Breakfast Strata

Jan 21, 2024 | Waste Not Want More

If you have bread that is no longer fresh, don’t throw it away.

This recipe is easy to customize to your own taste or use up anything in the refrigerator. You pick the toppings. You can even half or double it. It’s very versatile and quick.

1/4 cup butter
Small container fresh mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced
Diced red pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
Diced Ham, chopped Bacon, or Real bacon bits, or cooked crumbled sausage
3 cups cubed bread
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cups half and half
3 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced/ or 1 teaspoon dried garlic
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup cheese/ any cheese cheddar,smoked gouda
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  1. Toast bread then cut bread into cubes. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13×9 baking dish.
  3. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, pepper, and onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add meat of your choice and let cool.
  4. Combine bread and milk in large bowl. Let stand until milk is absorbed.
  5. Whisk half and half, spices, and cheeses in medium bowl to blend.
  6. Place half of bread mixture in single layer in prepared glass baking dish. The bread will might not cover bottom of baking dish. Top with half each of sautéed vegetables, and half and half mixture. Repeat layering with remaining bread and mixtures. Top with cheese. This can be prepared a day ahead. Just cover and refrigerate overnight.
  7. Bake strata uncovered until firm in center, puffed and golden. Bake time depends on the thickness and oven vary in temperature. Start checking for firmness at 35 minutes. Turn oven on broil to brown the top.

Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

After baking you can put in freezer up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.

Pizza Dough Tips

Apr 5, 2023 | Tips

  1. Remember there are many ways to knead dough, to proof dough, and to bake dough. Find what is best for you.
  2. Don’t keep adding flour to sticky dough, your crust will be tough and dry. Rub extra virgin Olive Oil on your hand when kneading your dough.
  3. Once your dough has risen, add a little olive oil to your hand and punch down, make a round flatten disc, add oil before stretching out.
  4. It’s normal if your dough shrinks a little. Let it rest, cover with a towel, until it looks slightly puffy again.
  5. Oil pan and sprinkle cornmeal or semolina flour on pan. Its good for taste, texture and help the crust not stick to the pan.
  6. You can use parchment paper on you pan to help the crust on stick.
  7. Pizza stones are a great investment. Baking stones help the favor and texture of the crust, not just for pizzas but for loaf breads and even cookies.
  8. For a crispier crust roll dough out and place in the refrigerator overnight. Then pull out, add topping and bake as usual.
  9. Bake pizzas in a cast iron skillet. It takes pizza to the next level.

Pizza Dough Video

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Jan 2, 2023 | Recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 pizza crust mix prepared to bake/or any pizza crust
  • 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded

Alfredo Sauce

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (fresh or dried)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy whipping cream. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted.
  2. Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add the grated parmesan cheese.
  3. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Set aside.

Preheat oven 425F. Place pizza dough on a 10” pizza pan or 10” cast iron skillet or larger if you want a thinner crust. Spread 1/2 cup mozzarella on pizza, pressing down on dough, then spread shredded chicken, parmesan cheese and top with remaining mozzarella. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool for 5 minutes then drizzle a little alfredo sauce* on top. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve the remaining alfredo sauce as extra dipping sauce for pizza.

*Adding too much alfredo to your pizza can make it soggy.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Dec 29, 2022 | Recipes

1 pizza crust mix prepared to bake or a pizza crust

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Basil
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 1 cup rotisserie chicken cooked/ shredded
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Buffalo Sauce
  • 2 cups shredded cheese -Asiago, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese or a variety of cheeses.

Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Mix the first 5 ingredients, sprinkle over shredded chicken. Add sauce and cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spread evenly over pizza crust. Bake for 25 minutes until cheese is golden on top. Drizzle more buffalo sauce before serving.

 

Easy Homemade Butter

Feb 18, 2022 | Recipes

  • 32 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream Pasteurized
  • 1 tablespoon Cultured buttermilk, or plain whole milk yogurt.
  • 1/2 teaspoon Fine ground sea salt, optional

 

  1. Pour heavy whipping cream into a clean quart-sized jar and add 1 tablespoon of the cultured buttermilk or yogurt. Mix well with a clean utensil, and cover jar loosely with a lid or a clean cloth.
  2. If culturing the cream with buttermilk place the jar in a warm place in your kitchen. If you are culturing the cream with yogurt, you will need to place your jar in a warmer place. For example, you can place your jar in your oven, keep your oven turned off. Yogurt temperature should get to warm. Room temperature.
  3. Allow the cream to culture anywhere from 8 to 48 hours. Once you achieve the desired level of taste, transfer the cultured cream to the device you will be using to whip it, such as a stand mixer. Whip the cream until butter forms and a white liquid is left in the bottom of the mixer bowl. The white liquid is pure buttermilk.
  4. Using a mesh strainer with cheesecloth or a flour sack towel and place the lined strainer over a large bowl. Strain the butter and buttermilk through the lined strainer. Pull the cloth together and squeeze out as much buttermilk as possible from the butter.
  5. Put the butter in a clean bowl and cover it with cold purified water. Press the butter with a spatula to release any bits of remaining buttermilk. The water will become cloudy. Pour off the water and repeat this process until the water is clear and no more buttermilk can be pressed out of the butter. Drain water. Press the butter to release any remaining water and pour it out of the bowl.
  6. Add salt to the butter and work it into the butter.
  7. Transfer the butter to a surface covered with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Shape butter and refrigerate. The butter should remain fresh for approximately two weeks.