Blueberry Poptarts with revised dough

After making the poptarts a few times I decided i really didnt like the dough I was using so I went in search of a different lower fat dough. This is what I came up with. Very tasty! These are on the less sweet side so adjust the sugar to your preference either in the filling or in the dough.

2 cups flour
2 T sugar
1/2 c COLD butter
4-6 T ice water
1/2 tsp salt

Mix flour, sugar and salt very well, cut in butter with pastry blender, butter knives, or food processor until it resembles crumbs. SLOWLY add in ice water until the dough comes together. You may not need the full 6 TB just watch it carefully.

Remove from bowl. Divide into 2 pieces, cover and put in the fridge while making filling:


Blueberry Filling:

3.5 -4 c blueberries, fresh or frozen(thawed)
1/2cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Combine 1 cup berries with 1/2 cup sugar in pan.

2. Simmer on low heat until sugar is melted and mixture is very liquid; about 5 minutes.

3. Combine cornstarch and water in bowl.

4. Add to pan with blueberries.

5. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to full boil and is clear and thick.

6. Pour hot mixture into large bowl.Cool until warm.

7. Fold in remaining 3 cups of blueberries, lemon rind, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Cool filling(this filling makes MORE than enough for TWO batches of poptarts. It freezes very well and is EXCELLENT on ice cream.)

Remove on section of dough Roll out the other into a rectangle approx 18 x 6. I use a pizza cutter and cut it into 10 equal sections(2 rows of 6), transfer one pieces to baking sheet and place about 2-3 tablespoons blueberry filling.

Top with a closely matching shaped piece of dough and press sides to seal. Prick a few times with a fork....

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack Cool completely and frost as desired. We like them plain!

Grandma's Ravioli

This is my grandma's old recipe for handmade ravioli! Very Yummy!!

Filling:
boil 2 bunches spinach with stems removed, drain and squeeze out water, allow to drain some more you want it WELL drained.
Brown 1.5 lbs lean ground beef,
Finely chop 1 small onion and 3 cloves of garlic and add it to browned beef
add in
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg(more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon(OPTIONAL I prefer without)
drain if greasy
put into a bowl and add in
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

chop spinach very well and add to hamburger mixture, mix really well and shape into a ball and refrigerate several hours or overnight.


Dough.... Grandmas recipe is for HAND rolling.
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
Knead with more flour to make a soft dough, divide into 3 parts and allow to rest for an hour.

this is the recipe I used for use with my kitchenaid pasta roller
We made 2 batches of this recipe
3.5 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp water
add all ingredients and mix with flat beater for 30 seconds, exchange for dough hook and knead for 2 minutes adding in a little more flour if it looks sticky, if it looks a little crumbly add a TINY bit more water but it usually does great to take it out and form it into a ball and knead by hand for a minute, wet your hands and knead if it is still a little dry.
Divide into 4 pieces and let rest for 20 minutes.

Take one piece at a time and run it through the pasta roller on setting 1. Fold dough and repeat several times until it is a nice elastic sheet. Then run it through on setting 6 for your final sheet, cut the sheet in half(width wise).

Proceed with whatever YOUR ravioli making style is. This varies so much. I use and old ravioli maker....

you can hand place them and cut them with a ravioli wheel,
kitchenaid makes a good ravioli maker.



Just make sure you trace around each blob of filling with a little water before placing the top sheet to help "glue" it. These need to be WELL sealed.

Lay them flat and freeze in single layers or pop in the "marmita"(big pot) of GENTLY boiling water , boil GENTLY!!!! for 7-8 minutes and test, gently remove then and drain them well.
GENTLE GENTLE GENTLE!!! Lol you dont want them to burst
Serve with your favorite red sauce topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese!

These can be boiled straight from frozen, boil 10-12 and check for doneness.

the 2 batches of dough and 1 batch of filling made over 100 raviolis, we fed 7 adults and 3 kids with 70 with a leftover amount for 1-2 adults , we put the uncooked ones in the freezer, and there was extra dough which I ran through my spaghetti cutter attachment and that fed me and Troy and the boys with a lunch portion left!

Super Bowl Treats

A Fantastic lineup for a Super Bowl Party
I have condensed it a bit to add in the links rather than having a long post...

Jalapeno Poppers  












Easy Cheese Sticks

Pizzas:


I am leaving this recipe here because it is the "main dish"



Dough :
You can use premade or THIS recipe is EXCELLENT !! I use the recipe and split it about 40/60 to make the pizza and the cheese stix, and another batch to make the dessert pizzas.
Of course you can make as many as you want to feed many people.
The second year I made this I made 1 double batch for 3 pizzas and a large cheese sticks and 1 single batch for the dessert pizzas


Our favorite Sauce:
1 (8oz ) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp lemon juice
dash of onion powder
1tsp sugar
1/4 cup sneaky chef orange puree(optional, recipe here)
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered for 30 to 60 minutes, until it reaches the thickness you desire. When the sauce is cooled store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container until required.

Spread cooled sauce over prepared pizza crust, top with mozzarella and pepperoni or what ever toppings you desire, store in fridge until about 30 minutes before you plan to cook. Let it rest at room temp for 30 minutes, bake in preheated 350 oven for 12-15 or until your preferred brownness.

Dessert Pizzas












Spinach Artichoke Dip










Buffalo Chicken Breast Nuggets

and a nice
Veggie Platter with Ranch Dip

 Add THIS recipe into 16 oz sour cream and your game day treats are ready!!!

Homemade Hot Pockets(Gluten Free Dough included)

Kid Favorites in  our home! We make double and triple batches and freeze them for lunches!

Update 10/10/11- we have put my son on a gluten free diet. Hot Pockets are one of his favorite lunches so I made a dough to accommodate him. It is added at the bottom of the post.

Dough:

1 1/3 c water
2 t sugar
1 1/4 t salt
2 T olive oil
2 T cornmeal
2 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1 tablespoon dough enhancer(optional, recipe here)
1 1/2 t yeast
KitchenAid instructions:
measure yeast into the bowl and add the warm water and sugar, allow to sit for about 5 minutes until foamy(proofing the yeast)
Meanwhile mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
After the yeast is proofed add in olive oil with the flat beater, mix well then slowly add the dry ingredients. When all ingredients are incorporated switch to the dough hook and knead for about 3-5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled(about an hour)
Punch down and divide into 10 equal pieces.






Sauce:
1 (8oz ) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp lemon juice
dash of onion powder
1tsp sugar
1/4 cup sneaky chef orange puree(optional, recipe here)
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered for 30 to 60 minutes, until it reaches the thickness you desire. When the sauce is cooled store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container until required.

Roll out each piece into 6 inch circle. I use a calzone maker to press them. (LINK)

Spread a few teaspoons of sauce on the circle,





















top with cheese and pepperoni or ANY THING you want! Experiment with them!

Dab a little water around the edges and Fold over and seal edges WELL.





















sprinkle with a little mozzarella and Italian seasoning.











Place on greased baking sheet and bake 12-15. Remove to wire rack and let cool completely. Wrap individually and pop them in the freezer.
to defrost unwrap and wrap in paper towel. Microwave for 1 minute and check...may need some more depending on how big you made them!
Enjoy!



Gluten Free Dough:

1 TB yeast
1 TB sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 TB olive oil
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup ground flax
1/4 cup millet flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup white rice flour(approximately)
1 tsp salt
olive oil for brushing

Dissolve yeast in water with sugar and olive oil, allow to sit for until foamy.
Combine brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, ground flax,millet flour and xanthan gum in a bowl and mix very well.
Add 1/2 cup of the flour mixture at a time to the liquid until all is incorporated.
Add white rice flour until you get a dough that holds together well. Knead well.

Place in a greased bowl, turn to coat and allow to rise. Punch down and continue as directed above. Handle carefully. It is more delicate than wheat dough. Brushing with olive oil will help prevent cracking.
This recipe made me 14 hot pockets.

Copycat DQ FlameThrowers

I LOVE the DQ flame thrower but wanted to have more control over what was in/on it so I came up with my own...
 This is also FANTASTIC with a small baked chicken breast in place of the beef(seasoned as you wish)!

Hamburger Buns
1lb ground beef
Chipotle Mayo(recipe below if you cant find it in stores)
onions
tomato
lettuce
bacon
Monterrey jack cheese
jalapenos

break up ground beef, add about 1TB cold water and 1/2 to 1 tsp seasoned salt and mix well
divide into 4 pieces , flatten between 2 pieces of wax paper, you want them nice and wide as they will shrink up, probably about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, place on broiler pan.

Chipotle Mayo
1/4 cup mayo (fresh if you want to make it RECIPE)
1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper(or chipotle tobasco to taste if you cant find ground chipotle)

broil your burgers to an internal temp of 165 (about 5 minutes on each side depending on thickness)
toast your buns
when burgers are done add a few teaspoons of FINELY chopped jalapeno, slices of bacon, then put slices of Monterrey jack cheese on top and broil until slightly melted.
Spread chipotle mayo on toasted buns, add burgers to bottom bun, add on tomato slices, onions and lettuce(or baby spinach for us, our kids have a weird sensitivity to lettuce)
Enjoy!