Easy Scratch Pizza Crust

 Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/3 cups flour

1 packet instant yeast (2 + 1/4 tsp.)

1 + 1/2 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and dried basil leaves

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

Directions:

Combine 1 cup of flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If desired, add garlic powder and dried basil too.

Add olive oil and warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir well.

Gradually add another 1 cup of flour. Add any additional flour as needed, stirring until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl. It will be sticky, but still managable.

Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl with the oil. 

Lightly dust your hands with flour and form your pizza dough into a round ball. Transfer the dough to the bowl with the oil and roll it around the sides until it is coated with the oil. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm to proof.

Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees while you wait for the dough to rise. And prep the pizza toppings for the pizza.

After the dough has doubled in size, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough briefly until smooth (about 3-5 times).

Roll the dough into its shape (this should make a 12" circle) and form a crust by either pinching or tucking the edge of the pizza dough. Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven.

Add the pizza toppings to the pizza and bake it at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes (or until toppings are golden brown.

Tip: To make in advance, let the dough rise covered as indicated in the recipe and then deflate it, wrap it tightly so it doesn't dry out and store in the refrigerator for up to several days. The dough can also be frozen for up to a month. 

Time to Make: 15 minutes + 30 minutes to rise + baking time

Recipe Origin: https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-pizza-dough-recipe/

Honey Garlic Salmon

Ingredients:
12 ounces salmon (the Costco frozen fillets are 7 ounces, so make your sauce accordingly)
Salt & Pepper
cayenne pepper (optional)
1 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lemon, sliced

Sauce:
2 T. honey (42 g)
1 T. warm water
3/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp. lemon juice
pinch of salt

Directions:
Season your salmon fillets with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper (optional). Mix together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside. Heat up a skillet with the olive oil. Pan fry the salmon fillets until they are half way done. (I turn them once during this process.) While the salmon continues to cook, add the garlic and cook until the garlic is slightly browned. Continue cooking and add the sauce and the lemon wedges. Reduce your heat if the fish is cooking too quickly. Let the sauce reduce until it is sticky or resembles a syrup. (Again, I flipped the salmon over once during this process). Finish by broiling in the oven for 1 minute to give your fish a slight brown on the top. (This part is optional)

Time to Make: about 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy if you know when salmon is cooked fully
Recipe Origin: http://rasamalaysia.com/honey-garlic-salmon/2/

Our Best Bites Cupcake Frosting

Ingredients:
6 T. Flour
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, whisk together the flour and milk. Heat over medium heat and continue to whisk together until the mixture starts to thicken. Once you can tell its thickening, switch and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan and stir while it continues to thicken. Heat it until it has the consistency of pudding. Once thickened, put the mixture into a bowl and chill it in the refrigerator until it has cooled completely. (It helps to stir it every now and then while cooling.)

Once the mixture has cooled, add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat together for a few minutes until the butter and sugar are fluffy. Add the flour/ milk mixture and continue to beat scraping down the sides every now and then. Add the vanilla and continue beating until the mixture comes together and fluffs up. Take a little of the frosting in your fingers to feel if the sugar has dissolved completely. Once the sugar is dissolved and the frosting is fluffy, remove it from the bowl and use it as desired. This frosting can be stored in the refrigerator once mixed for a few weeks.


Time to Make: about 20 minutes (plus the cooling time)
Recipe Origin: Our Best Bites Website

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 - 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 + 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups chocolate chips (or however many you would like)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin in a large bowl and blend together. Slowly add in the coconut oil and continue to blend until it is incorporated. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and chocolate chips. Add to the wet ingredients and mix together.

Place muffin liners in muffin tin (or grease your muffin tin) and fill each 3/4 full with batter. Put a few chocolate chips on the top of each muffin, pressing them in slightly.  Bake muffins at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Remove muffins from tin and cool completely. For mini muffins bake for about 10 minutes and then keep checking on them until they are done. These muffins freeze really well.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 40 minutes
Recipe Origin: http://lovelylittlekitchen.com/best-ever-pumpkin-muffins/

Rainbow Jello

Ingredients:
1 small box red jello
1 small box orange jello
1 small box yellow jello
1 small box green jello
1 small box blue jello
1 small box purple jello
1 tub cool whip (regular size)

Directions:
Mix the first layer of jello according to the speed set directions on the box. Pour 2/3 of the mixture into your pan or spoon into containers. Place the jello in the refrigerator until it is pretty set. This shouldn't take much longer than 20 minutes or so. Mix the remaining 1/3 of jello with 1 cup or so of cool whip. Pour this over your pan or into your containers. Put mixture back into the refrigerator until this layer sets. Repeat this with all the boxes of jello until you have all the layers dished out.  This should make a 9x13 pan although I haven't tried it like this.

Previously I used 1 large box of each color (plus 1 small box of the color and whip cream layer) and I made 40 individual servings plus a large 11x13 pan full.

Tip: If you are using a container and it is larger on the top than on the bottom, get 2 boxes of jello of the last 2 colors because you will need more of this flavor to get the same even layer.

Time to Make: a little bit of mixing time, a lot of waiting time for the layers to set up. If you have a day to wait around at home and do this that would be great.
Difficulty: Easy
Recipe Origin: internet somewhere

Cookie Glaze Icing

Ingredients:


Directions:
Add powdered sugar to your mixer and mix it a little to break up clumps. (This is only neccessary if your powdered sugar is not already a fine powder.) Add wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix over low-medium speed for 10 minutes. This glaze will start to harden if it sits still for a period of time, so it is helpful to continue mixing the glaze while its not in use.

To glaze cookies: Add a cup of the glaze to a seperate bowl and add more powdered sugar. Mix till well blended. This is for outlining cookies. You need this part of the glaze to be a little bit thicker so that it can act as a barrier for the glaze to stop it from running off the cookie. Pipe this mixture around the outline of the cookie.

To fill in the cookie: Pour the rest of the glaze into a piping bag or bottle and fill in the remainder of the cookie. You can use a knife or the tip of the tool you are using to help fill in holes in the cookie. Allow the glaze to set up for a bit. It will set up to be a soft solid. This is not as hard as royal icing, but it will not run once it has set. Decorate it however you want.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:
4 to 4 + 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. butter
1 large egg, beaten
1 + 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal. Make a well into the dough, add egg and buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until it is too tough to stir. Flour your hands and knead the dough just until it sticks together as a rough ball (a little like shortcake dough). If the dough is too wet to do this, add a little more flour.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and continue to knead just until the flour is moistened. Shaggy is good, the more you knead the dough, the tougher the bread will be. Shape into a round loaf and score and X through the top (just up to the edges). Place loaf on a lightly greased baking sheet or cast-iron skillet and bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  The loaf will sound hollow when it is done. Cool slightly a bit on the baking sheet and serve warm with butter and honey.

Difficulty: medium
Time to Make: about an hour (including baking time)
Recipe Origin: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 + 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and applesauce and mix well. Blend in the remaining ingredients. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with the mix and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Makes about 24 muffins. Suitable for freezing too.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 30 minutes
Recipe Origin: http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2015/10/family-favorite-applesauce-muffins.html

Divine Breadsticks

Ingredients:
1 + 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. quick rise yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 + 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. melted butter (for the pan)
2 Tbsp. melted butter (for the top of the breadsticks)
herbs/seasonings (any you wish to use for flavor)

Directions:
Place all ingredients (except the melted butter) in the above order in a large mixer with a dough hook. Mix on a low speed for about 3 minutes. Dough should look well blended. Scrape the sides of your bowl if necessary to make sure all the flour gets blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

While dough is resting, add the melted butter to a 11x17 baking dish and spread it around to evenly coat the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. After the 10 minutes are over, roll out your bread dough on a floured surface to 1/4-1/2 in thick. Cut with a pizza cutter once down the middle of it lengthwise. Then cut into the breadstick about 1-1.5 inches wide. Once cut, lift each breadstick up and twist it around a few times. Place it in the baking dish and repeat with the other breadsticks laying them about 1/2 inch apart. Brush each breadstick with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt, basil, parsley, parmesan, and/or any other herbs or seasonings you may want to use. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let the breadsticks rise for 30 minutes.

While the breadsticks are rising, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then bake your breadsticks for 15-20 minutes (until they look golden brown on the top).

Tip: You can also make really good cinnamon sticks with this recipe. Once you get your bread dough rolled out brush the dough with a good layer of melted butter. Then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar all over the top. Continue cutting and twisting the bread dough as described above. I like to lightly spread melted butter on the tops of the twisted breadsticks before letting them rise. Make a simple frosting glaze (2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 - 4 Tbsp. milk (depending on the thickness you are going for)) and drizzle the glaze over slightly cooled breadsticks.

Time to Make: about 1 hour
Difficulty: medium
Recipe Origin: www.melskitchencafe.com/divine-breadsticks-2/

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 can chicken
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 package taco seasoning

Toppings:
Grated Cheese
Sour Cream
Salsa
Tortilla Chips

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a pot and cook over medium heat (stirring occasionally) until hot. Or combine all ingredients in a crock pot, mix till blended and cook till hot (or until you're ready to eat). To serve, top the soup with any toppings you want and enjoy!

Time to Make: about 20 minutes (or a few hours in the crock pot)
Difficulty: Easy
Recipe Origin:

Chocolate Chip PB Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 + 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat, all-purpose, or any combination of the two)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups quick oats
12 ounces chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine all the wet ingredients. Beat with a mixer until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix till well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes (until golden brown around the edge). Makes about 40 cookies.

Time to make: 10 minutes plus baking time
Difficulty: Easy
Recipe Origin: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-day-16.html

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
24 Oreo cookies, crushed
3 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling:
2 + 1/2 cups half & half
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
6 Tbsp. butter, cold and cubed
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped bar
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla

For the Topping:
1 + 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Shavings for garnishing (Optional)

Directions:
To make the crust, crush your Oreo cookies and mix with the butter until it can be pressed into a 9" pie pan. Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes and then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until it is set. Cool on a wire wrack.

To make the filling, bring the half & half, salt, and 3 Tbsp. of the sugar up to a simmer. Stir it frequently to avoid burning the cream on the bottom of the pan. Mix together the remaining sugar and the cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk together the egg yolks for 30 seconds until thickened slightly and then add the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Whisk together again until it looks glossy and smooth, about 1 minute longer. When the half & half mixture is simmering, add a small amount of it to the egg mixture to bring it up to heat. Continue doing that until you can incorporate the egg mixture into the pan without the eggs cooking. Return to simmer until the mixture thickens and looks glossy, about 20 seconds longer.

Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter, chocolate, and vanilla. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to fully mix the ingredients together. Pour the mixture into the pie crust pan and lay plastic wrap over the top so that a film doesn't form over the filling. Chill the pie for several hours until the filling and crust are well chilled.

To make the topping:
Once the pie is chilled completely, you can start the whipped topping. Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream forms a good peak. Then spread the cream over the pie and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Time to Make: about an hour plus chilling time
Difficulty: Medium
Recipe Origin: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-cream-pie-recipe/

Butternut Squash and Pears

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash
2 Pears

Directions:
To prepare your squash, peel the skin off being sure to remove the skin down to the orange flesh. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds in the middle. Cube the squash and steam it for about 12-15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile peel and core the pears and place them in your food processor or blender. Wait to blend them until the squash is tender and then blend the two until they are a nice puree. You can add liquid if necessary from water used to steam the squash, or apple juice works well too. Place puree in ice cubes trays and freeze. Once solid, remove the puree cubes to a freezer container or baggie and keep frozen until needed up to 3 months. Makes about 24 cubes.

*You can also add the pears to the squash for the last few minutes of steaming and then transfer all the ingredients to the processor/blender.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to make: about 20 minutes
Recipe Origin: http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/butternut-squash-pear-puree
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Sweet Potato and Apple Puree

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
2-3 sweet apples (such as gala, jonagold, jonathon, etc.)

Directions:
Prepare your sweet potato by either baking it or steaming it. If you bake it, follow this recipe. If you steam it, then you need to peel your potato and cut it into cubes. Steam it for 6-8 minutes or until the pieces are tender when poked.

Prepare your apples by steaming them as well. Peel, core, and cut apples into thin slices. Steam for 6-8 minutes until tender.

Place the potato meat and the apples in a food processor or blender. Add enough water from the steamer to make a smooth puree. Spoon the puree into ice cubes and freeze till solid. Transfer cubes to a freezer container or baggie. Makes about 12 ice cubes.

To serve: Thaw ice cubes overnight in a fridge or under hot water in a baggie until the puree is warm. You can add more liquid before serving or baby cereal if you want. Discard any leftovers.

Difficuly: Easy
Time to Make: 20 minutes - 1 hour (depending on how you prepare the potatoes)
Recipe Origin: online somewhere
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes

Directions:
Scrub your sweet potatoes to clean them and wrap them in foil. Prick holes in the potatoes for steam vents and bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until they are tender. Cool slightly and unwrap the sweet potatoes. Scoop out the meat of the potato and place it in a food processor or blender. Add a little liquid such as breast milk, water, or apple juice and puree till smooth. Spoon into ice cube trays and cover with wrap. Freeze until solid and then transfer the cubes to a freezer container or baggie.

To serve: Place an ice cube or two in a baggie and thaw under hot water until the puree is warm. You can add baby cereal or more liquid if necessary before serving. Makes about 24 ice cubes.

Difficulty: super easy
Time to make: about an hour start to finish
Recipe Origin: online somewhere
Introduce to Baby: Makes a good beginner food.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 + 1/4 cups flour (more if you want them a little thicker)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups chocolate chips (or any kind of chips you want to use)
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine wet ingredients and mix well till smooth. Add dry ingredients, chips, and nuts and mix till blended. Drop by spoonful on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 45 minutes
Recipe Origin: Tricia Richards

Irish Stew

Ingredients:
1/3 cup + 1 T. Flour, divided
1 + 1/2 lbs stew meat (beef or lamb)
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups reduced sodium beef broth
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 medium carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Basil, Parsley, Thyme, any other herbs you want to add (start with 1/2 tsp. and add more if need be)
2 Tbsp. water

Directions:
Add the 1/3 cup of flour to a large resealable bag and place the stew meat in the bag. Seal the bag and shake well to coat the stew meat in the flour evenly. In a large hot skillet, brown the stew meat in 2 batches in 1 Tbsp. oil for each batch. Set browned meat aside.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and saute the onions until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits, then return the meat to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 20 more minutes. Then add the frozen peas and continue to cook 5-10 minutes longer, until all vegetables are tender.

Add the seasonings. In a small cup mix together the remaining 1 Tbsp. flour with the 2 Tbsp. water. Mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the stew and cook for a couple more minutes until it starts to thicken. Serve stew hot. Serves 8.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 2 hours from start to finish
Recipe Origin: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/favorite-irish-stew

Honey Chicken

Ingredients:
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs OR 8 breasts, chunked
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook over low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. Serve over rice.

To Freeze:
Label freezer bags with a name, date, and directions. Divide the chunked chicken between 2 quart sized freezer bags. Mix together remaining ingredients for the sauce and divide between the two bags. To reheat, thaw ingredients overnight in the fridge, or under warm water and then cook in a crock pot (low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours). Serve over rice.

Time to Make: 4-8 hours depending on heat of crock pot
Difficulty: Easy
Recipe Origin: http://www.six-cents.com/2012/06/crockpot-freezer-cooking-101.html
Number of Servings: makes 2 quart sized bags of 4 servings each.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

12 large potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch round slices OR a large bag of frozen potatoes

2 cans of cream of something soup (cream of celery, mushroom, etc)

2 cans water

2 ham steaks, cubed

8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

4 cups of frozen broccoli

salt and pepper, to taste once cooked

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook over low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. 

To Freeze:

Label freezer bags with a name, date, and directions. Be sure to include a direction to add soup and water to the recipe when cooking. Divide all ingredients except soup, water, and salt and pepper into gallon sized bags. Freeze bags in the freezer. I froze the potatoes and broccoli in one quart sized bag and the ham and cheese in another and then taped the bags together.

Time to Make: 4 - 8 hours depending on your crock pot temperature

Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Origin: http://www.six-cents.com/2012/06/crockpot-freezer-cooking-101.html

Number of Servings: I got 3 freezer meals from these ingredients. Each meal included 2 quart sized bags of ingredients or enough to serve 4.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 lb - 1 lb Italian Sausage
1-2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning
2 - 29 ounce cans tomato sauce
2 - 6 ounce tomato paste
2 - 14.5 ounce cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Brown sausage and ground beef in a large pot over medium heat. Once browned, drain off the grease. Add onions and garlic and continue cooking a few minutes until onions are translucent. Add seasonings and tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes until hot.

To Freeze:
Chill the sauce in the refrigerator until cool. Label freezer bags and then distribute the sauce into the freezer bags. A quart size freezer bags will give 4 adult size servings. To reheat you can either thaw the bags over night in the fridge and then heat in a crockpot (low 8 hours or high 4-6 hours) or stove top, or you can thaw bags in warm water until mostly thawed and then heat over a stove top or in crockpot.

Time to Make: about 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Recipe Origin: http://www.six-cents.com/2012/09/freezer-cooking-away.html
Number of Servings: