Sally's Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Folks-

This last week I decided to try to make Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza for dinner on Thursday. Never having even tried a pizza of that style, I was taking a risk, but I figured it was the only way I would ever get to try it. I found a recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction, and decided to make one tiny change, and then also make it over two days. I made the dough and sauce on day one, leaving it in the refrigerator overnight, and assembled them the next day.

I'm going to mention that I thought the original recipe wouldn't make enough for my family of six adults, and I was quite wrong. I doubled the recipe unnecessarily. The sauce doubles well, and I just made the crust recipe twice, but it was actually far too much. We barely started in on it the night I made it.

My kids did say that it needs to be our standard homemade pizza recipe though!

Here it is!

Pizza Crust (makes 2)

3 and 1/4 cups (406g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

1/2 cup (60g) yellow cornmeal

1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar

2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*

1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) slightly warm water

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, divided (1/4 cup melted, 1/4 cup softened to room temperature)

olive oil for coating

Tomato Sauce for Both Pizzas

2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter

1 small onion, grated (about 1/3 cup)*

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional, but recommended)

3 garlic cloves, minced

one 28-ounce can (794g) crushed tomatoes*

1 sprig of fresh basil, whole

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

Toppings for Both Pizzas

4 cups (about 16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese*

1/2 cup (45g) grated parmesan cheese

optional: 1/2 cup sliced pepperoni

optional: 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Instructions

For best results and ease of mind, read through the recipe completely before beginning. You will need two deep dish 9×2 inch round cake pans if you are making both pizzas at the same time. You can also use 9 inch springform pans.

For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use your hand mixer and a very very large bowl. If you do not have any mixer, you will do this all by hand. Again, use a very large bowl. Give those ingredients a quick toss with your mixer on low or with a large wooden spoon. Add the warm water and 1/4 cup of melted butter. The warm water should be around 90°F (32°C). Make sure it is not very, very hot or it will kill the yeast. Likewise, make sure the butter isn’t boiling hot. If you melt it in the microwave, let it sit for 5 minutes before adding. On low speed, beat (or stir) the dough ingredients until everything begins to be moistened. Continuing on low speed (or remove from the bowl and knead by hand if you do not own a mixer), beat the dough until it is soft and supple and gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl and falls off of the dough hook- about 4-5 minutes. If the dough is too hard (it will be textured from the cornmeal), but if it feels too tough, beat in 1 teaspoon of warm water. Alternatively, if it feels too soft, beat in 1 Tablespoon of flour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside, turning it around so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.

Once the dough is ready, lightly flour a large work surface. Remove dough from the bowl, set the bowl and aluminum foil aside (to use later). Gently punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles and roll the dough into a large 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter on top of the dough. Roll it up lengthwise per the photos below. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls and place back into your greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rise in the refrigerator (not in a warm place) for 1 hour until they are puffy as you make the sauce.

For the sauce: Place butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned after about 5 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, sprig of fresh basil, and sugar. Turn the heat down to low-medium and allow it to simmer until it’s hearty, fragrant, and thick- about 30 minutes. You’ll have about 2 and 1/2 cups of sauce at this point. If you have more than that, keep simmering until the amount has reduced. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to be used. You may store the sauce in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if planning to make the pizza another day. You may freeze this sauce for up to 2 months as well.

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).

Assemble the pizzas: After the dough balls have risen in the refrigerator, they should be puffy. Keep one ball of dough in the refrigerator as you work with the first one. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, working it into a 12-inch circle. Using your rolling pin as a guide (see photos below), place over a 9×2 inch deep dish cake pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into the cake pan. Make sure it is nice and tight fitting inside the pan. Trim any excess dough off the edges with a small knife. Repeat with 2nd dough. Brush the top edges of the dough with a little olive oil, which gives the crust a beautiful sheen. Fill each pizza with 1/2 of the cheese (about 2 cups/8 oz per pizza), then the pepperoni and bacon or your desired toppings. Pour about 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) of sauce evenly on top of each. If you do not like that much sauce, you can reduce to 3/4 cup (180ml) per pizza and have leftover sauce. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup (22g) of grated parmesan cheese.

Place the cake pans on top of a large baking sheet, which will catch anything potentially spilling over the sides of the pans. (Nothing usually does.) Bake for 20-28 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Feel free to loosely cover the pizzas with aluminum foil after the 15 minute mark to prevent any heavy browning and uneven baking. Remove the pizzas from the oven and allow to cool in the pans placed on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, slice, serve, and enjoy. Place any leftover pizza in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

 I’ve been searching for a good recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers, and finally had to wave the white flag. Nobody has a good recipe. Until I created one today.

I feel like everyone else’s recipe are too bland. Hamburger? Nah. We’re not making cheeseburgers here! We’re stuffing bell peppers!

Yep, this is my recipe, tested on my family. At least one of my kids was upset that it didn’t make more.

So here’s my recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients 

4 large bell peppers, any color

1 lb ground mild Italian sausage

1-1/2 cups chopped Roma tomatoes 

3/4 cups peeled and chopped summer squash or zucchini 

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, chopped 

1 tbsp Italian seasonings 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

2-4 tbsp olive oil 

1 cup grated cheddar jack

1 cup white rice, cooked

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

8 slices fresh mozzarella 

Brown and crumble the Italian sausage. While it’s cooking, cut the bell peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds. Finely chop the Roma tomatoes, squash, onion, and peel the garlic. Once the sausage is browned and crumbled, transfer to a bowl, and caramelize the onion in the same pan that the you cooked the sausage in. Add the tomatoes and squash. Allow to simmer and add the garlic and Italian seasonings, adding olive oil if the sausage fat is absorbed quickly. Reduce the temperature and allow to thicken and reduce. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer for another minute. Turn off the heat and add the rice, sausage, cheddar jack, and Parmesan cheeses and mix thoroughly. Place the peppers into a casserole dish just big enough to hold them, and fill each half with the mixture. Add up to 1-1/2 cups of water to the dish around the peppers, then cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Uncover, place a slice of mozzarella on each, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Updated Quiche Recipe

I've been making this recipe since my kids were still little, as you can see from reading my old posts, since after our trip to Disney World in Florida.
I never leave a recipe alone, and I figured it was time to update it. I found that the old recipe made too much for one quiche, not quite enough for two. So this is just a modified version of my old recipe.
Enjoy!

Quiche

2 prepared 9" deep-dish pie crusts or 3 regular 9" pie crusts
6 strips of cooked crispy bacon, coarsely chopped, or 2 cups chopped ham, or 1 cup cooked and thinly sliced bratwurst, or 1 cup cooked and crumbled breakfast sausage, or 1 cup diced cooked chicken or turkey breast, or 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (or any combination. Just go nuts.)
2/3 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons diced green onions (optional)
3 cups shredded Swiss/mozzarella/Jack cheese (any works)
1/4 Cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups milk or half-and-half (anything from skim milk to half-and-half, you can combine milk and sour cream or plain yogurt for additional flavor)
9 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide the  meat/artichokes, minced onions, optional green onions, and Swiss cheese amongst the pie crusts. Whisk together the other ingredients and pour into the pie crusts, and top with the parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 300 degrees and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes before cutting into eight slices and enjoy while still warm.

Chicken or Turkey Alfredo Lasagna

After Thanksgiving this year, I wanted something different to do with all of the leftover turkey. After a suggestion from a coworker, I looked up a Chicken Alfredo Lasagna recipe, and found a simple one on the Pilsbury website.
Repeat after me: “I modified it...” tested it on my family, and this is the result. It works just fine with either turkey or chicken, and in fact, might be the recipe most forgiving of changes or substitutions that I have on this site.

Chicken or Turkey Alfredo Lasagna

1 container (16 oz) ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheese blend (3 oz)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley

1 cup chopped or thinly sliced onion

1/2 package (4 oz) sliced fresh baby portabella mushrooms or 1/2 7oz can mushroom stems and parts, drained

3 cups shredded deli rotisserie chicken (from 2-lb chicken) or Turkey breast meat, cooked and shredded

1/2 cups roasted red bell peppers (from a 12-oz jar), drained, cut into 1/2-inch strips

2-1/2 jars (15 oz each) four-cheese Alfredo pasta sauce

9 sheets rectangular instant lasagna noodles (7 1/8 x 3 1/2 inches)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9- inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix ricotta or cottage cheese, cheese blend and garlic salt; set aside. 

• In a large bowl, combine Alfredo Sauce, chicken, onions, muchrooms, and roasted peppers. Spoon about 2 1/3 cups chicken mixture in baking dish. Layer with 3 noodles, half of cottage cheese or Ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 3 noodles, 2 1/3 cups chicken mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 

• Bake uncovered 50 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Modified From: https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chicken-alfredo-lasagna/41f5c4fc-9779-4c36-a1f9-d01406c6183e

Ham and Cheese Soup

Folks-
I decided late last year that I needed a new ham soup recipe. I found a good one online at "A Taste of Home," and as usual, spent time modifying it until it was perfect from my families perspective.
By 2017, my daughter had convinced me to try chopped broccoli instead of the shredded carrots. She's right, it's better. I'm including that variation here.
Pro tip: make this using two pots that are much larger than you expect you'll need. It seems to somehow end up being a much larger recipe than you'll think it will.

Here's my version:

Ham and Cheese Soup

2 Cups peeled diced potatoes

2 Cups water

3/4 Cup shredded carrots or 3/4 to 1 cup chopped broccoli, frozen or fresh

1/3 Cup chopped onion

1/4 Cup cubed butter

1/4 Cup flour

2 Cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Cups shredded cheese (cheddar, sharp cheddar, jack, or a blend)

2 Cups cubed fully cooked ham

In a pot, combine water, potatoes, carrots and/or broccoli, and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. After covering the potato mixture, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the milk, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Add cheese mixture to undrained potato mixture. Add ham and heat through.

Modified from a recipe at:http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cheddar-Ham-Soup

Adult Grilled Cheese

Folks-
One of my kids favorite sandwiches--actually most kids favorite--is the simple Grilled Cheese. I discovered a while ago that you can turn this simple favorite into a more adult meal through just a couple of simple additions.

My version of the Grilled Cheese for Adults is to use whatever hard cheese is available (usually a cheddar, Jack, or mozzarella), using two slices (or a small handfull of the cheese if grated) and before grilling it, I add thin sliced onion and tomato slices.

Give it a try next time you want a hot sandwich at home at lunchtime!

Ingredients:

2 sandwich-sized slices cheddar, sharp cheddar, jack, mozzarella, Swiss, and/or gruyere cheese

2 slices sandwich bread, sourdough works well, but seeded bread is also good

1 slicing tomato, sliced thinly

1 thin slice of onion, red, white, or yellow, preferably red

Cooked bacon slice (optional)

1 tbsp mayonnaise 

Grated parmesan cheese, if available, optional 

Preheat a pan or griddle on the stove to medium heat. Spread half of the mayo and some of the Parmesan cheese on a slice of bread, and place it in the pan, mayo side down. Quickly assemble the sandwich in this order on top of that bread: cheese slice, onion, tomato slices, bacon slice, cheese slice. Smear the other slice of bread with mayo and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Flip when bottom slice of bread is golden brown and grill until the second side matches.

Eat while still hot. Acids in the tomato slices will prevent the cheese from solidifying. These do not keep well for later.

Edited 12/30/2024 to be more specific.

Clam and Cheese Chowder

Folks- It's been a long time since I updated any of my sites, and due to requests, I'm going to start updating this site more often. I've already gotten a few recipes backlogged, so I'll be able to keep going for at least a little while. I'm going to start to with a recipe that my mom started, and I modified. My kids claim it's the best they have ever tasted: Clam Chowder. This one is just perfect for cold weather, especially with fresh bread. -Edly

Eleanor & Ed's Clam & Cheese Chowder

Ingredients: 

2 T Butter

1 T Diced Onion 

2 Cubed Russet Potatoes 

1/2 Cup Water

2 Cans Minced Clams (Do not drain)

2-3 Strips Cooked Bacon, crumbled 

1 T Chopped Parsley

1/2 lb Cubed Whole Milk Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese

1 Package of Onion or Potato & Leek Soup Mix, sifted for the onions or  3 T French Fried Onions

1 Cup Heavy Cream 

2 1/2 Cups Milk 

3/4 Cup Instant Potato Flakes

 

 

Directions: Melt the butter in a pot and add potatoes and diced onion. Add water, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add clams with the juice in the can, bacon, parsley, onion soup, and cheese and stir until cheese melts. Add cream, milk, and instant potatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Alternatives: 1. Use Monterey Jack cheese instead of the Mozzarella. 2. Use 1 1/2 Cups of Whipping Cream instead of the Heavy Cream, and 2 Cups of Milk instead of 2 1/2 Cups.