This is how we do pizza

When I don't feel like cooking (or don't have the time) I use one of the old reliable out of the food section: Frozen pizza. I love pizza! And yet, there is always a problem...there isn't enough sauce. Everything else is fine, but I can never have enough sauce. So last week I fixed the problem.

You start with this:

Then add some of your favorite pizza toppings. Make sure you have a can of sauce! Our favorites our mushrooms, peppers, olives, pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, more cheese (sorry forgot to put that in the picture, use your imagination), and my personal favorite, pineapple.

Then you just make a pizza on top of your pizza! I start with sauce and cheese and then just pile things on.

I always have to make 2 pizza's; one with pineapple and one without. 

We have done this several times now, but always have the same two problems. The pizza is soggy and doesn't seem to cook all the way through. So we have decided that next time we do this we will cook the pizza according to package directions and then add all our extras and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. I did try letting one pizza thaw while I cooked the first one, but I only have one pizza pan and when I went to put the thawed pizza on, it folded in half and I lost the toppings.

Colorful Rice Cripsy Squares

Here is something to try different next time you make rice crispy squares.

Colorful Rice Crispy Squares
1 sack marshmallows
1 cube butter
6 cups Fruity Pebbles Cereal
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Melt butter and marshmallows. Remove from heat and mix in the Fruity Pebbles Cereal. Spread into a well greased pan.

Two Lasagna Recipes

I love lasagna, and yet it is the one thing I have never mastered. I have tried a dozen different recipes and I always end up with the same thing: Lasagna Soup. I won't even eat it because it looks so gross.

Last year I found a Lasagna Recipe that I really like. It's a little different because instead of a marinara sauce, it has a white sauce. It is really good, and I have yet to screw it up!

Three-Cheese Sausage Lasagna 1-1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
6 oz. slice mozzarella cheese
4 oz. sliced provolone cheese
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
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In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove form the heat.
In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer a fourth of the sauce, three noodles, half of the sausage and a third of the mozzarella and provolone slices. Repeat layers once. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top. Layer with remaining noodles, sauce and sliced cheeses; sprinkle with Romano cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

A few weeks ago, I decided to once again try a traditional lasagna. I found a recipe on www.tasteofhome.com, but just used it as a guide line. That pan of lasagna didn't last 24 hours, and this time I helped eat it! So I made it again on Sunday to see if it was a fluke, but it worked again!

Savannah's Lasagna
1-1/2 pounds bulk sausage
1 can spaghetti sauce
2 small cans of tomato paste
1 tablespoon Sage
1 tablespoon Basil
1 tablespoon Parsley
1 large container of cottage-cheese
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
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Brown sausage and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato paste. In a mixing bowl combine cottage-cheese, eggs, seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Cover the bottom of the pan with a little bit of the spaghetti sauce mixture. Layer 3 noodles, a third of the sauce, a third of the cottage cheese, and a third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

I've never like raisin cookies. You think its a chocolate chip cookie, and then bam, raisins! Last week I was talking with someone at work and they made a suggestion that was so simple. A substitute I have done several times in other recipes. Craisins! I love craisins, so it was the perfect solution. 

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 Butter Flavor CRISCO stick or 3/4 cup Butter Flavor CRISCO all-vegetable shortening

1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup Craisins (or raisins if you're not adventurous)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

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Heat oven to 375°. Combine shortening, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in craisins and nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto a well greased cookie sheet.

Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Do not over bake. Cook 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

Bacon Apple Cheese Sandwiches

I love love love these cheese sandwiches. I saw them on a TV show I used to watch all the time Real Simple. I love that show. I really need to find out when it is on these days so I can start watching it again. I found the directions for this sandwich on their website, but really I just use them as a general guideline. Here is how I make them.

Bacon Apple Cheese Sandwiches
French Bread
Cooked bacon
Green apple, peeled and thinly sliced
Provolone or cheddar cheese
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Slice and butter bread. On a grill lay the bread butter side down then a piece of cheese, bacon, apple, and another slice of cheese. Having cheese on both sides really helps to hold everything together. When the bottom is a nice golden brown, carefully flip the sandwich and cook on the other side.

The tricky part is flipping the sandwich so they don't fall apart. I use two spatulas. I put one under the sandwich and then the other on the top and then just maneuver until it is flipped.

The key thing I have learned is to make these sandwiches as thin as possible, because they kind of tear on the roof of your mouth. So when you slice the bread and the apples do it as small as you can, but still good enough to make a good sandwich.

How do you eat your spaghetti?

You know, the normal way. Noodles, spaghetti sauce with saugage and corn. Don't forget the garlic bread!
Yes, that is really how I like my spaghetti.

No Dressing Please!

I am a picky, picky eater. So picky, that you could say that twice.
I am a picky, picky eater.
One thing that I will absolutely not eat is salad dressing. That stuff smells gross, looks gross, and tastes gross. So I stay clear of it.
Of course that can be a problem when we go out to eat. A few years ago we were at a work dinner and the waitress went around the room asking what kind of dressing everyone wanted. I told her none. She took that to mean no salad at all.
A few months ago we went out to dinner at a new restaurant. When I told her no dressing she asked if I wanted a lime instead. A lime? She thought it sounded like a good idea, so I tried it and I LOVED IT!
Now when ever we go out to eat and my dinner comes with a salad I ask for a couple wedges of lemons & limes. Do you know how many places DON'T have those! The waitress always will look at me funny and repeat my offer. So I guess I'm not also picky, I'm also UNIQUE in a freakish way.
This weekend we went to the Olive Garden. They usually just bring a big bowl with an already made salad with dressing already stirred in. So I told her now dressing and instead I wanted a lime & lemon. She must have not understood me because she asked if I wanted my dressing on the side. We got the best service out of her while I ate my salad. She kept checking back to see if I had changed my mind and did want dressing after all. It's so funny how people think they know what you want!