Perfect Pizza or Calzone Dough

Found and Adapted from Your Home Based Mom

1 cup warm water
1 T yeast
1 T sugar

Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.

about 2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 T wheat gluten (optional, I have forgotten to use it and it turns out just as good)
1 T olive oil
1 t salt

Mix together in kitchen aid and add liquid yeast mixture. Add extra flour, 1 T at a time if needed until dough clears side of bowl and just barely doesn't stick to your fingers when you touch it. This is critical and will be determined with practice.

Knead for 5 minutes.

Fill sink with warm water and put bowl of dough in it. Weigh the bowl down by covering with a cutting board. Let rise for 30 min to 1 hour. Add toppings and *sauce. Brush crust with melted butter, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Bake 450 for 10-15 minutes. Makes one large pizza or 4 calzones.

*I make sauce by adding about 1t of Italian seasoning, 2t of oregano, and some garlic salt (about 1/4t) to an 8oz can of tomato sauce. I don't really measure, but that's basically how I make it.

Let Your Dough Rise in the Kitchen Sink

Living in Northern Indiana I've always had a problem finding a warm place in my house for dough to rise. I've tried using my oven but it's usually too hot and then you can't preheat the oven while the dough is rising. My mother-in-law shared a trick with me that works perfectly every time - the kitchen sink!

Fill your sink with the hot water from your faucet. Place your bowl of dough in the water and cover with a cutting board to weigh it down. If rising a pan of rolls just set the pan over the sink and let the sides rest on the counter and cover the tray with a towel.

Introducing . . .

I've noticed that my personal family blog has recipes and money saving ideas that are constantly creeping into its posts. I decided to start this blog to have a place where I could post recipes, easy crafts, and other good ideas I've come across since becoming a wife and mother. I hope you find something useful!

How to Live On a Shoe String Budget

Once I got married I quickly realized that our sources of income came solely from the two of us and that we were accountable for how we spent or saved all our money. My husband comes form frugal genes and has been a good example and motivator. Since buying a house and having a baby I have become even more money conscious and obsessed with saving money - sometimes so much so that I spend too much money on deals at yardsales, Dollar Tree, etc., but that's a whole post in itself ; ) I really believe that you shouldn't spend more money on some things that can easily be found or made for a fraction of the cost so that you can save your money for things that really do cost a lot of money.

Recipes

I've always liked to cook and when I was in Jr. High I really thought that someday I would go to culinary arts school. My mom told me I should get a real degree as a backup and then go to culinary arts school. Well, I guess I went the realistic route, but that doesn't mean I'll never go or that I can't be a chef in my own house. Since going to college and living with roommates I have grown a love for home cooked food and recently I have been trying to make more and more things homemade that I once thought could only be purchased at a store or restaurant. I love looking for recipes online and sometimes tweeking or perfecting them. I'll only share the really good ones and I'll only show pictures of the actual product I made. It bugs me when people post fake pictures they find on the internet and you make the recipe and it looks nothing like the picture.

Easy Crafts
I'm not very crafty but I like to do simple crafts for my house and as gifts. This topic will probably have the fewest number of posts.