Spaghetti Sauce & Baked Ziti

This recipe came from Emily's friend that she worked with to make all the food for Stake Girls Camp. I made it a few weeks ago and changed a couple of things. I wanted to type up what I did, so I figured I might as well type it right into the blog:

Spaghetti Sauce (this makes a lot! - about 8 quarts - we ate some and froze the rest in 4 cup increments)

1 lb italian sausage

2 lbs ground beef

1 large white onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

3 big cans crushed tomatoes

12 oz tomato paste

3 Tbsp brown sugar (you may use less - we like our sauce a little sweet)

1 Tbsp basil

1 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp parsley

1 tsp marjoram

1 1/2 tsp salt (be careful with this and add to taste - some canned tomatoes have more salt than others)

2 bay leafs

couple shakes red pepper flakes

Cook sausage and rinse and drain. - set aside. cook ground beef. Drain - set aside (cook these separately because the sausage requires a higher cooking temp and could dry out the beef. Saute onion in olive oil, then add garlic and saute one more minute. (If you want you can brown the beef with the onion--however this will make your sauce retain extra fat.) Add meat and rest of ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour. Be really careful not to let the temperature get too high or the bottom will burn and your whole pot of sauce will taste burnt and weird (like my mom used to make!) Serve over pasta w/ parmesan cheese.

Here is something I made with some of the sauce that w

as frozen a few weeks later. It normally calls for sauce w/ no meat, but it tasted really good w/ this meat sauce:

Baked Ziti (Emily's old recipe)

1 lb. Ziti (or penne)

¼ t. pepper

12 oz. ricotta cheese

2 T. parsley

2 eggs beaten ( I may try this with just one egg next time)

8 oz. mozzarella cheese

¾ c. parmesan cheese

6-8 c. spaghetti sauce (pre-made in a jar or see recipe above)

¼ t. salt

Cook ziti according to directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Combine ricotta cheese with eggs, ½ c. parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Blend well. Toss ziti with 2-3 c. spaghetti sauce. Place ½ the pasta in a baking dish. Top with ricotta mixture and ½ of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining ziti, sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Bake @ 350° for about 40 minutes – until heated through.

Navajo Tacos

I made this on Sunday for Paul's family - it was a huge croud-pleaser. Sorry no picture - they were eaten too quickly.

Navajo Tacos

2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
Approx 8 cups cooked pinto beans – (see below) or use 3-4 cans, drained (Also ok to use kidney beans)
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
1 10 oz. can mild red enchilada sauce (or just use another tomato sauce)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 - 3 tsp salt (only if you made your own beans – otherwise use just a few sprinkles of saltbecause canned beans are usually pre-salted)
pepper to taste

Toppings:
Chopped lettuce
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Fresh pico de gallo
Tomatoes
Corn
Jalapeños or green chilies
Sour cream
Ranch

Brown meat w/ chopped onion. Drain and rinse meat to remove fat. Put back in pot or in a crockpot. Add all other ingredients, stir, and simmer at least 20 minutes or for a few hours on low in the crockpot. I made this in the crock pot, so it could be done ahead of time and just kept warm. Serve on warm fry-bread and pile high with toppings.

This made a big pot that served about 15-18. You can easily half the recipe. Also, you can adjust the spice amounts to your own tastes. Note: I have made this with home-made beans and canned – I liked it a lot better with homemade, but the canned is a great quick substitute.

Beans – I soaked 3 cups of dry pinto beans overnight. Drain. Cook in pressure cooker for 19 minutes on high w/ about 10-12 cups of water, a slice of onion, garlic clove, bay leaves, and some cilantro stems. Don’t add salt, yet. When beans are done, use a slotted spoon to place into your pot or crock pot with the meat and onion. You can also cook beans in a crock pot – after soaked, cook w/ water and spices for 3-4 hours on high. (they turn out better for me in the pressure cooker)

Navajo Fry Bread (you will need 3-4 batches if making the entire bean recipe)

500 g. bread flour (4 cups)
8 g. salt (1 teaspoon)
14 g. sugar (1 Tbsp)
14 g. baking powder (1 Tbsp)
20 g. shortening (1 Tbsp)
10 oz warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Then gradually add warm water and knead. (I use the food processor for this and it only takes a minute). Cut into 6-10 pieces depending how large you want them. Cover, and let rest 10-15 minutes. Flatten by hand about 1/8 - 1/4 inch and fry for 1-2 minutes in a couple of inches of oil (375 degrees). Keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve. Authentic fry bread does not have sugar or shortening - so feel free to omitt - this just makes it a little sweeter and softer. Also notice - there is no yeast - the baking powder makes it rise - do not use regular dough for fry bread, or else it will be too chewy.

Yummy Greek Pizza

I made some really good pizza the other day. For one of the pizzas, Cathy gave me the idea to make a greek pizza and I found the recipe she used at allrecipes.com . I made my own crust, rather than buying a pre-baked one like the recipe says. My favorite pizza crust recipe now it the one from "The Bread Bible" that Suz introduced to me. I also made two other pizzas - a pepperoni for the kids and an everything for Paul.

Toppings for the greek pizza:

1/4 cup mayo mixed w/ garlic and 1/2 cup of feta

sundried tomatoes

chopped baby spinach (use a lot because it really cooks down)

red onions

oregano

kalamata olives (i didn't have these)

more feta on top

(i added a few pickled peppers for spice even though the recipe didn't call for them - it was good)

Thin Crust Pizza Dough “the Bread Bible” (makes 3 thin-crust pizzas 12-14'')

600 g. or 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour (all-purpose is important)

15 g. or 2 ½ tsp. sea salt

9 g. or 2 tsp. sugar

2 ¼ tsp instant yeast

about 1 ½ cups water or 360 g.

a few tablespoons olive oil.

Wisk flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add yeast – whisk again. Measure water and put in a 2 qt bowl. Mix in dry ingredients and stir about 20 – 30 times by hand (if you don't mind your hands getting a little sticky, it is easiest to just use your hands instead of a spoon). Mix together just until is starts to sort of come together. It is ok if it is a little flaky - it is supposed to be flaky. Form into ball and coat generously with olive oil. Cover, and let rise ½ hour. Cover and put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours up to 4 days. Take out of fridge. Brush a little of the extra olive oil from the bowl onto the 3 pizza pans. Form 3 flat balls – smash down and let rest for 20 minutes on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Spread dough out thin on the pan. Let rest 20 more minutes, then cook for 5 minutes at 500 degrees. Take out and top with sauce and toppings. Place back in the oven to finish cooking for about 5 minutes more. If you like a crispy crust, place the pizza directly on the rack or stone without the pizza pan when you put it in the oven the 2nd time.

This dough is really easy to stretch out and the crust it makes is thin, crispy, and chewy. I like that you can make the dough anytime up to 4 days in advance - this actually makes the crust taste better because of a slow fermentation.

Whole Wheat Pitas

It has been a while since I have blogged, but Al really wanted me to blog the pitas I made.  They are delicious.  As I type this, I am eating my pita stuffed w/ hummus, scrambled, eggs, ham and warm spinach.  Here is the recipe and some tips:

Whole Wheat Pitas 

(Adapted from a recipe in "The Best Bread Ever" by Charles Van Over (my hero))

500 g. whole wheat flour

10 g. sea salt

10-12 g. sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

1 Tbsp olive oil

approx 320-330 ml water

Place flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in food processor.  Pulse to mix.  Add the olive oil and most of the water and process for about 30 seconds.  Add more water if needed and process about 25 more seconds until dough is soft, warm, and well incorporated.   Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for at least 3 hours. (the last time I made this i forgot about the dough and I think it sat out for about 8 hours - it was still fine).  

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a baking stone if possible.  After the dough has risen, dump it out and cut into 12 pieces - form each into a small ball and flatten slightly.  Cover and let these rest about 15 - 20 minutes.   Roll out to about a 7 inch circle using a little flour.  Cover and let rest 5-10 more minutes.  Make sure they do not stick together if they are overlapped at all - flour will help with this.  I had a few that stuck a little and had to be pulled apart and then did not puff very well in the oven.  Place about 3 pitas on the stone at a time - be careful not to handle them too much at this point, or they will not puff up.  You can use a pizza peel and flour for this step, or you can just use your hands like I do and risk more oven burns.  

They will be done in about 6 minutes and you can watch them puff up like a ball in the oven (I should have taken a picture of this).  Do not over-bake, as this will cause them to be brittle later when filling the pita.  Take them out of the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 1 minute.  Then I put them right into a plastic bread bag.  The steam will cause them to deflate and soften.  When serving the pitas, I think they are best if warmed slightly before stuffing.

Here is the Hummus Recipe:

15 oz. garbanzo beans, drained - reserve some liquid

3 Tbs. Tahini  (you can omit this and add more olive oil if there is a sesame allergy)

1 clove minced garlic

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 Tbs. olive oil

cumin (optional)

paprika (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Just puree everything in a blender or food processor.  Add some of the bean liquid at the end if too thick.  This will also thicken a little in the fridge.   The amounts in this recipe can be adjusted to your individual tastes.

Krispy Kreme Donut Recipe

Halloween is time for home-made donuts at our house.  For the past three years we have been making cider donuts.  This year was my first attempt at raised donuts and I think I'm hooked.  These were a lot lighter and airy.  They didn't soak up as much oil as the apple cider donuts.

I found this recipe online and I changed it a little so that I could make the dough in my food processor. (You will need to adjust this recipe smaller if you have a 7 or 11 cup food processor.)

Here is the food processor version of the recipe:

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. warm water (105 degrees)

2 tsp. instant yeast

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

5 cups all-purpose flour - approx. 750 grams (I'm sure if you have cake flour, that would even be better)

1 tsp or 9 grams salt

1/3 cup shortening

Oil for frying

Glaze 

Gently heat milk on stovetop until smoking slightly, do net let burn or boil.  Remove from heat.  Add sugar to dissolve.  Mix yeast with warm water.  Stir and let sit.  When milk has cooled a little, add beaten eggs.  Make sure your milk is not hot, or little pieces of egg can cook.  You can temper the eggs by adding a tablespoon or two of warm milk to the eggs and quickly whisking it in and then add those eggs to the milk mixture.  Place flour, salt and shortening into food processor.  Mix.  Then, with the machine running, add water and yeast mixture and then the milk mixture.   Let it mix and knead until smooth.  You can add more flour or water as needed.  This is a very sticky dough.  Be careful not to add too much flour.  When the dough is kneaded,  transfer into a large greased bowl and cover. (When I cover bread dough, I always put one layer of saran wrap right on the dough, and then another layer on the bowl - this helps the dough to not dry out.)  Let rise until double - at least an hour.  Mine sat on the counter for probably about 4 or 5 hours (because I was doing a lot of other things) and it was fine.  Slide dough onto a floured surface and gently roll to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into donuts approx 3 inches.  Do not attempt to re-roll the dough and make more donuts.  (I didn't want to waste the extra dough, so I quickly formed some long rolls, let them rise and then baked them to eat our Bratwurst in. - they were good) Place cut donuts on a floured baking sheet.  Let rise for 30-40 minutes.  (I actually cut out the donuts and then put them in the fridge for an hour or two, then I sat them out for 40 minutes before frying because I wanted our guests to have warm, fresh donuts.)  Heat oil to 365-375 degrees.  Fry until golden brown - about a minute (less for the donut holes), turning halfway.  The donut holes are hard to flip once one side is brown.  I found that it is easier to constantly stir them a little as they fry for more even browning.  Carefully remove from oil and drain on a cooling rack placed on top of paper towels.  Then dip the donuts in the creamy glaze or chocolate glaze.  You can then dip them in candy or sprinkles if you want.  I haven't tried the chocolate glaze.  With the overload of chocolate on Haloween, we just stuck with the creamy glaze.

Creamy Glaze:

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4-6 Tbsp hot water

Heat butter until melted. (I just put it in a bowl and carefully microwaved it).  Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in water, 1 Tbsp at a time until reaches desired consistency.  I think I made my glaze a little too thick - but there were no complaints.

Chocolate Glaze:

To make the chocolate glaze, it is basically the same as making the creamy glaze, except you melt 4 oz of milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips with the butter in the first step.

*If you don't have a food processor, here is how you mix the dough.  You still mix the yeast with the water and scald the milk.  Let milk cool until lukewarm, then transfer to your mixing bowl or mixer.  Start with your whisk or paddle.  Add sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, and yeast mixture.  Add 2 cups of flour and mix really well.  Then you can change to your kneading hook and gradually add the remaining flour- remember this is sort of a sticky dough.

BBQ Pork

The last few times that I have made BBQ pork, I have not been happy with the results, using recipes that are basically a piece of meat slow-cooked in BBQ sauce.  These recipes are easy, but do not have very much depth of flavor.  They were also a little too sweet for me. Here is what I did: first I read a few recipes in cookbooks and online.

BBQ Pulled Pork

4-5 lb pork roast (I used a shoulder with bone-in) - remove as much fat as you can before    cooking 

Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and place in crock-pot.

Add:

1 chopped onion

about 1 T Worcestershire sauce

a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar

1/2 c cider vinegar

1/2 - 1 cup BBQ sauce

Then fill with water to just about the top of the meat.

Cook on low 10-12 hours.

After it is cooked, take meat out - remove bones and fat and shred.

Dump out most of water - reserving the onions to mix with meat if desired.  Leave a little liquid to keep shredded meat moist.

Return shredded meat to crock pot.

At this point you can simply season with salt and pepper and let each person add his or her own BBQ sauce. Or you can add BBQ sauce to the crock-pot, mix with meat before serving.

Hamburger Buns

Last week I made pulled pork sandwiches w/ BBQ sauce for dinner.  Paul thought it was funny because I said I didn't feel like going to the grocery store (with all the kids) to buy buns, so I just made some instead.  He said usually it is the opposite - people buy things at the store because they don't feel like making them.

I looked up a bunch of recipes online and combined them a little and adjusted the recipe to be made with the food processor.  I think they turned out pretty good.  They are not as soft and airy as the $.98 8-pack of buns you can buy - but these were bigger and had much better flavor, and they held up good with the pork and BBQ sauce - they would be great with a burger, too.

Here is the recipe:

Hamburger Buns

650 g. All-purpose flour
13 g. salt
30 g. sugar
1 ½ tsp instant yeast
200 ml milk
2-3 Tbsp butter or 30 g.
230-240 ml water

1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp water

In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter. Heat over low heat just until butter melts – before milk bubbles. (This is a similar method as the Cinnamon rolls and Lion House Rolls – the reason to heat the milk is to break down the milk enzymes that can inhibit yeast production – you can also increase the water in this recipe and add powdered milk). Let milk mixture cool.

Put flour, salt, sugar and yeast in food processor and pulse a few times. Add cooled milk mixture with machine running. Then add enough of the water so the mixture comes together into a ball. Process for about 45 seconds to knead the dough. The dough is soft and feels similar to roll dough.

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise about 2 hours until double. Divide risen dough into 12 pieces. Form into 12 balls and flatten slightly on the pan. I baked these on a jelly-roll pan lined with parchment paper. Let proof about 45 minutes. Before baking, brush with egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with seeds if desired.

Bake at 400 degrees in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Slice and serve.

Anthony's 2nd Birthday

We had a fun combined 2 year old birthday party for Anthony and Phillip. The best part about it was staying up until 1:30 with Cathy making the train cakes.

Abby's 5th birthday and Barbie Cake Tips

Abigail had her 5th birthday celebration at Grandma's pool. She has enjoyed riding her new princess bike for the past couple of weeks. She loved her barbie cake. The morning of the party, she sat and stared at it for quite a while. She was a little worried, however, that Cinderella was going to get all ruined and sticky.

Tips for making a barbie cake:
I used 2 cake mixes: The first one is a double-layer cake (2 9 inch pans) - bake as directed on box and remove from oven and cool on racks. The second mix I baked in a Pampered Chef 2 quart batter bowl. This glass bowl is perfect for the job. Make sure to spray the bowl well. (I used the spray that has flour as well). Also, don't be surprised if it takes forever to cook. I think this one took about an hour.

Let the cake cool in the glass bowl - this is important. If you dump it out while it is still hot, it may crumble and the edges will fall off.

When completely cool, make hole in center using tongs. If you don't hollow it out a little, the cake will crack when the Barbie is inserted.

I placed the two round cakes and the one from the glass bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes to chill them before frosting. This helps them keep their shape.

Place a big blob of frosting on a cake plate and put a leveled 9" circle cake on top.
Lots more frosting then the other leveled 9" circle.
More frosting.
Skirt cake on top of that.
Wrap Barbie tightly in saran wrap from chest down - this will keep her from getting dirty from cake and frosting.
Insert Barbie into the hole until the cake is at waist level. The reason I added the extra cake is because the batter bowl makes a cake that is a little shorter than Barbie's legs.

Now frost the entire cake generously and smooth it out. Put in fridge or let sit until that frosting is set before you begin decorating.

For decorating, I only used 2 colors and a couple of decorating tips. My secret to making this look pretty was to buy the pre-made flowers from the candy factory outlet. These were inexpensive and makes the dress look great without a lot of work.

Butter cream frosting:
1 stick butter (you can use up to one half shortening)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
a couple of Tablespoons of milk - to desired consistency

Whip butter - add vanilla, slowly mix in powdered sugar. Then add milk - one TBSP at a time and whip till creamy and the consistency you like.

If not using any store-bought frosting, you will have to make a couple batches of this for the Barbie cake.

Pizza

Pizza Tips:

Use unbleached all-purpose flour (this makes it more stretchy and makes the crust chewy, yet, soft)

I like to make the pizza dough 2-3 days before I make pizza and keep it in the fridge. This give the dough a nice flavor.

1 lb flour, 1 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp yeast, approx 10 oz. water - Form in cuisinart and then let rise 2-3 hours. Punch down and store a large tupperware bowl to allow for expansion. I also place a small amount of plastic wrap directly on the dough even though you use a lid, so that a crust does not form.

If you use the refrigerator method, divide the dough in thirds when you take it out of the fridge and push down slightly on a floured surface. Cover. Let rest and come closer to room temp before stretching/forming. (30 min)

Work with a smaller pizza - the pizzas above are about 10-11 inches diameter. I made three of these with one pizza dough recipe (1 lb of flour) If your pizza is smaller it will be easier to form and transfer into the oven.

Don't overload with toppings - too many toppings=soggy crust.

Use a mix of cheeses - today I used Mozz (mostly), then on top of the toppings I sprinkled Romano and Asiago. Parmesan is also good. Suz premixes all of her cheeses and uses her 4-cheese blend for all Italian cooking.

Both flour and cornmeal on the peal will help the pizza slide onto the stone.

Oven needs to be at 500 degrees - preheat with the stone in for at least 45 min. Don not take the stone out of the oven.

Place end of peel towards back of stone and very slowly and gently wiggle the pizza off. (That way your toppings won't all fall off and get burned on the pizza stone.)

After you remove your pizza from the oven with the peel - transfer immediately to a cooling rack. This will help the bottom crust to stay crisp and not get soggy.


Here is the Pizza Sauce recipe:

14 oz. diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 T. oil

1 t. salt

½ t. basil

1 T. brown sugar

½ t. marjoram

½ t. thyme

½ t. oregano

¼ t. garlic powder

Blend in cuisinart
If you double this, you'll have to use a blender or vitamix - this is too much liquid for the cuisinart, unless you do two batches.

Simmer about 20 minutes on low to enhance flavor.

I always double this amount and divide the whole thing into thirds. If you double it, then 1/3 of the doubled recipe is about perfect for a regular batch of pizza 2-3 pizzas. I freeze the other two portions separately to use the next two times I make pizza.

I go this recipe originally from Alison, who got it from Emily (i think). The original recipe did not contain sugar and did not say anything about simmering. Suz was the first to add sugar to make the sauce a little sweeter like Little Ceasers. Last year, I came accross this same recipe (almost exactly) in a Top Secret Recipe Cookbook for a clone of Little Ceasers Pizza Sauce. That is where I got the idea to simmer the sauce for better flavor

I was thinking it might be nice to make a big batch of pizza seasoning: equal portions of basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, 1/2 portion of garlic powder, and double portion of salt. you could add sugar to this, too, but not brown. Then when you go to make pizza sauce, you would just add 1 Tbsp + 1/4 tsp of the mix to one can of tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 T. sugar and 1 T. olive oil.

What do you think?