Garlic Knots

Garlic Knots

Here's a great recipe to go along with any type of Italian meal!
First make your dough. This is the same dough recipe I use for my pizzas.

Ingredients for dough

* 1 cup warm water
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 1 1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast
* 3 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for coating
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
* 1 tsp. salt

Ingredients for butter mixture topping
The proportions I enjoy are 1 tbsp. minced garlic mixed with 1/2 stick of butter. Then add salt as needed.
* garlic (fresh or minced)
* 1 or 2 sticks of butter (depending on how many garlic knots you want to make)
* salt

Instructions

1. Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.
2. Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.

After the dough has risen, knead the dough again. Then break off small pieces and roll into a snake. Tie those pieces into knots. Bake at 450 degrees until slightly brown on top. Take it out of the oven and then pour butter mixture on top. Enjoy!!!

Need help with the process? I found this great video tutorial.
http://www.ehow.com/video_2340972_bake-knot-rolls.html

Heartwarming Pizza

We made daddy (and ourselves) a Valentines pizza! What's that saying again??..."A way to a man's heart is through his stomach." haha


Check out this kneading action!! "Go Sawyer go, Go Sawyer go!"




Heartwarming Pizza

A fun food idea from FamilyFun magazine! My Valentines sure did enjoy it!

Perfect Pizza Dough


Kids can push, pull and twist this basic pizza dough all they want--the more you handle it, the better. Use it for pizza, breadsticks, calzones and even focaccia.

Ingredients

* 1 cup warm water
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 1 1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast
* 3 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for coating
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
* 1 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.
2. Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.

Now to construct the pizza.

Ingredients

Perfect Pizza Dough (the recipe above)
olive oil for coating or cornmeal for dusting
1 c. homemade or store-bought tomato pizza sauce
3 c. cheese (of your choice)

Directions

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Punch down the risen dough, knead it a few times to remove all the air, and divide it in two. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll one portion into a 12-inch round. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and shape into a heart. Take some more dough in your hands and roll the dough in a snake shape to make the crust around the edges.

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the crust--not too much, or else your pizza will become soggy. (A word on sauce: if you don't have time for homemade, spruce up a 14-ounce jar of store-bought by adding garlic and dried oregano.)

Top your pizza with cheese and your choice of any additional toppings. Bake 12 to 15 minutes; subtract a few minutes if you're using a pizza stone. When done, the crust will be golden underneath. Makes two 12-inch pizzas.

Lasagna

Lasagna
by: Ronna Corsini & Katie Corsini Reid

This delicious recipe is from our pastor's wife, Katie. She watched her mom make it this way growing up. Katie said, "You can choose to leave out the olives. Sometimes I use Ricotta instead of Cottage Cheese and you can use any combination of ground beef and/or Italian sausage. I also add more or less tomato sauce if it seems dry. Enjoy!"

I personally love this recipe! We had the whole Boyd Family over and there wasn't a bite left! I can't wait to make it again!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 of a medium sized onion
1 box lasagna noodles
1 jar or can of pre-made spaghetti sauce
1 small can of sliced olives
garlic to taste (powder, minced, or fresh)
2 c. of cottage cheese
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Chop the onion and cook it while browning the ground beef.
2. Boil the noodles if you have the regular kind. I use the "oven ready" noodles that you don't have to boil.
3. Once the meat is cooked, drain off the fat and return it to the stove on low heat.
4. Add the spaghetti sauce, olives, garlic, and cottage cheese. Mix all of this together while cooking on low heat.
5. Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with 3 noodles. Top it with meat/sauce mixture and then sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Repeat these layers: noodles, meat/sauce mixture, cheese, until you've used up your ingredients.
6. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Seafood Lasagna

chopped red peppers


chopped scallions


Now the layering starts!


Layers: sauce, noodles, mixture, sauce, noodles, mixture, sauce, noodles, mixture, noodles, extra veggies, sauce, cheese




Here are pictures of our friends' daughters. They are such smart and sweet girls! Sawyer and Olivia had a blast playing with them!


Seafood Lasagna
Family Circle magazine March 2009

We had this meal last night for our guests. This, along with a spinach salad, made a delicious meal that even the children liked (except for the picky one)! This is one of those fun recipes to try when you're tired of cooking "the same ole things" over and over. This certainly isn't your every day meal! The recipe is awesome because it's packed with vitamin-rich veggies! If you are slow chopping vegetables, like I am, allow yourself a full hour to wash, dry, and chop the vegetables.

Ingredients

* 1 pound reduced-fat cream cheese
* 3 scallions, trimmed and chopped
* 1/4 cup milk
* 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning or Creole Seasoning
* 2 sweet red peppers, cored, seeded and finely diced
* 2 boxes (10 ounce each) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry
* 3/4 pound imitation crabmeat, shredded
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 jar (1 pound) alfredo pasta sauce
* 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Stir cream cheese, scallions, milk and Old Bay seasoning in bowl until smooth. Stir in peppers, reserving 1/2 cup, and broccoli, reserving 1 cup. Add crabmeat, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Whisk remaining egg into alfredo sauce.

2. Spread 1/3 cup alfredo sauce into baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, one-third of the crab mixture and one-fourth of alfredo sauce. Repeat layering twice. Top with 3 noodles; sprinkle with reserved red peppers and broccoli. Pour on remaining alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

3. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Can't decide if you want to cook Mexican or Italian food tonight?? Try this delicious blend of both!!

Ingredients

* 16 jumbo pasta shells
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
* 1 cup water
* 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
* 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa, divided
* 1/4 cup sliced green onion (optional)
* 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the shell pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, until just slightly firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain well.
2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet; drain fat. Stir in the taco seasoning and water; cook over low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir the refried beans and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese into the taco meat. Spoon meat mixture into prepared pasta shells.
3. Spoon 1/4 cup salsa over the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange filled shells over salsa. Spoon remaining salsa over shells.
4. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Remove from oven. If desired, sprinkle with sliced green onion, additional shredded Cheddar cheese, and sour cream.