Pizza Sauce

No more jars of sauce for us. This is what we use now...
ngredients

* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
* 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
* salt to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.
2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Recipe from : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Exquisite-Pizza-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Lemon Cream Chicken Pasta

Got this from all recipes. It was very good. I might add a bit more lemon to to the sauce, but I wasn't using fresh lemon juice so that may be why it needed it. I added freshly grated parm cheese.

Ingredients

* 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 1 lemon, quartered
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
* 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1 (8 ounce) package rotelle pasta
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place chicken in a lightly greased baking dish. Squeeze lemon over both sides of the chicken breasts and season both sides using 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink inside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
3. Cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir into cooked pasta, along with the cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.



http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lemon-Cream-Pasta-with-Chicken/Detail.aspx?prop31=8

grilled lemon chicken

I made a quick and yummy grilled lemon chicken the other day. It is from Ina Garten on the food network. It is supposed to have a peanut dipping sauce but I burned that when I was tending to the baby. So instead we had it on a spinach salad mix and I made a quick asian vinagerette to top it. It was delicious. I am posting the chicken and dipping sauce recipe but can't review the sauce. I am also posting the dressing at the bottom.

Grilled Lemon chicken
Ingredients

* 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
* 3/4 cup good olive oil
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
* Satay Dip, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Heat a charcoal grill. Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Cool slightly and cut diagonally in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Skewer with wooden sticks and serve with Satay Dip.

Satay Dip:

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

2/3 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute. Cool and use as a dip for Grilled Lemon Chicken skewers.

Asian Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons peanut or olive oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)

Whisk all ingredients together.

Pierogi Casserole

I never realized that Pierogi were more of a local food to our area. I have always liked them. When i was younger I once ate 17 of them. I had a high metabolism...

Churches will sell homemade ones... espcially now since it is Lent. I have great intentions of making homemade pierogis. They are a lot of work and having a 2 year old wouldn't really make that possible. Until then this is as close as i will get to homemade. Or we will still enjoy Mrs. T's (Hayden likes them better).

Pierogi Casserole

serves 4-6

8 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into fours

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces of cheese, cubed or shredded (Velveeta will work best, second best is hand-grated cheddar)

1/2 pound pasta (farfalle or lasagna noodles)

1 1/2 sticks of butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel potatoes and chop into quarters. Set them in a large pot and cover with water, allowing it to come to a boil. Boil potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. While potatoes are boiling, cook pasta according to directions, and once drained mix with two tablespoons of butter. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute chopped onion until soft.

Drain potatoes and mash with one stick of butter and cheese. Make sure no lumps remain. Fold in onions.

Spread out pasta in a large baking dish and spread mashed potato mixture over top. If desired, top with more cheese and onions. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes

Recipe from http://www.howsweeteats.com

Breakfast Casserole

We eat this every Christmas morning. It is perfect for brunch, but we often just have it for dinner. I love that it can be made the night before. It is much easier then my plan to make homemade cinnamon rolls every Christmas (which I am going to do eventually). Besides Hayden will eat anything with breakfast sausage in it. He loves sausage. It is disgusting to watch him eat it.

Here is the recipe:


Ingredients

* 1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled)
* 4 1/2 cups cubed bread (we use good thick bread)
* 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 10 eggs slightly beaten
* 4 cups whole milk
* 1 tsp dry mustard
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place bread in a well buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

cover and chill overnight

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. (I top it with extra cheddar towards the end)

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This was a nice quick recipe. I like quick and easy right now! Mike said the flavors were better the next day when he took it to work. Make sure you don't overcook the Gnocchi. They tend to get mushy easily.

Ingredients

* 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 carrots, thinly sliced
* 1 rib celery, thinly sliced
* 2 cups prepared potato gnocchi (about 11 ounces), thawed if frozen
* 2 cups frozen peas (8 ounces)
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, (about 1 large chicken breast)
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Hunk of good Parmesan

Directions

Put chicken broth, garlic, butter and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, bring it to a simmer, and cook, uncovered until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue to simmer until almost tender, 2 minutes. Bring to a full boil, stir in gnocchi and, cooking until the gnocchi are al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in frozen peas and chicken and turn off the heat. Season with salt —take into consideration that Parmesan cheese is salty, and a generous amount of pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into warmed shallow bowls and shower each with freshly grated cheese.

Recipe from foodnetwork.com (paula dean)

Sweet Tooth

This pregnancy has left me wanting anything sweet... cookies, cake, you name it. Here are 2 recipes I have made to help with this: Monster Cookies and Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

I have been making tons of cookies lately. Mike loves when we go to Amish Country and get their Monster cookies. So I found this recipe and he loved them. He ate like 6 the night I made them! When we get them in Ohio they have a powdered sugar type glaze, so next time i will try to add that to the top for him.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 cups peanut butter
2 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
9 cups quick oats
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Add eggs, mixing well between each addition. Add vanilla, syrup, and baking soda. Add the oats one cup at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides. Stir in chocolate chips. Use a large cookie scoop or large Tablespoon heaped. Bake at 350*F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven when they still look soft.



We also made some cinnamon streusel pancakes. I found this recipe linked to a travel site I was looking at. Apparently these are from some place near Hollywood. We enjoyed them but they are huge. I only ate one. But very yummy. The site has some other recipes I want to try.



Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.

3. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.

4. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

Makes 6 very large pancakes

http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/cinnamon-streusel-pancakes/