Quick and Easy Pizza

I absolutely love pizza! So when I got a good recipe for a pizza crust, it just gave me the excuse to eat more pizza during the week.
This is a great recipe when you don't want to wait for your dough to rise. You just mix it and let it rest for 5 minutes and then it's ready to go! 

What you will need:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 
1 tsp. white sugar 
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 
2 ½ cups flour 
2 tbsp. olive oil 
1 tsp. salt 

Preheat oven to 450°F. 

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. 
Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll with a rolling pin. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pan or baker's peel.

Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

There is nothing better than homemade soup during the winter! I love French onion soup and would always get it at restaurants growing up. It has great flavors, with layers of croutons and toasted mozzarella cheese. I always thought it was so difficult to make, and would only be able to enjoy it if I went out to a fancy shmansy restaurant.

You are not going to believe how easy this is to make! And, it costs way less to make a whole pot of it than one bowl at a restaurant. I always make a GIANT pot of it and freeze part of it to enjoy later.

What you will need:

4 large onions
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. sugar
4 tbs. flour
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 tsp. salt
4 tbs. paprika
4-6 cups water (or you can use vegetable stock to give richer flavor)
1 package mozzarella cheese
Any leftover bread

In a large pot, melt the butter on medium heat. While the butter is melting, slice up 4 large onions. Once the butter is melted, add the onions to the pot. Let the onions sweat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. I add the sugar halfway through.

Once the onions have a nice brown sheen to them add the flour, onion soup mix, salt, and paprika. Stir the mixture until it’s all incorporated and is a thick paste consistency.

Slowly add the water. I start with ½ cup at first so that the water mixes with the thick paste mixture. Once the water mixes completely, I add the remaining cups of water and stir it all together.

Let the soup simmer on medium heat for an hour with the lid propped on top, but slightly open to let steam out.

While the soup is making, cut any bread you have up into medium size squares. Sprinkle some paprika on the top. Toast on 350°F for 10 minutes.

Once the soup is ready, it’s time to assemble it in the bowls! I love using these little handled crocks like they do in the restaurants to get the full effect!

Ladle the soup into your bowls; sprinkle some mozzarella cheese, then a layer of croutons, and finally another {heaping} layer of cheese. Bake in the oven at 350°F until the cheese bubbles and turns brown.

I let the remainder of the soup cool down, then I pour into freezer safe containers to enjoy when I just don't feel like cooking.  They can last months in the freezer like this.

Enjoy!

Dog Lovers Salmon Twizzle Sticks

Our dog, Jet, has a wheat allergy. Every time we need to pick up new treats for him, it is a long process. We need to read the labels for the ingredients to make sure that there is no flour, oats, or any other form of grain in there that could give him a tummy ache. Oh, and it is also important to look at where the treats are made. Remember the Waggin Train company treats that were causing kidney failure ? Those were from China, threw all those out. After that, we do not buy treats that are made in China, Japan, or anything like that.

These links have other important information on dog treats:
Treats that made dogs ill
Waggin Train Recall

We had bought Jet these dried fish skin sticks at an upscale gourmet dog store. He loved them, but our wallets did not. They were $2 a stick!

I have been thinking for ways to make him fresh and healthy treats, without spending a fortune. So, when I bought a 3 pound package of smoked salmon, I hit the jackpot. Hidden under the slices of salmon was the whole skin it was sliced off of, and I didn’t even know it!

This was the easiest treat to make for Jet, and he watched me the whole time salivating.  It’s like he’s a cat or something.

What you will need:
Salmon skin (or any other fish skin)

Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (trust me you are going to want it lined, the fish oils come out of the fish and smell very fishy)

Slice the salmon skin in half, and then into thin strips.

Twist the strips, or make knots with the strips, or however else you would like them to look.
Bake in the oven for 1-2 hours, or until they are crispy and dry. Make sure to check on them midway.

Remove from the oven. Once cooled, lay on paper towels to remove the excess oils. I let them sit out overnight to dry even more.

Tell your dog to sit, roll over, or any other command as you got his/her attention with this amazingly easy homemade treat for them.

Watch them enjoy!

Bakery Hack ~ Pumpkin Scones

I know what you’re thinking, scones sound so fancy and foreign they must include tons of ingredients and a thousand steps to the finish line…That’s what I thought as well when I first heard them…Well I was completely WRONG! They are actually quite simple and require only a few ingredients that you probably already have.

I also wanted to prove to my husband that they are dirt cheap to make, so I calculated the cost of my ingredients used per batch, it came to roughly $3 for a batch of 8 scones…that’s only 38 cents per scone! WHOA!! Bakeries charge like $4 a pop, they ain’t going to fool me twice!

Printable Recipe

What you will need:

½ cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsps. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. salt

2 to 2 ½ cups flour, plus more for dusting

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

½ cup roasted pumpkin puree {recipe here}, or canned pumpkin puree

1 large egg

½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients; sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

If using roasted pumpkin {recipe here}, add 2 ¼ cups of the flour; if using canned pumpkin puree, add 2 cups of the flour.

Cut in the butter into the dry ingredients using a bowl scraper until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients; the pumpkin, egg, and milk.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Fold until just combined. (If using roasted pumpkin you may need to add up to ¼ cup more flour to prevent sticking.)

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Form into a flat disc, about 8 inches wide. Cut the disc like a pie into 8 pieces and place on a parchment-lined sheet.

Bake until golden brown, roughly 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Enjoy!