No-Need-to-Knead Pizza

Prep Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Serves: 2 to 4

My sister got this recipe from her cooking class in high school and shared it with me. The ingredients are the same, but I changed the directions.

1 1/3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups flour

Put all ingredients in a large food processor (mine is 11-cup capacity) fitted with metal blade. Turn on and mix; when dough forms a "ball", continue to mix for 1 minute. Turn out of bowl onto floured surface, (be careful of the blade!) and form into a ball. Finish preparing using one of the options below.

OR

Put all ingredients in your bread machine and turn on dough cycle. When it finishes mixing (it doesn't need to rise), turn off bread machine, turn out dough on floured surface, and form into a ball. Finish preparing using one of the options below.

To freeze uncooked dough
Flour dough generously and put in resealable freezer bag. Label with date and contents and freeze immediately.

To freeze partially-cooked dough
Flatten dough out and continue to pat or roll out into a circle until the dough is the size and thickness you want. Place on a round pizza pan (I prefer stone) and poke holes in dough. Bake at 425F for 10 to 15 minutes or until no longer doughy. Remove from oven; cool. Either freeze as just a crust or put pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings, then flash freeze. Wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label as above.

To use immediately
Flatten dough out and continue to pat or roll out into a circle until the dough is the size and thickness you want. Place on a round pizza pan (stone is best) and top with pizza sauce, cheese, and other desired toppings. Bake in preheated 425F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

12 to 16 asparagus spears
1 lb. bacon

Rinse asparagus and trim bottom 1/3 of spears. One easy way to do this is to hold the top and bottom of the spear and bend it until it breaks. It will break at the top of the woody part of the asparagus.

Wrap each spear in bacon and broil or grill until bacon is crisp and asparagus is tender, turning once.

Substitute: Deli ham for the bacon

Garlicky Brussels Sprouts

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2 to 4

I normally don't buy brussels sprouts, but Jonathon kept asking for them. So I bought them and this is how I made them. After tasting them, I think I'm going to buy them more often!

1 box fresh or 10-oz. box frozen brussels sprouts
2 Tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. cooked and crumbled bacon, optional

Steam or microwave brussels sprouts until tender-crisp. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium frying pan over low heat; add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add drained brussels sprouts and remaining ingredients. Remove from heat and toss lightly. Serve immediately.

Substitutions: Use broccoli, spinach, zucchini, green beans, peas, or any kind of vegetable (or combination) that strikes your fancy!

Berries and Cream Flag

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4


This is something I did with the Activity Day girls in celebration of Independence Day. It was really easy and they did almost the whole thing!

1 qt. fresh strawberries
1/2 pt. fresh blueberries
1 can whipped cream

Wash and hull strawberries and place top-side down in rows in a small rectangle pan (like one used for a toaster oven), leaving a rectangle of empty space where the stars would go on an American flag. Wash blueberries and place in empty space. Using whipped cream, make stripes in between rows of strawberries and make a few "stars" in the blue section.

Mango Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

1 fresh, ripe mango
1 cup milk
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp sugar (if using plain yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla (if using plain yogurt)
1 cup crushed ice

Slice down along the mango seed and cut diagonal slices through the flesh, but not the peel (it should look like diamond-shaped cuts). Scoop out mango flesh and add with remaining ingredients to a blender jar. Puree on high until smooth and serve immediately.

Tropical Variation: Add 1 banana and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pineapple

Tip: I like to use mostly frozen fruit and cut back on the ice. It makes for a richer, fruitier smoothie. When bananas are getting the brown speckles, I peel them, put them in a freezer bag, and freeze them, removing as much air as possible. Then they are ready to be used in smoothies or banana bread. Use in 3 months or less.

Cantaloupe Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

1/2 fresh, ripe cantaloupe
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice

Scoop seeds out of cantaloupe and discard. Then scoop out cantaloupe flesh and add with other ingredients to blender jar. Puree on high until smooth. Serve immediately in a soup bowl with a small dollop of yogurt in the middle or drink it from a cup.

Smoothie variation: Add 1 cup milk and 1 cup crushed ice. You can also substitute 2 cups peaches for the cantaloupe.

Chocolate, Banana, and PB Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

2 cups milk
2 envelopes chocolate Carnation® Breakfast Essentials
1 banana, quartered
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup crushed or cubed ice

Put all ingredients in a blender in order listed. Puree until smooth.

Variations: Add only two of the chocolate, banana, or peanut butter ingredients.

Substitute 2 packages of hot chocolate mix or 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate syrup or Nestle® Quik for the Carnation® Breakfast Essentials.

Tip: I like to use mostly frozen fruit and cut back on the ice. It makes for a richer, fruitier smoothie. When bananas are getting the brown speckles, I peel them, put them in a freezer bag, and freeze them, removing as much air as possible. Then they are ready to be used in smoothies or banana bread. Use in 3 months or less.

Louise's Practical Sofrito

Prep Time: A few hours
Makes: About 10 quarts

This is my mother-in-law's recipe. It is so much tastier than the sofrito sold in stores.

In a large pot over medium heat, saute:
1/2 lb. fatback, washed and diced*
1/2 lb. lean cured ham, washed and diced

In the meantime, finely chop in a food processor or blender:
2 lbs. onions
2 lbs. long green peppers (also called Italian frying peppers)
1/2 lb. sweet chili peppers (ajias)**
1/2 lb. garlic
30 leaves fresh recao (if unavailable, use cilantro)**
1 jar (11.5 oz) pimientos (roasted red peppers) with juice
1 jar (10 oz) stuffed green olives with juice
1/2 jar (2 1/4 oz) small capers

Pour into sauteed ham mixture.

Add:
3 cans (8 ozs each) tomato sauce (use Goya® Spanish-style, if available)
3 envelopes Sazón Goya® con Culantro y Achiote
3 cubitos de jamón (ham bouillon)
3 cubitos de culantro (cilantro bouillon)

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool thoroughly. Measure into 1/2 cup amounts and freeze for later use.

*Fatback is usually found near the bacon in the supermarket. You can substitute salt pork if you can't find fatback.

**We found the recao and ajias in a large farmer's market last summer. We found everything else in the supermarket. I don't think we used the cubitos de culantro, though.