It's HOT

Yes...it's finally gotten HOT here in central Ohio.  Can't believe we didn't use the pool until mid-late June this year!  The temperatures just never stayed up there...and sure wasn't worth heating the pool for the outside air to be too cold!!

I'm back in to 'serious' Keto eating.  I've pretty much maintained since the first of the year and decided it was, once again, time to 'take the plunge' with tracking on my Carb Manager app.  So far, so good!

Hubs doesn't care for it, but I LOVE a fathead pizza.  I made this recently when he was out of town.  I used the recipe from Simply Keto cookbook, which is my favorite fathead pizza (so far at least) and also my favorite Keto cookbook I have.

Hubs smoked ribs and wings for the 4th of July.  I usually do wings in my air fryer, but we thought, since he was already smoking the ribs, we'd do the wings that way too.  They were good, but we all decided we preferred them in the air fryer.

Tomorrow we've got the 'littles' for most of the day and the granddude is going to help make his momma a birthday cake for her birthday (Sunday).  He loves to be a little sous chef!!

She's ONE...

Our little Sweat Pea turned 1 today!  Her party was over the weekend.  I made the Smash cake, along with 4 more small cakes with the leftover batter.  I used THIS recipe for the cake and THIS one for the butter cream frosting.  That's been my go-to chocolate cake recipe for awhile since it's so moist and light in texture.  I usually just MacGyver the frosting...but actually used a recipe this time!

Her momma, PopPop & I took her to lunch today.  Can't believe she's already ONE!

Like I did for her BigBro, I've been taking photos of her every week for her first year and will work on her photo album  soon.  It was such fun to make the album for Grant several years ago...I'm sure I'll have just as much fun with this one for Ella.

It's been awhile...

...since my last post.

I'm still eating Keto, and have been (seriously) since early last May...after several months the autumn before 'dabbling/doing dirty keto'.   Hubs joined me this time.  He has now lost all he needs/wants to but I still have a few lbs. to go.

Last week I made these Snicker Bars.  OMGoodness are they tasty! HERE is where I found the recipe.  All I had in the house were Spanish peanuts.  Next time I want to try just plain (salted) dry roasted...I think we'll like them even more.

Road Trip/Bucket List Vacation...

Hubs & I got back last Friday from a 4,000 mile road trip...and Bucket List vacation.  Our main goal was to go to Mt. Rushmore.  I also knocked 4 more states off my list...South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska.

Day 1  (Oct. 20) ended in Davenport IA.  We had enough time to check the place out and walk up to the Skywalk that overlooked the Mississippi River.  Amazing!!  We had a great dinner at Lynn's BBQ & Saloon.

Day 2 had us driving all the way west...then all the way north...before we were finally OUT of Iowa!!  We stayed in Wall SD in a little (individual) log cabin.  It was very cozy and nice...and the people we met the next morning at breakfast were so friendly!!  Dinner was at a recommendation from Yelp at Two Bit Saloon.  I have to say...the was the first time Yelp was totally WRONG.  This place did not fit a 4-5 star rating!!

Day 3 took us to The Badlands, Ellsworth AFB Museum, Minuteman Missile and seeing Mt. Rushmore lit up at night.  WOW!  Dinner was at Gas Light in Rockerville SD...and our hotel was in Rapid City SD.

This is us at the Badlands.  Almost like a mini Grand Canyon without all the color.

And...we saw the most spectacular sunset on our way to dinner near Rapid City SD!!

Day 4 was Custer State Park and Mt. Rushmore.  Luckily, we stopped at the Visitor's Center at the state park.  We happened to hear them talk to someone else about 'the tunnels', so I asked.  From the scenic drive around the state park, there are 3 tunnels (the direction we were driving).  When you get through 2 of the tunnels, Mt. Rushmore is straight ahead.  The 3rd tunnel it's in your re-view mirror.  There are just no words to describe the beauty of that monument!!  Dinner at Firehouse Brewing Co. in Rapid City was pretty good!

Day 5 we drove 2-1/2 miles up a curvy, gravel/dirt road...THEN hiked almost 1/2 mile up the mountain on a gravel trail to get us to Mt. Roosevelt.  Spectacular views!!  It was soooo  worth the effort to get there!!  Then we were off to North Dakota & Montana...hey, have to check them off my list, right?!  We stayed that night in Sundance WY to be ready for our next day's outing before heading home.

Mt. Roosevelt

Day 6 was fairly short drive to Devil's Tower.  We kept seeing it in the distance, but once close up, it was unbelievable!!  Then we started the trek home.  We stayed in Rapid Falls SD...and it was there, at Taphouse 41, that I had my best meal!!  Bill had a burger, I had a burger salad.  Oh.My.

You can see how tasty it looked...well, it was very tasty!!

This photo is of us in Custer State Park.  Weather was beautiful our entire trip (just rained a very short time on our way out...and again on our way back, while driving).  But...it was VERY windy the entire time!!

Day 7 was another driving day, staying in Peoria IL.

Day 8 had us arriving home early/mid afternoon.

It was a long drive, but it was one of our best vacations for sightseeing.  I'd recommend it to everyone!!  Our only complaint was the food...or lack thereof in tastiness.

P.S.  AND...I lost 1 pound while on vacation!!!

Not much going on...

Just a quick little post to say I've not been doing much in the kitchen where I've photographed food.

On Labor Day, I started on a Keto/LCHF (low carb high fat) way of eating.  I'm doing well eating this way...and it's much easier than I thought it would be! And boy, do my joints ever feel better with the extra fat in my diet!!!  I'm still working on a 'grove' to get things rolling with new recipes.  What it comes down to is the need to be more organized and do a monthly menu plan, which I did all the time when raising my 3 kiddos.

Here I was making my dad's famous grilled chicken.  The 'sauce' is nothing but butter, Worcestershire, vinegar, salt and water.  Low & slow & SO delicious!!  The boys were over for dinner and I just forgot to snap a picture of the finished/cooked chicken.

Here's my dad's special sauce:

• 1
  pint water                                                Heat all ingredients till butter melts.
• 1
  pint vinegar                                             Keep it warm throughout grilling.
• ½
  lb. butter                                                 Use mop/squirt bottle to keep sauce on chicken
• 3
  Tbsp. salt                                                       throughout entire grilling.
• 2
  Tbsp. Worcestershire                             Grill on med/low until chicken is very tender, 
                                                                         adding sauce often.                                                               
  
  This is a LOT of sauce.  I usually cut the recipe in half if I'm only doing a couple of chickens.  I either cut them in half or quarters & start the grilling process with skin side DOWN.

This was a quick cabbage, onion & smoked sausage dinner I threw together.  No recipe needed.  Just browned the sausage & removed from pan while sautéing the onions & cabbage.  Then threw it all together.  We like our cabbage on the 'firmer' side.  It was delicious.

• 
  

Apple season...

Hubs went out Sunday to an orchard near us and picked a bag of Gala apples.  This was his reward. This is not a dinner plate...it's a platter!!

There is no recipe for this.  I had leftover pie dough in the freezer from all that pie making I did around July 4th.  I let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then made this galette  yesterday afternoon

For the apples, I sprinkled with Fruit Fresh while I was cutting them, to keep them from browning.  I added boiled cider, a pinch of apple pie spice and a little drizzle of vanilla.  I mixed about 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar and Instant ClearJel...then added it to the apple mixture.  You need to mix (completely) the ClearJel with the sugar to keep the thickening agent in the jel from being a globby mess.  Of course, I brushed it with some milk and sprinkled sugar on the dough!  It was baked on a parchment lined baking sheet, at 375, about 50 minutes.  The apples were still a little firm (the way I like them).  Add some vanilla bean ice cream...aahhhh 

Yummm...

I see Peach Crisp in my near future!!

Yesterday we went to a local orchard after hubs got an email saying they had way too many peaches and were selling 'as is' (aka...not sorted, just put in a box when picked) and at a very good price.  So...for now...we brought home a 1/2 bushel.  Some for instant gratification (my breakfast smoothie was wonderful), some to give to my daughter and some to be diced, flash frozen then vacuumed packed.

Oh.  I'm also making vanilla bean ice cream today to go with the Crisp.

Hopefully, I'll not be so excited about making the Peach Crisp that I'll forget to take photos!!

Cookies...

If there's one thing you can't have too many of...it's a great cookie recipe, especially if it includes chocolate chips!  I McGyver'd these over the weekend.  I took some to my daughter's yesterday when I went to watch the little granddude for a few hours.  She text'd me later telling me 'those cookies are a keeper'.

Then made another batch today to give to Marshall (my oldest) since he was coming over for dinner. I mentioned cookies and fresh walleye from Lake Erie and he was all about joining us!!

Duh...I did not take any photos when I made them.  I thought about it with the first batch, but since it was my 'test' batch, I didn't.  Then today...just forgot.

I did not put in any raisins in either batch.  I knew Marshall didn't want any, so just left them out. Next time I'll make them with maybe 3/4 cup of both chocolate chips and raisins.

Here's the finished product!!  Yep...it was quite tasty.  It's resting on a plate that was my husband's paternal grandmother's.  I love to use our family treasure.  I use the same grandmother's silverware every day.  Why keep those lovelies packed away.

Here you go:

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2
  c. all-purpose flour
• ½
  tsp. baking soda
• ½
  tsp. salt
• 1
  Tbsp. cornstarch
• ¾
  c. butter, melted (1½ sticks) OR softened butter *
• 1
  c. packed brown sugar
• ½
  c. white sugar
• 1
  Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1
  egg
• 1
  egg yolk
• 1½
  c. old-fashioned oats
• 1-½
  c. chocolate chips
• 1
  heaping cup raisins (optional)
  
  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Your cookies turn out so much better with parchment paper. OR use a silpat.
  
  Melt butter and let cool slightly.
  
  Mix flour, baking soda, salt & cornstarch; set aside.
  
  In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
  
  Mix in the flour mixture until just blended.
  Add the oats and any chocolate chips, nuts,or raisins. Mix until just blended.
  
  Place 1/4 cup balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Do not over bake. The edges should look brown and the centers still slightly soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  
  These were PERFECT at 14 min. on convection bake in my oven.
  
  * I made these with melted butter and softened butter.  There was no difference in the taste but the melted butter did bake up to be a prettier cookie.  That said, I don't know that I'd take the time in the future to melt the butter.  But...if I've got Ghee sitting on my counter, I'll try that next time.

Pies...Pies...and MORE Pies

A lot of pies came out of  my kitchen this July 4th holiday.  First there was the 'trial' (blueberry) I did since I was using a new dough recipe (see below).  Hubs won out there!

Then we went to a 4th of July party at a friend's house.  I was given desserts!!  Woohoo!!

There's a Blueberry/red raspberry pie, Blueberry pie and a Brie/black & red raspberry pizza.  I will be posting the Brie pizza recipe soon.

My older son wanted to learn how to make pies so we had a Pie Making 101 class in my kitchen!! Apple is one of his favorites, so that's what he made.  Except for the arrangement of the stars/stripes, he did everything!

Then...we had all the kiddos and the granddude over for a cookout on the 4th.  This one is blueberry and I made homemade vanilla bean ice cream to go with it.  Duh...this is pre-baked since I forgot to snap a photo when I took it out of the oven.

The new pie crust recipe I tried is from THIS class on Craftsy.  You'll have to go there for the recipe (don't want to infringe on Gesine Bullock-Prado's or Craftsy's copyrights).  All I'll say is the recipe is an all butter with a bit of lemon juice mixed with the water.  I got her Craftsy class FREE from a link I found online right before the July 4th weekend. But...if you can get her class on one of their 'sales'...go for it...it's worth it!!  I consider myself an 'advanced' pie maker and I learned some great tips from Gesine.  Just like anything else...whether baking, cooking, knitting, sewing or quilting...you can't have too much knowledge.

In all the pies, I used CLEAR JEL.  It's an amazing product and I purchase it directly from King Arthur Flour.  I also use only King Arthur flours in my kitchen.  I can't say enough about the great quality of their product, whether an ingredient, tool or gadget like a digital scale.

Roasted Veggies

I had a friend over for dinner last night and I roasted a chicken breast (wrapped in a pineapple peel, which of course I forgot to photograph) and a bunch of veggies.  That was a perfect meal for the two of us.  Floated in the pool, talked, had a great meal.  It was a wonderful evening...one that doesn't happen often enough.

So...this morning when I opened my fridge, I saw all the rest of the veggies.  Since we're having pizza for dinner, I decided to roast some more veggies...some for lunch and some for the pizza (well, at least mine).

Here's my cast of characters:
cabbage - carrots - onion wedges - brussel sprouts - mini peppers

...and added tomatoes about half way through.

Out of the oven:

My lunch drizzled with a little balsamic:

Packaged for the fridge...some of which goes on pizza for dinner tonight:

There really isn't a recipe, but here's what I did...

Roasted Veggies

Preheat oven to 400 F (convection if you have it)

Place all veggies desired on to a baking sheet.  

Drizzle liberally with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Roast (approx) 30-40 minutes, checking frequently after about 20 minutes to get the doneness desired.

Personal preference - add tomatoes after 15 minutes of roasting.

TIP: I line my baking sheet with heavy duty foil, then put a pre-cut piece of parchment on top of foil. I think it cooks better, without sticking/burning on the baking sheet.  Plus clean up is a breeze!  I know some of you out there would rather just wash the sheet pan, and that's okay.  I'm just lazy.

Pizza Resurrected

I feel like I need to re-do a post on pizza.  My pizza making has evolved over the last few years with the purchase of my first baking steel.  Oh.My.Goodness. is all I'll say!!   Worth every penny!!  I now have 2 baking steels...one stays in my oven and the other is a steel griddle that stays on my stove top.

HERE is the pizza dough I've been using.  Since it's a '72 hour' dough (which takes no time at all to throw together)...remember to make the dough a few days ahead of when you'll need it.  OR...just keep dough in your fridge at.all.times! Just remember to take it out an hour or so before you want to make your pizza.  I preheat my oven/baking steel to 550 for at least 30-40 minutes.

This is what you'll need

YES, I weigh everything.  For any type of bread baking, my digital scale is my best friend.

 Throw all the dry ingredients in a big bowl; whisk together

Add water. Mix it all together...I use a plastic bowl scraper

Cover with plastic wrap and leave in on the counter for 24 hours

For some reason, I didn't take photos of dividing the dough after the 24 hour resting.  
Those steps are in the recipe below.

This is what it looks like after only 7 minutes in a 550 F (convection) oven on a baking steel.

Mine's on the top...pepperoni, mushrooms & onions

Hubs in on the bottom...same as mine except he adds (gag) green olives

So here you go:

72 Hour Pizza Dough

3-3/4 c. (500 grams) flour (I usually use bread flour but was out...all-purpose is fine)

2 tsp. (16 grams) salt

1/4 tsp. (1 gram) yeast

1-1/2 c. (350 grams) water

Whisk together dry ingredients; add water.

Mix together until it comes together and forms a ball (it will appear dry).

Cover with plastic; leave on counter for 24 hours.

Next day:

Sprinkle flour on your work surface and gently bring the dough together...at this point it will appear wet.  

Divide dough into 4.  

Gently work the dough, adding flour as  needed so it doesn't stick to your hands, until it turns into a smooth little ball (here's where you might want to watch the video from the link listed above).  

Place in plastic containers that have been sprayed with cooking spray (or drizzled with a bit of olive oil).  I use 16 oz. round deli containers I purchase at my local Gordon Food Service.

Put in fridge for 2 days.

When it's Pizza Day, take dough out of the fridge at least an hour before you need it.  I find, for hubs and me, one dough ball per person makes a great personal pizza (when we're hungry)

Preheat oven to 550 F convection bake (if you have it)...for at least 30-40 minutes...with the pizza steel inside preheating, too. 

Pat your dough into whatever shape you want.  If you use round containers, it's easy to make a round pizza!!  I tend to make rectangular so both pizzas will fit, side-by-side, on the parchment and on the baking steel at the same time.  After I get the size I want, I put it on parchment paper...and bake it on the paper, too.   Don't get me wrong, you can use a pizza paddle and 'launch' your pizza on to your steel.  I use parchment because I'm basically lazy and it makes cleanup a breeze.

I'm not even going to tell you about sauce, toppings or cheese...everybody likes their own personal preferences.  But...don't overload it, this is a case where less-is-more.  I will say I put over 1/2 of the cheese on first right after the sauce.  If I'm using pepperoni, I put that on last after the last sprinkling of cheese.  But...that's hub's and my preference.

In my oven:

550F + 7 minutes = a perfect pizza

ENJOY!!

Eating...

Eating out is a common occurrence in my life.  Yes, I know I should cook/eat at home more than I do. But...

Today, my friend Olga, from over at Okay Let's Go Quilting was in town.  After perusing a few quilt shops, lunch was in order.  We always have an adventure in our dining!!  Today was no different.  We went HERE for lunch.  Our cute waiter talked us into an adult beverage...but it had tea in it so it must be healthy, right?!  Delish is all I'll say!  We each had soup and shared a blackened chicken wrap.

For my son...

I made this tray of goodies.  Last night was my older son's last meeting as being Worshipful Master of his Masonic Lodge...following in his dad and grandfather's footsteps.  I volunteered to make the desserts for after their lasagna dinner.

LEFT to RIGHT:

Pastry Roll-ups (recipe to follow)

Chocolate Chip cookies (will post this at a later date)

Shortbread cookies (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Countdown Brownies (family trade-secret)

Pastry Roll-ups

As you can see...a very simple cast of characters.  Believe me when I tell you this, when people taste these for the first time, they'll think you are a baking genius and think you've spent hours in the kitchen!  Trust me. This really isn't even a recipe!!

Sprinkle a bit of flour on your working surface. 

Unroll one of the pastry crusts, sprinkling the top with a bit of flour.  Gently roll the crust to for just a wee bit larger circle.

Slather on some softened butter...I was quite generous and used about 1/2 a stick of REAL butter.

Sprinkle on some brown sugar.

...and cinnamon

...and pat it all down with a rolling pin.

Here's where a pizza cutter comes in handy.  Cut it into wedges.  I do 16...I'm going for a smallish, one or two bite treat here.

Add just a little bit of mini chocolate chips and finely chopped pecans (walnuts would be good, too).

After they're all lined up on a baking sheet, brush them with a bit of milk (any kind will do).   

I've lined my baking sheet with a silpat.  If you don't have one, that's okay...just make sure you line your pan with foil that's been sprayed with cooking spray (yes, you will thank me) so they don't stick to the bottom.

Sprinkle with sugar.  You can see here I only brushed a few rows at a time with milk before topping with sugar...just makes it stick better  I go a little crazy here because I really like the crusty, sugary top.  (don't look at my tarnished silver sugar spoon handle [was hubby's grandmother's]...but I use those treasures!)

You can see here they are quite close together on the tray...that's fine because they do NO puff up and become one big glob.  Bake in a preheated 425 oven for about 10-12 minutes...or until just starting to get a bit browned on the top.  DO NOT bake until they're all golden brown.

Wait only a minute, then gently remove them from baking sheet on to a foil lined cooling rack or another baking tray.  Cool completely.

SAVE all that brown sugar/buttery goodness that has come out during baking.  Just gently scrape it together and let cool.

THEN...because I'm a dork and didn't take photos of the rest because I was multi-tasking by also watching a movie...make your burned butter frosting. (you'll have to rely on the recipe listed below for this...sorry).

I put the frosting in a zip-bag, snip a very tiny tip off one corner and drizzle over the roll-ups.  Now, if you want to add even MORE goodness...take some of that brown sugary/butter goodness and sprinkle it over the frosting.  If you do, make sure you only drizzle a few at a time with frosting, then sprinkle those few. This frosting get hard very quickly...if you wait toooooo long...it won't stick if already dry.

SAVE any remaining sugary bits and use them as ice cream topping.  Oh.My.Goodness.

I hope your family and friends love these as much as mine do.  When my daughter saw the picture of the tray on FB, she immediately posted she got 'dibs' on any leftover roll-ups'.  I had to inform her, according to her dad, those were the first to go!!  Guess I'll be making some for her and her hubs.

Enjoy!!

PASTRY ROLL-UPS

Roll-ups

1 box (2) Pillsbury pie crusts (refrigerated section)

1 stick (8 Tbps.) REAL butter, softened

brown sugar

cinnamon

mini chocolate chips 

pecans, finely chopped

Frosting

1 stick butter

4-5 c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

2-3 Tbps. milk

Preheat oven to 425

Place a silpat on baking sheet...or line completely with foil, spraying with cooking spray.

Roll-ups:

Unroll one of the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle top with a bit of flour before gently rolling crust to form a little bit larger circle.

Using 1/2 the butter (4 Tbsp.), spread on crust, leaving about 1/4" edge unbuttered.

Cover with brown sugar.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Using your rolling pin, gently press the sugar/cinnamon into the crust.

Cut into 16 wedges...a pizza cutter is perfect for this.

Removing one little wedge at a time, sprinkle with a few mini chocolate chips and chopped pecans. 

Roll up like a crescent roll.  Place on lined baking sheet.  They can be place close together since they will NOT puff up/spread out and bake together.

Repeat with 2nd crust.

Brush tops with milk.  Sprinkle with sugar...the more you use, the crunchier the tops will be.

Bake 10-12 minutes until just barely turning brown on the tops.

Remove from oven.  Let rest 1 minute before gently moving them to a foil lined cooling rack...or another baking sheet.  Let cool completely.

SAVE those yummy buttery/brown sugar bits that have oozed out during baking.  Scrape them into a pile on the baking sheet.  (I usually place it in a little bowl for cooling)

Frosting:

Melt butter in saucepan.

Add powdered sugar and salt.  Stir gently.

Add milk.  Stir until smooth.  You're going for a thick, pourable frosting so adjust with more powdered sugar or milk as needed.

Let cool a little; pour into a small zip bag.  Snip a very small tip off one corner.  Drizzle frosting on roll-ups.  Here come the quite tasty part.  Sprinkle some of that sugary bits over the frosting.  If you do (and I sometimes do not) just make sure you only drizzle frosting on a few, then sprinkle those bits.  This frosting hardens quite rapidly and if you wait too long, they won't 'stick' to the frosting.

SAVE any of the sugary bits to use as a topping on ice cream.  You'll thank me for this...

ENJOY!!

Basic Pizza Crust...with Mushrooms/Onions

I was home alone last night.
I felt like pizza.
I made pizza.
It was quite delicious.

Mushroom & Onion Pizza

Put the flour in a food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Pulse/process until it all comes together. You actually don't need a food processor, this is just how I almost always make it.  I've even forgotten to switch to the dough blade...and it works fine.  You can always use a stand mixer or even do it by hand.

 Cast of Characters

 This is pretty much how you want the dough to look after processing.  You do NOT want a dry mixture.

Put some olive oil in a bowl, oil your hands, and form dough into a ball.  Dough should be quite soft.  Place dough in bowl, turning over so all is covered with a light coating of the olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in size. 

While dough is rising, get the desired toppings cut up and ready.  

Remove dough from bowl and place on a piece of parchment paper (you don't need the paper, but it sure saves on cleanup...and from sticking to a pan).  Drizzle with olive oil.

I put this seasoned salt on before the toppings...just forgot to take a photo at the correct time!!

I was eating this myself & I didn't want sauce on it...so I didn't put any on!  

I started with the mozzarella cheese and then the mushrooms and onions.  That's what's nice about making pizza at home, you get what  you want!  If the hubs would have been here, he would have put sliced green olives (gag...) on his half.

I did top the dough with some of this awesome seasoned salt I found at Costco.  (I also felt like sprinkling more over the top right before it went in the oven)

 Drizzle with just a little bit more olive oil. Just makes it taste sooo good.

 Preheat oven and pizza stone (if using) to 500 degrees F.

Here's its ready for the oven!

Bake 10-12 min. or until cheese is melted and crust is nicely browned.

FORCE yourself to let it cool before cutting.  ENJOY!!

Basic Pizza Dough

Makes one 14" pizza

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. flour (I used a combination of all-purpose and bread flour)

2 pkg. Quick Rise yeast OR 2 Tbsp. instant yeast*

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. olive oil

7/8 c. warm water

Sauce of choice (if using)

Desired toppings

*This might sound like a LOT of yeast, but trust me here.  It will rise very quickly...and nicely...and form a very soft dough.  You can easily use less dough with great result.  However, this is sooo good and you can be eating pizza in about 45 minutes after you realize you have a pizza craving!

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients except warm water in bowl of food processor.  Pulse several times.

Slowly add the warm water through the feed tube, processing until dough forms a loose ball.  If you feel it's too wet, add flour 1 Tbsp. at a time.  (weather can be a big factor if you need more flour)

Place dough in a well oiled bowl, turning dough to get oil on all sides.  Cover with plastic wrap that's been sprayed with cooking spray.  Let rise until double in bulk.

Preheat oven and pizza stone (if using) to 500 degrees F.

Shred cheese, slice mushrooms & onion...get any other desired toppings ready while dough is rising.

Gently punch down dough; place in the center of a piece of parchment paper.  Using oiled fingers/hands, press/pat the dough into desired shape.  Drizzle with olive oil, making sure to get the very edges covered.

If using sauce, spread a thin layer on top of dough.  Sprinkle on a nice layer of mozzarella cheese; top with remaining toppings of choice (here it's mushrooms and onions).

Drizzle with olive oil.  Carefully pick up the parchment paper and place on preheated stone.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is nicely browned.

TIPS:

I've got a dough-rise mode on my oven so that's how I usually do the rise, but you can turn your oven on to the lowest setting for no more than a minute.  This will warm up the oven enough to let the dough rise rather rapidly.

If you don't have a pizza stone, use whatever pizza pan you want.  Just make sure to oil if very well so the pizza doesn't stick!!  OR...put parchment paper on your pizza pan.