Pizza Pockets

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Difficulty: 5

Ingredients:

Shortening	2 slices mozzarella/American/provolone
1 10-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough	1 tablespoon milk
¼ cup pizza/spaghetti sauce	2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
20 slices pizza-style pepperoni

Supplies:

Large baking sheet	Pastry brush
Pizza cutter	Fork
Measuring cups and spoons	Oven mitts or potholders
Table knife	Spatula

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease the baking sheet with shortening and unroll the pizza dough onto the sheet. Use the pizza cutter to cut the dough into four equal-size squares.

With the table knife, spread about a tablespoon of sauce on each square, making sure to leave a border of about ¼ inch around the edges. It will squirt out of the sides otherwise.

Place five slices of pepperoni on each square. Cut each square of cheese in half diagonally, then place a half on top of the pepperoni on each pocket.

For each pocket, fold the top left corner onto the bottom right corner to make a triangle. With the tines of a fork, gently press the edges of the dough together to keep the filling inside.

Use the pastry brush to brush the tops of the pockets with milk. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and put the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove the baking sheet with potholders or oven mitts. Take the pockets off of the baking sheet with the spatula and let cool before eating.

Allergy Information: Contains dairy and ingredients in dough.

Streusel Topping

Time: 5 minutes

Serves: makes enough to top 12 muffins (such as Apple Muffins) or a small cake

Difficulty: 2

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour	¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar	2 tablespoons softened butter

Supplies:

Small mixing bowl	Fork
Spoon

Directions:

Put the flour, sugar, and cinnamon into the bowl and stir well with the spoon. With a chopping motion, use the fork to mix in the softened butter. That’s it!

Allergy Information: Contains dairy.

Apple Muffins

Time: 50 minutes

Difficulty: 4

Serves: makes 12

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour	1 egg
⅓ cup granulated sugar	¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder	¼ cup cooking oil
¼ teaspoon salt	¼ cup apple butter
Streusel Topping (click for recipe)	2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
1 small apple

Supplies:

12 paper muffin cups (2 ½” is fine)	Cutting board
Measuring cups and spoons	Sharp knife
Medium mixing bowl	Oven mitts/potholders
Wooden spoon	Wooden toothpicks
Small mixing bowl	Wire cooling rack
Vegetable peeler	Forks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the muffin cups into the pan and set aside for a later step.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the medium mixing bowl. Stir with the wooden spoon and set aside. Make the Streusel Topping (click for recipe) and set that aside as well.

Using a vegetable peeler, carefully cut the skin off of the apple and discard the skin. On the cutting board, core the apple and cut it (it being the apple, not the core) into four pieces. Chop into smaller pieces; estimate the size that they would be good for in muffins. And, you guessed it, set aside for later use.

Crack the egg into the small bowl. Beat with the fork until the white and the yolk are mixed together. Add the milk, oil, and apple butter and mix well.

Combine the egg and flour mixtures. Stir with the wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet, then stir in the chopped apples. You want the batter to be a little lumpy, not smooth.

Spoon some of the batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the Streusel Topping over the top of each muffin.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Test them when they are golden brown. Carefully pull out the oven rack (with an oven mitt or potholder!) and stick a toothpick in the center of any muffin. If ANYTHING sticks to it AT ALL, let them bake for a few more minutes and test again. Turn off the oven.

Remove the pan from the oven. Place it on the cooling rack for five minutes. Carefully take out the muffins and put them on the rack. Drizzle the top of each muffin with the caramel sauce. Let cool for ten more minutes before eating and store in the fridge.

Allergy Information: Contains egg and dairy. Dairy also used in Streusel Topping.

Zucchini Pancakes

Thanks to our friend Carolyn Z. for this recipe!

This is a village-style recipe so most of it is done by hand. If you are in any way confused by the frying steps, just make it like you would a regular, stereotypical pancake of awesomeness.

You know.

Protective gloves are recommended in case this is your first time frying something.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: makes 30 pancakes

Difficulty: 3 (adult supervision recommended)

Ingredients:

8-10 zucchini (alters consistency)	Canola oil/vegetable oil
4-5 eggs (also alters consistency)	½- 1 ½ cups of chopped scallions
4-5 cups of flour (to even out water)	Water

Supplies:

Large bowl	Manual/electrical shredding device
Spatula	Pancake grill/frying pan
Spoon	Serving platter
Ladle

Directions:

Shred the zucchini and place in a large bowl. Crack the eggs in the same bowl and mix vigorously with a spoon until the ingredients are blended completely. Add as much flour as needed to give the batter the consistency of pancake batter—don’t be afraid to put in too much as this is what gives it texture. You can even it out with water if you feel that it is needed.

Stir in the chopped scallions. You can use as much as you like depending on how much flavor you would like to go into the pancakes. 1 cup is a good starting point.

Mix completely and turn on the stove. Pour a small puddle of oil about the size of your ideal pancake, and keep it out because you will repeat this step after every batch.

Spoon a ladleful of batter onto the frying pan/grill and spread it in all directions with the spatula. Let it sizzle for about a minute, then GENTLY prod it on the side to see if it can slide across the surface. If it can, it is just about done on that side. If it can’t, let it cook for about 30 more seconds, then repeat the prodding process.

Now you can either do one of two things: you can slide the pancake to the side and let another one or two cook alongside it, or play it safe and take it out, leaving a blank and oiled pan. If this is your first time, I would play it safe. If you feel comfortable enough with this recipe, you can try a few at once and see how it plays out.

Do not replenish the oil in the pan after each pancake, unless you want 30 greasy blobs. Ew. Do it after three pancakes come off the pan/grill, then the next three, and so on.

Once one is done, flip it over and let it cook on the other side. Prod it on this side after a minute to see if it is ready yet. When it is done, fold your fully cooked pancake in half and place it on the platter. You can be artsy and arrange it nicely, or be lazy and messy like our beloved recipe donor Carolyn. Hehehe.

These can be enjoyed alone or with toppings of your choice. They are refrigeratable for long periods of time and can be taken for lunch in a bag, container, or thermos depending on desired temperature.

Allergy Information: Contains eggs.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Time: almost ½ hour

Serves: makes 8-10 pancakes

Difficulty: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour	1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar	2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon baking powder	Shortening
¼ teaspoon baking soda	1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt	Syrup, berries, or powdered sugar (to serve)

Supplies:

Measuring cups and spoons	Pancake turner or variation of this
2 medium mixing bowls	Plate (for serving)
Wooden spoon	Foil
Wire whisk or fork	Plastic sandwich bag (optional)
Griddle or large skillet

Directions:

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon and set aside.

In the other bowl, crack the egg and beat until the yolk and white are mixed. Add the buttermilk and oil to the egg and blend with the whisk again.

Combine the egg mixture with the flour mixture from earlier. Stir with the wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet. The batter should be somewhat lumpy, not smooth.

Grease an unheated griddle or skillet with shortening. Place it on a burner set to medium and let it heat up. Carefully sprinkle a few drops of water on the surface to check if it is hot enough—if it is, the water will dance across it.

Pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot griddle or skillet for each pancake. Cook over medium heat for about two minutes. This should allow for the surface to become slightly bubbly and for the edges to get a bit crispy or dry. Turn the pancakes over and repeat on the other side. They should be golden brown when you are done.

Remove pancakes from the heat when they are finished cooking and put on a serving plate. Cover them with foil so that they stay warm, and continue making pancakes until all of the batter is used. 
Turn off the burner and remove the griddle or skillet.

Allergy Information: Contains dairy and eggs.

S'more Madness

It's only been a week since the last post but it feels like forever! Have a great summer everybody and kick it off with new s'mores!

White Chocolate

Use white chocolate Hershey's instead of regular

PBC

Reese Cups! Who doesn't love 'em?! Do both chocolate and Reese's.

Shmoreshcream

Yeah it sounds weird but that's kinda the point here. Crumble up the s'more into vanilla ice cream and drizzle chocolate sauce on top.