Easy freezer pizza crust

Having been inspired by Money Saving: Mom's 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer I have been using my baby's (infrequent) naps to do some quick freezer cooking.

Today while getting dinner ready I made 4 pizza crusts and threw them in the freezer.

I am a big believer in knowing what's in your food, that's why I make my own crusts because I know exactly what is in them.

Also, they costs way less than $1 a piece to make.

It's a simple recipe and freezes great. When you're ready to make a pizza just throw it in the fridge for a few hours and then voila!

What you'll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour (preferably unbleached, but whatever you have works)

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp yeast

2 tsp olive oil

3 cups HOT water (but not boiling)

In a bowl combine your flour, yeast, oil and water. Mix everything together. Cover and let bulk for 30 minutes.

Once your dough has bulked sprinkle with a little more flour so that it is easy to work with and divide into 4 sandwhich bags. Throw them in the freezer.

When you're ready to serve you will need to flour your surface and roll out the dough. Then bake 10 minutes at 350 before topping and baking again.

Freezer Cooking- A time saving dream

Back in the day when I first started reporting for a living I would spend a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon cooking two weeks worth of meals. I would turn on the stereo and dance in the hot kitchen while I made 10 casseroles to stuff in the freezer.

Back then I was driving 90 minutes one way to work and had no time to cook. I had not time to sleep, or breathe or do anything else! Compaired to having a baby that was a breeze! Just kidding.... sort of.

Anywhoo- I have started freezer cooking again, but my new version is, make one for now, save one for later.

Tonight we are having a chicken, corn, brocoli casserole. So, I just made extra. (This is a great way so stretch chicken leftovers, by the way.)

I have also put a beef and penne bake (will post that recipe later)...

...and baked oatmeal in my feezer this week.

What about you?

Chicken casserole:

What you'll need:

1 chicken breasts or 2 cups shredded chicken

1 to 2 pkgs. frozen broccoli

12 ounces cream of chicken soup (homemade recipe here.) (One can will do also. Girl, you don't have time to make soup!)

6 oz. grated cheese (any type)

4 cups cooked rice

1 bag corn

Preheat oven to 350-

Cook chicken until tender. Cut up chicken. 

In a greased pan combine rice, chicken, veggies and soup. Mix it all together. Sprinkle top with cheese and bake 30 minutes. No, you don't have to thaw the veggies.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup (and Chicken Too)

SO you're in the kitchen, chopping your potatoes and onions when you realize you are missing a key ingredient, cream of mushroom soup. What to do? What to do?

Why, you can whip some up! I did this when making my husband's favorite roast. And he loved it.

What you'll need:

2 tbsp butter - you can use margarine if you're that kind of person. ;)

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp milk (or sour cream)

2 cups mushrooms

And 12 ounces of water

In a pan melt your butter, then whisk your flour in, add your milk (or sour cream) and mushrooms, then water to get it the right consistency.

I then dropped in onions, potatoes and a roast. It was amazing.

You can easily make homemade cream of chicken by subbing out the butter for a couple tbsp chicken broth.

Baked Oatmeal Chocolate Banana Muffins

I love, love, love oatmeal. When I was pregnant it was one of the few foods I could tolerate. My husband on the other hand hates it. 

But I am not willing to buy two sets of breakfast food every week. So I tasked myself with coming up with a way to make him love oatmeal. 

"Have you tried baked oatmeal?" my sister asked. I was interested. However, a lot of the recipes amounted to dessert. I am all about dessert, but not for breakfast... everyday. ;)

So I scoured the internet and I found a recipe, that with very little tweaking, I loved. And it was enough to make 12 muffins now, and have enough left in a pan to freeze for company. 

 Note: I used palm sugar in this recipe. It comes from the coconut and is believed to have a lower glycemic index, so it is a smidgen better for you than refined cane sugar. Who knows... it falls under the category of sexy ingredients. So if you don't feel like paying $.18 an ounce for it from Amazon, just use brown sugar. 

What you'll need:

5 cup old fashioned oats (not quick cook!)

3 eggs

1 cup palm sugar (or brown sugar)

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce (or 2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce and 1/3 cup butter melted)

1 cup chocolate chips 

1 small banana cut up into pieces 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup ground flaxseed (this is surprisingly cheap when purchased in your grocer's bulk section - $1.99 a pound at Publix)

1 Tablespoon cinnamon or more. I really like cinnamon

2 1/2 cups skim milk 

Preheat oven to 350 and get your muffin pan ready. 

Mix your apple sauce (and butter if your using butter) and sugar, eggs and banana. Mix, mix, mix. 

Stir in your oats, flaxseed, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add in your milk and chocolate chips and stir, stir, stir. 

Once everything is all melded together fill your muffin cups and slide into the oven. This will make either 2 dozen muffins or one dozen and enough to freeze in a 9 by 13 pan. 

(If your freezing you will need to thaw it completely before baking later.)

Homemade Taco Seasoning- NO MSG

This one sounds like a no brainer, it takes no time to make homemade taco seasoning, and you can do it with ingredients you already have. But how many times have I purchased taco seasoning in that little envelope at the supermarket?

Last night I was making this recipe, but with beef and I thought, hey I can just make my own seasoning, right? Yes!

What you'll need:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin - or more

1 teaspoon black or garlic pepper

Dump everything in a bowl, mix together and you are done, girl!

Just add to your meat to flavor while you are cooking it.

Focaccia Bread: World's Easiest Bread Recipe

I have already expressed to you my love for baking bread. But it is a long process and I don't have a lot of time.

There is the kneading and the waiting, the bulking and the punching. I don't have time for that mess. Do you?

But, I have discovered Focaccia Bread! It isn't just for snobby little downtown bistros. It does require a little kneading and a little waiting, but it takes a fraction of the time a loaf of bread would take. 

It is so simple and you use few ingredients and it makes a delicious bread. 

What you'll need:

1 teaspoon honey (or sugar)

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 

1/3 cup warm water 

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

In a small bowl dissolve your yeast in the warm water and add in your honey and let sit for 2-3 minutes. 

In a larger bowl combine the yeast mixture with your flour. 

Flour a clean surface and knead for about 2 minutes. 

Spray a bowl with cooking spray and place your dough in the bowl. Roll it around to make sure it is coated with Pam. Cover with a dark, wet cloth and let sit for about 30 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 375. Roll the dough out onto a floured pan and poke little dents in the top of the dough with the handle of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and dried onion, herbs or garlic salt. 

Bake 10 - 20 minutes

Mama and Baby Cook: Chicken Tortilla Bake

Again, it is hot here in Alabama. It is hot and it is only May and the days are getting busier and the baby boy is getting cuter and cuter and I don't want to stand around in a kitchen for an hour. I want to play. 

Do you ever feel that way? Well here is a recipe that will have you darting in the kitchen for a brief minute and then gives you lots of time to play, fold clothes or sit in a closet and cry during nap time. (Just kidding on that last part.... maybe.)

This is Chicken Tortilla bake and at just $6 it is a quick, easy and cheap meal. 

What you'll need:

Two cups chopped chicken, cooked (this is great for leftovers)

1/2 bag frozen corn

8 tortillas cut in strips

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 jar salsa

2 cups cheese

One pan greased

Preheat your oven to 350

Place a few tortilla strips in the bottom of the pan. 

Cover in chicken, beans, corn, salsa and cheese. Mix together. Add more tortilla strips and more cheese. 

Place in oven for 30 minutes. Voila!

Chicken Tortilla bake. Just $6. This is a quick, easy and cheap meal. What you'll need:Two cups chopped chicken, cooked1/2 bag frozen corn8 tortillas cut in strips1 can black beans drained and rinsed1 jar salsa2 cups cheeseOne pan greased
Preheat your oven to 350Place a few tortilla strips in the bottom of the pan. Cover in chicken, beans, corn, salsa and cheese. Mix together. Add more tortilla strips and more cheese. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Voila!

Comfort Casserole II

It is a southern tradition that when someone dies, has a baby, an illness in the family, or moves in to a new home, you bring food. I am sure that this is a tradition in all parts of the country, but since I have been raised to believe that all things good and pure come from below the Mason Dixon, I am going to claim this for my home territory. 

One can't have a life-altering event without plate after plate of fried chicken, homemade chili or a lasagna or two showing up on the door step attached to a friendly face that may want to gossip or offer comfort or peak to see if your baby is ugly. 

There was a brief time during my teen years when we attended a church that had what I called "a casserole committee." This group of gray haired ladies was ready at a moments notice to start the blessed phone tree and swoop in with a plate of food to whatever family disaster was stirring up at a church members home. Let's face it, all difficult transitions in life can be eased when sprinkled with cheese.  But I have rambled on too long.

Here we have what I like to call the Comfort Casserole II. Not to be confused with the Comfort Casserole I. (Although they both contain things one should never consume on a regular basis.)

What you'll need:

2 Red potatoes

2 Yukon Gold potatoes

1 pound ground pork (ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken or just good ol plain sausage can be used)

1/2 large onion

5 cloves garlic

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded cheese, any variety 

Kosher salt and pepper

a smidgen of olive oil

Worcestershire sauce

Preheat your oven to 350 and have a greased pan at the ready!

Heat some olive oil in skillet over a low heat.

Peel your 5 cloves of garlic and mash them with a knife to release the flavors. 

Then chop like so. 

Put the garlic in the skillet and let heat up for about 1 minute before add your meat. Add a little Worcestershire sauce. 

While that is cooking go ahead and slice your potatoes and onion into little circles. 

In a bowl combine one cup sour cream and one cup Greek yogurt, add a little Kosher salt and pepper. Stir, stir, stir. 

Once your meat has finished browning you will layer your potatoes, onion, meat and yogurt sauce in your greased pan much like you would a lasagna. 

Sprinkle with cheese and place in your oven at 350 for 45 minutes. 

Good Ol Fashion Fish Fry

We are surrounded by water down here in South Alabama. It is a sportsman's dream. It has also been my Daddy's dream to ring my husband pick him up in his Toyata and drive to the river. 

Last weekend they came back with a bucket "brimming" over in brim. I know, I am not funny. In total they had 13 fat little fish. 

Seriously, can you get much cheaper than catching it yourself? But I have not experience frying up fish, so my husband had to lead the way. 

What you'll need:

Canola oil - we also used coconut oil, which is expensive, but can be purchased here and here. 

Fish cleaned and rinsed. (Google it. I can't tell you how to do it.)

2 cups cornmeal

Various seasons and spices.

Cast iron skillet or skillet with high walls. 

Pour enough oil in to your skillet to fully submerge the fish. Heat up oil slowly to a medium heat. 

Mix your cornmeal and spices in a bowl or casserole dish.

Place the fish in the dish with the cornmeal and coat fish. You will need to make sure it is thoroughly coated or it will turn out gummy and gross. Place the fish in the hot oil and let fry until the fish floats to the top. Make sure not to crowd the oil. 

Sweet Potato "Fries"

Since we were having something as unhealthy as fried fish. I decided to make healthy baked sweet potato "fries."

What you'll need:

2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in to strips

Cooking spray 

Cinnamon 

Peel your potatoes and cut them in strips. 

 Place on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake on 350 for about 20-30 minutes. 

Easy, crispy peach cobbler

It's almost summer. Yes, I know, summer is a month away, but here in south Alabama summer came in February. It is 82 degrees today. The baby and I are melting in our flip flops. 

Nothing says, "hello summer, please come in and make yourself at home" like a little peach cobbler. I buy all my produce at our local farmer's market. But I have to be honest. This year's peaches have been leaving much to be desired. I blame our lack of winter... or spring. 

Anywhoo- last week I was shopping at the Dollar Tree. Yes, I love it. When I happened across some frozen peaches. Frozen fruits and vegetables are a great alternative when you're on a budget. Because they are picked and frozen at the peak of the season you are getting a high quality product pretty cheap. It's a lot of bang for your buck.

So, alas, here is a quick, easy, crispy cobbler using frozen peaches. And no, you can't use canned. Trust me.

What you'll need:

One stick unsalted butter melted

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

one bag frozen or fresh peaches.

Preheat you oven to 375. 

Melt your butter and pour it in a 9 by 9 pan. In a bowl mix your dry ingredients. Add your milk and stir until smooth. 

Pour your batter in to your buttered pan and then place the peaches on top. Slide in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. It will be delicious and not overly sweet. Let's taste the fruit, not sugar coat it.