Razzie's Food For Thought

Do you know what this does? Answer #1

2009-01-31T11:18:00.005-06:00

Answer: "Presto Burger Maker" , It is an electric skillet made specifically to fry one hamburger, if you look closely it has small holes in the pan for draining the grease. It is set up much like a waffle iron, where you close the lid on top and lock the hinge while it cooks. The Original one use George Foreman? Here are a few other angles of this fine specimen of useless kitchen gadgets. Hopefully up next my recipe for hummus...just need to right down actual measurements....

Do you know what this does? #1

2009-01-29T08:23:00.003-06:00

Ok, so this idea for a series in my blog sprang forth about six months ago when I had all the time in the world and still went resale shopping for good kitchen gadgets and the such. Of course when shopping at second hand shops you are truly transported back in time to the kitchens of the past 4 or five decades. On these trips I have always found the most unique and usually usless kitchen gadgets over created, but I have only ever bought one (sadly it is at my parents house and it will have to wait to be shared) Instead of purchasing some useless junk to fill up my already clutered kitchen, I took photos and thought I would share. For the first post of each I will post a photo of a gadget and then let people guess and then a few days later I will post the answer. Here is the first photo found in Rogers City, MI. It is open and does have a handle to clarify.

Wedding Food Part 3

2008-07-06T15:14:00.002-05:00

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is a great summertime salad perfect for a side with grilled chicken or pork.

Baby Spinach, washed
2 Tbl sesame seeds, toasted
1 quart strawberries, sliced
.5 cup canola oil
.5 cup sugar
.25 cup white vinegar
1.5 tsp grated sweet onion
.25 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbl. poppy seeds
.5 tsp paprika

Mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, onion, poppy seeds, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce together in a jar. Shake well and refrigerate for at least an hour. Toss the dressing, spinach, strawberries, and sesame seeds together and serve.

Wedding Food Part 2

2008-07-05T23:54:00.004-05:00

Island Coconut & Sweet Potato Stew w/Rice

This stew is great served by itself or over rice. We have eaten it with pita or naan bread, it is great as a main dish or side. It is very easy to make and the ingredients are found in most major grocery stores. It might closely resemble Jamaican flavorings though it incorporates Siracha, an Asian hot sauce, and Thai curry paste for heat and flavor.

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet onion, diced
2 gloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbl ginger, smashed
1-3 Tbl Thai red curry paste
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 16oz can lite coconut milk
1 liter vegetable stock
8oz red lentils
15oz pureed pumpkin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbl Siracha, plus more for garnish
cilantro for garnish

Make a thick paste by mashing ginger and garlic together using a pestle and mortar or a small bowl and the heel of a wooden spoon or puree in food processor. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the garlic ginger paste and sauté another 2 minutes until fragrant; lower heat and stir constantly to avoid burning the paste. Add the cumin and coriander and sauté for a minute more. Add curry paste and sauté for another minute. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Simmer over medium - low heat for about an hour or until sweet potato is soft and almost melting into the stew. Be sure to stir occasionally.

Garnish with cilantro and more siracha depending on level of desired heat.

Wedding Food Part 1

2008-07-05T23:46:00.007-05:00

Spanish Gazpacho

This gazpacho recipe is one that I wrote for the wedding. I have modified it so that it is vegan by using vegan Worcestershire sauce, but you can easily substitute the real sauce that contains anchovies as well if you are not serving to vegetarians.

4 Roma Tomatoes, peeled and seeded
3 stalks of celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
3.5 oz sweet onion, roughly chopped
.25 cup Vinagre de Jerez (Spanish sherry wine vinegar)
.25 cup sugar
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 whole yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1.5 tsp chopped garlic
.5 cup loose parsley
1 48oz can of salt-free tomato juice

Puree all but the tomato juice in a food processor for at least a minute, until smooth. Pour vegetable mixture and tomato juice into a pitcher and stir. Chill well. Serve in martini glasses garnished with an olive.

Spring's First Cheeses from Prarie Fruits Farm

2008-04-16T20:20:00.007-05:00

Saturday morning we arose to a dreary gray drizzle. We quickly got ready and I, dressed for summer in shorts and flip flops, threw on a sweatshirt and ran out into the rain to pick up Laura and get to the farm early enough to secure our long awaited prize, Angel Food from Prairie Fruits Farms. We arrived at the farm expecting to see the same activity we drove into the week before, with goats playing in the pen and families gathered around pointing out the animals to their children, while soaking in the warm spring sunshine, but alas it was a dark, dismal day and when we arrived, no one was to be found. We walked around a little and looked at the goats, walked into the sales room, saw the cheese, wild ramps and Organic spinach from Blue Moon Farms, and heard some voices coming from the cheese production rooms, yet couldn't find anyone to sell us our long awaited cheese. We eventually secured our prize, a petite 5.6oz wheel of Angel Food. As we drove back to my house to enjoy we realized we needed bread, so we quickly swung by IGA and picked up one of those Take-and-Bake baguettes. With that we grabbed some strawberries and tomatoes at Laura's and headed to my house to enjoy our spoils and not share with anyone. The cheese was just as creamy and salty and gooey as we had remembered and we ended up eating the whole wheel over a 2.5 hour sitting. Now we just can't wait until they have their Prairie Blazing Star, an aged goat cheese wrapped in Sycamore leaves and soaked in a local Illinois red wine.

On the previous night Laura and I went out to KO Fusion, an Asian-American fusion restaurant downtown Champaign that also features sushi. We had an amazing meal, although it was quite pricey. We ordered three sushi roles for dinner and stuffed ourselves with dessert. We first ordered the Solomon, the Lava and the Crunch. The Lava roll was by far our least favorite, although still quite good, just lacked in flare. They describe it as "Crabmeat, black mushrooms wrapped in smoked salmon topped w/baked sea scallops and caviar" And that is what it was, quite fishy and rather boring, like the standard Orange roll, a maki roll, rolled in small orange fish roe. The Solomon, by only a slight advantage or more complex flavors was our favorite(not to mention the most expensive). It was a "shrimp tempura roll topped with unagi , salmon, avocado, masago caviar and crunch" They also failed to mention the wonderful spicy-sweet sauces that topped the roll that truly brought it together. For those of you who are wondering unagi is smoked eel and masago is the orange fish roe that I previously mentioned. The last roll, the Crunch, was the cheapest roll and came with a mix of spicy tomato-chili sauce and a mustard based sauce. It was a roll of spicy tuna topped with masago and crushed cashews. For dessert we had a cheesecake filling that was wrapped in wonton, fried, and drizzled with a coconut-lime sauce and a sauce that had cinnamon in it. Overall the experience at KO Fusion was great and we enjoyed the meal, including the White Dragon cocktail of lychee, rum, and pineapple juice, but we might opt to try out SushiKame down the street, which we hear from friends is cheaper and just as good.

The Return

2008-03-22T14:26:00.002-05:00

Wow, I have been out of the blogosphere for almost a whole month. I blame classes, serving in Memphis over spring break, and the fact that I have done the most uninteresting and little amount of cooking over the past month due to my hectic schedule. But not to fear I am catering a wedding for my friends in June and I will be recreating some of those dishes for them to sample this weekend and then there should be some good posts. I also have plans for trying out a super-superfood dish that incorporates all of the superfoods mentioned over at balance. Until then, have a good day.

Cookies & Hummus & Friends

2008-02-24T11:43:00.013-06:00

So last weekend after the Latin fundraiser dinner we spent the day baking cookies for B.'s brother's fiancé's bridal shower. Well L. also ended up with a truck load of Latin garbanzo bean salad(think roughly 6lbs) Well this salad was quite delicious in flavor as it contained chipotles in adobo, jalepenos, lime juice, olive oil, onion, tomato and lots of cilantro all marinated for a couple of hours. Well we thought we could make it better by transforming it with the help of my brand new food processor(Thanks Mom!) into hummus. What we didn't know is how much 6lbs of hummus actually is......lets just say we are still eating after giving a lot of it away.

For the hummus we mixed the salad with tahini, lemon juice, Spanish olive oil from Trader Joe's, salt, pepper, and some Sweet Ancho Roasted Red Pepper spread from Harry & David. It turned out to be a sweet/spicy Latin flared hummus. Not what you would really expect from hummus, but still a good dip. One friend of ours told me the other day she ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

While we tirelessly worked on the hummus, B. got to work on making sugar cookie dough. She endlessly rolled out dough and cut miniature cookies out for the next 3 hours, while L. and I snuck pieces of dough and "deformed" cookies. L helped decorate them with sprinkles and icing, I tried to do the whole sprinkle things, but failed miserable, I figure I will just stick to cooking.

B. did let me make my own creation with the leftover dough. I decided to make my Mii. He later went for a swim in the icing and ended up drowning and getting eaten by a shark or maybe that was me.

A Good Day of Food

2008-02-21T17:37:00.004-06:00

So I don't have much time to post before my battery runs out but I wanted to share with you my amazing lunch and afternoon snack I made. For lunch I started with a veggie sandwich made on 12 grain bread(yes it has lots of whole nuts and seeds, yum!). It had sweet yellow bell peppers, a sliver of red onion and fresh baby field greens. This was all topped off with vegannaise my new favorite sandwich spread. Ok so most of you are probably thinking, "what is vegannaise? It sounds disgusting!" But before you judge you must try. It is mayo made out of grapeseed oil. It replaces the egg in the traditional permanent emulsion, with soy protein and mustard flour as the emulsifier. With those ingredients, brown rice syrup, and apple cider vinegar, the vegannaise has a slightly nutty, sweet tang, right up there competing with the mysterious tang of Miracle Whip.

We also made up a great batch of corn cake, the recipe for which I got off of a friend, who found it in a cookbook she received for her wedding. It is real simple and is part cake, part cornbread, almost good enough for dessert. Once it is done baking, simply slather your piece it in butter and enjoy. The recipe is below.

This afternoon I also made tropical fruit salsa and a greek hummus with oregano, lemon juice, tahini, and cumin. Sadly there won't be much for me to enjoy since most of it is going to the women's overnighter tomorrow evening. Hopefully, although late, I will get to Lauren's pumpkin challenge this weekend and have something fun to share.

Corn Cake

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 box Jiffy yellow cake mix (or half of a regular one)
2 eggs
1 cup of milk

Beat eggs and milk in a bowl. Add mixes and stir until combined. Pour in a 9x9 square pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Quick Dinners #1

2008-02-19T18:08:00.007-06:00

Tonight Fuego is at PR and is eating dinner with ROTC, so I had to figure out a quick dinner I could throw together for myself before I got working on stuff. I made pork fajitas on flour tortillas with a "dollop of Daisy"TM. The peppers and onions are the seasoning mostly for this dish which has a lot of punch for the ease and speed of this dish. It took me about 15 minutes from start to finish for this.
Pork Fajitas

Bell pepper
Onion
pork(or any other meat)
black pepper
garlic salt
hot sauce

Slice the peppers and onions, toss in pan with 1 T oil. cube or slice meat, toss in pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute until peppers are tender and meat cooked through. Add hot sauce for a kick in the end if you wish. Serve with sour cream on a flour tortilla.

Latin Fundraiser Dinner

2008-02-19T17:37:00.009-06:00

So Saturday night the team from I-life that is going to Honduras put on an amazing fundraising event for the new AIDs clinic. L. organized a fantastic feast of steak and chicken fajitas, cheese and veggie enchiladas (the most amazingly gooey, unhealthy enchiladas I have had in a long time), sopapillas, pebre, guac, tortilla soup, and rice pudding and "churros" for dessert.

First off, I didn't have an fajitas, so I can't comment on those, but the sopapillas and pebre made by M. were amazing. I have heard about her sopapillas for a long time but by the time I got there to try them they were always gone. She spent a semester in Chile, so she must know her way around the amazing pebre or cilantro salsa, as it is sometimes referred to in English.

M. made the delicious broccoli and spinach cheese enchiladas, that were sinfully divine. L. also made the garbanzo bean salad that you can see on the right of my plate, which the leftovers proved to make a nice experiment for Sunday. K. made a rockin rice pudding and C. made sweet churros. The girls(and boys) did an amazing job with the fundraiser dinner and it was a lot of fun. Thanks guys.

Cajexitalian? Did I make up a new cuisine?

2008-02-15T09:53:00.005-06:00

Ok so it really tasted much better than it looks. And by no means is it "healthy". It is what started off as a Cajun-style lasagna but what then through a series of unfortunate events (not planning, not shopping for vegetable...) It ended up with a new Mexican flair of chili beans and corn. I started off with some leftover red sauce from our pasta two nights ago and added it to the pan with the first layer or no-bake noodles. I then sauteed Andouille sausage, red onion, and green peppers in a skillet. Once that was done I added a red pepper alfredo sauce that I had laying in the back of the cupboard. Mixed the ricotta with cajun seasonings and layered the Andouille mixture first, noodles, corn, beans, ricotta, noodles, sauce. Baked it for 40 minutes at 350 and had a tasty meal with about 20 min of actual work, not bad for a weekday dinner. Plus we had FF, sugar free Jello with FF cool whip for dessert. (something had to be healthy) Stay tuned for this weekend which will hopefully be a cooking extravaganza with recipes.

New Look

2008-02-12T23:33:00.006-06:00

After two years of dormancy my blog has been revived and reawakened by the influence of Christy at balance and Lauren at Genki Tummy. Hopefully I will soon get into the swing of actually remembering to take pictures of what I make and eat and post it up here along with recipes. Here's to a new life for this blog!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2006-10-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

3 (11-ounce) cans Mexican corn with peppers, drained and rinsed

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 firm avocados, peeled and chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 small red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 (.6-ounce) package Good Season Italian Dressing

Chopped cilantro, optional

PREPARATION: In a large mixing bowl combine black beans, Mexican corn, tomatoes, avocados, green onions, red onion, garlic, olive oil, white vinegar and Good Season Italian Dressing. Gently stir together and let set a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 12 cups.

Nutritional information per 1/4-cup serving: 63 calories, 4 grams fat, 2 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 171 milligrams sodium.

Tropical Fruit Salsa

2006-10-21T13:37:00.001-05:00

2 cans tropical fruit
1 can pineapple
1/4 to 1/2 small red onion (to taste)
1-3 jalepenos, seeds and veins removed

Drain the juice, resereving some if needed, put all ingredients in food processor and blend until consistency that you like. Serve with chips. You may add more tropical fruit or pineapple if it is too strong of an onion taste for you

Ok so I published this old post

2006-06-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

So there is a new recipe it was just an old post I never published it is for Pineapple Casserole, which is an awesome side dish for pretty much anything. There is a link on the side bar or you can just scroll down I think it is datred April 11th atually.

Becky's Ultimate Chocolate Frosting

2006-06-02T00:03:00.000-05:00

So this is my Aunt's awesome frosting,...... next I just need to get he chocolate oatmeal cake recipe off of her. Hope you enjoy this on any cake or brownies.

1/2 stick butter-room temp
1/2 stick cream cheese-room temp
1/2-3/4 C cocoa
1/3 C milk
2 2/3 C powdered sugar

Blend butter and cream cheese with hand mixer; add rest of ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy

Georgia Pulled Pork with Mustard-Vinegar Sauce

2006-06-01T23:59:00.001-05:00

If you want real, good BBQ and don’t have a smoker or time to watch the grill you should try this recipe. With this you just put it in the oven and check on it 5-8 hours later. I love the sauce, though it can be a little spicy. If you want, don’t add the sauce to the pork and leave it dry, though I do find it dries out a little after time in the fridge. This recipe also freezes great and can just be reheated in a crock-pot or saucepan, the day of serving. Enjoy this great BBQ and try it with coleslaw on top….my favorite.

Serving Size: about 12 Sandwiches

Dry Rub:
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator. (I prefer overnight) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.

Will Update Soon

2006-05-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

So I have started working and more cooking for the summer. I am going to try to recreate the BBQ nachos we had in Memphis and then move on to some more recipes for ya'll. I'll get back to posting more recipes soon, hopefully some more summer recipes.

Broccoli Salad

2006-04-26T23:29:00.000-05:00

So I think this really is one of my favorite salads. With fresh broccoli, bacon, sunflower seeds, and raisins in a tangy mayo dressing....Well lets just say I would eat it for breakfast.....but I am not one that's big on traditional meals at traditional hours, so maybe you guys want to just stick with adding it to your next lunch or dinner. Its also great to take to potlucks. For the broccoli I usually use the florets and smaller bite sized tops, but if you don't want to waste you can thinly slice and julliene the stems, or run it through a mandoline if you have one.

Fresh broccoli, bite sized, at least two bunches
Cooked and crumbled bacon
Sunflower seed meats
Raisins

DRESSING:
1 C. Miracle Whip(I insisit on this, but you may substitute, but maybe add a little more sugar)
1/4 C. white sugar
2 T. white vinegar

Mix the dressing and toss with all ingredients. Let sit for several hours or overnight for full flavor development.

Grandma's Meatballs

2006-04-26T23:17:00.000-05:00

So these meatballs are amazing, I love them with mashed potatoes and the sauce is so sweet and tangy all at once, it really is just a wonderful confort food. I hope you guys all enjoy this great recipe from my Grandma Swan.

1/2 med. onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. rolled oats (Old fashioned or Quick Cooking)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg

TANGY TOMATO SAUCE:
1-8oz can tomato sauce
1/4 C. brown sugar, packed
2 T. yellow mustard

Mix onion, ground beef, oats, salt, pepper, and egg. Shape into 12 balls. Put in heated high sided frypan or cast iron skillet; brown on all sides. Mix sauce. Pour over meatballs and cook for atleast 10 minutes.

Toasted Coconut Pie

2006-04-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

Well I haven't posted lately, and I am sorry to all that actually read this, but the last couple weeks of the semester have been upon us and I am sure that it is not just me that is extremely busy. This pie is extremely simple to make and great for something quick to whip up. By using a premade pastry crust from Pillsbury or some other brand, you can save a whole lot of time and it tastes just as great.

1 pkg premade pie crust

MIX TOGETHER:
3 beaten eggs
1 1/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. melted butter
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla

STIR IN:
1 1/3 C. shredded coconut

Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake 40-45 minutes at 350. Cool before serving.

Breakfast Egg Casserole

2006-04-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

So I made this recipe for the last Speaking Seminar and I think it went over pretty well. We use the original mild style breakfast sausage, NOT sage. I especially love this recipe because to me, this is Christmas morning, along with cinnamon and orange rolls, more on those to come. This is simple and easy to make but it does require a day in advance to prepare.

12 slices of bread
1/2 lb cooked, crumbled sausage
6 eggs, beaten
2 C. milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
Dash of pepper

Beat eggs slightly and then add milk. Mix well. Mix salt and dry mustard together and then add to egg mixture along with pepper, mix well. Butter 9x13" pan. Layer 6 slices of bread on bottom of pan. Top with sausage, then cheddar cheese. Layer 6 more slices of bread and butter tops. Pour egg mixture over top and cover. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until egg is set.

Pineapple Casserole

2006-04-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

Ok so the first time that I tell people about this dish they look at me and say "eww pineapple and cheese!", but I assure you that this is an amazing combination, and I am sure my I-team will back me up, well at least it was gone pretty quick when I made it. So enjoy this amazing, and very cheap, side dish.

2 cans chunk pineapple
3/4 C. sugar
3 T. flour
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter

Place butter in a 9x13 pan and place in oven while preheating to 350. Once butter is melted, drain pineapple, reserving half the juice. Pour pineapple into pan. Sift together the flour and sugar, stir in the cheese. Top pineapple with mixture, top with crushed Ritz crackers. Pour 1/4 C. or so of juice over casserole, and bake 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Caramelized Balsamic Onion, Spinach, and Goat Cheese Pizza

2006-04-01T17:42:00.000-06:00

So I have been posting a lot today and yesterday, but since I was on pizzas I had to follow up with my favorite pizza of all times. You start with the Backwoods Pizza Dough recipe and keep it clean and fresh with EVOO(Extra Virgin Olive Oil) as your sauce. Then you layer on baby spinach, caramelized balsamic red onions, fresh mozzarella and crumbled goat cheese. And for a real treat you finish it all off with a drizzle of white truffle oil and grill it on a gas or charcoal grill. NOTE: This pizza, as it is currently written, is not super cheap. But if you substitute the truffle oil for olive oil(my mom actually prefers this) and you use frozen spinach, and shredded mozzarella, it still tastes good, just don't omit the goat cheese unless you substitute it for some other stronger cheese, because the sweet and creamy, strong tastes really compliment each other. In addition you could bake this pizza at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until crispy.

Serving Size: 1 large pizza

½ recipe Backwoods Pizza Dough
1 recipe Carmelized Balsamic Onions(recipe follows)
1 pkg unseasoned crumbled goat cheese
1 pkg fresh Mozzarella
1 pkg fresh baby spinach
EVOO
White truffle Oil

Preheat Grill on high. Roll out dough on cornmeal on a cookie sheet with no sides. Drizzle 1-2 T of EVOO on dough. Layer fresh spinach on dough followed by onions. Slice the mozzarella into medallions and layer loosely spread out across crust. Top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with white truffle oil. Gently slide the pizza onto the grill and put the lid on. Grill for 10-15 minutes checking regularly until the crust is browned and the cheese melted.

*NOTE: Do not put too much Mozzarella cheese on pizza, fresh mozzarella melts much more than aged part-skim Mozzarella. Add other ingredients to your own tastes, measurements not meant for total use.

Caramelized Balsamic Onions

2 large red onions
2 T white sugar
Balsamic vinegar

Peel and slice the onion in half and then in ¼ inch slices. Heat a small non-stick skillet on medium high and add onions to pan. Sauté until tender. Sprinkle sugar on top of onions and stir until sugar has melted and caramelized onto onions, about 2 minutes. Add 2 splashes of Balsamic vinegar and wait until it dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

Backwoods Pizza Dough

2006-04-01T14:48:00.000-06:00

So this is my mom’s recipes that she found in a cookbook somewhere and now it is a staple in our family’s weekly diet. We usually make a triple batch which will feed my family plus an about 8 hungry teenage boys. If you make this in a stand mixer it isn’t too much work to let it knead the dough a good majority. If you make the dough you can let it rise and then freeze it tightly wrapped plastic.

¼ oz dry yeast

¼ C warm water-out of tap

3 C flour

1 t salt

2 T EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 T honey

¾ C cold water

Preheat oven to 250° before beginning. Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand till bubbly. Combine rest of ingredients in blender; add yeast and stir to blend. Knead till smooth and glossy. Form a ball and oil the surface. Cover the bowl, turn off oven and place bowl in warm oven for an hour. It should double in size. When rolling dough out roll out thin and on corn meal. Bake pizza at 450° for 8-12 minute or until crust is crispy and done.

INFO

2006-04-01T14:45:00.000-06:00

Ok so, I thought I would let you in on what I was thinking more with this. I will be updating this as much as I can and once I recall all my HTML code from junior high and high school, I will make the links work and what not. If you have any questions or specific requests for recipes or types of recipes, just leave me a comment, I would be glad to help. Thanks again for visiting my blog and Happy Cooking!

Thai Chicken Pizza

2006-04-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

This pizza was a recipe inspired by the California Pizza Kitchen. Most of the asian ingredients can be found at Walmart or Meijer. I prefer to shop at AMKO on the corner or Springfield and 1^st. The prices are usually lower and they have more selection. For the dough you can make the Backwoods Pizza Dough recipe or you could purchase it from you favorite pizza shop. Most pizzerias will sell you their dough in portions for 1 or 2 dollars. I know for a fact that Antonio’s on green will sell you their dough.

Serving Size: 1 large pizza or 2 small pizzas

Spicy peanut sauce
¼ C. peanut butter-add up to a ½ cup for a sweeter more nutty taste.
½ C. hoisin sauce-can be found in most supermarkets in the Asian aisle
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. minced ginger
2 Tbsp. roasted sesame oil
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Vietnamese chili sauce (or dried chili flakes)-Any hot Asian pepper sauce would work
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce-found in most supermarkets
2 Tbsp. water

Thai chicken pieces
1 Tbsp. olive oil
10 oz. boneless/skinless chicken beast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Pizza
make pizza dough (use your own recipe or use Backwoods Pizza Dough)
cornmeal for handling
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 green onions chopped
½ C. white bean sprouts
¼ C. shredded carrots-can be bought this way

Chopped, roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
½ bag broccoli slaw

>Preparation:
THAI PEANUT SAUCE: Combine sauce ingredients in a small pan over med. heat. Bring the sauce to a boil; boil gently for one minute. Set aside. THAI CHICKEN: Cook the chicken in olive oil over med-high heat, stirring, until just cooked; 5 to 6 minutes do not overcook. Set aside in refrigerator until chilled through. Once chilled, coat the chicken with sauce. Set aside in refrigerator. PIZZA: Use a large spoon to spread sauce evenly over pizza dough within the rim. Cover sauce with 3/4c cheese. Distribute half the chicken pieces over the cheese followed by half the green onions, bean sprouts, and carrots, respectively. Sprinkle an additional 1/4c cheese over the toppings and top the pizza with 1T chopped peanuts. Transfer the pizza to oven; bake at 350° until crisp and golden and the cheese is bubbly, 10-12 minutes. When cooked through, remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the pizza

Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second pizza.

Strawberry Pie

2006-03-31T09:58:00.000-06:00

It's spring and strawberries are in season. So I thought I would include a great fresh strawberry pie recipe that my mom has been making for years, and it still is amazing. This is a great quick desert is only takes about 30 min to prepare and an hour to chill so its great for quick impromptu gatherings. NOTE: I thought it would be proper to give my Grandma props for the original recipe, since it has come to my attention. Maybe I should assume all recipes origiante from her wonderful cookin.

BUTTER CRUST:
1/2 C butter
2 T. Sugar
1 C flour

FILLING
1 to 1 1/2 qts. strawberries
3 T. cornstarch
1 C. sugar
Red food coloring(optional)

BUTTER CRUST: Combine (cut) butter, sugar, and flour. Do not cream. Mix with pastry cutter or fork until well blended. Pat onto bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake at 375 for 12 to 15 minures. Cool.
FILLING: Wash and hull berries. Fill shell with whole berries, tips up. Mash enough berries to make 1 cup (some water may be added to make full cup). Mix sugar and cornstarch and add mashed berries. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is clear and thickened. Boil 1 minute. Stir to cool slightly. Add food coloring, if desired. Pour mixture over whole berries. Chill at least 1 hour.

Yea....

2006-03-26T22:51:00.000-06:00

So this is a blog that I am starting to share my recipes and food thoughts that I have learned from family and experimetnation, with other college age students, who might want to eat better, healthier or cheaper. I will just be posting at random whatever I feel inspired to share. Or whenever I have time to test out new recipes. I am not sure when I will be able to post my first entry, but hopefully within in the next few weeks there will be more to share with everyone.