Variation of Mom's pizza crust

Thought I'd share an idea I had for Mom's pizza crust that actually worked out really well. After pressing the dough out on the pizza pan, I spread extra virgin olive oil on the outside edges with a pastry brush. After cooking, it made the crust just firm enough without being bone hard and actually added a little flavor. :)

Garlic chicken pizza

This is an amazing recipe I discovered and tried out over the weekend. It's just as good as a certain take-and-bake chain we all know...

Ingredients
Sauce:
1 c Ranch dressing
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp parmesan
1 tsp garlic salt
Dash Italian seasoning
Pinch chopped green onions

Toppings and Crust:
1 c cooked, diced chicken
2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
1/4 c tomato, chopped or diced
1 sm can mushroom stems and pieces
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 pizza crust

Mix ranch, garlic, parmesan, garlic salt, seasoning and green onions. Season to taste.

Spread sauce on pizza crust. Make a thick layer. Add chicken and onions first and then add remaining toppings. Top with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle parmesan over entire pizza.

Cook at 350º for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden throughout. Let cool approx 2 - 5 mins before serving.

Mom's Buttercream Frosting

Easy and quick...

1 cube butter
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 T. milk
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Beat with hand mixer the butter, vanilla, and milk. Add powdered sugar gradually until thick enough to frost with.

Mom's Pizza Sauce

To go along with the crust, you know.

1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
Spices (Italian seasoning, garlic salt, pepper, basil, oregano) I don't know amounts, I just add until it looks like enough. I guess you could say season to taste?

Mom's Pizza Crust

I've always had great luck with pizza dough using this recipe!

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (between 110 and 120 degrees - I use a candy thermometer)
3 1/2 -4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt

Add yeast to water and stir until lumps are gone. Add dry ingredients. Knead on floured board or countertop for about 5-10 minutes or until dough is elastic and smooth. Let rise about 30 minutes. Makes 2 pizza crusts. I usually make one pizza crust and make rolled breadsticks with the rest of the dough. Add toppings to pizza and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Bake breadsticks for about 12 minutes or until just golden brown.

Wesson Oil Cake

This is Grandma Johnson's recipe. It's for a chocolate cake.

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
1 c. milk/w 2T vinegar (or lemon juice)
2 tsp soda
2 eggs
1 c. hot water
1 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. cocoa (If it's not chocolate-y enough for you, try adding a little more cocoa)

Mix all ingredients and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Dad's Sweet Muffins

Okay, they may not REALLY be dad's, but I think he made them a lot when we were growing up.

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Beat egg. Stir in milk and oil. Mix remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Apple cinnamon variation: Add 1 c. grated apple with the oil and add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon with the flour. Sprinkle top with sugar and cinnamon. Bake as directed above.

Note: I think this recipe has been altered for high altitude. I live at about 400 ft or something like that and mine were a little too dense. So for me, I'm omitting about 1/2 cup of flour from mine.

Jen's 'Famous' Veggie Spaghetti

This is my own recipe that I made up to be a little more healthy. We prefer it over spaghetti with meat in the sauce most of the time.
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 large garlic clove - crushed
1/2 cup green pepper - diced
1/2 cup onion - diced
1/2 cup black olives - chopped
1 can mushrooms (stems and pieces)
1/4 cup butter
Spices (I use Italian seasoning, Garlic salt, pepper, basil, oregano)

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan. Saute garlic, onion and pepper together in butter until tender. Add mushrooms, olives and tomatoes. Mix together and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add tomato sauce, paste, and spices. Mix together and then add spices to taste. Add remaining 2 tbsp of butter and simmer on medium low heat for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti noodles with parmesan cheese.

Best Dang Brownies

Promised Rachael I'd post this one...

Ingredients:
-Brownie batter-
1 German Chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups milk chocolate chips
-Caramel sauce-
1/3 cup milk
14 oz pkg caramels, unwrapped

Mix together cake mix, milk and butter. Pour half batter into an ungreased 9x13" pan. Bake at 325º for 6 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, melt caramels in milk and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot cake. Spread melted caramels over chips. Using spoonfuls, drop remaining batter over cake. Bake for 18 minutes at 325º. Cool completely before serving.