Easiest Dinner Ever

Well I guess this could be classified as breakfast as well... but lets be honest here who doesnt love breakfast for dinner? Fridayt we got home late and Kevin was off helping his mom so it was just me and the boys and I'm never in a mood for an extravagant meal when its myself and the babies. 

Here is all you need for some delicious German Pancakes:

1 cup milk

1  cup flour

6 eggs

1 stick of butter

Throw your stick of butter in a 9x13 pan while your oven is preheating to 350.

In the mean time mix together your eggs, milk, and flour. I added a little bit of sugar because we all have a little bit of a sweet tooth around here ;) Let it bake for about 15 minutes and voila. When serving top with syrup and maybe some powdered sugar. A super easy breakfast or dinner any time you are in need of a quick fix. 

Side Note:

I'm always in the need for new recipes and new ideas for meals because lets face it... how often can we eat spaghetti and pizza? I'm starting to get tired of it and am thinking about having a bit of a "recipe contest" on our blog. The winner will get a prize which has been undetermined as of yet but I think t would be fun to try new things and meet people who read our blog. So what do you think? Yeah or Nay?

Pizza and a Tutorial

After my One Sauce: Three Ways post I decided to add some of my favorite meals that we eat on my blog.

So tonight we are having pizza. I pulled out my left over dough that I had thrown in the freezer and let it thaw over night in my fridge. Took it out kneaded in a little more flour and rolled out onto my corn meal dusted cookie sheet. I spray it with some cooking spray so my rolling pin doesn't stick to the dough but you can do whatever you like. After rolling it out I poked it with a fork and sprinkled on garlic powder. Once the over was heated throw it in for 10 mins so it gets nice and crisp. Take it out, spread on your sauce, sprinkle with toppings and cheese, then put back in over for 12-15 mins. Once it is cooked and your cheese is oozing with goodness it is ready!

How to make dough:
(found in Better Homes & Garden cookbook)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 tbs cooking or olive oil

1. Mix warm water and yeast (to make sure the yeast is still good) then add in 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, and oil. Sometimes I add a little sugar or honey (1 Tbs) to sweeten it . Beat with a mixer on low for 30 seconds making sure to scrape the sides. Then beat on high for 3 mins. Next, Stir in as much of the remaining flour as possible with a wooden spoon.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed in more flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Divide dough in half (using a plastic putty knife from a hardware store works great!), cover and let rise for 10 mins.

{This is where I freeze half of my dough and continue to work with the other half, but if you have a big family you probably want both halves of dough.}

Roll dough out to desired shape and size. You can use it to make thin crust, mini pizzas (just half the dough again), or even calzones! If you want stuffed crust just roll the dough over string cheese sticks and voila!

-Heat oven to 400
-If making pizzas, poke with fork, bake for 10  minutes then top and bake for another 12-15 mins.
-If making calzones, bake for 25-35 mins at 375, until the crust is golden brown.

Now for the TUTORIAL:
How to make your blog post titles in a cute font:
I have read and read and read how to do this on kevinandamanda.com so many times but was nervous about it. After deciding to not be a wuss, I attempted to do it and boy was it easy! She has TONS of cute fonts and great tutorials! Go HERE to learn how to do it. Trust me, its easy.

Rockin Bean Dip

Tonight I wanted to make nachos and we didn't have any refried beans. So, being the smart one I am I looked up how to make refried beans from canned pinto beans. The results were beyond my wildest dreams! The beans tasted like bean dip from Serranos which I was craving after reading Busy Bee Lauren's tweet about it. YUM!



So here is what I did:

{For best results, use a cast iron skillet}

i Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Garlic
2 cans of Refried Beans
2 Tbs of "Hot Shot" Pepper
2 Tbs of Cumin
1 Tbs of Cilantro

Toast the garlic in the pan with the olive oil over medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan too hot or you'll burn the garlic! Once it looks delicious and yummy dump in the two cans liquid and all. I used the back of my spoon to mash the beans since they are soft already. Then add the pepper, cumin, and cilantro. I used dried cilantro because its easier to store. Mix everything together and continue to mash the beans to the desired consistency. Let it sit over low heat and continue to thicken stiring occasionally. It was super delicious and Kevin and I loved it! I hope it turns out just as yummy for you!

{I don't really measure when I cook so I am guessing on the amounts of garlic, pepper, cumin, and cilantro. So, you may need to adjust accordingly and to your taste}

One Sauce: Three Ways

I cook all the time for my loving husband and kiddos... but sometimes I get bored and lack creativity in what to make. Luckily, I have learned the art of turning one thing into many meals. After making a bomb dinner tonight I felt like sharing this. It wasn't until I was done eating my deliciously stuffed pepper that it dawned on me I should have taken pictures of my food... but like I said this idea of sharing didn't occur to me until tonight. So here is what we had this week:

Tuesday:
Spaghetti w/meat sauce.

I make my own spaghetti sauce out of ground pork, diced tomatoes (with basil, oregano, and garlic), a can of tomato paste, a can of tomato sauce, and lots of yummy seasonings. Who doesn't love spaghetti right? This usually makes a lot of sauce. Just enough to get me through my three meals.

Saturday:
(it was going to be Friday but we were invited out on a fun date and so it had to wait an extra day)
Pizza

I make my own dough from flour, yeast, water, a little sugar or honey. This is really simple and usually the dough is ready in like 15 mins after the 10 minute rise. Plus, the dough makes for two pizzas. I usually end up throwing on in the freezer for next time. I bake the dough, pour on some left over meat sauce, add some peperoni, and some cheese bake some more. Voila! Meal two is complete and delicious!

Sunday:
Stuffed Peppers

I cook up some rice. Then I brown some sausage in a pan once its good and crispy I add my leftover meat sauce, add in the rice, and wait till it is warm. During this time I wrap my peppers in saran wrap and microwave them for a couple of minutes to soften them. Once they are soft and my sauce/rice mixture is warm I stuff the peppers, top with a little cheese and throw them under the boiler until nice and bubbly. Ta Da! Three meals complete out of one sauce.

This may not be very exciting to you, but with our busy schedule and my inability to plan meals well I thought it was pretty amazing. Plus, Kevin liked all of it and everyone tasted different. Maybe I have inspired you to look at cooking in a new light. :)