Homemade Pizza: Garlicky Mushroom and Feta

This week's homemade pizza is much more on the gourmet side...mushrooms and feta cheese with a garlic infused olive oil sauce! This is not one that our kids are brave enough to try yet (though they like all of the ingredients separately), but I'm quite fine with not having to share this right now :)

For the crust, use any of your preferred crust recipes. To go with the gourmet toppings, I like to use the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day crust. Saute the mushrooms first (I do it this way), and they can even be prepped ahead of time along with the crust.

While the oven is preheating, place a generous portion of good quality olive oil (Trader Joe's is excellent and very reasonably priced) in a small sauce pan. Add 3 or 4 (or more or less, to taste) cloves of minced garlic to the oil, along with salt and pepper. Watch closely and allow to get nice and hot, but watch so the garlic does not burn. Taste frequently (and carefully!), adding additional seasoning if necessary.

Roll out the dough and place on a heated pizza stone. Brush the entire crust with the olive oil. I am very generous with the olive oil in the center of the crust. Add mushrooms and feta cheese, then sprinkle with parsley. Bake according to crust instructions, until nice and brown. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

This is a great break from traditional tomato-based pizza, and even though the toppings are a bit more expensive than regular homemade pizza, it is still considerably cheaper than ordering at a restaurant. That's a win in my book!

Other Pizza Recipes:
Deep Dish (Pizza Hut copycat)
Basic Recipe
Stuffed Crust
Bagel Bites

Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Soup

Make sure to enter the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life giveaway from Money Saving Mom. It ends today!!

Last week was our final CSA pick-up for the season, so I had some autumn veggies to use up (and I don't usually like cauliflower!). I took a little bit of inspiration from this recipe by Soup Addict, but I'm happy to report that my many edits turned out excellent!

So, here it is, my Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower soup (with a few secret ingredients) :)
The Recipe:
1 medium size butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 large cauliflower head, or one medium, cut into florets
olive oil
salt and pepper
onion
garlic
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup-1 cup apple cider
3 or 4 slices good quality sandwich bread, crusts removed and cubed
blender (immersion or counter)
optional bread and feta cheese for toppings

Preheat oven to 400. Fill a large baking sheet with the cut up squash and cauliflower. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, flip and test, bake for an additional 20-30 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, saute onion and garlic in a large stock pot. Add chicken stock and apple cider. Transfer cooked veggies to stock pot and let simmer for 10-30 minutes (however much time you have!).
Add cubed bread and allow to soak into the broth. Then use an immersion blender (or work in batches in a counter blender) to puree as finely as desired. This creates a dense, textured, and uniform soup that is hearty and tastes like autumn!

Serve topped with additional cubes of bread and feta cheese, if desired. I loved how rich and thick this turned out. The squash and cauliflower flavors melded together perfectly, and the hint of apple cider was really nice. I'm totally not a cauliflower person and my husband doesn't usually do squash, but we thought this was amazing. Enjoy!

Hot Dog Challenge: Pretzel Dog

Last summer we had a lot of fun with our "hot dog challenge" - going beyond ketchup and mustard to make speciality hot dogs at home. Recently I tried a new recipe that is quite possibly our favorite way to have hot dogs now....Pretzel dogs!

These tasty hot dogs are amazing! The pretzel is fantastic and takes hot dogs to a whole new level. Seriously, these are a must try. The pretzel dough is simple to make, and a quick baking soda bath before baking gives the outside a crispy pretzel finish. The original dough calls for beer, but I've also used water and both ways tasted great.

Mix the pretzel dough and let it rise for about an hour. The dough will make 8 very large pretzel dogs. The first time I made these I thought that the pretzel was actually a little too much compared to the hot dogs, so this last time I made some pretzel bite appetizers ahead of time while we waited for the dogs. I just decreased the bake time to 10 minutes.

After the dough has risen, put a large pot of water on to boil and add baking soda. Watch it carefully! Boil overs can happen quickly with baking soda in the water. 

Divide the remaining dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 12 inches long. Starting at one end of the hot dog, wrap the dough around, covering the entire hot dog. Use your fingers to pinch the dough at each end to seal it.

Once all the hot dogs are wrapped and the water is boiling, place the hot dogs into the boiling water for about 30 seconds each. They will sink initially and then float to the surface. Depending on the size of your pot, you may be able to do 2-4 at a time. Here you see how large I roll out the dough, a wrapped dog, and a boiled dog (on the right).

 Remove from the water and let sit on a wire rack or cutting board for a minute to dry. Place on a stone or baking sheet (I use our pizza stone), brush with olive oil, and top with salt if desired. 

Bake for 15 minutes at which point the pretzel dogs will be golden brown and crispy on top.

Serve with ketchup and mustard! These are even fantastic reheated in the oven for lunch the next day.

Pretzel Dogs (via Karla's Veggie Noms)

For the dough:

1/2 c. warm water

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 c. warm beer (or water)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

2 Tablespoons oil

4 1/2 c. flour

Put water, brown sugar, salt, beer (or additional water), and yeast in the mixing bowl. Gradually add flour and oil to make a smooth dough. Remove from bowl with floured hands and form dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Let it rise in a warm place for an hour.

When the dough has risen, boil a large pot of water, adding 1/2-2/3 cup baking soda. I just eyeballed it. While the water is boiling, cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 12 inches long. Starting at one end of the hot dog, wrap the dough around, covering the entire hot dog. Use your fingers to pinch the dough at each end to seal it.

Once all the hot dogs are wrapped and the water is boiling, place the hot dogs into the boiling water for about 30 seconds each. They will sink initially and then float to the surface. Depending on the size of your pot, you may be able to do 2-4 at a time.

Remove from the water and let sit on a wire rack or cutting board for a minute to dry. Place on a stone or baking sheet (I use our pizza stone), brush with olive oil, and top with salt if desired. Bake for 15 minutes at which point the pretzel dogs will be golden brown and crispy on top.

Serve with ketchup and mustard! Also great heated up the next day for lunch :-)

Salami and Avocado Melt

I made this amazing sandwich for lunch the other day. It totally reminded me of something that I would get at Panera Bread!

The ingredients: salami and turkey pastrami, half an avocado, sliced, topped with swiss cheese. I spread dijon mustard on the bread and grilled it to make a nice melt.

I think the only way it could have been better is with a thick slice of fresh tomato...mmmm! I always love the challenge of knocking off restaurant favorites at home. Not only is it a lot more cost effective to buy the ingredients myself, but its fun to get to play around with new combinations too.

Do you have a favorite gourmet sandwich combo that you make at home?

Easy Roast Chicken

We love rotisserie chickens, especially from Costco. So juicy and moist, and a whole chicken can transform into several meals. Over the last year I finally got up my nerve to roast a chicken on my own. And I am totally hooked!

Each time I do it they taste better and better and are easier and simpler. I think I actually prefer my own roasted chicken to one from Costco now!

There are tons of options for roasting a chicken, but here is my super easy recipe.

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse chicken, removing any giblets from the cavity. Pat the chicken dry and do a quick check to remove any feathers that are still attached. Place the chicken in a baking dish. I'd love to have a Le Creuset dutch oven, but since I don't I just use a large Pyrex dish.

In a small dish, soften 1 Tbsp. butter (about 15 sec in the microwave). Using a silicone pastry brush (or just a spoon), mix in your seasonings. This time I used about a teasp. of dry parsley and a teasp. of Italian seasonings, along with some sea salt. Brush (or rub) the butter and herbs all over the chicken. You could peel up the skin and rub under also, but I've had great results shortcutting it on that lately! I also stuffed some onion in the chicken cavity, and added some to the baking dish.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Check how brown the chicken is getting, baste with butter and juices in the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Check and baste again. Usually at this point I cover the chicken with some foil. Bake for 15 minutes, check, then bake for 15 more minutes. The chicken should be completely done at this point (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours total bake time). Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before you cut and serve to allow the juices to set nicely. Enjoy!

There are tons of variations...basically do whatever your family likes! Add different seasonings to the butter, add lemon juice. Bake with potatoes and carrots, or even oranges for a twist. The possibilities are endless, and I love that there's very little hands on time!

Are you a rotisserie chicken family? It's a great feeling to walk by the chickens in the store and know that one of them can come out of my oven now!

Fiesta Lime Rice

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? It's such a great way to find new recipes, and I knew as soon as I saw this one for Fiesta Lime Rice that I just had to try it. The original recipe comes from Skinny Taste, and this was a winner for our whole family!

We opted to serve the rice with chicken, avocado, and sour cream on top, instead of just as a side. We also enjoyed it in a tortilla wrap with chicken like a burrito. This rice is so great that there are tons of possibilities.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (use leftovers or make it fresh! 2 cups of water and 1 cup rice)
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and heated (about 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed and heated
1 large tomato, diced
1 large scallion, diced
2-4 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
juice from 1/2 lime (about 1 Tablespoon)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice. Heat beans and corn. Combine rice, beans, corn, tomato, and scallion in a large bowl. Add cilantro and lime juice as desired, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side dish, with tacos, or pile chicken, avocado, cheese, sour cream on top as preferred. A great way for each family member to add what they like to dinner!

Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Braided Crescent Recipe

This is our new favorite meal!

This beautiful braided crescent is easy and quick - as in the whole thing is prepped while your oven preheats! That's my kind of dinner. I saw this recipe on Food Family Finds, and knew I had to try it.

Mix together chicken (I've used canned chicken as well as Cousin Darlene's chicken), broccoli, cheese, egg, and mayo together in a bowl. When I used leftover chicken I didn't add the mayo.

Spread your crescent rolls out to form a rectangle. You can use store-bought crescents, but I've been making my own and they are fantastic! I think I've actually cured myself of the urge to buy Pillsbury crescent rolls! (recipe below)

Add the chicken mixture to the middle of the crescent roll rectangle. Then use kitchen shears or a knife to make strips along each side. (this looks like the braided calzone, doesn't it?!?)

Beginning from one end, alternate sides, pulling the dough across at an angle. Each strip should be close to the one before it, but it certainly does not need to be perfect.

This part actually goes quickly...

and yet the final result is awesome!

Brush the braid with a wash of egg white mixed with a tablespoon of water. Top with more cheese if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven at 375 for 30 minutes...golden, cheesy, and delicious!

Homemade Crescent Roll Recipe (adapted from food.com)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

Beat eggs and sugar until well combined. Add sugar, Crisco, water, yeast, salt, and 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining 2 cups of flour. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead in enough additional flour so the dough is no longer sticky. I usually do not have to add much additional flour. Divide the dough in half - each half makes about 12 crescent rolls or one broccoli chicken braid.

To make immediately, let dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. Then shape dough into crescent rolls and bake or flatten on a cookie sheet for the braid.

To make later, store in the refrigerator without rising. As long as you let it sit for about 4 hours, that will be sufficient rise time in the fridge. Or store for up to 4 days and use as above. 

Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Braided Crescent Recipe (adapted from Food Family Finds)

2 cups chicken, cooked and chunked - use canned or leftover chicken for minimal prep
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
1 egg yolk (reserve egg white for wash)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
rosemary (or other preferred herb)
crescent roll recipe (above) or 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375. Combine chopped chicken, cheese, broccoli, egg yolk, mayo, and rosemary in a bowl. Spread crescent roll dough onto a large cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Add the chicken mixture to the middle of the dough. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut strips along each side of the chicken. Start from one end and alternate sides, pulling a strip of dough across to the opposite side. When the whole braid is finished, add about 1 Tablespoon of water to the reserved egg white and brush the top of the braid with the wash. Sprinkle additional cheese if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!

Quick dinner recipe: Cheesey baked chicken

This has been a family favorite since I was in middle school. My family has always called it Cousin Darlene's Chicken, thanks to my dad's cousin who made it for us originally. Its super easy, and I even make it in the crockpot if I'm going to be out for a while that particular day.

All you need is condensed cream of chicken soup (or mushroom works too), swiss cheese, and bread crumbs or Stove Top stuffing. And chicken!

I spread a little of the soup in the bottom of my baking dish with a spatula. Place chicken in the baking dish and cover with remaining soup. You could also add a little water, depending on how much chicken you are making. Top with swiss cheese and sprinkle on stuffing. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is done.

I probably shouldn't even include these "after" pictures. The lack of daylight when I finish dinner is really making it difficult to post recipes! Trust me, these look way better in person. (And yes, two large pieces of chicken are already missing)

We usually serve this with rice and veggies. The soup makes a lovely sauce that is amazing poured over your rice. This is a great comfort food in the winter, and a winner for the whole family!

Side note: I am planning to use these instructions from Mindfully Frugal Mom to make my own cream of chicken soup. Have you ever made yours from scratch? I'm looking forward to trying it!

Chick-Fil-A style chicken nugget recipe

One of the most read posts on Thrifty Living is the Chick-fil-a nugget recipe. It always makes me cringe slightly when I click back through the post, though, because the pictures are not some of my best quality! So, here is an updated post of the same recipe.

You will need:
Cooking Oil {you can use Peanut but it is not necessary} -- I always use vegetable oil and they taste great
1 Egg
1 Cup of Milk
1 Cup of Flour
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Powdered Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon of Salt (I cut that in half)
2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, cut in strips or cubed 

First mix together the egg and milk and let the chicken pieces set in the mixture. (There is plenty of speculation that Chick-fil-a adds dill pickle juice to the marinade, but I've never done this). In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and pepper and stir.

I let it soak for an hour or so. Its nice to be able to prep everything before hand so all I have to do is coat and cook the chicken when its time to eat.

Heat oil (I used a cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat). Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture until coated. I usually double dip - so egg/milk, then flour, back to egg/milk, then flour.

Place chicken in hot oil. Cook about 5 minutes per side, depending on the size of your nuggets. Resist the urge to flip too early! You want them to be golden brown.

Once the chicken is cooked on both sides, remove from oil and place on a paper towel to dry. I usually cook mine in two batches.

Be sure to pair with your favorite dipping sauces...we use BBQ, ranch dip, blu cheese dip, ketchup, or honey.

These are really best the day they are cooked. We usually have a few leftovers, and they are just not the same the next day!

Originally from Under the Table and Dreaming, though you can find it on many different blogs as well.

Braided Calzone Recipe

We love pizza! A major money saver for us is homemade pizza instead of ordering it out. Since pizza is on our menu plan each week, we like to mix it up and try lots of different types of pizza. It keeps things interesting and keeps us from wanting to order a pizza too!

I saw a picture of a braided calzone on Pinterest (I love Pinterest! Have I mentioned that before? Yeah, thought so!) and had to put it on the menu last week. I opted for making one of my more traditional pizza dough recipes, though I added a bit of whole wheat flour because I ran out of white flour.

Roll the pizza dough out into a rectangle, spread pizza sauce down the center, top with your favorite toppings (we used pepperoni) and then cheese. Cut slits (I used kitchen shears since my calzone was sitting on the pizza stone) down each side of the dough opposite the sauce, making sure to not cut all the way to the sauce (Don't want it to run out while baking!). Starting at one end alternate strips of dough from each side, pulling them across and down to cover the filling.

It is really easy to do and looks beautiful!

A peak inside...

Cheesy, pizza pocket amazingness!

This was sooo good...its back on the menu this week!

Pizza Dough (source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Bridal Edition)

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used about 1 cup wheat)

2 1/2 teasp. yeast

1/4 teasp. salt

1 cup warm water

2 Tbsp. cooking oil or olive oil

Method:

Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl; add warm water and oil. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, kneeding in additional flour to make a pliable but stiff dough. 

Roll dough into a rectangle. Spread pizza sauce down the center, top with your favorite toppings (we used pepperoni) and then cheese. Cut slits (I used kitchen shears since my calzone was sitting on the pizza stone) down each side of the dough opposite the sauce, making sure to not cut all the way to the sauce (Don't want it to run out while baking!). Starting at one end alternate strips of dough from each side, pulling them across and down to cover the filling.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!

Hot Dog Challenge: Corndogs

This summer we're trying out different toppings for our hot dogs instead of the old standbys of ketchup, mustard, and relish. Its been a lot of fun so far!

I found this recipe for homemade corndogs from Farmhouse Table, and we decided to try it out! Here's a look at our finished product:

Since all the corndogs I have ever seen were on a stick, I used these wooden skewers and stuck them in the ends of my hot dogs. This ended up being an unhelpful step - the skewers prevented the hot dogs from laying flat in the oil! I ended up getting flustered and pulling them all out without taking any pictures. It was pretty funny looking thinking back on it now! But I also had to redo the hot dogs that I first tried with the skewers, too.

Anyhow, once that all got sorted out, I finally had something that resembled a corndog. On the whole, I was actually disappointed with how they looked...not like the pictures on the original recipe. But, I think the main problem was that my cornmeal batter was too runny. I'm not sure if that was because I added too much liquid or if something else was different. Next time I will make sure that my batter is thick enough that it does not roll right off the hot dog before they get in the pan!

I ended up spooning batter on top of the hot dogs as they sat in the oil to get full coverage. Certainly not the prettiest thing I've ever made, but they tasted amazing!

Mmmmm! Crispy and golden brown on the outside. We dipped them in spicy mustard, but the flavor was so great they would have been amazing by themselves.

Our taste tester agrees! Homemade corndogs are excellent!

Check out the rest of our Hot Dog Challenge specialty dogs!
Texas Ranger
Salsa Dog
Avocado and White Sauce
BBQ and Peppers

Bacon and Avocado Quesadillas

One of our favorite go-to meals, especially in the summer, is quesadillas. I love that they are quick, only require the stove top to be on medium-low, and are so flexible that we can use whatever is on hand as the filling! Plus, I almost always have the basic ingredients, cheese and tortillas, in the house at any given time, so this is a great last minute dinner option to avoid unplanned eating out.

On this particular night, quesadillas were on our menu plan, so they were a little nicer than plain cheese! I started with a little bit of mozzerella, added crumbled bacon and chunks of avocado, then topped it all with a layer of cheddar cheese. I like putting cheese on the top and bottom of the topping because it makes things stick together much better for flipping!

Let the tortilla shell get crispy and brown on the first side before you flip. Get the heat up to medium to make sure that you are not waiting around for 20 minutes!

Once the quesadilla is done on both sides, slice into pieces (a pizza cutter works great for this!) and for a little extra flair, serve with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, and chopped tomato. This makes it feel a lot more like a quesadilla you would get out at a restaurant.

Add some fresh fruit on the side and you have a delicious, quick meal for a warm summer day!

Some of our favorite other versions include shrimp and bacon (with BBQ sauce), pizza (with pepperoni and tomato sauce inside or for dipping), spinach and bacon or chicken, and BBQ chicken and onion...the possibilities are endless!

Do you have a favorite way to have your quesadillas?