French bread pizza - sorta

I'm always looking for new ways to do old things. I mean, the same old foods can just get boring. Other than a few exceptions, I am almost always making something *new*.

I saw this recipe on PineTarPress and thought it was so clever, easy, and a new twist.

You will need:
8 hoagie rolls or small french rolls, unsplit
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Onion, diced
Garlic, minced - about 2 cloves
2# ground beef
2 cups (or so) of shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375.




Heat a large skillet on the stove. Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook until the burger is no longer pink.While the ground beef is cooking, use a serrated knife to take off only the very top of the rolls. Once all the tops are off, dig out the insides of the bread, but be sure to leave a good bit along the bottom and around the edges. We don't want all the goodies to fall out or soak through.

Once your meat is cooked, drain and put it back in skillet. Add the pizza sauce to the bread "bowls" along the bottom and sides. Add a good bit of meat into each chunk of bread. As you see from the photo on the left, mine were pretty full. After the meat, add about 5 pepperoni to each pizza. Cover with cheese and bake for about 20 minutes.





This photo below was made for a "lite cheese" request, so you can see how full these are a little better.

                       






Depending on how done you want them, you may remove them after the 20 minutes, like these ones shown below.

If you want them a little more done, turn the oven to broil, prop the door open a bit, and let it brown to your personal preference.

The day I made this easy dinner, I was literally running out the door with one, in a paper towel, to eat on my way to church. I ate it, successfully, while driving, without making too much of a mess. Other than the bread crust crumbs, everything else stayed right in the bread. It was perfect!

I hope you enjoy it! =]

Pizza sauce

Pizza sauce is one of those things that is so easy to make - I'm not sure why people buy it.

Here's how I make it:

6 oz can tomato paste
Sun of Italy Italian seasoning (I suppose you could use any kind, but I don't know why you would! =] )
Kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
Garlic powder
A teenie bit of sugar
Water

First... if you like chunky sauce on your pizza, please feel free to add some canned (preferably homemade) diced tomatoes... otherwise, this recipe is for a smooth sauce.

Empty the can of paste into a medium sized bowl, add the rest of the ingredients (other than water) according to your personal tastes. It's going to be pretty thick so from this point forward, it's really getting the right consistency for you. Add a little bit of water, then mix. If it's still too thick, add a little more. Continue with the water, and maybe more spices, until you get the right mix of everything. You will be tasting a lot of sauce along the way!

That's it! Go make some pizza! Share it with me - I love homemade pizza! =]~

Homemade Enchilada sauce.

I cooked the entire day yesterday. Well, I took some time out mid-morning, after the bacon cups and before the dinner began... Once I was back in the kitchen, though, it felt good! And I felt so resourceful yesterday!

It was Sharleen's birthday, so we wanted to have a nice birthday dinner. The only thing she requested I make was my banana puddin - and I did! It didn't at all match the rest of dinner, but it's what she wanted.

On the menu was some spicy bean salsa with chips, Mexican red rice, refried beans, chicken chimichangas, and, of course, the banana puddin!

In order to make all this happen from scratch, it meant starting early and using every bit of everything. Including the bacon grease from the mornings Bacon Egg cups.

One of the things I made was enchilada sauce from scratch - I've never done that before! It was so easy. I found the recipe here and I didn't really change anything about it.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used Olive oil - it's what I had)
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons hot chili powder (I didn't have hot, so I just used regular chili powder)
4 1/2 cups chicken broth (homemade!)
1/2 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate (I used the whole square, I'm a rebel!)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high high heat. Saute onion until tender. Stir in garlic, oregano, cumin and cinnamon; saute for a few minutes. Stir in flour and chili powder and make sure it's all mixed together. Slowly whisk in chicken broth; reduce until sauce reaches desired consistency. Stir in chocolate until melted and well blended. 

Here's what you get!  

Creamy soup remade!

It's been a long time since I've looked at some of these posts...

It's been a long time since I've written some of these posts...

The good news is - I'm a changed person! I see ingredients that I would never use now and even had to take something off my "pantry must-have" list over there on the side. Canned creamy soup. Any kind. It was *always* in my house. It was a well used ingredient!

I'm free of the canned creamy soup!! Praise Jesus! Right? Right!

Want to break free from the canned creamy soup bondage, too? Let me show you how!

Ingredients:
4 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. flour
1/2 - 1 c. chicken broth (homemade!)
1/2 c. half and half (might be a little more)
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan then add the flour slowly to make a nice roux. Remove the pan from heat (turn the burner to low while the pan is removed) and add in the chicken stock until it's nice and creamy. Place the pan back over the low heat and slowly add the cream. Bring it to a gentle boil until it's a thick, creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper.

Note: There are SO many variations to this... This recipe will just serve as a base and can be used as is. Or you can add sauteed onions, mushrooms, celery, and any other seasonings you may like. It really depends on the recipe you're putting it into. Also, the measurements are very dependent on what sort of dish it's going into. A thicker sauce or soup base will work well for things like pot pie, while a thinner one would work well to make potato soup or something along those lines. Just try it - you'll find your rhythm! =]

Queso Blanco Dip

Oh yummie in the land of all things yummie! This super easy dip can be used for so many things!

1 1/2 lbs Land o' Lakes white American cheese
2 (4oz) can diced green chilies, undrained
1/2 - 1 c. light cream

Ok.. so the cheese you can get from any deli, ask them to cut the 1 1/2 lbs in about 3 chunks. It will make it easier for you once you get home. Cut the cheese into square chunks and plop them into a good sized sauce pan, add the chilies, and a small amount of cream. Simmer all together, and add the cream until you have the desired thickness for the sauce.

Now, this sauce can be used for plain ole tortilla chip dipping, or you can pour it over empanadas, enchiladas, quesadillas... just about anything. It's fairly mild and SUPER yummie (I know I already said that, but I thought it important to let you know one more time).