Quick Calzones - Recipe of a Busy Housewife

So "this is how we do" when I find out last minute that the family won't be going out for dinner  tonight...

First my mind started spinning - what ingredients do I have around?  What will the kids and husband like? What will I like? What's fast and easy?  What can I take pictures of for the blog with the new camera?  Even though I've never made them before?  Or even ordered one at a restaurant?  Seriously.

Voila.  Of course.  Calzones.  That's what you would have thought of right?!?!

Here we go.  Remember, only an hour until dinner time...

Make some pizza dough using the family standby recipe (click here for that easy recipe).  Understanding that it will only be able to rise for maybe like 15 minutes today.

Done.  Pop it in the oven using the ever so useful - but not necessary - "Bread Proof" function on my oven (I adore that little feature).

Grab some frozen pepperoni and Canadian bacon out of the freezer and set it on the counter to thaw.

Fold laundry.  Or rather a shirt before realizing that the mozzarella is frozen too! Return to the freezer and get out some grated mozzarella.  Set it on the counter near the pepperoni and CB.

Finish folding laundry.

Divide barely risen dough into 7 equal(ish) portions.

Roll out the dough balls one at a time into a circle(ish).

Put some pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and oh - look what I found in the fridge - crumbled bacon bits on half of the dough "circle."  Top with still partially frozen mozzarella.

Fold the dough over and try to seal it.  Realize that the dough is not sticking to itself. Have a flashback to a random Food Network episode where they made empanadas and recall that they wet the edges of the dough with water to make it stick (I really had that random helpful thought).  Wet the edge of the dough with water.  Refold.  Press to seal - hey it worked!

Crimp the edges to make it look fancy for photos.

Hmmm...well that didn't work out so well.

Try again.

Getting better.

Repeat with all of the dough and meat.

Sometime up above I started preheating my oven and pizza stone to convection bake (or you could just regular bake) at 400. Who KNOWS when I did that - just glad I did ;)

Pop those babies in the oven.  Peek after 10 minutes and realize they look kind of dry.  Brush with some olive oil and bake 5 more minutes. 

Remove from oven, slice in half and serve with a jar of Market Pantry pasta sauce for dipping.

I also made a salad.

Dinner took an hour and 15 minutes to make.  The natives were hungry and enjoyed their meal even more because it was 15 minutes late (and smelled delicious cooking).

Bonus:  laundry folded

Double bonus:  Eating out tomorrow night instead - crossing fingers :)

The kids and husband LOVED them.  I really liked them, but wished I had sprinkled a dash of italian seasoning or something inside before I sealed them up.
I know there is NO WAY you can follow that recipe. So in case you ended up here really wanting to make calzones click here for a REAL calzone recipe.

Phew.  I'm tired.

Flag Cupcakes

This one's more about nostalgia than about the recipe.

Up until 4 years ago I spent every 4th of July at my Grandparent's home and acreage in Reedsport, Oregon. Each year all of my Muffett aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather here for a phenomenal holiday bash. Great food would be served, games would be played, stories would be exchanged, and fireworks (the good ones) would be lit. It was so much fun. It was one of those events that I always enjoyed and treasured, but never really understood how difficult it would be to recreate until everyone started growing up and moving away.

The food was always a potluck of the most wonderful picnic foods brought and shared by everyone. It would all be set out on my grandmother's dining table, and I remember the wonderment I had as a kid that I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I felt like it. Being able to just grab a handful of BBQ potato chips when I wanted to was a very special thing. There was roasted chicken, sandwich meats and cheeses, Grandma's unbeatable potato salad, baked beans, chips, veggies, fruit and so much more. Outside would be a big cooler full of ice and most any softdrink or juice you could want - chilled to icy perfection. We would eat watermelon on Grandma's big porch and roast hot dogs and marshmallows over a big campfire that was built each year on her gravel driveway. The sticks we used to roast with were gathered and whittled by "the boy cousins." From the moment we arrived there would be 4-8 ice cream machines churning out multiple gallons of the best homemade ice cream ever (in the earlier years we had to hand crank it). It was a simple recipe that my Grandpa Muffett used to enjoy as a child made from fresh milk and cream. We would top this delight with my Grandma's homemade hot fudge sauce. Ohhh, my mouth is watering as I type.

And each year my mom would make a wonderful half sheet white cake chilled and topped with whipped cream. She would artfully arrange blueberries and raspberries on top to make it look like a US flag. Simply beautiful and absolutely delicious. I can still taste the fresh sweetness of that chilled flag cake.

This year as we enjoyed a quiet 4th of July to ourselves, I pondered the good ole days and missed them a lot. I made these flag cupcakes in honor of my mom's flag cake, and I plan on using the month of July to prepare and enjoy many of the other foods that I remember so fondly. Next up Muffett Homemade Ice Cream with Grandma's Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce - I can hardly wait!

Flag Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
1 container White Frosting
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Prepare cake mix as directed on box and bake into 20 cupcakes. Allow to cool then frost cupcakes with frosting. Arrange blueberries on 4 of the cupcakes, raspberries on 8 of the cupcakes, and dip the remaining 8 cupcakes in the coconut. Arrange on a platter or breadboard as pictured above to look like a US flag.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd - oh how I love your happy color and the way your bright flavors zing my tongue and make my cheeks pucker with your sweet sourness.  So summery and a great way to use fresh lemons when you find them 10/$1.  Once you've made your delicious lemon curd (which tastes awesome by the spoonful) you can turn it into Lemon Mousse or a Blueberry Lemon Tart or Lemony Sunshine Cupcakes.  All of these recipes will soon follow. I guess this will be my first "blog recipe series."

But for today, let's start with the basic ingredient for all of these lemony wonders - the lemon curd.  This is by far the easiest lemon curd recipe ever.  It requires no tempering of the eggs and no straining.  I LOVE easy.  And the taste is tart perfection.  So, here we go.

Lemon Curd

6 Tbs butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon zest
4 drops food coloring, optional

Seriously - aren't these some of the prettiest ingredients ever!

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.)

Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 min. I know, 15 minutes is a long time, but while you're stirring you can imagine all the wonderful ways you will be enjoying your delightful lemon curd. When it has thickened enough it will stick to the back of your spoon and when you run your finger through it it leaves a path. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and optional yellow food coloring (I did not use food coloring in this batch). For this recipe I prefer to peel my lemons with a potato peeler which gives me big chunks of zest.  I can then chop them into the size I want (I like bigger bits) and freeze the leftover zest for when I want to brighten the flavor in some of my other recipes.

Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. Or you can spoon it into small canning jars that can go into either the refrigerator or freezer. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

You can also substitute limes and make lime curd - this too is awesome stuff!!

Yield: 2 cups

Here's a teaser for what we might do with our lemon curd. . .

Are you hungry yet?

Quick Cookie Cake Decorating

My daughter stayed up late one night to make this cookie cake for one of her teachers - and yes, she is the "Teacher's Pet."  It has been long enough ago, that I cannot remember the occasion for the cookie cake, but I do remember that I ended up having to decorate it for her in the morning before she went to school.   Now, mornings around here are quite busy getting 4 kids off to school, so I had to come up with something easy and quick.  Thank goodness for canned frosting (both chocolate and white) and some yellow food coloring.  I also have one of these handy dandy decorating tools that made piping very quick - much easier than filling plastic decorating bags!

Now, I know it's no work of art, but it's cute nonetheless - don't you think?

For some reason I feel like shopping at Walmart now. . .

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

With a fond and wistful farewell to the Christmas holidays I wanted to blog one of our favorite holiday recipes.  These cute reindeer have been a part of our Christmas tradition for many years now.  Even the smallest children can create these cute guys without needing much help.

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
mini pretzel twists
m&ms® plain chocolate candies, brown eyes, red nose

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat margarine, peanut butter, sugars, and egg. Mix all dry ingredients and add to margarine mixture.

Roll dough into 24 large balls approx, 1 1/4 inch diameter and 24 small balls approx, 1 inch diameter. Positoin one samll ball under one large ball on a cookie sheet, then lightly press down and together to form shape of reindeer. Press two pretzels into the top ball for antlers; add candy pieces for nose and eyes. Bake for 10- 12 minutes..

Now it's time to enjoy or share with friends.  I look forward to seeing these little guys again next year :)

Creamy Eggnog - Let the Holidays Begin!

Ohhhhhhhh, how I love eggnog, but sometimes I want to have some in July - and you can't find it at the grocery store.  During the holidays, you can find it everywhere, but it is EXPENSIVE!  I mean c'mon, milk is only $1.18 a gallon right now.  I really don't want to spend $3.53 for a quart of eggnog.  So I came up with this little gem of a recipe that tastes almost exactly the same as the store bought stuff - even down to the thick creamy texture (thank you very much instant pudding mix :)  And guess what - I can make a quart for less than $0.70.  Oh yeah, Merry Christmas!!!!!

Creamy Eggnog

2 eggs
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp rum extract
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg plus some for garnish
3 cups milk
1/2 package instant vanilla pudding and pie filling

1. Put all ingredients into blender container. Cover and process at high until smooth.  Pour into cups and sprinkle with additional nutmeg.

2.  This recipe can be doubled and made in an electric stand mixer using a whisk attachment.

And if you really want to celebrate, transfer that eggnoggy goodness into your ice cream freezer and churn it.  It's magical!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

This week I was asked to make 50 chocolate dipped strawberries for the final evening of the Girls' Camp which my daughters have been attending.  When asked to do it, I was surprised to realize that I had never actually dipped strawberries before, but I knew I could figure it out.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Strawberries - large, firm & ripe
Chocolate Almond Bark
Wax paper

First I washed and dried my berries leaving the green stems intact.

Then I melted my Almond Bark in the microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds so as not to overheat the chocolate.

I used a 2 cup glass Pyrex to melt my chocolate in, because I wanted the chocolate to be deep enough for the tallest strawberries.

My son Harrison was a great helper.  We started with the tallest berries first because the chocolate was deepest and worked our way down to the smallest berries.  After dipping each berry we held it above the chocolate and swirled it in a circle a few times to get the excess chocolate off and allow the chocolate to flow into the nooks and crannies of the berry.  We laid our berries on a sheet of wax paper to allow the chocolate to set.  A few minutes in the refrigerater and they were all ready to go.

It was a fun and easy project, and they tasted oh, so delicious.  Next time I will drizzle some white chocolate over the top to make them even prettier.

Vanilla Pancake Syrup

This one is definitely a Yum!  I almost feel like I should keep it to myself because it is so good and so easy.  Your family will surely enjoy this one, and it's bound to impress anytime you put on a breakfast or brunch.  This weekend I had a house full of 14/15 year old girls for a breakfast and they absolutely loved it - not a drop left.  I got this one off of the blog of a family I grew up with in Oregon - they had used it on Mother's Day morning.  Enjoy!

Vanilla Pancake Syrup

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup sugar

1 1/2  teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Add the buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. Over medium heat bring to a gentle boil while stirring.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in the baking soda.  Stir slowly and gently because the mixture will foam up.  Let the syrup sit for 10-15 minutes before serving, so that the foam will dissipate.  This can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave when needed.