Chicken Noodle Soup

A friend of mine brought this soup to me when I was sick and it was just what I needed. I'm not sure how she knew I'd been craving homemade chicken noodle soup, but she did and it came at just the right time. It was so delicious I had to ask for the recipe. Here it is for you to enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups wide egg noodles
1 tsp olive oil
12 cups chicken broth (3 cartons)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 cups diced, cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and olive oil, and boil until tender. Drain, rinse under cool running water.

In a large pot (5 qt size), combine broth, salt and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil then stir in onion, celery and carrots. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is dissolved. Gradually add to the soup, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Stir in chicken and heat through.

To serve, spoon a serving of noodles into each bowl and then add the soup.

*I don't like to add the noodles to the soup while cooking because if I have leftovers the noodles will soak up the extra broth, so I just cook them separately.


serves 12

Pumpkin Bars

My mom was given this recipe by a neighbor and it is to die for! Definitely a must-have when Fall comes around. It makes a gigantic pan, so it's perfect to share with your neighbors!

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. canned pumpkin (not 1 can)
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla (heaping)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp milk, enough for spreading consistency

Directions:

Lightly grease cake roll pan (about 15x9; I use a cookie sheet). Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, add dry ingredients and mix well. Spread in pan and bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Let cool.

For frosting, beat all ingredients together until desired consistency is reached, then spread onto pumpkin bars.

These are really delicious when served warm. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think this is a very popular recipe - several of my friends make it often - but I had to put it on my blog because it's one that my family loves! My 5 year old always begs me to put a couple of these cookies in his lunch box :)

Ingredients:

1 box Spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 bag of chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix and pumpkin in mixer and mix until well blended. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*Makes about 18 cookies

Bubbling Cauldron

I really love this dip - it's great served with bread, pretzels or Fritos and it's really fast to make.

Ingredients

1 lb Velveeta
2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, well drained
1 cup medium or hot salsa
1 can (4 oz) diced jalapeño peppers, drained (optional)
1 loaf round marble rye bread, unsliced
Pretzel rods

Directions:

Melt cheese in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in beans, salsa and jalapeño peppers, if desired. Carefully cut center out of bread, leaving 1 1/2-inch shell. Cut bread center into pieces for dipping.

Reserve 1 pretzel rod. Arrange remaining pretzel rods on serving plate to resemble campfire logs. Place bread cauldron on pretzels; fill with cheese dip, allowing some to spill over top of bread cauldron. Arrange reserved bread pieces around cauldron. Place a pretzel rod in cheese dip, serve immediately.

Serves 20

*I thought for sure I had a better picture than this, but I can't seem to find it. Next time I make it I'll update the picture :)

Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Syrup

Eating a stack of pumpkin pancakes at IHOP last Saturday inspired me to try making my own at home. I also had a little nudging from my 5 year old - he's been bugging me to make some almost nonstop.

After a quick search on tasteofhome.com, I found this recipe that looked promising. I just have to say, Look out IHOP - my pumpkin pancakes are better! The kids went back for seconds and then thirds; I couldn't ask for anything more than that. :)

Ingredients:

Hot Cider Syrup

3/4 cup apple cider or juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

For pancakes, in a large bowl,combine the dry ingredients In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle (I didn't grease mine). Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with syrup.

I added a scoop of whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon to my pancakes. Delish! This is now officially a family favorite!

Syrup makes approximately 1 cup. Batter makes 15 pancakes.

*The syrup never did thicken for me, but it was so good I didn't really care :)

Abracadabra Hats

I'm a huge fan of Halloween, so the second those cute little holiday recipe magazines hit the stands, I'm buying them up! I found this recipe a few years ago in one called "Halloween Food, Fun and Crafts". Again, this isn't the greatest picture, but I hope you get the idea.

Ingredients

I package (8 oz) crescent dinner rolls
1/2 tsp dried basil
16 pepperoni slices
2 cups pizza or marinara sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough and place individual pieces on work surface. Gently shape each piece into long triangle. Sprinkle triangles evenly with basil.

Cut pepperoni slices into crescent shapes using a small cookie cutter or knife. Partially roll up bottom of the triangle to create the brim of the hat.

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, warm pizza sauce in small saucepan over low heat. Serve hats with sauce for dipping.

Serves 8

Creepy Hands

I thought I'd start off the month with a fun Halloween idea. You'll have to excuse the terrible picture - I took this a couple of years ago and wasn't nearly as good with the camera as I am now ;)

This isn't a new idea, so it's likely that you've seen these before, but I think it's a lot of fun for kids. I made these for Andrew to take to his preschool class on his sharing day and it was a big hit.

All you need is some plastic skeleton hand bags - I always find mine at the dollar store, some candy corn and popcorn. I use a Whirly Pop to make my popcorn; it's easy, fast and makes a ton of popcorn all at once.

First, put the candy corn in each finger (I used 2 per finger) and then put the popcorn in. It's a little tedious, but I found it worked best if I filled the fingers with popcorn individually and then then hand. Tie off the bag with some ribbon or twist ties and you're all done!

Chicken Spaghetti

My mom has made this since I was a kid; I'm pretty sure she got the recipe from a neighbor. I didn't like it much then, but now I love it! So even if it sounds a little weird, give it a try. It's really yummy!

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts, stewed with 2 bay leaves and 1 chicken bouillon cube for each cup water used
1 lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed
1 (10 oz) can tomato soup
2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 small onion, diced
1 lb spaghetti


Directions:

Cook and cool chicken. Reserve broth. Saute onions in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, soup and cubed cheese. Stir over medium heat until cheese is melted. Add cubed chicken and simmer while noodles cook. Cook spaghetti in reserved chicken broth, drain, then put back into pan. Pour sauce into pan with pasta and toss until coated. Heat through to allow the sauce to thicken and serve. You can also bake the pasta in a 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes rather than heating on the stove.

Serves 6

Mom's Pork Chops

I'm going to apologize upfront for the quality of this photo. I dropped my camera and it is now in the capable hands of the Geek Squad (thank goodness for the Accidental Protection Plan). So for now, I'm using my cell phone to take pictures. :)

My mom has made this since I was a kid and I've always loved it. Looking at some of my previous recipes, I've realized that I must really love gravy - it seems to be in a lot of my recipes! But, the gravy is my favorite part of this recipe. It tastes so good over white rice. Mmmm....

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1-2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 boneless pork chops
2 cans cream of mushroom soup or 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of chicken
milk


Directions

In a medium Ziploc bag, combine all dry ingredients and shake. Adding one pork chop at a time, shake again until coated. Place in preheated pan with about 1 Tbsp canola or olive oil. Brown pork chop on both sides, then remove and place in crock pot.

Pour both cans of cream of mushroom soup into a large, glass measuring cup (or small bowl) and add small amounts of milk. Stir with a whisk and keep adding milk until desired consistency is reached. I don't think I use more than 1/4 cup of milk. I like the gravy to be a little more thick. If you want it really thick, skip the milk all together.

Cook in crock pot for 4-6 hours on low heat.

Peach Raspberry Trifle

I found this recipe in my mom's local newspaper and decided it was the perfect dessert to make for an upcoming BBQ with some of my friends. I changed a few of the ingredients to suit my tastes, and it was incredible! This definitely makes it onto my summer faves list.

Ingredients:

4 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
3 cups raspberries
1/2 quart strawberries, sliced
2 bars pound cake (1 bar if you have a smaller trifle bowl)
8 oz. Cool Whip
2 large instant vanilla pudding mixes
3 c. cold milk
2 boxes raspberry Danish Dessert

Directions:

Using both boxes of Danish Dessert, follow pie glaze directions. Fill sink with cold water beforehand, and put pan in cold water after the glaze has boiled for 1 minute (this allows the pan to cool quickly). Fold in raspberries and strawberries. Let cool and leave in water until ready to layer.

Add 3 cups cold milk to pudding mixes. Fold in 8 oz Cool Whip, then add sliced peaches.

Cut pound cake into 1 inch squares. Begin to layer in trifle bowl: cake, pudding, raspberry mixture. Layer twice. The final layer should be the Danish Dessert. Let cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.


*The original recipe called for 4 bananas rather than peaches and angel food cake instead of pound cake. I also added strawberries to the recipe. I only had one box of raspberry Danish Dessert, so I used one raspberry and one strawberry.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

We love this salad! We make it all summer long - we even made it while we were camping once - and I never get tired of it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes

1 t. dried basil

1 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. pepper

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 large bunch of Romaine lettuce

1 1/2 cup croutons

1 c halved cherry tomatoes

2/3 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing (our favorite is the Lighthouse brand)

shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first 8 ingredients, then add chicken. Seal the bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the romaine, croutons and tomatoes; add dressing and toss to coat. Divide onto salad plates, slice chicken and arrange on salads. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.

*If I'm making this for just Chris and myself, I add the dressing to our salads individually. That way I'm not stuck with a bunch of leftovers that will go bad by the next day.

Amazing Crusted Chicken

I found this on allrecipes.com the other day and have made it twice now. It has a wonderful flavor and is so easy and fast to make. My husband loves it so that is all the reason I need to add it to my 'Favorites' list. The chicken stays so moist and juicy but the outside is crispy and flavorful.

Ingredients:
2 cups cheese flavored crackers (such as Cheez-It brand), crushed
1 cup French-fried onions, crushed
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (plain work fine too, or you can just add Italian seasoning to the plain)
2 teaspoons sesame seed, toasted( I bought some that are already toasted)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut in half
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F ( 190 degrees C). Spray a baking dish or sheet with cooking spray.

2. Mix cheese crackers, French fried onions, bread crumbs, sesame seeds, salt and pepper in a bowl. set aside.

3. Wash and pat chicken breasts dry. Spread a thin layer of mayo on one side of each piece and place mayo side down in the cracker mixture. Repeat on the other side patting firmly into the chicken, covering all sides. Place chicken on the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining mixture on top. Lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink inside and the juices run clear, 35-40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

*I serve mine with white rice and a salad.

Apple Dip

Summer is the perfect time to sit and snack on a bowl of fruit - and sometimes it's fun to indulge yourself in a little fruit dip :) This is super easy to put together, so you can have a great snack for book club, picnics or parties in about 15 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp orange juice

Directions:

In a large bowl or mixer, cream all ingredients together. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

*The original recipe didn't call for orange juice, but when I tasted the mixture, the texture was really grainy from the sugar. Once I added the orange juice it was perfect. It also sets up nice and thick after you refrigerate it.

Grilled Rosemary Chicken with Cream

I found this recipe on my friend's recipe blog, Making Manna and had to try it. It was delicious - my husband is still raving about it!

Ingredients:

2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh Rosemary, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Sauce:

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp milk

Directions:

Prepare grill to medium high heat.

For chicken, combine mustard, oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl; brush evenly over chicken. Grill chicken for 6 minutes on each side or until done.

For the sauce, while chicken grills, combine mustard, mayo and milk. Serve over grilled chicken.


*I personally thought that a little of the sauce goes a long way - I won't put as much on my chicken next time. However, my husband loved it just the way it was so I think it's all a matter of personal preference :)


per serving: 400 calories; 55 grams protein; 18 grams total fat; 0 grams fiber; 3 grams saturated fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 143 mgs cholesterol; 287 mgs sodium
10 Weight Watchers points

Aunt Kathy's Cookies

I really have no idea who Aunt Kathy is, but I love her cookies! When Chris was a student working at the lab, he used to come home and tell me about a coworker who always brought cookies in for everyone. He raved about how fantastic they were, so I kept bugging him for the recipe and he finally brought it home one day. They've been my favorite ever since!

Ingredients:

3 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. vanilla (Mexican vanilla if you have it)
6 eggs
3 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking soda
7 1/2 c. flour
2 packages chocolate chips. (I like to use one bag of regular chips and one bag of chocolate chunks)

Directions:

Cream together the shortening, sugars, vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the salt, soda, and flour, mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and beat just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. I actually put mine in for about 7 1/2 minutes because my oven runs hot. You'll probably need to adjust the baking time according to how your oven cooks.


Here are a few tricks that I've learned along the way:

* When creaming together the wet ingredients, I make sure to let the mixer run for a few minutes. It really helps to add some air into the mixture so that the cookies end up nice and thick. Flat cookies = yuck!

* I take these out of the oven when they are just barely golden brown on top - it is my firm belief that chocolate chip cookies should be soft, not crunchy! The cookies will continue to bake as they're sitting on the cooling rack, so they'll be perfect by the time you're ready to eat them.


I just made this recipe on Sunday and I made about 8 dozen cookies (I was making them to give out at church for Father's Day). You may want to half the recipe, or you can freeze the leftovers and make them later :)

Bowtie and Asparagus Pasta

I may have mentioned this before, but my mom gave me her neighborhood's cookbook for Christmas and I've been trying all kinds of recipes from it. I just made this recipe last week and, mmm...so good. I loved it! It took a little bit of time to prepare, but for me, that always happens with new recipes. After I make this a few times I'll have a system down and it'll go much faster.

Ingredients:

1 box bowtie pasta

1/2 c. butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1-2 chicken bouillon cubes (I used 2)

1 pt. heavy cream (I only had a 1/2 pint, so I substituted the rest with fat free half and half)

Salt and pepper to taste

10-15 spears asparagus, blanched

1/2 c. bacon, crumbled

1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted

Fresh parsley (I used about a 1/2 c. chopped)

Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

Boil bowtie pasta in salted water until al dente. Do not overcook. In wok or heavy skillet, melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté a minute or so. Add Parmesan cheese and bouillon cubes. When the bouillon cube is disolved, slowly stir in heavy cream until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered. Add blanched asparagus. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pine nuts, parsley, and Parmesan cheese then toss together. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8

*I found that the chicken bouillon took awhile to disolve. I think the next time I make this, I'll use Better than Bouillon instead. Since it's a paste instead of a cube, it will disolve quickly; I think it'll give a better flavor to the dish as well.

This makes quite a bit of pasta; I should have known - it uses a whole box of pasta! You may want to half this recipe if you're only making it for a few people. My kids didn't eat it - big surprise there - so there was quite a bit left for me and my hubby. Surprisingly, it was still really good leftover. Normally I don't like dishes like this left over because the cream and butter separate and it just doesn't taste as yummy as it did when it was fresh. Besides, then you can see just how much butter you're actually eating and that's not appetizing. I prefer to conceal the butter as much as possible! However, this was still pretty good. The sauce did seperate some, but it didn't completely gross me out like, oh, I don't know...the way leftovers from Olive Garden do. :)


*Update - I made this again last night and the bouillon dissolved just fine, so really you could use either the cubes or Better than Bouillon.   :)  Oh, and Andrew actually ate the pasta - minus the asparagus.  Can't blame him though; I didn't like asparagus until just recently.

Grilled Pineapple Chicken Sandwiches

I've been dying to try this one for awhile and for some reason I haven't. Does that ever happen to you? Chris and I both love bacon and pineapple, so I finally decided enough was enough and I put it on the menu. It was great! I will absolutely be making this again :)

Ingredients:

2 bacon strips, halved

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp barbecue sauce

2 pineapple slices

2 lettuce leaves, optional

2 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

In a small skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels. Flatten chicken to 3/8 in. thickness; brush both sides with oil. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat for 4 minutes. Turn; brush with barbecue sauce. Grill 3-4 minutes longer or until juices run clear.

Meanwhile, place the pineapple and rolls cut side down on grill; cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned, turning the pineapple once. Place lettuce if desired on roll bottoms; top with chicken, cheese, bacon and pineapple. Replace roll tops.

Serves 2

Nutritional Facts: 1 sandwich equals 556 calories, 23 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 103 mg cholesterol, 860 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 44 g protein.

Weight Watchers Points: 13

Veggie Meatball Soup

My 5 year old loves meatballs, so I definitely had to try this recipe. We weren't disappointed - it's excellent and surprisingly low in fat!

Ingredients:

3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes
18 frozen meatballs {give or take a few :D }
2-3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup uncooked spiral pasta

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine the first 6 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Stir in pasta; cover and cook 20-30 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Discard bay leaves before serving.


*The original recipe called for stewed tomatoes, but I used the Italian diced tomatoes to give it more flavor.


Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 125 calories, 1 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 574 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 5 g protein.


Weight Watchers points: 2

Grilled Bacon-Tomato Sandwiches

This is a little twist on a BLT sandwich - and I LOVE it. In fact, it's on the menu for dinner tonight, mmmmm.....

Ingredients:

4 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)
4 slices provolone cheese (1 ounce each)
4 slices tomato
4 bacon strips, cooked and halved (I like to use the lower fat, lower sodium bacon)
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing



Directions:

Top two slices of bread with a slice of cheese; layer with tomato, bacon, basil and remaining cheese. Top with remaining bread. Brush dressing over outsides of sandwiches.

In a large skillet over medium heat, toast sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cheese is melted.


Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 sandwich (prepared with reduced-fat cheese and fat-free dressing) equals 360 calories, 18 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 44 mg cholesterol, 1,194 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 24 g protein.

Weight Watchers points: 8

Cinnamon French Toast

Chris found this fantastic French Toast recipe and made it for me on Mother's Day. It's amazing with strawberries and whipped cream too :)

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 egg whites

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

6 slices of Texas Toast

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and egg white until foamy. Whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly, and cook on a hot skillet until both sides are nicely browned.

*My Mom's version of French Toast is really yummy too - just substitute maple flavoring for the vanilla.

Pizza Dough

My BFF Camille has a Pizza and Movie night with her family every Friday and she makes her own dough! That's impressive.

A few months ago, I decided to start this fun tradition with our own family, but I since I was scared to death of making my own dough, I started out buying the canned stuff from Pillsbury. It tastes fine, but it's ridiculously expensive - even with a coupon. I switched to the dry pizza mix - I thought it was great, but Chris wasn't a fan.

So...I decided to be brave and make my own. I found a recipe on KitchenDaily.com and gave it a try. I was scared of ruining the dough, but it really was pretty easy.

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (between 100 and 110 degrees so you don't kill, or chill, the yeast)
2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat flour
toppings of choice



Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Measure warm water into a large bowl. Add the yeast to the water and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, salt, and oil and stir well.

Add the flour in small amounts and stir well after each addition. Add just enough flour so the dough is not sticking in clumps to your hands or the bowl, winding up with a well-formed ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and, using your hands, knead for 2-3 minutes. Let the dough rest 5 to 10 minutes to rise roughly double in size before using.

Once the dough is ready, spread it on an oiled pizza pan. Apply toppings of choice. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.


*I took my pizza out after 15 minutes because it was really getting done around the edges, but the crust wasn't completely done in the middle. Next time I'lll use either a cookie sheet or a bigger pizza pan - I don't think my Pampered Chef stone was big enough and the dough may have been too thick. I'll report back and let you know how it went :)


**Ok - quick update:  I tried this again last night and put the dough onto a cookie sheet rather than my round stone.  I made sure to roll the dough out fairly thin - I'm guessing it was about 1/4" thick.  I still only baked it for about 15 minutes.  I thought the dough would be thin and crispy, but it turned out nice and thick and it cooked all the way through.  It was so yummy I could have eaten half the pan, but I forced myself to stop after 2 pieces.  Ok...2 1/2 pieces.  :)