Calzone

1 store bought pizza dough (not the kind you by in a tube...the kind in a bag in the refrigerated food section)
2/3 c ricotta cheese (divided)
1 c fresh grated mozzarella (divided)
1/4 c Parmesan (divided)

Any of the following toppings:

spinach
ham
broccoli (steamed)
chicken
prosciutto
fresh basil
steak and cheddar
Whatever!

(mine was chicken and broccoli)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Sprinkle some corn meal on a pizza stone or cookie sheet. I let my pizza stone heat up in the oven while it preheated...right Lindz??
Cut pizza dough in half and roll out each half into approx 10" circle. Your dough should be quite thin. First spread 1/3 c ricotta cheese on HALF of the circle. Top with desired toppings and then 1/2 c grated mozzarella and 2 T parm.
Do not over stuff! you should be able to close it over easily. Then wet the edges with your finger and begin folding dough over in a crimping technique (don't look to close at my picture because I was going as fast as I could since my kids were all starving!!) Basically you push down on the seam with your left pointer finger and pull the edge over so it's covering your left finger and and press...repeat around all unfinished edge. (Yours will be lots prettier than mine)
Make sure to vent your calzone with a few knife slits and brush olive oil over the top and edge. Put on a pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake at 500 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve with marinara on top or on the side as a dip. Enjoy!

Yummy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

(photo courtesy of Taste of Home)
I made a batch of these this weekend...they were absolutely heavenly!! This will have to be a new October tradition for sure!

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup canned pumpkin...I did a heaping 1/2 cup
1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 t all spice
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

ICING:
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the eggs, shortening, pumpkin, milk, sugars, pudding mix, salt and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Roll into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle; brush with butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges.
Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Cut each into 12 slices. Place cut side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans or 2 9 inch rounds. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350° for 22-28 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, combine the water, butter and cinnamon. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over buns. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Family Style Vegetable Beef Soup

This soup was simple, with few ingredients and no fuss. It is also so comforting and makes you feel all warm and cozy. Sometimes it's tough to get my kids to eat soups, but they loved all the simple and familiar ingredients in this soup. My family gobbled it up!

1 T olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil garlic and oregano, with liquid
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
1 package (16 oz)frozen mixed vegetables(mine had green beans, carrot, corn and peas)
1 bay leaf
1 package dry Italian dressing mix
1 c uncooked macaroni

First brown your beef in the tablespoon of olive oil. Season beef with salt and pepper. After pouring off the excess fat, add all diced tomatoes, beef broth, mixed veggies, bay leaf, and Italian seasoning mix. Fill tomato cans with water and add 2-3 cans worth of water to the pot. (Depends on how hearty you want it...but it will thicken up with the addition of the pasta later on.) Give it a good stir and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and cover the pot and let the flavors blend about 20 minutes. Stir in uncooked pasta and cover again for 8-10 minutes until pasta is al dente. Ladle into serving bowls and enjoy.

French Bread

I know I have sighted Mel's Kitchen Cafe before on this blog. I am loving her bread recipes and find them easy and delicious! I have been using her french bread recipe for a while now. Perfect with spaghetti and makes amazing french toast the next day, of course!

2 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
5 1/2-6 cups flour stirred before measured

Dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this proof. Add salt, oil and 3 ups of flour and beat well. Add in 2 1/2-3 more cups of flour. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too sticky, but be careful not to add too much flour. Knead for a few minutes.

Leave dough in mixer to rest for 10 minutes. Stir down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and allow to rest another 10 minutes. Repeat a total of 5 times.

Remove dough from mixer and form into french loaves. Slice top of loaf across the top. Cover lightly and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Brush entire surface with egg wash. Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Lighter Beef Tacos

I found this recipe on Marthastewart.com. I was looking for a taco recipe because I didn't have a packet and I needed to know what seasonings to use. I have never bought another seasoning packet again. Mainly because they are packed with MSG. Which we all know is horrible for you. So, use this recipe from now on!

1 large onion
2 bell peppers
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Course ground salt and pepper
3/4 lb. ground beef

Saute onions and bell peppers and cook until crisp-tender. 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste chili powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Add beef. Cook breaking up meat with a MIX AND CHOP! Until no longer pink. About 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and let simmer, mixing all the ingredients and allowing a sauce to form. Serve warm over tacos, burritos, or taco salad!

Pampered Chef- Thai Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry

Oh my. For those of you that don't know, I am a Pampered Chef consultant and have OODLES of recipes right at my fingertips. True. I have already posted a "Peanut Sauce" recipe on here that I make at least a few times a month, but I decided I was going to make all of the recipes out of the Week Day Dinners DONE! booklet this week and this was the first one I made. I enjoyed it SO MUCH I decided to share it!

Enjoy! I am including all of the tools that you can use to make it as well, for you PC Lovers. And, if you want to order any of the tools, please click on my button. Thanks!

3 Limes
1/2 cup creamy peanutbutter
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp. Thai Red Curry Rub, divided
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Garlic Cloves
1 medium cut lenthwise into quarters
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 medium carrots, peeled
6 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (it is worth a trip to the stor--YUM!)
2 cups cooked white rice. You can use brown, and Jasmin would have been amazing!
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup frozen cut green beans, thawed


Juice two limes to measure 3 Tbs. Cut remaining lime into six wedges; set aside. * I did not measure, and just juiced two limes. To me, it was too tangy. I would just use one, and double the soy sauce.

Combine juice, peanutbutter, broth (forgot it, and I was fine) 2 Tbsp of the rub, soy sauce (double) and pressed garlic. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

Cut onion quarters croswise into strips, cut bell pepper into strips and cut the carrot with the Julienne Peeler (it was the first time I had used the peeler, and it was, of course, AMAZING!) Combine carrots and cilantro in bowl and set aside.

Cook rice. Cut chicken on the crosswise on a bais into 1/2 inch slices. Combine chicken remaining rub and salt in Classic Batter Bowl. Heat oil in Skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until simmering. Cook chicken 5-7 minutes or until chicken is browned and centers are no longer pink, stirring occassionally.

Add onions, bell pepper and beans to skillet. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. (I put in the carrots and cilantro too!) Remove skillet from heat. Add peanut butter mixture and remaining cliantro to skillet; mix well. To serve, divide rice among plates; top with chicken and carrot mixtures. Serve with lime wedges.


COOKS TIP -- If you don't have the Thai Red Curry Rub, which I totally recommend after using it tonight, you could use Thai Red Curry Paste. Use 2 tsp. curry paste in the sauce and combine remaining 1 tsp curry paste with chicken mixture.

Carrot Muffins

Our favorite Sunday morning thing is MUFFINS! Peter's favorite are Carrot Muffins. I have tinkered with the recipe several times, much to my husbands dismay. I think I finally have a rendition that I like!

CARROT MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 medium carrots, grated (2 cups)

1/2 cup canned crushed pinneapple, drained

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup raisins

Blend all dry ingredients and add eggs, oil, vanilla, carrots, pinneapple, applesauce and raisins. Stir with a spoon until ingredients are blended. Do not over mix. Scoop into muffin tins and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes.