Pull Apart Pizza

PULL APART PIZZA

Pizza dough:

200 mls water

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 ¾ tsp dried yeast

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

Mix, Knead, allow to rest for about 10 mins.

Roll out till about ½cm think and cut into squares 5cm square.  Toss these squares in a bowl filled with the following…

Pizza topping:

¼ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of tomato paste

1 cup grated cheese

Herbs

1 finely chopped onion

½ finely chopped capsicum

1 clove of finely chopped garlic 

1 cup meat (bacon, leftovers, deli-meat, chicken…) 

Anything else you fancy really!  

Toss the pizza pieces a few at a time in this mixture and put the covered pieces into a well greased dish.  Top with some extra cheese (like parmesan or mozzarella) and some sauce like BBQ and/or Sweet-and-Sour.

Bake at 200* C for about 20 mins 

(I’m guessing here as I was busy reading to the children while it cooked and we just went by how it smelled!)

No cutting, just pull it apart a bit at a time :)

Creamy Tomato Pasta

We were introduced to this dish years ago by a friend.  It is so easy to make, so delicious to eat, so simple to alter according to what you have in your pantry - it is a regular in our house.

500g pasta

1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup cheese
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp of curry powder or mustard powder
1 tsp salt
300mls of cream (I often do half milk/half cream)

Optional: fresh ground pepper, finely chopped deli meat, finely chopped onion

1. Bring some water to the boil and drop the pasta in.  Cook until just done.  Drain off all the water.
2. Put the butter and the cheese into the hot pasta and stir until both have melted through evenly.  Cover with a lid.
3. If you choose to use deli meat and or onion I lightly fry these in butter or fat.
4. In a small pot put the tomato paste, sugar, curry or mustard, salt, and cream/milk.  Stir until combined and heat on a medium heat until warmed through.
5. Add the meat and onion to the creamy tomato sauce.
6. Tip the sauce over the cheesy pasta and stir.  
7. Serve on its own or as a side dish.

~Lorna

"BLT on T" - Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato on Toast

  "BLT on T".  The first time I had this was when I was 11 years old at my friends house.  Her dad is American and they ate this often.  

My version is bacon, lettuce, tomato on toast with the addition of a fried egg, avocado and cheese.  The secret is frying the egg on a medium heat in animal fat and topping with ranch dressing and cracked pepper.  

~Lorna

Cheesy Meatball Casserole

This is so simple and very delicious.

750 grams mince

750 grams sausage meat

1 onion

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

seasonings - tamari sauce, pepper, garlic

Pasta sauce

Grated cheese

1. Mix the mince and the sausage meat together with the egg, breadcrumbs and seasonings of your choice until combined.
2. Shape into golf ball sized balls and fry them until cooked through.
   (We put water in the frying pan to begin with which prevents the meat from sticking until the fats are released from the meat and then they fry in their own fat.)
3. While the meatballs are cooking, put a layer of pasta sauce onto the bottom of a casserole dish.  When the meatballs are cooked, transfer them to the casserole dish.
4. Pour the remaining pasta sauce over them and top with a generous amount of cheese.
5. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes.
6. Serve with rice and green vegetables.

~Lorna

Resurrection Rolls

These are delicious, fun little rolls to make for Easter time. 

Read the resurrection story in the Bible found in Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 and/or John 19-20. 

To make the bread dough:

1 1/8th cup of warm water

2 tsp dried yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

3 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

Filling ingredients: 

melted butter

marshmallows

cinnamon or other spices

sugar

• Use the dough setting on your bread maker, or hand mix the ingredients together and knead well for 15 minutes, allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size, knead again for 5 minutes or until the dough is silky.

• Cut the dough into small pieces - about the size that would fit in a 1/4 cup and roll it out flat.
• Fill it with chocolate chips and a marshmallow rolled in melted butter and dipped in a cinnamon/spice/sugar mix.

{The marshmallow represents Jesus.

The melted butter and spices represent the embalming spices applied before burial.

The chocolate just makes it yummier.

The rolled out dough represents the tomb his body was laid in.}

• Fold all the edges carefully around the filling securing them by pinching the dough together.  
• Place on a greased tray. 

• Allow the buns to rise to double their original size.

• Bake at 180°C until golden.

• The inside of the roll will be chocolaty, gooey and hollow.

{The hollow bun represents the empty tomb.  

All that was left was the linen and spices His body was wrapped in. 

Sweet Salvation!}

~Lorna

Cowboy Casserole

I do rather like "one-pot" type meals. This one lends itself easily to changing it around to suit your preferences. It would make for good left-overs, if there happened to be any actually left over!

10 medium sized potatoes
fat for roasting
1 kg mince meat
tamari sauce, curry, beef stock, mustard powder
2 onions
vegetables - I used 1 head of broccoli 
2 cups of corn
2 cups of grated cheese
1 cup of milk
250g sour cream
salt, pepper

1. Scrub the potatoes and cut them into bites sized pieces.  Roast them in animal fat for around 30 minutes or until they are just cooked through.
2. Fry the mince meat until it is no longer pink.  Add onion and vegetables; cook until done but still firm.  Add the corn and the seasonings of your choice.
3. To the frying pan tip in 1 cup of the cheese,  the milk, and the sour cream.  Mix everything together on a low heat.  Season to taste.  
4. When the potatoes are cooked, layer about 2/3 of them on the bottom of an oven dish.
5. Pour the meat mixture over the potatoes, spreading it evenly.
6. Put the remaining potatoes on the top, pressing them gently into the mixture.
7. Cover with the remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until the potatoes are golden and crunchy.
8. Serve with a side of green vegetables or a salad.  

~Lorna

Home-made Vanilla Extract

Because I like things as close to natural as possible, I was keen to try this method of making vanilla extract.  I like to know exactly what is in mine.

I have heard the concern that it is alcohol based.  We very rarely use vanilla extract in food preparation that doesn't require cooking, but a tablespoon in one recipe is a small amount in my opinion.  If we are cooking the recipe the alcohol is evaporated out leaving the flavour behind.

Vodka 37% alcohol
Vanilla beans

1. Take 5 vanilla beans and cut them in half lengthwise.  I also cut those lengths in half so they fit in my jar. 
2. Pour 250 mls of vodka over the beans and seal with a lid. Vodka, because it is flavourless and wont change the taste of the extract.
3. Give it a shake and store it in a cool, dark cupboard.
4. Shake every few days for 4 weeks. By now the vanilla extract will be ready to use.
5. At this point you can pour the vanilla extract into a separate bottle using a sieve to catch the little seeds.
6. The remaining vanilla extract in the jar with the beans will continue to get stronger as it sits.

You can use the seeds in baking and ice cream making.  

This is a website I have used for my information: The Vanilla Company

~Lorna