Spinach Alfredo Pizza Sauce

If I have to eat pizza my favorite is Spinach Alfredo.  This recipe makes a delicious sauce.
Spinach Alfredo Sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2  tablespoon flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup parmesan cheese (get the good stuff)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• fresh baby spinach leaves or frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

Sauté the onion in the butter until onion is translucent then add the garlic and sauté another minute.  Add the flour and cook for a minute or two stirring constantly.  Slowly add the cream and milk while whisking  together.  I added the milk because I thought it was getting a little too thick.  You will just have to judge for yourself.  Remember it thickens more when you add the cheese.  Season sauce and add the cheese and continue to whisk.  When sauce has thickened add the spinach and cook for one minute.  Remove from heat. 
Spread on top of your pizza dough and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes.  Sinful!

Better Than Delivery Pizza

Ciao ya’ll! 

I made homemade pizza the other night and it was really good.  I’m not really a pizza person but Hillbilly really likes it so I thought I would give it a try.   I made 2 homemade sauces, a red sauce and a spinach alfredo which is my pizza topping of choice (red sauce recipe below).  Even though it took 3 hours to make dinner (because of the two sauces), making the dough was fun and here’s how I did it.
Pizza Dough

• 3 cups Flour
• 1 envelope Quick Rise Yeast (or 2 Tsp Active Yeast)
• ½ teaspoons Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1-½ Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-½ cup Warm Water
• ¼ cups Grated Parmesan (pay the extra for Parmigiano-Reggiano because it’s good and if you’re going to all this trouble you might as well get the best ingredients)

Preparation Instructions

To a big bowl add the yeast to the water and let sit for 5 minutes.  Next, add the sugar, salt, olive oil and flour and mix together. When dough begins to come together, add in the Parmesan cheese.
Knead dough, adding more flour as needed to keep the dough slightly tacky.  The directions said to knead until slightly shiny but I didn’t.  I just kneaded until I thought I didn’t need to knead anymore.  LOL.  It turned out great.
Oil a large mixing bowl and drop the dough in, spinning it to coat the ball. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in a warm spot. This could be 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how warm your house is.
Punch down the dough in the mixing bowl, cover and let rise until doubled again.

To make the pizza:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Divide dough into 2 equal parts.  This recipe should make 2 pizza's.

Spray your pan with non stick spray and dust with cornmeal. Lightly flour your hands, flatten the dough ball into a disc, and work the pizza dough from the center or just  roll it out.  This part gave me fits and my pizza’s were anything but round.  I guess you could throw it in the air and spin it at this point but I chose not to.  I ended up stretching, pinching, pounding, rolling and anything else I could think of to flatten it.  I left the edges slightly thicker than the middle simply because I was tired of messing with it.  It worked out okay.

Top with your favorite toppings.  For the cheese I used fresh mozzarella and highly recommend that you do to because it was yummy.  Brush edges with melted butter or olive oil.  Bake 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

This recipe should also be good for breadsticks.  I might try that next time I make spaghetti.
A couple of recipes that I used to adapt this said that you can also “cold rise”  the dough in a fridge for 8 hours.  Be sure to cover with plastic wrap instead of a towel.  This is supposed to give the dough extra flavor but I cannot confirm that so let me know if works.

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine or beef broth if you don’t have wine handy
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil

Sauté the onion in the olive oil until onion is translucent then add the garlic and simmer for another minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for an hour or more.  This makes way more than you need for a pizza so you can freeze the rest for spaghetti for another night.

Mama Mia your kitchen will smell like a pizzeria and your family will say Grazie. 

Arrivederci for now.

Red Wine Sauce

Bonjour ya’ll!  Don’t you just love to cook with wine?  A little Chianti for the sauce and a little Chianti for me…  Cooking with wine just makes this Texas girl feel so French.  I find myself talking in a high pitch voice like Julia Child and saying words like Bisque, Frappé, Au Gratin and Consommé.  Why, I’ve already mastered a few French dishes such as French toast, French onion soup and French fries.   I also  know how to French kiss but please don’t tell my Momma.  I truly love a French manicure and on occasion I order à la carte  when I go to a fancy restaurant. 

Texas is no stranger to the French.  LaSalle’s navigational error lead to the French Colonization of Texas (click on link for a Texas History lesson).  Did you know that the Sioux Indians were named as such because Sioux means “cut throat” in French?  We have all sorts of towns with French names like Beaumont (beautiful mountain), La Grange (named after the Marquis de Lafayette’s chateau) and La Porte (the door).

This simple wine sauce is good over any type of beef.  It even makes hamburger steak delicious and will make you feel very French!

Red Wine Sauce

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 shallots (or 1/3 C. mild onions), chopped
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• mixed dried herbs
• salt and pepper

Cook the mushrooms in the butter for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir in the shallots and cook a few more minutes. Mix in the flour with a wooden spoon and brown the mixture for several minutes, stirring with the spoon.

Add the wine and the broth and bring to a boil, stirring all the time.

Add the herbs, salt (if needed) and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Makes about 2 cups of sauce
Bon appetit (said in Julia Child’s voice)
Au revoir ya’ll (said in my voice).  Hehe.

Taco Soup

I was feeling a little lazy on Saturday with all the rain so I threw this in a pot and called it dinner.  This may be the world’s easiest and tastiest recipe.  I’m sure everyone has a recipe for Taco Soup but this is how I make it.

• 1 1/2 lbs ground meat, drain renderings 
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes, include juice and chop big pieces of tomato
• 1 small can diced green chili's
• 2 cans pinto beans, drained
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 cups beef broth (approximate)
• cheddar cheese, shredded
• tortilla chips
• sour cream

Brown ground meat with onion.  Add tomatoes, chili’s, beans, hominy and seasonings.  Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips.

House That Built Me

This is a beautiful song and is sang by a beautiful Texas girl.  The story is about the house where a young woman had grown up and her going back to take a look years later.  

My sister played this  song the other day for her husband and it choked him up.  Their oldest will be leaving for college in the fall and will be leaving the house that “built her”.  It’s an emotional time for my sister and her family.  I will miss her too but I know she will spread her wings and become a beautiful woman.  I can’t wait to watch as it happens!  I’m so proud of you Alexis.  You go girl!

Texas Tea Cocktail

• 1/2 ounce rum
• 1/2 ounce gin
• 1/2 ounce vodka
• 1/2 ounce tequila
• 1/2 ounce triple sec
• 2 splashes sour mix
• top with Coke

Shake first 6 ingredients in a tall glass with ice and top with Coke.  Go ahead and make one and sip on it while sitting on the porch swing and watching the grass grow!
**Warning**  Texas Tea has been known to cause fits of temporary stupidity in some adults.  Drink responsibly and please DO NOT operate heavy machinery while under the influence.

Guacamole Ranch Burgers

With grilling season right around the corner my family will begin requesting these any day now.  These burgers are the only thing First Born can cook, God love her.
Avocado’s are a gift from God, a perfect fruit.  I love to eat them with just a little salt and pepper but my family insists that I make Guacamole and this is what I do.
La Reina’s (the queen’s) Guacamole

• 3 avocados
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash of Worcestershire sauce (secret ingredient)
• dash of Tabasco
• salt and pepper
• a few shakes of  fajita seasoning (optional)
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Mix together leaving avocado slightly chunky.  Please don’t pulverize the avocados.  What did they ever do to you?
Now for the burgers.
Ranch Burgers

• 2 lbs ground chuck
• 2 packages Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
• pepper jack cheese

That’s it.  Mix the ground chuck and ranch mix together.  Grill until Medium Well and top with Pepper Jack cheese and guacamole and whatever else you like on your burger.  Whatever you do, please don’t put sprouts on your burger (unless you are from California).  Sprouts on a burger or anything else is just wrong.  Sprouts should not be digested…I throw things away that are sprouting.  The thought of a sprout makes me shudder and gag.  Really.  I’m weird like that.
Enjoy your burger with some chips and Ranch Style beans.  Wash it down with a  Texas Tea, Jack and Coke or maybe a Margarita.