Homemade Pizza Hut Pizza

Playing catch up is so hard! I made this Pizza Hut pizza quite a while ago during the winter. It was pretty good except for the fact that I cooked it a little too long! Oops!

Source: cdkitchen.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

That's their beautiful picture of their pizzas.
And there's mine. Sort sad huh?

As always, you can click on the link or I've copied it here for you. The only thing they didn't have was how long to cook it for! I think I cooked them for about 19 minutes and noticed they were getting over cooked! Sad! So let me know if you know how long you're really supposed to cook these for. I'm guessing between 12-15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for dough)
9 ounces vegetable oil (3 ounce per pan)
butter flavored cooking spray
***Sauce***
1 can (8 ounce size) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. 

Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9" cake pans, put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. 

Spray the outer edge of dough with cooking spray. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Sauce: 

Combine ingredients and let sit for 1 hour. 

For Each Nine Inch Pizza: Preheat oven to 475 degrees F Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice in this order: Pepperoni or Ham Vegetables Meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) Top with 3 Oz. mozzarella cheese Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

So my sister told me about a blog she's been visiting to get her dinners and I've gotta say ... it seems like a great site! My goal this summer has been to eat healthier, "lighter", summer meals that don't bust the bank! This blog is really nice because she puts how much the meal is going to cost you. Well, about how much since prices change of course. Her blog it budgetbytes.blogspot.com.
For dinner last night, I made her Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad. It was really good! Now, I've been trying to get my whole family to eat more veggies and this salad was perfect for it. The ricotta cheese created a nice creamy sauce that wasn't overpowering. I am not a fan of tomatoes (nor anyone else in the family) so this was hard for me. I've been forcing myself to eat tomatoes for quite a few years so I've gotten better. I was the only one who ate them quartered up in the salad. We actually removed the tomatoes and blended them and put them back in for everyone else. My hubby said it made for great leftovers for lunch. Now, without further ado, the recipe.

Servings Per Recipe: 8 (about 1.25 cups each) 
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 30 min. 

3 Tbsp Garlic
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb. Pasta Shells
15 oz. Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
3 cups Baby Spinach
Salt and Pepper to taste

STEP 1: Place the garlic in a small bowl or dish and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over the exposed cloves. Cover the bowl with an inverted plate. Microwave on high, in one minute increments, until the garlic is soft and fragrant (about 2 minutes) I minced garlic and it was done in 1 minute. Use caution when touching the dishes, they will be very hot. Allow the garlic to cool.

STEP 2: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the pasta, and cook for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.

STEP 3: While the pasta is cooking, add the minced garlic to a medium bowl along with the ricotta cheese, a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper, and about 1/2 tsp of salt. Add the 1/2 cup of hot, starchy pasta cooking water. Stir until it forms a smooth sauce.

STEP 4: Drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the warm pot (the burner should be turned off). Add the fresh baby spinach and pour the ricotta sauce over top. Slice the cherry tomatoes and add them to the pot as well. Stir until everything is well mixed. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm!


http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/05/roasted-garlic-pasta-salad-853-recipe.html

Shred Chicken

I read on pinterest a tip on shredding chicken. All you have to do is cook your chicken, stick it in you kitchen aid with the paddle attachment on, and turn it on. I did a whole flat of chicken and it came out great. It was so much better than shredding it using 2 forks like I usually do. Here's proof that it works!

Split Pea Soup

Maybe not my best idea ever but I decided to start eating healthier in January and I also got pregnant at the same time. Eating healthier wasn't the problem. It was trying something new while you're in that first pregnancy stage where things don't always agree with you. That was this split pea soup. It was not good for me because the house smelled for days afterwards and I did not like the smell!! 

Here's the link to the recipe. I know it doesn't look appetizing but I bet if I wasn't pregnant it would have been better! 

I know, it looks gross but really good for ya!

First kid didn't mind it. I did what my friend did and put it on homemade whole wheat bread.

Other kid did not touch it. He was not happy with this meal at all! Can you tell?