Quick Beer-Crust Pizza

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semolina flour*
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbl olive oil
1 1/2 cups room temperature beer
*Substitute all purpose flour if you don't have semolina

Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients--by hand, mixer or bread machine---until you've made a smooth, soft dough.

Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 30 minutes, or for up to 2 hours. (I set my bread machine to the dough setting).

Preheat the oven to 450. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 10" to 12" round. Place the rounds on parchment lined pizza stone or baking sheet. For thin to medium crust, bake  immediately for 5 minutes. For thicker crust, let them rise for 30 to 60 minutes. Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, top as desired and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the bottom crust is crisp and the cheese is bubbly and browned.

Slow Cooker Cranberry chicken

2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skinned
16 oz can whole cranberry sauce
2 Tbl dry onion soup mix
2 Tbl quick cooking tapioca
3 cups hot cooked rice

Place chicken pieces in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together cranberry sauce, dry soup and tapioca. Pour over chicken pieces.
Cover; cook on low heat for 3-4 hours. Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice.
Makes 6 servings

Baked Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups + 2 Tbl flour
* substituted 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp ginger
Coating:
Cinnamon and sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 standard doughnut pans. Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder until smooth. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth. Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full; use a scant 1/4 cup of batter in each well. Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Remove doughnuts from the oven and after about 5 minutes, loosen their edges, and transfer them to a rack to cool. While the doughnuts are still warm, gently shake them in a bag with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Cool completely, and wrap air tight; store at room temperature for several days.

12-16 doughnuts.

Apple Fritter Muffins

For the apples:
3 Tbl unsalted butter
2 large apple, finely diced and peeled
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl water
1/3 cup flour

For the muffins:
2 1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbl cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 lrg eggs, room temp.
1 cup buttermilk, room temp.

For the glaze:
2 Tbl unsalted butter, melted
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbl hot water.

Preheat oven to 400. Line 16 muffin cups with muffin liners.For the apples:  In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add apples, sugar, cinnamon, and water. Cook, stirring occasionally until apples are tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the flour to coat apples; set aside.  For the Muffins: In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the applesauce, vegetable oil, vanilla and sugars until smooth. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture and stirring gently just until the ingredients are just combined. Do no over mix! Fold in the apples until just combined. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups, smoothing the tops. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let muffins cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before removing them to the rack. Let cool slightly while you make the glaze.  To make the glaze, in a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and hot water. Whisk until smooth. You may need to add more water to make a glaze that you dip the muffin tops in. When muffins have cooled slightly, holding the muffin upside down, dip the top into the glaze, allowing excess to drip off. Allow to harden before serving.

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce

3 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar or to taste
1 1/2 Tbl lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a 3 1/2 quart crock pot, toss together the apples, sugar and lemon juice. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours. Mash up the apples with a potato masher. Stir in cinnamon. Serve warm or cold

Classic Apple Crisp

Filling:
3 pounds whole apples, to yield 9 cups peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup apple cider, apple juice or water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbl melted butter
2 Tbl boiled cider, optional but good
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice*
3 Tbl flour
1/4 tsp salt
* or substitute 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg & 1/4 tsp ginger.

Topping:

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pats
1/2 cup diced pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch square pan. Slice the apples about 1/4" thick. Toss them with the remaining filling ingredients and place in pan.
To make topping: whisk together the flour, oats, salt, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder. Add the cold butter, working it in to make an unevenly crumbly mixture. Toss in the nuts. Spread the topping over the apples.  Bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Yield:  9 to 12 servings

Zucchini Bread

1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cup grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Mix oil and eggs. Add in sugar and mix well. Mix in zucchini and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Place in a greased bread pan. Bake at 350 for 1 - 11/2 hours