BBQ Pizza with Homemade Crust

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="White Wheat Berries in hopper of Wheat Mill"][/caption]BBQ Pizza with fresh made Crust

First I start by making fresh bread.  I use a grain mill to mill the wheat berries and

[caption id="attachment_74" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Beautiful fresh whole grain flour"][/caption]then use my Kitchenaid mixer to mix the dough.

First start milling the flour. While it is milling, place the oil, honey, water and yeast in the Kitchenaid bowl.  The yeast should start foaming and bubbling.

 

 

• 1 ½ cups hot water


• ½ cup oil[caption id="attachment_68" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Yeast, Honey, Water, Olive Oil"][/caption]


• ¼ cup honey


• 4 ½ cups fresh milled flour


• 2 tsp. salt


• 2 Tbs. Lecithin


• 1 tsp. gluten


• 1 egg


• 1 Tbs. Yeast


• [caption id="attachment_69" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Crust Spread rolled onto pan."][/caption]

 

Add your fresh milled flour and all the other ingredients (put salt in after flour or it will kill the yeast).  Turn the mixer on and allow it to mix about 7 minutes.  Take it out of the mixer and knead it into nice dough on lightly oiled (olive oil) surface.  Pinch off the portion of dough needed for each pan and roll it out.

 

 

[caption id="attachment_72" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sauteed Onion and Red/Yellow Peppers"][/caption]Then for the toppings. Saute an onion and sweet peppers (or any veggies of your choice) in small amount of olive oil. Add about two cups of precooked chicken (I cook chicken in my crock pot when I get home from the grocery store. Let it cool slightly and fill quart freezer bags. So I use one of these bags.)

Once this items are warmed through, add your favorite home-aide or store bought BBQ sauce.

[caption id="attachment_71" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pizza Ready for Oven"][/caption] 

Then simply pour mixture on top of pizza dough and top with mozzarella cheese.

You can change this up any way you like and make it new each time! Enjoy!

Fresh out of oven! Yum!

 

 

 



 

What's for dinner?

Tonight we are going a bit German.  Sauerkraut, sausages and mashed potatoes.  It will be finished off with fresh made cinnamon rolls.

Bread

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Matthew 6:11

We have just returned from a three day homeschool conference and I am behind in posting. Rest assured we have enjoyed much eating and family time.  However, over the past days something has significantly changed in what we eat.  Growing up in the south, bread was always a big part of our meals. Then as an adult, I learned I had to limit myself as my waistline started showing my love for bread (and mashed potatoes).  But our way of thinking has changed a bit. You will want to keep reading. You are going to have a great excuse to enjoy delicious bread.

Over time and little by little, God has introduced me to the idea (although I wasn't ready to buy it) of whole grains.  But I had tried whole wheat flour purchased in bags from the grocery store and was just not convinced.  The end products were dry, heavy and not very pleasing.  But I wonder. . .have you ever tried bread made from freshly milled flour? Yum!!! It is divine and you will think there is no way it could be good for you. But it is! In fact, it is life giving and healing.

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."  Isaiah 55:2

There is a wonderful website called The Bread Beckers. Their website is loaded with information.  There is also a free cd you can request that I strongly suggest.  If you live locally, we know of a wonderful family that sells the machines and grains.  I would gladly put you in touch with them.  With various health issues, I cannot express how much I wish I had paid attention to this sooner.  Please take time to read about it.

Burrito Bake & Sauteed Corn

Dinner tonight was simple and a long time friend to our home. In fact, I first made Burrito Bake twenty-two years ago.  It was the first time I cooked for my husband of twenty-one years and he burned the roof of his mouth on the gooey goodness of cheese topping.  It is so simple that once you make it you will not even need a recipe.  Begin by cooking 1.5 lbs ground beef (breaking into small bits).  Add a small chopped onion about halfway through.  Once the meat is done and the onion soft, drain.  Add about 1 cup salsa and half of large can enchilada sauce. Mix well.  Evenly separate the mix into burrito shells. Fold each one burrito style and place in a baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over burritos and top with cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350° until cheese is melted and yummy.  Top with lettuce, tomato and sour cream, if desired.

As a side, I chop a small onion and half of a red pepper. Sauteed them in about 2 tablespoons butter. When  they start to soften, add frozen corn.  Season with salt and pepper. This golden goodness finishes off any meal perfectly.

Dinner Table Devotions ~ Great Book

I want to introduce a book to you that I think epitomizes what I hope this blog will do.  It is called "Dinner Table Devotions & discussions starters".  We have been using lately in our family and love it.  There is one page for each day of the year.  The devotion includes information from the Bible and real life comparisons.  Most days really are something you can sink your teeth into (LOL). Then several verses are listed in the margin and discussion questions are at the bottom of the page.  The Bible verses have been perfectly matched to the devotions.  But one thing I really love is that it is interesting and challenging for ALL ages. If you are experiencing a devotion time as a family, then this might be just what you need.  The first dinner is a little awkward as you try to figure out who reads and when they read. However, after the first one it just fell into place for us.  I feel like the purpose and quality of mealtime has drastically improved.

Breakfast for Dinner

My family frequently asks for breakfast for dinner.  On my menu planning, I usually just put "Breakfast" in the dinner spot.  For some heavy planners this would not be enough info.  As far as specifics, I like to change it up.  I usually do a breakfast casserole or quiche but I am not opposed to scrambled eggs (or western scrambled eggs with onion and green peppers).  I usually do either grits or potatoes. The finishing touch will be fruit and possibly biscuits.  One of our favorite breakfast casseroles is pretty much an all in one.

Breakfast Bake

1 package pork sausage (I use Ingles lower fat sausage. We think it tastes the best.)

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cups hash brown potatoes

1.5 cups chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 cup biscuit mix (Bisquick or any brand)

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

5 eggs

Heat oven to 400°.  Spray 13"x9" baking dish with nonstick spray.  Cook sausage adding onions and bell pepper during the last few minutes. Stir potatoes, broccoli and 1.5 cups cheese into meat mixture. Spread in baking dish.

In a bowl, mix biscuit mix, milk, salt, pepper and eggs until blended.  Pour into baking dish.  Bake uncovered for approximately 40 minutes. Knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer to melt cheese. Enjoy with some fresh fruit and maybe a biscuit.

For new post. . .

I have moved my blog to www.familyfaithdinner.com.  Please come by to enjoy the recipes and share ideas.

Easy Lasagna Recipe

 

Dinner last night was a very easy and delicious Lasagna. I hope you will make it and enjoy it.

1 lb ground beef

1 32-ounce jar of thick spaghetti sauce (I use two 24 ounce jars )

1 medium onion - chopped

1.5 cups water

2 cups ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (plus a little more for the top)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/4 chopped parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

24 lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef in 3-quart saucepan, stirring until crumbly.  Near the end add the chopped onion to soften.  Add sphaghetti sauce and water; mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Combine cheeses, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix well.  Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in 11x15 inch (or close size)  baking dish.  Layer noodles on sauce. Then layer 1.5 cups meat sauce and half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Top layer will be a layer of noodles, followed by meat sauce. Finish it with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.

Bake 350° covered with foil for 55 minutes. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

This recipe comes together very easy and would be great served for company with a salad.

Vacation Meals

This post is going to be a little different in that last week we were on vacation.  We stayed right outside of Walt Disney World in a nice two bedroom condo resort for less than we could have done an onsite budget resort.  One of the biggest budget breakers for vacation is meals and yet as the mom I still want to feel like I am on vacation.  We spent 4 days in the Disney parks and one day at Holy Land Experience.  My general plan was not to have more than one meal out per day.  Here is what we did:

Breakfast was easy.  I made Sausage Balls before the trip.  I also took cereal and breakfast bars. Everyone just picked what they wanted for breakfast.  It was quick, easy and had us in the parks at rope drop.

For lunches we did have a couple of meals planned. The days we didn't have plans, I just packed a lunch in a backpack cooler.  We included sandwiches of everyone's choice (ham, turkey or peanut butter), apples, crackers (or chips) and drinks.  Lots of parks do allow you to take food in now so just check before leaving home.  We had no problems at any of the Disney parks.  Once we got into the park, we put the cooler into a locker and were off for the day.  When lunch time rolled around we avoided the crowds and found a nice place to sit.  Not only did we not miss eating at the parks but it was very nice.

We had two dinners out but the other nights included simple fare at the condo.  I had cooked ground beef with onions before leaving home.  We needed three evening meals. We had Sloppy Joes and chips, Chili Cheese & Fritos and Hot Dogs.

Each day we did have a breakfast or lunch out so we really had too much food everyday.  But we kept it simple which made it fun and budget friendly.