What's Cooking Wednesday: Simple, Homemade Pizza

Making homemade pizza is delicious and so easy; I typically always have the ingredients on hand because of those two reasons. If I'm not prepared to make dinner, I'll fall back on pizza. I made a one Sunday evening and I received an unexpected compliment from Christopher. He told me it was the best pizza he'd ever had. I've made this pizza before - many times, actually - so I was a bit perplexed by the comment, but I accepted it nonetheless. I did tweak a couple things with the pizza and I think those actually made the difference.

We are big fans of thin crust and simple ingredients. So my ingredient list is short, but packs some yummy, perfectly harmonized flavors. Putting together a pizza is an incredibly easy task, but I'll go through the steps and share a few thoughts.

INGREDIENTS:
thin pizza crust
pizza sauce
freshly shredded mozzarella
pepperoni
banana peppers
fresh basil
cooking stone

STEPS:
01. Roll out your dough to an even thickness. The past couple times I've made pizza, I've cut the rectangle shape into a circle - just so it would fit nicely onto the stone. If you don't want to through any of the dough away, just lay it out on a cookie sheet instead.



02. Cook the dough to almost completely done. The directions for the dough I used called for 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

03. When I pulled the dough out, instead of immediately putting the sauce, cheese, and toppings on I let it sit for a couple minutes. I can't be sure, but I feel like this helps in keeping a crispy crust throughout the pizza. I've made pizza before where the center is soft and saturated with the sauce - and I'm just not a fan.

04. Then begin to dress up and top your pie! Something I've learned - a thin layer of sauce is enough! When I first began to make pizzas, I would load it up with sauce. I tried to get an even layer across the whole thing and I'd use over half the jar. Don't. I can now get three uses out of those small jars.

I also highly recommend grating your own cheese. I haven't bought grated cheese in a couple years. I always buy blocks of cheese and grate or slice it myself. I just feel like it's more fresh and melts so much better!

So put on a thin layer of sauce, cover the sauce with freshly grated mozzarella, and then top with a couple of your favorite toppings. We keep it simple with pepperoni and fresh basil. I also add banana peppers to my side - I like the strong flavor with a slight bite.

05. Pop the pizza back into the oven to finish cooking the dough and melt the cheese.

06. When the pizza comes out, finish it off with some extra basil, slice it up, and dive in with your favorite red wine.

I'm curious to hear how many of you make your own pizza and what you like to put on it? Let me know! I'm always open to trying new things in the kitchen.

Making the Most of Brown Bananas

Sometimes Most times bananas go to our counter to die a slow, brown death. I'm particular about bananas. I like to eat them slightly ripe; I can't eat them when they are still firm and I can't eat them when they're too mushy. It's one of the few things I'm kind of a snob about. 

So by the time I set my newly bought bananas on the counter and let them ripen a bit, I usually forget they're there, and then once I remember - boom, brown. 

I typically throw them out because if I keep them them around to make banana bread, I'll eat it all. Seriously. Bread is my weakness. 

I recently bought an entire bunch (is that what it's called?) of yummy bananas - I usually pick a cluster that has five. So I sat them on my counter, forgot about then, and a few days later they were brown and mushy. I was tired of throwing them away and I was also (and currently) on a smoothie kick. I knew I couldn't use five in one smoothie, so I froze them. 

It's a pretty simple process to prepare. Collect your brown bananas. 

Chop (or in my case, break) them into small pieces. 

Put them in baggies and be sure to get as much air out as possible to avoid freezer burn. 

When you're ready to make a smoothie, throw them in there!

Boom. You got a smoothie. 

This is my current favorite smoothie. I was inspired by Island Green (ah, love those things!). 

Green Smoothie (makes two):

1/2 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

1/2 frozen banana

1 container of vanilla greek yogurt*

1 hand full of spinach

2 hand fuels of kale

ice and water as needed

*I'm not a big yogurt fan. At all. In fact, I try to avoid most dairy when possible, but I add it for the vanilla flavor and the protein. 

If you don't like smoothies (weirdo…) here are a few other ideas for your brown bananas. 

Recent Polaroids

   

BEAUTY

01. Berry-pink lips using Maybelline Color Sensational in Party Pink and my favorite gloss over it. 

02. Dark locks for fall via Garnier Nutrisse Hail Color in Roasted Pecan. 

   

HEALTH

03. New kicks. I'm in love. So comfy and light. Nike Free Run+ 2.

04. Favorite power breakfast: toasted, whole wheat waffle topped with peanut butter, honey, and walnuts. 

   

LIFE

05. Perfect temperatures: 70s in the day, 40s in the night. 

06. Windows in the house up; having a cool, fall breeze all throughout the house. 

   

SWEETS

07. Perfect sweet'n'salty snack: one part candy corn, one part salty peanuts. 

08. My first, made from scratch apple pie. Used Ina's recipe, but altered it a bit. 

Daily Threads: Hot and Humid

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j crew top {similar}, tj maxx skinny pants {similar}, uo pumps, rafaella jacket {similar}

It's been hot, humid, and overcast lately. In case you didn't know - it's quite difficult to get dressed for that type of weather. The jacket seemed necessarily since it looked as if the bottom was about to drop out, but I could barely last two seconds with it on. I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer...

A couple twitter friends and I have been chatting about the delicious Bojangles. You see, my friend Meg is from Australia and now lives near DC - so she'd never even heard of this heavenly place. I immediately bombarded here with tweets and hopefully she gets to one soon. I went from being in Bojo Heaven to not having one within 100 miles. I freaked out a bit when we moved here and I found out because Bojangles is my favorite. Ever. So when we make weekend trips to NC or GA I always eat Bojo's - usually twice.

In other not-so-mouth-watering-news (well, it might be mouth watering to you - to each his own):

Today my friend Liz is wearing my favorite necklace from my Etsy Store!

Tomorrow the Apothica $50 Giftcard Giveaway ends! So click here and enter if you haven't!

Recipe: Homemade Restaurant-Style Ranch

In case you do not know much about me, let me go ahead and say that restaurant-style ranch is one of my favorite. things. ever. ever. Seriously. When I go out to eat, I will almost always order a salad just for the ranch. And if I don't order a salad I just get a side of ranch to go with whatever I got - usually french fries or chicken.

One day I realized the recipe for this stuff is probably floating around the Internet - I was right. So for all of you ranch lovers out there, enjoy! It's delicious and exactly like something you'd get at a steakhouse! (and you most likely have all these ingredients in your kitchen!)

Need:

1 pkg. Buttermilk Ranch Powder Mix

1 c. Mayonnaise 

1/2 c. Milk

1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/8 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp. Ground Pepper

* Substitute Cayenne instead of Paprika for Spicy Ranch

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl.

2. Whisk until all ingredients are mixed together.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. 

4. Enjoy with favorite salad (or fries, chicken, fried pickles, anything!)

This recipe is quite easy and if you have guests they will be impressed that you a.) made your own dressing and b.) it is so delicious. If you are making this for dinner, I would recommend making it before you start dinner, so that it can chill while you cook. When I was first making this I totally disregarded that it needed to sit and chill so that all the flavors could become more intense and I made it last... oops. Enjoy it!

Over the Weekend:

This is Friday morning, before my parents, grandmother, and Chloe arrived. Maeby decided she wanted to sleep in just a few extra minutes to rest up before Chloe came. 

Mom and dad (so generously) purchased a large, flat screened television for us a few months ago (it was sort of wedding/birthday/early Christmas gift, if you will...). It wasn't able to be shipped so we had to wait until they came to visit. The new tv is up and running. And we love it!

On their trip down to AL they took the scenic route and went through the mountains - where I used to live. They knew it would be perfect timing to see the leaves changing and they wanted to stop by Barbers Orchard Fruitstand in Waynesville, NC. They bought apple cake (my favorite), apple pie, gala apples, fugi apples, apple butter, blackberry preserves, hot salsa, and pineapple salsa. Nom. Nom. Nom. 

Mom and Sadie sat outside with the girls while Chris put together our much needed entertainment system. We couldn't have our nice new tv sitting on a tiny little table anymore. 

They got a little anxious and bummed out that they couldn't be a part of the action going on inside.

Chris finalizing the new cabinet. 

Then some cooking took place. Above is dad's delicious sautéed onions and mushrooms that are a must have when he grills streaks. Honestly, I could eat this by itself.  

Here are the steaks before hitting the fire. 

Here is dad charring up the steaks initially - to keep all those delicious juices inside! 

Here are mom and Sadie in the kitchen (excuse the mess, but that mess means people are working and when these people are working that means deliciousness is on the way!).

The next night (Sunday night) dad battered up some fresh bass and fried them along with hush-puppies, homemade french fries, and homemake sweet potato fries. 

That's everything frying away!

Mom made some homemade slaw. 

The girls wrestled. Quite a bit. 

And got to tear up a cardboard box. Chloe, Maeby, and Ally have all thoroughly enjoyed tearing up boxes... is this a boxer thing? Or do all dogs enjoy that feeling?

Chloe posing. 

And Sadie taught me how to make homemade buttermilk biscuits. It was a bit easier than I had thought and they are the most delicious biscuits. Ever. I plan on making them everywhere I go! (recipe to come)

It was absolutely wonderful having family around. It makes me get really excited and even more so look forward to all the holidays and the time we get to spend with the Jackson's and the Johnson's. Can't wait!

Baked Cream of Mushroom Chicken

This recipe is pretty much my favorite thus far in my cooking career. It's easy and so. dang. on. delicious. 

I liked this recipe a lot when I lived by myself because it's one that can be cooked for one person or just as easily for an entire family get-together. I also like it because it's similar to a crock-pot recipe in that you just throw all the ingredients into a dish, forget about it while it's cooking, and then it comes out full of warm deliciousness. Here we go!

Need:

2-4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts*

1-2 Cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup**

1 Yellow onion

1/2 stick of butter

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Recipe:

Season both sides of chicken breast using salt, pepper, and garlic pepper.

Place seasoned chicken breast into deep baking dish. 

Slice onion and spread over the breasts.

Put two pats of butter on each breast

(at this point you could also add in some diced carrots, actual mushrooms, diced celery, etc. for additional flavors)

Top breasts with Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. 

Serve with rice and green beans.

Enjoy!

The Cream of Mushroom becomes very soupy when it comes out of the oven and it's perfect for going over the rice.

*I try to prepare an extra breast or two just so that Chris will have something to carry for lunch the next day at work. The last time I cooked this I diced up the leftover breast, mixed it in with the rice, and added some of the cream of mushroom soup from the pan and made chicken and rice with it - that was easier to throw in a container and heat up anyway.

**For every two to three breasts I would use one can. Just to make sure enough flavor is going around and that you have some soup left in the pan for the rice and for leftovers. Also, if you want you can change the soup to Cream of Chicken or Cream of Broccoli - depending on the flavor you want.