Cranberry Turkey Pizza

Remember that cranberry sauce you made for Thanksgiving ages ago and didn't eat all of it?  Oh, you ate it all?  Well we had some and I thought it would make a delicious barbecue sauce.  My recipes almost always have destiny.  This particular recipe is destined for a turkey and cheese pizza.  Yep I was reinventing Thanksgiving dinner as a pizza.  Anyway, you don't have to try my idea, but if you do, I think you'll like this new spin on a Thanksgiving pizza.  

Pizza is our Friday tradition, and this was a great addition to our traditional pepperoni. 

Cranberry barbecue sauce, the secret sauce of the delicous cranberry turkey pizza.

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Cranberry Sauce
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Orange Juice
1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 tablespoon Worcesthershire Sauce

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Pour sauce into small saucepan and boil over medium heat and reduce heat to low
and simmer until thickened about 10 minutes.

Remove sauce from sauce pan and pour into lidded container, I used a pint sized Mason Jar.

Refrigerate remaining unused sauce.

Cranberry Turkey Pizza Ingredients:

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce
4 Slices Turkey Breast (sliced into strips)
2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese (grated)
Pizza Dough

Preheat oven to 500 Farhenheit for atleast a half hour after the oven has reached temperature.

Roll out pizza dough to 12 inch wide thin circle.  Spread a thin layer of sauce.

Add all the cheese, then the turkey and finally drizzle some more sauce on the pizza.

Bake pizza on the bottom of the oven for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown around the edges
and underneath.  Rest for three minutes before slicing, this allows the cheese to cool
enough to cut and become slightly solid.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Turkey Pizza

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Cranberry Sauce
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Orange Juice
1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 tablespoon Worcesthershire Sauce

Process:

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Pour sauce into small saucepan and boil over medium heat and reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened about 10 minutes.

Remove sauce from sauce pana and pour into lidded container, I used a pint sized Mason Jar.

Refrigerate remaining unused sauce.

Cranberry Turkey Pizza Ingredients:

Cranberry Barbecue Sauce
4 Slices Turkey Breast (sliced into strips)
2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese (grated)
Pizza Dough

Process:

Preheat oven to 500 Farhenheit for atleast a half hour after the oven has reached temperature.

Roll out pizza dough to 12 inch wide thin circle.  Spread a thin layer of sauce.

Add all the cheese, then the turkey and finally drizzle some more sauce on the pizza.

Bake pizza on the bottom of the oven for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and underneath.  Rest for three minutes before slicing, this allows the cheese to cool enough to cut and become slightly solid.

Enjoy!

French Fry Sauce

I wanted to use my homemade sour cream for the french fries we were having.  Well, that is when I scoured the internet for a fry sauce.  My fry sauce is similar to what I found, but different.  I don't use recipes as they are written by someone else.  I put what I thought would taste good in the sauce and thankfully it worked.  All those years of tinkering in the kitchen have helped me understand flavors and what goes well together.  It helps if you understand what flavor different ingredients will impart in a recipe.  This sauce was so good that I wanted to keep eating french fries, even though I was full. When I put this sauce on our dining room table, my husband was first upset that I didn't put ketchup. When he tried the sauce, he changed his mind.  This recipe wasn't on my mind to be posted here. After I made it, and loved it, I went back and took a photo of the ingredients.  You don't get to see the middle of the process before the ingredients were mixed.  

This is the best sauce  for dipping french fries.   It puts ketchup to shame.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sour Cream (I used homemade, recipe found here)
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
4 tablespoons Cholula Lime Hot Sauce (Yes it must be this hot sauce)
2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

Mix the ingredients together.  Place in a lidded container.  Refrigerate for an hour before
serving, so the flavors can come together.

Put some of this sauce next to your french fries and allow them to meet.  You will
 not be disappointed at how they taste together.

Enjoy!

French Fry Sauce
Printable Recipe found Here

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sour Cream (I used homemade, recipe found here)
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
4 tablespoons Cholula Lime Hot Sauce (Yes it must be this hot sauce)
2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

Process:

Mix the ingredients together.  Place in a lidded container.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving so the flavors can come together.

Enjoy!

Ranch Dip

You know what happens when you attempt to make ranch dressing and it ends up being too thick? You pretend like you were actually making ranch dip, hence the title of my post and name of my recipe.  Before my youngest daughter decided she loved vegetables, she didn't, and we recommended she eat them with ranch dressing, and it worked.  She has loved ranch and vegetables ever since.  I promised her homemade ranch dressing, and finally I made it.  Of course my ranch dressing really was ranch dip, but hey that is a forgivable mistake right?  It isn't is it?  Okay, well then we'll make ranch dressing next time.  This dip is really good with vegetables, like those commercials for a certain hidden ranch dressing where everyone is eating cauliflower like popcorn and they have vegetable eating contests.  Potato chips are really yummy with this dip too.  

 Ranch dip and vegetables, great Summer time snack.

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek Style Yogurt
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 Avocado Oil (Olive Oil can be substituted)
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley
2 tablespoons Fresh Dill
5 Small or 3 Large Green Onions
2 cloves Garlic
2 teaspoons Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

 Cut the greens onion, parsley, and dill, press the garlic and mix all of these with salt.

 Lets add the yogurt, sour cream, and avocado oil, stir.

 The flavor wasn't right yet, so add pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce, stir.

 Still not right add smoked paprika and hot sauce, stir.  Perfect!

 Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Dip your favorite vegetables and potato chips.

Enjoy!

Ranch dip

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek Style Yogurt

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/4 Avocado Oil (Olive Oil can be substituted)

1/4 cup Fresh Parsley

2 tablespoons Fresh Dill

5 Small or 3 Large Green Onions

2 cloves Garlic

2 teaspoons Hot Sauce

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

Process:

Cut the greens onion, parsley, and dill, press the garlic and mix all of these with salt.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

French Onion Dip

My mom and grandma have a recipe for French Onion Dip that has become a tradition at certain family functions.  Those family gatherings involving warm weather and grilling, seem to be the ones where we see "the French Onion Dip" and Ruffles chips, and yes it must be Ruffles.  We were a Ruffles family, not Lay's, sorry to the Lay's people.  Well actually I'm not really sorry.  Ruffles are strong enough and have ridges to accept "the French Onion Dip."  We have all had French Onion dip, right?  Yes of course we have, accept maybe our Chinese teenager.  It was his first time today.  My mom and grandma's recipe is what we all expect.  It involves the ever popular dried french Onion Soup, but the base is cream cheese, not sour cream and mayonnaise as with most recipes.  I didn't want to use French Onion Soup mix, and truthfully I didn't have any to use.  This of course never stops me from making a homemade version.  I think I've made a homemade version before, but it has been awhile, and so that gives me a chance as Queens Foodie Mama to share with all of you.  When you move away from mom and raise your family on the other side of the country, you might feel as I do, that you want to include some small traditions in your special celebrations that remind you of your family that you moved away from.  Today being our Independence Day, I felt a need to bring in some sort of tradition, since our traditional festivities are impossible to do here.  For most of our children's lives we went to Stewart Park in Beaumont and watched the free concert and ate a potluck dinner with friends and finished the evening  with a fireworks display.  French Onion Dip in no way replaces our Stewart Park memories but it does give me a bit of home to share with my children, a tie to my mom and grandma.  

French Onion Dip and chips, what could be better for 4th of July?

Ingredients:

2 Packages Cream Cheese
2 Yellow Onions
4 cloves Garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

 Peel and cut the onions in half and slice thinly.

Preheat a 10" saute pan over medium heat.  Add oil and onions.  Stir to coat onions in oil.  Cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove lid and continue cooking until onions are brown.

Press the garlic and add to the onions.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

 Turn of the heat and add the Worcestershire Sauce. 

 Stir mixture and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add softened cream cheese to mixing bowl, mix with whisk attachment.  Add onion mixture and whip until combined.

Remove dip to a serving bowl and enjoy with potato chips.  I of course must encourage you to use Ruffles as they are part of the tradition and they are the best.

Enjoy!

French Onion Dip

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

2 Packages Cream Cheese
2 Yellow Onions
4 cloves Garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Process:

Peel and cut the onions in half and slice thinly.

Preheat a 10" sauté pan over medium heat.  Add oil and onions.  Stir to coat onions in oil.  Cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove lid and continue cooking until onions are brown.

Press the garlic and add to the onions.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Turn of the heat and add the Worcestershire Sauce. 

Stir mixture and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Add softened cream cheese to mixing bowl, mix with whisk attachment.  Add onion mixture and whip until combined.

Remove dip to a serving bowl and enjoy with potato chips.

Enjoy!

Freshly Ground Pan Fried Bacon Cheeseburger

My hamburger buns needed a ground beef patty on them, which means I get to share a recipe with you. After reading about how to cook a hamburger, sans a grill, I learned a few things, such as, one - freshly ground beef produces a tender moist patty, second - don't mess with the meat too much, third - choose a chuck and or sirloin cut for the beef, fourth - cook the meat cold on a hot cast iron skillet. With my ground beef patty knowledge I am ready to share my recipe with you.

 Look at that magnificent burger.  It has it all.

Ingredients for this recipe are:

2 lbs. Beef Sirloin Roast (Or pre-ground)

2 lbs. Beef Tender Chuck Roast (Or pre-ground)

4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

1 lb. Bacon

Sliced White Vermont Cheddar

Spelt Hamburger Buns

 Cut beef into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

 Push beef through grinder.  Skip this step if you used pre-ground.  If using pre-ground, try to buy
 it the day you will use it and keep it cold.  Starting with freshly ground beef you will notice a more 
moist and tender burger.  Keeping the beef cold right up to the point of cooking will insure you 
don't overcook the beef.

 Lightly mix ground meat with spoon, adding Worcestershire sauce, Salt, and Freshly Ground Pepper.

 Taking a baseball size piece of beef, pat into a flat disk with an indentation in the middle.  When 
beef cooks it puffs up in the middle.  With the indentation already there it will puff up but the
 overall patty will be flat still. 

Pre-heat oven to 425 Fahrenheit

Pre-heat 12 inch cast iron skillet over media-high burner.

 Place patties in pan and brown on both sides.

 Move hamburgers to oven on a cookie sheet if making more than will fit in pan.

Sauté bacon on griddle until brown.

Pile the burger on a bun with cheese, bacon, lettuce, and condiments. We had homemade ketchup 
on our burger, recipe can be found Here.

Enjoy!

Freshly Ground Pan Fried Bacon Cheeseburger

Printable Recipe Found Here

2 lbs. Beef Sirloin Roast (Or pre-ground)

2 lbs. Beef Tender Chuck Roast (Or pre-ground)

4 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

1 lb Bacon

Sliced White Vermont Cheddar

Spelt Hamburger Buns

Optional Toppings:

Mixed Spring Lettuces

Ketchup

Honey Mustard

Cut beef into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

Push beef through grinder, skip this step if you used pre-ground.

Lightly mix ground meat with spoon, adding Worcestershire sauce, Salt, and Freshly Ground Pepper.

Taking a baseball size piece of beef, pat into a 1 inch thick flat disk with an indentation in the middle.

Pre-heat oven to 425 Fahrenheit

Pre-heat 12 inch cast iron skillet over media-high burner.

Place patties in pan and brown on both sides, move hamburgers to oven on a cookie sheet if making more than will fit in pan.

Sauté bacon on griddle until brown.

Pile the burger on a bun with cheese, bacon, lettuce, and condiments.

Enjoy!

Barbecue Sauce

We ran out of barbecue sauce last month, and I haven't needed it truthfully.  Today I did see a need for barbecue sauce and felt inspired to make it myself for the first time.  I love barbecue sauce.  It adds so much flavor to meat, poultry, and food in general and reminds me of my California roots.

 Homemade barbecue sauce, what could be better?

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 1 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar (brown sugar will also work), 2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon Spicy Dijon Mustard, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Pour all ingredients in a blender.

 Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Pour sauce into sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to boil.

After boiling, simmer for five minutes.  I love the color, the smell is incredible too.

Bottle it up.  I had enough for a pint and some left over for my baked beans (stay tuned for this recipe).

Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

Many years ago when my oldest daughter was a baby and learning to walk, we went to Kansas to visit my husband's oldest brother.  My sister in law made beef stroganoff.  It was completely different from what my mom made and so delicious.   My mom, like every other mother of the 80s, used cream soup, you know the red can brand, for many casserole type meals.  For beef stroganoff she used cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup (sour cream if she had it), ground beef, and egg noodles.  My sister in law had used sliced beef that had been sauteed and was in a gravy type sauce and served over egg noodles.  When I got home, I searched recipe books (before Google) looking for a recipe that sounded similar to what I had enjoyed so much. I found a recipe and made beef stroganoff.  It was awesome.  To this day I make it in a similar fashion to that recipe I found so many years ago.  I don't have the recipe, so I make it from memory and also in my own way.

 It was delicious, you should try it, oh wait we ate it all (sorry).

 Ingredients for the sauce recipe are: 1-2 lbs. sirloin steak, 1 yellow onion, 2 pints of baby
bella mushrooms (or white button mushrooms), 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons olive oil
(not pictured), 1 tablespoon Better Than Boullion Beef, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I used homemade yogurt, recipe can be found here, or use sour cream), and water.

 Slice steak against the grain.   Whatever direction the grooves/lines in the meat are going,
turn your meat 90 degrees and slice thinly.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 Peel, then cut onion in half and slice thinly, slice mushrooms thinly.

 Ingredients for buttered noodles: 1 1/2 lbs. fresh egg noodles (use this recipe), 1/2 stick of butter.

 Add butter and olive oil to a preheated pan set to medium high. Add beef and saute just
until browned, only 2-3 minutes or so.  DO NOT OVERCOOK THE BEEF!

 Remove beef and set aside in a bowl.

 Add more butter, olive oil, mushrooms, and onion.  Saute for a couple of minutes until
onion is translucent. 

 Add one tablespoon of Better Than Boullion to pan. Add 2 cups hot water, Worcestershire sauce,
 and a sprinkle of garlic powder (optional).  Mix together 2 tablespoons of corn starch and cold water.  Now you can add the beef back in.   When Beef Stroganoff is boiling, add corn starch mixture.  Only
add enough to make it the thickness you want.  Remove from heat and add yogurt or sour cream,
my mother in law assured me many years ago this is the ingredient that makes Beef Stroganoff.

 Boil fresh noodles for 30 seconds or dry egg noodles according to package.  Drain, put back
in pan and toss with butter

Plate up some noodles and pour beef stroganoff on top.

Enjoy!