Apple Sausage Pizza with Beer Sauce

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I love pizza in all forms. You’d think my family had pizza night growing up. Since we didn’t, I seem to make it a lot or at least make calzones a lot. This pizza was a great fall flavor and was adapted to use ingredients on hand. Mr. J doesn’t eat mushrooms so I out they went and we had some red onion so in that went!

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I’ve tried dough of all sorts. I still claim that fresh-refrigerated dough is best. The refrigerated dough in a can comes in third. Today, I gave Jiffy Mix a try which was a surprising 2nd choice. The dough instructed me to mix with water and then keep it at 85-degrees. I put it on the back burner where the oven vents. I found it extremely sticky and feared too much flour would make it wicked hard. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick spray to keep it where it belongs.

Ingredients

– pizza dough
– wheat germ for the bottom of the pizza so it doesn’t stick
– 2 links of sweet Italian sausage
– 1/2 red onion
– 1 small granny smith apple, sliced thin
– 1 cup of cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar)
– 1 cup of beer (I used Blue Moon)
– About two tablespoons of coarse grain mustard
– About 1 tbs sour cream

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Directions:
Remove the casings on the sausage and brown it in a skillet. Add onion half way through  Remove the sausage and onion and add the beer.  Let it reduce by half and then add the mustard and black pepper.  Let the sauce cool a bit and add the sour cream.  Meanwhile by rolling out the pizza dough into some flour until it’s evenly thin.  Sprinkle wheat germ onto the pan before spreading dough out. Top it with some sauce before topping with sausage, onion, apple and cheese.  Drizzle with the beer/mustard sauce. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Increasing the Fall in Pumpkin Bread

Nothing is more fall than pumpkin bread BUT with walnuts and Craisins that fall factor was just amped up about 10 times. I don’t bake much but bread seems more manageable than cookies. I have to say, while it won’t make me a baker, I’m quite proud of the results! Can you say breakfast for the week?

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Ingredients

-1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
-4 eggs
-1 cup vegetable oil
-2/3 cup water
-3 cups sugar
-3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
-1/2 cup Craisins
-1 cup walnuts 

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Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 7×3 inch loaf pans or one regular and 2 mini loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pumpkin pie spice. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.

Pour into the prepared pans. Add Craisins and walnuts to taste. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Pattypan, You’re So Darn Cute

The cutest vegetable in the WORLD is pattypan. Veggies aren’t always chosen by their endearing appearance but it’s such an easy one to cook and just so darn adorable. I can’t ever believe how cheap it is too. I bought 3 for $1 at a farmers market. After stuffing and baking it, refrigerate for a few days until you devourer all of them! I’ve had it as a whole meal but it would make a good side dish for 2 to share.

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Ingredients

-2 pattypan squash
-6 slices bacon, chopped
-1/2 cup onion, diced
-1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
-1/4 cup chopped spinach
-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese & another sprinkle
-dash garlic powder
-salt & pepper


Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) In a saucepan with one inch of boiling water add squash and cook for 10 minutes. Prick with a fork to ensure it is el dente.

3) Cook bacon until crispy adding onion partway through

4) Slice the top off of the pattypan, and scoop out most of the inside. (be sure to leave a 1/8 to 1/4 inch all the way around). Chop squash.

5) combine squash, onion, bacon, parmasan cheese, bread crumbs, chopped spinach, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste and stuff into each pattypan.

6) Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan to serve.

Why not skip the spinach and add in mushrooms? Or tomato? There are so many variations to stuff these guys with.