Baked Potato Soup

This cold weather always makes me want a nice, warm bowl of soup!  Here's what we're having this Sunday, one of our favorites, and I love that it's made in my trusty crockpot.

BAKED POTATO SOUP

5 lbs russet potatoes, washed and diced (NOT peeled)

1 large onion, diced

8 garlic cloves, minced

8 cups chicken broth

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. creole seasoning 

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. celery salt

2 8-oz blocks cream cheese, cut into chunks and softened

bacon, shredded cheese, green onions to garnish

Add potatoes, onions, and garlic to crockpot.  

Mix spices together in small bowl, and carefully sprinkle them over the potato mixture.  

Toss to coat.  

Slowly poor in chicken broth.

Cover and bake on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.

Remove lid and add cream cheese.  Use either an immersion blender or potato masher to carefully mash the potatoes and thoroughly blend in the cream cheese.

Garnish with 1 lb fried bacon (cut into bits), shredded cheese of your choice, and sliced green onions.

Getting Ready for Cold Weather!

My sweet husband is a pioneer at heart. (I affectionately call him "Pa".) He loves to build, burn, kill, hunt; you know, dominion over the earth and all. He and I met in 1994, just one year after the infamous Blizzard of '93. Since then, he has lamented that we've never even so much as lost power due to snow and ice. He's got a stack of firewood a mile high in hopes of it!

Needless to say, he is so excited about this cold front and the prospects of snow. We're all snuggled up around a rip-roaring fire, drinking a family favorite, white hot chocolate!

In preparation for this cold weather, I'll share a couple recipes to get us through the winter.

WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE:
2 cups whipping cream
6 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 - 12 oz. bag white chocolate chips

Heat in crockpot on low for 3-4 hours. Serves 6.


SNOW CREAM:
8 cups of clean snow
1/2 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Milk or Half & Half for consistency (depending on the fluffiness of your snow)

Mix well and enjoy!


...and for when we are trying to be a little more health conscious.....

SUGAR FREE HOT CHOCOLATE:
1 c. milk or almond milk
1 Tbsp. Truvia
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cocoa
1 1/2 Tbsp. Swanson's Vanilla Whey Protein

Mix and heat. Delicious and healthy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Fruits of Yesterday's Labors

...or should I say the vegetables; although, tomatoes are technically a fruit....
:-)

With what I kept in the refrigerator, I made the equivalent of 18 pints of salsa!  That should last a couple months around here.



- Posted using my iPhone

Canned Salsa

I'll share my recipe for delicious, fresh, homemade canned salsa.  It has jalapeno peppers, but when they are seeded, it's pretty mild.  This is a lot of work (chopping, that is), but definitely worth it!  AND PLEASE, wear GLOVES!  I learned that lesson the hard way. Enjoy!

Canned Salsa
Yield:  9 pints

15 c. tomatoes, chopped, seeded, cored, pealed* (about 20 large)
4 1/2 c. sweet peppers, chopped and seeded  (about 4 lg bell peppers or several lg banana peppers)
5 c. onion, chopped (about 5-6 large)
1 c. hot peppers, chopped and seeded (about 10-12 jalapenos)
18 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not minced)
1 c. lime juice
4 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt
2 c. cut fresh corn (or 16 oz. can white shoepeg corn)
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped, stems discarded (measure lightly pressed down in measuring cup before chopping with kitchen shears)


Bring to boil; Simmer 40 minutes.  Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headpace.  Process 15 minutes in water bath canner.

*Peeling large amounts of tomatoes can be a chore!  To make it quick, just bring a pot of water to a boil.  Drop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds, then straight into ice water for 30 seconds, and the skins just peel right off by hand.

Squash Muffins

I don't know how much time I'll have for blogging in the next couple weeks, but I'd like to share a recipe for those of you with garden produce coming in now.  This recipe is for squash muffins, and they are so delicious!  I found this recipe about 10 years ago, and my kids beg for them as soon as the squash starts coming in.  They are somewhat sweet, but not as sweet as breakfast muffins.  They go well as a side bread with supper, much like cornbread muffins (although these have no cornmeal in them).  We serve them hot with butter.  Hope you enjoy!

1 lb squash, sliced, cooked, and drained (3-4 small squash, or about 2 large)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Spray muffin tin and preheat oven to 375.  Combine squash, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl.  Stir in sugar, then add flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir well.  Divide into 12 muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.  Serve hot with butter.   (One of these is 4 Weight Watchers Points)

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Fudge Brownie Cookies

I absolutely cannot believe how good these cookies are! You would never know they are allergen-free. My family loves them! They have a wonderful chewy texture inside, with a nice crisp outer layer. They would also be good without the chocolate chips, but the kids like the chips. Developing food allergies as an adult has been such a curse for a cook like myself, one who likes to make everything from scratch and use only real, wholesome ingredients. I have developed an unfortunate aversion to all things soy in the past few weeks. For a dairy-free, egg-free lifestyle, soy is a necessary evil, but I just hate it! I can taste it in anything now, even when my family can't. I have finally settled on Blue Diamonds Almond Breeze brand of almond milk (original) for cooking and pouring over cereal. These cookies, however, don't require any dairy at all, and you'll never guess what the egg substitute is! Avocados! It did not spoil the taste in the least bit, and I am going to try avocado as an egg substitute in some other recipes as well.

 I adapted this recipe from one found in GO DAIRY FREE by Alisa Marie Fleming, a book my sister got me for my birthday. I highly recommend this book to anyone suffering from food allergies. It has tons of valuable information and many recipes as well.

 Here's the recipe:

 DAIRY-FREE EGG-FREE FUDGE BROWNIE COOKIES
 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

3 c. sugar
1 c. + 2 Tbsp. oil (I use canola)
1 c. + 2 Tbsp. mashed ripe avocado (about 3 avocados)
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet chocolate chips (1 bag)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, blend the sugar, oil, avocado, and vanilla until combined well. Add the flour mixture, mix well, then add the chocolate chips. Place by scoops (I use a 2 Tbsp. size cookie scooper) onto ungreased pan. Flatten slightly with bottom of cup sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.  Yield:  5 dozen

Flattened and ready to bake

The finished product

White Chili

Here's a great recipe for "White Chili" made with chicken and great northern beans.  Very filling and flavorful and healthy too!  This recipe makes 6 quarts, just enough for a large crockpot.

WHITE CHILI

4 lbs. chicken breast, cooked and diced
8 c. chicken broth*
4 cans (15.5 oz.) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 large onions (or 3 medium) diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. onion salt

Mix in crockpot and cook on low 6 hours.  Serve with sour cream and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

*I prefer to make my broth with bouillon cubes because it's more flavorful, but if sodium is an issue, you can buy low-sodium broth or, of course, make your own.

Strawberries and Cream Pie

This is a recipe I came up with myself years ago for a strawberries recipe contest. I missed the deadline before I got it just right, but this has turned out to be one of my favorite recipes. Hope you enjoy it too!

Strawberries and Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 qt strawberries, chopped and stems removed
3/4 c. sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 c. cold water
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 shortbread pie crust (Keebler makes these)

Directions:
1. Place mixing bowl and beaters in freezer to chill.
2. Combine strawberries and sugar. Let them sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let stand 1 minute, then stir over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved. (doesn't take long, don't get mixture too hot)
4. Stir gelatin mixture into strawberries.
5. Whip cream in cold bowl on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
6. Add strawberries to whipping cream and mix on low until thoroughly combined
7. Pour into pie crust and chill 4-6 hours.

Garden Harvest

I canned 9 pints of salsa from our garden harvest this week.

Whole Grain GOODness!

This delicious chocolate chip muffin recipe is made with all whole wheat flour. I use my favorite brand, King Arthur WHITE whole wheat flour. If you have never tried different whole wheat flours, I encourage you to look into King Arthur White Whole Wheat. Most whole wheat flours you buy or grind yourself are made from red whole wheat berries. There is no difference in quality or nutrition, the difference lies in the time of the year that the wheat is harvested. I have found the white whole wheat to be much more palatable for my family, and I can still feel good about the health benefits of cooking with whole wheat.

This recipe is a favorite not only because of its healthy ingredients, but also because it's a quick, one-bowl recipe that I can whip up in no time. Our favorite version is this chocolate chip recipe, but I also use this as my "base" recipe for all muffins. Be creative! Try white chocolate chips (always a winner!) or diced apples or blueberries with 1/2 tsp. cinammon added. The possibilities are endless!

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 c. milk
3 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling, if desired (I use Demerara sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 24 standard sized muffin cups (or line with baking cups, my preferred method).

Beat together the butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the milk. Mix in the flour, then add the chocolate chips.

Spoon about 1/4 c. batter into each muffin cup. (Remember whole wheat flour doesn't rise quite as much, so the cups will be a little fuller than a muffin mix.) Sprinkle lightly with sugar if desired. Bake for 20 minutes*.

*20 minutes is for light colored tins (the best kind for not burning the bottoms of your muffins!). If using a dark, non-stick type pan, check after 16 minutes.

These muffins are very filling, so be sure and freeze leftovers for a quick, healthy snack later!

Amish Friendship Bread

Just in time for the holidays! I started my Amish Friendship Bread fermented base yesterday. It will be ready to bake on December 18. I'll share the starter recipe first. After your starter is ready, there are many bread recipes that can be used, however my favorite one has vanilla pudding in the mix. It makes the most delicious, moist muffins ever! These are so wonderful, and make great gift basket stuffers. They also freeze well. I usually bake several batches and wrap them individually, then put them in a ziploc bag and they keep for a long time. (well, I say that...ours never last long around here!)

For the starter:

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk

Step 1: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart glass, plastic, or ceramic container, combine the flour and sugar thoroughly. Slowly stir in the milk and then the yeast mixture. Cover loosely. Consider this Day 1. (I use a Corning Ware mixing bowl and cover my bowl with a plate).

Step 2: For Days 2 thru 4, stir the starter with a plastic spoon once each day.

Step 3: On Day 5, stir in 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk.

Step 4: Days 6 thru 9, stir once each day with plastic spoon.

Step 5: Day 10. Stir in 1 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk. At this point, you will have enough for 4 (1-cup) starters. Use each starter to make a batch of bread, or to give away to friends with instructions, or save 1 and start the process over again beginning with Step 2.


Now, for the actual bread recipe:

Amish Friendship Bread

Preheat oven to 325. Prepare muffin tins by spraying and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar. I personally prefer to use paper cupcake liners, which I also spray and sprinkle.

To the 1 cup starter, add:

1 c. oil
1/2 c. milk
1 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding

Mix with mixer and poor into muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon/sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes, then wrap individually with plastic wrap or preferrably press-n-seal (plastic wrap is not good for my Christian testimony).

These are so good and definitely worth the work and wait!

Fruit Pizza - Yummy!

Here's one of my favorite new desserts, fruit pizza! It's so delicious, and I meant to take a picture last time I made it (forgot), but it's just as beautiful as it is delicious. Here's the recipe:

Crust:
1 18 oz. package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream

Topping:
fresh fruit of your choice (strawberries, grapes, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) NOT bananas (they turn brown)

Glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. orange
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Slice cookie dough and arrange onto greased 12 in. pizza pan, pressing dough to edges. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until lightly brown. Cool. In bowl, mix cream cheese and marshmallow cream. Spread over cooled crust. Chill while preparing glaze. In saucepan, combine glaze ingredients over medium heat, bringing to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and prepare fruit. After fruit is sliced, you can EITHER dip fruit in the glaze and then arrange on the pizza, OR place the fruit on the pizza and brush with the glaze.

Don't skip the glaze! It really makes this dessert special. Just to estimate, I made 2 of these pizzas using 1 quart of strawberries, 4 kiwis, and 1 large bunch of grapes.

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

My little Seth turned 7 years old yesterday. He's changed so much over this past year, and it's been a joy to watch him grow and discover who God wants him to be. Seth has never been into guns and knives and cowboy hats like my other boys, and I've had so much fun trying to find ways to feed his insatiable curiosity about everything there is to know about God's creation. Seth has been a challenge to me from Day 1, and he continues to cause me to do lots of soul-searching as I go down this uncertain road of parenting.

A few days ago, we were at the Wal-Mart vision center having KK's eyes examined. One of the associates was watching all the kids seated quietly, and he came over and said, "What?! All your brothers and sisters have on cowboy and cowgirl boots. You have on tennis shoes! You are not a cowboy?" To which Seth replied in a humble, quiet voice, "No sir, I'm a scientist." So cute, and indeed, he IS a scientist. This year, he had his heart set on this deluxe insect collector's backpack for his birthday.

He has had so much fun already with it.

Here he is having his birthday morning monkey bread.

For his birthday supper, I cooked one of Seth's favorite meals: chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese. I'll share my recipes below. These chicken fingers are the one and only reason that I even own a deep fryer. I threw it away several years ago, and went without one for about a year. The kids and Jason just kept on asking about chicken fingers, so I purchased another one just for this one meal. I spent quite a while tweaking the seasoning on these, and they are so delicious!

CHICKEN STRIPS

Mix together:

2 sleeves of saltine crackers, finely crushed

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. onion salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat deep fryer to about 365 degrees. Beat together 1 egg and 1/2 c. milk. Dip chicken tenderloins (about 3 lbs) into milk mixture, then cracker mixture, and deep fry about 4 pieces at a time for 4 minutes, or until desired crispiness. (1 chicken finger = 3 Weight Watchers points)

HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE

8 oz. elbow macaroni, prepared according to directions

In saucepan, stir in:

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can evaporated milk

1 c. water

2 Tbsp. butter

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Stir in 1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Add macaroni and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased small casserole dish (7 x 11, 9 x 9, etc.). Sprinkle with 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy! (1/9 of dish = 6 Weight Watchers points)

Home Sweet Homeschool

I've been so busy trying to "tweek" our daily schedules lately. If there's one thing I've learned after 8 years of homeschooling, it's that it is 10% instruction and 90% structure, especially when you have several students. The way it happens in larger families, is that you gradually add and adjust to new students as you go. For us, however,with my boys being so close in age , I went from 2 students to 4 students, with 1 lively baby in the background to add to the fun! It has certainly been a challenge, but then...I love a challenge!

Seth and Bubbie could not be more different in personalities, and I've always conducted what Gregg Harris calls "delight directed" study. I've never followed a particular curriculum, but taken the eclectic approach, tailoring it to whatever interests my children have at the time. The boys do much of their study together, and I'm finding it quite difficult to teach (in a fun, contagious way) to a scientist and a cowboy at the same time. (and did I mention that we have a lively baby in the background??) Most people have no clue as to the skills it requires to be a homeschool mom!

One thing I've been working on is to make sure that the boys get the same experiences of music and reading and art that Caleb and Madelyn had (back when I had more time to devote to fun school stuff). I've compiled them an assortment of history and science encyclopedias, animal picture books, and art books, and of course...pioneer and cowboy books, that they may choose from in the mornings after they finish lessons. I've gathered photos of famous composers that I display and let them sit and listen to music from that one particular composer for an hour each day (one composer per week). They are not allowed to talk (for boys that age, talking = play fighting). I've been delighted at how much they've enjoyed this time, and they've already learned a lot. Bub actually recognized Tchaikovsky in the store the other day. It has helped keep down the chaos while I do harder subjects with the big kids, and the boys are learning the skill of concentration as well.

In the afternoons, while I finish up with the big kids and Summer naps, the boys get to do art. Now, I HATE CRAFTS (bad homeschool mom!), and I'm not going to sit and glue popsicle sticks and fuzz balls all afternoon, but I do have a little tolerance for art and creativity. Here's my rule: If you can clean it up yourself, you can do it. So, they have paint, markers, drawing paper, clay, as well as magnet sets and other constructive toys that they can play with QUIETLY during this time. I also made them some play-doh, and I'll share a recipe below.

I'm going to post their school schedules soon, just simply because as a hs mom, I always enjoy seeing how other people do things and getting new ideas for our family. Hope everyone is getting geared up and ready for a new calender school year. Don't get bogged down with the daily grind, and just remember what a privilege and responsibility it is to mold and shape little hearts and minds.

Here's a cool twist to the usual play-doh recipe. You don't have to take time to try and color the play-doh with dye, the Jell-O colors the play-doh, and it's also scented! Fun! It takes under 10 minutes to make this.

Jell-O Playdoh

1 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

2 Tbsp. cream of tartar

3 oz. box jell-o, any flavor

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 c. warm water

Combine dry ingredients in a skillet. Whisk in oil and water. Cook over medium to high heat with a spatula until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and knead on wax paper until smooth. Wrap in wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container or ziploc bag.

Special Treat!

I wanted to share this recipe for one of our favorite treats. They are so easy to make. Everywhere I take them, someone always asks for the recipe. I'm going to include the recipe for homemade whipped cream, but if you don't have a high speed mixer you can just use Cool Whip. (Of course if you ever taste homemade whipped cream, you'll go buy a heavy duty mixer just to make it!) For a variation, you can use vanilla sandwich cookies and a fruit topping instead. Enjoy!

Oreo Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
18 Oreo cookies + extra to crush for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Place a cupcake liner in 18 muffin cups, and fill each one with a cookie. Beat cream cheese with mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over the cookies. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow tarts to cool completely. Top with whipped cream and crushed Oreo. Refrigerate.

Homemade Whipped Cream:
1 c. whipping cream
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Chill mixing bowl and utensils for about 10 minutes. Beat cream on high speed until it begins to thicken. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. (Don't beat too much or you'll have butter!)

Fresh Salsa

I just made one of my very favorite summer treats, straight from our garden! I absolutely love this salsa. It's great with tortilla chips (and sour cream, of course), and I also like to put it on a flour tortilla with cheese, lunch meat, and sour cream, for a delicious sandwich wrap. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups. The corn came from our garden, but you can also substitute canned white shoepeg corn, preferrably the vacuum sealed kind for this recipe. Also, this year we have an abundance of Roma tomatoes, and I used about 10 of them instead of the 2 larger tomatoes. And lastly, the cilantro is what makes this salsa. If you've never used fresh cilantro, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? The best way to chop it is to cut all the leaves into a small glass bowl, discard the stems, and chop the leaves with kitchen shears. This salsa is best when you allow it to chill for a few hours and let all the flavors blend.

Fresh Garden Salsa

1/4 c. whole corn

2 medium cluster tomatoes, seeds removed, and diced

2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 of a medium sized Vidalia onion, diced

3 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. sea salt

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

15 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped, stems discarded

Enjoy!

Garden Recipes

I'm getting so excited about our garden. Jason works so hard on it every year. To be perfectly honest, I help with the harvesting, but I don't really help too much in planting, except when I'm asked. For one thing, plants hate me; secondly, I'm allergic to nature. However, when the time comes, I love to cook, can, and freeze everything my husband plants! I just pulled the last bag of squash out of the freezer from last year's garden to cook for supper, and I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes to use with fresh squash. Enjoy!

SQUASH DRESSING
1 lb fresh squash; sliced, cooked, and drained*
(*you can use a 16 oz. bag frozen squash)
1 small cake cornbread, baked and crumbled (I use 8in iron skillet, makes about 2 cups crumbled)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. melted butter
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp. sage
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix all together. Baked in a greased small casserole dish (7 x 11 or 9 x 9), uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Hot Wing Pizza

This is absolutely one of my family's favorite meals! It's called Hot Wing Pizza and it is made with hot wing sauce, but it is not too spicy for the little ones to eat. (Even if the sauce is hot, when you mix it with the tomato sauce and the rest of the ingredients, the end result is not as spicy.)
Notes:
If you don't have a breadmaker, you can buy a pre-made crust.
I'm going to give the recipe for half whole wheat and half white flour, but if you prefer you can use all white bread flour. My family actually prefers the half wheat version because it gives the crust a great texture that doesn't fall apart when you're eating it.
This recipe is for an 18 inch pizza (12 slices); you can half the recipe exactly for a 12 inch pizza.
Weight Watchers Points for the 18 inch version (1/12 of the pizza): 6 points (3 for the crust, 3 for the toppings). Enjoy!

Pizza Dough (Bread Machine)
1 c. water
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour (I always use King Arthur!)
1 1/2 c. bread flour
1 tsp. dried cilantro (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. bread machine yeast

Use Dough Cycle. When finished, spread onto lightly sprayed 18-inch. pan (I use a rolling pin to do this). Add toppings.

While dough is rising in machine, bake 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast in the oven on 350 degrees, uncovered, and sprinkled liberally with steak seasoning (I use Durkee's Kansas City Style) for about an hour.

Hot Wing Pizza Toppings:
1 1/2 pounds baked seasoned chicken breast, chopped
1/2 c. tomato sauce
1/2 c. Buffalo Hot Wing Sauce (I use Moore's Brand)
2 Tbsp. butter
2/3 c. Ranch Dressing
3 sliced green onions, optional
2 c. mozzarella cheese

Simmer tomato sauce and hot wing sauce and butter on stove for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Add chicken and heat through.
Spread Ranch dressing on pizza crust, add sauce mixture and top with cheese and green onions.

Bake at 450 degrees on BOTTOM RACK for about 10 minutes.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea

...."I'll just let Summer sit over here and eat an apple and watch Frosty while I clean up. That way she'll stay out of trouble and not make any more messes before I can get everything else cleaned up".....

(so much for that!)

Ranch Chalupas

Thought I'd share one of my family's favorite new recipes. These chalupas are similar to a bread style taco, but with a Ranch twist. Obviously, you can adjust portions for your family's size; however, I will say that these are a little more filling than tacos. This makes 16, and easily feeds my family of 6 + 1 baby portion (yes, Rosebud loves them too!). I freeze any leftover meat mixture for a quick burrito lunch (just add sour cream and cheese). Enjoy!

RANCH CHALUPAS
1 8-oz. cup sour cream
4 tsp. ranch salad dressing mix
1 tsp. lime juice
Mix and refrigerate until ready to use

2 lbs. ground beef
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 10-oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. cilantro (optional, but I love cilantro!)
1/4 c. (or 1 envelope) taco seasoning
Brown meat; drain. Then add beans, tomatoes, and seasoning and heat through.

Preferred toppings such as lettuce, shredded cheese, onions or green onions, sliced ripe olives

2 16.3-oz. large tubes of buttermilk refrigerated biscuits (8-count each)
After sour cream, meat, and toppings are prepared, heat skillet on medium to high heat. Roll out biscuits into 6-inch circles and cook over medium heat about 60 seconds on each side or until brown; keep warm. (dry skillet, no oil)

Spread each bread piece with 1 Tbsp. ranch sour cream, about 1/3 c. meat mixture, then sprinkle with desired toppings. Roll up taco style to eat.