Mom's Fruit Pizza
(makes 2 pizzas)
Pizza Crust:
1/2 C. butter, softened
1/2 C. Crisco (butter flavor)
1-1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs
2-3/4 C. Flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese
1 C. sugar
2 t. milk
Assorted fresh fruit. I used raspberries, strawberries, bananas, peaches, kiwi, and blueberries. I tossed the bananas and the peaches in lemon juice to prevent oxidation (browning).
Pecans for top (optional).
Directions:
Cream butter and shortening together, add sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in dry ingredients. Grease 2 pizza pans (mine were 12"). (Refrigerating the dough prior to spreading makes it easier.) Spread dough on pizza pans and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
Cream together all ingredients for filling and spread on cooled crusts.
Top with fresh fruit and pecans.
First off, Saucy Apron is my new favorite recipe blog! I love these simple, family friendly meal ideas that she posts.
This carrot bread is my favorite!!
Check out more at SaucyApron.com
My favorite!!! Umm, not a big "red sauce pizza" fan but I love asparagus on pizza. I first had something like this at Comet (delish) and I have been making them ever since. I love this recipe from Unruly Things' new blog Milk + Eggs + Chocolate. MMMmmmmMMM.
Monterey Jack Asparagus Pizza
makes one 14" round pizza
pre-heat oven to 425˚
:: for dough ::
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup very hot water
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
extra white flour for dusting
1/8 cup semolina flour for bottom of crust
• whisk together white flour, yeast, and sea salt in a large bowl.
• mix honey and hot water together in a heat proof cup and pour into flour mixture. mix water with flour until smooth. pour wheat flour into mixture and mix until just blended.
• place dough onto a floured surface and knead until blended and soft, about 15-20 times. I tend to knead my dough until it "feels right", so after a few times creating this pizza dough, you'll know what I mean.
• form dough into a ball and cover with bowl. allow dough to rise at least 30 minutes.
:: for topping ::
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sized shallot, about a 1/4 cup chopped
about 15 stems of asparagus
1 cup spinach
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese
• heat olive oil on medium heat in a heavy skillet. add shallots to skillet and cook for 3 minutes.
• snap the hard ends off of the asparagus by holding one side in your hand and gently pushing down on the other side until the stem naturally snaps. add to skillet and mix with shallots. cook for about 10 minutes, or until shallots are browned. separate asparagus and shallots in skillet so that adding them to the pizza is easiest.
• meanwhile, after dough has had enough time to rise, gently pick it up to make sure that none of the dough has stuck to your surface. spread out semolina onto your surface, then place the dough back in the center. carefully roll out the dough until it's about 1/4" thick.
• spread ricotta cheese evenly in center of dough, leaving about a 1" border on the outside.
• arrange spinach on top of ricotta.
• place asparagus stems artfully around pizza, concentrating on covering. sprinkle shallots on top.
• lastly, generously top pizza with Monterey jack cheese, making sure to cover all open spots.
Al's note: I find that when I bake pizzas that have heavier or larger toppings they are often difficult to transfer from the prep surface to the stone. for this pizza I used a baking sheet and prepared my pizza on the baking sheet for easy transfer.
• if using a pizza stone, place pizza directly onto the stone and bake for 10 minutes.
• if using a baking sheet, line with a sheet of parchment paper and cook for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.
Okay. I am sitting here eating lunch (an apple) and I was thinking about how I love the lamest food. My old boss in Arizona used to tease me because I love all bland foods.
I could live off of:
-toast
-apples
-yogurt
-broccoli
-bananas
-rice pudding
-oatmeal
-asparagus
-cupcakes
Seriously. I know this because I literally have been living off of these and some delicious Fiber One bars.
Ohhhh... how can I forget... my new love... peanut M&Ms! Easter colors.
Okay, so I was watching Cashmere Mafia the other day and they all had a terrible day and met up for drinks and chocolate. One of the girls was eating fudge and ever since I have been craving fudge. (And since I have been recovering from a wisdom tooth issue I opted to steer clear of the sweets.)
Well the security guys at my office building had fudge out by their desk today. I for sure fell in love with that delicious chocolate. I think that I may try and make some this weekend.
This looks like an easy recipe:
INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan and bowl
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon Valrhona cocoa powder
Large pinch of fine sea salt
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup milk
4 ounces Callebaut unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Butter an 8-by-8-inch straight-sided baking pan. Line with parchment paper; set aside. Butter a large, shallow, stainless-steel bowl; set aside.
In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk to combine the sugar, cocoa, and salt. Place over medium-low heat, and add corn syrup and milk, stirring until smooth. Add chocolate. Cook, stirring, until chocolate is melted and sugar dissolved before it reaches a boil. Brush down sides of saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallization. Increase the heat to high, and cook until it reaches 236 degrees (soft-ball stage).
Pour into prepared bowl without scraping the sides of the saucepan. Dot top with butter. Let cool to 110 degrees to 118 degrees on an instant-read thermometer without disturbing, about 1 hour. Add vanilla. Using a plastic dough scraper, transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on low speed until the butter and vanilla are completely incorporated. Increase speed to medium, and beat, stopping occasionally, until fudge keeps its shape when dropped from a spoon and sheen is gone, 3 to 8 minutes. Using a clean plastic dough scraper, transfer to prepared baking pan, spreading evenly. Before fudge sets completely, score with a knife into 1-inch squares. Let stand until completely cooled.
Yes, yours truly had to participate in a chili cook-off today for work. If you know where I work you will understand the random humor of this.
We have to make an award winning chili (I found a great recipe), create a poem/skit to present our chili, decorate a table/booth and tie a U.S. President into the theme. WHAT? Yeah, that's what I thought.
We hadPresident Grant. Here is the receipe we used and poem that I created...
Kentucky Bourbon Chili
* 4 pounds lean ground beef
* 1 cup Kentucky Bourbon
* 3/4 cup chili powder
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 1 tablespoon diced onion
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 16-ounce can kidney beans
* 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
* 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
* 6 8-ounce cans water
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 4 small cans chopped green chilis
Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add ingredients one at a time in order listed. Simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Makes about 1 1/2 gallons of chili.
President Grant
Our 18th President left his mark in so many ways,
we can thank him for Colorado and OPM snow days.
He was praised by Lincoln for being bold and risky,
and this made Lincoln want to give all the Generals that Old Crow Whiskey.
Grant may not have been an Ashton Kutcher,
but he sure was known an our Nation’s butcher.
He was known as a General who loved to kill,
I guess this earned him a spot on the fifty dollar bill.
By winning his wars in the bloodiest way,
he was the obvious choice for 8th Prez of the NRA.
Once he was arrested for speeding in his horse and buggy,
and then hoofed it back to the White House in weather so muggy.
His beautiful First Lady was a little cross-eyed,
but Grant said he liked her that way… he may have lied.
And after he had a tumbler of his whiskey,
he and his wife were known to get a little frisky!!!
Poor Grant got throat cancer from smoking a lot,
I guess he should have just stuck to his whiskey shot.
Though when he was surrounded by his wife, son and daughter…
his last request was not for whiskey, but for water.
And a game show contestant once met his doom,
when he incorrectly answered “Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?”
Grant's scandals arose when he kept lots of gifts…
but Jane says, “I never would have let this happen on my shift!”
I am not a great cook but I sure am not terrible. I tried to make these two things this week and well... I would recommend one clove of garlic instead of two.
Spinach/Artichoke Dip:
Canned artichoke bottoms are called for in this recipe because they have a deeper flavor than frozen artichoke hearts (which however, can be used in a pinch). This recipe yields 4 cups and can be kept refrigerated up to 5 days.
Ingredients: 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed 1 can (13.75 ounces) artichoke bottoms 2 cloves garlic 8 ounces cream cheese1 cup grated Parmesan cheese1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 1-quart ovenproof pan. In a food processor, process spinach, artichokes, garlic, cream cheese, Parmesan and pepper until well combined, scraping down sides of processor, as needed.
Spread mixture in prepared pan. Bake until warmed through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot with sliced vegetables.
Nutrition Per ServingCarbohydrates: 7.5 grams Net Carbs: 5 grams Fiber: 2.5 grams Protein: 9 grams Fat: 13 grams Calories: 177
Servings: 8Prep time: 5 minutesBake/Cook time: 30 minutes
Reprinted by permission of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. All rights reserved.
Pillsbury Reduced Sugar Cupcakes:
If you are going to make cupcakes then avoid this recipes. Its not bad they are just not that moist.
