I’ve refined my pizza-making technique over the last year or so, and I encourage you to do the same!  Test a few recipes, mix up the toppings, and see what you like.  And for starters, try out this winning recipe:

Pizza from (Semi) Scratch

Ingredients

• Store-bought pizza dough*
• One 8 oz bag of shredded Italian or Mozzarella cheese
• One 8 oz. can regular tomato sauce
• Basil or Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
• Toppings**  As many or few as you like, here are my favorites:
• Pepperoni
• White onion
• Bell Pepper
• Mushrooms
• Steamed broccoli
• Spinach
• Olives
• Zucchini

*Some grocery stores and restaurants will sell you fresh dough; but in a pinch, Pillsbury will do just fine!
** No time to chop vegetables? HIT THE SALAD BAR! All the veggies are pre-chopped and ready to use.

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven according to your dough instructions.  400 degrees is the norm.
2. Prep your pizza pan by sprinkling with corn meal.  Gently press the dough to your desired thinness, keeping it consistent to ensure even cooking.  If instructions require, pre-bake dough for 5 minutes.
3. Use the back of a small spoon to spread a thin layer of pesto on your crust. Then top with another thin layer of sauce.
4. Sprinkle 2/3 of your cheese on top of the sauce, followed by your toppings!  Finish your pizza with the rest of the cheese, and stick it in the oven.  Keep an eye on your pizza!  You want the cheese completely melted, without burning the bottom of the crust. It should take 8-10 mins.

   

Immediately remove from the hot pan onto a cutting board, cut, and enjoy!  But beware of the dreaded molten cheese burn.  Safety precautions include cold water, soda, or beer.  Yes, sometimes beer is there for your safety.

Comment below with your favorite pizza toppings!  Here are a few more ideas to inspire you:

• Substitute tomato sauce for BBQ Sauce, top with cheese, leftover grilled chicken and red onion. Before serving, sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
• Use leftovers from the grill-out or BBQ to make a meat-lovers’ pizza.
• Get your kids to eat their vegetables by letting them pick their own toppings!  Kids love to eat anything they helped create, especially if they make designs or faces with their toppings.

Butter, sugar, salt, hot sauce, potatoes, cheese, nuts, chocolate, key lime, anything deep fried, and butter.  Or did I already mention butter?

I got this fantastic snack mix recipe years ago, from the mom of one of my high school friends. She used to make this for anything from movie nights to road trips.  Luckily, it is one recipe that makes a TON! I say luckily because between just a few of us teenagers, we took down the entire batch within a few hours.  I made sure to get the recipe from her, and now I’d like to bestow it upon you, in hopes that you might add it to your game-day nosh buffet!

Mrs. Z’s Snack Mix

• One box Oatmeal Squares cereal
• One bag pretzel sticks
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbs Tobasco

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, whisk in Tobasco.  In a large mixing bowl, throw in the cereal, pretzels and grated cheese.  Pour over melted butter mixture and stir, (I prefer to use my hands, much faster!).  Pour mixture onto cookie sheet.*  Bake at 250° F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

*I use two cookie sheets in my convection oven.  If you can’t fit it all onto one, I’d recommend baking in two batches, or rotating the pans and checking the mix for golden brown crispiness!

This snack mix is crunchy, salty, a little spicy, a little sweet, and suited perfectly for a big hungry group of basketball fans!  Personalize your snack mix but substituting or adding some of the following:

Nuts, Chex cereal, bagel chips, sesame sticks, Cheerios, a sprinkle of garlic powder, cayenne pepper.  Mix it up!

I chose to make a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting, dyed orange to resemble the skin of the squash, and not only was it delicious- it was SO EASY!  By baking two bundt cakes and inverting one on top of the other, you create the perfect pumpkin shape.

Here is how I made my “Pumpkin” Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:

The Cake
This recipe should be doubled to make two full cakes.  I found the original recipe on AllRecipes.com, but I will list it below with my alterations.

• 1 (15 ounce) can canned pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix with pudding (or extra moist)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. Whisk together the pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and oil. Beat in the eggs, then fold in the pumpkin mixture. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Aluminum bundt pans tend to stick, so I recommend buttering and flouring the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. Depending on the size and metal type of your bundt, start checking around 35 mins, and recheck every 5 minutes until the knife or skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool.
4. Repeat in a second bundt, or allow your first cake to cool and make another cake in your original pan.

The Frosting
This is the Cream Cheese Frosting II recipe, from AllRecipes. It does not need to be doubled.

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Red and yellow food coloring

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.
2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.
3. Add 3 parts yellow coloring to 1 part red until desired orange color is achieved.  I used 6 drops of red and about 20 drops of yellow, but you can adjust to your preference.

The Pumpkin

When the cakes are cooled, use a long knife to cut the excess cake off of the “flat” side of each spice cake.  Apply a generous layer of frosting on one flattened side, and invert the other cake on top to form a pumpkin shape.  At this point I recommend stuffing some of the cake trimmings into the hole so that you can frost the entire top and apply a stem.  To frost your pumpkin, you can be as meticulous as you like.  I chose not to frost each individual ridge of the cake, but instead applied a generous layer of frosting and finished it by swiping the whole pumpkin up and down for a vertical stripe look.

*Good tip, when frosting a cake, place a few small pieces of wax/parchment paper under the edges to catch extra frosting.  When you’re finished, remove the paper and your plate or cake pedestal will be clean!

For the stem, you could use a piece of extra cake, cut into a small curve and positioned in the center on top.  Or, if your neighborhood squirrels are as daring and meticulous as mine, use the stem that you find out on your porch where just a week earlier had been a whole pumpkin.  Those squirrels literally ate every bit except the stem!  But don’t worry, I thoroughly scrubbed it before putting it on my cake.  Other ideas- use half of a candy bar, dip a marshmallow in chocolate, use a round wafer cookie like a cannoli or a Pirouette, or my favorite: use 1/4 of a chocolate doughnut (and enjoy the rest of it yourself, you worked hard).

Hmm… Maybe it just feels better to think it’s healthy when I cover half my plate in potatoes.  It’s the holidays, right?  You’re supposed to pig out!

Here is the recipe for my acclaimed, highly-requested, delicious, even-better-leftover mashed potatoes:

• 6-8 large potatoes, peeled, cooked, mashed* and still hot
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbs chopped onions
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (2 oz) jar chopped pimentos
• ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper, chopped onion, butter, spinach and pimentos. Spoon into a greased casserole dish.  Bake uncovered at 400 degrees 15 mins.**  If desired sprinkle with grated cheese and bake 5 mins longer.

*No one likes lumpy potatoes, so don’t be lazy with your mashing.  However, the added vegetables will conceal the occasional lump in this dish.

**I don’t worry about the time and temperature too much, if you are using the oven for other dishes (which you usually are on Thanksgiving), just put them in until they are piping hot all the way through.  I check this by digging out a spoonful from the center of the potatoes.  This is also recommended as it lets you gobble down a big bite when you’re drooling over all the delicious smells in the kitchen.

I will post pictures of my final product after Thursday!

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Scroll down the list to Sara Theurer, and take a look.  I would welcome any employment opportunities in the Kansas City area!  Thanks, and keep checking in for new recipes, crafts and ideas.

Sara

mac·er·ate [mas-uh-reyt]
verb (used with object)

1. to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
2. to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.

I learned the technique of macerating strawberries my senior year of high school, and am deemed crazy every time I tell someone about it.  Granted, it sounds more like a form of torture than a cooking technique, it is actually simple and pain-free!  It just means adding an acid to something to break it down (similar to adding heat).  If you don’t think you’ll like the combination of vinegar and fruit, just try it!  Trust me, I’ve converted many skeptics.

Note: This is a great way to use berries in the off-season, when they are not as flavorful and sweet as in the summertime.

Add about 1 Tbs. of balsamic vinegar and 2 or 3 tsp of sugar to about 1 C of berries* in a bowl or Ziploc bag.  Let them soak for a few hours, stirring occasionally.  Do not macerate longer than that, as the berries will break down too much.  If you use strawberries, they should be sliced or quartered, and raspberries or blackberries should be left whole.  I prefer a combination of berries, but I always save a few fresh raspberries or blackberries to add before serving, as they will break down almost completely in the vinegar.

It may look like very little liquid at first, but the vinegar and sugar draws juices out of the berries. You will end up with plenty of delicious, syrupy liquid to drizzle on top!

*Amounts can be adjusted to your taste. If berries are not ripe, add more sugar. If using a very syrupy balsamic, use less. For more sauce in the final product, use more vinegar.  I just eyeball the amounts, and it always turns out well.

Variations:

• Add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or cloves for some spiciness.
• Chop some fresh mint and add shortly before serving for a bright flavor element.
• Substitute honey for sugar for a different flavor profile.

Serving Suggestions:
(Be sure to use all of the delicious liquid, it becomes sweet and tart)

• Serve on top of ice cream: I prefer vanilla, but used chocolate once and it was wonderful.
• Spoon on top of a slice of shortcake or poundcake, with whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a sprig of mint to garnish. This looks very fancy and takes hardly any work.
• Serve on pancakes for a twist on breakfast.
• If you’re very ambitious, serve this on top of homemade creme brulee.

Enjoy!  Don’t be afraid to experiment with your own variations, and be sure to share your ideas.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Brown Sugar

(This recipe makes 1 serving, but can be multiplied easily for the whole family)

• 1/2 Honeycrisp apple, diced into 1/2″ cubes*
• 1 Tbs unsalted butter
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves
• 2 Tbs, packed, brown sugar
• 1/2 C Oatmeal**
• 1 C water

*No need to peel the apple, the peel adds a nice texture and contains nutritious pectin, flavonoids, antioxidants and fiber– all good for you!

**I prefer the Old Fashioned Oats, with a 5 minute cooking time. You may use your favorite oatmeal!

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat, and melt the butter. Add the diced apple and a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes or until apple begins to soften.

Add cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. Stir continuously for 3 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved into a caramel. Reserve the apple mixture in a bowl for later.

In the same pan, (no need to rinse), add water and bring to a boil. Cook your oats according to the package directions. For Old Fashioned oats: add oats to boiling water and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.

When your oatmeal is cooked, stir in the apple and caramel mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish, and enjoy!

Please let me know what you think of this recipe by commenting below!

Why should you eat more butternut squash? In addition to being delicious, this fruit (yes fruit, it contains seeds) is highly nutritious. Butternut squash is rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants, low in fat, and is a good source of fiber.  It contains significant amounts of potassium, vitamin B6 and nutrients known as carotenoids, which have been shown to protect against heart disease. It also contains beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, and one cup gives you nearly half your recommended daily dose of vitamin C. What are you waiting for?! Get roasting!

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F if you’re using a glass roasting pan, but I prefer 375 degrees when using a darker, metal pan.

Trim each end of the squash, slice it in half length-wise, and peel with a vegetable peeler.  Scoop out the seeds and pulp (a grapefruit spoon comes in handy here!). Slice or cut the squash into evenly sized pieces.  I prefer to cut 1 1/2″ dices for roasting.

On a sheet pan, drizzle your squash with enough olive oil to coat each piece.  If the squash is too dry it may stick to the pan, so don’t be shy with the oil. Season your squash with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, toss to coat, and roast for 30-40 mins or until squash is just tender.

Try these variations of spices, just add with salt and pepper before you toss the squash:

• Sprinkle of sage and cinnamon
• Garlic, fresh parsley. Then a sprinkle of fresh parmesan after roasting.
• Garlic and rosemary.
• Brown sugar or maple syrup.
• Lemon zest, thyme and parmesan.
• Rosemary and maple syrup.
• Orange juice and maple syrup.

For a pretty, single-serving presentation: simply cut the squash in half length-wise, scoop out the seeds and brush with oil and spices.  This is a great idea for dinner parties and family holiday dinners when you want a unique and delicious side dish.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites, Epicurious, originally from Bon Appétit magazine. It made quite a bit of soup, so I was able to share it with several people.  Everyone thought it was delicious, even my father who claimed not to like black bean soup. If you are only cooking for yourself or a few people, it wouldn’t hurt to cut the recipe in half.  But as it contains no dairy, I bet it would be an easy soup to freeze!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Sara’s Tip: When making soup from scratch, I try to use half the amount of salt called for and wait until the very end to add more, if needed.  Soups reduce down, and will become more salty as the water evaporates.  You can always add salt, but you can’t take it out.

Black Bean Soup with Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

• 1 16-ounce package (about 2 1/2 cups) dried black beans*

• 6 bacon slices, chopped
• 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup finely chopped carrots
• 3/4 cup finely chopped leeks
• 10 cups canned low-salt chicken broth**
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 cup (packed) chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup (packed) chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 jalapeño chili, minced***
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• Additional chopped fresh cilantro
• Additional chopped tomato

*If you want to use canned beans, I would recommend no/low sodium.  You can always add more salt later.

** I always use organic, free-range chicken stock for soups.  I really do think it tastes better, and is worth a few extra dollars.

*** Remove the seeds if you like less spice, leave them in if you like a hint of spice.  If you like very spicy, use another half/whole pepper.

Instructions

Place beans in large bowl. Add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Let stand overnight. Drain well.

Cook bacon in heavy large pot over medium heat until brown but still soft, about 4 minutes. Add celery, onion, carrots and leeks and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add beans, chicken broth, tomato, 1/2 cup cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeño, vinegar, cumin and coriander. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer soup until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

Working in batches, transfer soup to blender and process until slightly chunky puree forms. Return soup to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Mix sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice and 1/2 cup cilantro in small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Place dollop of sour cream mixture atop soup. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro and chopped tomato.

Although the recipe calls for acorn squash, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and beets, you could certainly substitute vegetables like butternut squash, turnips, carrots, or other root vegetables.  If you’re nervous about trying Brussels sprouts or beets for the first time, I’ll tell you that everyone I offered this dish to enjoyed it!  Roasting vegetables brings out their natural flavor while giving them tasty, brown caramelized edges, and adding a vinaigrette to the veggies when they’re warm allows them to absorb the liquid, adding another dimension of flavor.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

You can find the original recipe, from Bon Appétit, here.  Below is the recipe with a few slight revisions, which I think will improve it.

Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic-Lemon Vinaigrette

• 12 baby beets, trimmed, peeled*
• 2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams; about 3 medium), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 3/4 pounds acorn squash, unpeeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices**
• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
• 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 whole garlic head, top 1/2 inch trimmed
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

*If you can’t find baby beets, regular beets are fine.  Cut them into 1/2 pieces, the same size as the other vegetables.
** The peel of acorn squash is fine to eat.  After roasting, it becomes soft and does not affect the taste.