Herb Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

Combine:
1 pkg instant yeast (.25 oz.)
8 oz. lowfat milk, warmed to 110 degrees
4 oz. water, warmed to 110 degrees
2-3 cloves of pressed garlic

Separately:
3 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare pizza pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Add warmed liquids all at once to the dry mixture.
Stir until well mixed, incorporating all the dry ingredients.
Cover the bowl with a clean damp towel and set aside for about 20-25 minutes, allowing the dough to rise.
Empty dough out onto a clean, floured surface. Knead by hand 6-8 times, it may be necessary to add additional flour to the surface to keep dough from sticking.
Roll into desired shape and thickness or use your hands and toss.
Place rolled dough onto prepared pizza pan, add favorite sauce and toppings.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-14 minutes, depending on crust thickness.

We tried this with a pesto base that was also painted onto the crust edge with delicious results.

Base Recipe Taken From: http://www.easypizzacrusts.com/ghpc.html

Tzatziki

Ingredients:
1 Cucumber
2 small Greek Yogurts
4 cloves Garlic
splash Lemon
1 tsp Dill
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:
Peel and seed the cucumber, then grate and drain the cucumber for an hour in a sieve.
Add together all the ingredients and chill for 2 hours for max fusion, or whenever you want for expediency.

Sue's Stuffed Mushrooms

2 pounds fresh mushrooms

1 pound jimmy dean sausage

1 8- ounce package cream cheese

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 cups shredded cheddar/mozzarella cheese

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and save for another dish.

Brown the sausage and drain fat, crumble the sausage into small pieces. I put the drained cooked sausage in the food processor and pulse it a few times to get the pieces uniform.

Combine the sausage with bread crumbs and cheeses and mix well.

Mixture can be seasoned as desired with garlic, onion, or is good without it.

Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

(This is a new recipe I'm beginning to play with-add and remove ingredients as your taste leads you. I've used the usual white button mushrooms and the baby portabellas and both are good. I also change out the flavors of the sausage from Italian to sage to regular or hot, add different spices/herbs, parsley, basil, oregano etc to taste).

Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes

(I usually double the sauce)

2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp Rosemary leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
6 pieces of chicken (I have used boneless thighs, legs, or thighs)
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

Mix oil, all of the spices and salt in large bowl. Add chicken and potatoes; toss to coat well. Arrange chicken and potatoes in single layer on baking pan sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

Roast in preheated 425 oven 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, turning potatoes occasionally.

Bill’s Lasagna

Meat Sauce
1 pound Italian Sweet or Mild sausage
2 cups chopped onions
Add another cup of diced veggies as you like such as bell peppers, carrots, etc.
Pasta sauce (Classico or Bertolli's)

Sauté all ingredients until onions are translucent.
Add some commercially made pasta sauce- I like Classico or Bertollis and don’t be afraid to add some red wine or water to thin out the sauce-the pasta needs it to rehydrate and not be crunchy! The longer the sauce cooks, the better the flavors combine.  Give it time to be really fine.

Béchamel Sauce
3 cups milk
Powdered nutmeg/mace
2 bay leaves (optional)
½ cup butter
¾ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm the milk in the microwave with the bay leaf and nutmeg mixed in.
In a non-stick pan, melt butter and then mix in flour.
Cook till a nice nutty aroma comes off the mixture and a nice soft brown color is achieved.
Slowly add the heated milk to the flour/butter mix. Stir all the time over medium heat till the béchamel comes together in a nice thick sauce.
Then add the cheese to it. Be careful about letting this sauce sit for a while as it will harden up on you and be difficult to work with.

Assembly
In an oblong baking dish which has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick:
Add some of the meat mixture.
Then a layer of the non-pre cooked Barilla pasta (1 pound box-I have started to use the whole grain pasta).
Then a layer of the béchamel.
Repeat for about three layers.
The last layer should just be pasta and then a layering of the béchamel.
Finish by dotting the top with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

If you are cooking in a glass dish, put the lasagna in the oven on a cookie sheet. Bake according to your pasta’s instructions, usually 350 for about 50 minutes, covered with foil! Take the foil off for the last five to ten minutes of cooking for browning.

Let it sit for about ten minutes and then cut and enjoy!