Sallee B's Two Cheese, Sausage Pizza with Homemade Crust

The Harley Riding, Queen of Pizza

Several years ago, my weekend job was assembling and baking pizzas for a local convenience store. I, laughingly, told  folks that I was the Harley riding, pizza queen of Belle, MO. Today, I am still a serious pizza fanatic who is content to eat hot pizza for supper, cold pizza for breakfast, and warmed up pizza for lunch. My obsession with pizza has kept me hunting for the perfect homemade pizza dough. My definition of a perfect homemade pizza dough is:

• Yeast dough
• Quick and easy to make
• Thin, but tender after baking

Finally, I believe that my search has ended. The recipe that I followed today baked up into a thin, tender crust with a golden brown bottom.

Bottom of pizza crust after baking for 25 minutes at 375*F

Sallee B's Porkalicious Sausage, Portobello, and Black Olive Pizza

Yield: 1 large 16" round pizza, or 15" x 17" rectangular pizza.

Ingredients

1 lb. mild pork sausage

1/2 sliced, large black olives

1/2 cup Hunt's Premium Mushroom Pasta Sauce (spaghetti sauce)

4 ounces Baby Portobello mushrooms

1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. packed, brown sugar

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Shredded Colby jack cheese

Canola oil

Note: I open a 24 oz. can of Hunt's Pasta Sauce and a large can of whole black olives. Then, I use the leftover sauce and olives to make angel hair spaghetti for my lunch. However, this is enough sauce and black olives for two pizzas.

Directions

• Make the pizza crust dough according to the directions.
• Cover the bowl with a light towel and set aside. 
• Turn your oven on and let it start heating to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Then assemble, slice, and cook the  pizza toppings in the following order:

1. Slice about 1/2 cup of ripe black olives
2. Wash and slice 4 ozs. of Baby Portobello Mushrooms
3. Open the one pound roll of mild pork sausage. Using your fingers, break the sausage into small pieces. Place the pieces in a medium, nonstick skillet. When all of the sausage pieces have been placed into the skillet, put the skillet on medium heat. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp.dried Italian seasoning and 1 1/2 tsp. packed brown sugar over the sausage pieces in the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is just beginning to brown, or about 2/3 done. Turn the heat to low, add the sliced mushrooms, cover the pan with a lid. Cook for about three - four minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and the sausage pieces are cooked through. Place the sausage and mushroom mixture into a colander and allow fat to drain.
4. Lightly rub a 16" pizza pan, or a 15"x18" baking sheet with canola oil. 
5. Place the pizza dough in the center of the pan. Press the dough into a flat disc. Gently begin pressing and stretching the dough toward the edges of the pan until it is the desired thickness. Take care not to rip the dough.
6. Place 1/2 cup pasta sauce in center of pizza dough and spread evenly toward the edge of the pizza dough.
7. Sprinkle sausage and mushroom mixture evenly across the dough
8. I do not measure the mozzarella. I just sprinkle it on the pizza until the toppings are lightly covered. Then I sprinkle a handful or two of the shredded Colby jack cheese on top of the mozzarella.
9. Bake pizza for 20 - 25 minutes at 375*F.

Before slicing - large, whole black olives 

Baby Portobello mushrooms and mild pork sausage

The Ultimate St. Patrick's Dessert Guide

Looking for a "magically delicious" dessert?

 Then you have found leprechaun gold in the form of 140 kitchen tested recipes for St. Patty's Day desserts from Betty Crocker, Better Homes and Gardens, Babble.com, and five more popular websites.  

How about trying some Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Cream Butter cream, Pecan Crusted Mojito Bars, Shamrock Milkshake Cupcakes, Leprechaun Cookie Bark, or Shamrock Pretzel Treats? These are just a few of the fantastic offerings you will find by clicking on the links below. 

• 38 St. Patrick's Day Desserts from Betty Crocker

• 22 Desserts From Better Homes and Gardens

• 15 Fab Finds from allaboutthemommies.com

• 6 St. Pat's Day Desserts from Snackpicks.com

• 6 St. Patty's Day Treats from Sugar Loco

• 5 St. Patrick's Day Desserts and Snacks from Celebrating Holidays

• 36 Colorful St. Patrick's Day Desserts from Miss Wish

• 12 St. Patrick's Day Desserts from Babble.com

Ridin' 4 Jesus 55th Birthday Cake

Happy birthday to me! Turning fifty gave me the blues. I kept quiet, made the hubby swear to no party, and managed to make it past fifty without any over-the-hill references. Now, five years later,  I'm ready to embrace my age and celebrate! My birthday is a great reason to make a cake and decorate it with RBCF, or rolled butter cream fondant.

Front of competed cake.
The Sallee Bonham figurine was originally a Harley Davidson Christmas ornament.
 I painted the hair red and put my own back patch on the vest. 

The beginning.
The layers are covered in Rolled Butter Cream Fondant, RBCF.

Floral Decorations are RBCF,

Wilton Colors - Leaf Green, Black, and No Taste Red

McCormick Food Coloring - Blue

RBCF flowers and leaves. 

I used chocolate RBCF for  the highway, landscape, and the cross

Sugar cookie signs lettered with all-purpose butter cream frosting.

Close up of sign details for my important life events.
CMA means Christian Motorcyclist Association

Back of cake with 1990 Baby 2 sign and final floral details. 

The early years of my life.

Yield: about twenty-five 2" x 2" servings of cake, plus a dozen, variously sized, sugar cookies.

Sizes and Quantities

three 9 1/2" inch layers

one 4" x 4" layer

one batch of sugar cookies

three pounds of chocolate RBCF (rolled butter cream fondant)

three pounds of vanilla RBCF

1 large batch of all purpose butter cream frosting

The Ingredients

4 boxes of cake mix, 3 white and 1 chocolate

3  two pound bags of powdered sugar

2 cups of light corn syrup

1 1/2 cups of shortening

1 cup of butter

3 cups flour

4 tsp. of vanilla

eggs

baking powder

salt

Grocery Confusion by Anita Renfroe

In a daze from the multitude of choices at the grocery store? Listen to Anita Renfroe's perspective on Grocery Confusion.

Planning a Ridin' For Jesus, 55th Birthday Cake for Myself

Turning fifty gave me the blues. I kept quiet, made the hubby swear to no party, and managed to make it past fifty without any over-the-hill references. Now, five years later,  I'm ready to embrace my age and celebrate! My birthday is a great reason to plan, bake, and decorate a cake with RBCF, or rolled butter cream fondant.

Sketching A Cake Design

Looking at pictures of decorated cakes is my first step in planning a cake. Originally, my idea was a road trip through life, or motorcycle theme. At CakeCentral.com, I look at dozens of decorated cake pictures for traveling, life journey, and retirement. My swirling ideas begin to condense into a cohesive shape. Time to start drawing.

Sideview of cake
Dimensions of bottom layer 17" x 8" x 2", dimensions of second layer 8.5" x8.5" x4", and the top layer will be 4" x 4"

A road will encircle the cake bottom on top of the cake board. The road will be chocolate rolled butter cream fondant that is dyed black. The road signs will be made out of sugar cookies,frosting, and fondant.

top view of  cake

What Size and How Many Servings?

 I will be baking the cake layers, making  the fondant, and  baking the road sign cookies. Many serving guides consider a cake serving to be a square that is 1 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches. That means that a 9 1/2 inch square cake yields twenty-five servings. In my opinion, this is an unrealistic portion size. I plan on a 9 1/2 inch cake layer that will yield twelve servings. Using this guide, my cake will yield about twenty-six servings.

Too much fondant is better than not enough fondant. Running out of fondant or icing in the middle of  assembling a cake slows the decorative process. To prevent this from happening, I am making three pounds of chocolate RBCF (rolled butter cream fondant) and three pounds of  vanilla RBCF. Also, I am making a large batch of all-purpose butter cream frosting that will yield about two pounds of frosting. Again, too much is better than not enough. Extra fondant and frosting can be refrigerated and used for other projects. Two weeks is my limit for keeping extra fondant and frosting.

Pork Rind Humor from Imgur

As a southerner, this is my new pickup line. - Imgur



Seriously, this is earthy, food humor taken to another level. I am laughing myself off the chair as I type this. Picture this, A bag of pork rinds (chicharonnes), label on the the bag says," PUT A LITTLE SOUTH IN YOUR MOUTH" Click on the link above to see the picture.

Sallee B's Oven Fried Chicken

This week , I decided to post a pantry style menu that I like to cook when chicken is on sale. The sale item for this menu are the chicken drumsticks. However, you can use this recipe with a whole cut-up chicken, leg quarters, or breast. The rest of the ingredients are from the shelves of my well-stocked pantry. Get ready to eat some homemade happiness on a plate.

Pantry Style Menu

Oven Fried Drumsticks 

Rice and Gourmet Chicken Gravy

Buttered Sweet Peas

Sallee B's Oven Fried Drumsticks - Recipe

I adapted this recipe from a Betty Crocker recipe.

Ingredients

1. 2 - 3 lbs. of drumsticks, about 8 drumsticks
2. 1/2 cup of flour
3. 1 tsp. salt
4. 1 tsp. paprika
5. 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
6. 1/4 tsp. rubbed sage
7. 1/4 tsp. fresh ground rainbow peppercorn mix, or black pepper
8. 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine (I use butter)
9. 4 Tbsp. shortening

Directions

• Mix flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, rubbed sage, and pepper in a shallow bowl. 
• Coat drumsticks and set aside
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place butter and shortening into a glass 13x9x2 inch pan.
• Put pan in the preheated oven until the shortening and butter are melted.
• Place coated drumsticks in pan.
• Cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Turn pieces and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes more, or until the drumsticks are golden brown. 
• Remove chicken from pan
• Drain pan drippings, the melted shortening, butter, and chicken fat with scraps of coating, into a large skillet and reserve for making gravy.

Gourmet Chicken Gravy  

Great gravy starts with pan drippings. Pan drippings are the bits of browned flavor that make good gravy taste like gourmet gravy.  

Yield: 4 cups of gravy

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup flour
2. 1 rounded Tbsp. Knorr chicken flavored bouillon
3. 4 cups of water
4. salt and pepper to taste
5. pan drippings from the oven fried chicken

Directions

• Heat or microwave four cups of water until hot, but not simmering. I microwave the water in a 1 quart measuring cup.
• Add  1 rounded, tablespoon of chicken flavored bouillon to the water.
• Stir until the bouillon has dissolved.
• Add about a cup of the hot broth to the 13x9x2 inch pan the chicken was cooked in. With a fork, gently loosen the browned bits in the bottom and sides of the pan, deglazing is the chefy term for this. Pour back into the container with the other three cups of broth. 
• Set liquid aside to use later.

• Place large skillet with pan drippings from cooking the drumsticks onto stove top burner.
• Add 1/2 cup of sifted flour to the drippings. Make sure you add a nice level cup, not rounded.
• Whisk flour into the pan drippings.
• Turn stove burned to medium heat, its a 5 on my stove. Whisk mixture until it is hot, bubbly, and starts to brown. 
• Gradually add four cups of chicken broth while stirring gently with a whisk
• Continue to stir mixture constantly until it thickens and begins to bubble.
• Once the thickened mixture begins to bubble, let simmer for 3-4 minutes while stirring occasionally.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper

Rice

Start cooking your rice when the chicken has cooked for the first thirty minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1. raw white rice
2. Knorr chicken flavored bouillon
3. minced dried onion

Directions

Follow package directions for cooking desired amount of rice.

Add 1 tsp. of Knorr chicken bouillon and 1 tsp. minced dried onion for each cup of water.

Buttered Sweet Peas

Yield: 3 servings 

To double this recipe, use 2 cans of peas, 3 Tbsp. of butter, and 1 tsp. of sugar.

Ingredients

1. 1 15-oz. cans of sweet peas, drained
2. 2 Tbsp. butter
3. 1/2 to 1 tsp. sugar

Directions

• Over low heat, melt butter in a medium size skillet.
• Add 1 tsp. sugar and dissolve in butter.
• Add drained peas and lightly stir or shake skillet until peas are coated. 
• Heat until peas are nice and hot.

Your pantry style feast is ready to eat!