Snack Attack...Pizza toast...

I have to admit that I get the craving for pizza at some of the oddest times, and over the years I have perfected this little gem of a snack. It can even be a quick dinner if you wish, but you just have to make more is all. There is no real trick with this dish, very simple really, it's not really pizza, but it makes a fair substitute and even kids like it ( usually!) The real bonus is that you can make it with whatever you have around if you don't have real pizza fixin's around. I'll give you the basics and a few suggestions and then you can take it from there.

Ingredients:

2-4 slices sandwich bread
Ketchup, enough to cover each slice of bread
10-20 slices Pepperoni (I like 5 per slice of bread)
Garlic powder
Basil
Oregano
Cheese ( shredded or sliced) your favorite kind


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

On a dry cookie sheet place the bread slices, and coat liberally with ketchup.

gently sprinkle with garlic powder, basil and oregano.

Add layer of cheese and then arrange pepperoni and top with a little more cheese.

Place in oven for 10-15 minutes or until bottom of bread is golden brown.

Cool for 5 minutes and serve.


EAT IT!!!!

Afterthoughts:

I like to sprinkle the top with some Parmesan before it goes in the oven.

You can use any topping that you usually like on Pizza, but remember that the bread is your limit, it's not as strong as real pizza crust. sliced onion, sliced olives, even them little fishies if you're so inclined.

You can use any bread you want, from hamburg rolls to french bread, even rye and pumpernickel, different strokes for different folks!

Grilled Zucchini & Summer squash

Summer time and the eating is good! Nothing better than fresh veggies from the garden, and one of my favorites is squash. Yellow summer squash, and good old Zucchini, are staples of my summer diet, and I love them, especially grilled. Easy as can be to make, and both tasty and filling, they can help you be a little more healthy, and the fiber can't hurt either!

There are a hundred way to do it, but my favorite is the easiest there is.

Ingredients:

1 fresh zucchini sliced into discs
1 fresh yellow summer squash sliced the same
1 medium vidalia or red onion quartered
4 large cloves of garlic, slivered
1/4 Cup Italian salad dressing


Directions:

Prepare grill with a vegetable tray and set to high heat.

In large container with cover, place all ingredients, cover and toss until all veggies are coated with dressing.

Turn veggies out onto heated grill and spread evenly.

Cook until lightly browned and turn over as necessary rotating veggies as needed to get them evenly cooked.

When most of the veggies are cooked to your liking, scoop them onto a plate and serve!

EAT IT!!

After Thoughts:

If you're so inclined, serve with a liberal sprinkling of grated parmesan.

Some cherry tomatoes, halved, cooked with the other mixture is a great addition.

Serve as a side dish with grilled pork, steak, or sausage.

Serve over a bed of buttered pasta, for a real treat!

Ultimate Toasted cheese sammich

Ok, one of my favorite things to eat is grilled cheese sammiches. I love 'em, and they can be made in so many different combinations that it boggles the mind. Also, you can serve them with so many different things that they can become the saving grace of any diner. From potato chips and a pickle to a steaming bowl of vegetable soup, the standard diner-style grilled cheese sammy is the perfect lunch or dinner.

If you want to be crazy, you can make crazy combinations of cheese and breads. Ryes and artisan breads with all sorts of gourmet cheeses grilled in olive oil or some crazy goats milk butter. Add some sort of meat or you favorite grilled veggies to the sammich and you have a delight to go down in the cooks digest. But what I'm talking about here is that good old-fashioned comfort food, something that might remind you of what Grandma used to make on those cold winter days when you were out sledding. ( if you have never had a grandma make you something special while you were out sledding, you are missing a great part of life, so I don't wanna hear any whining about it.)

Ingredients:

Block of American Cheese from the deli - Cut into THICK slices
hearty ( dense) white bread- sliced for sammiches
soft butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

butter bread on one side and place butterside down on a cookie sheet, place one thick slice of cheese on the bread and then prepare second slice of bread and place butter side out on top of cheese. (I recommend making two at once, it just easier because I always want a second one!)

Bake on center rack of oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom side is golden brown, flip over and bake an additional 6-10 minutes until that side is also golden. (If it's done right the cheese will be just starting to ooze from the sides of the bread. I personally like when the cheese gets to the pan and gets brown and crispy!)

Remove from oven and cut in half serve on a plate with your favorite side dishes.

EAT IT!!!

After thoughts:

This style sammich is The Best with Tomato soup, but any tomato-y soup goes great with this style sammich.

If you live in the Northeast, the best bread is Monk's Bread. Their white is perfect for this purpose.

You can make half a dozen of these at once on the cookie sheet, so it is perfect for company, because it's fast and easy.

Smoked Sausage and Beans

Yummy, Yummy!! This is a tasty little dish that I originally got from Bush's Baked Beans™ label, probably 15 years ago or so. I have made a few minor changes from the original, and I have found that it works best with a sweeter baked bean product as opposed to a spicier one. The key to it all though, is that you need to use a saucy style rather than a thick style baked beans. I have found through the years that a tomato style sauce doesn't really work so well for me, but everyone is different so it may work for you if that's your taste.

The look of this dish isn't always the most appetizing, but once you try it, you forget about the look completely. The original recipe didn't call for the onions, but I found that I like them, they give a little balance to the Garlic. For the smoked sausage, you can use plain smoked sausage or the kielbasa style, either makes a great finished product. I have also found that this is truly a one pan recipe, because the flavors from the sauté of the sausage, onions and garlic blend to the bean mixture and make the flavor perfect. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound smoked sausage or kielbasa
1- 8 ounce can of brown sugar style baked beans.
3 Tbsp yellow mustard
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion

Directions:

Slice sausage into 1/4 inch thick discs , slice and quarter onion, and crush and mince garlic.

Sauté together in a large, non-stick frying pan on medium high heat, until onions are tender and sausage has mostly browned off on both sides.

Reduce heat to medium low and add beans and mustard to pan and mix well.

Simmer until mixture is bubbly and well heated, stirring often to prevent scorching.

Remove from heat and serve on a plate


EAT IT!!!

After Thoughts:

If your in the mood for shingle you can serve this on toast, it's pretty good that way. which brings me to this...

This is great for camping, if you like the mountain pies, this is a great filling for it. Or those electric pie makers. ( You know, the ones that seal and toast the bread to make little pocket sammiches) Make the recipe ahead of time and bring in a container. It works best for this if it is cold to start.

I have no secret to making this a "low gas" recipe. If you are going to be where you don't want to fart.... Don't eat this stuff!

Don't tell anyone, but this could actually be a "good for you" meal because beans are high in fiber and folic acid and vitamin A.

Pizza in a Hurry (No delivery needed)

Pizza is the stand-by of the single person as well as those in a hurry for something filling and tasty. The best part about pizza is that when you make it at home you can make it ANY way you want it. Piled high with pepperoni, or completely veggie covered, tomato sauce or garlic butter, American cheese, cheddar, mozzarella or no cheese at all. ( some people are strange!)

This is a recipe that I learned from my Gramma via my uncles. It's one of those little recipes that my snooty chef of a father never truly approved of, so he never made it himself, so I had to find my own secrets to this recipe. If you like a thin and crispy crust, this isn't the pizza that you want to make. There is no way to make this crust thin and crispy. It's a good, tasty crust, but it is always thick. This pie is great with a big glass of milk. It's the best way to eat it in fact. So grab your Pizza fixin's and get the party started!

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour
1Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup Milk
Your favorite Pizza Toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together

Add milk and oil, and quickly mix with wooden spoon until all liquid is absorbed, continue kneading by hand until all dry ingredients are worked into the dough.

Lightly oil a 12 inch pizza pan and roll dough out to the edges.

Once dough is evenly spread across the pan you can tope it with your favorite pizza stuff. when you have it ready, place in hot oven on center rack and set timer for 20 minutes.

When the timer chimes check bottom of crust by lifting an egde with a metal spatula, when it is evenly medium-browned it is done.

Allow to set for 5 minutes before cutting.

Cut and serve.

EAT IT!!

After thoughts:

You may use whole milk or 2%, but nothing thinner, the milk fat helps the dough structure, and skim or 1% doesn't have the fat needed for this purpose.

Don't pile the toppings too deep, or you crust will not cook through. Or you will over cook the bottom to get the top cooked.

This is a great pizza to make with kids because they don't have to wait long for results.

This pizza is great cold if you like cold pizza. the crust stays tender and doesn't get chewy like Yeast crust.

Easy Southwest Fry-up

This is one that I discovered one day while rummaging through the bare cupboards when there was still 2 days until payday. I dug the hamburg out of the freezer and tossed what I had together in the frying pan. I got it cooked up and I thought, " Hey! This ain't so bad!"

The next time I did it, I started with fresh ground beef, and realized that I got it done in a pretty short time, and I had some cheese to put on it which really made it good for me. I recommend using the medium or the hot salsa because they tend to lose a little heat in the cooking, if you're scared to go for the hot, it's ok too. Taste is an individual thing. We can't all have cajun tastebuds!


Ingredients:

1 pound Ground beef 80% lean
1 11 oz can southwest style corn
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
1 16 oz jar salsa (Medium or Hot recommended)
3 slices american cheese OR 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar (Optional)

Directions:

In a large frying pan, cook ground beef and onions until completely cooked ( no pink meat left)

Add corn and salsa, mix well

Stir-fry until all is heated through.

Layer on plate with cheese.


EAT IT!!!

After thoughts:

This makes a GREAT taco filling with some shredded lettuce and tomato.

Can be garnished with sour cream, for a little better nutrition use plain Yogurt as a substitute for the sour cream.

Also makes a great topper for Taco Salad.

Sausage & Taters

This is one of those little recipes that is so simple that you hardly believe that it needs to be written down, but there are some people who may never think of this combination. It is nothing special, but it is very tasty, and quite filling. This recipes is enough to feed a family of four if you want to add a salad and a side dish, but it's a great 2 meals all by itself to any hungry adult.

There is not much wiggle room in this recipe, although you can omit the onion if it's not to your taste. It works best with cubed potatoes, but you can shred them if you wish, it does help them cook faster if you're in a big hurry. You can use either kielbasa or regular smoked sausage, but the smoked sausage flavor is better in this dish. The whole thing takes about 25 minutes in a good sized pan, a smaller pan takes longer because it needs to be turned a little bit longer, covering the pan helps early in the cooking, but I usually cook it uncovered because I'm not always in a hurry.

Ingredients:

1 pound smoked sausage sliced (pepperoni style, aprox. 1/4 inch thick slices)
3 fist sized potatoes cubed
1 medium onion, julienned
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

In large frying pan on medium, heat oil and begin lightly browning sausage.

After sausage has begun to brown, add onion when onion begins to soften, add potatoes.

Cook until potatoes have softened and browned, turning occasionally to get the browning fairly even. You may remove at anytime after this, but it is OK to cook longer if you wish for more crispies in the potatoes and onions.

Eat It!

After Thoughts:

If you cover the pan once the potatoes are added they cook faster, but you will see a build up of liquid in the pan, you need to cook this off before you serve.

I prefer to use the potatoes, skins and all. Make sure the eyes and spots are out, then just slice them as is. You get some fiber and a little better nutrition that way.

Applesauce with cinnamon is a great side dish for this entree.

We call it, " Indian Hash"

This is an old family favorite that my grampa taught to my dad, and he taught to me. Then I spent some time on the reservation and learned a few more secrets. There are many variations of this quick and easy dinner, but I'm gonna share with you my favorite.

We call it Indian Hash and I have had it at many a home or party while I was living on the Rez. I really don't know why they call it hash, unless it is the potatoes. It's no matter really, because it is easy to make and really filling. It is really a meal all in itself, and when you try it, you'll be hooked too.

Some of the ingredients are pretty flexible. to make it quickly use instant mashed potatoes. you can get them ready while you cook the meat. If you wish to use fresh mashed potatoes, prepare them ahead of time, it's easier and saves time when your in a hurry. I like the use of pork sausage, but it's not solid rule, the ground beef can be any grade you can afford, ground chuck is less greasy. You can use the corn or not. You can use canned corn, but make sure you drain the water out before you add it to the pan. You can even serve the corn on the side, but if you want a veggie with it, the corn is the only way to go.

Ingredients:

4-6 cups Mashed Potatoes
1 lb ground chuck
1 lb pork sausage
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 large onion sliced and quartered

Directions:

In a large frying pan break up sausage and ground chuck, throw in onion and fry until meat is completely cooked.

Drain off excess grease retaining a couple teaspoons.

Return pan to heat and mix in the potatoes and corn.

Cook to desired doneness. Some people like to just get everything up to the same temperature, Some like to get the potatoes brownd off. There really is no wrong way to finish this stuff. (with the exception of burning it to a cinder!)

Serve right from the pan.

EAT IT!

After Thoughts:

Serve with ketchup. I don't know anyone who doesn't put ketchup on this stuff!

Goes amazingly well with an ice cold glass of milk.

Reheats great, so you can make a lot and eat it all week if you so desire!

Shrimpy Noodles

This is something that I love to throw together, and it is definitely open to experimentation. The recipe that I use is considerably less complicated than the one that it is adapted from. The real trick is to get your shrimp cooked the way that YOU like them. I like em when they are just cooked through so they are juicy but firm. If you overcook the shrimp they get chewy, blech! I like to use wine for the flavor and I had great success with both white and red wines, so go with your taste. I know that white is supposed to go with seafood, but since it's being cooked, is it really that important?

This one isn't exactly simple, but it goes fast if you know what your doing in a kitchen. even with all that's involved it gets done in less than 30 minutes. Again, I like it spicy, and that's great for my taste, but if you have a more delicate palate, that's fine, go ahead and refine it for yourself.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked Egg noodles OR 1 Pkg Ramen Noodles
6 or 8 Large shrimp, OR 12 Medium shrimp ( precooked, peeled and deveined, tails removed)
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves garlic crushed and minced
1cup semi-dry wine (your choice)
2 tbsp butter or Olive Oil
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
Pinch Cayenne
Grated Parmesan ( if desired)

Directions:

Cook Noodles and set aside in pan of cold water.

In wok or large saute pan, heat butter or oil over medium heat, add onions, garlic and herbs. Cook until onions are just clear.

Add wine, Tabasco, and cayenne, and bring mixture to a boil.

Add shrimp, and drain noodles.

As soon as the liquid is halved, add noodles, and toss until liquid is absorbed and noodles are heated through.

Remove from heat and turn out onto a plate.

Garnish with Parmesan if you wish and ...


EAT IT!!

After Thoughts:

Goes great with a glass of white wine or zinfindel.

You can add italian or smoked sausage to this dish if you wish, or instead of the shrimp, still comes out great.

For a little more zing, add a tablespoon of prepared horseradish with the shrimp and noodles!

Omelets rule

One thing that is always a great standby is the good old omlette. Some eggs and something of your choosing, veggies, meat, cheese or any combination of the 4. Cook on the stove top or bake, either way you have something both tasty and generally somewhat good for you. My friend Loie is a little more health conscious than average and she sent me her suggestion. I'm planning on doing one Omelet recipe each week, so if anyone has a favorite, go ahead and send it on!

One of the tricks to an omelet is to not over cook it. You have to know your technique. If you are a stove top cook then you want to be able to flip the pie at the right time so that it cooks from each side to the middle. If you are an oven cook, then you want to set the temp so that it cooks all the way through without browning the bottom too much. This is Loie's Version...

Ingredients:

6 eggs
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 cup diced veggies ( anything you choose. I like onions and sweet peppers.)
1 Tbsp butter(melted) or olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375

prepare a clean, 6 0r 8 inch cast iron frying pan by pouring the melted butter or the olive oil into the bottom and making sure it is spread evenly across the pan.

Separate 4 of the six eggs and save the yolks for another recipe. put the whites into a bowl with the other two whole eggs. ( removed from the shells!! )

Beat the eggs until well mixed, if you have an electric mixer make the eggs whip up a little. The more air you get into them the fluffier your omelet will end up.

toss the veggies and potatoes into the eggs an toss lightly, now pour the mixture into your oiled pan.

Set the pan in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. when the timer goes off check your omelet, if it appears firm use a spatula to lift the edge, if it is lightly browned you are good. turn off the oven and let the omlette sit for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, cut and serve.

Eat It!!

After thoughts:

If you wish to make this a romantic dinner ( and it can work well for a little romance) you can make two small omelets and serve with white wine.

To make the cooking time speed up a little bit you can nuke the potatoes so that they need not cook as long, or start with pre-cooked potatoes which make it go even faster!

While it sits in the oven for that last 5 minutes you can garnish with your favorite cheese and allow it to melt in the warm oven.