Pizza Crust

1 pkg regular or quick active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a medium bowl. Stir in flour, olive oil and salt. Beat vigorously 20 strokes. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

Move oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 square pans (8X8X2). Divide dough in half; pat each half onto bottom of pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes. Top with sauce and pizza toppings. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

Peach Cobbler

10 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter in 9x13 glass dish. Mix remaining dry ingredients. Mix in milk. Pour on top of melted butter. Add peaches. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Serve warm with ice cream.

Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
onions (or for me onion powder)
pepper
garlic (I used both minced garlic and garlic powder)
Worcestershire sauce
can of green beans (or mixed veggies)
Can of stewed tomatoes
5 potatoes cooked and mashed

Preheat oven to 350. Brown beef with onion and seasonings and sauce. Add beans and tomatoes (I didn't have stewed tomatoes, so I left them out) and let simmer for a few minutes. Spoon into a casserole dish (I sprayed with cooking spray), and top with potatoes. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. I was worried, because I just threw everything in the pan. But, I guess that is kind of what Shepherd's pie is, right?

Fried Rice

Jeff requested this, so I just threw some things in a frying pan and it worked.

Cook 2 cups rice per package instructions

4-5 eggs
1 cup diced ham
1 cup peas
soy sauce

Scramble eggs in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add ham and a little soy sauce. Add peas and a little more soy sauce. Add rice and stir until rice is covered with soy sauce, add more if you need it.

Serve alone or with your favorite Chinese dish


****Update: I made it again last week and added Worcestershire sauce per Jeff's request. MMMM

Buttercream Frosting

8 TBS butter (1 stick) room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 TBS milk
2 tsp vanilla

Combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix on low until incorporated. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 TBS milk. Alternate powdered sugar and milk until the frosting is a consistency you like. Add more milk if it is too stiff. I like to mix on high to fluff the frosting up a bit.

New York Cheesecake

Crust:

15 graham crackers, crushed
2 TBS butter, melted

Filling:
4 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tbs vanilla
1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 9" springform pan.

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press into bottom of pan.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, then add eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.

Pour filling in to crust.

Bake in preheated oven 1 hour. Then, turn off oven and let cool with door closed for 5-6 hours. (I made this at night and let it cool while I slept). This prevents cracking.

Chill in refrigerator until served. Top with favorite topping. We used cherry pie filling.

Reese's Peanut Butter Brownies

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9 X 13 pan. Melt butter. Add peanut butter and stir until peanut butter us melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well with a spoon. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat well. Remove 1 3/4 cup batter and stir in cocoa. Spread chocolate batter into prepared pan and remaining batter on top. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.


****Update- Right as it came out of the oven, I poured a bag of chocolate chips on top and spread over the pan. YUMMY