Menu

I thought I would post my last two weeks menus in case any of you can gleen any inspiration! ;)

Monday- BLT's
Tuesday- Stew
Wednesday- Green Bean Chicken Bake
Thursday- Cowboy Spaghetti
Friday- Oh So Tender BBQ Chicken
Saturday- Breakfast
Sunday- Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

Monday- Easy Chicken Mac
Tuesday- Fried Chicken & Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday- Ham & Potatoes
Thursday- Grilled Cheese & Tomato soup
Friday- Rehersal dinner
Saturday- OUT
Sunday- OUT

Inspiration anyone?

Okay, so it feels like fall and even more than that it feels like I should be cooking decent dinners again...So I was thinking it was time to share our menu's again and hope to get inspired by each other. So, here's our week. What are you having?

Mon - Jalapeno popper mac n cheese
Tues - Shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes
Wed - Sweet n sour chicken and rice
Thur - Tamale pie casserole
Fri - tbd
Sat - Hot wing pizza

Frozen Pizza Dough

I haven't actually done this yet, but have wanted to for a while. I'm too cheap to buy pizza dough ready made, but sometimes would like the convenience of having it in the freezer ready to just plop on the counter and roll out. Here's a recipe I found that looks pretty simple. I plan to give it a try this week.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast
3 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for coating
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

Place 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water. Let the yeast float there for 1 minute, then stir it into the water. Let the yeast "proof" for 10 minutes. It should bubble a bit; if it doesn't, the yeast is outdated and inactive.

Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining water, and add the olive oil, flour and salt. With a wooden spoon, mix the dough until it forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large glass or ceramic bowl with olive oil. Press the ball of dough into the bottom of the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 1 1/2 pounds of dough.

FREEZING DOUGH:
To freeze pizza dough, punch it down once it has risen, place it in a zip-top bag and freeze it. When you need it, thaw it early in the day, then shape it once it is no longer cold.

To freeze individual crusts, roll the dough and freeze the rounds on baking sheets, then remove and place them in plastic bags. When it is time to assemble the pizzas, simply apply the toppings to the frozen disks.