Wheat Pizza

Mom occasionally varied her recipes to try to make them healthier. A prime example is Mom's wheat pizza. The recipe is the same as regular pizza, just substituting wheat flour for regular flour. Wheat flour has more nutrients and fiber. For this recipe, I used only wheat flour, but you could also use half wheat flour and half regular flour, or any combination of the two flours.

I know certain siblings were not fans of wheat pizza. As for me, I really like it. The wheat flour gives the pizza a nice flavor that is distinct from standard pizza. You can get standard pizza at just about any pizzeria, but I do not recall seeing wheat pizza on any pizzeria menu. To enjoy wheat pizza, give this recipe a try.

Just as with the regular pizza, Mom usually just used rectangular cookie sheets, so that is what I used here. Although, I do vaguely remember that for a time, Mom did have a round pizza pan. But any kind of pan will work just fine.

Wheat Pizza 
(yields 2 pizzas)

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 2-3 cups wheat flour
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Sauce (16 ounces of tomato sauce seasoned with garlic and oregano)
• 2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
• toppings such as cooked sausage (about one pound), veggies, etc.
• grated parmesan cheese

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy. Combine flour, olive oil, salt, sugar, and yeast mixture in a large bowl. Stir well until the dough comes together and is stiff. Add additional flour, if needed. Cover dough and allow to rise until dough has doubled, about 1 to 2 hours. When the dough is almost done rising, cook any of the toppings (such as sausage) that need to be cooked. Turn out dough on floured surface and form into pizza crusts. Grease the pans and sprinkle with semolina flour. Place dough into pans and create a slight edge with the dough. 

Cover the dough with sauce, toppings and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle pizza with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until pizza is golden. Enjoy!

Grandma's Carrot Cake

When I was in fourth grade, Mom's parents moved in with us. Grandma and Grandpa had their own "in-law" apartment in our house, but we still spent a lot of time with them, especially hanging out on the front porch. I feel lucky to have grown up and spent so much time with Grandma and Grandpa. Today, July 31, would have been Grandma's 94th birthday. In her memory, here is a terrific cake straight from Grandma's recipe box. This blog will still focus on Mom's recipes, but there are a number of other family recipes that deserve to be here. I know that you will enjoy this one.

Grandma had a serious sweet tooth, which I definitely inherited from her. She made this cake often and so did Mom. The recipe is quite simple. For this post, I used grated carrots, but pumpkin could just as easily be used. Now, when I gave Mom a piece of this cake, she was disappointed that there were no nuts in the cake. Grandma regularly used nuts in the cake. While I like nuts, I usually do not like nuts in cake. And, as you can see from Grandma's own handwritten recipe, you can add nuts if you want. Grandma's recipes were typically direct and without full explanation of the steps. But, also, there is no need to follow a strict recipe; the cake will come out just fine no matter the method used to mix the ingredients together. Use a bundt pan, or as Grandma noted, a tube pan. Also, the recipe for the frosting is not written on the recipe here, but Grandma used the cream cheese frosting recipe noted below for this cake (whether carrot or pumpkin).

Carrot or Pumpkin Cake 

• 3 cups flour 
• 2 tsp. baking soda 
• 5 tsp. baking powder 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 2 tsp. cinnamon 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 ½ cup oil 
• 4 eggs 
• 2 cups pumpkin or grated carrot 
• Add nuts if you want

Mix together all the ingredients. Bake in 350 over 25 to 30 minutes in a bundt pan.

 Cream cheese frosting 

• Cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• milk to thicken 

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Frost cake after it has fully cooled. Enjoy!

Patti's Mock Chicken Cordon Bleu

For over a year now, I have been regularly preparing, taste-testing, and posting about Mom's classic recipes. And, while I will continue to post Mom's recipes, I will also now expand to post other family favorites. Feel free to send me ideas.

This first expansion recipe is a Smith family classic. Since the age of eight, MDS has had this chicken dish for his birthday dinner. In honor of his birthday today, I now present to you Patti's Mock Chicken Cordon Bleu, a tasty recipe from my mother-in-law. This recipe will feed a crowd, or better yet, make for terrific leftovers.

The recipe is quite simple, but I do have a few tips that may be helpful. The recipe calls for dried beef. I find it difficult to locate dried beef, so I often use Carl Buddig beef lunch meat. I use an entire one-pound package of bacon. Also, I use a pint of sour cream, so that there is extra sauce for extra rice.

This recipe has it all--chicken, bacon and beef. But the chicken is the star and always comes out very tender. I think it is the combination of being cooked in bacon and sauce. I typically use six large chicken breast which seem to just barely fit in the pan. But some of the chicken breasts are so large, that they could easily feed two people or one very hungry birthday boy.

Mock Chicken Cordon Bleu

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 12 slices of bacon
• 1 jar dried beef (2.4 - 4 oz.)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• cooked rice (about 4 cups)

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Chop the beef into small pieces and scatter the pieces into the bottom of the pan. Wrap each piece of chicken in bacon and place the chicken in s single layer in the pan. In a bowl, mix the soup and sour cream together. Then, spread on top of the meat to completely cover the meat. Bake, uncovered, for 3 hours at 275 or for 2 hours at 350. Then remove the chicken to a platter, but leave the sauce in the pan. Stir in the rice into sauce and add black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Hot Dogs

If you need to feed a crowd, consider these slow cooker hot dogs--they could not be easier. Simply line up a whole bunch of hot dogs along the wall of your slow cooker. The key is that each dog has contact with the wall or bottom of the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to high and let the hot dogs sit for several hours. You may want to occasionally turn the hot dogs so that they darken on all sides. No need to add anything else.

On the Fourth of July, the family got together at Mom's, and she made these tasty hot dogs. She cooked these for about 2 hours. Cooking them longer will get the outside even crispier, which Megan and I particularly enjoy. The taste of these slow cooker hot dogs is unique--crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. When I was a kid, I always put ketchup on my hot dog. Some say that mustard reigns supreme and that ketchup has no business being on a hot dog. But you can put whatever you want on your hot dog and I won't argue with you.

Slow Cooker Hot Dogs 

• Hot dogs (enough to line your slow cooker)
• Buns
• Your favorite hot dog toppings

Line the hot dogs up along the wall and bottom of the slow cooker. Set on high and let the slow cooker so the work. Rotate the the dogs to evenly brown all sides. Cook the dogs for several hours. Enjoy with your favorite toppings. 

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes were part of Mom's regular rotation of weeknight meals. This recipe is an old one. In later years, Mom starting going the easier route and made Sloppy Joes from a can mix. But this recipe is very easy.

Sloppy Joes are an American original. There are many variations and many names for this sandwich, and MDS tells me that his mom had a variation with Mexican spices that she called Sloppy Joses. The essential ingredients are ground beef, tomato sauce, onions, and spices. Mom's recipe also includes sliced hot dogs. I have not seen other recipes calling for sliced hot dogs, but the hot dogs were a hit. I suspect that Mom had to finely chop the onion and the green pepper to hide it from us kids to make it more likely that we would eat it. Nowadays, I really like the onions and green pepper, so I added extra here.

This Sloppy Joe recipe uses very basic white bread buns. They are the kind that can absorb a lot and remain together. But any other type of bun could be used.

Sloppy Joes 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 pound beef franks, sliced
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chili powder

In a skillet, brown the beef. Add in the onion and green pepper and cook until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through. Serve on buns. Enjoy!

Rice Pudding

On this Father's Day, I honor the memory of Dad. It is hard to believe that it has been almost three years; I still miss Dad every day. But I am lucky to have so many good memories. Dad loved to eat and had many favorite recipes, and rice pudding was one of his favorite treats.


Mom made rice pudding when there was leftover rice from Chinese takeout. So a nice bonus of writing about rice pudding this week was that we got to eat Chinese food. But any rice will do for this recipe. The nice thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are usually just what you have around the house. 

Rice Pudding

• 1 cup rice
• 4 eggs, separated
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 cups milk scalded
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ tsp. cinnamon

Cook rice according to package directions. Beat egg yolks with ¼ cup sugar until thick. Add rice, milk, raisins and cinnamon; mix thoroughly. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; beat remaining ½ cup sugar gradually. Fold into rice mixture. Turn into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes. Enjoy!

Pistachio Pudding Cake

The green coloring of this cake makes it a great seasonal specialty, including Christmas Holidays. Mom usually made this cake for St. Patrick's Day. But there is no need to wait for a holiday to enjoy this easy cake.

Mom made this cake using a box of yellow cake mix. You could also make any yellow cake recipe. The special addition is a box of instant pistachio pudding. If you use a boxed cake mix, be sure to use one without pudding, otherwise, the additional pudding will result in more of a pudding and less of a cake. After baking, this cake is a similar in density and taste to a pound cake; but, the pistachio flavor and green color make this cake unique.

The whipped cream topping likewise is spruced up with another box of instant pistachio pudding. Mom seemed to think that she always just used cool whip mixed with the pudding, but Megan and I clearly remember that she used whipping cream. I used to love to lick the beaters after the frosting was made. I must admit that I still do.

I made this cake for a regular Saturday night at Mom's house. Besides myself and MDS, the usual crowd was there: Mom, Megan, Tim, Ryan, Amanda, Ava, Patrick, and Lorelei. Mike also stopped by to play some football. Baby Delilah even made a brief appearance. The cake was a hit.

Pistachio Pudding Cake


Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix (without pudding)
• 3 1/2 ounce instant pistachio pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk

Blend all ingredients using an electric blender until well blended. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting

• 3 1/2 ounce instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 pint whipping cream

Using an electric beater, mix the cream and the pudding mix until soft peaks form. Spread on the cake. Enjoy!