Pizza

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (.25 oz) active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp salt

Marinara sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Cheddar cheese

toppings of choice

Directions:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let it sit until creamy (10 minutes)

Add flour, salt and oil. Beat til smooth. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Flour a flat surface and roll dough out flat and round. 

Grease a pan and place rolled out dough on it. 

Add marinara sauce, cheese, and other toppings.

Cook in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Verdict:

Way fun to make! I thought homemade dough and pizza might be a long, difficult process but it wasn't at all!! It was really easy! I liked that I didn't have to let the dough rise for hours, so it was a pretty quick process! The idea was to each have one half to put what we wanted on... but the pepperoni's ended up being a bit expired so we combined what we had (pineapple, canadian bacon, and olives). Go getters would probably make their own marinara sauce, I just used Ragu traditional and it worked wonderfully! The dough recipe also called for corn meal to dust on the pan so the dough won't stick.. I didn't have corn meal and just used some good old pam and had no problems! The pizza we made turned out pretty big (Scott's guessing 15 inches). It was a bit of a messy one with the flour all over the counter, but the meal was it was a lot of fun and ended up being really delicious!! However.. leftovers tasted awful! The crust was super soggy so eat it all the first night!

Ratings:

 Ashley: 8.5 belches       Scott: 8 grunts       Payton: 10 wags 

Spicey Wingers Sauce Salad

String Cheese Marinara Manicotti

Ingredients:

 Manicotti shells

Italian sausage

1 onion

1 green bell pepper

1 clove garlic

1 jar spaghetti sauce

string cheese

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

 Cook manicotti according to package directions.

Saute italian sausage, chopped onion, and chopped bell pepper in a large skillet.

Cook until sausage is no longer pink. Drain fat. Add spaghetti sauce.

Spread half of the meat mixture in a greased 9 by 13 pan.

Stuff each cooked shell with a string cheese.

Place on top of meat sauce and top with remaining sauce.

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Backe for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Verdict:

 This meal was ok. Nothing great, nothing awful.. just a usual pasta dish. I wasn't a fan of the texture of the string cheese.. it didnt' melt much and just wasn't what I was expecting. We each had 2 manicotti and were full. I don't know that I liked this meal enough to want to cook it again.

Ratings:

Ashley: 4 belches       Scott: 6.7 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:

 Roast beef (I used slices from the deli)

Swiss cheese

Submarine rolls

1 package au juice

Directions:

 Cut submarine roll in half. Place desired amount of roast beef on roll.

Top with swiss cheese.

Place in the oven and broil til cheese melts.

Make au juice as directed on package.

Verdict:

 This is another quick and simple meal. Our submarine rolls ended up a litle crunchy because we toasted them first, then added the meat and toasted again, so I suggest only toasting once. I do need to thank Scott for cooking this one. I had a busy day and he helped out by cooking dinner. For a quick, easy meal this wasn't too bad!

Ratings:

Ashley: 7 belches       Scott: 8 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Navajo Tacos

Ingredients:

 Rhodes rolls

Vegetable oil

Chili (I used Nalley's)

Olives

Salsa

Cheddar cheese

(and for dessert scones.. honey butter!)

Directions:

5 hours before you want dinner set out Rhodes rolls to thaw.  

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or til hot.

Stretch out thawed rolls, and set into oil to cook.

Flip over after a few minutes to brown both sides.

Remove from oil and top with chili, cheese, olives, salsa and whatever else you like.

Verdict:

 This is a fun dinner because everyone gets to make whatever they want really. Scott likes thick scones, I like thin... You put what you want on it.. it gives you some options. This is another dinner that for some reason I'm just not a fan, but Scott likes it and I'm not repeating dinners.. so I gotta use all the options I can. I topped most of mine with honey butter (so much better that way)! Also, the oil temperature is a bit tempermental. If it's too hot you'll have to turn the scones really fast or they'll burn, and if it's not hot enough the rolls will soak up the oil and be nasty. The oil should bubble and sizzle when you place the scone in if that helps. Also tongs are helpful when it comes to flipping the scones!

Ratings:

Ashley: 6 belches       Scott: 8 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Hawaiian Haystacks

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken

1 can pineapple chunks

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

La choy chow mein noodles

Cooked rice

Directions:

Cut chicken into bit size pieces and cook on a skillet til done.

In a small saucepan heat soup and milk til it boils. Drain pineapple chunks.

Put rice into individual bowls and top with desired amounts of chicken, soup mixture, pineapple chunks, and chow mein noodles.

Verdict:

This is a safe classic dinner. It's a meal everyone enjoys. We had no complaints about it and were stuffed to the brim after dinner. I like how easy this meal is to put together. It took hardly any time and was delicious.

Ratings:

Ashley: 8 belches       Scott: 8.2 grunts        Payton: 10 wags