Freezer Meal Extravaganza!!

I have come across a really helpful website to offer couponing and money-saving tips, and one of those great tips I found was freezer meal planning!!  Here is the link to the freezer meal planner & recipes I used for my last batch of meals: FabuLESSly Frugal. 

You'll have to explore the whole website to see all the great tips & information they have, but the freezer meal recipes are what I use the most!!  I used all the recipes they have listed for August.  I made my grocery list and then went to Sam's Club for my chicken, ground beef, and cheddar cheese since I knew I need a lot of each of those.  Then I finished up my shopping at Meijer, came home and got started cooking!  It took me approximately 5 or 6 hours to get everything done, but it was well worth it because now I have dinners ready to go for the next 2 or 3 weeks! 

WAY Better Than Pizza Hut!

While I do love the effortless stop through the Pizza Hut drive through every-now-and-then to get any size/topping $10 pizza, I've come across a DELICIOUS homemade pizza recipe that is so easy! Before finding this recipe the most "homemade" we ever made our pizza was from the Chef Boyardee box (gross!!!). This recipe is from 'The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book'. It's my new favorite recipe source, so I will definitely be sharing more recipes in the future, but for today it's pizza! Always a good place to start, yes? :)

Dough
~~~~~
*Makes 2 pounds. Enough for 2 large pizzas.

4-4 1/4 cups bread flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Pulse 4 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt together in a food processor (with a dough blade[I use my KitchenAid Mixer with dough hook because I don't own a food processor]) to combine. With the processor running, pour the oil, then water through the feed tube and process until a rough ball forms, 30-40 seconds. Let the dough rest for 2 minutes, then process for 30 seconds longer. If after 30 seconds the dough is sticky and clings to the blade, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour 1 T. at a time as needed.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and form it into a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, before using.


Pizza Sauce
~~~~~~~~
*Makes 3 cups, enough for 3 large pizzas (leftover sauce can be frozen).

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
Salt & Pepper

1. Cook the oil and garlic together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until sizzling and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The sauce can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 4 days.)


Cheese Pizza
~~~~~~~~~

2 pounds pizza dough
olive oil for brushing
2 cups pizza sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a baking stone (or inverted cookie sheet) on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Let the baking stone heat for at least 30 minutes (but no longer than 1 hour). Line a rimless (or inverted) baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, divide it into 2 equal pieces, and cover with greased plastic wrap. Working with one piece of dough at a time (keep the other piece covered), press and roll the dough into a 14-inch round on a lightly floured counter. Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined baking sheet and resape as needed.

3. Lightly brush the outer 1/2-inch edge of the dough with oil. Spread 1 cup of the sauce over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella and 2 T. of the Parmesan.

4. Slide the parchment paper and pizza onto the hot baking stone. Bake the pizza until the edges are brown and the cheese is golden in spots, 8 to 13 minutes. (Prepare the 2nd pizza while the first bakes.)

5. Remove the pizza from the oven by sliding the parchment paper back onto the baking sheet. Discard the parchment paper and slide the pizza onto a cutting board. Let the stone reheat for 5 minutes before baking the second pizza. Serve hot!

French Onion Goodness...er...Soup

I found this recipe for French Onion Soup and it is AMAZING! It takes a while to make because it stays in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours, but it's an easy recipe and well worth the extra time :). If you want to see pictures of what the onions are supposed to look like here's the link:

http://www.cookography.com/2008/the-best-french-onion-soup-ever

The Best French Onion Soup

From: Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 6
Notes:
For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients:
Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
• 6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (Make sure you get Yellow)
• Table salt
• 2 cups water, plus extra for deglazing
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (They recommend Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth )
• 2 cups beef broth (They recommend Pacific Beef Broth)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
• 1 bay leaf
• Ground black pepper

Cheese Croutons

• 1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

Directions:
For the soup:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Generously spray the inside of a heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the butter in the pot and add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (the onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove the pot from the oven and stir the onions, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring the onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
3. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until the liquid evaporates and the onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing the heat to medium if the onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pot bottom is coated with a dark crust, roughly 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.)
4. Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping the pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the broths, 2 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot.
6. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

For the croutons:

1. While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

To serve:

1. Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake, Bakers Man...

Ever since my first Easy Bake Oven when I was 6 or 7 years old I've had a love for baking, but recently I've gotten really into it! I'm trying to learn about cake making, different icings and frostings, fondant, cupcakes....the list goes on. I recently made some YUMMY shortbread cookies flooded with royal icing. They were delicious and since my husband doesn't like baked things very much I ate them all myself (I think Abby ate 3 :P). I got the recipe for cookies and the icing from www.joyofbaking.com. I got the instructions for how to flood a cookie with icing from www.cakejournal.com. Both websites are great and full of creative ideas!

Shortbreads:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted