basic square crust pizza dough recipe

For a lot of years I used the same pizza dough recipe. It was completely fine. We had many a make your own pizza night with that very dough recipe with no complaints, but it really was nothing spectacular. It was just a nice serviceable pizza dough recipe.

Earlier this year I, along with a couple of pals, led a group of kids in a Bread Club. Over several weeks we taught the kids how to make things like king cake, rye bread, sourdough, english muffins, pita, and pizza dough. I am not going to lie, I had as much fun and probably learned as much as the kids did. That's what happens when surround yourself with rock stars.

And this pizza dough recipe that TQ showed up with, also a rock star. Even though it was easily identifiable as a rock star recipe, it was a little bit before I made it at home for make your own pizza night and it was such a slam dunk with the entire family they asked, very politely, that I rip up my regular recipe and kindly never make it again.

This recipe makes a basic square pan pizza, although if you wanted to make it round I am certainly not going to narc on you, so feel free to play around with it. Based on the name you can correctly assume that this is a thicker pizza crust, so thin crust pizza loving friends, move along. Nothing for you to see here. This recipe originates at Serious Eats, which I had never heard of before Bread Club with my rock star pals. You can check out the original instructions at this link. What follows is my experience and hacks for making it.

Basic Square Pan Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

• 17.5 ounces (500 grams, about 3 1/2 cups) all-purpose or bread flour
• .35 ounces (10 grams, about 2 teaspoons) kosher salt
• .18 ounces (5 grams, about 1 teaspoon) instant or RapidRise yeast
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 12.25 ounces (347 grams, about 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons) water, room temperature

*Right out of the gate I already veer off the path. I use traditional yeast, so my room temperature water is hot water and I bloom my yeast before I throw it all in my kitchenaid.

Once I have bloomed my yeast I put the flour, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and the water/yeast mixture into my mixer at low until all the ingredients come together and no dry flour can be seen. At that time I bump the speed up to medium high and let the dough hook do it's thing for six minutes. The dough should still be stuck to the bottom, but pull away from the sides. It will also be on the sticky side.

Now typically, I have made this dough earlier in the day that I want to use it, so I let it hang out in an oiled bowl until I am ready for it, but if you plan on using it in the next two hours you can move it from the bowl to a rimmed 13 by 18 inch sheet pan that has been rubbed with the remaining olive oil. I actually go very light on the olive oil in the pan. I put some in and then give it a wipe to make sure there is a nice thin coating over the whole pan. This is based on my personal experience with my pans and oven. You may want to follow the directions exactly the first time and then mess with it. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it hang out there for 2 hours. 30 minutes before you plan on baking this turn your oven on to 550 degrees Fahrenheit.

As this point you can remove the plastic wrap from your sheet pan and very gently, you don't want to ruin all those great air bubbles, press and stretch the dough out until it completely fills the pan by pressing out from the middle and stretching the corners out past the pan, that should allow them to settle back into the pan. Top your pizza as you wish and bake at 550 for 15 to 20 minutes. 17 minutes is the sweet spot for us, but obviously start with 15 and add more if you need to.

 I always double up the recipe and make two pizzas because my kids are picky AF when it comes to their pizza. They like simple, a teeny scraping of sauce, mozza and pepperoni. Mike and I prefer a normal amount of sauce, a bit of pepperoni and lots of veggies. This one had mushrooms, tomato and onion.

 And two pizzas allows for leftovers which are inventoried by the parties involved for lunches. Lord help you if you make a move on someone's pizza. They take their leftovers serious here friends.

Really, who can blame them? Look at how that dough cooks up!

So that's it, this pizza and a few games of cribbage or sequence is a pretty great little weekend night for the fam jam. I recommend reading over the original recipe as well as what I have here and then give it a whirl some night. It is pretty spectacular.

mixed berry scones

Scones! I have never actually made them before, but recently I had an incredibly delicious blueberry one at my cousin's baby shower and then several weeks later thought.... hey I should make some of those, but I didn't have any blueberries and as is often true with me and baking I was feeling too impatient to wait. I haven't been doing much baking lately, things have been busy, but the inspiration struck me and I was unwilling to let the moment pass.

To pinterest we go!

I did a search based on what I had on the house.... frozen mixed berries and was rewarded with this....



Pinterest was flooded with pictures of these mixed berry scones, I took that as a good sign.

So I grabbed my trusty kitchen aid mixer and got to work.

Into the bowl I tossed
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
and a pinch of salt if you'd like

I gave that a little stir to mix it all together and then threw in..
 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

I set my mixer to stir and let it go until it was sufficiently cut in. Think pea sized and smaller butter balls.

Next to go into the mixer....
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream (I actually used greek vanilla yogurt)
 1 tsp vanilla

Again I set my mixer to stir and mix until the dough comes together do not over mix.

Last to go in the bowl...
1 slightly heaping cup of frozen mixed berries
Either fold into the dough by hand and with the mixer until they are just combined.

Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and knead it into an 8 inch round disk. If the dough is overly sticky sprinkle it with additional flour. Using a sharp knife, cut the disk into 8 equal wedges. Move to a baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Oh my goodness these were so so good. The kids, of course, couldn't be bothered with them, but Mike and I both thought they were a home run. They didn't even need butter, they were that tasty. Making these in the mixer, they came together so quick and with little mess. My favourite kind of recipe.

You can check out the original recipe at Averie Cooks. I skipped the glaze her recipe called for. I just didn't think it was necessary.

what's cooking wednesday

No recipe tonight. No linky. I think for the time being what's cooking wednesday is going on hiatus. I'm undecided where it's going to go from here. It may find new life with a friend or I may put it quietly to bed. I just have this sense that it's run it's course with me.

I can still remember when I got the idea for WCW. Mike and I were finishing up dinner, I was on mat leave and I had the time to seek out new recipes and give them a whirl. I thought it would be fun to post the results. To my surprise it sort of caught on, a little bit and some of my best blogging buddies were sharing their recipes with me on Wednesdays too. I liked that. To me it felt like we were solidifying relationships, sharing recipes like I would with my real life friends. It felt like a community. It doesn't feel like that anymore.

Many links that show up in the linky these days, while they may lead back to a recipe they also lead back to another link up or to a post that's linked up to dozens of other sites. It seems to me it's become more about the traffic then it has about the sharing. In many cases while I am sending traffic to other people's sites you really have to search to find the link back to mine. I'm not a big one for stats, in fact I can't even tell you the last time I checked mine out, but even to me that seems a little unfair. I've tried deleting links and I've tried gentle reminder comments, but if anything this problem seems to be getting worse. These days my life is so full of wonderful things I really don't have it in me to waste my time and energy on something that, to me, has become less than awesome.

So that's how things are. Clearly I'm not going to stop cooking and I may post a recipe here and there if it's really awesome, but the regular what's cooking wednesday posts are going away for the foreseeable future. Thanks to all who have participated in WCW. Big thanks to my bloggy besties who were there when I got it started. It was fun while it lasted.

what's cooking wednesday - gyro meatloaf

My girl ML got me a subscription to Taste of Home for Christmas... does she know me or what? So I figured I better put it to good use right away.

I made this right before we went to Toronto, so I didn't get a picture of it in the rush to get everything done. Ooops.

Gyro Meat Loaf

1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1 cup bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup romano cheese
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 lbs ground beef or ground lamb
tzatziki sauce

In a bowl mix everything together except the meat and the tzatziki. Add the meat and mix until well combined. Place in a loaf pan or shape into a loaf and bake on a tinfoil lined baking sheet. Bake in a oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 60 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Top slices with tzatziki.

Recipe Notes: Mike and I both really enjoyed this. The kids wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. Pfffft, they don't know what's good for them. I made this with one pound of ground beef and one pound of ground pork just because that is what I had in the freezer. We also had some feta in the fridge so we crumbled a bit on top with the tzatziki. I served it with rice and a green salad. Can't wait to make this one again.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - oatmeal chocolate chip muffins

I made these on a whim a couple of weeks ago. I wanted something for the kids lunches that a little something to them. A quick trip to allrecipes and I had this.

Oatmeal chocolate chip muffins

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup semi sweet choco chips

In a bowl cream together butter and sugar. Nest mix in the egg and then the dry ingredients and the applesauce. The actual directions say to alternate between the apple sauce and the flour mixture, but I missed that step the 1st time around and the turned out fine, sooo.... proceed however you'd like. Finally mix in the oatmeal and chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full at bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Recipe Notes:

These were a huge hit with Abby and Mike, Maya, not so much. I know.... what a shocking turn of events. Mike actually declared these the best homemade muffins he'd ever have. Only two small changes, I used milk chocolate since I don't usually have semi sweet chips in the pantry. The thing that I think made themost difference, however was adding a tsp of cinnamon to the batter. Oh yum!

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - shredded buffalo chicken

This is our new favourite recipe. It's great for Weight Watchers and it's pretty great on the ole pocketbook too. Oh and it's super easy to make. I call that win win win. I've made this twice now in the past two weeks or so.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

No photo because I keep forgetting to take a picture. Boo me!

So here's what you do......

Put six (or more) boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Pour in a whole bottle of wing sauce and cook on low for 4 hours or so.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove the breasts from the slow cooker and shred the meat with two fork. When it's all shredded, dump it back in the slow cooker and mix with the sauce until it's good and mixed.

At this point you can use it all or pack some away in freezer bags. Shredding the chicken makes it seems like you have so much more then what you started with. So far this batch has gotten us through a couple of dinners and several lunches and there is still some leftover.

We've mostly been using this as a filling for wraps, but it would be good in chili instead of beef or on nachoes or on buns with coleslaw... you're really only limited by your imagination.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - maple oatmeal bread

My poor bread maker has been sorely neglected these days, so this weekend I thought I had better show it the love and I baked up a loaf of maple oatmeal bread.




Maple Oatmeal Bread

3/4 cup plus 2tbsp hot water
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

Layer the ingredients in your breadmaker according to the manufacturers directions. Choose your preferred crust colour and loaf size (1 1/2 lbs) and start the machine.

Recipe Notes: Mike and I both really enjoyed this bread. It has a very subtle maple and oatmeal flavour. I will definitely be making it again.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - grilled chicken greek style

Cooking when you are on Weight Watchers is vastly different then cooking when you aren't. Obviously. I'm trying to keep it interesting because it's real easy to make nothing but grilled chicken, salad and veggies. So while this recipe is grilled chicken and veggies..... there's a twist.




Greek Inspired Grilled Chicken and Veggies

grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts
grilled veggies - mushrooms, peppers, onion
cooked rice
crumbled feta
tzatziki

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then grill until cooked through, I use my contact grill for this. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and place on top of the rice you've placed on your plate. I use brown rice, but feel free to use whatever floats your boat. Top the chicken with your veggies. I usually go the mushroom, onion and pepper route. Throw them in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil and cook them up. Top with crumbled feta and tzatziki.

So yummy. This has been our favourite dinner 'round here.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - peanut butter cup ice cream

I got an ice cream maker! I got an ice cream maker! For Christmas from Papa and Grandma Linda, but I am still THAT excited about it. My only problem now is my lack of freezer space. We only have the top freezer in our fridge. It was fine when we were a family of two and even three, but in the past year since I've been doing more couponing and bulk buying, well..... real estate in there is at a premium in there.

So I have an ice cream maker, what's the first thing I had to make? Peanut butter ice cream, of course! It's the girls' favourite.




1 1/8 cups good quality peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Using a mixer or a whisk to mix peanut butter and sugar until it's smooth. Add the milk and mix on low speed  for 1 to 2 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Next stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the ice cream machine on and pour the mix into the freezer bowl and let it do it's thing until it's thickened. It should take about 25 - 35 minutes. Add the chopped peanut butter cups 5 minutes before the mixing is finished. Store in an air tight container in the freezer.

Well the end result was delicious. The kids loved it, but it hadn't really thickened into ice cream by the end of the mixing phase. I had my freezer bowl in the the freezer, but I think I took it out too early. In the end it froze up just fine in the freezer. The girlie girls have already asked for me to make this again.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - saved it

Over Christmas Mike hatched an ambitious plan. He was going to make turkey stock with our turkey carcass. So he spent ages researching it on the internet while I kept my nose out of the whole thing.

So into the pot went the carcass with enough water to cover it and he simmered it for a few hours. At some point he took out the bones and moved the stock to the crock pot where he tossed in some carrots, celery, onion, garlic and some bay leaves and it tasted like.... to quote Michael.... hot turkey water. That's when he asked me to step in and help.

A little salt and pepper went a long way to improving it, much to Mike's surprise, but I decided to go a step further and added a few glugs from the ole salsa jar, a splash of milk and then thickened it with a roux. I served it up with some shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. It went from yawn to yum.

Have you salvaged any kitchen disasters lately? Any tips for beginner stock makers?




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - garlic & cheese biscuits

Time to get back in the swing of things. Time to get back to cooking. Especially since one of my best girls got me a subscription to a cooking magazine for Christmas. This recipe is an oldie, but with a twist. Papa came to join us for dinner last week and I had sent Mike a text asking him to grab some buns on the way home, but he didn't see it until he was home so I had to come up with something else. I knew I didn't have time to make buns, but I could make biscuits. So I did.




2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 egg yolk (reserve egg white)
1 cup sour cream

Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it's crumbly. Mix in the sour cream. Roll the dough out to 1 inch thick, cut into circles and brush tops with egg whites. Bake at 375 degrees F on an ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes.

So that's my go-to biscuit recipe. This time around, since I had made lasagna I tossed in some minced garlic. I had some of the jarred stuff, so I threw in a couple of tsp-ish. Then I cut up some cheddar into cubes and kneaded it into the dough. I never get out my rolling pin for this. I find it easier to just press out the dough with my hands. They were delicious. In fact, I could go for a couple right now, but I'm out of points.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - favourites

I am one sleepy Mama tonight. Ready to crawl into bed and maybe read a page and a half of my book before it bonks me in the face.... because I feel asleep reading it. zzzzzzzzz

My kitchen has been a busy place the past few days. I've been cooking up a storm trying to keep some hungry farmers fed while they train a herd of cows how to live in their new barn. And what have I been cooking them?

Pulled pork. This go around was okay, but not as stellar as my first attempt... in my opinion anyway. They ate it up just fine. I blame the onion. I threw an onion in this time around and it messed with the balance of spices. Much better without.

Chili. Hearty, stick to your ribs and chock full of veggies. I fed this to ML for lunch before and she requested it. It's all prepped and ready to go into the crockpot tomorrow morning.

Lasagna. I think this may be my favourite dish that I make. Mmmmm. The house smelled delicious.





What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - pulled pork

I love love love the pioneer woman, but don't we all. I finally got around to making her cinnamon buns which were to die for, just as promised. I've had her cookbook for a while now (thanks Mama!!), but I haven't made too many recipes out of it. I have decided that this winter I need to change that. I got a great deal on some pork tenderloin, so I thought I would tweak her spicy pulled pork recipe a bit.

Funny story before we get to the recipe, when I first got this book Abby spent quite a long time looking through it. If you haven't seen it the book is full of gorgeous pictures or their ranch life on top of all the amazing looking food. So there's lots of pictures of horses and cows in amongst the cinnamon buns, pulled pork and sheey cake. Abby finished with the book and set it aside with a scowl. I don't like that book, she tells me. Really? I'm a little surprised pictures of horses is right up her alley. "Why not?" I can't believe you have a horse cook book.

Ahhh my sweet girl thought all those pictures of horses in the book meant the recipes were for horse meat. Poor girl.  Now on to the recipe...




Spicy Pulled Pork

I tossed two pork tenderloins in my crock pot.

In a bowl I mixed together:

1tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
 a large-ish pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper

Then I sprinkled that all over the tenderloins in the crockpot. I added a splash of water to the bottom and cooked in on low for 8 hours.

I moved the tenderloins to a casserole dish and shredded the meat with two forks. The drippings I put in a pot and brought to a boil on the stove. I whisked in some flour and water to thicken it up and poured it over the shredded pork. I served this on buns with coleslaw and baked potatoes. I'm pretty sure Mike wanted to marry me all over again.

Most definitely will make these again.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wendesday - chex mix

So I made chex mix on the weekend. It was way easier than I thought it was going to be.

I didn't take a picture because it's chex mix. I think we all know what it looks like.

Buffalo Chex Mix

4 cups rice chex
4 cups wheat chex
2 cups parmesan flavoured crackers
2 cups pretzels
6 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp hot sauce
1 packet ranch dressing mix
2 tsp celery seed

In a large microwaveable bowl mix cereals, crackers and pretzels. In a small bowl microwave butter until melted, stir in the hot sauce, ranc sesoning mix and celery seed. Pour over the cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on high for 4 minutes, stirring after every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in an air tight container.

Recipe: Well I felt kind of meh about this, but Mike and Maya both really liked it. I used Frank's Buffalo Sauce instead of straight up hot sauce. I thought this needed more of that buffalo wing flavour, but Mike thought it had just enough. Next time I would leave out the celery, maybe throw in some cheese nips. Oh and cut back on the chex. We both thought the chex to everything else ratio was way off.



What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - italian tortellini soup

If you've been reading here for a while then y'all know how I feel about soup. I love it so much! Soup is one of my favourite things about fall.




Italian Tortellini Soup

1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tbsp prepared pesto
1 jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained
1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

In a large pot saute mushrooms in oil until tender. Add the brother, tomatoes, and pesto. Put the peppers in a food processor and process until blended, add to the soup and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the tortellini and bring to a boil. Cook for 7 - 9 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

Recipe Notes: You know what I love about soup? That it's pretty forgiving. So I added some diced onion to the mushrooms. I also pureed the peppers in their liquid with my immersion blender. Oh and my can of tomatoes was twice the size the recipe called for. Also I used a whole tetra box of chicken broth... whatever that works out to. I topped this with shredded mozzarella and for lunch the next day with cheddar. Both were delicious. Parmesan would also work here.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - leftovers

So it's well documented that my Mom is a go big or go home kind of lady. She's from Polish stock, one of five kids so large family dinners are just that..... large.

While we worked and froze our behinds off at Touch a Truck my sweet Mama was here preparing a feast... roast beef, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad. In the end we had 6 extra people join us for dinner and there was still enough left overs to sink a sizable ship.

So what to do with all those leftovers?

In a flash of genius, Mike shredded what was left of the roast beef and heated it up in a pan with a nice big squirt of our favourite bbq sauce. We served it on buns, with some diced onion and cheddar. They were beyond delicious. I think they would have been amazing with some coleslaw, but alas we had none.

Usually roast beef leftovers are a tough sell around here. The kids don't like them and I'm not a huge fan either once it's sat in the fridge over night. This was a definite home run though. Can't wait to have it again.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - tamale pie

My favourite little local Mexican restaurant has a pretty fantastic tamale pie on their menu, so when I cam across this recipe I knew I had to try and recreate it at home.




Tamale Pie

2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 ground beef
1 lrg onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives
2 tsp chili powder
2tsp minced fresh cilantro
3/4 cup shredded cheese

In a small sauce pan, bring the water, salt and a cayenne to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until cooked through. Stir in the beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, olives, chili powder and cilantro, heat through.

Spread polenta on the bottom of a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Top with meat mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer until the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes: So I ended up building this upside down. You see it's more like a shepherd's pie at my favourite Mexican place in presentation, so that 's what I did. As much as I wanted to love this I didn't. Mike was pretty unimpressed with it as well. This won't be making it into rotation, I'm just going to leave the tamale pie up the professionals at the Thirsty Cactus.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wedneday

Oh my gosh it's only a few days until Touch a Truck. Will we survive the chaos? Only time will tell.

So with all that busyness that means there's no cooking going on here.... well nothing worth talking about, but y'all tell me what you've been cooking up.

what's cooking wednesday - hot chocolate floats

Gosh, you give me a Monday off and that just throws me off for the rest of the week.I should have posted this last night, but better late than never, right?

It's that time of the year, hot chocolate season! Abby asked me to pick some up this week since we were out. She was helping put the stuff away when she got very excited... you got hot chocolate floats?!

I hadn't. In fact I had never heard of such a thing. I bought hot chocolate, but she showed me the side of the package and there was a recipe for hot chocolate floats printed right there. Mike had to work afternoons all weekend so the girls and I settled in with a movie and hot chocolate floats.

They are pretty easy to make too.....

Make yourself a mug of hot chocolate and add a scoop of ice cream. Topping with whipped cream is completely optional.

No surprise these were big hits here. I'm thinking jammies, hot chocolate floats and a Christmas movie will work it's way into the 25 days of Christmas this year.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

what's cooking wednesday - cashew chicken

I say I hate nuts, but that isn't really true. I really detest walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts. 100%. I love almonds and cashews... especially the sea salt and black pepper ones...... and peanuts if they've been beer nutified. So when I came across this recipe for cashew chicken I was game to try.




Cashew Chicken
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp minced gingerroot
1 onion, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup catalina dressing
1/2 cup salted cashews

Mix chicken, cornstarch and soy sauce  and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes. Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a large skillet or wok on high heat. Add garlic and gingerroot and stir fry for 1 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the wok and add the remaining oil, onions and mushrooms to the pan. Cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes and then add the chicken back in. Cook for another two minutes or until cooked through. Stir in the catalina dressing, top with the cashews and serve.

Recipe Notes: This was really great. The kids refused to try it, but Mike and I both really enjoyed it with rice. This will certainly be making it into the rotation.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday