Pizza Crust

Here is the recipe for my pizza crust, don't be intimidated it's super easy!

Pizza Crust

2 ½- 3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package of yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup very warm water (120-130 degrees)

Makes 2 pizzas.

In a large bowl mix 1 cup of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add olive oil and water. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. With a spoon, stir in enough flour until it forms a soft dough and leaves the side of the bowl . On a floured surface knead for 8 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and springy. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease pizza pan. Cut dough in half. Pat one half down to form your pizza. Add toppings of your choice. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden. ENJOY!

Lemon Bars

I've adapted this recipe over the years. It's my go to. It's simple and inexpensive and a sure way to make whoever you make it for feel special. 

Lemon Bars

Crust:

1 cup flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt (you won't have measuring spoon so just eye half of a ¼ teaspoon)

1 stick cold butter, cut into little pieces

Filling:

1 cup regular sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 ½ lemons)

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat 350 degrees

To make the crust: Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. In a bowl whisk flour, powdered sugar, and salt together. Add butter and with your hand mix until crumbly. Press crust mixture into the bottom of the 8x8 pan (If the crust starts to stick to your hand put it into the freezer for 5 about minutes and then press it into place). Bake for 18 minutes until golden brown. Set crust aside.

To make the filling: In a bowl whisk together sugar, flour, and salt. Add eggs until combine. Add lemon zest and lemon juice until mixed well. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust. Bake for 18 minutes or until the filling has set.  

Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. So GOOD!

Strawberry & Banana Muffins

Strawberry & Banana Muffins

Dry Ingredients:              

2 1/4 cup of flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 ¼ wheat flour)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
2 large ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Makes 12 muffins.            

Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. Mix in strawberries making sure they are coated with flour, this keeps them from sinking. In another large bowl, mash the bananas and then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.  Combine the wet and dry mixture, stir until combined. Don't over mix or you'll have a tough muffin! Fill the muffin tray with the batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Smear on a little butter and enjoy!

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

2 Cups flour (When I feel a little healthy I substitute 1 cup of flour with whole wheat flour. )

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

5 over ripe bananas (mash 4, Chop 1)

1 cup sugar

1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cups pecans or walnuts, optional (my family doesn't like nuts so we don't add them)

Preheat 350 degrees.                

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl mash 4 bananas. Add sugar and mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer until creamy. Add melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.  Mix in dry ingredients until incorporated. Fold in the bananas and optional nuts. Divide the batter into 2 loaf pans. Give the pans a rap on the counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 50 minutes to  1 hour until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy.

This is one of my families favorites and having a toddler means having lots of bananas on hand. This is my own recipe so I hope you like it!

Strawberry Galette

My husband loves this dessert with vanilla ice-cream! It’s a very light dessert so it's perfect if you want something tasty but not to filling. It's great if your strawberries are looking a little sad and need to be used! You can also serve it with homemade whip cream if your into that sort of thing.

Strawberry Galette

1 pie crust (pre-made or if your channeling your inner Martha Stewart you can make your own, I used pre-made)

15 strawberries, sliced

2 tablespoons sugar          

Sugar for sprinkling

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (optional, this is a little hard to find so if you don't have it don't worry about it)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

Preheat 350 degrees.

Serving size: 4

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put sliced strawberries into a bowl, sprinkle with sugar, cornstarch and the very optional vanilla paste.  Mix until all the berries are coated.  Lay out the pie dough on the parchment paper. Starting from the middle and working out overlap the strawberries forming a circle about 1-inch from the edge of the pie crust.

Fold the edges of the dough over the strawberries to form a square (the middle will have the strawberries exposed). Now fold the corners over. Beat 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water (this is called an egg wash). Brush the dough with the egg wash. Sprinkle crust with raw sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Here's a how to guide on folding your galette:

Starting from the middle and working out overlap the strawberries forming a circle about 1-inch from the edge of the pie crust.

Fold the edges of the dough over the strawberries to form a square (the middle will have the strawberries exposed).

Now fold the corners over.  Boom! You've successfully folded your galette! 

Simple French Bread

This is my go to French bread recipe. It's simple and easy to make. If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a hand mixer for mixing and knead the dough by hand. 

Makes 1 loaf

2 ¾-3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
1 package or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (120 degrees F)

In a stand mixer, mix 2 cups flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add water and beat for 3 minutes. Beat in enough additional flour to make a soft but kneadable dough.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic (you can use a dough hook on a mixer for this step if you have one). Place the dough in a bowl, cover with towel, and let rise for 45-60 minutes.

Punch dough down and roll into a long rectangular shape. Starting from the long end, roll the dough (like a cinnamon roll) into a loaf shape. Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet, cover with a wet towel to let rise 30-45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make an egg wash by mixing one egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush loaf with the egg wash with a pastry brush. Using a sharp knife, make 3-4 diagonal slashes on top of the loaf.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!