Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

Original recipe found here

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 TBSP boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cups flour
2 cups quick oats

-Preheat oven to 350º.

-Cream brown sugar, butter, and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and mix. Mix baking soda and boiling water, then add to the bowl and mix. Add flour and oatmeal and mix well. 

-Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets so that you have rounded heaping teaspoons. Bake for 10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool completely.

Filling recipe found here

• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)
• -In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens (you want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is).
  -Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature (it must be completely cool before you use it in the next step).
  -Stir in vanilla.         
  -While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the completely cooled milk mixture and beat THOROUGHLY (if it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough!). Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
• -Using a small size cookie scoop, put a scoop of filling on one oatmeal cookie, then top with a second oatmeal cookie. Lightly press together. 

Easy Marinara Sauce

Original recipe found here

3 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onions
3 cloves minced garlic (1 1/2 tsp)
1/4 cup fresh basil (or 1-2 TBSP dried basil)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2-28oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 tsp white sugar
**optional: pork ribs cut into single rib pieces (the fat from the pork ribs is what REALLY makes this sauce awesome)

Instructions:
-Warm olive oil in sauce pan, then add onions and minced garlic. Let saute for about 5 minutes, until tender.
-Add in remaining ingredients and stir well.
-If you're using pork ribs, add them to the sauce now and make sure they're covered with the sauce.
-Allow sauce to come to a boil on medium heat, stirring every couple of minutes so sauce doesn't burn on the bottom.
-Turn down to low heat, and let it simmer for an hour or more.

Slow Cooker: add everything to the slow cooker and set it to low.

Cooking Pasta in Instant Pot

Original recipe found here

16 oz. pasta
6 cups water
2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBSP butter or oil\

-Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot (make sure pasta is covered with water).
-Secure the lid and turn pressure release to "sealed" position, and make sure it's set on High Pressure.
-COOK TIME: set manual time to 5 minutes
-After pasta is done cooking, let the pressure release, then drain pasta.

FAVORITE Pizza Dough

Original recipe found here

1 1/4 cups warm water

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

3 1/3 cups flour (it was a little too sticky for me with only 3 cups)

Instructions:

-In a small bowl, stir together water, honey, then sprinkle the top with 1/2 tsp yeast and let sit 5 minutes then stir.

-Set oven to lowest setting (my oven is 170*). TURN OFF once the oven is preheated!! This is a warm spot for the dough to rise more quickly.

-Add 3 1/3 cups flour and salt to stand mixer. Add yeast mixture to the flour and let the machine knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. 

-Grease large bowl, add pizza dough, cover with plastic wrap, and set in warmed oven (AGAIN: make sure your oven in turned off!). 

-Let dough rise for 45 minutes-1 hour, until it's doubled in size.

-Remove from oven, push the dough down with your fist, then put it on your counter. Roll it out to the desired size, put on your pan of choice, and add toppings. 

-Bake at 450* for 10-12 minutes

Double Recipe 

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp active dry yeast

2 tsp honey

1 tsp fine sea salt

6 2/3 cups flour

Triple Recipe

3 3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 tsp honey

1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

10 cups flour