Puff Pizza

I met a sweet older lady at church last Sunday who said she was as huge fan of All Kinds of Yumm. We started talking about what we were doing that weekend, and she suddenly said, "I bet all you'll be doing is cooking since you love to do it so much!"

Oh, bless her heart.

I gently explained to her that while cooking isn't something that I dread, it's definitely not something that I wake up dying to do. I don't prance around the kitchen, singing and twirling. Oh, no. My goal is to get in, get it done, get out and get back to my book. Especially on a Saturday night.

Saturday night=pizza fun. Pizza fun=the fastest, easiest pizza recipe I can find. This=the fastest, easiest pizza recipe I could find. And quite frankly, it tastes delightful, as my husband claims.

Apparently puff pizza is quite the rage right now. I've even heard of puff enchiladas, which I plan on thoroughly researching. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Because after all, it is Saturday night, and you probably don't feel like cooking.

Ingredients:
15 oz. can jumbo biscuits
1 jar pizza sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese (I just used the powder kind)
Pepperoni or other toppings (other toppings may include ground beef, bacon, and vegetables)
Italian seasoning
Garlic salt

Directions:

First, we grab our biscuits.

Cut each biscuit into quarters.

Arrange them in a 13x9 pan. I know it may seem strange that they're so far apart, but as the biscuits expand, it'll fill the whole pan.

Add pizza sauce and combine well so that biscuits are coated.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and pepperoni.

Top with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Oh baby.

Happy Saturday.

Love and puff,

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

$8.47. This is the cost of half of a salad and a bowl of soup at Panera. I think we can do better than that, folks. I'm not denying that Panera's broccoli cheddar soup is some of the best in the business. I'm there with ya'; however, we can make it for less than half the cost of Panera soup. Did I mention this recipe makes 4 servings? So theoretically, you can make this soup for about $5, and it will feed you, your husband and two children. If you have more than two children, you know what to do. It's simple, really.

Choose your favorite two kids, and they get to eat. Kidding. Double it. That whole "favorite kid" argument is really only good when deciding who can go to college. Tim and I have decided that we will keep a healthy distance from our future children, lessen their likability and saving us thousands and thousands of dollars.

Maybe this is why we don't have children yet.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter
Onion flakes or half of a small onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb. broccoli (I use frozen)
1 cup diced carrots (optional)
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic salt

Directions:

Heat butter over low heat.

Add onion pieces or your onion flakes. We don't like larger pieces of onion, which is why we opted for the flakes. Allow to simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes.

Add flour and whisk for about one minute over the low heat.

Add milk and stir.

Add chicken broth and stir.

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add broccoli and let simmer for another 15 minutes. I put frozen broccoli in the mix (not thawed) and it worked great.

After broccoli is softened, you can either a) leave the larger chunks of broccoli alone, or b) use a hand mixer and slowly mix for about 30 seconds. This doesn't make a huge difference, but I did find that it broke up the larger pieces nicely.

Add the cheese, salt and pepper and slowly combine. Let it warm up for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.

Serve warm. And with a wrap.

Love and saving the big bucks,