Artisan Bread Dough... makes Calzones!

 Homemade Artisan Bread is a staple at our home.

It has the best texture,
the best flavor,
it makes the best toast ever
and is the perfect accompaniment to soups and salads!
AND
the best part of all... The dough is in your fridge 
ready to make bread anytime you need it.

We have found another wonderful 
use for the Artisan Bread Dough...
making homemade Calzones!

HERE for Artisan Bread Dough Recipe 

Calzones (from Artisan Bread Dough)

Pull off grapefruit size piece of dough...

Roll out on floured surface into 12 inch circle...

On 1/2 of the dough put pepperoni and cheese.

Fold over the other half and seal the edges well.

Prick top with fork

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter and spread on the top of Calzone

Sprinkle with granulated garlic, Italian Seasoning and Grated Parmesan Cheese 

Put Calzone onto baking stone that has generously been sprinkled with cornmeal 

Bake for 25 minutes at 450 degrees. 

Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting 

Cut into 4-6 pieces and dip in pizza sauce and enjoy!

I love being able to add 

a little bit of FUN to dinner 

and I LOVE 

having a family that enjoys and appreciates 

whatever graces our table for dinner!

Crab Salad... so yummy for summer!

It's summer...

It's hot...

It's hard to get motivated 
to heat up the house and cook!

That's where I LOVE 
easy and yummy things to make like Crab Salad Dip.

I always make sure to have a few packages of flaked crab in my freezer as a way to make a quick meal to take on a picnic, take to work/school for lunches, or just to enjoy after a long day of working in the yard together as a family! 
(In fact, it is going to be the Main Dish for our 4th of July picnic this year!)

It's as easy as chopping up a few veggies,
stirring together,
letting chill for a bit,
and then you get to enjoy its deliciousness!  

Crab Salad/Dip 

1 package crab flakes chopped (1/2 to 1 pound)

2 large slices of onion finely chopped

4-5 stalks of celery finely chopped
1/3 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 to 2 Tbsp. dry Ranch Salad Dressing mix sprinkled on...

Mix together, let chill and serve with crackers, OR, on top of Toasted Artisan Bread.

(here for Artisan Bread recipe)

Great picnic, lunch, or appetizer!

Enjoy!

Egg and Pea Salad...one of our favorites!

One of the things I love about Easter Time 

is boiling up and decorating eggs.

 We usually boil up 12-18 eggs and so we always have PLENTY to make up Deviled Eggs and one of our FAVORITE salads...

Just 5 ingredients, but LOTS of flavor.

This is pretty much a complete meal in one.

I usually send a bowl of this salad,

 plus an apple and some kind of a muffin in our lunches.

This is also a great filling for croissants as well.

yummy, Yummy, YUMMY is what this is!  

Egg and Pea Salad
(the perfect salad to make at Easter to use your “Hard boiled eggs”)  

2 cups frozen peas
6 hard boiled eggs (peeled and chunked) (sometimes I add in 8)
½ pound bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
½ cup “Miracle Whip” Salad Dressing
grated cheese (optional) 

In bowl layer peas, eggs and bacon--Stir in Miracle Whip—let stand for 8 hours before serving. Sprinkle with grated cheese if you like.  Stir before serving.  

(sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like)

Enjoy some boiled egg 

yummy-ness today!

You're having what for dinner?!?

 I absolutely LOVE my in-laws!  

It is SO much fun to have them for parents and grandparents to my sons. 

What I love most about them is how every time we go over there
they are always feeding us a new recipe they tried out.

HEALTH is such a priority to them 
and they love nourishing and feeding their bodies 
with such healthy, yummy things.

Well, we went over to their house a few weeks ago
and they had to make up a favorite salad that they had gotten off "Dr. Oz".
 Who would have known that sauerkraut was SO good for you! 
It is a great way to protect the balance of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract.
Sauerkraut is also super alkalinizing as well.

 You wouldn't think it would be good,
but it is SO tasty and I can't believe
my kids LOVE it!!

Tracy's parents put in crushed crackers for crunch, but I deleted out the crackers and we just topped our Sauerkraut Salad on top of homemade toasted Artisan Bread.

WOW, YUMMY
 very economical to eat and something to JAZZ up your diet a little bit
that is different and a fun change from the monotony
of the same old same recipes we all get in a rut making up.

(one 32 oz. jar of sauerkraut was $1.69 
and it made two different batches of this...)

Sauerkraut Salad (original recipe for Dr. Oz's salad here)

16 oz. sauerkraut (1/2 of a 32 oz jar)

1 large tomato finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cup grated cheese (we enjoy Swiss, or Guyere... Mozzarella is good as well)

pepper to taste

Mix all together and let sit at least an hour

Serve on top of toasted Artisan Bread.    
Great appetizer, OR, meal.

Enjoy all the wonderful health benefits of sauerkraut today 

with something that is delicious, 

is easy to make 

and works for a main course, or side dish!

Our New Years Day was Hot & Delicious!

 YES, that blog title is correct...

Our New Years Day 2012 was definitely 

HOT and DELICIOUS...

What I'm referring to is our delicious lunch that consisted of our yearly tradition of
"Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip", 

served with homemade grape juice, orange slices, Artisan Bread and Tortilla Chips.

I can't comment enough how absolutely yummy this dip is...

and it is definitely addictive...once you start eating, it is hard to pull yourself away from it.

 

Very easy to throw together 

and is the perfect appetizer for 

holiday get-togethers, 

Football Parties, OR,

ANY other get-together 

that you need something yummy 

to dip chips, crackers and Artisan Bread in.

Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip 

2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
2/3 cup milk
1 (8 oz) package Neufchatel Cream Cheese
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely crushed
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 (14 oz) can marinated artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
8 oz. crab meat
1 cup freshly grated Romano, OR, Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. black pepper

First make white sauce by melting butter in saucepan, then add in flour and blend to make a paste.
Next whisk in milk (with wire whisk) and stir over medium heat until thickened.
Then add in cream cheese in small pieces and stir until melted.
Next add in chopped onions and garlic, green chilies and artichoke hearts (I bring it to a boil)
Last, gently fold in crab meat, grated cheese and black pepper and heat through.

Spoon mixture into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish and 
bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or Artisan Bread. 

This is also great served with fresh fruit on the side. 

Absolutely delicious!  

(Artisan Bread recipe...here) 

Enjoy!

Happy 2012 to all of my wonderful family and friends!!
My holidays always seem to put me MIA in Blog-land; mostly because my dear, sweet, awesome hubby usually has good intentions of rebuilding my computer, or upgrading it this time of the year, and it usually gets unhooked and it takes a few weeks before it all gets put back together, as he always seems to have a never ending list of tasks and projects he is working on!

Happy to be back blogging 

and can't wait to reconnect with everyone!
Hope this finds you having a happy and joyful day!

Yummy Smoked Salmon & Artichoke Spread!

 At Christmas time as we were browsing the store, 

we came across some nice packages of smoked salmon and so we bought some. On the back of the package it had this yummy recipe and we tried it and have made it up on three different occasions.

It is SO yummy!  

 While the ingredients aren't the most frugal in price 

(Salmon that I purchase at Winco for $5.00 and Artichoke hearts for $2.00)

it makes SO much dip and a little bit goes a long ways.

The recipe called for fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, but I never have any on hand and so I just pulled some SHARP cheese from my freezer and it was delicious as well!!

Great served with crackers, but our new favorite and probably one that we will always do is to serve it on top of slices of Artisan Bread.

(here for Artisan Bread recipe)

SO, if you want a yummy thing to make for a party appetizer, 

or, for a yummy snack 

or, something yummy to take on a picnic, 

or, something yummy to serve with fresh fruit/veggies for a luncheon,

this recipe is delicious for old and young alike!

  

My kids and hubby just devour this 

and always beg for more after it is gone!

Smoked Salmon and Artichoke Spread

8 oz. smoked salmon

1 (14 oz.) can marinated artichoke hearts

2 cloves garlic minced

1/3 cup mayo (I put in 1 large spoonful Salad Dressing and 1 large spoonful Mayo)

1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan OR Sharp Cheese grated

Flake salmon, cut up artichoke hearts, mix all together and let chill for at least an hour.

Serve on crackers, on top of Artisan bread slices...great served with veggie sticks and fresh fruit as well.

Enjoy!