New York Style Pizza Crust

You know how pizza is my favorite food?  Yeah I could eat every day I'm pretty sure.  Especially really good New York style pizza.  We had a go to spot in Winter Park Colorado that I'm pretty sure, the guy running it was in the witness protection program, hiding from the mob.  In Portland I love Hot Lips.  It is made with all local and/or organic ingredients and their flavor combos rock.  It almost tricks you into thinking pizza is healthy ;)    My favorite is the Southwest which is cilantro pesto, black beans, corn and feta.  Uhhh yeah.  Its super good.  Last time we ate there I said duh, why don't we make new york style pizza at home? Cuz the other homemade kind just isn't cutting it.  So I googled and found a recipe that got awesome reviews and we have been having pizza probably once a week since.  Its the best, I'm telling you! 

NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA CRUST

{adapted from food.com}

2/3 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp rapid rise or bread machine yeast

1 3/4 c flour 

1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

Combine water, sugar and yeast in mixer bowl.  Let the yeast proof for 5-10 minutes.

Add salt and flour mixing until a soft dough forms, then mix for another 5 minutes to knead the dough.

Once you have a smooth and elastic dough place in a bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Turn to coat, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and let it rest for a couple of minutes.  

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Yep, 500 degrees.  

On a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone start stretching and patting your dough in to a pizza shape.  I start from the middle and work my way out.  You want it to be stretched really thin.  You can let it rest, then stretch to keep it from pulling apart.  

Once you have your crust ready, add your favorite toppings.

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My best tip to having an awesome pizza is to use whole milk mozzarella.  Not fresh mozzarella though,  which is probably too expensive for  making pizza.  Whole milk mozzarella is in the cheese section and can be hard to spot but its there.  It is a little bit more "wet" than the part skim variety so I slice it thinly rather than grate it.  It seriously makes all the difference when making pizza at home.  

Also homemade sauce rocks the house.  Last summer I made a bunch with a Mrs. Wages seasoning package and we love it.  I omited the sugar and added some more seasonings to it, then put it in 1/2 pint jars and froze it.   Oh, to be that prepared all the time...  

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Once you have your pizza ready and the oven is 500 degrees put your pan on the bottom rack to bake.  I'm thinking I cook mine for about 10 minutes.  I don't usually set a timer I just watch it and when the cheese starts to brown and bubble it should be done.  

Let it cool so you don't burn the top of your mouth!

Don't eat the whole thing.  

Mmmm... pizza.

How do you top your pizza?

I Feel Like Forest Gump

 {source}

I've told you one of my favorite things about living in the Tri-Cities is all of the produce.  Well we are up to our ears in apples lately. It is Washington after all.  And if you are here also then chances are you have that many apples too.  And if you don't you don't have to go very far to find someone who is more than willing to share theirs.  We know a couple of apple farmers and have really nice neighbors who just bring us apples so we have been getting creative.  

Need some new ideas on what to do with your apples?  Here is a little taste of what we have made so far. {And what has kept me so busy this weekend!}

Applesauce, apple pie filling, apple butter, squash and apples, dried apples, can't forget EATING apples {I think Ivy eats three every day} and one of my faves  ~ apple cinnamon rolls.  My friend Kim so kindly requested the recipe so I thought I would share it here for all of you!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

{via Gooseberry Patch}

FILLING

1 c. brown sugar packed

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup apple butter

2 c. apples, cored, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup butter, melted

Make roll dough according to your favorite recipe.  I like this one because it is a lot of dough, so you can make rolls and cinnamon rolls at the same time! Because we don't need that many cinnamon rolls around here.  Although regular rolls are just as bad since I can't resist them hot out of the oven, can you?!  But back to the recipe. ;) While your dough is rising chop your apples and mix together your filling.  

When the dough has risen, punch down and place on a lightly floured surface.  Divide dough and let rest 10 minutes.  If you are making rolls also, then go ahead and do those first.  Then using your remaining dough roll into a  big rectangle.  Top with the filling.  

{The recipe is for a full batch of dough so you will have some left over}

 

Roll up your dough , jelly roll style.  It is going to be messy and squish out the sides but thats ok.  Cut your roll into slices and place cut side down in a greased 13x9 pan. 

Let rise until double, then bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. 

{Since they take longer to bake is why I suggest doing your rolls first}

After you take them out of the oven and are waiting for them to cool, go ahead and make a glaze for them...

APPLE CINNAMON GLAZE

1cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 to 3 Tbsp. apple juice or cider

Mix together, slowly adding the juice to desired consistency, then drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

Seriously so good.  And definitely going on the I shouldn't make those again any time soon list!

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Any other fabulous ideas for apples?!  I would love some new ones.

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PS:  If you want or need apples I would check Craigs List, ask around, or let me know!  I've got connections! ;)

Who Wants Pie?!

Whew!! I have spent the last 2 days canning three boxes of peaches.  It feels so good to sit down! 35 quarts of peaches is no joke.

I have canned a bunch of stuff, but I haven't actually done any peaches.  If you are getting ready to do yours here are some things I learned.  

+If you have someone to help it is a lot faster.  And more fun.

+Wide mouth jars are your friend.

+If you are working alone Fruit Fresh is your friend.

If you want a really great visual of how to can peaches then I will refer you to the ladies of Little Birdie Secrets.

{She apparently has four hands and can cut peaches and take a picture of it at the same time!}
 Even though I've done my fair share of canning, a couple of tips from their post on canning peaches seriously made today go much smoother. 

I mixed it up today and made pie filling too.  The recipe I used is from Darin's grandma and aunt and is so delicious.  I just want to eat it out of the jar!  EDIT: I just found out the recipe is a family secret.  So I went to cooks.com and found a very similar recipe to share.  The best part is you can use the recipe for peaches or apples.  

{Just so you know I halved the recipe and it made 7 quarts of peach pie filling.  It might do less with apples since they aren't as soft as peaches.  Also you will need to be familiar with things like blanching fruit.  Refer to above mentioned post for more info}

 First things first blanch, peel, pit and slice your peaches.  Sprinkle with fruit fresh and then fill your jars.  This will take way more peaches than you think so be prepared!  Then make your pie filling sauce.

Peach {and apple} Pie Filling

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn starch
10 cups of water
Stir and cook over medium heat until thickened. Then add...
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg 
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
{you can adjust spices to your liking}

When done it will look something like this

 I accidentally deleted my next picture and this is the only tiny bit tricky part.   Using a funnel and a ladle put in one ladle-ful of sauce.  Using the handle of a (non-metal)spoon or spatula push the sauce down to the bottom to spread it out.  Then add some more sauce leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Add lids and process in a hot water bath for 30 minutes.  

Now you can make some delicious pie, cobbler, dump cake, or eat it on waffles or straight out of the jar. any time you want!

 

Check me out!

Crazy Domestic has a post today about blueberries and my blueberry ginger jam made the list!  Blueberries are still in season so go ahead and make some! 

 {Ivy is finally starting to feel better, so hopefully I can get more than one thing done in a day!}

Blueberry Ginger Jam {recipe & printable}

Blueberry picking ends this weekend so we made it out one last time.  All in all we have gone through 46 pounds of deliciousness from here.  I made muffins, pie, froze a few quarts, but mostly we gobbled them up.  I also made three batches of our favorite jam.  

You know how things that are blueberry can be kind of too sweet?  Well not this jam.  Especially if you reduce the sugar like I do. 

{I kind of have issues with how much sugar is in jam.} 

The ginger keeps it fresh and not too sticky sweet.  LOVE IT.  So go get some fresh blueberries cuz we are going to make jam!

BLUEBERRY GINGER JAM

from the BHG cookbook.  You know, the one with the checks. 

3 cups of blueberries

4 cups of sugar*

2   Tbs. finely chopped crystallized ginger

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 pouch liquid pectin (3 oz)

First wash your berries and place in a large saucepan.  I make sure and put all the not so ripe ones in.  They are the ones that are a little red and pass by when you are just eating them.  Then coursely mash them up.  I found that just squishing them with my fingers works the best.  

Next add your sugar.  This is where the * comes in.  One of the first rules of jam is don't reduce the sugar that the recipe calls for.  BUT I can't imagine why there needs to be more sugar than berries.  I use 3 cups of sugar {which is still a lot  I know} and it turns out really good.  I would imagine that it sets up a bit more with 4 cups of sugar but we aren't picky.   

Stir constantly over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Then cook it a minute or two more.  Remove from heat and add in the ginger and lemon juice.  If you can, buy the crystallized ginger from a bulk section.  It is WAY cheaper. 

Let sit for 10 minutes.  Or until you remember that your jam is sitting there waiting to be finished.  Then stir in the liquid pectin.  Ladle into jars and let stand on the counter for 24 hours.  Then you can freeze it, eat it, whatever your little heart wants!

If you want to give it away I have my very first printable for you!

{click HERE to download}

I made some lid labels with photoshop to make it a little bit cuter when you give such delicious jam to your neighbor.  I used my big shot to cut out the circles, but you can either freehand it or use a 2 inch punch for a regular mouth lid (I think) to cut them out.  Just glue on the lid and tie with a ribbon{optional of course!}

 ENJOY!

And So It Begins!

The first bounty of the season!  Ok so I didn't grow the asparagus.  But this is one of the benefits of living in an area surrounded by farmland.  The produce here is fantastic and so readily available.  My sister in law and I drove out to a farmstand this morning and got 60 pounds of asparagus fresh picked earlier in the day.   YUM!