Wednesday Words

                                                                         Source: fromupnorth.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Homemade Pizza Dough & BBQ Chicken Recipe

This recipe is one that is made often in our cozy apartment. I feel confident in saying that this simple meal is one of Ben's top five things to make/eat. I have split up the recipe into two parts. First, you will find the recipe for pizza dough. 
GUILTY: We have used the little packets you mix up for dough and have purchased pre-made dough on occasion...but trust me, the homemade stuff is worth the extra effort. The ingredients are all things you probably have around the kitchen. 
A warning for you, make sure you allow time for it to rise (it takes over an hour). This requires a little planning ahead for dinner time...but it truly is simple to make. 
The second part of the recipe is where the bbq chicken part comes into the picture. If you are feeling daring and want to step out of the realm of boring ol' pepperoni, do yourself a favor and try it out.


Ingredients 

1 1/4 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tbls. sugar

1 tsp italian seasoning

3 tbls olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Mix water, yeast sugar, and olive oil in mixer bowl. (use dough attachment) If you don't have a mixer you can always knead it by hand, it will just take a little more work.

Add flour and salt and Italian seasoning.

Mix for 10-12 min, while sprinkling with flour to keep from sticking to sides of bowl

Dough should be elastic and smooth

Place in oiled bowl, brush dough with oil and let stand 1 hour covered at room temperature

Before rising...

after.

Divide into 2 equal balls and cover with damp towel for 10 minutes

Use the dough right away. This recipe makes enough for two large pizzas. After you press your dough into on the pans make sure you poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to let air escape while baking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 min

If you want crispier crust we often bake our crust for 10 minutes before adding the toppings...

If you want to make our "specialty" pizza, aka BBQ Chicken Pizza...follow the directions below:

Top pizza crust with bbq sauce and pieces of cooked chicken breast. 

Sprinkle with bleu cheese crumbles and shredded mozzarella cheese.

...and bake as stated above.

Simple enough? I think so. 

The truth of it.

Source: bippityboppityboo.tumblr.com via Carey on Pinterest

Yes I am still looking forward to the days of Autumn, BUT I ran across this little pie chart today and had to laugh at the truth of it. 

Banana Ice Cream

I've seen this recipe (if you can even call it that) all over the internet lately and I decided to try it out since I have a few bananas that need to be used up.


I used 3 very ripe bananas.  Peel and slice each banana into about 3/4in pieces (it doesn't matter too much what size they are) Then, place them in a bag and put them in the freezer until completely frozen (this will take a few hours so plan ahead!). Now when you are ready to make the ice cream put the chunks of frozen banana in a food processor and process until nice and creamy.  If you like bananas quite a bit you can eat it just how it is, but you can also add other ingredients to spice things up. For instance, I added a big spoonful of peanut butter and a little bit of honey while processing the bananas. If you need a little chocolate fix you could even mix in some chocolate chips. Feel free to experiment with it!

The key to this ice cream is that it must be served immediately after processing it.  If you re-freeze it, it just does not have the same creamy texture.  


This is just what I need on a hot summer day.


Happy Tuesday to you!

Weekend Adventure

An impromptu chance to jump in a car and head to the cities...and we are taking it.
The pretty lady above and myself are off for a weekend of adventures. All I had to do was pack my bag and make sure there was enough food in the apartment for Ben to survive while I'm gone ;)


Bekah...are you ready for us?

Rhubarb perfection.

I have always loved Rhubarb. 

I always have a hard time finding any of it to bake with, so when I saw some at the Farmers' Market last weekend I snatched it up. I had it sitting around in my fridge for a few days while I searched for the perfect recipe. 

I found it.

This cake was absolutely amazing. Even before baking it I knew it had promise because the batter smelled wonderful. Bekah and Ellie came over to help me make it and eat it. ( I always try to bake when I know that someone besides Ben and I will be consuming it) 

Anyway, it was late into the evening before it came out of the oven so I didn't get a decent photo of it then, but here is someone else's photo of the same recipe.

SOUR CREAM & RHUBARB CAKE

(recipe from “The Country Cookbook” by Belinda Jeffery)

Ingredients:

2 & 1/3 cups Self-Raising Flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

 & 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

3 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 cup white sugar

vanilla ice cream, to serve with (if you wish)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a round cake pan (I used my a 9" spring form pan but you don't have to). You could honestly use any pan that will hold the batter. Then mix together the flour, salt, nutmeg and 1 and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in a bowl with a whisk and set aside. Put the butter and brown sugar into a separate bowl and beat till the mixture resembles (and feels like) wet sand.

3. Once the butter is fully incorporated, add the egg and beat will till the mixture is fluffy and creamy and there are no more lumps of sugar.

4. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat in till well combined.

5. Mix in the flour on low speed till combined, then add your rhubarb chunks and stir briskly to make sure that the rhubarb is completely coated in batter. 

6. Once the mixture is combined, scrape it into your prepared cake tin and sprinkle the top liberally with sugar and the remaining cinnamon. 

7. Bake the cake for 1 hour, or till a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 

I would recommend serving this warm with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream…but it also just as good when it cools down. I had a piece for breakfast with my coffee the next morning. (what?! there is fruit it in!) haha.

Shhh....a secret.

Okay I have a confession.

I think I am starting to become ready for Fall to arrive.

(gasp! -I know all you summer lovers out there.)

Don't take this the wrong way, I enjoy all the loveliness of what Summer brings, but I think I have a hard time staying in one season for too long. I always welcome the change to new weather trends. This welcoming attitude does not seem to last quite as long for the cold winter months, but I can't help feeling giddy when the first few snowflakes fall. 

okay I am getting off topic. 

Autumn.

I love when the nights become cooler and the down comforters and flannel sheets come out. 

Coffee tastes better on cool mornings.

You are comfortable in simply jeans & sweaters.

The magical transformation of leaves.

In my opinion, things just seem to slow down. I feel like when Summer rolls around I am always determined to get every last drop out of it so every weekend suddenly becomes planned and weeks fly by. 

It is a fresh start with the change of seasons.

Oh and one of the best parts of the upcoming season....pumpkin.

I love pumpkin (except for some reason pumpkin pie has never been a favorite)

 such as: pumpkin waffles, breads,  muffins, cakes, pumpkin spice lattes, etc.

so don't be too mad about my love of Fall.

It's not like I am wishing away Summer...

right?

Anniversary Trip: Stillwater Photos

Here are a few photos of our anniversary mini-vacation (and by that I mean around twenty).

We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast and enjoyed our time walking around downtown Stillwater. 

We are both amazed that we have already been married a year. Our wedding seems like it was only a few months ago. It was nice to have time away to reflect upon the past year, and to dream of our future.

Brewing a Storm

Can anyone say "wall cloud"?
hmmm....
Stay away tornadoes, I have things to do that cannot be accomplished by hiding out in the first floor hallway.

Wisconsin Weekend

I have finally returned to post a recap on my lonely blog. We spent the last week all over the place, and managed to fill it with seeing wonderful people, eating delicious food, and spending a lot of time together just the two of us. Our first stop involved us driving across the state of Minnesota to get to Wisconsin. We spend the weekend with Ben's mom and dog Sadie. (Sadie is greeting you below) It was a relaxing weekend spent sipping coffee and reading in the mornings, leisurely lake cruises, card games, rain storms, wool socks (gasp! autumn is coming).

It was my first time at Ben's lake cabin, and it was great to see the place that holds so many memories for him. I took a turn on his giant swing attached to a tree, and ate at the small local diner with pancakes as big as  your plate. 

A wonderful weekend...

What a Week.

This week has been full of such joyful things. Let me share a few...

first, my beautiful nephew was born.

second, husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

third, one of my best friends, Justine, got engaged. (we were high school friends/college roommates/oddly related via her sister being married to my brother)

I don't know what else I could fill this wonderful week with. I am currently sitting in a sunny room at a bed and breakfast in Stillwater. I can't wait to share all my photos for the week. Here is a sneak peek for now.

Oh, and I realize I don't have many baby pictures to share. I brought my camera to the hospital but quickly decided to spend more time holding the little guy rather than my camera. Can you blame me? I took one photo-the one above...he was not too happy that we placed him back down in his crib. The lovely thing is that I still adore his "I'm about to cry" face as much as I did every other face he made. I'm hoping to get to see him again in a few days. 

Okay, back to vacation mode.