Old Fashioned Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
cooking spray

Directions

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Whisk in melted butter, egg, and milk until combined. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
3. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour batter into the hot skillet, about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on the sides and center of each pancake. Flip and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Recipe

Salsa

Ingredients

4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tomatillo, diced (optional)
salt to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Directions

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, tomatillo, and salt to taste. Mix well. Add 1/2 of the jalapeno pepper, and taste. If you desire your salsa with more of a kick, add the remaining 1/2 jalapeno. If you are satisfied with the salsa’s heat, do not add the remaining jalapeno pepper. Cover the salsa, and chill until ready to serve.

Recipe

Pizza Dough or Cheesy Bread Sticks

This recipe is from an online cooking blogger (she’s even made her own online cook book) she’s an amazing cook and this pizza dough is great.  There is directions to make cheesy bread sticks with it as well. Which I think I will have to make sometime soon. Here is Lauren’s Blog with some amazing recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour

Directions

For the pizza dough–In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! That seems to be the magical number. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean! {*This is the point when you could freeze your dough!! Divide into portions, place into freezer bags, seal removing all air and freeze. To use, remove from freezer and let sit out to get to room temperature and double in size; 6-8 hours. Then use as you’d like.} Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That’s it! Use as desired.

For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks- Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside. {If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet…a tip I got from Natalie!}
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. {That step is totally optional!}

Julia Child Cooking Tips

My favorite cook is Julia Child and here are some of her awesome cooking tips. You just might have a laugh…

And I truly believe this first quote

 

Italian Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

cooking spray
4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup water
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (10.75 ounce) cancondensed cream of chicken soup
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped canned mushrooms
1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Spray the crock of a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in crock. Combine Italian dressing mix, and water in a small bowl. Pour over chicken; sprinkle with garlic, cover, and cook on Low 4 hours.
2. After 4 hours, whisk softened cream cheese and cream of chicken soup together in a bowl. Pour over chicken; stir in mushrooms. Cover and cook on Low for 1 additional hour.
3. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
4. To serve, spoon chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with parsley.

Recipe