P is for Pocket Pizza

I made this pizza back on July 28, 2020, and it was really easy to make and pretty tasty. I did have some issues with it. 

Full disclosure I do make homemade pizza. I've been using the same recipe for the dough since my dad found it and declared it the one we'd use. That recipe calls for yeast this one did not which was pretty cool.

I had no issue with making the dough. The parts where I struggled wherewith the direction for sausage. What kind of sausage? Crumbly, sliced, or something else? I don't normally put the sausage on my pizza at home so quickly over thought it and became confused.

I also bought my pizza, sauce, which normally I make my own. This was a mistake only because I think it made the over all pocket pizza pretty salty. That is hard for me to say since I have no issues with salt. 

I also struggled a little with the assembly since it was layered. Which made sense after. reading the directions like 6 times. However, a simple sentence of you will be layering the ingredients would have helped a lot.

Overall, this was a yummy treat. I would attempt it again. I would make my own sauce and understand the layering process better. 

It does make a massive pocket pizza as you can see by it covering the entire cookie sheet, so would be good to share with a few people. 

O is for Oatmeal Pancakes

I can say I was really excited about this bake. I am a huge fan of breakfast for dinner so making this for dinner on July 28, 2020, was a treat. 

I have never made oatmeal pancakes before. I have made all kinds but my favorite kind of pancakes are light, fluffy, and have a crunchy butter ring on the outside. 

These oatmeal pancakes are not like my favorite kind but still very good. They are hearty, filling, and tastes really good. When I cooked these they took longer to cook than normal, about 5-7 minutes instead of 3-4 minutes. I also played with trying them with both molasses and my normal pancake syrup. I thought the molasses would be best because they were so wholesome, but nope, I preferred the regular syrup. 

Like most recipes in this book the directions on this one were very easy and clear which is always nice. I think pancakes are one of the first items I learned to cook so always appreciate the idea that it might be some little kid's first item as well. 

I just wanted to take note that we drank this local cider while eating our pancakes. Why not have some apple "juice" for dinner? Fun fact, ciders are closer to wines than beers. This cinder can be found in Natural Bridge and I highly recommend it!

N is for Nutty Marshmallow Bars

Like the M is for Mud Pie, this was part of my and my mom's missing pages of the cookbook.  Using the index for the name of the recipe and doing a google search I was able to find this recipe to use for N is for Nutty Marshmallow Bars.

I made this on 7.27.2020 and this one is very sticky. I noticed this fact only because Husband hates sticky things. He wears gloves to eat doughnuts he dislikes it so much. Since he notices I now notice. 

I also felt like the way I made this, which had some flaws made it very crumbly. Instead of chopping the peanuts like instructed I used my magic bullet and it made more like peanut butter. Flaw one. I also put it in a larger pan which made nice size bars. However, if I would have used a slightly smaller pan it would have been more squished and compact and probably less fragile, flaw two.

The overall taste was very good even though I was not in the mood to cook that day. Husband said it reminded him of the haystacks his mom makes around Christmas time each year. His father, brother, and he all fight for the haystacks. I have a hard time putting down her peanut butter balls. 

The steps were easy to follow even though I did not do the best at it. I would probably try this one again.

M is for Mud Pie

M for Mud Pie was an adventure to be sure. I completed this recipe on July 26, 2020.

Before could even get started on this pie recipe I had to find it. As you can see from the picture there is a picture but no recipe. My mom has the same cookbook and she also is missing these pages. I knew from the table of context that it was called M is for Mud Pie and so with the power of google looked for some different options. I ended up choosing this one since it was from Betty Crocker, specifically mentions Gold Medal flour, and is pretty simple. With all of these factors checked I went with it. 

The overall steps were easy to follow. The different elements added together to have nice flavors and a variety of textures. I can defiantly see making this again. It would be a great item to make the day before and just grab it and go before heading to the event. 

I did make a mistake when it came to measuring out the flour. I should have used 1/3 of a cup of flour but used 1/4. I blame this on trying to start it at 9pm at night. I couldn't figure out the math to make it right. Or rather, I was too lazy to figure it out so went with it.

Overall it was nice, easy, and I would defiantly try it again. 

L is for Lemon Squares

I made this dish back on  7.23.2020. I'll be honest in that it was just okay. I might try it again, but honestly feel like I would try a different recipe if I wanted to do lemon bars again.

I did enjoy that the recipe had a two-step process. The first being make and cook the crust and the second to make and cook the filling. 

I know the Jelly Roll, had two steps but you weren't cooking the filling just rolling it in the cake. I think it would be a nice change or a possible challenge for a new kiddo learning to bake.