Baking Tip - Sift it!

A sifter is an important part of a baker's arsenal.

Whenever you are baking something that requires flour, like bread, cake, etc...I highly recommend sifting your flour.  (In fact, many cake recipes require it.)  Everything just comes out lighter, and yeasty stuff just rises so much better.  You should even sift your flour when making things like pasta, because the dough will be more tender.

If you can't find an actual sifter in a store, which I have had extreme trouble doing, get yourself a mesh strainer.  The kind that looks like it was made from screens.  It works great as a sifter, and can do double duty as a colander as well.  Plus, for those frugal minded people, it is usually cheaper.

Pizza Hut Crust Clone

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup Milk, warmed

2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)

1 tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Oil

4 cups Flour (plus extra for kneading)

Extra Oil or Spray Oil to coat pans

• Oil bottom and sides of 3- 9 inch pizza pans, or whatever dishes you are using to bake in (I used quiche dishes).
• Mix milk, yeast, and sugar together, and proof about 2 minutes.  
• Mix in salt and oil.
• Add flour a little at a time until you form a dough ball.
• Knead the dough on a floured surface, adding flour, until it is no longer sticky.
• Divide into 3 equal sized balls.  Roll each ball into a 9 inch circle and place into an oiled pan.
• Let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
• Top each pizza however you would like.
• Spray or brush the crust edges with a little more oil, and toss in the oven.
• Bake until the cheese bubbles and the crust browns. (somewhere between 10-20 minutes, depending on your desired doneness).
• Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Nonna's Pasta Sauce

This is just a list of ingredients. Amounts are figured in person and can vary depending on  personal taste. I learned this recipe while cooking at my Nonna's side, which she does from memory and taste.


Ground Beef
Ground Pork
Chopped Onion
Chopped Tomato
Minced Garlic
Basil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
Tomato Paste
Tomato Puree
Chicken Broth

Easy Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients

about 1lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
enchilada sauce (I used 2 cans)
extra sharp cheddar, shredded
ground cumin, optional
ground cayene, optional
Flour tortillas

• Cook ground beef while crumbling it in a pot.
• Drain and rinse to remove fat. 
• Return to pot and add chopped onions. Cook until onions are tender.
• Add cumin and cayene to taste.
• Add some enchilada sauce, but not enough to make it soupy. 
• Remove from heat. 
• Parcel the beef mixture into tortillas with a little cheese, and roll the tortillas up. 
• Put rolled tortillas into greased baking dish. 
• Pour rest of enchilada sauce over tortillas, and top with cheese. 
• Bake at 350° until cheese melts. 
• Serve and enjoy!

Side note....You could add beans to beef mixture before putting into tortillas if you would like.