Homemade Pizza -- updated 28 Jan 2018

More love for my bread machine...once again, for the dough making cycle.  I've made this a few times now and will surely make it many more, too, as it's easy and I nearly always have the ingredients needed on hand.  Assemble the ingredients, pop in the machine, wait an hour and a half, and voilà, pizza dough ready to go!

I follow the recipe exactly as it is written in the user manual that came with my Oster bread machine:

New notes: recently, I tried the "2 pound" version in the manual and find that it cooks up better (original posting was for the "1.5 pound" version)!  I have changed the ingredient amounts below to the 2 pound version, as I no longer use the 1.5.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes 2 pizzas (12")):

--dough--

1 3/8 c. water (70-80°F)

3 T. olive oil

4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. active dry yeast

--pizza--

1 jar Prego Pizzaria style pizza sauce

1 package mozzarella shredded cheese

toppings as desired

Instructions:

1. Add ingredients to bread machine hopper as listed in order.

2. Lock hopper into place and set machine for dough cycle.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F.

4. When dough is ready, divide in half.  Spray pizza baking sheets/pans with non-stick spray.  Spread dough out onto each prepared pizza baking sheet.

5. Prick with fork all over to prevent bubbling up while baking.

6. Add 1/2 of sauce jar to each pizza and spread out to edges.

7. Add toppings and cover with half of package of cheese.

8. Bake for 20-30 min (depending on toppings--23 is perfect for when I make half mushroom, half just cheese).

9. Cut into slices and enjoy!

Pecan Crusted Tilapia

Another quick, easy, and tasty recipe!  I don't make a lot of fish; I have to credit my mom with getting me to try this one (merci maman :))  My favorite side to serve with it, which is in the picture below, is Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice mix.
Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/pecan-crusted-tilapia-128799
The only modification I made this time was to use pecan oil (yes, it does smoke a bit because it's only supposed to tolerate up to medium heat, but it's good anyhow!) and cooked three fillets at once instead of batches (as I only made 3 instead of 4).

Ingredients:

1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs
2 T. finely chopped pecans (I used food processor)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
3 T. flour
3 (or 4) tilapia fillets
pecan (or other) oil--not sure of amount because I had to add more

Instructions:

1. Combine breadcrumbs, pecans, salt, garlic powder, and pepper in a shallow dish.

2. Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a bowl or pie plate (next time I will opt for the latter).

3. Place flour in a shallow dish.

4. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet.  Dredge fillets in flour, then in buttermilk mixture, and then in breadcrumb mixture.

5. Cook for around 3 minutes on each side.

6. Serve with favorite side and enjoy!

Mongolian Beef

This is such a great little recipe that you can have ready in a flash--especially if you have flank steak already cut up and ready to go (I freeze it cut up in packages of 1 lb each for exactly this reason).  It's not exactly the same flavor as restaurant style, but it's a nice blend for a simple recipe.  Here is link to original (I only modified slightly, and omitted green onions because I didn't have any on hand):
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mongolian-beef

Ingredients:

1 T. peanut oil
1 T. fresh grated ginger
1 T. minced bottled garlic
1 lb. flank steak, cut in bite size strips across grain
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. dry sherry
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. sambal oelek
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a wok.  Add ginger, garlic, and beef.  Stir-fry for around 3 minutes, or until beef is browned.

2. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Add sauce mixture to pan and cook for additional 2 minutes to thicken the sauce.

4. Serve with rice or your favorite side and enjoy!

Pappardelle with Duck Ragù

So. very. delicious.
I've made this recipe a couple of times now and have loved it each time; leftovers never stick around for long (it is just as great reheated).
Here is a link to the original--I only modify slightly, and one is due to a mistake the first time I made:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pappardelle-with-duck-ragu-curtis-stone
The mistake made was forgetting to remove the skin from the duck legs; honestly, though, I don't plan to ever try it any other way, as I would hate to change the taste in any way (plus this eliminates a step!)

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
3 lb. duck legs
kosher salt
coarse ground black pepper
3-4 medium shallots
1 large or 2 medium carrots
2 celery stalks
3 oz. proscuitto, chopped
2 rosemary sprigs
4-6 thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, ground to fine powder
1 1/2 c. dry white wine (I use Chardonnay)
3 c. chicken stock
8 oz. pappardelle
2 c. cooking water (from cooking pasta)
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
2 T. grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more to garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole/Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until shimmering over med-high heat.  Season duck legs with salt and pepper all over and cook for around 8 minutes, turning once to brown all over.

3. Meanwhile, mince shallots, carrots, celery, and garlic in food processor.

4. Remove duck legs from pot and set aside.  Pour off all but around 2 T. of fat from the pot.  Add the minced vegetables mixture, along with the proscuitto, rosemary, and thyme.  Cook for around 5 minutes.

5. Stir in the porcini powder and wine.  Cook for around 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

7. Add duck legs (and any accumulated juices) back to pot and cover.  Braise in oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, turning the legs once around the halfway point.

8. Transfer the duck legs to a plate and let them cool slightly.  Remove rosemary and thyme stems from the braising liquid.

9. After legs have cooled slightly, remove skin and discard, then remove meat from the bones and add it back to the pot.  (Discard bones.)

10. Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and cook pappardelle according to package directions.  Reserve 2 c. of pasta water when draining pasta.

11. In a small bowl, whisk ricotta with 2 T. of the cooking water until smooth.

12. Add pasta to the ragù along with 3/4 c. of the cooking water and the 2 T. of pecorino romano.  If the sauce has cooled too much, cook over moderate heat for a couple of minutes (this was not necessary for me).

13. Add ricotta mixture to pasta mixture and stir to combine.  (If sauce is too thick for any reason, use the remaining pasta water to thin; I have never had to do this yet.)

14. Plate up, garnish with extra pecorino romano, and enjoy a bowl!

Doughbox Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

--Entry updated 16 Jan 2024--

Normally when I make chocolate chip cookies, I simply go for the Nestle Toll House recipe. This time, I wanted to see how a different recipe would compare. Found this recipe quite some time back in Midwest Living magazine and never got around to trying it...until now. The funny thing is, knowing the amounts in the ingredients, I was fairly sure the yield number had to be incorrect. I looked up the recipe on their website (link below) and it still has the yield listed as 80 cookies. Unless you are making really, really large cookies (as in the size of a handprint--which is not what is shown in the picture), there is no way to end up with such an amount. I made them approximately the size of what is shown (around the size of the palm of my hand) and ended up with 183 cookies (good thing they turned out super tasty!)  Thus, make these when you need LOTS of cookies...

Update: Upon revisiting this recipe, I halved it to see if it would still turn out. Not only does it turn out just fine, I think it might be even better. It's certainly easier to manage the dough in the lesser amount! Thus, I have included the halved amounts next to each ingredient, in case you want to make a "normal" amount of cookies. Also, the yield was around 60-65 for the half batch when using my cookie scoop, so I might have been going a bit small when I tried this recipe the first time back in 2015. Lastly, I think it helped to use parchment on the baking sheets, will be doing that from now on for these.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/jOThTJ6mO3Y

Link to original recipe: http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/cookies/chocolate-chip-cookies-doughbox-bakery/

Ingredients (half batch is listed at end of each):

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (1/2 c. (1 stick))
1 1/4 c. canola oil (5/8 c. (5 oz.))
1 1/4 c. golden/light brown sugar (1/2 c. + 2 T.)
1 c. dark brown sugar (1/2 c.)
1 1/4 c. sugar (1/2 c. + 2 T.)
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda (1 1/8 tsp.)
2 tsp. vanilla extract (1 tsp.)
1/2 T. salt (3/4 tsp.)
5 eggs (2 1/2 eggs...stir one up, weigh it, then keep just half of weight for the "half" egg)
660g (5 1/2 c.) all-purpose flour (330g (2 3/4 c.))
4 c. (24 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips/morsels, plus more for tops if desired (2 c. (12 oz.))

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer for 30 seconds.

3. Add oil, all sugars, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.  Beat until mixture is well combined.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing on low speed, as much as you can with mixer.  Add the rest by hand, mixing with wooden spoon.  (I ended up only needing to mix in the last 1/2 c. by hand).

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Drop dough in rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet, around 2 inches apart.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.  Cookies will be golden brown around edges and look slightly underdone. (note: as stated above and as shown in the video, I recommend lining your baking sheets with parchment for optimal results here; picture is from original attempt at recipe)

8. After removing from oven, leave cookies on sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

9. Enjoy!!

Five-Spice Orange Beef

This was my first time making this dish and oooh am I glad I did--very tasty!  And it's a Cooking Light recipe, so not terribly indulgent (except that I made double the sauce...).  I made some modifications to the original recipe, which can be found here:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spice-orange-beef-broccoli
(yeah, I don't like broccoli, it's true, so I left it out)

Although I doubled the sauce when I made it this time, it was far more than enough, so I am posting the amounts for a single/regular recipe below (as that is what I will do next time).  It's also quite spicy, so if you are not up for that, cut back the red pepper flakes as you see fit :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. flank steak
3/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
3/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 T. peanut oil, divided
1 1/2 c. vertically sliced onion
8 strips of orange rind (I cut a medium orange into 8 slices and then just removed the insides from each piece)
2 tsp. minced bottled garlic
1/2 c. beef stock
3 T. orange juice
3 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle five-spice powder, pepper, and salt over both sides of flank steak.

2. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add 1 T. of the peanut oil and swirl to coat.  Add steak.  Cook 4 minutes on each side and then remove to let rest 5 minutes.

3. After meat rests for 5 minutes, cut into to bite size 1/4" thick strips across the grain.

4. Meanwhile, combine beef stock and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper) in a small bowl; whisk together.

5. Return pan to medium-high heat.  Add remaining 1 T. of peanut oil and add onion, orange rind, and garlic.  Stir fry for 3 minutes.

6. Add stock mixture to pan and cook for 1 minute, then remove onions and orange rind with slotted spoon.  Cook for 1 more minute or until sauce is thickened and bubbly.

7. Add meat and accumulated juices back into pan and stir to coat.  Cook 1-2 more minutes.

8. Serve garnished with toasted sesame seeds (to taste) with rice or favorite side.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms/Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

These cookies are far too addictive, that is certain.  I remember when my grandma on my dad's side would make these when I was little--was favorite cookie for me among the ones she made.  There are many versions of the cookie out there; this version is Hershey's with the slight modification of using butter flavored shortening instead of plain.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco
3/4 c. peanut butter
2/3 c. sugar, divided
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
2 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
approx. 8 oz. Hershey's kisses

Instructions:

1. Beat shortening and peanut butter together with mixer.

2. Add 1/3 c. of the sugar and the brown sugar and beat again.

3. Add egg, milk, and vanilla extract, beat again.

4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; mix on low, then increase speed to medium and beat until combined.

5. Chill for 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 375°F.

7. Put remaining 1/3 c. sugar in a small bowl.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then toss in sugar to coat.

8. Place sugared dough balls on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

9. While cookies are baking, unwrap Kiss candies to have ready for when cookies come out of oven.  As soon as cookies are out of oven, gently press a Kiss candy into center of cookie (edges will crack).

10. Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool on rack until completely cool.  Enjoy!