Fantastic No-Plan-Ahead Pizza Crust

Up until yesterday I was making pizza crust in my bread maker on the dough cycle, and it took 1.5 to 2 hours to complete.  It is very good, and worth the wait if you can remember 2 hours before you want to have dinner that you need to start it.

Frequently I don't remember then we order a pizza.

I was mentioning this to a dear friend a few days ago, when she asked why it took so long.  She then proceeded to give me her recipe, that takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

It sounded too good to be true.  So yesterday, I gave it a try.

This might be the reason we never order pizza ever again.

20 Minute Pizza Crust

Prep Time:  20 minutes   Cook Time: 15 minutes with toppings  Servings:  One large pizza

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°.

In the bowl of a kitchen mixer combine water, yeast, and sugar with a fork.  Let stand for five minutes.

Next add the remaining ingredients, and mix with a dough hook until all ingredients are well blended, 3 to 5 minutes.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm place 10 minutes.

Press dough onto a lightly oiled pizza pan, or cookie sheet (the oil gives the crust extra crunch and prevents sticking) and top with your favorite toppings.  Bake for 15 minutes or until desired doneness.

So, what are your favorite homemade pizzas?  Leave a comment, I need ideas, as I have a strong desire to make pizza. 

This one in the photo is a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  I shredded two leftover teriyaki grilled chicken breast and mixed them with 2 cups of Trader Joe's Pizza Cheese Blend and a cup of BBQ sauce.  I spread that mix over the unbaked dough, put the rest of the bag of cheese on top, and baked for 15 minutes.  Delicious!

Knit Teddy Bear Project

After completing the ballerina wrap it was time for a fun and simple project.  There is a pattern in Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss that I have been wanting to try, however the pattern looked a bit intimidating.  After reading it over two or three times, I decided it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought (flash back to chemistry labs!) and with some modifications, the perfect project.  After my less than satisfactory experience with the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn, I decided to head to my favorite local store Yarns Ect... to find a suitable substitute.  Looking through all the yarns I finally decided on two 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool in Fruitcake and one 50g ball of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in Vanilla. Once I started, I had so much fun, the bear was complete in no time.

Cast on Date:  April 22, 2010

Date of Completion:  May 10, 2010

As knit by me:


Materials
2 50g ball Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK in Fruitcake
1 50g ball Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in Vanilla
Pair of US size 5 knitting needles
Washable toy filling

Gauge
25 sts and 54 rows to a 4 inch square in garter stitch using US 5 needles


Abbreviations
m1- make one stitch.
k2tog- knit two stitches together
sskI-slip, slip, knit "improved"
kfb- knit into front and back of next stitch
tbl- through the back loop

Body (Back)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at each end of next row and 6 following 6th rows.  I uses a make one stitch.  36 stitches. 
Knit 7 rows.
Shape bottom
Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.

Body (Front)
With size 5 needles cast on 22 stitches in fruitcake.
Knit 10 rows.
Continue in garter stitch and increase one stitch at the end of the next row and 3 following 6th rows.  Use the same method of increase as used on the back.  I used make one stitch.  30 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Belly color contrast
Next row:  k14, change color to vanilla and k2, change color to fruitcake and k14
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k13, change color to vanilla and k4, change back to fruitcake and k 13
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k11, change color to vanilla k6, change back to fruitcake k11, m1, k1. 32 stitches.
Knit 1 row using correct color pattern in previous row.
Next row:  k12, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k12
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k11, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k11.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k9, change to vanilla k12, change to fruitcake, k9, m1, k1.  34 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k12, change to vanilla k10, change to fruitcake, k12.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k13, change to vanilla k8, change to fruitcake, k13.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k1, m1, k13, change to vanilla k6, change to fruitcake k13, m1, k1.  36 stitches.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k16, change to vanilla k4, change to fruitcake k16.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k17, change to vanilla k2, k17.
Knit 1 row using color pattern in previous row.
Next row: k36 using fruitcake.
Knit 1 row.
Shape bottom

Next row: K1, sskI, k13, k2tog, sskI, k13, k2tog, k1.  32 stitches.
K1 row.
Next row: K1, sskI, k11, k2tog, sskI, k11, k2tog, k1.  28 stitches.
K1 row.
Next Row:  K2, sskI, k9, k2tog, sskI, k9, k2tog, k1.  24 stitches.
K1 row.
Continue decreasing 4 stitches ever other row in this way until 8 stitches remain.
K1 row.
Next row:  K1, sskI, k3tog, K1.
Next row: [k2tog] twice.
Next row: k2tog and fasten off.


Head
With US size 5 needles cast on 32 sts with fruitcake.
Knit 2 rows.
Next row: [kfb, k6, kfb] 4 times. 40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k8, kfb] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb, k10, kfb] 4 times.  56 sts.
Knit 30 rows.
Next row: [sskI, k10, k2tog] 4 times.  48 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k8, k2tog] 4 times.  40 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k6, k2tog] 4 times.  32 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Continue to decrease in this pattern until 16 sts remain.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] 4 times. 8 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [sskI, k2tog] twice.  4 sts.
Cut yarn, and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Snout
With US size 5 needles cast on 36 sts in vanilla.
Knit 10 rows.
Next row: *k1, k2tog; repeat from * to end.  24 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [k2tog] to end.  12 sts.
Knit 1 row. 
Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches to gather.

Legs
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 8 sts in vanilla.
Knit 20 rows for the bottom of foot.
Continue in garter st and cast on 14 sts at beginning of next 2 rows.  36 sts.
Knit 6 rows.
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of next 10 rows.  26 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 30 rows.
Next row: k5, sskI, k2tog, k8, sskI, k2tog, k5.  22 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k4, sskI, k2tog, k6, sskI, k2tog, k4.  18 sts.  
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k3, sskI, k2tog, k4, sskI, k2tog, k3.  14 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2, sskI, k2tog, k2, sskI, k2tog, k2.  10 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k1, sskI, k2tog, sskI, k2tog, k1.  6 sts.
Next row: [k2tog]  3 times.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Arms
Make 2 pieces.
With US size 5 needles cast on 4 sts in vanilla.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 3 times, k1.  7 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 6 times, k1. 13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: [kfb] 12 times, k1.  25 sts.
Change to fruitcake and knit 36 rows.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k8, k2tog.  21 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k6, k2tog.  17 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k4, k2tog.  13 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  9 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k2tog, k1, k2tog tbl, k2tog.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Next row: k2tog tbl, k1, k2tog.  3 sts.
Next row: k3tog and fasten off.

Ears
Make 2 pieces
With US size 5 needles cast on 13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Decrease 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  5 sts.
Knit 1 row.
Increase 1 st at each end of next row and 3 following alternate rows.  13 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Bind off.

Finishing
Sew two body pieces together, leaving the shoulders (cast on edges) open.  Evenly fill with washable toy filling then sew seam.  Sew back seam of head, leaving the neck (cast on edge) open.  Evenly fill with stuffing.  Sew snout seam, leaving cast on edge open.  Position and sew to the head, filling lightly.   Sew bas of head to the shoulders.  Fold each ear in half and sew to the head.  Sew the front seam of each leg, then sew the bottom of foot into place, leaving a small opening .  Evenly fill each leg with filling, sew closed, and sew to body. Sew each arm seam leaving a small opening.  Fill each arm and sew closed.  Sew arms to body.  Make eyes, nose, and mouth from felt or yarn and sew firmly in place.

Menu Planning Monday, Week of 5/10/2010

I plan my menu every week, however I frequently forget to post it.  For those of you interested this is what is being served up this week.

Monday:  Banana Pancakes (recipe to post), Pasta Leftover, Flying Saucer $3.00 Pint Night

Tuesday:   Mango Smoothie (recipe to post), Lunch Sandwich, Rosemary Chicken Pizza
Wednesday:  Oatmeal with almond milk, Hummus Wraps, Mediterranean Omelet (recipe to post)
Thursday:  Cereal and milk, Chef Salad, Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Apricot Sauce
Friday:  Oatmeal with almond milk, left overs, dinner at a friend's house
Saturday:  Cereal and Milk, Lunch Sandwich, Crock Pot Meat Sauce and Pasta with a side salad
Sunday:  Waffles, Hummus Lunch, Crock Pot Chili (recipe to post)

Hummus and Vegetable Lunch Wraps

My friend who writes Books and Bites recently posted about some lunch wraps she made, and they sounded so good I ran out that day to pick up ingredients for my own.  If you are interested in finding out how good healthy can taste, try these wraps.

Start by placing a piece of plastic wrap on the counter.  On it, lay a whole grain tortilla and spread some hummus.

Next, sprinkle with some grated carrots,

tomatoes,

cucumbers,
 

and avocado

Wrap it all up and refrigerate. 

Serve with some fresh fruit and a glass of milk to make a meal.

Prep Time:  10 minutes  Cook Time:  None  Servings:  1

Ingredients

1 Trader Joe's Whole Grain Tortilla Wraps
2 Tablespoons Trader Joe's Garlic Hummus
1 Tablespoon shredded carrots
1 Tablespoon diced tomatoes
2-3 slices of fresh cucumber, halved
1/4 small avacado

Preparation

Spread hummus on tortilla, and layer the rest of the ingredients.  Roll the wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

On the Needles: Knit Teddy Bear

At this stage in life, everyone  is having babies.  Giving a knitted gift is something I enjoy doing, however, many of the common items such as blankets, sweaters, and hats can take a long time to make, and are quickly outgrown.  So, I trying my hand at a teddy bear.  The pattern is from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss, and the yarn I chose is the Extrafine Merino Wool from Sublime.  After my experience with the Baby Cashmerino, I went to my local yarn store and asked for a suitable substitution.  So far, this is an amazing product.  I have finished the head, the body, the snout, and a leg.  A full post, including pictures, will come when the project is complete.