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder. Stir and heat for 3 or 4 minutes and serve.